July 2015 - Reporting Thread

[Sarah]

After you have read your chosen book for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below. Please state what book you read (and link it), that you discussed it, and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have completed the book before or during July 2015.
2. discussed it in the relevant thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in that thread.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread below.

YLTO's Gallery of Beauty

[Tasha]

I read Euphoria and discussed it over in the Euphoria thread. I ended up rating this one a 5 and loved the ending. It's the ending that bumped it up to 5. Reading it with the others helped me see something that I completely missed, something important! Anyway, I'm getting myself a copy for my real shelves and will re-read this again one day.

[Sarah]

That was quick! Glad you enjoyed it so much.

[Tasha]

I was on hold for weeks and it became available right before July. :)

[Janice, Moderator]

I also read and discussed Euphoria in its thread.

I gave it 4 stars, though I debate about bumping it up to 5. It's an intricately woven story about 3 complex characters caught up in their own emotions and issues while studying the culture of a remote village in Papua New Guinea. Good stuff!

[Ava Catherine]

I read and discussed Euphoria in the appropriate thread.
I gave the book 5 stars because I loved reading this novel. It is an interesting, unusual setting, but the characters are very real. When I read the first chapter, I couldn't wait to read the rest of the book to discover what happened to the characters.

[Carla]

I read and discussed Euphoria in it's thread. The discussion was very helpful to me because I also missed an important plot point at the end.

[Casceil]

I, too, read and discussed Euphoria. I suspect I am the person who pointed out the important plot point, since several people commented that they had missed something I said. Here is my brief and spoiler free review. I gave the book five stars.

"A beautiful book. The pieces slide together so neatly you don't notice them clicking into place. When I got to the end, I went back and double checked some early chapters to examine the connections more closely, and discovered an even denser weave than I had initially noticed.

[Janice, Moderator]

Book #2 completed and discussed in the general theme thread. I read 5 to 1.


I was pleasantly surprised in that I quite enjoyed the story in spite of an irregular story structure.

[Lori]

I read The Sunday Philosophy Club for the Beautiful Cover. I just posted my comments in the thread. I will definitely read the next book in the series....hoping the author has more depth to some of the characters that seemed a little flat in this first book.

[Amanda (Mandy)]

I read and this month. I discussed the The Magicians in the monthly thread and The Wild Snail book in the buddy reads thread. I enjoyed both books a great deal.

[Mariab]

I read and commented it in the corresponding thread

[Lanelle]

I read .

It was an okay book. A bit too much silliness to be believable. I've discussed it in the other thread.

[Jayme, Moderator]

I read and discussed it in the Beautiful Covers thread. I gave it 4 stars, but kept going back and forth between 4 and 5. It's that good.

[AmyCynthia]

I read and discussed Euphoria in the Euphoria thread. I gave this book 4 stars and I loved it. I thought that the writing was beautiful and that the characters were really well written.

[Janice, Moderator]

Book #3 for this group themed read is done and discussed - The Magicians. This was a bit all over the place for me. It seemed vague and disjointed, and yet something about it has me.

I think this must be a new record for me - 3 books in one month for a group themed read!

[Lisa]

I read The Edge of Dark and have commented in the Beautiful Covers thread. At one point I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me but it ended up being a low 4 star. It's an enjoyable book with an interesting mystery at its centre and some intriguing characters (one or two were actually quite creepy too) but I had a few problems with it which is why it lost a star in the end.

[Sharon]

I read and commented on both The Magicians and [book:Euphoria|18467802 and enjoyed reading both discussions.

[Kelly]

I read The Magicians and commented in the thread. Definitely nice to see other perspectives on this one.

[Peggy]

I read The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Loved it! A beautiful story, dark at times, and beautifully written. I was captivated from page 1. And it was so atmospheric! At times it reminded me of movies like Chocolat and Amelie, and other times I thought Tim Burton could do great things if this book was ever made into a movie.

[Elsbeth]

I read: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I really loved it - 5 stars.
See message #77 in the discussion thread.

[Kerri]

I read Euphoria and discussed it in the thread. While I didn't love it as much as others I did enjoy it more than I expected to. I too missed the important plot point at the end, which makes me wonder what else I missed. Maybe I need to go back over some of the earlier chapters at some point.

[Canadian Dragon]

I read one of the group reads for my beautiful cover The Magicians, I discussed it in the folder, I didn't really like this book as much as I thought I would and I won't continue the series

[Tammy]

I finished The Magicians and discussed it in the discussion thread.

[Tammy]

A Pilgrim's Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of LoyolaI also finished an audiobook. An interesting look at the physical and spiritual journey of this amazing man.

[Sarah]

Tammy wrote: "A Pilgrim's Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius of LoyolaI also finished an audiobook. An interesting look at the physical and spiritual journey of this amazing man."

I can't see that you discussed this one in the Beautiful Covers thread. But it doesn't matter as you will get a badge for reading The Magicians which you did discuss.

[Tammy]

@ Sarah- I didn't discuss it, just was another book I read.

[Tammy]

@ Sarah- I didn't discuss it, just was another book I read.

[Sarah]

Ok thanks. As I said, you discussed another one so you'll get a badge for that one. You only need to report the books in here that you discussed for the theme as it's those that the badge relates to. If you check out Janice's post as an example, she read three books this month for the theme - each one she discussed in the relevant thread. She'll only get one badge though.

[Susan]

OK - reporting in on the book I picked for this challenge (I also posted this on the discussion thread). So I just wandered the local library picking up books at random and checking out the covers for something that looked "beautiful." I finally settled on by Richard Paul Evans. I really liked the picture of a road leading through the woods and the interesting combination of shade and light. It seemed to invite me to take a quiet, contemplative walk and explore what might be along the way. The story itself does that - invites you to accompany the protagonist on his journey. I enjoyed the story, it made me think about the choices we make in life and how they affect us.

And bonus, at least I think it could be, this is the beginning of another series for me (because that's what I need, right, another series?)

[KimeyDiann]

The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley was my beautiful cover choice.

The quiet air of magic, mystery, and sense of tranquility exuded on the cover is what first drew me to this book for the monthly theme. What I found between the (virtual) covers matched this image well. The Oracle Glass was a 5 star read for me!

I discussed more about why I enjoyed The Oracle Glass over multiple posts in the Beautiful Covers thread.

[Roz]

I read The Magicians and discussed it in the discussion thread. Didn't like it at all. I wanted to read Euphoria but I'm still waiting my turn at the library. I'll read it, but just not in time for the challenge.

[Lynn]

Read and reported

I liked the cover more than I like the story.

[Silver]

I just finished reading

I discussed it in the July Beautiful Covers thread.

[Diane]

I discussed Euphoria in posts 13 and 26. My beautiful cover book was discussed in post 101. Here it is:

[Lilisa]

I read Euphoria - message 57 in the discussion thread. So far it looks like I'm the only one who didn't enjoy the book...

[Sarah]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it Lilisa.

[Janice, Moderator]

You're not alone Lilisa. 882 people rated it as 2 stars.

[Sandra]

I read The Sea Garden and discussed it in the Beautiful Covers thread (message 106). I enjoyed it a lot, and gave it 4 stars.

[Sarah]

Recorded up to here. We're getting a very beautiful gallery together up top.

[Lilisa]

There are plenty of other books I've enjoyed...and will enjoy Sarah and Janice - no worries. That's what I love about books - there's something for every one....and everyone sees things differently...makes for great discussions.

[Sarah]

Lilisa wrote: "That's what I love about books - there's something for every one....and everyone sees things differently...makes for great discussions. "

It certainly does. That's why I love group reads and buddy reads so much.

[Tejas Janet]

I read and discussed Euphoria. It wound up rating 3.5 stars from me, which I bumped up to 4. I prefer to round up rather than down when in doubt.

There were various things I liked and others I disliked about the story. It did keep me reading and the story has stayed with me.

I liked what it reflected about anthropology and the social sciences much more than the personal story per se. I also am thinking it speaks some to marriage and relationships - and how at about 2 months into falling in love, this is another moment of pure euphoria, but it's an illusion. Not to be cycnical, just my experience.

[Cherie]

I read and discussed for my beautiful cover book. It was an absolute 5 star read for me. Dragons, the naval battles in the air and at sea with and Great Brittian fighting Napoleon. Simon Vance narrating. Heaven.

[Sarah]

Recorded up to here.

[Teanka]

I read and discussed . I liked the book and am glad that I've chosen it.

[Almeta]

I finished The Magicians today and discussed it the group thread. I still need to go back with my notes and finish the rest of my comments.

I think Lev Grossman meant to make a tribute to several SciFi/Fantasy mediums, the most obvious being the Harry Potter series, Narnia, and Once and Future King.

Some of his references were to other author's works, popular movies, PC and arcade games and D&D role playing. However many of them were pretty obscure. For instance Gretchen with the limp directing people to "Walk this way!", à la Young Frankenstein's Marty Feldman.

Had these credits been less obscure to the general reader, everyone may have enjoyed it more.

Still some scenes were out of place, and the pacing was erratic. Not a bad read, just not over whelmingly engaging. Gave it a 3.

[Travis]

Read Gardens of the Moon. . I enjoyed it well enough after the first half. I thought it was a bit sloggy at the start. Gritty fantasy. Will continue series

[Lara]

I had meant to read Euphoria, but only have the audiobook and wouldn't have been able to do it justice. Seeing the comments made here, I now am even more interested in reading it.

The books I did read and discuss on the Beautiful Covers thread were and . I gave them both 4 stars, though the first is rather slow and quiet, and the second not as good as some of the earlier books in the series.

[Sarah]

Recorded up to here.