Cat’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2015)

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

Just a reminder: please don't finish any books intended for the mini until 1 June - after 10am UK time!

finished Heathcliff & Cathy, spun

Jinmenju
1 350 to 450
2 "laughing" in text
3 Human head on cover
4 MPG Humor
5 Set in Japan, China, India, or Persia (Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan)


I'm currently reading on that fits for #1, 3, 5 (and I'll double check for laughing) :)

ETA: laughing found too, so we just need MPG Humour

314 pages

Current total: 812,142

I'll be backup for Pat, D10

It's been a while, so I'll chuck in my hat, plus and extra entry, D10

Cat's paricipation links

DAy 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

400 pages

Current total: 804,370

another one down - fun times!

388 pages

Current total: 801,513

*******Corrected Total: 801,125*******

Yes, started during the challenge, finished after mini is the requirement :)

DQs Day 4 - "Love Has Come to Mean Death" - end

15. I personally haven't read Jane Eyre and therefore can't compare the two books which makes me feel a bit regretting, but then again so many of y'all don't seem to like this as a retelling. Do you think you'd feel differently about the book depending on whether you've read Jane Eyre or not, and do you want to pick up Jane Eyre now if you haven't yet? What if you hadn't been aware of this being a retelling and the characters had different names?

If this hadn't purported to be a retelling, but was just a Victorian gothic spooky it'd be perfectly serviceable. It's in comparison to the original that it suffers:
- Jane lacks agency
- it's all too short to believe the love story
- generally feels YA

16. I was secretly hoping that Agnes had romantic feelings for Antoinette and that she was more involved in the last part of the book, but alas it was Dr. Poole. No big surprise there. Has your opinion of him changed in any way after he "confessed" and tried to help Jane and Edward? And if you could bring someone back from the dead, would you do it? Theoretically you wouldnt be aware of any consequences, but logically I think we've learned that there's always consequences...

Why anyone would think there wouldn't be consequences to subverting the laws of nature I don't know. And I couldn't believe in the doctor's idealised love of poor Antoinette either. She's been done a disservice too, being made into a insipid dying plot device. Bertha in the original was properly terrifying

17. Jane came back for Edward and saved him of course, and now they're living happily ever after. How do you feel about them as a couple, and is there anything you would have changed about these last couple of chapters as the author or simply just a fan of the original work?

They were always going to be together. but it came at no cost to either of them, not even time. which makes it much less satisfying than the original.

18. Was this your first book written by Sharon Lynn Fisher, and do you think you'll be reading more by the author? Were your original expectations met? Anything else you want to add?

ehhhhh. dunno. not in a hurry, but if she'd had the courage to write her own story it'd've been better


Bonus for everyone but especially those who have read Jane Eyre before: I challenge you to say at least one good thing about Salt & Broom - other than "it ended!!" lol :b

Sybil the cat was charming. and the ambition of the wicked spirit was commendable, even if I didn't fully get the motivation - it felt a bit mean girl hair-pulling was the original issue, and the whole curse was massive overreaction....

282 pages

Current total: 799,063

I've been biting my tongue about that for aaaages!

Yeah, I had reduced my mental energy by that point.

Can't believe that in a paranormal retelling she ignores the ONLY paranormal event in the original book! Oh, no, wait. Yes, I can. Le sigh

DQs – Day 3 Protective Impulses-Pert Thing

11. What do you think about the revelation in the garden/the haunting? Did you see it coming, and do you think there are others involved with the “curse”?

Rochester went conveniently quickly from no curse here, daft yokels to of course I've always known there's a curse!
And his full honesty is lacking something. Dead wife being excessively cross because of an arranged marriage is not realistic, so he's hiding something, or is very stupid about Poole. I don't buy either the generic all Rochester women die young (defining Rochester women very oddly, if Jane's at risk) or the Antoinette is haunting because she didn't like dying so young line.

12. What do you think about Mr. Rochester sending away Jane and the staff? If you have read the original, how does this change Jane’s agency, and do you like the change? Either way, why do you think the author made it Mr. Rochester’s choice?

I've already mentioned that I found this change to do a massive disservice to the original Jane and also this one. It removes her agency and the moral strength she has to do what is right despite her emotions. I think the author actually doesn't care that much about the original characters, but used them as scaffolding to tell her story about ghosts and fairies, so there's less work for her to do.
As a story by itself I think it's ok, though with some stupidity around instalove. As a retelling it's a fail.

13. Have you ever visited an Apothecary’s Garden? Would you be interested in seeing one? Do you grow any herbs or are you interested in growing any?

I've not, but a wander around stately house gardens is always a pleasant time.
I am in no way green fingered, even aside from having no outside space or safe window box possibilities, do no.

14. What do you think about the scene with Miss Ingram? What does this tell you about Mr. Rochester’s character and did that seem consistent with his character so far? Did his explanation make sense to you?

This scene, with it's continued mentions of how short a time she'd been there, threw up for me how the changes from being governess to a paranormal trouble solver weakens the story. You don't go from Rochester is grumpy to oh, but his surface hides the truth I love him in two days, regardless of how much spying on his family history there is. So the whole grow to love each other despite stuff story has been destroyed, and only works by relying on our goodwill from the original.
So this exists only to allow a sudden volte face for Rochester that I don't believe.

I've just finished section 3 and am extraordinaryily cross at how Fisher made the leaving happen. Just feels like it's completely undermined Bronte's Jane let alone her own version...

That's orange!

And you've reminded me that I have the Tailor of Panama to read.

Others have researched that The Bridge of San Luis Rey works, and of course Gabriel Garcia Marquez is Columbian so his works work

Shout if you have any Peru / Panama / Columbia / Venezula books, we could maybe do a team read of one!

Mini!

The first mini has been revealed!
Full details here

The planning sheet will have a tab where we can grab tasks - if you can reserve no more than THREE at a time, and try to avoid the easier text in books for the immediate, that'd be great!

Tasks
(each can be repeated five times; we need 5 different food items from the list)

One point
- Read a book with a orange cover
- "harvest" (plural OK, no other variants) in text
- Author initials in HERACLES
- Word in title is hiding a different smaller word (of at least four letters) inside it (not the singular form or verb tense differences) - examples LimonCELLO; THINg; wereWOLF (or indeed WEREwolf); HUNGer but NOT GAMEs (as that's the singular/plural)
- One of the following food words in text (plural OK, no other variants): corn, grape, ham, bread, cheese, apple, fish, chicken, bread, rice, tomato, pepper, salt, honey, lobster

Three points
- Horn on cover (instrument or animal equally OK. but not antlers please)
- Book set in Crete
- Book set in Idaho
- Author's name has a diacritic (Cornucopia was a concert tour for Björk. yes, it's tenuous, but go with it anyway!)
- "abundant" or "abundance" in text
- Takes place on a farm (farm meaning somewhere raising plants or animals to be sold for food)

Five points
- Title (including subtitle) includes all the letters CORNUPIA (no need to duplicate C and O)
- The cover has at least 3 different food items
- Set in Peru, Panama, Colombia or Venezuela (or combination of them to reach the 50%)


General Notes
Locations must represent 50% or more of the setting
Colour cover must be 50% the colour (use of common sense, please)