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Read-a-Thon #2- Team Ghost Discussion Topic
message 151:
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Perri
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Sep 23, 2017 07:11AM
I have around 100 pages to finish The Chilbury Ladies' Choir-my ATY totally doable today and also the post to the map if needed. I"m reading it for the epistolary challenge. Yesterday finished The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow for magical realism
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Aline wrote: "@Perri I'm currently reading it too :) You're right, her writing is really honest. It's interesting to read about her story. Maybe I'll read 'Bad Feminist' someday too. This might give me an even b..."I have not read Bad Feminist either and have no idea how Hunger ended up on my TBR list, but so far I'm loving her writing
Silvia wrote: "Michelle wrote: "So we need about 30 more comments. I'm currently reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. Has anyone here read it? Its such a highly related book so I came with a lot of expectatio..."
This seems to be a polarizing book. I'd try it but the length!
@Perri I had heard about her books before, but actually wasn't that interested in reading them. I'm reading this one because Emma Watson picked it for the Sept/Oct book for her book club and it sounded interesting. Also I love to read books I wouldn't necessarily read to widen my horizon :) I was never overweight so her perspective is one I never experienced on my own.
Michelle wrote: "So we need about 30 more comments. I'm currently reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. Has anyone here read it? Its such a highly related book so I came with a lot of expectations. I do enjoy it..."
I tried to read that one when there was a group doing a buddy read. Unfortunately, it really wasn't my thing! The repetitive names really got me, but it was more that I had so much trouble finding a character that I could relate to or root for. I pretty much hated all of the male characters and the female characters didn't really get enough development for me. I gave up about 25 percent of the way into the book.
Kathryn wrote: "Michelle wrote: "So we need about 30 more comments. I'm currently reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. Has anyone here read it? Its such a highly related book so I came with a lot of expectatio..."
About the repetitive names, it's something that comes from the latin cultur, parents use to name their sons with their names, the name of my son is Jose, my husband is also called Jose and my father in law name is Jose!!! If you think about it, is funny! In the book you will see that never are two people alive with the same name and when there are, they use a little change in the name to make the difference and that is also what happen in the reality.
I remember I did a genealogical tree while I was reading it and that helped me a lot, but I guess you can easily find something like that in internet these days.
And about the fact that you disliked the characters ... hmm for that I cannot think of something to suggest to change your perception :D
Perri wrote: "Silvia wrote: "Michelle wrote: "So we need about 30 more comments. I'm currently reading One Hundred Years of Solitude. Has anyone here read it? Its such a highly related book so I came with a lo..."
I wanted to read that book sometime this year, but I kept putting it off more and more, to the point where I decided against reading it. I've found in the past that when I delay reading a book so many times, I'm bound not to like it when I finally do give it a chance. Oh well, maybe next year.
@ Kathyrn I agree One hundred solitude was not my type of book. I felt that it was more a gossip session then a book.
I am trying to finish Dreamthief today. It is free from bookbub which can be hit or miss. This one is a hit. It also is part of a series so more books to add to the ever expanding TBR.I recommend this book to those who like world jumping. She travels between a fairy world and Earth.
>Zaz, I forgot to tell you about Blankets. I liked it very much, although it was full of existential and religious anguish especially at the beginning. The story has very sweet and funny moments. It was worth of reading the 592 pages :D
I don't like when names are too much similar in a book. Some authors have a problem with that, like almost all the names start with M or are more or less the same (once I read a book with Llaia, Maia, Mai, Mia... no idea who was who). I understand that having the same name for several generations can be deeply rooted in some cultures (latin and others too with all the "junior"), I know at one point in my country the babies were given the first name of their grand father/mother, but it's not used these days. Nowadays, kids have names that never existed before :pSilvia > thanks, I'll probably pick it at the library when I've finished some comic books and manga series. I know I won't like the religious stuff, but if it's lighter after a moment, it'll be ok.
Michelle, when I saw that you were reading 100 Years of Solitude, I thought it was ambitious for the read a thon. I just read it for the buddy read. You should check out the post in the A-Z folders. You'll find a lot of commiseration and some advice on how to view the family as a character instead of trying to keep track of every individual Buendia. I thought that was a really good approach.
Oh yes it's so confusing if people have similar names in a book. I always have a harder time getting into the story when I constantly have to take a moment to remind myself who this character was.In Germany it was normal to name your child after a relative or even the father or mother too. I'm glad that this isn't happening anymore. Also a lot of people named their child after a newly decreased grandfather or something ...
All done "Dreamthief", now on to an new one. Does anyone else have problems writing reviews? I have all of these great thoughts but when it comes time to write the review they just do not flow. It could be why I am actually reader not a writer. :)
I just checked our spreadsheet to see what to read next. It does not look like I can add to anything there. :(
Starting "Pines" by Blake Crouch. I am very excited about this one. It has so many great reviews.It is 38 degrees Celsius here today, so I need a chilly book to dive into. LOL
Starting The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I am not sure if can finish for tomorrow, because although is a very short novella, I am having a little problem with the style, besides the fact that I am really slow... but I am going to do my best :)IF I finish and IF the green cover is still pending at the end, the cover of this book is green.
Anastasia wrote: "Starting "Pines" by Blake Crouch. I am very excited about this one. It has so many great reviews.It is 38 degrees Celsius here today, so I need a chilly book to dive into. LOL"
38 degrees Celsius!!!!! Maybe that's too warm, but I am so cold that I want to go there!!! :'(
Sea of Monsters which I already finished had a green cover, that could be added too if a green cover is still needed.
Anastasia wrote: "All done "Dreamthief", now on to an new one. Does anyone else have problems writing reviews? I have all of these great thoughts but when it comes time to write the review they just do not flow. It..."
I have so much trouble with writing reviews also! I'm not that good at articulating what I really think of a book. There are some amazing reviewers on this website--I'll often go through the reviews after I read the book and find people who say exactly what I'm thinking but unable to write in a coherent way.
By the way, I'll hopefully finish Dark Matter, the red covered book, by the end of the day. It's really good so far!
Anastasia wrote: "All done "Dreamthief", now on to an new one. Does anyone else have problems writing reviews? I have all of these great thoughts but when it comes time to write the review they just do not flow. It..."
I have a hard time writing in general and reviews are really hard because you don't want to give anything away but you want to help give other readers an idea of why they might like or dislike the book.
Kathryn, I loved Dark Matter can't wait for your review ;)
Oh and I finished
it kind of has a orangish cover. It was not on my TBR and I decided to use it for my last book of the challenge week 52.
Samantha wrote: "Oh and I finished it kind of has a orangish cover. It was not on my TBR and I decided to use it for my last book of the ..."Did you like it? I read the first two volumes and I really didn't enjoy them, but I would like to hear other opinions.
To finish for the year, I need a classic and have THe OUtsider on deck, something random, and something from someone else's shelves. Browsing thru Ghost team shelves I see Rachel, Kathryn, and Katie all gave 5 stars to my TBR Homegoing. So I'll read thatIt's so cool how many of us are from different countries!
Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Oh and I finished it kind of has a orangish cover. It was not on my TBR and I decided to use it for my ..."Comics and Graphic novels are a new thing to me, I have only read a few because of the challenge but the ones I have read I have enjoyed including this one. I do get a little wrapped up in the art work and wonder if I like that more that the stories. I find them really hard to rate because I am not sure what I am enjoying and if I should be rating it based on art or writing. For this one I also liked that she is a women super hero kind of nice to see a lady kicking butt and saving the day.
@Samantha, that is my problem too. How much information is too much information. I think we now have another spot covered on the BINGO card.
Samantha wrote: "Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Oh and I finished it kind of has a orangish cover. It was not on my TBR and I decided to..."Actually, that's the great thing with graphic novels. Sometimes you enjoy the story even when the art is not so good, sometimes the art is absolutely beautiful but the story not so much and sometimes both are awesome. So, you have more than one way to enjoy :) You can give your rating based in what you prefer, after all I think the rating in GR are more a subjective thing.
And we already have 175 comments :D
Anastasia wrote: "@Samantha, that is my problem too. How much information is too much information. I think we now have another spot covered on the BINGO card."
Yay!
I finished Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, so we have the 2 books by a person of color completed.
Homegoing is amazing! And we have 175 comments. Woohoo.
Almost done with my orange cover/AtY book, less than 2 hours left, so I'll finish it tomorrow morning, in time to use it for the card :)For reviews, it can help to take notes while reading (like making a list of your thoughts) and then organize them in a full text.
Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Oh and I finished it kind of has a orangish cover. It was not on my TBR..."Silvia if you or anyone else has some suggestions for good graphic novels I would be interested. I did look up Blankets at my library and it does look like I could get a copy so might check that out.
Zaz wrote: "Almost done with my orange cover/AtY book, less than 2 hours left, so I'll finish it tomorrow morning, in time to use it for the card :)For reviews, it can help to take notes while reading (like ..."
That's a really good idea for reviewing! I feel like i might be too lazy to do it, but I would imagine that most of the reviewers I follow probably do something of the sort because they end up with well-written reviews in the end.
I just finished Dark Matter and I think it might be one of my favorite books I've read this year. It was very fast paced, but it was so incredibly unique. I went into it pretty much knowing nothing about it (which I think was best).
Great job on all that you've done, everyone! This is my first read-a-thon (and it won't be the last) and I had a lot of fun!
I guess One Hundred Years of Solitude was a bit ambitious for the readathon but it was one of the few left for the ATY Challenge and I wanted to get it done. Anyways I'm on track to finish it on time. I've been referring to the genealogy constantly to keep track of the characters across generations. Also great job everyone on getting to over 175 comments!
Anastasia wrote: "I am trying to finish Dreamthief today. It is free from bookbub which can be hit or miss. This one is a hit. It also is part of a series so more books to add to the ever expanding TBR.I recommend ..."
Dreamthief sounds really interesting!
From what I see, the only game we have left to participate in is You're not good enough part 2. After that, we can check off that square. If someone can double check for me, that will be great!
@Aileen How did you end up liking Hunger?@ Samantha Graphic novels are a relativity new love for me
Humor? Try Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That HappenedHyperbole and a Half Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh with for Brosh's wry wit
NF? The PhotographerThe Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert
Fantasy? Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere by Mike Carey
Heck, I loved the JF Bone: The Complete EditionBone The Complete Edition by Jeff Smith
What made me fall in love was proll Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft a beautiful marriage of writing and art
Thank you Perri! For some reason the links aren't working but I will find away to see your reviews. Michelle, I played You're not good enough part 2 so unless there is another game we should be set.
I've finished One Hundred Years of Solitude! I liked it better as the story progressed and the ending was really good. So now all we need is Zaz's orange book to finish the Bingo! And if a new game gets posted we will have to play that, but as of now we have participated in all games. Great job team!
@Perri I liked Hunger. The writing was great and I took a lot away from this book, but a few things were repetitive and after about the half it was kind of daunting to read because of how negative she was seeing everything. Have you finished it too?
Not sure everyone added her books to the list, so go do it if not :)https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
1h left in my orange cover and I read a very short children book to have a break.
I've just participated in the newest games. So as far as I can see we should have participated in every game if there won't be another one.
Tiger Lily finished, so I checked the rainbow :D
Samantha wrote: "Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Silvia wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Oh and I finished it kind of has a orangish cover. It wa..."I love manga (Japanese comics), but the problem with manga is that most of them are very long and you could spend years reading the same story, but they are awesome! I mention this, just because most of the graphic novel I read are mangas.
However, here are some regular comic I can recommend:
Nimona. Awesome!
Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft Great story, great art.
I Kill Giants Sad, kind of A Monster Calls.
Saga, Vol. 1 A Romance in the space.
Drama I love Telgemeier art, it's not beautiful, but refreshing.
And of course you have the classics:
The Secret of the Unicorn Tintin and his mysteries.
Asterix the Legionary If you want to laugh out loud with Asterix and company.
Really, none of the movies make justice.
Short mangas:
Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
All You Need Is Kill
Cardcaptor Sakura, Vol. 1 (12 volumes is still short, and I love this cute girl)
But if you are willing to read a long one but good one (manga):
Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1. This is a kind of magic/militar manga, but I enjoyed very much.
I second Nimona and I Kill Giants, 2 of my favorites (also Orange is great)! Good choices Silvia (except maybe Tintin which has some problematic racist messages, but it still has its charms).It seems I should try Locke & Key!
Zaz wrote: "I second Nimona and I Kill Giants, 2 of my favorites (also Orange is great)! Good choices Silvia (except maybe Tintin which has some problematic racist messages, but it still has its charms).It s..."
Hahaha, I never thought of that , but you are right, the first two of Tintin, the one of Soviets and the one in the Congo are terrible!!!! But I didn't feel that about the rest. Maybe I should re-read them with a more critic eye.
Yes, you should try Locke & Key!!!
The Saga series was my first and is the only comic series I'm following. One of my favorite series in general. Good for starting to read something in this genre.I want to read Orange and I keep seeing people liking it everywhere. I really need to pick it up soon!
My reading list just got longer with manga/comics!! Thanks for the recommendations!I would also recommend The Sandman series (Preludes & Nocturnes is the first one) by Neil Gaiman. I read it a while ago, but remember it being really good (hmmm...maybe it's time for a reread). The other two I read around the same time were The Complete Maus and Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, both of which are true stories.
I too love manga (Card Captor Sakura was one of my first animes, actually--I love it). My favorite is probably Skip Beat!, Vol. 01 but it's one of those ones that just keeps going and going with no end in sight. The anime and drama of that one are also good.
I've played all the games, including the new Bookish Scenarios and You're Not Good Enough tag. I think that should be all of them?
Rachel wrote: "I've played all the games, including the new Bookish Scenarios and You're Not Good Enough tag. I think that should be all of them?"Yes, I've played all the games too, and I am guessing there will be no more games, unless the wrap up that usually make at the end of read-a-thon counts as a game :P I think we are done with the Bingo !!!! ... and now I am feeling kind of nostalgic :D
I was going to suggest Sandman because of the genius of Gaiman, but some of it is so dark. Fixed the titles about but hope this link works https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I haven't read manga-for some reason the art doesn't appeal to me. but now encouraged to try some
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Homegoing (other topics)The Complete Maus (other topics)
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (other topics)
The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes (other topics)
Skip Beat!, Vol. 1 (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Neil Gaiman (other topics)Robin Sloan (other topics)
Edgar Allan Poe (other topics)
Patti Smith (other topics)
Bryan Stevenson (other topics)
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