Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Jennifer wrote: "I'm still here!! :)"

Thanks Jennifer!

Have you played Tower Teams before?
Yes, once a couple of years ago :)

What is your favorite genre?
Classics, YA and Psych Thrillers.

Least favorite?
Romance/Erotica and Western.

How many books do you average a week?
Two max as I study and work two part time jobs :)

Are you looking forward to being a chatty team?
Yes! I'm on Goodreads 24/7.

Are you a dog person?
Of course! I'm studying vet nursing/ work as one already so I kind of have to be :P


Sorry this wasn't too long as I'm in class!

Here's my shelf:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Welcome to the dark side Jaime!

Caly, I just happened to see her post with her shelf, so I went ahead and got the spreadsheet all set up. You're good to go. ;)

Happy Reading everybody!

I'm still here!

Still here, and currently driving home from vacation and "only" another 14 hours to go until we get home....ugh!

Hi everyone!! I've been totally MIA and I'm sorry. I know I posted in the "books read thread" when I finished a book but I didn't check in here ((hides head in shame)). I started a bookstagram recently and that has been hogging a lot of my attention, along with studying for my health information certification exam (which, sadly, did not go very well...but its okay....now I can re-take it and I know exactly what is on it and I can slay it next time).

So now that's over and I'm adjusting a bit more to my new account more, I am reading more and will try to check in around here more frequently. I am currently reading The Hate U Give so I will answer some QOTDs. I also started reading Strange the Dreamer but life got in the way hopefully I'll get back to it soon to get us some points. :)

Amanda A wrote: "I'm still here!"

Thanks for checking in Amanda 8-)

Kelly B wrote: "Still here, and currently driving home from vacation and "only" another 14 hours to go until we get home....ugh!"

Wow that is some drive! Thanks for checking in and hope it was a great trip.

Lindsay♫Sings wrote: "Hi everyone!! I've been totally MIA and I'm sorry. I know I posted in the "books read thread" when I finished a book but I didn't check in here ((hides head in shame)). I started a bookstagram rece..."

Not a problem at all Lindsay! We all have real lives too and checking in by posting books read is fine, I actually have not been posting there that much either 8-/ but I have several challenges going at once which is a new thing for me.

Hope you enjoy Strange the Dreamer. I thought it was excellent.

Thanks for checking in everyone. Eni contacted me by PM so I think Megan H is the only one who has not let us know if she is still with us.

Hope everyone is enjoying their books and have a great weekend.

I have to apologize: I did a terrible job of getting much reading done while on vacation! We were so busy that I just didn't have much time.

The good news is that I have all afternoon and evening free; we're under a heat advisory and have thunderstorms on the way so it will be a perfect day to sit in the shade or in the a/c and READ :-). The current book I'm reading is 700+ pages, so when I do finish it, the darn thing will be worth a decent amount of points.

Happy Sunday everyone, and enjoy your day :-)

So anyone interested in book talk beyond BOM? What was your favorite read of May? What was your favorite read so far in June?

For me in May it would be Snared by Jennifer Estep as I adore this series. Gin is such a bad-a$$, but at the same time she has a great group of friends and family. And all the intrigue is amazing plotting.


For June so far, my favorite is easily White Hot by Ilona Andrews. I was iffy on the hero in the first book, but he redeemed himself in this one. I love Nevada's family and their willingness to help others. I can't wait for the next one and luckily it isn't too far off.

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "So anyone interested in book talk beyond BOM? What was your favorite read of May? What was your favorite read so far in June? ..."

In May it was definitely "Strange the Dreamer", I really did not know what to expect especially after reading the prologue, but I was really drawn into the book and thought the story line was great.

In June so far it would be Ready Player One. I think that was helped by the fact that it was my first Audio-book. I had always been reluctant to listen to books (it felt like cheating some how LOL) but then I heard everyone talking about audio books over at a new group I joined and I decided to give this one a try. Wow it was great! I will say that in written form I actually may not have liked it as much because there was a lot of detail and description I would have had to plow through, but listening to it was really fun and of course at my age I could relate to so much of it.

And while I will still think old fashioned print books are the best, I have added Audible to my account and will listen to one at work during the day, that I do like! 8-)

In May, it would be by Ania Ahlborn. She's one of my favorite horror authors. The ending of Brother was quite the surprise.

For June, I've only been reading one book. I do love it though, and it could very easily be one of my favorites of the month. It's . It's really the perfect book to be reading in June, as it features several short stories about garden parties, trips to the shore, etc.

@Caly - I read Ready Player One and really enjoyed it. The detail didn't bother me, but I was pretty absorbed by the story (and memories from the 80s).

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "@Caly - I read Ready Player One and really enjoyed it. The detail didn't bother me, but I was pretty absorbed by the story (and memories from the 80s)."

Yes it was fun to recognize all the 80's references, and as an avid Everquest player for many years (had a level 70 Barbarian warrior) I could so relate to all the RPG lingo and stuff.

In May I read a lot of ARCs for NetGalley plus I listened to one free summer audible program something thing I found, a BOM, a library book, and a biography so I read a weird mix of things in May...but in a good way!

I think my favorite thing, though, was either because I love Gilmore Girls or , because I loved the Lunar Chronicles. It was also my first graphic novel and I actually really enjoyed it! I started reading Ready Player One but I didn't get around to finishing it before I had to return it to the library before I had to return it. I'm hoping to get back to it soon to finish it because I was really liking it!

So far in May, I'm still working on ARCs from NetGalley, and oh my gosh, The Hate U Give is actually really, really good. I can tell it is going to be one of my top reads for the month and probably year.

Thanks for sparking some conversation Diane.

So today I have a question for you all. I recently ventured into the world of Audio-books and liked it enough to want to continue at least on a limited basis. Do any of you listen to Audio-books? How do you feel about them vs. Print or e-books? Do you have a favorite? or a favorite narrator?

Caly ☯ wrote: "Thanks for sparking some conversation Diane.

So today I have a question for you all. I recently ventured into the world of Audio-books and liked it enough to want to continue at least on a limite..."

I tried listening to audio books several years ago while I'd go for walks. For me, it didn't work: either I'd get distracted by the audio book and not be completely diligent with my surroundings, or I'd start daydreaming and quit listening to the book;-). I think I'm very much a visual person versus auditory: I'll often turn on subtitles when I watch movies, because I find it easier to catch everything when I'm reading along.

I tried it once as well and it was too difficult for me to focus on what was happening. I had to keep rewinding to figure out what was happening. I need the book or my Kindle in my hands to focus.

I also found that I was laughing at the characters the narrator tried to put on. I felt like I was a child listening at story time. I also felt like it was removing my ability to imagine the characters, because I was using the voice and the characterization the narrator was using to depict them.

It just wasn't for me.

Thanks for your thoughts Kelly and Candace, I can definitely understand and agree with your feelings. I put off audio books for years because it felt like cheating to me and even now I don't think I will listen to more than a few here or there. I certainly don't think I would ever listen in a car like some people do because I would either miss what is going on in the book or have an accident LOL. Also like Candace said, the first book I listened to was great because of the narrator but the one I am currently working on the narrator is really bad and it is throwing things off for me.

What I do like is that I can listen while I am at work and since I generally work by myself in a room cutting fruit and veggies all day, it is easy to concentrate on the book and it is better than the awful music the store plays on the speaker. hehe.

A book I really enjoyed in May was Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh. I love this series.

For June, I enjoyed Where Azaleas Bloom by Sherryl Woods. This is another series that I love.

I love audiobooks and listen to them almost daily during my commute, at work, when I work out and doing chores around the house. I have been trying to listen to A Gentleman in Moscow today but I have not been able to get into the story yet. This also happened when I tried to listen to it after it was released last year. I have read reviews that said the first part is slow and I am trying to get through it until I can switch to the Kindle tonight after work and working out. I always speed up the narration to at least 2x, if it is available on the app I am using. I think Hoopla is the only app that currently only goes up to 1.5x.

A few of my favorite narrators are Lorelei King, Tanya Eby, Tavia Gilbert and Sebastian York. Sebastian York mostly narrates romance. There is an Audiobooks group on Goodreads and it is great. People post their current listens by the month and it is pretty active. I love to lurk on there! Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Amanda A wrote: "A book I really enjoyed in May was Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh. I love this series.

For June, I enjoyed Where Azaleas Bloom by Sherryl Woods. This is another ser..."

Thanks Amanda!

And stick with A Gentleman in Moscow. I read it in print and it is slow going in areas but well worth it!

Why is my Gentleman in Moscow not receiving the BOM points?

Caly ☯ wrote: "Thanks for sparking some conversation Diane.

So today I have a question for you all. I recently ventured into the world of Audio-books and liked it enough to want to continue at least on a limite..."

I love audio-books!
Like many of you I tried them a long time ago and didn't like it, couldn't focus. Then a couple of years ago a friend convinced me to listen to the Dresden series (read by James Masters) and as they say, the rest is history!

There are really great narrators and truly awful ones. Another one I really enjoy listening to is Susan Eriksen - she's recorded all of the In Death books, and they are brilliant.

I hooked my mom when I told her to listen to Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, she loved it. The dog didn't =P
(he didn't like her laughing out loud)

You rarely find me not listening to a book nowadays. For me they have an added bonus. I have chronic migraine, and sounds/people/crowds causes attacks for me, but by listening to audiobooks I'm not as sensitive as I would be otherwise. :D

megan wrote: "Why is my Gentleman in Moscow not receiving the BOM points?"

Will have Bethany check on that, I'm not sure either. Thanks for noticing

Annika wrote: "Caly ☯ wrote: "Thanks for sparking some conversation Diane.

So today I have a question for you all. I recently ventured into the world of Audio-books and liked it enough to want to continue at le..."

Wow that is cool about audio books and your migraines. Thanks for giving me some ideas, I have heard the Dresden books are better on audio then in print. Will check them out.

Re: audiobooks....

I have found that I prefer certain genres of audiobooks moreso than specific books or narrators. I like listening to contemporaries and biographies, as well as some historical things and certain fantasy things by highly recommended narrators (Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Harry Potter, The Dresdon Files). But overall, I think that the contemporaries tend to have less details which make them easier for me to listen to, and I like biographies that are read by the authors (for instance, I just read Lauren Graham's from Gilmore Girls and it was AWESOME). So that's my 2 cents. :)

Lindsay♫Sings wrote: "Re: audiobooks....

I have found that I prefer certain genres of audiobooks moreso than specific books or narrators. I like listening to contemporaries and biographies, as well as some historical t..."

That makes sense to me too. 8-) I have Lauren Graham's book on hold from the Library, can't wait!

Caly ☯ wrote: "megan wrote: "Why is my Gentleman in Moscow not receiving the BOM points?"

Will have Bethany check on that, I'm not sure either. Thanks for noticing"

You need to add read date to the BOM tab and it should add the points after that :)

Annika wrote: "Caly ☯ wrote: "megan wrote: "Why is my Gentleman in Moscow not receiving the BOM points?"

Will have Bethany check on that, I'm not sure either. Thanks for noticing"

You need to add read date to t..."

But I don't have access to modify the team spreadsheets.

No, Caly or Bethany needs to add the date to the sheet

Annika wrote: "No, Caly or Bethany needs to add the date to the sheet"

All fixed. 8-)

I love the Dresden Files on audio! Also, Robert Galbraith's (aka J.K. Rowling's) adult mystery series, and the Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch (first one is The Lies of Locke Lamora).

I go back and forth between listening to audio and not. Sometimes I want music and to not listen to people after working all day in the library...

I swear I'm still reading. Also, July 1st. I get to read ALL THE BOOKS. *yay for the end of school for summer*

Part 1- I'm so sorry I've been AWOL

Hey everyone, sorry I've been so out of the loop and off my game lately -- Work got crazy and so it's totally my fault if your BOM points aren't logged yet! I'll go through now and try and get some of them in.

Work stuff is calming down and my partner is out of town for a work trip for two weeks starting Sunday, so I will have a TON more time to read and keep up with everyone.

Part 2- Heck yes I listen to audiobooks!

I'm a big audiobook junkie. I love listening to audiobooks when I'm doing chores or running or going for a walk because it's pretty much the only way I can get myself to do those things. There is a noticeable state of decline in the cleanliness of my house when I don't have an audiobook I'm into!

That said, I'm also pickier when it comes to audiobooks. If I try to listen to an audiobook where the narrator sounds like a stuffy old british man, I tend to get bored and stop paying attention. In addition there are a lot of kind of bad narrators.

If I'm struggling to sit down and read a particular book and just can't get into it at first, I'll often get it on audiobook if the library has it. Listening to the start of a book can help me get into it if I was struggling to get through the first few chapters because it starts slow.

I also listen to most of the non-fiction I read on audiobook. I feel it's easier to have a decent narrator for these things because there isn't as much need to express emotion or distinguish between characters vocally.

Part 3- Reading Plans?

I don't plan on reading any of the BOMs this month because I read You less than 6 months ago, I doubt I'll be able to get THUG before the deadline and I'm not super excited about reading The Gunslinger again.

I'm hoping that I'll finish both Sleepwalking and The Te of Piglet soon, and then I'm thinking I'll either finish up the Robots series (which has 2 pretty chunky books left) or read something else chunky like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell or The Secret History.

I also have to see what I can load up on my Nook because I'll be flying across the country for my baby bro's high school graduation, and I'll probably need about 2000 pages worth of books to occupy me just for the flights and layovers. I'll need an audiobook too for the drive to the airport the next city over.

Caly ☯ wrote: " I have heard the Dresden books are better on audio then in print."

I've gone back and forth between audio and print on Dresden, and the audio is very well done. For the later books I liked either, but I'm not sure I would have gotten into them if I wasn't able to start on audio.

I picked up You from the library and just started it. I have holds on both The Hate U Give and The Gunslinger, but I am way down there for both, so I doubt I'll get them in time for the BOM points.

I am currently reading through one that's over 800 pages, should be good for some points. I am also starting in on By Gaslight which I believe is over 700 pages, so another good one for points. I have a few shorter ones as well, just so I can keep adding points until I finish with the larger reads.

Still reading... almost done with a couple books. :)

Unfortunately, I wasn't selected to do DQs for The Gunslinger (short book, so only 3 are doing DQs), However, I do have the book, so I'll read it and answer the DQs for the points.

I'm almost finished with my doorstopper :-);

Kelly B wrote: "I'm almost finished with my doorstopper :-); "

NICE!!

So what is everyone currently reading? Or reading next? How are you liking (or not liking) it?

I am currently reading , mainly because I am doing another author meeting/book signing on Thursday (yay!!) and which I got for free from the publisher to write a review for. So far I actually like it for the most part, even though it doesn't have all that high of a GR rating.

Morning all!

I have just started adding audio books to my repertoire, since I found a way to listen to them at work, so that means an extra book a week for me. Cheers!

Currently I am almost done with The Light of the Fireflies, it is rather creepy but also really interesting especially when they get to explanation of why....

I am also listening to After She's Gone by a British author so it is fun to hear it read with a British accent and vocabulary like "flex" for an electric cord.

I'll be starting tonight, which is a murder mystery, I think?

Whoa, that book sounds pretty crazy, Caly. I'm pretty intrigued, actually! (Talking about The Light of the Fireflies) I'd be interested to know what kind of rating you give it...whether its good or not.

Looking at "The Dry" (quite the ominous title) it has really good ratings! Interesting! Doesn't seem like the synopsis does it much justice.

I'm currently reading this book and it is ok so far. It is taking a little time to get to the meat of the story.

Dealing with roommate issues and union issues, and school work, and other things, so not getting as much reading as I'd like done...

I did just start , and I finally finished .

Lindsay♫Sings wrote: "Whoa, that book sounds pretty crazy, Caly. I'm pretty intrigued, actually! (Talking about The Light of the Fireflies) I'd be interested to know what kind of rating you give it...whether its good or..."

I actually thought it was excellent. I gave it 4 stars. It definitely is a little disturbing when you think about what the parents are doing, but when I got to the second half of the book and things start to get explained, I went 'wow'... definitely doesn't end the way I thought it would so for me it was a great book.

Read The Hate U Give for BOM points.

I should have 40 points for BOMs on the spreadsheet.

I'm still reading just not being a very good co-captain :(

Jennifer wrote: "Dealing with roommate issues and union issues, and school work, and other things, so not getting as much reading as I'd like done...

I did just start , and I finally..."
Did you participate in the strange the dreamer discussion? I'm just struggling to find the post on mobile which is all I have access to right now.