2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Lena's 2017 Reading Challenge
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Susy wrote: "Good luck Lena and happy reading!"
Thanks Susy!
Thanks Susy!
Great goal, Lena :) How are you liking the "Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children" trilogy so far?
Best of luck!
Thanks Lisa :)
I thought that the trilogy so far is good, but it's lacking in some aspect for me. I prefer to read books that compel me to think about deeper issues and meanings, but for some reason, especially with the second book, I wasn't able to analyze the content because it's all just a sequence of events. So if there was anything conceptually relevant, I felt like I had to try hard to find it.
But I very much like the world created by the author. For example, if you read the book or watched the movie, I thought that the Whites are interesting characters. Plus, the suspense is very good and I liked the ending of the second book (Hollow City), so I feel excited to read the third book (Library of Souls).
I thought that the trilogy so far is good, but it's lacking in some aspect for me. I prefer to read books that compel me to think about deeper issues and meanings, but for some reason, especially with the second book, I wasn't able to analyze the content because it's all just a sequence of events. So if there was anything conceptually relevant, I felt like I had to try hard to find it.
But I very much like the world created by the author. For example, if you read the book or watched the movie, I thought that the Whites are interesting characters. Plus, the suspense is very good and I liked the ending of the second book (Hollow City), so I feel excited to read the third book (Library of Souls).
I'm exactly the same way! Dissecting and analyzing books is deeply ingrained in my way of thinking and reading. It's great for the most part but sometimes I find that not everything has to have a deeper meaning and I've been attempting to come to grips with it :D I've watched the movie but haven't read any of the books yet. I'm hoping to get to them sometime this year though * fingers crossed*
Sounds great! I hope you enjoy them.
I just finished reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun.
Rating: ***** (5)
Review:
I thought this book was pure genius. It’s simple in its complexity; there isn’t much to the novel other than depicting the struggles of an impoverished writer, but then when you look closer, you find more. At first glance, it might seem it’s all about the writer and his decline into madness, but then you start seeing the whole society through his eyes, and the madness which is attributed to him becomes that of the society. It’s like looking through a microscope that delves into the soul of this writer only to see a reflection of the world beyond. At a certain point you’d even start to question whether the writer or the world beyond verges more towards madness. I’m not sure why, whenever I think about this novel, I remember The Scream painting by Edvard Munch. So I tend to think of the writing style as expressionistic centering primarily on the subjective experiences of the writer and his inner emotions, while the outer world as we perceive it through the writer becomes distorted.
___
So I'm done with book #12.
Rating: ***** (5)
Review:
I thought this book was pure genius. It’s simple in its complexity; there isn’t much to the novel other than depicting the struggles of an impoverished writer, but then when you look closer, you find more. At first glance, it might seem it’s all about the writer and his decline into madness, but then you start seeing the whole society through his eyes, and the madness which is attributed to him becomes that of the society. It’s like looking through a microscope that delves into the soul of this writer only to see a reflection of the world beyond. At a certain point you’d even start to question whether the writer or the world beyond verges more towards madness. I’m not sure why, whenever I think about this novel, I remember The Scream painting by Edvard Munch. So I tend to think of the writing style as expressionistic centering primarily on the subjective experiences of the writer and his inner emotions, while the outer world as we perceive it through the writer becomes distorted.
___
So I'm done with book #12.
Book #13:
Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice by J.F. Martel
Rating: **** (4)
Review:
This book was very intriguing to me. I’m interested in art, and this book defined essential concepts related to art, some of which I was previously familiar with, but they were put in a new context and were elaborated on beautifully. Others, the majority, were entirely new. But what I liked the most about it is that its ideas and arguments were intuitive. They're like beacons of light. They truly enlightened me about things that were always there within me (or beyond myself) but I never saw them. I think that the way I approach my art will be different after reading this book, but not just that, I think I will also approach life differently.
Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice by J.F. MartelRating: **** (4)
Review:
This book was very intriguing to me. I’m interested in art, and this book defined essential concepts related to art, some of which I was previously familiar with, but they were put in a new context and were elaborated on beautifully. Others, the majority, were entirely new. But what I liked the most about it is that its ideas and arguments were intuitive. They're like beacons of light. They truly enlightened me about things that were always there within me (or beyond myself) but I never saw them. I think that the way I approach my art will be different after reading this book, but not just that, I think I will also approach life differently.
Book #14:
A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka
Rating: *** (3)
A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka Rating: *** (3)
Book #15:
Living and Sustaining a Creative Life By Sharon Louden
Rating: *** (3)
Living and Sustaining a Creative Life By Sharon LoudenRating: *** (3)
Book #16:
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab.
Rating: **** (4)
Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab. Rating: **** (4)
Book #17:
The Soul of the Indian
Rating: *** (3)
The Soul of the IndianRating: *** (3)
Book #18:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Rating: **** (4)
The Ocean at the End of the LaneRating: **** (4)
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)The Soul of the Indian (other topics)
Our Dark Duet (other topics)
Living and Sustaining a Creative Life: Essays by 40 Working Artists (other topics)
A Hunger Artist (other topics)
More...
So far, I read:
1. Crooked House by Agatha Christie
2. The Giver by Lois Lowry
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
6. The Outsiders by S.E Hinton
7. Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie
8. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
9. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
10. A Hand Full of Stars by Rafik Schami
11. Ten Days in a Mad House by Nellie Bly
In upcoming posts, I will also try to add ratings and reviews, and I might make a list of the rest of the books I intend to read this year.
I just noticed that I mostly read fiction thus far. I will try to balance that out by reading nonfiction as well.