Rebeki ROOTs on in 2020

My thread fizzled out early on last year, but my ROOTing was very successful. Against all expectations, I managed to read 27 ROOTs in 2019, bringing my TBR total down from 185 to 168. It's slow progress, but, thanks to this group, this is the third year running that it has shrunk rather than grown. In spite of last year's failure to post on anyone's thread, I do love this group and am looking forward to continuing the good work in 2020.

I've been struggling to decide on a goal, as I'm aware I read a lot of shorter books last year and I'd like to do things differently this year, plus I've got a number of borrowed books sitting on my shelves. After much deliberation, I'm going to set myself an ambitious (for me) target of 24 ROOTs and hope that this doesn't stress me out!

Books read in 2020:

ROOTs read in 2020

1. Giant Days, Volume One by John Allison (Christmas present 2019)
2. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel (bought in 2019)
3. Bleak House by Charles Dickens (bought in 2018)
4. Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima (Christmas present 2019)
5. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Christmas present 2019)
6. A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel (bought in 2013)
7. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Christmas present 2019)
8. The Successor by Ismail Kadare (bought in 2010)
9. Birds Art Life Death: The Art of Noticing the Small and Significant by Kyo Maclear (birthday present 2018)
10. The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith (bought in 2018)
11. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor (bought in 2018)
12. Talking to Women by Nell Dunn (bought in 2019)
13. Stillicide by Cynan Jones (Christmas present 2019)
14. The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield (bought in 2009)
15. Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare (bought in 2010)
16. Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton (birthday present 2019)
17. The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay (bought in 2016)
18. L'invitée by Simone de Beauvoir (bought in 2005?)
19. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (bought in 2018)
20. An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym (bought in 2015)
21. Chéri and The Last of Chéri by Colette (bought in 2013)
22. The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier (bought in 2008)
23. The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson (bought in 2016)
24. Ich mache mir Sorgen, Mama by Wladimir Kaminer (bought in 2019)
25. Quicksands: A Memoir by Sybille Bedford (Christmas present 2015)

ROOT prevention - 2020 acquisitions read

1. Giant Days, Volume Two by John Allison
2. Agamemnon's Daughter by Ismail Kadare
3. Giant Days, Volume Three by John Allison
4. Cheese by Willem Elsschot
5. Giant Days, Volume Four by John Allison
6. The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
7. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
8. Giant Days, Volume Five by John Allison
9. The Evenings by Gerard Reve
10. Giant Days, Volume Six by John Allison
11. She Came to Stay by Eleni Kyriacou
12. Giant Days, Volume Seven by John Allison
13. Spring by Ali Smith
14. Giant Days, Volume Eight by John Allison
15. The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor
16. Giant Days, Volume Nine by John Allison
17. Giant Days, Volume Ten by John Allison
18. Afropean: Notes from Black Europe by Johny Pitts
19. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims
20. The King of a Rainy Country by Brigid Brophy
21. The Street by Ann Petry

Re-reads

1. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
2. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Borrowed books

1. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
2. Moomin's Desert Island by Tove Jansson
3. Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch
4. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
5. The Dry by Jane Harper

Read with my son

1. Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
2. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
3. How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel by Cressida Cowell
4. How to Betray a Dragon's Hero by Cressida Cowell
5. Cautionary Verses by Hilaire Belloc
6. The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams
7. Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
8. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
9. How to Fight a Dragon's Fury by Cressida Cowell
10. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
11. Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas by Astrid Lindgren
12. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Good luck with your new target! If it stresses you out, you can always change it later in the year, just drop a note on the monthly progress thread.

Welcome, Rebecca. Good to see you back. Happy ROOTing.

Very curious what you are going to read with your son. Maybe I get some inspiration for books to read with my granddaughters.

>3 Jackie_K: Yes, I did the reverse last year and ended up increasing it. I'm thinking an ambitious target will encourage me to spend less time on social media and generally faffing about with my phone and more time reading. I know which is better for the soul...

>4 connie53: Ha, my son (8) could probably do with his own thread in this group for all the books sitting waiting for me to read to him! We're currently reading Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce, which needs quite a lot of things explaining and is probably a bit old for him, but it's an original and entertaining read. How old are your granddaughters?

Welcome back and happy reading!

>5 Rebeki: Much younger. Fiene is 3,5 years, Lonne is 1,5 years, Marie is almost 5 months!

The oldest two love to read and be read to. So I give them a lot of books. There is a great childerns-bookstore near my house and I can't pass it by without going in and buy books for them.

>5 Rebeki: How is Millions? I LOVED Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth and wouldn't mind reading more of his work.

This challenge is not supposed to add stress, it's supposed to add encouragement!

So how many books do you normally read a month?
I set my goal by looking at my average books read a month (8-12) and taking the lower number less one for my goal each month, multiple by 12 and there I have it! Giving me at least 1 book that isn't a ROOT keeps me on track because I really try to read all ROOTS each month but my book club doesn't seem to want to read the same books as I do, so I end up getting a book from the library usually.

Good Luck!

>7 connie53: Ah, you have years of beautiful picture books ahead. I love buying books for my son too - guilt-free book purchases :)

>8 rabbitprincess: Millions is my first Cottrell-Boyce and I'm really enjoying it - quirky and entertaining, but entirely relatable. Glad to hear you enjoyed another of his books. We'll have to give that one a try.

>9 cyderry: The challenge and this group are definitely a source of encouragement! I've just been taking myself round in circles trying to come up with a goal that's achievable but challenging enough. Funnily enough, if I go by last year's reading and apply your method, I come out with the exact goal I've settled on for this year, so it must be right :) What's clinched it for me is that if I want to read longer ROOTs this year, I'm going to need to read some shorter/quicker books alongside them in order to keep up my reading momentum. At the moment, I'm a third of the way through Bleak House, but have already finished two much shorter ROOTs, so I guess I'm on track!

>10 Rebeki: Looking forward to that, Rebecca.

My first two ROOTs of the year feel a bit cheat-y, as they're both short and were acquired right at the end of 2019. However, it's all about getting that TBR total down, so 2020's off to a good start in that respect.

1. Giant Days, Volume One by John Allison

I can't remember where I read about this series of comics and it's not a genre I'm drawn to all that often, but when I read that the action takes place at the University of Sheffield, my alma mater, I was curious and asked for the first volume as a Christmas present. All I can say is that I'll definitely be looking for the other volumes.

2. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel

I found this in a charity shop a few days ago and surprised myself by not wanting to put it back on the shelf. It's the story of the English clockmaker John Harrison and how he developed what came to be known as the marine chronometer, revolutionising navigation. I'm no scientist, but this is a well-explained and engaging account of both the science and Harrison's battle for recognition.

>12 Rebeki: Glad you liked Longitude! It was an interesting subject.

And excellent! I've just requested Millions from the library.

>12 Rebeki: Excellent progress! I have also started with a pre-Christmas acquisition, a ROOT is a ROOT, after all.

>13 rabbitprincess: Hope you enjoy it!

>14 MissWatson: You're quite right. I'm also trying to train myself to read books as soon as possible after they come into my possession, as this seems a good way to avoid growing ROOTs in the long term!

A long overdue update:

3. Bleak House by Charles Dickens

I have tried and failed to summarise the plot of this lengthy and sprawling novel in a sentence or two, so I'll put it this way: it contains, among other things, an interminable court case concerning conflicting wills - as dry as it sounds, though it's fascinating to see its effect on those involved; three young wards of court, including the narrator, whose parentage is unknown to her; a scandalous secret waiting to be uncovered; a sinister lawyer and other, more comedic representatives of that profession; much criticism of the Court of Chancery, the political class and those who consider themselves philanthropists but ignore the need and poverty around them; and a surprising end to one character's life. There is such a rich cast of characters and so many strands to this novel that it took me a few hundred pages to get to grips with it all, but then I was hooked, and the last few hundred pages passed by in a flash. I was sorry to reach the end of Bleak House and I worry that no other Dickens work I read will quite measure up to this one.

OK, this post was reserved for a mini-review of a couple of books, but, nearly two months on, my heart isn't really in it!

>16 Rebeki: The TV miniseries of this is very good, too, or at least the few episodes I watched were good! Gillian Anderson was in my head as Lady Dedlock while reading this book.

>18 rabbitprincess: Let's not forget a truly sinister Charles Dance as the nasty lawyer...

>18 rabbitprincess:, >19 MissWatson: Ooh, I wasn't aware of this TV adaptation - thanks! And Charles Dance fits my idea of Tulkinghorn perfectly!

After a couple of weeks of barely being able to read a paragraph, I'm finding enjoyment in reading again, but don't much feel like writing comments about the books I've read, particularly those I finished ages ago.

I'm therefore going to log my reading on this thread, but not put any pressure on myself to write comments. I just want to keep the thread going really and hope people will still drop in :)

February ROOTs:

Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Favourite ROOT: A Change of Climate

March ROOTs:

The Successor by Ismail Kadare
Birds Art Life Death by Kyo Maclear
The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

Favourite ROOT: Hmm, no stand-out favourite, but The House of Unexpected Sisters was exactly what I needed.
Favourite non-ROOT: Cheese by Willem Elsschot (not including my reread of Bring Up the Bodies)

>18 rabbitprincess:, >19 MissWatson: I've now bought the DVD and, under the circumstances, should get round to watching it sooner rather than later...

>21 Rebeki:

I feel the same way: I just want to read, not write my comments!
And yet I would love to know what you thought of Territory of Light (I read it last year) and Before the Coffee Gets Cold (which I've been waiting for the paperback version in Japanese to read as a nice light read).

Hi Rebecca, I'm so glad to read that you are reading again. It's one of the things I can do in these times of Corona. I hope you are doing fine!

It's just such a weird time for everyone, I reckon we all just need to do what we need to do. No comments, write 'War and Peace' about each book, whatever. Glad to see you're still here :)

Glad to see you posting and that you were able to get back into reading again. Hope reading continues to provide escape and enjoyment. Take care of yourself :)

>25 lilisin: I do a lot more reading of posts on LT than I do posting and I'm fairly sure reading your comments on Territory of Light encouraged me to get to it sooner rather than later. I found it beautifully and vividly written but quite an intense read. I'd read a review on LT that advised not rushing through the book, even though it's a short one, and that helped me to appreciate it more, I think. I felt for the narrator and wanted her to enjoy her independence more, but was unsettled by how she behaved towards her daughter at times (the park incident troubled me). I liked the "honesty" of it though and wonder if it seemed shocking when it was first published?
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is definitely a fun read, although fortunately less fluffy than I was expecting.

Answering questions is definitely easier than having to come up with my own comments straight off :)

>26 connie53:, >27 Jackie_K:, >28 rabbitprincess: - Thanks, all :) I hope we all stay safe and are able to make the best of these awful circumstances, including plenty of reading.

I'm glad to hear you are enjoying reading again. And I hope you will enjoy the DVD!

>29 Rebeki:

Yes, I'm always caught up on everyone's Club Read reads but I tend to only comment when the conversation is about a book I've ready or plan to read.

I think the advice on not reading Territory of Light too quickly despite its length is a sage one. Although I still read the book quickly I definitely kept telling myself to slow down. Although I don't know the actual reception to the book I think it would definitely be considered shocking as it exposes the idea of a bad mother. The light is used to try and persuade the reader and the mother that she is a good person but in the end she is a selfish woman. I liked how the author left out much about the husband and led us on to believe that she was escaping him to protect the daughter while its possible the husband might have been the better of the two. Anyway, there was much to think about with that book.

Less fluffy! I don't know if I want it to be more fluffy (to lighten up the mood of the times) or less fluffy (a purely feel-good book isn't my style either) but I think less fluffy is exactly the mood I want, whatever that means. :) I really need to see if I can't find the paperback.

>32 lilisin: It's interesting, because I think I was more sympathetic to the narrator than you, but, on reflection, I'm not sure why. Maybe I was just more taken in by her.

I think Before the Coffee Gets Cold would be just the right level of fluffiness!

I currently have three books on the go: The Mirror and the Light, Giant Days, Volume Four and The Diary of a Provincial Lady. Only the latter is a ROOT and, at 529 pages of tiny print and with the breaks I'm taking between the individual volumes, it's going to take a while to read. Given the extra reading time I have, I feel impatient to pull up another ROOT, but don't really want to start another book.

April ROOTs:

A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor
Talking to Women by Nell Dunn

Favourite ROOT: Well, they were both good, but, for enjoyment, A Game of Hide and Seek. I'm really enjoying discovering Elizabeth Taylor's novels.
Favourite non-ROOT: The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

>34 Rebeki: I have more books on the go than I can handle properly. 3 e-books and 1 tree-book. And because of the 'stay at home' measures I tend to read my tree-book more.

How are you doing in these times, Rebecca?

>36 connie53: Well, I did end up reading a couple of ROOTs since that post and juggling more books, but things are under control again :) And it's a good sign that ROOTing is so addictive!

Right now is definitely a good time to tackle those books that are harder to carry around with you. I don't usually like reading hardbacks, but they're not a problem these days.

I'm doing OK, thanks. We've stayed healthy and I've enjoyed the "certainty" of the lockdown conditions, knowing that we're doing everything we can to keep ourselves and others safe. Now things look to be easing up a bit, I'm anxious as to how that will affect the infection rate.

How are you doing?

Hi Rebecca. Here we are doing fine too. We stay at home, only go out for groceries. I agree about the certainty of the lockdown rules. I read a lot and try to get to ROOTs first. We only see our son Jeroen and Lonne his daughter in RL. Jeroen comes by sometimes to see if we are all right and we drink coffee or tea in the garden keeping the social distance that is required by the government (1,5 meters and a bit more sometimes). Lonne knows about the distancing and she is trying very hard to do that. But she is only 2 years old and forgets sometimes. We take that risk knowing that she had not been to school and just stays home with her mum and dad. We facetime whit our daughter, son in law and their children. But we don't visit them. So yes I think we are still good.

Things are easing up here too and daycare and elementary schools are opening as of yesterday. Museums, libraries, hairdressers (hooray) opened yesterday. I think I will wait for 2 weeks before easing up things for myself, just to see if that means more new patients. Before we see the results of infection it takes up to two weeks I understand. So better safe than sorry!

>38 connie53: That all sounds a very sensible approach. And at least you have your ROOTs to keep you busy! And I think we've all realised the valuable job hairdressers do :)

I don't think I'll be doing anything too differently over the next couple of weeks. I could now meet up with a local friend, provided we do so in a park/open space and keep two metres away from each other and other people at all times. I am trying to work out whether the pleasure of meeting up is enough to outweigh the stress of adhering to these rules! Whenever I've been out for a walk, I've started off enjoying it, but then soon got tired of crossing the road repeatedly or switching to walking in the middle of the road to avoid other people. I'm not really convinced that just walking past someone briefly presents much of a risk, but the two-metre rule is now imprinted on my brain!

Lonne is already doing amazingly well even to understand enough to attempt social distancing at her age. What a grown-up girl.

>39 Rebeki: I've started off enjoying it, but then soon got tired of crossing the road repeatedly or switching to walking in the middle of the road to avoid other people.

I feel the same way when I'm out for a walk, especially now that the weather is getting nicer. Too many humans! I try to go out fairly early in the morning on weekdays but don't go out on the weekends.

>40 rabbitprincess: Same here! And the best walk I've had was when, after a string of warm, sunny days, the weather turned cold and rainy :)

May ROOTs:

Stillicide by Cynan Jones
The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield

Favourite ROOT: The Diary of a Provincial Lady
Favourite non-ROOT: Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

I haven't updated for a while, but I only managed a total of three ROOTs during June and July:

Spring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare
Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay

Favourite ROOT: The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay
Favourite non-ROOT: The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor, though I also enjoyed a reread of Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

I've been reading some new and borrowed books, which accounts for my slowing down on the ROOTing. August is always a good reading month for me, but I'm torn between wanting to make fast progress towards my ROOTs goal and getting started on the shiny new books I was given for my birthday last month. I guess this is a nice problem to have!

I'm also feeling a little guilty about the fact that I went on a pre-lockdown book-buying spree back in March, which I justified with the argument that I wouldn't be able to set foot in a bookshop for a while. I didn't add them to my official "To read" collection but put them in a box under my bed to be brought out whenever I felt sad about the circumstances, so that I could treat them as a brand new purchase. Of course there was nothing to stop me buying books online, so this "bookshop under the bed" has continued to grow. Meanwhile shops have reopened again and yesterday I felt compelled to visit my local Oxfam Books (a charity shop selling secondhand books) and support it by buying a further five books. It's too demoralising to add these books to my TBR total, so they have also found their way under the bed. Officially it looks like I'm doing a good job of reducing my TBR total, but really I'm in denial!

>44 Rebeki: I love the bookshop under the bed idea, to treat yourself when you were feeling cheesed off about lockdown. I think that's a great idea!

PS denial is fine, we're living in "unprecedented times", remember!

>45 Jackie_K: It's a great idea that's got a little out of hand. But, yes, denial is an important coping strategy, these days!

>44 Rebeki: That's almost as good as a secret stash of chocolate!

>47 MissWatson: Ha, I have one of those as well, though it's not doing so well during during this heatwave!

>44 Rebeki: But, but, but. If you had put them on your to read list and then put them in the under-the-bed stash, they would be well on their way to become ROOTs. ;-))

>49 connie53: Very true! However, it seems I'm much keener to have a low (official) TBR total than a high ROOTs number :)

ETA: The mad book-buying urge seems to have passed now - phew!

I knew I was tempting fate in >50 Rebeki:. I met a friend yesterday in Marylebone and ended up buying four books from the wonderful Daunt Books and another from Oxfam, so that's another five for the bookshop under the bed (*gritted teeth emoji*). Things were getting out of hand, so I've set aside five to be Christmas presents from my husband, so they will definitely be ROOTs come 1st January.

Anyway, I've decided London is getting too busy again, so I'll probably stay in my little bit of it and avoid public transport for the next few weeks, while I see how things go. Hopefully that'll mean no more splurging on books!

>51 Rebeki: Hope you enjoy the books whenever you get to them!

I haven't been on public transport since March 12. Fortunately the library is within walking distance (and is open again).

I do use Public transport but avoid the rush hours. And than it's perfectly organized. But I don't live in a big city like Amsterdam so that can make a difference.

We're now closer to October, but never mind!

August ROOTs:

L'invitée by Simone de Beauvoir
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym
Chéri and The Last of Chéri by Colette

Favourite ROOT: hard to say, really. I always love Barbara Pym, but A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles was quite different from anything else I've read, so might win for distinctiveness.
Favourite non-ROOT: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey also made an impression.

It seems I'm having a ROOTless September. I'm still on track for my goal, but it could have been nice to help the group out a bit, as I saw we're falling behind. However, I have various reading goals to juggle, my priority being ROOT prevention, which means reading my remaining birthday books and a new acquisition before the end of the year. I also have some borrowed books that have been sitting on the shelf for too long and am in the middle of the hefty The Blind Assassin in order to conclude the reread of Margaret Atwood's works I began in 2017. The latter will at least allow me to move on to the Maddaddam trilogy, which will count as ROOTs - hurrah!

Oh, and I'm also slowly rereading the Harry Potter series ahead of watching the films with my son. This is all without factoring in the "bookshop under the bed"!

I think I'll be happy just to make my ROOTs goal of 24 and clear the decks of other books ready for a good ROOTing year in 2021.

>55 Rebeki: Those all sound like very good plans!

>56 rabbitprincess: Thanks! I hope that by writing them down they'll come to fruition - sometimes the opposite happens!

I haven't updated for a while, but I've finally met my ROOTS goal for this year!

I read one ROOT in October, The Parasites by Daphne du Maurier, and have finished two this month, The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson and Ich mache mir Sorgen, Mama by Wladimir Kaminer, all of which were satisfying reads.

I find it interesting that, having had a ROOTs goal of 24 two years running, I didn't reach it any sooner this year than last year, even though, for obvious reasons, I've managed to read more books overall. OK, my overall total is inflated by the number of graphic novels I've read, but I've also read a lot more new acquisitions this year. I plan to lower my ROOTs target in 2021 to deal with all those books under the bed I panic-bought this year and which, under my dubious rules, will count as new acquisitions rather than ROOTs.

Congratulations on meeting your goal!

Congrats!

>59 Jackie_K:, >60 rabbitprincess: Thank you!

>58 Rebeki: Congratulations on meeting your reading goals for 2020. Yay!

Well done!

Good job.

>62 This-n-That:, >63 MissWatson:, >64 connie53: A belated thank you!
I'm already looking forward to a new year of ROOTing :)

Wishing you happy and stress-free holidays and all the best for a new year!

Happy Christmas to you and yours!

Happy Holidays from the Netherlands!

Thanks, Connie! I hope you had a good Christmas too!

I've just finished a bonus ROOT and my final one for 2020, which was the excellent Quicksands: A Memoir by Sybille Bedford. I have another non-ROOT to squeeze in before the end of the year, but am very excited about setting up a new thread for 2021!