LucianYaz:

In case anyone is interested, it's World Book Day (WBD) again at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/article/read-the-world-2021/

There are 10 free ebooks set in different countries; I look out for WBD every year because it's a good opportunity to get exposure to diverse writers and settings. The books are available for the next 7 days.

I use the Amazon US store so I'm not sure if the link or the books will be available to persons with non-US accounts.

Thanks a lot for posting this! I've already found some interesting titles among these 10 books! 

 zeamays:
Ooh, I want to join even though I am pretty late :)  Hi, everyone!  I am a lifelong book lover that has kind of not been so good about reading consistently over the past few years, but I have been trying to make more of a concerted effort this year, so this thread is perfect for me!  Also this is going to nudge me to actually update my goodreads ;)

Welcome, dear @zeamays! Reading your post makes me want to read more xD

 Christine Bui:

HI! I recently just finished Daughter of the Deep by Lina C. Amarego. I'm planning to finish the Six of Crows Duology so Crooked Kingdom is next and IM SO EXCITED!!

Somehow I skipped your post, so I didn't properly welcome you to our book-club ^^

Welcome, dear @Christine Bui!
Reading about your excitement for starting a new book makes me more motivated to finish mine xD

Hallo! I've followed the posts in this forum for a bit and finally i've decided to officially join it ^^ i'm a fan of thriller and fantasy novels. 

i don't usually have a precise plan of what i'm going to read next and i just pick on the spur of the moment. some months i read three-four books and the next month not even a page...

my april readings are:

"The Wrath and the Dawn" by Renée Ahdieh

This is a retelling of "One Thousand and One Nights". Beautiful descriptions in an exotic setting, but unfortunately it was not enough for me... The story fell flat, the characters weren't enough interesting and after trying and trying i gave up and dropped it :(

(The premise was good and the book cover too, i really tried to force myself into finishing it, but...)
"Under the Midnight Sun" by Higashino Keigo

I bought the book by chance but as soon as i started it i noticed that it was strikingly similar to the japanese drama Byakuyako. I've watched the drama many years ago and at that time i didn't even know it was adapted from a novel... both novel and drama are awesome, dark and vivid, super recommended!

(Higashino is a great writer, after reading three of his novels he's become one of my favorite writers!)
"War and Peace" by Lev Tolstoy

This actually is a long-term plan, i started it this month, just read the first chapters, no idea when/if i'll finish it, when i have no other books to read i'll pick it up again. from time to time, i like to read some classics of the world literature, just to have a taste of the great novels
 lucy_lu:
Hallo! I've followed the posts in this forum for a bit and finally i've decided to officially join it ^^ i'm a fan of thriller and fantasy novels.

i don't usually have a precise plan of what i'm going to read next and i just pick on the spur of the moment. some months i read three-four books and the next month not even a page...

Welcome, dear @lucy_lu :)

I usually pick my next book on the spur of the moment, like you, and I also like thriller novels (fantasy isn't my thing any more - I guess I'm too old for this genre now ^^)

Tolstoy is indeed a classic author, and a worth-reading one, but I agree that for modern young people he may seem a bit heavy. I was lucky to read most of his works maaany years ago!

 penel:

Welcome, dear @lucy_lu :)

I usually pick my next book on the spur of the moment, like you, and I also like thriller novels (fantasy isn't my thing any more - I guess I'm too old for this genre now ^^)

Tolstoy is indeed a classic author, and a worth-reading one, but I agree that for modern young people he may seem a bit heavy. I was lucky to read most of his works maaany years ago!

thanks for your warm welcome ^^

yes, classic novels always tend to scare away people, but after finishing (and liking a lot!) The Count of Monte Cristo, i felt inspired and thought about starting a new endless novel :D

btw, if you have any good thriller or detective story, i'm open for recs :)

I just finished Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I love how she spun the story among her unlikeable characters. Here are my thoughts:

I pity Heathcliff at the start of this book because he fell down from being a pampered son to a slave after his stepfather died and he fell in love with a selfish character. As this book progresses, I HATE his character so much. Due to his bitterness and need for revenge, he made the lives of the people around him hell. He replaced his brother as the oppressor in Wuthering Heights. Though, by the end of this story, I still feel a bit sorry for him because even if he already achieved his revenge, he's alone and not happy. Oddly enough, I found some similarities between him and Hindley. Both bitter and only loved one woman in their lives.

This is not girl hate but I can't seem to sympathize with Catherine Earnshaw. I know that she was forced to choose between stability and passion because the time she was in wasn't friendly to women. She chose the first one and in her shoes, I would do the same. The only thing that made me find her character so overdramatic at times was that she can't seem to be responsible with her actions. she's so selfish and naive to think that she can keep these two together without inflicting pain on them. I pity the men for loving such a selfish woman.

The character that I pitied the most was Hareton Earnshaw. It wasn't his fault that he strayed from the right path. He was subject to abuse and neglect by both his own father and uncle.

Though Edgar Linton was foolish as this story started, he was a decent man.

The reason why I enjoyed this book because was because mainly I expected to hate the characters that it compensated for the lack of romance. I would love to get a paperback copy of this book as I plan to reread this again. 

 Estelll:
That must be true, because I absolutely love Jane Eyre, but Wuthering Heights never really grabbed me, something about the hostile setting, the toxic characters/relationship, and/or the plot made me feel uncomfortable, so I never really enjoyed it (till probably the last part). Though I've no idea how I'd feel about it if I reread it now, almost 20 years later.

As finished reading this story, its odd that I enjoyed both but would reread Wuthering Heights. ahahaha

 penel:

Welcome, dear @lucy_lu :)

I usually pick my next book on the spur of the moment, like you, and I also like thriller novels (fantasy isn't my thing any more - I guess I'm too old for this genre now ^^)

Tolstoy is indeed a classic author, and a worth-reading one, but I agree that for modern young people he may seem a bit heavy. I was lucky to read most of his works maaany years ago!

Maybe you could try adult fantasy novels. A lot of people seem to like Brandon Sanderson's books. One example is his Mistborn series. 

 Lady Nimue:

Maybe you could try adult fantasy novels. A lot of people seem to like Brandon Sanderson's books. One example is his Mistborn series. 

Another thumbs-up for the Mistborn series. I also want to recommend Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series; I only read the first three books (which make up the Farseer Trilogy) but they were excellent. My sister and I started together but, though I bailed on her, she went on to complete the entire Elderlings series and said it was gold.

If you're into or want to try urban fantasy (paranormal, angels, vampires, shapeshifters etc), I recommend two series from Nalini Singh: Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter

 Lady Nimue:
The reason why I enjoyed this book because was because mainly I expected to hate the characters that it compensated for the lack of romance. I would love to get a paperback copy of this book as I plan to reread this again. 

I read Wuthering Heights for English Lit ages ago and all I remember is that I disliked it intensely; then again, English Lit made almost everything unlikeable! I want to read it again as an adult and your review is making me want to start now :-)

 LucianYaz:

I read Wuthering Heights for English Lit ages ago and all I remember is that I disliked it intensely; then again, English Lit made almost everything unlikeable! I want to read it again as an adult and your review is making me want to start now :-)

Thank you! 

This book actually made me a masochist and it made me want to check out Rebecca.

 Lady Nimue:
This book actually made me a masochist and it made me want to check out Rebecca.

If you haven't yet, you must read Rebecca - I highly recommend it! Daphne du Maurier wrote very disturbing stories that contain hints of ambiguity that leave you questioning what really happened - from what I've read of her oeuvre (3 novels/2 short story collections), My Cousin Rachel is the epitome of this sense of uncertainty. It's been almost six years since I read it, and I'm still questioning what actually happened.

Also, the sense of atmosphere in her works is almost palpable; never experienced anything like it (other than when I read Stephen King in my teens).

Hi guys! Just finished Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception and this book was a fun read.

I wasn’t hooked with this book at first because I have a hard time reading characters that are in dire situations since I am used to OP characters at the start of the series. The moment when Holly, Mulch, Artemis and Butler reunited, that’s where I can’t drop the book. 

Opal is one of the well-written antagonist that I read in a book this year because she’s so intelligent with a bit of a narcistic personality. I really had fun reading her and Artemis trying to outsmart each other to pursue their goals. 

I love how Mr. Colfer writes intelligent characters in a middle-grade series though, I am starting to notice a pattern into his storytelling.

 Lady Nimue:

Maybe you could try adult fantasy novels. A lot of people seem to like Brandon Sanderson's books. One example is his Mistborn series. 

Oh yes! I've heard this name many times, though I haven't read him yet. I really need to do that T_T