Shiro’s Comments (group member since Jan 12, 2021)

Shiro’s comments from the 2021 challenge : Falling in Love with Books Again ! group.

Shiro wrote: "Well I don't know about you, but my choice is made: for this month, I'll read The picture of Dorian Grey ! I think it can be read in one day, and I had started it a while ago but never finished it...."

So, which book did you end up reading ? :)

A book in a day : Jack and the cuckoo-clock heart, by Mathias Malzieu.

With this book, it got worse before it got better.

I was planning on reading The picture of Dorian Gray, but time went by so fast I reached today not having started it... and not having enough time to read it before tonight. So I turned to my shelf, and stumbled upon this book. Thin, brand new, never-opened; I got it as a present a few years ago and, as I do every time someone advises me to read something, I didn't read it. I waited for the right time... and it seemed to be today.

I knew they had made a movie about that story, but I hadn't watched it, and I didn't know what it was all about.

The mention of Scotland seemed like a good omen. A story set in my dream country... The style was special, poetic, vibrant and snappy. Sometimes swearwords came up, stinging, surprising, but it all made for a pleasant reading.

Then, slowly but steadily, it got weird. Jack lives with a clock instead of a heart, because his heart had to be replaced when he was born. This, and a few other slightly odd details, make you dive suddenly into a very different world. It's not just Edinburgh, 1874. It's Edinburgh, 1874, with a tint of bizarre in the air.

After reading the first third of the book, I thought I would stop. The slightly odd makes me quite uncomfortable, and this book was perfect in that department. It was terrible and sweet at the same time. But I read on, because I wanted to be able to write a full review.

And I did well, too. Without noticing, I crossed a line and found myself reading on and on, fascinated by the story, the characters, and carried on by this very special style. The sense of fate growing heavier, as the question raised at the beginning of the book resonates : can a cuckoo-clock heart resist love ?

All in all, I am glad I read this book. The beginning might make you feel uncomfortable, but only until your brain agrees to start believing. Then you are taken on a true odyssey, through Europe and emotions, and you will not be able to put the book down. And if you feel a little dizzy, the ending will bring you back to your senses, before the book closes and releases you into the world, slightly changed.

Emeline wrote: "(I just want to add a remark on the website) : Please be careful that your e-mail adress is not lookable by anyone. A porn website has been following me and probably have had access to my e-mail ad..."

And thank you for this piece of advice ! I never would have thought such malevolence could roam a bookclub website... Make sure to protect yourselves friends !

Emeline wrote: "Hi!
I read Tristan from Clarence Bouley. I took it at the library only because it was short, I did not know what to expect of it. It was such a delight that it took me only one evening to devour it..."

Thank you for this review Emeline ! I love when an unexpected encounter with a book ends up surprising you and revealing a whole new world to discover !

I had never heard of the author or the novel before. Is it recent ?

Also, I find your review beautifully written ! It was a pleasure to read :)

Well I don't know about you, but my choice is made: for this month, I'll read The picture of Dorian Grey ! I think it can be read in one day, and I had started it a while ago but never finished it... So we'll see !
Have you chosen your book ? Let me know here in the comments !

PS : it seems only 5 people saw this post about our first category. You can choose how you are notified when there is a new topic or post in your account settings : make sure you allowed some sort of notification (email, app...) if you don't want to miss the activity on this group !

First of all, welcome to all of you, New Group Members ! Thank you for deciding to join the group and the challenge; I hope you will have a good time here among other bookworms, and maybe discover new books, new genres, and new interests !

It has been 13 days since the last post, and I will admit, although the first few days were meant to give people some time to join, I was also kept very busy by work. Preparing Agreg this year, some periods are busier than others (and I am sure it is also tru for you), but I will always find some time to come on here and keep this group alive and reading !

Speaking of reading, here is what you've been waiting for : the first category of this challenge ! It's all in the title : a book you can read in one day. Since today is already the 25th of January, I thought it would allow us to read and then exchange our views on the books we picked without having to wait too long. I then suggest that we give ourselves about two weeks to read this first book (or short story, that is up to you), and on the 7th of February, exchange quick reviews of the books we will have read, to maybe inspire others to read them too ! We can also discuss the next category then.

A reminder : the book you choose to read can be any genre, any language, any subject, as long as it submits to the category. Ideally, do not pick something you have to read for work or school - the whole point of this group is to escape our daily routine to dive into other worlds ! But it can be about a subject you studied in class and are curious to explore further. Comic books, mangas and other illustrated works of literature are also welcome.

Also, you are not compelled to produce a book review if you don't want to. You can just read other people's reviews, and those can be long or short. Again, the whole point of this group is to have fun and connect together in a relaxed way : no homework, no pressure. If you don't know where to begin a book review, there are ideas in the Group rules.

Finally, I will encourage you to comment under this post what book you are about to read, to maybe give other people ideas if they don't know where to start : it can be interesting to have two people read the same book and then exchange their views on it. I hope it is possible to comment, and for everyone who wishes, to post reviews; I am still discovering GoodReads, so there might be some technical shenaningans to figure out along the way ^^

Anyway, I hope you are all excited for this first (late) month of the challenge !

Good reading,

Shiro

Here we are ! The 12 categories for the 2021 reading challenge are :
- A book by a Canadian author
- A childhood favourite
- A novel that is considered a "classic"
- A book you've been meaning to read but haven't got to
- A biography
- A book you can read in a day
- Any book from the 2020 Goodreads choice awards
- A book chosen solely by its cover
- A celebrity memoir
- A book set in Africa
- A book by a Scandinavian author
- A book about a current world issue

If a book you choose corresponds to two categories, consider it as one category checked only, but feel free to talk about it both months ! (Did that make any sense ? I hope it did).

I'll meet you in the next post to announce the first category we'll be reading. Until then, good read friends !