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

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

I'm sorry for your loss Beth. As Lexi said, take care of yourself. If reading helps then read away, but if it doesn't then don't force yourself.

203 pages
185 pages
353 pages
200 pages

Current Total: 596,302

Lexi - yeah I enjoyed Journey more than 10,000 leagues. I had to keep reminding myself about the science known at the time it was written too. That's a shame about Around the World in Eighty Days, but I'll probably still read it (or listen to it) as it's been on my TBR for a long time and it's one of those book I feel I should read at least once.

How did you find Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Lexi? I read it a few years ago now so I can't really remember details, but I remember enjoying it.
I'm hoping to get around to reading Around the World in Eighty Days by the same author at some point this year, but I doubt it will happen during this challenge.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well.

I should finish a couple of books this week. Cilka's Journey which I am hoping to finish tonight and The Handmaid's Tale I am going to try and finish this week. I will also do my best to finish The Color of Magic too but whenever I go to read it, I'm either too tired or I get interrupted.

I hope you feel better soon too, Redshirt.

I'm going swimming tomorrow for a bit of exercise and on Sunday I'll be home alone for part of the day so hopefully I'll finish one of the many books I have on the go right now.

Next week I have to take my step-dad to a few appointments. He had his knee replaced the other week so he can't drive right now. But that does mean I'll be able to sit in the car with a book while I wait for him, so that's a bonus.

Thank you Judith :) The book won't be my main focus but I do want to finish it before we start Equal Rites. So far I am enjoying my introduction into Discworld. This is going to add a lot of books to my TBR list.

I really should read this Murderbot books you all keep talking about.

I'm reading The Color of Magic. I'm only about 10% in but so far I'm finding it quite an easy and fairly quick read. If I add it to the spreadsheet, would one of you with more experiance with the Discworld books mind finding a place for it? Maybe you will want to use it for one of the Discworld related places on the bingo that I still don't quite understand.

180 pages
33 pages
400 pages
112 pages
286 pages

Current Total: 575,383

I wouldn't say my reading tastes have changed, but my reading habits did.
At the very beginning of the year I was working in retail, but mostly out the back dealing with returns so I was able to listen to audiobooks on my phone. It's was how I really began enjoying audiobooks and in the 2 years I was there, I was able to listen to a lot of books I would still be planning to read now if I hadn't.
And then I found a full-time office job which was pretty repetitive work and everyone else would listen to things through headphones so I thought it would be great to listen to audiobooks. 8 hour working days, 5 days a week would have equalled a lot of books. However, around a month after I started, the UK went into lockdown and because I was still in training and they didn't have enough laptops (I worked with personal information so I couldn't use my own) I wasn't able to work from home.
A long story short, after 3 months they told me they had to terminate my contract. So while I had lots of time on my hands now, I didn't always think to read/listen to books. I probably read less because of that. But now I have incorporated books into my daily sechedule and of course team challenges have helped keep me motivated!

Sammy wrote: "Hi Keely, Judith came and found me because Dickens popped up (she knows me too well!). I've read almost all of his books now, including Bleak House. I have to be honest and say it's no..."

Thank you Sammy! I attempted to listen to Bleak House over a year ago now while I was working which was a mistake because I missed a lot of details. I didn't get all that far in and I will starting afresh as I remember almost nothing. This time I will be much more focused on the book.

The next Dickens book I would read probably will be David Copperfield especially if it is being read by Richard Armitage (who doesn't love his voice?)

Well done team!

I'm about to embark on the journey that is reading Bleak House. It will get us lots of points as it is just over 1,000 pages long (over 37 hours of audiobook). It will probably take me a while to finish, but as I am listening to it as an audiobook hopefully it won't take that long.
Has anyone read it before? I've not really read much by Charles Dicken yet.

Beth wrote: "Keely wrote: "I also read a lot of books at once. I generally have a phyical fiction book and non-fiction (usually history) book on the go at the same time. Then I will also have an audiobook or tw..."

Haha, I don't think I've done that before, but I have definitely not cared about just missing a bus so I will have time to do some reading before the next one arrives.

I also read a lot of books at once. I generally have a phyical fiction book and non-fiction (usually history) book on the go at the same time. Then I will also have an audiobook or two (maybe three) on the go at the same time. They will be different genres so I will listen to whichever one I feel like more at the time.
Ebooks I don't tend to read that much. I only really read them if I am travelling or I'm going places where I might have to wait a while like for trains/buses or at the doctors or something.
I also read manga so I generally have a few series on the go, but now I have discovered an obsession with audiobooks, I don't read as much manga as I used to.

So, because I read a lot a the same time, it generally takes me longer to finish books, but when I do it sometimes happens all at once.

DQ Day 5: Chapters 19-end

20. Charlotte has a very bad reaction to being returned. Do you think this is normal? Why do you think she reacted so extremely? I think Charlotte was very confused. Everything she had believed she was now told to be a lie and then she probably feared she would be locked away again.

21. Do you agree with Alexandra's decision to not pay Ned? Do you think she was right in doing this? I'm glad he didn't benefit from turning his sister in.

22. Alexandra seems to be very affected by the events that have happened. She seems less afraid, although maybe more reactive. She also manages to go outside for a short time. Do you think it will last? Will she improve? Why? She had been hiding the secret of Charlotte for such a long time. The fear of someone finding out the truth was too much. But once that was no longer a problem, I guess the fear went away. She will probably still feel some anxiety on occasion, but she has made the first big step to change how she lives.

23. The two women come up with an interesting arrangement for Charlotte and came to understand each other better in the end. Do you think that this could have happened if Bess hadn't lied? I don't think so. I think something extreme like that needed to happen for Alexandra to realise that she actually did not want to be a mother and was happy to play more of an aunt role. The main fear was the Charlotte would be removed from her life completely, but with the way things turn out, she could still be apart of her life.

24. The ending had lots of happy events. Did you like it? Do you think it was realistic? I'm glad it ended that way. I like a story where it ends well for almost everyone.

DQ Day 4 - Chapters 14-18

15. Knowing how Alexandra's parents died and seeing her state of mind after being surprised by Dr. Mead, Eliza, and Charlotte in masks, has your perception of Alexandra changed in any way? Her behaviour is understandable, but taking a child that wasn't hers still isn't right.

16. What do you think of Bess running away with Charlotte? Looking at her reasons do you think she is being selfish or doing what is best for Charlotte? I expected it, but Bess didn't really have a plan so it seems more selfishness however Charlotte was unhappy. There must have been a better way to handle the situation.

17. What do you think of Lyle and his willingness to help Bess escape with her daughter? Do you think he will remain in Bess's life? I like Lyle. Everyone needs someone like Lyle in their life. I hope he stays in her life.

18. Was anyone surprised by Ned's theft of Eliza's money or subsequent betrayal of Bess? What kind of deal do you think he made for himself in exchange for information about Bess? I was not surprised. Disappointed sure, but not surprised. I sure he did it for money or for some of the debts he seems to owe to be wiped clean or something. There had to be something in if for himself.

19. Charlotte certainly went through a lot in a short time during this section. How well do you think she handled the reality of being on the run with Bess? What do you think her reaction will be to being returned to Alexandra? Charlotte is so young that it all probably seemed like a big game. She was not prepared for the reality of being on the run nor fully understood it prior. I think she will be unhappy to return to Alexandra and will miss going outside, but at least she will be warm.

Oh no. My library app has The Midnight Library but it's 'on loan' until the 28th August!
And it has Firekeeper's Daughter but only as an ebook. I would probably forget about it though.

I think I have a couple of Audible credits I can use instead for them.

DQ Day 3: Ch. 11-13

11. Do you think the author has been able to give Bess and Alexandra individual voices? Do you like books with multiple points of view? The audiobook I'm listening to has two different narrators for the two viewpoints so it has been easy to distinguish fo me. In regards to the writing, it sounds like there is a clear difference between the characters so I think it would be quite easy to read written. I don't mind books with multiple points of view, sometimes it's nice to see things from other character's point of view

12. What do you think ‘Eliza’ and Agnes were talking about in the kitchen? Do you think either Agnes or Maria know that Charlotte came from the Foundling home? It seems like they were definitely saying something about Alexandra, but it's hard to know for sure. It depends on how long either of them have been working there.

13. I think that Alexandra will get much worse re her fears of the outside after the mask prank. Do you think her thoughts about ‘Eliza’ will suffer because of it? I don't think she will be letting Charlotte out of her sight for a while now. She's definitely going to feel less comfortable in her own home now.

14. Do you believe that Dr Mead was telling the truth about not knowing about what happened to Alexandra’s parents? Why has he lied about who ‘Eliza’ is? Maybe he doesn't think it is his place to tell. Maybe there is a darker side to it. His motives are very unclear at the moment.

295 pages
32 pages
32 pages
245 pages

Current Total: 557,692

I just went through my physical books and decided to get rid of (either sell or donate) some history books from my uni days that I kept kidding myself I would read, but was never really that interested in anyway. It made some space on my bookshelf and my remaining books are beginning to fit quite nicely!

I'm finally learning to be more ruthless when it comes to reading and letting books go and it feels great!