Bobbi ’s Comments (group member since Mar 10, 2016)

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

I finished my book for 6, but then I noticed Laura put one in progress for the same one.

That said, I left it for 6 on the spreadsheet for now, but it will also work for one of our missing Ns. I'll let our captains decide which one it's used for. Whatever works best for the team.

Would a zombie anthology count for 6. X-Men - group of people working together? It' obviously broken up into several stories but more than not have groups of survivors working together? (Nights of the Living Dead: An Anthology is the book in question and I should have it finished tonight.)

BOM Tracking Post:

Day 1, Chap 1 - 5
Day 2, Chap 6 – 11
Day 3, Chap 12 - 18
Day 4 Ch 19-25
Day 5 (Chapters 26 -End)

Lol weirdest shade of pink I've ever seen

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks, Judith!

Silly question from Bobbi time!:

Do our June tower books (for pg # and crayola, rainbow etc. I know Chipmunk mini is different) need to be started after June, or can they be carried over from books started after May 1?

I know Chipmunk books can't be started before June 1, but wanted to double check on the rest.

Rainbow tower bias. Got it.

Lexi wrote: "If anyone wants to read Murderbot, the first - All Systems Red is on the Best of 2017 at #103. I read them this month or I would. The books are also good audios.

Also, if anyone is..."

Lexi, thank you for mentioning Album of Dr. Moreau in the BOM thread. That was a great read!

Judith wrote: "Bobbi,

Can you add a read date to the Album of Dr Moreau? It's showing as read and on your TT shelf but there's no date. My guess is GR glitched.

Thank you!"

Whoops! Fixed. I may not have hit the Set to Today button when I logged it. I had to read it in a single weekend for another challenge.

I was thinking about this last night. For those of us that add our books upon or near completion, maybe it would be helpful to our captains if we post which of the mini-challenges it *may* work for?

Ex:

[Link to book] works for 1, 3, 5 for mini challenge. Starting it (date).

Then we can let them know when we've finished and what challenge that is still open it will fit?

Day 1, Chap 1 - 5
Day 2, Chap 6 – 11
Day 3, Chap 12 - 18
Day 4 Ch 19-25
DQs Day 5 (Chapters 26 -End)

19. Earlier, Eduardo seemed like a fine person to me despite Montgomery's reservations. In these last chapters, he had a stark change in character or his true nature came out. Did you expect him to turn out like this? Do you think he might have been a good husband to Carlota if she were not a hybrid?
I never liked Eduardo so that he turned out like this isn't surprising to me. I think he would have been a terrible husband either way. If it wasn't that she was a hybrid, he would have found something to use to categorize her as "other" and *inserts dripping sarcasm here* magnanimously offer her a role as his mistress.

20. Dr. Moreau was not a great father throughout the book but his last moment touched my heart. Do you find his love for Carlota redeeming enough for his character? Or would you categorize him as a villain?
No, to me, he is still villainous. He may have loved Carlota, but what about the rest?

21. Carlota became more jaguar-like as the story drew near its end, and she finally embraced that part of her in the climactic scene. I somehow expected her physical changes to be more lasting and prominent afterward and maybe have a lifestyle closer to a jaguar which evidently didn't happen. Anyone else had an odd expectation like this or something else that you expected to happen?
In my mind, a lot of the physical changes she described in her showdown with Eduardo were mostly in her mind as she accepted the animal part of her.

22. How do you feel about the relatively open-ended epilogue? Do think Carlota would be reunited with the other hybrids? Will Montgomery come back into her life at some point? Do you think Moreno-Garcia kept the option for a sequel open?
I was okay with it. I believe the hybrids will find their way back to Carlota, but I don't think Montgomery will (😢). I don't think the story needs a sequel, but anything is possible, I suppose.

I loved both Shawshank and Green Mile! Great stories!

Michael wrote: "14. There's a storm brewing as the hybrids plan to join Juan Cumux and Carlota attempts to retrieve her father's notes and formulas. Do you think the hybrids will remain subservient once they remove themselves from Doctor Moreau's influence or could the story turn dark?

I hope it turns dark. I don't like them being used as "workers" and not having any free will. LET THE WAR BEGIN!!!!!!!!"

Hi. We should be best friends. 😹 I'm team DARK too.

DQs: Day 4 Ch 19-25

15. Welcome to the penultimate set of chapters! A lot of revelations came to light in this set of chapters: did any of them surprise you? If so, which ones?
I'm surprised about the treatments! I thought for sure Carlota's was more complicated.

16. Montgomery and Carlota finally seem like they are going to make love but Montgomery stops this from happening. Do you think he made the right choice? Why or why not? Also do you think they’ll still get together in the end?
He definitely made the right choice. He has feelings and she was trying to forget hers. That was a recipe for heartbreak for both of them. I don't think they will, but I *so* want them to have a chance!

17. It looks like Dr. Moreau is going to die by the end of the book. In the original novel and adaptations Dr. Moreau is a villainous figure. Do you think he is portrayed as a villain in this book or do you think he has redeeming qualities?
I don't know how redeeming I would consider it, but hybrid or no, he genuinely seems to love Carlota as much as she loves him, and definitely as his own. I definitely still consider him villainous, if not a true villain.

18. Carlota is given a key to the laboratory. What do you think she will find there? Also any predictions for the end of the book?
I think Carlota will find his notes on his experiments. If her uncle follows through as her father hopes he will, I think she will take that money and create a safe place for the hybrids where she can finally help them with their pain and other maladies.

Ah, yeah, I get that. I spent 20 minutes after answering day 1's questions thinking over the science of how everything is supposed to work.

DQs: Day 3, Chap 12 - 18

10. I've noticed Carlota's perceptions are often described using non visual cues: she hears a lot, and even smells Montgomery behind her bedroom door but then dismisses the idea. After her attack, she finds herself noticing that "Her fingers, in the mirror, looked very long, the nails almost too sharp and the eyes...". Do you feel Carlota ever questions her own nature as a human/hybrid or is she too ingenuous to do so? Do you also feel the author is using alternate senses and, if so, as clues for the reader or red herrings?
I think Carlota differs so much from the hybrids around her, even the two " successful" siblings, that she is able to fool herself into believing whatever her father tells her. I genuinely believe these are clues for the reader.

11. For much of this part, I felt Montgomery was conflicted regarding his feelings for Carlota. He "writes" to his wife using what I felt was a brotherly perspective only to realise, a few lines and drinks later, he could not resist kissing her if she were there in that moment. What did you make of this change of heart and do you find his various missteps bring something to the story?
I believe Carlota reminded him of his sister growing up and it wasn't until his position in her life was threatened by the Lizaldes that it dawned on him what she actually came to mean to him.

12. We're already halfway through the story - Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are both complex characters. Am I alone in thinking Carlota and her hybrid friends deserve to be more thoroughly fleshed out and layered?
You are definitely not alone. We know whole backstories and driving forces from Moreau and Montgomery, but Carlotta and the hybrids are much less fleshed out.

13. What did you make of the scene where Carlota loses her virginity by the cenote - did her reaction seem natural to you or did you find yourself questioning her fearlessness? In your opinion, if Carlota is herself a hybrid, what effect might that have on their progeny?
Carlota has been raised apart from society. The socialization that makes virginity a big deal are missing. She has religion... as taught by her father who probably never stopped to consider that social mores he grew up with weren't just known by all. It was said earlier that Moreau made sure the hybrids could not reproduce so if she is indeed a hybrid, she may not be able to have children at all.

14. There's a storm brewing as the hybrids plan to join Juan Cumux and Carlota attempts to retrieve her father's notes and formulas. Do you think the hybrids will remain subservient once they remove themselves from Doctor Moreau's influence or could the story turn dark?
They will have no reason to remain subservient. If the outside world accepts them, which is probably something Moreau told them was impossible, I think it will get very dark for the not-so good doctor.

How is everyone enjoying The Daughter of Doctor Moreau? This may be my favorite by this author yet!

Volunteering for DQs. Team Neeznáá

Well... 600+ shouldn't be a problem for June! The Stephen King book is over 800. 😅

Volunteering for DQs. Team Neeznáá