April 2015 - Reporting Thread

[Kat]

Once you have finished reading/discussing the April reads/theme, please report here - don't forget to include a couple of lines as to what you thought about the book!

[Cherie]

Wow, I get to be first. I know others are finished too. I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and have been discussing it in the thread. I liked it very much. I listened to it on audio and enjoyed Jim Broadbent's narration very much. He really brought Harold to life. It was a sad story, but a journey to a healing ending, I thought.

[Ava Catherine]

I have finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and have discussed it in the corresponding thread. I like the way the author weaves important life themes into Harold's journey and Maureen's discovery about her need for him to come back home. Often it is the ordinary things in life that turn out to be really important once we take the time to notice them. I really like the book and gave it 4 stars.

[Susan]

Finished A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and really enjoyed it. I felt as though I was there hiking the trail. Bryson's very obviously passionate about the environment without being too obnoxious about it. I enjoyed learning about a part of the US I don't know much about. The book did make me think that sometimes I seem to be rushing from point to point, from task to task, and that maybe I should just stop and enjoy the world around me. I gave it four stars.

[Kaylene]

I have read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and absolutely loved it. Each chapter is simple, well written and complete. Gentle, sentimental. Harold Fry was a breath of fresh air.

[Sarah]

Good to see you jumping straight in Kaylene. Did you participate in the discussion over in the Harold Fry thread? I think quite a number of members have read it or are still reading it.

[Cherie]

Sarah, I do not see a seperate thread for the April Theme. I started another book called The Man Who Walked Away: A Novel but I have had to abandon it to go back to the library. I got to page 111, but I cannot renew it and I doubt if I will get it back before the end of the month. It was not really turning out to be what I wanted, but the story was interesting. It is a historical novel based loosley on a case history of a mental patient who would walk and walk and walk untill he could go no more and he would colapse. It is more than that, but is not really what I intended to read for the Travel/Lost theme. The point where I was forced to stop was just as he became a patient at the mental hospital, and I was going to get more of the story.

[Sarah]

No worries Kaylene. The discussion thread can be found here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... In order to qualifiy for a badge, we discuss the book in the discussion thread, then once we've completed it we head on over to this thread to report, then at the beginning of the following month you'll receive a shiny badge on your wall of fame!

Just had a look Cherie and you are right. Here it is now https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... I must be blind - there was one already there...it was just hiding ;-) https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Cherie]

Thanks Sarah!

[Susan]

I've finished Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World. It was a pretty quick read. I'm not so into the technical details of motorcycles so I was happier when we actually got to the ins and out of their travels. I did not see the documentary series but thought the book did a good job of painting the picture of their trip. I cannot imagine undertaking a trip of that magnitude myself but I enjoyed reading about it.

[Lynn]

I read and discussed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Unfortunately the book wasn't for me, while I appreciate why a lot of people would love it I found it too slow in pace (and therefore a little bored) and the MCs irritating.

[Camilla]

I have finished Hiking Through: Finding Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail and written a few comments in the discussion thread. It was a quick read, I finished it in a couple of evenings.

[Peggy]

I finished Long Way Round. Great book! I really enjoyed reading about Ewan and Charley's big adventure, both the hardships and the beautiful moments. I liked how the book not only tells about all the things they experienced, but is also a very honest account of how difficult it was.

[Tejas Janet]

I’ve now completed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World, and A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (a re-read for me, but it's been 10 years or more).

Very unusual month with reading both this month’s group selections plus an additional travel themed book. I've reported on these reads in their respective threads. I obviously like travel books : )

The fictional Harold Fry and the nonfictional Bill Bryson with his sidekick Stephen Katz were all making their journeys by foot. The “Long Way Round” features real-life actor, adventurers, and motorcycle enthusiasts, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, pursuing their personal dream to complete a motorcycle trek around the world.

Something that struck me today about these books as a whole is that they could in a way all be viewed as books about pilgrimages. The ultimate destination or goal is one important aspect of a pilgrimage, but another equally important aspect is the journey itself. I think this idea may be part of why travel themed books are so appealing to me.

My preference tends to run toward nonfiction, and so probably unsurprisingly I find myself favoring the nonfiction over the fiction here. However, Harold Fry’s Unlikely Pilgrimage has stuck in my mind, and I’ve found myself reflecting on it and thinking that as a contemporary allegorical story, it works quite well.

I found Bryson’s book to be the most entertaining and educational overall. But there is much to recommend in each. And my favorite quote came from Charley in "Long Way Round." It's true but also phrased in such an egotistical way that it makes me laugh.

"I'd come to realize that we'd solved every problem we'd encountered and we probably always would."

[Lanelle]

I read Around The World In Eighty Days. Not very much character development and too much description of mountain ranges and train times. Still a solid 3 star rating.

[Anne (Booklady)]

I read and discussed it in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry thread. I loved it!

My favorite chapter was the one in which he stayed with the young doctor for a few days. That still stays with me.

My Review

[Debra]

Finished the book. Enjoyed the journey of both Harold and his wife. Glad they found each other again in the end. Sad about Queenie, but I didn't really expect a miracle. Will give it a 4 star rating.

[Lori Z]

I just finished reading A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and really enjoyed it! Bryson's mix of humor and facts is perfectly balanced to keep you enthralled throughout the book. I plan on reading more of Bill Bryson's books someday.

[Lynn]

Tejas Janet wrote: "I’ve completed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Still currently reading A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trailand [book:Long Way Round..."

Did you watch the TV progammes TJ (Long Way Round etc)? I really enjoyed them.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I finished yesterday The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and rated it 4 stars. It was something totally different from what I was expecting, but I liked it though. I liked the action started right away in the first pages. I wasn't really impressed in the first half, but the second half just won me. I'm considering reading The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy at some point.

[Mariab]

I read Amy and Roger's Epic Detour; it was a nice and kind of original YA

[Tejas Janet]

Lynn wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "I’ve completed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Still currently reading A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trailand ..."

No, Lynn, I didn't know about it or I probably would have. Right up my alley, but I don't stay on top of tellie real well. Maybe I can find it thru Netflix.

[Bella]

I finished Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuchsia Dunlop. Parts were interesting, other parts were all but unreadable. At least she didn't go into detail about the dog hotpot.

[Elsbeth]

This month I read several books about traveling. The one I just finished was: Eline Vere by Louis Couperus. This is a Dutch classic, which I could have read in high school. I'm glad I didn't, because I doubt if, as a 16-year old, I would have loved it the way I do now! After breaking off her engagement, for reasons she herself does not really understand, Eline travels from the Netherlands to Belgium, France, Spain and a few more European countries. After returning to The Hague, she again travels to Brussels. She can escape some things, but not herself... Wonderful, though sometimes very sad, read!

Another book I read this month is: Pretty Maids in a Row by Teri Kanefield. A girl from Los Angeles, Mattie, travels with her parents and sister to a small village in France. And then something strange happens to her and she travels in time (450 years back) to find herself in the body of Mary queen of Scots - at first in the castle in the village where she was staying, later in Edinburgh, Scotland. Very nice book!

I also read: Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani, in which a woman from Victorian England emigrates with her family to Kenya. Not a typical historical novel, but combined with some ghosts and other strange creatures. Very good!

In Seven Days of Friday by Alex A. King, the main character decides to go to Greece (from the U.S.A.) with her teenage daughter, after her husband left her for another man. There they try to rebuild their lives among relatives and other strange people. Wonderful read!

[Casceil]

I read and discussed The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I had mixed feelings about the book. I enjoyed early parts of the book, but I found the ending disappointing, not because of what happened, but because it was so maudlin. I did feel like the author was being manipulative. I enjoyed the early parts of the book, but the last quarter, not so much.

[Tejas Janet]

I revised my earlier post at msg 15 to show that I've finished Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Long Way Round, and A Walk in the Woods. Liked them all.

And totally recognized the conflicted feelings of being a traveler excited to have adventures in new environs but also dealing with feeling tired, scared, dirty, and missing home on a regular basis.

Sometimes life feels like a sort of pilgrimage. With so many ups and downs. Things on the road change so rapidly.

But no matter what shit is going down, it's guaranteed to be better if you take a step back from it and kind of laugh.

[Roz]

I finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry last week but forgot to report here. I gave it 4 stars. Some parts dragged a bit for me, some annoyed but over all I enjoyed it. I suppose it's true that we need to step away sometimes to get a better perspective on what is important and to get our lives back in order.

[Lara]

I finished A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and have posted in the discussion thread. The book was funny (it is Bryson after all) as well as educational.

[Canadian Dragon]

I finished the The Sea of Monsters for my travel read for the month is a mythology book and in this book Percy has a quest leading him to the Bermuda triangle

[Vicki]

I read Footprints in the Sand for the theme. It's about two friends/cousins from England who take their great Aunt's ashes to the Sahara Desert as per her last request. No one has any idea why she would request this or if they do they ain't telling! I enjoyed the book, it had alternating POV which I love but i found the trials of travelling through west Africa to be downplayed a little much. If I hadn't recently read To the Moon and Timbuktu: A Trek through the Heart of Africa, where a veteran Traveler of Places Dangerous faced such difficulties and danger following the same route, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it though.

[Almeta]

Today I finished A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Finished A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail and discussed in the thread. I do like me a bit of Bryson.

[Berit☀️✨]

Completed The Alchemist, the boy traveled from Spain to Egypt and was in a caravan, and discover the meaning of life. And I got lost, it just was not my kind of book, I completely agree with the message, but the delivery was just really pounded into you, And was very preachy for me. I realize some of you absolutely love this book, I'm just not in that group of people. I really should have read Amy and Rogers Epic D2 or ;-) next month :-)

[Lynn]

Tejas Janet wrote: "No, Lynn, I didn't know about it or I probably would have. Right up my alley, but I don't stay on top of tellie real well. Maybe I can find it thru Netflix. "

Let us know if you do TJ and what you think of them :)

[Poongothai]

I read the The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Though I liked the first half, I got bored during some parts of the second half

[Tejas Janet]

Lynn wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "No, Lynn, I didn't know about it or I probably would have. Right up my alley, but I don't stay on top of tellie real well. Maybe I can find it thru Netflix. "

Let us know if yo..."

I will... disc one of three will be coming soon from Netflix : )

[Amanda (Mandy)]

I complete the monthly read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. I missed the deadline, but enjoyed the book and reviewed it in the thread.

[Kat]

All badges should now be posted. Please poke me if I have forgotten :-D

[Tejas Janet]

Such a perfect badge for this challenge : )
Thank you, Kat!