|| IF Book Club : The Next Chapter || - Page 62

@unique.sheep: Setting a reading goal is a motivator, like Anam and Shreya have said. If I don't have a goal, I might just let my mind wander instead of trying to stay focused on reading. And leisure reading helps me in concentrating on other works, and to stay calm when I face problems, so that's important to me. Moreover, if I don't like a book, I tend to leave it and not pick up another book for a while. Goals help to keep me motivated during such reading slumps.

@Anam: Summertime sounds good for a marathon read.

@Shreya: I think I just found my next read. Thanks! 😃

How are you liking Emma? I started it two years back but never managed to finish it. Austen novels normally take time to get into, after which I end up loving them but with this, I'm stuck on chapter 4 for some reason.

@all: Since everyone is saying summer, let’s have a reading marathon in summer.

@Shreya: I finally finished reading My Dark Vanessa yesterday. I would have finished earlier but I was busy in between.
I really liked the book. It was dark and disturbing but I loved it. The twist at the halfway mark with Strane threw me off a bit because I wanted to see justice served and him to get what he deserved but I guess this wasn’t that sort of book. Vanessa’s growth and her acceptance of what happened was believable. Towards the end of the book I felt that in writing it the way the author had, by not tying up loose ends; the author made it believable rather than a fairy tale.
Thanks a lot for the recommendation.

How are you liking Emma?

Originally posted by: 23Diya

In my experience, iron-clad resolutions never stick, so this is for the best, I think. 😆

1. Hey, it looks like we all want to read some classics this year. Can we include that in one of our BOTMs? Group reading and discussions might make it more enjoyable.

The first BOTM for next year is most likely a classic. I’m still contemplating between the classic and a current popular book. I’m leaning towards the classic, so most likely it’s going to be that.

3. This reminds me, did you finish Anna Karenina? I wanted to start War and Peace, but the size of the book is just scary.

I finished Anna Karenina. It took me close to 4 months to finish it, but I finally did, even though it was in audiobook format. It was a good book, not great. About 150 pages of the book could have been shaved off and it would have had more of an impact on me. I’m just glad that I finally finished a classic chunker. I gave it 3/5. The next Russian classic I want to read is Crime & Punishment. I was watching a YT video on favourite classics and the person said that they had to read War & Peace twice to understand it and the better way of reading and understanding the book would be to watch the 2016 BBC mini series first. The reason being is that they are too many characters and it can get confusing.

5. Yes, me too! But I find it difficult to do that. First, you have to find a good book, then a good translation, and then you have to actually find a physical/ebook version of it. Books based in the US/UK are so easy to find. Anyway, do you have any particular authors in mind? I want to try out Russian authors (mom's recommendation).

Crime & Punishment and Master & Margarita are the next books I’d like to read when it comes to Russian literature. I definitely want to read Master & Margarita in the next year. It’s supposed to be witty and it’s also a shorter book as compared to Crime & Punishment.

I finished crazy rich Asians last night. I can't want to share my take on it at the end of this month. 😊

Originally posted by: Shanam_77

I finished crazy rich Asians last night. I can't want to share my take on it at the end of this month. 😊

At least assure me it gets better so I can get through it😆

are you gonna read the other 2 books?

Yes, it definitely gets better. It gets more and more entertaining as we read it. I will definitely read the other books in the series, but not right now. My hands are pretty full.

Originally posted by: Shanam_77

Yes, it definitely gets better. It gets more and more entertaining as we read it. I will definitely read the other books in the series, but not right now. My hands are pretty full.

Thanks for the thumbs up. Right now I am only into Astrids story.

Astrid is pretty amazing, I agree. I think I have a crush on her 😆

@Diya and Anam: Whenever I pick up Emma, I am thoroughly entertained. I can only read two or three chapters at a time though. I am 200 pages into it right now and hoping to finish it by January!

Maybe try reading along with the audiobook, Diya! It helps me sometimes.

Oh wow, Anam, I am so glad you loved it. I agree. I was a bit shocked when the twist came but like you said, this story is not about a victim getting justice. It's more focused on her self realisation. She is a tiring character to follow but the ending was the best part of the book, imo. It's not a happy one by any means but it's hopeful. All you can hope for is someday Vanessa will heal (how much ever you can from that sort of an experience).