Andrea’s Comments (group member since Sep 13, 2012)

Andrea’s comments from the Aussie Readers group.

RitaSkeeter wrote: "Can I stalk the thread? You never know, cheap flights might come up."

I've just booked flights for my parents to come over from Lonnie at New Year and it was cheaper than when I go to visit them on my own! Not fair.

But anyway - you should come!

I'd love to come along and meet all you lovely readers. Please add me in.

Time for an update:

#2 down
Cover you love
★★ (just goes to show you really shouldn't judge...)
Australian author Unforgivable★★★★
Historical fiction The Visitors★★★★
Favourite genre (memoir) A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story
One-word title Alex

#5 down
Aussie author (never read) Deadly Messengers★★★
Set in another country Mornings in Jenin★★★
Book turned into movie Half of a Yellow Sun
Female main character Baking Cakes In Kigali★★★★
Crime The Merry Misogynist★★★★

I collected S. from the library today, ready to start on Sunday. Can't wait to inspect the 29 inserts that came with it.

I've changed my mind - I'm in! Might as well push myself.

List 1, #242 S.
List 2, #5 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
List 3, #128 Gilead

Brenda wrote: "I've been following this conversation quietly:) Wondered Andrea where you got your voyage from, and around how much it was? If you don't mind telling me:)"

When I bought it there was no advantage in ordering it direct from Amazon (exchange rate), so I bought it from Dick Smith. I think they are the only bricks and mortar retailer in Australia who sell this model. There are online stockists, but they all looked more expensive. I watched the price for a few weeks and it was never discounted so in the end I just coughed up the full $299. No regrets.

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "What's it like outside on a sunny day? That's one thing I like about the Sony is that there's no glare...."

No glare on the Voyage either. It seems to know what to do. Although the touchscreen on this model is glass, it is matte, so you don't get any reflections, fingerprints etc.

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "What's the lighting like on the voyage? ..."

I love it! When I first got it, I let the auto-sensor do it's thing, but checked the settings a lot to see how it was adjusting. I find that it works perfectly for my needs. One of the things I was looking forward to was being able to just pick it up and read without having to turn on the light during the sleepless wee hours. I couldn't be happier. The beauty of it is that the auto-sensor is good, but you can over-ride it if you need to.

Deborah wrote: "From my travels to eighteenth century EnglandDevil In The Fog; And my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Since I finished my challenge rather early I decided t..."

I've been wanting to read The Cellist of Sarajevo for a while. I recently read an article about how the actual cellist is not a big fan of Steven Galloway, so it will be interesting to find out how he is portrayed.

Laura wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I can be a harsh critic - mine is 3.45 at the moment." Yeah but is that "harshness" due to not being able to give half stars?"

Probably a bit. I rated something 2.5 today and rounded down, and when I did that I was thinking to myself how inconsistent I can be with my rounding. Sometimes up, sometimes down.

I can be a harsh critic - mine is 3.45 at the moment.

I'm having an unexpected day at home, so for a change of pace I will dive into Deadly Messengers. Looking forward to it!

I finished the challenge last night. My choices ended up being a bit hit and miss.

1). Geographical Setting:Mornings in Jenin(Palestine) 3★

4). Title:Baking Cakes In Kigali(Rwanda) 4★

5). Reader’s Choice: The Woman Who Dived into the Heart of the World(Mexico) 2★

Over the past week I've finished two more from 5Down. Mornings in Jenin (set in another country) and Baking Cakes In Kigali (female main character).

I'm starting to wonder whether I'll finish this challenge, but will push on regardless.

Kiera wrote: "Okay, so... The last week or two have been a book Christmas for me. Here it goes!: Dymocks Purchases: Doctor Who: Deep Time & The Signature of All Things ..."

Happy Christmas Kiera! Can't wait to see how things go for you in actual December Xmas

Laura wrote: "@Sally - Ohhh..I want to now read all other books by Lisa See since this one has really pulled me in..So far it's very chatty and each charter has an unknown about them which i suspect I'll soon kn..."

Lisa See is one of my favourite authors, but I have to say that Shanghai Girls didn't really grab me either.

I got all excited, but then... Eltham. Happy browsing Elaine.

Nicky wrote: "Ok... coming to this late, partly as I couldn't link from my tablet, and partly as I had just started reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and needed to finish it befo..."

Don't be put off, Nicky. I'm not one for chunky books either, but I've read The Pillars of the Earth a couple of times over the years.

Phrynne wrote: "You are certainly getting around the world Andrea:) ..."

My love of armchair travel is second only to my love of the real thing ☺

Finished my first for this challenge, Mornings in Jenin (geographical setting). Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now I've moved on to Baking Cakes In Kigali (place name), which should be a lighter read.