bamaace83 ’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2018)

bamaace83 ’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Tammie wrote: "bamaace83 wrote: "Hey! Sorry I forgot to pop in. Anyone want to come do my daytime job for me? Real life turned crazy. I’ll catch up on the posts in a little bit. I’m currently scarfing down a sand..."

I know right?!? I really am supposed to just spend life on my couch or traveling but I can't travel right now either because of 2020 situations. I mean I love my job but whew some days I'm like is it 5 yet and I look at it's like 10 am. That is so not 5 pm. I've played with most of you but I'm Anna. I work in a pediatric outpatient clinic and we are just now really starting to get back up to full capacity after a 12 week telehealth adventure and about another 8 week half in person/half telehealth adventure. I'm over 2020 adventures.... I've been with my husband for 15 years since undergrad. We have one dog named Trooper who is a hot mess at times. I love reading and broadening my books. I'm not the biggest fan of sci-fi but I'm slowly getting there. Man I've read so many books this year. Those Olympics had me hopping. Let me go round up a couple favorites.

Was really good.
I second this recommendation!
Finally got around to this one, loved it!
Just a laid back fun book.

Hey! Sorry I forgot to pop in. Anyone want to come do my daytime job for me? Real life turned crazy. I’ll catch up on the posts in a little bit. I’m currently scarfing down a sandwich before meetings and such this afternoon. I’m hoping to have time to sit down tonight and get caught up on everything. :)

Hey it's me. Most people call me Anna even though my username is something different. I would love to be a part of y'all's team if you still have a spot open.

I popped in and took note when dessert was mentioned. Now that it's beverages with food, my curiosity is intrigued even more. I'm totally in. Maybe we get to enjoy food and TT at the same time. A handful of us have made it through the summer with Wheels, Turfs, and Olympics. We can do this! Just need more drinks and snacks....

Cleaning the house is so over-rated!

Great job team! It was so much fun playing with y'all. Awesome, thanks for finding that final task for me. I look forward to playing with y'all again. Now, back to these crazy Olympics and TurfWars. Whew!

I added two more books. The last one I added I don't have a task left for. I used a bunch of tasks! I also answered my questions and fixed that.

Day 3 DQs

11. In the beginning of this section, we find out that Noa not only looks like a middle class Japanese boy, he also wants to be one. What are you opinions on this and why do you think he wants this? What do you think would happen if he shared this with his parents?

I think he wants to be like everyone else. He doesn't want to see himself as different because sometimes different is not always the best. I think they would understand but would have hurt feelings and sadness that they have no control over him being the same.


12. Isak is back from jail finally after two years. I found this to be a bit of a surprise because I was expecting him to die in jail. I wasn't expecting him to be let out. What were your thoughts on him being let out of jail to die in his home. He was obviously let out to die at home, but did you find this mercy surprising? Did you expect this?

Nope, I expected him to die in jail. I was surprised to see him come back.

13. A run in with Hansu. I thought it was super creepy that Hansu has been keeping tabs on Sunja (even though one of the kids is his). What are your opinions on this? And then he drops the whole "we're about to get bombed" curveball. Do you like him more because he warned Sunja or do you still think he's being selfish and trying to keep his only son alive?

I don't like him at all. I think he just wanted to keep tabs on his child but didn't go about it the best way.


14. Wow. Hansu lying to Yoseb about his parents being dead. That is beyond harsh. Why do you think Hansu did this? He obviously wants his child, Noa, but do you think he is also planning on getting Sunja back?

I think he wants control of everything. I don't think he wants her back to treat her fairly but he just wants her back because it's something he wants.


15. Hansu later tells Kim that Yoseb is dying and to scoop up Kyunghee before she gets old. Talk about a jerk. What do you think of Hansu after this? What about Kim? Do you think Kim will eventually try?

Hansu is still a jerk. Kim needs to try but not sure what's going to happen with that.

Day 2 DQs

6. I might be too judgmental, but her pining for Hansu is constantly making me frown. She promised to care for and honor her husband, never to betray him. Yet she keeps marveling about her lost "love", how she misses him, how she wants to see him, how she has already been in the city with him in her mind, etc. Are such thought not a kind of betrayal? She is so rational and reasonable about what happened and knows full well how he lured her in and used her, but cannot stop the pining and reminiscing about it. Why do you think she can't let it go and focus on her future?

I don't look at this as betrayal. I feel that everyone has that one first real love that is hard to let go at times. I also feel that at certain times those memories resurface and they play a part in helping a person grow with the relationship he/she may be in at the time.


7. After all Isak said about his successful brother and all his dreams about the better life in the city, he arrived to some harsh revelations. I am starting to think they might have been better staying on the island. Isak's brother's revelations about his house, his neighbors, the judgement in the city, the discrimination at work and spying everywhere are very disappointing and brutal. Do you think it a natural disillusion of impossible dreams? Or Yoseb's hope that it might be better for his brother here, where he can watch over him?

I think Yoseb wanted his brother there. Yes, I agree with the impossible dreams.


8. That scene in the church with the brother and sister. The pastor discussing what it actually means when a wealthy man wants to be a young girl's "friend". The duplicity of the pastor - being nice and not judgmental to the siblings, yet judging them harshly when they have left was not surprising but annoying still. The sweet talk to their face, but harsh berating behind their back would have been exactly what happened to Sunja and her family. Do you think this scene was included to reveal to Isak more truths about his wife's condition and impossible choices to help him understand her?

I think it was to show that a lot of people have two sides, a good and an evil. I think this happened so Isak would be aware.

9. The pastor's reason for hiring Isak was revealed as well - to get money from his family and avoid paying him wages - and I must admit it didn't endear the pastor to me at all. And the pawnbroker and his greed, the loan sharks and their scare tactics. We get introduced to many characters that are not really likable and portray humanity at its worst. Do you think it is a decision by the author to reveal the true nature of people in all kinds of positions in general or is it included to especially note how people get in times of oppression and hard times? I am starting to think Isak coming to Japan was a huge mistake with every little revelation. Do you think it will work out? Or do you agree it was a mistake?

I think it was the best decision that they felt at the time. I think it's going to be a bad turnout but I could be wrong.


10. The debacle with the watch was very educational. We get to see a merchant's attitude towards women, husband's attitude towards a wife in stark contrast to how men are treated. Yoseb is enraged with his wife and sister-in-law, he can't forgive them or appreciate the help, yet he can forgive and accept when his brother asks him to. Do you think he would have gotten over it in time if his brother hadn't asked him? Or would he be always resentful towards women? The whole "head of the house" part further gets the point home that women will always be under the command of a man, even in regards to baby names. The prison scene also drives home how women are still supposed to be home and stay away from men's troubles, too weak to do something about it. And women who work are still frowned upon, even in their own family. Do you think it will change further in the story? Will oppression and war open their minds towards changing a woman's role in the family and world?

I think Yoseb's attitude is to be expected during this time period. I feel that the war will change a lot of people's views on roles, jobs, family, etc.

Day 1 DQs

1. This novel starts with the sentence: "History has failed us, but no matter." Did you like this opening line? What do you think it means, and why do you think the author chose it?

I liked the opening line. I think it means that despite what history has done, we still need to work on overcoming and making the best out of what is given to us.


2. I am half-Korean, and my mom has shared a lot of the history of her own family and how it's interwoven with Korean history in general. What, if anything, did you know of the Japanese colonization of Korea -- or the history of Korea, Japan, and China in the 20th scentury in general -- before beginning to read this book?

I'll admit that I didn't know much of anything about this time period. I didn't study it much in school so it was all new to me.


3. Hansu seems like a complicated character. What were your thoughts on him? Did you hate him?

I'm not a fan of him. He really just grates my nerves the wrong way.


4. What did you think of Sunja's decision to not accept being Hansu's mistress? Why do you think she chose to reject him? Do you think she made the right decision?

I think she had a complicated choice to make. I think either way she went would've been tough but ultimately she made the decision that she thought was right.


5. In this first section of the novel, we see two couples wed -- Hoonie and Yangjin, and then Isak and Sunja. What were some of the similarities between these marriages, and what were the differences?

Both marriages are practical at the time. I think love will come from being married. One major difference was one couple didn't know each other before and one did.

Oh man! I’ll do those this morning. I also have some last minute books to add this morning. Work has been super crazy but I’ll make that happen.

Oh don't worry, I have books, now where to make them all fit, I'll work on that tonight. I should have at least 5-6 to add by Friday.

I just had a panic fit too thinking I never answered Pachinko questions! It's been a crazy work week so I just haven't had time to sit down to answer those.

Thanks! I've been reading like crazy since I got home to finish a couple books so now I'm going to find some wine and watch a little Netflix.

Let's try this over here. Do y'all think this is a black cover?

Y'all better double check my MPG family quick. It's like the last one there and I'm running out of tasks. I may have to have a couple books that don't have tasks assigned. I'm trying to get things to all play well together but the Olympics is messing me up over here.

I have 4 books lined up that will work for E but may also work for others. I haven't gotten that far to see if the pesky X is in them or not. I have 2 books before them and then I'll get to them. I'll also update my Pachinko questions either tonight or tomorrow.

I'm planning on hopefully reading some bigger books in the next two weeks so we can get some more points. I'll admit I was steadily rolling through some 200 page books because of the Olympics but I think I'm back in the 300-400 page range, or close to it. Now, my biggest obstacle is finding a 7, 8 or 9 in the page numbers because of turf wars. I know I'm rambling but I keep reminding myself you love challenges, you love puzzles, and then the other part of me is saying where's the wine because you're going to need it to figure all this mess out.

I'm holding Pachinko until the weekend but I will have more books to add. I gotta fix my books up. :)

I had a feeling that it was a squirrel. I hadn't looked at it close enough but had that feeling. Off to find more books with the word "love" in them that fit in my leftover tasks.

Cover question! Is this a squirrel or a chipmunk? I need it to be a chipmunk but if y'all say it's a squirrel then I'll think about what to use it for. I haven't gotten it from the library yet just sitting over here planning books while on a teleconference call.