Zaz’s Comments (group member since Dec 27, 2014)

Zaz’s comments from the 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] group.

It was the page turner books week :)
I finished my 1st Pulitzer book (The Snow Child) and liked very much the snowy atmosphere. It was nice to be in another country and in another time, to discover the harsh life in Alaska. There was a fairytale touch, nicely done, and a lot of mystery and suspense.

I finished my recommended book (Toby Alone), I wasn't expecting something really good as I was disappointed by my last tries to read french books. The writing style in this one was great and the world very well built, with lots of tiny details I enjoyed a lot. It's a good book for kids or grown-ups like me who like these types of stories.

I added a german book for "written in another language", there is some time travel and paranormal stuff, the sample was good, so I hope I'll like it :D

I added my fantasy bingo so it's easier for me to keep track of the books, some will probably change along the year.

Side reads: only a re-read Dragon Wing (fantasy) and some samples to choose wisely new books.

It seemed you enjoyed most of the books so far! You chose wisely :)

It's in my reading list since months but I didn't find the urge to read it. As it's a short book, I have to put it upper in my list, I really like the idea of "reading in a fog" :D

April 25: The folder for week 25 is available (a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't). It's time to catch-up with an avoided book or to try a new one you didn't have to read.

New poll: What week are you looking forward to the most in May? (Ends at: May 6th)
Later polls are still available, so don't forget to vote.

Week 25: a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't.
June 18 - June 24, 2015

The books you have to read in school are not always the most appealing ones. Maybe you jumped quickly on a detailed review to avoid one of them, maybe it was eaten by your dog, etc. With Internet, now all is possible but one day or another, you'll have to read this book. And the time is now. You can thanks the challenge.

If you're older than the Internet or were a dedicated student, you probably read all the required books, so you can look at the current recommended books for your country or another one.


How to Create a Topic:
1. Create a topic in the appropriate folder using your book's author and title (Title by Author, please). Link your book with the "This topic is about" feature.

2. In the body of your post, comment about why you chose this book. Have you read it before? What are your expectations?

3. Feel free to use the thread as a way to update the group on your progress. Also, when you are finished reading, add a small review and your thoughts about the week's challenge.

4. Comment on everyone else's posts as well! Participation and group involvement will make this challenge so much fun!

**If you chose the same book as another group member for the same week, do not create a duplicate thread.**

Book ideas
Required Reading Worldwide
UK Suggested reading list for Year 6 pupils | KS2 | Age 10-11
UK Suggested reading list for Year 7 pupils | KS3 | Age 11-12
UK Suggested reading list for Year 8 pupils | KS3 | Age 12-13
Pop Quiz: Have You Read These Classic School Books and Seen the Movie Versions?
Required Reading: 10 Books We Read For Class That Will Change Your Life
9 Required High School Reads that Ended Up My All-Time Favorites
Huge Summer Reading List for Middle School Student
Listopia:
Best School Assigned Books
Best Books to Teach in high school
Popular High School Books
Required Reading in High School

Great Jody, I'm looking forward to your opinion :)

Meran, yes I wrote a review as usual!

Finished! It was great, I highly recommend it for those who want a sweet fiction and a change of scenery.

Thanks Laura :)
There are lots of praises for this book, which is a nice thing with this difficult subject.

Yes, you can use audiobooks for the challenge! Listening audiobooks takes more time than reading the actual books, so in a way, it's more challenging to use them ;)
I really like your challenge, it's full of books I read or want to read :D

Please, join the discussion started in the previous thread :)

The Snow Child won the Pulitzer in 2013 and was nominated for several other awards. I'd it on my to read list because it's well rated and related to a fairy tale. I decided to put it as a 2nd Pulitzer book in my challenge, as The Road will be a re-read.

Summary:
Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm, she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

I started it yesterday evening and I'm already at 25%. It was really hard to put it down to go to sleep, as the atmosphere and the mystery grabbed me after some chapters. The setting, in Alaska, with all the snow, the forest, the hard life and the foxes is a great and immersive background.
I suppose it won't be a happy story but the pace is really good for the moment. I'm pleased with the discovery :)

I'm a huge sample user since maybe 2 months, it never occured to me to use them before. They help a lot, with some I buy the book after 5 pages, with others I finish the sample and add the book in my to read list and with the last ones, I can't finish the sample so there's no way I'll buy the book :D

As I'm really sensitive to the writing style, tasting it is often enough to tell if it will be a 4-5 stars book or something I'll read in several months because I'll have difficulties to enter the story.

Haha, maybe I need "Train your cat for dummies", I've a troublesome and stubborn one :D
Good choice for a nonfiction :)

For me it depends if it's a new author or not.
If I know the author and like his books, I don't look at the ratings.
If I don't know him/her, I start by the ratings and if it's 3+ stars, I usually have a look at 3-4 reviews. There are some reviewers I saw often on Goodreads for the books I read, so it helps me to know if I'll enjoy the book or not.

I saw some pretty awesome reviews for books I consider as firelighters :D I'm aware that readers have different tastes and if the summary is really appealing or if I'm curious about the book, even with an average rating, I download a sample.
I'm cautious too when it's a hyped book. The hype can be about the book qualities or just about people who usually don't read this genre and are really impressed by something different (for them).

Reviews help me avoiding many books I won't like, so it's a money/time saver.
If you're comfortable with spending money on books you won't like or if you use a library, I think you can free yourself from the reviews and choose with the summaries :)

I didn't plan to read 2 books for this week, but with the events, it was impossible for me to do otherwise.

What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby
I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching #4) by Terry Pratchett

Did you enjoy the books?
Midnight was a great conclusion to the previous books for the girl and it was very nice to see her grew up along the different books. I'm curious about the #5 due for later this year, I hope it won't be disappointing.
Funny Girl was interesting and easy to read, I enjoyed the characters as usual with this author. However, I found the story less deep and interesting than others of his books.

Why do you like this author?
Pratchett because he was really good at metaphors and addressed lots of society problems. Discworld is a world really unusual.
Hornby because I'm not interested in contemporary fiction, but I really enjoy how he writes it and his stories have often an original background.

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?
For Pratchett, I'll say Good Omens (standalone about the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse) or The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching #1, a young witch series in the Discworld).
For Hornby, I don't have the same tastes as his readers, so About a Boy could be a safer recommendation. My fav are A Long Way Down (theme: depression/suicide) and Slam (theme: teen pregnancy).

We are halfway done with Week 16 and you read a new book from one of your favorite authors.

This discussion thread is solely for your progress (book discussions go in individual threads).


What did you read this week? (+ author's name please)

Did you enjoy the book?

Why do you like this author?

Which title would you recommend to discover this author?

Have fun :D

Hmm, it's not easy because I mostly read King 20 years ago, so I'm not really sure how his books are now! My favorites from him are not the most horror oriented.
I'll say The Talisman, The Green Mile or Skeleton Crew (short stories).

I'm doing the same for the "big" books :)
It seems you enjoyed most of your challenge books for the moment, it's great!
There are so many books in your several challenges, it's impressive. Good luck with that :)

I finished my 2nd book from a favorite author (Funny Girl) and enjoyed the writing as usual but found the story a little bellow what I'm used with this author. The setting in the sixties show business was interesting.

Elantris was a big book (I read it in french, so it didn't take me forever) with a slow paced beginning, but luckily after 30% the story improved a lot and I was really pleased at the end of the book. It was a good debut novel and I've plenty of books to read from this author now :D

Side reads: 2 short stories (Burning Alexandria, a short story and The Last Abbot of Ashk’lan, by 2 authors I discovered with the challenge), Noughts and Crosses (a dystopia with an ethnic segregation) and 2 graphic novels (Superman: Earth One, Vol. 3 and Fairy Quest Vol. 1 Outlaws).