So my final (I think...) challenge that I'm going to participate in this year is a new one and it's being hosted by Susan at Bloggin' 'bout Books.
This challenge is called 'The Bookish Books Reading Challenge' and Susan has all the info here in this POST.
And there is another post about it HERE with the Mr. Linky widget to log your reviews.
Susan says:
This is a laidback challenge designed to encourage the reading of all
those bookish books that are still lingering on our shelves and TBR
lists. Any book counts as long as one of its main themes is books
(reading them, writing them, hoarding them, stealing them, eating them,
burning them, decorating with them, organizing them, sniffing them,
selling them, etc.). Any book that is essentially bookish in nature
counts. All formats are acceptable. Since this challenge isn't about
pages read, length doesn't matter either. Picture books are totally
fine.
There are of course various levels to choose from and these are they:
Toe in the Door: 1-10 books read
Picking and Perusing: 11-20 books read
Lost in the Stacks: 21-30 books read
Living in the Library: 30+ books read
I'll be going for The Toe in the door, 1-10 books but who knows, I might do better as I have quite a few on my bookshleves and Kindle and also have a Goodreads shelf,
HERE. Rather surprised to find I have 69 books on it...
Some of the books I would like to read:
The Last Bookshop in London - Madeline Martin
The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes
The Book Collectors of Daraya - Delphine Minoui
Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen - Fay Weldon
Once Upon a Tome - Oliver Darkshire
The Last Library - Freya Sampson
The Book Lovers - Emily Henry
The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco - Laura DiSilverio
The Reading List - Sara Nisha Adams
The Library - Bella Osborne
The Little Bookshop on the Seine - Rebecca Raisin
The Murder Bookshop - Merryn Allingham
A Thing of Beauty - Peter Fiennes (need to check whether this actually fits the challenge)
Ghostland - Edward Parnell
Lives for Sale: Biographer's Tales - Mark Bostridge
I think that's enough to be going on with though I have a feeling I have more...
The other thing is that the book I'm currently reading, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern qualifies so that will be my first book when I finish it.
I honestly think this is going to be one the most fun challenges of this year so many thanks to Susan for coming up with it.
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19 comments:
What a fun challenge, Cath! I hadn't thought of how many meta-books there are, but there are. I'm not a 'challenge' person at all, but a lot of them (including this one) are clever, and I'll be interested in the books you include!
Lots of good titles on your list! I've only read Book Lovers (on audio), which I enjoyed, but didn't love. The Giver of Stars and The Reading List are on my TBR list. Have fun!
Yay! I'm glad you're going to do this reading challenge, too. It'll be fun...reading all those bookish books. :D I loved both The Last Bookshop in London and Letters to Alice... And I just finished reading The Last Chance Library, which was really fun, too. And I want to read The Reading List and The Library for this challenge this year, too. How are you liking The Starless Sea?
I will be joining in too. I just have to do a post and I don't know when that will be. I have two books in mind already, Ex Libris by Michiko Kakutani and Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld (literary cartoons).
Margot: Doesn't it sound like fun? Who doesn't like a book about books? It's shame I read the BLCC collection, Murder by the Book, last year as that would've been perfect for this challenge, also Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J. Farmer. No Matter, I still have plenty to choose from.
Les: Yes, I read another Emily Henry last year, Beach Reads, and like you, I enjoyed it but didn't love it. Suspect I might feel the same about Book Lovers but we'll see.
Lark: I'm so pleased we're both doing this one! The Last Bookshop in London and the Fay Weldon (did you know she died last week?) are books I plan to read fairly soon. I'm definitely hoping to pick up a few recs from what you and Tracy read!
Oh, gosh... The Starless Sea. I feel like I have waded through custard trying to finish that book. It's beautifully written but I'm quite near the end now and still have no real idea what's going on. LOL!!
Tracy: I'm so pleased you're doing this too. I'm hoping to get some recs from you and Lark. I don't know either of the books you mention, I love that there are so many books about books. Look forward to your post.
I shall be following with interest, your progress in this challenge, as there are actually more than enough books about books out there to meet even the highest category!
I am sure that some of the books will be suitable for inclusion in more than one challenge, although I do wish you the very best of luck in keeping each challenge in good order and updated, you almost need a spreadsheet for them all.
For me it would be only too easy to become so focussed on one challenge, that I forgot about all the others, it's all a bit too daunting a project for me right now and I can only look on in admiration! :)
Your description of The Starless Sea as wading through custard totally made me laugh. It is kind of hard to find the story through all the beautiful description and different episodes that don't seem to quite connect...though they do at the end. But it's a strange one. I think I liked it; I'm still trying to decide. ;D
Yvonne: No spreadsheet here as I wouldn't know where to start but I have my trusty notebook wherein I keep a record of all the challenges I'm doing, my progress, what I've read for each one and so on. I'm a real fan of lists and love nerding out with notebooks and so forth. So, no problems keeping track whatsoever. I also use Goodreads as a tool for that too. And yes, you're quite right, one book will often do for multiple challenges - the one I've just finished I've been able to enter for three for instance. All good fun.... and really helps me to knock books off the tbr pile. We won't talk about the new ones I'm adding all the time. *Cough*
Lark: Glad I gave you a laugh. Yes, I will admit it was beautifully written, very lyrical, but I never did find the story and was bored though I did finish it. I gave it a very rare (for me) 2 stars on Goodreads.
Seems to be a fun challenge to do, books about books!
My favorites in this category are: 84, Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peal Pie Society, and John Grisham's Camino Island (yes, it's about rare, 1st edition books and F. Scott Fitzgerald's manuscript!)
Can't wait to read reviews of the books you read.
Good luck, and have fun! :)
Fanda: I've read 84 Charing CRoss Road and The Guernsey Literary book but had not heard of Camino Island. I will look that up as John Grisham is a good writer.
Hi Cath,
My most recent favorite, and so refreshingly different from the run-of-the-mill bookstore fiction is Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. It's set in a fascinating bookshop in London in 1950, and also sports an intriguing rare books collection. Great characters--and some repeated cameo appearances by Daphne Du Maurier, the actress Mimi Harrison (previous wife of Rex), Samuel Beckett, etc. Best bookshop book I've read in many a year.
Hi Judith! Oh brilliant, thanks for the recommendation, I haven't heard of The Bloomsbury Girls and it sounds unusual, which is great.
I enjoyed Letters to Alice although it is a bit dated. Nice concept though. I hope you post a review if yo do read it.
Nicola: Yes, I will try to review it as best I can. I think I need to read a proper biography of Austen though, before I do further reading on her books.
I've read Book Lovers and The Little Bookshop on the Seine, I think, if it's the one on a river boat. Good luck with the challenge.
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