JennH’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2023)

JennH’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Update

1 - Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff 7/10/25
2 - I Am a Cat by Natsume Soseki 7/20/25
3 - The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
4 - The Silver Chair by CS Lewis
5 - Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

JustMG wrote: "Hi all, I’m Marion from Germany. I love fiction, mystery, horror, thriller, crime, witty humour and a tiny pinch of classics. I love reading ever since I was a kid but sadly I just didn’t read much..."

Hi Marion! Welcome to our group! It's great that you're getting back into reading. Fiction, mystery, horror, thriller, crime, witty humour with classics mixed in sound like wonderful mix! 5 books is a solid goal to start with. We're here to cheer you on as you reconnect with your love of reading!

We have different types of reading activities to offer, so take a look around and see which ones you like most!

Happy reading!

Good afternoon, team! Great going, everyone!

@Lorraine & Antun - I meant to chime in on your conversation about James Baldwin. I've read and enjoyed The Fire Next Time and Giovanni’s Room. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of coming across a library display with a typed draft page each from Giovanni’s Room and Go Tell It on the Mountain. That was pretty neat.

@Beth - Thank you. If it gets too confusing, please let me know and I'll change it.

@Brianna - That's understandable. Glad you still have time to join us even with your school projects!

@ Syd - Life happens. Update when you can. You can always post here and we can update the spreadsheet for you, if that helps.

Happy reading!

Updated to message # 78

TerryJane wrote: "JennH wrote: " The letter X has been a tough one for me. "

JennH, I chose Xue Xinran for our A-Z this year. Hope this helps!"

Thanks, TerryJane! I did see this author when perusing other challenge participants' lists for ideas. I just don't love non fiction even if they are important reads. 😳 I will keep Xinran in mind.

Jane wrote: "Hi-- I am Jane-- I teach English. My book tastes gravitate toward mystery/suspense, historical fiction and literary fiction. I generally avoid romance, and science fiction is not my go to. I am cur..."

Hi Jane! Welcome to the group! So glad to have you join us! Mystery, suspense, historical fiction and literary fiction - what a great mix! It's awesome that you enjoy challenges – you've come to the right place!

Since mysteries and suspense are your favorites, you might like to check out one of our yearly challenges, Magical Mystery Tour. It is a challenge based on reading crime fiction including mystery, suspense and thriller. It's never too late to join. And if you do, you can count crime books you've read since January 1, as long as they fit the prompts.

I'd love to help with suggestions for your challenges. About your alphabet challenge, is it a title or author challenge? I ask because another one of our yearly challenges is based on Women Authors, and I am going by last names. The letter X has been a tough one for me. If it is a title you're looking for, then Valerie's suggestion of Velvet Was the Night is an excellent one, as it could work for both title challenge and the around the world challenge. And for Malaysia, may I suggest A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint, or The Ghost Bride or The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo?

Happy reading!

My reasons for moving Planning books to Completed when done:

- We are a prolific group of readers and we have a lot of book possibilities. Removing the Completed books makes it easier to scroll across.

- It looks cleaner and less cluttered.

- It's easier to see what prompts still need to be fulfilled, as the Completed books are moved. We can just look down the Status column to see that there are no possibilities and know that a prompt/book needs to be read.

- As we read more of the Planning books, the columns should reduce, making it even easier to see what remains to be read.

- And as far as semantics is concerned, when a book is completed, it doesn't seem to belong to planning anymore.

That all said, if that is what you'd like, Beth, I can move the books back. Some were moved and some weren't, so I was trying to clean it up and make it consistent.

Hi, Team Novel Navigators!

I've cleaned up the spreadsheet a little bit. If there are any errors, I apologize in advance. I've moved completed books to the Completed Tab so the Planned Tab looks less cluttered. The Tracking Tab matches the Completed Tab, so yay! I've tried my best to follow the color coordination. Please let me know if there are any errors, or if any changes are needed.

Happy reading, everyone!

Morning, Team Novel Navigators! Happy 1st Day of the Readathon!

@Lorraine - Haha! I'm generally a night owl, but alas last night I was not. You have excellent goals for the first day. Are you sure you're only going to read 5 books for the readathon?!?! 😉

Fantastic question about the spreadsheet, as I believe there are a couple of newbies to the readathon. Generally, we try to fill in the prompt that has the least options. You can go that route. Or in the case of our readathons, where TRIPLES earn more points, we can opt to put it there first. There's no really wrong place to put it, if the book fits. We can always move the books as the readathon goes along.

@Brianna - Yay! Good luck to you, too!

@Antun - Wow, almost done with your first book already! Awesome!

Happy reading, everyone!

Just a reminder that the readathon starts at midnight in your time zone. So if you happen to be a night owl, you could potentially start reading tonight! 😁

Silencia wrote: "JennH wrote: "Hi Silencia! The year's not even half over and looks like you're smashing your goal! Bravo! I hope you are enjoying lots of fantastic books along the way. I see that there are some re..."

Haha, no you didn't! I've really enjoyed this series so far and I like the writing, so of course I'm going to continue! If it had worked for the readathon, I would be reading it next week as the length also lends itself to be a perfect readathon book. Sadly it does not, so it's going to have to wait.

Ronda wrote: "JennH wrote: "Hi Ronda! Hope all is well. Looks like you're crushing your goal! Way to go! I hope you are enjoying lots of wonderful books so far this year. Happy reading!"

Loving it all! Thanks s..."

Awesome! That's what we want to hear! I am having a pretty good reading year as well. Thanks!

Hi Sara! It's never too late! Congrats on your graduation! After all that hard work and thesis writing, you deserve some reading time!

Reading short story collections is an excellent idea to read without having to invest in a whole novel. I like it, little bites. And I agree, often find that there will be a couple of standout stories, and the others not so much.

I hope the summer brings you some fantastic reads! Happy reading!

Hi Cristen. At the rate you're going, I think you're going to crush your goal! I'll be rooting for you! Happy reading!

Hi Vicki! Hope all is well and your hands are feeling better! Looks like you are making great progress on your goal. I hope you are enjoying lots of amazing books along the way! Happy reading!

Hi TerryJane! Looks like you are crushing your goal! Did you get to tackle any big chunksters like you wanted? I get torn between wanting to read read and being with a tome for a while. I did manage to read 2 doorstoppers and am in the middle of a third. And I loved the time I spent with them. I hope you are enjoying lots of fabulous books! Happy reading!

Hi Tee! Hope all is well! Looks like you're making progress on your goal. I hope your new job hasn't put too much a damper on your reading. Hope you're enjoying lots of wonderful books so far this year. Happy reading!

Hi Tania! Hope all is well, that you're making good progress on your goal, and you are enjoying lots of great books along the way! Happy reading!

Lorraine wrote: "I have a question. I'm thinking of reading Wolf Willow: A History, a Story, and a Memory of the Last Plains Frontier (1962) by Wallace Stegner for the Readathon. It’s an autobiographical work that ..."

Based on the summary, it seems as if the book is set where Stegner's family homesteaded from 1914 to 1920. So even if the memoir based on the various articles or letters he wrote between 1947 and 1992, I don't think you can consider those later years as when it's set.

Lorraine wrote: "I've removed one of my books from the spreadsheet because I just couldn’t get into the story. The two prompts it was filling are now covered by other books that fit better. I’ll wait to see if some..."

That's fine. I can't wait until the readathon starts so we can see where we stand with the books.