Eunice’s Comments (group member since Sep 19, 2016)

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

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS SET 1

1. ALTHOUGH THIS BOOK WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2013 I WAS AMAZED WITH THE OPENING PAGES DESCRIBING THE CIRCLE'S CAMPUS IN LIGHT OF NEWS REPORTS THIS WEEK OF THE OPENING OF APPLE'S AMAZING NEW HEADQUARTERS! WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS IN REGARDS TO THIS BOOK AND HOW MUCH OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE REAL LIFE TECH WORLD DO YOU THINK WILL INFLUENCE THE PLOT LINE OF THE STORY?
None particularly. I decided to watch the movie first before starting on the book, and my reaction was meh, not bad but not that good either. For real life tech, I'm sure they would, but obviously, there's going to be a lot more than just the ones we have in real life.

2. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF THE MAJOR CHARACTERS MAE AND ANNIE? DO YOU GET THE FEELING THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS NOT AN EQUITABLE ONE AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT MAY CHANGE AS THE STORY PROGRESSES?
I thought Mae was the naive type. She was so amazed by the Circle. The Circle is wonderful and all, but it sort of has a creepy vibe. The other employees there know all about her personal info and act like they are friends. Between her and Annie, from how she describes Annie, she seems slightly jealous of her (or maybe more than slightly). That kind of friendship deteriorates easily because they would keep on trying to one up the other.

3. DO YOU LIKE THE CONTINUING FORMAT OF THE NOVEL AND THE LACK OF DEFINED CHAPTERS? WHY TO YOU THINK DAVE EGGERS HAS WRITTEN THE BOOK THIS WAY?
To be honest, I never even noticed it until you pointed it out. Wow, me. But then I have it in ebook format and a lot of times, any layout design, including line breaks are removed. Maybe he felt that there wasn't any suitable place to stop? Or if we're going deeper, maybe he was symbolizing this to technology.

4. MAE AND FRANK? WHAT DO YOU THINK FRANK'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE STORY LINE WILL BE? DO YOU SEE ANY RELATIONSHIP EVOLVING BETWEEN THEM?
Love interest? Just a friend? I'm not sure what to think of those two. I can sense that they're going to be together at some point in the book, but I don't feel that they're going to be a good couple.

5. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR AND IF SOMETHING IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS ARE TWO SAYINGS THAT IMMEDIATELY SPRING TO MIND WHEN READING THIS BOOK. AT THIS EARLY STAGE WHERE ARE YOU IMAGINING THE STORY IS HEADING?
Yep. Nothing is ever perfect. I imagine things would get worse, especially with Mae's naivety. I've been told that things aren't as good as it was in the movies, that she wasn't swayed to the "other side" in the book. I imagine that the Circle would continue to grow until the entire world is involved in it and then it becomes like a dictatorship or totalitarian or something.

6. DOES THIS BOOK REMIND YOU OF ANY OTHERS YOU HAVE READ OR ARE YOU FINDING THE STORY FRESH AND ORIGINAL?
It does have the feeling of "I've seen this before" but I can't pinpoint from where.

Sreshtha wrote: "ChrisP wrote: "Does anyone else prefer a real book when they can get there hands on it rather than the ebook? I have been having less headaches and sleeping better when reading a physical copy. To ..."

That's true for me too! I just get so lazy reading lengthy ebooks that I prefer to buy the physical copy.

I vote detour. Though I wouldn't mind doing spell out either. I got a few Z titles in my Kindle.

ChrisP wrote: "Ang Figgy-Pudding wrote: "ChrisP wrote: "Does anyone else use gem coins?"

I'm not sure how to use them. I have earned them but never used them."

How do I received them? I'm doing BOM and particip..."

I think it's up to you to track how much you earned.

Ang Figgy-Pudding wrote: "Michelle wrote: "How often is the spreadsheet updated? The book I finished two days ago still isn't showing on there and I've checked the finish date is definitely there this time. Not sure what el..."

Oooh. Now that you said that, I just added the book to my shelf today. Thanks.

Michelle wrote: "How often is the spreadsheet updated? The book I finished two days ago still isn't showing on there and I've checked the finish date is definitely there this time. Not sure what else to do??"

I was also wondering about that. Do we update them ourselves?

Naked in Death by J. D. Robb
Finished 5/11/17 (Added to TBR on Sept 2016)

Completion Post


Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
Finished 5/11/17
306 pages

Is it My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger?

M

Sorry, I can't help but notice that the comments spell "arse." XD It was completely unintentional, I swear. I didn't even notice until after I posted.

E

ChrisP wrote: "I am about 50 pages through The Circle I am still waiting for the hook all though there is some creepy foreshadowing."

I never realized the movie was a book adaptation until I saw the BOM. I'm planning on watching the movie first, then read the book. We can join in DQs as long as it's in the same month, right? Even if I don't follow the dates?

♦Ashley♦ wrote: "

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!"

I hate book hangovers. Or at least my form of hangover. When I like a particular series (or movie), I have an urge to search for fanfics. Sometimes, I get some form of "relapse" when I sift through fanfics from old books I read. I actually just got out of the fanfic phase recently, which is why I haven't been able to read any actual book. I'm going to start reading a book this weekend.

And hope you enjoy yours Ashley. And everyone else here too!

U

I

Detour sounds good to me.

S?

O

Lauri wrote: "I am proud to say I only utilize the public library! I don't have an ereader & hate reading on my tablet. I like the feel and smell of actual books. I am also poor & live in a small apartment, so n..."

Our public libraries are mostly academic in nature, and it's not like I read history, math, and science books for fun (unless it's sci-fi or historical fiction) so that doesn't work for me.