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

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

Wow a cover glowing in the dark :D I like when editors add little things like this!
Have fun :)

Thanks for the recommendations Michael. I added some of them to my huge to-read list :)

Safronia, I'm so happy you liked Pax Hollow World. I don't understand what you mean by spamming and luring you :p Maybe I've to do it more often.
Ok, so there are songs quoted? I think I missed them (blame my desert musical culture). For the next collective read, we'll have to highlight the references, so we won't miss any of them.
About Ellis, it was easier for me to understand his point of view, maybe because I know more people who are not fully open-minded. Maybe too because if I meet someone like Pax one day, it would be less interesting for me if it can be only a friend relationship.

I bought the 1st Riyria books (Theft of Swords), so now I know how to spell it :p
It's a first publication, so I'm trying to have low expectations. Because you know, Hollow World is wonderful and I can't see how a first book can be as great. But well, I've high expectations anyway and it's annoying.
I'm near half the first book and I'm enjoying to follow the characters. They are all colorful and I'm looking forward to know more about them because the HW characterization was great. Myrion is really cute, Royce is mysterious and Hadrian is... Hadrian. The story is nice, I just follow the events and appreciate the writing (and I've to search words in the dictionary, I didn't do that since years!).
I can see some common points between the books:
- the characters make a really good team (complementary and loving).
- I want to be part of their team.
- I'm in a good mood while reading.

The Colour of Magic is the 1st Discworld novel, but not the 1st Pratchett's book.
Same thing for Robin Hobb as she wrote before under another name (Megan Lindholm).
The 2 series are pretty good, but really not first works :)

We are halfway done with Week 7! You're surrounded by nonhuman creatures, we hope you're enjoying listening to them and following their strange adventures.

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


What did you read this week?

What kinds of nonhuman characters are in the book?

Did you enjoy the book? (feel free to link to your review)

Would you recommend this title?

You have to explain me how you can like the Maze Runner characters. I wanted to throw them by the window after 5min in the book :D

My fav genres are dystopia and fantasy. I'm comfortable with thrillers and sci-fi too, but I read them less often. History is my nightmare and I need a lot of humor if I read a romance.

One more for my to-read ;)

For initials and birthdate, a member recommended http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk. It's a great database :)

Hollow World is a success with my friends for the characters and how the ideas are addressed. The first chapters are a little slow paced but after the time travel, it's difficult to stop reading. There are lots of themes addressed in the book, with different points of view (society, religion, gender, ecology, friendship, love...), so it's a really complete reading. I can recommend it deeply when I know the person, but it's more difficult on the web (I think I can recommend it to you just because of your awesome profil picture :D).

Brandon Sanderson is a popular fantasy author. On Goodreads he has 959,350 ratings with an average of 4.35 stars, which is pretty high.

Elantris is a standalone and is his first published book (2005).

Summary:

Elantris was the capital of Arelon: gigantic, beautiful, literally radiant, filled with benevolent beings who used their powerful magical abilities for the benefit of all. Yet each of these demigods was once an ordinary person until touched by the mysterious transforming power of the Shaod. Ten years ago, without warning, the magic failed. Elantrians became wizened, leper-like, powerless creatures, and Elantris itself dark, filthy, and crumbling.
Stricken by the same curse that ruined Elantris, Prince Raoden was secretly exiled by his father to the dark city. His struggle to help the wretches trapped there begins a series of events that will bring hope to Arelon, and perhaps reveal the secret of Elantris itself.

I never heard about this author before (it doesn't appear a lot in my bookstores apparently, so maybe it's not really popular here... but they don't find place anymore on their shelves with all the Discworld, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings books anyway :p).
Several members are fans of the author in this group, so I decided to give it a try as the summary of Elantris seems interesting :)
I hope I'll like the writing because it's a big book (640 pages)!

(I'm updating this since some weeks and didn't realize too it was a link...)

What do you think about underlining it? Maybe it will be more obvious?

I chose "a book waiting for ages to be read". I'll pick up one of the first books I added on my Goodreads to read list.
One of the "less interesting" books from your to read list could be another choice, so maybe you'll discover a good book which wasn't fully appealing.
We let you decide what is the best for you ;)

I'm at 25%. For the moment, I'm enjoying the book (it's not awesome but it's not boring).
The sheep are nice and the mystery is interesting enough. Listening to the talks about the butcher is pretty funny :D

I agree as the 2nd and 3rd books are my favorite in the serie. I didn't re-read after the 4th (my last re-read was for the 5th book release) so I don't remember about the 6 ;)
Yes, there are explanations later about the world and, of course, about Roland and Jake. The 1st book launches you directly in the action, it's easy to feel a little lost.

Feb 14: The folder for week 15 (a popular author's first book) is now available. It's time to discover popular authors you never heard about :D

Week 15: a popular author's first book
April 9 - April 15, 2015

Every popular author started with a book. Some were good, other were boring, but it was the beginning of a new adventure. Maybe you know the author but never tried his first book, maybe you don't know him and want to have a taste of his writing. Anyway, you'll have lots of choices, so you can expect to read something you like.


How to Create a Topic:
1. Create a topic in the appropriate folder using your book's author and title (Title by Author). 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:
http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/...
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinchiric...
http://www.bookmarket.com/debutnovels...

Princeless 1 was fun, with nice characters and a good story! I found the 2nd less interesting.

I like the cover and the characters seem interesting (I agree, it fits very well here).
I'm looking forward to your review on this one and maybe I'll add it to my to-read list :)

Author: Vicki Pettersson (I don't know how her books are, but the ratings are ok, so maybe you'll find something interesting in her list).

Several ideas for a book set in the future: Hollow World (time travel, lovely characters, for "open minds"), The Giver (monitored society, easy reading), Wool Omnibus (slow paced, part of a series, interesting small world building), Lock In (detective story and artificial bodies use ; Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome needs to be read before Lock In), Starters (young people body use, easy reading). And of course, classics like Brave New World, etc.

My week 6 book was a really pleasant read. Deep and sad, with a lot of fairy dust and some unicorns, perfect for my february mood as it ringed lots of bells. It's the 1st book from this author but it's not released worldwide, so I hope it will change soon. Anyway, it's great to see characters I really care about on a first book.

My side-read is Theft of Swords during the current week because I want to discover another book from the Hollow World's writter :)

Goodreads groups are not easy to manage sadly. We discussed about putting the current week on the top, but we can move folders only step by step or directly to the bottom or the top. I let you imagine the fun when we'll have to replace week 30 at its place...

You have a link to the current week on the announcement header (if the link doesn't send you to the right place, feel free to send me a message to remind me to change it).

We'll see later if we have to change the way the group is displayed and it will be easier when we'll have less work with the topics management ("Title by Author" doesn't seem obvious and we link the book for each topic when it's not done, so it takes time).

What did you read this week?
Fairytales for Wilde Girls

Did you enjoy it? (feel free to link to your book review)
Yes, I liked how the story is told and I cared a lot about all the characters. There are magical creatures and deep sadness in the book, so it was a perfect read for february for me.

Would you recommend this title?
I don't think it's a book for everyone. I could recommend it for grown-ups who still believe in magical creatures and who have an haunted heart.

Are you interested in reading other titles written by this author?
First, I'm interested in a worldwide release for this book. And yes, I would be pleased to discover the next title written by this new author.