Katrisa’s Comments (group member since Sep 16, 2018)

Katrisa’s comments from the We Read Stuff group.

I made a thread!

Top 10 Lists

What are your top 10 favorite books?
That you read last year?
Ever?
Series?

Let your fellow book lovers know!

I will nominate The Woman in White because its been on my TBR for too long!

Our February Genre is Gothic. The thread will be open for nominations until January 14.

Here is a list for ideas:
Best Gothic Books of All Time

A Few Reminders About Nominations

- Each member may nominate one book AND may also second one book that has already been nominated.

-If you want to only nominate or only second a book without nominating anything that is fine.

- If we get more than 10 nominations then the 10 books with the most seconds will go to the poll.

- There are no minimum page counts for a book to be nominated.

- Books must be first in a series or a stand alone unless the group has already read the book in the series that came before the one being nominated.

- Nominations will close the afternoon of January 14th

This is the discussion for


Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt's first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, "Hick," as she's known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have. She moves into the White House, where her status as "first friend" is an open secret, as are FDR's own lovers. After she takes a job in the Roosevelt administration, promoting and protecting both Roosevelts, she comes to know Franklin not only as a great president but as a complicated rival and an irresistible friend, capable of changing lives even after his death. Through it all, even as Hick's bond with Eleanor is tested by forces both extraordinary and common, and as she grows as a woman and a writer, she never loses sight of the love of her life.

From Washington, D.C. to Hyde Park, from a little white house on Long Island to an apartment on Manhattan's Washington Square, Amy Bloom's new novel moves elegantly through fascinating places and times, written in compelling prose and with emotional depth, wit, and acuity.

This is the discussion for


Margaret Atwood takes the art of storytelling to new heights in a dazzling novel that unfolds layer by astonishing layer and concludes in a brilliant and wonderfully satisfying twist. Told in a style that magnificently captures the colloquialisms and clichés of the 1930s and 1940s, The Blind Assassin is a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience.

It opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental. But just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, it is through a 1947 newspaper article announcing the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.

For the past twenty-five years, Margaret Atwood has written works of striking originality and imagination. In The Blind Assassin, she stretches the limits of her accomplishments as never before, creating a novel that is entertaining and profoundly serious. The Blind Assassin proves once again that Atwood is one of the most talented, daring, and exciting writers of our time. Like The Handmaid's Tale, it is destined to become a classic.

Katrisa's Q1 Challenge

1. As we head into a new year read a book that is first in a series.Dread Nation

2. January's birthstone is the garnet. Read a book with a cover that is mostly red.

3. January 15 was Martin Luther King's birthday. Read a book about civil rights. The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap

4. Read a book from the first page of your TBR shelf. When the Moon is Low

5. Valentine's Day isn't always chocolates and roses - read a book about a dysfunctional relationship. China Rich Girlfriend

6. 2020 is a leap year. One extra day for reading! Read a book with more than 366 pages.Finale

7. An historical name for February in Old English is Kale-Monath (named for cabbage). Read a book with a vegetable on the cover. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

8. In March we are all a little Irish for a day. Read a book set in Ireland or written by an Irish author. What the Wind Knows

9. 2020 is a year with two 20s. Read a book that has the same word in the title twice. (word cannot be a or the) Guards! Guards!

10. In March we celebrate the Equinox. Read a book that has to do with equality.Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America

10 of 10 Books Complete - on 3/29/20

To complete this challenge, read one book for each category Between January 1 and March 31 2020. Set up a comment to track your progress. Copy the task list to your own comment and list the book cover and date read as you complete the task.

1. As we head into a new year read a book that is first in a series.

2. January's birthstone is the garnet. Read a book with a cover that is mostly red.

3. January 15 was Martin Luther King's birthday. Read a book about civil rights.

4. Read a book from the first page of your TBR shelf.

5. Valentine's Day isn't always chocolates and roses - read a book about a dysfunctional relationship.

6. 2020 is a leap year. One extra day for reading! Read a book with more than 366 pages.

7. An historical name for February in Old English is Kale-Monath (named for cabbage). Read a book with a vegetable on the cover.

8. In March we are all a little Irish for a day. Read a book set in Ireland or written by an Irish author.

9. 2020 is a year with two 20s. Read a book that has the same word in the title twice. (word cannot be a or the)

10. In March we celebrate the Equinox. Read a book that has to do with equality.

___ of 10 Books Complete

I nominate

I have noticed that we haven't had many nominations for the GN/Comic/Manga books in the last months. What ideas do you have for continuing our group enjoyment of the graphic literatures?

Should we choose a series and read it month by month?
Should we have a quarterly read?
Should we continue with a monthly choice?
A separate folder to discuss graphic lit?
Do you have a different idea?

Please give your input!

I wasn't sure. There hasn't been very many nominations lately. We'r haven't even had to have a poll in a while. I was thinking maybe in 2020 going to choosing a series and working through it instead of different genres each month. What do you think?

Here is the thread for nominating our January books. It will be open for nominations until the 14th of December. Our genre for January is Historical Fiction

Here are a couple lists to get you started

Historical Fiction Set Around the World

And this Book Riot article 50 Must Read Historical Fiction Books has links to these lists inside the article as well:
100 Must-Read World War II Books
100 Must-Read Books of U.S. Historical Fiction
100 Must-Read YA Historical Novels
100 Must-Read Historical Romances
100 Must-Read Medieval Historical Fiction
50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books For Kids
50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Picture Books
28 Fabulous Works of Queer Historical Fiction

A Few Reminders About Nominations

- Each member may nominate one book AND may also second one book that has already been nominated.

-If you want to only nominate or only second a book without nominating anything that is fine.

- If we get more than 10 nominations then the 10 books with the most seconds will go to the poll.

- There are no minimum page counts for a book to be nominated.

- Books must be first in a series or a stand alone unless the group has already read the book in the series that came before the one being nominated.

- Nominations will close the afternoon of December 14th

Current Nominations:

I thought this was a fun book. The different species interactions was an interesting way for the author to explore relationships and gender. I will totally read the next one! I have read a couple space operas this year and it is a genre I am enjoying a lot.

This is the discussion for


Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is waiting. Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. One day Cujo chases a rabbit into a bolt-hole—a cave inhabited by sick bats. What happens to Cujo, how he becomes a horrifying vortex inexorably drawing in all the people around him makes for one of the most heart-stopping novels Stephen King has written.

This is the Discussion for


Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

I really enjoyed this one. Thinking so much about the nature of memory and its relationship to reality made my brain hurt a bit though, lol.
One of my friends who read this one said that she thought there were too many iterations as Helena and Barry strive to fix the world, but I thought it was well done because it showed just how worn down the two of them got after having to try so many times to no avail.

Ok, I am creating some challenges for next year. I will have a 10 book quarterly challenge and a more lengthy yearly challenge (no math involved).

noughts and crosses - 479
never have i ever - 352
locke and key 6 - 192
the prisoner of heaven - 278
a single man - 194
the whisper man - 355
the body in the library - 191
the pure and the impure - 208
warcross - 353
heart-shaped box - 376
wildcard - 341
anansi boys - 387
the house girl - 370
by the light of the moon - 460
a farewell to arms - 293
frankenstein - 335
this is how you lose the time war - 208
lie with me - 148
disappearing earth - 264
is everyone hanging out without me? - 222

Total this post - 6006
New group total - 273,767 + 6006 = 279,773

Also, are any of you into having some book challenges in 2020 beyond the we read all the pages challenge?

If yes, would you like a monthly small challenge? Quarterly? Yearly?

Would you like challenges you do individually or should we do a group challenge?

So, I was thinking for 2020, we should do our 2nd chance book vote twice a year so there aren't as many books to vote on at once. Since we do 2 books a month, we could vote on the 3rd place books from Jan-June for our first December book choice and then July-Nov 3rd place books for our second December book choice.