Stina’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2016)

Stina’s comments from the Challenges from Exploding Steamboats group.

Xanthi wrote: "Yes, the Midnight Louis books switch chapters from cat POV to human.
I have a few Sneaky Pie Browns on my TBR. Not started the series yet though. I hope they are not awful..."

The one I read was just so...precious. I couldn't stand it.

I haven't watched the film, but the book (published as a serial originally) is a frame story. The frame is the narrator writing his memoirs in a retirement home, and each segment opens and closes there. As the story progresses, you see the past encroaching more and more on the present until the two narratives mesh at the end.

Cheryl wrote: "A friend of mine said that Anna was the Russian Scarlett O'Hara -- it is one reason I haven't read the book until now."

I remember quite liking Scarlett. When I was 12.

Cheryl wrote: "Stina wrote: "I think I'm going to have to run a challenge that is just for cat-cover books."

Oh dear -- my personal quest at the moment is to read no more than one of these a month so that I get ..."

I've decided not to make this its own challenge, but I will be keeping track of how many I read for this challenge. It will be interesting to see how many extra I read without even trying.

Cindi wrote: "Not having an occupation I think I'm going to pass on this one."

Well, that opens it up to any protagonist who does not have an occupation!

I know, I know, I'm not crazy about this one. I didn't come up with it, and there's a good reason I didn't complete it for the original PopSugar challenge last year.

I think I have a copy of Frankenstein around here, so maybe I will do that. I find it interesting to see the early origins of fantasy and science fiction.

Cheryl wrote: "I enjoyed Obama's Dreams From My Father, although it is memoir but not about politics (he wrote it before he got elected to the Senate) and his Audacity of Hope, although that is not really a memoi..."

Was the Albright one Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box? That one looks particularly interesting to me.

Cheryl wrote: "Midnight Louie might be where I end up -- I thought about Sneaky Pie Brown, but then realized that those are 3rd person and cover people and animals."

I read one Sneaky Pie Brown novel. That was more than enough.

Xanthi wrote: "Carole Nelson Douglas' Midnight Louis series features a black cat of that name who tells the story from his POV in interspersed chapters. He doesn't talk though.
I love the cat's manner of speakin..."

Midnight Louis definitely counts. I can't remember if the POV switches to human at some points, but even if it does, I'd call it good. I could swear I saw one of these around here just the other day, so maybe I'll read it for this prompt.

Cheryl wrote: "Bill Bryson has a couple of road trip ones, one in the US (not as good as A Walk in the Woods, but that is my favorite so . . .)

Road Fever by Tim Cahill was an adventure -- driving up South Ameri..."

I'm a big fan of In a Sunburned Country, which is set in Australia.

I mean for this to be a very broadly defined category. The book I have picked out is actually a spoof of a high fantasy quest, so there are no modern roads or conveyances involved.

Cheryl wrote: "I see a few of these on my shelves, including Anna Karenina and one of my goals was to read 5 of the great classics I had never read, so I am leaning towards this one -- except it is long. And Tols..."

Good luck with Anna K! I tried it when Oprah announced it, and I even printed out her little bookmark with the character cheat-sheet. But I didn't get very far. I didn't throw the book against the wall, but I did close it with, "Stupid, whiny bitch. Moving on!"

Cheryl wrote: "This one was puzzling me, although it sounded like a nice change of pace from my usual reading. Glad to see there are some suggestions here."

There is also Mike Befeler's "Geezer-Lit" mystery series. I've read the first one, Retirement Homes Are Murder, and it wasn't really my thing, but ymmv.

The book that inspired this prompt was Stephen King's The Green Mile, so that would definitely work. It also counts as "story within a story" for one of the other challenges. PopSugar or Read Harder, I don't remember which.

Xanthi wrote: "Have you seen the film? Funny and odd!"

No, I haven't, but it sounds entertaining. I may check it out even if I don't read the book.

Cheryl wrote: "I have several Star Trek books on my shelf (specifically, Star Trek Voyager) and I think at least one takes place on another planet.

If you haven't read it, I cannot speak highly enough of The Spa..."

Ah, I do have The Sparrow on my TBR list. I haven't seen my copy in a while, though, so it is likely still in a box in the garage. :-/

Cheryl wrote: "For anyone looking for a book for this prompt, I can highly recommend The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry."

I concur! I started it not expecting to care for it, but it was one of my favorite books that year.

Cheryl wrote: "And if you don't want non-fiction, keep in mind that Michael Crichton was a doctor. As was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle."

Good point!!

I finished Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book the other day, and it has Felicia Day (as Penny) on the cover, so that is my first book for this whole challenge. I'm going to continue keeping track of additional books for this prompt (and other prompts as well), just because I think it will be interesting to see how my reading is skewed.

Cheryl wrote: "Okay, Stina, count me in. I am always fascinated by what you are reading, and this looks like a great list. I can think of things on Mt. TBR that fit a lot of these categories, so I have no real ex..."

That's my ulterior motive in doing these challenges -- trying to read books I have so that I can release them. Of course, I'll end up buying books to fill any freed-up shelf space, but I will still feel like I have made progress.

Buffra wrote: "Atul Gawande's Being Mortal came to mind first. There's also When Breath Becomes Air."

Being Mortal was *awesome*, which is why I was thinking about another Gawande book.

Xanthi wrote: "I just finished reading a memoir by a former paramedic. Does that count?"

Yeah, I think I'm going to change this to "medical professional." The only reason I originally phrased it as "medical doctor" was to clarify that I wasn't talking about PhDs in non-medical fields.