Apoorv ’s Comments (group member since Mar 26, 2014)

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

Joanne wrote: "I think the description said if you read carefully you might be able to figure out who did it. But I haven’t come across any clues yet. Excited to get more into it tomorrow."

I have been trying really hard to analyze who did it. And I am so ashamed of myself for not having a clue (I normally do fairly well in this regard), but I am also pretty excited to see what happens next.

I can see why that would happen, Devann, especially if the continuation of the previous scene happens from a different perspective, which is more common with Nate and Bronwyn's stories. And that back-to-back narration between those two has happened a few times in the book now.

Team Gilderoy Lockhart

I had started reading the first couple of chapters 20 days ago, only to realize that the start date was wrong. So, I was holding onto dear life for the calendar to flick to the 22nd, so I can devour this book because I was certainly hooked with the premise of the story.

So, I restarted this today and for now, all I want to say is I am on page 178 and I can't for the life of me figure out who has done it. The book has its issues, but I like that Karen McManus is aware of them, and works through them; all while slowly peeling off the layers of the mystery.

I am normally not the biggest fan of multiple narratives, because they can very easily go astray; but here we have them tightly weaved around each-other to keep the drama flowing.

Alright, not sure if I made any sense there but I am going back to reading this, I need to solve this mystery today.

July
Completion Post

Book Read: I Hunt Killers | Barry Lyga
Date Completed: 19-Jul-2018
Pages: 359
BOM: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 40+20 = 60
Challenge Shelf updated

July
Completion Post

Book Read: Leah on the Offbeat | Becky Albertalli
Date Completed: 17-Jul-2018
Pages: 368
Points: 40
Challenge Shelf updated

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Classes
Charms - Summoning Charm - Girl with glasses on, on the cover
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Team Gilderoy Lockhart
DQ set 2: Chapters 9-17

8. "If I catch killers, then maybe that means I'm not a killer," says Jazz. Howie then goes on to give a great reason why Jazz isn't a killer (love Howie)...are you seeing killer tendencies in Jazz?
Love Howie indeed! He is just the perfect friend anyone could have, and most certainly Jazz could. Killer Tendencies? Maybe not! But I do certainly see glimpses of what could be in that brain of his, but the best and more sane part is that he is aware of them and averse to them; and that gives me some relief.

9. Jazz has another interaction with Jeff Fulton, do you think that Jazz should share information about Billy Dent's victims with their families? If so, how would that impact his mental health?
I don't think he should. Purely because he will be re-living them in a more palpable sense, and that can be far more devastating for his sanity than having them linger around in his head, where he can contain them.

10. We see vulnerability in Jazz through the dreams he is having of cutting flesh, that he believes is his mom...and thinking that he killed her. Do you think these are really flashbacks? If so, why?
I don't think these are flashbacks, purely because he would have seen more, given how much he has gone through. Also, at this stage after being an unfortunate witness to all those murders, his mind must have turned into mush, mixing things, and instances, won't it?

11. Enter Office Erikson once again, he comes from the town that one of the ladies was killed lived in, and we saw his behavior when he picked up Jazz from the high school. Why do you think G Williams isn't doing anything about this abnormal behavior and potential connections to the victim?
Just as Jazz, I am somewhere beginning to suspect G. Williams himself. The way he is passively active about the whole thing, plus how he conveniently overlooks Officer Erikson's presence, is just suspicious. Hopefully, I am wrong, but there is some catch to this whole situation.

12. EDIT: Question removed

13. I've read this series and love it, it was actually one of my first book about serial killers (was scared to read them before). Are there other series that you recommend in this genre?
The one that I can immediately think off was Mary Higgins Clark's Loves Music, Loves to Dance

Team Gilderoy lockhart
DQ set 1: Chapters 1 - 8

1. What are your first impressions of Jazz? What is his motivation for spying on the crime scene and requesting to help investigate?
I absolutely liked whatever little we know of Jazz so far. I like the fact that he is smart enough to understand where he comes from and is willingly trying to stay away from getting carried away. He knows how to differentiate between the good and the bad, and he is eager to stay on the right side of things; which given his age and circumstances is commendable. Of course, given his first hand experience with being with his father on all his escapades (which is just absolutely horrific for a small boy), I am not surprised that he thinks he knows the psyche of a serial killer, which he thinks is amiss for the cops, and thus he wants to help out by being two steps ahead in the investigation,

2. "Ever since arresting Dear Old Dad four years ago, G. William had kept in touch with Jazz...". How would you characterize the relationship between Jazz and G. William? Why is the sheriff so adamant about one body not meaning a serial killer? Is he trying to protect Jazz, himself, or both?
It is very nice to see that Jazz has someone like G. William in his life, after having a rotten father. G. William is certainly a mentorlike figure for him, and I do think that somewhere he feels guilty for not having caught Billy earlier or having let Jazz get dragged into the shit that Billy created for him.

3. Howie has been the only friend who stayed with Jaspar after his father's exposure. Jaspar claims that he needs Howie to keep him "close to the line of safety and legality". Do you think Howie realizes what Jazz needs from him? Why doesn't he get angry when Jazz gets him into trouble?
Howie and Jasper's relationship is by far the best thing of the book so far for me. It makes so pleasantly happy that Jazz has Howie with him through all the madness that he has faced. I am pretty sure Howie is aware of his importance in Jazz's life and vice-a-versa. Therefore, there is a great amount of underlying understanding between the two, where they know each other inside out.

4. Deputy Erikson has caught Jazz's attention twice now with his behavior at the crime scene and his unexplained appearance at the morgue. Do you agree with Jazz's assessment of the deputy, or do you think there is a reasonable explanation for his actions?
I am going to have to lean towards trusting Jazz in his inclinations about Deputy Erikson.

5. The Impressionist states he "had been given a rule" not to interact with or harm Jaspar. Who do you think might have given him that rule and why?
Oooo, this is very interesting. I am inclined to think that this is Billy Dent, Jasper's dad. Seems the most obvious choice, but who knows! (Weird weird thought, could it be G. William?)

6. Jazz has the mantra, "People matter. People are real.", as a screensaver and pictures of all his father's victims in his room? Do you think this actually helps or hurts him? Is Connie right about letting go of the past?
While, in a broader perspective, I can see how this may hurt him because he is constantly stuck in the world his dad created, and I do agree to what Connie is trying to tell him. But, somewhere I also think, that this acts like a great leveler for him. and keeps his grounded, sane and aware of how bad it gets if he ever strays that way.

7. "His upbringing... told him that women were simultaneously special and useless." How do the three women in his life (Connie, Melissa, and Gramma) match with what he has been taught? Do they reinforce or challenge the idea? What kind of influence are they on Jazz?
They certainly reinforce the idea. Connie is the calmer, he keeps things afloat; Melissa is the fall-back when things get crazy, and Gramma is the constant and the link between the past and the present, which keeps him aware. He needs them all, and they are all special to him, in their own way.

I am doing both. As a matter of fact, I just finished the eyeglasses book, I just haven't got around to updating the read books folder.

Will do it later tonight or tomorrow.

Although, if anyone has bigger books, go for it, that's just more points!

July
Completion Post

Book Read: Dragon Teeth | Michael Crichton
Date Completed: 16-Jul-2018
Pages: 387
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 40+30 = 70
Challenge Shelf updated

July
Completion Post

Book Read: Not That I Could Tell | Jessica Strawser
Date Completed: 11-Jul-2018
Pages: 320
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 20+30 = 50
Challenge Shelf updated

I finished one of the two remaining books for classes, and am working on the last one. Will update all my finished books in a little while.

Team Gilderoy Lockhart
Parts 1-2; Chapters 1-14

Very similar to what Deanna mentioned earlier in the thread, the biographical side of the book is really surprising me. I am almost always wary when I read prominent names in a work of fiction, because everything mentioned then either becomes too serious and real, or just plain out-in-the-left field. I had a similar experience, albeit not so positive, with The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared wherein bucket loads of famous names were littered all over, to all end up making no sense and making the proceedings unnecessarily phantasmagorical. So, hopefully that's not the case here.

Having said that, things are pretty intriguing thus far. I keep forgetting that the era is 1876 and things that we take for granted in today's day and age were not even thought of back then. Its amazing to read about popular cities like Salt Lake City, Utah and Cheyenne, Wyoming described the way they have. The west truly was wild until so recently, and the book thus far has managed to capture that essence very nicely.

I am not particularly attracted or distracted by Johnson. His naivete with Lucile seemed a little off-base, given how arrogant and smug he came across through the first few pages. But, a decent MC so far.
Both the professors are certainly basket-cases though! Geez! I'd hate to go out on that expedition with any of them.

July
Completion Post

Book Read: Elephants Can Remember | Agatha Christie
Date Completed: 08-Jul-2018
Pages: 299
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 20+30 = 50
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Ariadne Oliver
B: Character B - Mrs. Burton-Cox
C: Author C
D: Character D - Desmond Burton-Cox
E: Title E
F: Character F - Fred
G: Character G - Mr. Garroway
H: Character H - Hercule Poirot
J: Character J - Julia Carstairs
K: Character K - Kathleen Fenn
M: Character M - Meauhourat Zelie
O: Character O - Oliver Ariadne
P: Character P - Poirot Hercule
R: Character R - Ravenscroft Celia
S: Character S - Mr. Spence
W: Character W - Dr. Willoughby
Z: Character Z - Zelie Meauhourat

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July
Completion Post

Book Read: All the Crooked Saints | Maggie Stiefvater
Date Completed: 07-Jul-2018
Pages: 320
Buddy Read: Discussion Post (Initial)
Points: 20+30 = 50
Challenge Shelf updated

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Spells:

A: Character A - Antonia Soria
B: Character B - Beatriz Soria
C: Character C - Costa, Edwardo
D: Character D - Daniel Soria
E: Character E - Edwardo Costa
J: Character J - Joaquin Soria
L: Character L - Lopez, Marysita
M: Character M - Marysita Lopez
P: Character P - Pete Wyatt
R: Character R - Robbie
S: Author S
T: Character T - Tony
W: Character W - Wyatt Pete

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Team Gilderoy Lockhart
Parts 1-6; Chapters 1-25

So, I have so many mixed feelings about this, that I am going to be all over the place writing my comments here. :P

The mystery: Slightly more than halfway into the book, I certainly expected the mystery to hold more significance than what it reads so far. The book started with it, and held on to it for a while, but now it seems like it is just a thing of the past and no one cares about it anymore (Hmmm! Maybe that's what the author has been trying to do all along; like any grief, as time passes it just seems to fade away). But honestly, the mystery is so completely lost by now, that I am not sure I am concerned about (view spoiler)[Kristin (hide spoiler)] anymore.

Izzy: I don't necessarily care about her at this stage, and I do think she is not well fleshed out as yet. I certainly would love to see her equation with Josh and Penny, and how that all unfolds, but then I also fear that it will end to be a very melodramatic section of the book.

Clara: Probably my most favourite character so far. She seems well flushed out, she has her quirks and her actions seem believable. Plus, I love her kids. Maddy and Thomas are just adorable!

I also love that we have Rhonda and Randi, who I would REALLY love to read more about. Let's hope there is more to them, than what we have so far.

So far, it is gunning to be a 3-star read for me, unless something solid happens with the investigation. Let's see!

Team Gilderoy Lockhart

This was too quick and intriguing to stop in between and write posts here. Well, that's honestly Dame Christie, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Having said that, and having read a bunch of her books, I have to painfully admit that this was certainly not her best work, but it wasn't even closer to her better works. The plot was too thin and unfolded exactly as predicted. Especially in her Hercule Poirot mysteries, there seems to be a lot more active voice, as opposed to this book. (I sort of associate passive crime more with Miss Marple than Hercule Poirot.) Ms. Christie is the smartest mystery author I know off, and when I managed to understand her line of thought and solve the crime before she/her characters did, I actually felt bad.

To that point though, I constantly felt that I've read so many books (or watched a bunch of movies) with plot lines similar to this revolving around twins, only to realize that this must have been the beginning of it all. Published in 1972, I'm pretty sure this was the benchmark for a lot of those stories. Don't you think so?

Anyway, I did like the fact that throughout the entire novel, Ariadne could have very easily come off as nosy, prying, and possibly irritating as a character; but Ms. Christie deftly manages to keep her antics engaging without making them overtly curious. This was not my favourite Poirot performance though. This was literally the last case her ever handled (though not the last released Poirot book), so maybe I was expecting more of him and more of his cleverness. It just seems like he got the simple end of the deal here.

All in all, I was slightly disappointed, but Dame Christie bad is so much better than many people's good, so I'm still glad that I read it.

I have finished a few, but was travelling, so haven'tr gotten around to post the completions. Will do so in the next day or so.

Eh? When did the start date change from July 2nd to 22nd?
The NBRC BR Spreadsheet still says July 2nd.

I got my book, and started with it yesterday. And I'm sort of hooked, don't want to stop for 18 more days! :O

Team Gilderoy Lockhart

Okay, I am lost!
I am up to Chapter 4, and I am surely lost as to what is happening and more importantly 'why'?

I loved how the book started with the three cousins out in the desert, and I was certainly hoping something less phantasmagorical and more emotive with fantasy sprinkled around. I guess, that is what is ruining the experience for me at this stage. I need a reset!

I am not the biggest fan of books with loads of characters. It takes away from the fun of enjoying a character's journey, because the author can't effectively carve a path for everyone in the 300 odd pages they have. This seems to be suffering from that same issue. Although, I am barely 30% in, and I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but I seriously need this book to give me a big boost, right about now!

MelanieJoy wrote: "I finally found the snitch! That took forever. Looks like the Slytherin player found it first. Oh well. I did the puzzle first so she's not too far ahead of me.
Going to read [bookcover:One Fine C..."

Yaaaaay, Melanie! WTG! Go! Go! Go!

P.S. Dayum! The cowboy on cover! ^_^