Sheila's comments (member since Nov 24, 2008)

Sheila's comments from the Chicks On Lit group.

Truthfully Jamie, the secret is to put them on a shelf labeled "first-reads", read them in a reasonable time frame, and then post a review of the book (not just a star rating, actually write something, even if it is just a sentence or two). I see you have a first-reads shelf with 17 books on it, but no reviews on those books. That makes it look like you don't review, which I think hurts your chances of winning. If you haven't actually won those books you might want to delete them from your first-reads shelf.

I know this works too because I've won 35 first reads so far this year. :o)

To vote on a poll, you need to go to the actual polls section.

You can either click on "polls" over on the right upper corner of the page (below group home, bookshelf, discussions, etc);

or on the main page just scroll all the way down to the very bottom and the poll will be there.

Or this link might take you to it too:

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/26167...

I don't believe that comments made in this thread count towards the vote though.

Finished chapter 23 last night so I'm caught up for the week.

I am finding the story facinating, and find the characters facinating. I don't see them as flat at all, and find it very interesting to see what they do in different situations. Makes me think about what might be going on inside their heads, and I like being made to think. Is Cathy really a sociopath? Hmm. Is Adam really that naive to what Cathy may be like? Being left to wonder what may really be going on inside these characters heads makes me want to continue reading the story that much more. To find out what is going to happen next!

Meg, I love that quote too. Very interesting that he put the whole Cain and Abel story into chapter 22.

Finished Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series. It was even better than the first. Now I'm looking forward to the next in the series next year.

Just started Cleopatra's Daughter to be ready for the December discussion.

a book with a happy woman on the cover

Jennifer, the author of Nefertiti, Michelle Moran will be participating in a discusion thread here on Chicks on Lit in December. We will be discussing her book Cleopatra's Daughter but Michelle said she would be happy to answer any questions about any of her books or about or about herself, or writing, or anything, so if you'd like to ask her anything please stop by the discussion which will be starting Dec. 1st.

Kathleen, Please join us here on Chicks On Lit starting December 1st for our December discussion thread of Cleopatra's Daughter. Michelle Moran herself will also be participating in the discussion and answering any questions!

Has anyone read any other books by Margaret Atwood?
This was my first book by her, and it has made me very interested in her writing style. I've looked through listings for some of her other books and I think Oryx and Crake looks very interesting, as well as her new book The Year of the Flood. Has anyone read either of these, or do you have any other books by her you would recommend?

The more I think about it I do like the ending of the book, because it seems like society has "fixed" itself in the end, and they are reading the book left by Offred to learn about what life had been like, but life was no longer like that. So somehow, the women did revolt, and society was better.

Rebecca, do you think the scars have some significance? Like they are a mark of evil or something? I've heard it said that this book is based on the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, and in the Bible, after Cain kills Abel, God places a "mark" on him before he is sent out from God. Do you think these scars could represent some kind of mark on both Cathy and Charles? More of the good and evil.

Jennifer: I agree that Hunger Games is really good. Have you read Catching Fire yet? I am reading it right now and it is just as good as the first.
I also highly recommend Columbine. Excellent non-fiction that does not read like typical non-fiction.

Glad to see we have several people looking forward to discussing Cleopatra's Daughter. The discussion will be starting in 2 weeks, on December 1st. Author Michelle Moran will be joining us also, and I again would encourage everyone to try to get their copy and get started on it before the 1st so we can talk details and nitty gritty with Michelle!
Looking forward to the discussion!

Hi everyone,
Just thought I'd update the name of this thread, and give a reminder that we will be starting the discussion of Cleopatra's Daughter on December 1st! Since Michelle Moran has so graciously offered to join in on the discussion and answer any and all questions anyone may have, I would like to encourage everyone to get started on the book ahead of time so we can talk details without spoiling things for you.

Looking forward to the discussion, which will be starting in about 2 weeks! :o)

Here is a link to another blog that is giving away your choice of a Kindle 2, a Nook, or a Sony E-Reader. Lots of ways to enter. Looks like they are giving out a bunch of entries if you buy a book written by the author hosting the giveaway, but you don't have to buy anything to enter.

http://aparkavenueprincess.blogspot.com/...

For some reason I don't picture Cathy going back to Charles. I don't think she wants a relationship with anyone. Since he is protraying her as being so evil, I don't see her being interested in any personal relationships, or even money. I see her wanting power and revenge. I see her wanting to hurt people.

Since she was beat up and almost killed by that "pimp" guy she was with, I could picture her returning to prostitution, but with an evil motive of hurting or killing men in revenge for what has been done to her. Men pay to sleep with her, and she tortures and kills them type of thing.

I like your romantic ending scenario for the book Ally! :o)

And I agree that this book is definately on that leaves a person with alot of why questions. It really is one of those books that you end up thinking about afterwards, instead of just putting it down and going "nice story" and then forgetting about it.

Anyone else have any comments on the book at all?

Fun questions Meg!

1. I am not sure where Cathy went, but I'm sure we have not seen the last of her.

2 & 3. I think Adam is going to stay in the valley and raise his twins sons, maybe with the help of his Chinese servant. There may be some interesting family relationships coming into play though, how the two boys end up relating to their father (like the relationship that Adam and his brother had with their father)
4. Not sure how the Hamilton's are going to fit in. Their children are all older, and the twins are just newborns, so I'm thinking that in the future we may see relationships between the twins and some Hamilton grandchildren. Not sure. I picture the twins being the rich boys who get everything they want but who have no morals (as a result of their mother?), and any Hamilton grandchildren being poor kids but with great family values, and hard feelings could develop later because the two families because of that.

Very good story so far though.

Join the Great Kindle II GiveAway!

Here is another Kindle Giveaway from a blog I follow. Clicking the link above should take you there. They are giving away one Kindle 2 on December 18th (and promise you will receive it by Christmas) and they have 14 other Kindles for future giveaways.

Here are a few more questions:

Several times Offred admits that the story she is telling is a reconstruction and not always an accurate one at that. Do think that Offred is a reliable narrator? Is her account a valid representation of what is happening within her society?

Is the ending of the story, “the historical notes” section, an optimistic or pessimistic ending? What do you think happened to Offred?

Meg, I think that since Charles and Adam had such a bad relationship before Adam left (remember Charles did actually try to kill him, went back and got the ax but couldn't find him in the ditch) that it is natural that they would not be able to live together without tensions building up.

Hopefully most couples that live together have much better relationships than this, and being together can make the relationship stronger. But if it was a relationship that included domestic violence/abuse (which I would consider similar to Charles having a history of trying to kill Adam) then then being together could ruin the relationship. And truthfully, in any relationship of violence or abuse, I really think the victim should leave the relationship.