Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Denise wrote: "As promised, I've been super busy this week. 😂 I do think I'll manage to finish a book soon though. I'm over halfway!"

No worries! Do what you can. We all get times where we have real life stuff slowing down our reading.

Sophie wrote: "Keri wrote: "Steven wrote: "The only time I can pay attention is oddly enough while driving."

This is me too!! My best time for this is driving. Somehow I can just focus while also focusing on dri..."

Exactly! It seems weird but it just is that way lol.
I also do the games on my phone while listening, I forgot about that one.

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Navi wrote: "I'd like to highly recommend the first two books I've read for this challenge:



Both were 5 s..."

I was going to say the same thing. Five or so people have told me good things about Amari in the past couple months.

Devann, please add the first HP book to your shelf.

My TBR is already growing so much, and it's just getting worse - I found a paper list of books to add to my TBR. Yikes.

Denise wrote: "As promised, I've been super busy this week. 😂 I do think I'll manage to finish a book soon though. I'm over halfway!"

I have been super busy this week too. I am about to finish my second book of this week but I was hoping to get 3-4 done this week hopefully this week has started to calm down for me and you.

Navi wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Navi wrote: "Excellent! The best way to start the challenge. Who would you recommend them to - trying to be discerning on my tbr adds or it will become impossible! "

[book:The Mask ..."

Both of these books have been on my radar. So happy that you enjoyed both of them.

I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challenge now because it lead to me reading this fantastic book. Straight into my favorites it goes!

Mia wrote: "I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challenge now beca..."

That was a favourite of mine a few years ago! So happy you enjoyed it too! :)

Hi everybody! How is the reading going? And what's your weekend plans? :)

Heading into town to run some errands today since I didn't make it there on Monday. Hoping to finish Travelling Cat while at the laundromat. Picked up a huge stack of books from the library yesterday, so I have plenty to choose from for the weekend. If I get ambitious, I might clean out a closet. My dad passed 2 years ago and I just haven't brought myself to clean it out yet, but I need the space, so I think it is finally time. We'll see.


Well... that didn't go as planned. Stopped at the BMV to renew my driver's license and the car tags. They wouldn't let me do the car tags because the car is in my dad's name. He passed away 2 years ago and I had no trouble with the plates then, so I figured no trouble now... WRONG! They sent me to the title office at the courthouse to get the title switched over (which I thought the lawyer was going to do, but they didn't). They said I can't do it because I'm not a surviving spouse, so I have to talk to the probate court. They had some major water issues so are now in a different building. I drove over to the probate court and they said I needed a form signed by my brother that states he doesn't want the car. I was sent to the lawyer's office. I finally talked to someone who can help me. Apparently, the girl I talked to previously had quit and they have had 2 or 3 other people in that position and our case basically fell through the cracks. While I was there, she printed off the form and got it ready to mail and it will go out with the evening post (luckily, the post office is right next door to the lawyer's office). Hopefully, everything will be get signed and returned and things will be done by the end of next week. Needless to say, I never made it to the laundromat, so I haven't finished Travelling Cat yet (but I'm close, in the last chapter.) I need to eat some dinner and destress...

As Robert Burns said "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry..."

I've had an unexpectedly chaotic week. Been working crazy hours so I'm hoping for a quiet and relaxing weekend. The weather forecast isn't that great so might go to the cinema or possibly to visit my 2yr old nephew.

Thankfully I've just got four more days of work next week and then I'm either on hol for 2 weeks or on jury duty. I'm hoping for the former.

Mia wrote: "I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challenge now beca..."

Yay! It's lovely when you finally get to a book and love it.

Amy - depending on how emotional you get with books, the laundromat may not be the best place to finish it.
Good luck with the clear out if you decide to go ahead. Never easy to do these things.


Alison - fingers crossed you get the chance to relax! Crazy hours are never fun (can sympathise having finished at 9pm last night). Will hope that you get 2 weeks holiday as well!


We were meant to be going to visit my FiL in Wales next week, but unfortunately he's about to start chemo and doesn’t want to risk seeing the kids. To make up for it we are trying to plan bigger days out locally.

it's supposed to rain all weekend here so I'll be getting some much needed reading in! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I really hope it won't crack. Any free time will be spent reading.

Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I really hope it won't crack. Any free time w..."

To help prevent cracking, have a pan of water in the oven while baking. The steam is supposed to help.

Sophie wrote: "Amy - depending on how emotional you get with books, the laundromat may not be the best place to finish it.
Good luck with the clear out if you decide to go ahead. Never easy to do these things.


..."

I didn't make it to the laundromat (see above). Will finish the book at home this evening.

Argh! What a nightmare series of events! Destressing sounds v necessary. I hope you have enough clean clothes for the delay.

Sophie wrote: "Argh! What a nightmare series of events! Destressing sounds v necessary. I hope you have enough clean clothes for the delay."

yeah, plenty of clothes to cover the weekend :-)

Mia wrote: "I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challenge now beca..."

You might enjoy Oona Out of Order if you liked Eleanor Oliphant.

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Mia wrote: "I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challe..."

I liked both of these books!

I am couch bound this weekend so I plan on getting some reading done. I just read romance books all different types but it is the only genre I read because I enjoy it so much.

I just finished Things We Never Got Over byLucy Score It was recommended to me and I loved it! If you like small town romances with fun characters this is a fun read. Adding to the list now

Thanks for the rec Megan, I'm always on the lookout for new romance authors to try and this sounds right up my street (plus it's on kindle unlimited which is always a bonus).

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I really hope it won't crack. ..."

I will be sure to put a pan with water underneath. I am planning on making the base with a cake, hopefully it won't burn when baking the cheese filling.

I finished a book last night so hopefully starting Lessons in Chemistry today. It's one of those books everyone seems to rave about so I'm a little nervous to read it.

Also around halfway through People on Platform 5. This reading 30 min installments on Pigeonhole each day is a really different experience for me. I don't think I've read to a schedule like this since I was at school and even then I used to read ahead. I'm both loving it and hating it. It's great reading along with a group and discussing as you go but most days I want to read on and find out what happens next.

This week should be interesting as I've signed up for a couple more so I shall be simultaneously reading 4 books for a few days. I'm very much a 1, maybe 2 books at a time kind of reader.

Alison wrote: "Thanks for the rec Megan, I'm always on the lookout for new romance authors to try and this sounds right up my street (plus it's on kindle unlimited which is always a bonus)."

Alison Kindle Unlimited is the best! I try not to buy books so this has been great. Most of my reads are from there.

A quick read this afternoon Until Mayhem/Layla Frost. This is part of a series done by multiple authors. Layla Frost is one of my favorites and she didn't disappoint in this biker romance story.

Sounds like everyone has generally had an ok day. I'd planned to do a proper update this evening, but our neighbours were having a party and the music kept my smalls awake until 10pm! Will try again tomorrow...

1 week in! How is everyone doing?

We've got 38 books marked as finished so far and the fancy tracking number thinks we could have 48 at this point so everyone is doing a fabulous job of longer books (there's nothing less than 200p on the SS).

All the tasks have been claimed on the mini and we are doing well with the spell outs too.

Left to claim are
E x6
I x2
L
N
O x 2
R x2
U

Yay! I’m currently working on finishing up three books. The biography I’m reading is close to 800 pages so that may end up taking me right until the end of the month. If I finish these early, I’ll claim more tasks. I’ve been reading some fantastic books!

I hope everyone else is enjoying their books as well☺️

So I just finished Broken Hill High by Sheridan Anne. I wasn't so into as it started because being a high school romance it does enter in a eating disorder, which can be hard to read about it. It turned out okay and I am giving it 4 stars. What I like about it to is it is a continuing series but they ended it with a good ending. No cliff hanger or stopping all of a sudden. I love series books but don't read them right after another and I hate when I start book 2 and feel instantly lost. So this series has that going for it.

I’m working on a few books. We got stuck in London for a few extra days so haven’t been able to get to my computer to get some spreadsheet work done and haven’t been able to be as active in here as I’d like yet. Hope to be home in a few days!

Steven wrote: "I’m working on a few books. We got stuck in London for a few extra days so haven’t been able to get to my computer to get some spreadsheet work done and haven’t been able to be as active in here as..."

No worries! Enjoy your trip... you can read more on the plane ride home :-)

Some romance series I have loved over the past year or so:
Objects of Attraction - 6 books by Penelope Bloom
Moose Springs, Alaska - 4 books by Sarah Morgenthaler
Bromance Book Club - 5 books by Lyssa Kay Adams

Sophie wrote: "

1 week in! How is everyone doing?

We've got 38 books marked as finished so far and the fancy tracking number thinks we could have 48 at this point so everyone is doing a fabulous job of longer b..."

finished one for O last night (forgot about using character names for the spell-out)
Have L & N planned for today
Have an R on deck for Monday

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Heading into town to run some errands today since I didn't make it there on Monday. Hoping to finish Travelling Cat while at the laundromat. Picked up a huge stack of books from the library yesterd..."

Omg that sounds terrible Amy!! And on top of all the hassle it’s a subject bringing back reminders of your dads death the whole time. What a hassle, I’m so glad it seems the last person you worked with was able to help.

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I really hope it won't crack. ..."

That’s a cool tip Amy, about the pan of water, I never knew that!

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Mia wrote: "I just finished Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for letters HYMN in the title. And damn... i'm in love with this book. It was fantastic. So glad I joined this challe..."

Oh I LOVED Oona Out of Order!!! Maybe I should read Eleanor Oliphant lol. I’ve had it on my TBR a while.

Hey everyone, apologies for going silent - things got a little chaotic on my end. Good news though is that we're going on vacation to Georgia for a few days! I'm really looking forward to it now that it's finally booked. Plus, the flight is three hours long, so that's three uninterrupted hours of reading!

I've read both Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, which I thought I wouldn't like but loved, and Oona Out of Order, which I thought I would like but really did not. I'm not a romance person unless it's a classic, so a lot of the tropes in Oona were not ones I enjoyed.

Have any of you read Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus or The Starless Sea? What are your thoughts on those?

Navi - please recheck the edition and page count for The Queen of the Night - they don't seem to match on the SS.

Megan - Please add Things We Never Got Over, Broken Hill High and Until Mayhem to your shelf. Please also recheck the page count for Broken Hill High.

Mia - please re-check the page count for Sorcery of Thorns.

Keri wrote: "Amy the book-bat wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I rea..."

I can confirm the pan of water worked. My cheesecake didn't crack. I haven't tasted it yet, but hopefully it will be good.

Insiyah wrote: "Hey everyone, apologies for going silent - things got a little chaotic on my end. Good news though is that we're going on vacation to Georgia for a few days! I'm really looking forward to it now th..."

I have read both of them, but I liked The Night Circus better. The visuals it creates are beautiful. I wished the illusions showed could be real.

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Heading into town to run some errands today since I didn't make it there on Monday. Hoping to finish Travelling Cat while at the laundromat. Picked up a huge stack of books from the library yesterd..."

Oh boy, bureaucracy at its finest *chef's kiss*. Glad to see that it's universal...
I feel for you, Amy !

Checking in to give an update. I'm more than halfway through my first Ken Follett book The Evening and the Morning. It's 900+ pages but doesn't feel like it. I'm enjoying it quite a lot even with the despicable characters and the plethora of nitwits. Glad I picked it up for this challenge :) Hope to finish it by tomorrow. I still would like to squeeze in a last book before the month ends.

Re: The Night Circus. For me it was an agonizing reading experience. Pretentious writing and a slow plot going nowhere. Didn't try anything else by the author since then.

Insiyah wrote: "

Navi - please recheck the edition and page count for The Queen of the Night - they don't seem to match on the SS.

Megan - Please add Things We Never Got Over, Broken Hill High and Until Mayhem t..."

Checked

Insiyah wrote: "Hey everyone, apologies for going silent - things got a little chaotic on my end. Good news though is that we're going on vacation to Georgia for a few days! I'm really looking forward to it now th..."

i've read the night circus. It was okey. The visuals described are pretty cool, but it felt like she wrote the book specifically for it to be a movie, so it felt "wrong" most of the time, like it was movie plot points not book plot points. don't know how better to describe it :P

Insiyah wrote: "

Navi - please recheck the edition and page count for The Queen of the Night - they don't seem to match on the SS.

Megan - Please add Things We Never Got Over, Broken Hill High and Until Mayhem t..."

Done. LOL Sorry about that. I will remember to add all my books to my shelf

Insiyah wrote: "

Navi - please recheck the edition and page count for The Queen of the Night - they don't seem to match on the SS.

Megan - Please add Things We Never Got Over, Broken Hill High and Until Mayhem t..."

Done - sorry about that, Insiyah!

Keri wrote: "Amy the book-bat wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on Sunday, I rea..."

I like to watch cooking shows and that has been a tip so many times.

Andrea wrote: "Keri wrote: "Amy the book-bat wrote: "Andrea wrote: "I have to work half day on Saturdays and I will probably go bowling with some friends in the afternoon. Also I will bake my first cheesecake on ..."

So glad it worked!