RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion
RMFAO 2018 Genre Challenges
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August'18: Contemporary Fiction
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Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain
The Choices We Make
Watch Me
Imperfect Love
Kaitlin's Mooring
The Da Vinci Code
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Just got
and
This last will be the first book I've read by Debbie Macomber. I saw the tv series last year and enjoyed it, so thought I'd give this series a try. And the good news there is that my library has all of them (hope I like them!).Another for sure (hopefully) will be
I've had it on hold for ages and finally - should get it next week!Another I especially want to get to is
There are several other candidates, but waiting to see what I'm in the mood for before deciding.
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It's also a tv series here in the U.S. I think the series ended last year after twelve seasons. It's what brought the books to my attention.
I am new but, I have a few to read next month. Maybe they do qualify for the criteria. Something in the water, Catherine Steadman
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
The Perfect Couple - Elin Hilderbrand
Fallen - David Baldacci
Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes
The Dry - Jane Harper
Those Girls - Chevy Stevens
Those are a few I have on my list.
Cheryl
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From one Cheryl to another, welcome to the group! Yes, It looks like all of those books fit the criteria. Flowers for Algernon is science fiction, but the setting is contemporary so it still will be OK for the Contemporary Fiction Challenge.
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Any book you read that has a female main character will count toward that challenge.
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Hi California Cheryl! Welcome to the group. Good to see you jumping right in.
Gone Girl has been on my TBR list for a while, so I think I'll read this for the Contemporary Fiction Challenge. Hopefully I'll have time for at least one more this month.
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2 stars. A pretty predictable crime novel about a real estate con game. An early novel by the author of the Matthew Scudder series.
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2 stars. A pretty predictable crime novel about a real estate con game. An early novel by the author of the Matthew Scudder ser..."
I loved Block's Matthew Scudder series. Got really hooked on the characters. Tried a couple about that thief but didn't care for them. I think there might have been a third series I tried but didn't care much for.
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Something in the water, Catherine Steadman
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
The Perfect Couple - Elin Hilder..."
Hey, Cheryl, welcome to the challenge. Even I have The Woman in Cabin 10 on my TBR. Maybe even I'll read it this month.
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https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Any book you read that has a female main characte..."
Thanks for reminding, Cheryl. It totally slipped my mind!
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A very fast-paced book and it was a perfect read until all of a sudden it ended on a very lame note. Last 4 pages ruined the entire ending for me. I wish the author had maintained the pacing in the ending but well... Though the overall book (other than the ending) was really, really good!
The bonus challenge sounds good. So any book with the a female main character. I have a few books that meet that criteria. Thank you for all the welcomes.
1. My first finish for the month was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which I gave a 4/5. Very much a psychological thriller, with lots of twists and turns, as everyone says. The ending was a little disappointing to me, but still enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
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Glad you liked it. I love that book, mostly because of the way the female protag. was portrayed. I loved the movie too. Have you watched it?
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3 stars. Part of a mystery series set in the Florida Everglades. I picked this book at random, and it's book 3 in the series,but it was pretty much a stand-alone story. I will be looking for other books in this series, since the characters and setting were pretty interesting.
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2. Origin (Robert Langdon #5) by Dan Brown
Only to sleep by Lawrence Osborne, the latest Philip Marlowe book, only the third writer who wrote a continuation novel as requested by the Chandler estate. A very good book about a seventytwo year old Marlowe Gavins his last case.
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3 stars. A fun Chick Lit book that was a quick read.
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This may be the first book I've read by Debbie Macomber. It was brought to my attention by the series on Hallmark a few years ago. Really enjoyed it, great characters. I'll be continuing with it. Not a mystery series though.
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This may be the first book I've read by Debbie Macomber. It was brought to my attention by the series on Hallmark a few years ago."
This sounds good! I'll have to see if my library has it.
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I had big expectations from this book, mostly because I really, really loved the cover and the blurb was short and sweet which really piqued my interest, but after only a couple of pages, I had to stop reading as the writing was too loaded for my taste. I wanted to continue, but I have other reading commitments at this time that I'd rather fulfil than wasting my time on a book whose writing is not up my alley.
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I had big expectations from this book, mostly because I really, really loved the cover and the blurb was short and sweet which re..."
Good for you, Heena, for just going ahead and abandoning the read. I could not do that at your age. I was way older before i was able to do that. All the time I wasted. :-(
1) The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer. 3.5 stars. Wolitzer is one of the the few literary fiction authors I love, and while this was a good read, it was a little meandery for me. A bunch of mildly interesting things happen, but I'm not sure what the point of it all was.
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I know what you mean. I guess I've just wasted a lot of time these last couple of years reading books that I didn't even like. It's mostly because of the review requests I accept from self-pub authors, but I can't bring myself to stop accepting books for review because that is what helped me reach wherever I am today blog-wise. I've laid down a couple of rules when it comes to reading and try to stick to them when it comes to any book now. The main one being - if it takes more than 4-5 days of trying very hard to get into a book then abandon it right away. This has saved me a lot fo unnecessary wasting of time!
Heena, I haven't seen the movie of "Gone Girl," but am looking forward to it now that I've read it. I'm sure it can't be as good as the book! My second book for the month is "Into the Water" by Paula Hawkins, which I gave a 4/5. I enjoyed it more than "The Girl on the Train." It was dark and kind of creepy good and surprising.
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It is not as good as the book, of course, but it is still pretty good! So much better than the crap they dish out these days. I personally feel that Rosamund was the perfect choice for the lead role.
I haven't read The Girl On The Train but have watched the movie and it was really, really annoying more than anything. It was so bad that now I can't bring myself to read the book.
I not read any book by Paula Hawkins, but plan to do so. I'm adding Into The Water to my TBR, thanks for the rec :)
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A beautiful book about two life-long best friends who embark on a tricky journey of surrogacy together. I finished this in one day in spite of not having planned to do so - it was that good! The writing simply flowed. And the story was very good, the characters very strong and difficult to forget for a long time. The ending was too heart-breaking and for some reason, I'm not yet able to get over it even after having finished the book last night.
A must-read for anyone who's looking for a contemporary read by a new and brilliant author and won't have issues reading about pregnancy related stuff.
I've been reading the graphic novel series Giant Days, Vol. 1, contemporary series about student life at a UK university. It's funny and has a good focus on female friendship.
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2 stars. Abandoned at half way mark due to boredom. This author is really hit or miss for me.
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B.R.,
That was clever, finding a contemporary graphic novel! I didn't even know there were any out there.
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Cheryl wrote: "B. R. wrote: "I've been reading the graphic novel series Giant Days, Vol. 1, contemporary series about student life at a UK university. It's funny and has a good focus on female fri..."Thanks, in my experience, if you look hard enough, you can pretty much find anything in the desired genre :)
Since the beginning of the month. I can honestly say the best book I have read is "All the light we cannot see". The book I finished, even though I really wanted to stop is "Those Girls". Loved Red Rising even though it's a sci-fi. :)
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Thanks for telling us about these books, Cherylcali! They sound interesting.
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3 star domestic thriller. A very quick read."
I've read that one. It was indeed a very, very quick read. I remember having read it in a single sitting :)
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Are you referring to All Th Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr? I've had that book on my Kindle for like forever, but sadly, never got around to readign it.
Heena, that is the one. I really enjoyed the writing in that book. He is a very good story teller. No wonder it won a Pulitzer.
Cheryl, I have read that one and yes it is fast read. I think I gave it three stars. So, I also read Shari Lapena "A Stranger in the House". Both books were good.
2) The Stone Wife by Peter Lovesey. 3.5 stars. It's the 14th book of the the Peter Diamond Mystery series. These run the gamut from 2 to 4 stars for me, so 3.5 ain't bad. If you like British police procedurals, there's a lot for fun to be had here.
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Adelaide,
Are the 2 star books early books in the series, or just random ones you didn't like? I know I sometimes like an author's early books less than his/her later ones.
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Cherylcali,
There was an excerpt for A Stranger in the House at the end of the book I read. Good to know that one is worth reading, too.
Cheryl wrote: "Adelaide wrote: "Are the 2 star books early books in the series, or just random ones you didn't like? I know I sometimes like an author's early books less than his/her later ones."Random ones in the series. Every once in awhile he delivers a clunker. I've enjoyed the vast majority of books I've read by him though.
RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off)
Books mentioned in this topic
A Suspension of Mercy (other topics)The Da Vinci Code (other topics)
Intensity (other topics)
Intensity (other topics)
The Inn at Rose Harbor (other topics)
More...
August is here (and the year is fast approaching the end already!!) And finally, we have a genre that makes it easy for everyone to participate - Contemporary Fiction. As always, you can join anytime during the entire month and read as many (or as less) books as you can manage, no restrictions whatsoever!
Here is the DEFINITION for this month's genre:
Contemporary Fiction Contemporary Fiction is literature with its setting generally after World War II. We're doing Contemporary Fiction, so everything post-WWII is counted except for non-fiction.
So yes, almost everything you read is Contemporary Fiction unless, of course, it is Historical Fiction or Non-Fiction.
-->>Please Note: There are absolutely no limits so you can interpret this genre in its broader sense and include other similar genres and/or subgenres that you feel might have a wee bit of similarity with the main genre. You can also include books that are not particularly centered around the main genre but has its components or elements somewhere in the story.
Here's a quick summary of the levels:
Level 1: Casual Reader: 1 book (easy)
Level 2: Frequent Reader: 2 books (moderate)
Level 3: Bookworm: 3 books (mildly strenuous)
Level 4: Bibliophile: 4 books (strenuous)
Level 5: Bookiopath: 5 books or more (challenging)
Please mention what type of books you'd be reading:
PB: Paperbacks
HB: Hardback
EB: E-Books
AB: Audio Books
Please feel free to announce your to-read books along with the level you are targeting for below.
PLEASE READ (for new members):
1. You can read any number of books for the respective genre each month in one particular month.
2. Take your time and go through your entire TBR-list before deciding the books to read.
3. You can join the challenge at any stage (in any month.)
4. You can drop out of the challenge any time you like.
5. You can select different levels every month.
6. Use this discussion board to share your reads with other members of the group.
7. Please be active and don't hesitate to ask questions or recommend books.
Note: The main intent of this challenge is to incorporate different kinds of books and genres in our normal reading routine to make the experience more fun and entertaining. Please do not lose yourself in the technicalities as we all know how literary genres can be confusing.
If you have any doubts or questions, then post them below and we'll be happy to answer/discuss them.
Happy reading!