Insiyah’s Comments (group member since Apr 12, 2022)

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

Reading Red, White & Royal Blue before the movie comes out on 11th August. I'm not generally a romance fan for the most part, but man is this a fun one (also the trailer looks so good!).

I'll be reading Hamnet soon which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2020, so I can take that Chipmunk on :)

Completion Post


Book: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Date Read: 04-Jul-2023
Pages: 406

Mini:
Rainbow Towers: Orange cover
Team Towers:
Title: L - Lowland
Author: J, L
Characters: Subhash, Gauri, Mitra, Udayan, Bela

Completion Post


Book: Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Date Read: 30-Jun-2023
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 391

Mini:
Team Towers:
Title: Y
Author: D, S
Characters: Mungo, Hamish, Jodie, St. Christopher, Gallowgate

Eldarwen wrote: "How was it in the end?"


I did end up enjoying it, though I also intend to re-read it in English next time, because while reading in Hindi I was so focused on reading the language (because I haven't read Hindi in literal years) that I couldn't enjoy the story as much. The story was pretty amazing though.

Completion Post


Book: रेत समाधि by Geetanjali Shree (English title: Tomb of Sand)
Date Read: 26 June 2023
Pages: 378

Mini:
Chipmunks: International Booker Prize Winner 2018

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Oh my.. couldn't get into Goodreads for about 9 hours.. heart palpitations. LOL.

Good to be back on. 😊"

Oh, so it wasn't just me :/

After being stuck with Tomb of Sand for waaaaaay too long, I'm almost done! Will be finished this evening

Laurie B wrote: "
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions looks like an interest..."

It's pretty fun if you're the curious kind!

Eldarwen wrote: "My Pullitzer is good fun but it's slow-going. I'll hopefully be able to invest more concentrated reading time in it this weekend :-)"

My Int. Booker Prize is slow-going as well. Probably because I'm reading it in Hindi, which I'm really, really slow in :/

Elisabeth wrote: "Eldarwen wrote: "New Chipmunk Task!

72. X-Rays - Read a book with bone(s) on the cover"

Does a skull count as bones? "

Yes, a skull counts as bone.

I've read 7 of them, and The Song of Achilles is the only one I'd re-read again.

Skip Task: Read a book with the word highway, road, avenue or street (plurals are acceptable) in the title
Direction: North

S: The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak (ALN)
K: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (title)
I: The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson (ALN)
P: Lie With Me by Philippe Besson (AFN)

Completion Post


Book: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Date Read: 19-Jun-2023
Pages: 255
Rating: 5 stars

Mini:
Team Towers:
Title: Sea
Author: Emily, Mandel
Characters: Edwin St. Andrew, Olive Llewelyn, Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, Zoey Roberts

Eldarwen wrote: "I read Mortal Instruments only up to book #3. The story was finished for me at that point so I never continued. Jace was an oddball but I kind of liked him - not always though.

Eta: oh and I only ..."

I mostly continued because I really liked Clary's characterization (I hadn't read that many books with badass female characters), and I was invested in Magnus and Alec.

Eldarwen wrote: "Speaking of miscommunication...

Cassandra Clare is also an expert at writing annoying characters who do not speak to each other, so there should be a fair bit of miscommunication?

Because we have..."

I stopped reading her books after the Mortal Instruments and Clockwork Angel series - I felt like she was stretching the world out a little too much, so I just stopped.

Also in hindsight, Jace and Clary's relationship was just weird. I did like the Jem-Tessa-Will love triangle, though.

Elisabeth wrote: "With my romance author hat on, I agree. When I started out on the road to publication that was one of the big no-no's that was dinned into aspiring writers at conferences etc. If the two characters can sit down and talk through the problem you don't have enough of a conflict"

This is kind of why I tend to avoid reading romance books for the most part, because why is this couple together if they're not communicating with each other? I think that's why I like Pride and Prejudice so much - because it's not a communication issue with Elizabeth and Darcy, it's a behaviour issue that they both grow out of. I generally prefer romance where the relationship has issues that are not primarily borne out of miscommunication, and that's for any form of media (some TV shows literally make me despair for people in relationships worldwide).

Is anyone reading The Fourth Wing? I need reviews because it's such a hyped up book, and I don't tend to enjoy those very much...

Completion Post


Book: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Date Read: 18-Jun-2023
Pages:
Rating: 4 stars

Mini:
Team Towers:
Title: The, Alice
Author: Kate Quinn
Characters: E, G, C, F, K, R, B
Eve Gardiner, Charlotte St. Clair, Finn Kilgore, Rene Bordelon

Eldarwen wrote: "New Chipmunk Task!

71. 10 Commandments - "Don't lie" - Read a book with miscommunication as a plot point"

That should be relatively easy to find - most Romcoms seem to thrive on miscommunication :D

Also, why does GR never tell me when I have notifications (grrr!)

Eldarwen wrote: "ARE YOU READY??

We received a new set of spell-outs!

Rules for Team Tower Name Spell-Out

Same principle as for our Crayola Towers.

Any books finished from now on can be used for the Tower Name ..."

I love that McGonagall and Flitwick made it here