Bernadette’s Comments (group member since May 28, 2020)

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

Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) From what I know, this book is the novelization of the movie. While this doesn’t happen too often, I’ve read a couple books before that were only written after a movie/series (e.g. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Have you ever read a book like this? What did you think? Was it successful? Did this experience influence your expectations of this book?
I have never heard of this being done.


2) Stella and Will, wearing face masks & using copious amounts of hand sanitizer before it was cool. All jokes aside, this is an oddly timely reminder that face masks do make a difference to prevent the spreading of diseases. I knew next to nothing about CF before starting this book and I’ve seen very mixed reactions to the representation of CF so I was wondering… do you have any experience with CF and therefore expectations? (If you don’t feel comfortable answering, feel free to just skip this question!)

When my niece was very little she had breathing problems and was tested for CF. Thankfully, she did not have it.

3) "If I’m going to die, I’d like to actually live first.“ This quote from Will’s POV reminded me of the countless bucket list stories and made me wonder whether this will go in that direction. Yet while Will takes more of a Devil-May-care attitude, Stella is very cautious to follow the rules. Do you think Will’s attitude is going to influence Stella as they got closer (literally?!). Will she also take more (dangerous) risks?

He seems like an "influencer"

4) Stella is a "tech nerd", even programming her own app. Most MCs in YA books have artsy, "girly" hobbies (sorry for using that terrible gendered stereotype), if they have any prominent hobbies at all. Books about artsy people are among my favorites and I’m always on the hunt for more. While I like traditional hobbies, some of my favorite books (e.g. With the Fire on High) have non-mainstream hobbies and I am actually quite excited to learn more about this aspect of Stella’s story. Have you read any other books where the main character had a prominent hobby that wasn’t drawing/painting/writing/theater/an instrument?


5) Stella’s parents are recently divorced, in what she calls the “most ridiculous divorce of all time”, and she worries a lot about them. It both breaks my heart and confuses me slightly why it is so far being kept from us what happened - we only know that Stella believes both parents are unhappy after the separation. So… what do you think happened?

Her illness was probably a factor.

Donna wrote: "Tammie wrote: "Donna will start working on the SS soon I'm sure"

Done. All of you planners can start planning your books."

Question - Do books for Round 2 need to be started when Round 2 starts? Or can we carryover Round 1 books started but not completed by the end of Round 1?

Donna wrote: "Bernadette,

Can you verify that the version you have shelved for Our Souls at Night is the correct version? The page count is different than the one you listed on our SS. For now,..."

I updated it. I used at hardcopy version for the pages when I entered it into the SS.

Tammie wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Captains -- When are you planning on updating our SS? I tend to get a little over competitive on these things and would LOVE to know where we stand in rankings. But if you all are ju..."

Looks like "I" is the only letter missing and there are 2 "I"'s completed. Should one be moved?

Keli wrote: "Bernadette wrote: "The Death of Bees - one team recommendation done."

So you didn't like it? Only one star. 😕
How are you finding In the Unlikely Event? I had that ..."

Keli, I could not get into The Death of Bees AT ALL. But completed it. I'm not a big fan of UK writers usually. In the Unlikely Event is OK so far, not great but enjoyable.

The Death of Bees - one team recommendation done.

Navi wrote: "Greetings from Team Pants! I've come to request recommendations from you all 😊 Lately, I’ve been in the mood for some great nonfiction. Any favourites? I don’t have a genre preference – biography, ..."

Here some that I have liked recently:

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction
Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Sammy wrote: "Hello there inhabitants of Oz!

Having just finished The Art of Fielding (a book I can heartily recommend!), I am left in the mood for more sports-themed books, so have come to see ..."

Sammy, I recommend Calico Joe by John Grisham. "A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball." I gave it 4 stars.

Triathlete_Reads wrote: "I will probably be reading The Nowhere Girls first and then maybe The Night Circus (thanks for the recommendation I totally forgot I had it in my tbr)"

I loved The Night Circus! My recommendation.

Donna wrote: "For the BOMs

I will read Five Feet Apart but I am experiencing issues getting a copy of The Jetsetters so I won't be reading it. The wait time is astronomical. The ..."

I miss my library...I'm outside of Philadelphia and our libraries are not open yet:(

Woohoo! I finally got the link to my shelf to work on the SS after several tries!

Good way to start my day. I'm getting the hang of this. Should be fun.....

Donna wrote: "

Team, among the tasks in our task lists are:

Read a book recommended by someone in a different team
Read a book recommended by someone in your team


This means that we are gonna need a list of ..."

The Night Circus
Dear Edward
The Red Tent
The Glass Castle

Wheel V

https://www.goodreads.com/user_shelve...

Also, please add a task tab for me. Thanks!

Tammie wrote: "The Jetsetters tagged 'art' 1x .... yes!"

How do you find "tags"?

Tammie wrote: "Bernadette wrote: "Tammie wrote: "MPG means 'main page genre'.
If you look at the primary page for your book...on the right side there is a list of genres. If the challenge says MPG...it means it ..."

I knew I couldn't start any books until 6/12. Do I have to wait until 6/16 to start reading Five Feet Apart? The Jetsetters was OK. I gave 3 stars. Easy read though. Sorry for all the questions!

Tammie wrote: "MPG means 'main page genre'.
If you look at the primary page for your book...on the right side there is a list of genres. If the challenge says MPG...it means it must be listed on this page.

Ano..."

Thanks. I knew BOM - haha! Do we gave to wait until the start date for the BOM - 6/14 and 6/21? Of course I just finished reading The Jetsetters on 5/22!

Hello! I am rookie Wheel participant so I may need some assistance understanding how this all works. I think I got it, but there may be some questions - one is on the task list - what does MPG mean?

I read many types of books - fiction, historical fiction, chick-lit, memoirs, classics, humor - you get the idea.

Looking forward to this for the summer.

Hello everyone, my name is Bernadette. I'm from Media, PA which is just outside of Philadelphia.

Birthday: August 11th
Favorite Book(s): To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hobbit, Part One
Favorite Book Genre: depends on my mood
Favorite Author: various
Favorite Color: blue
Favorite Food: Italian, Chinese
Any Pets: cat - but really belongs to my husband
If I could live anywhere in the world it would be: someplace warm
Finish the line: I know I'm a book addict because....I'm on the Board of Directors of my local Library and this my third GR Group