Karen D’s Comments (group member since Aug 25, 2015)

Karen D’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

March 15
DQ’s: Chapter 6-8

20. The Translation Chamber – that was a very intense moment in the book. What do you think caused the different reactions in each Postulant? Why were some able to stand the transition seemingly fine and others not at all?
Yikes! I guess some of them have different skills and not everyone is skilled in the right ways? Also obviously Danton's problems had nothing to do with his abilities, that was planned. Scary

21. Wolfe seems to be developing as a character. We find out more details about him as the book moves forward. Do you still feel the same about him as you did in the beginning of the book? Has your opinion on him changed at all?
Not as in the beginning, but it's fitting more with what we saw from him in the last section, and the trouble he got in for his "blasphemous" ideas. I think it all fits together with the beginning, in retrospect. He wants a solid group of Postulants, and is not willing to put up with less than stellar students. But those who have proven themselves, he will support completely.

22. What did you think about the letters between Artifex Magnus and Scholar Wolfe? Do you believe Guillaume was really a burner spy? How do you think they found out? Do you think this was the real reason Artifex Magnus wanted them to go through the Translation Chamber to begin with?
It seems like they know more about all the students than we think. There appear to be no real secrets. Maybe that has something to do with the journals they have to keep, even if illicit activities arent included directly, maybe they can deduce those from the way it's written? Either way, Jess will need to be really careful in whatever he decides to for his family after he returns from the war.

23. They are on the front lines of the war. What purpose do you think the war has in the book? It seems strange to have the war on books and then the war between the Welsh and the English. How will this be tied into the rest of the plot?
I think it will bring to a front just how much the Library's policies are relevant. I also liked Jess's point about how this shows how much the lessons they are learning are applied to real life.

24. In this section we find out that Wolfe does in fact know about Jess’s family and his past. Why do you think Wolfe is helping both Jess and Morgan? Do you think he will eventually betray them or use them to his advantage (such as a revolution)?
I think he will use them to his advantage, but maybe not quite so drastic as a revolution. He doesnt seem to be leaning in that direction. At least not yet.

25. We are about half way through the book. Any predictions for the end? Anything you would like to see happen? How are you enjoying the world the author has created? I personally am still confused and wish there was more of a description of it. Does anyone else feel that way?
I'm confused too! I'm enjoying, I think it's really engaging and easy to read, but everything seems to be moving a bit too quickly to completely track what is happening. I'd enjoy this as a movie, to see how the automatons work!

Just finished this. I thought it was ok but didn't love it. Ultimately gave it 3 stars and I don't think I'm going to seek out the others in the series. Overall, I didnt like the romance, and found it really confusing since the motivations of the characters were obscured, it was hard to figure out what was happening and why. If you completely suspend disbelief, then it was entertaining. It'd make a good movie, to see the visuals of what was going on.

(view spoiler)[The love triangle really bothered me. It felt way too forced with Jeb and bordering on creepy with Morpheus. I can't quite put my finger on it but something about that felt really off.

I also found it really confusing trying to sort out the motivations of the characters. Everyone was hiding their true intentions, so while it was happening at first I couldnt figure out why Allison was trying to kill Morpheus, if going to Wonderland was necessary to break the curse, and then how the issue with how the various queens fit in with each other. And once Allison knew that Alyssa had met Morpheus, then there was no reason for her to stay in the asylum and she could be been "cured" at that point and come home and actually explained everything to Alyssa. (hide spoiler)]

@Anita - I hate when the narrator takes away from my enjoyment of a book!

Thoughts on the end

The painting "retrieval": Could have seen that coming a mile away. Boris is trouble, no matter what he's involved in. No surprise at all that he reneged on the initial deal and then ended up in such a violent situation.

Aftermath: The passport issue shouldn't have been a surprise, considering how they made a big deal of taking it in the first place, but I had forgotten about that, so that came back as an interesting twist after the fact. I also liked the bit about the phone getting fried, very fitting in that situation, and losing your passport AND your phone has got to be the worst possible situation. I really don't know what I would have done if it were me.

The actual painting retrieval: Somehow it still feels dirty, the way it ended up, even though the painting was returned and all sorts of other works were also recovered. I guess Boris's involvement just makes it tarnished. But at least everything ended up well, they got their money, the painting was recovered, Theo was protected.

Overall thoughts on ending: I don't know....I thought it wrapped up a bit too neatly. There was so much chaos throughout the entire book, it didn't feel right to me that the ending wrapped up like that. Granted, not everything was perfect, he didn't get the girl, but otherwise all problems seemed solved.

I enjoyed the book overall, I thought it was really well-written which made it easy to follow, despite the length. And the characters were very complex, which ultimately ended up meaning they were hard to like, but they felt real. It was nice that Theo showed that he did appreciate Hobie and Mrs. Barbour more by the end, he acknowledged that they would be the only ones who really cared about him. But I found the ending rather anti-climactic. 4 stars!

, set in northeast US, where I grew up. It's a post-apocalyptic book about the moon getting knocked off kilter and causing all sorts of problems.

March 14
Discussion Questions: Chap 4 - 5

14. Wolfe tells Jess that he isn't an Obscurist. Do you believe that? Or do you think Wolfe is covering it up and keeping it from him for some reason?
Hm, I took it at face value, since Wolfe has seemed pretty straightforward about everything so far, I dont think we have any evidence that he's actually lied about something. I also think, now that he's witnessed an Obscurist at work, he'd have a better idea if he was capable of anything she was able to do, and that didn't seem to be the case.

15. Thomas is working on something that he says will make the Codex obsolete. What do you think this could be? And will we learn more about Thomas' invention?
I'm guessing it will something along the lines of a printing press, given the hints we've gotten from the opening sections and Wolfe's role in the same thing. I think it will ultimately unite Wolfe and Thomas (and probably others) against the rest of the Scholars as they try to push for new technology.

16. Wolfe's "tests" are a little on the extreme side, in my opinion. He's put the postulants lives at risk many times now. Do you agree with his tactics and teaching methods?
I don't think they're extreme. They're not being coddled, they're in a program that was very clear how selective it was from the beginning, and it seems like there was never a guarantee for their protection. They haven't been tested in ways that would actually permanently hurt them yet, only highlight weaknesses in things they should already know. It's a way to weed out the weaker ones or the ones who aren't aware of their surroundings which is exactly what the program should be doing.

17. We find out Morgan is an Obscurist and that Wolfe knows about it, but hasn't turned her in. What do you think his purpose for that is? And if you were Jess, would you turn her in?
I think this gets back to Wolfe's underlying disagreements with the way things are run. We already know that he's butted up against the upper powers because he wants to make changes, so I think he sees this group of Postulates as his army that he's preparing, and Morgan will be a key part of that.

18. Morgan confides in Jess and tells him that she was training while on the run. When Jess asks her who she was training with, she told him that some things were best kept secret. Who do you think Morgan was training with?
No clue. Maybe there's some crazy twist where Liam is alive and working with her? Otherwise, probably someone we're not aware of yet.

19. Honestly, if I was Jess, I don't believe I would have told Morgan, or anyone for that matter, about my past. Would you have confided in Morgan? Do you think she's trustworthy?
I think an interesting point was raised about secrets, sometimes you need at least one person you can share with to get by. And since they each have something over the other, they can trust each other more than anyone else. It must be a relief for him to know there's someone else who can look out for him, or at least be aware of the risks they're both facing.

**Life Beyond Books**

1: Beyond Books, what are your hobbies / interests?
I run, by far my favorite way to exercise. I also sing in a choir, and will occasionally play the piano.
2: What is your favorite fun thing to do, other than read?
Hm, same as above. Running and singing. Usually not at the same time. :)
3: If you aren't reading, or surfing GoodReads, what would you be doing?
I'm usually either at work or at choir practice. I don't get a ton of spare time between those...
4: What do you enjoy doing, besides reading, that you don't get to do often enough?
I used to go wine tasting on weekends a lot! Work has gotten in the way of that recently.
5: What things in your life (work, family, ect...) keep you from enjoying your hobbies?
Work. Definitely. Takes up way too much time!

- one of the main characters is a cross-country runner

Coins earned so far: 8

Hat: Read a book with a Leprechaun hat
it can be on the cover, on the text, just mentioned or worn. It has to be a Leprechaun hat.

✔Beard:Read a March BOM - The Goldfinch

✔Vest:Participate in a March BOM discussion - Ink and Bone - participation here

✔Bow-tie: Read a book with a bow tie on the cover or title, or where someone wears a bow tie. Slade House Nathan in the first chapter wears a bow-tie

✔Coat:Join one of the March Buddy Reads - Splintered, discussion here

✔Pants:Read a book that has pants on the cover, in the title, or where a character is looking for some pants.
It may be shopping for pants, looking for a specific pair, pants/jeans being misplaced or being currently pantless (example: "let me put some pants first") Has Anyone Seen My Pants? - pretty obvious. There's a scene where she goes roaming around a hotel without any pants on.

Boots: Read a book with a black cover. In alternative, read a book with shoes or boots on the cover (it can be just one shoe/boot)

I don't have thoughts on all the questions, so I'm just going to do an overall summary of my thoughts on challenges.

I really like longer challenges, quarterly ones or even 6-month challenges. I'm in a bunch of groups and try to do as many book club reads as a I can, so that doesn't leave me a ton of options for my own reading in any given month, so I find it harder to do challenges that only last a month.

In terms of types of challenges, I'm getting a bit more into the spell-it-out challenges from the Leprechaun quests, but those aren't my favorite. I much prefer ones where you have to find something in the cover, or it takes place in a certain location, or the title contains some word, something along those lines. But ones that you can figure out without having to read the book first! (I'm still trying to find a book to cover "Character visits a tall building", something like that never shows up in the GR summary!)

I also think it's fun to do challenges where the books have to be read in a certain order, as long as there's a couple options for each step.

I had a lot of fun with the Tower Teams challenge, and am looking forward to another team challenge!

Q16. Wow! Chapter 10 is long. I am a very eclectic reader and will read almost anything. Do you enjoy longer books, or do you usually read shorter books?
I usually read shorter books, since I like the feeling of accomplishment in finishing it, and that happens more often with shorter books! But personally I find this to be fairly easy to get through, so the length isnt' too bad.

Q17. I often wonder about inspiration for books. I wonder how this author chose this picture for her story. Any ideas?
That's a good question, I hadn't thought about that. Maybe she had some connection to it as a kid? Or maybe she just needed to find a piece of artwork that would be small enough a kid could fit in his backpack but well-known enough it would cause an international scandal to go missing, and this one fit the bill?

Q18. I love Hobie's fiddly bits! Are there any expressions or phrases that stand out to you in this book?
Haha nothing really, but I did find it interesting how "pyjamas" is spelled. Not how I'm used to it. :)

Q19. Boris is back Huh! This chapter is called The Idiot. Who do you think the idiot is and why?
Oh Boris. Just when it seems that Theo is getting his life together, Boris shows up to throw everything off-track again. Although to be fair, Theo found him while out searching for drugs, so Theo's not really doing all that great anyway. It makes me nervous having Boris back, I can't imagine this will end well for Theo.

Q20. Oh my goodness! What did you think of Kitsey's reasons for staying together?
Not that surprising? With someone of that lineage and social standing, I guess it makes sense that their relationship is for appearances only. That family was already pretty used to hiding the ugly truth, so she's probably pretty used to it. And Theo never really seemed all that into the relationship to begin with, so he's playing into the appearances idea just as much as she is. I wonder if he would have been as upset if it had been anyone other than Cable?

Q21. Were you surprised that Theo was not relived to find out the painting was gone? I would have thought it would be like a burden lifted.
A little bit. But at the same time, he probably sees it as a connection with his mother, so losing it could be like losing the last piece of her.

Questions March 13th
Chapters 2 & 3

9) At the beginning of chapter 2 Jess realizes he went from being one of the best of his group to being simply average (or lower) than most. How do you think this realization will impact his behavior? Or do you think he'll take it in stride?
I think it will make him work harder, he seems to be pretty motivated and he has a better reason (it seems) than most to stay there.

10) What do you think of the Doctrine of Mirroring and the Doctrine of Ownership? Good or bad for society?
mirroring seems like a good idea, so that nothing can be truly destroyed. Ownership seems a bit unnecessary though.

11) Do you think the Iron Tower/Obscurists will end up being an important plot thread? Any guesses as to how or why?
Yes, definitely. That exchange was too weird, that will definitely come up again. No clue how though.

12) How much of Jess's family history/activities do you think Wolfe knows? Do you think he knows about Jess's recent nocturnal activities?
I think they do know about it. It probably played some role in getting Jess into the program. not sure why or what they'll do about it, but there seem to be too many coincidences going on.

13) I guess we now know what Jess's specialty is. Any thoughts on why Wolfe didn't want him talking about how the testing in the office went with the other students? Others don't need to be secret squirrel about their specialties? Why do you think this talent is so special or hush-hush?
Maybe it indicates that he has at least some capabilities that the Obscurists do?

N - O - T- H- I- N- G-
B - U - T -
R- E- A- D- I- N- G -
C- H- A- L- L- E- N- G- E- S -

1) Have you read anything by Rachel Caine? Why did you decide to read Ink and Bone?
I havent read anything else by Rachel Caine, but I saw that this book ended up on one of GR's lists of most popular books of the month, so I added it to my TBR.

2) The chapters seem to each start with an ephemera. I’ve never heard the term so I looked it up.

According to Wikipedia: Ephemera (singular: ephemeron) is any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day.

Do you think these serve a purpose to the story?
They must, but not sure how yet. It's interesting to provide some real historical context to this alternate time.

3) In the prologue, we are introduced to Jess, his Da, whose name is Callum, Liam his deceased brother, and learn that Jess doesn’t want to get caught by the garda and he is running through streets avoiding steam carriages. But the last sentence of the prologue places us in London (mentioned earlier) in 2025 --- was anyone else thrown off by this? I initially thought for sure they were in Ireland somewhere, back in the late 1800’s.
I thought it was earlier in time too, but hadn't really thought about the location.

4) Jess’s family business is “running books”. What was your reaction when Jess delivered the book and the toff (rich upper-crust guy) ripped the page out and started eating it? Would you have tried to stop him?
That was really creepy, but no, I would have just tried to get away. He is right, he bought the book, he can do whatever he wants with it, no matter how strange.

5) Jess seems to have a dysfunctional family. His mom is checked out, his father is prone to violence and he doesn’t seem to get along well with his twin brother. Do you think Jess is using books to escape from this difficult situation?
Probably. They all seem to have to be detached to some degree, given the dangerous situation they're in. They risk death, or losing a family member all the time, so it'd probably be too hard to be close.

6) I found it interesting that access to books and the knowledge they contain seems to be limited, yet each person was encouraged to write their own book which would be placed in the library. Do you think that the journals are used for nefarious purposes?
It certainly seems like a way of keeping tabs on what people are doing. But it's kind of a great idea, instead of having a historian record events, you'd get everything going on from all possible perspectives.

7) Taking a train to get to school somehow seems familiar. :-D Do you think that the other students (Khalila, Glain and Thomas) that Jess meets on the train will be friends or foes? Will they all make it through the training?
yes, they'll all make it through training, and will probably end up a mix of friends and foes. Since we've gotten no other names of people on the train, these other three have to be important to the plot.

8) When I’m reading a physical book, I like to “inspect it” --- at the end of the book, there is a list of songs that the author listened to while writing the book. Did you notice that and will you look up any of the songs?
Nope, didnt notice that. And I guess that will depend on how well I like the overall book.

@Karrie - I think the guy on the street was someone Reeves hired to keep an eye on Theo, to see if they can track down the painting.

- one of my favorite books of all time, and about four friends through most of it

- the three (Tess, Day, June) aren't exactly friends through most of it, but they are for some and their relationship is integral to the story

- another book that I can re-read a million times, about four friends trying to survive a military academy

Don't have a good orange one to recommend, oh well...

Barbara ★ wrote: "Introduction Questions

1: Name and/or Username
Barbara (using Barbara★ to differentiate in SRC challenge)

2: Where in the world are you?
Recently moved from New Jersey to Ohio. A big mistake.

3:..."

I'm from NJ originally, love your comment about it being a mistake to move away!

Corinne wrote: "JessicaAnn, I read Red Queen last month. It was pretty well written and I LOVED the sequel! I'm excited for that series. :)"

I loved Red Queen too but haven't had a chance to grab the sequel yet. Glad to hear you enjoyed it too!

Just finished

And currently reading:


Next up on my list:


@Stephanie totally with you on the planning ahead! We'll see how many of these I can make it through!

March 9 & 10, 2016
Discussion Questions for Chapter 8 – 9
Pages 407-502

Q11. Hobie teaches Theo about his woodwork and Theo does more in the shop. He has helped Hobie out of debt and has overcharge and overcharged people. He told Hobie about the sells. Do you think Theo will move on from the shop or keep working at the shop? Will the shop go bankrupt?
I think his dubious business practices will come back to haunt him. And I think it will end up costing Hobie everything. Theo does not seem to appreciate how much people do for him, and he throws away the opportunities he gets. I think he needs a serious wake-up call, but in the meantime I expect Hobie to pay the price for it.

Q12. I was surprised by Andy’s death. Did this surprise you?
yes, that was really sad, how Andy absolutely hated sailing and that was what ended up killing him. And also sad how that brings up the idea of irrational guilt over someone's death, that Kitsey is now dealing with also. But hopefully this leads Theo to stop taking people in his life for granted.

Q13. There are a lot of drugs talking about in this book. Theo takes quite a few drugs daily, are you surprised?
Yes and no. As we discussed in an earlier section, having a father who was an addict, it's not terribly surprising that Theo is an addict as well. I guess on one level it's good that he's found what drugs he can take and still function? (At least from his perspective.) But it is sad to read about how much he relies on that, when he has a good job and someone who cares for him, how much he's risking.

Q14. Reeves making the connection between the painting and Theo, what do you think will come of this?
It's the beginning of the end!

Q15. Do you like the writing style?
I really do. I was telling a friend about this book, how, at least to me, it's one of those books that you can just read and enjoy, even if not a lot of plot development happens in a certain section.

Author: Pat Conroy

Book: The Kill Artist