Renee’s Comments (group member since Feb 03, 2014)

Renee’s comments from the The Reading Challenge Group group.

Aww!

Lol. Gardens vs Gun & Graves. Much less stressful!

Heheh. Very true, but I had an agenda.

Good to know. I have those in paperback somewhere, so I'll save my precious Audible credits for one of the other series.

Thanks, Allison. I actually saw your review of the first book and scoured your fantasy shelf, too. :)

You ladies have helped me narrow the field a bit more... Which really helps.

Thanks, Rosemarie. That's really helpful. All have plenty of fans and good reviews. So I guess I'm looking for opinions I know share similar tastes.

Okay, so I'm trying to decide if I want to launch myself into a fantasy series... and if so, which one. I've been quite lucky lately... Loved the Vorkosigans last year (scifi) and the Riyria series earlier this year. But now I'm a bit spoiled and I want another good one. So here are those I'm considering...

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg

Any suggestions?

A little Frost in the morning...

14) The Pasture, Robert Frost
15) Home Burial, Robert Frost
16) The Tuft of Flowers, Robert Frost
17) Mending Wall, Robert Frost
18) Birches, Robert Frost
19) Reluctance, Robert Frost
20) A Late Walk, Robert Frost
21) Fragmentary Blue, Robert Frost

I've been plundering the Librivox catalog again. They have some very cool offerings. Collections of poems by a single author.
Collections of Long Poems like Christabel and J Alfred Prufrock.
Single poems reads, where they have several readers record the same poem.
Collections by authors you may not realize we're also poets, like Lucy Maude Montgomery

Anyway, there's much more than I realized.

I was going to hop over to Germany with All Quiet on the Western Front but it's too depressing for my current state of stress. So I'll probably try Elizabeth and Her German Garden.

Lol. Dark & fairytale. I'm hooked now, too.

I agree. I found it to be one of the great hoaxes of modern times... That it has the reputation of being difficult & intimidating.

I have no willpower. At. All.
Maxi Challenge: FANTASY FAIRE

This maxi challenge is for those who want to explore the genre of Fantasy. It will run from April-June 2017.

This can include any kind of fiction that has magic or paranormal elements, or that is set in a fictional location (excluding Sci Fi settings such as the future or space).


Maxi Challenge: FANTASY FAIRE

This challenge is for those who want to explore the genre of Fantasy. It will run from April-December 2017.

This can include any kind of fiction that has magic or paranormal elements, or that is set in a fictional location (excluding Sci Fi settings such as the future or space).

Level 1 - Linger with Elves (2 Books)
1. Wicked Appetite**
2. Wicked Business**

Level 2 - Fly with Dragons (4 Books)
3. Wicked Charms
4. Puck of Pook's Hill**

Level 3 - Eat the Food in Faerie (7 Books)
5. Ella Enchanted**
6. The Monk**
7. Titus Groan**

Level 4 - Go on a Quest to Save the World (10 Books)
8. Ziska: The Problem of a Wicked Soul**
9. Norse Mythology**
10. The Willows**

Level 5 - Explore Other Worlds (15 books)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Trisha wrote: "You're so good at this, Renee!"

Virgos love lists... And checking things off lists.
Plus, I don't have TV.

P. S. I posted a schedule at the top of this thread.

April means 30 more chapters, putting us well into Volume 2 (Cossette). For discussion purposes, let's say all of Volume 1 and up to the end of Volume 2, Book 5 is fair game for comments.

I haven't read that far yet so my questions above only take us up to the end of Volume 1.

I'm not certain who is still onboard for the year with Les Miserables, but here are a few questions to go with Volume 1...

1) It seems obvious that Hugo wants us to sympathize with Valjean/Madeleine, even to the point of making him unaware that Fantine had been fired from his employ. How would you describe him based on the events of Volume 1?

2) Were you surprised by the death of Fantine?

3) What about Javert? How do you find him as a character? Is he a villain?

Great to have you along, Sam. Lots of great challenges for long term and short term goals.

Okay, I'm a Philistine. I skimmed the Battle of Waterloo. Hugo's rendition of the battle IS very interesting and must have been so to his original audience... But if you're getting bogged down, bookmark it for later.

The last chapter of Volume 2, Book 1 tells us that Therardier was a sergeant in Napoleon's army who ended the battle by stealing from the dead soldiers. One of these "corpses" was an (Legion of Honor) officer named Pontmercy. Pontmercy gave Thernardier credit for helping him (although he really picked his pockets) and swore a debt of gratitude. Which might be important later.

The novel picks up Jean Valjean, the ex-mayor Madeleine, in Volume 2, Book 2.

I'm always struck by Hugo's little history breaks. Like a public service announcement... Here's a little something educational for the public good.