Book Loving Kiwis discussion

Almost at the end of the month and so much reading has been done already :) I've got my fingers crossed for about three more book pool books to come in at the library for me to read in March (I'm in the reserves queue).

What's everyone reading at the moment?

Erica wrote: "Almost at the end of the month and so much reading has been done already :) I've got my fingers crossed for about three more book pool books to come in at the library for me to read in March (I'm i..."

I'm reading a book for a different group's challenge atm, but I have picked up My Year of Rest and Relaxation to read next.

Erica wrote: "Almost at the end of the month and so much reading has been done already :) I've got my fingers crossed for about three more book pool books to come in at the library for me to read in March (I'm i..."

I'm reading The Last Wild Horses. I'm not far in but I'm hooked :)

Almost finished seven moons of maali almeida . It has been both an amazing and a challenging read from a content and structure perspective.
Have lined up love stories next which should be at the Karori library this afternoon if I’m lucky

#10 Zellian
Book 1 - I Kissed A Zombie And I Liked It by Adam Selzer
Date Finished: 19/02
Rating: 1 Star

I was all pumped and ready for the challenge, I grabbed this book and also started Seven Wonders aaaaaaaaaaaand I barely read :|
This book I finished is short, less than 200 pages but it was terrible to be honest, A snarky parody of supernatural romance with a character who's got the "I'm different" kind of vibes.

I'm maybe a quarter into Seven Wonders (I didn't realize how many pages it was!) and started Mortal Engines, I'm more invested now but it's a slow start that's for sure!

Jennifer wrote: "I'm reading The Last Wild Horses. I'm not far in but I'm hooked :)."

I'm happy that you posted this as I had taken the book back to the library, forgetting it was in the BookPool. Anyway I collected it from the library this morning and have read a few pages at a cafe and will definitely give it a go once I'm done with Fleur Beale's The Calling.

#21 Jess
Book 3 - Build Your House Around My Body, By Violet Kupersmith
Date Finished: 21.02.2023
Rating: 2 Stars

I could not get into this one. Interesting concept, but there were a lot of elements to it that skipped back and forth between months, years, days and different character timelines - it was too much for me to really care about taking in.

Hello! I’ve just finished my book #2 - Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. I gave this 4 stars, but it was more like a 3.5 overall for me :)

#5
Book 3- The Seven Moons of Maali Almeidi by Sheehan Karunatilaka
Finished: 21/02/2023
Rating :⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought I was going to like this book more than I did but it was a challenging read from both a content and structure perspective .

The beginning was incredibly intoxicating - the writing so beautifully crafted , presenting a horrible civil war between divided factions in a way that didn’t skip the horrible realities . However when the book moved focus to the main characters story and slipped in between the present world and the spirit world I felt it lacked enough context to ground the reader in where , who and what was going on .

I've updated the scores :)

#2 Boadicea.

Finally underway after being hijacked by COVID and my books on hold have vanished-blergh!

Book 1- Loop Tracks-Sue Orr! Brilliant topical contemporary MZ fiction, 4.5 stars from me!

Any chance of a list or even better a spreadsheet, admin?

Cheers

Boadicea wrote: "#2 Boadicea.

Finally underway after being hijacked by COVID and my books on hold have vanished-blergh!

Book 1- Loop Tracks-Sue Orr! Brilliant topical contemporary MZ fiction, 4.5 stars from me!

..."

Hope you are feeling better!

#1 with a DNF (so it doesn't count)
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Even if we weren't in the middle of a national disaster I don't think I would have liked this one, although the author writes well. Pulled the pin at 15% on 23/2
2★

#15 - Kat
Book 4: Quiet People
The Quiet People
Date Finished: 24/02/2023
Rating: 5 stars
This was awesome, I really enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the story.

Great to see some local books getting high ratings on here :)

#5
Book 3- The Mersault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Finished: 24/02/2023
Rating :⭐️⭐️1/2

Great writing , the story was not for me but a good short one .

#11 Bronwyn
Book 5 - Station Life in New Zealand
Date finished: 23/02/2023
Rating: 3 1/2
I had conflicting thoughts while reading this. Gratitude to my ancestors who came here at an even earlier time, without wealth, to rawer conditions; frustration at how immigrants exploited the natural environment which has led to some of the problems we are experiencing today.

#12 Kerri
Book 1 – The Trees
Date finished: 16/02/2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one was... very strange. Interesting and very different for me. I probably wouldn't have read it without this challenge. I enjoyed it, but I've always been a harsh grader. There were aspects of the writing that got on my nerves. But the characters were interesting and the story... well... a very unique lens on black history, racism and reckoning with America's racial sins.

#12 Kerri
Book 2 – Girl, Woman, Other
Date finished: 24/02/2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
There was a lot to absorb in this book and the writing was a bit relentless. I found it compelling from a feminist and racial perspective, and especially around the intersections of those two themes. But I found the style of writing a bit exhausting. Rich characters and histories that I felt deserved a bit more breathing room so they could resonate.

Oh man, My work reading is getting in the way of this challenge! Hopefully I can get a couple more in the next month.

#7 Kerry
Book 3: The Calling
Date Finished: 26.02.23
Rating: 4.5 stars

I flew through this one. A thoughtful historical fiction for teens that touches on the work of Mother Mary Joseph Aubert. Young Molly has to decide if she really has a calling to God or if it was just her mother's dying wish for her to be a nun. Molly spends time with the Sisters of Compassion at the Jerusalem mission on the Wanganui River in 1895.

Ok scores should all be up to date - feel free to check I've got them right in comment #3 cos I did get a bit muddled with Kerri and Kerry for a moment there but think I've got them correct now :)

Nat wrote: "#5
Book 3- The Mersault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Finished: 24/02/2023
Rating :⭐️⭐️1/2

Great writing , the story was not for me but a good short one ."

This one was technically switched out of the book pool but given it was quite last minute and you might not have seen the change I'll accept it :) Cos this is all for good fun anyway.

Erica wrote: "Nat wrote: "#5
Book 3- The Mersault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
Finished: 24/02/2023
This one was technically switched out of the book pool..."

That was me, given that you probably need to have read Albert Camus's The Stranger first. I didn't realise this till I picked up my copy.

Oh yes I completely missed that . The Goodreads UI on phone is terrible - really hard to follow comments and the book pool only shows me one book 😓

#9 #3
Book #1 - Hamnet
Read: 23/2

Thoroughly enjoyed this, although there were some things that annoyed me. I listened to the audiobook, and the reader did a fantastic job.

#15 - Kat
Book 5: Demon Copperhead
Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
Date Finished: 27/02/2023
Rating: 5 stars
Great story, I loved it!

Heya Darkpool, not that I mind having an extra book credited to me, but I’m #9 🤭

#2 Boadicea Book 2 Auē by Becky Manawatu. Utterly brilliant debut novel coming in at 5 sparkling ✨!

Hi Carol, thanks for your kind thoughts, still spluttering but all good otherwise! Back to reading again and re-ordering my previously held books!

Scores are updated. Demon Copperhead is getting some good reviews on here, wish the queue at the library wasn't so long :)

#7 Kerry
Book 4: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Date Finished: 01.03.23
Rating: 4.5 stars
Relished this one, a great story from a debut author. Eleanor Oliphant is not completely fine at the start.

Kerry wrote: "#7 Kerry
Book 4: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Date Finished: 01.03.23
Rating: 4.5 stars
Relished this one, a great story from a debut author. Eleanor Oliphant is not complete..."

Glad you enjoyed it Kerry! I was worried I might have overhyped it!

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Kerry wrote: "#7 Kerry
Glad you enjoyed it Kerry! I was worried I might have overhyped it!..."

I requested it from the library after reading your thoughts on the book and so pleased that I did. Was just the type of story I needed to read right now.

#15 - Kat
Book 6: Station Life In New Zealand
Station Life in NZ - Lady Barker
Date Finished: 01/03/2023
Rating: 3.5 stars. Was quite interesting, I can imagine how tough it would have been!

#11 Bronwyn
Book 6 - Paper Butterflies
Date finished: 26/02/2023
Rating: 4.5
Emotionally very demanding, but worth it. A story to remain in the memory - perhaps hauntingly so.

#11 Bronwyn
Book 7 - The Calling
Date finished: 28/02/2023
Rating: 4
Good use of historical facts as the basis for this NZ story.

Boadicea wrote: "#2 Boadicea Book 2 Auē by Becky Manawatu. Utterly brilliant debut novel coming in at 5 sparkling ✨!"

I'd like to read this. Sadly, it's not on kindle.

Bronwyn wrote: "

I'd like to read this. Sadly, it's not on kindle."

It looks like it is still available on Amazon UK.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Au%C4%93-Bec...

But I think I remember being told that Scribe books shouldn't be on GR. I'll check that out.

& I asked Scribd & Kindle Scribe are two different things, so if you want, you are good to go, Bronwyn!

Carol I have a version I can send to you if you want . I purchased it on release as a file when it first came out as part of some nz book awards thing

Nat wrote: "Carol I have a version I can send to you if you want . I purchased it on release as a file when it first came out as part of some nz book awards thing"

Thank you, but I have already read & loved Aue. It is Bronwyn who is keen! :)

Oh man , I need to only use good reads on the computer it’s so hard to read on phone

#10 Zellian
Book 2 - Almond by Won Pyung-Sohn
Date Finished - 01/03/2023
Rating: Four Stars

I really enjoyed this actually, I'm so glad I decided to grab this ebook because I legit had just listened to a terrible audiobook.
It wasn't too heavy or long but does have a bit of violence in it, so maybe if you're not keen on that give it a miss.

Book 3 – First Cut
Date finished: 27/02/2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2
Felt pretty meh about this one. The story was okay. But nothing special.

#6
Book 3 - Love Stories
Date finished: 04/03/2023
Rating: 4 stars

I'm a soppy one at heart - not necessarily when it comes to romantic love - but just love in general. So this book definitely pulled at the heart strings. Love the way Trent Dalton writes. I also love that it reminds you about the wonder of strangers and all the hidden stories that other people are hidding, until you talk to them :) Thanks to the person who added this to the Book pool.

#9
Book 3 - The Last Wild Horses
Date finished: 27/2/23
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really liked this amazing story about takhi or Mongolian wild horses. Three different time strands are woven together about these amazing animals and the people who want to save them from extinction. I now want to read the rest of the Climate Quartet series - The Last Wild Horses is #3 but can be read as a standalone book.

#9
Book 4 - Warlight
Date finished: 3/3/23
Rating: 3 stars

I liked the book but the first half less than the second half, so do persevere as it gets better. Set in post-WWII Britain, it was very atmospheric and almost menacing - a lot of smoke and mirrors.
I've seen reviews where it gets a whole-hearted 5 stars and also a great deal of 1 stars! Not much of Mr In-between!
There a lot of twists and turns in this essentially a coming-of-age/spy story. Nothing is as it seems. A lot of interesting characters.

#11 Bronwyn NZ
Book 8 - The Quiet People Paul Cleave
Date finished: 04/03/2023
Rating: 4.5 stars
Very well plotted, well written, and deeply disturbing

#6
Book 4 - Lessons in Chemistry
Date finished: 06/03/2023
Rating: 4 stars

Took me a little while to get into this but liked the second half more :) Elizabeth Zott is the woman that people wish they were - she says what she thinks and stands up for herself, doesn't take shit from the men in charge. Can see why the book is very popular.

Kerry wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I'm reading The Last Wild Horses. I'm not far in but I'm hooked :)."

I'm happy that you posted this as I had taken the book back to the library, forgetting it was in the BookPool...."

It is so worth it :)