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

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

Ahhhh, so hard! I've read a lot of amazing books this year, quite a few duds, and a whole bunch that were enjoyable but not mind-blowingly fantastic. Looking at the 5-star reviews I've given throughout the year, these stand out to me now -

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - Why did it take me so long to read this? IT WAS FANTASTIC.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - She really understands introverts and extroverts and what makes each of us tick, so this book is fascinating, eye-opening, and a must-read for everyone.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy audio book, read by Stephen Fry - A must-listen for every Douglas Adams fan, and for anyone else who has a pulse. HILARIOUS.
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - It was a re-read, but that still counts, right? It's one of my favourite books of all time, so it was most certainly one of my best reads of the year.
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse - Anything by Wodehouse is always a treat.
Metamorphoses by Ovid - It was amazing how many of these myths and legends I already knew, yet there were always new details to learn from each one.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston - I officially became a Wayne Johnston fan this year. This was my second book of his, and I've absolutely loved both.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - A very moving experience.
The Complete Novels and Plays of Saki by Saki - Saki is FANTASTIC, and everyone should read his short stories, novellas, and plays. He died much too young in WWI, and since then his work has been sadly overlooked.
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman - I was very pleased to see this nominated in the GR Choice Awards, because it was one of my stand-out reads this year. It's so much fun, and so informative about an event that I never even knew happened.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - A new top 10 favourite book of all time. Absolutely loved it.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - This one surprised me with how much I loved it. Eco has such an amazing gift for symbolism.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - It took me way too long to get around to reading this, but I'm very glad I did. Excellent book.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - Another huge surprise for me this year, since I never expected I would turn into a Steinbeck fan! I absolutely loved this.
Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat - I love wolves, what can I say?
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - My best read of the year, and a new top 5 favourite. Loved every single word, and hugged the book for a while after I'd finished it. That doesn't happen as often as I would like!

Er... sorry for the massive list! 2013 has been a pretty good reading year, but I've got high hopes that 2014 will be even better.

Wow, that's quite the juggling act, Michael!

My to-read list has gotten approximately one mile longer every year since I joined Goodreads, if that's any indication!

I like skimming through reviews of a book before I decide whether or not to read it, as I'm not usually very adventurous when it comes to authors or genres I haven't tried before. I like to know a little of the content and what I can expect style-wise before I give something a try, and Goodreads is excellent for that. I have very few people in my life who read what I like to read, and the ones who do look to me for recommendations rather than the other way around, so discovering Goodreads was like a dream come true, haha! My kindred!

A whole extra suitcase! That sounds like my kind of holiday, haha!

I understand how they come in handy for a lot of people, but it makes me sad at the same time to see so few people carrying around a book nowadays. It was always fun to spot fellow readaholics by their bulging bags. ;)

Welcome, Michael and Julie!

I've been chipping away at that 1001 Books list, too, Michael. I don't know if I'll ever read every one, since some of them really don't interest me, but I'm giving it a good shot!

Julie, I feel the same about e-readers. I prefer to shut off technology when I read, not use it instead of a book. I kind of miss the days when parents told their kids not to look at screens for too long or their eyes would go square - we really shouldn't be staring at them all day long!

Welcome, Kirk! I'm sure you've heard all the Trek jokes a hundred times, so I will refrain from any lame attempts of my own...

I dabble in scifi on occasion, and Douglas Adams is definitely a name I reach for when the urge strikes. I wish more writers had just a fraction of his wit and imagination!

Yes, I think Joyce is something that needs to be worked towards, from what I've heard. Which is why I have no more excuses - over the past couple years I've read so many authors that people consider challenging, I'm running out of material to "work towards" him with! So I'd just be a chicken if I didn't read him now. ;)

Holly wrote: "I think the idea of a 'serialised' book is very interesting now. The only 'modern' book I know to be done like that was Bridget Jones Diary. I don't know if it would work very well today, and the o..."

There's actually a Canadian author who is about to do an "experiment" with his next novel by publishing it bit by bit in a newspaper. It was on the news just yesterday, but... I forget his name, heh.

The only problem with works-in-progress publishing is that sometimes they never finish. Dickens died in the middle of publishing Edwin Drood in installments, which is pretty much the main tragedy of my life. The same happened with Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, I believe. I can't even imagine how their fans must have felt at the time, to hear that this beloved writer had died and their story would never be completed. It's different when the writer has been working on it privately and it's left unfinished on their desk with no one being invested in the tale to mourn the loss of the ending. Maybe that's why publishers stopped doing it that way - one too many permanent cliffhangers.

Lissa wrote: "Ugh, I know. I would have been the crazy lady showing up on his doorstep and demanding that he write faster or beg him to let me read chapters before he sent them in for publication."

You and me both! I remember hearing once that Americans were so into The Old Curiosity Shop as it was being written that when ships would come into the harbour bearing the next installment, people would be waiting on the docks shouting at the people on the ships to tell them whether the main characters were still alive, hahaha! Yeah, I would have done that...

Lissa wrote: "@Holly: It is hard not love Dickens. He can make those characters and the setting pop right out of the pages. He has never failed to keep me up until four in the morning reading "one more chapter."..."

LOL Same here. I don't know how people survived it back in the days when he would publish only a few chapters a month!

Holly wrote: "What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it?

I'm currently reading Middlemarch by George Eliot. I'm really enjoying it so far, but it is the first Victorian novel I've read in forever, so ..."

I enjoyed Middlemarch, though it does get a little bit rambly at times. A lot of Victorian literature is that way, but once you acquire a taste for the rambles and enjoy the beauty in the language that modern literature has mostly forgotten, you might find yourself missing it when you read literature from any other era. I sure do! It's like an addiction for me now - I have to read something Victorian every once in a while to cleanse my palate, or I start wanting to chuck books at the wall screaming, "Why can't you be more like Dickens?!?!" :P

Right now I'm going through the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, which I'm enjoying very very much. I'd read some of his stories before, so now I'm re-reading those and reading the others for the first time. Aside from a couple that fell flat here and there, it's been great!

I'm also about to start Their Eyes Were Watching God, which looks interesting.

Hi folks! I'm Faye, I'm from Canada, and I am obsessed with reading. I mostly read classics, especially those from the 19th century, and I also read a lot of non-fiction, but I'll dabble in almost any genre once in a while (except smoochy romance, YA vampires, and erotica... those are out altogether, I'm afraid).

Holly, I think it's great that you're going for an English Literature degree! And actually reading the books, which I've discovered that not all English Lit graduates do, and that makes me sad. I'm 33, but I'm still hoping to get me one of those shiny literature degrees myself someday. :)

I'm a writer, but not yet a published author, which is frustrating. In writing I lean more towards YA literature, mainly because I remember how hard it was for me at that age to find something to read that was geared to my age group but wasn't either horror or romance. I always wanted a meaty plot, which was why I turned to classics in the first place. Hopefully one day I'll have written some for the next generation to enjoy. :)

Do you already have a uni picked out? We have some great ones here, if you're still in the application process. That would be a perfect way to experience the country.

I haven't lived here all my life - I spent part of my childhood in England. Both are great countries, and I miss the UK a lot sometimes, but I wouldn't trade being Canadian for anything. :)

My goal this year was to read 104 books, which should have averaged out to 2 books a week, but life intervened and I've fallen way behind. I still hope to make my goal by the end of the year, but it'll involve some serious speed reading, which isn't the most enjoyable way to read, for me.

For 2014 I want to read some of the tougher authors on my miles-long to-read list, like Proust and James Joyce, so I think I should set my sights a little lower... maybe somewhere around 80-90? Yeah, I read way too much, haha!

Hi, Holly - thanks for the invitation! It looks like this will be a cool place. :)

And hi, Jools, nice to meet you! I'm Faye, I'm from Canada, and I'm crazy-passionate about my books. 2014 is going to be an awesome reading year for me, I can feel it. :D