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Ah! I laughed when you said "If anyone has figured out how to count and listen to an audiobook"...I cannot! I have to listen to music while I work out or I die. I read less this year than I did the year before and I know it's because I am much more active. I am so happy with the new hobbies though! So it's been nice to shift my focus around. Love the idea of a reading journal as well. I've been really enjoying journaling lately. Fayne is absolutely wonderful 💙. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. The Guest was also a solid read for me, also loved The Girls. I have My Friends on my TBR for 2025 too - just couldn't get to it last year. Happy New Year Priscilla 🥰

Yesterday I finished God of The Woods & did not enjoy it at all. I kept reading thinking it would improve....& it never did . I do not recommend.

I love that cover of The Mighty Red! Much better than the US cover!

I’m back to thank you for your recommendation of Kiesling’s Mobility. I just finished it last night and think I’ve probably already read my top book of the year. So much to think about! I hope to read her first novel later this year. Thanks, again.

I mean, how can I not put Mobility on my TBR now?! 😂 Beautiful wrap up Priscilla, happy new reading year🎉

...and I've added more books to my list I'd like to read this year. So good.

I threw myself into planning a whole load of challenges, buddy reads and book club reads but I tossed most of that out of the window when I realised it’s too much pressure. Really all I want to do is read from my shelves and tackle some big books that I’ve been neglecting. I didn’t set a reading goal number this year. The only challenge I’m doing now is Ben’s.

O Caledonia and Lolly Widowes were both excellent books. So glad you liked them! 😊

P.s. I rarely read the descriptions on the books. I try to get the gist- that’s it. I hate getting spoiled by descriptions and too much detail about a book! 😅

Oooh! I bought Fayne at the end of last year and didn’t even think of that one for the Ben Reads Good challenge! I’m going to be approaching that challenge out of order. 😂😊

Funny how these days not being “driven” can feel like being lazy when it really isn’t. Look forward to your thoughts on The Mighty Red. Hope you get to Pere Goriot.

Jane Austen sounds like a perfect calming author for what may be a fraught year. I’m thinking of making this year’s “bookish” goal to be more involved on booktube (as a channel and as a viewer) rather than actual reading goals. And regular exercise has definitely got to be a priority too. Good luck to you-and I am eager to see how things go for you!

I agree, Leonard and Hungry Paul was a lovely read. Love the quote you shared.

There's nothing like waking up in the morning and saying, "No." lol

Hello Beautiful was one of my favourite books last year😊 I’ve recently copied my books from Goodreads to StoryGraph, it actually was much easier than I expected and you can do it in one transaction, I get you not wanting to have two platforms on the go though.

“The Guest” is set in the Hamptons on Long Island. It was a page turner for me. When you read it, you will see that Cline was inspired by John Cheever’s story “The Swimmer”. If you like books about friend groups, you would probably enjoy Mary McCarthy’s 1961 novel “The Group” it follow the post grad experiences of 5 or 6 graduates of one of the Ivy League women’s colleges. I really liked it when I read it decades ago. My favorite Austen is “Persuasion”. Best wishes for a Happy New Year filled with good reads.

I hear you about not having time to read at the same pace as others! I've realized recently that I'm a thinker more than I am a reader. Meaning, as I read, I quite often stop and think. Sometimes I take notes, but more often than not, I just stop and think for a really long time. Often I spend longer thinking than I do reading. I wouldn't change that about myself, even if it meant fitting in more books in a year. Good luck this year, and happy 2025!!!

I’m trying to be “aggressive” (to use your word) but with a much narrower focus than previously. I do a little therapy (less frequently than I ought) occasionally while watching BookTube, and then - in exercises where it’s feasible - I stick out fingers 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 etc., and it works better than any other method I’ve tried, because of the physical component.

I entered a goal of 50 books on Goodreads, but that’s pretty lofty for me, and I don’t really care if I get there or not!I’ve thought about removing it, but haven’t just yet. I also bought a reading journal to keep better record of my feelings/thoughts about each book, hoping it will help me remember them with more clarity.

Madame Bovary!! I was supposed to read that book in college, don't remember if I did! What I do remember is a book by Mario Vargas Llosa calles "The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary" which is a book length essay that Vargas Llosa writes about the book! Have you heard of it?

I am sometimes nostalgic for the days when I had no idea what I would read next and just randomly strolled around the library for ideas. But I also love all the events - I’m pretty sure it’s my own over scheduling to blame! So glad you are making time for my Endless Drama, lol. I am quite interested in They and I can’t wait to hear more about it. It may indeed pair well with R.U.R. I thought Kala was a good debut novel. I am going to join in on the Madame Bovary group. I’ve been wanting to reread that for some time. Ooh, My Friends is excellent and I talked about it several times. Melinda and I read The Mighty Red and enjoyed it. Great haul!

I'm also reading Fayne for the January prompt of the Read Good Challenge! I'm halfway through and really enjoying it so far. I've got a bit of big book fear and one of my goals this year is to try and tackle it, so far it's going well with Fayne. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it!

HAHA This sounds like my internal dialog!! AND yes, darn it, I want to be able to do all of it! But alas, reality sets in and I become ME again. 52 books s year sounds good to me. I read ~30 books this year and I have to be good with that but inside I think, slacker. If you like books on friendship and Patchett have you read Truth & Beauty? In the category of, What was I thinking, I made a 2nd youtube channel!! Jeesh. For my mental health I look at my Shorties for Sept. Laughing. LOVE the cover of the Mighty Red. Maybe I can find it in the UK.

If you're still having an LA moment, I recommend books by the late Eve Babitz. I can't remember if you've already read her books or not. In any case, I’m going to steer you to “I Used to Be Charming: The Best of Eve Babitz” (2019). You’ll find 50 pieces written between 1975 and 1997. For a shorter read, try “Eve’s Hollywood” (1974). Either way, you’ll have fun.

I do not have it in my old bones to switch to a new reading tracker. Goodreads is just fine and my favorite thing about it is seeing what other people are into. So leave the slick, beautiful interfaces to the young, I say. lol. Yeah, I am so done with too much planning. I'm not sure how easy it would be to do strength training with an audiobook, but definitely any cardio, right? I started my ARC of Show Don't Tell last night. After the first story, I am so excited to keep going. Can't wait to see what you think.

If you like a chunkster (over 700 pages), an historical novel (set in the late 1800s), a compelling setting (an estate on the moorland on the border of Scotland and England), and a gender identity story, you’ll love “Fayne.” Jess at Stalking Kafka raved about it so I gave it a try, and I loved it. In fact, I loved it so much that when Jess began reading another Ann-Marie MacDonald book, “Fall on Your Knees,” I read that one, too, and loved it just as much as “Fayne.” Now that I’m on an Ann-Marie MacDonald roll, I plan to read “The Way the Crow Flies,” a chunkster even chunkier than the previous two books I mentioned. 😀

Do you mean to tell us that you have a life outside of BookTube? And that BookTube isn’t your priority? Shocking!🤣

hello.....😊

Listening to an audiobook while exercising is a great idea! I always listen to audiobooks when I walk on the treadmill, then switch to music during resistance training (count and listen to an audiobook at the same time? Never!). Might I suggest starting with the audiobook of Elizabeth is Missing 😉 If possible, you might also try a writing setup with a walking desk, so you can walk and write at the same time. I've had my eye on Fayne for a while but haven't gotten around to snagging a copy. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Happy reading!

Oh yes, I meant to try the Lydia Sandgren! I began it and the it was a library book! What a list!!

First time viewing your channel. I like the diversity of your books. Many of these titles I haven’t heard or seen. Will have to check some of them out. Look forward to your next presentation.

Hi! Happy New Year to you. I'm currently reading Leonard and Hungry Paul and a couple you mentioned are on my TBR God of the Woods and The Fri Afternoon Club. I had not heard of Jennifer Haigh or Emma Straub, also, Mobility, there is a reason my channel is named Living Under a Rock. TY

Happy New Year! Just an FYI--The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets are both standalones. However, I really enjoyed both of them! I am waiting for the second book after Shutter to show up in my Libby App. I really enjoyed Shutter...after the first chapter. That was rough (and I hear the first chapter of Exposure is similar...)

True Grit was an amazing way to get into audiobooks. Audiobook production keeps getting better and better. You are dipping into those waters at the right time.

I love these videos. Quick question though, the link for your instagram page doesn't work for me. Do you know why that is?

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What a great way to review the year's reading. I hope we get a chance to buddyread something again in 2025 as well as overlapping on some group things.

Lovely wrap up, Priscilla. “A balm for the spirit” is a great way to describe Leonard and Hungry Paul. ❤

Read The short and tragic life of Robert peace Autobiography of a face followed by truth and beauty Into thin air

Happy New Year Priscilla, wishing you a joyful 2025! Great video and a brilliant list. I thought the new Elizabeth Strout would be the book you felt a bit disappointed with, it just didn’t quite make it did it, I still very much enjoyed it though. I have Night of the Living Rez and Mercy Street on my TBR shelf, must get round to them!

Terrific list, Priscilla. We have several favorites in common, and I'm also getting a lot of good ideas for the coming year from you. Mercy Street has been on my radar forever. I think I need to get to it! I love hearing you talk about Terms of Endearment. I re-read that shortly before I arrived here in the world of booktube, I think. I never really hear anyone talk about that one. I love Liz Moore too. I don't think I loved God of the Woods as much as I loved Long Bright River, but I did like it very much. Wishing you all good things in the new year, Priscilla.

Hi Priscilla, happy new year! I’ve been hearing about Leonard and Hung Paul on a lot of book tubers lists and it seems like a book I would like very much. Unfortunately, I didn’t get along with God of the woods as much as you did, but it could be because I know that part of the world very well and something didn’t click with me. I have read 84 Charing Cross Rd. numerous times and love it every time I read it. Of course it is said in or partly in New York and as a native New Yorker, I knew that main character. Aloha friend.

I wonder what turned you off of _Troubles?_ I suppose I did like _Siege_ better (really have to think about it though) - maybe this year I’ll get to the _Grip._ This could be a tag! Great set of prompts, and I liked hearing about your reading year.

So I have stocked up on great reads apparently as I bought Jennifer Haigh's (books most of them I think) and Kent Haruf's books because I can't just buy one! Looking forward to reading Collected Works and The God Of the Woods! I am always way more ambitious about what I think I am going to get to than what I can get to! Happy New Year. Nice to see you to start off the New Year.

I must be the only person in the world who did not like 84 Charing Cross Road!

I loved Night of the Living Rez, too.

With so many favorites in common, it’s quite exciting and promising that there are a bunch here that I haven’t yet read. Especially Mobility. And I promise yet again to get to Collected Works soon! Orbital. “Samantha Harvey’s Book of Lists” is the perfect alternative title. True confession: I DNFd Groundskeeping a couple of years ago but I can’t remember why. This was a great video and I liked the format!

Love this format for end of year rumination. I will look out for Mercy Street and Mobility on the library site. Did you ever read Susan Barker's Incarnations? It was a book about Chinese people in various time periods, so vivid and varied in their circumstances, with a good ending. She's got a new book coming out this month and I'm excited.

I hope that you dedicate a video to “The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir” by Griffin Dunne. I listened to it on audio as narrated by the author and enjoyed his many fun and fascinating anecdotes. It also helped raise the number of audiobooks I listened to in 2024 to 13; a goal of mine last year. I’m trying to give my eyes a break whenever I can.👀

When you said, “It’s a new year but it’s not a new me.”🤣Stay as you are, Priscilla.😄