Karen ⊰✿’s Comments (group member since Sep 23, 2012)

Karen ⊰✿’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

*waves* Hi catsalive! I don't know that we ever played together before and now two challenges in a row xD

Welcome Delitealex! I just finished an interesting sci-fi, although it was more on the fi side. What kind of sci-fi do you enjoy?

Hi Geri! We are currently fostering a cat. He is only about 6 months old and super playful. He keeps attacking me while I am on the computer ;)

Hey Emma! Oh yeah I saw that about Wrexham. We started to watch that doco show when Ted Lasso s2 ended. Must get back to it!

@Melissa. When we booked the accomodation at the jungle resort they actually sent me an email to ask me to confirm that we understood it was a jungle and geckos and other bugs will be in the rooms and monkeys in the trees lol. I've been to that particular place twice before so I knew the deal but they must have other tourists complaining :o

Hi Vicki! That's a huge family! My husband is one of 5 kids and there are currently 13 granchildren and I don't think we will get any more. The eldest grandchild is ours and is only 10, so no great grandkids for a while!!

Hi Emma - nice to meet you! Would be interested in some mystery or thriller recommendations. I always find it hard to know which ones are the "good" ones and I don't like lots of gore/violence.

Welcome Beth and Tati!

Nistha wrote: "@Louise, nice to meet you so sorry to hear about your partner.

@Karen, I had googled our team name with auto-detect language and realized it was Thai. I have never been there but always heard gre..."


Thanks! July there is getting into the wet season but it is always hot and humid. Will be winter at home and I hate the cold so we always travel around July/August to another climate! Is our ten year wedding anniversary this year too

Hello team,
I have sent you all friend requests and hopefully we will see you all soon.

As an intro, I live in Sydney, Aus with my husband and 2 boys and run a HR consulting business. I read almost everything except Horror, and I'm not a massive Romance reader.

I chose this team name as about 15 years ago I lived in Thailand as an English teacher. I am going back for the first time with the kids in July this year (so I won't be around as much at the end of this challenge) and can't wait to visit and see how it has changed and (hopefully) see my kids enjoy the jungle and the animals as well as the beaches.

I look forward to playing with you all!

Hi Louise! Thanks for steering the team!
And very sorry to hear about your partner.

r

Team Info
❅ Louise ttx Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Melissa tower-teams-2023 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Beth towerx Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Karen towerteams_x Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Vicki tower-teams-x Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Heli tt23 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Geri towers-x Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Delitealex TTX Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ catsalive tower Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Emma TT-2023 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Nikki tt2023 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Jessica tower2023 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Skye 2023-tt Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Cindy ttx Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Nistha 2023-ttx-challenge‎ Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Maritza tt10 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Tati tower-2023 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Saar tower-23 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Amy the book bat tower-teams-10 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Amy ttx Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Jo tower-teams Read Currently Reading Comments

Sammy wrote: "Sounds like a not-so-audio-friendly book concept though, lol."

Is one of the reasons it took me to long to pick up book 2 as I wanted to do the alternating chapters this time.! 😊

I'm on a roll ;)

Should not have waited 6.5 years between book 1 and 2 #whenwillilearn but thankfully the author dropped enough information from book 1 to get me on track quickly.

Great conclusion to the series


As with book 1 of the series, this book is two books ; one from Lyra's point of view, and then flip the book over and you get the same story but from Gemma's point of view. According to the note from the author you can read them as alternating chapters, or read one full POV and then the other.
For the first book I had an ebook so I read one POV and then the other.
So I decided with book 2 to get the paperbook and read one POV chapter at a time. Although the need to keep physically flipping the book over was a bit irritating sometimes, it did make the story flow better and be more suspenseful imo. It is a neat concept and I can see how you would get a different experience by reading it in different ways.

It has been on my shelf for 7 years but I got there!!


Although there is a slight sci-fi element to this (Henry believes he gets abducted by aliens and they have given him the power to save the world from imminent destruction), this is much more about humans than it is about aliens.
Henry's dad left abruptly, his elder brother is a bit of a jerk who is about to become a dad himself, the love of his life died a year ago and he is relentlessly bullied at school and surrounds himself in destructive relationships. As I write this, I realise it doesn't make the book sound too appealing!! And I'll admit I struggled at the start, particularly with the severe and relentless bullying.

It is the writing and the exploration of humans and emotions that had made this such a well rated book, and I had trouble coming up with a reason as to why it shouldn't have 5 stars. Although I hated it at times, it was such a powerful book with fantastic writing and emotional reactions that just jump up and smack you in the face. What a ride.

Cat wrote: "I did know there are mountains enough for skiing in Australia though my grasp of Australian geography is basically "everyone lives around the edge, and the middle is massively hostile, making the whole continent a waste of my time to want to travel to (bearing in mind it's 24hrs to get there). I do know there is a LOT to Oz to enjoy, but I also know there is a lot to the UK and Europe to enjoy and one set of enjoyment opportunities are a LOT closer to me than the other, so I'll be deprioritising OZ for the vastly foreseeable future (#sorryKaren)..."


haha
I actually agree with you.
It is something like 85% of us live on the Eastern Seaboard. And we are ridiculously far away from you. Same reason why I haven't been to the UK/Europe for about 15 years (and probably won't for another 15). We prefer to travel around Asia and South pacific as a 9-ish hour flight is enough with 2 kids !!

Tricia wrote: "#15:

I enjoyed this one. It was well written, not surprisingly since it's a pseudonym for JK Rowling. The characters were interesting, and I found the plo..."

I enjoyed it too (and the TV series) but the controversy has stopped
Me from continuing on with

Longest book on my overdrive shelf that isn't book2+ of a series


Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons get to be whomever they want. Tess, stubbornly, is a troublemaker. You can’t make a scene at your sister’s wedding and break a relative’s nose with one punch (no matter how pompous he is) and not suffer the consequences. As her family plans to send her to a nunnery, Tess yanks on her boots and sets out on a journey across the Southlands, alone and pretending to be a boy.

Where Tess is headed is a mystery, even to her. So when she runs into an old friend, it’s a stroke of luck. This friend is a quigutl—a subspecies of dragon—who gives her both a purpose and protection on the road. But Tess is guarding a troubling secret. Her tumultuous past is a heavy burden to carry, and the memories she’s tried to forget threaten to expose her to the world in more ways than one.

Returning to the fascinating world she created in the award-winning and New York Times bestselling Seraphina, Rachel Hartman introduces readers to a new character and a new quest, pushing the boundaries of genre once again in this wholly original fantasy.

The Suspect by Michael Robotham

Joseph O'Loughlin appears to have the perfect life - a beautiful wife, a loving daughter and a successful career as a clinical psychologist. But nothing can be taken for granted. Even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling. All it takes is a murdered girl, a troubled young patient and the biggest lie of his life.

Caught in a complex web of deceit and haunted by images of the slain girl, he embarks upon a search that will take him from London to Liverpool and into the darkest recesses of the human mind. Ultimately, he will risk everything to unmask the killer and save his family.

Dang it! 🤪
She is my favourite narrator atm. I have books on my list based off the fact she narrates - didn’t even check the synopsis 😆

Haha for sure 😊

Yes I agree, Kristie. I ended up not putting her on my list as most people wouldn’t know who she is.
Whereas Cary Elwes and David Tennant I feel are more in that category

Tricia wrote: "Finished #6:

This was a great audio book, read by the author and star of the movie Cary Elwes, with load..."

I got this on your recommendation and finished it recently. It was great! Made us get the movie back out with the kids.
And interestingly the kids keep wanting to listen to this audiobook over and over (rather than The Princess Bride actual audio!!)

Eldarwen wrote: "I haven't even gotten myself a copy of the book yet, so I'm going to bow out of the Weighty Tome this year, as much as it saddens me. Next year might be the year I finally read and finish the book ..."

Oh no :(
Maybe you can get through it during tower teams

Jenny wrote: "I feel like the line is judging me."

Because it is

😆😆

Melindam wrote: "#Book 10

Finished Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher

Gave it 5 stars because it kept me under its spell the whole time I was listenin..."

Wow
Impressive you were engaged enough and gave it 5*