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

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

September is here and again we have the choice of 2 genres - Humour or World Fiction. As always, you can choose to do either or both of the genres, whatever suits you. You can join anytime during the entire month and read as many (or as less) books as you can manage, no restrictions whatsoever!

If you are a humour or world fiction reader then we request you to please recommend some awesome books to other members. Others, please 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 centered 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:

Humour Humour (spelt Humor in US English), is also known as comedy fiction. A comic/humor novel is usually a work of fiction in which the writer seeks to amuse the reader, sometimes with subtlety and as part of a carefully woven narrative, sometimes above all other considerations. It could be said that comedy fiction is literary work that aims primarily to provoke laughter, but this isn't always as obvious as it first may seem.

World Fiction - Fiction from around the world. For this challenge, it means reading works of authors from other countries than the one you are from. (I'll post the technical definition in a day or two.)

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!

#5 Tailspin by Sandra Brown - 3/5

A typical Brown book with a decent plot, okay-ish characters, lot of cliches and unnecessary romance.

#6 Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry - 5/5

A mind-numbing, psyche-shattering and blood-roiling read. A beautiful book for those who are ready to see the shades of grey between the white and black of right and wrong. Again, this book was full of triggers and subjects most people would not even want to even think about. I think Dr Berry has done a fabulous job of handling the issue and presenting all sides of the situation without any bias. Often times authors present situations in a way that twists reality to a point where the point gets entirely lost and what's left is only for the sake of entertainment, but Lucinda Berry writes it as it is in real life - people are fucked up and most of the times we complicate things further because of our emotions and feelings. Simple as that.

#4 The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry - 5/5

OMG! This book is AMAZING!!! I ABSOLUTELY loved it! Intense, dark and gritty... a very heavy psychological read. It chilled me to the core (and I never say that.) What a brilliant and clever author Dr Lucinda Berry turned out to be.

Not for emotionally weak or sensitive people. It had a lot of triggers.

Cheryl wrote: "Oh, that is disappointing! I was thinking of reading this. "

I was devastated that this book turned out to be such a bummer. Though it still has a LOT of good reviews (totally beats me, why? but it does.) I am in the insane minority who didn't like the book. I think you should go with your instinct on this one.

Dagny wrote: "That's a shame. Dark Matter is the only one of his books I've read and I was so looking forward to another one."

A lot of Crouch's earlier works are brilliant (or so I have heard) so I'm thinking of reading his previous books now.

Fran wrote: "These looked really good to me. Grateful for the recommendation. Maybe I'll see if they're on CD (audiobook) through the library Heena ;)"

I hope you enjoy this series as much as I did! I bet the audio version would be so much better... I really hope you find the audiobooks. Do lemme know if read/listen to this series :)

Fran wrote: "Awesome Heena so glad you accomplished this goal. Happy further listening"

Thanks a lot, Fran. Seeing your progress too here was very encouraging :)

And with this, I have reached Level-4 of this challenge! This is the first time I have read so many audiobooks. It is a very big thing for me because I was struggling to come to terms with audiobooks until last year. Thanks to my co-mods, Dagny and Cheryl, who helped me in identifying some really good titles as well as shared some great ways in order to be able to enjoy audiobooks. Thanks guys :)

#16 Recursion by Blake Crouch - 1/5 - DNF

Very disappointing. The characters were very badly done. I have no idea how so many people are even liking this book so much so that they are comparing it with Dark Matter (which was a real masterpiece.)

#3 Recursion by Blake Crouch - 1/5 - DNF

Very disappointing. The characters were so poorly created that they didn't even manage to hold my attention for a complete 2 hours :(

#2 Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence - 4/5

A good way to end the series, though it was pretty unpredictable. The ending did feel a bit rushed, but I had so many expectations from this series that I already knew that no matter what the ending would be it would seem inadequate compared to the entirety of the series. So I'd say that it was a decent end to a fabulous series.

Finished Book Of The Ancestor Series by Mark Lawrence:
#1 Red Sister - 5/5
#2 Grey Sister - 4.5/5
#3 Holy Sister - 4/5

I enjoyed the first part of this trilogy the most, The Red Sister. It was ana amazing book and a lot for me to connect with. As the series progressed, I guess the change of settings made me feel a bit distant from the book, but still, it was a good series as each part was unpredictable. It delivered what it promised and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a good tolerance for violence, rage, and negative emotions. This book is darkness on steroids so lookout while reading it. But if you are curious to read about assassin nuns then you MUST read this book :)

#15 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - 5/5 (re-listen/re-read)

Loved it more than the first time.

#8 The Turn of the Screw - 5/5

It was a re-read but I enjoyed it more than the first time.
This book was recommended to me by Dagny I guess 2 years ago when I read it for the first time (thanks again, Dagny!) :)

Welcome, Kushal and Siddhartha to the group. We have a lot fo interesting reading challenges that run throughout the year (and which can be joined at any time) so do have a look around and join in.

T wrote: "Fortunately or unfortunately I have a lot of books that I have been longing to read and they all magically comply with this challenge. So yeah the target I am setting for myself may seem prepostero..."

Wow... that's a great list. Best of luck :)

T wrote: "Hey everyone! I'm Satya.
I used to be an avid reader when I was a kid. I was obsessed with nancy drew, hardy boys and sherlock holmes. I still am. My reading habits have been basically confined to..."

Hey Satya, welcome to RMFAO. Looking forward to seeing you around :)

〰️Beth〰️ wrote: "Since my surgery I have cut down on my reading so I will go with level two this month."

Get well soon, Beth!

Fran wrote: "Heena I didn't care much for The Handmaid's Tale. I felt I was missing something given it's recent hype."

Exactly!!

Mona wrote: "I shall choose two books for this challenge(Level -2).

1. Thirteen Reasons Why"

I've watched this series on Netflix and remember to have enjoyed it (though only season 1.) Do let us know how was the book when you've read it :)