AUGUST ROOT - Progress Thread

The Dog days of summer are here and we are slipping farther behind on our goal. We need to make a concentrated effort to move the ticker along. Le's take a ROOT out on a lazy summer day and get it cleared.

Any members who signed up with a personal goal and have yet to read one ROOT, have been removed from the general totals to a separate list. The group tickers have been adjusted to reflect this change.






So, let's keep these tickers (password ROOT) moving with everyone adding their progress to the comprehensive goal for all of us. We need to have a total of 3,610 (67%) by the end of AUGUST to stay on track. We're starting at 47% so this may be tough but if we read just ROOTs this month, we could get closer. Try to stand fast against those pretty new books and grab a ROOT!!!!!! We can do it!

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The ticker thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/148710) is a
huge help in crunching the end of month numbers so if you haven't already posted your ticker there, please do! if there is a * by your name, it indicates there is a ticker on your thread but not on the ticker thread and a & indicates no ticker. This just tells me where I need to go to get the numbers that are not on the ticker thread. I try to keep up on the personal threads during the month, so having to revisit to gather numbers can be a bit time consuming if the system is slow. Any help is appreciated. So if you have a ticker made already, please think about copying the HTML to the ticker thread.

Thanks for your help!
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So, now, Ladies and Gentlemen, BOOKLOVERS - get back out there and read those BOOKS! LETS MAKE A BIG PUSH THIS MONTH!

Here are the individual numbers so far. Several members reached their goals this month - them we applaud. Please let me know if I need to update anyone. I had a few personal threads I couldn't locate for those not on the ticker thread, so I think I need to find them.

ABVR 13 / 50 26%
alphaorder 6 / 30 20%
ALWINN 13 / 40 33%
Ameise1 7 / 10 70%
amz310783 67 / 80 84%
AnneHudson 10 &/ 50 20%
Anoplophora 20 &/ 40 50%
antqueen 8 */ 60 13%
auntmarge64 33 / 60 55%
bahzah 16 */ 30 53%
BBleil 2 &/ 24 8%
benitasrnad 23 &/ 30 77%
billiejean 16 */ 30 53%
blondierocket 19 / 50 38%
booksloth 13 / 50 26%
Bowerbirds-Library 4 / 50 8%
bragan 62 / 100 62%
brewergirl 26 / 35 74%
Caramellunacy 5 / 25 20%
carmenere 23 / 26 88%
chexmix 5 &/ 75 7%
christina_reads 14 / 20 70%
cindysprocket 37 &/ 50 74%
clue 17 / 30 57%
Conachair 26 / 50 52%
connie53 18 / 20 90% almost there!
craso 8 / 12 67%
CrazyMamie 43 / 40 108% Still working on ROOTs
cyderry 57 / 105 54%
deep220 14 / 20 70%
DeltaQueen50 69 / 100 69%
DetailMuse 13 / 40 33%
doglover58 18 / 14 129% Still working on ROOTs
dudes22 49 / 70 70%
edgewood 21 / 50 42%
Erratic_Charmer 31 */ 83 37%
FAMeulstee 8 / 12 67%
footnotefever 7 / 30 23%
fuzzi 17 / 30 57%
gennyt 13 / 70 19%
hairballsrus 8 / 35 23%
Heduanna 1 / 13 8%
HelenBaker 32 / 50 64%
hemlokgang 17 / 35 49%
Henrik_Madsen 12 / 33 36%
lkernagh 14 / 30 47%
ipsoivan 32 / 50 64%
jebronse 5 / 10 50%
jennyes2011 5 */ 10 50%
johanna414 14 / 20 70%
JoLynnsbooks 2 / 50 4%
jonesli 76 / 175 43%
kac522 12 / 29 41%
karen_o 20 / 40 50%
karspeak 13 / 30 43%
kaulsu 7 / 100 7%
kelsiface 17 / 25 68%
kirconnell 6 &/ 30 20%
kiwiflowa 4 / 25 16%
kkunker 14 / 24 58%
klarusu 10 / 37 27%
konallis 13 / 30 43%
lahochstetler 10 / 50 20%
laura_88 13 / 25 52%
LauraBrook 31 / 100 31%
laytonwoman3rd 16 / 35 46%
librariansteffen2, 23 / 48 48%
lilisin 3 / 5 60%
lindapanzo 75 / 75 100% GOAL REACHED -CONGRATULATIONS!!!
LittleTaiko 24 / 30 80%
lizamichelle1 31 / 50 62%
LucindaLibri 12 / 50 24%
luisali 38 / 50 76%
mabith 13 / 12 108% GOAL REACHED -CONGRATULATIONS!!!
majkia 45 / 40 113% Still working on ROOTs
mandymarie 41 / 250 16%
mareofthesea 60 / 60 100%
melonbrawl 13 / 25 52%
midnightlouie 2 / 20 10%
misswatson 7 / 20 35%
mmignano11 12 / 75 16%
moonshineandrosefire 72 / 111 65%
Nicholette 15 */ 100 15%
Nickelini 34 / 50 68%
NielsenGW 20 / 75 27%
paeonia 23 / 24 96% almost there!
pcktlnt 2 &/ 30 7%
Pigletto 26 / 60 43%
PolymathicMonkey 20 / 50 40%
psutto 33 / 80 41%
qebo 7 */ 24 29%
Quaisior 43 / 50 86%
rabbitprincess 38 / 50 76%
raidergirl3 21 / 25 84%
rainpebble 28 / 48 58%
ramblingivy 5 / 20 25%
riverwillow 47 &/ 100 47%
Robertgreaves 29 &/ 35 83%
ronincats 29 */ 40 73%
Samantha_kathy 23 / 50 46%
sandykaypax 2 / 12 17%
sarahbradshaw 11 / 30 37%
schatzi 10 / 75 13%
shearon 12 / 25 48%
shinyone 33 / 35 94% almost there!
si 1 / 10 10%
sjmccreary 6 / 15 40%
SqueakyChu 4 / 20 20%
staffordcastle 13 / 30 43%
streamsong 18 / 50 36%
susanj67 22 */ 30 73%
Tallulah_rose 11 */ 20 55%
Tanglewood 16 / 20 80%
thomasandmary 6 / 13 46%
thorold 30 / 60 50%
tloeffler 41 / 50 82%
torontoc 28 / 30 93% almost there!
tututhefirst 16 */ 15 107%
tymfos 36 / 60 60%
vancouverdeb 6 / 12 50%
Vivanofthe Lake 2 / 15 13%
VivienneR 26 / 50 52%
wildbill 14 / 25 56%

We thank those who have reached their goal and are now helping with the goal by continuing to ROOT - Read our own Tomes!

Hello Cyderry! I love the August picture - is that your own garden statue? It's beautiful! :) Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I finished another ROOT at about 10:30 last night. I did update my ticker to reflect that, but I must have just missed out on the monthly ROOT gathering. :) I'm up to 72/111 as of July 31, 2013 - thanks so much, Cyderry! :)

Hello everyone! Well, according to Goodreads, I'm now 10 books (8%) ahead of my goal. :) Happy August - I hope that we all read some good books this month! :)



Here are my monthly totals again:

January 2013
Total books read: 9
Total rereads: 0 (yes!)
Total acquisitions: 7 (4 ebooks)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 17

February 2013
Total books read: 8
Total rereads: 1
Total acquisitions: 41 (6 ebooks)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 12

March 2013
Total books read: 7
Total rereads: 1
Total acquisitions: 7 (1 ebook)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 9

April 2013
Total books read: 11
Total rereads: 0 (yes!)
Total acquisitions: 61 (9 ebooks)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 14

May 2013
Total books read: 9
Total rereads: 2
Total acquisitions: 19 (1 ebook)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 13

June 2013
Total books read: 13
Total rereads: 1
Total acquisitions: 30
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 10

July 2013
Total books read: 15
Total rereads: 1
Total acquisitions: 6
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 16

August 2013
Total books read: 11 (as of August 30, 2013)
Total rereads: 0 (yes!)
Total acquisitions: 48 (15 ebooks) (as of August 24, 2013)
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 13 (as of August 29, 2013)

September 2013
Total books read: 0
Total rereads: 0
Total acquisitions: 0
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 0

October 2013
Total books read: 0
Total rereads: 0
Total acquisitions: 0
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 0

November 2013
Total books read: 0
Total rereads: 0
Total acquisitions: 0
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 0

December 2013
Total books read: 0
Total rereads: 0
Total acquisitions: 0
Books taken off my TBR pile and sent to new homes: 0

Average time between acquisition and reading: approximately three years (gasp!)
Average number of rereads of acquisitions: 1
TBR books still waiting for new homes: 180

Here is the link to my personal thread as well: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147792

Hi, my total should read 67, not 65. Sorry I don't usually update until the 1st of the month as sometimes I finish books late at night.

I've just finished my first ROOT for August. Just in one day! LichtLand by H. L. McCutchen

Going to update the group tickers.

Just finished The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver

I've got a question. I finished a July book on July 31st but didn't have time to update the July tickers. Is it alright if I add it to the August numbers?

2>> The statue picture was one I came across and thought it was just right for a lazy summer reading.

7>>Which ever way you want, I can change the totals for July, or you can add to it to August.

I just finished my first ROOT for August. It was a new one, but I owned it and it was an ER, and I count them under my rules as ROOTs because they NEED to get read promptly. (I used to get way behind on ER reviews because I was reading older books for the off-the-shelf challenge, so I made that change for my challenge rules so I'd get them done.)

Updating tickers

I finished two ROOTs in July and did update my ticker, but in the list I am still on 6 ROOTs instead of 8.

Just added my first ROOT of August, Red Shift, to the tickers. I'm now at 33 read, 17 to go!

cyderry, I really hate to have to confess this BUT..... I had counted 2 books that I read earlier in the year as ROOTs when I had actually acquired them in 2012. I am very sorry. I have deleted them from my books read listings & updated both my ticker & the group one at the top of this page. Again, I am sorry. I am actually only at 26/48 on the year. Thank you.
belva

So, Belva, you only count books acquired pre-2012? That's pretty strict. I know a lot of folks only count pre-2013s (though I count them all if I own them -- I have a separate category, superROOTS with a special goal, for pre-2013s and ER books).

One more ROOT down!

One Man's Justice by Akira Yoshimura

I updated the first ticker, but it didn't match the second ticker so I left the second ticker alone.

>13 tymfos::
Yes Terri. Back when I began doing this challenge I decided that I would only count the books that had been on my shelf before the previous year. It makes it more of a challenge for me and forces me to get to some of the books that have been on my shelves for eons. Some for more than 40 years. I'm telling you they really need to be read.
I like the idea of a SuperROOT challenge for your ARC/ERs as those are sometimes difficult for me to work in.

Just read my #29 th ROOT- see my thread for review

#34 for me, The Pilgrim Hawk, and tickers are updated.

#64 for me:

The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott. Updating tickers.

It's been a few weeks since I read a book of my own but I'm happy to say that I finally added another ROOT to our ticker.

Since I've reached my goal for the year, every additional one I read is gravy for us and for me!!

I've finished Charm City by Laura Lippman and decided to start Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins while I'm still reading The Stone Carvers which is interesting but not engrossing.

I loved Bring on the Blessings!

Haven't visited since late May so I've updated my thread, my ticker and the tickers above with the 14 ROOT volumes completed from May 1 through the end of July.

I also increased my personal goal from 40 volumes to 50 which probably doesn't do much for the group's percentage but it pleases me!

21>Chelie - I loved it too - so much that I'm going to start #2 later tonight.

Finished Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins and am going to start the next one A Second Helping later tonight....After football.

Finished the second book in the "Blessings" series A Second Helping

24>>So did you like them?

Yes I did - I'll be getting the other 2 to read at some point.

My 47th ROOT plucked up: The Small House at Allington by Trollope.

My 24th ROOT's been plucked, The Confession of Katherine Howard. Tickers done too.

My 48th ROOT dug up: Hexed by Kevin Hearne. Updating all tickers

30 I dug out A cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow -- Root #2 for the month, #38 for the year. Updating tickers.

I have two uprooted for august so far..

1. Deeper than Dead by Tami Haog
2. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye

Unfortunately Deeper than Dead will definitely be leading to some new book line jumpers... Can't wait for the library to tell me the next one in the series is in. The Library- an dangerous place to visit.

Another one down - The Promise of Lumby by Gail Fraser

And my second book for august: Villa Magdalena by Santa Montefiore
Updating all tickers (there not in sync again)

With this book I met my challenge! Yeahh

My 49th ROOT : Gateway} - Frederick Pohl
My 50th ROOT: The White Rhino Hotel - Bartle Bull

Both were great! And amazingly similar in structure.

updating tickers

I love the Lumby books.

#34
I loved the Bartle Bull books. Now that you have read the first in the Anton Ryder series you will have to read the other two. They are equal to the first in thrills and adventure.

I have nearly completed my first :-( ROOT of the month, The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey. Am loving it. It is about three grown daughters returning to visit their homeland & family on the Island of Dominica. So beautifully written.
I am also re-reading George Eliot's The Lifted Veil. I am quite taken with this little book even though I am aware that it is no favorite here on L.T.

Another one managed! I just finished Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear, bringing my ROOT total to 17 for the year so far. That's ALMOST half way to my goal, but the year is nearly 2/3 over... My own ticker is updated.

Love the Maisie Dobbs books Linda! Need to get back to the series one day soon.
I completed my 27th & 28th ROOTs of the year and have begun my 29th, High Rising by Angela Thirkell. Will update tickers at the month's end.

Ooh, I really enjoyed High Rising, Belva.

I am really enjoying it Linda. I love Thirkell's humor & am frequently catching myself laughing right out loud.

Two older Ann Cleeves books read: A Lesson in Dying and Murder in My Backyard. Updating tickers.

My 51st ROOT: Reliquary by Preston/Child 2nd in the Pendergast series.

Updating all tickers.

I am currently reading my first ROOT for August (I was distracted by two Early Reviewer books that arrived).

My 52nd ROOT : What Angels Fear - C.S. Harris. I hadn't realized it at first, but I've read this long ago, before I was on LT,apparently, since it isn't listed as an old read in my data.

Updating tickers.

Finished On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle and think I'll start Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch

Another root -- Haunted Lakes by Frederick Stonehouse, a book of spooky folklore from the Great Lakes region. Updating tickers.

Have completed my 29th ROOT on the year, High Rising, and have also read my 30th & 31st: The Yellow Wallpaper & The Clothes on Their Backs. I am now reading a non-ROOT, but am just about finished & so should begin my 32nd ROOT tonight. I will return to edit for that title when I decide which it shall be.

And will update the tickers at month's end accordingly.

Finally got another ROOT done, Jane Eyre which has been on my shelves forever.

All tickers updated.

I'm at the halfway stage with Shy Leopardess. Tickers updated.

#60 done - I really need to get moving if I'm going to get to my goal.

Have finished my 9th ROOT !
Will update tickers

Finished Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch

I finished Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban yesterday. I did have to buy a copy recently, since I must have inadvertently given my old one away in one of my purges, but as I did have it on my shelf for years, I'm counting it as a ROOT. And happy I am to have finally read it.

What's it about? Middle-aged despair and loneliness, a crazy project to free some sea turtles from the London Zoo that seizes the imaginations of the two diarists, and the changes the project brings to their lives. Brilliant.
All tickers updated.

Have finished The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart and am going to start Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson, my first Josephine Tey novel.

#36 A Month in the Country, another of the NYRB books. I took a little while to warm to this but soon did; there is something about characters with a tone of stiff-upper-lip that I often find off-putting, but this narrator won me over soon. In addition, I loved the descriptions of the mural the narrator is restoring, and his analysis of the painter's process.

All tickers updated.

Finished 53. Yendi and 54. House of Silk. Updating all tickers.

Finished my first extra ROOT Brandbaar by Jane Casey
Updated all tickers.

Good for you - keep reading those Roots!

Finished #20, ten more to go!

#37 Hotel du Lac I have read a couple of books by Anita Brookner that I really enjoyed, and I guess because of the Booker for this one, I had assumed that this one would be her masterpiece. I did enjoy it very much, and found myself going slowly to savour it, especially near the end, yet ultimately I wonder if I will consider this one to be her strongest when I have read more.

All tickers updated.

No. 19 is on my ticker, and No. 20 will be added today or tomorrow. I've read The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym, and am plunging into Who was Changed and Who was Dead by Barbara Comyns. Both brilliant Barbaras are authors I would not have known about if not for this marvelous LT community.

ETA: My ticker is current now.

No. 14 done - Høstgildet og andre fortællinger by Martin A. Hansen - all tickers updated!

I very much doubt that I will have anything to add this month, so here is my report for August:

Trees uprooted: 3
Leaves swept up: 6
Added: 3

Total ROOTS in the year to date: 32

Uprooted this month were:

Helen DeWitt's The Last Samurai (unread since 1 February 2012)

The Oxford History of the Classical (unread since 4 May 2006)

Daniel Chavarria's The Eye of Cybele (unread since 1 February 2012)

No tickers were touched in the compilation of this report.

I finished 3 in August which puts me over the top! 36/35!! Tickers updated.

#65 by shinyone> Yay! Conga Rats!

It was a good reading month for me. I finished five books off my shelves this month. Tickers not updated.

Er, I have a problem here. I want to jump ship. I no longer want to be a ROOTs reader as I want to read new books mostly.

My question is primarily for Cheli, but others can chime in.

Should I just stop reading ROOTs (and leave my few books on the challenge), or should I take my whole ticker away? I don't want to be a drag on this group. Maybe I should just change my parameters...but I really don't like doing that midstream.

What should I do?

I think you should leave your ticker in place. Getting a true evaluation of how well the group does won't happen unless all participants participate. Won't hurt my feelings if the average is lower. I am more interested in if I reach my goal.

> 69

Okay. I'll do that then...unless Cheli thinks I should do something differently. Maybe next year, I'll choose fewer books.

I'm reporting 3 for August. The last one, Riding The Bus With My Sister: A True Life Journey, isn't quite finished yet but I shouldn't have any trouble finishing it by the end of the month. With family in the hospital I'm likely to be tied up and not able to report over the next few days. That brings my total to 20 against a goal of 30.

I finished another, The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan. That's my sixth for the month so far. I'm working on one more ROOT that I may or may not finish this month. Tickers are updated.

I just finished From a Buick 8 by Stephen King tonight (Friday); and I'm still reading One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity by Debbie Macomber. I don't think that I'll be able to finish the Debbie Macomber book by Saturday. So...

In keeping with the group theme, here are my August Totals:

Ancient Oaks Pruned: stands for older books read from my TBR pile: 5
Young Saplings Pruned: stands for newer books read from my TBR pile: 6
Trees Replanted: stands for rereads from my TBR pile: 0 (yes!)
New Seeds Planted: stands for additions to my TBR pile: 48 (gulp!)
Trees Transplanted: stands for books that were donated: 13

I have updated my ticker after having been gone for quite some time. I hope I will help your stats. I have read 22 of my own tomes out of 75 but I'm not sure I could break them down into months they were read in. I just looked over my books read list, and added up the ones I owned. I will be reading mostly from my own shelves from now on, as soon as I finish the 2 books I am reading right now.

Five ROOTs read for the month of August. Both the group & my tickers have been updated.

I don't think I will read anything else this month, so in August I read 14 ROOTS. I have updated my personal ticker. I realize that my goal is over ambitious, but I won't lower it. This is what happens when I set any kind of goal in January:)

Happy dance! I completed my 26th ROOT and accomplished my goal. I'll carry on cause my alphabetical order idea got waylayed by adding other ROOTS so I'll continue on with T for William Trevor.

I updated the tickers but I noticed the % ticker is off a bit - I'm sure Cyderry will fix those up when she gets the August totals :0)

I've updated my ticker - not touched the main ones - and have got to a total of 58 ROOTS so far and I doubt I'll finish another one this month. I'm still off target but am slowly making up for the lost reading time at the beginning of the year, I was 17% off target in May and am now just 8% off target and should get there by the end of the year.

My personal ticker is up to date: 45/50.

I read two ROOTs this month for a grand total of 16 out of 20. I updated my ticker but have not touched the group tickers.

OK, finished that one last ROOT, though I haven't gotten it on my thread yet. I shall update the tickers now, though!

Three ROOTS this month, for a YTD total of 15. Haven't touched the tickers.

Madeline,
Stick with us. You never know when you may want to read something from your shelves.
Just don't forget us.

> 83

I won't forget you, Cheli. Promise. It's just that I'm so far behind. I'll get in a few more ROOTs by year's end, but I'll be nowhere near my goal. There are just so many newer books I really, really want to read now. It's just that I hate to disappoint this group.

84>> you will not disappoint us. We are all here to help each other to read the books that we want to read whether they be new books, library books or books that are gathering dust on our shelves. Reading is supposed to be a pleasure not a duty. Just be sure to enjoy what you read!

Just be sure to enjoy what you read!

I will!

SEPTEMBER THREAD IS UP!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/158447

Again no ROOT for me. I am working on a really big tome right now, Far Pavillons, and since it's going to be a bit more thrilling now, I'll finish it soon.
I have done my reading time with library books and learning this last weeks. Unfortunately, I intend to read Under the Dome very fast now, before the mini series starts these days on TV here in Germany. But I have a train ride today and tomorrow and that'll help making fast progress.
But definitely the September will bring at least one new ROOT for me!

Finished my 56th ROOT: The Difference Engine. Cyberpunk.

Updating tickers.

I read 5 ROOTs for August, bringing my total to 18 (of 30)!

Oh, plz update the group ticker for me, thank you!!!

My ticker is updated!

Ok, not too bad after all. I finished 5 ROOTS in August, and all tickers are updated. I had thought I was going so slow. All the books I read were kind of short, but all quite satisfying.

I read another ROOT before September first...for a total of four in August, and 21 so far this year!

Sorry to be late in posting. I don't do tickers, but here are my stats at end of August:

edgewood 26 / 50 52%

My end of August stats is one more (I did update my ticker...):

FAMeulstee 9 / 12 75%

AND I finished my next ROOT: Glijvlucht by Anne-Gine Goemans, sadly not translated yet, as it is a very good read, 4 1/2 stars!

So my total is now 10 down, 2 to go ;-)

OK have read another couple of ROOTs, will update my ticker - bad thing is due to winning a couple of comps and visiting Edinburgh book fest I have managed to bring over 20 new books into the house in August - oops

OK concerted effort 4 months to go inc this one - 45 books to read to reach my total :-s well it's not impossible, but it is unlikely :-(

I got through 3 books and have updated my ticker. I'm at 60% for the year but I started late :-)

I just updated the tickers here and in my thread for the August ROOTs I sent to the basement.