PenPal Readers discussion

Update: Pairings have been posted, see message #15 below
Update: Summary of books chosen, see message #44
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Duration: June 1-30, 2018
Sign up period: Until May 31, 2018
Partner pairings announced: June 1 (announced in this thread)

For FULL details of how the copy cat challenge works, please visit the 'About Copy Cat Challenge' post here...

SUMMARY:
In this challenge, participants are paired up to choose and read a book from their partner's read shelf and compare how they each rated the book. It's a fun way to discover new books, to read from different genre(s), and to make PenPal connections. This challenge repeats monthly, and you sign-up separately for each month you wish to participate.

COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE
- Week 1: Review your paired partner's 'Read shelf' and choose a book(s) to read. Post to this thread to update your partner on the book chosen. (You can ask them for suggestions too!)
- Week 1-4: Begin reading, and post any updates/thoughts as you read.
- Week 3-4: Complete your read, and post to the thread with final thoughts on the book and comparing how you and your partner each rated the book.

Participation = Post to thread (book choice), Read book, Post to thread (finished book thoughts)

NOTE:
- Please only sign-up if you are confident you have time to choose and read a book. If you are no longer able to participate after signing up, message a Mod or update this thread, so we can re-match, and no-one is left without a partner for the month!
- Remember to re-visit this thread on June 1 to see who you have been paired up with for the month (adding a calendar reminder helps!)

I would like to join!

I would like to participate!

Sign me up

I'm in!!!! 😀

I would like to sign up

Sign me up :)

Please sign me up...

I'm in! :)

Please, sign me up! thanks!

I would like to join :)

i wanna join.

me please!

I'd like to join!

Here are the pairings for June:
Kristina & Amber
Marisela & Taylor
Chloe & Norma
Missy & Anne
Mion & Kyle
Annie & Elizabeth
Mihika & Kanu

Each name above links to the individual’s profile page, where you will browse their ‘read shelf’ and choose your book to read. WELCOME to the members who are new to this challenge: Elizabeth, Kanu, Kyle, Mihika, Norma.

Completing the Challenge:
Week 1: Visit your paired partner’s profile page to browse their ‘Read’ Shelf and choose the book(s) you’d like to read. Post a comment in the thread to let your partner know what you’ll be reading.
Week 1-4: Begin reading, and post any updates/thoughts as you read.
Week 3-4: When you finish your book, post a comment with your final thoughts, and comparing how you and your partner each rated the book.

**** If you can no longer participate for this month, please message me or update the thread as soon as possible, so we can arrange a re-match, and no one is left without a partner! ****

You can view FAQ's in the ‘About Copy Cat Challenge’ thread here…

Happy reading!

Hi Norma,

I really don't know what I want to read of yours!

I have IT by Stephen King on my shelf, but I wanted to save that till halloween ;) I like the look of The Roanoke Girls but I'm not sure..?

If all else fails I am currently reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so that would count!

What would you recommend?

Chloe

Hi Marisela,

I couldn't find anything on your read list, but I saw that you have the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series on your to-be-read list! You're missing the first book in the series, I don't know if that was on accident or on purpose, but that is going to be what I am choosing to read for this challenge!

Hi Anne!
I'm choosing My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
by Fredrik Backman. It's been on my list forever!!! 😀

Missy wrote: "Hi Anne!
I'm choosing My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
by Fredrik Backman. It's been on my list forever!!! 😀"

Great choice! One cannot go wrong with a Backman book, he's a master storyteller, and I ADORE every book I've ever read of his. I loved the humor in this one, the fantasy element, and the way all the characters intertwined in ways you would not imagine. I hope it's a good read for you.

I found several books on your shelf that I've been wanting to read, but I've decided on Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe I'm a HUGE fan of the movie, I re-watch it almost every year, and yet I've never read the book. Very excited for this!

Hi Kanu,

I am selecting Red Queen from your Read list. I have been meaning to read this for the longest time and it has been lying on my shelf as well.

Hope to have fun reading this and sharing my thoughts!!!

Thanks Anne for the warm welcome. Am excited!!!

Hi Annie,
I will being reading 1984 by George Orwell. I'm very excited, and I can't wait to see what you choose from my list! 1984

Chloe I really enjoyed Roanoke though it was dark. I have been wanting to read The Room for a while so I’m going to choose that one

Hi Mion! You have a lot of interesting books on your 'read' list. But I think I'm going to read

I've always wanted to read the book since I've seen the Miyazaki movie so I look forward to reading this one!

Hi Mihika

I have selected And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie from your list.

Happy Reading everyone.

Greetings, Kristina!

I haven't had a chance to really browse your shelves yet, but looking forward to doing so shortly :)

Kanu wrote: "Hi Mihika

I have selected And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie from your list.

Happy Reading everyone."

Wow, its a awsum book, Kanu. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Norma wrote: "Chloe I really enjoyed Roanoke though it was dark. I have been wanting to read The Room for a while so I’m going to choose that one"

Hi Norma,

I decided I'm going to give The Roanoke Girls a go! Luckily it was in my library and I managed a couple of pages this morning. I'm already not sure about it flicking from the past to present day each chapter, as it's not normally the style of writing I like to read, but I'm giving this book a good go at least.

Chloe

Dear Amber,

I am excited to be your June copycat! I have looked through your shelves and I have picked the book The Hen Who Dreamed She could Fly . I have always loved chickens, but due to zoning laws and my husband I am not able to get a chicken. When I was little I did have two ducks so maybe that counts somewhat? This sound like a fun little story of a brave chicken and I am looking forward to reading it soon! I hope you are able to find a book you will enjoy.

Best,

Kristina

Dear Kyle,

I hope you enjoy the book you chose, although I must warn you that it differed from the movie quite greatly. In my opinion, they are both good in their own way, but I enjoyed the movie more than the book. Then again, I love almost everything Miyazaki has been involved in.

From your shelves, I decided to read In the Miso Soup which I've been putting off for a long time because of the title. However, I'm a huge fan of Japanese literature (I even have a shelf dedicated to it!) and thus, it's definitely a must-read for me.

Happy reading!

Mion

I hope you enjoy, Mion! I loved In the Miso Soup! After I read that book I went and bought the rest of Murakami's books. The only one I'm missing is Almost Transparent Blue because it's on Amazon for I think like 40 bucks.

Dear Kyle,

I just finished In the Miso Soup and I must say I have conflicted feelings about it. I enjoyed it more than Audition which I read a couple of years back, but the last part was somewhat needless for me. I also felt like there were some similarities with Natsuo Kirino's Out, at least in the beginning, so I'm giving it 4/5 rating. It was really hard to put it down, so I'm thinking of reading some more of his works this summer (provided I can get them!)

I'd like to read another book from your shelf. Is there anything you'd really recommend?

Hi Missy,

I just finished Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and it was every bit of wonderful that I'd imagined it would be. I think the book and movie are each wonderful in their own right, and I'll continue to be happy to re-watch and re-read many times over :)

I'm soooo glad this book was on your shelf !

Hi Mion!

I highly recommendJaya and Rasa: A Love Story. It was an engaging and kinda sweet story. I wish Jaya and Rasa had more of an epilogue but I think it completed what it needed to do. I also recommend The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness if you like nonfiction. It talks about the intelligence of octopuses and tells the story of several different octopuses Sy interacted with. It’s not on my ‘Read’ shelf yet as I just finished it last night but I will be putting it up there!

Still reading through Howl’s Moving Castle and you’re right it is pretty different from the movie!

edited to add the links to the books I suggested.

Hi Mion!

I finished Howl's Moving Castle. I liked it, you were right that it's a lot different from the movie. I did like that I could recognize some scenes that were taken out of the book and put into the movie but it was interesting to see what all was left out. I'm gonna pull some more from your shelf and do some more reading! Hopefully my library has some of them! I've always wanted to read The Little Prince

Hello Elizabeth!

After much debating, I will be reading Flowers for Algernon as it is a book that keeps popping up on my radar :)

Let me know how you find 1984.

Happy reading,

Annie

Chloe that style does take some getting used to

Hi Norma,

I finished The Roanoke Girls last night, and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a bit dark, but to be honest none of it was surprising me as I read through - I sort of picked up on the 'big secret' from the beginning.

I think it may have been one of the first non-young adult books I've enjoyed this much so I'm happy that I chose it.

How are you getting on with Room?

Chloe, I'm so glasses you enjoyed it! I finished the room. I really thought I wasn't going to like it. I was wrong, I really enjoyed it. I'm so glad I gave it a try.

Kristina wrote: "Dear Amber,

I am excited to be your June copycat! I have looked through your shelves and I have picked the book The Hen Who Dreamed She could Fly . I have always loved chickens, but due to zoning laws and my husband I am not able to get a chicken. When I was little I did have two ducks so maybe that counts somewhat? This sound like a fun little story of a brave chicken and I am looking forward to reading it soon! I hope you are able to find a book you will enjoy.

Best,

Kristina"

Definitely a brave chicken, hope you enjoy it! I am going to go with Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine... This has been sitting in my "To Reads" for quite awhile, so I guess now is a good time to get to it :)

Marisela wrote: "Sign me up

Checking in that you're still planning to participate this month, Marisela?

Anne ✨ wrote: "Hi Missy,

I just finished Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and it was every bit of wonderful that I'd imagined it would be. I think the book and movie are each wonderful i..."

Im so glad you liked Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I enjoyed the movie a little more but the book was still really good! 😀 Ifinished My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. It is so good! It makes me want to reread Britt-Marie Was Here. It was definitely a five star rating!

And... I loved it. Five stars from me, for Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. She's one of those rare characters that I wish weren't fictional, because I would legitimately like to know them... And I always appreciate a story that isn't too tidied up at the end.

Taylor wrote: "Hi Marisela,

I couldn't find anything on your read list, but I saw that you have the "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series on your to-be-read list! You're missing the first book in the series, I d..."

Taylor I'm sorry that Marisela hasn't responded for the challenge? I do hope that you're enjoying a Court of Thorns and Roses, that's on my TBR too!

ALL - If anyone else participating this month has finished their challenge book and would like to do another, check out Taylor's shelf :)

Here's a look at the great assortment of books participants have chosen from paired partners shelves for the challenge this month! Happy reading copycats!



Kristina - The Hen Who Dreamed She could Fly | Amber - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Marisela - TBC | Taylor - A Court of Thorns and Roses | Kyle - Invisible Monsters
Chloe - The Roanoke Girls | Norma - Room
Missy - My Grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry | Anne - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe
Mion - In the Miso Soup | Kyle - Howl's Moving Castle
Annie - Flowers for Algernon | Elizabeth - 1984
Mihika - Red Queen | Kanu - And then there were none

Hi Taylor! I’ll be your copycat!

I’ll read “Invisible Monsters” by Chuck Palanuik (I don’t think I spelled that right LOL I’m on mobile)

Kyle wrote: "Hi Taylor! I’ll be your copycat!

I’ll read “Invisible Monsters” by Chuck Palahniuk (I don’t think I spelled that right LOL I’m on mobile)"

Oooh, that book sounds good! And from the author of Fight Club. Cool! Hope you enjoy, and glad you highlighted it, gotta add that to my TBR!

Thanks, Kyle!! It's really great to have you in the PenPal Readers group!

Missy wrote: "I finished My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. It is so good! It makes me want to reread Britt-Marie Was Here. It was definitely a five star rating! ."

I'm so glad you enjoyed it too! And yes, oh my goodness, Britt-Marie was here was sooooo good. I was so surprised when I heard the book was about that character from the 'My Grandmother...' book, I thought really? But wow, Backman did such a brilliant job and made me just root for her and laugh and enjoy so much.

Annie wrote: "Hello Elizabeth!

After much debating, I will be reading Flowers for Algernon as it is a book that keeps popping up on my radar :)

Let me know how you find 1984.

Happy reading,

Annie"


Hi Annie,
I will be leaving for Peru on the 19th and I will be staying there until July 3rd. I have just been too busy with school and finals to read, and now that I'm done I have just been reading books about Peru in preparation for my trip. However, 1984 is not only on my summer reading list for school (so I HAVE to read it at some point this summer) but I still do want to read it. So, I just wanted to let you know that I won't be able to complete the challenge in June, but I will likely read 1984 before July is halfway through, and I would love to message you about the challenge then. Is that okay?

Thank you,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth wrote: "Annie wrote: "Hello Elizabeth!

After much debating, I will be reading Flowers for Algernon as it is a book that keeps popping up on my radar :)

Let me know how you find 1984.

Happy reading,

A..."

Since there are almost two weeks left in June, I can also read something from Annie's shelf if the need arises! (And Elizabeth, I'm totally envious of you right now. Enjoy Peru! )

Kyle wrote: "Hi Taylor! I’ll be your copycat!

I’ll read “Invisible Monsters” by Chuck Palanuik (I don’t think I spelled that right LOL I’m on mobile)"

I really enjoyed that book, though it's been awhile since I read it! I hope that you enjoy it, too!