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My goal is to read at least one book on each president.

The following don't fit the challenge but I want to keep track of them.

* books authored by a president that don't fit the challenge but I want to note.
* Book about President's wife or family member
* book about vice president
* book related to the topic


18th Century

1. George Washington
6/2013 Martha Washington: An American Life-Patricia Brady
8/2013 Washington: The Indispensable Man-James Thomas Flexner
9/2020 You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington-Alexis Coe


2. John Adams
4/2013 Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage- Edith B. Gelles


19th Century

3. Thomas Jefferson

4. James Madison
11/2011 James Madison-Richard Brookhiser

5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan

16. Abraham Lincoln
12/2008 Lincoln: A Photobiography-Russell Freedman
12/2008 The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary-Candace Fleming
1/2009 Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon-Philip B. Kunhardt
2/2009 Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President-Brian Lamb
3/2009 Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln-Doris Kearns Goodwin
6/2011 Father Abraham: Lincoln and His Sons-Harold Holzer
10/2011 Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness- Joshua Wolf Shenk
1/2012 Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever-Bill O'Reilly
1/2013 Lincoln's Little Girl-Cecelia Holland
5/2022 Lincoln and the Fight for Peace-John P. Avlon

17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes

20. James Garfield
8/2012 Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President-Candice Millard

21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
20th Century

26. Theodore Roosevelt
2/2002- Theodore Roosevelt-Theodore Roosevelt
12/2008 The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America: -Albert Marrin
11/2012 Theodore Roosevelt: Champion of the American Spirit- Betsy Harvey Kraft
11/2012 Theodore Roosevelt-Michael L. Cooper
9/2013 Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt-Aida D. Donald

27. William Howard Taft

28. Woodrow Wilson
6/2010 Woodrow Wilson-Louis Auchincloss

29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4/2008 The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope-Jonathan Alter
5/2008 Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The New Deal President-Brenda Haugen
5/2008 Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World-Barbara A. Somervill
5/2008 Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life-Candace Fleming
5/2008 Franklin Delano Roosevelt-Russell Freedman
12/2009 No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt - The Home Front in World War II-Doris Kearns Goodwin
1/12 Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945-David M. Kennedy
1/2013 The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt - Eleanor Roosevelt
1/2014 You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life- Eleanor Roosevelt
9/2014 The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency- James Tobin

33. Harry S. Truman
4/2022The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World-A.J. Baime

6/2022The Trials of Harry S. Truman: The Extraordinary Presidency of an Ordinary Man, 1945-1953- Jeffrey Frank

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
7/2008 Dwight David Eisenhower: War Hero and President-Marian G. Cannon

35. John F. Kennedy
9/2007 Profiles in Courage-John F. Kennedy
6/2008 John F. Kennedy-Howard S. Kaplan
6/2008 JFK-Philip Lord
8/2008 A Time It Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties-Bill Eppridge
10/2008Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning- Kerry Kennedy
11/2011 Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero-Chris Matthews
8/2013 The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America-Thurston Clarke
3/2017 If Kennedy Lived: The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternate History-Jeff Greenfield

36. Lyndon B. Johnson

37. Richard M. Nixon
3/2006 Watergate: Scandal in the White House-Barbara Silberdick Fienberg
10/2006 What Was Watergate?-Pamela Kilian
6/2008 Richard Nixon: American Politician-Rachel Stiffler Barron
3/2017 One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon
3/2017 Being Nixon: A Man Divided-Evan Thomas
2/2022 King Richard: Nixon and Watergate � An American Tragedy by Michael Dobbs

38. Gerald R. Ford

39. James Carter
12/2002 Living Faith by Jimmy Carter
2/2004 Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith by Jimmy Carter
12/2004 Christmas in Plains: Memories-Jimmy Carter
3/2006 Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis-Jimmy Carter
12/2010 Jimmy Carter-Julian E. Zelizer
8/2015 A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety-Jimmy Carter


40. Ronald Reagan
7/2011 My Father at 100- Ron Reagan

41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton


21st Century

43. George W. Bush

44. Barack Obama
1/2006 Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
1/2008 The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
6/2010 The Promise: President Obama, Year One-Jonathan Alter

45. Donald Trump
2/2018 Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House-Michael Wolff
6/2018 A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership- James Comey
9/2018 Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House-Omarosa Manigault Newman
11/2018Fear: Trump in the White House--Bob Woodward
10/2021 Peril--Bob Woodward

46. Joseph Biden

Good luck with this, Alias! I will be interested in watching your progress though the challenge. Looks like you've done a fair number of the presidents already!

You've read much about many presidents already. What a good foundation. Good luck with the rest of the list. I like this idea & may follow suit, depending on how hectic things get here.

Thanks, Amy !

Deb, seeing it like this online helped give me a clearer picture of where I am.

As you can see, I tend to read a bunch of books for the same few presidents. :) Also I have been skipping around. I know it's much better to do it in order as it will give me a nice historical timeline in my head.

Hi Alias!! I'm joining you with your Presidential Book Challenge!
Who were the two presidents you chose . . .

This is my list -- /topic/show/...

Cool! I just read your list and you already have a terrific list going.

It will be a fun to see which books you and deb select for each president.

I really do think think it's a fun way to get a nice timeline of history in ones mind.

It also is a challenge that never really ends. As one can continue to expand ones knowledge of each president and that period in history as you just read more books on a particular president.

As you can see from my list, FDR with the Great Depression and WWII is quite a fertile and interesting time and one I enjoy reading about.

Back in 2009 it marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. So there were a lot of books and stories that came out around that time about him. That inspired me to read a bunch of books about him during 2009.

If deb has the time to post her list of the books she has already read I think you will see she has done better than I.

As you can see from my list I've been doing this for a number of years already. I get hooked on a period in history and tend to enjoy reading a bunch on that.

Also when I visit used book stores I always keep an eye out for books that will fit my list. So I own a bunch of books that fit my challenge. It's fun to hunt for books at used book stores to fit the challenge. I have a whole book shelf of TBR books that I own for this challenge.

Welcome aboard the Presidential book challenge ! :)

Carol wrote: "Hi Alias!! I'm joining you with your Presidential Book Challenge!
Who were the two presidents you chose . . .

This is my list -- /topic/show/...-..."

Carol, what do you mean by the two presidents I chose?

madrano wrote: "You've read much about many presidents already. What a good foundation. Good luck with the rest of the list. I like this idea & may follow suit, depending on how hectic things get here."

Deb, if you do make a list, which would be awesome, could you include a #rating since you don't keep track of your books on GR.

Since I do, if you click the GR book link you see my rating.

I know making the list is time consuming, so if you don't have the free time that cool. I understand.

I wanted to put a plug in for a book I've not yet read but have heard very good things about. When you get to Nixon you might want to select

Nixonland: America's Second Civil War and the Divisive Legacy of Richard Nixon 1965-72---Rick Perlstein

On another note, when I made my list out I was kind of shocked to see I hadn't read a book on Jefferson yet. I really thought I had.

So I just purchased for my Kindle $2.50
Thomas Jefferson---R.B. Bernstein

Thomas Jefferson designed his own tombstone, describing himself simply as "Author of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." It is in this simple epitaph that R.B. Bernstein finds the key to this enigmatic Founder--not as a great political figure, but as leader of "a revolution of ideas that would make the world over again." In Thomas Jefferson, Bernstein offers the definitive short biography of this revered American--the first concise life in six decades. Bernstein deftly synthesizes the massive scholarship on his subject into a swift, insightful, evenhanded account. Here are all of Jefferson's triumphs, contradictions, and failings, from his luxurious (and debt-burdened) life as a Virginia gentleman to his passionate belief in democracy, from his tortured defense of slavery to his relationship with Sally Hemings. Jefferson was indeed multifaceted--an architect, inventor, writer, diplomat, propagandist, planter, party leader--and Bernstein explores all these roles even as he illuminates Jefferson's central place in the American enlightenment, that "revolution of ideas" that did so much to create the nation we know today. Together with the less well- remembered points in Jefferson's thinking--the nature of the Union, his vision of who was entitled to citizenship, his dread of debt (both personal and national)--they form the heart of this lively biography. In this marvel of compression and comprehension, we see Jefferson more clearly than in the massive studies of earlier generations. More important, we see, in Jefferson's visionary ideas, the birth of the nation's grand sense of purpose.

Paperback, 253 pages
Published September 15th 2005 by Oxford University Press, USA

Alias Reader wrote: "I wanted to put a plug in for a book I've not yet read but have heard very good things about. When you get to Nixon you might want to select

[bookcover:Nixonland: America's Second Civil War and ..."

I read the Bernstein book quite a few years ago. I thought it was a great little biography.

I forget if this has been posted already.

GR members created a list of the best presidential bios.
This might be another good source when looking for books.

/list/show/7...

GR members created a list of the best presidential bios.
This might be another good source when looking for books.

/list/show/..."


Thanks!! This will help me a great deal.

Alias Reader wrote: "I wanted to put a plug in for a book I've not yet read but have heard very good things about. When you get to Nixon you might want to select

..."

I should also note that the author has written a follow- up book that I think can make a great bridge book in the challenge. I like books that make connections between or among presidents.

The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan by Rick Perlstein

Another book that looks interesting and may be a good bridge book is
The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs

I started to read this book but stopped as I knew it was one I needed to buy and not get from the library as I was itching to put my marginalia in it.

First, thanks for the GR list. I probably saw it earlier but forgot it existed. Glad to see it.

Alias Reader wrote: "On another note, when I made my list out I was kind of shocked to see I hadn't read a book on Jefferson yet. I really thought I had. ..."

When we lived in Maryland i began American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis, an author whose history writing i've liked in the past. The timing was bad, so i returned the book and never got back to it. Indeed, when writing up the list of Pres. Bios this week, i realized i didn't finish it & am trying to decide what to do about that.

I won't be joining the challenge, but I love it!

I'm counting on all of you to identify the ones I REALLY need to read ... so, thanks for taking this on.

Also interested it watching your progress and admire your determination. I have Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance on my bookshelf and hope to get to soon.

Lesley, i felt it gave me a better idea of the President, than anything else i read. A Real Human, so to speak.

Alias Reader wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I wanted to put a plug in for a book I've not yet read but have heard very good things about. When you get to Nixon you might want to select

..."

I should also note that th..."

I really enjoyed The President's Club. Very meaningful. After all, not that many people have been president and it stands to reason that they would have lots to share regardless of their politics.

Bobbie57 wrote: I really enjoyed The President's Club. Very meaningful. After all, not that many people have been president and it stands to reason that they would have lots to share regardless of their politics. ."

I need to keep an eye out to see if Amazon puts this on sale for the Kindle. If not, it's on my library list.

Creating this list and talking out it here has prompted me to change around my next few reads. My next book will be

A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety--Jimmy Carter

Maybe after that the Jefferson book I just purchased. I'll see.

Thomas Jefferson--R.B. Bernstein

Today, it a gross weather day here in NYC. It's hot, hazy and very humid. They also have a air alert out. So I didn't want to go to my usual outdoor pier cardio dance class that I take on Monday. I am staying in and finished up 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--Dan Harris

Alias Reader wrote: "I forget if this has been posted already.

GR members created a list of the best presidential bios.
This might be another good source when looking for books.

/list/show/..."

This is a good source! Thanks!

Alias--here's another bridge book for you. I've enjoyed the few books I've read by David Pietrusza. Haven't gotten to this one yet, though:
1960--LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies

Amy wrote: "Alias--here's another bridge book for you. I've enjoyed the few books I've read by David Pietrusza. Haven't gotten to this one yet, though:
[book:1960--LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Ep..."

That sounds good.

Alias Reader wrote: "Bobbie57 wrote: I really enjoyed The President's Club. Very meaningful. After all, not that many people have been president and it stands to reason that they would have lots to share regardless of ..."

Alias, this is on my Nook and it is rare that they have it and Kindle doesn't. So you should definitely look for it.

Amy wrote: "Alias--here's another bridge book for you. I've enjoyed the few books I've read by David Pietrusza. Haven't gotten to this one yet, though:
[book:1960--LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Ep..."

Thanks ! It sounds perfect. I'll put it on my list.

Actually, when I have some time I need to create a TBR list and figure out what books I own but have not yet read for the challenge and another list for possible reads for the challenge.

Bobbie57 wrote: Actually, when I have some time I need to create a TBR list and figure out what books I own but have not yet read for the challenge and another list for possible reads for the challenge. .."

Re: The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity

Sorry, I wasn't' clear. They have it for the Kindle $15. I am just waiting/hoping for the price to drop to $2 or $3 for either the paper book or the Kindle. I usually only spend a few dollars for books on the Kindle. If I have to pay more I go with a paper book as that is my preference when reading.

I'm doing the Waiting Game with a few books. I am still waiting, probably it won't happen, for The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey--Candice Millard to drop in price to the $2-$3 range for the Kindle or paper.

Alias Reader wrote: "Bobbie57 wrote: Actually, when I have some time I need to create a TBR list and figure out what books I own but have not yet read for the challenge and another list for possible reads for the chall..."

I have both of these books: The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey and The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity in paperback. I should mail them to you when I'm done with them! :)

Thanks, that's very sweet of you but I wouldn't want you to go to that expense and trouble. And can get them easily from my library, too.

That Pietrusza book sounds very good. Thanks for the title, Amy. This thread has added to my possible candidates, partly because folks here have read some of them,which helps me figure out which to read.

Alias Reader wrote: "Bobbie57 wrote: Actually, when I have some time I need to create a TBR list and figure out what books I own but have not yet read for the challenge and another list for possible reads for the chall..."

I don't remember spending that much, but since I might have had a gift from my son, but it's not impossible.

This list is the books own but have NOT read for my presidential challenge.


Some of these I bought used, some were gifts and some I purchased new. One or two I read so long ago (high school) that I consider them unread.

I'll update the list as I acquire more books.



18th Century

1. George Washington


2. John Adams
John Adams--David McCullough

19th Century

3. Thomas Jefferson
Young Jefferson---Thomas Fleming (On Kindle)
4. James Madison


5. James Monroe
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness- Harlow Giles Unger

6. John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams--Harlow Giles Unger

7. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times-H.W. Brands

American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House--Jon Meacham

8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan


16. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln--Thomas Keneally

Father Abraham: Lincoln's Relentless Struggle To End Slavery--Richard Striner

17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison

24. Grover Cleveland
The President Is a Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth--Matthew Algeo

25. William McKinley

20th Century

26. Theodore Roosevelt
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt--Edmund Morris

Colonel Roosevelt--Edmund Morris

Mornings on Horseback--David McCullough

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism - Doris Kearns Goodwin

27. William Howard Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge


31. Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive-Joan Hoff

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Eleanor and Franklin--Joseph P. Lash

FDR: An Intimate History--Nathan Miller

An Untold Story : The Roosevelts of Hyde Park--Elliot Roosevelt

The Roosevelts: An American Saga--Peter Collier

Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - H.W. Brands

33. Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman--Robert Dallek

Truman- David McCullough

Give 'em Hell: The Tumultuous Years of Harry Truman's Presidency, in His Own Words and Voice With CD (Audio) - Terry Golway


34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower, American Hero: The Historical Record of His Life - Kenneth Sydney
Davis

Eisenhower by George Johnson (can't find on GR)


The Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower--Chester J. Pach Jr.

35. John F. Kennedy
Robert Kennedy and His Times-Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

John F. Kennedy, President-Hugh Sidey

The Man Who Knew Kennedy--Vance Bourjaily

36. Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson--Scott Barbour

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream: The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever Written--Doris Kearns Goodwin


37. Richard M. Nixon
Nixonland: America's Second Civil War and the Divisive Legacy of Richard Nixon 1965-72--Rick Perlstein

38. Gerald R. Ford

39. James Carter
An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood- Jimmy Carter

40. Ronald Reagan
41. George H. W. Bush
42. William J. Clinton

21st Century

43. George W. Bush
44. Barack Obama



Books on the topic of the U.S. presidents or multi presidents

- The American Presidency--Clinton Rossiter

- The American Presidents: Biographies of the Chief Executives from Washington Through Clinton- David C. Whitney

The History Buff's Guide to the Presidents: Top Ten Rankings of the Best, Worst, Largest and Most Controversial Facets of the American Presidency--Thomas R. Flagel

PRESIDENTS: All you need to know-Carter Smith

How convenient to have so many at hand, ready for a random reading. Watch out as you read for the realization you don't know enough about a topic. What i've learned about the politics of slavery has amazed me. Indeed, i intend to read a book which thoroughly covers the subject, to see what i didn't learn by these Presidential books.

madrano wrote: "How convenient to have so many at hand, ready for a random reading. Watch out as you read for the realization you don't know enough about a topic. What i've learned about the politics of slavery ha..."

Oh, I know deb. I frequently get sidelined and go off on reading tangents. :) It's one of the joys of reading !

As to not knowing enough about a topic or a particular president, that I know is so true, too. That is why this challenge never really ends. :)

Even if at some point I read the minimum of 1 book on each president, I know to really understand them and their times I would need to read a bunch more on most of them.

I recall reading in Read for Your Life: 11 Ways to Better Yourself Through Books by Pat Williams

"If you read one hour a day, you will finish a regular sized book in one week. Keep it up, and at the end of one year, you will have read 52 books. Here's an enticing fact to consider if you read the right 5 books on any one subject, you will be considered a world leading authority on that topic. That means, if you so desire, in one year you can become a world leading authority on as many as 10 different subjects!

Of course this is a bit of hyperbole, but I really enjoyed Pat Williams book on why reading is important. There were so many great quotes in the book, too. When I read the book, I shared many of them with you all here.

My big problem is I have a poor memory. So I would probably need to read 25+ serious books on a single topic to retain much. :)

I'm with you on the memory thing, Alias. Elsewhere someone (maybe Amy?) mentioned she stores information with her husband by sharing it and he can often recall what she said. I've been doing that more & more...not just with my husband, but also with my brother. They seem to retain the bits i've shared, probably because they aren't wading through everything else, too. Regardless, now we share more about the books we are reading. Which isn't to say i'm trying to store any of his book info--he's on his on there!

madrano wrote: "I'm with you on the memory thing, Alias. Elsewhere someone (maybe Amy?) mentioned she stores information with her husband by sharing it and he can often recall what she said. I've been doing that m..."

It seems like you and Amy are using your husbands as Flash drives. :) Lucky you.

Ha! I'm going to start calling my husband "Flash" from now on, Alias. I'm sure he's going to love that. ;)

LOL

Alias Reader wrote: "madrano wrote: "How convenient to have so many at hand, ready for a random reading. Watch out as you read for the realization you don't know enough about a topic. What i've learned about the politi..."

I usually put 52 books a year as my goal. Not doing so well this year as I was in a slump, but doing better lately.

LOL, re. Flash Drives. I don't know that i want my husband knowing i'm using him that way. Perhaps he already realizes? I must add that it's curious that when he tells me bits about his books i tend to remember some things better. This is fortunate because it gives the appearance that i'm really keeping up with him. Unfortunately this isn't always the case. He's told me much about the book he's reading now, Waterloo: Wellington, Napoleon, and the Battle that Saved Europe by Gordon Corrigan. I got confused somewhere, so now all i recall are the fun bits, not the history.

Bobbie, your comment about 52 books a year had me wondering how i'm doing. I've read more than i thought, 32. To be honest, though, a number of those were mysteries, which take me a day or two to read. I think this is why i have the sense i haven't read much this year. At least i'm still working on my Presidential list. Last year i only read one & this year i have 3 President's under my belt. Glad for that. I may reach the 20th century by the end of this year.

My goal on GoodReads is 52, also.

I'm one book ahead of schedule.

So far I've read 30 books and I've read 7,821 pages.

I'm so jealous - I've had little reading time this year - only 15 books so far. On the other hand, I've had some chunky ones, so I'm up to 6,479 pages!

I'm loving reading through everyone's threads on the presidential reads. I'll definitely be adding some to my TBR pile.

The GR yearly book goal is just for fun. It really doesn't mean much.

One could read 100 beach read type books. How does one compare that to a dozen hardcore serious non fiction books? It doesn't.

Many of my books read this year aren't that serious or challenging.

Alias Reader wrote: "The GR yearly book goal is just for fun. It really doesn't mean much.

One could read 100 beach read type books. How does one compare that to a dozen hardcore serious non fiction books? It doe..."

I'm with you on this one, Alias. I purposely set my GR yearly goal low (50 books, which for me is very modest since I usually read close to 100 each year) so that I wouldn't feel pressured to reach past the weighty nonfiction tomes for the quickie beach reads just to amp up my total.

(That's not to say that I don't still reach for a lighter read from time to time, especially if I'm feeling like I need a mental break or I can't concentrate. In fact, it's good for me to alternate the weighty tomes with the lighter reads so that I don't get bored or fatigued.)

So far, I've read 69 books (26,307 pages), so I've already completed the yearly challenge. And because I'm not focused on trying to hit some ridiculous total, this year I've completed War and Peace as well as a significant number of nonfiction selections. I'm lucky enough to have large chunks of reading time available to me because I commute on the train every day (an hour each way). That helps a lot.

I haven't really set goals for reading in a number of years, given our travels & such. Still, when more than half my books are easy reading, i feel disappointed in myself. However, as Libyrinths noted earlier, on the road my mind probably couldn't handle the more challenging reading about science and math. Even history is tougher when we are traveling unless i am reading about sites we see that week.

Still, i like keeping my list. Often you can tell when we were on the road by the titles. Also, it helps me keep tabs on what i've read, as that seems to be a mental strain lately.

I definitely had years where most of my reads were mysteries. Paperbacks on my subway commute made the time go by. So I don't beat myself up about it. The goal really is just for fun.

I can read non-fiction during my commute, but it's sometimes difficult to take notes on the bus. I find I take more notes on non-fiction so it's problematic for that reason. I also read non-fiction more slowly. So I tend to read less of it because I usually don't have time to read a non-fiction book. Even if it isn't a library book with an imminent due date, there are always other library books with imminent due dates.

I see a benefit with library books in that i usually read them within the time limit. When i own the book, i tend not to read them. This is bad news. While living in our own house, i was working on reading what i owned. Now, using iPad on the road, i'm back to library books while STILL amassing paper books to read. Typical, eh?

Bobbie, i note a trend in my reading over the years. As i'm adjusting to a new home (we moved 7 or so times), i lean toward mysteries & other "quick" fiction. So my lifetime list is full of those. I didn't used to beat myself up about it but now that i see i won't read all i want to get to, i have begun to feel a bit of something, if not guilt.

I'm with you, Shomeret, about non-fiction reading & notes. This is why it's tough for me to read on the road unless i have the physical book with me. It's a rare NF that i read & don't take some notes.

deb

:)
Animaniacs - Presidents

Love it!!!

cute :)

Best of luck, Alias. I admire those in the group who are reading presidential related books. That would be a tough one for me to follow through with 44+ books.