C. (Comment, never msg).’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2014)

C. (Comment, never msg).’s comments from the Gentle SPECTRUMS group.

Haven't turned on the PC in days but glad to consistently find your views every day. Agreeing with these recent ones but look forward to remarking on tbem all. Likely tomorrow.

We are about to have anniversary supper at home, play CDs, generally be close and romantic, and also watch the second "Librarian" film. Yes, we sure received your gift and both loved the first film! We thank you again, good friend Kerri!
Love, Carolyn & Ron.

You last contributed July 17 and 29, four days after I understood this was the focus now. I thought we were going straight until this was done. Going to bed. If we aren't doing this, kindly let me know. It is my much earned milestone anniversary week-end.

I reviewed our story. Replying to the ending you both wrote about with excitement, was interrupted by our telephone line going out of service for three weeks, in December 2024! Our telephone line provides our PC's internet. When I had time to write with our PC's keyboard and internet again, no one was talking about this novel anymore. Should you see it, I will write my last replies and conclusions. I said I would.

I see that you both need to review this novel. Meanwhile, here is my review URL. Your friend, Carolyn. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am overjoyed you spent a good while with your Grandma, as you already know. You are savouring what you have in life and it is beautiful to observe.

I love your differening points of view, the gift of conversations arriving straight away. I saw no bond between the Cousins and wonder what gave you your impressions. Telling someone they ought not go to town with too much powder could come from anyone. I think it is a given Winnie hoped to bond with anyone. I don't think "Peanut" (I'd rather use her real name if I retrieve it) thought of anyone but herself, or valued the adopted Sister that was beside her. I would gladly change my mind if you could direct me to examples of any closeness from "Peanut".

My impression is different about "Peanut" (please get us the actual name) as an adult too. I do not think she looked down on anyone, certainly not Winnie. She had become a women's rights advocate, most admirable in 1940s China. She was against certain societal conventions, including gift-exchanging, which she could not afford. The ladies earned their own livings for the upkeep of their communal home. It was also post war and every resource was preserved in gratitude. I am a passive activist for the equality of animals, plant life, and the freedom from worshipping religions instead of Jesus & God. I recognized the weary, fed up demeanour. One sometimes takes a deep breath and braces oneself for a rigid reaction. "Peanut" did not know what kind of woman Winnie was, until she said she was there to be freed from her husband too. I admired her for growing from a shallow girl to a woman standing up for something. The loss of her first supporter's Daughter and provider of the house, was sad. The memory and message of her dear life became their inspiration for battle!

I would never call a creep like Wen Fu "interesting". He came across as slimy to me from the get go. He sought the richest source of gains for himself. I don't think Winnie's bad fortune was caused by anything and that it was a sad coincidence. She should have learned long ago not to call unwanted energy. You & I know we affect the energy around us so make it good! Steer anything bad or unwanted away!

I saw no sign of "Peanut" being in love with Wen Fu. Most people fall for their first romantic possibility, if they are decent people. It is rare for the first person we seriously date to end up being the one. It is however, possible and it would be lovely if it came out that way for people we know! :-) Women needed to get out of poverty or family homes by marriage, so they looked for chances. Real love is possible but Wen Fu had nothing about him to love, only empty flirting and Peanut had just met him. She felt she had a chance with him and thought it was disrespectful for Winnie to end up with him, even though Winnie had no interest in him. She found a cause to support women and Winnie found a true love, very good outcomes for both of them.

I am on an alternate tack from you again with Winnie's Father and had sympathy for him. He might have been selfish but I think it was a special Chinese man in the 1940s, who paid attention to little children. It was the province of the Mom and there were several Mothers & broods. He was focused on building a good business and felt his Daughter would do better with Aunts & Cousins. He did not get to know her and suddenly, had traditions to fulfill but hardly knew what to say to her. She felt likewise and out of respect at the time, feared him too.

I read into the descriptions that although he did not have a personal rapport with his Daughter, he cared about Winnie. He tested her and knew Wen Fu's people were shits. If she wanted to be with him (the poor thing did not know it was acceptable to discard that option and await a superior one), he would not stand in her way. He gave Winnie the chance to say she was not thrilled with the match and my understanding is that at one word of reluctance or refusal, he stood ready to gladly cancel the betrothal for her.

He at the very least sought a strong vein of independence, asking what she truly thought, watching for a formidable spirit to withstand a hard family and saw it. Ladies needed to be respectful but he wanted his Daughter to also have the grit she needed to live with a difficult person. She had not shown displeasure in the potential match but he saw a formidable spirit, so he sighed and permitted it. I guess you did not sense what I am describing? Later, her Father got to know her and they appreciated each other very much. He certainly helped his child with escape and secret money later.

The Aunts' thoughts about clothes was not a pivotal scene that I remembered because I did not think they felt inferior. I recall now a little, that they wondered what to wear but they were uncomfortable generally about the meeting. Winnie's Father had matched other Daughters & Sons but the process was unfamiliar to the man's Sisters. I suppose it must have been unusual for them to present themselves as the family in charge of the marriage candidate, to her biological Father. Our interpretations of a lot of chapters veers off but I find it fun to read how you came to other conclusions. I am open to seeing anything as you do if you can describe how.

Kerri, now that you are back, keep typing little bits without pausing for me. I think I have shellshock from repeated disappearing and postponing. Reassure me I can get invested in contributing what I have awaited. Did you say you are reserving space for us every day to see this through?

I will reply to your contributions so far. I spent yesterday off & on, putting a lot of effort into replies for your complicated scenarios. I hope they are all helpful overall.

I received your memorial of our dear boy, with relief. I forwarded it to Ron, to show our loyal friend and start him remembering our dearest Love with us today. His Sisters are playing outside in the sun, after a good, healthy meal.

Many little things stood out and you should be able to bring the rest of them back. I had blocked out the memory of the poor pig and could have done without that. I was sorry about the ducks. It was no better, how many animals they ate. China thinks more is edible than we do, so I ran past those descriptions. They are right that a horse should be no different than a chicken but think of it the wrong way. The reverse is what people need to realize: if we would not eat a horse, no birds or cows should be accepted as products to consume or kill either.

You were not unkind to write that, before you read how bad Wen Fu was, that piece of shit survived war and lived long, instead of people and creatures whom he caused suffering. Death by drunked accident or careless driving, war, his bad temper, assault, sexual assault, coersion. He was so terrible, Winnie was relieved another woman took her place in bed. Winnie was relieved he might have gone to jail. I think Helen & her husband, sharing a small house, were stupid not to notice this was a man to be rid of, not evade justice.

The fuckhead even took over Winnie's Dad's house. His relatives were greedy to steal her recently bought wedding furniture and items. Removing her Mother's mementoes and Dad's desk were unthinkable, horrible. When Winnie publically proclaimed to a crowd in court and in the public newspaper, that she would rather go to jail than with Wen Fu; it was a triumph. He did one more terrible thing to Winnie afterwards and scared her into thinking she might lose life-saving plane tickets. However, he was beaten at that moment: he could not coerse, control, hurt, or scare Winnie any more. She was not joking: she willing preferred jail to being with or complying with that horrible being any more. The court and the public got to know him for the piece of shit he was.

I have more to say that is finally going to get released. Please at least give me the pleasure of contributing a lot first. This is what I waited for and held back. Tell me if we have a few days in a row of uninterrupted conversation, or I won't get started yet.

I can say a few things, finally. The ex creep was worst after they resided in two houses. I liked Helen better later, except in the first house, shared by them. The abuse should have been clear to everyone but Helen & her husband ruined getting rid of him, to jail.

I loved meeting Auntie. She apologized later for screwing up different ways to get rid of the monster. Winnie was glad for the idiot to sleep with someone else and was entertained by that woman.

I think it would be simple for Winnie & Helen to say "we are like family because we survived war together". If you do not want to lie or say much, there are a lot of ways to describe old friends. Calling her a Brother's wife was a lie. A "friend from war" is accurate and keeps former abusers out.

At the end, we see Winnie was not overreacting to much. What she should have done is told Pearl certain gifts resembled keepsakes of her Mother's. She was not pushing different taste. Let recipients know the meanings of gifts.

We see how Winnie meets and falls in love with Pearl's Dad. There are many chapters of them together in China and I adore them as a couple.

I peeked at my cell phone on my way to bed. I look forward to answering with my trusty 20 year-old PC tomorrow. Today was about relaxing. I have ample time to accomplish the DVD improvements. Ron, already snoring, asks for a break from travelling. He wants to pick saskatoons and mow the lawn. Goodnight!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!
From your friend Carolyn in sunny, colourful, flowery Manitoba!

Safe journey to our beloved friend, Chevy: on the Holiest occasion today.
With all our love, Carolyn & our family.

There are too many books about difficult relationships, not that the point of some is appreciated and yes, written better. I am saying there is a shitty tendency to drag out that incorrect stereotype like with cats. I asked if your folks are easy to be around, laughing, and fun most of the time because bracing yourself for tough parental quirks is common. My refrain is similar here; whatever is true in the real world, authors have to stop referring to it too often in books and give us something soothing to read. If we shape our choices and attitudes after stories, set a positive example, put that joyous energy in the world more often.

Winnie only obsessed in adulthood in the US. Everyone would justifiably be fearful in war and need to know what happened to their Mom anytime. I watch adoption shows and however happy a person with the parents they got, there is a hole wondering what happened to their blood family and the parents wondering what became of their children. You rarely see anyone going "It turned out all right, I don't need to know".

If Amy had written that Winnie found her Mom in this medium long story, it might have pushed the fifth star despite; stupid trouble at the end. Winnie & her Mom had all kinds of time to look for each other after the war and to read news and census information. The internet was in homes when this book closed, although sparse but certainly available in offices.

Instead of making up an attack that was too out of place to fit, use fiction to deliver a joyous reunion or the relief of information about her Mom. How dare her Aunts, Dad, and his wives not sit down and tell her everything they knew, even if the Mom's reasons and whereabouts were unknown. There would be peace in knowing you knew everything you could, the same as everyone who was there when you were too little to investigate it.

We are obviously close friends because we harmonize on important notes, including music but I had to laugh at what you say you look for in novels: gack! Fake historical fiction and war, which I am against - further than preferring relating to modern adventure, would make me put a book back, Canadian or not! There were a few war stories besides this and the humour and heart of the show "M*A*S*H", I was able to enjoy reading.

Most notably, our friend, Dr. Stephan Carter, authored a book on early medicine in Winnipeg and how he escaped the holocaust: "From Warsaw To Winnipeg: A Tale Of Two Cities". Although Christian, war was a horror for everyone and one of my closest friend's Mom escaped too. Like Amy's characters, two of her beloved children went to Heaven on their way out. Can you imagine dealing with that loss and not even arranging a burial you could revisit over time? War is no joke. I wish people would stop supporting made-up stories about it. They will if we stop buying them. There are too many real stories to read, if you can bear it.

Two you have in your room that I am surprised you aren't leaping to are Gabriel Roy's "The Tin Flute" and Hugh McLennan's "Barometer Rising" but please finish Izzy's dog health book as a priority first! Dr. Allport makes them easy and engaging to read all the way, not only the items we are interested in on behalf of our loved-ones.

Amy did not recycle the constantly reused European and North American viewpoint, so I grant showing how Asia suffered and triumphed afterwards. If you know someone who was there, fine but the "popular trope" is disrespectful and has to go. Phyllis A. Whitney often wrote of war but again, she was born in Japan, lived in China, and had American Parents; giving us a unique, firsthand representation in her educational fiction. She lived to 104 and was old enough to have witnessed it.

Yes, you must see horse stories presented incorrectly, just like most poems or joke books about cats are insulting stereotypes that were never correct. I have never had a cat who did not care about me and our family. They are the most generous, respectful, nurturing, and loyal with their time and love for us all. Anyone who doesn't see that doesnn't know cats. Of course they will hide under a sofa or on top of a closet if they are unaccustomed to kids, or don't know the person stopping by to do repairs or whatnot.

Actually, everyone except Love & Angel (the first time someone stopped by) would greet people. McCartney, Conan, and Marigold gave polite greetings. Petal greets you at face level. You had to pretty well lift Spirit's head out of your purse or toolbox. We have not had a visitor park a purse here in awhile but Mom's treating of them with catnip or tuns cans is forever in their hearts. If you set down a purse, all of our cats will be looking inside it as soon as possible, to this day, God bless you, Mom. They surrounded her and she said "Okay! I'll give you your treats"! You have seen photographs of Dad tossing crunchies to them too and all seven of them, waiting for Dad to throw one to each of them in turn next. God bless you too, Dad, for making them Grandchildren for you.

When buying books, I am open and interested in many stories, especially if they are Canadian, or New Zealanders, as you know. Wear your t-shirts on July 1: this Canada Day is going to be bonkers!

Once I own a book, I prefer to be surprised and skip the synopsis. Not only animal behaviour and emotional make-up but a human's too need to make sense. You are right that a doctor might confide in his wife a little about how her friend is faring but should avoid saying much. Here, there was no excuse, because Doug referred Pearl to a friend!

Someone my Brother knows, who worked at a vet associated with Thumbelina's, got in trouble for asking him privately, why I did not believe in euthanasia and this is the reason confidence needs to stay intact. At the most sensitive time in my life, when I was glad to find a team that respected my beliefs and knew I wanted to take care of my baby the best we all could; I was horried that someone may have doubted my loyalty with remarks about me. I phoned my vet's office and said I heard someone asked about me. An assistant reassured me that they know I love my baby and that no one would talk down about me. I discussion was had and someone else phoned to reassure me that they spoke to that person about being careful and it would never happen again. My baby was going to Heaven naturally already, nothing we knew how to do to save her. My emotions were splintered and I needed all the respect, understanding, and love available.

I worked in the office of a stock broker for a time and recognized a few names. The person training me warned me that we might recognize people from time to time but must never say anything to anyone, or them. We don't want anyone uncomfortable that we pay attention to their finances nor will divulge it anywhere.

When someone we know spoke to a therapist by phone one time, they started with an introduction to their confidentiality. They said they would not say "Hello" to them in public, unless they went up to the therapist, so that no one would know they have spoken to one unless they were certain they were comfortable about it.

I took a photo with my staff at Christmas, in the translation department of the air force. They smiled for it and afterwards, one especially covert department thought twice about it. They asked if I would delete that photo but I had a film camera. I reassured them that I was only putting it in my personal photo album as a souvenir; never on-line. I don't recall their name and always honour and respect what people need. I am fair with etiquette.

There are a lot of good Parent bonds in books and it is fun to think about them. I wrote that so many bitchy interactions are focused on that I don't want to see any more of them. Let's have fun with this.

Sophie Kinsella's protagonist has wonderful, warm, intelligent Parents.
The Parents & Inlaws of Nancy Atherton's series are the sweetest.
Kate Carlisle traipses her colourful Parents and numerous Siblings into her mysteries.
Parental love is always tight in Phyllis A. Whitney's books.
Harry Potter hugs every memory of his Parents.

Hm, it is seemling like warm family bonds are the majority in literature. The fighting ones are out of place; maybe this is why they are distasteful. I wish authors would stop inventing a deceased Parent whom children miss and keep both of them. The adopted Parents of an Asian Son in Kate Milford's series are sweet. I might put the gigantic Stephen King hardcover on pause now and again and pull out the next Kate Milford paranormal mystery!

Your slow progress is in tandem with my scarce reading this year. That is frustrating because since a year or two ago, when you found other things to do as I prayed you would, I saw a chance to kick your as, haha. I think I came out a little ahead last year, using children's and short web freebies. I still polish three-hundred words on each. This year in particular, I closed my gap with a good push here & there, to make space for the required slow down of tackling "The Stand: Extended".

Kindly warning me of your absence today, additionally allows me to pop in again and add conversations that will be ready for you to rejoin our tête à tête. You likely know this French expression, literally "heads together". The meaning is "collaboration", "one on one or private, intimate chat"!

I am slipping in to ask about your choice of the verb "concerned with" authors. It is only an adjective but I am unconcerned and unbothered about how authors books, no differently from you. I wonder what your impression of my interest in knowing their identity, via birthplace or home country is.

My curiousity about what you look at when you sit down and open a book, is different than what I look at to decide if I would buy it or not. At that time, I scrutinize the synopsis and might cautiously look at reviews to satisfy concerns: is it paranormal or only sounded like there are ghosts. I want to know all the animals and people live to the end of a happy story. If I am hesitant about genre or contents, supporting a Canadian author turns the tide. It is worth trying it out whether I like the book or not.

If I own the books and have chosen them to read next, I avoid synopsises. I glance for a reminder of the page count, original publishing year, and author nationality. I want to know who is telling the story, what the geographic atmosphere and authenticity are, and the experience and perspective the author is going to bring. My interest is not trivial or picky. It has a helpful purpose.

Louise Penny, a proud fellow Canadian and dual language speaking to boot, got winter and cold spring weather really wrong in her second and third novels (my least favourites). It was as if she came from a warmer region or did not winter here. Yes, her weather might have been all right for seasons in Quebec but her notion on what was cold, which animals are not hibernating, the temperature at which windows can be opened were incorrect. Do you see what I mean?

I am about half an hour from finishing our novel. My eyes could not focus anymore, last night. Pushing them to for an hour or more, by rubbing them, adding water to them, and cleaning my reading glasses. I think that caused dizzyness and slight queasyness this morning. I arose late and started with water to be sure I am all right and then I ate soup. I am ready for a full meal.

I had a nice promenade outside in the wind with Ron, Petal, Angel. Mother garter snake visited us too. She hid so well when we walked past, only I saw her and Angel stepped lightly on her, startling both kitties, ha ha. Ron put my Parents' trellis fence across the west library flowerbed, where the vines and flowers abound beautifully now.

The resting place is glowing with natural colours too. I found a few wild strawberries and enjoyed them thrillingly, strolling in bare feet.

I can't wait to finish this book and suggest you lead the rest of our discussions, dear Kerri. I will still contribute food for thought and opinions that spoil nothing. Keep updating your book at Goodreads, which permits me to know your page distance, whether you post or not.

We know a gradient of ten stars would be better because part of choosing a pleasure level is comparison, which does not always work out. It is hard to explain that I think I might give this novel four stars but liked it far better than "The Joy Luck Club". I am racing through "The Kitchen God's Wife", to the point of being dizzy but gave "The Joy Luck Club" five stars because I was thrilled that the baby Sisters were found alive at the end, by the protagonist and her beloved Dad.

For example, I am emotionally riveted to Winnie's story and it is in a way, more positive and smooth to flow through. We like her, root for her, and know she escapes everything but child loss. I would prefer some interaction with Pearl as she listens and poses questions a monolgue lets Winnie plow straight through storytelling. I like that we aren't shaken out of the flow by tyrning to four other protagonists, although I appreciated meeting 3/4 of the ladies in "The Joy Luck Club". I considered giving our current novel five stars, despite too frequent reference to killing and eating animals; especially needlessly hitting ducklings with a truck, for pete's sake. The issue is this.

You saw that Winnie called the evil ex-spouse, at the beginning of her story, Pearl's sire. Where I am in the novel, Pearl lost all other children, as you know she would but evaded the bastard at last. It suggests that the creep shows up again this near the finish lines and was able to commit assault. I am angry about that and will read past it fast. No one likes stories or movies in which a bad guy strikes, no matter how hard heroes work to overcome all of it.

Pearl faced situations of his negativity and control a few times in a way that I think legal intervention should most certainly have been available, no matter that it was 1946. Some extremes, after being through a damn war, were "Come on, I don't think so!" scenarios. This is also how I feel about the longer lasting child not making it. It was as needless and outside of the story's war and abuse, as losing the ducklings.

Unless the last 46 pages impress me, my feeling is four stars. That is really good for me, considering all the contents. I did not expect pre-war China or war to be easy and peaceful on animals or humans. I would have given "The Secret Hundred Senses" five stars for originality and emotional connection, if Amy had not pointlessly, stupidly added that the protagonist accidentally killed turtles. You know what a pass I am giving a novel of abuse, eating weird food, and death.

A diagnosis, especially not fatal and only a "maybe" to monitor, is no one's business. Winnie would make it worse, against Pearl keeping calm and normal. I would not worry my kind, helpful, supporting Parents unless things were serious. This was self preservation, far from cruel.

Only Mary and Doug, who referred a specialist, were told. "Everyone but Winnie" is untrue. Mary blabbed, no fault of a family pal who needed one confidant.

They aren't strained. Most people brace themselves among various personslities or subjects to sidestep. If your family is harmonious, it is rare. Like Pearl, I stood ready to enjoy my folks, if their challenging sides were away. It was outside narrating but when Winnie wanted to talk in person, Pearl went.

Besides these two bits, I concur with everything else. Winnie should not be impossibly pessimistic and hard to talk to. Turning her into the protagonist thereafter, I do sympathize with her past, in a world of survival deference to purported female subordination. Winnie was right, there were moments when witnesses should have stood up for her and her babies. She was brave, strong, and astutely cautious.

I am glad you recorded your points first. I could reply after and you can include this when you do likewise.

I guess there are chapters but they are too big to give us breaks. Pages numbers are better markers. I am almost at page 200.

I am liking the story of Pearl's Mom's life, except as usual in China, it was injust and hard. That is not the good part. I love the warmth of Pearl's Mom sitting down to tell it. I wish Amy did not divide things into long monologues. I would like to see Pearl's reaction and input along the way.

I won't write more than this in a storm but this is my general impression: I am following the story this woman is weaving.

I disagree that a resourceful, creative, intelligent person cannot tell many things without spilling the few details she wants to herself. It is like I urge you with reviews, to stop "spoiler blocking" on things that can and should be public. There is a way to say a lot without giving away what you want to be private. It is the art of review writing that I strive for. After all, people should know that the comment boxes below reviews are meant FOR open book conversations. Future book readers simply should not look at those remarks.

It would have been easy to say "Helen is not a relative but knew me in China". She could tell her husband and kids and leave it out of people at church. It is no one else's business but is not "complicated to explain" like she claimed. People like Mary and Helen are stupid if they say they can't tell a story without spilling beans.

I used to nod with friendliness at everyone I passed in office buildings. I am someone people confide in to remarkable lengths and I am kind about it. You wouldn't believe what people reveal and if I am a good listener, shoulder, or morale booster; I am living life right and glad to help other beings. A vending machine person shared a daily word in passing when I worked in one area. I think I told this story on the subject of people not having basic ingenuity, in another discussion!

He got quiet when I moved buildings but still saw him in that vending machine alcove. I was given no reason to not chat as usual. I asked politely how he fared at an exam he had studied for on his own time. He glared and stopped speaking all together. I passed him a day or so later and limited things to a polite nod. He approached me and said "I'm not happy with you!" I could not fathom why not and waited for an explanation.

He said I "almost cost him his job by asking about his exam"! I thought "What is wrong with asking that"? He said another vending machine employee overheard (who I merely recalled seeing ON TOP of a vending machine out of the corner of my eye). He asked what the exam was about and it was my fault, that he was an idiot and gave away details? He could have said anything else: "None of your business", a medical or dental appointment, his children's school test....

That is how I feel about anyone who lies about paternity or who thinks they must hide a world about themselves, when skipping a detail or two is all it takes.

I also hate the woman's loser attitude! Because a former husband died on the date of Christmas, she calls it an unlucky reminder? For Pete's sake, Christmas is the best time to rise above other trivialities and be the postive, preferred focus for herself! I hate loser, fatalistic attitudes in books. Thankfully, it has been long since I saw such a thing in real life.

I do not think I have seen chapters, only a handdrawn page indicating a segue from time to time. I am nearing page 90 of my paperback and think it is a good time to take another short update step. There is little to spoil for one another, by not prolonging sharing until we are juggling an entire novel's review.

A fun addition: I found the hardcover of "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and put my softcover in our library, to sell.

I am enjoing Amy Tan, besides some American tendencies that you already know I avoid. "Backwards / towards" without S, "colour / honour" without U, and Amy is annoying me by using "whether" without OR NOT after it. If I hear "sorted" without OUT after it too much more, it might pass the patience barrier but it is minor compared to misspelled "backwards" and "whether" without OR NOT. If you don't accompany it with "or not", you use "if"!!!! I wonder "IF" he is playing sports today. There, the grumble is aired out and gone.

My first Amy novel you know, was "The Hundred Secret Senses". A young Sister felt embarrassed by an enthusiastic 18 year-old half-Sister, whom her Dad located in China. In her grown years, she had the white husband but no children. The three go on an awesome quest that becomes deliciously paranormal. Had this not been my introduction, I would think Amy wrote in the "Joy Luck Club" style about picky Moms all the time; like Martha Brooks writes about tuberculosis too often. I wondered, does anyone write about or portray warm, friendly, affectionate, easygoing Moms? It is fun to consider them.

Merely different in personality from Sheldon, Mary Cooper is very affectionate and supportive; on "The Big Bang Theory" and "Young Sheldon". George Cooper is a sweetheart, as are Penny's Parents and Mr. Hoffsteader.

I strongly disliked Deborah Barone but loved her Parents. Also, although Amy had to express her spiritual freedom, her Mom is warm and sturdy too.

Everyone on "Happy Days" loved Marian Cunningham (who is still alive, among other cast)! I don't recall if we saw on "Friends", Joey Tribiani's Parents (only his great Grandma) but they were said to be warm and so were Chandler's Parents. They are a lot of great Parents on TV and in literature, so those who present the annoying stereotypes are the ones who are outdated and pushing an unpleasant trope too far for my liking. I don't care if there is a reason they were intrusive or easily offended; that excuse ran out decades ago.

I am especially through with people and characters who don't speak up and ask friends and relatives to stop the stress that comes from them. It seems easy to say to a pal your age like Mary: "I was diagnosed with something that might affect me in the future. Do not tell anyone and do not think about it at all. If it developed, I would tell you if I want help, or for you to keep on treating me normally, thank you".

To her Mom, it is long due to explain "I miss Dad every day. No, we should not have lost him when we were only children. However, let us mourn him and miss him, or remember him with refreshed happiness. Your way of constantly scouring the past for a superstition that caused it, makes talking about him around you impossible. Please keep that to yourself. It makes us uncomfortable and spoils the chance to smile about him".

I am enjoying this novel but it is nice to have a place to air out the few weaknesses. Pearl was told at the last minute that her Great-Aunt's body would not be shown but who asks after you bring kids out of town? In case there was a viewing, who doesn't explain to their kids what death and a funeral are like? Who would freeze and not know what to say, if they did make surprised remarks at a service? Amy did not portray Pearl as a seasoned Mom, used to anything, if she couldn't handle their reactions and did not prepare them for it!

I was ticked off at her husband for waiting until they were in town, to ask if the girls should go to it. It was also stupid not to ask if they needed to go to the washroom.

Like I felt with my folks sometimes, I understood Pearl wanting to enjoy relatives, if their behaviour weren't unthoughtful. When my Parents let us laugh, joke, play, and enjoy each other; they are the times that build the memories we keep in our hearts.

I am angy with Helen. If you demanded details from Mary, you keep them to yourself. You don't tell Pearl she must inform her Mom of a future disease she won't stay quiet about. This was the reason for not telling Helen, or spilling the beans unintentionally.

If Parents want to visit more often, be fun. Notice what makes people uncomfortable and bring out the best, so we can't wait to be together more and more.

As a young lady, Pearl's Mom fretted her mind about what life might have been like if her Great-Aunt had not dissuaded her from marrying a neighbour on their Chinese island. I get grieving someone from you past and missing them every day. I do not abide fretting over a decision made that is well in the past. Do what you can with the present and the tools you have right now.

I am enjoying getting to know these people, although Mary & Douglas seem like unintentional cads, like our former friends. It started that way with them as I related to you: little rudenesses that did not occur to them over a decade, more trespasses but being so kind and fun in other ways, we disregarded it. Then, deal breakers that made me if not my spouse, glad to break free of them wholly. If Mary & Douglas are real friends, they get it: we will visit at family gatherings but are not a social foursome anymore.

I am on page 18 and love this book straight away, myself. Ron was patient about me coming to bed late but wanting to finally begin this novel, so I kept it short. Amy Tan's dynamics are a blend of "The Hundred Secret Senses" and "The Joy Luck Club". The former had a separated couple coming back together on a family trip to China. The husband was white and invested in their family. This husband is not estranged and they have two kids as well.

Like the latter book, the synopsis informs that we will go on a past journey of relatives. Most of us girls have a dear Mom who would do anything for us but could be bossy and offended, if we hesitate to value the same things. Like most family members period, there is no problem. There is a personality to navigate the challenging or demanding aspects of. That is more true of people's Dads including mine.

Showing information is Amy's talent, I notice herein. She did not narrate that Pearl picked up some Mandarin and Cantonese. She recognized another regional mix, I will look up with great interest. Pearl interprets some of a phone conversation when she gets to her Mom's flower shop. I hope you know you do not call "Chinese" a language. Like there is no "Philippino" either, their languages have names.

I asked and don't think I got an answer, what you look at before beginning to read books. I want to know. I acquaint the original year first. I note whether or not I have a first edition. I brace myself by knowing starting and completing page span, as if gauging the time I will put into this book. I must know the author's country of origin. I cheer if they are Canadian and am likelier to hesitate buying it. Wherever they are from, I like knowing the regional perspective and knowledge I will find within.

I look at these things well before reading and certainly need the original year for my home book list entries. When I am ready to pick up that book, I glance at the year and page span one more time. If it is a classic with explanations or introductions, I skip them in preservation of my own experience and absorption. Otherwise, I read every page onwards, beginning with dedications.

The most powerful information and most sensitive touch for me, came right off the top in Amy's dedication. I was sad that her Dad & her Brother went to the afterlife in 1968 and 1967! If you read every page when you begin a book, you would have seen it too. Amy is a little younger than my Mom but I was sorry to see that she nonetheless, ended up losing her Dad when she was only 16 years-old. Her Brother ascended at that awfully young age the year before him. What a sad time for her & her Mom, Daisy.

Yes, you have read two books that were about Moms: you write what you know. Her books are also very much about Dads. The Dad was the longliving one, journeying with the protagonist in "The Joy Luck Club". The Dad was around a good while in "The Secret Hundred Senses". Pearl's husband is a Father in our present book. I like that this novel is not about competitiveness or bitchiness, like some of the ladies in our previous Amy Tan buddy-read. I have also read the children's book "The Moon Lady" and all Parents are there along with Grandparents too.

Allons-y!

My friends, I touched on this in e-mail with Leeanne and likely with Kerri and Shirin too: I choose not to read negative and unpleasant things anymore. Seeing the word "handle" makes me want to caution against confusing that with weakness. I deem it healthy and wise to say NO to negativity wherever we can stop it. I do my best to keep it out of life. Please never mistake me for a weak person who can't "handle" grim situations. You know I already proved myself regarding that.

I wrote in this thread I think, that I made the decision to put my foot down about unpleasant content at Kerri's age. I used to read all kinds of things out of curiosity and education. I frankly think my Mom passed along some wrenching, despicable books about war survivors and so on, when I was too young. What I read haunted me for YEARS and I don't only mean torture you would expect. Separation from home, family, mementoes of them was big enough cruelty. When other kids were reading juvenile things or the "Sweet Valley High" series, I was into the shocking V.C. Andrews. I tended to be ahead of my age in what I read and it was dreadful content that I will not touch now.

Please don't ever forget that this is a choice. I have never wished I were less sensitive or ever thought I needed thicker skin. Honestly, I often hold back from saying to dear friends "What is wrong with you?" for frequently reading despressing crap. Maybe you will outgrow it too. Maybe you will be among those people who take to fictional horror and despicable true stories. I love the feeling of realizing that I can choose positive, feel good adventures and mysteries. I dislike sap too, so I like a serious tone in between but it MUST have a happy ending.

I thought of you two when I sob over an ancestry show occasionally, called "Long Lost Family". Getting emotions caught up in that might surprise you but the key is that they have HAPPY endings. Once in awhile, a good cry feels uplifting and clearing.

Look, the Blythe family was well off and doctors rural or not, make more than other careers. I can't fathom why Maud added the creepy Susan and kept her in her story. She introduced a lot of characters who disappeared, some of them we gladly got rid of, others we wanted to see more of. It had little to do with whether or not Anne & Gilbert could afford it: it wasn't the Canadian way. My family comes from a wide range of decades all over Canada and unless you were wealthy, hired help was not the done thing.

It is something I strongly felt Maureen Jennings got wrong in her "Murdoch Mysteries" series. The social classes, maids, and tea time made it sound like England, where she was raised. NONE OF MY RELATIVES CARED FOR TEA, as I wrote in those book conversations. I stave off anyone saying their family has adopted the current craze for tea, or that their older relatives had an actual "tea time", by specifying that this was something brought by the British and Asians. Tea was occasionally had by the old generations in my family but not like Maureen made it sound. Her books sound like England, if I didn't know that they should be Toronto. I am grateful to her creation of a television series my Parents loved but thankfully, the television show tapped the Canadian perspective back into place.

Anne & Gilbert did make disapproving noises at Susan regarding Matey, Jim's dear cat. Their reaction seemed to be that they didn't believe Susan would really harm him and urged her not to be superstitious. We think she should have been fired for the attitude towards animals or cats. Children SHOULD hug and bask in the love of family pets. My babyhood kitties helped make me the compassionate, respectful, sweet person I am.

I wrote to Leeanne that the synopsis of "Rainbow's End" referred to children preventing killing animals, which is disgusting and a heartwrenching thing for children to have to defend against. Therefore, I will not read that hardcover either. I thought that horror was in the final novel. "Before Green Gables" has abuse as well and I warn you that I have discovered "Emily Of New Moon" constantly wrote about killing kittens! "Anne Of Ingleside" is the final volume in my second childhood boxset and will be the last of these novels I read. I am undecided about reading them solo or with partners to get through it in soladarity!

I think I heard that fan appreciation pushed Maud to write more stories than she had planned to. It shows, if she had preferred to retire the series. It is different if an author likes being offered a reason to reprise characters or settings that she had stopped making. It is different if she was not done with them mentally but needed an outlet to expand their timelines. For example, I think "Harry Potter" could have been very enjoyable outside of a school setting, where Joanne thought she ought to finish it on a high note. I think our friends could be just as thrilling as a team of adults, some of them married, sharing mystery quests and using their talents to get rid of villains.

The shows "Schitt's Creek" and "Friends" ended while there was much more to show about the characters. Jennifer Aniston wanted to act in other things but watching Chandler & Monica in their house with babies would have been just as funny and warm. Some shows were rehashes of the same clashing or jokes and it made sense to conclude them. I think Maud's appreciation of her fans (rather than sales) pushed her to dust off characters. It is too bad she didn't seem keen to write more, or was not asked at a time when she felt the inspiration for it.

I hope to find a little bit of magic in "Anne Of Ingleside" from our favourite couple, their children, or animals. I enjoyed reading this one with you. Most of "Anne's House Of Dreams" was excellent and genuinely dreamy.

Hi Kerri! Surely it is clear I grew up with British shows too: also mixed with American and Canadian ones. Did you think I meant I recently watched silly old shows and quickly compared it to newer stuff? I spoke in past tense, far away. We too are a former colony with British connections. We don't get as many current music and shows but from what I saw, I still hated it. I politely refute that I would like their scripted humour better if I "saw it as a child" because I did. Unscripted, everyone is delightfully funny, thus God bless Graham Norton's show.

I am glad you are enjoying "Corner Gas". Which storyline was Jann Arden in? I don't remember her on it. It must have been a fast appearance, one of those flashbacks.

Thank you for saying "Clementines" are something besides an old cowboy song. Orange is one of my favourite colours obviously but I had heard of no such fruit. Trust a tropical country to clue me in on fruit.

As for red, I have been wanting a picture of you in your Canadian shirt and wondered about it when your letter wrote of sending many photos. It was uncanny to find you saying it here, when I came to Goodreads afterwards.

I am glad there are vacuum bags that improve storage. However, instead of cramming things to fit, I prefer assigning decent spots for what we keep. Mail helped, the next step is reducing paper in this office we don't need.

No sharing drinks either, eh? Well, people seldom do but I like the feeling of trust and community on the rare occasion a moment like that comes up. It is nice to know I can have a sip of something from Ron, childhood friends, or my Brothers if I want to quench thirst without having a drink to myself, or sample a flavour if there is no more left. I think I step in a nice balance between lacking the pre-pandemic paranoia, with a fearless freedom that my immunity is enough (or Donna has taught us how to boost it).... but also taught to be sanitary and careful by a safety conscious Mom. We have to respect the comfort level of others.

A nun, not me, would have given Rebecca a great consideration to ponder. Our home shows an abundance of our personalities, with space and price stopping us, as well as consideration of need. A nun would do better at showing her what it is like to want much less. Built into my psyche is deeming waste revolting, so I consider uses for some things I was not seeking to prevent discards. I prioritize gifting or giving items to those who will use and enjoy them. Recyling is the closest I go to discarding what could have usefulness in it. Thankfully, we draw a space and price line.

I feel that Sophie is not a good writer, making things up as she goes along that does not ring true in plotting or reality. She missed the gem of a peace and growth opportunity at the convent because Sophie writes cluelessly. Additionally, she prioritized what she thinks is humour or conflict that people enjoy seeing and is mistaken. We'll want to shout if she commits a lame trope about weddings: concern about her dress, the couple late for the ceremony or doubting each other's loyalty. Seeing the preview of having to muster courage to tell her Mom not to invite extras was enough for me to go "I'm letting that volume sit for awhile". I hope you find out at which volume Sophie got better.

I heard the same of Clive Cussler: the end of chauvanism and over the top crime villains can't come soon enough. This seems to be all I have to say in this book conversation. I have wanted to add one more post to "Anne's House Of Dreams" and must reply to yours and Shirin's finishing reactions in "Blue Lily". Our phone line was out of order back then.

I hoped for e-mail again this morning, since I replied as soon as your letter arrived. I would happily start "The Kitchen God's Wife" when you are available to chat several days in a row. I am going to start a new book tonight and only didn't yesterday because I was ready to sleep. It is nice to have seen Amy Tan speak of her family personally and her sweetness is fresh in my head.