Jammin Jenny’s Comments (group member since Jan 31, 2016)

Jammin Jenny’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I've heard good things about this book. I'm in for DQs.

This looks like a good book. I'm in. No team to represent as no team challenge then (I think).

The Shadows by Alex North
Date Read: 8/9
Pages: 336 (I listened to audio)
Rating: 4

Letters:
T - Title
S - Title

Task: #127 - Read a book with four people on the cover

Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold by Demelza Carlton
Date Read: 8/7
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 248

Letters:
E - Title
R - Series

Task: #23 - Read a book with MPG Paranormal

Cars and Cold Cases by Diana Xarissa
Date Read: 8/7
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 234

Letter: X - Author LN

Task: #89 - Read a book with a car on the cover

I have a KU book that is written by an X author I'll read quickly.

Day 3 DQs

11. In the beginning of this section, we find out that Noa not only looks like a middle class Japanese boy, he also wants to be one. What are you opinions on this and why do you think he wants this? What do you think would happen if he shared this with his parents?

I think he wants to be that because he is treated so poorly as a Korean. He actually is 1/2 Japanese though isn't he from his father?

12. Isak is back from jail finally after two years. I found this to be a bit of a surprise because I was expecting him to die in jail. I wasn't expecting him to be let out. What were your thoughts on him being let out of jail to die in his home. He was obviously let out to die at home, but did you find this mercy surprising? Did you expect this?

I did not find this surprising. I'm sure the jailers did it to avoid having the cost or ordeal of dealing with a dead prisoner. Plus, if he was that sick there was no way he could commit the crime again.

13. A run in with Hansu. I thought it was super creepy that Hansu has been keeping tabs on Sunja (even though one of the kids is his). What are your opinions on this? And then he drops the whole "we're about to get bombed" curveball. Do you like him more because he warned Sunja or do you still think he's being selfish and trying to keep his only son alive?

I was surprised that Hansu was keeping tabs on Sunja, but pleasantly so. It showed to me at least that he really did love her, but was already married to another women. I think he loves both of them (Noa and Sunja).

14. Wow. Hansu lying to Yoseb about his parents being dead. That is beyond harsh. Why do you think Hansu did this? He obviously wants his child, Noa, but do you think he is also planning on getting Sunja back?

Yes, I think that he wants Sunja back, and that was a dirty trick lying about the death of Yoseb's parents. I'm not sure why he did it other than the fact that he was mad at Yoseb and wanted to rock his world.

15. Hansu later tells Kim that Yoseb is dying and to scoop up Kyunghee before she gets old. Talk about a jerk. What do you think of Hansu after this? What about Kim? Do you think Kim will eventually try?

I'm not sure of Hansu's motives there, other than maybe distract Kim from Sunja since she is such a good worker and help in the kitchen. He's pointing Kim to Kyunghee instead of Sunja.

Lethal in Old Lace by Duffy Brown
Date Read: 8/7
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 304 pages (default, I listened to audio)

E - C: Elsie Abbot
L - Title
R - C: Reagan Summerside

Task: #168 - Read #5 in a series (#5 Consignment Shop Mystery series)

Under The Dome by Stephen King
Date Read: 8/6
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 1,074 (default, I listened to audible)

E - C: Rusty Everett
P - C: Brenda Perkins
L - C: Lucien Calvert
O - C: Ollie Dismore
R - C: Rusty Everett
N - C: Norrie Calvert
G - C: George Frederick

Task: #159 - Read a book that you already own

I updated the SS and put in what we have so far. Two weeks again per leg, unless we finish sooner good with everyone?

I'll take the H

A little bit ;)

It's where we're flying to, so in this case Kagoshima Japan. We end up back in Marudi Malaysia which is where we read for that location.

Awe. I wanted to hunt for radish along with all the other things I'm hunting down in books. But if you all want to do a SIO I'm game.

DQ - Day 2

6. I might be too judgmental, but her pining for Hansu is constantly making me frown. She promised to care for and honor her husband, never to betray him. Yet she keeps marveling about her lost "love", how she misses him, how she wants to see him, how she has already been in the city with him in her mind, etc. Are such thought not a kind of betrayal? She is so rational and reasonable about what happened and knows full well how he lured her in and used her, but cannot stop the pining and reminiscing about it. Why do you think she can't let it go and focus on her future?

I think part of it is he might have been her first "true love" and even though he was a weasel, she loved him. She married Isak as a second choice, because she could not live as a mistress when she was pregnant with his child.

7. After all Isak said about his successful brother and all his dreams about the better life in the city, he arrived to some harsh revelations. I am starting to think they might have been better staying on the island. Isak's brother's revelations about his house, his neighbors, the judgement in the city, the discrimination at work and spying everywhere are very disappointing and brutal. Do you think it a natural disillusion of impossible dreams? Or Yoseb's hope that it might be better for his brother here, where he can watch over him?

I think Yoseb wanted Isak near him, especially with his health condition not so good. Plus, he wanted to make sure his marriage was okay I think. I'm not sure he thinks Sunja is good enough.

8. That scene in the church with the brother and sister. The pastor discussing what it actually means when a wealthy man wants to be a young girl's "friend". The duplicity of the pastor - being nice and not judgmental to the siblings, yet judging them harshly when they have left was not surprising but annoying still. The sweet talk to their face, but harsh berating behind their back would have been exactly what happened to Sunja and her family. Do you think this scene was included to reveal to Isak more truths about his wife's condition and impossible choices to help him understand her?

I think it shows the duplicitous nature of a lot of people in the world. They are nice to your face, but speak badly of you when you aren't there. It's a shame people do that. I think they do it to make themselves feel better, but it's crazy to me.

9. The pastor's reason for hiring Isak was revealed as well - to get money from his family and avoid paying him wages - and I must admit it didn't endear the pastor to me at all. And the pawnbroker and his greed, the loan sharks and their scare tactics. We get introduced to many characters that are not really likable and portray humanity at its worst. Do you think it is a decision by the author to reveal the true nature of people in all kinds of positions in general or is it included to especially note how people get in times of oppression and hard times? I am starting to think Isak coming to Japan was a huge mistake with every little revelation. Do you think it will work out? Or do you agree it was a mistake?

I think Isak is in a load of trouble, and I'm not sure staying on the island would have been any better with Sunja in her position with her family and pregnancy. I think it shows how people use others when they have power.

10. The debacle with the watch was very educational. We get to see a merchant's attitude towards women, husband's attitude towards a wife in stark contrast to how men are treated. Yoseb is enraged with his wife and sister-in-law, he can't forgive them or appreciate the help, yet he can forgive and accept when his brother asks him to. Do you think he would have gotten over it in time if his brother hadn't asked him? Or would he be always resentful towards women? The whole "head of the house" part further gets the point home that women will always be under the command of a man, even in regards to baby names. The prison scene also drives home how women are still supposed to be home and stay away from men's troubles, too weak to do something about it. And women who work are still frowned upon, even in their own family. Do you think it will change further in the story? Will oppression and war open their minds towards changing a woman's role in the family and world?

I think in that culture, and especially at that time, women were treated as second class citizens, so being a Korean woman in Japan would have made you third class citizens. If you didn't act like you should, you'd be shunned or abused.

COMPLETION POST


Cliff Diver by Carmen Amato
Date Read: Aug 4
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 318

Letters:
E - C: Emelia Cruz Encinos
P - C: Ricardo Portillo
L - C: Lois Hudson
R - C: Ricardo Portillo
I - C: Lt. Fuentos Inocente
G - C: Alejandro Ruiz Garcia

Task #78 - Read a book with a geological feature in the title (e.g. cliff / bay / island / etc)
How fits: Cliff in title

Not yet. I'll send a reminder PM,

ETA: sent.

Day 1 DQs

1. This novel starts with the sentence: "History has failed us, but no matter." Did you like this opening line? What do you think it means, and why do you think the author chose it?
I do like this opening line. I think it shows that even though the MC's past has not been good, she's still moving forward in life.

2. I am half-Korean, and my mom has shared a lot of the history of her own family and how it's interwoven with Korean history in general. What, if anything, did you know of the Japanese colonization of Korea -- or the history of Korea, Japan, and China in the 20th century in general -- before beginning to read this book?
I only know a little. I just read Banned Book Club, a graphic novel that talks about the student protests and police brutality in Korea. What I know comes mostly from the news and friends, so probably not very precise.

3. Hansu seems like a complicated character. What were your thoughts on him? Did you hate him?
I do not like Hansu at all.

4. What did you think of Sunja's decision to not accept being Hansu's mistress? Why do you think she chose to reject him? Do you think she made the right decision?
I do think she made the right decision, even if she thought she loved him, it's not something that will make you feel good in the long run.

5. In this first section of the novel, we see two couples wed -- Hoonie and Yangjin, and then Isak and Sunja. What were some of the similarities between these marriages, and what were the differences?
Isak and Sunja knew each other before the wedding, whereas Hoonie and Yanglin did not. I believe they both had traditional marriages.

COMPLETION POST


Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie
Date Read: 8/3
Pages: 336 (default, i listened to audio)

Letters:
E - C: Elinor Carlisle
P - C: Hercule Poirot
L - C: Peter Lord
R - C: Roddie
G - C: Mary Gerard

Task #148 - Read #21-30 in a series
#22 Hercule Poirot series

COMPLETION POST

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Date Finished: 8/2
Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 339

Letters: L - title

Tag: Nature 3x

Task: #17 - Read a book set in South America (set in Brazil)