spoko’s Comments (group member since Mar 05, 2021)

spoko’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

I nominate The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (306 p., pub. 2016).

This begins our group discussion of our Modern book selection, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, nominated by Rebel.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? Did it challenge any of your own assumptions about identity, representation, and power dynamics? Did the book’s ending work for you? What questions were you left with?

This begins our group discussion of our Classics book selection, The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, nominated by Renata.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? How did you find the suspense of the novel—were there moments that had you on the edge of your seat? Did you find Tom a sympathetic/attractive character, or did you feel repelled by him? What questions were you left with?

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine has been selected as the Catch-Up title for February 2024. Please feel free to continue with points from previous discussion, or bring up something new!

Do remember that this is the SPOILER thread, in case you would prefer to finish reading before proceeding here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Read-A-Long read by casting your vote here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Catch-Up read by casting your vote here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Classic read by casting your vote here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Modern read by casting your vote here.

I second O Pioneers!

I second Pachinko.

I second The Turn of the Screw.

I second The Things They Carried.

I second Things Fall Apart.

I nominate The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann (329 p., pub. 2023), and I second The Boys in the Boat.

A couple of discussion questions for Part 5:
· This section plunges directly into the heart of the mission. Did the shift in pace affect your reading experience?
· This section introduces Oswald’s perspective alongside Jake’s. How did this change your perception of Oswald and the events leading up to the assassination?
· The ripples of Jake’s interventions throughout the past become more apparent. What do you think are the implications regarding free will, fate, and unintended consequences?

This begins our group discussion of our Modern book selection, The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, nominated by Linda.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? How did your perception of Eva change throughout the book? What did you think of the dual timelines in the novel—did you prefer one over the other? What questions were you left with?

This begins our group discussion of our Classics book selection, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, nominated by Lisa.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? Did you find the romance between Newland & Ellen exciting, heartbreaking, or something in between? What questions were you left with?

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I count the same book for several categories or can I use it only once?

No, it can only count for one category, even if it fits many.

2. How do I paste the picture of the Bingo card into my post?

‣ After clicking on the link, your Bingo card is generated. Take a screenshot of it.
‣ You now need to upload the screenshot image file, and get a publicly available URL (web address) for it. Go onto the website https://imgur.com/upload and upload your file. Once it's uploaded, click the Copy link button to copy your image's URL.
‣ Go back to your post on this discussion thread. Copy the following code and paste it into your post, replacing YOUR_URL_HERE with your URL.
<img src="YOUR_URL_HERE.jpg">
Be sure there is a '.jpg' tacked onto the end of your URL. So if your URL was  𝚑𝚝𝚝𝚙𝚜://𝚒𝚖𝚐𝚞𝚛.𝚌𝚘𝚖/𝚊/𝚎𝚑𝚁𝚝𝚋𝙼  your code should look like  <𝚒𝚖𝚐 𝚜𝚛𝚌="𝚑𝚝𝚝𝚙𝚜://𝚒𝚖𝚐𝚞𝚛.𝚌𝚘𝚖/𝚊/𝚎𝚑𝚁𝚝𝚋𝙼.𝚓𝚙𝚐">

3. Does "translated from another language" have to have been an English translation?

It simply has to have been translated from the original into some other language. If you normally read books in French, for example, then it might be a Russian book translated into French, or the same book translated into English!

Welcome to the 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge, a fun way to read around the block and broaden your bookish horizons. This is a year-long challenge that can be played in a variety of ways.

Regular: say BINGO! You’ve read books that fit in the 5 categories presented on the bingo card in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line.
Blackout: BIGNO! Italian Bingo, you’ve read all the categories of books on the card.
Mix it up: BONIG! Use the card as a way to inspire your reading life. Cross out as many categories of books as you’ve read.

https://mfbc.us/m/svefx6z
⇑ This ⇑ is the interactive Bingo card, where you can actually cross out the books when you’ve read them. Note: Each time you click the link, it may generate a new card. So please take a screenshot of yours and paste it into your post.

Example post:

1) More than 500 pages: The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope—February 29
2) Holiday story: Small Things like These by Claire Keegan—December 7

Here is the list of the categories:

01. Author’s first book
02. Award winner
03. Essay/short-story collection
04. Fantasy/sci-fi
05. First in a series
06. From an author new to you
07. From the year you were born
08. Graphic novel
09. Holiday story
10. Less than 100 pages
11. More than 100 years old
12. More than 500 pages
13. Mystery/thriller
14. Number in the title
15. On your TBR for at least 2 years
16. One-word title
17. Published this year
18. Re-read
19. Recommendation from a GR user
20. Set in a city you want to visit
21. Set in the future
22. Source for film or TV show you liked
23. Supposed to read for school but didn’t
24. Translated from another language
25. YA novel

Happy reading!

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Catch-Up read by casting your vote here.