Reading with Style discussion
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Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in London with a female author born in the first half of the 20th century! Or even favorite book written by Mark Twain! Lol ":-D Oh, I entirely feel your pain on this one! I ended up adding the two that I recommend most to people who, when they find out how much I read, want to know a "good book"--books I think that will grab them enough to get them to love reading again and start to branch out on their own. I didn't add any classics because, well, they're classics for a reason so they're universally recognized as being wonderful and it would be waaaaay too difficult to just choose two favorites. Mostly, I chose my books based on the fact that I LOVE them and want everyone else to be exposed to them in hopes that part of what I love will appeal to them as well....
I don't imagine that helps much, but I can't wait to see what you choose :-) xo
Congratulations to everyone finishing up this season, especially the megafinishes!And while I'm personally still in denial that it's nearly June already, I'm excited for this upcoming season. I've been meaning to read something by Iris Murdoch, and now I have the perfect opportunity. :)
Bea wrote: "Hmm. I added my two choices but they are not showing up. Was I not supposed to join in?"Of course we want you to join in! I know when I created the listopia, it took quite a while for it to populate the books I'd added...
You added them from the top tab that says "Add Books To This List"? And they're showing up as votes for you on the right column under "My Votes"?
As long as those two things are showing up for you, I'm guessing it's just taking a while for Listopia to catch up...
Megan wrote: "Congratulations to everyone finishing up this season, especially the megafinishes!And while I'm personally still in denial that it's nearly June already, I'm excited for this upcoming season. I'v..."
You made me laugh - I was expressing the exact same sentiment this morning...... "June came awfully fast'!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Valerie wrote: "If enough books are added, the mods may have to turn it into a task!"As Anika is likely to have a summer task, this is her intention."
Ooooh...... now I get it. A little slow on the uptake here! ;)
Anika wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in London with a female author born ..."Fortunately I do have GR bookshelves that I’ve labeled “Books to have on that Deserted Island”, “Books I highly recommend or buy for [other people]”, “My Personal Favorites”, “My favorite Authors” and “My Five Stars”. Those should help a lot. It narrows it down to about 600 books to choose from! (Smile)
Anika wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in London with a female author born ..."Really I love the idea of getting everyone involved. I was wondering how many in the group has never had a chance to pick a group reads book after Lagullande wrote the MEGAFINISH task for her first time to complete it. Now everyone can pick a Groups Read from their most favorite books! Genius!
Rebekah wrote: "Anika wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in London with a femal..."I also have a shelf of favorites, called 6 star books
-- contains fantasy&science fiction, classics, the *best* romantic fluff, well-explained non-fiction, and my go-to cookbooks, plus random other excellent reads
With difficulty I picked two for the list .... I picked two of the "literary fiction" novels, rather than fantasy & science fiction.Best short story ever:
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin - I read it when I was young, in the 1970s, and it turned into one of those stories that stays with you over time.
Good for you, Rachelcameron for winning the gift card! Have fun shopping!
Congrats to Rachel! Enjoy your gift card!
Deedee wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Anika wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in Lon..."I might have to copy your 6 star idea!
Congratulations to finishers all, meaning you participated! Hope like me, you were introduced to new authors and books who will now be lifelong friends.I’ve finally picked one for Anika’s Task. I’ve mentioned it in this group before. A very inspiring book by an author I met on her travels when she came to India to speak at our American Embassy School and we volunteered to house her. Since then we’ve met a few more times and keep in touch. She is a very inspiring woman and wants to make a difference on a personal level, age, gender, insecurity, leaving her comfort zone, all obstacles she overcomes. I have given her book to many people and all seem to enjoy it and she seems to strike a cord.
Now one more Plus the Group Reads! You can ask the moderators how even keeping a choice to a book I read in the previous challenge can become daunting! I have often given them a choice from several and made them choose! I also kind of wait to see what the tasks will be. Still tough! Thank God we can’t use the book we read for the Group Reads Task. Invariably that one becomes a favorite as well!
I've got most of my books chosen...and a lot of them are now on my Kindle...which is good because I'm off to another part of the world....Brazil and Paraguay on Tuesday. Only carrying 2 real books with me. Anyway...I don't think I'll be posting too much between now and my return on the 18th. I'll still be lurking whenever I get a chance.
Have a marvelous time, Ed!
That will be an exciting trip, Ed! Have fun!
Ed wrote: "I've got most of my books chosen...and a lot of them are now on my Kindle...which is good because I'm off to another part of the world....Brazil and Paraguay on Tuesday. Only carrying 2 real books ..."As usual - I am envious! I'll be very interested to hear about your trip. Have fun!
For those of you who have not yet done so, please add a favorite book to the list Reading with Style All-Star Picks. This is Anika's task 10.9 this season and I'm sure we'd all like to see the picks.
Elsewhere, Beth wrote: "Somehow this didnt even occur to me.... Now I need to rethink my plans for where I am logging Alexander Hamilton..."You made me think what happens to me every season. Kate and I get to plan our picks for the sub-challenge early, and we also look at the other tasks to see how viable they are (or are not, sometimes). This looking at a book for one task and then seeing other possibilities is often a hazard.
When I first made my list for Ratings Game, we had barely even started throwing out ideas for the 20-pointers. About half of my preferred choices fit 20.1, so I wondered what would happen if I moved them there and didn't try for an RG Finish. I surprised myself by seeing that, for me, the 100 point finisher was worth more overall than a halfway attempt and taking more points on the 20-pointers.
Elsewhere Anika wrote:Thanks, itpdx, for adding this to the All-Star list...it wasn't really on my radar before seeing it there and I LOVED it! You’re welcome. I am always recommending books, so I thought about books that I have recommended that people have thanked me for the recommendation after they have read the book.
I really enjoyed Lynn's review of Wide Sargasso Sea - not because I agree, but because I find other readers opinions of books that are considered 'classics' interesting. I love her idea of having a GR shelf called "Books I wish I had not read'! Without thinking very hard I have a few candidates for that shelf - ha, ha....! For me, one of the worst classics is On the Road.
I have been thinking about this kind of thing lately because I am making a small effort to participate in a GR group based on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It is interesting to see what is included on the list and what isn't. Obviously, subjectivity comes to play which in the end is what makes this list or the designation of 'classic' to a book interesting.
Valerie, I love the idea of that book and group. I even have a 1001 Books shelf. But I stopped looking at the list when I realized there were some books I had no intention of ever reading, and also because I realized that I'd probably started reading the list too late in life to make a big enough dent to work at it diligently.That said, I think some of my most satisfying reads have come from books on the 1001 list or others by authors who have books on the list.
Valerie wrote: "I really enjoyed Lynn's review of Wide Sargasso Sea - not because I agree, but because I find other readers opinions of books that are considered 'classics' interesting. I love her idea of having a..."Thank you Valerie. Sorry if it came off as rather strong.
Lynn wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I really enjoyed Lynn's review of Wide Sargasso Sea - not because I agree, but because I find other readers opinions of books that are considered 'classics' interesting. I love her ..."I don't think there is any need to apologize! :)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Valerie, I love the idea of that book and group. I even have a 1001 Books shelf. But I stopped looking at the list when I realized there were some books I had no intention of ever reading, and also..."Yes, I have been 'struggling' with that same thought - that there are books on the list that I will never read. Either because I can't access them or because I can tell from the description that I will not like them at all. Not to say I don't challenge myself by reading broadly, but I just know which ones will never make the cut. I still think it is worthwhile using the list as a basis for interesting books that I probably wouldn't have come across if they weren't on the list.
I was lucky enough to have gifted to me: The Hour of the Star, Good Morning, Midnight, Broken April and Journey to the End of the Night from my GR friend whom I discovered the group through. Since our library services have been cut books like these are impossible to access (unless you want to buy them).
Valerie wrote: "I really enjoyed Lynn's review of Wide Sargasso Sea - not because I agree, but because I find other readers opinions of books that are considered 'classics' interesting. I love her idea of having a..."I like the idea....but I liked both Wide Sargasso Sea AND On the Road. I have several books that are popular with other readers and on the 1001 list...BUT which I didn't care for at all- Heart of Darkness, and The Portrait of a Lady for example. I haven't liked anything yet that I've read by Henry James... my friend Jean loves him and we constantly debate this different reaction. Other than one short story.... I haven't like any Hemingway I've read so far either...which puts me at odds with most readers probably.
I have deleted the spam and blocked that member from participating in the group.This might mess up the notifications in those threads for awhile, but I think things will even out as we ourselves post in them.
Thank you, Elizabeth. He and another member have plastered the same message over multiple threads in two of my other groups as well.
I was going to report him to GR support, but then I noticed that he posted in the GR Choice Awards group and, as that is run by a staff member, I thought it was probably already seen.
FYI: A member called Readers Den was sending out the same message as Nate yesterday.
There is lots of spam on GR, despite their best efforts to prevent/eliminate it.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "There is lots of spam on GR, despite their best efforts to prevent/eliminate it."It's certainly much better here compared with what I see on Facebook. I've got to give the moderators a lot of credit for catching things quickly on GR too.
I have seen that message in my other groups.
Well.... I've been back from Brazil for two weeks now...and still have the cold that I caught in the last days of the trip.... I never got around to adding the photos from the Sao Paolo portion of our trip...but here are the Rio and Iguazu Falls portions..... https://www.facebook.com/ed.lehman.3/...The Sao Paolo days can be seen on my husband's album at
https://www.facebook.com/ramram70/med...
and you can see our day in Paraguay at https://www.facebook.com/ed.lehman.3/...
The trip was amazing...and the weather mild..the food was wonderful...although not as spicy as I expected. I was supposed to take this trip about 25 years ago...but after getting my vacation approved.... and had made all my reservations.... the office canceled my vacation because of work priorities. (That happened also when I had a trip to Peru planned.)
Ed wrote: "Well.... I've been back from Brazil for two weeks now...and still have the cold that I caught in the last days of the trip.... I never got around to adding the photos from the Sao Paolo portion of ..."What amazing pictures! Thank you for sharing them with us.
I loved the pictures, Ed! I'm glad you had a great trip after waiting so long.
Wonderful photos, Ed! It looks like a fascinating trip.
Amazing, Ed. I commented on the odd pic of your's and your husband's (in case he wonders who the random Valerie Brown is!). You guys go on interesting trips. The architecture looked so interesting. Brazil hasn't been on my (very) long list 'cause it's always seemed dicey, but maybe it needs to put on the list.
Valerie wrote: "Amazing, Ed. I commented on the odd pic of your's and your husband's (in case he wonders who the random Valerie Brown is!). You guys go on interesting trips. The architecture looked so interesting...."It is very safe in the tourist areas....don't worry about that.
Ed wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Amazing, Ed. I commented on the odd pic of your's and your husband's (in case he wonders who the random Valerie Brown is!). You guys go on interesting trips. The architecture looked..."Yes, it looked it. We've been in places that are dicey and just don't do stupid things (eg. get drunk at some random club 'with your new friends'). I also like to see your trips because it looks like you guys are independent travelers like Scott and I. It's nice to see the possibilities.
Valerie wrote: "Ed wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Amazing, Ed. I commented on the odd pic of your's and your husband's (in case he wonders who the random Valerie Brown is!). You guys go on interesting trips. The architec..."Yes...most of our trips we go without guides. There are exceptions.... but we can save a lot of money doing our own planning.
From a book I'm almost finished reading The Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida-"He had to confess that he couldn't quite determine when he acquired the vice of reading, because a bona fide vice it was, a sort of sedative opium that he took to recoup from both physical and spiritual exhaustion, and also from the annoyances of the day or the excitement of a deal."
I posted a question for the same book in both the Group Reads thread and the London thread at the end of June but haven’t received an answer yet. It is about Don’s Group Reads selection and if it qualifies for the London Task.
Rebekah wrote: "I posted a question for the same book in both the Group Reads thread and the London thread at the end of June but haven’t received an answer yet. It is about Don’s Group Reads selection and if it q..."I didn't answer because I don't know. If Don sees the question, maybe he can answer.
I see we have a new thread for book recommendations. Yeah! More books to put on my tbr shelf!
This is halfway weekend. How is everyone doing?I've been thrilled to see how you have pitched in to complete some of the countries still left on the Group Project!
For myself, I always make a list longer than my arm. This season, I've added some in. I'll complete RG and we'll see how I do on other stuff.
Shortly, I'll be posting Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. Thanks for this task, Kate! I don't know if you know, but when my great granddaughter was born last year, I decided to write a letter to her every month, telling her family stories and whatever else popped into my mind. This month, I wanted to be sure to tell her about my memories of early space exploration and the first moon landing. I got interested in that time and decided to read about it too!
I have two tasks completed. I have a three more I am sure to complete by the end of August. I have a month off so I am sure to get some reading done.
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Reading with Style
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