Nanci’s Comments (group member since Jan 29, 2016)

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

Nanci's BOM Tracking:

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Day 3: DQs 10-14, Chapters 19-25

10. I've noticed Carlota's perceptions are often described using non visual cues: she hears a lot, and even smells Montgomery behind her bedroom door but then dismisses the idea. After her attack, she finds herself noticing that "Her fingers, in the mirror, looked very long, the nails almost too sharp and the eyes...". Do you feel Carlota ever questions her own nature as a human/hybrid or is she too ingenuous to do so? Do you also feel the author is using alternate senses and, if so, as clues for the reader or red herrings?

. I feel like this is the first time she's questioned her DNA. I got the distinct feeling, she's wanting to just live under a rock and not believe it could be true that she is a hybrid, but she's now seeing herself more for who she might be and is worried about it being true. There was a part where Moreau says something to the fact that he only had one success and hasn't been able to recreate that again, which is starting to sway me that Carlota is a hybrid.

11. For much of this part, I felt Montgomery was conflicted regarding his feelings for Carlota. He "writes" to his wife using what I felt was a brotherly perspective only to realise, a few lines and drinks later, he could not resist kissing her if she were there in that moment. What did you make of this change of heart and do you find his various missteps bring something to the story?

I'm not at all surprised that Montgomery is having romantic thoughts of Carlota. She is always described as being very pretty and she's the only female Montgomery has access to all day/every day. We know he is a man with urges, so even though he's quite a bit older, it's only natural that he would begin to see her in a more sensual light now that she's older and her body has grown into that of a woman. His passion and jealousy are becoming a main focus of the story, so yes, it's playing a big part.

12. We're already halfway through the story - Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are both complex characters. Am I alone in thinking Carlota and her hybrid friends deserve to be more thoroughly fleshed out and layered?
You're not alone. I would like to know more about the hybrids especially the two main hybrids, Cachito and Lupe.

13. What did you make of the scene where Carlota loses her virginity by the cenote - did her reaction seem natural to you or did you find yourself questioning her fearlessness? In your opinion, if Carlota is herself a hybrid, what effect might that have on their progeny?
I was surprised how quickly she encouraged Eduardo and felt the scene should have been written with more detail and with more of her feelings. As a virgin, she just didn't seem that she was all that fearful or even in awe of a seeing a naked man for the first time. I have certainly considered what would happen if they had offspring and since their sex never seems to be protected in any way, I'm guessing she will get pregnant. If her DNA is messed up then that's going to be one freaky baby, if it survives.

14. There's a storm brewing as the hybrids plan to join Juan Cumux and Carlota attempts to retrieve her father's notes and formulas. Do you think the hybrids will remain subservient once they remove themselves from Doctor Moreau's influence or could the story turn dark?

I think they will be overwhelmed by their new found freedom and the ability to make decisions for themselves. Some will undoubtedly take off for a life outside the grounds. At the same time, I think many will be intimidated and still want to stay under the safe home to which they are accustomed.

I really enjoyed your questions, Elinor. Well thought out and worded and made me think deeper about these parts of the book.

OMGosh! My son-in-law was over today and looked at my Stephen King doorstopper book (11/22/63) and asked me, "Mom since when did you learn to read Spanish? "What??", I responded. Turns out my library copy is the Spanish edition. I didn't even notice! Thank goodness he caught it. Fingers crossed I can get an English copy quickly from the library.

I am finally in the last 80 pages. It’s picked up some, but I just want to get it done, answer questions and get on to my other reads. Thinking it will probably get 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for the writing and decent development of characters.

Suzanne wrote: "Great thinking Nanci. I'll try to add that to the update too.

The mini-challenge tasks need to be finished by the end of the challenge. Of course, finishing them early is not a bad thing, but we d..."

Thanks, Suzanne! This is very helpful!

Oh boy, add me to the list of not loving Doctor Moreau either. I am forcing myself to keep picking it up and making my way through it while hungrily staring at my other books I'd rather read. One good thing is it has made me more familiar with hybrids. I don't really read sci-fi much and I've never read a book with hybrids before.

Suzanne,

With May coming to a close in about 10 days, could you please clarify for all of us which category(ies) of books need to be completed before the end of May? For instance we know that the Mod Towers can be carried over into June, but what about the other towers?
I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. Thanks so much!

Glad you asked about the pastels, Suzanne, and the answer was yes.

If brown and white and black can be in a rainbow color, then why not gray? Let's start a revolution! :)

Oh no! I haven't gotten to the ending yet, Elinor, but that's a shame that the ending was disappointing for you. I had too much fun on the golf course and then lunch afterwards today, so my day is just about gone and no reading yet. Gotta get in some time before heading out tonight.

Elinor-

First off, verifying the word count through arbookfind.com is the exact right thing to do. Those books will both work. I used to read "Holes" to my students. Hope you enjoy it!

Secondly, I'm sure Suzanne or one of the techy other co-captains can add another rainbow and we'll find a way to make your brown cover fit. We have some spreadsheet wonders for captain and co-captains, but I'm not one of them. :)

Lastly, no worries about reading those shorter books and not the doorstoppers. All books are valuable! I also prefer to read a shorter book and be able to move on to something new. There are always a few on every team that are super fast readers and have no issue reading the long books. I too am amazed by how fast some people read. That was probably my biggest surprise when I started playing the challenges.

Cris- I know just what you mean. 4 of my requested books all came in at the same time plus 2 digital library books. I can't read them all before the end of May, so hoping I'll be able to renew a few to use for June.

Elinor-great job on the questions. I'm not quite there in the reading yet, but trying to make some more progress tomorrow.

DQs: Day 2, Chap 6 – 11

6. As Sonia noted, we jump six years. Do the characters, especially Carlota, feel six years older? Do you like books that have time jumps or would you have preferred to see Montgomery get used to working in his new jobs? (Sonia already asked about the fallout but feel free to add that here).

Yes, I think Carlota seems older. I don't mind books that have time jumps when they work. I think it works just fine for this book.

7. Do you like the method of telling the same scene from both points of view? Is there one point of view you prefer?

I'm not a fan of repeating the same scene to show each point of view, but I almost always enjoy books with multiple POV as long as the author is clear who is telling the story and there aren't more than 3 characters POV. In this book, it's very easy since the chapters are named after the character telling it.

8. And we have the start of a love triangle. What do you think of the two young men and Carlota’s reaction to them?

I don't like either of the men. I feel like Carlota's social skills are off since she's been raised basically without a normal peer group, and this causes some of her reactions to the men.

9. So far these feels very much like a historical fiction book with relationships being forwarded over the science and hybrids. Do you agree, and were you expecting that?

So to me this book doesn't feel that much like historical fiction. It just seems more like a fiction novel with some fantasy and sci-fi elements. I wasn't familiar with the book before I started it, so I didn't have any expectations.

Bonus: If you were part critter, and didn’t have the health concerns, what species would you prefer?

Funny that so many say cat or bird. I guess that goes to show that cats really do live in the lap of luxury when they have good owners! I love horses; their speed; their strength; their agility; their smart minds; their very diverse personalities and when in wide open places like out west their ability to not be fenced in, so it's a horse for me. BTW-this was a fun question. Enjoyed reading all the responses.

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DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 5

1. Have you read the original Island of Dr Moreau book? Or watched any of the films? I only saw the 1996 movie, so, in my head, I keep seeing Dr Moreau as Marlon Brando, Val Killer as Montgomery and Fairuza Balk as Carlota.

This is all brand new to me. Call it "living under a rock", but I never heard of Dr. Moreau before. I did look Wells original novel up to get some idea of the premise of the book, so now the various roles of Montgomery and Dr. Moreau himself are making sense to me. I'm glad I didn't see the movie or have any knowledge of the book beforehand. I'm not a sci-fi lover, so not knowing anything has kept me more conscious of what I'm reading.

2. In the movie, Fairuza was one of the hybrids, although here, she only has "treatments" with jaguar genetic code. Do you think it's just a ruse from the doctor and she is actually the first hybrid?

I was thinking perhaps Carlota is a hybrid, but she is so much like a human and his other hybrids, specficially Cachito and Lupe, are not so human, so it wouldn't make sense to me that he would have one develop with just a small issue and then have a bunch of "failures" after that. Of course, the fact that she needs weekly injections is trying to point the reader in the direction of her being a hybrid, but I'm not buying it...yet.

3. Montgomery's past was a sad one. And he looks like just a drunk with some natural instincts to protect the innocent. Were you surprised he was considering not to accept the job, and then when the incident happens and he needs to kill the hybrid he decides to stay?

Montgomery certainly has a sad past and I'm hoping we'll get to know more about that as the story progresses. After the horrible incident in the lab he was totally in shock (as anyone would be) and seemed very opposed to the work of Dr. Moreau. I can't say I was shocked that he took the job though. As a reader, you know he's a major character already, so taking the job was a necessity for him to continue to be in the story. Does it seem valid or likely? Probably not, but this is fiction and he doesn't have any other options waiting for him off the island.

4. I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't explain exactly how his studies came to be. In a scientific point of view, how is it even possible? We're in the 1870s... way before in vitro fertilization or genetic advances... and he manages to separate and mix genomes, or as called in the book gemmules? Not to mention that the original story was written way before cloning was a thing....

I think it's really cool that Wells came up with the idea when, as you say, none of it was even considered at the time. Vivid imagination on Wells part! I'm ok with not giving all the science reasoning behind. For me, that would probably have slowed the pace of the story.

5. So, hybrids are dangerous. Specially when they're still developing, and their animal instincts are overpowering the human ones (in theory, since we had no idea what the level of brain maturity the developing hybrid was). Back in the movie, there is a rebellion and it doesn't end well for humans. Do you think it will be the case here?

Good question! I think if it's like most horror stories there will be some of the revolting of the hybrids against their creators. Without that, I don't know there would be much of a story.

And a bonus, Am I the only one that is sad that we're jumping 6 years? I wanted to see the fall out from the incident.

I see from reading through some of the other readers' answers, this question has a mixed bag of responses. For me, I'm fine with jumping ahead 6 years. I like reading from the POV of Carlota when she's older.

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Me too, Suzanne! I just added a message to the thread letting everyone know that Elinor will be writing Day 3 questions for me.

I was just able to pick up the book from my library this evening, so I obviously won't be writing the questions for Day 3. Lucky for me, sweet Elinor on my team has offered to fill in and write the questions. Thank you, Elinor! Now off to start reading and trying to catch up.

My May BOM Daughter of Doctor Moreau just came into the library today, finally. So glad we had you, Elinor, ready and willing to write questions for me! I'm going to start it tonight and heading over soon to look at the questions. Always easier for me to know the questions before reading.

Vi wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Vi - that is a great book for Vetinari.

For Electra - of course anything to do with mythology. Also, any book where someone saves a person's life, someone gets revenge on a person,..."

I really enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry. I thought it was going to just be a fun, light read and was pleasantly surprised that there was so much more to it!

Definitely blue. I'd say it would work best for RT50, because it has some slate blue with a greenish blue also.

Wow, our King doorstopper party has really grown!
We now have Shannon, Cris, Vi, Suzanne, Kerri, Elinor, and me planning to read it. If I left anyone out, or if someone else wants to join, just let us know.

I'm trying to get started on Project Hail Mary this week, which is 478 pages, so feeling a bit nervous about another bigger book. My comfort zone is in the 280-350 page range usually, but this is one of my son-in-law's favorite books and he really wants me to give it a shot. Not a fan of sci-fi either, so hoping there are other elements that pull me into the story.

Thanks Elinor and Suzanne! Nice to know we're all set for the BOM. No email from my library, so it looks like you're in for writing the questions. Thanks so much and fingers crossed whoever was due to return the book will return it very soon to their branch so I can get it. Thanks again Elinor for writing the questions; I'm sure you'll do a great job!

Welcome to the King Doorstopper Party, Vi! We are a force to be reckoned with!