Catsalive’s Comments (group member since Feb 05, 2022)

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

Showing 201-220 of 423

« previous 1 2 … 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 … 21 22 next »

CatMonsters (66 new)

Jul 20, 2023 04:00AM

Hoop Snake (Easy)
(view spoiler)

CatMonsters (66 new)

Jul 20, 2023 03:59AM

The Silence (Very Hard)
(view spoiler)

CatMonsters (66 new)

Jul 17, 2023 04:57PM

Caucasian Eagle (Mod)
(view spoiler)

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 04:31AM

My DQ participation:

1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 04:28AM

DQs Day 5 - Wimbledon 1995 & The 1995 US Open

18. Nature vs nurture. Carrie has her issues with tennis, but her real struggle is with relationships. How much of that do you think is due to who Carrie is innately as a person and how she was raised?
A bit of both, she was young when her mother died so she didn't have much to go on, but kids make up & misinterpret stuff easily; and, she's so self-centred & driven

19. I don’t know much about tennis, but I found myself really enjoying the matches as they are described. I got so pumped up while Carrie was playing! Did you find all the tennis terms, both during and after matches, to be a hinderance or did you enjoy getting immersed in the sport through Carrie’s eyes?
A fundamental part of the book but possibly a bit too much on occasion

20. Carrie Soto, the star of our novel, has been seen previously in a TJR novel where she was a minor character. TJR seems to enjoy connecting her books which makes me wonder… could her next book be about one of the minor characters we’ve come across in Carrie Soto is Back? And, if so, who do you think it would be?
I haven't read any others so I have no thoughts on this subject

21. ”But right now, in this moment, I love this drugstore cologne more than I love the smell of Wimbledon grass or California oranges or the rubber of a freshly popped can of tennis balls. This drugstore cologne is my home.”

I really loved this quote and it made me start thinking about some of my favorite smells. What are some scents that you love? What scent would be your home?
Mmm! Petrichor, new-mown grass, warm cat.

22. And, finally, how did you like this book? What was your rating? Would you consider reading more from this author if you haven't already?
I didn't think I'd get past the first few chapters but once I settled into the story I enjoyed it quite well. I'm unlikely to read any others by this author but it was interesting.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 04:18AM

DQs - Day 4 - The 1995 French Open (76%)

14. At the end of The French Open Section, can you feel any character development in Carrie? If yes, in what ways do you think she may have changed? Also has there been a change in your feelings towards her? Still dislike/like her or not any more?
I just wish she'd realise what she's missing by ignoring what her father is trying to tell her. What is the point if you can't find the joy in the game

15. There are some hard lessons for Carrie to take away from Paris and some vital discussions between her and her dad as well as between her and Bowe about parental expectations and expectations from one's own self. Do you think Carrie is ready to accept the different POVs and use them to her own advantage?
I certainly hope so but she doesn't seem to want to hear it yet

16. This is what Carrie Soto is thinking of her opponent Ingrid Cortez while playing against her in Paris: ... she has a burden I have never had. In order to keep getting paid, she has to keep looking beautiful on the court. I wonder, briefly, if it weighs on her. Or, if, conversely, it frees her from the pressure I live with, the pressure to win. Either way, it’s a prison. Both her beauty and my ability—they’ve both got an expiration date."
This reflection struck a chord with me. Building on what has been previously discussed about media pressure and also how men and women athletes were/are still treated differently, what are your thoughts on this issue?
Easier to look perfect than play perfectly all the time but media still imposes this more on women than men, not much has changed, really.

17. Do you have any other quotes that "spoke" to you (in any part of the book up to the 75% mark) or you made a note of for further reflection?
nope

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 04:12AM

DQs Day 3 - The Australian Open (58%)

9. Gwen sends Carrie a gift the start day of the Australian Open…a Discman! The first song it plays is ‘The Bitch is Back’…I love this album. I immediately went to play me some Elton John tunes😊 Do you have a song or routine that gets you revved up…sets a tone to put you in the right state of mind?
Some music helps me get moving on housework... sometimes.

10. Reflections--
Carrie thinks…I inhabit the silence of this moment with my father, when we are still asking questions and do not yet have to live with the answers. What do you think she means at this moment in time with that comment?
"Te quiero mucho, pichona," he says.
I open up my eyes, "I know. I love you too."
Javier and Carrie both have many reflective moments throughout these matches… Is this a premonition of what’s to come with the open or even more in the future?
That time when the present & future holds so much potential

12. We hear from the media in various forms throughout. What are your thoughts about some of their comments so far? Do you believe any of them have affected Carrie or the game? I was thinking about this especially when Gwen indicates Elite Gold was pulling back some of their ads prior to the French Open. Gwen has a role in her job with managing all of this…what are your thoughts about the impact of media and advertising with sport?
It seems quite realistic. I remember how horrible the media were about Seles' grunting & Navratilova's masculinity, but they were all over them when they won.

13. Carrie’s been doing some very smart training thanks to her father. She’s been practicing in recent weeks with Bowe on clay and Bowe has challenged her, calling her a ‘quitter’. And here at the end of this segment, she’s just had a challenge from Nikki Chan. Is she going to win? Is Nikki? What do you anticipate happening in Paris?
It would be nice if she won but it's unlikely as it's never been her best surface. I like the interaction between her & Bowe.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 04:04AM

DQs Day 2 - The Comeback (40%)

5. Welcome back sports fans! If any of you have read other Taylor Jenkins Reid's novels, you know she loves looking back at interesting eras in time. The Golden Age of Hollywood! 70s rock and roll excess! Why do you think TJR chose to focus on 90s sports for this novel? Do you think it was only to bring Carrie back or do you think there was something special about sports during that time?
There was a major shift in tennis in general around that time, but particularly in WTA

6. In this section we are introduced to Bowe. What do you think about him? Do you think he is a good match for Carrie (in sports or romantically)?
I like that he seems to have a sense of humour which is lacking in any other character so far

7. In this section, there is a letter from the editor entitled "Why I'm Thankful for Carrie Soto" in which the author, Helene, says that Carrie was inspiring to her as a child. Do you find inspiration in any sports legends past or present? If so, who and why?
I'm sure I was as a child but not as an adult, although I did admire Federer's sheer love of his game, & his graciousness.

8. Up next is the Australian Open! Any predictions on what is going to happen in the next section of the book? Also how are you enjoying the book so far?
I know I'll finish it now - I wasn't sure during the first quarter

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Reid Jenkins - July 2023 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 2 Jul) (243 new)

Jul 16, 2023 03:56AM

DQs Day 1 - Chan v Cortez & The First Time Around (26%)

1. The most popular releases by Taylor Jenkins Reid have been BOMs in this group before (Daisy Jones & The Six in 2019, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in 2021, and Malibu Rising last year). Have you read any of these books (or others) by TJR too or is Carrie Soto is Back your first book by the author? What are your expectations going in?
This is my first TJR & I have no expectations for the book - I'm only reading it for TT.

2. After the first chapter is set in 1994 and Carrie Soto decides to get back into the sport to get her record title back the next few chapters follow her early years up until she felt like she had to retire because of her knee injury (and because she felt humiliated lbr) somewhat 30 years later. Her dad always wanted her to be the greatest whereas her mother just wanted her to be kind and happy. It doesn't seem like Carrie is either at this point in her life, also not the greatest anymore. How do you feel about her as a character so far? What do you think (sort of) being forced into retirement by her own body has done to her, mentally and physically; do you think she's changed at all in the last 5 years?
She is driven, fixated on winning & unlikable.

3. What we've learned about Carrie's childhood and teenage years has quickly started to remind me of 'King Richard' the movie about the Williams sisters' life and I'm seeing a lot of similarities between Carrie's dad Javier and the Williams' (movie) dad (as I'm sure is often the case when athletes' parents are involved in their kids' sports careers/futures).
Javier seemed to have good intentions and only ever wanted what (he at least thought) was best for his daughter, but they grew apart after going separate ways in 1979. As we know, they've found their way back together (does this sound weird seeing they're father and daughter??), but things definitely changed between them. How do you feel about Javier and about his and Carrie's relationship growing up vs now?
He seems to have forgotten to instill the love of the sport in Carrie, at least she just concentrated on the love of winning. He seems to have been consistently proud of her achievement whether she won or lost but she refused to hear it until very late in the piece.

4. It seems like Carrie doesn't believe in love (or actually of being worthy of being loved imo). She's been having flings/ONS left and right apparently, and appearing in tabloids with random guys regularly. The one time she let herself finally believe this could be IT for the long run was with Brandon Randall (who some of us already knew from Malibu Rising) who was cheating on his then wife with her. No surprise he left her for (yet) another woman, but were you surprised Carrie took him back after he wanted to go back to his ex-wife and she rejected him? Do you think losing her mother at such a young age and only ever having her dad as a single parent in her life has influenced how she views love, relationships and generally a deeper bond with other people?
Sure, we're affected by everything growing up, & kids are good at misinterpreting what they see & experience.

CatMonsters (66 new)

Jul 01, 2023 11:07PM

The 456 (Hard)
(view spoiler)

Our FIRST Million Pages for 2023: An NBRC Group Relay Reading Challenge (1267 new)

Jun 30, 2023 09:14PM

Undead and Unwed (Undead, #1) by MaryJanice Davidson

by MaryJanice Davidson 1/6 3.5★ 288p

Undead and Unappreciated (Undead, #3) by MaryJanice Davidson

by MaryJanice Davidson 1/6 3★ 303p

Life as We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

by Susan Beth Pfeffer 2/6 3★ 353p

Vengeance in Death (In Death, #6) by J.D. Robb

by J.D. Robb 3/6 3★ 465p

by Nora Roberts 4/6 3★ 430p

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) by J.K. Rowling

by J.K. Rowling 4/6 3.5★ 475p

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by J.K. Rowling

by J.K. Rowling 5/6 3★ 869p

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) by J.K. Rowling

by J.K. Rowling 6/6 2★ 965p

Buttons and Bones (A Needlecraft Mystery, #14) by Monica Ferris

by Monica Ferris 7/6 3★ 261p

by Emily Henry 7/6 3★ 368p

by Neil Mercer,Ruby Jones 8/6 3.5★ 320p

Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, #1) by Charlaine Harris

by Charlaine Harris 9/6 3.5★ 216p

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

by S.A. Chakraborty 10/6 2★ 576p

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

by Elizabeth Taylor 11/6 5★ 193p

by Emily Henry 12/6 2.5★ 373p

by Gail Jones 12/6 3★ 256p

by Katherine Kovacic 13/6 4★ 310p

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

by Mikki Brammer 14/6 3.5★ 314p

by Dick Francis, Felix Francis 15/6 3★ 400p

by Michael Innes 15/6 2.5★ 171p

The Rake's Retreat (Signet Regency Romance) by Nancy Butler

by Nancy Butler 16/6 3★ 224p

by Matt Haig 16/6 3.5★ 272p

by Sarah Barrie 17/6 4★ 384p

by Jane Green 18/6 3★ 450p

Watchers in the Night (The Guardians of the Night, #1) by Jenna Black

by Jenna Black 18/6 3★ 296p

Judi Dench With a Crack in Her Voice by John Miller

by Judi Dench 19/6 4★ 368p

Holiday in Death (In Death, #7) by J.D. Robb

by J.D. Robb 20/6 3.5★ 330p

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) by J.K. Rowling

by J.K. Rowling 22/6 3★ 607p

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) by J.K. Rowling

by J.K. Rowling 24/6 3★ 831p

The Laughing Policeman (Martin Beck, #4) by Maj Sjöwall

by Maj Sjöwall,Per Wahlöö 25/6 4★ 224p

Six Feet Under (Inspector Thanet, #2) by Dorothy Simpson

by Dorothy Simpson 26/6 3★ 192p

by Karly Lane 27/6 3.5★ 368p

An Alluring Deceit by Melissa Lynn Jones

by Melissa Lynn Jones 29/6 2★ 316p

The Skeptical Heart by Teresa DesJardien

by Teresa DesJardien 29/6 2★ 256p

Devil's Cub (Alistair, #2) by Georgette Heyer

by Georgette Heyer 30/6 5★ 314p

total: 12908

Current total: 980,084

สิบ (Sip) (1085 new)

Jun 30, 2023 07:28PM

Melissa wrote: "Anyone planning on reading the July BOMs? I've heard Fourth Wing is really good!."

I'd like to read it but it'll take at least 6 months on the reserve list at the library 😃 . I might read Carrie Soto, though.

July: Baby You're a Firework (29 new)

Jun 27, 2023 05:32PM