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Thursday, June 11, 2020

"The Baker's Daughter" & a 2020 books general update

My D.E. Stevenson fan/reading group recently finished discussing "The Baker's Daughter" -- one of my favourites from this author, and one I suggested. (I also volunteered to lead the discussion. ;)  ) My normal practice when we do our group reads & discussions is to read the book through right away (which I then rate & review, both here on my blog and also on Goodreads) -- and then read the book again along with the group to refresh my memory on the fine points, as we go through and discuss it, chapter by chapter.

It recently occurred to me that, while I'd already included the book among my late 2019 reads (as well as back in 2016), a re-read is still a book read, right?  (And heaven knows I could use a boost on my reading challenge numbers, lol.)

So I've decided to give myself credit and mark "The Baker's Daughter" as read (again -- for the third time in four years!) on Goodreads. I won't bother to re-review it here, since I just did so not too long ago, except to say my previous rating(s) still stand. :)  Here are links to my reviews from late 2019, as well as from 2016, FYI. 

My modus operandi is the same for a Facebook group discussion of "Rilla of Ingleside" by L.M. Montgomery that I'm currently following -- I went through the whole book myself (& reviewed it here in April, as well as on Goodreads), and am now going through it again as the group discusses each chapter. Once we finish our discussion, I will add it to my 2020 books (again), here on my blog and on Goodreads.

Likewise, I'm re-reading "Normal People" by Sally Rooney, following along as I watch the television adaptation on CBC Gem, which I mentioned here. I first read and reviewed that one last fall, and I'll be adding it as a re-read once both show & book are done, in early July.

This was Book #16 read to date in 2020 (Book #2 finished in June). I'm currently at 53% of my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 30 books, and am (for the moment, anyway...!) 3 books ahead of schedule to meet my goal. :)

6 comments:

  1. A re-read definitely counts as a read! Though I only discovered this a year or two ago.

    I'll be really interested to hear your comparison of the book and TV series of Normal People. I think I like both characters more because of it - or perhaps understand them a bit better. Schoolboy Connell in the book was most unpleasant, I thought, and I liked him marginally better in that part of the TV series.

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    1. I think Goodreads only just started making it possible to mark a book as read (re-read) more than once a few years ago.

      I'm only halfway through the TV series so far -- they're only releasing two episodes per week -- but I agree, both characters are much more sympathetic (or perhaps easier to relate to?) in the TV version, when you can actually see them & watch them react. Marianne is much prettier than I imagined her to be (and as the book describes her). The girl playing her is very good, but the guy playing Connell is just amazing. He's a little beefier than I imagined Connell to be -- but he's just so wonderful at conveying every little nuance of how he's feeling, and at showing the character's vulnerability. For example, one of the episodes I just watched was where Connell apologizes to Marianne for not inviting her to the debs ball, and Marianne forgives him. I'd almost forgotten that scene from the book, but it was a very emotional scene as played on screen. I hope they both get every award they're eligible for -- although I think she's going to have a run for her money vs Cate Blanchett & the other great actresses in "Mrs. America" this year.

      Normally, I prefer the book over the movie/TV series, but this is really a great adaptation. It's been pretty faithful to the original text, and it adds to my understanding & enjoyment of the book (instead of making me go, "Wait a minute, it didn't happen that way in the book...!").

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  2. 30/53 7 books ahead of schedule.

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  3. I agree with almost all this! (Except I thought Connell was going to be taller and expected him to be beefy. lol) I know the author, Sally Rooney, was very involved in the screenplays, so that helps, doesn't it?! They are wonderful, though.

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