MAY ROOT - Progress Thread

One Third of our 2014 ROOT Challenge has us falling a little bit farther behind, bu it's still doable. We can catch up.
I have placed a ★ for anyone who reached 4/12th of their goal. If anyone is 5/12 of their goal they got ★★, and two months ahead got ★★★ . This just signifies that you are on target to reach your personal goal if you keep up the same pace. Those without a ★ need to pickup the pace if they want to reach their goals.
Let's see the new Tickers sparkle with enormous proportions so that we dig deep and weed out those UNREAD BOOKS!




These tickers show the progress toward the group goal.
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I would like to ask for your assistance keeping the totals in 2014.
Anyone with the ° symbol next to their name still need to add their tickers to the thread or need to remember to put their total at the end of the month in the progress thread.
Please post your personal tickers in the ticker thread or post your monthly progress here at the end of the month so that I can gather the numbers in one thread as much as possible.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are the totals for April. If anybody's number needs adjustment, please let me know.
If your name is not on the list, I couldn't find your ticker or personal thread.
So, now, Ladies and Gentlemen, BOOK LOVERS, BIBLIOPHILES, BOOK HOARDERS - get out there and read those BOOKS!

Our goal for May is 2,175.
Two members - Squeakychu and daughterofheaven have already reached their goals!


OUR LEADER THIS MONTH STRIVING TO REACH THEIR GOAL IS --- JEN.E.MOORE AT 88%
But we have several other readers who are nipping at her heels.

tess_i_am48 83%
johanna414 80%
christina_reads 76.2%
Caramellunacy 76%

Players
amberfly 28 / 50 ★★★ 56.0%
Ameise1 7 / 10 ★★★★ 70.0%
amobogio 9 / 50 18.0%
ananislaw 26 / 50 ★★★ 52.0%
Anoplophora 3 / 35 8.6%
ArmyAngel1986° 0 / 50 0.0%
arrianarose 10 / 25 ★ 40.0%
Ashuri 0 / 75 0.0%
AuntieClio 24 / 50 ★★ 48.0%
auntmarge64 12 / 30 ★ 40.0%
avanders 13 / 24 ★★★ 54.2%
Avery_dItkarya 3 / 20 15.0%
Barefoot 0 / 12 0.0%
bayleaf 3 / 12 25.0%
becbart 0 / 10 0.0%
benitastrnad° 17 / 30 ★★★ 56.7%
billiejean° 0 / 15 0.0%
bohemima 17 / 36 ★★ 47.2%
bookishmaters 2 / 75 2.7%
bragan 36 / 100 ★ 36.0%
brewergirl 10 / 35 28.6%
BurntUmberDust 0 / 25 0.0%
Caramellunacy 38 / 50 ★★★★★ 76.0%
christina_reads 16 / 21 ★★★★★ 76.2%
Claire.Powers 65 / 150 ★★ 43.3%
clue 16 / 30 ★★★ 53.3%
Conachair 15 / 50 30.0%
connie53 9 / 24 ★ 37.5%
craso 3 / 8 ★ 37.5%
crazy4reading 16 / 35 ★★ 45.7%
cyderry 32 / 84 ★ 38.1%
damarisT 2 / 14 14.3%
daughterofheaven★ 13 / 13 ★★★★★ 100.0%
deep220 16 / 50 32.0%
detailmuse 14 / 30 ★★ 46.7%
dudes22 27 / 60 ★★ 45.0%
edgewood 10 / 50 20.0%
eesti23 3 / 25 12.0%
elcee 1 / 8 12.5%
EllsieFind 0 / 14 0.0%
emperatrix 3 / 30 10.0%
EricPatterson 1 / 25 4.0%
Familyhistorian 17 / 35 ★★ 48.6%
fuzzi 12 / 40 30.0%
HelenBaker 14 / 35 ★ 40.0%
hemlokgang 10 / 25 ★ 40.0%
Henrik_Madsen 15 / 50 30.0%
h-mb 0 / 12 0.0%
Infoquest 31 / 75 ★★ 41.3%
inge_87 9 / 36 25.0%
ipsoivan 12 / 30 ★ 40.0%
JackieKirkham 7 / 18 ★ 38.9%
JacobsBeloved 3 / 20 15.0%
janflora 5 / 50 10.0%
jen.e.moore 44 / 50 ★★★★★ 88.0%
jennyifer24 5 / 12 ★★ 41.7%
jessibud2 7 / 20 ★ 35.0%
johanna414 16 / 20 ★★★★★ 80.0%
jonesli 23 / 75 30.7%
JustBreathe13° 0 / 12 0.0%
kac522 7 / 30 23.3%
karen_o 22 / 45 ★★ 48.9%
karspeak 12 / 20 ★★★★ 60.0%
Kaydeanne 12 / 50 24.0%
kaylaraeintheway 2 / 15 13.3%
kittym° 3 / 12 25.0%
kkunker 12 / 36 ★ 33.3%
Kwidhalm° 1 / 25 4.0%
LadyBookworth 11 / 25 ★★ 44.0%
lahochstetler 6 / 50 12.0%
laura_88 5 / 20 25.0%
laurabrook 14 / 50 28.0%
lauranav 16 / 30 ★★★ 53.3%
laytonwoman3rd 16 / 35 ★★ 45.7%
leslie.98 26 / 35 ★★★★★ 74.3%
lilywren 4 / 25 16.0%
lindapanzo 11 / 36 30.6%
LissaJ 1 / 75 1.3%
Little Taiko 20 / 50 ★ 40.0%
lizamichelle° 22 / 100 22.0%
lkernagh 11 / 25 ★★ 44.0%
lmw44039° 0 / 10 0.0%
LongDogMom° 4 / 35 11.4%
LorLe 4 / 50 8.0%
lulaa 4 / 50 8.0%
Maaike15274 40 / 56 ★★★★ 71.4%
mabith 10 / 24 ★★ 41.7%
majkia 39 / 60 ★★★★ 65.0%
mandymarie20° 12 / 100 12.0%
melonbrawl 9 / 50 18.0%
Merryann 58 / 84 ★★★★ 69.0%
mgnm 0 / 12 0.0%
Michael.Rimmer 5 / 12 ★★ 41.7%
MissBrangwen 1 / 113 0.9%
MissWatson 14 / 36 ★ 38.9%
moonshineandrosefire 50 / 120 ★★ 41.7%
Nickelini° 14 / 50 28.0%
Pigletto 33 / 60 ★★★ 55.0%
PolymathicMonkey 22 / 50 ★★ 44.0%
punky° 3 / 50 6.0%
Quaisior° 5 / 50 10.0%
rabbitprincess 23 / 50 ★★ 46.0%
raidergirl3 5 / 25 20.0%
rainpebble 36 / 50 ★★★★ 72.0%
ramblingivy° 2 / 8 25.0%
ReneeLaVonne° 0 / 70 0.0%
riverwillow 8 / 24 ★ 33.3%
RobertGreaves° 25 / 75 ★ 33.3%
rubyandthetwins 27 / 48 ★★★ 56.3%
sarahbradshaw 9 / 30 30.0%
scenik1 19 / 45 ★★ 42.2%
Seljordroos° 0 / 40 0.0%
shearon° 5 / 25 20.0%
shinyone 10 / 25 ★ 40.0%
Shutzie 11 / 50 22.0%
skyrad43 12 / 20 ★★★★ 60.0%
SqueakyChu★ 6 / 6 ★★★★★ 100.0%
streamsong 19 / 50 ★ 38.0%
SuziQoregon 7 / 18 ★ 38.9%
Tallulah_Rose 6 / 20 30.0%
tanager 0 / 25 0.0%
Tanya-dogearedcopy 8 / 50 16.0%
tess_i_am48 13 / 16 ★★★★★ 81.3%
Threeatlast 1 / 25 4.0%
tloeffler 20 / 50 ★ 40.0%
torontoc° 6 / 30 20.0%
tottman 1 / 25 4.0%
twiga92 0 / 50 0.0%
tymos 16 / 48 ★ 33.3%
vestafan° 16 / 50 32.0%
VivienneR 34 / 50 ★★★★ 68.0%
westham89° 6 / 26 23.1%
zephyr4 0 / 30 0.0%

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILE I WORKED AT HEALING MY BODY. NOW LET'S ALL READ!

No, thank YOU for all you do here, Cheli!

Glad you're feeling better!

Thanks Chèli for setting up the May thread and keeping track with each of us.
Get well soom.

It's a beautiful thread as always Cheli! Thank you so much! I hope you didn't wear yourself out - getting over surgery is not fun.

And.... I've finished my first ROOT for May -that pesky one that I didn't quite get finished in April, The New Testament and the People of God.

Tickers updated.

Hello Cheli - thanks for everything that you do for the group! :) I have to tell you though that by the end of April, I had actually read a total of 7 ROOTS! So, I guess that means that I've read a total of 27 ROOTS in 2014 - at least by the end of April. Sorry for any confusion, cyderry! :(

I just finished my first ROOT of May on Thursday evening, May 1st - A Comedy of Erinn by Celia Bonaduce - so I'm going to go update only my personal tickers. :) By the way, here is the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163513. Thanks so much! :)

My ROOT Total is just perfect, Cheli! :) Thanks - and I hope that you recover soon!

My total is correct too.

Glad you are back, Chèli! How is recovering going?

Edit: Never mind (I read it in the april thread!). I'm glad you are doing alright!

Glad you're feeling better, Cheli. Hope each day finds you better and better. I've finished my first for this month - The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly.

Delighted to hear you are feeling better. Keep that going!

Thanks for keeping us all in order. I am glad to hear that you are doing better.

5> Ruby, I think I have you fixed.

Update for everyone

I had the surgery on my knee 12 days ago and there is very little pain, only twinges if I turn it the wrong way. It is bit weak but the therapist and doctor agree that I can rehab it at home with exercises that they have given me.

Yesterday morning I had 27 steroid shots in my back to hopefully relieve the aggravation and pain there due to Spinal stenosis and Degenerative Disc disease (in other words, my back has been collapsing inward and downward for the last 37 yrs and now it's pretty bad) Usually the shots are effective for several months so I'm taking it easy for the next few weeks while they work their magic so that when my hubbie and I head to Napa Valley for our 40th anniversary trip at the end of the month, I could actually be a really physically functional human being.

Just a warning, our trip May 22nd - June 3 so I may be late again with the June thread. Just depends on whether I have spa time those last few days or just pool time.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes.

Good to hear you're doing well and enjoy your trip! I'll be off for a trip myself in ten days, so there will be a small hiatus in my reading.

I finished my first ROOT for May yesterday, my ticker is updated.

Thanks so much, cyderry, and I'm so glad you're feeling better. Happy early anniversary, by the way. :)

Have a great time on your trip. 40 years together is a wonderful achievement.

I finished my first ROOT for May. Dead Wood by Dani Amore is a Kindle cheapie that I didn't expect much from, but I actually enjoyed it. It had some of the usual weaknesses found in many mysteries. The PI protagonist took foolish risks for no good reason, but it was almost believable due to some sibling rivalry with the police chief. The protagonist was likeable. Not all the threads hung together in a totally convincing way, but I liked the humor in the story.

Thanks cheli for the new thread and I hope your back and knee will be functional again for your trip end of May!

I am glad your surgery went well, and you are feeling better, Chèli. Thank you for all you do, and I hope you enjoy a lovely vacation at the end of this month! :)

Glad to hear your surgery went well. Your trip sounds amazing - congratulations to you and your hubbie on your 40th Anniversary - and it sounds as if your back and knee should both be in working order by the time you go.

Having not finished a ROOT during April I've just finished my first for May and, as its a bank holiday here in the UK am hoping to get another one read before work starts again on Tuesday. Will update my ticker later.

Congratulations on 40 years and have a wonderful trip!

I actually think that having this thread up by May 4 is very timely. I will lift my cappuccino cup high and say "here's to your new knee. May it be pain free."

In a way I feel a little ashamed of my high totals for this year as most of it is coming from my recorded book list. I am listening to more recorded books because I made and will make many extra trips across country by car during this last year. On-the-other-hand, a book read is a book read no matter the circumstances.

Good to hear your surgery went well. I hope the shots will help in time for your trip!

Finished ROOT# 1 for may. ROOT # 10 in total. Going to update the group tickers!

Finished my 40th ROOT, from 2012, Behold, Here's Poison.

updating all tickers.

40? WOW!

Just finished my first ROOT of May and my 16th of the year: Toni Morrison: Salomons sang which I loved. Various tickers updated.

Congrats to all the 70- and 80- percenters! Thanks for keeping us closer to on track! ;)
And 31.7%? We're really close to on point!

And Thank you Chèli again for all your work!! Love the pic you've selected for May :)

I'm glad to hear you're doing better (>12 cyderry:), and I hope the steroid shots do their work well!
Congrats on 40 years!! Your trip sounds like the perfect way to celebrate :)

And re me: finished my first May ROOT last night, so that puts me up to 14 of 24 total! Woo hoo!

Thank you so much Chèli for all your hard work even in the midst of knee surgery! I hope your recovery continues to go well and your trip is both relaxing and rejuvenating.

I didn't realize just how far ahead of myself I really was - I'm gonna finish my goal this month! \o/

Finished my first ROOT for May, Slashback by Rob Thurman. I updated all tickers.

Just joining the chorus of voices saying that I'm glad the surgery went well and hope things continue to improve for you!

I'm having surgery myself, towards the end of the month, and I'm hoping to get a lot of ROOTs read during the recovery period, since I'll be off work for six weeks and basically forbidden from doing, well, pretty much anything else.

Hello there everyone! ;) I finished my first ROOT for May on Saturday, May 3rd! :) Now, I'm off to update my personal tickers. Here's the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163437

>21 benitastrnad:, I don't think you should feel anything but good about the recorded books. As you say, they are books, like any other, and actually, it can take more time to listen to an audio than to read the print off the page, sometimes. So it's not like you're doing less reading by listening to a recorded book.

Plus, you're strengthening listening neuron thingies in your brain. What's not to love about that? :)

>31 Merryann: Agreed! Those are all very good points.

I stayed up LATE to finish a good ROOT, Foolish Undertaking. I'm just keeping my own ticker updated these days. Otherwise I get mixed up about what I added to the group one.

>27 jen.e.moore: Jen - i love that: \o/
:D

And also, congratulations!!

I finished ROOT 8 of 10 and have updated only my personal ticker.

Finished my 41st ROOT for the year: Flashman. A satire of the Raj.

Updating all tickers.

I am going to volunteer at the Scholastic Book Warehouse sale tomorrow and Saturday. Everyone please cross your fingers that they have just enough books that I must buy when done volunteering...none would be sad (and would probably mean I'm dead) and all would be impossible.

I am going to write ROOT down on a slip of paper and keep it in my pocket to remind me to buy no more than I can afford, read, and house.

I hope you all have as fun of a weekend as I plan to have! :)

LT really needs a like button. Have fun, Merryann.

>36 Merryann: - I'm so jealous. No library sales this weekend around here. Hope you get some good reads.

Oh - I actually came here to say I finished Dog On It by Spencer Quinn.

The big AAUW book sale in State College is this weekend . . . instead of asking my husband to take me there as a Mothers' Day present, I asked for a new cat tree. Very good for keeping the ROOTs in check, but a definite priority shift.

>40 tymfos: Me too Terri!

There is a library sale tomorrow that I will not be going to for the first time ever. Too much to do this weekend, errands, chores, etc.

I may be missing some books at the sale, but I am happy that I am not adding to my ROOTS.

Happy Hunting Merryann! Looking forward to see your (short) list ;-))

>36 Merryann: Ooh, fun! fingers crossed :)
>37 Robertgreaves: agreed!

We have not only the monthly library book sale this weekend, but also the semiannual library clearance sale, where you pay $5 per bag - all you can fit.... :-o

That sound even more exciting, Ava! How big is the bag?

Oh dear, all this talk of book sales. I just looked at my list of acquisitions this year, and I'm afraid that, although it may be small compared to many, I have slipped back into buying despite my resolution to go easy this year. But I found 2 books at a local charity shop today that were too good to pass up, In the Kitchen and Suite Francaise (and 2 copper pans!!), and I bought Clive James's translation of The Divine Comedy earlier in the week. Happy but guilty.

Enjoy your sales, everyone!

Finished ROOT # 11 yesterday evevning.

De vertrouweling by Kate Morton -

Updating all group tickers!

Chèlie - sorry it has taken me so long to notice, but you have me down as 13/35 done, but it should be 26/35 (I think you must have overlooked my audiobook ticker - I have completed 13/25 paper books and 13/10 audiobooks).

Hello everyone, I finished my second ROOT for May on Wednesday, May 7th - Custody by Nancy Thayer. I hope to finish my third ROOT this evening - a reread from four years ago for me. :) Here's the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163437. Off to double check if my personal tickers have been updated! :)

I've added two more ROOTS: The Damascened Blade and Mystery Mile. Updating all tickers.

>44 connie53: it's a grocery size bag! They fit in over 30 books in there!! (see my last post on my thread, I took a pic of the books I got in the sale :))
>45 ipsoivan: I know!!! It's so hard to pass up good books at great prices! I can't believe I'm up to 87?! So yes. My husband was right, maybe I need to re-evaluate my book-buying impulses.. ;)
>46 connie53: Congrats! SO excited to read that darn book!!

As for me, I'm still reading The Casual Vacancy .. it's good, but not quite the quick read that the potter books are, of course ;)

47> leslie.98: my apologies.

I've really got to stop getting distracted, procrastinating and reading everything but my tbr pile. My most recent read should not have taken this long to finish. It's not like I didn't find it interesting. Anyway. Finished and soon onto the next one.

@50 How are you getting on with The Casual Vacancy? It's my RL book club's choice for our next read. I will need to start it next week.

I finished one of my few new acquisitions this year: Me before you. It was touching read but at least for me very predictable. But I liked both of the main characters and could definitely understand how the male protagonist decided, but would have wished he wouldn't have done so. So, only 1 book left that I got new this year :)

But I recently discovered a kind of problem with the 'Your Library over Time' graph on the new home page. I use it to display my TBR and currently reading section and thought, it would remember my highest point (this year something close to 90) and if I took out some book of the collections, would go down this amount, but still display the peak. However, it's not working this way: If I take out a book of one of those collections, the whole graph goes down reducing the number of books at the beginning of the year as well. So that's really 'over Time' for me.... I searched for a place to report this or find a method to change it, but I couldn't locate where to post it. The bug collector thread for the new homepage is more or less dormant. It's not a fully qualified bug, if it's supposed to work like this, so no way for the bug collectors group, and it's no new feature. Can somebody help me out here, point me somewhere where I could post it or has some experience with this graph and particular problem?

>53 Robertgreaves: You know, it's really good and reads well. It's easy to forget it's a JK Rowling because it's NOTHING like the HPs... I had read a review when it first came out that it seemed like she was trying to prove that she could write adult too by throwing in as much non-YA stuff as possible. I wouldn't agree with that, but it does almost feel a bit like she was relieved she could finally talk about all the rougher things in life (ya know, sex, drugs, death). It's in there a lot. ... well, it's actually the whole point, really.

But it's definitely really good. I'm more than halfway done now and do keep picking it up instead of doing other things :) And I Definitely want to know what will happen!! Also, her characters are, unsurprisingly, vivid.

Let me know what you think when you read it!!

>54 Tallulah_Rose: Yup, I have the same frustration with the graph. I've thought about posting it on one of the threads about the mechanics of LT - Bug Collectors, perhaps? - although that doesn't seem quite the right place.

Finished Norman Mailer: The Fight - ROOT number 17 for the year.

Yesterday I finished Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor.

This morning, I see all the tickers I have on my threads have vanished from view, with just that little blocked/missing graphic icon showing in their place. None of them show for me on the ticker thread, either, nor the group tickers here.

Sorry, I can't keep up tickers if I can't see them.

I did finish another ROOT, Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. It's my third of the month.

#59 probably a serverissue by tickerfactory. Updating was extrenely slow last night and now they seem not to function at all. Hopefully it will be sorted out.

Mine aren't around either. Wonder what's wrong?

Oops! Posted same time as Henrik. Probably something like that!

Oh good, so it's not just my connection. Back to old-fashioned tally marks on a piece of paper until it comes back, I guess...

OK, I'm seeing the tickers again.

> 54 Tallulah_Rose

Yeah, that thing with the graph has annoyed me for a long time. I figured the intended purpose of this feature is to track how your library grows over time so books taken out of it are now shown as such. It is frustrating however, if you want to use it in the way we do to track reading progress.

I am not sure if there is a way to get a change there but it surely would be nice.

RIP Mary Stewart who died last Saturday aged 98. I have very fond memories of her Merlin trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment.

I just finished Alfred Tennyson: Enoch Arden, ROOT no. 18 for the year. Is may the month where I finally get back on pace?

Next up is Eugen Ruge: In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts

>65 Robertgreaves: oh! and I've just discovered her! Someone recommended her and I bought the 1st in the series ... haven't read it yet. looking forward to it!

>56 streamsong: >64 Conachair: Good to know it's not just me. Does anyone has an idea where we could post such a wish? It is not really a bug, but it's not a new Feature. Is more or a less an improvement of a Feature, but I don't know where it might be discussed...

>65 Robertgreaves: Oh, so sad! I wasn't such a fan of the Merlin books but I love her romantic suspense novels, which I have been rereading on and off since my teenage years.

ROOT #14, my second in May, is done with Lament for a Maker, the 3rd Inspector Appleby book. This is not your typical police procedural! Written in the style of Wilkie Collins, it is full of surprises right up to the very end.

And I have knocked off a couple more audiobooks:

Audiobook ROOT #14: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, narrated by Katherine Kellgren. A YA novel which is a cross between Truffault's The Wild Child and Jane Eyre... 3½ stars.

Audiobook ROOT #15: Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, narrated by Davina Porter. Enjoyable social commentary on the lower classes during the late 1600s. Much easier reading than Defoe's better known classic Robinson Crusoe. 4 stars

>69 leslie.98: Oh, isn't Moll Flanders great? My favourite, though, is Roxana-- so dark compared to Moll.

ROOT #13 finished, Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks. Completely blew me away. I did manage to catch my breath to update all tickers, though.

A lot of people seem to be reading Michael Innes. I was a huge fan in my teens and twenties (basically I wanted to be as erudite as Appleby when I grew up). Maybe I should re-visit him and see how he holds up 30 years on.

58> what did you think of it?

I finished The Day of the Scorpion this morning. What a wonderful series. It certainly has held up since I last read it.

Updating all tickers.

Hello there everyone! :) I haven't had a chance to note all the ROOTs that I've read this month. So far, I've read 2 ROOTs this month: A Comedy of Erinn by Celia Bonaduce, which I finished on Thursday, May 1st. The Witch's Salvation by Francesca Pelaccia was my second ROOT, which I finished on Thursday, May 8th! :) I'm hoping to finish two, maybe three more ROOTs by the end of the month! :)

Finished ROOT 15!
Finally read The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling...
I'll post a review on the book page and on my ROOT thread sometime over the next week :)
in 2 words, my opinion on the book: Devastating Masterpiece.

I finished off Huckleberry Finn today--which I began back when I did my undergraduate degree but never finished. Yes, it's an old ROOT.

All tickers updated.

And a second old ROOT from 1991, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. All tickers updated, but the group tickers don't seem to be in sync.

I just finished my 4th ROOT of May, Bloodchild and Other Stories. I've also been reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy gradually and am about 1/3 of the way through.

>70 ipsoivan: said "My favourite, though, is Roxana-- so dark compared to Moll."

That is so good to hear, as Roxana is sitting on my Kindle waiting for me!

I have decided to up my audiobook goal from 10 to 20, seeing as I just finished #16 - The False Prince. An okay YA book (enjoyable light reading but a bit predictable).

I've finished a really old Root - Back Home Again by Melody Carlson

>80 leslie.98: I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I think I must have read it at least 3 times.

Like dudes22, my ROOT for today is really old--Brighten the Corner Where You Are by Fred Chappell. I never come across his name, but he should be better known! My copy was given to me about 25 years ago, and has been quietly sitting on the shelf waiting for some love. And I do love it! What an amazing, funny, weird book this is. Highly recommended.

All tickers updated.

I just finished my fourth ROOT of the month, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. This keeps me on track toward my goal for the year.

>83 ipsoivan: - oh yes! That certainly is older than mine. Mine may actually have been on the shelf longer, but I only started tracking my unreads in 2009 and that's when I put it in my"to read" list.

Finished another ROOT

De verloren dochter by Lucretia Grindle

Going to update the group tickers. That's a total of 12 ROOTs read this year!

Hello there everyone! :) Well, I'm happy to report that as of May 22, 2014, I've read a total of four more ROOTs! ;) That makes a total of 6 ROOTs for the month of May. I hope to finish one or two more ROOTs by the end of the month. Here is the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163437. I'm going to check to see if all my personal tickers are updated! :)

Hi there everybody! Well, I've finished two more ROOTs in May - which makes a total of four ROOTs read this month! ;) I might be able to finish one more ROOT by the end of this month, although I hope to make it two. Here's the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163513. I'm off to update my personal tickers. :)

Boy! I'm up to 4 ROOT s for this month, too. Nicely over half-way to my goal.

I'm thinking about changing my ROOT rules. I have several (too many!) books that have been either ER or other sorts of free offers and I keep putting them off because I want to ROOT. I'm thinking of making ER and other gift books eligible for ROOTing.

I just finished The Islanders, ROOT read 4 toward my goal of 8 for the year. I have updated my ticker and will post a review shortly. Christopher Priest is one of my favorite authors and this is a 5 Star book.

>90 majkia: I'm with you, I need to do exactly the same thing which I think some other ROOTERS are already doing.

>90 majkia: I had to start counting ER books that required reviews as ROOTs for just that reason -- before I counted them, I kept putting them off to do ROOTs, and the reviews weren't getting done.

Only three from me this month; added to all tickers.

I finished Half a King which I got from Net Galley. Very good YA, and Abercrombie's usual complex morality play.

Updating tickers.

I just finished a semi-ROOT-let that I am counting as a full ROOT.

A student came to see me today, and we talked about a wonderful essay she had read in The Guardian, "I Have Killed My Books". Ok, bear with me here. The article is written by a novelist, Linda Grant, who moved to another apartment and succumbed to the idea of purging her library to downsize and because she was seduced by the idea of a fresh start. She is also a Kindle user. But the title of her piece says it all--she is now overcome by remorse.

I googled the article and found out that it is an excerpt from a Kindle single; I bought it on the spot and read it in less than an hour. Ok, it violates the hard-core ROOT ethos, that we try to read what we already have, but like many ROOTers, I want to read my new books before they become ROOTs as well. So it is a semi-ROOT. It is also really short, hence the -let.

To balance this out, I am also reading Burney's Cecilia, all 900+ pages.

I have updated all tickers.

>96 ipsoivan: "I Have Killed my Books" sounded like a great essay so I googled it and had a read. I can really relate to Linda Grant's relationship with her books. When I moved about 5 years ago I did a minor cull but brought most of mine with me - there were lots of comments from the men who moved all the boxes of books.

>97 Familyhistorian: I've also attempted many purges over the years, and have regretted the loss of many old friends after the fact. And like Grant, I've had a lot of people walk into the house to exclaim, "Wow! Have you read all these books?" Nope, not by a long shot, to my shame. I'm really good at acquiring, not so good at reading them all. I'm intellectually greedy.

We have lived in a very small house (about 650 sq. ft.) for almost 20 years, and about 15 years ago each shelf was 2 layers deep, with more books stacked on the floor. As a result, I used to haul books down to evaluate periodically and schlep them to Goodwill but, like Grant, I swing between purging and mourning. Having an eReader seems to be the solution, but as Grant points out, at times you just need to read a few pages of an old friend, or you need to touch it My daughter likes to smell our books. What to do? I am continually swinging between poles.

LibraryThing has been invaluable in helping me inventory what I have so I no longer buy duplicates because I'm not exactly sure what lurks in those piles; I've also joined groups like ROOT, which I find help me to purge sensibly--if I read it and don't think I will reread, I purge. Otherwise I hang onto it--until the next purging impulse takes hold.

The actual name of the Linda Grant essay is I Murdered My Library.

Yes, the Guardian essay is "I Have Killed my Books", but the Kindle short is called I Murdered my Library.

Hope this helps anyone who is curious and wants to read it.

Still one book behind!

June 1- read 2 last week! So I am caught up. Have to hunt up the next one!

Back from the hols and I squeezed in one ROOT last night: Kundschafter am St.-Lorenz-Strom. My ticker is updated. The next book is a library one, so I don't think I can add more in May. But who knows?

Sounds fun! I have put I Murdered my Library on my wishlist.. ;)
I've also gotten rid of loads of books during various moves over the years... I've both appreciated the opportunity to go out and re-discover books and also regretted not still having books that I had purchased over the years!
Now that we've bought a house, the library is a little more stable ;)

I believe I am a little behind in reaching my goal for the year, but maybe there will be a late surge. I'm at 29 with my goal at 75.

I don't think I will finish anything else this month, so 6 ROOTS for May. I've updated my ticker.

Finished another ROOT (from 2013), The Merchant's House by Kate Ellis. Updating all tickers.

I finished a 5th ROOT for the month, The Stranger You Seek by Amanda Kyle Williams. Mystery/suspense that got better as it went along. Not for the squeamish.

>100 ipsoivan: Thanks for the info

May was not a good ROOT month for me.

I've finished the Giles Blunt book Forty Words for Sorrow. The. Went to the library to pick up the next one so it won't count here, but I do have a couple of others I'm working on. One I'm hoping to finish before the month ends.

I've finished 1 ROOT for May (I've updated my ticker but not the group ticker). Still vaguely optimistic there might be another one before June. This book was Charles Maclean "Island on the Edge of the World: The Story of St Kilda", which I gave 4/5 stars - absolutely fascinating reading, highly recommended (there's a bit more detail on my thread).

I read 2 ROOTS for May. My ticker is all screwed up, so I will have to re-do it. For now, Cheli, can you please update tickers for me? Thank you!!

Finished one more ROOT. Hoping to squeeze in one more before the end of the month. Off to update tickers.

Finished book 9 of 10 and have updated my personal ticker.

I've just a few pages left in Smekday... I'll have read 16/24 ROOTs by tonight, so I've updated my tickers already and am posting here for Chèli's convenience :)

It was a good month to get things off my shelves. I finished 6 books off my shelves. It helped that I made another long road trip to Kansas, but still those books are read and gone. I did not update any tickers.

Another ROOT for me. A total of 13/24.

Another ROOT for me too - making 2 in May, and a total of 9 overall so I'm half way through a month early! Very pleased with that. ROOT #9 was a volume of poetry, John Hegley's "Love Cuts".

My personal ticker is updated, I left the group ticker well alone though!

Here is my report for May 2014:

UpROOTED books: 6
ROOTless books: 2
Added to the TBR pile: 2

My ROOTS were:

Defenders of Europe: The Byzantine Army 610-1071 AD by Charles R. King
Swan Song by Edmund Crispin
A History of Education in Antiquity by H. I. Marrou
The Expat's Pajamas by R. S. Gompertz
Forty-Two Tales, an anthology of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, and
This Explains Everything: Deep, Beautiful, and Elegant Theories of How the World Works, a collection of articles by various authors edited by John Brockman

ROOTS in YTD: 31

No tickers were harmed in the compilation of this report.

My total for the month is 3 for a total of 19 for the year.

I ROOTed out 4 books this month, for a grand total of 20/21. This means I will almost certainly finish in June. :) But I will continue to keep track of further ROOT reading so that I can help with the overall group goal! I've updated my personal ticker but haven't touched group tickers.

Only 2 ROOTs this month. Diverted by all the shiny new books - sigh...

9 out of 10 of my reads for May were ROOTS, for a total of 47 ROOTS so far this year.

Everyone seems to be doing so well, that I am hanging my head in shame! I have been so busy on my trip that I have barely even turned on my e-reader (that's all I brought with me). June I will have to really settle down to catch up on everyone's progress.

Tim has a tee time tomorrow morning so I'm hoping that I can get of the ROOT numbers done before we head out for one of our last winery days. Keep ROOTing!

I read eight ROOTS this month, bringing my total to 31. I've updated my personal ticker but not touched the group ticker.

>122 cyderry: Hope you're having a great trip!

>122 cyderry: Take your time, Chèli. We will be here, reading!

Managed to finish one more, my third for the month and 15th overall. I'm on track for my yearly goal. Off to update tickers.

Also crammed in yet one more...for 22 for the year to date. Yay! Personal tickers updated.

And I'm done! \o/ Plus a couple, actually. I got really behind on my reading this month generally (this month has been a nightmare) but it's good to know my ROOT goal has been met.

I will definitely keep updating - my new goal is to clear my ROOT bookshelf down so that books aren't stacked on top of one another. I'm guessing that's maybe twenty more? Less if I read some of these big ones. (Yeah, The Shelf is...yeah.)

I managed to finish 5 ROOTs for May and have updated my ticker but not the group ticker. I succumbed to a few buying expeditions towards the end of May so my incoming exceeds my outgoing by quite a bit. I couldn't help it - I went to the library and they were having a used book sale and then there was VancouverDeb's post about Chapters closing in Richmond and I happened to be going there for a seminar so of course I had to check out the books that were 50% off.

I finished one for June. So my total is 13/24 and not 14 like my ticker indicates.

>128 Familyhistorian:. Just think of the acquisitions as investments in next year's ROOT challenge . . .

I just had several incoming books from the Memorial Day Weekend sale at Better World Books. But I'm feeling righteous because my son and I sorted books we've read, and culled a bunch we donated to the library and the University Women's book sale.

Oh, and there were the ones I took to the paperback exchange and got about 25 dollars worth of credit . . . It's a vicious cycle. ;)

Hello everyone! My May was really, really great! - compared to last May I did read two books less, however I still didn't do too badly! :) Anyway, this is the first free moment that I've had to collect my totals, but I did manage to squeeze in one more ROOT yesterday. So, in keeping with the group theme, here are my totals for this month:

Ancient Oaks Pruned: stands for older books read from my TBR pile: 2
Young Saplings Pruned: stands for newer books read from my TBR pile: 5
Trees Replanted: stands for rereads from my TBR pile: 2
New Seeds Planted: stands for additions to my TBR pile: 9
Trees Transplanted: stands for books that were donated: 12

Now, I'm off to update my personal tickers. Here is the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163437. Thanks so much, Cheli! ;)

Hi there, everyone! ;) Sorry for the delay in posting my totals, but it's my birthday today, and this was my first free moment in the past couple of days to post! Anyway, my May wasn't all that great, but I did read two more ROOTs than last May - so I suppose that is certainly nothing to sneeze at! ;) lol! So, in keeping with the group theme, here are my totals for the month of May:

Ancient Oaks Pruned: stands for older books read from my TBR pile: 0
Young Saplings Pruned: stands for newer books read from my TBR pile: 5
Trees Replanted: stands for rereads from my TBR pile: 0 (yes!)
New Seeds Planted: stands for additions to my TBR pile: 11 (not as bad as it could have been, I suppose! :))
Trees Transplanted: stands for books that were donated: 2
Leaves Swept Up: stands for books that were purged: 5

Here is the link to my thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/163513

All of my personal tickers are updated :) Thanks so much, Cheli!

Somehow I ended up with double posts! Wow, that's strange :)

I really planned on using this morning on getting the June ROOT thread going, but alas, my husband gave up golf to spend the last day of vacation with me, so you all will have to wait until Wednesday. See you then!

Enjoy your vacation, Chéli. We'll read anyway.

I have one more ROOT to add to my May total. That means my corrected number is 7 for May. Not 6 as I reported earlier. (back up the thread in #114) I did not update any tickers.

Update: I did finish Smekday, as anticipated... so that put me at 16/24 for May

(I've also read my first June ROOT, so my personal ticker will be a book ahead at 17/24)
:)

Congrats all on your successes!
And of course no worries Chéli -- we appreciate all you do!

If anyone wants to see pictures from my trip, my 75 group thread has them starting at mesage 104
http://www.librarything.com/topic/172284#4703464

I'm working on numbers now!

Love them! Looks like you had a great time :)
Thanks for sharing!

Lovely pictures!

The June ROOT thread is live!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/175465#