Toi’s Comments (group member since Mar 11, 2017)

Toi’s comments from the The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club group.

I haven't gotten around to posting my review yet and want to answer the questions after I've done that, but I just wanted to pop in and say thanks to all who've shared their thoughts on these selections. I really enjoy reading about how others react to stories I've read, whether they liked it or not. I love talking about books and sharing this experience with others.

I haven't gotten around to posting my review yet and want to answer the questions after I've done that, but I just wanted to pop in and say thanks to all who've shared their thoughts on these selections. I really enjoy reading about how others react to stories I've read, whether they liked it or not. I love talking about books and sharing this experience with others.

Gwen’s story was very fun.

Yes, the Haunting story really stuck with me well after I put the book down.

Greetings book clubbers.

Please provide your answers to as many or as few of the questions as you’d like in the comments below. Feel free to ask more questions if you’d like.

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1. Do you usually read mystery/crime fiction or was this a departure for you? (For writers, do you write mystery/crime fiction, or would that be a departure for you?)

2. How does time increase the intensity of the plot/character motivation in the various stories within this collection?

3. Would you like to read more stories about any of the protagonists in this book? (Contributing writers-Do you have any more stories using the protagonist featured in Tick Tock?)
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Thank you to the various contributors of this anthology for the wonderful questions.

Feel free to also share your reviews and or thoughts on the book in your comments.

Greetings book clubbers.

Please provide your answers to as many or as few of the questions as you’d like in the comments below. Feel free to ask more questions if you’d like.

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1. It can be difficult to see a character arc in a short story; did you see any characters arc in this anthology?

2. How is alternate/diverse reality used in the various stories within this anthology?

3. How do you think your favorite story from this collection came about? (If you are the writer, please share with us your story’s origin.)
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Thank you to the various contributors of this anthology for the wonderful questions.

Feel free to also share your reviews and or thoughts on the book in your comments.

Jemi wrote: "I'll put in a few of the ones I've enjoyed to get things started...
CassaStar - Alex J Cavanaugh (SF)
One Good Catch - Heather M Gardner (Romance)
LiftOff - Tyrean Martinson (YA SF)
Not Guilty - C ..."

Thank you, Jemi. Your current suggestions have been added. To the shelves. Feel free to suggest others at any time.

This is where you recommend an IWSG member’s book as a comment. Please indicate a genre so we know which shelf to add it to. New genre shelves will be added as needed. As books are added to the shelves, comments will be deleted to keep this thread orderly.

IWSG Book Clubbers,

When our book club selects and reads a book, it does NOT mean we endorse it. We’re not like book clubs run by celebrities or influencers. :) The moderators of our book club aren’t able to read every book before they get added to our shelves here on Goodreads or before they are selected as our book club reads. Instead, the mods read the books along with our members.

Books are added to our shelves based on IWSG member publications and moderator suggestions. The range of selections is limited to books that are currently listed on Goodreads.com. While we will try to select books available as both print and digital, we will not exclude a title with limited formats and distribution. That’s one reason we offer two selections each month.

We understand that not all of our members will like all the books we select. (That’d be impossible.) The moderators, ourselves, may not like all the books we select. If a book is problematic to you for any reason, that may likely make our discussions of that book more interesting and engaging, which is another thing we strive for, just as long as all comments, especially to other members, are respectful. There is always the option to skip a selection or discussion and join us again for a different one down the road.

As always, thank you for being a member of our book club! Even if you read a book you don’t like, we hope you do, however, like our group here on Goodreads.

Thank you for reading this message about the books we read (or that can be found on our shelves)!

The IWSG book club was originally created by Chrys Fey in 2017 as a tool for writers under the Insecure Writer's Support Group name. The club has since evolved and, beginning in the summer of 2021, is being led by Toi Thomas, along with her co-moderator Ronel Janse van Vuuren. The book club now offers a focus on spotlighting the works of the IWSG members, as well as an appreciation for the joy of reading.

We will have two spotlight selections each quarter for clubbers to choose from, a member book and a craft book. Clubbers may choose to read both books, just one, or neither, but we hope they will at least help spread the word about the incredible talents of the IWSG members and participate in some of the book club activities.

NOTE: When we select and read a book, it does not mean we endorse it. The moderators don’t read the books ahead but rather read the books *with* our members. If a book is problematic to you for any reason, that may likely make our discussions of that book more interesting and engaging or you may simply choose not to read that one.

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We want this group to be a fun place for IWSG members to support other IWSG members and hopefully enjoy some new and interesting reads.

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#1. No spam, self-promo (books/blogs/websites), review, or beta reader requests of any kind outside of designated threads/topics. These will be deleted without warning. There is a discussion topic set up for recommendations.

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We want to remind our members that not every book we read will be in the genre/style we write in, but we can all learn (or discover new interests) by reading books outside our preferred genres/styles. That’s why we encourage you to give our book selections a try.

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Join the blog hop here: https://www.insecurewriterssupportgro...
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I enjoyed this book. So far, the discussion here has been very enlightening. I too wrote a piece for WEP where the gender of the characters was in question, but I did leave them vague intentionally. This is a fascinating topic to explore.
As far as settings go, as soon as I finish the first draft of my current WIP, I'll go back to give the setting some attention using this book as a reference.
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I tried to listen to the audiobook but could not follow the POV or connect with the characters. It seems like an interesting story, but I think I should have read it. Perhaps I will revisit it down the road.
This was my first time reading something in 2nd-person. I wouldn't mind trying it for a short piece but I don't see myself ever being comfortable writing like this. Definitely an interesting exploration.

1. What did the different characters and animal species remind you of? What symbolism did you pull from them?

As a black person, I pick up on racial things in stories like these because race is usually the thing I spend most of my time trying to overcome; however, this story has so many layers of symbolism that I've decided not to share all that I felt. No need to drag this out too much.

In terms of anatomy, pigs are the farm animals that are most closely related to humans, thus they became the oppressors of other animals. Many of the negative terms used today, ie "dirty pigs" comes from ancient religious beliefs in pigs being unclean and also what Orwell accomplished with this book. For me, the pigs started out with good intentions but soon became power-hungry much like the Italian and other mafias of the early 20th century. Mobs originally formed to protect communities from injustice and brutality but once protection became profitable everything else became corrupted.

This and so many other works of fiction stigmatized dogs as brutes much in the way that people of color are often typecast as thugs, junkies, and criminals.

The crow, for me, was an "Uncle Tom," loyal to the master. Don't know what that is? Look it up.

And of course, we know why people who refuse to think for themselves are called sheep. Orwell can't be given full credit for this either because anti-religious messages have used this terminology to counter the whole "shepherd and flock" analogy since forever I guess.

Ok, that's all for now.

2. Did this story draw any parallels with you for historical events or modern events?

Yes. It automatically made me think of Nazi Germany and Cold War Russia (USSR). Oh, and it was sadly too reminiscent of what's been happening in the US the past four years. 2020 has been rough.

5. What did you like about Animal Farm? What did you dislike?

This was not an easy read when I read it back in school and couldn't muster the energy to re-read it but I did read a graphic novel version of it. Now as then, I appreciate the importance of the story. It's a hard read, but one that I'd recommend people to read at least once in their lives.

Thanks for sharing your review and thoughts. I like your quote at the end "King's is pragmatic, Bradbury's is whimsical, both are vital."

Chrys wrote: "Like, E.M., I haven't intertwined stories or timelines like this. All I've done is write in different character's POVs, which is definitely not the same. However, I do have an idea for a book that ..."

OMG Chrys. You and your mom have to do that project together. I already love it.

E.M. wrote: "1. So I've actually read Cloud Atlas multiple times, and honestly the story that feels the most separate to me is the Luisa Ray line, which is odd because it has a direct connection to the Robert F..."

I agree with you about the structure initially driving you Nuts. When first reading this, I was about to return the audiobook thinking there were glitches in the file. I was glad I kept going.

I read this back in 2013 and reviewed it then here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I started to re-read it but got caught up in other stuff. I will re-read it again one day. I'll be back for the discussion later. Interested to see what people thought of the book and how they answer the questions.

See my 4.25 review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
1. My favorite Character Arc question is what lie does your character believe?
In one of my current, long-running WIPs, my character believes her government is good and that magic or anything resembling religion is bad. It’s a fantasy.
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2. Thinking cause and effect, let's talk about the character's ghost from Chapter 3. Why does your character believe the lie?
My character is a product of the world she lives in where few receive the form of higher education she’s been granted. Being educated is what allows her to begin to see that things aren’t as they seem. I started thinking about this the moment the story idea came to me.
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3.. Have you ever started a character out on one path and later had to do rewrites to get them on a better or “the correct” path?
As much as I plan, I always have at least one character that goes through a major change before I even get started. I’ve had characters change from love interests into villains, from friends to family members, and even had a few sex changes all in the efforts to create the best characters to carry out the essence of my plots.
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4. I don’t think I’ve ever written a clear Negative Change Arc but am excited about the prospect. Which character arc do you think would be the greatest challenge to write?
This is totally me. I really want to try a Negative Change Arc and think, for me, it will be the most challenging.
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5. Before you read this book, did you actively figure out character arcs (your character’s personal growth) before/during the writing process?
Yes. I think being an intense planner plays a big role in that. I plot out most of my major character's entire lives from birth to death and figure out what major events along the way help shape them into who they are and who they will become.

So, I’m way late to the discussion. Oh well. You can find my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

1. Whenever I read a story that starts out by telling you who did it, I always find the journey to how they did it to be the fuel moving the plot forward. That was not the case with this book. Even after the third chapter, it wasn’t clear who the killer was, so I never decided either way if he was or wasn’t the killer. I just felt like it was too obvious to say he was the killer near the beginning but if he wasn’t, I’d be disappointed if I allowed myself to read the whole book thinking he was. I think allowing myself to be paranoid about all the characters made it more enjoyable for me. The only person I never suspected as the killer was the heroine.

2. I think deep POV works most times, but I honestly think it is often overrated. In this story, I do feel it delivered on the promise of letting the reader feel more connected and involved. Sometimes, though, I feel deep POV can be pretentious. When it’s good it's great when it’s not so good, I’d rather have a clever narrator or an insecure first-person share the story with me. I can connect to a narrator or empathize with a first-person; I can’t always do that with deep POV because it seems to be telling your brain what you should be thinking and feeling… Does that make sense?
Who knows, it may just be a style preference.

4. Yes and no to this one.
I wrote a character once that was both a good guy and a bad guy at different points in the story. This character didn’t want to be a bad guy but knew he couldn’t always be good. The character eventually eliminated himself from the story so the other characters could thrive.
Not sure how the reader felt about that.

5. I find that in this age, a time when people are making a conscious effort to be more accepting of others, we are seeing more characters who were once thought of as weak, in more mainstream roles or at least being portrayed as normal, average, and even strong characters. Characters with limps, speech impediments, allergies, non-traditional hero body-types, and more are being seen, not just being used to bolster other characters.
This is not the same as characters with mental and or physical disabilities, though, thankfully, they too are also now getting better representation. While we still have a way to go, I’m excited about the current direction of diversity in books.

Jennifer wrote: "1. Stephen King says, “You can read anywhere, almost, but when it comes to writing, library carrels, park benches, and rented flats should be courts of last resort." QUESTIONS: Where do you like to..."

I agree King had a comedic and inviting way of sharing his story in this book.