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

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

In this immensely powerful, lyrical and skillfully narrated novel, set in southern Italy, nine year-old Michele discovers a secret so momentous, so terrible, that he daren’t tell anyone about it.

The hottest summer of the twentieth century. A tiny community of five houses in the middle of wheat fields. While the adults shelter indoors, six children venture out on their bikes across the scorched, deserted countryside.

In the midst of that sea of golden wheat, nine year-old Michele Amitrano discovers a secret so momentous, so terrible, that he daren’t tell anyone about it. To come to terms with it he will have to draw strength from his own imagination and sense of humanity. The reader witnesses a dual story: the one that is seen through Michele's eyes, and the tragedy involving the adults of this isolated hamlet. The result is an immensely powerful, lyrical and skillfully narrated novel, its atmosphere reminiscent of Tom Sawyer, Stephen King's Stand By Me and Italo Calvino's Italian Fairy Tales.

A searing and earnest horror debut about the demons the queer community faces in America, the price of keeping secrets, and finding the courage to burn it all down.

They’ll scare you straight to hell.

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.

Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed “most effective” gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy.

306 pages
107 pages
418 pages

Current total: 1,173,348

made me happy this morning!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...

DQs Day 1
Beginning to ends "know where she'd gone."

1.) Thoughts on the world building, what the influences/inspiration behind this story might of been?

I think the pandemic and the Trumpian view of it being the "China virus", plus the vast number of reports of schools and libraries removing "challenging" books from circulation are both influence driving this idea. I'm liking the world building, and that we are getting understanding in line with what Bird is being taught at school.

2.) How do you think you'd feel if your parent's work became a tagline for a rebellious movement that puts a price on their head and maybe even yours? Proud? Scared? Angry?

A bit of all that! So far Bird isn't really grasping what's going on, and I like that - that he's a normal youngster in abnormal circumstances and is slowly taking his head out of the sand under Sadie's promptings.

3.) Why does every tyrannical political regime have a component of "turning in your neighbor" for being unpatriotic (or whatever) as part of its foundational behaviors? More importantly, why does it always seem to work?

We believe in safety in numbers, and not wanting to stand out, so if we are told that people are turning in neighbours we might believe it and follow up. plus it can be performative cover (like the librarian)

4.) All those books, just gone from the public library. My book loving heart just broke. How did this scene make you feel? What's up with that librarian?

I thought it was effective in being a revelation to Bird as to how screwed up his world is. I liked the librarian, who are knowledge-sharers at heart - she can't be too overt, but gives enough of a hint to help Bird work out options and issues.

5.) What to you think the deal is with Bird's father? Why no longer a professor? Why do you think he split from Bird's mother?

I've not got a handle on if it was a joint decision for her to leave or one of them pushed it. I guess two things: 1. he's been tainted by association and is no longer permitted to teach, in case he puts seditious messages out or 2. his area was Far Eastern literature so there's nothing to teach.

Judy wrote: "Thanks so much to the mods for everything! Also can't lie, I enjoyed the Chipmunks challenge 😅 I liked the concept and some of the challenges forced me out of my comfort zone and to be creative in ..."

yeah! I really enjoyed being "forced" to find and read books for some of the challenges - my Saudi book was an unexpected delight!

it's fast reading, for sure. Had to wrestle myself to stop at the right point last night!

the drawback of your breaks is that they aren't massively even? 85 pages, then 68, then 103 ....

let's stick with the pretty-close-to-quarters, even if they are a bit random? (In my e-version they are marked with little break markers in the formatting, so not completely out of the blue)

added that Mary, thanks :)

Glad you enjoyed it!

Next TT hasn't been scheduled yet, but earliest would be same time next year.

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

Follow that thread for heads up or for poking us Mods for your favourite challenge!

And finished my last book!

Fantastic reading overnight, thanks all!

We now have our last 3 monsters, so feel free to finish off last chapters now 😀

finished a god-awful set on a ship book!

will continue reading We Were Never Here, which will fit for both a Luggage task (tagged travel 21 times) and a Tauntaun task ("ere" repeated) - on the assumption that we'll finish one of the sets over night.

Sarah wrote: "I ‘think’ Legends and Lattes would work for jealous character. Fennus spends the book plotting against Viv because she has this precious object and didn’t tell her companions - and wants to take it..."

I think that works for jealous :)

Yeah. am very shame-faced

COrrect Wheel Tasks!🎡 Tower Teams 9: Monsters - Great A'Tuin
• Read a book with the night sky on cover
• Read a book with all author initials in ELEPHANT
• Read a book whose title starts with a letter from CHELYS (A, An, The count!)
• Read a book set on a form of transport (e.g. train, ship, space ship)

ooop! wasn't Luggage, but Great A'Tuin, sorry guys!

WHEEL TASKS
• books must be finished after getting new set - no banking books


🎡 Tower Teams 9: Monsters - Jealousy
Sarah • Read a book that features a jealous character
Mary X • Read a book set in Ireland (Republic or Northern both acceptable)


🎡 Tower Teams 9: Monsters - Great A'Tuin
• Read a book with the night sky on cover
• Read a book with all author initials in ELEPHANT
Christina • Read a book whose title starts with a letter from CHELYS (A, An, The count!)
• Read a book set on a form of transport (e.g. train, ship, space ship)



🎡 Tower Teams 9: Monsters - Jorogumo
• Read a book tagged family (at least 10 times)
Mary X • Read a book with a baby in the story
• Read a book with 8 in the page count


==========
PAGE TOWERS
ALL DONE!

Spell Out Letters
ALL DONE!

New Tasks!

Read a book with a green cover
Read a book that features a jealous character
Read a book set in Ireland (Republic or Northern both acceptable)
Read a book with the word ""green"" in text

Read a book with at least four legs on cover
Read a book that features someone following a character
Read a book tagged Travel (at least 10 times)
Read a book with the word ""luggage"" or ""baggage"" in text

123 pages
102 pages

Current Total: 1,147,200