Kerri’s Comments (group member since Sep 29, 2015)

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

Nice job, everyone! And Grace, I'm glad you're on the mend and am suitably impressed at the number of books you knocked out!

DQs - May 27th: Chapters 40 to 52

20) Do you agree with Minya that Sarai betrayed them? What do you think the repercussions of Sarai choice will be, what will Minya do to her?

Personally, no, but I can see how Minya thinks that she did. Minya is so wrapped up in hatred and revenge that she can't possibly think of another solution to their problem. I think Minya is going to keep her trapped in her room until she kills all the humans that try and breach the citadel. Or until she dies. It's clear that she can hold a grudge for a *long* time.

21) What do you think of the names Sarai gives Azareen (Grief) and Eril-Faine (Shame)? Are they accurate? Do you think the other Godspawn realize what was truly done to the humans the way Sarai does?

I do think that they are accurate names. Azareen is grieving for a husband who may as well be dead to her and Eril-Fane is quite obviously eaten with shame. As he should be, in my opinion. I think Minya might know but doesn't care. As for the other three, I honestly don't think they know. Sarai never told them the gory details and Minya wouldn't because then the humans might seem less like a threat to them.

22) Wraith pops up randomly it seems into the dreams and reality both humans and Godspawn. What do you think the bird symbolizes?

I'm not entirely sure what's up with that bird... Perhaps it's a messenger of the gods but is kind of adrift since they were murdered. Kind of like how the mesathrium doesn't move anymore because the only person who could control it died. It doesn't seem particularly concerned with what's going on, though.

23) When Sarai is telling Lazlo what really happened, there is the statement "It was one thing not to hate, and another to forgive." and she says "the curse of knowledge. It was easy when we were the only victims." What do you think about this and some of today's social conflicts (race, religion, sexuality, etc)?

I think it's true. Deciding not to hate someone is not the same as forgiving them. Forgiveness takes it to another level and I don't know if something like the Carnage can be forgiven... I agree with the second statement, as well, because it's easier to hate someone when you don't know their side of the story and only know your own pain. In the context of recent social conflicts, I think it's trying to say that all situations need to be approached with an open mind.

24) What do you think of Sarai's nightmare and the humans nightmare, of Skathis coming to take a loved one away, being the same?

Well, I think that's a common fear with anyone. It's just more specific in Weep because of what Skathis did to the people. Since Sarai has seen the events in others' dreams and has conjured them herself, her fear manifests the same way.

Looks like I'll be joining in on this one. I told myself no more buying books, but this one sounds too intriguing to pass up!

Ch 30 - Ch 39 Pages 244 - 335

15. The author seems to have tried to make the Gods seem inhumane. I know they are not human but do you believe this is on purpose to help us readers choose a side? Does anyone hope the Gods win? Or are we hoping for a more compromising conclusion?

I don't know in that it helps to choose a side. The Gods sound like they were pretty terrible, but the humans also murdered a bunch of innocent (if magical) children, sooooo... I really just want the humans of Weep to realize that the godspawn are only a threat to them if they choose to continue to treat them with hostility. I'm hoping that they can compromise in the end.

16. How do you think Sarai felt seeing herself as Strange the Dreamer does? Do you think her seeing herself this way will help her have more compassion for the humans in the long run?

I think she finally saw herself as what she truly is instead of what she feels she is because of her particular power. I think she thinks of herself as monstrous sometimes and Lazlo's version of her shows her as she is... a teenage girl who happens to have powers. I think she already is pretty compassionate towards humans (especially when compared to Minya...) but I think it was good for her self-esteem to see that someone could view her as something other than a monster.

17. I love how fascinated Sarai is with books when she sees them in Lazlo's dream. What was it that made you fall in love with books?

Everything about them, lol. As a kid, I loved the various worlds and information I could find in books. I also liked that people tended to leave you alone if you were reading. I was a very introverted child. And books were good to bring on long road trips back before smartphones and iPads were a thing. Books and my GameBoy, haha.

18. Why do you think Lazlo took the risk of getting on the plane after Sarai's warning of death?

Because Lazlo is curious by nature. There was no way he was going to pass up a chance to A) see the inside of the citadel after so much speculation and B) freakin' fly!!! I think he partly thought it was all just a dream, as well.

19. “What matter of new dread would this cause?” -- Do you think the people of Weep deserve to know what happened on their flight mission? (Seeing the very much alive Gods) or do you think they chose correctly to keep it quiet for now?

I don't think telling everyone would really help matters. It would probably just demoralize the people of Weep and possibly scare off the foreigners.

Emily wrote: "And I LOVE that pic Kerri!"

Isn't it cute? Apparently, you can get it on a shirt! I love puns.

I marked 'You' as "want to read", but I'm trying to decide if I want to read it enough to buy it, lol. Trips to the bookstore are an all day event now that we live more than an hour away from a decent one. My library doesn't have it, either :( I might get it on my Nook... decisions, decisions.

And that's awesome, Teddie! Extra points, ftw!

I know it's late, but it's time to announce our MF-er Of The Week!

This week, we are highlighting diversity in ratings and a solid teammate: Camilla! Camilla has books with every rating possible on her TTV shelf: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 stars are all represented! That's quite a gambit of books and shows a willingness to read outside one's comfort zone, even if it doesn't always turn out well, haha.

Congrats, Camilla! And, since I suck at graphics but don't want to leave your post totally bare, here's a picture:

I've been kind of MIA this weekend because of out of town family visiting. It was great seeing them, but there wasn't much time for reading. I should be back on track today since my MIL is leaving after we all have dinner. I love my family to pieces, but I'm ready to have quiet and recharge time, lol.

@Samantha - Congrats on the successful house hunt! I hope everything goes smoothly :)

@Anna Marie - Welcome back!

DQ Day 3. Chapters 19-29. Pages 161 - 243.

10. In chapter 20 Sarai has a nightmare, despite her efforts to keep herself from dreaming. A ghost named Yaselith attempts to kill Sarai with a knife and learns that ghosts are not able to hurt the living. Yaselith then tells Sarai, "Then you should hurt yourself...Put Weep out of its misery. Kill yourself, girl. Have mercy on us all. Do it." She finds herself in her mother's bed and when she removes the knife from the bed, the bed squirts blood everywhere, then she plunges the knife into her chest. What do you think Sarai's dream symbolizes? Do you think her subconscious is trying to remind her of something from the past?

I think it's her guilt manifesting. She doesn't feel entirely right about what she does, though she justifies it to herself. I mean, I think she's totally within her rights to cause suffering to at least the people that murdered a bunch of innocent children. But I see how she can be guilty about tormenting *everyone*, especially knowing what the gods did to people. I don't think it's necessarily a reminder of something that happened in her past, though, now that you reminded me about the imperative that ghosts can't harm the living it makes me wonder (view spoiler)[how Minya's ghost army is supposed to work... (hide spoiler)]

11. Minya treats the ghosts in the citadel like puppets. Why do you think Minya toys with the ghosts?

Well, we see later in these chapters that she's created an army of them, but I think she gets a sort of pleasure in tormenting the dead of Weep. Like a little slice of revenge.

12. Eril-Fane (the Godslayer) doesn't like to sleep in Weep because he has nightmares. Lazlo learns this from Eril-Fanes's mother. "He realized that all this time he'd been looking to the Godslayer as a hero, not a man, but that heroes whatever else they are, are also men- and women- and prey to human troubles like anybody else." I loved this quote. It shows that no one is invincible or perfect. Everyone has something in their lives that they've gone through. What does this revelation about Eril-Fane mean to you?

It means just what it says, really... that Eril-Fane is human and prone to human strengths and weaknesses. I also think that Eril-Fane feels way more guilty about what he did than he lets on. I would like him better if he did... or if we found out he wasn't a part of the massacre of babies. I get the gods were horrible and I understand why he felt the need to destroy them... but I just can't condone killing kids.

13. Sarai is in search of her father, The Godslayer, and instead finds Lazlo. She invades his dream and he is able to see her. Why do you think Lazlo can see Sarai when no one else can?

Lazlo is a self-described dreamer and, apparently, his dreams are more vivid than anyone else's dreams. I think he could see Sarai because of the fact that he can dream so vividly. And he seems to have some magic about him. He saw that ghostly white bird that I'm not sure other people can actually see.

14. Minya reveals that she has been collecting ghosts for years, building an army of the dead. The others seem appalled, especially Sarai. When Sarai expresses her sympathy for the humans Minya replies with "I should have saved a different baby." (I think I felt the slap in the face come right out of my book.) What do you think Minya has planned? Do you think the four others will fall in line with Minya's plan?

At first, I thought she planned to use them as precisely that: an army. But then you reminded me in the first question about the imperative that ghosts not harm the living. Is that only in regards to the godspawn or *all* living things? If it's all living things, that's going to render her army pretty useless. But I guess Minya can lift that imperative whenever she wants... So, yeah, I think she wants to use them to murder anyone that steps through their door.

My weekend was *supposed* to start yesterday, but I got called into work for an inspection :( Already had plans for breakfast and everything. Silver lining: the inspection went well and I got almost 10 hours of overtime so my next paycheck should look pretty alright! And I still got to go to my nephew's graduation ceremony and reception, so the day wasn't a total loss.

Now that I'm finally free (no more answering phone calls from work...), we're going to spend the day with my parents who are visiting from California. We're going to take them up to the mountains which is always fun. The mountains here are gorgeous! Tomorrow, we're going to hang out with my mother-in-law who is in town from Chicago. It should be a fun two days!

As for reading, I haven't gotten to do a lot of it with family in town and losing one of my days off. I'm deep into Strange the Dreamer and I've been enjoying it, so far.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys their weekend, whether it's a holiday weekend for you or just a regular one :)

DQ's Chapter 12-Chapter 18 pages 83-160

#5 God spawn are the 5 unknown survivors residing at the Citadel. Each child half god, half human and born with blue flesh. All 5 children are gifted with a magical talent: Sarai - "muse of nightmares", Feral - "Cloud Thief", Sparrow - "Orchid Witch", Ruby - "Bonfire" and Minya - Ghost catcher. Each of these “gifts” are a contribution for survival. Water, fire, food, caregivers and … torture? Sarai’s gift comes from her mother, The Goddess of despair, Isagol. How does Sarai's gift to contribute to their daily needs?

It doesn't contribute to their daily needs though it does contribute to their overall needs. The number one rule is that they never let anyone know they still live in the citadel. Sarai uses her access to peoples' dreams to make them dread the citadel so much that they would never consider going near it, let alone inside. That keeps them safe overall, though I do wonder how long that could hold out.

#6 In Part 2, We are introduced to the 5 god spawn teenagers who have been hiding for 15 years in the Citadel. At age 6, Minya saves 4 other infants and captures several ghosts to assist in raising these children. The 4 continue to grow and age normally, yet Minya continues to appear 6 years old. Why do you think Minya doesn’t age physically yet the others are teenagers?

Maybe something happened to Minya during the Carnage that caused her to stop aging? Maybe it was the shock and horror of it all. I'm sure that would have lasting effects on a child and she is godspawn, so perhaps that effect was that she no longer aged. At least physically. Or maybe she doesn't really let the ghost go into evanescence, as she said she does when she gets bored with them. Maybe she... consumes them somehow? And that keeps her young.

#7 Minya is the only god spawn who remembers the carnage when the god slayer killed all the children. She enjoys hearing the recollection of Sarai haunting their nightmares and torturing the people of the city. Does this make Minya evil? or is she only doing what she needs to do for their survival?

I don't think it makes her evil. Vengeful, but not evil. After all she was old enough to understand what was happening and I'm sure she witnessed some pretty gruesome things. I completely get why she hates humans and I don't think she'll ever be getting over it. I also don't think she has Sarai use her gift for that purpose merely for survival, either. I think she gets some sense of justice from hearing about how Sarai tortures them in their sleep.

#8 Sarai’s gift as the Muse of Nightmares, didn’t appear until she was older than the other children. While waiting for her gift to present itself , Sarai often wished she could fly. If you could pick one of the god spawn’s gifts which would you choose and why?

I think I would choose Sparrow's gift. I've always wanted to be able to grow things! Unfortunately, I am a plant killer... I even killed bamboo once and that's hard to do.

#9 Sarai screams Moths to embark on her nightly gift, why do you think the author chose Moths? What do they signify?

Most moths do prefer the night, so it makes sense. I'm not sure what they signify beyond being the carriers of nightmares or, potentially, good dreams.

Emily wrote: "Kerri wrote: "I actually have two favorite movies, but they are different genres, so I think that's okay ;)

The first is Apollo 13 because it's amazing. I love Tom Hanks, I love that it's a true s..."

I haven't seen that, Emily. It sounds right up my alley, though! Thanks for the recommendation :)

@Teddie - I kind of wanted to see that movie when it first came out, but I never got around to it. I'm going to have to find it now!

@Samantha - I liked Misery, the book, but I haven't seen the movie. I do like a good suspense, though. I can't think of one in recent memory that actually kept me on the edge of my seat... the one that keeps popping into my brain is Shutter Island, which was a good adaptation of an even better book.

I actually have two favorite movies, but they are different genres, so I think that's okay ;)

The first is Apollo 13 because it's amazing. I love Tom Hanks, I love that it's a true story, I love the space program. I think I loved everything about that movie... the actors, the soundtrack, the cinematography. Just everything. I'm fairly certain I could recite that movie, line by line, from memory. So much love.

The second is a lesser known and not *nearly* as good movie called Renaissance Man. It's got Danny DeVito in it and it's cheesy as hell, but I love it so much. A major plot point also focuses around my favorite Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. And the soundtrack is pretty awesome, too.

Teddie wrote: "Kerri wrote: "Teddie wrote: "(This doesn't include the Hobbit movies, btw.)"

Is that because you didn't care for the Hobbit movies? My husband (who LOVES the LotR movies) isn't as big of a fan as ..."

Oh, I can definitely see that. I was annoyed, myself, about Legolas randomly showing up and Tauriel popping in just so there could be a "love story". Gag. I was annoyed by Arwen having such a huge role in the LotR movies, too, though my husband says there is more mention of her in the indexes. It didn't help that she was played by Liv Tyler... meh...

Nancy85 wrote: "I have a little bit of strep throat so I haven't been in the mood to read. Hopefully, I can get some reading done this weekend."

I hope you feel better soon, Nancy! Strep is no fun :(

Teddie wrote: "(This doesn't include the Hobbit movies, btw.)"

Is that because you didn't care for the Hobbit movies? My husband (who LOVES the LotR movies) isn't as big of a fan as the Hobbit ones. He said that there's too much CGI for his tastes, especially when it comes to the orc hoards. I, however, love the Hobbit movies (because I have this weird love for Martin Freeman) and The Desolation of Smaug may be my favorite of the bunch.

Curious Question of the Day



Our TT theme is based on a very popular movie franchise. What is your favorite movie and why?

Ohhh, there's so many possibilities...

There's a billion places in this world that I want to go, but I think I would go to Australia and spend my 4 hours exploring the outback. It's something I've always wanted to do!

DQs Prologue - Ch 1 - 11

1. The author starts us with some beautiful imagery of a violent end. What did you think of this as a beginning? Did it draw your interest and leave you wanting more? Do you like it when you are given a prologue that might not be answered until the end of the novel?

I found the beginning confusing, but it definitely drew me in. I need to know who this mysterious blue girl is and why did she die? I do like being presented with a mystery right from the beginning. I think it sets us up for a wild ride!

2. Lazlo Strange came from humble beginnings, and is now a grown man. Do you feel he has changed from that rebellious boy in the orchard? Why do you think the library chose him? And do you believe people have a calling in life to follow, or do you think you can choose your own path?

I think, outwardly, he has changed. He's certainly more cautious and introverted. But I don't think that wild boy from his youth ever truly went away. I think it's apparent when he goes to see Thyon the first time and give him the secret to gold and it's certainly apparent when he stands up for his dream in front of everyone!! I can't express how much I loved that scene. I think the library chose him because he is a dreamer. I also think that, though people can be more predisposed to certain ways of life, you do choose your own path.

3. Lazlo was drawn to help Thyon when he stumbled upon the scene in the tomb walk between Thyon and his father. Do you feel Lazlo made the wrong decision to share the book with Thyon or do you think it was all part of fate’s larger plan? And would you have been tempted to keep the book for yourself instead?

Because I super hate Thyon, I want to say he made the wrong decision in helping him. That being said, at that moment, without knowing much about Thyon but what he saw and heard, I can see why he did. I completely understand his motivation and his heart was certainly in the right place. It was just unfortunate that Thyon is an unbelievable bastard. Of course, if I had been in Lazlo's shoes, I probably would have done the same thing, at the time.

4. “Some men are born for great things, and others to help great men do great things.” How do you feel about this quote? Do you believe people are born to their roles in life or do you believe people can change their stars? Lazlo takes a huge risk by impulsively offering his services to Eril-Fane. Would you have taken a similar risk to help fulfill your dreams? Have you ever taken a risk that changed the course of your life?

I think that's partially true but partially a load of bull. Depending on the circumstances you are born into (rich/poor, man/woman, etc) certain opportunities are going to be within your reach and certain ones may not be. But I think hard work can conquer most circumstances. Not all, but most.

I think, if it was a dream that was a very part of my being like Lazlo's dream, I would be willing to do whatever it takes to make it come true. I can't think of any significant risks that I've taken... I tend to overthink all of my potential options to the point of exhaustion, heh.

Teddie wrote: "Kerri wrote: "I'll watch pretty much anything with Idris Elba in it. Just sayin'."

Preach.

I hear he's in the running to be the next Bond too :)"

I'm not a fan of Bond movies, but I would be all over this :D