Lisa - (Aussie Girl)’s Comments (group member since Sep 26, 2012)

Lisa - (Aussie Girl)’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Wow, Karen I'd like to see that.. although probably not at the moment.

My bucket list moment pilgrimage was to the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth, UK. The Bronte Society has been really active and got a lot of the furniture and belongings back to re-furbish the building over the years. The dining table where they wrote their books is the original. As there is no original manuscript of Wuthering Heights in existence the Society had a project in 2017 when we were there, to invite visitors to write a sentence in a manuscript of the book which is now housed in the Library there. After I gushed to the guides about how I had wanted to visit since I was 14, she invited my friend and I to write a sentence in the book. One of those moments I'll always treasure.

Elisabeth wrote: "Richard wrote: "As other people still have books to finish on the Mini, I can have the 2 remaining Relaxing Mini tasks done in the next few hours.

I found the JP books interesting, but AK dragged ..."

My feelings exactly Elisabeth. She didn't show much resilience and made many bad choices. She just wasn't a character despite her sad ending that I could feel much empathy for. The story of the other young couple was much more interesting. I think I glazed over in the agricultural scenes, wasn't there one shooting geese in a marsh? That's my only recollection.

Anna Karenina, groan! Better to watch the BBC version. Thanks for taking one for the team, Richard.

I just finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. It was the first one I've read of hers, and I found it a struggle. It did detail the heart breaking life of a woman trapped in a unhappy marriage of the time but didn't seem to have the magical writing and passion of her sisters' work.

And now back to the Thomas Hardy. Again, I think I prefer watching the BBC productions or the movie. Glad I've got a light weight read coming up next.

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Mmmm, glad you're loving it Karen, but I'm not convinced. What happens if you want to drive 500 km, how often do you have to re-charge and where are the charging statio..."

That's interesting. Because we are driving between the farm and Sydney it's just under 500 km pretty frequently. But that GPS charging station guide would take the stress out. I was worried about finding somewhere to charge and didn't want to get stuck. I'm sure over the next twenty years we'll all be driving electric when these sort of issues will be worked out and people get more familiar with them.

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Melindam wrote: "Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Oh yay. I was really starting to regret creating that one 🤣🤣"

AH-HHA!!!

And now that you've been found out, could you tell us what driving an electric vehicle ha..."


Mmmm, glad you're loving it Karen, but I'm not convinced. What happens if you want to drive 500 km, how often do you have to re-charge and where are the charging stations?

Go for it! 👍

Tudor Tax Collector.. What a job and it didn't end well!

If it actually mentions him doing his job I'd say it would fit fine. But probably the other Mods should weigh in on the decision.

That's a lovely tradition, Elisabeth.

My DIL, granddaughter aged 8 and I have tried to see Beauty and the Beast twice. First it was a covid cancellation, then we re-booked and got a txt four hours before the show that because of cast illness the night's performance was cancelled.. again. One very disappointed little girl.. and I don't mean my grand daughter, LOL.

PS My absolute favourite show is Les Mis. I've seen it twice and eagerly awaiting the tickets to be released for the Arena show coming to our shores next year.

How exciting. Awesome job, everyone. One more round to go..

I dragged my daughter to Wicked the movie on Friday. Disclaimer - I'm a big fan of musical theatre, her not so much. And I was a bit nervous about the 2 hrs 40 minutes running time. So it was luxury cinema (Karen.. Gold Class, Macquarie) for us. Happy to report it was fantastic, and my daughter immediately wanted to read the book. Which I'd read years ago and is so much darker. So long story short - go and see it if musicals are your thing. Gush over.

Melindam wrote: "An interesting menage-a-trois-sandwich: classic pieces og bread with space smut filling. :D"

😁

Melindam wrote: "Lisa,

thank heavens for your secret space smut trash!! :D"

Nuh, you got it right the first time, it is trash, but very entertaining trash.

However, I've gone into my rock band/romance/erotica cause I found one with an X character, pants in the text (of course!) over 500 pages and written in 2015! And my library definitely doesn't stock it, I checked!

Will make an interesting week reading alongside the Thomas Hardy and Anne Bronte! 😉

Elisabeth wrote: "And 2 pages later there are the pants—- being unzipped."

Haha, Elizabeth. That sounds more like a book I'd read! I haven't had to delve into my space smut this wheel but there is still one more round and a mini task (not being found in your library) that would fit the bill.

You are the Tetris champion, Mel. Well done. 😍

And well done team!

No problem, the door stopper it is.

I think I'll read this one, that I've always been meaning to read but somehow haven't. Ticks lots of boxes.. . Hopefully the letters fit!

DQs Day 4
Ch 11 to 13

14. How do you like Poirot's style of revealing what happened? Do you enjoy reading whodunnit mysteries?

This is the prototype for many reveals of whodunnit's still written today. Even if it feels slightly clunky and probably there are holes in the logic who may us as mere readers dare to criticize the master, Agatha Christie.😁 I read it in this spirit, and yes I do enjoy reading and trying to piece together whodunnits very much.

15. The mystery has been unraveled and we now know what happened to Mrs. Inglethorp. Have you guessed who it was or were you surprised?

I sort of knew there would be a man and woman involved but I just picked the wrong two!!

16. Is there anything you would have changed about the narrative? Something you didn't like? If so, here's your place to rant :)

See my answer to question 14. It does seem a bit trite and systematic and not as sophisticated as some more modern novels perhaps but there is definitely the respect aspect for me. I wonder how many modern novels of our time people will still be reading and enjoying in 100 years!

17. If you haven't already, would you consider picking up another Hercule Poirot book or any other of Agatha Christie's works?

Sure, especially if they are BOM's!

I've just about finished the last book for my quota. I probably should have upped it a bit but because I was travelling at the start of the challenge I wasn't sure how many I could get done.

So if someone else in the group is below their quota, can i read one more to balance it out or should I just look for a door stopper to read and get a start on next round?

PS -I actually think the quota is a great idea and balances out the teams more fairly. I'll just add a couple more books per round for next challenge.

LISA'S POSTS FOR BOOK TOKEN CREDITS

DAY 1 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DAY 2 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DAY 3 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DAY 4 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 3
Ch 8 to 10

10.) Any guesses about "find the extra coffee cup and you can rest in peace"? Does that fact Lawrence found it indicate guilt or innocence do you think?

I thought Lawrence was a good candidate for being the murderer, but maybe not. Or maybe it's a trick by Poirot to draw him out. We will see..

11.) With books as old as this, some language/terms just do not age well and can be jarring to randomly come across in the text. Should language like this be censored/edited to match less offensive terms of the times (though not sure there is a correct way to say a lady dressed up in blackface). Or should they be left as is and used as a point of discussion on race/sexuality/class/gender/etc?

Very interesting question. I have noticed some fairly questionable language in the book regarding racism but I think of it as being par for the course for British literature of this period. Definitely is should not be censored. I really hate how books/culture/history is judged by today's sensibilities. Much better as a point for discussion and education.

12.) Lots happening in the section, arrests abound! Do you think John was arrested for his step mother's murder or for some other reason like Dr. B?
That was surprising. I don't see John as the murderer maybe he is being framed.

13.) What do you think about our narrator and giver or random marriage proposals, Hastings?

He really is a bit of a pratt, isn't he, LOL. It's been ages since I've read Christie but apparently this is what he does. It sort of provides comic relief that in the middle of a murder investigation he proposes marriage to a girl he hardly knows. Priceless.

DQs Day 2
Ch 5-7

6. Poirot is concerned because Cynthia does not take sugar in her coffee and calls back to when he tasted all the coffees, but it’s never expanded upon. We later find out that the poison was likely administered in coffee and that it has a bitter taste that coffee could mask. Do you have any theories as to why Poirot put such importance on “Cynthia does not take sugar”?

Mmmm, I'm not sure about this as the poison wouldn't have been in her coffee so what would it matter if it had sugar in it or not? I agree with Diane though, Cynthia sleeping through everything seems to suggest she was drugged so she would oblivious to what was going on.

7. Witnesses have testified to overhearing an argument between Mr & Mrs Ingelthorp the day she was murdered — but Mr Ingelthorp claims they are mistaken. Do you believe he is truly the one who was having the argument, or do you have any other suspicions? Poirot certainly thinks he is innocent and claims to be able disprove the other claim (about him buying the poison) — does that sway you at all?

Yep, is seems fairly clear that someone is trying to see Alfred I up.

8. Most people seem to believe Mr Inglethorp is guilty (ESPECIALLY Evie), while Lawrence seems to believe the death came by natural causes, and Mr. Inglethorp doesn’t seem to have any theories at all except to believe it was murder but never pointing fingers at a suspect. I have to admit, I expected more finger-pointing from this group! Have any characters’ reactions so far stood out as peculiar to you?

Lawrence's evidence about his step mother taking a tonic seems fairly ridiculous, I'm thinking he has something to do with it. He was probably the one who dressed up as Alfred I. I'm thinking that Lawrence and Mary are in cohoots because of the contents of the Will.

9. One of my favorite things about mysteries is trying to figure out what happened before it’s revealed. Are you trying to solve the murder, or would you prefer to be surprised by the eventual reveal? Do you feel like you’re usually good at solving the mysteries, or do they evade you?

I'm always trying to work out whodunnit. I love it actually when I'm wrong and the author out smarts the reader. Nothing worse than a predictable outcome.

Melindam wrote: "I hope it works for that one, Lisa. :))"

Pretty sure it will, there is already mention of Wills and burnt fragments of letters so it sounds promising.