Keely’s Comments (group member since Aug 30, 2013)

Keely’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I've now read the first part of Great Big Beautiful Life. I would like to get another part or two done tonight and then finish it off tomorrow.

My hold for The Berry Pickers just came through so I will also read that this week.

DQs Day 1
Chapters 1 to 7

1.) Emily Henry is a popular contemporary romance author and a fair few of her books have been previous NBRC BOM selections. Any expectations for this book going in?
This is the first book of hers that I will read so I don't have any expectations.

2.) What are your first impressions of Alice? And sending that drink to Hayden?
I like Alice so far. She's definitely more outgoing than I am.

3.) Would you agree to the month long trial or tell Margaret she's a nutter and move on to something else? Why do you think Margaret is doing things this way?
If I was invested enough in the story, I would agree to it. Maraget is probably testing them. Trying to get some fun out of it.

4.) After learning a few tidbits about Hayden's family and how he grew up, did you opinion change a bit on his character?
Not really. I feel like there is a lot more to learn yet.

Only 3 sets of daily questions are required to be answered for the extra points, but it's more fun if people answered them all. You don't have to answer the first 3, you can pick and choose which 3 you answer/use.

I had my very relaxed Hen Party today. Nothing wild and we were very lucky with the breeze so it didn't feel as hot as it was. I knew the party wouldn't go on until late, but that's okay because now I have some time to relax with some reading before bed.

I should have a fairly quiet day tomorrow so I hope to catch up on some reading. I think I will start one of my mid country books and try and get that done and save finishing my Romania book for the next Itinerary.
Or I might work on one of the BOM tomorrow. I'll see how I feel.

Best of luck with the rehabilitation, Caipi. Take care of yourself and don't stress about reading or checking in if you aren't able to. We always say that real life and your health comes first. We'll still be here afterwards!

I've had a busy day today so no reading time for me 🙁
I did collect my wedding dress today which is exciting! It is a bit bigger than when I tried the sample dress which was the same size which means I have successfully lost some weight!! I will need to get alterations done at some point, but I hope to lose a bit more weight in the meantime so I feel more confident in myself.

I'm having a little Hen Party (or bachelorette party if you prefer) on Saturday. So I've been busy preparing what I can for that and it will be the same again tomorrow, but I should have a bit more downtime.

I would love to finish my Romania book today and I will work on it before I go to sleep, but I'm so tired I might not be able to read for long.

I hope everyone is having a good week and keeping as cool as possible in the heat most of us are currently having!

32°c where I am on Saturday apparently. I don't do well in the heat 😭

I have successfully returned home to the UK. It's so hot here!!
I didn't sleep at all last night so not much reading done on the journey. A little bit of progress on my Romania book. I should have it done tomorrow. I need a good long sleep first!

Charlotte wrote: "Three weddings!! That sounds amazing :D
Norwegians are quite closed, but can be nice when you get to know them, so I'm sure that you'll enjoy it there.
I used to live in Copenhagen, you'll love i..."

We are planning to have a day at Tivoli! We're flying out on the 3rd as we need to present our passports to City Hall early the day before the wedding. After we've done that, we'll go to Tivoli and spend as much of the day as we want to there.
On the wedding day, the ceremony isn't until 3pm so we might go to a museum in the morning and then after the ceremony, I have booked a private boat tour. After we will have dinner and then probably head to bed. There are supposed to be fireworks at Tivoli that night so if we can stay awake, we might watch those. Our hotel is pretty much next door.

Do you have any recommendations of where would be nice to have dinner on our wedding night? Nothing too expensive and somewhere that has quite a bit of options on the menu as my fiance's mum has dietary restrictions. Somewhere like a grill place and nearby where Tivoli/City Hall is?

Nistha wrote: "The summer dress sounds so elegant Keely! I visited Oslo and Copenhagen once and loved it. I thought the people were nice there. Its maybe good you are getting the legal stuff out of the way - almo..."

Thank you. In a way I'll be having 3 weddings XD The official one in Denmark, and then celebrations in both England and Norway!
Norwegians generally prefer to keep to themselves, but interactions I've had with all of them so far have been positive ones. The wedding will be my first trip to Copenhagen, but I've only heard good things!

Janeylou wrote: "Can you swap above with my phillipines book please"

I moved your Philippines book further down the Itineraries. I wasn't sure if you still wanted to read it so I thought I'd keep it on there just in case :)

Eeeeeeeeee you guys are making me so excited now! I've not really had anyone to really talk details with so the excitement kind of wore off when everything got booked.

Eldarwen wrote: "The most important question though...... Do you have a dress?? :-)"

I do! But I'm not going to wear it for the small ceremony. We decided it would be best to keep it for the bigger ceremonies with family and friends. That way any pictures we take on the wedding day can safely be posted without ruining the surprise of my wedding dress. My fiance also said he would rather be surprised with everyone else. I'm going to collect it from the bride shop on Thursday so I will be able to try it on again!

I have ordered a white summer dress that has flowers on it that I hope to wear on the day so it is still kind of wedding-y. It is waiting back home in the UK so I will try it on when I get home and hope it fits!

Charlotte wrote: "Keely wrote: "Thank you all! It's only going to be a tiny short ceremony with 3 family members present so not much to worry about. We will have bigger celebrations later in each of our home countri..."

Yeah, the plan is to move permanently. I made the decision back in 2020 when I lost my new job thanks to Covid and did a month trial when Covid restrictions lifted to see if I would like it. I didn't want to leave at the end of that month so I took that as a good sign. I've visited as often as I'm allowed since. We didn't realise at the time how difficult Brexit would make moving which is why I haven't moved yet. My fiance now earns enough that we can apply for a "family reunion" visa once we are married. It won't give me permanent residency initially, but it will mean I can work and live there and start a family.

Norway is a beautiful country. I highly recommend visiting if you love scenery. Summer time is great as it doesn't really get dark and everyone is so active. Winter is a bit miserable as it is dark and freezing most of the time, but seeing snow everywhere is beautiful as well.
The biggest barrier for me is the language. It's not a difficult language, but they have so many dialects that it is difficult to converse with some people. Most Norwegians know English to at least a basic level, especially in the cities, so if you do need help you will be able to find someone. But as someone wanting to live there, that is my biggest concern when it comes to later finding a job. I am learning the language though and I feel like I understand a little more each time I visit which is good. I just need to be brave enough to try and actually speak it more!

Eldarwen wrote: "Best way to do chores :-)
Or some say. I have trouble concentrating on audiobooks when I'm cleaning.

Small celebration, or not, it'll still be something to organise and look forward to :-) And ya..."

I'm listening to a non-fiction history book which is easier to listen to when cleaning as I don't have to worry about missing important plot development if I temporarily zone out. And I don't have to remember character names as there aren't any :P

That's true. I like to be organised so most things are already booked and arranged so not much else I can do right now until nearer the time. I plan on keeping busy for the next couple of weeks so that I don't stress about everything (and I mean everything!)

Thank you all! It's only going to be a tiny short ceremony with 3 family members present so not much to worry about. We will have bigger celebrations later in each of our home countries with family and friends. We opted for this route as it will mean I can apply to move to Norway sooner. And will take the legal stress out of the celebrations later.

I've got lots of packing and cleaning to do today, but I will listen to a book while doing it!

Well done everyone on a great first month!

I'm returning to the UK tomorrow so I'm hoping to get some reading done during my travel.
I will likely be less active on the reading front for the first half of July as I'm getting married in Denmark on the 5th and my then husband will return to the UK with me until the 18th when he will have to go back to Norway for work.
I plan to try and get majority of my BPM read in the next two weeks which will include some of those books I have listed for countries on Mini 1. That way I won't have to worry about under reading when I'm trying to enjoy spending time with my new husband!

Just one book left before we finish Itinerary 5!!

I think that will be my last book this round. I didn't quite reach my cap, but one book off isn't too bad.

Completion Post


Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn
Read: 16 June
Pages: 194

Mini 1: Author born in Poland

Spell it out
E - Title
Y, G - Author
K - Karl

Hmm, it sounds like he regains his independence to me. If he is able to live alone after adjusting to his new way of life, then I can't see why it wouldn't work.