RA FOR ALL...THE ROAD SHOW!

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Monday, August 8, 2011

Monday Discussion: Reading To-Do List

I was working with a patron this morning and we were sharing our reading to-do lists-- books we want to read but haven't gotten around to.  One of my to-dos, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery was a book she just read from her "to-do" reading list.  She was less than impressed, and since she is a patron whose advice I respect, I am going to keep it on the to-do list for now,but only as a maybe.

As I have mentioned on this blog before, I keep my reading to-do list on Shelfari here.  It does not have everything I want to read, but I especially keep books co-workers' (Betty is my go-to person here), students', friends', and patrons' suggest here.  These are the books I might not have thought to read on my own.  Every so often, I go through the list and read something from it.  Generally by the time I get to them, they are older titles, but that just means they are more readily available.

Brookland by Emily Barton was one of those titles.  Use the link to see where I talk about choosing it off of my extended to-read pile.

Currently I am also reading a book that has been on the list a long, long time, Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund and I am loving it.

Other books I see on the list right now that are catching my eye are Atlantic by Simon Winchester, Keeping the House by Ellen Baker, and A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

So for today's Monday Discussion, what's on your reading to-do list? Is there are specific book or a topic you want to explore?

Click here for past Monday Discussions.

6 comments:

Kimberly said...

I am not nearly organized enough to have a "to read" list (although I keep a reading log and notes sometimes pop up there) but I have piles of books on table tops and shelves and can be easily distracted walking through the library. I find that almost all my reading is assigned as part of the ARRT genre study, the two book groups I work with, or pre-publication matter for collection development or patron requests and the personal goal I have to read a work of non-fiction each month since I would otherwise never get to that aspect of RA. As a result, those piles and stacks generally contain genre fiction that is not generally “big buzz” titles, but works that let my mind take a vacation into an evening of romance, mystery or women’s fiction which I find I am choosing more often than I once did. I have just completed Smokin’ Seventeen by Janet Evanovich (because I don’t know if I love Stephanie or Grandma Mazur more) and I hope to catch up on more of my favorite series characters in the future.
And, Becky, my experience with The Elegance of the Hedgehog was listening to the audiobook as read by multiple award winning reader Barbara Rosenblat. The reviewers say that Rosenblat’s inflection helps create a perfectly believable tale. Surely Rosenblat’s performance makes the characters realistic and the listener empathetic.

Jose said...

I have been wanting to read, things a brother knows by Dana Reinhardt and leverage by Joshua Cohen.

Kathy BPL RA said...

Oh my...I don't really keep a list because it is far too daunting. The list just grows and grows while I get distracted by new books. So now the list just grows and grows in my head, if I forget about a certain title, it must not be worth it. At least this is my rationalization. Some books that have been out for a while that I still have in my head are:
"The Heights" by Peter Hedges
"In the Woods" by Tana French
"Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn
"The Chicago Way" by Michael Harvey
I could go on and on. Although recently I just read "Run" by Ann Patchett and "Garnethill" by Denise Mina which were both on this list so it gives me hope that ONE DAY...

Jackie, BPL Youth Services Librarian said...

HA! I have 76 books 'to-read' on my Goodreads list. These suggestions come from everywhere...friends, co-workers, newspapers, book reviews, and overheard book-conversations. Someday, I will read these, I am certain.

However, my most pressing list of 'to-reads' is the 2012 nominees for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award.

Jessi said...

I just started listening to Swamplandia, which I have been really excited about - but the narrator is driving me nuts. It might have to go back to rather long to-read list until I have time to pick up the book.

MIke said...

Mike BPL REF,

As a history buff, Winton Churchill's six volume
history of World War II. I read the first two volumes
years ago which I enjoyed very much but never got
around to fiinishing it. There isn't. a day that goes by
working in the library where I don't feel a twinge of
guilt every time I pass by these six monumental
books and promise myself I will read them all
someday.

It is very daunting to be haunted by WInston Churchill
on a daily basis!