Elen’s Comments (group member since Mar 07, 2018)

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

Day 1: Start - Halloween

1. Did you have any preconceived ideas about this book before you started, what were they?
* I usually never read the synopsis, so nothing.

2. Rosie shares with us the continued pursuit of having a daughter and possibly having a version of her little sister Poppy in that daughter, what was your reaction to that?
* She misses her sister who she lost too early for the kid. So, her dream has always been to have a girl - a daughter that she could make up the times she missed after her sister died.

3. What do you think of Rosie and Penn's parenting style so far?
* Norma, okay? Every parenting style is different, so I don't have anything against them. They love their kids that the most important thing.

4. I'm loving grandma, she doesn't even blink twice when Claude wants a bikini; what do you think would help Claude most, letting him wear bikini and dress in public or restricting him to only wear those at home?
* Claude should wear whenever, whatever Claude wants. Also, he is a kid, let him live his life as freely as he wants.

5. It breaks my heart when Penn shows Rosie the drawings Claude has made of the family, where he is getting smaller with every drawing. What should they do?
* See the therapist. Talk to Claude.

Eni wrote: "@Elen - status on This is how it always is, and Капитанская дочка"


This is how it always is - will start and finish tomorrow.
Капитанская дочка - just finished it.

I'll be finishing my last book (+BOM) for the challenge. As tomorrow is a really busy day, I'm going to finish it 1-2h before the deadline, maybe earlier.

DQs - Part Four

17. Henry’s character has turned out to be a bit of a conundrum to me. What do you think has contributed to him using and manipulating people the way he does? Were you surprised at the end of the book when he was being praised as a hero? Do you think Kelton and Alyssa should have spoke up about his dishonesty?
* every people are different - Henry liked to manipulate, get what he wanted and be "hero". Even if they spoke up, it wouldn't change anything after all.

18. Alyssa finds out that Kelton spied on her back in 8th grade and in this section, she slaps him on the face hard. Did you think her behavior was appropriate given the amount of time that passed? Would you have handled it differently?
* She has all right to be angry, but there is no point to hold it.

19. Hell and High Water—In this part our band of survivors experience all kinds of ‘hell’. Henry leaves his friends ‘high and dry’…betraying them…getting them almost killed...again. Kelton shoots the two brothers who were attempting to rape Alyssa and manhandle Jacqui and Garret. Alyssa displays her worst self with the mother of the two men, leaving her to perish in the fire and Alyssa almost ‘mercy’ kills her brother. What were your thoughts about any/all of these circumstances? Were the situations realistic? What do you think they could have done differently?
* They just did everything to survive - good or bad, in that situation it didn't matter for them.

20. A New Normal—When a person goes through something ‘traumatic’ you are bound to be affected in some way…this chapter gives us a glimpse of how the characters have been impacted/changed. What character’s change had the biggest impact on you? Have you ever experienced an event that changed how you see or do things? Do you think it takes something dramatic to get people to ‘wake up’ and make necessary changes?
* Alyssa's, cuz' she did everything right, but at the end of it, she changed her views on life etc. Yes, but not going to talk about it.

21. Do you think anyone is to blame for the way this disaster unraveled? Could it have been diverted?
* Government did a really bad job. Also, people should be more cautious with the resources they have and they knew for long that they don't have to much water.

22. Will this story impact how you use water? If so why, and what will you plan to do differently?
* I have always been cautious with how I use water - no running tap-water when there is no need etc.

Day 3 DQs

11. With the introduction of Henry we see a similar situation as the McCracken's, with Henry holding a stockpile of water and his neighbors in desperate need. Why do you think Henry's neighbors didn't attack or steal what they needed from him? He was only a teenager after all and he was alone.
* Rich people didn't want to get their hand dirty. But really, I think most of them are already weak to fight the healthy boy.

12. What did you make of Henry? Would you have allowed him to join your group? Do you think they would have made it as far as they have without him?
* I donõt have any opinion of him, cuz' with him or without they would be fine.

13. In times of crisis people will do just about anything out of desperation, which we see with Hali in the Target parking lot. How do you think you would handle something like this?
* Depends on the situation, but I won't be like Hali. More like our MC's.

14. I was shocked to learn that Jacqui had left a bottle of the antibiotics for Herb and Daphne. Did this change your opinion of her?
* Yes, but I knew that she is "soft" and caring, so it wasnõt really a surprise.

15. We meet Water Angel's group, who are civilized and working together to survive. Henry compares it to communism and doesn't think it will last. Do you agree that it's only a short-term solution and that they will eventually turn on each other?
* Yes and no. it depends on the system they have, and if everyone has a voice to say or to contribute.

16. Trust is a big issue that comes up again and again. Do you think Jacqui and Henry have proven themselves to be trustworthy? What about Alyssa and Kelton (despite the past drone incident)?
* Henry has already made his plans how to make things that way that only he and maybe Alyssa and her brother survive, he wants not to trust each other but him.

Day 2 Questions

6. The power plant vignettes at the beginning of part two are intriguing. We have the activist assuming the water is destined for the wealthy, the water guy just trying to do his job, and the plant manager trying to keep the power on and take care of his workers. With which side did you sympathize?
* All of them. They are doing their duty.

7. Why do think the author has both of Alyssa and Garrett's parents go to the water desalination center at the beach? Do you think the events on the beach are realistic or over the top?
* It would be better if only one of them went, but I think it's for some sort of safety. Pretty realistic, except almost no one escaped - that's unrealistic.

8. Kelton states, "Things are gonna fall apart pretty quickly now... Critical services shutting down, unreliable communication--any minute now it'll all give way to urban Darwinism." Do you think the view is too pessimistic, too optimistic, or on track? Why?
* On track. If something is out of control, people will act wild and won't think before acting.

9. Jacqui comes into the story in this section as a new main character. What do you think of the addition of her character? Have you changed your opinion of either Alyssa or Kelton now that we have reached the halfway point?
* I like her - badass, but also afraid. No, I haven't - still annoying.

10. I have a few problems with the mob scene and the events as they play out at Kelton's house at the end of the section. Did the sequence of events seems reasonable to you? Why or why not?
* NO. Didn't he had cameras? Why he didn't look out of the window to see who is it? Etc, etc... so many open Q, but also, they were afraid and sometimes brain shuts off in those situations.

Day One: Part One

1. Living in southwest United States, I'm very familiar with droughts and water rights, so this hits close to home! Do you enjoy dystopia novels that have an element of truth to them or do you prefer pure fiction? Why or why not?
*Both, cuz’ sometimes you want to read something that hits home aka is really truthful or even can happen if people won’t change their behaviors. But sometimes pure fiction is a good way to escape from reality when reading dystopian.
2. Kelton discusses three types of people, sheep, wolves, and herders; do you believe humans truly fall into these roles during challenging times?
*Yes, I do.

3. What do you think of Kelton and Alyssa as the MCs of this story so far?
*I sort of like them, but both of them are pretty annoying.

4. Near the end of this section, Kelton's dad tells a neighbor, "as if your lack of foresight is my fault", how do you feel about this, do you agree?
*Yes and no. There are situations when you can’t see the “future” or what can/could happen. But also, I am sure that events and people actions led everything to that, so you could do something, but we usually try to ignore things that are not directly involved with us.

5. I'm enjoying how the vignettes add a little something different to the story, the reporter and the family at the airport offer a different lense about the events, what are your thoughts?
*I really like them. It feels like reading reports from past or events that were happening everywhere differently than with our MC.

I'll be finishing Mirage in next 4-6h.

Lexi wrote: "Elen, I think your Tolstoy book is a trilogy. If so, you need to split it up. The English description says it is 3 books."

My edition is one big book if that doesn't work I will read 200p book instead then.

Annalisa wrote: "I started Good Omens this morning, and it is an audiobook, so I’m not sure I’ll get to any classics for next week. I may try and read our team name book. It will depend on what holds I get this wee..."

Good omens is marked as classics. Win, win

I will definitely read one "doorstopper" classic and if I have enough patient I will read a small one too.

But for statistics, I'm going to claim 1 spot for now.

ETA: I will claim 2 spots. Happy that some Stephen King books are added as classics. :))

Annalisa wrote: "I like the word two difficult letters. I’m not wild about the genre."

Agree. Looked up some other team words and some of them have 5 difficult letters in a word... lucky ones :P

Annalisa wrote: "Looks like we have Azure and genre is Classic."

Ughh, pretty disappointed, but we can do it

Chipmunks just announced that there will be NO ReSpins possible this week. And all team will get a totally different word for last week.

I'll be done with my book by tomorrow evening.

Day 4 Questions - Aurora World Tour to End of book


15. This section begins at the start of the Aurora World Tour. We have the blue bus (Billy) and the white bus (Daisy). Which bus would you choose to ride on, and why?
*Blue bus, cuz’ it’s calm and sober one.

16. The book had four strongly described females: Daisy, Camilla, Karen, and Simone. Which were you the most drawn to?
*Camila (strong female character) and Simone (great friend).

17. What did you think when you found out the name of the author? Do you think that given who the author is, maybe some of the answers in the previous sections of the book were changed or incomplete?
*I haven’t read any books from her, so I didn’t have any expectations.

18. In the Epilogue, we learn what happened to each of the band members. Did any of these "endings" surprise you, or did they each turn out as you expected?
*Each turned out as I expected. But I really hoped that Camila would have a longer span of life, she deserved it.

19. I thought the "One Last Thing" at the end (the email from Camilla) was brilliant. What do you think happened with that?
*I loved that, but I don’t think they get in touch.

20. What did you rate the book and why?
*3.5 stars, I liked it, but something was missing for me - slow, too long, might have been a little bit shorter.

DAY 3 QUESTIONS - AURORA

9. History is full of rock and roll bands with creative differences and disagreements between big personalities. This story is presented with interchanging POV's to highlight and give insight into this. What do you think of the opinions of each of the bandmates and do you have any sympathy or empathy for any bandmate in particular? Do you think that any of the animosity or disgruntled feelings are justified?
*I liked to explore everyone story and personalities. Also, some stories were told differently by every POV – how they saw or felt it.

10. The premise of the story is revealing the reasons that Daisy Jones and the Six imploded. At this stage of the novel what do you think happened? Disagreements over creative differences or some spectacular tragedy?
*Everyones relationship between each other is complicated.

11. Juxtaposed between the complicated relationships between Billy, Camila and Daisy, Graham and Karen seemingly are flying under the radar. Opinions on this and where do you think it is heading? Who do you think holds the power in this relationship and is it heading towards a Happily Ever After or acrimonious break up?
*I think this book was written to hurt readers, so break up.

12. Married man, troubled single girl, intense emotional connection between work colleagues = big trouble!! Discuss.
*What a situation, happens. But in the end, he didn’t do anything.

13. As I get further into the book I find the rapid fire conversation and the intense interactions draw me deeper into the characters and the story compelling me to keep reading on. Are you enjoying the book in the same way? Do you find the story original or feel that you have read or seen it all before.
*I like it. I have seen movies like that and usually, I don’t read books like that.

14. Mod Karen has revealed that the rights to this book have been optioned by Reese Witherspoon to make into a TV drama series. I think it's going to make great television. Who do you see in the starring roles? Established actors or is a star waiting to be born!
*I will be watching this TV show, but I know they will find suiting persons to play each character as it should be.

Day Two: First - The Numbers Tour

5. During the making of Daisy’s first album, I appreciated her quote, “Being given things versus earning them. I was so used to being given things I didn’t know how important it is for your soul to earn them”. Do you think that Daisy will continue to think this way and work hard for the music she wants considering her increased drug use and drinking?
*Yes, I think so. She wants to do something her own – music, lyrics.

6. During the studio session for Honeycomb, Karen sums it up best as indicating that Billy wrote it as a song of security, and Daisy changed it to a song of insecurity. What do you think of the continuing duality between Billy and Daisy? Will it be good or bad for them moving forward?
*I like their combo, so I think it can work our for some time, not sure about the long period.

7. Daisy is changing the dynamic of The Six when she joins the band
and states, "You’re only in charge of me as much as I’m in charge of you." Do you think this equality approach is going to work?
*I hope that everyone will have a word to say. But there should always be someone who will do things “correctly” as they should be and agree or disagree with some changes or opinions.

8. I'm a complete sucker for stories that have lyrics in them, are you enjoying the lyrics in this story? Do you have any favorites so far?
*I am not a huge fan. But also, I don’t mind them being there.

I agree with Lexi. Let's do respin next week. If we don't like first respin, we can do another one.

Genres that other teams got after respin were:
Sports
Aliens
Retelling
Zombies

DQ Day 1

1. This is a different type of book than I usually read. The interview formatting is interesting. What do you think of the formatting so far? Is anyone having trouble following it? I am reading it, but it reads like a podcast transcript to me so far.
*I really like the formatting. Something different than the usual "normal" book, so it’s a nice change.

2. A main focus of the book seems to be the agency of the women in the music business. The two quotes that stuck out to me were “ I am not a muse. I am the somebody,” and “men often think they deserve a sticker for treating women like people.” What are your thoughts on this theme and quotes?
I love when a book talks about feminism or how men treat woman, woman rights in music/business industry, etc. Also, Daisy is a strong person, who knows what she deserves and wants. I love those quotes.

3. Daisy’s parents are absent and extremely unobservant. She is very young when introduced to drugs, alcohol, and sex. The interview style presents what is really horrific in Daisy’s description of parental neglect, drug use at a very young age and statutory rape, as far as I can tell, in a fairly detached fashion. Anyone else react this way to this section?
*Nowadays that kind of stuff would be shocking, but I have to remind myself that this is music scene in 60's/70's when things like that weren’t so shocking/odd. I hope that norms have changed over time…

4. The end of this section focuses on Billy and Camila. What do you think of their relationship and the choices that Camila makes? Do you think Billy will stay sober?
*Camila is a very strong person, who knows what she wants and will do everything to get that or be there. She wants a good, functional family even knowing what Billy did. I hope he will for his wife and daughter.