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Tag Archives: Reading

Calling for 2020 Favorite Reads: Submit Four!

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Audible Books, Books, Favorite Authors, Favorite Reads, Fiction, Most Enjoyed Books 2020, Nonfiction, Reading, Reading Favorites, Reading in Time of COVID

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” A. Lincoln

For this annual post about what books have been your most favorite reads over the past year, I’m asking that we limit our submissions to just four titles.

While this may seem restrictive to some of you, I think it will make for a somewhat different post than in previous years (our 12th year). I’m aiming for less emphasis on what books got the ‘most favorite’ label from MillersTime readers (not trying to compete with all those other year end book lists) and more emphasis on why certain books were individual’s favorites.

Thus, I urge you to write a few sentences about each of your choices, explaining what was particularly meaningful to you about a chosen favorite. Why was a particular book most enjoyable, most important, most thought provoking, the best written, the ones you may go back and read again, the ones you reread this year, and/or the ones you may have suggested to others that they might enjoy?

Additionally, please feel free to add either at the beginning or the end of your submission, a couple of sentences about your reading overall this year. For instance, did you concentrate on new books, older titles, rereads, more fiction or nonfiction than in the past, etc.? Did you read electronically or in paper, did you listen to books, and generally did you read more or less than in previous years?

To make my task of putting the list together a bit easier, please given the full title of the book, followed by the author’s name, and whether the book was F or NF. If any of the ‘books’ on your list were ones you enjoyed audibly, please indicate that.

Feel free to include any favorites that you may have submitted to any of the three earlier book posts this year:

*April 10 – Favorites Reads in a Time of Self-Isolation

*May 20 – More Favorite Reads

*Aug. 19 – Favorite Reads in the Time of COVID-19,

Don’t be concerned about whether others will have the same book(s) on their lists or that a particular book might not be a popular choice as those are not the most important aspects of this year’s list. Contributors use the list to find reading options they may not know about or have considered. Your reasons for your favorites this year are what I hope readers will find most valuable.

Please send me (Samesty84@gmail.com) your submission by Sunday, Dec. 20 so I will have enough time to collate the list and post it by the end of the month.

*** *** ***

To see previous years’ lists, click on any of these links: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. 2016. 2017. 2018 Mid-Year, 2018, 2019 Mid-Year. 2019.

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Calling for Midyear Favorite Reads – 2019

24 Friday May 2019

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

"Books Most Enjoyed By MillersTime Readers", Books, Favorite Reads This Year, List of Favorite Reads, MidYear Favorite Reads, Reading

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Give Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” – A. Lincoln

A few years ago I decided that waiting until December was too long a time between posts that share favorite reads among MillersTime readers. As we all age, it seems more difficult to remember what we read in the first half of the year. Plus, it seems that readers of this website have found a midyear list useful as the summer approaches.

So I have started asking about the end of May for books you’ve read so far this year that have particularly resonated with you. And further, I am making a few changes in this call for books that hopefully will make your submissions easier and will reduce my ‘work’ in both reminding you and in collating them.

Thus:

  1. Please send me just three or four titles at the most, listing the book, the author, and whether it is Fiction (F) or Nonfiction (NF). Also, indicate if you have listened to the book in an audible form.
  2. Limit your comments, if you decide to make any, to just one or two sentences. While I believe one of the best aspects of our sharing our favorites is what we say about the books, let’s see what happens if at midyear we limit that a bit. I know it will help me in putting the list together.
  3. The deadline for your submissions is June 14, just a bit over two weeks from now. Send them to my email: Samesty84@gmail.com
  4. I will limit myself to just one reminder, a week or so prior to the 14th, but if you have some time this weekend, maybe you could begin compiling and send me your list prior to the deadline as that spreads out my putting the list together.
  5. And please keep a full list for the end of the year compilation, which will not limit you to just three or four books and one or two sentences.

Thanking you in advance.

R

PS – For reference:

Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers, Midyear 2018.

Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers, Dec. 2018. Last year’s full year’s list.

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The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers in 2018

29 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

"Books Most Enjoyed By MillersTime Readers", Books, Fiction, Nonfiction, Reading

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” – A. Lincoln

This list of favorite reads is comprised of the books most enjoyed in 2018 by 71 adults and five children. Forty-one of them (suggested by thirty-one people) are now on my ‘to read’ list for 2019. (The only way I can read that many, along with other books that will no doubt come to my attention throughout the year, is to fulfill a long considered ‘plan’ of spending a winter in Alaska in front of a fire place. Please don’t mention this to Ellen.)

For the first time since compiling this list (10 years ago!) nonfiction leads the fiction 53% to 47%. Last year those percentages were reversed, and I’m not sure what accounts for the change (aging contributors?). Our youngest participant is almost 18 month’s old; the oldest is approaching the century mark. The rest of you are mostly between the ages of 35- 75. Fifty-five percent of you are women; forty-five percent are men.

While I don’t expect all 76 of you will read all the way through this list (though anyone who does can claim it as a favorite book for next year, assuming you are delighted by the list), know that there is a tremendous amount of information here. Thus, I’ve organized it in several ways, hopefully to make it user friendly:

Section I. The most frequently cited titles (three or more times) are listed first.

Section II. Next, the contributors are listed alphabetically by first name — to make it easy if you are looking for the favorites of someone you know — with the titles and authors next, and then any comments made about those books.

Section III. Finally, there are also two spread sheet lists (see links below) included as easy, searchable references for you to see the titles, authors, and MillersTime contributors in summary form:

List#1 – Organized Alphabetically by Book Titles – fiction precedes nonfiction

List #2 – Organized Alphabetically by Contributors’ Names – fiction precedes nonfiction

I. Titles That Appear on the Favorites’ List Three Times or More:

Fiction (F):

  • Beartown by Fredrik Backman
  • Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
  • Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
  • Love and Ruin by Paula McClain
  • The Overstory by Richard Powers
  • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
  • Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
  • The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
  • Transcription by Kate Atkinson
  • Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

Nonfiction

  • American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • Beneath a Ruthless Sun by Gilbert King
  • Educated by Tara Westover
  • Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
  • Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
  • Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
  • Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
  • Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Hochschild
  • The Bad-Ass Librarian of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer
  • The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
  • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
  • Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas

Continue reading »

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The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers Mid-Year 2018

30 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

"Books Most Enjoyed By MillersTime Readers", 2018 Mid-Year Favorite Reads, Books, List of Favorite Reads, Reading

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” – A. Lincoln

This post, one of my favorites, is only possible because so many of you have taken the time to share with me and others titles and comments about what you are reading and enjoying. What you will see below is truly the result of cooperation between a community of readers and friends, even if many of you do not know each other.

The 2018 mid-year list is comprised of the favorite reads of 63 adults and 2 children. Fiction leads the nonfiction 57% to 43%, similar to last year, and there are titles for readers with wide ranges of interests. Our youngest participant is now 11 month’s old; the oldest is 96+. The rest of you are mostly between the ages of 35- 75. Sixty percent of you are women, 40% are men.

While I don’t expect everyone will read all the way through this list (anyone who does and likes it can claim it as a favorite book for next year), know there is a tremendous amount of information here. I’ve organized it in several ways, hopefully to make it more user friendly:

I. The most frequently cited titles (three or more times) are listed first.

II. Next the contributors are listed alphabetically — to make it easy if you are looking for the favorites of someone you know — with the titles and authors next and then any comments made about those books.

III. Finally, there are also two spread sheet links included as easy, searchable references for you to see the titles, authors, and MillersTime contributors in summary form:

List # 1 – Organized alphabetically by book title, fiction precedes nonfiction 

List #2 – Organized alphabetically by reader/contributor’s name, fiction again precedes nonfiction

Enjoy.

I. Titles that appear on the Favorites’ List three times or more

Fiction (F):

  •      Beartown, Fredrik Backman
  •      Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan
  •      Manhattan Beach, Jennifer Egan
  •      Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
  •      The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah

Nonfiction (NF):

  •      Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders & the Birth of the FBI, David Grann
  •      Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder & One Man’s Fight for Justice, Bill Browder

For me, as always, the strengths and value of this mid-year’s list have more to do with what contributors say about a book than the number of times a book may be listed. Often, a book listed only once or twice is one I most want to read in the next six months or coming year.

A reminder: this list is not meant to be the best books published in 2018, but rather what the title of this posting states — The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers Mid-Year 2018.

And, of course, I take responsibility for any inaccuracies or mistakes in the posting of your names, the titles, the authors, and your comments. Please do let me know about errors so I can correct them quickly and easily (especially if I have not listed you and any books/titles you have  sent to me.)

Feel free to share this post with others — family, friends, book clubs, etc., and start now with keeping a list for the second half of 2018.

Continue reading »

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Obama: The Importance of Books

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Escapes and Pleasures, The Outer Loop

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Books, Michiku Kakutani, New York Times, President Obama, Reading, The Importance of Books

 

President Obama in the Oval Office on Friday during an interview with Michiko Kakutani, the chief book critic for The New York Times. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Obama in the Oval Office on Friday during an interview with Michiko Kakutani, the chief book critic for The New York Times. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

While we await the ending of one Presidency and the beginning of the next, let me draw your attention to an article in the New York Times that describes the importance of books in President Obama’s life and in his presidency.

The article provides a unique (and I think) wonderful insight into the character, intelligence, intellectual curiosity, and thoughtfulness of Barack Obama. It’s an interview more revealing than that of any other president that I can recall in my lifetime. Whether or not you like him or his politics, this interview provides us a glimpse into a centered individual who has found a way to bring a balance to his life, to his family, and to one of the hardest jobs in the world.

First read the article:

Obama’s Secret to Surviving the White House Years: Books

And if you want to know even more, you can also read the ‘lightly edited’ transcript of the interview:

Transcript: President Obama on What Books Mean to Him

For those MillersTime readers who spend a portion of their lives with books, you’ll find much of interest in this article and no doubt a few books to add to your reading list for the coming year.

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Save the Date: National Book Festival

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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Tags

Authors, Books, Library of Congress, National Book Festival, Politics-Prose Book Sellers, Reading, Washington Convention Center

Nationa Book Festival

If books and reading are important in your life and if you live anywhere near Washington, DC, mark your calendar for Saturday, September 24, 2106. That’s when the Library of Congress National Book Festival takes place at the Washington Convention Center from 8:30 am to 10 pm. There is no admission charge and all of the activities are free.

Now in its 16th year, it’s a day filled with author talks, children’s story telling, thematic programs, panel discussions, family friendly activities, author signings, and book sales (DC’s Politics-Prose is again the official bookseller!).

To get a quick look at what is happening when, see this Schedule, or to read about all of the activities, go to the Information Page of the Festival. For an alphabetical listing of all the authors who are attending the Festival, see the Author’s List.

(Note: The National Book Festival has become immensely popular, especially since it is now held indoors and is limited to one day. Many of the children and family activities start at 10 AM and get quite crowded as the day progresses. In fact, the entire Book Festival gets crowded as the day progresses. It makes sense spending some time reviewing the program before heading to the Festival so you can plan your time there and know where to go once you enter the Convention Center.)

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Books & Reading: Alive and Well

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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Tags

Books, Claire Messud, E.L. Doctorow, Ishmael Beah, Library of Congress National Book Festival, National Book Festival, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Reading

BOOKFAIR 17551409420710

(Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post photo)

From what I saw and experienced on Saturday at the Washington Convention Center, books and reading are alive and well, at least in the DC area.

The Library of Congress’ National Book Festival, first started in 2001 and held on the Mall until this year, moved inside, and all indications are that it was a terrific move.

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“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.” – Abraham Lincoln

20 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

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Tags

Books, Books You've Enjoyed in 2013, Favorite Books, Reading

Calling for Books You’ve Most Enjoyed Reading in 2013

 

books

For four years now, readers of this website have kindly sent in their lists of books they’ve particularly enjoyed over the previous 12 months. I’ve then compiled those lists and posted them at the end of December in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The result each year has been a list of widely varying fiction and nonfiction books that has been a useful reference for many of us.

As I ask for favorite reads again this year, here are a few guidelines that may help in drawing your list and in making my compilation easy:

Continue reading »

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