Heena’s Comments (group member since Oct 13, 2014)

Heena’s comments from the RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) group.

#7 Armadale - 4/5

Wow... it was like reading 4 books combined together in one book!

Over all I am very, very glad I read this book, I guess the longest one by Wilkie Collins. I loved the writing so much that sometimes I re-listened to some passages as they were simply beautiful! The descriptions felt so good and I have never ever enjoyed any exposition quite like this (Except for The Withering Heights.) I guess my only disappointment was Midwinter not going crazy with all the secrets he kept and ultimately taking revenge (that would have one heck of an ending!) But still, I loved the book.
Thanks a ton, Dagny, for the recommendation!

Forgot to post here earlier. I managed to read only 2 books this month, the second one being Armadale - 4/5

Wow... it was like reading 4 books combined together in one book!

Over all I am very, very glad I read this book, I guess the longest one by Wilkie Collins. I loved the writing so much that sometimes I re-listened to some passages as they were simply beautiful! The descriptions felt so good and I have never ever enjoyed any exposition quite like this (Except for The Withering Heights.) I guess my only disappointment was Midwinter not going crazy with all the secrets he kept and ultimately taking revenge (that would have one heck of an ending!) But still, I loved the book.
Thanks a ton, Dagny, for the recommendation!

#9 Armadale - 4/5

Wow... it was like reading 4 books combined together in one book!
I absolutely loved the first half of the book, but after that I began wondering where the hell was everything leading to and, in all honesty, was a bit disappointed by the ending. I guess it was my fault because having read Goodread's blurb (which suggested nothing in particular at all) I assumed the book to be a complete revenge drama between the two Armadale friends (cousins really) but I was not expecting the maid to make an entrance and change everything.
Anyway, I LOVED the characterisation - they were simply epic. And I have come to love Alan Armadale! I absolutely loved Lydia's character as she was deliciously dark and manipulative.
Over all I am very, very glad I read this book, I guess the longest one by Wilkie Collins. I loved the writing so much that sometimes I re-listened to some passages as they were simply beautiful! The descriptions felt so good and I have never ever enjoyed any exposition quite like this (Except for The Withering Heights.) I guess my only disappointment was Midwinter not going crazy with all the secrets he kept and ultimately taking revenge (that would have one heck of an ending!) But still, I loved the book.
Thanks a ton, Dagny, for the recommendation!

And here's the link to the thread for the next month - June - Non-Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

OMG, the entire month went by like this only for me. I started listening to Armadale and it consumed my every waking second! But I'm glad I read it (thanks for the rec, Dagny!)

Hey guys, here's the link to the June thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

June is here already and very soon half the year will be over! We all have read some really great books so far this year and I am sure everyone plans to read tons more in the coming months. Moving forward in the genre challenge, we have non-fiction genre for this month, a genre which is a bit unpopular among the hardcore fiction readers, but interesting and enlightening whatsoever.

If you are a dedicated non-fiction reader then we request you to please recommend some awesome books to our fiction head members (which definitely includes me.) Others, pease feel free to ask for suggestions and recs. Reviews of books are greatly appreciated and we are okay with anyone posting relevant links too.

There are absolutely no limits so you can interpret this genre in its broader sense and include other similar genres and/or subgenres that you feel might have a wee bit of similarity with the main genre. You can also include books that are not particularly centred around the main genre but has its components or elements somewhere in the story.

The main intent of this challenge is to incorporate different kinds of books and genres in our normal reading routine to make the experience more fun and entertaining. Please do not lose yourself in the technicalities as we all know how literary genres can be confusing.
If you have any doubts or questions, then post them below and we'll be happy to answer/discuss them.

Here is the DEFINITION for this month's genre:

Non-Fiction: Non-fiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question. However, it is generally assumed that the authors of such accounts believe them to be truthful at the time of their composition. Note that reporting the beliefs of others in a nonfiction format is not necessarily an endorsement of the ultimate veracity of those beliefs, it is simply saying that it is true that people believe that (for such topics as mythology, religion). Non-fiction can also be written about fiction, giving information about these other works.

Here's a quick summary of the levels:

Level 1: Casual Reader: 1 book (easy)
Level 2: Frequent Reader: 2 books (moderate)
Level 3: Bookworm: 3 books (mildly strenuous)
Level 4: Bibliophile: 4 books (strenuous)
Level 5: Bookiopath: 5 books or more (challenging)

Please mention what type of books you'd be reading:

PB: Paperbacks
HB: Hardbacks
EB: E-Books
AB: Audio Books

Please feel free to announce your to-read books along with the level you are targeting for below. Though it is not necessary as you can announce your reads as and when you decide or read them.

PLEASE READ (especially new members):
1. You can read any number of books for the respective genre every month.
2. You can join the challenge at any stage (in any month.)
3. You can drop out of the challenge any time you like.
4. You can select different levels every month.
5. Use this discussion board to share your reads with other members of the group.
6. Please be active and don't hesitate to ask questions or recommend books.
7. You can couple this challenge with any other challenge here (or anywhere else.) We all do it and it makes it all the more fun!

Happy reading!

Dagny wrote: "Heena, I listened to about 1/4 of the third Gryce book, The Sword of Damocles, and have abandoned it. It's over 16 hours and finally I decided I wasn't in the mood for more of it. I did a search fo..."

I had a feeling that this might be the case. The last Butterworth is not great but good nonetheless.

Ashley wrote: "Not sure if Slaughterhouse-Five fits this category or not. Might be a literary fiction but not really sure and it doesn't seem like a classic as it is to recent."

I am pretty sure it is a contemporary book and not a classic, but Dagny is the right person to confirm. Dagny, please help!

Adelaide wrote: "2) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. 4 stars. She also wrote Circe which some of you are reading I think. Both are great!"

Yes, I'm planning to read it this month. Good to know it's goign to be a good read. Thanks :)

Dagny wrote: "#5 Lost Man's Lane (Amelia Butterworth #2) by Anna Katharine Green
My favorite of Green's books so far! Love the character of Miss Butterworth! This book even surpasses The Leavenworth Case for me."

Yes!! It's such a mind blowing book!

Dagny wrote: "Hmmm, looks like the third Gryce book, The Sword of Damocles, may not be all that great. Well, at some point I'll start it. If don't care for it, will just move on to the fourth one, Hand and Ring,..."

Please let me know if you come across a remarkable book like the Leavenworth Case or Lost Man's Lane while reading the Gryce books. I won't be following the order for this series then, I'm just going to read it as and when I get the time.

Arshad wrote: "Hi, I'm Arshad from Kerala.Now is vacation, so this is the right time to join with you bibliophiles"

Hey, Arshad, welcome to RMFAO. We have a lot of exciting reading challenges so do have a look at them and participate in whichever you like. Let us know if you need any help in navigating. Looking forward to seeing you around.

#1 Doctor Izard by Anna Katherine Green - 3/5

The opening was pretty good, but the book lags a lot in the middle, though it does pick up the pace here and there and considering the length of the book (5 hrs) it was a good read. Though I did have some trouble keeping track of the names of some of the characters as there were many.

Dagny wrote: "Lol, Heena! You and your dystopian/thriller fondness."

Lol... yeah. Can't get rid of it even if I want to :D

I finished Miss Amelia Butterworth books by Anna Katherine Green

Book #1 That Affair Next Door - 5/5
Book #2 Lost Man's Lane - 5/5
Book #3 The Circular Study - 4/5

I'll have to check my 'read' pile to see which all series I read (I'm sure I've read at least one other) so I'll update the serial number later on.

#8 Doctor Izard by Anna Katherine Green - 3/5

The opening was pretty good, but the book lags a lot in the middle, though it does pick up the pace here and there and considering the length of the book (5 hrs) it was a good read. Though I did have some trouble keeping track of the names of some of the characters as there were many.

6) Doctor Izard - 3/5

Not one of AKG's best works but still enjoyable as it wasn't a long read. I did read this reviews that this is one of her early works so they don't have the spark her later books have but I still wanted to give it a try and I'm glad that I did.

I planned to read all of Gryce's books too, but after The Circular Study, I don't feel up to it, at least not for the time being.

Cheryl wrote: "1.) Lord of the Flies by William Golding
3 stars. I see why this is an important book, but I wasn't a fan of the writing style."

This is one of my favourite classics. Why? I'm not sure, but somehow I am all for 'people being pretty nasty creatures theory', lol.

Christina wrote: "Does fall into this category? That's one I'm planning on trying to read this month."

Yes, as Dagny said is does all in this category. I loved the movie adaptation. It is one of my favourite movies in fact. I've been meaning to read it for so long! Do share your thoughts on this book.