Stacey’s Comments (group member since Oct 26, 2014)

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

Captains -- When are you planning on updating our SS? I tend to get a little over competitive on these things and would LOVE to know where we stand in rankings. But if you all are just planning to do it once or twice at the end of each round, I'll just chill myself out. :)

Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) From what I know, this book is the novelization of the movie. While this doesn’t happen too often, I’ve read a couple books before that were only written after a movie/series (e.g. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Have you ever read a book like this? What did you think? Was it successful? Did this experience influence your expectations of this book?
I didn't know this! I can't say I've ever read a book that was an adaptation of a movie -- usually its the other way around. It seems okay so far.

2) Stella and Will, wearing face masks & using copious amounts of hand sanitizer before it was cool. All jokes aside, this is an oddly timely reminder that face masks do make a difference to prevent the spreading of diseases. I knew next to nothing about CF before starting this book and I’ve seen very mixed reactions to the representation of CF so I was wondering… do you have any experience with CF and therefore expectations? (If you don’t feel comfortable answering, feel free to just skip this question!)
I don't have any direct experience with CF, but I work in and acute care hospital, and the medical stuff seems pretty spot on so far -- or at least better than most non-medical authors attempts.

3) "If I’m going to die, I’d like to actually live first.“ This quote from Will’s POV reminded me of the countless bucket list stories and made me wonder whether this will go in that direction. Yet while Will takes more of a Devil-May-care attitude, Stella is very cautious to follow the rules. Do you think Will’s attitude is going to influence Stella as they got closer (literally?!). Will she also take more (dangerous) risks?
I'm guessing they will both rub off on each other to a certain extent. He'll encourage her to risk more, she'll encourage him to take it seriously so he can be around longer.

4) Stella is a "tech nerd", even programming her own app. Most MCs in YA books have artsy, "girly" hobbies (sorry for using that terrible gendered stereotype), if they have any prominent hobbies at all. Books about artsy people are among my favorites and I’m always on the hunt for more. While I like traditional hobbies, some of my favorite books (e.g. With the Fire on High) have non-mainstream hobbies and I am actually quite excited to learn more about this aspect of Stella’s story. Have you read any other books where the main character had a prominent hobby that wasn’t drawing/painting/writing/theater/an instrument?
I can't remember any outside of the Fantasy YA I read. In those there are all kinds of girls hunting and sword fighting etc. I don't know if I've ever seen anything interesting in real life YA.

5) Stella’s parents are recently divorced, in what she calls the “most ridiculous divorce of all time”, and she worries a lot about them. It both breaks my heart and confuses me slightly why it is so far being kept from us what happened - we only know that Stella believes both parents are unhappy after the separation. So… what do you think happened?
Best guess is the stress of keeping Stella alive? No idea right now.

Tammie wrote: "@ALL
Please dbl check the SS to be sure that you have listed the 'task justification' in column Z

I just double checked mine and I was only 50%. This is a required section on the team SS...will ..."

Tammie, I was double checking mine. For Five Feet Apart I used the task "2 people on the cover" because the edition I'm listening to is this one: . Is that okay or do I need to change it to another task?

Susan, someone may come along who can explain better, but I've just been going to the Round 1 tab on the SS, picking a letter that my book fits for and filling that row in. There is a drop down on each line that you can choose your name from, the date completed, then a place to enter the tag info and the task number it works for. I have not mastered the art of putting screenshots in Goodreads, but maybe this helps?

Keli wrote: "Ugh, I'm finding it hard to get into Strange the Dreamer. I gobbled up Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Though this book is as beautifully written, there is just something t..."

Keli, I struggled with that one too. Loved the Smoke and Bone series, but still haven't found interest to start the second half of Strange. I hope you find it picks up for you!

Discussion Questions Day 4 - Part 7 - 9

13: The characters have each made some defining decisions on the vacation. Which decision or resolution stuck out to you the most? Example - Mine was when Charlotte pretended not to see Cord at the end of part 9. It broke my heart to see her have so much difficulty loving her son!)
I'm glad that Matt left, and Regan is getting ready to move onto something else.

14: Why do you think Charlotte took on and passed on the traits of her mother that she didn’t appreciate? What might have been different in her interactions with her children if she intentionally shook those off? Example traits are her mother’s inability to communicate, and her disapproval turning into a lack of love)
I think we take on what we learn as a child from our parents many times without making a conscious decision to do so. I think that Charlotte may not even be really aware of how much she has come to be the same as her mother.

15: The characters each have a flaw in that they hold back a piece of themselves from their family and the ones they love. Which character is the hardest to read about and why?
I don't get Regan at all. I think because there is so much "secret" with the PI report, her "plans" for ?murdering her husband. I just don't get what she has done to herself to get through her life.

16: This was my first time reading this author. Do you think you’d read something else by Amanda Eyre Ward? Why or why not?
Nope. Not a chance. I'm not a fan of wasting hours of my life with characters and people I don't like and don't care about.

Discussion Questions - Day 3 - Parts 5 & 6

9. Structure: "The Jetsetters" is divided into nine parts with an average of five different chapters (other than Part 1, which had nine chapters) in each part. Each chapter has, as yet, indicated a point of view change. What do you think the different parts are designating, if anything? How is it affecting your reading of the book, if at all? I like having the different POVs as I get to see what each person is thinking. I don't really understand all the different "parts". So far I haven't found any real reason for them.

10. Setting: So far, the Perkins have visited, in some capacity, Athens, Rhodes, and, most recently, Malta. How has the Mediterranian setting impacted both the story and the characters, if at all? And how do you think the story and characters would have been affected if the cruise was traveling through a different setting (say the Perkins boarded an Alaskan cruise line), if there would be any? I don't think I'm smart enough to figure out what the location is adding to the story. I feel like the same things would be happening wherever they were -- just because they were so close to each other for the first time in years.

11. Minor Character (Paros): As a follow up to question eight (since I am biasedly refusing to discuss Matt at any great length if I can help it), Paros has positively influenced both Charlotte (in feeling seen and admired) and Lee (in reconnecting with her family after coming to some big personal realizations). Why do you think Paros (and not Charlotte's recently deceased friend Minnie or Lee's one-time therapist) has been able to make these positive influences? Do you think this will continue and Paros will positively influence Regan and Cord in some way? If so, how? Cause he's a nice guy? Again, I'm not smart enough to understand his importance.

12. Minor Character (Kiko): Kiko's character has been used to further characterize the children indirectly: signifying Regan's meticulous mind (a mind that is plotting a murder, ha!), Lee's reformed ways rejecting the advances of men, and Cord's attraction towards men. Is Charlotte's character also indirectly characterized via Kiko? If so, how? (Also, I was so dismayed because Cord was my favorite character and his engagement to Giovonni was so cute and yet many of you predicted that Cord would be outted by being caught in a compromising situation by his family! gasp! So I ask you...) Was Cord's flirting with Kiko harmless, or was it a foreshadowing of a similar situation to come later in the novel? I didn't get the impression that Cord's flirting was that big of a deal -- I think the fact that he hasn't come out to his mother yet is more of an issue for he and Giovanni to deal with.

Discussion Questions Day 2: Parts 2 - 4

5. We get more flashbacks to Charlotte's early life in Paris, and start to get an understanding of why her family isn't close or communicative - she herself was brought up to repress feelings. Will her current crush on Paros blossom into a full relationship? How will her fascination with Paros help or hinder her main aim of this holiday - to reconnect her children?
I doubt it. I'm getting a "help the lonely old woman" vibe from Paros, but anything is possible.

6. Cord: he jettisons a year and a half of sobriety very easily, though I did enjoy how the author then used his drunken ramble through the ship to show off some of the glorious absurdities of massive cruise ships. Will Cord be able to pull himself together over the cruise or is he going to self-sabotage any happiness he might have had? Do you think Charlotte would react badly to his coming out of the closet? Any guesses on how he gets outed?I think he will pull himself out of it eventually and I'm hopeful that he will feel less conflicted by the end of the cruise after his eventual outing. I don't think Charlotte will be terribly surprised though. I'm guessing Giovanni shows up somewhere along the way.

7. Lee: We get confirmation that Winston did commit suicide, and chose to do it in her bathroom (what a $*!@$!). Why would Charlotte make her lie to her siblings about how he died? And why does noone call her out about her lies about her career?I guess she was trying to spare them the trauma of him committing suicide? Or herself from having to answer questions. I think they are all scared of Lee right now. And I think its along the same lines as Cord -- everyone knows her career is in trouble, they just don't talk about it.

8. Regan: plotting murder! The plot thickens! What do you think the private detective has turned up? I assume it must be worse that infidelity, because you don't hire a PI unless you suspect infidelity, right? ('cos of course we have all thought about having our partners trailed rather than just, y'know, communicating with them!) Do you find the flashbacks to Matt rescuing Regan from the artist teacher (shades of Charlotte again!) make him more likeable? I think Matt and Regan did start out in love, it just got icky along the way. I'm assuming the PI found something worse than infidelity given the multiple attempts to contact her -- not sure what though.

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Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) This is not a book I would’ve picked up on my own, and from the beginning I felt very strongly that I’m not the target (age) group, so I’m extra curious how I’m going to feel about this. Had you heard about this book before it was chosen as BOM? What were your expectations going in?
I had not heard of this book before it was chosen, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience either. I expected a "beach read" kind of book that would be entertaining for people who don't often read books -- eek, that kind of makes me sound like a snob, huh?

2) I was surprised to see that the POVs rotates. Somehow the blurb made me think the whole book would be from Charlotte’s POV. Whose POV are you enjoying the most so far? Who is your favorite character?
I'm not sure I care for any of them right now. Probably Charlotte is my favorite -- I have a fondness for older people who have reached a point where they are willing to do crazy things without worrying about the consequences.

3) While Charlotte is supposedly the closest to Regan out of all her kids, their POVs show that they actually resent each other the most out of any of our four main characters. I can understand where Regan’s coming from, but Charlotte’s dislike of Regan so far is quite a mystery to me. What do you think is at the core here?
I haven't really figured that out either. I think even though they are "closest" geographically maybe that having to deal with each other more has allowed them to grate on each other more.

4) What do you think will happen on the trip? Will they even do the whole thing? Who will be the first to pack their bags and run back home? Which secrets will come out first?
I'm picturing each of them threatening to leave, but staying for one reason or another and some big blow out at the end. I imagine Lee's lack of career -- which doesn't really seem to be that much of a secret -- to be the first to blow up.

Yay! Now everyone is here. Glad you are feeling better Susan!

In NC our libraries are still locked up tight. We have a pretty good ebook/e-audiobook system, but the waits are crazy since the physical books arent an option.

And shout out to my western PA friends! (Grew up in Pgh)

Donna wrote: "On scribd? Nope. I have had books on my saved list for months. Occasionally, a book is taken off of the platform but they will email you before it happen so you have time to read it."

I think I'm just in library mode -- If I don't buy it there must be a time limit on how long I can keep it. I know a lot of people on here use it a lot, I'll just have to see how it meshes with my other subscriptions and then decide which ones to keep. :)

Tammie wrote: "Here's an invite link for scrib if you want to try it. Both BOMs for June are on here audio for sure. Full disclosure...I get free 30 days if you go for this. I think you get 60 days free.

https:..."

Just joined, so I have The Jetsetters lined up to go. Is there a time limit that you can keep the books?

I'm furiously trying to finish up the 2 books I'm in the middle of before Friday! I have my first few books planned just because I already have them checked out of the library.

I also think the more plain the better for the letters only cover.

My recs:


And pretty much anything written by Ilona Andrews -- but that's a lot of books. :)

Ooh, I'm not good at recommendations....but I'll try to get mine up tonight.

My List.

Wheel2020

Donna wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Yay! We're open! I maaaay have been stalking the thread just a wee bit the last few days. :)

I have played Wheel before, but it was a few rounds ago when it was just letters and co..."

If I had known you were in Quidditch, I wouldn't have been worried -- that's pretty time consuming. :)

I'm ready for when we start, but didn't know that they had moved back to be included. I've put in on reserve at the library, but I'm 148 on the list, so not sure if that will come in before the end of the month -- and I'm a little hesitant to pay the current Amazon price for a 3 star read....

The tags/MPG situation was the most confusing to me. I think I have the tags figured out, but is there bonus for the MPG of the pie slice as well? Cause I could not for the life of me figure out what the MPG of our Round 1 word is.

Yay! We're open! I maaaay have been stalking the thread just a wee bit the last few days. :)

I have played Wheel before, but it was a few rounds ago when it was just letters and cover colors, so it may take me a few days to figure out all the things I have to look for in this round.

I'm open to reading just about anything -- I've even developed a new appreciation of non fiction lately. It looks like this and SRC will be my only challenges this summer, so I should be pretty flexible.