Lauri’s Comments (group member since Jan 23, 2016)

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

For the Christmas mini challenge I can do #20 - RAB with a dog as a main character. Christmas with Tucker

DQ Day 3 Ch 17-end


10) Judge Frankenstein did not let Elizabeth know that he was fighting to get her inheritance back. If she would have known, do you think she would have handled things differently with when she found Justine and forced a marriage between her and Victor? Would she have been a different person?
I think if she had known about her inheritance, she would have hope. I don't think she would've been so keen on marrying Victor!

11) Victor said, “You made it clear from the start you did not care what I did so long as you did not have know the specifics. It was our agreement.” Did Elizabeth contribute to Victor’s madness? If she would have told him he went was going too far at any time, would he have stopped or just not tell her?
I think the two were codependent. She needed Victor to value her and give her unconditional love. He needed her love and concern in order to feel powerful and to keep him grounded to this earth. She definitely contributed to his madness by not calling him out! I don't think he was capable of stopping, no matter what she might have said.

12) Victor wound up leaving after the conversation Elizabeth saw with the monster. Later we found out that he was watching and protecting Elizabeth. Was Elizabeth committed to an asylum to keep her safe or to get the monster out of the way so Victor would be able to continue with his work?
Back in those times, women were often committed to mental institutions by their husbands and families for reasons like hysteria. They had no recourse. They were chattel. I think Victor had her committed to get her out of the way because she had started fighting back.

13) Was it surprising that Victor killed Henry and used part of him for his experiments? Were you surprised that Mary and Elizabeth friended the monster and let him chose a new name?
I was totally shocked when we realized that Henry was the monster (for the most part.)!!! I believed that he was safely in England. I was very surprised when the girls became his friend. And Adam? Why not?

14) Do you believe that Victor finally succeeded with his experiment to retrieve Elizabeth or that he needed to go forward with the experiment on her to have her back the way she was?
Victor was completely delusional & very narcissistic in his beliefs. I still can't imagine how he found them in the remote place in all that snow! How could he even imagine experimenting on Elizabeth?


15) How did you like this retelling to the original and/or other retellings?
Well, the ending was truly shocking! I never imagined that Elizabeth would do that in a million years. All in all, this story was dark and twisted. The motivations & actions weren't typical or believable all the time, but crazy people do act irrationally. I really enjoyed it, though.

Discussion Questions Part 2 (Ch 12 to 16)

6) Sometimes we are strangers even to ourselves
Another great quote in this book! Do you think Elizabeth was just referring to Henry here or about all 3 of them? She seems quite restless and unsettled since finding Victor. Why do you think this is?
I think she is referring to everyone in general! How many of us say that we truly know ourselves?
Elizabeth has always knows that madness lies just beneath the surface with Victor. Finding him in such a state and knowing how he had been spending his time & what direction his 'studies' had taken was horrific, but not all that surprising to her.

7) It's fairly well established a this point that everyone is frightened of Victor to the point where most seem to want to avoid him as much as possible. Elizabeth comments that at night when she was scared and having horrible nightmares she went to Victor. And sleeping by his side, she had no nightmares. Why do you think that is?
Victor was her sole reason for being in a position of privilege (dubious as it may seem to us) at all. By staying by his side, she could be assured of not being thrown into the street the next moment. And, in his own way, Victor loved her.

8) Why do you think everyone was so willing to believe Justine killed William? To believe her going mad so suddenly and randomly? Do you think she actually did it? If not, who do you think it was?
Justine could no more have killed William than Elizabeth! It's easy to pin the blame on the person with the most opportunity and then she was also found with the gold locket. I think the Monster did it -- Victor's creation.

9) Elizabeth sees her actions towards saving Justine from her previous life as the only selfless thing she has done in her life. Do you think her actions were truly selfless though?
Not at all! She wanted to feel good about something, so she rescued Justine. Then she had a friend and someone who would look upon her as a savior.

10) Upon seeing the monster having a conversation with Victor, that Victor appears to lose, Elizabeth's reaction is to find out what it is holding over Victor, remove the hold, then kill the monster. Do you think this is a normal reaction? What would you have done?
I think that's messed up and rather contrived for the sake of our story! Personally I would have run screaming and got the hell out of Dodge!

Completion Post!
The Diva Haunts the House
Author: Krista Davis
Finished 11/26/18
Page count: 287
Fits the following letters:
R - character Nina Reid Norwood
N - character Natasha
D - title



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet? Thanks!

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Done! What did you think Lauri? I quite enjoyed that series"

I really enjoyed it! Gwyneth isn't nearly as silly as I first thought & she's much more steadfast than that Charlotte. I originally picked it up for the red cover, but now I think I'll read the series -- eventually! Glad you liked Sugar Plums.... I call the whole bunch 'brain candy!'

Discussion Questions Part 1 (pg 1-124)

1. I love this quote in the story. “Justine did not have to pretend, as she always seemed genuinely unaware of the effect we had on men. I, however, was perfectly aware of my beauty. I considered it a skill, alongside speaking French, English, Italian, and German. It was a language of its own, in a way; on that translated well in different circumstances.” What does this tell you about the different characters of Justine and Elizabeth?
I think Elizabeth is, by necessity, a bit manipulative and an opportunist while Justine is honest and naive.

2. Elizabeth truly seems able to control Victor’s dark character. She helps him clean up after the incident with his younger brother, and comes up with a story to help save Victor. Why do you think she is able to do that when no-one else seems able to control him?
Perhaps she does it by sheer will! Out of a sense of self preservation because she needs to. Or she is simply good at it, the way some people are good with babies or animals...

3. When Henry proposes to Elizabeth, she immediately begins to worry whether she can be the wife he needs. But she decides to send him to Victor to ask for his blessing. She figures there can be two outcomes - one Victor will return to her and ask her to marry him, or two Victor will give his blessing and she can marry Henry. This “plot” comes from feeling desperate to belong and the fear of not being needed by the Frankenstein’s anymore. What would you do if you felt that way?
I think I would have jumped at Henry's proposal & left Victor to his own devices! I sense that Elizabeth has a dark side all her own & she knows it.

4. When Elizabeth burns down the house that Victor was using for his experiments, she hears a large splash in the river. Who do you think it was fleeing the burning building? Do you think it’s the same man Elizabeth saw out her window at the boarding house and out of her carriage? Or do you think her mind is playing tricks on her?
Oh, could it be Frankenstein's monster? Hmm...

5. Re-tellings are now one of my favorite new genres. Do you like this retelling of the Frankenstein story so far? What other re-tellings have you read that you really liked?
I am enjoying it, but I sense the horror(s) to come.
I did like Cinder & the series...

Completion Post!
Ruby Red
Author: Kerstin Gier
Finished 11/25/18
Page count: 324
Fits the following letters:
R - title
N - character Nick Shepherd
D - character Cynthia Dale



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet please?

And for my last completion post for BROWN...
Murder, She Barked
Author: Krista Davis
Finished: 11/23/18
4 stars!
Fits the following letters:
B - character Ben Hathaway
R - Rose Richardson
W - character Peaches Clodfetter Wiggins



Could someone please add this one to our spreadsheet for me? Thanks so much!

Completion post!
Precious and Grace
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Finished: 11/23/18
Page count: 240
3 stars
Fits these letters:
B - character Mphapi Bogosi
R - character Precious Ramotswe



One more to add to the spreadsheet, please!

Completion post!
The Covenant
Author: Beverly Lewis
Finished 11/23/18
Page count: 320
4 stars!
Works for letters:
B - author Beverly Lewis
R - character Robert
N - character Naomi



Could someone please add it to out spreadsheet?

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Nice one Lauri!
Oh yes, Happy Thanksgiving to out USA friends.

I found on my kindle which has reindeer in the text, and gives another E :)"

LOVE it! I believe our good buddy Diesel is in that one -- as if Steph doesn't have enough problems with Morelli & Ranger!

For our Reindeer week I'll read Espresso Tales and Everything Is Illuminated for the obvious E. And some other surprises, too...



I'm almost done with this week's books. I probably won't get much reading done today, but I'm off tomorrow. Yaaayyy!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my USA teammies and happy Thursday to all those in other countries!

You will all be glad to know I finally watched Nightmare Before Christmas last night. My husband thinks I'm insane! (well, he's thought that for a long time now. He isn't wrong!) I must say I did like it. Oogie Boogie is such a villain, though! How did we end up on this team? Too funny. At least I catch all the references now...

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Haha, Lauri guilty as charged, I'm definitely one of those middle aged women who have read and loved the Outlander books. (Although I was only a young woman when I started reading them. !) I liked ..."

No, Lisa, you're totally right! I devoured the early books. I even took The Fiery Cross in hardcover on a family trip to read on the plane in the early 2000s! I put a cover on it & told everyone I was reading the Bible! HA!
I am totally slogging through Echo. I did not like any of the Lord John books, although they do fill in some blank spots. I decided to finish the entire series & will stick with it.
Speaking of IT, I am stuck around page 620 of 1100+. Maybe by the end of the year. Sigh.

My method of reading is to keep stacks of library books on my upstairs landing with others in shopping bags. When I pass by them I grab a couple for the day. Sometimes I grab more than others... It all depends which titles 'speak' to me at a particular moment in time. Weird? Perhaps?..

M wrote: "Trying to decide if I should read another door stop for this round. A friend just gifted me with a copy of Outlander. While it counts for O and R only it is 850 pages.
Has any one else here read it?"

I loved Outlander! I'm on now. They are all doorstops! If you like historical fiction, you will love them. There's a great deal of historical fact. Her research is amazing. The first one has a lot of Scots & French history. I enjoy the attention to detail. There's a mystery element, romance, fantasy. If you like the idea of time travel & star crossed lovers, this is your series! On the down side, there's war & gore, graphic sex, some kink...
I know all sorts of people who enjoy these from an elderly Roman Catholic nun, to a gay dude & of course, lots of middle aged women :)

For our BROWN week I'll definitely be reading The Covenant B for author Beverly Lewis & I'm sure other letters will turn up. Also Precious and Grace for R - character Precious Ramotswe. I'll manage another book or two. I am working on Elizabeth Frankenstein for the BOM points, but I think I'll save it for next week....

Double completion post!

Scent to Her Grave
Author: India Ink
Finished 11/16/18
272 pages
4 stars!
Works for the following letters:
T - character Trevor
A - character Allison
V - character Persia Rose Vanderbilt
L - character Lydia


Killer Insight
Author: Victoria Laurie
Finished 11/16/18
Page count: 288
Works for the following letters:
R - character Dutch Rivers
A - character Abby Cooper
V - character Aunt Vivian
L- author Victoria Laurie



Could someone please add these to our spreadsheet for me?

Completion post!
The Great Alone
Author Kristin Hannah
Finished 11/15/18
Page count: 440
5 fabulous stars! Amazing...
Works for the following letters:
T - character Thelma
R - character Tica Rhodes
A - Cora Allbright
E - character Ernt Allbright
L - Leni Allbright



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet, please?

Allison Ann wrote: "I've been trying to get hold of a copy of but no luck. I'm not going to pay that much money for YA (which I generally don't love). So..."

I'm picking it up from the library today! So excited. I still have And I Darken, which I am enjoying, but I keep putting it aside for challenge books...

No two people ever read the same book! Even non fiction. Each individual will take away different points. Same thing with movies.
I never listen to any critics. I will choose my own books and movies, thank you!
Sometimes friends & relatives don't agree with me & that's completely fine. My husband hates fantasy & Sci-fi. I still love him. I hate reality shows. He still loves me. I can't even tell him to read certain books. I have to cleverly leave them out around the house hoping he'll take the bait. I love it when he's impressed. 🤓