Book Bingo - the Post-Game Edition

I finished reading for Book Bingo 2015 about a week ago, and managed to cover all my squares. Here's the post-game assessment.

• With time travel - The Memory Painter
• At least 800 pages - 11/22/63
• An academic/campus novel - The Square Root of Murder 
• With a protagonist/narrator over the age of 50 - Our Souls at Night  
• Borrowed from the library - Missoula 
• Western - Across the Great Barrier 
• Young Adult novel - On the Far Side of the Mountain 
• With an animal on the cover - The Wild Inside
• That your parents wouldn't have let you read as a kid - Stoned: A Doctor's Case for Medical Marijuana
• Found in a used bookstore - The Builders
• Graphic novel - Logicomix
• Currently on the bestseller list - The Nightingale
• With an animal as a key character - Frightful's Mountain
• Has an animal in the title - An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World
• 10 short stories - Tenth of December
• About a disease - The Perfect Son
• With food as the theme - Dying for Chocolate
  
• Biography or Memoir - Do No Harm 
• That you chose because of the cover - Counting by 7s
• Cozy mystery - Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
• With a number in the title - How to Bake Pi
• Revolves around a holiday - Thanksgiving
• Published the year you were born - 4:50 from Paddington
• An audiobook - A Man Called Ove

I read a couple of extra books, just for my own sake. Across the Great Barrier filled my Western square, but since that is the second book in a trilogy, I reread the first, Thirteenth Child, to refresh my memory. My Young Adult Novel, On the Far Side of the Mountain, is also the second in a trilogy, so I reread My Side of the Mountain first. 

I had three 5-star books, twelve 4-stars, seven 3-stars, and four 2-star books. (The covers below are arranged in descending order of the stars I awarded.) I found out that I'm not a big fan of light and fluffy mysteries and it will probably be a long time before I read another graphic novel. Reading Kent Haruf's last novel was bittersweet, but I also read some great first books, some excellent non-fiction, and was really pleasantly surprised by Stephen King. All in all, it was a pretty good summer for reading!
 

 

True Confessions

The end of Summer Book Bingo is approaching in less than two weeks and I have a confession to make...I've been cheating.

I spent some planning time in the beginning of Book Bingo, matching squares on my bingo card with books that I actually wanted to read. I did fairly well working through my TBR list, getting books from the library, and enjoyed browsing through a new-to-me used book store that is only a few blocks away to fill one of my squares. In my planning, I had chosen Centennial by James Michener for my "At least 800 pages" square. I have it on my Kindle, had started reading it before, and was really looking forward to some concentrated and devoted reading time to immerse myself in the story.

Which I did. I was especially thrilled to see that it was available as an audiobook on August 4th, so I used an Audible credit and started listening. James was my constant companion, driving, walking, weeding, even sleeping. That became the biggest problem; I was sleeping with James. While it's an interesting story with an incredibly detailed plot (all the way back to the geologic formation of Colorado and dinosaurs!), it just wasn't holding my attention. I found myself nodding off almost every evening when James was next to me.

Then I read about Mary's obsession with Stephen. I had 11/22/63 in my Audible library, purchased in a previous sale, and decided I should at least give it a try. I spent much of last week looking for ways to spend more time with Stephen, taking long walks with him, happily picking string beans in heat and humidity as long as I had Stephen by my side, doing everything but sleeping with him because 11/22/63 is so good that I stayed awake several evenings, listening far too long into the night.

I realized that I needed to break up with James so I could carry on with Stephen without feeling guilty. James was happy with the "it's not you, it's me" excuse, and it really isn't him. I will try Centennial again later, but first I need to finish my summer fling with Stephen. Tall, dark, maybe not so handsome, but he sure can write an engrossing and compelling novel, and I can't wait to spend more time with him.

Book Bingo - Two Months In

We're two months into Summer Book Bingo (I'm playing by Mary's May 23 through September 7 rules), and it's time for me to give myself a progress report. It feels like I'm making reading progress, so I hope I don't feel differently once I've written it all down here.

What I'm Currently Reading:

• With a number in the title - How to Bake Pi
• With an animal as a key character - Frightful's Mountain
• That your parents wouldn't have let you read as a kid - Stoned: A Doctor's Case for Medical Marijuana

What I've Read So Far:

• With time travel - The Memory Painter
• An Academic/Campus Novel - The Square Root of Murder
• With a protagonist/narrator over the age of 50 - Our Souls at Night 
• Borrowed from the Library - Missoula
• Western - Across the Great Barrier
• Young Adult Novel - On the Far Side of the Mountain
• With an animal on the cover - The Wild Inside
• Has an animal in the title - An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World
• 10 Short Stories - Tenth of December
• About a disease - The Perfect Son
• With food as the theme - Dying for Chocolate
  
• Biography or Memoir - Do No Harm
• Revolves around a holiday - Thanksgiving
• Published the year you were born - 4:50 from Paddington
• An audiobook - A Man Called Ove

What I Plan to Read Next:

• At least 800 pages - Centennial

Unplanned Squares (So Far):

• Found in a used bookstore
• Graphic novel
• Currently on the bestseller list [I am really surprised by how many crappy (imho) books are on the NYT fiction bestseller list. I don't think I'll be reading Grey!]
• That you chose because of the cover
• Cozy mystery 

I had hoped to complete most of my books by the end of this month, which would leave August for a relaxed reading of my "At least 800 pages" choice, Centennial, but I don't realistically see myself finishing three current reads plus those five pesky unplanned squares in the next eight days (especially because this is supposed to be fun)! There are still more than six and a half weeks (47 days!) left, so I think I'm on track to cover my card and still not have to read/behave like a crazy person.

How's your summer reading? I hope everyone finds some time for a good book or two, enjoyed on the beach, front porch, or relaxing spot of your choosing, no matter whether you're participating in Book Bingo or not!

Book Bingo 2015: The Plan

My goal for Book Bingo 2015 is to try to cover all the squares on my card. I'm not a competitive or terribly goal-oriented reader, but for Book Bingo last summer, I ended up reading 24 books (without any planning beforehand!) and read some of the best books ever. I'm hoping that something similar will happen this year. I'm trying to not buy any new books (Our Souls at Night and Go Set a Watchman are the exceptions), so I've scoured my to-read list, perused my bookshelves at home, gone through books I already own in my Audible and Kindle libraries, and borrowed from the library to arrive at my plan.

What I've Read/Am Reading So Far:

• With a protagonist/narrator over the age of 50 - Our Souls at Night
• Western - Across the Great Barrier
• Young Adult Novel - On the Far Side of the Mountain
• With an animal on the cover - An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World
• 10 Short Stories - Tenth of December
• Biography or Memoir - Do No Harm

What I Plan to Read Next:

• With time travel - The Memory Painter
• At least 800 pages - Centennial
• That your parents wouldn't let you read as a kid - My Left Foot
• Currently on the bestseller list - Go Set a Watchman
• With an animal as a key character - Frightful's Mountain
  
• Has an animal in the title - Never Cry Wolf
• Revolves around a holiday - Thanksgiving
• With a number in the title - How to Bake Pi
• Published the year you were born - 4:50 from Paddington

Unplanned Squares (So Far):

• An academic/campus novel
• Borrowed from the library
• Found in a used bookstore
• Graphic novel
• About a disease
• With food as the theme
• That you chose because of the cover
• Cozy mystery
• An audiobook

Hmm...Seeing this all written down, I can see that I better get reading, especially with that "At least 800 pages" book looming in the future, and nine unplanned squares. I do have some ideas for those, but they seem a bit easier to fill in so I'm leaving them open for now. I welcome your suggestions, especially for the academic, disease, and food squares!

The planning and reading have been enjoyable so far, although this seemed almost effortless last summer. I'm betting that the next time I bring home a big stack of books from the library and settle myself on the front porch swing, the real pleasures of summer reading will return!

Summer Reading

There is just something wonderfully evocative about summer reading for me. It recalls those relaxed childhood days long ago when my mother would take my sister and me to the library, I would come home with the allowed ten books, spend all my time reading until my mother told me to go play outside, then go outside and read.

As an adult, I can't lie around and read all summer, but Books on the Nightstand podcast has a way to recall some of that fun with Summer Book Bingo. I participated via Mary last year and even though I was a little leery at first, I read some of the best books ever. It's a way for me to get out of my reading comfort zone and hopefully find some great books that I wouldn't have come across otherwise. Mary is doing it again this year, and I'm going to keep her company with that dreaded "At least 800 pages" square. My card is quite animal-centric, but I'm okay with that. I can't wait to read the book "That your parents wouldn't let you read" and find out why my mother banned it!

Carole is participating, playing herself and creating cards for her library patrons, and I hope you'll consider joining in for some summer reading fun. I've never liked "competitive" reading, and don't set reading goals for myself because that takes away some of the pleasure of reading for me. Summer Book Bingo isn't about winning or losing or even getting a bingo, but it is a chance to virtually read with others and find some great new books. Get your own card here and get reading!