Renata’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2019)

Renata’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

I nominate The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (359 pages), published in 1940.

I nominate A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (372 pages), last read in 2019.

I'll be representing Latvia, as a tribute to my family's roots.

I nominate The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (679 pages)

JoJo_theDoDo wrote: "I nominate To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee / 336pgs"

JoJo, this book has already been read by the group, so it should be nominated in the Catch-Up topic instead.

I second Perfume.

Kimberly wrote: "I nominate Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse. 240 pages"

Sorry, this book doesn't have 50K ratings yet, so doesn't qualify.

Score Board to Message 132 ***FINAL RESULTS Message 133***

COUNTRY (# participants) 🡆 PAGES + BONUS = TOTAL POINTS

BRAZIL(1) 🡆 1544 + 50 = 1594
CANADA(2) 🡆 5572 + 350 = 5922 (Avg. 2961)
🥇 🥇 FINLAND(1) 🡆 8347 + 150 = 8497
GERMANY(2) 🡆 1344 (Avg. 672)
🥈 IRELAND(1) 🡆 4090 + 50 = 4140
JAMAICA(2) 🡆 1224 + 50 = 1274 (Avg. 637)
🥉 JAPAN(3) 🡆 5928 + 100 = 6028 (Avg. 2009)
LATVIA(1) 🡆 1741 + 150 = 1891
MEXICO(2) 🡆 3630 + 400 = 4030 (Avg. 2015)
SPAIN(2) 🡆 2512 + 50 = 2562 (Avg. 1281)
🥉 SWITZERLAND(1) 🡆 3501 + 50 = 3551
🥈 USA(3) 🡆 8116 + 100 = 8216 (Avg. 2739)

Welcome, reading athletes, to the EHRTBM 2022 Reading Olympics!

For the month of February, we will be competing for gold, silver and bronze medals by country. Points will be awarded for pages read plus bonuses. Here’s how to play:

🏒 Choose the country you would like to represent. This can be your current home, your birthplace, your heritage, or your favorite country in the world. All your posts should indicate this country.

🥌 Read books, any genre, any topic. But for this challenge, we will exclude sparsely-worded books like graphic novels, children’s picture books, cookbooks, poetry and art books.

⛸️ When you’ve finished your book, post a message with the following information: Country, Book Title, Date Finished, Pages Read, Bonus Points (if any).

⛷️ Example: “Latvia, Jane Eyre, Feb.12, 560 pages, 50 bonus points (bookshelf)”

🏂Points will be awarded for pages read. Plus 50 bonus points for books read from the EHRTBM bookshelf. Plus 50 bonus points for books read about the Olympics or Olympic sports.

We will track the points awarded by country until Feb.28th, when medals will be awarded for 2 events: Total Pages Read, and Average Pages Read (total/participants).
🥇 🥈 🥉

Good luck and good reading!

I'll be reading this one too. Fantasy isn't usually my fave, but the story sounded interesting, so will give it a shot. Hope it's not about vampires though.

Thanks to JoJo for picking my last read, The Dutch House. I loved it and will be hunting down more Ann Patchett books in the future. She writes with such compassion!

Jennifer, for you I'm picking The Queen's Gambit. Not only is it our BOTM, but also a great read. Hope you enjoy it.

So I'm ready for my next book. What's it to be?

Great suggestions this month again. Thanks for participating! This topic is now closed, but you can cast a vote in the poll here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

Great suggestions this month again. Thanks for participating! This topic is now closed, but you can cast a vote in the poll here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

Great suggestions this month again. Thanks for participating! This topic is now closed, but you can cast a vote in the poll here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

What a wonderful story! Here are some lingering thoughts....

Why did Beth never fall in love? She was so aloof and her relationships seemed so cold. I wondered what would become of her later in life. Although, there was a glimmer of hope in the final pages, where she made an effort to connect.

This very talented author, Walter Tevis, died one year after writing this book. He had struggled with alcoholism and loved to play chess. The book seems somewhat autobiographical.

Why did Beth not repay Mr. Shaibel his loan earlier? I kept expecting her to do it and was annoyed that she didn't make the effort to contact him and thank him for his kindness. For a janitor, $5 would have been alot back in the 60's. When she finally did so, it was too late. Beth had her faults, didn`t she?

All in all, a great read and now to watch the Netflix series...

Me too. I'm purposely NOT watching Netflix until I've finished the book. I absolutely loved Tevis' other book, The Man Who Fell to Earth, so looking forward to reading this one too.

Hello Readers!
This is the Pre-Read thread for the February 2022 Modern/Popular selection. This month we will be reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.

Please note that this is a SPOILER FREE discussion.

Who's planning to join in on this read? Why did you choose this book to read? What are your expectations in reading this book?

Hello Readers!
This is the Pre-Read thread for the February 2022 Classics selection. This month we will be reading The Stranger by Albert Camus.

Please note that this is a SPOILER FREE discussion.

Who's planning to join in on this read? Why did you choose this book to read? What are your expectations in reading this book?

Andrew wrote: "I second Beloved and the Picture of Dorian Gray."

Andrew, you have already seconded Dorian Gray in message #38.

Andrew wrote: "I second Sidharta, Death of a Salesman, Inferno, David Copperfield and Swanns Way.

Phew."

Phew, for sure. You have already seconded Death of a Salesman and David Copperfield in Message 26.