Jackie’s Comments (group member since Jul 10, 2011)

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

Completion Post

Title: Searching for Dragons
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Pages: 242
Date read: 6/23/20
Letters: S, E, C, D, T
Tag: Forest
Task: Read a book with dragon in the the title
57,489 words

Planning sheet updated

Need lots of E's.

There is an X author on Kindle Unlimited that I like. Her books are not great but not bad either. And there are a bunch of them.

Diana Xarissa

Day 2 Questions

6 . 'I wonder how many strings she had to pull and how much money she had to throw away to get me into this trial'
This quote caught my attention because in the UK we don't have to pay for treatment, even in a clinical trial in the UK. Did it catch anyone else's notice?

I would imagine that getting into a drug trial would be difficult in any country since there would be a limited number and they would probably have to match really closely the requirements for entry. As always money talks and a donation to the research is what probably got Will in.

7. Are you surprised at how quickly Stella has become attached to Will? I wasn't expecting this strength of reaction to him not taking his treatment seriously. Did you think it was in character?

I was surprised especially after her first reaction to him. It seemed to me too contrived by the author.

8. Wow Will's mum is controlling. I'm not surprised he's ended up rebelling from taking his treatments. Do you think you'd react like Stella (perfectionist, controlling about treatment and planning for the future) or Will (fed up, rebellious and living for the moment) to being in this type of situation?

My nature is more like Stella so I would probably be obsessed with following the treatment closely.

9. Masks, lots of hand washing, staying 6 feet (or roughly 2m) apart, limited places you can go… The recent pandemic is giving me more insight into some of what this must be like than I'd had before. How are you coping with the changes?
I'm a GP trainee so have been at work throughout with a massive shift to remote consultations. That bit is easier compared to entertaining a 2 year old without any of the friends/family/groups as distractions!

This book really does speak to our current situation. I feel like I'm coping as well as can be expected. I'm older so would be considered in a vulnerable group. Only going out for necessities has become my normal. I keep in touch with friends and family mostly through phone, texting, etc. I spend a lot of time online (so thankful for internet!) and reading of course.

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 haven't seen the movie so I really have no expectations. I probably have read books that were written after the movie but can't think of any off hand.

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!)

My knowledge of CF is minimal so I find the information about the disease very interesting. I had no idea that it was so dangerous for CF patients to be around each other.

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?

Maybe they will both be influenced in positive ways by the other. I can certainly understand Will's concern that he will die before he really has a chance to live. Hopefully Will will follow Stella's example and become more cautious. I don't believe that Stella will throw caution to the wind though. It seems that she has a good chance of getting a transplant.

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'm glad to see Stella has a technical hobby. It's good to see a teenage girl who's into a discipline that is not a typical one for girls, at least at that age.

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?

I am really curious about this divorce. What could have happened that drove them apart, especially if they are both unhappy? And with Stella's condition, it just seems really odd that they would add this extra element to an already stressful situation.

Completion Post

Title: The Escape Artist
Author: Brad Meltzer
Pages: 416
Date read: 6/22
Letters: E, N, D, C
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with a job word in the title (e.g. nurse / teacher / writer / etc)

Planning sheet updated

Completion Post

Title: Dark Days
Author: Derek Landy
Pages: 415
Date read: 6/22/20
Letters: D, L, S, C, T
Tag: Yes - Ireland
Task: Read a book with a two word title

BOM: No

Planning sheet updated

Completion Post

Title: The Last Coyote
Author: Michael Connelly
Pages: 400
Date read: 6/20
Letters: L, C, E
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with an animal word in the title (e.g. cat / chicken / egg / etc)

Updated Planning Sheet

Completion Post

Title: The Lost World
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Pages: 272
Date read: 6/20/20
Letters: L, A, D, C, E, S
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with MPG Classics

Planning sheet updated

Completion Post

Title: Magic Lost, Trouble Found
Author: Lisa Shearin
Pages: 345
Date read: 6/19
Letters: L, S, E, T, N
Tag: No
Task: Read a book set in a different world (Fantasy world of kingdom Brenir)

BOM: No

Planning SS updated

Completion Post

Title: Point Blank
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Pages: 274
Date read: 6/19/20
Letters: A, S
Tag: No
Task: Read a book that takes place in two places (London & French Alps)
55,286 words - AR Bookfinder

BOM: No

Planning sheet updated

Completion Post

Title: The Collectors
Author: David Baldacci
Pages: 438
Date read: 6/18
Letters: C, D, S, A, L, T
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with MPG Suspense

BOM: No

Planning sheet updated

Completion Post

Title: The Jetsetters
Author: Amanda Eyre Ward
Pages: 352
Date read: 6/18/20
Letters: A, C, L
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with a deckchair on the cover

BOM: Yes
DQ Day 1
DQ Day 2
DQ Day 3
DQ Day 4
DQ Day 5

Planning sheet updated

Ora wrote: "Annalisa wrote: "I think I’m going to remove my hold on Jetsetters. It wasn’t really a book I wanted to read anyway. I’ll read the YA instead."

If you have scribd, the audio is available. I finish..."

Maybe I would have liked it better if I had listened to it rather than reading the ebook. It was just a chore to read at times. I'm waffling between 1 and 2 stars for it.

Discussion Questions Day 5 - Part 10 to End

17.) Anyone else find Giovanni's thoughts on Cord (his a 36 year old adult) to be a refreshing bit of grow up, you're an adult, figure out a way to handle your crap? Did Regan's revelations to Giovanni change your opinion of her?

Giovanni was the only character that I really liked in the whole book. Well, Paros was okay too. I think Giovanni was right on target. Cord just needed to accept himself and get on with living. It seemed at the end that he had decided to do just that. I did like Regan more at the end. I think she was on the right track as well.

18.) What did you like about the revelation Lee (or really Jason via the credit card) paid for the trip, pretending Charlotte won the contest? Why do you think the author did this?

I really don't know why. I guess that Lee knew that her mother really wanted to win that contest and maybe she wanted the chance herself to be the big sister again for her family taking care of everyone.

19.) A lot happened at the final stop. Charlotte had the 'big O' and fixed by the magical penis. Regan got back in touch with her artist self and her kids randomly appeared in a foreign country (how did they get passports? both parents must be present at the time of application in the US for children to be issued passports), Cord and Giovanni worked things out, Lee had her breakdown and started healing. Did anyone else think this was abrupt and when they were all together (including Regan's kids) thinking WTH is going on?

It did seem abrupt. I think it would have been better if more detail was given.

20.) Final Thoughts on the book? Rating? Any idea what point the author was trying to make with this book?

I've waffled between 1 and 2 stars for this book. I understand the author was writing about a truly dysfunctional family but the characters were generally unlikeable and hard to care about. Plus the ending was just too abrupt.

Annalisa wrote: "I think I’m going to remove my hold on Jetsetters. It wasn’t really a book I wanted to read anyway. I’ll read the YA instead."

The only thing that I can recommend about it is that it was a really easy and quick read.

Judy wrote: "Maddy wrote: "Oh, sorry to hear you did not like it :(
Was it the plot or the writing style?"

Pretty much everything - the characters were all terrible and their actions didn't make sense. Their ..."

I'll finish The Jetsetters today and I was hoping for an ending that maybe would make the reading worthwhile but sounds like that won't happen. This has been one of the worst books that I've read recently.

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 to see that Lee and Regan have shared their problems and told the truth about what's going on in their lives. They seem to be making an effort to deal with their issues and move forward. Cord, however, is not making any ground. I'm afraid that he is going to lose Giovanni. And Charlotte - for someone to wants to be closer to her kids, she is certainly not making much of an effort. Right now, I just want to sit her down and have a serious talk.

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)

It's hard to overcome the way you were brought up but it can be done. Especially if you know the negative effect it had on you, why wouldn't you make an effort to do things differently with your children? I'm totally disgusted with Charlotte right now.

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 think Cord is the hardest. He can't accept himself so therefore doesn't believe anyone else can as well.


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?

No, I don't think so. This has not been an enjoyable book.

Completion Post

Title:
Author: Agatha Christie
Pages: 288
Date read: 6/17
Letters: T, A, C
Tag: No
Task: Read a book with a brown cover (76.3%)

Planning sheet updated.

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?

We are seeing each person at each stage and how the cruise and being together again is affecting each one. Each character is so wrapped up with their own problems and the way they are handling (or mishandling) them that they may as well be alone. So far this hasn't succeeding in reuniting them at all.

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'm not sure the setting really matters. Primary to each character is their own set of problems.

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?

It does make you wonder if Paros will get involved with the others as well. So far he has had a positive effect on Charlotte and on Lee. Maybe he will provide the stabilization that they all seriously need.

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?

It's hard to say. If Cord continues to drink heavily, the situation with Kiko could become an issue. Cord doesn't seem to be very devoted to Giovanni.