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

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

#2 Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline - 4/5
It was a good book and I did enjoy it, but I somehow felt that it was a bit overshadowed by the epic-ness of first book in this series.

#3 The Lodestar by Daniel Hagedorn - 4/5
A decent philosophical sci-fi book questioning a lot of thought-provoking "truths."

Hello everyone,

Here's the link for the February thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Happy Reading!

Hello dear members,

February is here and so is our first alternate genre months. For this month we have two genre options to choose from as there are few readers for each of these genres as compared to the other more popular ones (hence the choice.) You can pick any one genre or, if you really want, feel free to pick both and read 2 genres for this month. It's your choice.

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 are the DEFINITIONS for this month's genres:

Women's Fiction: Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women-centred books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers and includes many mainstream novels. It is distinct from Women's writing, which refers to literature written by (rather than promoted to) women. There exists no comparable label in English for works of fiction that are marketed to males.
The Romance Writers of America organization defines women's fiction as, "a commercial novel about a woman on the brink of life change and personal growth. Her journey details emotional reflection and action that transforms her and her relationships with others, and includes a hopeful/upbeat ending with regard to her romantic relationship."
The Women's Fiction Writers Association guiding statement is broad and comprehensive: An inclusive organization of writers creating layered stories that are driven by the main character’s emotional journey. These stories may have romance. Or they may not. They could be contemporary. Or historical. But what binds them together is the focus on the main character's emotional journey.

Western Fiction: Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century. The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the popularity of televised Westerns such as Bonanza.

Classification:
- Classical Western
- Acid Western
- Charro, Cabrito or Chili Westerns
- Contemporary Western
- Electric Western
- Epic Western
- Euro-Western
- Fantasy Western
- Florida Western
- Horror Western
- Curry Westerns and Indo Westerns
- Martial arts Western (Wuxia Western)
- Meat pie Western
- Northwestern
- Ostern
- Pornographic Western
- Revisionist Western
- Science fiction Western
- Space Western
- Spaghetti Western
- Weird Western
- Western satire

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!

Kathy wrote: "I think my favorite was with Ash and Molly. That seemed to be the one life where she was starting to focus on someone other than herself. The polar bear escapade was classic though! I plan to read ..."

Yes, the one with Ash and Molly was so beautiful. I started to feel bad for Nora to be wanting that life but still not finding it to be her own. I too, like her, kept on thinking about what would happen to the other Nora. And same here... I am also thinking of reading other books by him. A lot of his readers claim that his other works are better than this one so I am really intrigued!

Kathy wrote: "1. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. 4 stars. Published in 1957. Alien invasion in a small village in England. Written during the Cold War. The town philosopher mora..."

Oh, yes! I didn't see your comment! (I guess I was so awestruck by the book that I didn't see it... lol.) So glad you loved it. Which one of Nora's lives did you like from the options she was given? I loved her present life the best... and maybe the glaciologist one. What about you?

Fran wrote: "3.) Revenger (AB) - Alastair Reynolds
4.) The Midnight Library (AB) - Matt Haig
This book is completely worth the hype! Loved it! 5/5 stars"

OMG, I'm so happy you loved it!

Cheryl wrote: "It’s nice to read something uplifting like that, especially now. Thanks for sharing that with the group! "

Welcome, Cheryl. And yes! I've lately been in a very foggy head-space, but this book somehow got me out of it. I was so surprised to see how a sci-fi book can do that!

There's this one particular quote from The Midnight Library that really struck me. I want to share it with you all because it is simply beautiful...

The paradox of volcanoes was that they were symbols of destruction but also life. Once the lava slows and cools, it solidifies and then breaks down over time to become soil - rich, fertile soil.
She wasn't a black hole, she decided. She was a volcano. And like a volcano she couldn't run away from herself. She'd have to stay there and tend to that wasteland.
She could plant a forest inside herself.

#1 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - 5/5

OMG, this book is so beautiful! I loved it!! I think this book might be the best philosophical sci-fi book I've ever read! If you like this particular combination then go for it!!

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dagny wrote: "#1 Ready Player Two
It seemed to start out with a lot of techie stuff and I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy this sequel as much as I did Ready Player One. But, finally, the gang g..."

I started reading it today itself... glad you enjoyed it. I was feeling a little skeptical about it cause the first book was epic, but now I feel better!

Christina wrote: "2021 Series Challenge
Going to try and read these ones..."

I've wanted to read James Dashner's books for a while now. I might add them also to my list if I am able to finish these.

Dagny wrote: "Heena, I loved the first three books in The Great Library Series by Rachel Caine. The 4th one fell off a bit for me - and I just realized that I haven't read the last one yet."

If I am remembering it right, I got this book on your recommendation. I got it and then I forgot I had it. Lol. So I will read it this year! Can't wait to start it!
oh, no. I hate when a book series goes from good to bad because then you don't know if you even want to continue! Will you be reading the last one?

I will be trying for Level-4 for this year.

Fran wrote: "Happy New Year everyone! I'm aiming for Level 5 again this year, hoping to have a better year in tackling my list of classics."

Happy New Year, dear!

Happy New Year, guys. As Cheryl explained the Game month is a fun month in which we will be reading multi-genre books. Cheryl, Dagny and I are still working out the games so any recommendation is welcome!
So far we have planned to have 4 games - one game per week. As Cheryl's example demonstrates, we'll be posting 4 challenges or games and books have to be picked up accordingly - from any genre.
We'll have the final list of the games up in a week or two (max.)

We introduced the game month because most of the participating members in genre challenge find the month of dystopian fiction a little slow and bland, therefore to spice it up Cheryl came up with this awesome idea. Also, I think that it'll be a great deviation and a break from the normal challenge. Mid-year months anyway seem a little boring at times, so this will definitely keep up our reading spirits!

Cheryl wrote: "1.) Lock In by John Scalzi
3 stars. SF murder mystery, first in a series. It reminded me a bit of Asimov's The Caves of Steel, but instead of a robot detective there is an FBI agent..."

Sounds like an interesting read, Cheryl. FIrst I thought it was a classic, then checked the info and I liked the blurb. I've added it to my tbr. Thanks!

Fran wrote: "I'm in again. Listening to my first audio book of the year while I type this and catch up on my posts for other challenges. I'm aiming for level 5 this year (another 100 audio books for 2021) and l..."

Wow, Fran! That's so out-of-the-world awesome! I read one hundred books in the entire year! Lol. You are an inspiration nd makes me want to listen to more audiobooks :-)
All the best for this year!

Cheryl wrote: "I like what Heena wrote about this group: “ a cozy corner for all book lovers and a place to freely discuss books.” It’s so nice to be able to come here and know there will be no drama, no conflict..."

OMG, I agree. The entire online space has become one big courtroom! I love how we all can just speak our mind freely here without any judgements or arguments (one of the reasons why I hate being on Facebook and Twitter anymore! So much hate!)
I realised this throughout 2020 in fact that if I spend half the time I spend of Fb and Twitter here on RMFAO, then I'd be able to read way more and be a lot more positive!

Dagny wrote: "You're welcome, Heena. We couldn't do it alone and we couldn't do it if you hadn't had the initiative to start this great group! So thank you to Heena. I add my thanks to Cheryl for always keeping ..."

You're welcome, Dagny. And I agree, Cheryl does keep up all going! And you keep us all together. I wouldn't have been able to read so much, especially so many audiobooks, had it not been for you and Cheryl <3

Cheryl wrote: "Because our Genre Challenge for July 2021 has been changed from Dystopian to Game Month, please feel free to count any Dystopian books you read as Science Fiction. I know some people don't mind rea..."

Oh, yes! We can include dystopian in this month... I'll add one of those at least. Thanks for this addition, Cheryl. It actually kind-of makes this month more exciting (at least for me!)