Louise’s Comments (group member since Aug 29, 2015)

Louise’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Discussion Questions Day 5 - Part 10 to End

17.) Anyone else find Giovanni's thoughts on Cord (his a 36 year old adult) to be a refreshing bit of grow up, you're an adult, figure out a way to handle your crap? Did Regan's revelations to Giovanni change your opinion of her?

I was glad Giovanni turned up and confronted Cord’s feelings, Regan showed how manipulative she had become in trying to free herself from a situation without taking on the responsibility of the act

18.) What did you like about the revelation Lee (or really Jason via the credit card) paid for the trip, pretending Charlotte won the contest? Why do you think the author did this?
I think Lee wanted to give her family a chance to reconcile and was hoping that they could go back to how things used to be.

19.) A lot happened at the final stop. Charlotte had the 'big O' and fixed by the magical penis. Regan got back in touch with her artist self and her kids randomly appeared in a foreign country (how did they get passports? both parents must be present at the time of application in the US for children to be issued passports), Cord and Giovanni worked things out, Lee had her breakdown and started healing. Did anyone else think this was abrupt and when they were all together (including Regan's kids) thinking WTH is going on?
I think the author seem to run out of steam and tried to wrap up the different threads but it was done rather hurriedly

20.) Final Thoughts on the book? Rating? Any idea what point the author was trying to make with this book?

I thought this was an okay book rating a 3*. This had the potential to be so much better.

We have completed 3 spellouts and most of a fourth and we haven't reached the halfway point of the round yet. Great work team, keep them coming.

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@Brigia - can you provide the links for the BOM discussion please.

;)

Paula wrote: "here are my recommendations:

"

Popping over from Gulliver's Travels finished this morning and I was pleasantly surprised. I was quite amazed of the profound differences between the book and the film. A prime example of the book is better than the film.

Shelby wrote: "For both Sammy and Navi - as strangely this fits both your requests... was an amaz..."

I've heard loads about that book might get that read soon.

[[ Frankie ]] wrote: "I was gonna make a countdown to the end of the round for my team, but I couldn’t find a timer, nor a specific time for the ending of the round. I know the challenge started at 10pm London time, but..."

That is the check-in time for the Captain’s, your team Captaons May want you finished earlier or hold the book over to the next round. Check with your team Captains how they wish to handle the round end, I know your team Captains well and they are very accommodating.

Discussion Questions Day 4 - Part 7 - 9

13: The characters have each made some defining decisions on the vacation. Which decision or resolution stuck out to you the most? Example - Mine was when Charlotte pretended not to see Cord at the end of part 9. It broke my heart to see her have so much difficulty loving her son!)

I agree, I found that really difficult for her to do that was unforgivable. Even when Regan tried to engage her she pushed it away and pretended it wasn’t happening. I really feel sorry for Cord, at the same time she has become set in her ways, and although she wants to change she thinks to much of what others think of her to do so

14: Why do you think Charlotte took on and passed on the traits of her mother that she didn’t appreciate? What might have been different in her interactions with her children if she intentionally shook those off? Example traits are her mother’s inability to communicate, and her disapproval turning into a lack of love)

Charlotte has lived with her mother’s disapproval for so long she doesn’t know how to do things differently. If she made a deliberate effort to change she would be more open with her children and they would be the same with her.

15: The characters each have a flaw in that they hold back a piece of themselves from their family and the ones they love. Which character is the hardest to read about and why?
I don’t particularly find the characters hard to read their flaws are defined by the pivotal point of Winston’s death and how they each have reacted to it. Although I didn’t realise Regan was quite so devious

16: This was my first time reading this author. Do you think you’d read something else by Amanda Eyre Ward? Why or why not?

This is also a new-to-me author, I can’t say that I won’t pick up another novel by this author. The book is ok but there are better family angst books out there, I may read another by this author but it’s not high on my to do list

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@ Celia can you add Thirteen Rising to your wheel shelf. 😉

Brigia wrote: "I have read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (in German) and liked it okay, though in my opinion the author took the whole literary fiction genre a bit far :-)

I'm currently reading..."

Glad you enjoyed Louisiana Longshot it is a fun series, her other series Ghost-In-Law is also a fun quirky series,

Keely wrote: "I recieved the news today that I no longer have a job. I suspected it as I had only been there a month before they closed because of the virus and if they had to let people go, I would have been to..."

Sorry to hear that Keely, hopefully the prospect of a new adventure will outweigh your loss.

Keely wrote: "I am currently reading 3 different books, potentially 4 depending on the answer to my next question.

What is the standing on Non-fiction books? I read a little bit of [bookcover:How to Bullet Pla..."

None of the tags indicate that it’s against the rules, but in looking at the preview on Amazon I’m not sure.

Rules on Page
Books must be at least 160 pages in length. Children's books, Graphic Novels, Scripts/plays (movie and theater), Cookbooks and Poetry books cannot be used unless by word count they can be verified (by arbookfinder.com or arbookfinder.co.uk) as at least 40,000 words or have an audio edition that is at least 5 hours long

Discussion Questions - Day 3 - Parts 5 & 6

9. Structure: "The Jetsetters" is divided into nine parts with an average of five different chapters (other than Part 1, which had nine chapters) in each part. Each chapter has, as yet, indicated a point of view change. What do you think the different parts are designating, if anything? How is it affecting your reading of the book, if at all?

I like the way it’s laid out letting us get a read on each character a bit at a time. I generally find these short chapters make the story flow quicker.

10. Setting: So far, the Perkins have visited, in some capacity, Athens, Rhodes, and, most recently, Malta. How has the Mediterranian setting impacted both the story and the characters, if at all? And how do you think the story and characters would have been affected if the cruise was traveling through a different setting (say the Perkins boarded an Alaskan cruise line), if there would be any?
There seems to be an air of romance and freedom on the cruise which is helping the character come to terms with the events of the past and the insecurities they have built up

11. Minor Character (Paros): As a follow up to question eight (since I am biasedly refusing to discuss Matt at any great length if I can help it), Paros has positively influenced both Charlotte (in feeling seen and admired) and Lee (in reconnecting with her family after coming to some big personal realizations). Why do you think Paros (and not Charlotte's recently deceased friend Minnie or Lee's one-time therapist) has been able to make these positive influences? Do you think this will continue and Paros will positively influence Regan and Cord in some way? If so, how?

I think this is due to Paros being a stranger and the knowledge that they are unlikely to see him again once the cruise is finished. Charlotte and Lee are both very proud and don’t wish people to judge them,


12. Minor Character (Kiko): Kiko's character has been used to further characterize the children indirectly: signifying Regan's meticulous mind (a mind that is plotting a murder, ha!), Lee's reformed ways rejecting the advances of men, and Cord's attraction towards men. Is Charlotte's character also indirectly characterized via Kiko? If so, how? (Also, I was so dismayed because Cord was my favorite character and his engagement to Giovonni was so cute and yet many of you predicted that Cord would be outted by being caught in a compromising situation by his family! gasp! So I ask you...) Was Cord's flirting with Kiko harmless, or was it a foreshadowing of a similar situation to come later in the novel?

I think Kiko’s openness and williness to share his home life with everyone strikef a chord with everyone. Showing them what can be if they let go of the past

How is everyone getting on with their reading?
Currently got 3 books on the go!

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Chris wrote: "@Louise, that's crazy that you found "morris dancing" so quickly! While Googling the term, I also found out that Terry Pratchett happens to include it in a lot of his work."

I figured if I was going to find it anywhere it would be in a British Cozy and Agatha Raisin was on my up-next list and there was a fete in there. As it is set in a village other books in the series may have it too.

Discussion Questions Day 2: Parts 2 - 4

5. We get more flashbacks to Charlotte's early life in Paris, and start to get an understanding of why her family isn't close or communicative - she herself was brought up to repress feelings. Will her current crush on Paros blossom into a full relationship? How will her fascination with Paros help or hinder her main aim of this holiday - to reconnect her children?

I’d like for her to get together with Paros if only so that she can finally let her feelings show. I don’t think it will come between her and her children though

6. Cord: he jettisons a year and a half of sobriety very easily, though I did enjoy how the author then used his drunken ramble through the ship to show off some of the glorious absurdities of massive cruise ships. Will Cord be able to pull himself together over the cruise or is he going to self-sabotage any happiness he might have had? Do you think Charlotte would react badly to his coming out of the closet? Any guesses on how he gets outed?
I think Cord will have a lot of self discovery to make especially as he is trying to look out for Regan. I don’t think Charlotte will react badly but she comes across as quite prudish to her children so I think it will more than likely she will stumble across Cord in a compromising situation which will make her feel guilty

7. Lee: We get confirmation that Winston did commit suicide, and chose to do it in her bathroom (what a $*!@$!). Why would Charlotte make her lie to her siblings about how he died? And why does noone call her out about her lies about her career?
Charlotte wasn’t able to protect Lee from the truth but wanted to protect her siblings. As Lee was closest to their father I think they all have a sense of duty to protect Lee and allow her her fantasies, unfortunately by doing so they are making it harder for her.

8. Regan: plotting murder! The plot thickens! What do you think the private detective has turned up? I assume it must be worse that infidelity, because you don't hire a PI unless you suspect infidelity, right? ('cos of course we have all thought about having our partners trailed rather than just, y'know, communicating with them!) Do you find the flashbacks to Matt rescuing Regan from the artist teacher (shades of Charlotte again!) make him more likeable?

I think Matt is very controlling, to be described as a monster indicates something more serious than simple infidelity. It will be interesting to find out

We have nearly completed our first word. Great effort team.

Shelby wrote: "Louise - Can you find out from the captains group...when it comes to recommendations does it need to match the book exactly or since a lot of people are recommending book 1's in series', if it's a ..."

My instinct says yes but I will double check.