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

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

Dagny wrote: "Heena wrote: "And my spine problems are back despite the surgery I had and my surgeon is not giving consultation from last 3 months. I was supposed to start with physiotherapy after a month fo the ..."

Thanks

Cheryl wrote: "Heena,

It must be so frustating to deal with that back pain. I hope you are able to get some medical help for it soon. So many people had to postpone needed medical procedures and therapy due to t..."

Feeling a lot better. It was one of those days... you know. Thanks a lot for your kind words. Made me feel better :)

Adelaide wrote: "Yeah, I was gonna listen to Brave New World on audio and that was about it. I'll probably still do that, but I have been having a hard time reading what with the world and my headaches, and I have ..."

Sorry to hear about your headaches. I understand your struggle trying to work out a schedule. It's a problem for me too. Let's try and get out spirits back up with some lighter reads :)

Cheryl wrote: "Thank you SO MUCH for cancelling the Dystopian/Apocalyptic genre challenge! I was looking at what I could read for it, and thought “I might as well read the newspapers for this challenge.” How depr..."

I agree about reading the newspaper for this month for the genre challenge. Lol.
Thanks for the support, it was a spurt of the moment thinking so went ahead without discussing it with you and Dagny. Sorry about that. And thanks for your kind words. Means a lot to me :)

Dagny wrote: "Great thinking on your part, Heena!

Unlike you, I don't do particularly well with the Dystopian/Apocalyptic genre, although there have been a handful over the last few years which I really enjoyed..."

Yes, this year is kind of bad. I've been feeling mental fog from last two months and it is getting difficult to cope with all the negative things around. So the last thing that anyone needs right now is a depressing read. Sorry, I didn't get the time to consult with you or Cheryl about this, as I said, I've been keeping away from most of the social spaces and just kind of... And my spine problems are back despite the surgery I had and my surgeon is not giving consultation from last 3 months. I was supposed to start with physiotherapy after a month fo the surgery but because fo the lockdowns all the clinics (that didn't necessarily cure corona) shut down and as I didn't get the required psychotherapy and did some chores at home that involved walking, bending and standing or even sitting for long, my back got worse. Surgery was the last option before the doctor could have diagnosed it as Osteoarthritis - arthritis of the lower spine. I am so sick and tired of lying down most days and not be able to do much and watch Vishal take care of everything! My left leg pains so bad! Even if I just sit for more than an hour!!! I just hope it doesn't go incomplete paralysis and leaves me sitting on the wheelchair - a possibility my doctor laid out because of which we actually went for that spinal surgery in the first place. And now I feel so lost. The pain in the lower back is so unbearable that I am taking painkillers 4 times a day and then that leads to bloating... oh god... this has become such a nightmare!

Sorry for the rant...

Hi guys, I have made changed the month's challenge so do make sure to read the description for it before posting your reads :)
Here's the link for the next month's challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hi guys, I have made changed the month's challenge so do make sure to read the description for it before posting your reads :)
Here's the link for the next month's challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

July is here and so is the start of the second half of the year. Despite the problems and the circumstances relating to COVID and its effects, each and every member of the group has done great in terms of reading, proving that reading is a lot more than an escape and can literally lift up one's spirits.

Keeping this in mind, and the current situation of the Corona Virus, I'd like to say this to all the members - despite of the genres of the genre challenge months (especially this month), abandon any book that makes you feel down, sad, upset or even slightly depressed. Books affect us a lot more than many mediums of entertainment and it is necessary to keep in mind that right now we all are already stressed enoughso no need to burrden yourself further. Read somethign that makes you feel good!

Therefore, I, as the admin, have decided to cancel this month's genre challenge. Because after almost 5 months of self-distancing even I am starting to feel overwhelmed and upset and trying to stay from dark fictional reads. And even though this month's genres are amongst my favourite genres, I strongly feel that dystopian and apocalyptic reads would hot too close to home for each and every one of us. And even though we try to think that books don't affect us that much, they tend to inconspicuously trigger emotions that can be harmful to our mental as well as physical health. And we do not want that.

So, let us all read some breezy, some cheesy but refreshing summer-reads this month. They can be classics too. Let's get creative guys and try to dig deeper in our book-shelves and find some lighter reads. And no need to fret about the genre. Read ANYTHING light and post it here. They can even be cosies too. And if you want you can include books by authors of colour in support of Black Lives Matter global movement. But again, nothing serious, try to keep your reads light and enjoyable.

Hope you guys are doing okay. If you need someone to talk, remember you can always post on any of the threads here :)

Happy reading!

#1 How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival by Tadeusz Haska and Stefani Nauman - 4/5
A very emotional read about life in the post WW1 era.

#2 Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey - 4/5
A very interesting book about the morning rituals of most of the famous artists. This is such a well put-tother book that I'd recommend it to all the new artists because as entertaining as it is, it also very inspiring.

#25 The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (narrated by TOM HANKS!!) - 5/5

#26 Pretty Things by Janelle Brown - 4/5

#23 If It Bleeds by Stephen King - 4/5
#24 Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky - 4/5

Both these are such brilliant reads!

Hi guys... here's the link to the May thread - Non-Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hi guys... here's the link to the May thread - Non-Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hi guys... here's the link to the May thread - Non-Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

June is here and the world is still struggling with Corona Virus, but at least some relief has been granted to many places and right now it is the best we could hope for! Soon half the year will be over... like real bookworms, we have all found solace in between the pages of our beloved books and 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 all the same.

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, please feel free to ask for suggestions and recommendations. 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!

Be safe and keep reading!

Cheryl wrote: "I will pass on this one, but thanks for offering. I am getting into a reading slump, where nothing seems to appeal to me. Maybe others from the group would like to join you. "

Sure, no worries :-)

Cheryl- We are doing it as a 10-day read. So we'll be finishing it and discussing the book on 27th May. We'll keep on doing it as we proceed in the book too. But the end date is 27th.
We have the book in the Google Drive folder I shared earlier. Most of the readers from the WhatsApp group are downloading the book from there only as they don't have it and the libraries are closed here. Please feel free to download the book from there if you want to. It'll be in epub format but can be converted to mobi online in a minute.

Let me know if you'd like to join and I'll creat a thread here and send invite for the buddy-read to all members here (just in case of there's anyone else who wants to join us.)

Hi guys, would anyone be interested in reading The Dutch House by Anne Patchett?? We are having its buddy read over at the whatsapp group. If anyone is interested we can host it here too.

Cheryl wrote: "Great news! All three of my area libraries will open - in limited capacity - on Tuesday May19th! One will be order online with curbside pick up. The other 2 will let in 30 people at a time for 1 ho..."

Wow... that is great news, Cheryl!

#20 The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager - 3/5

#21 All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover - 1/5 - DNF

#22 The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris - 4/5