Lea’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

Lea’s comments from the 2022 ONTD Reading Challenge group.

Thank you Melanie, that does help. I looked it up and it was actually on sale so I bought it for a very reasonable price.

Racism: A Short History - George M. Fredrickson

Rochelle and I are reading this (and hopefully more of you!) so here's a topic for us to discuss it!

In this book, Gavin recommends taking up self-defense lessons. Have you ever tried it?

I was never an athletic person, and I always thought I'd suck at martial arts, but I took up Krav Maga (which has a heavy self-defense component) because of this book. It changed my life, I feel so much more confident and safe now. If you have the opportunity, I really recommend it.

Melanie, do you need to know much about physics to understand this book? I want to read it, but physics was never my strongest subject in school :/

I'm reading it, Rochelle! This month I also wanna read Café Europa and Born in Blood and Fire - gonna be pretty busy

I just finished We Have All Lived in the Castle, which I didn't even know was going to have an adaptation this year, so that was nice.

The book is excellent, I highly recommend it - but I think the adaptation is going to suck. The casting is very low budget and not at all like I imagined the characters. I don't think I'll be watching.

If you weren't able to complete this month's task on time, don't worry! You can always go back to it later. All of the posts for this month, including the individual book discussions, will remain open for new comments :)

Rachel wrote: "I think those will count :) unless Lea disagrees ;)"

haha I think the first 2 count. maybe not the Murakami one

Not really, Kim. If it was her father's memoir, sure. But looking at the book's Goodreads page, it seems like it's only a small part of it, since it's really about her life.

Reckoning: A Memoir is the first book by English-born Australian actress, comedian, television presenter, radio host and author, Magda Szubanski. In it, she reveals just what has made her into the woman she is today, what the major influences in her life have been. She bravely exposes her weaknesses, explores her family history and details her successes and failures. In a memoir that includes sharpies, tennis tournaments, spelling bees, convent school, Poles, Scots (ah, that’s why her “Wee Mary MacGregor was so accomplished!), sexual confusion and much more, Szubanski proves that she has a talent for storytelling and descriptive prose.

Maybe save it for the month where we're reading books written by celebs.

There is actually a LOT to choose from. These are just some of them:

Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Room - Emma Donoghue
The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
The Martian - Andy Weir
Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Danish Girl - David Ebershoff
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed
No Country For Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
The Return of the King - JRR Tolkien
Q & A - Vikas Swarup
Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup
Stories of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang (this is a short story collection including Arrival, which was adapted into that Amy Adams movie)

A more detailed list of books can be found here, at the Oscar’s Library.

ONTD Original: Oscar Nominated Horror & Sci-Fi Films Based on Books

Reminder that the book you chose for January does NOT count for this month!

I'll go first: this month I picked Big Little Lies and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It really gave my reading a boost! (If I pick up a bad book it always puts me in such a slump, but once I find a good book I really get on a roll - I read 7 books this month!).

I would definitely recommend the book and can't wait to see the adaptation ;)

I still want to read The Handmaid's Tale this year, but given the depressing subject matter, I'm kinda procrastinating on that...

It's time for the January wrap-up! Let us know how your reading went this month, if you had trouble completing this month's task, if you enjoyed the book you read and whether you'd recommend it!

Ines, Red Nile counts.

Patrick, Cooked does not fit this month's criteria unfortunately.

nope, I found a used copy in a second-hand bookshop! try abebooks.com! they have it for like 12 bucks

I've picked Born in Blood and Fire for myself.

Tejaswini, FFN counts. Into the wild doesn't

LMAO honestly I'm kicking myself for not thinking of a Come to Brazil category this year, it's a sure bet for next year. But there are lots of Brazilian books to choose from!

Juliana wrote: "Lmao. He's basically the Christian version of Nicholas Sparks. I didn't even know he was a Christian author until after I finished it."

I KNEW it! lmao I didn't want to say it but when Kelly posted his pic on ONTD I thought "he looks like he could be a Duggar".

Rozalina wrote: "I just finished that book."

it makes no sense, but it's the author's personal view of how DV cases should be handled. extremely harmful to say the least

Sraxe, great question. We're discussing the guidelines for this month's category and will get back to you on that soon.

ETA: Alright, top post updated with some basic guidelines. (If any more questions come up, we'll update again)