RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

Yay! I'm so excited for this challenge this year because I already have a long list ready (and not to forget my recent classic haul of 7 hardback classic books!)
I'll be reading all the audiobooks you recommended earlier, Dagny. So in 2017 I'll do better than this year. And I'm planning on reading a lot of audiobooks.
I'm also going to go for Level 5.

Oh, and I corrected the button/logo for the challenge (I made it as Classic instead of Classics.)
Here it is:

I would like to take part in this.

I'm reading From the Earth to the Moon - by Jules Verne as a part of my Sci-Fi book.
All the stories in this book are classics so I'm thinking of counting them indivisually as most of them are more than 100 pages individual books.
Would that be okay, Dagny?

I am hoping to start this with The Scarlet Letterby Nathaneil Hawthorne after i finish the book i am currently reading. But i do have a doubt. The levels mentioned; they are for the entire year right?

Dagny wrote: "I'm listening to From the Earth to the Moon now. I think I started reading this at some point in the past and abandoned it. My big question is - aren't they EVER going to take off? Arr..."

That's sweet, Dagny! I'm not a fan of Jules Verne's writing (as I DNF'ed the last I read after only a few pages), but I just want to get done with this one as it is the first in the collection I have.
I started reading it and then I guess I didn't wanted to go further so I opened a new random book (Sister Sister) and spent the entire frigging day reading it. Lol. And now your big question has really made me all the more doubtful about thtis story.
I'll see if I can read it despite not feeling like it, otherwise I'll use your LibriVox link for the audio book and listen to the rest of the story. At least that'll make sure I complete it.

Dagny wrote: "Athira wrote: "I am hoping to start this with The Scarlet Letterby Nathaneil Hawthorne after i finish the book i am currently reading. But i do have a doubt. The levels mentioned; they are for the ..."

Thank you. I will be reading the ebook and i think i will go for level 5. Have fun. :)

Book #1 From the Earth to the Moon - 2/5
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finally, I'm done with this one!!! I'm not reading another Verne story this year :|

Dagny wrote: "Me neither! At least I hope not - if one gets nominated at the French Lit group, I might be force..."

I hope his books don't get nominated then for your sake. My sympathies with you if at all they do.
I'm amazed how strongly I've come to feel about his writing. I've never dreaded any other author's writing this way, ever.

I finished The Mysteries of Paris. Does it count for 2017 (when I finished it) or for 2016 (when I started it)?

OK, I will count it for this year's challenge.

1.) The Mysteries of Paris

For my second classic, I am reading The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.

Cheryl wrote: "For my second classic, I am reading The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells."

Finished it. 2 stars.

Book #2 - Into The Sun by Robert Duncan Milne - 4/5

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book 3.) The Lady of the Ice. This is a hilarious romantic comedy that reminds me a bit of P. G. Wodehouse. I just started it.

Cheryl wrote: "Book 3.) The Lady of the Ice. This is a hilarious romantic comedy that reminds me a bit of P. G. Wodehouse. I just started it."

Finished it. 3 stars. Lots of fun. This would be a good one to read for the Humor Genre Challenge in September.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just started Book 4.) The Sign of Four

Cheryl wrote: "I just started Book 4.) The Sign of Four"

Finished it. 3 stars

Book 5.) The Mysterious Affair at Styles . I since it's a mystery, I will also use it for the February genre challenge.

Cheryl wrote: "Book 5.) The Mysterious Affair at Styles . I since it's a mystery, I will also use it for the February genre challenge."

Finished it. 3 stars.

I finished Book 6.) Narrative of William W. Brown: A Fugitive Slave. 4 stars.

Dagny wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I finished Book 6.) Narrative of William W. Brown: A Fugitive Slave. 4 stars."

Wasn't that an eye-opener!"

Yes. It was emotionally difficult to read, but it gave such a personal perspective to slavery. I don't know how he found the will to survive it.

I finished book 7.) The Middle Temple Murder by J. S. Fletcher. 4 stars. My review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

8.) Hope Hathaway by Frances Parker. 2 stars, and abandoned at half-way mark.

9.) Original Maupassant Short Stories Volume 7 by Guy de Maupassant. 3 stars.

All Quiet on the Western Front

In Progress. Might have to restart, because I have been distracted since I started it. @_@

Dagny wrote: "When you're looking for something less serious, Wilkie Collins and Sheridan LeFanu are always good bets. They're largely "sensation" novels and oh so much fun to read. I think Cheryl may agree here."

Also, Mary Elizabeth Braddon. I think I like her best for Sensation novels.

To be honest, I've had a hard time reading Hugo too- he meanders a lot, and I tend to prefer my books more direct. I think this may be the second or third time I am trying to read him- we'll see if it sticks if I have some form of external motivation.

I read a translated version of the Count of Monte Cristo when I was in school, and I adored the story. I have to say I never tried reading the original version, though.

Animal Farm sounds good. I'm decently fond of 1984 (it somehow got less interesting for me towards the end and I have no idea WHY), and the theme sounds like something I'd like.

I'm also not sure if I like romance in classics- in my limited experience they tend to be more self-destructive high emotions than companionship stories, and the latter is really my preferred form of romance. Less Gone With the Wind, more The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. I suppose Austen qualifies, but again, I've had a really hard time sitting still long enough to read the whole of Pride and Prejudice. Much skimming occurred, and I haven't seriously tried to read any others.

The only other author on that list I've tried is Sheridan LeFanu. I'll be sure to check the rest out. :)

Thank you!

What? No not at all- I cannot read French. English is the only European language I know. It's the translated versions I was talking about. And I really have no clue what I said to give you that idea. XD

Yeah I can see why you'd think that. :)

If you want a clarification, it was a months-long serialized (nad likely sanitized) version written in a kids' weekly comic, in Malayalam, an obscure South Indian language. I started reading it from the point where Dante was in prison and the scenes with the older prisoner were beautifully evocative. I didn't even know it was a translated story till years later.

Dagny wrote: " That caused me to do a bit of research and at the time, a notice of abridgement was not required on translations. That was an eye-opener!"

Is this still true today? If yes, that's awful.

10.) Beyond These Voices by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

This was a dud. I abandoned it at 62%. The author didn't know what to do with the story. Is it a romance? A mystery? A story about spiritualism? All these plot points were brought up, only to be abandoned and not addressed again. I got so bored I had to stop reading. Disappointing! I usually like this author's work.

11.) Letters from My Windmill. Abandoned it at half way mark. A series of vignettes. It's just not for me.

12.) The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. 4 stars.

13.) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. 3 stars.

14.) The Card: A Story of Adventure in the Five Towns byArnold Bennett

3 and a half stars.

15.) The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola. 3 stars.

I have books started but not finished, because I really suck at reading classics- also this month has been busier than anticipated.

If I complete them sometime this year, I'll update the list.

how are you all doing with the challenge? I plan to participate in this one too. my book fast s coming to an end so I am excited to be reading some old exciting books.

16.) Milly Darrell by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

2 stars. OK, but pretty predictable. It's a novella, but I think it needed to be fleshed out a bit more.

Dagny wrote:" Bummer!"

Yeah, I saw the surprise ending coming at the halfway point. I did find another Sensation novel I want to read in the near future, though: Willing to Die: A Novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It's at Project Gutenberg. Call me crazy, but I find Sensation novels to be relaxing.

17.)The poacher's wife by Eden Phillpotts. 3 stars.

18.) Ravensdene Court by J. S. Fletcher. A 3 star English murder mystery.

Dagny wrote: "Someone I've never heard of. When I saw the author's name, the first thing that came to min..."

This is the fifth book I've read by this author. Always been a 3 or 4 star read, in my opinion.

19.) The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes. 4 stars.

20.) Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. 3 stars.

Dagny wrote: "You've finished! I just finished Chapter 30 last night."

I liked the first part (Twain training to be a riverboat pilot) better than the second part (travelogue along the Mississippi). I finished it because I thought if I put it down for too long I might not pick it up again and finish it. (The scond part didn't hold my interest in a number of places.)

21.) Old-Time Stories by Charles Perrault

Fairy tales by Charles Perrault, with beautiful illustrations. It can be found at Project Gutenberg.

22.) The Pearl Fishers by H. de Vere Stacpoole.

3 stars. An interesting South Pacific adventure novel.

23.) The Beetle: A Mystery by Richard Marsh

3 stars. My review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...