Insiyah’s Comments (group member since Apr 12, 2022)

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

DQs Day 5 — ch 24-end

18. Jack and Lucy have an emotional discussion about dreams — and how giving up on dreams can be a relief as it’s one less thing to worry about. Do you think there’s any truth in this? Can giving up on a dream ever bring relief?

I certainly have never felt relief in giving up a dream. Regrets or nostalgia, yes, but never relief.

19. We finally got to meet Angie and learn her side of the story! Were you surprised by what she had to say? If you were Lucy, do you think you would be able to forgive her after hearing her side?

Angie's story is quite intense; I think I would have been able to forgive her over time to let that resentment die away in the face of this new information.

20. Lucy mentions that she and Jack are planning to start a nonprofit to send books to foster children, but just as she’s about to say the prospective name, she gets cut off. Why do you think the author chose to leave that out? What name do you think the author had in mind, if any?

Clock Island Something or Masterminded, maybe.

21. In the end, even though the contest ended unlike how any of them predicted, everyone still got their wish. Since this book is all about wishing — is there anything you wish was different about the way the book ended, or are you happy with how it all wrapped up?

It wrapped up nicely with a bow tied around it. No complaints.

DQs Day 3:

10. We read something that moves us, touches us, speaks to us and it... it changes us?"

Do you agree with that quote? Are there any books that changed you personally?

Definitely yes - there have been books that have had an impact on me as a person and has shaped my views and opinions.

11. We finally get the first riddle. Did you guess it before Lucy did?

I did guess it when she started listing out all the words - Picasso, books, etc., so quite close to when she did.

12. What did you think of The City of Secondhand and of Markham showing up like that? Is he just a sleezy lawyer, or is there something more sinister going on?

I was just very confused by Markham. The City of Secondhand felt a bit like an abandoned theme park - fun to see in real life, but not at two in the morning.

13. do you have to keep reminding yourself that the "contestants" are adults, not children?

Yes, I do.

Discussion Questions : Day 1 (Prologue - Chapter 5)

1. We have been introduced to a few important characters - Lucy, Christopher, and Hugo. Plus the off-page persona of Jack. What do you think of the characters so far?

Lucy seems very much a product of her generation - trying desperately and going between hope and hopelessness. I desperately want Christopher to get his wishes, and I like Hugo. He seems like a sidekick figure - a loyal supporter of Jack.

2. We get a riddle right away in the Prologue:

"Two men on an island and both blame the water
for the loss of a wife and the death of a daughter
but neither ever married, and neither's a father.
What is the secret of the girls and the water?"

Then Hugo thinks to himself that "Five years ago, it [the ocean] had brought low the small, strange kingdom of Clock Island." Do you think the riddle is related to what happened five years ago? Any speculations on what it all means, assuming you haven't read ahead?

Definitely related. I think Jack lost someone extremely important to him and consequently stopped writing.

3. At the beginning of Chapter Two, Hugo says that he used to dream about living in Greenwich Village, but now that he can actually afford it, it doesn't hold the same appeal. He basically says that success kills motivation. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

No, I don't think success kills motivation. As a starter in any field, you desperately want to be accepted and to reach a certain height; by the time you get there, you've grown as an individual and realise that you don't want the same things that the others do. Personally, I see it as a sign of growth and maturity.

4. What do you think of the wishing game Lucy plays with Christopher? Do you think this game and mindset are healthy? Do you agree with Lucy that it gives them hope, or do you agree with the social worker that it just gets their hopes up?

I want to say it gives them hope, but in the face of Lucy's challenges being laid out the way they were, it does feel like it's giving them false hopes.

5. Why do you think Jack finally started writing again? And what might be his motive in holding a contest for the only copy of the new book?

I think this is a goodbye from Jack.

Beth wrote: "Thank you for your perspective, Insiyah! I was particularly interested to learn what you thought of the book. You would recommend it?"

I would recommend it for sure. It provides a very good understanding of the effects of colonialism on the subjugated country and people. The book was conceptualised because of this speech going viral about the reparations that the UK should make to India and is essentially examining the British occupation of India through the lenses of 'How did this effect India?' and 'Would India have advanced if the British had not occupied it?'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CW7...

Done with Inglorious Empire. It actually was a very difficult book to read because of how personal the topic is to me. That said, Shashi Tharoor did a great job with it considering the amount of work he would have needed to do to write this, both from a research perspective as well as keeping himself emotionally distant for at least some semblance of objectivity.

Lisa can you please update your shelf to include Road to Hell, Entangled and Top Secret?

I was hoping to be done today with Inglorious Empire, but turns out it's a bit more intense than I expected. Will be done by tomorrow!

EDITS


Beth - Can you add Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe and The Housemaid to your shelf?

Jade - Can you add Red Dragon to your shelf? Savor It also seems to be on your shelf but not in the SS. Please add it in. The page count for The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen is different from the edition you've linked. Please check and edit accordingly.

Kirsten - I noticed some books on your shelf that have been marked as completed - I've updated the SS accordingly except for Starling House. Please update the SS in both the Round 2 and the BOM sheets.

Leanne - I'm afraid we can't use The Goodbye Man as it was completed on 11th June i.e. during Round 1. The Final Twist also does not have a read date - please add it in so we can update the SS accordingly.

Lisa - The editions of His Omega Bear and Code Violation do not have page counts. Can you please recheck and link the editions you read that have page counts? In case the edition is not on GR, please give us the ISBN or identifiers so we can ask a librarian to add it in.

Thoughts on Part 3:

- Part of me now wants to go see the movie because the arena reads as absolutely fascinating.
- Ironically, this group is a lot more relaxed compared to where Katniss and Peeta were in the Games in the first book.
- A lot of this part of the book seems so incoherent, especially the second to last chapter. I get it, Katniss is confused, but I'd appreciate some less confustication.
- Katniss planning to kill Peeta to save him from the Capitol is actually pretty smart. And again, indicative of her constant worry about him.
- That pearl. I remember it plays a little role in Mockingjay.
- Her reliance on Peeta to be her stability in the midst of everything - she basically shuts down after they're rescued from the arena. She says it herself - "it takes more than that to keep a person going once she’s lost the will to live."
- "No one in their right mind would let me make the plans. Because I obviously can’t tell a friend from an enemy." She's so hard on herself here. She's an unexperienced teenager playing in a game where her allies are experienced adults against equally experienced adults. And yet, she's the one who they're rallying around?

Thoughts on Part 2:

- I really feel for how trapped Katniss feels after Gale gets whipped. She's trapped in this engagement she would not have chosen, trapped in a house she feels unsafe in, trapped in her world.
- Her one escape is taken away from her, and the solace she finds in Peeta or even Gale is gone - one to training for the Quell, and one to his feelings.
- This quote really struck for some reason: "It’s the first time since they announced the Quarter Quell that he’s offered me any sort of affection. He’s been more like a very demanding trainer, always pushing, always insisting Haymitch and I run faster, eat more, know our enemy better. Lover? Forget about that. He abandoned any pretense of even being my friend."
- The entire book seems to have a sense of loneliness up until they head to the Capitol for the Games.
- I wish Madge showed up more. She's such an interesting character.
- Katniss is always so worried about hurting Peeta and Gale.
- And so, so traumatised at the thought of having to hurt people.
- There's some message in how Haymitch's Games has everything beautiful being deadly. I don't want to think about it too much.
- What a coincidence that Cinna started being District 12's designers just when Katniss became tribute...
- Peeta is just as reckless as Katniss is, he just hides it better. Because she hung Seneca Crane, but he painted Rue.
- Poor Cinna.

Thoughts on Part 1: (Posting these all in a series of messages because I noted this down on my phone in the middle of the night)

- My first thought is literally, "God, do these kids need therapy. And a system overhaul."
- Something that struck me during the interaction with President Snow is how he doesn't really need to do much at all - Katniss lives in so much fear that her imagination does all the rest for him.
- Peeta's behaviour is quite interesting as well. He's taken such a giant step back from Katniss, especially after they come back from the Victor's Tour but at the same time he can't stop himself from trying to take care of Katniss like with the cheese buns.
- Katniss is left almost entirely isolated even while being surrounded by people - Peeta's pulled back, Gale is too busy being upset about Peeta, Haymitch is at the bottom of a bottle, and while Katniss loves her mother and sister and is desperate to protect them, they're not people she relies on as sources to draw strength from.

Sammy wrote: "Finished it today (slightly behind schedule because of an annoying interfering migraine, but I got there in the end!)

Once again I enjoyed it so much! What I love most of all, is that despite this..."

The fact that you finished it in 3 days is amazing! I'm just 20% in. Though that's also due to the fact that I realised that Revenge is based on this book and then started semi-marathoning the first season...

Agreed - Dante is still so kind despite everything.

Ashley wrote: "Ok, last update for the day on this one. I was able to sneak in 2 more chapters at work today and so far I'm only a tiny bit confused.

Who exactly is the person who is chasing/pining/being general..."

He's her cousin/suitor. She's never encouraged him, but he still keeps pining/proposing even though she keeps rejecting him in favour of Dantes.

Let's go!

I'm going to try and complete Chapters 1 to 10 today.

Jade aka MrsTosh wrote: "Beth wrote: "stuti, Leanna, Jade... any of you have a YOU book on your TBR you can read next week?

No pressure if not! I just want to be sure everyone who wants to participate is included."

Yes, ..."

Your book title needs to start with the letters YOU in that order. After that, you can have any letters you want. So You’re, you’ve, your - they all work. Only the first three letters need yo be YOU

Hi D4! D12 has chosen to go with Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India.

Have fun!

Beth wrote: "That’s great, Insiyah, thanks! Do you want to let D4 know in their thread?"

Actually, Jackie is reading Ants, and Kirsten is reading Abysmal. Yes on Amanda with A&G. Just need someone for TISG. I started tracking in post 8

Will do!

Ah, my bad! Clearly my pre-caffeine brain needs to focus more!

📕📕📕📕BOM Update📕📕📕📕

Currently Active: (discussions are linked)

Salt & Broom BOM - Ends on 25th July

Starling House - Ends on 2nd July

The Wishing Game - Started on 16th June, ends on 16th July

Backroom BOM - The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - Ends on 10th July

Informal Buddy Read - Catching Fire - Ends on 15th July


Future BOMs

One of these will start on 2nd July, the other on 15th of July.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn

The Familiar

Informal Buddy Read: Mockingjay - starts on 15th July till the end of the challenge

Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India has been on my TBR for ages. I'll take it if everyone agrees, considering IRE gives some options to D4 as well.

Still waiting on someone to read Abysmal and Tonight I Said Goodbye. So far we have Kirsten reading The Ants are my Friends and Amanda reading Arthur & George.

Kirsten wrote: "I am happy to read either Abysmal or Abyssinian Chronicles, if we want to give the other team a choice."

I think these both work and give D4 enough potential options.