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

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

DQ's for me too.

I'm good for Day 1.

PS - I can't believe my choice got picked for two BOM's - great, except it's outside the Challenges, LOL. Some gals have all the luck!

Anyways, hope everyone enjoys the book.

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Oh, and I *loved* the authors note at the end and explanation on why she chose the names. So clever"

Glad you enjoyed it Karen. It was a very interesting and thought provoking book.

I’m in the group but a bit maxed out with individual challenges after 10+ years on Goodreads. I much prefer the camaraderie of group challenges these days. 😀

Keely wrote: "New wheel!!

Holiday Wheel

I've added all the information to the spreadsheet!"

Well, that's exciting. Can't wait till we finish a monster so someone can give it a spin!

Elisabeth wrote: "Jhmingos wrote: "If they can make it work, Sammy, I don't mind being on a team with you too. I'm going to be one of the chunkster readers BUT I'm not competitive about team rankings at all 😁. I nev..."

Me too. I LOVE finding books to fit the tasks or letters. ;;👀

The House of the Spirits

In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.

The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.

Fantastic, I've been wheely, wheely waiting for this! (Sorry, LOL)

SET 2

6. There's a quote from Bear "maybe freedom is just about choosing the life you want"
Do you think this is true? And do you think it's a revelation that all three versions came to?

Being in control of your own destiny is a big part of personal freedom. Although this is a more contemporary concept really, for most of history people were locked into their culture or gender, and had to make do. Agree, I can't think of anything much more limiting than not being free to make your own choices. Although there are always circumstances out of your control, and in this novel that is a big part of each story. Maybe this is the revelation for all three parts.

7. Julian's life seemed the hardest for him and Maia to find happiness. Do you think this is due to the lack of Cora in their story?

That's an interesting point. The loss of anyone's Mother and under such awful circumstances surely would affect a child for the rest of their life. Although Gordon Jnr has to really work for his too.

8. Did you expect the resolution of Gordon's journey?

Not sure I totally expected it but was really glad he stepped up and redeemed himself.

9. We don't see much of Gordon Snr at all, until the Epilogue. Did the end of his story satisfy you? Do you think that his life would have been different if he was Hugh, as hinted?

I finished this book over a month ago - I can't recall that part of the novel. I just remember really hating Gordon Snr as a character.

10. Overall thoughts about this book? Did the conceit work well?

I did enjoy the concept, although as I mentioned I thought it was going to go in another direction. The parts with the domestic abuse made my blood boil. It's such a blight on society.

DQ's 1

1. This was my pick because it had such an interesting premise. Does your given name affect the path of your life? Do people make assumptions about you, your personality even your ethnicity/cultural background because of your name. What do you think?

2. Now that I have started (now finished) the book it actually is more a book about sliding doors. Three different names, three different pathways. Bear, Julian, Gordon - what do you think will happen to these three boys?

3. What are the initial similarities/differences between the three stories? Were you shocked that all of the three stories involve murder and abuse no matter what the boy's name is?

4. Do you think the sibling relationship between Maia and Bear/Jordan/Gordan play out differently in the three stories? Is it the name of the brother or other factors that cause any differences between them?

5. Handing down family names is very common in many cultures. "Maybe consenting to live in the shadow of his father and his father's father is only perpetuating the likeness...Perhaps calling their child something different would be a liberation" Agree/disagree with this statement.

Judith wrote: "Keep an eye out around October newsletter time 🙂"

👀😍

Just popping in to say HI.

200 Monsters is awesome, over at Monsters Mashers we're up to 164.

I wonder if a new monster wheel is incoming?

The Amalfi Curse

Powerful witchcraft. A hunt for sunken treasure. Forbidden love on the high seas. Beware the Amalfi Curse…

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

As Haven searches for her father’s sunken treasure, she begins to unearth a centuries-old tale of ancient sorcery and one woman’s quest to save her lover and her village by using the legendary art of stregheria, a magical ability to harness the ocean. Could this magic be behind Positano’s latest calamities? Haven must unravel the Amalfi Curse before the region is destroyed forever…

Against the dazzling backdrop of the Amalfi Coast, this bewitching novel shimmers with mystery, romance and the untamed magic of the sea.

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "I've moved this to be the 2nd BOM for the month seeing that we don't have too many volunteers over here yet. Hope you don't mind slowing down or coming back on the 16th, Lisa!"

No problem. Hope a few more people read, it's quite riveting.

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Oh my book club chose this last night as our next book!
I need to finish my current one first though."

I'm half way through it. It's really thought provoking.

My library hold came in on Friday so how's that for timing.

I'll start tonight so I'll be ready to do the first set of questions. 😊

Keely wrote: "I keep forgetting about this one 😅

I just moved Natasha's Jonathan Strange book into the 159 monster and added a book that I finished a while ago with 690 pages. That means James Bond is done. I'm..."

Great Keely. Spin when you get home, you haven't spun in a while. 😊

Reacher Gilt is done.

New Monster is Leopold of Belgium - Belgium Congo

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door .

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons - a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .

Because some doors should never be opened.

Judith wrote: "Yes, but everyone have a nice restful lie down until closer to October.

Keep an eye on the newsletter and on this thread for when signups open"

Great. Thank U. I'll definitely be having a rest till then. ❤️