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

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

Lorah, The Bell Jar is an amazing novel!

Just decided my Dickens read for this month: Great Expectations.

I might also try fit in A Chrismtas Carol in if I have time!

I did it....
I finished Ulysses.....

I can now officially say:
14. Ulysses by James Joyce

:D

I actually really enjoyed it. It was rather humorous, which surprised me.
Definitely better than I expected.

12. Angels in America
13. Northanger Abbey

I'm about half way through this, and it's surprising me rather a lot. I've struggle with Austen before, I just can't seem to finish them. But this one is far easier to read, and now I've reached the more gothic section, it's rather humorous.

Henry's story-telling before they go to Northanger Abbey provides amusing contrasts between Catherine's idealist view of gothic abbeys and what Northanger Abbey is like.

I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. Around 60 pages left.

Be warned, you will sob at The Fault In Our Stars...

What did you think of An Abundance of Katherines? I've been meaning to read more of John Green.

That's an amazing selection, Kassandra. A lot of John Green in there!

I know, I was really chuffed. Although I need to rearrange my whole bookshelf because they won't fit right now...

That's quick reading, Laura!

What do you think of it so far?

I was like that too, Susan!

This is just a place for us to talk about what books we've recently purchased, in paperback or Kindle or whatever.

I went on a massive buying binge last night and bought a load of Wordsworth Classics. They're super cheap, and I get that the might not be the best translations, but they're just so cheap I couldn't help myself.

So I bought:
War and Peace
The Count of Monte Cristo
Don Quixote
Anna Karenina
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Crime and Punishment

They cost £10.07 in total. I was super chuffed!

Well, I've failed miserably at keeping this. Although I won't continue doing the day-to-day thing, I will try and update my progress more. Hopefully I'll have better luck at doing this with some of the other big books!

I'm now over half way through Ulysses, and have been manically reading it over the last few days. I had like a 2 week break from it, where I was ill and really wanted to get some light reading done. I am making good headway though. I'm planning on spending the rest of the day reading, so I'll hopefully get a lot done!

I've just read Episode 14, which is Joyce's mad History of the English Language episode. He writes in the styles throughout the whole of the English Language (from King James Bible style, to Thomas Malory, Milton, Bunyan, Dickens, Huxley). It was mad, but really interesting trying to work out which style he was writing in. I didn't understand most of what he was saying, but I was expecting that.

I'm now onto the longest episode, which is in play form. Apparently it's completely random and confusing, and is really hard to get through. It's a whopping 150 pages. Then, hopefully I'll be on the home straight to the end.

I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it or not. Would I recommend reading it? Yes. But I haven't got a particular opinion on it. Perhaps I'm just not taking much of it in, it's slightly overwhelming, and half the time I have't got a clue what's going on. But it's readable (for the most part), and it's a challenge.

I'll definitely feel accomplished once I've finished it! And then it will be onto The Count!

I got my Dickens collection for Christmas, so I own it. It's definitely one of the first Dickens I will read!

I'm actually going to completely revamp my list. I really want to read 5 'monster' books (aka, massive ones).

1. Ulysses
2. Moby-Dick
3. Les Miserables
4. War and Peace
5. The Count of Monte Cristo

I ordered this last night (it was £1.89), but it's not due to come until Thursday :( depending on how soon I finish Ulysses, I might have to get it online and start it before then.

I've heard nothing but good things about it, and I really can't wait to read it. I'm very jealous of everyone reading it already!

Liz, I've read Middlemarch, and didn't find it too bad. It does pick up though, at the start it is rather slow.

Feel free to message me about it :)

Hi John,

You can create your own thread in the Personal Challenge folder for things like that. This is just for recording numbers so we can do the group goal.

I can't work out if I like it or not. I'm enjoying it, there are just long periods where the writing is so random I haven't got a clue what's going on. There are parts of extreme beauty though, odd little paragraphs that just pop up.

It's daunting, but I'd definitely recommend reading it :)