The Book Vipers discussion

I'm slowly completing this challenge. Today I'm reading my least favorite genre- crime.

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Seven to go, including the poetry that has me stumped. Getting there!

Carol Ann Duffy - Mean Time is a good poetry selection if you're struggling to find something

Or Drysalter Charlotte

that sounds good! I'm not generally a big poetry fan, but I might give that one a go

Charlotte wrote: "X X X X O
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Seven to go, including the poetry that has me stumped. Getting there!"

Hi Charlotte, poetry was bit of a problem for me too, not the biggest fan. I decided to try Edgar Allen Poe to see what the fuss was about.
Since reading his poems, I wanted to make more of an effort with poetry, always ignored it really. I just bought Poems to Learn by Heart by Ana Sampson. It is a beautiful book with some lovely poems, it's good to have an anthology to dip in and out of.

I love Edgar Allan Poe, I've got a collection of his poetry, but for the challenge I decided on One Hundred Lyrics by Sappho for something a bit different. I don't read much poetry either, but Edgar Allan Poe is fab. Or for something humorous I also love The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton :)

Toyah wrote: "I love Edgar Allan Poe, I've got a collection of his poetry, but for the challenge I decided on One Hundred Lyrics by Sappho for something a bit different. I don't read much poetry either, but Edga..."

Love Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy!

I was a bit stumped with the poetry square as well. It never occurs to me to read poetry. Then I remembered I had a book of poems that a friend had bought me for my 30th birthday, far too long ago! Not sure how I'm going to get on with it. Must stop putting it off.

Tim Burton is amazing, I love his movies so I knew I would love that book :)

Finished my tenth, The Sea Change, this morning which was for the genre I avoid. Wasn't too bad in the end.

Debbie wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "X X X X O
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Seven to go, including the poetry that has me stumped. Getting there!"

Hi Charlotte, poetry was bit of a problem for me too, no..."

LOVE Tim Burton too...hehe, my Honours dissertation was on Edward Scissorhands (film score). Huge fan, so I do own a copy of Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. I bought my husband a book of poetry by Spike Milligan about 10 years ago when we started uni...might dig it out when we get back to the UK in July and read that, as it has some artwork and lots of humour. Poe does sound intriguing...maybe been watching too much of The Following!

Just finished my first row...boom.

Well done!

well done Debbie!

Well done Debbie!

I just finished my 13th book for this challenge - An Award Winner, March. I had high expectations, and they were mostly met - 4★.

My magic square now looks like this:

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A bit more progress this week and finished two more. Half way there now!


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well done!

First row and column now!

I'm going with the column down the left side , only 5 books. Congrats to all of you that are doing the complete square ! Great job !

Past the half way mark now! Finished the memoir/biography so my square now looks like this:

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only 2 more to go to complete even though I thought i'd only do 7 or 7

Well done Fiona!

Just finished Dodger by Terry Pratchett, which makes 4 books I've read of my 25 since starting the challenge at the start of April :) I think I'll be starting The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland today.

Hiya

Has anybody come across any issues adding books to the shelf? I've got twelve completed books on my shelf but on the challenge it only shows 7

You need to have read them within the challenge dates. Before or after do not count

Ah, didn't see any dates, means I can't complete it then as I started late

Sorry for being dumb but where do I find the dates? I only have the grid printed out, no dates on that.

Me too. I missed dates bit. Silly me.

So far I've read:


A Classic: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
A travel book: Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
Non-fiction: Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr
An award winner: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Translated into English: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A genre you avoid: The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
Free choice: Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
A friend's recommendation: Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

Next up is Slaughterhouse-Five from Vonnegut.

I think I missed dates too, didn't see a mention of any :/

If you click on the challenge, the dates it was set to run were between December 20, 2013 & December 31, 2014. Any book marked as read on your shelf count towards the challenge

Just finished Diary of a Drug Fiend that's the memoir category crossed off my list. 14/25 done.

Just finished the true crime read. Hmm what next?! :)

Jason wrote: "Just finished Diary of a Drug Fiend that's the memoir category crossed off my list. 14/25 done."

Well done Jason

Donna Louise wrote: "Just finished the true crime read. Hmm what next?! :)"

I have just finished The Goldfinch, or go for something a little different and read The Windup Girl

Decided. Thank you, Paul. The Wind up Girl it is :))

All done. Read some books that I would never usually look at and enjoyed and others I didn't really get on with. Poetry is really not my thing so I don't think I'll take part in that challenge lol.

Paul wrote: "If you click on the challenge, the dates it was set to run were between December 20, 2013 & December 31, 2014. Any book marked as read on your shelf count towards the challenge"

Ahhh yay, I can still feasibly do all of my books in the time :D

Just made it halfway through Rosie Garland's The Palace of Curiosities which when finished will mean I'm a fifth through :)

Fiona wrote: "All done. Read some books that I would never usually look at and enjoyed and others I didn't really get on with. Poetry is really not my thing so I don't think I'll take part in that challenge lol."

Well done Fiona. There is the series challenge

I recently finished The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, which was my 'Science fiction or fact' book, my 14th for the challenge, and completed my first row :-) It was an easy, entertaining read, I gave it 4★s.

My magic square now looks like this:

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Despite the number I have read, i only finished my first row today! So 20 books done, five to go. Thanks to Debbie for the Poe suggestion..really enjoyed The Raven.

Charlotte wrote: "Despite the number I have read, i only finished my first row today! So 20 books done, five to go. Thanks to Debbie for the Poe suggestion..really enjoyed The Raven."

Well done. Nearly there

I am finally over half way through. 13 read. Some fairly quick and shorter reads coming up for the second half, which is good as I need to crack on with my series reading over the summer.

Two finished this week - The Goldfinch (bestseller) and Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse (picked for the cover). So that makes 15 read, 10 to go.

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Loved them both. What did you think of Goth Girl. That book is a work of art.

Goth Girl was such fun. All those references to the great and the good of literature had me chortling. And the illustrations are fabulous. I really loved the shiny purple edges to the pages which made it look like a bar of Dairy Milk!
Loved the Goldfinch too.

Ok, I'm being really brave here, a genre that I usually avoid is science fiction, as I have never really 'got' any science fiction - books or tv. Does anyone have any suggestions of books I could read to dip my toe into this genre. Otherwise I will have to read one of the husband's Andy McNab offerings...HELP!!

Try Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the end of the Lane or Stardust are short books too.

Ooh, thanks Debbie, read two Neil Gaiman graphic novels with my class and loved them (both fantasy) but had no idea he was also a sci-fi writer. Will look into it.