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

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

Glad to have you join us now that school is out for you, Dana. :)

Welcome, Beth! Of course, you're welcome to join us for the readathon. And whenever you're ready, check out some of the other things on our homepage. There are lots of things to do, but you can pick and choose what you want to create the experience which works for you. Feel free to ask any questions in the folder set up for that. In the end, you may decide that this is not be the group for you, but we're glad to have you along for now. :)

Hi, Kimberly. I second Jenny. This group has enough variety for you to find lots of opportunities for discussion. I have a couple of suggestions...

1) I love my Audible, but before you spend the money, you might consider checking out the website of your local library. With an Overdrive download (free), you can get audiobooks from your library. And with the Kindle app (also free), you can borrow ebooks from you library. Again from your library.

2) Librivox is a society of volunteers who record books in the public domain, which are free for borrowing. (I have the Librivox app on my smartphone. Also, free.) Since the volunteers are primarily nice people who have volunteered their time, the readers are mostly not professionals, and that can take getting used to. But if you like classics, this is a wonderful resource, and some of the readers are quite good. (I can suggest some names if you're interested.)

3) Kurt Vonnegut is not typical of Science Fiction writers. The Hitchhiker books are good, silly fun. I also highly recommend the Vorkosigan Saga books by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'm reading them right now and they're terrific! Not obscure. Not filled with technical jargon. Just good plotting, character development, and smart, witty dialogue. I'd suggest starting with Shards of Honor and Barrayar. They tell the story of Cordelia Naismith, who becomes the mother of Miles Vorkosigan, and will give a good idea of Bujold's writing. I think Barrayar may have won the Hugo.

One more thing... I do most of my "reading" these days via audiobooks. I still read physical books, but they're more like a treat when I have the time. Or a few pages before I go to sleep. (Also a treat.) The audiobooks make it possible for me to have stories and beautiful language in my life regularly and opulently on a regular basis. No one here will judge what you read or how you read; we just love to read and talk about books. :D

Hi, Pat. :)
I loved Kafka on the Shore! One of my favorite Murakami novels. 1Q84 was harder to get into for me, but I'm glad I read it. I still have distinctive "snapshots" of certain characters and moments from it that retain their intensity. So glad to have another Murakami fan onboard.

Herheehee!

I totally agree. The series gets much darker but also much more complex and it goes. I love that J. K. wrote it that way... Wasn't content to just write another book like the one before, as in so
many series.

Monthly Plan:
JUNE 2016: COMPLETED 25 of 28

Shakespeare's Sonnets 76-90
Far from the Madding Crowd (Victorians!)
The Mill on the Floss (Women's Classic Lit)
Emma (Readers Review)**
The Warden (Trollope Project)**
The Kindly Ones**
Brothers in Arms**
Desolation Island**
The Looking Glass War**
The Viper's Nest**
The Emperor's Code**
The Pearl**
Just So Stories**
X**
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants**
True Love**
The Book of Tea**
The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness & Obsession**
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon**
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma**
Crime and Punishment
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Genre : Minority Studies
- Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen**
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Monthly Minis...
LGBTQ+ :
1) Bad Feminist**
2) The Price of Salt**
June Bride: The Princess Bride**
Summer by the Shore: The Beach House**
Fruit Salad: Who Moved My Blackberry?**

Thanks, Jackie! I'm ready to start planning for July! :D

Np! Hope you decide to join up.

FINISHED!

Am tempted to do this one again. Might try to finish a few of the other challenges first though. I just want to do them ALL!! ;-)

Renee's Chunkster Challenge! -FINISHED!
"I like Big Books, I cannot lie."

Level One (Door Stopper)
1) The Name of the Rose (638 pgs)**
2) Evelina (560 pgs)**
3) Drood (775 pgs)**

Level Two (Flower Presser)
4) Career of Evil (492 pgs)**
5) H.M.S. 'Surprise' (608 pgs)**
6) The Little Paris Bookshop (516 pgs)**

Level Three (Back Breaker)
- Read 10 books with > 400 pages... and then see a chiropractor!
7) The Paying Guests (564 pgs)**
8) Outlander (898 pgs)
9) Emma (450 pgs)
10) True Love (464 pgs)

I'll be at the beach all week for my family vacation/reunion, so I won't be doing my usual audiobook listening. Hopefully, there will be plenty of paperback reading, along with all the cooking, gaming, wave-jumping, and sunscreening. :D

Don't know yet what I'm going to pack. I have several that are clamoring for room in my suitcase.

Hi, Linda. You'll find it in the Mini Challenge folder. Titled SUMMER BINGO 2016 (Karen's Original).

I'm listening to Crime and Punishment. It's a book I have tried to read several times but could never really get into. This time around I'm at the halfway point, and while not LOVING it, I'm finding it fascinating. Which is good. I'm hoping to actually finish this time.

Thanks, Camille! I think I'm going to be able to
Finish off a few challenges this summer. :D

I'll be interested in hearing what you think of the epilogue, Sonia.

Lol! More kids need to see their parents reading! In using Bookopoly in almost the same way. :)

Great to have you along, Jill

I'm going with Who moved my Blackberry? (I'll link later.) This fruit salad is starting to look delish!

Second time around?