Reading and Reminescing. Reading Log of Syl and her Alteregos AND her Offspring

[Vimal]

Awesome, let me know when you want to begin either of those two. I'll have to start afresh anyway since their huge canvas of characters makes it impossible to remember if left half-done.

[Ahtims]

Stared the new year resuming 'A dark adapted eye's - one of my favorite "dark psychological mystery" authors, Barbara Vine, surpasses herself in his extremely intricate book involving a dysfunctional family, rehashing a murder th a occurred long ago.

Also finished the introductory pages of Guernsey potato pie society, a buddy read planned with Manju. Looks interesting. Now off to ready myself for work.

[Srividya]

@Vimal - Anytime in February or March would suit me or even later, if that is what suits you. :)

January, I can't commit because I am starting/have started another mammoth - Les Misérables. Just want to get into it this month and then I can slow read it over the next few months till December! :D :P

@Smitha - Guernsey is a HF read na? I am also joining you guys there..but I will start after the 7th or so. Hopefully you two don't finish it by then! :( :P Have a great day at the office! :D

[Vimal]

@Srividya, Right Ho! Any month would suit me. I just want to complete those 3 tomes very badly within 2016 :)

[Srividya]

Okay then! Let's get cracking from February and if I can find the strength/courage within me, I will try and join you for IJ as well..but let's tackle IJ after we finish these two! :D

[Ahtims]

Yes, Guernsey is HF - epistolary type. Asmall book - my kindle showing reading time as 1 hour 50 min. So I may polish it off soon, unless it is superceded by other books (which frequently happens in my case) :-P

[Vimal]

@Srividya, sure, February it'll be :)

@Smitha, is it an abridged version? I read it last month and 1:50 seems so less. Or is your kindle showing the reading time tailored to your speed? :)

[Srividya]

Yeah it is a short book, barely 300 pages. SO I think I will also be able to finish it in a couple of hours! :)

[Ahtims]

Vimal, it is not abridged. My usual speed is60-80 pages/hour, so kindle must be wrong. :-P

[Em Lost In Books, EmLo is my Name, PIFM is my Game]

Happy New year everyone!

Syl: I will start Guernsey today. And i see that you omitted WoR and magic bites from your Jan books.:'(:P

Vimal: I saw your five star rating and read beautiful lines that you wrote about Guernsey and i added it, so it better be good. :P:P

Vidya: Buddy, please make the thread for book.:))

[Ahtims]

Task master, Manju, shall add those too. :-P

[Em Lost In Books, EmLo is my Name, PIFM is my Game]

Syl ʃʃ^.^ʃʃ wrote: "Task master, Manju, shall add those too. :-P"

You too?:( People are forgetting that term and am very happy with that since am not very fond of that...

Only Manju.:)

[Vimal]

@Manju, nice to know that I tricked you into adding it :) I hope you like it, and do not end up searching for me with clenched teeth :P

[Ahtims]

Lol, Only Manju. then.
:-D :-D

[Girish, The Good cop]

Gurnesy is a lovely book to start the year and HHGTG is probably the bible of craziness.. great selection :)

[Ahtims]

thank you, but actually those two were sort of selected for me. :-)

[Jarvis]

Syl, please make a thread for Hitchhiker's journey na :P :D

[Ahtims]

Sure :-)

[Girish, The Good cop]

haha.. if you are to believe Carlos Zufon, book chooses the reader..
by that logic, there are no bad books, just less deserving readers.. #NewYearPhilosophy :P

[Ahtims]

Nice philosophy, from a book's point of view :-P

[Ahtims]

Hurray, finished my first read of the year.
One of my favorite authors, my favourite genre. What else does a bibliophile want!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ahtims]

Today's reading was satisfactory. Completed Dark adapted Eye, and moved on to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - glad that I am loving it at 15%. Looking forward to a quick culmination.

[Ahtims]

3rd day into the new year, still on . Enjoying it. So far, a 5 starrer.
Yesterday was not very conducive to reading. I was looking forward to 3-4 hours with my books late into the night, but fell asleep even before completing an hour. No regrets, as there is nothing like a good sleep.
Am feeling full of beans today, finished my morning jogging, had a heavy breakfast, and now for a couple of hours of reading/surfing, before I start preparing a light lunch.

[Girish, The Good cop]

Good going Col. This thread, if maintained diligently, can be published as 'The mechanics of reading 150 books a year and enjoying it'

[Ahtims]

Girish, ha ha.... if it gives me enough royalties so as to stop my daily-hood and read all the time, I will surely do so.
And I came to know who my Secret Santa was :P, liked the book , or atleast the first 2 chapters a lot - seems like my kind of book - the languid descriptions of Indian culture and life. After potato peel, and if I can get past Hitchhiker sufficiently enough to satisfy co-readers, I am planning to finish it off this week or next week.

[Ahtims]

My 4th book of the year:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
short, quaint, kinky, mind boggling, impossible. But I thoroughly enjoyed the bizarre events and adventures. I was into exotic space travel the past couple of days.
Nowhere it is mentioned what the earthling Arthur Dent ate, when he was rescued by Ford Prefect and taken on various space ship voyages. Was he hungry throughout?

[Ahtims]

5. - my first paranormal fantasy. It was a happening book, but i was put off with the gruesome, nauseating descriptions of the various non human forms


Next , i will ruminate upon

Not sure whether I will proceed with it
, especially if it isa taxing resd

[dely]

I didn't like Cloud Atlas. The start, till half the book, was interesting and promising, but then it went downhill, at least for me. But there are also a lot of people that liked it. I'm curious to see what you think about it.

[Ahtims]

dely, I read 2 pages and stopped. >_<
Continuing with "Family Life" by an author new to me. That would go towards my India challenge too.

[Ahtims]

It is way too early to tell,
But am too happy that my 2016 reading is not slack. I manage to read atleast an hour a day (touch wood) and am liking the books I read.
Finished Family Life yesterday.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Was a depressing book, but much thought provoking.
I almost had a panic attack thinking of myself in the place of the hapless family. This book deals with the coping up strategies of a family when a sudden disaster strikes them leaving one of their young active members almost as useless as a vegetable.
How the father dissolves into his drunken world, the son becomes a boast, and the mother is a chronically harassed, anxious lady is depicted well.
HEALTH IS WEALTH. This dictum was reinforced.

Started a new book today. Inaugurated my marvelous, awesome looking hardcopy of by my favourite author. This book was a steal at just Rs. 175 for a mint new edition.
The first couple of pages are interesting. And I have a feeling that I may end up liking this book. The odds are in my favour, the strongest being that Atwood is an author I adore, and she has disappointed me only once.

[Girish, The Good cop]

I am envying you Col! And so many good books at that. I also notice, this thread is a reading journal of sorts (with not all your reviews).

Might I suggest, 1 placeholder for all the review links so that we can click and know how it turned out to be? :D

So far, been a tight year so far with on an avg 20-25 pages a day.

[Ahtims]

What place holder? Like a single message with the link to reviews one below the other?

ha ha... I will have to "nazar utarna" now itself...

[Ahtims]

Today couldn't read much as the Great cleaning expedition was going on, initiatied by husband and which blew out of proportion. Was initially meant to be just dusting and wiping of the innards of the house, but the people hired did a thorough job, and by the time I reached home, all the long forgotten things stored in various shelves were dragged down and heaped up on the floor, including my precious books. So had no other option but to start tidying up. Have done a huge chunk almost non stop, and have left the rest for tomorrow - had to take an unexpected leave from work for the same.
Still,
I managed to finish
7. Eve's Diary - short novella of 104 pages or so, and quite a few pictures interspersed. Was hilarious, but had a few flaws.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. Mile 81 - audiobook while cleaning up. Was a good experience listening to the horror unfolding on a less travelled highway near an abandoned McDonalds. There are 3 children in it, and the innocence and fortitude of children make reading any adult book a pleasure, though I am no great fan of children's books per se.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ahtims]

Hectic day cleaning my home (much needed, much postponed)
Am aching from head to toe, but glowing with the sort of happiness only work can bring.
Now to some well deserved "me time" [translated as reading and surfing]

In the afternoon read a few pages of The Heart Goes Last - Atwood at one of her bests, and the type of writing I like - simple, yet elegant. And focusing upon human foibles.
Eagerly waiting to see how it ends , though I am only one third done.

[Ahtims]

Today's update -
Didn;t read much. Was in a sloth mode. Overslept in the morning, again in the evening, could manage a few pages of Restaurant at the End of the world
Now I am about to startWords of Radiance- lots of good reviews. Am eager.

[Shoa, @TheCupboardUnderTheStairs]

Bravo Bravo!

[Ahtims]

Aye aye, Captain

[Ahtims]

Today was not conducive to reading. Early morning went for a walk, and there was barely enough time to get ready for work. Slept in the afternoon, and after work, I have been wasting my time online, doing nothing much productive. I am off to the wonderworld of Words of Radiance, for another 30 min or so. Then I have to go out as local festival is going on, and then catch a bite at some restaurant or the other.
Tomorrow is a full working day. So no hopes of any substantial reading being done tomorrow too

The Heart Goes Last is beckoning me with a sulk as I have been neglecting it for a couple of days. :/

[Ahtims]

Previous few days were a bit slow. Still with Words of Radiance. (it is a might book with 1000 plus pages. So I reckon I will need rest of Jan to complete it.)
Today had some progress with the Heart goes last. I am loving this dystopian world of Atwood. It is more refined than the one in The Handmaid's Tale and less technical and apocalyptic than in her MaddAddam trilogy.
A perfect dystopian world for me.

At 203, another 50 pages to go, then I will have to bid adieu to this world

[Ahtims]

Spent an hour or so and completed The heart goes last. Was satisfactory.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now on to Words of Radiance

Contemplating whether to start Fahrenheit 451, recommended to me via TBR challenges by Nikki from Bookworm Bitches.
Let me see how the day turns out.

[dely]

Like a lot your discussion of this year. It's a kind of diary and I like to read your updates.

[Ahtims]

Thanks, dely. I thought I will accomplish reading and reminiscing in the same thread. :-)

[Ahtims]

Today was a good day for reading, though it is my only accomplishment for today.
Sorry piles of clothes awaiting ironing, sorry refrigerator which needs a good clean, sorry , one and all...........
Only chore I did today was baking a chocolate cake at the insistence of my son. Also made quinoa pudding for myself...
Cake C+, Pudding B- would be my honest grading.

Tomorrow a busy work day starts, and as I am attending a conference in Coimbatore, will be away from Wednesday to Sunday. Not sure whether I will be able to read much, except for a page here and there...

[Ahtims]

Past one week was very hectic. Didnt get much time to read, except yesterday - a very languid day devoted just for sleep and reading. I could plough through almost 40% of this mammoth

Last 10% remaining which I am sure to finish today.
Looking forward to an exciting discussion on this book.

After this?

Perhaps finish off ,
which was left at 100 pages, being a physical hard cover book which I could not take along in my travels, a very interesting one, though not very fast paced.

Then on to
Forever in my TBR. Got selected as part of Bookworm Bitches TBR challenge game for Feb. I have to finish it before Feb end, which I am almost sure, I will.

Off to my reading. Have left the protagonists at an interesting cliffhanger in

[Ahtims]

Finished Words of Radiance.
IT WAS MAGNIFICENT>
Am in that fugue state now. Cant take up another book for a few hours at least. My mind is buzzing with the story, a few questions left unanswered, and a mist has clogged my brain.

[Ahtims]

Fahrenheit 451 is a big bore. I wonder at the 5 star ratings, and again at my ability to find many other people's favorite insipid at its best.
Diversity of thoughts and opinions, indeed!
THough it is a small book, I cant proceed beyond the halfway mark, and decided to shelf it for the time being .

A happy news is that I restarted All the Light We Cannot See with rekindled interest. Now at 40%, and hope this streak will continue up to the last page.

[Srividya]

LOL!!!! :P :P

Poor you! Your tryst with dystopian and bizarre books is just not happening! :P

All the Light is a good book, although I did have some issues with it, still a 4 star read for me! :D :P *waiting anxiously to see if this is also shelved or rated low* :P :P

[Em Lost In Books, EmLo is my Name, PIFM is my Game]

Syl, that's what happens when you finish a book like WoR. ;):P

I didn't read anything today. Just went to grocery shopping with mom.:)

[Ahtims]

hi Srividya and Manju:-)
Somehow I am comfortable only withAtwood, Stephen King and a few others who write dystopia

Manju, you at least did something productive. :-)

[Girish, The Good cop]

*Tch* you might as well have read Cloud Atlas *just saying*