bookloversnest’s Comments (group member since May 01, 2015)

bookloversnest’s comments from the Tea and Tales with Cate and Allison group.

Welcome, welcome to all of our new members! It is so nice to e-meet you, and I can't wait to get to know you all better in the coming months!

Hey book lovers!

Our July book has been decided! We'll be reading Cailin Moran's novel How to Build a Girl. Here's the description from Goodreads:

What do you do in your teenage years when you realize what your parents taught you wasn't enough? You must go out and find books and poetry and pop songs and bad heroes—and build yourself.

It's 1990. Johanna Morrigan, fourteen, has shamed herself so badly on local TV that she decides that there's no point in being Johanna anymore and reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde—fast-talking, hard-drinking gothic hero and full-time Lady Sex Adventurer. She will save her poverty-stricken Bohemian family by becoming a writer—like Jo in Little Women, or the Brontës—but without the dying-young bit.

By sixteen, she's smoking cigarettes, getting drunk, and working for a music paper. She's writing pornographic letters to rock stars, having all the kinds of sex with all the kinds of men, and eviscerating bands in reviews of 600 words or less.

But what happens when Johanna realizes she's built Dolly with a fatal flaw? Is a box full of records, a wall full of posters, and a head full of paperbacks enough to build a girl after all?

Imagine The Bell Jar—written by Rizzo from Grease. How to Build a Girl is a funny, poignant, and heartbreakingly evocative story of self-discovery and invention, as only Caitlin Moran could tell it.

We want everyone to be able to read at their own pace, so there is no set reading schedule. We'll have our main discussion toward the end of the month, but feel free to post questions and comments as you're reading.

I hope you all enjoy this one! At the very least, it sounds like it will spark some very good and lively discussions.

Happy reading!

Allison

Hey book lovers!

I can't believe we're finally at the end of our first book! What did you all think of Mosquitoland? Would you recommend it to a friend? Here are some more in-depth questions to think about and discuss:

-How does Mim grow up and develop while on her cross country journey to find her mother? How does this journey and the characters she meets affect her outlook on life, and what lessons does she learn about life, love, family, and being herself?

-Does finally meeting Mim's mom change your outlook of her and Mim's situation? If so, how?

-Toward the end of the novel, we learn that Isabel is not Mim's Aunt Isabel, but rather her future baby sister. What is the significance of this revelation and the fact that Mim is writing to her sister?

-What is the significance of Mim's choice regarding her medication at the end? How does this tie into larger themes about mental illness?

-What do you think happens to Walt and Beck? Do you think Arnold might write a sequel focusing on them? Who else wants to know more about them?

Good morning, lovelies! There's still time to enter the giveaway. Here's a sneak peek at the prize package, which is worth over $100! It includes this beautiful "Eat, Sleep, Read" tote bag from Bookworm Boutique (http://society6.com/bookwormboutique) and a personalized copy of Mosquitoland from author David Arnold, as well as a bunch of other surprise goodies.



You can enter up to FOUR times by responding to discussion topics, posting your own discussion question, and rating the book once you've finished.

Good luck!!

I really like your point about Mim's being able to be more honest in the letters to Isabel, Lisa. That's such a keen observation. You can really sense that Mim feels safe to open up in the letters, and it's interesting to see the difference between her narrative voice in the letters and the rest of the book. Thanks for bringing that up!

Great point about Mim's sarcasm, Jalawa! I loved that about her, maybe because I'm a little sarcastic myself. Her snarkiness was a lot of fun. :)

Hey book lovers!

I hope you're all enjoying Mosquitoland! I see that quite of you have finished already, and I'm thrilled to see the positive response to this book. Here are some discussion questions for this week's chapters. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

-In this section, Mim meets Walt and Caleb. What do these three characters show us about disability and mental illness? How are their journeys similar or different? What do you think of Arnold's handling of these serious themes and issues?

-Why is Mim's warrior paint so significant to her? What does this say about rituals and how they can affect our confidence and the way we view ourselves?

-On pages 112 and 114, Mim says, "I have the opportunity to deliver [Arlene's] box, to finish what she started, to honor her dear life. I have the chance to complete Arlene's objective. And I'll be damned if I'm not going to finish...All of my favorite movies have one thing in common: a singular moment in which you can feel the director telling his character's story as well as his own. It is beautiful, poignant, and appalling rare. I don't know what's in this box, but I am part of its story, as it is part of mine."

How does Mim view herself in relation to others? How does her view of others help or hinder her journey? Can others be a distraction from her own struggles and fears? Do you agree with her about others' stories becoming our own and vice versa?

-Mim talks about music throughout the book, and she says that the music she listens to "[has] a tragic honesty to it." Why do you think Mim is drawn to this type of music, and what does this say about her as a person? Does music influence your life?

-Mim writes many letters to a person named Isabel about her journey and why it is so important that she reach her mom. Why are these letters significant? What do they show us about the power of writing?

Can't wait to hear all of your thoughts! Remember, commenting and posting questions counts as entries for the giveaway! :)

Hey hey everyone! This is your other moderator, Allison, and I may be a little late to the intro party, but I am so happy to finally be here with all of you! This started out as a little dream Cate and I were talking about one day on Instagram, and it's since grown to all of this. We couldn't be more thrilled, and we're thankful for all of you who've joined us!

I've been a book lover for as long as I can remember. I read anything and everything I could get my hands on as a kid (except Nancy Drew - I could never understand the appeal), and I even wrote a few "books" of my own. Needless to say, it was a no-brainer to study English when I got to college (you can major in books?? what??), and when that wasn't enough, I went on to got my MA in English and Comparative Literature. PHEW!

After all of that, I needed a break from my intensive academic book reading, which usually kept me pretty firmly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. And this is when I rediscovered pleasure reading. All of a sudden, I could choose what I wanted to read, and I wanted to read everything! Historical fiction, nonfiction, YA, dystopian YA, Pulitzer Prize winners, and so much more. Since then, I haven't stopped, and if you're ever wondering what I'm up to, it's probably reading. Or writing. I'm currently trying to finish up my first "real" book (!!!).

Like many of you, I cannot leave the house without a book. In fact, my one requirement of any handbag or tote is that it is big enough to hold my wallet, my chapstick, my journal, and a book. If it can hold other stuff, that's great. But if it can't hold a book, no dice. I can't not have at least one book on me!

I've been a part of a few other book clubs, including one I started in the last city I lived in (leaving that group was so hard!). I recently joined a new book club in my area, and so far, I'm loving it. I've never been in on online book club/read along, so I'm excited to take this journey with all of you and see where it takes us!

As always, HAPPY READING!!!

Thanks, Dory! You're awesome! So glad you're joining us!

Hey fellow book lovers! The Mosquitoland read along that Cate and I are hosting is starting today! So grab your book, a cup of tea or coffee, and a cozy reading chair and get ready for a month of great reading. As promised, here is the reading schedule:

June 1-7: Chapters 1-11
June 8-14: Chapters 12-21
June 15-21: Chapters 22-32
June 22-28: Chapters 33-42

Each Monday we'll be posting discussion questions to GR and Instagram, so be sure to check out our IG profiles for fun pictures and more discussion questions. Toward the end of the month, author David Arnold will join us for a Q&A with questions from all of you!

We're also hosting a giveaway, and there will be two lucky winners! We'll pull one winner from IG and the other from GR (head to IG for all of the rules and details for that giveaway). Rules and details about the GR giveaway are as follows:

The prize:

-A package of surprise book related goodies, as well as a personalized and autographed copy of Mosquitoland.
-Giveaway closes on June 30th 11:59 PM PST.
-Winner will be drawn randomly from all valid entries and announced on July 6th.

How to enter:

-Post two comments responding to discussion questions in this group. You are encouraged to post post more, but you will receive a maximum of two entries.
-Start a new discussion thread with a question or comment about the book in this group. You will receive one entry.
-Post a review of the book on GR once you have finished reading it. You will receive one entry.

Restrictions:

-Limit four entries per person (see above).
-You must be friends with both Cate and me to enter.
-You must be 13+ years of age.
-Open only to U.S. and Canada entries.

Good luck, happy reading, and don't forget your bug spray!

Hey fellow book lovers! The lovely Cate (@catebutler on IG) and I (@bookloversnest on IG) have teamed up to host a read along of Mosquitoland by David Arnold. This is Arnold's debut novel, and it's getting a ton of praise, so Cate and I decided to organize a space where we book lovers can discuss Mosquitoland as we read it together.

The read along will begin on June 1, 2015, and we'd love for you to join us! We'll be posting the reading schedule and discussion questions on IG and Goodreads, so be sure to follow us on both platforms for updates and join our GR group Tea and Tales with Cate and Allison. If you'll be joining us, please respond to this thread to let us know! On IG, you can repost our photo or post one of your own using the hashtags #mosquitolandreadalong and #teaandtaleswithcateandallison. You can also use the hashtags to follow along and post your own pictures and discussion questions as we're reading. We want this to be as interactive as possible!

As a bonus, we are hosting a giveaway for read along participants, and we'll be drawing two winners, one from IG and the second from GR. The prizes are a surprise, but they will include items associated with the book. You may enter starting June 1, 2015, when the read along begins. More details about how to enter to follow.

Please remember you must follow/friend Cate (@catebutler) and Allison (@bookloversnest) to qualify. All entries must be submitted by June 30, 2015 at 11:59 PST. We ask that PRIVATE accounts are made PUBLIC during the giveaway in order to be entered. ONLY open to U.S. and Canadian entries. The two lucky winners will be drawn randomly (one from Instagram and one from Goodreads) and announced on July 6, 2015. We thank you in advance while we verify all of the entries.

We would love for this to become a monthly read along, and we want your feedback when choosing future books to read. We truly look forward to this month's read along and discussion.

Happy reading, book lovers!