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

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

Ohhh, Sherlock Holmes! Nice. :)

I'm slowly getting through Poe's complete works, and Paradise Lost.

Fatima wrote: "The Hobbit has been sitting on my shelf for almost years now. I've read the first few chapters, but then stopped due to both writing style and my intimidation with new tv dramas. I'm going to resta..."

I can relate - I once started to read The Hobbit, quit after a few pages, and have never been interested in trying again. I did manage to get through the Lord of the Rings series a few years after that, though.

Welcome, Fatima!

Those were some of my favourite books when I was a kid! And Sherlock is so much fun.

We will certainly do our best to prevent you from losing your mind! :)

Two members from Dubai now!

That's awesome that you visit Canada every year, Fatima. Toronto has some amazing sights and tourist attractions!

Hi, Jackie, welcome to the group! :)

I've had the same problem each time I've tried to read a book on my computer - I didn't feel as absorbed in it as I get when I can curl up with a real book.

Probably a lot of it is the power of association - it's harder for some people to stray from what they know than it is for others. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the generation just coming along, who will be used to reading from computer screens right from babyhood.

Nice work, Cindy! Good luck. :)

35 is a great goal, Sam! The point is to challenge ourselves to read as much as our time and circumstances permit, so no number is too big or too small. :)

Welcome, Sam! :)

Fatima wrote: "I have no idea how much I've read this year, But aiming for 100 for 2014. That's probably why I'm resisting the itch to read one of the 20 unread books on my shelf. I'm dying here! I'm just saving them for 2014. While people are counting down for the new year, I'll be counting down to the second I can pick up a book!"

I know the feeling... I have a "thing" about carrying books over from one year to the next, so I always rush to finish whatever books I'm reading before the year ends, then don't want to start one until the new year begins, so there's usually a lull around New Year's Eve where I'm not reading anything at all, haha!

Fatima wrote: "@Faye

Thanks for the great list of books to try ;)

But how could you not have heard of The Book Thief? It's amazing!"

You're welcome! You should definitely check them out. :)

I know, almost everyone has read The Book Thief, but somehow I've missed it all these years. I'm on a mile-long waiting list for it at my library!

Loving that book smell isn't crazy at all! It's one of the best smells on Earth. :)

Welcome, Amber! A book a week is a very good goal. :)

I'm reading The Little Iliad. It's interesting, unusual, and there are loads of references to the original Iliad, which makes me happy.

There's nothing horrible about re-reading your favourites! Unless it gets to a point where you can quote entire chapters by heart, then you might need to worry. ;)

I do understand about limiting your re-reads, though. I had to do that myself when I realized that I was spending half the year on re-reads while my to-read list was getting longer by the day!

Ohhh, good-looking list! You'll have a great reading year!

*looks at pictures*

Okay, I would seriously DIE OF GUILT if I did that to a book. I underline passages (in pencil) that really mean a lot to me sometimes, especially if it's philosophy or non-fiction of some kind, but to actually WRITE something? Well, okay, once I did write in the margin of The Life of Samuel Johnson, calling Boswell out for being an egotistical jerkface, but I was feeling uncharacteristically passionate about my opinion of him at the time, heh.

Um... all that to say, I have no advice, sorry. ;)

I get in trouble every time I jump into this argument, heh. I so don't like e-readers! I get that many people do, and that it's way more convenient for many modern lifestyles, but it just makes me sad that the world has changed so much so fast that this debate even comes up. I'm old-fashioned, what can I say? :P

And before anyone tries to convince me to join the e-reading ranks, I also have health reasons for not using them. My eyes can't handle staring at a screen for very long at a time (seriously, an hour on the computer a day reading e-mails and forum posts often gives me a headache), and all computerized technology tends to cause me stress, so I would rather turn it all OFF during my hours of reading and relaxation. I'll never be won over, I'm afraid.

I also enjoy the sensory experience of having a book in my hands. I do enjoy a good audio book once in a while, because it's nice to have someone read to you, but I have a sensory disorder that makes all of the sensory information I receive throughout the day seem overwhelming, and just the simple act of holding, smelling, seeing, and hearing a book while I read helps me focus on one thing and relax. There's something comforting about the smell and feel and sound of paper... probably built in from infancy when I was read to by my parents at bedtime. Nothing can take the place of that. :)

I'm planning to read Christmas Carol this December, too (I read it every Christmas), so I'll join in!

I found Wuthering Heights aggravating. It's been a long time since I read it, so I've often wondered if my opinion would be different now, but at the time I just wanted to knock all the characters' heads together and be done with it.

Bleak House is fantastic. I still can't figure out how he juggled all those characters and made them all connect so seamlessly.