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

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

Fair, it's late!

Just finished Five Broken Blades, which can work for Korean author

it's on his website, so we can use that as evidence :)

it's the bluest teal I've seen for a good long while!

mmmmm delicious gorgonzola :)

DQs Day 5 Chapters Fourteen - Seventeen

20. Well, I think we all knew that we were going to end up with Norma turning out to really be the lost girl and her being reunited with her biological family. Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share on that reunion? Or a comparison you'd like to venture between what we know of both of Norma's families?

I dislike the presentation that adoptive families are less full of love and laughter. Though that's probably an opinion driven by the fact that Lenore was not a character that shone of the page as being worthy of the devotion shown by her husband and sister...

21. Aunt June stays true to her word. She promised to help find Norma's real family and she managed to find the article that would bring this family reunion about. Do you think the conflict between the two women was well handled? From the moment Norma gave in to her anger and yelled at June to the moment where June told her that going to meet her family was not something for her to intrude upon.

I liked Aunt June, and found her more believable as a character than Norma - I felt the way she handled it was good

23. All in all, were you satisfied with the book? The story - did you enjoy following along Norma's and Joe's lives? The writing - did you enjoy the way the words flowed over the page, painting a world and its landscapes without however overusing words? Or maybe that's just my opinion - that it flowed nicely and pulled the reader along like a boat gently rocking on water.

It was fine, though quite light really. I didn't particularly buy Norma's angst fuelled decision re babies, for instance, but I thought Joe was better drawn.

24. Would you read another book by this author? Do you maybe have recommendations for Native American literature that you'd like to share with the group?

I wouldn't hunt another of hers down, but would read another if it is put in my hands.
Other recs? Tommy Orange, Richard Wannassee, and I enjoyed Five Little Indians in a bleak way

You are all good! As long as one edition has a page count we are good to go

NEW TASK!

98 Read a book that covers multiple generations

looks blue & white to me :)

Dawn wrote: "Hope it's not banked for anything but will probably not finish Letters to the Luminous Deep until into July- really struggling to get into it!"

no plan for this one at the moment, no!

in general we only put books against tasks if someone has explicitly claimed the task, and we have confirmation that the book is in progress.

Dawn wrote: "I'll update the spreadsheet this afternoon, however just finished Love Beyond the Veil and the MMC works as a video game producer so this should work for WW124 as in technology ?"

That should work, for sure :)

TASK UPDATE

Mini Two
92 Read a book where the first word of the text is "One"
98 Read a book that covers multiple generations

77 Read a book that is in the Food for the Soul List - claimed Yasmine
93 Read a book which has the main location (setting) on the Asian continent - claimed Lucy
94 Read a book with the word car, vehicle, bike, bicycle, truck or lorry in the title (Plurals are acceptable) - claimed Danielle


Mini Three
WW236 - author born in Greece - claimed
WW237 Blue and White on cover - claimed
WW238 character vacations on an island - claimed
WW241 character is a philosopher

WW20 Author born in Australia
WW21 Red, White, and Blue on Cover
WW22 mentions Vegimite
WW23 features a marsupial
WW24 character goes to the opera
WW25 ocean on cover
WW26 A
WW27 U
WW28 S
WW29 T
WW30 R
WW31 A
WW32 L
WW33 I
WW34 A

Mini One
Itinerary just started - needs lots of hard :) (we've met & exceeded our minimum medium, so prefer no more for this itinerary)

Countries we CAN'T use are:
Croatia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sri Lanka
Ukraine
Zambia

Hopefully it was fun & productive professionally then, Kaley!

And we've polished the cheese bags off! :D

Also Sri Lanka: Brotherless Night, which was well written but also about the oppression of the Tamils and civil war / insurrection so not light hearted

Dawn wrote: "I'm about to finish this Monster of Mine and this is a new author to me :)"

hurrah!

I'm reading one by a Hungarian author but set in UK.... so Poland is excellent!

Really need to get the Berry Pickers BOM off my plate first though in any case.

DAY 2 QUESTIONS - CHAPTERS 4-7

7. "But sometimes I think that sadness drilled down deep and some of it might just be there for good"
"now get lost and leave me to my book."
"There was love in that house but none of us really knew what to do with it."
In chapter four we learn more about Norma's parents and life in their house as she grew up. Does learning about Lenore's past make you more sympathetic to her? And how about their parenting style, I can't imagine ever telling my children or grandchildren "to get lost" because I wanted to read a book. (Ok, I'm sure all parents might have thought it at times, but saying it to a child is a definite no no in my book!)

I've very little sympathy for Lenore, and find it hard to see how her husband and sister can collude in abetting her. The pictures we saw of their life before Norma seemed to be positive and full of life, and letting her steal a child seems like it put her on a bad track

8. In juxtaposition to Frank, Lenore and Norma, we have alternating chapters about family life from Joe's POV. Thoughts and why does the author structure the novel this way?

It shows the fact that you can have a strong family even through loss. but also some questions about, is Ruthie actually in a better position for having been stolen - easier life with no racism etc...

9. Chapter 5 - the horrible incident with Frankie and Charlie. How did you feel reading about this injustice? Could anything been done to avert this tragedy? How does Amanda Peters' writing the scene add to the heartbreak?

That was particularly horrific. I think it was that Joe did nothing wrong - running to try and get help - but noone was able to reassure him of that, leaving him with more guilt about a child going missing from the family

10. What you think of Aunty June and her role in the story? Why does she encourage Norma to interact with the Indian protesters only to pull her back when she is recognized as Ruthie?

June is a strange one. She wants Norma to have a freeer life than Lenore is giving her, but without being honest - she prioritises Lenore's needs over the truth and what's best for Norma.
I'm not clear how much Alice knows / guesses at though

11. Joe seems to be a tragic figure as the story of his life is revealed. How he has responded to racism and trauma make you feel when reading this book? Are you enjoying the story or does it make for uncomfortable reading?

It's certainly uncomfortable reading, but it's written well and isn't a struggle to get through.

TASK UPDATES

Mini 2 Tasks
71 Read a book where the first word in the text is "They"
77 Read a book that is in the Food for the Soul List
83 Read a book that is in the Foreign Lands List https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
85 Read a book published before 1970
93 Read a book which has the main location (setting) on the Asian continent
92 Read a book where the first word of the text is "One"
94 Read a book with the word car, vehicle, bike, bicycle, truck or lorry in the title (Plurals are acceptable)
95 Read a book with MPG Travel
96 Read a book from a new-to-you author

61 Read a book set in the time period "Middle Ages" - claimed

Anyone with a "new to them" author please do sing out!

Also, progress info on the following plans (which fit tasks) gratefully received:

Yasmine / The Hobbit (Food for Soul list) - I know it was tied to Everand?
Stephie / The Kite Runner (Foreign Lands list)
Rina / The Evening & the Morning (mediaeval setting)
Lucy / Butter (Asian setting)

Do also keep a look out for books starting with the word "THEY", or indeed "ONE" :)

Yup, that's right. Or if there is an audio equivalent for sale, we can use that too.