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

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

Well we finished Stop 6 except for Abir's read any book. Should we start discussing Stop 7?

Detour: Read a book that mentions a Greek god.
SIO: GLASGOW or GREAT BRITAIN
Country: set in or written by an author from Great Britain

Completion post

Stop 6 - Madeira (PT) - Madinah (SA)
Task: Spell out MADINAH
Book Read: Watch Your Back
How it fits: C: Alec Vaughn
Date read: 6/24/20
Rating: 4 stars

Day 4 Questions Chapters 16-21

15. We get to find out about the title in this section. What did you guys think about the new rule, and the reason behind it?
I think it shows how Will and Stella are both pushing boundaries to risk that 1 foot rather than six.

16. Did you all like Stella and Will’s first date? Do you think you would have the self control to stay away from the love of your life?
As an aside, are there any YA books of this type that allow the kids to spend more than 6 minutes together before falling in love?
I did like the first date, and think it would take a lot of control to stay away from your soul mate. But if you know you are risking his/her death, that's a real good motivation from keeping apart.

17. They spend a page or two discussing the afterlife. Do you think their takes on it made sense to the characters? Realizing I am wading into murky waters here, did you want to discuss your own views? (Optional, teehee.)

18. Abby. We find out why happens to her here. What did you think of this reveal? Was it a satisfying explanation of the missing sister story to you?
Yes I think it was a satisfying explanation, but would have liked to have a bit more.

19. Chapter 21 is a bit of a rollercoaster. The birthday dinner is pretty cool. Did you like what Stella and all set up? Then, Poe. This hit me more than any of the other "feels" in the book. How did you take this? Discuss.
I did like the birthday dinner, and Poe was a hard hit.

Day 3 Questions
chapters 10 - 15

10) I can't imagine the stress of trying to balance the knowledge of a fairly terminal prognosis with trying to be hopeful to live. I mean, we all know our days are numbered, but when you have an idea of what the number might be, you can either try to suck the marrow out of every day or curl up and try not to care enough to let anything hurt you more. Who do you think will have a bigger effect on the other, Will or Stella, and what do you hope will be the outcome, from a personal growth aspect?

I think Will will have a bigger effect, hopefully, that allows Stella to enjoy her days at least

11) Maybe I'm too cynical, but I kept feeling like Abby was used as the personification of the idea that "See, you never know how long you have to live, so..." and not flawed enough to be a real person. Did anyone else feel that way or am I being a meanie?

Abby was forgettable

12) I loved Barb's parental takedown. Do you think the shift in Stella's parents will last?

I hope so.

13) Reflecting on Barb's story of Amy and Trevor: would you choose a much shorter but immediately fuller life, or a longer lifespan though it may be less vibrant?

I think a shorter but fuller life - what's the point of having a long life if you don't have stuff to live for?

14) Poe says "It's my sickness...it's my problem." While it's admirable to strive for self-sufficiency, a main message of the book seems to be about how it's imperative to open up and do the work to nurture healthy, supportive relationships. What is your take on this? When in crisis, do you distance yourself or reach out?

I tend to distance myself, although I know it's better to reach out. It's something I'm working on :)

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?

Yes, it reminded me of the Bates Hotel show where one of the MCs had CF and was able to get pushed up on the lung transplant list when her father gave the hospital a boatload of money.

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?

Yes I think it was in character. She has to do everything she can to stay alive to keep her mother going, so his attitude really affects her

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?

Probably more like Stella because of family and keeping them going.

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!

It is really timely. I didn't go out much before, but it really does affect me not being able to go to the movies, visit the zoo, do normal things. Also having to wear a mask when you go in any retail store is crazy.

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 don't think I have. I haven't seen the movie so I can't really say that it influenced my expectations.

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!)

The only thing I remember about CF is that the girl in the Bates Hotel show had CF, and was able to get a lung transplant.

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 think he may get more cautious or deliberate, and she will get more risky


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 think of Ready Player One, where the MC loved gaming

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 think the stress of Stella's disease probably had something to do with it.

Completion Post


Read June 24, 4 stars
Pages: 565
Task: 101 - Read #11-20 in a series, book is #15 in series
Letters: E, G, P, T, A, N, C, R, S
E - C: Emma Walker
G - C: Grayson Smith
P - C: Paige Holden
T - C: Thomas Thorne
A - C: Alec Vaughn
N - C: Deacon Novak
C - C: Joseph Carter
R - A: Karen Rose
S - C: Grayson Smith

Awesome - added Seven Years to my reading for July!

Yes I gave Too Late 4 stars, but had troubles reading Verity and actually DNFd it

I'll try Confess

Cyndee wrote: "Some recommendations from me (sorry, I'm an angst junkie):

Beartown
The First Girl Child
History Is All You Left Me
November 9
[book..."

Loved Beartown and November 9 too!

I am up to #23 (not read yet)

I can definitely recommend Blackberry Pie Murder

My favorite genres are mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, paranormal...
Not really into westerns...

Can anyone on my team recommend any of these books:

Awesome. That's on my TBR for next week so I'll definitely use a task where a person on my team recommended it.

I posted some recommendations in message #196

Eldarwen wrote: "Jammin Jenny wrote: "Did someone on this team recommend Where the Crawdads Sing?
Is there a post with our team recommendations to help us meet those tasks easier? I looked through b..."

Got it! Thanks E!

Did someone on this team recommend Where the Crawdads Sing?
Is there a post with our team recommendations to help us meet those tasks easier? I looked through but didn't really find a compilation anywhere.

So, I put on hold so I can see what our team is about :)

Some Recommendations from me:



Series
Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
In Death by J.D. Robb
Divergent by Veronica Roth
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters
Hannah Swensen by Joanne Fluke

Completion Post - Round 1


If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Date Read: 6/14
Pages: 447 (default edition)
Tags: n/a
Letters: I, S, C
I - Title
S - Author FN
C - C: Chuck
Task: 96 = Read a book with MPG Horror