The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
FALL CHALLENGE 2025
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Amanda E.Here is my review for The Covenant of Water that I read to complete task 10.4 Where the Dead Still Walk.
(Read a book that is set at least 50 percent in Scotland, France, or India)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amanda E. Here is my review for A Thousand Splendid Suns that I used for task 10.1 - School is Cool:
Go back to school and read a non fiction book with the MPG Science, Mathmatics, or History
-OR-
Read a fiction book with MPG Literary fiction/Literature or Dark Academia)
This book is literary fiction
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amanda E. Review For The Chestnut Man for task 20.10 - Nordic Noir Group Read
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amanda E. Review for The Alice Network used for task 20.1 Most Improved: Kai's Task- Onihei Jokei
(Read a book that combines a real historical event with fictional ones.)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amanda E. Review for
used for task 20.3 -Review Raffle: Masoodah's Task -What's in a name?(Option 2: Read a book by an author that shares the same LAST NAME initial of the LAST LETTER in YOUR READERBOARD name)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amanda E. Review for
used for 10.2 Window to the Past: Read a book with a window on the cover.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
trishhartukThe Call of the Wild, Jack London
Five stars
Well this isn't a five-star review I'd ever expected to write. This book has been on my radar for years, without having ever read it - I didn't study it at school or university. I eventually put it on my GR TBR shelf back in 2018, but it's taken me this long to get around to it.
I'm always fascinated by books set in Alaska and Northern Canada, as the landscapes are so different to the UK, and the landscape of the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush in The Call of the Wild was as much a character as Buck the dog. London managed to write about the place, the people who were that at that time, and the wildness without being sentimental about it. It was also fascinating to read Buck's journey from pampered house dog back to his wild roots.
I will confess, I did check it on the "DoesTheDogDie" site first, so I was ready for some of the darker moments in this book (the death and abuse of other dogs), but taken overall, I actually really liked it: enough to give it five stars.
I always enjoy a book that manages to surprise me.
Book: The Memory Police by Yōko OgawaEvery time I read a book written by a Japanese woman I have been totally engrossed in it. They are just so different and refreshing from other novels.
This one is a dystopian novel that takes place on an unnamed island, where objects suddenly disappear, and for the most part, people forget about them. However there are a few people who have the ability to remember them, and in a few instances. like the protagonists mother, they hoard and protect these items.
The memory police track down these people and take them away-people live in fear of the Memory Police. Safehouses are established to hide those who are able to retain their memories. The main protagonist discovers that her typing teacher is one of those able to retain memories, and sets out to create a hiding spot in her home for him to stay in. she has the help of an elderly gentleman and together they eek out a life. Things are quite scarce, and day to day survival is quite trying.
One day they discover some items hidden in her mother's sculptures, and many items that her mother had hidden away our hidden inside.
The atmosphere throughout this novel is one of deprivation and fear, and it totally sucks the reader into it. As time goes on, the things that "disappear" get more and more serious and life changing.
I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys dystopia, or dark novels
trishhartukThe Place of Tides, James Rebanks
Five stars
This is a wonderful, lyrical book about living with nature and keeping alive old traditions. When looking for a way to pull himself out of the anger and rut of his life on the family farm, the author went to Norway and spent a season with one of the "duck women", who look after and protect the eider ducks on the islands off Norway.
It was beautifully written in a way that pulled me in, and as the book progressed through the 70 days James Rebanks, Anna and Ingrid were on the island, you felt how the author came to love the place, and what the women were doing, and how they came to trust him as they taught him the work. Anna, herself, has done a lot to make sure that the traditions and skills of the duck women are taught to the next generation, so they don't die out.
Recommended for people who enjoy reading about nature and the importance of old traditions.
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas ContrerasIt was amazing
This is historical fiction based on the author's own experiences living in Columbia under Pablo Escobar's reign of terror.
The story alternates between Chula, a daughter in a fairy privileged Santiago family, and their maid, Petrona, who is only a few years older than Chula. Chula lives a relatively carefree life, unaware of the obstacles facing Petrona in her struggle to support her family in the poor mountain village where the gangs of Pablo Escobar control most everything.
Chula's eyes are opened when they visit Petrona's home following Petrona's first communion. Then when Chula's father gets kidnapped, the world of Pablo Escobar comes crashing into Chula's world.
Petrona is facing demands by the gang to kidnap the girls, and she must make a huge decision.
Peppered throughout the story are news items about the capture and escape of Pablo Escobar.
I was glued to my seat throughout this whole story. The author does a masterful job of keeping the reader routing for both these girls.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping (other topics)Circe (other topics)
A Court of Thorns and Roses (other topics)
Alchemised (other topics)
Saltcrop (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sangu Mandanna (other topics)Madeline Miller (other topics)
Sarah J. Maas (other topics)
SenLinYu (other topics)
Yume Kitasei (other topics)
More...
We will draw a random name from anyone who posts a review in this thread and they will be given the opportunity to create a task in the Fall 2025 season - the more reviews that you post, the more chance of being drawn!
Reviews must be for books read within the current challenge period. You may link to your review on Goodreads, or type the review in the thread. (Please do not link to a review on a site outside of Goodreads).
Your review does not have to be positive but it should be at least a couple of sentences long - "loved it" or "not for me" is not helpful to other readers!
Please remember to include your Readerboard name when posting your review.