Emma (M)’s Comments (group member since Dec 02, 2014)

Emma (M)’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I’ve read The Godfather which works for the Discworld MPG of crime if that’s still needed.

I’ve also finished which is a green cover.

I’ve finished 11/22/63 and below are the links to my comments:

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

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

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

42. It seems that the past likes to repeat itself over and over, and the people coming in and out of Jake’s life are no exception. This time, Jake ended up in the same motel room, his driver was remarkably similar, and the yellow-card man has been replaced by a green-card man wearing a lookalike outfit. It would appear that King is hinting that some things are inevitable, and that History wants what it wants. What’s your opinion on this theory? Do you think that some things are inevitable, and no matter what, would have similarities to all other timelines in those details (like people, places, etc)?. I imagine that things would be the same in many ways across different strings. I like the similarities that popped up over the course of the story, it was an interesting factor.

43. The green card man’s card changes colors, and the nonsense he is spewing seems to be indicating that he’s much more aware of everything than any other humans. Almost like a Watchman of sorts, it would seem. And he explains that things aren’t really reset, just restrung into a new thread. Actions → Consequences. Did you expect this little twist? I remember on my first read of this book not trusting or understanding the “everything resets perfectly” bit and wondering what the catch was. Did you trust it or did you expect there to be a catch?. No, I was waiting for things to be slightly different from one trip to 1958 to another because of previous meddlings.

44. Jake’s return to 2011 is a shock. Everything is different… and not better. It appears saving Kennedy didn’t bring about the paradise that Al was expecting. What did you find most shocking about the “new world” created by the harmonies Jake’s changes made? For me, I was stunned to find that Maine was part of Canada, how hateful everyone seemed to be, and… the physical changes to people.
I don’t think the changes would have been as apocalyptic as they were if Kennedy had survived in real life. It would be truly horrifying if the survival of one person in history could lead to that sort of change. It’s mind boggling to think really. However, what I didn’t like was the idea that that changes made by Jake would result in earthquakes and the like as a reaction to his meddling. That was a bit too fanciful for me.

45. I was happy to see that King chose to use Harry to be Jake’s connection to learn about the new reality. I really loved him earlier in the book, and it pains me to see him so broken. Was there anyone else you’d have wanted to see? yes, I loved that it was Harry that he met. And, it was interesting that no matter what Jake did to change Harry’s past it never ended with a happy ending for him.

46. Another IT reference here near the end: “The past is obdurate for the same reason a turtle’s shell is obdurate” Did you catch that one? The little reference to the magic space turtle? Jeez, King writes some odd stuff, doesn’t he?<\b> I don’t get that reference so it went over my head.

47. So not a happy ending for the Sadie-Jake romance, but one that ended being good for Sadie and the world in the long run. Were you happy with the ending? As much as I was rooting for them, I had a feeling that King wasn’t going to be able to make it work without tearing the world apart. I thought the 3nding was good. It felt good that she had survived and flourished and that Jake got to see her in the present, even if that meant they couldn’t be together.

Louise wrote: "Emma (M) wrote: "I’m nearly at the end of 11/22/63. Should I hold off finishing until 1st July or would it be better to finish before end of the month?"

Hold off if you can 😀"

Will do 🙂

I’m nearly at the end of 11/22/63. Should I hold off finishing until 1st July or would it be better to finish before end of the month?

For Pennywise, would the BOM 11/22/63 book work? There are characters from It that show up in 11/22/63 and one of the characters visits the town where IT was set and there are references by the townsfolk to what happened in It in 11/22/63. Anyway, I’ll have it finished by the end of the month. Currently on a cruise an I’ve brought 11/22/63 with me :)

Day 2 DQs
Chapter 4 - 6 or 18%

#5. How did you feel when you read Harry Dunning's essay? What would you have done if you had the power to enact change in the past? It was incredibly sad and if I could change it I would, although to go back in time and try and stop it would probably be outside the limits of my courage.

#6. Money is a big deal in any timeline. Would you be able to acclimate to the past in terms of financial transactions as well as Jake? Do you think Jake acclimated TOO quickly?No, I think it wouldn’t take that long, I think the hardest part would be reigning the spending in.

#7. Fashion is also an issue in the past. Do you think Jake is having an easier time of it because he is a man? What would be the most challenging fashion change for you to get used to? Is there something you would love to be able to wear? I loved the fashion back then, I think it would actually be a real hoot to go back in time and essentially play dress up.

#8. There are a lot of interesting nods to older Advertising terms and slogans that King uses to help the reader recognize the timeline change of the past. Which one stood out to you the most and why?My recall for small details like that isn’t great, so I’ve already forgotten any advertising terms that may have been mentioned.

#9. If you have read any past King novels, some of these chapters have a lot of connections to early books about Derry, Maine, and surrounding locations. Did you find any Easter eggs from previous stories? If you haven't read earlier King novels, what about Derry seemed to stand out as unique to you? definitely It, I’m sure there’s others I’ve not picked up on yet though.

Day 1 DQs: ch1- 3

1) I have only read a few of Stephen King's books. Is this your first book by the author or are you quite familiar with his storytelling? I’ve read a lot of his books when I was younger, but probably only 3 or so in the last 5 years.

2) What do you think about the character Jake so far? Would you have gone along with what Al wanted and took the initial step back into the past, or would you have not humoured him and tried to get him help? I think Aldi’s it in a way that he sorta showed Jake first, then told him all the info. I think I would maybe go along with it the way it was done by Al.

3) I am not sure how I would feel if I just stepped back into the past the way Jake and Al have, but I am really curious about how the time travelling works in this story. It seemed that Jake was somewhat calm about it. How do you think you would feel if it was you? probably a lot more stressed about getting back - not sure that I would have gone walkabout to be honest.

4) I think it is clear that Jake is going to pick up Al's mission to try and stop the JFK assassination. Would you choose to continue Al's mission? Also how much do you know of the history surrounding this event? I only know the event through movies really. There’s no way I would embark on that kind of mission, I’m too much of a stress head.

I’m reading two 600+ books atm and will definitely finish at least one of them by the end of the month.

Melissa wrote: "Hey Vicki! Did you like Force of Nature? I thought it was great. Jane Harper is one of my new favorite mystery writers. I LOVED The Lost Man"

I loved The Lost Man too, up there with one of my favourites of hers

Louise wrote: "Chipmunk Tasks Open
X-Rated - Read a book with three people on the cover
Solve for X - Read a book with author initials in TEN
10 Awards - Read a book that won the 10 Awards - Read a booker award
"..."

I finished Six of Crows on the 1st June and it works for number 11 on the chipmunks task - best Goodreads books of 2015.

I finished Six of Crows on the 1st of June and it looks like it’s on the GR Best of 2015 list - which is one of the Chipmunk tasks.

I mentioned it earlier, but just want to check that my 600+ books are not being included in the count for this month as I will be completing them over the course of the three months.

Here are my BOM discussion links for Kings of the Wyld.

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

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

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

Day 7 Questions

32. So not only did some of the Vanguards come to help rescue Rose, but they even patched up Clay. What did you make of the unguent that Tiamax gave Clay? And would you submit yourself to the same thing if you were in a similar position?
I think it was a bit too convenient in the storyline that Clay got his hand cut off and lo and behold Tiamax has a magic potion to regrow a limb. If I was in that position and a friend offered me a potion to fix it, I would take it. There seems to no reason to distrust Tiamax’s motives here.

33. What did you make of the “fight” with Akatung? Was the dragon everything you expected given how much hype it got earlier in the book? The dragon didn’t really get much time in the storyline so it was pretty underwhelming.

34. What did you think of Gabe’s speech at Kalador? Was it a lot of pretty words? Or did it evoke something more? And were you surprised by the reaction the attendees of the War Fair by the end?I liked his speech but not sure in reality if it would have been enough to get all the attendees to risk their lives against significant odds.

35. After having such a presence all book as this near impossible to kill villain that had planned everything down the most minute detail, did you feel that Lastleaf’s end was what he deserved?. I’m not sure what happened with his death (probably because I was very sleepy when I read this bit) but one minute he fell into the lava pit, then he was gone and then they found him dead. It all seemed a bit unnecessary. There seems to be a chunk of story missing, but I alums it’s a way to get the bit about his sword Tamarat into the story - maybe for book 2.

36. And finally what were your final feelings on the book? Were you satisfied with the ending? Was Kit’s small excerpt about how the Siege of Castia ended enough or did it leave you wishing to read more about the various bands that participated in the battle?
The ending was fine although I would have liked to know more about Gabe and Ganelon’s ending. I find it hard to believe that Ganelon would want to be turned back to stone when he had alluded to the fact that he still had sentience in that state. Also what happened to Gabe afterward? I didn’t feel like any of it was explained particularly well. I’m assuming that answers will arise in Book 2, however I’m left a bit underwhelmed at the cryptic nature of some of the ending. As for the other Bands, I really don’t feel a need to know more about them, except maybe for Jain. I did enjoy the book but my biggest critique is there was a bit to much convenient plot points, the one I mentioned above just being one example of it. However, I still enjoyed it and would give it 3.5 stars.

Louise wrote: "QUICK UPDATE

We have just over a week left in the first month of May and are currently in 3rd place.

We only need 4 500-599page books and 6 600+ page books to meet our minimum requirement for May..."

Ok, oops - I thought those requirements were for the whole challenge, not every month. So, I’ll only get Kings of the Wyld done from my list by the end of the month. My other long ones were just my plans for the challenge over all.

Louise wrote: "New BOM threads are up - head on over to volunteer to write DQs or just join in

The City of Brass - Discussion
11/22/63 - Discussion Starts 16 Jun"

Oh wow, I’ve had 11/22/63 on my bookshelf for literally years. I’m glad I now have the extra incentive to read it.

11. The fight with Raff's old band (who looked like clowns) that ended with snakes is one of the first times we see the almost full band working together. What did you think of this scene? Did you like the action or was it confusing?

It was a bit confusing but I find most battle scenes that way. I loved that Moog’s spell ended up resulting in all those snakes, very funny. I love that Saga is really having to battle their way through this journey and having to deal with these types of unforeseen obstacles as they go.

12. So the hoarder kobolds - I thought they were great! And the bird-like creatures pulling the carriage. Do you have a favorite creature you've seen so far, or one you'd like to see? Tell why.
I really loved the hoarder Kobolds, the fact that they didn’t want to spend all that gold and just wanted to hoard it all was fab and the fact that Gabriel realised that giving his gold to the Kobolds was a safe way to store his gold was really smart.

13. I think in the last half of this section we really start understanding what a big deal the Kings of Wyld really were. And we get to compare them to the Screaming Eagles. What do you think about the ethics and popularity of the new bands that kill captive monsters in arenas?. It seems that the Bands have moved away from being groups that provided a service by ridding places of dangerous creatures and have now become entertainers. They are now less heroes and more celebrities.

14. Lastleaf gave his (and the hordes') motivations for conquest. Do you think his reasons were valid, or is he just evil? Do you feel at all sorry for the monsters? I don’t think he’s evil, he feels justified in his motives.

15. We all picked our favorite character in day 1 questions. Has yours changed since then?> no, mine is still the same

Hi All, just checking in. Can’t believe we are halfway through the first month! Reading has been a slow start for me due to work. I’m hoping it will get better once the pace at work lets up towards the end of the month and then I’ll be able to catch up a bit.

DQ Day 2
Chapters 9 - 15

6. We meet the 3rd member of the band, the wizard Moog. What are your impressions of the wizard? Were you as surprised as Clay that he agreed to go right away? he reminds a bit of the wizard in Disney’s King Arthur movie, but absent minded. He doesn’t really seem to feel fearful like the others and sees it as an adventure. I wonder if that’s because of the loss of his partner and this might be a way to take his mind off losing him.

7. That was some entrance to the palace, don't you think? What were your first impressions of Matrick? Were you surprised by the turn of events in chapter 11? Excited or worried when Moog announces that he had a plan?Ha, definitely worries with ant Moog plan. I like Matrick, it sounds like his life is a bit insufferable, so I’m glad he’s got his friends to support him.

8. After several descriptions sprinkled thoughout the story thus far, we finally meet a druin. What do you think his plan is? Why does he really want the Council to stand down? I think he wants power and see the downfall of the other power players.

9. Were you surprised at how Lillian arranged the funeral? What did you think of Clay's contribution? How successful would you rate Moog's plan? Not really surprised, maybe she had an inkling of the plan and wanted to make sure Matrick was definitely gone. I think his plan was successful given they all made it out alive.

10. Gabriel borrows Moog's crystal ball to check on his daughter. Were you surprised at what he saw? What did you think of the band's reaction? no, I think that was exactly how the situation had been represented up to this point, but I think it was a shock because the dire situation finally became a reality to Gabriel. I think it was lovely of Clay to get Gabe’s spirit back enough to keep going.