Nadine’s Comments (group member since Aug 04, 2020)

Nadine’s comments from the Let's read a real book! group.

Elie wrote: "My name is Elie Azar, the N. in my profile stands for my father's name, Najib.

I am 27 years old, born and raised in Lebanon, I currently work as a financial reporter and I am a licensed (non - ac..."

Hi Elie, welcome!

Hey all,

since April means spring and Easter, why don't we try to come up with bright, uplifting, funny, entertaining stories?
Although I know some of you - myself included - are sometimes craving for some angst, I guess we could all need a bit of sunshine to look forward to :o)
I also changed the rules for nominations so everyone can nominate up to three books.
Let's spread some love!

Fátima wrote: "Sadly I have had to stop reading anything death related so I won't be able to finish this one soon but I hope to be able to get back to it at some point and read what everyone thought of it."

I am sorry to hear that Fátima, but maybe you feel like suggesting something uplifting for our April read?
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Dear all,

please feel free to recommend books for a new poll, I'll set up in about two weeks to come up with our book for April,

Nadine

Poll for March is open https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

• What did you like/disklike about it? Do you have a favourite scene?

• As Mrs. Elm tells Nora how The Midnight Library works, she asks her, what would you have done differently, if you had the chance to redo your regrets? Have you ever thought about if you made a different choice, what your life would be like now?

• Nora goes to so many different realities from marrying her ex-boyfriend to studying glaciers. Which alternate reality did you find the most interesting?

• In her life before she finds herself in the Midnight Library, Nora gave up many of the pursuits that brought her joy because she didn’t feel like she could be the best at them. Do you think it’s understandable that she would have given these things up? Do you think that wanting to be the best at something can inhibit us from enjoying it?

• Mrs. Elm showed Nora the Book of Regrets when she first entered the library, and Nora was overwhelmed by it when she first looked in. But as she experienced more and more lives, her list of regrets began to shrink. Do you think by considering the ways in which our lives might have turned out differently our regrets truly go away, or do we simply learn to live with them?

• As the story progresses, Nora finds herself in lives that she could be more satisfied with than others that proved more difficult. Do you think you would be able to live as an alternate version of yourself? Would you want to?

• What would be in your book of regrets?

• What do you think? What makes for a good life? Happiness? Positive impact? Doing something good with your life? Connections? Something else?

• What is the meaning of life in your view?

• The Midnight Library is different for each person who enters it. Nora experienced it as a library because of the meaningful relationship she had with Mrs. Elm, her childhood school librarian. Later, we learn that Hugo experienced it as a video store, with a cherished uncle instead of a librarian. What do you think your Midnight Library would be? And who would be there?

Hi,
although I haven't finished the book myself yet, I will post some questions I found to get the discussion running whenever you are ready.
So if you also still have to finish the book, skip this thread for now and come back later ;o)
As usual you don't have to stay with the questions but can talk about whatever this book made you think and feel.

MJ wrote: "I have also read and love the HIF. I would suggest Garth Greenwell, 'What Belongs to You,' because I've read so many positive reviews and he is often compared favourably to Alan Hollinghurst, who I..."

Thanks MJ! Adding the link here What Belongs to You

Juliette wrote: "I loved a lot The Heart's Invisible Furies, it's among my best reads of 2020. I'd like to suggest The Devil All the Time for March. I bought it right after watching ..."

Thanks for your nomination, Juliette.

The first reading in 2021 will be The Midnight Library !
Get your copies ready, I'll open the discussion Friday night January 29th.
Happy reading everyone!

Hi there. So I'll start by suggesting The Heart's Invisible Furies. I think some of you may have already read it, which I think of rather an advantage for the book honestly. I hope it makes the "preparation" a bit less stressful and might get other ones who lve the book on board. To me though it will be another great excuse to by more books I haven't read yet :o)

Thanks for your lovely comment valkrist.
Before I add my own thoughts: I just came across another movie adaptation from 2000, which is in full length available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wAYG...

Ok, so first of all I'd like to know if you liked the book at all.
Were you glad you (finally ;o) ) read it?

What did you notice about the language? Did you like it in a way you could easily adjust to it, or was it too "old fashioned" and made it hard for you to find a way into the story?

And some other things we could share, but please feel free to just share whatever comes to your mind:

Which quote or scene left an impression (good or bad)?
How would you characterize the tone of the novel? Fun? Sad? Idyllic? Angry? Something else?
One word often mentioned in regards to The Great Gatsby is “romantic”. What do you think?

Do you think Daisy and Gatsby could have had a happily-ever-after?

What do you think about the famous quote: "That's about the best a girl can hope for these days, to be a pretty little fool"? Do you think that point of view is only typical for the 1920s or is it still relevant today?

Have you seen any of the movie adaptations of The Great Gatsby? Reportedly, the budget for Luhrmann’s film was over $120 million. Is that fitting? Ironic? What did you think of the film?
Did you see the Robert Redford version? Which did you like better?
Are the films similar in tone?

Our first ever read is considered a true classic. What do you think why this is so? Could it have something to do with all the life lessons presented to us through this novel?

And do you think that novel have worked just as well (or even better) as a short story?

This is the discussion thread for The Great Gatsby, our Group Read for November 2020.

Spoilers allowed here.

Please feel free to discuss anything you wish, relating to the book and let us know what you thought. Even if you read the book outside of the group, please feel free to let us know what you thought of it.

Books that have already been featured as group reads are not eligible for nomination.
In the interest of variety, please wait a month to renominate a book that has been in the poll.

Fátima wrote: "Nadine I wanted to read that one too!! It was my other option"

Wonderful!

I already love the suggestions we got, but let me just add one too. I incidentally came across it and NEED to read it :o) It's The Midnight Library
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig sends its main character after her death to a library of an infinite amount of books all presenting a different version of what her life could have been like.
I generally love books and movies dealing with the "what if I decided differently in that situation" question.
Reagrding the reviews it seems to have a forgiving, positive (someone even called it "Disney like") ending, so hopefully something which could make us think but still be hopefull around Christmas season.

Dear all,

please feel free to recommend books for a new poll, I'll set up in about two weeks to come up with our book for December,

Nadine

Dear all, since year end craziness has caught up on me, I opened up the latest poll until January 8th. Like that we should be able to start the next discussion around end of January.
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...
Please make sure to vote and also add suggestions for our March reading please.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

HAPPY NEW YEAR
...and I promise improvemnt in 2021... ;o)

Juliette wrote: "@Nadine Should we suggest new books for the next poll ?"

Yes, please do, Juliette. I'll set up a new poll for a December reading soon.

Dear all,

this littel group was unfortunately up for a rough start since real life got me in hits claws.
I extended the deadline for our first read and also say "let's discuss on November 22nd".
What I will be setting up until then is a new poll and some ideas to do the discussion itself.
I am deeply sorry, but I was so flooded with work, that I wasn't able to take care of this fine group. I appreciate you all being around and thank you for your patience with me.
So, happy reading and stay tuned for more to come.