AUGUST ROOT - Progress Thread

Each month I've been choosing the library or museum because of an event or celebration taking place related to the location of the choice.
In August, in honor of the Islamic New Year, I have selected…
MUSEUM OF THE MONTH - Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) which is due to open some time in late 2021.



The GEM is located outside of Cairo city centre, in close proximity to the Giza Plateau. The main reason why the GEM has been located in this strategic location may be due to the lack of space in downtown Cairo. GEM is built on a slope and different straddles – the 162-foot difference in levels between the Nile valley, where you enter, and the Giza plateau, where the main galleries are placed.

The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum devoted entirely to Egyptology is set to open in late 2021, sitting on the edge of the Giza Plateau, 2 km away from the Pyramids. Considered as the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization, the cultural complex will accommodate about 100,000 ancient artifacts, and will include 24,000m² of permanent exhibition space, a children’s museum, conference facilities, educational areas, a conservation center, and extensive gardens inside and around the museum's plan.

You will find many sculpture gardens in the museum park, while a massive statue of Ramses II greets you upon entry into the main atrium. Then, the Grand Staircase that leads you from the Nile valley level to the Giza plateau one. It will be lined with 87 statues of Ancient Egyptian kings and gods.


Officials claim it's “Egypt’s gift to the world,” calling it the “Fourth Pyramid”, coming naturally with a panoramic view of the ancient monuments from its windows.


The 11m-high, 83-ton red granite statue of Ramses the Great is the largest artefact on display here. It had arrived early, in January 2018, so the builders could work the atrium around it. The Egyptians managed to re-create the phenomenon of the sun illuminating the face of Ramses II statue in its permanent location in the Grand Egyptian Museum. It took an entire year of astronomical studies and careful engineering calculations for the phenomenon to be recreated in the museum’s lobby, on the face of the statue of King Ramses II, just like the biannual event in Abu Simbel Temple.




Apart from Ramses, 87 other statues of pharaohs and Egyptian gods will be on display. The claimed to be the ‘largest museum in the world’ also plans to bring in 20 royal mummies. Beyond the priceless relics that the museum will house, the $1billion project is said to offer ten restaurants, 28 shops, a theater, and a conference center as well. Some of the galleries are over 65 feet tall and will house enormous objects such as a 40 foot tall, 83 ton statue of Ramses II. It will be the largest archaeological museum in the world and is expected to host 5 million visitors a year.



The star attraction is an impressive 5,000 piece collection of relics from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, including his intricate ceremonial funeral beds, jewelry, shoes, and even his royal loincloth. The antiquities will paint a picture of how the young king lived from the way to dressed to the food he ate. It will be the first time the collection of King Tut’s artifacts will be displayed in its entirety. Previously only about one third of the collection was displayed in Cairo’s current Egyptian Museum.

The Tutankhamun gallery is bound to be the museum’s star attraction, showing everything from the 3,300-year-old tomb for the first time to the world. Originally found in 1922, the artifacts from the tomb will feature gold treasures, Tut’s death mask, coffins, chariots, and jewellery, and more everyday objects of use like the pharaoh’s walking sticks, loincloths, and boomerangs.

Password is ROOTS

The percentages will be calculated and a star awarded for those on target to reach their goals. More stars for farther toward their goal. If anyone's number is incorrect, please let me know and I will make the necessary adjustments. So go out there and dig those ROOTs.

several tickers are not working as noted in the July thread. When the tickers are updated or correct numbers are provided, I will update these members

They are:
Ameise1
Sace
leslie.98
This-n-That
misscleasia
nebula21
h-mb
floremolla
Val_Reads
crazy4reading
CurrierBell★
sibylline
mandymarie20
Quaisior
lepensuer
Kwharton
Kiwi_des_neiges
In the mean time I have inserted their last known total.

Ameise1 6 / 12 50.0%
beach85 22 / 36 ★ 61.1%
benitastrnad 57 / 62 ★★★★★ 91.9%
bragan 49 / 85 57.6%
brakketh 18 / 30 ★ 60.0%
ca_dmv 6 / 12 50.0%
Caramellunacy★ 22 / 20 110.0%
Carmenere 12 / 25 48.0%
cecilturtle 35 / 50 ★★ 70.0%
Charon07 2 / 11 18.2%
clue 25 / 50 50.0%
Coach_of_Alva 14 / 25 56.0%
connie53 32 / 50 ★ 64.0%
crazy4reading 8 / 30 26.7%
curioussquared 33 / 50 ★ 66.0%
CurrierBell★ 14 / 13 107.7%
cyderry★ 261 / 84 310.7%
detailmuse 26 / 40 ★ 65.0%
DisassemblyOfReason 51 / 100 51.0%
enemyanniemae 53 / 60 ★★★★ 88.3%
FAMeulstee★ 46 / 24 191.7%
Familyhistorian 42 / 65 ★ 64.6%
floremolla 8 / 40 20.0%
fuzzi 34 / 100 34.0%
HelenBaker 30 / 48 ★ 62.5%
Henrik_Madsen 32 / 50 ★ 64.0%
h-mb 3 / 20 15.0%
humouress 13 / 40 32.5%
Jackie_K 47 / 60 ★★★ 78.3%
janoorani24 9 / 20 45.0%
johnxlibris 10 / 20 50.0%
justchris 26 / 100 26.0%
kac522 47 / 50 ★★★★★ 94.0%
karenmarie 17 / 30 56.7%
Kiwi_des_neiges 0 / 44 0.0%
Kristelh 32 / 50 ★ 64.0%
Kwharton 4 / 12 33.3%
LadyBookworth★ 20 / 20 100.0%
lepensuer 0 / 51 0.0%
leslie.98 43 / 80 53.8%
lilisin 40 / 60 ★★ 66.7%
lindapanzo 40 / 72 55.6%
LoraShouse 8 / 15 53.3%
Lynsey2 20 / 50 40.0%
madhatter22 15 / 50 30.0%
majkia 62 / 65 ★★★★★ 95.4%
mandymarie20 1 / 25 4.0%
martencat 12 / 30 40.0%
misscleasia 6 / 20 30.0%
Miss_Moneypenny 75 / 80 ★★★★★ 93.8%
MissSos 11 / 25 44.0%
MissWatson 51 / 75 ★★ 68.0%
nebula21 9 / 36 25.0%
Nickelini★ 36 / 26 138.5%
Quaisior 11 / 50 22.0%
QuestingA 33 / 35 ★★★★★ 94.3%
rabbitprincess 34 / 60 56.7%
readingtangent★ 33 / 25 132.0%
Rebeki 12 / 18 ★★ 66.7%
ritacate 17 / 24 ★★ 70.8%
Robertgreaves 63 / 96 ★ 65.6%
rocketjk 16 / 30 53.3%
rosalita 36 / 48 ★★★ 75.0%
Sace 1 / 21 4.8%
sallylou61 24 / 40 ★ 60.0%
si 14 / 25 56.0%
sibylline 6 / 16 37.5%
susanj67 28 / 50 56.0%
This-n-That 7 / 14 50.0%
torontoc 19 / 30 ★ 63.3%
Val_Reads 5 / 75 6.7%
vestafan 34 / 60 56.7%
wandaly 15 / 18 ★★★★ 83.3%




We have some avid readers who have reached their goal - cyderry, Nickelini, CurrierBell, readingtangent, FAMeulstee, LadyBookworth, and Caramellunacy
Our top 3 readers closest to reaching their goals, are:

benitastrnad 91.9%
majkia 95.4%
QuestingA 93.4%
Miss_Moneypenny 93.8%
kac522 94.0%
benitastrnad 91.9%


The goal for August is 2,089.

Oh, thanks for all those gorgeous photos, Chèli!

I've traveled to Egypt several times (1990s and 2002 or so) and have photos of many of those beautiful objects. The museum then was crowded so full of stuff you couldn't see half of the treasures easily. So glad they are finally getting a new, beautiful museum.

Wow!

Wow, that museum looks absolutely stunning! Onto the bucket list it goes!

I actually read a few more books in July since my last post but hadn't updated my ticker yet. I'm perfectly fine with it counting towards the August stats as it literally makes no difference to the numbers. But I actually managed to read 10 books in July! A lot of short ones but those were perfect for the train rides to and from the beach.

My latest reads:
Hideo Furukawa: Slow Boat
- very skippable

Cao Xuequin : The Story of the Stone, Volume 3
- loving following this family and am looking forward to volumes 4 and 5 which I hope I'll read and finish in August so I can start a different long book

JMG Le Clezio : Peuple du ciel, suivi de 'Les Bergers"
- two beautiful short stories; still haven't figured out why my raised-in-France-French cousins think he's so boring; I blame them having to read him for school

Aki Shimazaki : Suisen
- 3rd book in this little 5 book series; such a clever little series

I've lost a star :-(. Hope to get it back this month.

I have finished my first August ROOT.

Glad to see all the beautiful pictures above, Chèli.

Lovely pictures of the GEM! I like how it’s very modern looking but still in keeping with the nearby pyramids.

The Golden Parade to move the royal mummies from one museum to the other was quite spectacular: https://youtu.be/IegmrsDbxk4

>12 Robertgreaves: that was cool! thanks for the link!

I lost a star too. I hope to get it back by the end of the month so I better get reading!

Happy August everybody! Chèli, what a stunning entry in this delightful series! My husband and I have been trying to decide between Egypt and Japan for our 10th anniversary trip; your blurb on the GEM has definitely swayed us towards Egypt!

What a magnificent choice for our August eye candy! The pictures are breathtaking.

I have my first ROOT for August! I finished Deal With the Devil by Kit Rocha. It always amazes me how much reading I get done while traveling. I think it is all that sitting that allows me to spend so much time reading.

>15 Miss_Moneypenny: How wonderful to have 2 such interesting places to choose from for your anniversary trip! Just be sure that the GEM is open though I did read that even before the grand opening you could arrange a private tour.

When I opened this page the first time I had just a few hours before watched an online tour of King Tut's tomb and many museum pieces were shown. I'd love to see them all in person!

I've finished my first ROOT, an ER, Sobremesa by Josephine Cominos Orio.

I've finished my first ROOT for the month (#48 for the year), Hyperbole and a Half, and added it to my ticker.

And today I finished ROOT #2 for August (#49 for the year), English Street by Damian Smyth. Added to my ticker only.

I finished my first ROOT for the month, The Cafe by the Sea. I just hope I can keep up the ROOT reading to get my second star back.

My first ROOT of August is Attack of the Video Villains, by Franklin W. Dixon. I probably read this as a kid but have no recollection of it.

Reporting ROOT # 33 for the year # 1 for August

Olympos by Dan Simmons

Own tickers updated.

Four ROOTs in August so far, admittedly some are very short.

My second ROOT for August is Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan Lyons.

Cheli, hope your recovery is going as planned, and that you've been enjoying some audiobooks.

Today I reached my goal of 50 Roots with Agatha Christie's short story collection Witness for the Prosecution. An entertaining way to reach my goal!

I have decided to extend my personal goal to 75 Roots, and updated my own ticker accordingly. I have NOT updated the group ticker, either for books "rooted" or the Group Roots goal.

>27 kac522: Kathy, thanks for your good wishes. My recovery is going well and I have finished 3 audiobooks so far and expect to finish another today. The screen light still bothers my eye so I can't stay on long. Thank the Lord for audio books.

Congratulations on reaching your starting goal and good luck on the extension. I'll take care of making the adjustment to the group goal.

>28 cyderry: Great to hear you're progressing as expected, and wishing you all the best in your recovery. Yes, hurray for audiobooks, and enjoy your downtime from screentime--we all need to do that for our eyes every once in a while.

Hope your recovery continues to progress well, Cheli!

I've added ROOT #3 for August (#50 for the year, only 10 left to my target) to my own ticker; group tickers left well alone.

>28 cyderry: Glad to hear you're recovering well, Chèli.

>28 cyderry: Happy to hear things are going well!

I've finished a couple of ROOTS over the last month:
The Comforters by Muriel Spark (on my shelf since 2011)
The Orenda by Joseph Boyden both of which I loved (on my shelf since 2016)

I also finished The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer, at a friend's recommendation.
Up to 38 out 50! Getting close!

tickers are updated.

>33 Cecilturtle:
The Orenda got lots of LT love a few years ago. I need to find a copy of it and read it - although there were some reports of some gruesome scenes in it, nobody considered it gratuitous - that I recall.

Reporting ROOT # 34 for the year # 2 for August

Wie wind zaait by Nele Neuhaus

Own tickers updated.

Good to hear you are doing better, Chèli.

>34 benitastrnad: super gruesome scenes... usually I don't do well with those at all but the author deals with them with a very sensitive vocabulary and they are integral to the story: it was, after all, the reality of the day.
It took me a while to get through the book, but well-worth the effort!

>28 cyderry: Glad to hear the recovery is going well, Chèli :)

Number 20 for the year and first ROOT for august- no tickers updated and my thread has the review

Forgot to mention I have added ROOT 36/60 to my personal ticker: Henry VI, Part 2, by William Shakespeare.

I finished 2 ROOT's. One was the book I was listening to while driving - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling and the other was a very good work of nonfiction about inattentive or distracted driving. That one was Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel. This one was very well written and full of interesting things about attention science. The book goes all the way back to WWII and the studies done on radar operators and pilots. Bottom line is that the author recommended that people put their phones in the trunk of the car while they are driving.

I recently read Why we can't wait by Martin Luther King which was excellent. Could have highlighted most of the book. I'm currently reading some other very long books so might take a while before I update again.

And that's #4 for August (#51 for the year) added to my ticker only. It was a good one - Charlotte Mendelson's Rhapsody in Green.

And, after some half-hearted flicking and skipping, I've also finished #5 for August (#52 for the year), Through Russia by Maxim Gorky.

So far I've read 4 ROOTs for the month bringing my total to 46 out of 65. I have a few more on the go so I hope to have a fair number read by the end of the month.

Saw this, thought you'd enjoy!

Wine boutique hotel library in Zurich

>45 cyderry: Wow!

They should have called Wine Booktique! Wonderful.

>45 cyderry: Wow indeed!

****

Added another ROOT to my personal ticker: The Seven-Percent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer.

>45 cyderry:
I love this place. I have to have a glass of wine and a book in here. If I ever get to Zurich.

My third ROOT for the month is The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan. Wow for the library. I wouldn't be a good table companion here because I would be trying to see titles!

Number 21 for the year and 2nd ROOT for August- the review is on my thread and no tickers updated

>2 cyderry: Cheli my ticker should have been at 30/48. I was unable to update it.

What stunning architecture at this museum.

I have been absent for a few weeks but now the country is back in lockdown after 169 days of being covid free, I have time to catch up on my computer work.
I have read 3 roots so far this month, The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates and Snow by Orhan Pamuk. I managed to update my 75er ticker but now I can't do this one. so frustrating.
I could be vary anti-social in that hotel library but where is a comfy chair. Perfect combo wine and books.

I'm off to a seaside holiday tomorrow without internet, so my count is 7 ROOTs this month. My ticker is upt to data. See you all in September again!

Can we have lunch here?

>55 cyderry: I'd be worried about the top books on that stack sliding off and falling on my head -- or worse, in my food!

>55 cyderry: >56 rabbitprincess: Oh, I've been looking for this.

Takes book from middle. Whole pile comes crashing down

I have finished reading The Woman in White, which I loved, and Winter in Blood which is well written and I respect, but it didn't do much for me.

>2 cyderry: I have decided to reduce my ROOTs target from 96 to 84. I have adjusted my personal ticker accordingly, and I hope it doesn't complicate things for you, Chèli.

Although I still think my original target is quite feasible, more and more I find myself resenting or avoiding some books I do actually want to read because of how they will affect my numbers, which is not a good place to be. Quality and pleasure are more important measures than quantity.

I finished another ROOT. This one was Last of the Wine by Mary Renault. It took me some time to get into it because the narrative style was a bit different, but once I did, it was a book I enjoyed. It was written in the form of an incomplete memoir. I had to do lots of background research as I knew less about the Peloponnesian War than I thought I did.

Starting The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan, my most deeply rooted virtual ROOT, having been waiting on my Kobo since 2016

>59 Robertgreaves: no problem at all. Part of ROOTing is to remind us of the books that we had chosen because we wanted to read them. It is never supposed to be a burden. We want all the books that have waited on our shelves to be enjoyed, not thought of as a naughty child standing in the way of another choice.

READ FOR ENJOYMENT!

I've read four more ROOTS for a total of 7. I won't read anymore this month because some holds came in at the library...there are so many new books coming out that are calling my name!

I've just added my #6 for August (#53 for the year) to my own ticker.

Another ROOT rooted out. Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee. This ROOT had been around for as long as some of my recent ROOT's. I enjoy reading McPhee's work and this one was no exception. I hope to get a couple of more ROOT's done before Tuesday.

Another root for the month,Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain, taking me to 35/48 and yes I have managed to update my ticker, small mercies.

I got another ROOT today. This Is the Water by Yannick Murphy. I am staying in this weekend and not doing much of anything so should get another ROOT finished before the end of the month.

A final root for the month, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing by Jessie Tu, 36/48.

Added another ROOT to my ticker yesterday: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman.

>69 rabbitprincess: I love Mrs. Pollifax!

I’m not likely to finish any more ROOTs this month, so my August total is 2, bringing my grand total to 4 (my ticker is updated). My August ROOTs:

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

Here is my report for August 2021:

UpROOTED books: 6
ROOTless books: 13
Added to the treebook TBR shelves: 1

The ROOTs were:

Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction by A. C. Grayling
The Emperor's Babe by Bernadine Evaristo
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
The Sandman: Fables and Reflections by Neil Gaiman
The Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan

ROOTs in YTD: 69

(Group tickers not touched)

I'm not going to finish any more either, so my August total remains 6.

I too will likely not finish any more ROOTS today. My personal ticker is up to date at 38/60.

I read #22 for the year and the third ROOT for August- the review is on my thread and no tickers updated.

The ticker on my personal thread and in the tickers thread is up to date for August — I won't be adding any more for this month.

I have 6 ROOTS for the month and won't be adding any more before tomorrow. No tickers are updated.

My ROOTS are the following:
Sound Recordings - 2
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
This is the Water by Yannick Murphy

Books from off my TBR pile
Deal With the Devil by Kit Rocha
Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention by Matt Richtel
Last of the Wine by Mary Renault
Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee

The oldest ROOT was Deadly Wandering. It has been on my TBR shelves since 2014. That is not quite the oldest ROOT removed from my shelves this year. it is the second oldest to be removed. The oldest so far was added to my shelves in 2008. That is back from when I started using LT.

>74 rabbitprincess: Correction: I actually read 5 ROOTs this month for a year-to-date total of 39/60. My personal ticker has been updated. Figured this out while putting together my August recap!

>69 rabbitprincess: I love the Mrs. Pollifax books. I really should do a reread of some of them.

I've read 6 for the month so far but its only 11:00 am and there are one or two more ROOTs that I might be able to finish before the end of today. Will see what happens.

Five ROOTs read in August, making a total of 51 ROOTs this year.
Only updated my own ticker.

Well, my ROOT-in-progress at the end of the month was surprisingly short, so I did fit another one in August just under the wire. That makes 3 ROOTs in August and a total of 5 ROOTs for the year. My own ticker has been updated.

I squeaked in another ROOT for an August total of 49/65.

My apologies everyone. With Hurricane Ida flying through yesterday, it completely slipped my mind that September is here. Off to crunch numbers!

SEPTEMBER thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/334931#

I always blame my poor Hurricane performance days on the low air pressure. It gives me a headache.

Got 6 done but wasn't able to post.

The GEM looks like a stunning museum! I only remember transiting through Cairo airport when I was about four years old, but my parents may have done a more thorough visit to Egypt before I was born.

I am (finally) catching up on updating my numbers; I'm up to 22 as at the end of August.

FYI, several of the tickers on the ticker thread are not displaying properly. You might want to check yours and re-post the address, if necessary.