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I can't explain how much I am liking this book........

When he gave to charity, his left hand never knew what his right hand was doing. He
never once took the name of the Lord his God in vain, committed adultery or coveted
his neighbor's ass. In fact, he loved his neighbor and never even bore false witness
against him. Major Major's elders disliked him because he was such a flagrant
nonconformist.

page 89

Everyone is welcome to play! #PastTenseBookTitle

Finally finished this after many starts and stops over the last couple of years. It took me a while to get into the story and I didn't really appreciate the book until the last few chapters when it all came together. I can see why it's a classic read, but it didn't quite do it for me (which explains why I took so long to make it through). #bookfiveof2024

Just checking in! I've been slowly picking my way through Catch-22. I've tried to read this a few times now, but I end up putting it aside after a few chapters for another book. I've made it further along this time around and I'm determined to see it through and finish it. #whatiread #tbr #bookfiveof2024

My feelings for this book are all over the place, which honestly makes sense when one actually thinks about this book. I loved it; I hated it. It made no sense; I totally got it. I couldn't keep the characters straight; I was emotionally devastated every time one of them died. I hate ambiguous endings; an ambiguous ending was the perfect way to end this book. The book was way to long; I wasn't ready for it to end. ⬇

Well I can check this off my list now. I can‘t say I exactly enjoyed it, although the last couple chapters were better and almost got there for me. But not quite. This will be heading to a Little Free Library near me. 🙂 Thanks to @TheAromaofBooks for giving me the impetus to read this.

It's official: I've given up on Catch-22 and returned it to the library.
Thanks for hosting the buddy read @TheAromaofBooks . Even though I bailed on it, at least it's off the TBR now! 😁

“The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them”

(thru ch32) Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, someone gets cut in half! 😳

So I've been talking about this book with my husband, even though he hasn't read it. I'm wondering if this is just more... of a guy's book? Like I get a lot of the points Heller is making here, and I was reading an article talking about how this book was published during Vietnam, but is about WWII. Heller is able to point out the many contradictions of war and ⬇

(thru ch23) - Still plugging away through this one. I would have bailed a long time ago if I wasn't just getting through one chapter a day. Like I've said before, I don't dislike it, exactly, I just don't like it. I'm also getting tired of all the whore/rape stories. In some ways, every chapter is exactly the same... which I guess is also part of the point. Any thoughts?

#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

(thru ch13) While I can't say that I dislike this book, I'm also not exactly enjoying it. I'm still struggling with all the characters & time jumps. While I find random bits entertaining/ironically funny, I also feel like it's a book I could put down & never finish & not really wonder much about.

In other news, I didn't realize that Heller was the one to invent the phrase Catch-22!
#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

(thru ch 6) - How are you all enjoying this one? I like it, but I'll freely admit that I don't “get“ all of it 😂 I am definitely enjoying the dark humor, but it's hard to track all of the characters without any real cohesive plot to help me slot them into my mind. Any thoughts?

#RandomClassics
@Lcsmcat @eeclayton @Read4life @BarkingMadRead

I'm going into this one pretty much completely blind. I don't really know anything about it. Is it supposed to be funny? Serious? Satire? No idea, so we will see what happens! 😂

What do you all think so far? For some reason, I really like Heller's use of negatives in his narration, things like, “he went back to the tent he didn't share with so-and-so“ or “he loved stopping by the place he hadn't helped build.“

#RandomClassics

My #RandomClassic for August is Catch-22. I've never read this one and am SO intrigued to do so! I'll be reading a chapter a day starting August 1 and continuing until it's finished (so, early September). If anyone wants to read along, please do so!! Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in sporadic check-ins throughout the readalong!!

Speaking of #RandomClassics, here is my list for the rest of the year. I start each of these on the first of the month and read a chapter a day until it's finish, which means some books carry over into the next month. If anyone is interested in reading along with any of these, let me know!! I still have a few people noted down for several various books, especially Don Quixote and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Depending on life, there's a chance I'll push ⬇

Up next! It‘s a (newer) classic on my challenge list and it‘s also on my #14books14weeks2023 list!

#bookspinbingo
@TheHeartlandBookFairy (2 of 14)

Catch-22 is about US air force pilots on an island during World War II. They are forced against their will to keep flying missions because of a rule called Catch-22, which says that if a man continues to fly dangerous missions he's insane and shouldn't fly anymore, but if he asks to stop flying missions, he's sane and therefore must keep flying. The book is made to mock the military and its bureaucracy, and everyone in it is crazy.

This book is alright so far, there are a lot of characters being introduced and I am having trouble remembering who is who. Its about this guy in the army during WW2 who doesn't want to have to fly dangerous bombing runs anymore but he is trapped by catch 22, which is basically the idea that you would have to be insane to want to keep risking your life by flying these missions but if you ask to stop then you must be sane and have to stay.

#manicmonday #letterC @CBee @The_Penniless_Author

📖 Catch-22
✒ Agatha Christie
🖥 (The Muppet) Christmas Carol
🎤 Camel
🎶 Con te partiro (Andrea Bocelli)

Catch-22 - a novel about an American bomber squadron trying to survive the war over the closing months of WWII. It was filled with ridiculousness and dark humor. I‘ve never read anything else like this! I read this in high school to earn extra credit and this got me hooked on reading as a hobby.

#alphabetgame #LetterC

I loved this book. It is hilarious, I was expecting this book to be serious like most classics. However, I giggled so much as each person went through their mess.

This book didn‘t really catch my attention that much and so I‘ve left it. This will be my first bail of the year, although I haven‘t finished it so opinions might differ! I won‘t give this one any stars because I haven‘t finished it, and it isn‘t my place to say.

The reason that I started reading this book is actually quite funny. A few weeks ago I asked my school librarian if she had Fahrenheit 451, and the next day she brought this book to school. I ended up reading the back and now here I am! Excited!

1. Probably Major Major Major from Catch 22….you‘ll never guess what position he gets promoted to over the course of the story!😜

2. I prefer real characters whose flaws show but who are good/well-intentioned people at their core.

Thanks for the tag @bthegood and thanks for putting the questions together @TheSpineView

#twofortuesday

My all time favorite. I consider it my personal bible. Just about every character in it I‘ve encountered in life. Each time I read it, I find new insights into Heller‘s characters and in the absurdities of the world around me. One of the few books that made me laugh out loud. Just about every week something happens in the news or in my life that is right out of Catch-22.

Fabulous, funny and witty. Unimaginably imaginable. A triumph. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will try out #CuriousCovers for June. Here‘s “blue & red”.

1. Singer 🎤
2. Snooze 😴 most of the time
3. 2+2 is 4
4. Black, pink and gold

Thank you for the tag 🏷! @Kdgordon88 😊

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Thanks for the tag 🏷 @Ruthiella

These are the four books on my bed right now.

Up next! A classic that is long overdue! #bookspinbingo

@TheAromaofBooks

1. Yes! He laughs about the books but is super supportive.

2. Most of my family (parents and siblings) but my dad is a voracious reader.

3. Definitely Catch 22, I think I own multiple copies. Also Rebecca. And I own multiple copies 😂

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

The end of the month. My reading progress is almost non-existent. I dropped the ball in February, but it was a hard month for me so I'm not going to beat myself up too much for it. All I can do is keep my eyes on my goal and do my best to achieve it. 🤗

Afternoon reads ft. hot water and lemon in my Strange Planet mug.

This has been on my TBR list for years. I finally bought it last year and it sat unread cause the stack was too high. 😅 moving definitely helped me start the stack over because I was forced to pack and unpack. Looking forward to this read and to keep with my goal of one book per month. #booktwoof2021

Ugh! I thought this book would never end! I struggled to stick with it as I rolled my eyes more often than I LOL at the humor and repetition. At times it felt like I was reading a bad script for an even worse play. Something kept me engaged and I still haven‘t figured out what that was yet. 😜 I liked the last 75 pages when the story got a little bit serious and suspenseful. I understand why people bail, but not the 5⭐️ratings on GR. #MountTBR

I love this and would love to hear which you‘ve finished and which you‘ve bailed: https://apple.news/AGmksDfuOQrCu1mtqtOuIdw

Here‘s mine:

Finished & loved them:
Casual Vacancy
Atlas Shrugged
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Bailed: Catch 22

I was not invested in this at all, I couldn't care a less about any of the characters. There is no plot, the dialogue is beyond repetitive therefore in a parallel world where im not reading via kindle i am tossing a physical copy of this book over the balcony.

I could not stay focussed while reading this book and it seemed like every time I understood the plot and characters it would switch to a new setting with more characters. The fact that most of the book revolves around the war and soldiers in the army really does not appeal to me as a reader and I don‘t find it interesting. I wouldn‘t be able to tell you much about the story because I simply couldn‘t keep track. If you find stories about war times

Every-time I‘ve read this book I have laughed out loud and hard at times. This is an absolutely funny book about a very serious topic. A must read...

All truth is paradox, and this must be the most truthful novel ever written. Certainly it's one of the funniest! 😂

Who‘s celebrating #bannedbooksweek? 🎉🚫📚

I plan to read the tagged banned book. It‘s been on my TBR far too long.

https://wanderinglynn.com/2020/09/28/read-a-banned-book/

Half way into this book and already loving it.
Never imagined a war book to be so funny! Haha

...everyone younger had every right to blame him and everyone older for every unnatural tragedy that befell them; just as she even in her grief, was to blame for every man-made misery that landed on her kid sister and on all other children behind her. Someone had to do something sometime....and somebody had to stand up sometime to try and break the lousy chain of inherited habit that was imperiling them all.

It was almost no trick at all,he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility,plunder into philanthropy,thievery into honor,blasphemy into wisdom,brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely requires no character.

Finally completed this classic. It took me quite a time to read it. The book is complete of humorous anecdotes that really made me laugh. But in that there were grim realities of war, politics and death. The friendship, the hysteria is just wonderful. The vocabulary of the book is really mesmerising making me peek at the dictionary regularly. Truely loved the book. So my first #bookspin book is finished. Also my second #JubliantJuly goal too.