Handshakes; or, The Unobtainable Expanse

I'd love to read 52 books this year. I've always been a part of those larger communities, but my posts get buried, nobody cares, and it defeats the entire purpose. Hopefully I've come to the right place. Thanks for having me.

Note: I run a website called The Magic Book Bus in which I pretty much discard and sell anything that I don't plan on reading or have read and disliked--for the most part. My girlfriend does the same. Anything $3.99 and under always gets you a *buy two get one free* special! I have too many books and they need new homes!

So far I have finished the following:
The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco // 513 pp

Welcome to our quiet little corner!

>3 lesmel: Thank you!

Glad to have you. I hope you’ll comment on your books. Is >2 handshakes: what you intend to read; or have you finished it?

>5 2wonderY: I guess I'm so used to people ignoring my posts in those big groups that I didn't even think to add any specifics. Thank you for having me, and I'll change it right now!

>2 handshakes:

I've read 2 Eco, one of which included a re-read (The Name of the Rose), and have another on my shelf to be read (The Prague Cemetery). Always curious what others make of an Eco book, whether novel or non-fiction.

>7 elenchus: The Day of the Island Before was actually the last I had to read in his fiction bibliography. I've read The Name of the Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, Baudolino (probably my favorite), The Prague Cemetery, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, The Island of the Day Before, and Numero Zero. I wanted to complete his fiction bibliography before I went back and re-read any of his books, so quite some time has passed since I've read some of these. I look forward to seeing how much I like them now compared to then.

To answer your question, though, I enjoy his work. It's very immersing. I remember loving The Name of the Rose but not really enjoying The Prague Cemetery (I have no idea why, it was a long time ago). I think I was a little bit too young at the time, so revisiting them is going to be quite the treat!

>8 handshakes:

I've only read Rose and Pendulum, and loved both ... but like you, it was decades ago (for the first read). I actually re-read Rose recently and if anything, appreciated it more as I was more familiar with so much of his dense allusions.

I think I've only read a short article or two from his non-fiction, and if I recall it wasn't his scholarly work. A review of his library, if I recall. But that might have been a magazine story written about him, so who knows.

>9 elenchus: Yes, ah, so happy to hear this. I've grown a lot since then and I, too, hope to decipher more of the allusions. There was a review of his "anti-library" floating around on the internet. It might have been that. He was a big believer in keeping books.

>2 handshakes: Did you end up finishing The Island of the Day Before? I just ordered a copy on the blind faith that Eco can do no wrong, but I saw a lot of bad reviews. What did you think of it in the end?

I just joined LibraryThing and started a reading diary at the 75 Books Challenge (I read more like 1 book per month) before discovering that there are so many other places to post around. I'll be happy to follow along with you if you're still interested in posting here!

>11 ebeeb: Hey! Welcome to the website. I did actually finish the book. I wasn't disappointed, per se... the book just didn't go the way I had wanted it to, haha. I've read all of his fiction and I haven't disliked any of them, so I'm in the same boat with you; that man can do no wrong! I recently finished The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. Man... that book drug on foreverrrrrr! If there are any books that you would recommend or like to read along with me, just let me know. I'd be happy to have a reading buddy!

I finished Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs a little big ago. Forgot to post. Hope everyone is doing well!

>12 handshakes: And right when you responded to my message here, life got in the way of reading, as it so often does -- how inconvenient! Anyway, I'm back again and have set up a new thread. Looking forward to following your posts!

>14 ebeeb: I hope everything is OK now! I'll take a look for your thread ASAP. Also finished How Can I Help a little bit ago.

Finished quite a few books since my last update.

Earthquake!
Walking Each Other Home
The Mediterranean Caper