L Y N N’s Comments (group member since Nov 10, 2018)

L Y N N’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Jennifer W wrote: "Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating. Today I am focusing on gratitude and ignoring thinking about the doctors that are ticking me off and stressing me out. Or the leaking sink. This is not easy...
The turkey is in the oven, the desserts are prepped, the house is clean. The kiddo is healthier than she was earlier in the week when she was running a fever. Football is on and I can relax for a couple of hours."
Sounds as if you have it all under control! Good for you!!

"I barely read anything this week, sick kiddo took up most of my time, just the first couple of chapters in Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. So far I'm liking it, just need some time and energy to get to it."
This is going on my list of must-reads for next year!

"QOTW: I love planning. Sticking to it, not so much! :D I'm such a mood reader that it's basically a waste of time for me to plan, but I do it anyway! I also love helping other people find options or thinking creatively about the prompts."
Excellent! I love people like you who help me interpret prompts creatively!

Erin wrote: "Happy Thursday/ Happy Thanksgiving if you're celebrating! I have to head out in a sec for the 2 hour+ drive to my parent's place- normally I head over the night before, but I really just wanted to sleep in my own bed last night. So it'll be a lot of driving today, but should be a fun day (hopefully). I got to see another of my favorite kpop groups this week- Everglow. This year has been rough, but musically it's been a great time!"
Glad you've had the music to offset the less enjoyable times!!

"Survival in Auschwitz- this was a very difficult read. Important, but very hard to convince myself to actually pick it up and finish it. Glad I finally got to it though
-should have read in high school"
Have yet to read any of Levi's writing.

"Ex-Wife-for book about divorce"
Ooohhh...added that to my TBR listing!

"An Artist of the Floating World-published birth year"
Ooohhh,..and that's one of his I did not have on my TBR!

"QotW:
I love making plans, making lists and coming up with potential reads for different prompts. I rarely follow through with those plans, but I like the process of coming up with lists. Very few of the books I used this books were books I originally planned to read. Other than shortest book, longest book, and birth year book."
I'm glad to know I am not lone in this "plan-but-don't-follow-the-plan syndrome! LOL

Dubhease wrote: "I'm excited that I have a three day weekend and get to read in bed tomorrow instead of working. (I get every second Friday off)."
Whoo! Whoo! 👍🤗

"I went back and forth on giving the Book of Cold Cases 3 or 4 stars. It was a better book than the Sundown Motel, but used most of the same tropes. I finally gave it 4. If I'd never read the other book, it's what I would have given it. I will read Murder Road, but if it continues to be derivative, I may give up on Simone St. James."
I pretty much assume St. James' writing would not be very enjoyable for me...

"Random books - 7/7 - I finished my goal!"
YAY!!

"QOTW: I'm both. I give myself a focused prompt to do every month. Unfortunately it tends to be an AYT prompt since those get settle two months before PS. But then I read series and I give myself an annual challenge (next year I'm doing mysteries/thrillers) and both of those get jammed in where ever I can fit them."
Very targeted and very organized! 😃

Heather wrote: "Happy Thanksgiving! I’ll be heading out for our family’s gathering at my aunt’s soon. I'm cooking mashed potatoes and roast carrots."
Sounds delish!

"I missed Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon back in October. My landlord scheduled a deck replacement for that Saturday without telling me, and it ended up being too loud to concentrate on reading and too late to find another place to read. I had my own mini-readathon last Saturday. I read for 12 hours, and it was wonderful!"
Ahhhh...sounds like a perfect day!

"The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane (2022 - a book with a tiger on the cover or in the title). I thought this was a mystery novel, but it’s literary fiction. It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t an exciting read either. In the end, it was pretty sad, and I was not in the mood for it at all."
I'm always a bit leery of "psychological thrillers," but I suppose if I run across a cheap copy of this I'll read it...just to see what I think.

"QOTW
I’m excited for the new list! I love planning for the challenge, but I don’t typically pick out books for each prompt. If I have a book on my TBR that fits a prompt really well, I’ll typically pencil it in. I plan by creating spreadsheets, lists, and graphics."
I'm curious. How do you plan if you don't select books for specific prompts?

A Book with 24 Letters in the Title

Unless I just happen upon a book with EXACTLY 24 letters in the title, I am assuming this means there are to be at least 24 letters in the title. (I'll discuss with Nadine tomorrow.)

Shock! No listopias! LOL 😁

Listopia is HERE

A Book in Which a Character Sleeps for More Than 24 Hours

Huh. Well, I'm guessing this is not referring to a character who sleeps 8 hours each of three nights, but rather a character who is literally asleep for more than 24 hours in a row! My first thought is the story of Sleeping Beauty:
Disney's Sleeping Beauty by A.L. Singer
Disney Sleeping Beauty by Michael Teitelbaum
My second thought is this may be a tough one to fulfill!

No help from Goodreads listopias.

I imagine there may be a few nonfiction books that would qualify. Let's put our heads together and come up with a list! 👍

Listopia is HERE

An LGBTQ+ Romance Novel

More fist-pumping from me! Yes! I can highly recommend Delilah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Fall #1) by Ashley Herring Blake

In searching for Goodreads listopias I discovered one entitled "Best Werewolf Erotica"! I was totally unaware this could be or was a thing! (I've led a sheltered life! LOL)

Goodreads listopias that might help:
"Gay Romance that's NOT Insta-Love"
"The Best Humorous Gay Romances"

Listopia is HERE

Theresa wrote: "Happy Thanksgiving! I am spending mine with friends outside Philadelphia. Looking forward to the food and camaraderie and some solid reading.

I have finished nothing and am still reading the same. Let's just say that work has swallowed me whole, even during this vacation I started on Sunday. But I get some time to read the next few days."
Happy reading!!

"QOTW: I do zero planning. Whatever I read, I fit wherever a prompt suits. I do look over the list, make sure I know what each is looking for, and that is it."
You are brave! 👍😁

Ellie wrote: "I would very much like to be eating a big turkey feast today, alas it is a very boring Thursday here. I hope those of you celebrating have a lovely day."
We will be eating our turkey tomorrow! 👍

"I'm super excited about seeing the list next week, I am hoping feedback has been taken on board and it feels shiny and new."
Agreed!

"I just finished one book this week which means I am finished my two main challenges for the year:"

"Starling House by Alix E. Harrow for ATY (birds, bees, bunnies). Give me a good sentient house story any day, I loved this! The first sentence is obviously a nod to Rebecca, and then when I thought about it, the whole premise seems inspired by what if the heroine started dreaming about the gothic house before going to it. I was a bit so-so on her debut so I'm glad I gave her another chance."
It's fun when you discover a second chance makes you appreciate an author more than you did initially, isn't it? Good for you!

"Currently reading The Fragile Threads of Power"
Hope to get to this one next year!

"QOTW
I enjoy planning out challenges but I don't enjoy sticking to the plan. For most prompts I will list out a few options both from my TBR and next year releases, in an attempt to stop my plan from getting stale half way through the year. Like Nadine, if there's a prompt I know I will read many books that fit, I don't bother planning those.

But in reality, I read a book and then slot it in. The plan helps for tricky prompts or if I can't decide what to read next. When I'm getting bored of the challenge I try and do a replan to find books I'm more interested in reading. Because I do Popsugar and ATY, I take most of the year to complete them, so planning out a whole year of reading in advance would be too restricting."
Perfectly expressed! Like you, I love planning, but then don't enjoy sticking to it! LOL 😃

L Y N N wrote: "#20 At the closing of the novel, we are left to believe that the circus is still traveling—Bailey’s business card provides an email address as his contact information. How do you think the circus would fare over time? Would the circus need to evolve to suit each generation or is it distinctive enough to transcend time?"
I think the circus would continue to evolve with Celia and Marco collaborating, as well as Poppet and Widget collaborating, and then Bailey will also be involved. I believe it will keep evolving, at least for now. And who knows? Perhaps there will be more children born to other performers or more people recruited as Bailey was to keep it going on and on…

L Y N N wrote: "#19 Celia tells Bailey that he is “not destined or chosen” to be the next proprietor of the circus. He is simply “in the right place at the right time . . . and care[s] enough to do what needs to be done. Sometimes that’s enough.” In this situation, is that “enough?” Can the responsibility of maintaining the circus be trusted to just anyone, or unlike Celia suggests, is Bailey truly special?"
I believe Bailey had to be “special” in some way to even consider the suggestion of abandoning his family to (literally) join the circus! (Ironic, isn’t it? LOL) Though Bailey’s family life didn’t seem to provide him with much of a compassionate upbringing either, perhaps not as severely lacking as that of Celia and Marco, but Bailey obviously didn’t feel that strong a loving connection to them. Or it was weak enough to allow him to consider the circus as a viable option for his future. I think Bailey is just a ’normal’ person, but ‘special’ in that he can consider life in the circus to be fulfilling to him.

L Y N N wrote: "#18 Mr. Barris, Friedrick Thiessen, Mme. Padva, and even Bailey are aware that the circus has made a profound, inexplicable change in their lives, but they each choose not to explore the depth of these changes. Friedrick Thiessen confirms that, “I prefer to remain unenlightened, to better appreciate the dark.” Do you agree with this standpoint? What inherent dangers accompany a purposeful ignorance? What dangers present themselves when ignorance is not chosen? Is one choice better/safer than the other or are they equally fraught?"
I believe that it is human nature to want to understand everything. To get to the bottom of everything. Else there would be no need for ‘religion’ in our world. If humans didn’t desire to understand their world and their place in it, there would be no need for creation myths or belief systems, IMO. A “purposeful ignorance,” IMO, can make for uninformed decisions. The more information one has, the better or more purposeful that person’s decisions may be. However, to remain ignorant means to be solely a victim of “fate,” IMO. I sometimes think those people who remain “ignorant” are in effect many times happier than those who try to make ‘informed decisions’. The uninformed are oblivious to choices… Do they therefore live simpler lives with less frustration? At least I doubt they second-guess themselves very often…

L Y N N wrote: "#17 Tsukiko is aware of Isobel’s “tempering of the circus” from the outset and when Isobel worries that it is having no effect, Tsukiko suggests: “perhaps it is controlling the chaos within more than the chaos without.” What, and whose, chaos is Tsukiko alluding to here?"
I felt this referred to Alexander and Hector and their unending competition between themselves. Without that, there would be no chaos, or circus, for that matter!

L Y N N wrote: "#16 How does Isobel serve as a foil to Celia? Who, if anyone, fills that role for Marco?"
I believe Isobel thwarts Celia most by confiding in Tsukiko. I believe Chandresh thwarts Marco to a great degree by evading him to attack Alexander and inadvertently kill Friedrick. It seems that Friedrick’s death truly begins the final death spiral of the circus in many ways, and Marco begins to wish to lose simply to allow Celia to “win” and thereby live. He becomes willing to sacrifice his own life for hers…

L Y N N wrote: "#15 Isobel is a silent, yet integral, partner in both the circus and the competition. She has an ally in Tsukiko, but seemingly no one else, especially not Marco. How much does Marco’s underestimation of Isobel affect the outcome of the competition?"
I felt as if Marco was manipulating Isobel to maintain an onsite “spy” for the purposes of his competition with Celia. Even after realizing he loved Celia, he still kept stringing Isobel along. Though after having no affection ever shown him and no love throughout his lifetime, just how effective might he be at recognizing/realizing emotions, both his own and/or another person’s. I’m not sure his motivation was as self-serving as it seemed, but rather just an unconscious inability to deal with emotion… I believe it was Isobel’s confiding in Tsukiko regarding her love for Alexander that pushed Tsukiko to confront Marco, feeling frustrated and the need to put an end to the competition once and for all…

L Y N N wrote: "#14 Poppet and Widget are especially affected by the lighting of the bonfire. How crucial are their “specialties” to the ongoing success of the circus?"
Without Poppet and Widget’s interventions, as well as their recruitment of Bailey as director, there would no longer be a physically viable circus, IMO. I was curious about Bailey’s future and whether he would eventually be able to learn some of the more magical skills and perhaps use them in the circus as well.

L Y N N wrote: "#13 What is Hector’s role in determining the final fate of the competition? He lectures Celia about remaining independent and not interfering with her partner, but ultimately, Hector largely influences the outcome of the competition. Explain this influence."
All Hector wants to do is win. At any price or cost to others, even his own daughter! Ugh! I felt as if Hector simply didn't want anybody else to be happy, especially Celia! All he cared about was that his student win the competition. Period. I hated Hector. He was totally unfeeling. A true sociopath/psychopath. In effect, I believe this lack of sympathy/empathy/compassion pushed Celia in the opposite direction--to search for, desire, and hopefully obtain happiness through loving and being loved.

L Y N N wrote: "#12 Friedrick Thiessen asserts that he thinks of himself “not as a writer so much as someone who provides a gateway, a tangential route for readers to the circus.” He is a voice for those unable to attend the circus and suggests that the circus is bigger than itself. What role do the rêveurs play in keeping the spirit of the circus alive outside of the confines of the circus tents?"
The rêveurs were genuine “groupies” IMO. They attempted to attend the circus any time they could and they did their best to obtain “inside Information” regarding the circus’ location as soon as they could get it. I would love to see a replica of his clock in motion!! It sounded amazing! And I was so very saddened at his death!

L Y N N wrote: "#11 How do you view the morality of the circus in regards to the performers and developers being unknowing pawns in Celia and Marco’s competition? Do Celia and Marco owe an explanation to their peers about their unwitting involvement?"
Some of the other circus performers are fully aware of the competition initially, though more become aware as time goes on,
Poppet and Widget, for example. I felt Tsukiko was the only one aware from the beginning, though Isobel is aware early on as well. I think I rather assumed they did eventually inform everyone, but perhaps that is just an assumption on my part based upon no factual foundation! 😊 I don't know what, if anything, might change for the other circus performers. Other than they may start aging appropriately now, in a more normal mortal way?

L Y N N wrote: "#10 From the outside, the circus is full of enchantments and delights, but behind the scenes, the delicate push and pull of the competition results in some sinister events: i.e., Tara Burgess and Friedrick Thiessen’s deaths. How much is the competition at fault for these losses and how much is it the individual’s doing?"

I felt the competition was at fault for any and all sinister events. Without the competition the circus would, in all likelihood, not exist at all.