Holly’s Comments (group member since Nov 05, 2013)

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

Go Renee!!

Aha, I wish! I think I'm just unlucky being in the south. Scotland and the north have been having a decent amount. The south just never have any!

Renee, I think if you go into the specific folder first, and then make the new thread (iOS has a '+' sign in the top right corner), then it goes into the folder.

Not 100% sure though.

Damn all you Americans and Canadians with snow!

It's just grey and miserable here in England... I'd love some snow! But preferably when I don't have to travel in it tomorrow...

This is definitely suiting my required reading for next semester!

4. The Rape of the Lock, by Alexander Pope

This didn't take me very long to read at all, and was a really interesting read! The imagery and the larger metaphors were really well done and made it an enjoyable read. t was rather funny in places as well, which definitely surprised me!

Once I've studied it next semester, I think I'll understand it better and have more to say about it. So I'll probably updated this then!

I haven't read any either, Melissa, and I'm definitely going to be a bit more wary of him!

Thanks Faye! I was going to do that when I got to my laptop. Looks like you beat me to it!

Gah, I wish I could read that much...

@Kiwi: Good luck with Gatsby! Just remember that it's reasonably short and there's only 9 chapters. You'll hopefully be able to get through it in no time! Although don't be too hard on yourself if you give it up again, I only read it for my English lit class!

@Melissa and Becca: I'm surprised I've found other people who dislike both. It might just be a teenage thing, but all my peers seem to love them both. And then there's me in the corner screaming 'WHY?!'.

That's amazing progress, Luella!

Fun fact: My friend's brother played William in the 1998 film version with John Thaw. My small claim to a film star. ;)

3. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

I finally finally managed to finish this. I've lost count how many times I've started this book and never finished it, I just couldn't connect with the characters. But this time, with the help of it being required reading for next semester, I finished it.

While I can say it improved as it went along, I also don't understand everyone's obsession with it, nor did I particularly love the characters. While everyone seems to be obsessed with Heathcliff and Catherine (the senior), I personally found the story of Cathy and Linton to be more interesting. Although Linton was an utter arse. Excuse me language.

I feel like it's another 'Gatsby' for me. I can understand it's appeal and I like the writing. But the characters and the plot I find lacking and don't do anything for me...

Nevertheless, I'm glad I got through it, and I can happily tick it off my list.

Megan, I'm really similar. I often go into a book knowing the basic info from the Wikipedia page, and often some idea of context if it's a classic.

Right now, I'm finding the Wikipedia page for Wuthering Heights to be particularly helpful. Although I've nearly finished it, at first the characters all got jumbled in my mind. So the family tree that is on there really helped!

As for reading the last pages or large spoilers, I do tend to avoid them. I like a bit of a surprise!

Considering The Timetravellers Wife was so popular in the polls, feel free to make it a buddy read for February, if people want to! :)

I might try fit this in! I've heard many good things about it. I feel like I'm one of the only people who haven't read it yet!

I'm hoping this will give me the push I need to finish Wuthering Heights. Or at least make a decent way through it. I'm once again struggling to read it, but I'm starting to get into it slightly.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish it this weekend.

2. A Room of One's Own, by Virginia Woolf

This was require reading for my Women's Writing next semester. This really was not what I expected it to be, it's like a mix between fiction writing and an extended essay. I haven't read a lot of essays, but this one really got to me and I really enjoyed it. It was far easier to read than I expected, and really opened up an area of writing that I hadn't really explored before. Hopefully I can look at some more essays by female writers over the year!

1. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, by Charles Duhigg

I picked this up on a whim at my library's Leisure Reading section and I really enjoyed it. I've been struggling with motivation and making habits recently, but this made me understand habits a lot better and what makes us commit to them.

I certainly didn't expect for a non-fiction book to be my first read of 2015, but it was, and I'm really glad I read it!

Thats an amazing list, Lisa!