2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

thought I may as well get along to reading this

What made you want to give this a shot, Sarah? I have a special place in my heart for the Harry Potter series which has resulted in a sort of unrestrained reverence for J.K. Rowling that has me on the fence about this book. I want to read it because I think she's brilliant, but it doesn't seem like a plot I'd really be into.

I had no idea it was that long! I thought it was like a 200 something page book. Hmm...

Michelle, just go for it! It's definitely very different from Harry Potter, and it might be a bit confusing at the start with lots of characters introduced quite quickly, but it's worth it. The story is compelling once you get into it, and the characters so incredibly human that two years after reading the book, I still find myself thinking about them every now and then.

Bec wrote: "The story is compelling once you get into it, and the characters so incredibly human that two years after reading the book, I still find myself thinking about them every now and then."

Really? Well that's quite a glowing endorsement, Bec! Okay, you've convinced me. I'll add it to my TBR and pop it in somewhere!

I read an excerpt from this because I too am a Rowling junkie ;). It seemed intriguing and so very NOT Harry Potter lol

i'm planning on reading this as my 500+ page book as well! i tried it before but didn't get too far before i substituted it for a lighter read, so i don't think i'll do this one the first week though

I am going to read this as my 500 + book. I put it down after the first few chapters when I bought it and have been meaning to give it another try.

I'm also reading it for my 500+ book. I only got to page 22 when it first came out, so I'm hoping for success this time around.

I had to read the start twice to wrap my head around the characters but enjoyed it once I got into it

I think I'm going to read this one as well! I loved Harry Potter, but I'll try to forget about him for a bit. :)

This is on my list too - I am a huge HP fan, and I think JK Rowling is brilliant. I started it last January but found it overwhelming to get into as there are so many characters. I think I'll use this as my book for the 'didn't finish' week.

I'm also reading this book for a book I haven't read by an author I love.

Okay so I finished the book in the wee hours of the morning. I can safely say I didn't see that coming! The entire story was like a sociology/psychology/ethics case study on how small communities can become so focused on themselves to the detriment of simple morality. The end was troubling, but not wholly surprising. I'm still shaking my head a bit.....

The way the characters are all woven together is genius. I read this a long time ago (years I think), and it still sticks with me.

I read this one early last year. I have a unique advantage over most people which is that I have never read any of the Happy Potter books. (They are all on this 2015 reading challenge list for me.) Of course I have seen all the movies multiple times. However, because I did not read the book, JK's writing style was never revealed to me via the HP series.

All that said, The Casual Vacancy had scenes that struck a chord with me, some tender moments and some relatability but that's where it ends. It wasn't a bad book, I think the writing was fantastic, actually. If causing me to loathe nearly every one of her characters was what Rowling set out to do, well, she nailed it. I did have some sympathy at times but only for one living soul throughout the entire book. I won't count the little boy, Krystal's brother. He has no control over his own likeability yet.

What I do know about Harry Potter from watching the movies, is that those characters, though they existed in a fantasy world, were far more believable than the folks of Pagford, who seem only to know greed, profanity, selfishness and distaste. Well, all except for the dead guy, who seemed to be the only one with a heart.

This is a book I started and did not finish. I hope to pick it back up one day though, it just didn't capture my interest when I tried reading it previously.

I was searching for a book from JK but not Harry Potter and I didn't know which one to pick up. You help me to make my choice! Thanks ;) Even if I didn't read the other comments on her other books. But never mind, it seems a great book. I think it is for an author I love week :)

Just finished this book for my Week 1 (I'm a little behind!) I actually really enjoyed it. Like some here have mentioned, tt took a while to get engaged, but once I did I was enamored.

The characters are all woven together so intricately, and while yes, a good many of them were self-centered, greedy, pompous, etc, I had no problem believing this could be an actual small town dynamic.

I also really enjoyed the parrallels between the beinging of the book and the ending.

I've just started this book today. I am on the 51 page and so far all the characters are really unlikable.

The ending made me cry. It was so sad and unfair:((

Maria, I cried to! I also found most of the characters quite despicable, but the ending surprised and touched me, I wasn't expecting that.

Sophie, yes, i didn't see that ending coming.
surprisingly I started to like Samantha by the end of the book. For me, Ruth was the worst as she didn't care about her children at all and forced them to live with a monster.

Did any of you see that the film of this book is currently in production in the UK?! I hope it gets released here, too!

Sarah, yes I know about this.