LibraryLover23's 2018 ROOT Challenge

I'm new to the challenge and ready to jump in! I own over 700 books, about half of which are unread. I really just don't have the space to keep them all (although I've gotten creative with finding book nooks, believe me), but it would be nice to just have some space to breathe. I'd like to increase my reading total in general for 2018 and I'd like to set my ROOT challenge to 40 books. Hopefully that'll be doable, we shall see. Good luck everyone with your challenges!

Welcome and good luck! This group is a great motivator for reading the books off your shelves :)

Good luck from me too! I hope you find the group as helpful as I have in motivating me to read more books (unfortunately it's been even more motivating in the book acquisition department - but let's face it, if that's my worst vice I'm probably doing alright in the scheme of things!).

Welcome to the ROOTers and good luck with your challenge, LL. It's a common thing here on the ROOTers, too many books, too little space and still buying new ones.

Good luck rooting!

glad you're with us!

Have fun concentrating on your ROOTs in 2018!

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome! I'm anxious to get started with the challenge, I'm in the middle of a few chunksters right now that I hope to be nearly finished with by the time the new year rolls around.

Hi, welcome to the group and good luck with your goal!

Welcome to the group and good luck. It's so good to be among fellow book buyers and even better to get motivated to read them.

Good luck! I'm a serial book buyer and have run out of bookshelf space too, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Here's to our ROOTy success in the New Year! *clinks hot chocolate mugs* An hour or so to go... :)

Happy New Year, LL.!

Happy reading in 2018!

>9 floremolla:, >10 Henrik_Madsen:, >11 elliepotten:, >12 connie53:, >13 FAMeulstee: Thank you everyone! Happy New Year to you too! I'm steadily working my way through two ROOTs right now and I'm hoping to finish them sooner rather than later. I should be able to knock one out by this weekend at least.

Welcome to the group! I hope you find it as motivating as I do!

>15 MissWatson: Thank you! I'm definitely motivated by everyone's progress and encouragement. Now if I can just get off LT... ;)

>16 LibraryLover23: Yes, procrastinating on other people's threads instead of ROOTing is a constant hazard.

>17 MissWatson: Agreed!

1. The Foxfire Book: Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts And Foods, Planting By The Signs, Snake Lore, Hunting Tales, Faith Healing, Moonshining, And Other Affairs Of Plain Living edited by Eliot Wigginton (384 p.)
Back in the 60's, Eliot Wigginton was a teacher in rural Appalachian Georgia, and in order to motivate his class, he had them put together a magazine made up of articles about the Appalachian way of living. The students interviewed their relatives for information, and the result morphed into a whole collection of magazines, which in turn became a series of books. I love stuff like this, I'm a sucker for learning about the homesteading lifestyle so these books are right up my alley. I particularly enjoyed the section on how to build your own log cabin, which covered everything from how to build the foundation, all the way up to what to use for the rafters. I have the second book in this series to read also and I look forward to enjoying it someday.

>1 LibraryLover23: oldies but goodies! I was required to read these books for a course I took in the 1970's. I remember them fondly.

>20 Tess_W: It was really interesting! It's fascinating to see a way of life that doesn't necessarily exist anymore.

>19 LibraryLover23: I actually have the original first Foxfire. One of my childhood friends dropped out of school and she and her boyfriend ran off to a commune. When this book came out she sent it to me. I still have it and was just looking through it a few weeks ago.

>22 clue: Wow, that's interesting. Did your friend stay in the commune? I find it fascinating that people can live in an environment like that...

>23 LibraryLover23: Yes, she lived there for about 10 years. Then she and her husband divorced and she moved to a large city and lived in big house that was similar to a commune. Those living there had their own room and shared the kitchen and bathroom but basically lived separately financially.

After a few years of that she decided to go to college, she passed a GED test and a college entrance test with flying colors. She got a degree in psychology and became a counselor. She has been married numerous times, I don't even know how many. Her dad, who was wealthy, died after she had worked as a counselor 5 or 6 years and left her a large amount of money. She quit working and decided to become an artist. She isn't very good but has a good time with it. She is married yet again, and they have built a fabulous home where each has their own suite and as I understand it don't see each other every day. The home is on something like 100 acres outside a small city.

She should write a book!

>24 clue: She should! She has enough to tell about her live.

>24 clue:, >25 connie53: She definitely should! It sounds like she's lived a fascinating, full life.

2. Sorcery & Cecilia, Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (326 p.)
Fun, frothy, light read about two cousins who write letters back and forth detailing their exploits in both romance and magical occurrences. Cecy lives in the English countryside, Kate in London, and both learn to navigate their respective boy troubles, a missing brother, and magic being practiced by both bad and good wizards. An enjoyable YA read for this snowy day.

Oh! I loved Sorcery and Cecilia (and the Odious Marquis!) Glad you liked it, too

>28 Caramellunacy: I thought it was really cute. I'd be interested in reading the sequel sometime but I feel I have to clear out some of this backlog first!

3. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel Of The Last Tsar by Robert Alexander (229 p.)
Very good historical fiction about the last days of the Romanovs, as told from the perspective of their kitchen boy, Leonka. The tension as the date of the execution drew near was almost unbearable, and the description of the act itself was hard to stomach, but the book as a whole was very well done. My only quibble is that I didn't really buy the twist at the end, the book would have been stronger if it had just left off the epilogue I think. Still it was well worth reading, and I'm looking forward to the big Nicholas and Alexandra biography I have languishing somewhere on my shelves.

>30 LibraryLover23:, I got most of the way through Nicholas and Alexandra (then put it down because it was too big to take on one of my plane trips) and was really fascinated - more than I expected to be.

>31 Caramellunacy: I'm really looking forward to it. The Kitchen Boy really whetted my appetite to read more about that family.

4. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (283 p.)
Very cute read about an insecure 14 year-old girl who learns she's actually the princess of a small European principality. This might be one of the rare instances where the movie was just as good as, if not better than, the book. (I didn't care for book grandma nearly as much as I did Julie Andrews' grandma in the movie.) Still, it was very cute and funny and I'll most likely be reading the next few entries forthwith while the plot is still fresh in my mind.

>33 LibraryLover23: Even without having read the book, I can see how Julie Andrews grandma would be better than book grandma! :)

>34 rabbitprincess: Yes, definitely! Book grandma is kind of mean, which doesn't fit the Julie Andrews' mold, that's for sure.

5. Princess In The Spotlight by Meg Cabot (257 p.)
The second book in The Princess Diaries series picks up right where the first one left off, with Mia just as goofy and naïve as ever. In this one Mia has to give a nationwide interview as the princess of Genovia, and Mia's mom is going through some major life changes as well. A fun, zippy read.

I realized I never formally explained my rules for what I'm counting as a ROOT: any book that I own a physical copy of (so not counting Kindle books), that is unread (so no rereads). It doesn't matter if I give the book away after I finish it, although the majority of them I will. (Four of the first five I've read so far are out the door.) So pretty simple really, I'm enjoying checking these books off my list!

6. Princess In Love by Meg Cabot (260 p.)
The third entry in The Princess Diaries series finds Mia with a boyfriend (but not the one she wants). She's also tackling more princess lessons to prepare for her upcoming trip to Genovia, and the looming threat of finals is on the horizon, including one for dreaded algebra. This one ended pretty nicely, with Mia finally getting her happy ending.

You're making steady progress LL and sounds like you're enjoying your reads - well done! :)

>39 floremolla: Thank you! I'm determined to get a star next to my name on the monthly progress thread sometime. ;)

Go for that star, LL!

>40 LibraryLover23: good luck!

>41 connie53:, >42 floremolla: Thank you both!

7. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin (1,123 p.)
What. A. Series. This is a behemoth of a book that took me months to read, and it amazes me that I'm able to keep all these characters straight.

Some random thoughts:
- Nothing bad better happen to Davos Seaworth, ever.
- What's up with Jon Snow? I know what happens to him in the TV show, but does book Jon Snow have the same fate??
- I found Daenerys' storyline to be completely stagnant and boring, at least until the last quarter of the book. (And in a 1,000+ pager that's saying something.)
- How about that Ramsay Bolton? He makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up...
- We got a brief (oh so brief) flash of Jaime and Brienne together again! I could easily read a thousand pages just of the adventures of those two. Easy.

Overall I felt this one was starting to stretch it a bit too thin (do we really need chapters from the perspectives of Barristan Selmy, Quentyn Martell, and that Connington guy? I don't think so.) It also reminds me of that episode of LOST where the characters that you know are going to make it off the island are all stationed in far-flung locales and you wonder how on earth they're ever all going to get together again as it seems impossible. Now the question is, I'm all caught up with the published books, should I try the TV show? Or just wait (and wait) for the next book to come out? Decisions, decisions...

8. Princess In Waiting by Meg Cabot (259 p.)
Fourth book in The Princess Diaries series and the last one that I own, so most likely the last one that I'll read. I enjoyed the books overall, but this one was probably my least favorite, as Mia seemed rather too naïve to be wholly believable. But the side characters are a hoot as always, and I love whenever Mia writes lists, like her favorite TV shows and instructions for feeding Fat Louie. They're a riot.

>44 LibraryLover23: Nothing bad better happen to Davos Seaworth, ever.
My sentiments exactly! I think, the series got things right about Jon Snow, but maybe we'll never know – GRRM is sure taking his time over writing the next instalment.

>46 MissWatson: I love Davos! I know, it seems to take longer and longer the later in the series he gets.

9. Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass by Gary Paulsen (120 p.)
Dreamy, lyrical writing about four seasons on a farm. I'm a big fan of Paulsen's - this one was a bit different from the other books of his I've read as there was no linear plot to speak of, it was more just vignettes of the people and places that make up farm life (which is a subject matter that I love reading about).

>44 LibraryLover23: My brother, son and I just finished all the installments in the TV-series. And I read all the books published so far. Now we have to wait, and wait and wait!

>49 connie53: I guess good quality takes a long (long) time!

10. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (254 p.)
I think I can safely say I won't be reading any more Gillian Flynn books. I can usually handle dark and disturbing, but this one was too much, even for me. (I also didn't care for her bestselling Gone Girl, as I couldn't stand either of the two main characters.) In this one the mystery was compelling, but the details were disgusting - a reporter who cuts herself returns to her small Missouri hometown to investigate a serial killer who is targeting children. (And did I mention the killer removes the victims' teeth?) Also, as a newly minted vegan, the descriptions of the activity in a pig slaughterhouse made me physically ill. No thank you, Gillian. I'll be moving on to something lighter next.

>51 LibraryLover23: Yuck! Sounds really unpleasant.

>53 LibraryLover23: It was. The mystery was compelling but the characters were just gross.

11. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman (181 p.)
This one was strange but good, like the other Neil Gaiman books I've read. After visiting an alternate reality with his friend Lettie Hempstock, our unnamed child narrator is horrified to discover that he's brought a creature from that reality back with him. Not only that, the creature has also hoodwinked his family into thinking she's their beautiful new tenant, and the children's new nanny besides. The narrator then needs the help of Lettie, her mother and grandmother to send the creature back where it belongs. Odd but intriguing, I'm looking forward to reading the other Gaiman(s) I have on my shelves.

12. The Raven And The Nightingale: A Modern Mystery Of Edgar Allan Poe by Joanne Dobson (275 p.)
I adore these literary mysteries about an English professor who gets caught up in solving crimes at her prestigious liberal arts college. For a cozy, it's very erudite, bookish and New England-y, and there's a nice slow-burn romance between Professor Pelletier and the police chief, Lieutenant Piotrowski. This is the third in the series and, as you can tell by the title, the works of Edgar Allan Poe come into play. Very enjoyable stuff.

13. Forever by Judy Blume (220 p.)
Well I can see why this one would have gotten banned from teen book lists. It's a rather explicit look at a girl's first real romance and whether or not it can stand the test of time. Blume is a great author, but this one won't go down as one of my favorites, and by today's internet standards maybe the frankness of the subject matter isn't so shocking after all.

>56 LibraryLover23: You know, Judy Blume is one of those authors who completely passed me by at the time, and I only heard of once I was well into adulthood. I can't help thinking, from what I've heard, that reading her during my teenage years would have been really helpful! I might have a look at some of hers and see if I think they'll be suitable for my daughter when she reaches that age (I'd rather she knows stuff than doesn't, if that makes sense, although I want to keep things as age-appropriate as possible).

>57 Jackie_K: I know what you mean. I grew up with her books so she's remained a favorite of mine for a long time. Her best teen book (in my opinion) is Tiger Eyes, about a teen girl who moves from NJ to NM after her father is killed. My nephew, a complete non-reader, couldn't put it down, which is saying something. I hope you and your daughter like her stuff if/when you get to it!

14. Mr. Monk And The Blue Flu by Lee Goldberg (295 p.)
When a "blue flu" hits the SFPD (i.e. the police force calls in sick because it's illegal for them to strike), Monk gets recruited to act as captain with a ragtag team of investigators who were previously booted off the force. It's a neat concept, and the show this is based on is reliably great, but in book form these just don't work that well for me. There were way too many cases introduced and the story is told from Natalie's perspective. Blech. She had some good episodes during her run, but I was Team Sharona all the way. I also blame this one for my slow reading progress this month as I was reluctant to pick it up between readings. I should've just given it up but what can I say? It was a gift.

15. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson (302 p.)
Very sad look at Rosemary Kennedy, JFK's sister, who was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities and regressed further after she underwent a lobotomy in her early twenties. The author does inject some hopefulness though, by emphasizing how Rosemary's disabilities profoundly impacted her family and spurred most of them to help others.

16. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne (344 p.)
After a series of natural disasters and a chemical weapons spill forces a group of kids to take refuge in a Walmart-type store, a Lord of the Flies situation ensues with the kids jockeying for power and untrustworthy adults on the outside trying to get in. I thought this one was pretty good - lots of edge-of-your-seat thrills and some genuine surprises. It ends on a cliffhanger unfortunately, so I might cheat and see if I can find a description of the next book to see how it all plays out.

>61 LibraryLover23: Sounds interesting!

>62 connie53: I'm a fan of YA dystopias and this one was pretty good. A cut above the rest I'd say.

17. The Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris (367 p.)
Having never seen the movie version of this story, I'm glad that I now know what the title means and why the cover always features a picture of a moth. Anyway, this was a very good, breakneck-paced thriller about an upstart FBI agent who interviews and somewhat befriends the notorious cannibal Hannibal Lecter in order to find another serial killer. I do have to say that I think I'd give the slight edge to the first book of this series, if only because Frank Dolarhyde was a bit more of a creeper to me than the killer in this book. But Lecter is reliably great in any capacity, truly one of the best fiction villains out there.

18. Out Of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys (346 p.)
It's 1950 in the French Quarter of New Orleans and Josie Moraine would give anything to leave behind her troubled mother and attend college somewhere east. When a wealthy tourist turns up dead the suspicion falls on Josie's mother, a prostitute who works under the watchful eye of Madame Willie Woodley. This one was a little hit-or-miss for me. I found it mostly dragged, but I really liked the ending. It was so-so overall.

19. Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet by Jamie Ford (301 p.)
A Chinese boy and a Japanese girl fall in love but are separated due to the events of World War II in this Seattle-set novel. It was interesting to learn about this time period from an Asian perspective, but ultimately I found the story to be a bit slow-moving. Still if the subject matter seems interesting to you, I'd recommend checking it out.

Hi there! Just catching up with you now. You and I have the same kinds of problems with too many books and not enough space. I weeded my home library twice over the last two years, but still seems to be too full. I have been on a book binge lately, so acquired a few new ones on my Kindle reader.

>67 LadyoftheLodge: Kindles are nice because they can keep everything contained! I recently went on a book binge myself and am now regretting it due to my lack of space. But challenges like these are good motivators to keep going...

I agree with that! But somehow there is always just "one more book" that demands to come home with me.

20. The World Of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes That Inspired The Little House Books by Marta McDowell (379 p.)
I'm predisposed to love anything Little House-related and this book is no exception. It takes a look at the series through a natural lens, focusing on the flora and fauna that Laura described in the books, and taking a closer look at their history and how accurate Laura's memories were. (Side note, she was pretty accurate.) It also talks about the gardens and prairie grasses and trees and birds mentioned in the books, and some that weren't mentioned but were a part of Laura and Almanzo's later life at Rocky Ridge Farm. It also includes tons of illustrations, maps and photographs, which I loved poring over as I read. This one's a keeper.

21. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (317 p.)
A fun YA romp about Ginny who, when her aunt dies, receives money and a series of letters instructing her to take a tour through Europe. Along the way Ginny finds adventure, romance, and learns to come out of her shell. A cute read.

22. Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø (368 p.)
I enjoy this series about a hard-living Norwegian police detective who solves dark, gritty crimes. In this one Harry is sent to Bangkok to investigate the murder of a Norwegian ambassador, with the city's seedy underside coming to the fore. I liked how the book looked at two cultures and how they clashed, and that the cultures were different from my own. I have a few others in this series as well, which I look forward to reading someday.

23. Sleeping With The Enemy by Nancy Price (314 p.)
In order to escape her abusive marriage, Sara Gray fakes her own death, flees to a small Midwestern town and creates a new identity. Eventually she starts to get settled in and begins to make friends, including a possible new love interest, but she can't be completely comfortable since her husband is still out there. This story was made into a popular movie starring Julia Roberts, which I've seen, so I knew the gist of what was going to happen. It was pretty good overall, although I think the movie did a better job of getting rid of some of the book's filler.

Hi, LL. I see you have been reading lots of books and, just like me, bought a few! That happens to a lot of us ROOTers.

>74 connie53: The siren call of the bookstore/library sale is hard to resist!

24. The Witch Tree Symbol by Carolyn Keene (213 p.)
The last Nancy Drew book that I had unread on my shelves, so probably the last one I'll read for awhile. This one had a much better, linear plotline compared to the last entry I had read, and I was tickled that it took place in my hometown of Lancaster County, PA. Like all the others in this series Nancy is universally fawned over as she single-handedly solves whatever mystery comes her way.

The Witch Tree Symbol was the first Nancy Drew I ever read! It is also on my shelves, along with a couple of the other ND books that I can remember. These were all the rage when I was in 8th grade, many moons ago. I had a classmate whose mom bought her every new ND mystery as they came out, and she generously lent them to the girls in our class. Thanks to our classmate Debbie!

>77 LadyoftheLodge: I love sharing books with friends, and I love the simplicity of the Nancy Drew books! They're always fun to revisit.

25. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (312 p.)
I was shocked when I heard of Bourdain's death. I wouldn't call myself a superfan or anything, but I enjoyed his TV shows and knew I wanted to read this book sooner rather than later once I'd heard. It's a collection of essays about life in the restaurant biz, and in truth, makes it all sound rather...unappealing. Of course my eating habits have changed pretty drastically recently (a lifestyle that Bourdain dismisses with derision within the first ten pages, not surprisingly!), but all of the food he mentions did little to entice me. His intention I think though was to convey how hard cooks work and how passionate they are about cooking, and in that I think he succeeds.

I have that book lurking on my shelf too. I was never a big fan of Anthony Bourdain, but my mother-in-law loved those TV shows about cooking and restaurants. She always had them on the TV when we went to visit her.

>80 LadyoftheLodge: He came across as a natural writer (I guess in addition to his culinary skills!), so I'd recommend the book on that merit.

26. The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (340 p.)
I didn't care for this one that much. I never warmed up to the main character, which is a problem as she's pretty much the only character through big chunks of the book. Lo, a writer for a travel magazine, joins an exclusive cruise ship on its maiden voyage, only to hear someone in the cabin next to hers get thrown overboard. When she raises the alarm however, no one believes her, as no one was staying in that cabin. Lo then takes it upon herself to solve the mystery, while not being sure who she can trust. Overall I thought some parts of the book were good, but the plotline stretched credulity a little bit too much for my taste.

27. Don't Throw That Away!: 1,001 Ways To Reuse Your Stuff by Jeff Yeager (145 p.)
I just love Jeff Yeager, I'm thinking of writing him a fan letter. Anywho, this is the only "Cheapskate" book I haven't read yet, mainly because there wasn't a copy available in the library. So I bought myself a cheap copy and I learned some things and had a few laughs along the way, which is just what I was hoping for.

>82 LibraryLover23: I had the same feeling about this book. It was a bit far-fetched

>84 connie53: I agree. I thought the ending was a little odd as well.

28. Fever by Mary Beth Keane (306 p.)
Fictionalized take on Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant better known as "Typhoid Mary" because she was thought to be an asymptomatic carrier of the disease, and she unknowingly passed it on to the families she cooked for. I was hoping for a science/medical-type story but instead this was more of a straight-up romance which was disappointing. I'm glad I read it, but I think a biography might have been the better way to go.

29. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris (280 p.)
I always enjoy a good Southern-fried Charlaine Harris mystery and this, the third in the Harper Connelly series, was no exception. As a teen Harper was struck by lightning and now has the ability to find dead bodies. Traveling the country with her stepbrother Tolliver, they help skeptical local law enforcement find missing people. Called to North Carolina, Harper stumbles upon a mass grave, which leads to the hunt for a serial killer who targets her in his haste not to be found. The plot of this one moves pretty briskly and I was happy with some of the character developments. I also get a kick out of how all the characters in the Harrisverse intersect, as Manfred Bernardo makes an appearance in this one. (He's from Harris' Midnight, Texas trilogy.) Good stuff.

30. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (204 p.)
Two boys coming of age at a New Hampshire boarding school during the height of World War II find their friendship tested after a fateful accident. Whether the accident was done in a malicious manner, or whether it was done without thought, is sort of open to interpretation and part of what makes the book so thought-provoking. My take on it was that it was done without thought, but I'd be curious to read others' interpretations, and I can see how this would be prime fodder for a classroom discussion.

31. The Nine Lives Of Christmas by Sheila Roberts (242 p.)
I was pleasantly surprised by this one - a nice holiday romance between a firefighter and a down-on-her-luck pet store employee who are brought together by a stray cat. I laughed out loud more than once, which bodes well for any book I read. I was also in the mood for something Christmassy and it fit that bill as well.

32. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (339 p.)
Well-written story about the uneasy relationship between a white family and their black sharecropper tenants in the Mississippi Delta just after World War II. The book opens with the death of hated patriarch Pappy, and trickles down to give the perspectives of his sons, daughter-in-law, and their neighbors. The ending in particular was very well-done and elevated the book overall.

33. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon (226 p.)
I'm pretty sure I've read this one before but a friend got it for me for my birthday and I remembered nothing about it so I counted it as a TBR. The story is about a boy named Christopher who is very intelligent but socially challenged (the autism spectrum is implied). The book opens with Christopher's neighbor's dog getting killed, and he sets out to solve that mystery, while learning more about his mother's death along the way. I found the whole thing rather sad, so although it was an interesting read and I can appreciate its merit, I can't say I enjoyed it all that much.

34. The Vintage Teacup Club by Vanessa Greene (391 p.)
Better-than-expected tale of three women who bond over a vintage tea set that they find at a flea market. The chapters alternate in perspective between Maggie, a divorcée trying to land a big client for her florist business, Alison, struggling with financial troubles and two unruly teenage daughters, and Jenny, who is planning her upcoming wedding with the pain of her mother abandoning her as a child lurking in the background. The ending wrapped up a bit too neatly to be believable, but I thought all of the characters were distinctive and well-drawn.

35. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (209 p.)
The book opens on the Ramsay family, their eight children, and various friends and acquaintances as they spend the day at their summer home in the Hebrides. The stream-of-consciousness style jumps from one character's perspective to the next as they attend to their various activities over the course of one summer day. (For example, youngest son James would like to visit the lighthouse on a nearby island but is told that the weather won't be suitable.)

There then follows a time jump, where we see that the house is closed up and the fates of various characters are revealed. The final section of the book finds some of the characters back at the summer home again, ten years later, with one final visit to the lighthouse. I loved the descriptions in this one, particularly of the ramshackle beach house with everyone's comings and goings, it was very evocative. Not a book that you can skim through by any means, as it demands your full and complete attention, but you'll be richly rewarded for it.

Didn't quite make it to the end of my challenge, I have some library books to read and there's really no chance of me reading five more ROOTs in two days unfortunately. I'm thankful that overall the challenge goal was met, and over half of the total books I read this year were ROOTs, so I'm glad for that as well.

>94 LibraryLover23: Excellent work! As long as you're enjoying what you're reading, that's what matters :)

>95 rabbitprincess: Thank you!