Apoorv ’s Comments (group member since Mar 26, 2014)

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

FYI, just started a beautifully orange covered book. Should work for our pending spot in Potions!

June
Completion Post

Book Read: Saturn Run | John Sandford & Ctein
Date Completed: 13-Jun-2018
Pages: 582
Points: 60
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Amanda Santeros
B: Character B - Bob Anderson
C: Author C
D: Character D - David Crowell
E: Character E - Elroy Gorey
F: Character F - Fiorella, Cassie
G: Character G - Gene Lossness
H: Character H - Heacock Darlington, Sanders
J: Character J - John Clover
L: Character L - Lossness Gene
M: Character M - Martinez Joe
N: Character N - Naomi Fang-Castro
P: Character P - Peneski, Francois
R: Character R - Rebecca Johannson
S: Title S
V: Character V - Vitner, Jacob
W: Character W - White, Paula
Y: Character Y - Young, Arnie
Z: Character Z - Zhang Ming-Hoa

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Classes:

Astronomy: Title - Saturn - 582*0.02 = 11.64 ~ 12 points

Christina wrote: "Apoorv, I've just seen you read A Clockwork Orange a while back and only rated it 1 star. May I ask why?
I just thought it would work great for Potions with 'orange' in the title..."

Oh boy! Okay! Here we go! :P
... and I'll try and keep it spoiler-free.

I found the book extremely lazy, especially as it progressed. Any book where things are done just because one feels like, or where the redemptive process is very convenient, or the bad is left unpunished, bothers me. Anthony Burgess, the author, and Alex, the MC, sort of had similar story lines, from what I've read about the author, in terms of their respective wives and what happens to her. What bothers me is Mr. Burgess tries to justify his real-life thoughts with giving that treatment to his character's wife. Don't use your readers as a tool!

On a more technical side, I just found the violence in the book gory, and that too honestly without a valid rhyme or a reason. And then I had MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE ENDING! Like, seriously! No!! You can't just button things up after all the shit that happened through the narrative. You are just using violence for violence but never giving us a solution to whatever problems are raised. The good things, are all drowned out by the extremist approach, so you hardly get to spend any chance with what the book effectively (I hope!) wants to talk about.

Oh, I can go on! This is literally the ONLY book I've ever given a 1-star rating.
Maybe I didn't get it, or worst still, that's actually where our society is heading,
I just did not care for the MC or connect to the narrative.

Hey, but then, the Nasdat slang is pretty cool. Takes a lifetime to get smooth with it, but worth the effort.
So, go for it. It clearly elucidated a whole host of emotions in me, so I guess it does one thing good.
Plus, its tiny - thank goodness for that!!

Emily wrote: "I am going to tackle the 800-900 if no one else has in arthimancy"

I was planning on jumping onto the 800-900 slot after I finish the one that I currently am reading which completes our final spot for Astronomy. But, if you have something, go ahead!

Thank you for jumping onto it, Melanie!
I would be travelling a bit the next few days, and given the speed with which Emily read in the first round gave me the heebie-jeebies! :O :P

June
Completion Post

Book Read: How to Kill a Rock Star | Tiffanie DeBartolo
Date Completed: 11-Jun-2018
Pages: 415
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 40+30 = 70
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Adam
B: Character B - Burke, Michael
C: Character C - Caelum, Eliza
D: Author D
E: Character E - Eliza Caelum
F: Character F - Mr. Feldman
H: Character H - Hudson, Paul
L: Character L - Lucy Enfield
M: Character M - Michael Caelum
N: Character N - North, Terry
P: Character P - Paul Hudson
T: Author T
V: Character V - Vera

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Classes:

Potion: Brew the Potion - Cover Red -
Transfiguration: Book Cover - Ticket

June
Completion Post

Book Read: The Bat | Jo Nesbø
Date Completed: 05-Jun-2018
Pages: 425
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 40+30 = 70
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Andrew Kensington
B: Title B
D: Character D - Debbie
E: Character E - Evans White
H: Character H - Harry Hole
I: Character I - Inger Holter
J: Author J
K: Character K - Kensington, Andrew
L: Character L - Larry Wadkins
N: Author N
O: Character O - Otto Rechtnagel
R: Character R - Rechtnagel, Otto
S: Character S - Sergei Lebie
T: Character T - Toowomba, Robin
W: Character W - White, Evans

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Classes:

Potion: Brew the Potion - Cover Orange - TinyEye says Brown, looks pretty Orange to me!
Transfiguration: Book Cover - Birds, House, Clouds, Silhouette

I plan on reading 11/22/63 sometime soon which is 849 pages, so I can cover the other option. But, this will take me a while to complete.

I am doing one of the Astronomy books with Saturn Run.

Also, THANK YOU, for taking the effort to summarize all of this Alison. Great help indeed. :)

Melissa wrote: "You can still read Lilac Girls and participate in BOM until June 16th Apoorv. I have it too but not sure if I'll read it. I can only get so many actual books read in a month. Mostly I can get audio..."

Oh, I can? That's lit!
I guess, that will be my next book then!
Thanks, Melissa! :)

Christina wrote: "We're so behind on BOM points - it's insane how many of those some teams have!"

I know! Bothers me!
I just got Lilac Girls from my library. 2 days AFTER the end of the month. What a waste!

... and I'm still on hold for this month's BOMs! Ugh!

Team Gilderoy Lockhart
Chapters 1 - 28

Alright, so I am sort of in the same boat, as most of you. So far, (view spoiler)[Harry has been interesting, but not intriguing. I have not been convinced to want to know more about him. Also, his flaws seems to have been added as a sympathy tool, more than a personality trait. So, the main lead still has to make me want to pay attention to him. Also, I am not at all a fan of insta-love, and what he has with Birgitta seems just that too me. Too soon, too easy, too obvious. (hide spoiler)]

Andrew, on the other hand, (view spoiler)[is certainly more fancy. His life has been a roller-coaster and he openly talks about it. So, there are not a whole lot of assumptions about him (which can also be tricky in a mystery, because who knows maaaaaybe he is the killer. :P) (hide spoiler)]

Plus, my basic issue is that I am not very convinced as to why a Norwegian police would need to go all the way to Australia to resolve a matter concerning a Norwegian national. Would he even have any jurisdiction of any sort there? Plus, (view spoiler)[the way things have tended to work-out for Harry so far, seems a little contrived. (hide spoiler)]

But, I am at a very interesting juncture in the book, with (view spoiler)[Andrew potentially hiding something about Otto and Otto brutally murdered. I loved Otto. I hate this. (hide spoiler)]

Need to find the goddamn murderer. Ugh!

May
Completion Post

Book Read: Down Among the Sticks and Bones | Seanan McGuire
Date Completed: 29-May-2018
Pages: 189
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 20+30 = 50
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Alexis Chopper
B: Character B - Dr. Bleak
C: Character C - Chester
D: Title D
J: Character J - Jack Addams
L: Character L - Louise
M: Author M
S: Author S
W: Series W - Wayward Children

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Classes:

Arithmacy: Page Length Category - 161-350
Care of Magical Creatures: Classification - Rating - 4.22; Uses- Blood; Localization - Moors
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Dark Arts - Vampires
Potion: Flobberworm Mucus - "they trailed between her fingers like a rainbow of worms - Pg. 151.
Transfiguration: Book Cover - Barren Tree, Rocks, Clouds, Open Truck.

Team Gilderoy Lockhart
THE END

Finished this almost two days ago, but RL got the better of me. Ugh!

Anyway, I have to say, I was right in (view spoiler)[disliking Jill. Now, ofcourse, she is not a villain per say, but I do think that she is spoilt - not by her parents, ofcourse, but by the lack of care and consideration they gave her, plus the fact that she didn't seem matured enough to devise her own path and realize that what you desire, is not always want you want. (hide spoiler)]

It's just sad with what happened to (view spoiler)[Alexis. I was so excited to see Jack get her love reciprocated so nicely. I don't know if somewhere I justify Jill's action, just because I understand it. I understand that both Jack and Jill are different personalities, but Jack certainly was more aware of her situation and learned to understand and work with what she had; as opposed to Jill, who while even being in the castle, never really realized the worth of it all. (hide spoiler)]

I did however feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Everything that happened, seemed to have been put in place, just to tie things back to the obvious end we know off. Took away a little from the story for me.

All-in-all, slightly lower than the first one in terms of appeal and execution, but a solid 3-star read for me.

Suzanne wrote: "I would love to listen to Joan Rivers read one of her books! ."

I highly recommend her narration.
But, you have to absolutely not be offended by ANYTHING, to really enjoy her work. She is class apart, if you take her jokes with a pinch of salt.

Melissa wrote: "Listening to the audio for a non fiction when the author narrates is the best! I loved Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's books!"

I love that too! My favourites, apart from Amy and Tina, have been Betty White and Joan Rivers. Gosh! They are hilarious! :D

Team Gilderoy Lockhart
Chapters 1-6 - Parts 1-2

Ugh! I positively hate (view spoiler)[Chester and Serena. It is people like these who ruin it for everyone. How can parents even be like this? If you don't care about children, don't have them! But don't ever treat them as entities. They are not things to show around. I am not a parent, but I am sure it takes immense amount of strength to raise a child.

... and then when Grandma Lou comes in to take care of them, you are ashamed to even tell the people you know the real reason? What kind of horrible people are these? Ashamed of their parents AND their kids. Ugh! (hide spoiler)]

What is even more painful, but is so relevant in every society across the world, is how parents (view spoiler)[try to impose their wishes onto their kids. Yes, they are your kids, and you have the right to raise them per your wishes; but ATLEAST take the wishes of the kid into perspective before you dump yours onto them. HEAR them out? Is it really that difficult? (hide spoiler)]

I am just positively pissed! But, it certainly lays out a fantastic back-story to Jack and Jill's antics from Book 1. Kudos, Ms. McGuire!

Anyway, I love the moors. The world description is very distinct and it certainly makes me want to go explore (however creepy it is!) And while I would choose to go with (view spoiler)[Dr. Bleak as well, like many of you; I still somewhere believe that 'The Master's world is bad yet fascinating in a weird sense. (hide spoiler)]

Morgan wrote: "I had a hard time getting into too, but now I'm legitimately hooked. I have to know the ending."

Well, that pumps me to keep reading! I have been dragging so badly with this one. But, if it is going to get better - I'm excited!

My current reading speed is 1 or 2 books a week, so if there are players faster than that, I would definitely recommend them!

Emily wrote: "I finished one of the Astronomy books, am about 1/4 way through the second book. Two spots still open"

I can take one of those spots with Saturn Run.