December 3, 2018
Goodreads Monday
Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners and highlights a book from your Goodreads TBR that you’re looking forward to reading. I think this will be an excellent opportunity to motivate myself to read something that’s been on my Goodreads shelf for a long time. I currently have 105 books on my To Read shelf!
For Goodreads Monday, I’m chosing 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff from my TBR shelf. I placed it on my Goodreads shelf in August of 2017 (although it has been on my mental TBR list for years before that). I also placed it on my 2017 Spring TBR list, so it’s not like I’ve forgotten about it.
Summary:
Published in 1970, 84, Charing Cross Road is a charming, classic love story. The book consists of correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used book dealer in London. Although they never meet, they develop a warm friendship based on their common love for books. For many readers who love books about books, this story is a sentimental favorite.
Why did I put this book on my TBR shelf?
- I hear this book referenced all the time in the most positive ways.
- I have enjoyed other epistolary novels such as Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (the Netflix movie is great too!), Last Christmas in Paris, and The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.
- I love books about books (and movies about book shops, too, like You’ve Got Mail!).
Why haven’t I read it yet?
- Last spring I tried to obtain the e book online through Amazon. I guess because it’s an older title, it’s not available for Kindle. Since I am in the process of minimizing the amount of physical books I own, I didn’t want to purchase a hard copy and planned to get it through the library.
- I went to the library and they didn’t have it in circulation. I knew I could probably have it sent to the branch but I was in a hurry that day and decided to come back (That didn’t work out so well because I obtain all my library books digitally through Overdrive/Libby and don’t actually visit the physical library.)
- I went to Barnes and Noble to purchase a gift for someone and remembered that I wanted to look for this book, but they didn’t have it in stock. They offered to get it in but I hesitated because I still feel conflicted about buying physical books since I’ve converted exclusively to Kindle.
- I am greatly distracted by new releases!
- That’s my sad story of why this book is languishing on my TBR shelf!
Action Plan
- Go back to the library and wait for it to be sent to my branch.
- Break down and buy a physical copy. I think that if I buy a copy I could do a giveaway here!
So, now I’m accountable to YOU, dear reader!
By the way, are we friends on Goodreads ?
Looking Ahead:
My library hold of Dear Mrs. Bird came in, so I hope to have that review ready Friday.
Let’s Discuss:
Please let me know in comments if you’ve read 84, Charing Cross Road.
Which book have you had on your TBR list for the longest?
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Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.
As an army child, I went to eight different schools, including the Royal School Bath, where I learnt Latin, how to make rock buns and how to take my bra off without getting undressed. I went on to study Classics at Bristol University, followed by a bi-lingual secretarial course – a surprisingly useful combination.
