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Theme Challenges > 'Low Vision Awareness' Theme - 2015

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message 1: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments February is AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month in the U.S., which inspired this theme. The 'Low Vision Awareness' Theme challenge is to listen to an audiobook or read a book available in large-print (you do not have to actually read the large print edition but the book must be available in this format to count).

Hopefully participating in this challenge will increase awareness of what options are available to those with macular degeneration or other vision problems. If you inquire about large print editions or audiobooks at your local library, it might help build demand for these items as well.


message 2: by Gill (new)

Gill | 5719 comments Thanks!


message 3: by Bionic Jean (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) Ditto! :)

The last figure I heard quoted was that only 4% of all books are available in accessible formats, non-fiction being by far the worst represented.


message 4: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
Really interesting theme; I'm afraid I'm rather uninformed about all; it can be a good occasion to deepen the knowledge...


message 5: by Alannah (new)

Alannah Clarke (alannahclarke) | 14527 comments Mod
Might give me a chance to use more of my audible credits. This is a great theme challenge.


message 6: by Amber (new)

Amber (amberterminatorofgoodreads) I read large print sometimes when I go to the library and actually look for a book in large print. didn't know that's what it was. It's also women in horror month too in February so I am going to devote some of my books to women horror authors like The Shining Girls.


message 7: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Amber wrote: "I read large print sometimes when I go to the library and actually look for a book in large print. didn't know that's what it was. It's also women in horror month too in February so I am going to d..."

Amber - feel free to count those horror books under the Halloween Theme, even though you are reading them in Feb. :)


message 8: by Amber (new)

Amber (amberterminatorofgoodreads) Okay cool. I'll read them in large-print too if I can that month.


message 9: by Gemma (new)

Gemma (gemmagem20) | 460 comments I'm going to try and listen to an audio book this month. I was thinking about Jane Eyre.


message 10: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
Gemma wrote: "I'm going to try and listen to an audio book this month. I was thinking about Jane Eyre."

Great choice for an audiobook


message 11: by [deleted user] (new)

I think I will give audiobooks another go but not sure which one. Will have a think.


message 12: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) | 4893 comments 1. The Purity of Vengeance: A Department Q Novel by Jussi Adler Olsen (audiobook)


message 13: by Bionic Jean (last edited Jan 05, 2014 02:34PM) (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) Am I allowed to feel smug for this one as everything I read will count in this section :D


message 14: by Shirley (new)

Shirley | 4177 comments Jean wrote: "Am I allowed to feel smug for this one as everything I read will count in this section :D"

Most definitely, Jean, you will win hands down!


message 15: by Bionic Jean (last edited Jan 05, 2014 03:08PM) (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) Well... a tie with Gill will be OK by me ;)


message 16: by Gill (new)

Gill | 5719 comments Jean wrote: "Well... a tie with Gill will be OK by me ;)"
Yes, lots of bonus points for you and me! I can add this to my list of 'Good things about having AMD'!! (Yes, I do have such a list)


message 17: by Bionic Jean (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) Good for you, Gill! :)


message 18: by LauraT (last edited Jan 08, 2014 03:52AM) (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
Up tonow these two; but before the end of the year thy'll be much more: I like audiobooks, I listen to them often

Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey Read Audiobook
Albert Camus, La Peste Reading now Audiobook
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven GablesÌý Reading now Audiobook


message 19: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) | 4893 comments 2. The Lemon Table by Julian Barnes (audiobook)


message 20: by Petra (last edited Mar 09, 2014 02:00PM) (new)

Petra | 3316 comments 1. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)
2. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)
3. Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen (audiobook)
4. High Five by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)
5. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)
6. The Shoemaker's Wife (audio; I liked the narrator of the 1st half; the author narrated the 2nd half and her voice wasn't as sing-song and lyrical)


message 21: by Pink (last edited Feb 09, 2014 12:32PM) (new)

Pink Gill and Jean, you are queens of this challenge :)

I don't have any vision problems and usually read paperback books, sometimes with ridiculously tiny font that anyone would struggle with. For this challenge I guess I'll count books that I read on my kindle (which are few) and audiobooks (which are completely new to me!)

February books -
The Grass is Singing Kindle
Middlemarch Audiobook
The Awakening Kindle


message 22: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
Petra wrote: "1. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)
2. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)"


How's this book by Evanovich Petra?


message 23: by Bionic Jean (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) Do you remember I said everything I read qualifies here? LOL Well I'm finding I DO have my own take on this challenge after all.

There are plenty of books which are never published in accessible formats, even since the advent of e-readers. Ususally we VIPs just shrug and read something else. But having read some of Anna Akhmatova 's poetry I wanted to read more than is available on the Kindle. Very little poetry is ever available as Large Print, so... I got a normal size print book out of the library Selected Poems and am somehow managing with magnifiers.

Do you reckon this counts? It's certainly reminding me of just how small what is called "normal print" is. I had forgotten, as you get to think that what you usually read is "normal"! :D


message 24: by Gill (new)

Gill | 5719 comments To me, this seems much more manageable with poetry books, Jean. I guess it's because there's so much less text, and reading poetry is a much slower process anyway.


message 25: by Bionic Jean (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) I'm sure that is true, Gill. I would never have even tried it had it not been for your suggestion, which seemed to make sense. It's the "scanning" that does me in anyway! :)


message 26: by Leslie (last edited Feb 04, 2014 02:17PM) (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Hey, I forgot that I could count my big fat classic here too, since I listened to it as an audiobook!

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (audiobook & Kindle)
2. Booktaker by Bill Pronzini (audiobook)
3. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (audiobook but I recommend using a print or ebook edition)


message 27: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) | 4893 comments 3. Robinson Crusoe � Defoe
4. Dr. Katzenbergers Badereise � Jean Paul
5. The God Delusion � Richard Dawkins
6. A Simple Heart � Gustave Flaubert
7. A Mercy � Toni Morrison
(all audiobook)


message 29: by [deleted user] (new)

1. My Cousin Rachel- Read in small print, but found in large print

I was going to count The Grass is Singing but it's £97.36 from Amazon in large print. I have to admit, I have just been going through my books and I am amazed at how few are available in large print and also how difficult it can be to find them. I guess with the advent of kindles this is less of a problem but I am shocked.

I tried an audiobook again (Middlemarch) but I just can't concentrate on it


message 30: by Bionic Jean (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) YES! I've been banging on about this for years Heather. Folk seemed to think as long as there were a few "Mills and Boons" and some cowboy stories in the library then that was OK. (No offence, but they're not to everyone's taste!)

You are absolutely right. The advent of e-books has made an enormous difference. Put it this way. If it had not been for e-books I would never have had the courage to join Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. It would all have been too depressing and frustrating.

Thanks on behalf of all us VIPs to all of you for being game for this challenge! :)


message 31: by [deleted user] (new)

I was surprised how difficult I found just searching for a large print book.


message 32: by [deleted user] (new)

Using amazon kept finding kindle editions and some large prints were clearly out of print and very expensive.

This challenge has certainly raised my awareness


message 33: by Bionic Jean (last edited Feb 16, 2014 06:02AM) (new)

Bionic Jean (bionicjean) The ironic thing about the example you gave is that I actually have an ex-library Large Print copy of The Grass is Singing in my "bag to go to the charity shop", as I have now read it and also have it on Kindle.

They will probably put a price of £2.99 or similar on it. It may have cost me about 30p. But yes, if I had searched for it on Amazon I could expect to pay the price you said, as it's a sellers' market for Large Print books. Totally ridiculous situation. I get some real bargains - but can't choose what they will be!

Another thing that drives me spare is when volumes are separated. I saw a Large Print copy of Middlemarch a couple of weeks ago, and was about to snap it up when I spotted that it was only the middle one of three! Aaaargh!

Mind you, I did once manage to get a complete Large Print David Copperfield . Two Large Print volumes - and found at different times in different towns! Not even a matching pair, but still first and second volumes. :)


message 34: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (jeoblivion) | 4893 comments 8. The Discovery of Slowness� Sten Nadolny
9. He Lover of Death - Boris Akunin
10. Das Fräulein von Scuderi � E.T.A. Hoffmann

all audiobook


message 36: by Debs (new)

Debs Audio book - The White Queen, Philippa Gregory


message 39: by Chrissie (new)

Chrissie Every book I have "read" this year has been an audiobook....

Please see this: if you are curious which:
/topic/show/...

I am going to be trying a Kindle Paperwhite. You know the selection of audio and Kindle books available is much higher in the US than in Europe. I HATE all the publication restrictions. But I am terribly happy that more and more books are becoming available in these formats.

PS In my reviews, although I rate by the book's content rather than its narration, I also discuss my view on how well the book was narrated. Well narrated books can be the icing on a cake, but they cannot save a bad book.


message 40: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
3 Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven GablesÌý Read Audiobook
4 Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841) Read Audiobook
5 Anthony Trollope, Is He Popenjoy? Read Audiobook
6 Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit Reading now Audiobook


message 41: by Petra (new)

Petra | 3316 comments More audiobooks:

10. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
11. Fifth Business (highly recommended)


message 43: by Chrissie (new)

Chrissie Leslie, it looks like you have become as addicted to audiobooks as I have. I cannot eat breakfast without listening to a book.


message 44: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Chrissie wrote: "Leslie, it looks like you have become as addicted to audiobooks as I have. I cannot eat breakfast without listening to a book."

Hahaha! Yes, it is now part of my morning routine: turn on coffee pot, turn on audiobook...


message 45: by Chrissie (new)

Chrissie Oh, here we are doing the same thing!!!!


message 46: by Petra (new)

Petra | 3316 comments 12. Seven Up (audiobook) (didn't like this one....hardly any storyline)


message 47: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
1 Thomas Love Peacock, Nightmare Abbey Read Audiobook
2 Albert Camus,Ìý La Peste Read Audiobook
3 Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven GablesÌý Read Audiobook
4 Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1841) Read Audiobook
5 Anthony Trollope,Ìý Is He Popenjoy? Read Audiobook
6 Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit Read Audiobook
7 Wilkie Collins, The Evil Genius Read Audiobook
8 Nalia Ginzburg, Caro Michele Reading now Audiobook


message 49: by Leslie (new)

Leslie | 16369 comments Large Print:
1. A Shilling for Candles - Josephine Tey

Audiobooks:
36. Carter Finally Gets It - Brent Crawford
37. a couple of short stories by Michael J. Sullivan: The Viscount and the Witch & The Jester
38. Kim - Rudyard Kipling
39. Once - Morris Gleitzman
40. The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
41. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
42. The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie {reread}
43. Whodunnit? Murder in Mystery Manor - Anthony E. Zuiker
44. Barnaby Rudge - Charles Dickens


message 50: by LauraT (new)

LauraT (laurata) | 14319 comments Mod
8 Nalia Ginzburg, Caro Michele Read
9 Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage Reading now

All Audiobooks


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