Handshakes grows new ROOTs in 2024

Hi, everyone. Last year I failed my ROOTing challenge in all ways possible. It was a tough year with a lot of unplanned stops. This year I'm going to shoot for 32 books (one book more than my previous PR) with at least one title for every letter of the alphabet. I tried this last year, and it got me to read some titles I hadn't picked up in a long time and/or hadn't planned on reading soon. There are a couple U's, V's, W's (etc) on my shelf that have been sitting there for years and years, but this year I'll get to them!

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Proposed ROOTs:
Attack of Apollyon by Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye
Being Ram Dass by Ram Dass
Congo by Michael Crichton
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (in progress)
Extinct by Charles Wilson (in progress)
Flood by Richard Martin Stern
Godplayer by Robin Cook
Heavy Weather by Bruce Sterling or Heat by Arthur Herzog
Ice Hunt by James Rollins
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
K ?
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (in progress)
Manifold: Time by Stephen Baxter
Neanderthal by John Darnton
Old Bones by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Pearl by John Steinbeck
Q Clearance by Peter Benchley
Rogue Wave by Boyd Morrison, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Scratch One by Michael Crichton
Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston (in progress)
Utopia by Lincoln Child
Venom Business by Michael Crichton
White Devils by Paul McAuley
Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton
Year of the Intern by Robin Cook
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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Hi Handshakes, thank you for visiting my thread. Happy ROOTing this year and good luck with your reading plans

Trying to find a book for every letter in the alphabet is an interesting way to surface forgotten books. I look forward to seeing how it works out for you this year. And here's to a better reading year in 2024 for all of us!

>2 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>3 rosalita: Thanks, Julia! It helped me last year (even though I didn't reach my goal.)

Happy ROOTing! That's an interesting concept for picking books off the shelf. I'll be curious to see how it works out.

Hope your reading works out well this year and you unearth some excellent books!

>5 MissWatson: Thank you. I'll be sure to update so you see how it works out.

>6 Jackie_K: Thanks!

Welcome back! Don't forget to join the group.

FMI - do you have to read in alphabetical order?

>8 cyderry: Thanks for the reminder. I don't read them in order, so long as I read them all... Of course, I've never succeeded in doing this before, so I don't know what works the best, lol.

1. The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird --- Not as good as I had hoped. Pretty bad, actually, lol.

2. Godplayer by Robin Cook

Here's an E - Ella Minnow Pea - quick read and highly amusing.

>12 cyderry: Sounds very similar to Georges Perec! Interesting! Thanks for sharing.

3. Attack of Apollyon by Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye

Oh, gosh. How do you all keep from buying more books? I've started to give them away and I'm still accumulating more than I had at the beginning of the year!

>15 handshakes: Actually, I don't. Joining LT has sent my book-buying out of control. But it's way more fun now!

>15 handshakes: It's really difficult to keep from buying new ones, HS. I was downtown this morning and could only just keep my self out of the bookshop.

>17 connie53: Bookshops don't tempt me too much because of the prices. It's the thrift shops that do me in.

>18 handshakes: It's the online deals which mostly get me (I prefer reading ebooks these days). I'm with >16 MissWatson: in that not only am I buying more, but I'm getting more pleasure from both buying and reading.

I always say, if buying books is my worst vice then I'm not doing too badly. I'm far too old for pointless guilt.

>19 Jackie_K: Ah. I get a lot of pleasure from buying books, but I buy too many that it is a problem. I don't leave myself enough money for other things. I don't have the space for them either! My bedroom is only about 10x15.

Finished Congo by Michael Crichton. Loved the adventure and the science. Another classic from the master.

Just finished Old Bones by Preston and Child. It had me staying up late on long reading binges just to disappoint me with that ending!

Just finished The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I'm surprised this one is so revered. The prose was atrocious.

Just finished Rogue Wave by Boyd Morrison and it was awesome!

>23 handshakes: That's the only Steinbeck I'm sure I've read (we read it at school, when I was much less discerning about prose quality!). I remember very little about it though, other than that I read it!

>25 Jackie_K: We read it in middle school which was nearly thirty years ago so I remembered the story, but I had never read it myself. I wonder if Steinbecks other books are like it (or better? I like fancy prose!)

Finishing up Being Ram Dass by Ram Dass. Enjoyed the further foray into his life as I've been interested in it many years. The last little bit wasn't much of an autobiography though, just a bit of old-man blabbering.

I'm not sure if I'll be updating this much more as most people are just ignoring my topic, but for now I'll add that I'm finishing up The Venom Business by Michael Crichton for V.

>28 handshakes: Not ignoring - just reading quietly. Id like to hear about the Crichton book. I've read at least two of his. I read people's posts and sometimes I am inspired to add something to my list.

>20 handshakes: What Egbertina says is true. I visit lots of threads, but do not always answer or comment. So please, don't get discouraged.

Thanks, folks. I guess I do the same thing sometimes. The Venom Business was one of MC's earlier works before he started writing science fiction, so it's very pulpy and James Bond-ish. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless that is your thing.

>31 handshakes: that doesn't sound dreadful. I haven't read any Ian Fleming in decades, but it wasn't my worst memory

>32 EGBERTINA: it wasn't bad by any means, just a bit divergent from what people are used to when reading Crichton.

Hi, just leaving a post here so you can see, I did visit. ;-))

I did not read anything by Michael Crichton in al very long time. If I ever read one book at all, that is.

I really appreciate it, Connie. I find that I'm also snooping but not posting, so I guess I should start posting as well!