My Challenges (timed)


See my list here
Completed 8 of 9



See my list here
Completed 2 of 3



See my list here
Completed 2 of 4



See my list here
Completed 71 of 81



See my list here
Completed 9 of 10


See my list here
Completed 34 of 50



See my list here
Completed 1 of 2



See my list here
Completed 1 of 2



See my list here
Completed 1 of 5



See my list here
Completed 3 of 5



See my list here
Completed 5 of 100

My Challenges (perpetual)

100 SHOTS OF SHORT
See my list of stories read here

CHECKIN’ OFF THE CHEKHOV
See my list of stories read here

THE COMPLETE BOOKER
See my list of books read here

MARTEL-HARPER CHALLENGE
See my list of books read here

MODERN LIBRARY'S 100 BEST NOVELS

See my list of books read here

NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
See my list of books read here

THE PULITZER PROJECT
See my list of books read here

TAMMY'S BEYOND BOOKS CHALLENGE

New York Times Book Review: 6/40
New Yorker: 0/36
New York Review of Books: 0/20
Vogue: 1/16
Email: 841/1373

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Booking Through Thursday -- March 20



"You’ve just reached the end of a book . . . what do you do now? Savor and muse over the book? Dive right into the next one? Go take the dog for a walk, the kids to the park, before even thinking about the next book you’re going to read? What?

(Obviously, there can be more than one answer, here–a book with a cliff-hanger is going to engender different reactions than a serene, stand-alone, but you get the idea!)"

I usually need a little time to reflect before I jump into the next book. Depending on the type of book I just finished, that can be a couple of hours to a day or more. It's hardly ever more than 2 days, though, because I can never wait to get started on the next one:)

Most of the time, I start thinking about what I'm going to read next before I've finished the one I'm on -- since I've started doing challenges, I pull all my challenge books out of my bookcases and put them in a separate bookcase in another room, so I know which ones to focus on. I have to be in the right mood to start a new book, so I like having them all in one place when it's time to pick the next -- I can contemplate my choices much easier being able to see them all.

Generally speaking, I will reflect longer and more intensely on a fiction book than a nonfiction. I'll also sometimes do a little outside research (SparkNotes, academic papers focused on the book) because I want to make sure I understood the different layers of the story and connected with what the author was trying to say. (I'll also do this sometimes for plays or movies based on plays -- for example, I don't know if I would have figured out on my own that "The Crucible" was a reaction to McCarthyism.)

5 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

We book bloggers do not give much gaps between books, do we?

:D

No time to waste!

Booking upto ending

Idaho Gal said...

I also research after finishing some fictional books, especially classics!

Chrisbookarama said...

Separating books is a good idea. I'm always forgetting what's on my challenges lists.

Anonymous said...

I am in awe at the thought of someone who has a spare bookcase into which to put her challenge books. Leaving them around in piles on the floor is the more likely scenario in this house.

Tammy said...

Yes, some classics almost require outside research, lol. Slaughterhouse-Five is getting researched this weekend.

The separate bookcase helps to keep me from going crazy at the library, too -- I already own more books than I can read, who needs to check out more?