September 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 September 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.

[Lanelle]

I read Miss Cayley's Adventures, and I have discussed it in the appropriate thread.

Added: It was incredibly easy to read for how old it is (pub. in 1899). Lots of dialogue and description. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Lois Cayley has some characteristics that folks should emulate. I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Kirila]

I read Marina and have also discussed it in the appropriate thread.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I also read Marina and discussed it in its thread.

ETA: This is my first Zafon's book and I really enjoyed it. The writing style is beautiful. His use of words is fantastic.
I'm really glad there's no paranormal aspects in the novel, since I'm not a paranormal lover. Everything has an explanation, even if it is a little extreme.
I'm planning to start with The Cemetery of Forgotten Books Trilogy next month.

[Joan]

I also read Marina, Marina

I discussed it in its thread.
I enjoyed the creepy aspect of the book -- now I am trying to figure out how soon I can get to Barcelona. The atmosphere and words stayed with me more than the characters or plot.

[Lori]

I just finished Marina and posted a comment in the discussion. What a great read!!! I'm so glad it was this month's read....otherwise, I would never have known about it. I really enjoyed Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind series. And this one was just the Icing on the Cake!!!!

[Sarah]

Joan wrote: "I also read Marina, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... but I don't know how to add hyperlink.

I discussed it in its thread."

Just above the comment box there is is a link which says "add book/author" which you click on and a search box comes up. Type in the book name and click search and then add that book and it will appear in your post. Simples!

Lot's of people reading Marina. It looks like a good choice.

[Roz]

I read Defending Jacob and discussed it in the "Character name in the title" thread.

[Adairmoon]

I finished Marina and posted in the discussion thread. What a great read!

[Sarah]

Welcome to YLTO Adairmoon.

[Tammy]

I chose to finish a book I started in June and wasn't having great fun with. I finished and discussed Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind.

[Travis]

I read Ender's Game. discussed in the buddy read thread. I think it is a sci fi read that could be read by those without a strong interest in sci fi.

[Canadian Dragon]

I read Ender's Game, and discussed in the buddy read thread. I enjoyed it.

[Sarah]

I read Ender's Game and discussed it in the buddy read thread. I have had this book on my kindle for quite some time but kept putting it off for some reason. I had watched the film so I knew the premise of the book. Despite knowing the ending (film version), I still really enjoyed the book. The book is quite different from the film as I recall. I thought the writing style was good, easy to read. It covered many interesting themes and made you think. I loved Ender and I can't wait to read ore about what he gets up to.

[Mariab]

I read Penelope, nothing to fuss about

[Teanka]

I read Marina and discussed it in its thread.

[Ariane]

I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and discussed it in the appropriate thread.

[Peggy]

I read The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow and discussed it in the buddy read thread. Copy/paste of my conclusion: I ended up giving it 3.5 stars. I loved it in the beginning, and I loved the descriptions of sounds throughout all of the book. In the beginning I also liked all the sweetness, but after a while it got a bit too much. I felt sort of relieved reading some more drama. And the christianity all over the book was too much as well. Usually as soon as there's a few mentions of God and an emphasis on religion I'm out, and I often don't even start reading anything labeled christian fiction. The first few mentions in this book were okay, I thought they were important to the story and that's fine, but the more I progressed the more there was about religion and it felt almost preachy at some points.

[Janice, Moderator]

I read Marina, and discussed it in the appropriate thread. It started slowly for me and I struggled with it a bit, but ended up enjoying the ending. I gave it a strong 3 stars. Too bad Goodreads doesn't have weighted stars like I give them. :)

[Elsbeth]

Discussion thread message #51. I read De gloriedagen van Walter Gom by Marcel Vaarmeijer and The Maya Papyrus by Richard Coady (the names are: Walter Gom and Maya).

[Shawn]

I read MARINA and have discussed it in the appropriate thread. I have also addressed discussion questions in my review at DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

[Lynda]

I just finished Mrs. Dalloway, and discussed it in the appropriate thread. Brilliant read.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[AmyCynthia]

I read Marina and discussed it in its thread.

[Lynn]

I read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Not what I expected and loved it. Gave my thoughts in the appropriate thread, which is here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Lilisa]

I read Corelli's Mandolin - a good read.

[Janice, Moderator]

I think a few people have missed "and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one..

[Susan]

I just finished up Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. I will admit I was expecting something more along the lines of The Fault in Our Stars but this was different. The whole description of high school and the cliques was spot on with the MC just wanting to get through high school without making waves, getting noticed or picked on. And who hasn't been guilted into doing something by their mother? The book had its laugh out loud funny parts as well as a few touching moments to tear up about as well. So while I wasn't sure about it at first, I liked it.

[Sarah]

Janice wrote: "I think a few people have missed "and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.."

Definitely Janice! Thanks for pointing it out. I was one of them too. In my defense, I am intending on going back to edit my post with the two other books I've read that fits the theme. Slaps wrist all the same...

[Lynda]

Thanks for the reminder, I just updated my post.

[Carla]

I read The Grand Sophy, and discussed it in the appropriate thread.

Added: It was an enjoyable read. I have been curious about Georgette Heyer's books before so I am glad I finally read one. If you are looking for a light Regency romance, I would recommend it.

[Silver]

I finished Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and discussed it in the Character in name of title thread.

[Camilla]

I read Ender in Exile, the second book in the Ender saga, and discussed it in the thread. There is a lengthier text of my thoughts in the discussion thread, so I just quickly summarize here that I liked it, thought it well written to cover the time period between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. I would definitely recommend reading Ender in Exile after Ender's Game, instead of going with the publication order (Ender in Exile was published 23 years after Ender's Game, with the other books in the series written earlier).

[Sarah]

Recorded up to here.

If you haven't given a brief summary of what you thought of the book in your reporting post above, please could you go back and edit it and add a line or two in there please.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "please could you go back and edit it and add a line or two in there please."

Done! How to refuse with two "please" in the same sentence! :)

[Sarah]

Sandra wrote: "Sarah wrote: "please could you go back and edit it and add a line or two in there please."

Done! How to refuse with two "please" in the same sentence! :)"

lol. It's a s*$t sandwich of a sentence - politeness, followed by me telling you what to do, followed by politeness ;-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

lol. I guess we are a lot of trouble for you mods!

[Sarah]

Sandra wrote: "lol. I guess we are a lot of trouble for you mods!"

Not at all! YLTO is lucky to have a great bunch of people who behave themselves (mostly ;-))

[Liz]

I read Dime and expressed my thoughts in the other thread.

[Tammy]

I read Dear Kate and discussed it in the discussion board.

[Dawn]

I read Conversations with Rabbi Small. Informative book about conservative Judaism but I missed the mystery with Rabbi Smalls clever deductions.
This series has been great for learning about Judaism, there has been so many things that I didn't know or had totally misunderstood.

[Anne (Booklady)]

I read Flirting with Pete by Barbara Delinsky for Character name in Title.

My Review

Flirting with Pete is a story within the story of a young woman who never met her father in life, and like him, Casey Ellis becomes a therapist. She's a whiny character that about drove me crazy for 3/4's of the novel, but she does redeem herself in the last 150 pages. The story line that held my attention was that of Marybeth Jennifer Clyde. Her father killed Jenny's mother as the woman beat Jenny. Jenny has no friends. Folks in Little River shun her - maybe out guilt, shame, or pure meanness. About a week before Darden Clyde is released from prison people begin to take notice, especially a handsome young man from Wyoming riding a big motorcycle. Pete is his name. And when he stops to give Jenny a ride home from the dance, well she flirts with him. And he LIKES her too! Pete's everything Jenny dreamt that "her man" would be and more. She and Pete fall in love. They ride his motorbike wildly, go to the Quarry, and much more. Jenny thinks Pete is too good to be true, and he is.

Meanwhile, Psychoanalyst Casey Ellis finds herself in a state of confusion. Her practice needs to relocate, thanks to one of her partners, her mother is still in a vegetative state, and her father has just died. The father she's only seen in public lecture halls. She is the product of his one digression. She's floored when she inherits Connie's Beacon Hill Home. It comes with a very handsome, enigmatic gardener and a maid. Cornelius Unger kept his practice here and just maybe she could too. She has doubts as she wanders from the office into a glorious garden. Her resolve not to have anything to do with Connie begins to crack, especially when she finds a thick envelope with "C she's kin, help her" scrawled in her father's handwriting.

Casey opens the envelope to find Flirting with Pete. Casey wonders if the pages are Fiction, a Journal, or a Case Study. Convinced that Connie left the envelope for her, Casey begins to read. Soon she is drawn into Jenny Clyde's story, and becomes frighten for the young woman. Casey must find Jenny and help her, but she needs to find the rest of the manuscript. It's just like her father to make her search a scavenger hunt. And that is exactly what it is. As Casey puts Jenny's story together, she also discovers her father. And she is about to discover that nothing in her new life is what it appears to be. There is a fine line between what is real and what is imagined.

[Sarah]

I'm making an addition to the general rules for group reads - If you read more than one book that fits the theme, please report all books in the same post rather than reporting multiple times.

Don't worry if you've already reported but if people who haven't reported yet could keep this in mind that would be great. I'll include it in the General Rules section next month.

[CFDeeDee]

I've read The Last Juror / The Broker and discussed it in Simon says reporting thread.

[Joan]

I just finished Mrs. Dalloway I loved it. Seems like Mrs. Dalloway and Richard could be grown up versions of Emma and Mr. Knightley from Jane Austen. I also discussed it in the thread.

[Sarah]

@CFDeeDee - the book you've reported doesn't fit the theme of "book with character name in the title" so you wouldn't be eligible for a badge. Did you mean to report it in the Simon Says reporting thread?

[Debra]

I finished Marina and posted a couple of comments about it in the corresponding discussion thread.

[Ava Catherine]

I read and discussed Mrs. Dalloway in the group thread.

[Lara]

This month I listened to Venetia by Georgette Heyer. As I mentioned in the discussion thread, the narrator did a very good job. However, the acceptance of so many people's poor behavior made the story a bit harder for me, despite its likely realistic portrayal of the times. I really enjoy Heyer's writing, so was surprised I didn't love this book. I did very much like the heroine, Venetia, as well as her younger brother.

[Ollie]

I read both Marina and Mrs. Dalloway. I discussed both in their respective threads, and reviewed them; the review for Marina is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and my review of Mrs. Dalloway is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[CFDeeDee]

Ooh that was by mistake Sarah .. Sorry about that ..