QuestingA ROOT challenge 2019

Books added to the TBR pile: 72
+ Books borrowed from the library: 3
+ Books from sister: 13
+ other borrowed books: 2
Total new books: 90
Total books read in 2019: 65
(last updated 31 December 2019)

42 on the new book pile.

Good luck with your challenge!

Hi Jackie_K, thanks and you too.

I can't figure out how to get the updated tracker to display/write over the initial display. In the meantime...

1. The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
2. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Welcome back and have a great reading year! Off to a good start already :)

>4 QuestingA: The update is showing fine for me. I think tickerfactory.com is just a bit laggy when it comes to updating. Personally, once I get back to my thread after updating the figures then I refresh the page and it updates then (I use Firefox for my browser, and that always works for me).

Refreshing does the trick, QA. Using Firefox just like Jackie does.

Welcome to the ROOTers and Happy Reading.

Hi Jackie_K and connie 53, thanks for your help and encouragement. I'll perservere.

3. The Librarian by Salley Vickers

I bought this last year for January book club. It was a nice read.

4. Paul Temple and the Kelby Affair by Francis Durbridge

I discovered Paul Temple about two years ago and have since seen some of the tv movies. This book was short. A good mystery.

5. Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard

Although very short and good to read, I started this last year and have only just finished it.

6. Stasi Child by David Young

I got this at a literary festival in 2016. It was good.

7. Continental Crimes edited by Martin Edwards

All of these short stories were good, although some contained disturbing attitudes from the time.

8. Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate

Another crime classic. Enjoyable. I bought this in 2017.

9. Why we can't Afford the Rich by Andrew Sayer

I think I got this in 2016 when i went to hear the author speak. It was very readable.

10. Family Matters by Anthony Rolls

Another British Library crime classic, bought in 2017.

11. The Dead Shall be Raised & Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs

Another crime classic, this one bought in 2016.

>16 QuestingA:. You are doing great with your ROOTing, QA

Thanks Connie53. The secret is that I'm reading short fictions. Trying to get through some of the stash of crime novels I've allowed to build up. Things may slow down later in the year ☺

12. The Order of Archivists: The Hundreth by Ricardo Sodre Andrade

This was an interesting, slightly brilliant book. Difficult to read because of the computer generated translation. The hero goes on an adventure that fulfills a prophesy, saves the world and teaches him practical information science theory.

13. Fire in the Thatch: A Devon Mystery by E.C.R. Lorac

This classic crime novel came into the flat last year. A good, and quick, read.

14. Unspeakable Things: Sex Lies and Revolution by Laurie Penny

I must have picked this up in 2014, at a conference.

15. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

This has been on the TBR pole since last year via my sister's book group. It was fun and interesting. And short.

>21 QuestingA: Call me shallow, but 'short' is always a plus - great for the ROOT numbers!

Hi Jackie_K, yep, short often looks good to me! As do books with large print, pictures, and/or lots of footnotes. 😊

16. John Polidori The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre ed by Robert Morrison and Chris Baldick

I've owned this book for several years. These tales were great. I enjoyed reading them.

17. Fog a Dox by Bruce Pascoe

Another short book. I got this in 2013.

18. The Murder of my Aunt by Richard Hull

Another crime novel, quite fun and quick to read. I bought this last year.

19. Foreign Bodies edited by Martin Edwards

This has been on the pile since 2017.

20. Bats in the Belfry: A London Mystery by E.C.R.Lorac

This has been on the pile since last year. Enjoyable.

You are past the halfway point. Excellent job.

Hi connie53. I know!! And am amazed at myself. Thanks!

21. Miraculous Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards

This has been waiting to be read since 2017. Enjoyable.

22. The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories edited by Martin Edwards

This has also been on the pile since 2017.

>31 QuestingA: Ooh, I have that one too! Hope it was a good collection.

Hi rabbitprincess, I found it a good collection and am pleased I read it. Hope you enjoy it.

23. Verdict of Twelve by Raymond Postgate

Another BL crime classic that's been in the flat since 2017.

24. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill

We can't remember how this book came into the flat. One of those mysteries. It's been here a couple of years. Chatty in style.

25. Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville

Purchased in 2018.

26. The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson

I bought this last year. It was very good, especially as a bit of social history. Originally published in 1932 it includes characters who are extremely worried about the reckless activities of bankers and equally worried about politicians who are educated, and work, in a bubble cut off from the real world and human people around them.

>36 QuestingA: I also liked that it was written by one of the first female MPs in the UK! The Parliamentary bits were very well done.

>37 rabbitprincess: rabbitprincess: I agree, the parliamentary bits were very authentic.

27. The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons

This was a good mystery well written.

Of Dogs and Walls by Yuko Tsushima
The Custard Heart by Dorothy Parker
Christmas Entertainments 1740

You are doing great, QA.

Thanks Connie53! Love your thread btw.

28. The Writing in the Stone by Irving Finkel

Think this has been on the pile less than a year.

>42 QuestingA: Thanks for that.

29. Misogynation: The True Scale of Sexism by Laura Bates

I bought this last year.

30. The Information Officer by Mark Mills

This was on the shelf for a couple of years. Now it's started a new life, donated to a library in Mongolia. Enjoyable, although a map would have helped.

31. The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin

I don't know how long this has been in the flat. Not long. Now it's gone. An enjoyable mystery and an interesting book to read.

32. The Railway Detective by Edward Marston

I bought this second hand last year. The characters lacked originality. Elements of the plot were interesting, but mosrly this too followed predictable lines. I had hoped for better, particularly as i picked up a couple of them at the stall and will probably read them too. I hope the series improves.

33. Peril on the Royal Train by Edward Marston

>46 QuestingA: >47 QuestingA: You are having a 'train' period, QA!

Hi Connie. It was mostly accident! Reading 'train' books in succession certainly helped with my understanding of the terminology.

34. Cromwell to Cromwell: Reformation to Civil War by John Schofield

I have no memory of how or when this came into the flat. Some time after 2012. It was very interesting but took a long time to read because of the small print. My enjoyment was augmented by corrections to the text added by a previous owner. Mostly they were incorrect corrections to spelling and grammar or to the author's use of particular phrases (for example, 'passed away' would be crossed out and 'died' written above).

>49 QuestingA: Oh my word, I love an armchair editor! (especially if they're snarky!)

Hi Jackie_K. They do normally come with an air of superiority 😊 Have to admit I've corrected the occasional typo in my time.

35. A Mourning Wedding by Carola Dunn

I grab Daisy Dalrymple mysteries second hand whenever I can, so there's no exact way of knowing how long I've owned this one. Probably only a couple of years. I found it better than most. The sheer number of suspects made it more difficult to pick the murderer.

With this, I've achieved my goal. Amazing! The trick has been to read short fiction. So far this year I've mostly read crime novels, which tend to be both short and easy to read.

I've adjusted the challenge, to 40 books from the TBR pile read before the end of the year.

36. The First Global Village: How Portugal Changed the World by Martin Page

I got this in Lisbon in 2011. Packed with information and easy to read. I'm sorry i took so long to read it.

I was thinking I could congratulate you, but you changed your total! Nice!

Hi Connie 😁 its important to have goals.

37. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

This seemed to be two stories, and I'm not sure why the author put them together. I really enjoyed the parts concerning the Dutch East India Company's factory.

I don't know how long this has been on the TBR pile. Maybe only a year.

38. The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley

This was fun. It's been on the TBR pile since 2016.

39. White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World by Geoff Dyer

I've owned this since 2016, when I saw the author speak on a panel about "writing places". At least I think that's what the panel was about. Sort of a travelogue/essays on existence.

>58 QuestingA: That sounds interesting - I've added it to my wishlist, as I love a good essay collection.

>59 Jackie_K: Jackie_K: hi Jackie_K, not sure I'd recommend it exactly, although collections of essays aren't really my thing so you may get more out of it than I did. The first two chapters made the rest worthwhile.

40. Scarweather by Anthony Rolls

This has been on the shelf since last year. Engaging, but the ending was unsatisfactory and the author, I felt, was a Iittle unpleasant in his dealings with some of the characters. It was also peppered with amusingly outrageous statements, revealing what a snob the narrator was. For example: "It has always been my belief, that only intelligent people know how to enjoy themselves."

As this brings me up to the altered target, I've changed it again, to 45. I won't bother changing it again.

41. The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons

Another crime classic that came into the flat last year. This was a good read.

42. The Arsenal Stadium Mystery by Leonard Gribble

Another crime classic that came into the flat last year. Pretty good.

>56 QuestingA: I've read a lot of books by David Mitchell and loved them. They all seem to be connected somehow. Persons from one book appear in other books too, playing smaller parts. Very interesting to read them within a short period of time and recognizing them.

43. Another Woman's Shoes by Francis Durbridge

I've owned this for more than two years. A very enjoyable mystery.

Only two more to go, you can do it!

Thanks Connie! I'm sure there's a quick read somewhere on the pile that'll do the trick. Just one more to go.

44. The Christmas Card Crime: And Other Stories edited by Martin Edwards

This has been on the TBR pile since last Xmas. All good stories.