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

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

Wow... everyone is so far ahead!

#2 The Leavenworth Case - 4/5

Loved it! If all the cosies like this one then I'm going to be a fan of them for sure :)
I loved the way the mystery took the main turn in the last 3 chapters. I was sure I knew who was the culprit, but the end surprised me in a very good way. I'm going to read more by the author and by the narrator Kirsten Ferreri.
Thanks Dagny for this amazing recommendation!!

#2 The Leavenworth Case - 4/5

Loved it! If all the cosies like this one then I'm going to be a fan of them for sure :)
I loved the way the mystery took the main turn in the last 3 chapters. I was sure I knew who was the culprit, but the end surprised me in a very good way. I'm going to read more by the author and by the narrator Kirsten Ferreri.
Thanks Dagny for this amazing recommendation!!
I read it on LibriVox app. A great resource for free classic audiobooks.

With this, I finally got started with the list I made at the start of the year :)

Here's the link to the next month's thread: March'19 - Women's or Western Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Here's the link to the next month's thread: March'19 - Women's or Western Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Oh, god! I'm only on my 2nd one. I was certainly not expecting this :( This is the least number of books I've ever read for Mystery/Thriller month :'( I started good but then one of the books I was reading - The Nightmare by Lars Kepler, turned out to be a bummer and I did not expect it because I LOVED their first book. I'm not able to mark it as DNF yet so I'm still slogging through it :/ Then one of my cats, Eva, got a liver infection and then a lot of guests visited my home this entire month so the whole month went by in a haze. I'm still shocked I read only 2 genre books this month and I feel like crying now :'(

#2 The Leavenworth Case - 4/5

Loved it! If all the cosies like this one then I'm going to be a fan of them for sure :)
I loved the way the mystery took the main turn in the last 3 chapters. I was sure I knew who was the culprit, but the end surprised me in a very good way. I'm going to read more by the author and by the narrator Kirsten Ferreri.
Thanks Dagny for this amazing recommendation!!
I read it on LibriVox app. A great resource for free classic audiobooks.

March is here and so is one of the 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.) Please pick 1 genre and announce in the comments below. Or if you really want to, then 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-centered 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!

Hey, Mohini, welcome to RMFAO :)

I'm feeling much, much better, Marjorie. Thanks :)

#1 The Stillwater Girls - 1/5 - DNF

My reasons for abandoning the book:
1. Chapters full of fragmented sentences for exposition which led to overtreatment of a technique I otherwise love and use in my own works.
2. Excessive foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is good, necessary even in thrillers for building suspense, but here it was too much.
3. I felt forced by the author to feel sympathetic to the girls living alone. It felt like the girls themselves (or at least the POV one) were screaming at the readers to feel sorry for them and their conditions. As a result, I simply felt irritation and nothing more.
4. focus on the unnecessary details and overall, the writing felt immature; it felt like the author wanted to go for Gillian Flynn's writing style but ended up totally botching it up.

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

Andrew wrote: "I'm haven't a clear idea about books to read for this challenge, so I will start with some titles I found in my tbr list:
1) [book:The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Titanic Tragedy|12..."

You're in for a treat, Andrew - Sharp Objects is a really good book and one of my personal favourites!

Lyndsey wrote: "Highly, highly recommend the RE games, they are beyond awesome. They actually just came out with a Resident Evil 2 last month that BLEW my mind.
I'll definitely have to check out those books asap! Thanks for the recommendations! I need to get that "too good to put down" feeling again. "

Will do! Just added the Racoon City one to my cart on Amazon for my next shopping spree.

Hope you'll like them!

Dagny wrote: "I have The Hypnotist on hold and am first in line so should even get it in time for Mystery Month."

Great! Yes, it would be great if you can get it before the month end. It is one hell of a book! The pacing is so good, it kept me up at night. The climax was a bit different from what we are generally used to, but it is a good kind of different. Happy Reading.

Dagny wrote: "Heena wrote: "I've already started with by one of the best literary couples, Lars Kepler. So far, the plot os building slowly, but the pace is increasing ever so ..."

Awesome! I'm sure you'll like them :)

I've already started with by one of the best literary couples, Lars Kepler. So far, the plot os building slowly, but the pace is increasing ever so slightly and I'm looking forward to reading further.
I'm not yet sure which other books I'm going to read next. I need a couple of days to sort out my lists again.

Lyndsey wrote: "(This is my first post so I apologize is the format is a little wonky!)

I think I'm going to go for level 3: Bookworm. On top of the 3 mystery/thriller books that I want to read, I'm also trying t..."

Hey Lyndsey, welcome to the challenge. There's no set format for anything here, so no worries.
I love Resident Evil movies and concept (I haven't played the games yet, though I love playing games and I'm a huge fan of God Of War series.) I'm looking forward to knowing what you think of this book. I might pick it up too.
I'm a huge mystery thriller buff, just like most of the other members here. 2 months back I discovered a new series that totally blew my mind - Lars Kepler's Joona Linna Series. I read the first book The Hypnotist and it was so good that I simply can't wait to read others! I'm reading the second one right now The Nightmare.
Apart from these, one of my favourite mystery-thrillers of all time is - Security. This book is literally UN PUT DOWN-able!! If the blurb alone can't convince you to pick it up, then do read my review (I'm sure it'll convince you to consider it!)

Marjorie wrote: "I will be shooting for level five. I will list when I get back home. I am off to a slow start. My grandson was in the hospital so I flew across country to be with him and haven’t been able to focus..."

Sorry to hear that, Marjorie. Hope he gets well soon.

Dagny wrote: "No big surprise that I will be going for Level 5. I read fifteen in February last year and hope to at least tie that number this year. It will be a mix of hardbacks, paperbacks, E-books and audio b..."

You've a lot of reads planned, Dagny! All the best :)

Dagny wrote: "Ouch, glad to hear it was nothing more serious than that though, something that would take ages and ages to cure. I've heard they are extremely painful.

I think we lament February's shortness every year. :-) We may even plan to shuffle the genres around to give Mystery-Thriller a longer month, but always forget by the time the end of the year rolls around. "

Yeah, even I'm relieved it wasn't anything more serious. It does pain a lot, the kind of pain that makes you incapable to either sit, stand or lie down. It was horrible and I'm glad that it's over now :)

OMG, yes!! We talk about it every time and then forget. Hopefully, we'll change it next year ;)

I am back!! Sorry I went MIA. I got into some health issues (nasty kidney stones) but I'm back now. Thanks, Dagny, for setting up the thread!
I'm so glad Feb is here as it means loads and loads of mystery and thrillers!! I'll also be going for Level 5 this month. I hate that there are only 28 days this month.

1. The Gods Themselves - 3/5

A good book with a very interesting story. I liked the 2nd part better than the 1st and the 3rd one. The last part felt like a real slog, especially towards the end and it took me more than 6 days to get through the last 50 pages. The concept was good and overall it was a pretty good read (of course except for the last 50-60 pages.)