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.

L Y N N wrote: "#9 Celia emphasizes that keeping the circus controlled is a matter of “balance.” And Marco suggests that the competition is not a chess game, but rather, a balancing of scales. However, both the circus and the competition get disordered at times—leaving both physical and emotional casualties in their wake. Is the circus ever really in “balance,” or is it a pendulum swinging from one extreme to the next?"

I feel as if there were times when some semblance of “balance” was achieved and the circus itself appeared to ‘flow’, but then there were definite imbalances. I blame much of that on outside influences other than Marco and Celia, however. For instance, when Hector manipulates a drunk Chandresh to murder Alexander and Friedrick is inadvertently murdered. Also when the bonfire faded to nothing.

L Y N N wrote: "#8 Marco asserts that Alexander H. is a father figure to him (though his paternal instincts aren’t readily noticeable). In what ways does Alexander provide for Marco and in what ways has he failed him ..."

He did provide basic life necessities for Marco as a youngster and teen until he basically indentured him to Chandresh as an assistant. (Though I did wonder how much of that was Chandresh's choice and how much was a result of Alexander manipulating Chandresh?) I truly despised both Alexander and Hector for never showing true unconditional positive regard for or love/compassion to Marco and Celia, respectively. I consider that the penultimate of emotional abuse. I was just thrilled that they finally seemed to find those aspects of life with each other.

L Y N N wrote: "#7 Chandresh is portrayed as a brilliant and creative perfectionist at the beginning of the novel, yet he slowly unravels as the competition matures. Is Chandresh merely a puppet of the competition—solely used for his ability to provide a venue for the competition—or do his contributions run deeper?"
Marco is so adept at manipulating Chandresh that I don’t believe his actual contributiions amount to much more than signing off on everything Marco proposes, thereby providing the venue and allowing the competitors unlimited access to do as they wish. Though he becomes an easily manipulated alcoholic “puppet” when it comes to Hector planting the idea in his mind to murder Alexander.

It just now occurred to me that perhaps Hector wanted Alexander dead so Celia could be declared the winner? Or did he simply want the man dead and out of his life forever? Or was it a combination of both desires?

L Y N N wrote: "#6 “Chandresh relishes reactions. Genuine reactions, not mere polite applause. He often values the reactions over the show itself. A show without an audience is nothing, after all. In the response of the audience, that is where the power of performance lives.” How does this statement apply to both Le Cirque des Rêves and the competition? Which audience is more valuable: one that is complicit or one that is unknowing?"
Actually, I believe both types of audiences can be valuable. If audience participants are unknowing, then I consider their reaction(s) to be more common to the general public—a reflection of the common man’s reaction. Thereby more generalizable to the populace.

But a complicit audience’s reaction is, IMO, more jaded, more informed, more perceptive in some ways than the general populace. I don’t consider their reactions to be as genuine as the general populace’s reactions.

L Y N N wrote: "#5 What role does time play in the novel? From Friedrick Thiessen’s clock to the delayed aging of the circus developers to the birth of the twins—is time manipulated or fated at the circus?"
I felt it was definitely manipulated, as was most everything at the circus!

L Y N N wrote: "#4 There are a number of allusions to Shakespeare throughout the text: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and As You Like It. Explain these references—how does each play reveal itself in the novel?"
I am no fan of Shakespeare having only read two of his plays to complete English class requirements in high school. So I am useless when it comes to recognizing any of these references that weren't directly identified as such in the novel. I'm sure others of you were much better and much more knowledgeable about all this than me...

L Y N N wrote: "#3 The narrative also follows a non-linear sequence—shifting at times from present to past. How effective was this method in regards to revealing conflict in the novel?"

I found it quite effective, if a bit confusing. I kept going back to double-check when other events had happened, etc., just to make sure I wasn’t missing something! But I am old… LOL

L Y N N wrote: "#2 The novel frequently changes narrative perspective. How does this transition shape your reading of the novel and your connection to the characters and the circus? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from varied perspectives?"

This strategy enables me to better understand and know a character’s underlying motives and feelings. In addition, characters are able to directly express their opinions of and/or reactions to other characters.

L Y N N wrote: "#1 The novel opens with a quote from Oscar Wilde: “A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” How is this sentiment explored in The Night Circus? Who in the novel is a dreamer? And what is his or her punishment for being so?"

Chandresh is a dreamer. He dreams of different projects until he develops The Night Circus, not realizing that Alexander’s student, Marco, controls him and prevents him from pursuing any other projects. In addition, Hector influences him while drunk to attach Alexander, though Alexander feints away at the last moment and Freidrick is inadvertently stabbed to death instead.

I also consider Bailey to be a dreamer, though I don’t believe he receives a punishment, but rather a release to live his own life of choice.

Kendra wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "I guess I just can't imagine treating your own child in such a way for your own purposes and not considering what is best for the child! Ugh..."

Well, it's a matter of what 'best in the long term' vs. momentary pain. And also, it's set in Victorian times - and the opinion of a daughter's worth (or even just children in general) was very different than now. They used to not give anesthetics to babies because they thought babies didn't feel pain. Or that they'd forget, so it wouldn't matter.

Side note: I'm not sure why I'm defending Prospero."

You made me laugh! I'm not sure why you are either! LOL

K.L. wrote: "I managed to catch a terrible cold (which I now believe is actually the flu) over the weekend, so my dad and I have decided to postpone our Thanksgiving meal until Sunday. I’ve spent most of the week on the couch with a box of tissues, watching (and occasionally falling asleep to) old episodes of Scooby-Doo. Not the most productive way to spend my time, but I haven’t felt like doing much else."
Awww...hugs and healing energy comin' atcha! 🤗

"In other news, remember the fridge that I was supposed to have delivered on Friday? The delivery was supposed to happen between 8-12 in the morning, and around 9:30 I started to get a little concerned that I hadn’t received any delivery notifications. So I decided to call the delivery center, and it’s a really good thing I did. Apparently the fridge still has not arrived, so they changed my delivery date to December 1st…without notifying me of the change. I think this is the fifth time the date has changed at this point, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will actually show up on the 1st."
That would be soooo frustrating! Ugh! Fingers crossed for December 1st! The lucky day! LOL

"I was able to get a decent amount of reading done this week, and managed to reach my goal of completing 40% of my TBR list! Reading 354 TBR books was a huge goal, and I’m really proud of myself for completing it."
Amazing!! 👏👍😃

"One of my manga preorders arrived in the mail this week! I got Lonely Castle in the Mirror (Manga) Vol. 1, by Mizuki Tsujimura and Tomo Taketomi.

I did not get any other new books this week, so I was able to make a considerable amount of progress on my “New Books” list!

“New” Books Bought in 2023: 433
“New” Books Read in 2023: 423/433 (97.6% complete)"
You are a reading machine!

"~Passenger to Frankfurt — This book was more of a spy thriller than a mystery, which made it very different from most of Christie’s other novels. I thought the story was very interesting. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories — I did enjoy some of the stories in this collection, but I have to confess that this was not my favorite Agatha Christie book. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories — Even though I had read most of these stories before in other Agatha Christie collections, I really enjoyed this book. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Murder at Hazelmoor — I really enjoyed this mystery, and had a hard time putting it down. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Remembered Death — This book is probably better known by its original title, Sparkling Cyanide. I thought this was a really good mystery. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"
You are on an Agatha Christie roll!

"~Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal — Since this is the book I’m reading while I ride my exercise bike, I haven’t read very much over the past couple of days. I’m currently a little less than halfway through, and will be finishing it as soon as I feel up to exercising again. 📚"
What great motivation to get on the bike! Good for you!

"QOTW:
When I get the POPSUGAR list, I usually go through and make a list of books that I think will work for the prompts. For prompts like “the shortest book on your TBR” and “the longest book on your TBR,” I tend to stick to my plan. But the rest of them are subject to my moods.

This year I didn’t actively try to complete the challenge because I wanted to focus on my TBR list, but I recently checked to see how many prompts I’ve completed, and I actually did finish 45 out of the 50. That’s just by mood reading my TBR."
Wow! That is so cool!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thanksgiving to our US members! Happy check-in Thursday to everyone else!

I'm at the beach in NJ with my mom for the holiday. Sophie and I had a brisk refreshing walk to the bay this morning."
Sounds very brisk and very refreshing! I don't have to walk our felines! 👍😋

"Admin stuff

Enjoy the last week of the November group read, and join in the discussion about The Night Circus here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."
We'll be discussing until at least the end of the month. I have been purposefully leaving the previous month's discussion up throughout most of the next month, just in case it helps those of us *cough* *cough* who might not get to reading the book until later! 😯😃

"The December group read will be Bookshops & Bonedust"
No one has volunteered to lead this discussion yet! Since I now have my copy in hand, I'm planning to read it next month and can lead whatever discussion we may have...but don't let that stop any one of you from volunteering! LOL

"And on December 1st the 2024 Popsugar list will be revealed!! Lynn & I are preparing, and please bear with us through the chaos while we get the new posts up and running, please don't create other new posts about the list at that time because it adds to the chaos. They promised us a "sneak peek" but I don't know when we get to see it. I'm excited, and also prepared to be disappointed LOL. Because somehow I'm always disappointed in the "sneak peek.""
I'm playing catch up to Nadine. I'm so hopeful this year's listing will prove to be at least a bit more unique with many less repetitions from prior Popsugar challenges! The eternal optimist... 😁

"Vladimir by Julia May Jonas - this was a very weird book; it's basically a character study of the unnamed protagonist, which is not usually my thing, but she was such an interesting character, and the plot kept surprising me, so I enjoyed this book. This was the FINAL book on my list of books I must read in 2023, so I'm DONE with that little challenge!"
YAY!! Good for you!! I've decided to do something similar with nonfiction books for 2024. List one book per month on a reading schedule that I already keep for bookclub/buddy/monthly group reads. Fingers crossed that it works!!

"The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee - this was an interesting and well-written book, with a great audiobook reader, and it just did not keep my attention. I like science books, but I tend to be more interested in evolution, physics, and astrophysics, so this just wasn't quite in my wheelhouse. If you"re interested in the history of genetics or in the current study of the human genome, read this! I used this book for "a book involving genetics" in the mini-challenge I shared, that I had intended to finish LAST winter."
Ooohhh...I had rather forgotten about this one in the aftermath of reading The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race. Definitely one to include on my nonfiction must-reads for 2024!!

Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham - I did NOT like this book and I read it as quickly as possible just to get through it. I'm not sure why I didn't just DNF. I guess I wanted the accomplishment of saying "yes I read all of it and I did not like it."
Congratulations on finishing it! Wish it had been more enjoyable!

"Question of the Week
Are you a planner or a pantser? How do you like to tackle the new list and organize your ideas?

I'm very excited about the new list coming next week, it's at the forefront of my mind! I LOVE the rush of new ideas and enthusiasm I feel when I first read through all the categories.

For some categories, I know immediately which book I'm going to read for it. For others, I have NO IDEA and I rely on all of you to give me ideas. But for most categories, I have LOTS of ideas.

I keep a spreadsheet (of course) and I write down all my ideas for each category. I try to have at least three ideas for each one, just in case I can't get a book or I use that book for something else or "accidentally" end up reading it this year or whatever. I highlight the books I like best. Then I go with my gut and choose the one book that I think I most want to read for each category - I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. It feels reassuring to have that roadmap laid out for me, so I know which way to go if I need help. The exceptions are wide-open categories where I'm basically going to read dozens of books that fit no matter what, then I just leave it open and know I'll fill it in when I get there.

I do not stick to my plan at all! This year, 1/3 of the books I used for the Popsugar challenge were not in my original plan."
Very well organized, as is to be expected from you, Nadine! 👏👍🙂

An Autobiography Written By a Woman in Rock 'n' Roll

Uh. Wow. I like this prompt, but I have no idea of a book to fulfill it! I discovered a few lists on the internet, but this is the only one that was limited to Rockstars!

The Best Female Musician Rock Memoirs by Joyce Raskin: https://shepherd.com/best-books/femal...

Nonfiction lovers are rejoicing!

Listopia is HERE

A Second-Chance Romance

Since I have not read nor do I now read much romance, I'm not much help. Although after perusing the first listopia below, I remember now that I have read two:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Goodreads listopias to help:
"Best Second Chance Romance"
"Gay Romance Featuring Second Chances"

Listopia is HERE

A Nonfiction Book About Indigenous People

Yes! Yes! Yes! Many fist-pumps!! Whoo! Whoo!
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
And many more, I'm sure! I'm hoping to read about non-US indigenous people next year!

More rejoicing from nonfiction lovers!

There is one Goodreads listopia that *should* only contain nonfiction:
"Indigenous Peoples"

Listopia list is HERE

Happy Thursday Friday Saturday!!

These past few years I have refused to celebrate “Thanksgiving” in the traditional way(s). (Pilgrims and Indians sitting down peacefully to share a meal. I can believe that may have happened at some point, but the white folks certainly didn’t allow it to continue, did they?) I have assigned a different meaning to that day over the past few years: “Native American Heritage Day.” However, in completing a Google search this morning as I worked on finalizing this posting, I discovered there actually is a “Native American Heritage Day” celebrated, on the Friday (“Black” Friday) following Thanksgiving! This was established in 2008 by President George W. Bush. (What rock have I been living under?!?😯 ) And in true NPR nerd fashion… Here is an interview with Steve Inskeep and Ned Blackhawk, author of The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction this year: https://www.npr.org/2023/11/24/121505.... And for more information about this celebration, here is the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_...

This discovery makes my heart so glad! Since I have pledged to myself to incorporate more nonfiction into my reading for 2024, this book is definitely on my plan for November 2024 if I don’t read it before then. Of course there are more nonfiction books:
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
And finally, a listing from Powell's: https://www.powells.com/featured/nati...

In further good news, Pink is defying Florida book-banning by giving out free books during Florida concerts! https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023...
There are four books:
The Family Book by Todd Parr
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman
Beloved by Toni Morrison
A book from Girls Who Code (https://girlswhocode.com/)

ADMIN STUFF:
The November Monthly Group Read is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern!. The discussion is posted in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. I started rereading this one last night. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #41 A book written during NaNoWriMo! I finished this one and am going to answer questions later today! Jump in if you’ve read it! I had forgotten so many of the details! Glad I reread it! It held up for me as a reread as well!

The December Monthly Group Read will be Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #32 A book published in the last half of 2023. Surely there is a “cool captain” out there amongst you-all who is just dying to facilitate this discussion! Please message either myself or Nadine to volunteer! I’m so excited for this one!

Just a reminder that the comprehensive listing of 2023 Monthly Group Reads can be found HERE

Question of the Week:
Are you a planner or a pantser? How do you like to tackle the new list and organize your ideas?
I am usually an avid planner, however, this year, thus far, I have resisted planning for the 2024 AtY Challenge and will try to resist planning for the 2024 Popsugar challenge until January 1, 2024! Why?!? Mainly because there are still so many books I really wanted to have read this year and they are still untouched! Once we hit January 1 I will probably spend most of January “planning” and reading some of those books I really wanted to get to in 2023 and didn’t! Then in February I’ll begin the 2024 challenges in earnest. At least that’s “the plan” for now!! LOL

In planning for Popsugar, I always depend upon you-all to help by adding to the listservs for each prompt! Those are indispensable, IMO!

I almost always end up with at least 5-10 books per prompt by the year’s end. And many times I end up with a “planning list” of 20 or more for each prompt! And at least 10 prompts are usually fulfilled without my ever having read the initial few books I know I own and want to read for each of those prompts! I feel as if my “planning” compulsion is simply my love of creating lists of books!! And…I’m okay with that. It is what it is! And I am who I am! LOL 😊

Popsugar: 45/50
Nadine’s Q1 Mini-Challenge: 7/10
AtY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 14/24

FINISHED:
*To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ provided material for discussion. We all loved it! I am only disappointed that now I must wait for a second installment to be written and pubished! I particularly appreciate the juxtaposition of the ‘savagery’ of “polite”/”civilized” society against the Inclusive and non-judgmental indigenous “savage” society! You really need to look beyond surface appearances!
POPSUGAR: #2, #4, #5, #6, #12-May 9, 2023, #18 (If it hasn’t, I’m sure it will be!), #19-2021: prompt #16 A book written by an indigenous author, #22, #23, #29, #31, #46-Kasqua and Copper, #47, #48
ATY: #3-A book about a “fish out of water,” #4, #5, #6, #8, #10-Scary, #11-Sander, #13, #18, #19-Dressmaking/Design, #24, #26, #28, #37, #41, #43, #46, #51, #52
RHC: #3, #4, #24-2015: A book someone else has recommended to you

*The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for our Monthly Group Read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was just as enthralling to me the second time around! YAY! I think I was more focused on the discussions of time and balance this time which made for a more philosophical read of the book.
POPSUGAR: #6, #19-2015: prompt #1 A book with more than 500 pages (516), #28, #36
ATY: #3-A book club read, #5, #6, #8, #10-Scary, #14, #18-creation and enhancement of machines, #22, #24, #26-Alexander and Hector, #28, #37, #38, #42-Hector, #43, #52
RHC: #24-2016: Read a book over 500 pages long (516)

CONTINUING:
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey for an IRL book club
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
This one may need to wait until December or later...

PLANNED:
*Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour for an IRL book club
*10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club #9) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum #30) by Janet Evanovich
*Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree for our December Monthly Group Read
*System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer

A Book Whose Title Starts with the Letter "X"

Oohhh...I like it! There is Xenocide (Ender's Saga #3) by Orson Scott Card that I enjoyed. Though I would recommend reading those in order. And there is always X (Kinsey Milhone #24) by Sue Grafton. Though I enjoyed reading this series in order, I don't feel as if it is truly necessary to do so. And there won't be a Z in this series. She stated in her will that no one would be able to continue this series once she died...for which I can't blame her. Not sure I would want someone else continuing it in my absence as an author.

A Goodreads listopia to help:
"Titles That Begin With X"

Listopia is HERE

A Book with a Neurodivergent Main Character

I literally pumped my fist in the air and said "YES!" when I read this one! There are some really good ones out there but one of my favorites is any of the books from the 3 books from the Don Tillman trilogy by Graeme Simsion :
#1 The Rosie Project
#2 The Rosie Effect
#3 The Rosie Result
I adored the first two books and realize that I own the third but have not yet read it, so that will be the one listed on my initial plan!

I'm certain there are many more, including nonfiction!!

Listopia is HERE

A Book with a Main Character Who's 42 Years Old

Wow. That is soooo specific. I have no idea how we're going to find these books, but I have faith in the Popsugar group members to pull us through getting a list!! As I tell my students, "We are TOUGH! We can do this!" 😋

Nonfiction? Oof! I'm just as baffled as with fiction!!

Listopia is HERE

A book Where Someone Dies in the First Chapter

Admittedly, this made me laugh out loud! This occurs in most of the Alex Cross books by James Patterson, many of the Women's Murder Club books by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, and quite a few of Ann Cleeves' books. I will try to list some specific titles later, but now I need to get all these prompts posted!

For nonfiction, perhaps Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty? I'm just guessing it might fit... I'm sure one of you will know! 🤗

Listopia is HERE