Preeti’s
Comments
(group member since Sep 26, 2021)
Preeti’s
comments
from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.
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I'd like to volunteer for DQs, please and thanks. (The Capitol)
Cecily wrote: "Preeti wrote: "Hi. Any ideas what one should do with an arc that doesn't have a page count listed anywhere?The Guilty Girl by Ruth Harrow
This is the book I am talking about. There is no page coun..."
Thanks, Cecily! I think I will just wait a while. I am sure it will get updated soon and I will read it after that happens. Luckily, I don't have to read it in a great big hurry.
Hi. Any ideas what one should do with an arc that doesn't have a page count listed anywhere?The Guilty Girl by Ruth Harrow
This is the book I am talking about. There is no page count listed here and I couldn't find it on Amazon or Worldcat or on the publisher page. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Apr 30, 2024 02:31AM
April
Book: Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #2) by Stephanie Laurens - Apr 1
No. Of Pages: 196
Book: Not the Ones Dead (Kate Shugak #23) by Dana Stabenow - Apr 3
No. Of Pages: 336
Book: Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Apr 5
No. Of Pages: 288
Book: Fire and Ice (Liam Campbell #1) by Dana Stabenow - Apr 6
No. Of Pages: 368
Book: The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred - Apr 8
No. Of Pages: 352
Book: You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao - Apr 10
No. Of Pages: 296
Book: The Man With the Dancing Eyes by Sophie Dahl - Apr 13
No. Of Pages: 64
Book: The New Garconne: How to Be a Modern Gentlewoman by Navaz Batliwalla - Apr 14
No. Of Pages: 160
Book: Judges by Andrea Camilleri, Carlo Lucarelli, & Giancarlo De Cataldo - Apr 15
No. Of Pages: 176
Book: Vogue On Manolo Blahnik by Chloe Fox - Apr 16
No. Of Pages: 160
Book: Windows on the World: Fifty Writers, Fifty Views by Matteo Pericoli - Apr 17
No. Of Pages: 152 pages
Book: Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie - Apr 19
No. Of Pages: 256
Book: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Apr 24
No. Of Pages: 214
Book: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - Apr 25
No. Of Pages: 293
Book: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett - Apr 26
No. Of Pages: 413
Book: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - Apr 27
No. Of Pages: 192
Book: The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only Ivan #1) by Katherine Applegate (26263 words) - Apr 29
No. Of Pages: 307
Book: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu - Apr 30
No. Of Pages: 251
My Apr Total: 4474
Running Total: 655,237
New Group Total: = 659,711
Sophie wrote: "Preeti wrote: "Hi. Where can I check if my sign-up went through or not? Thanks."It's gone through."
Thanks, Sophie!
Hi. Where can I check if my sign-up went through or not? Thanks.
Mar 31, 2024 12:25AM
March
Book: The Corset by Laura Purcell - Mar 3
No. Of Pages: 416
Book: Salem's Cipher (A Salem's Cipher Mystery #1) by Jess Lourey - Mar 12
No. Of Pages: 412
Book: Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny - Mar 6
No. Of Pages: 336
Book: Murder at Irish Mensa (The Mensa Mystery Series #1) by Clare O'Beara - Mar 7
No. Of Pages: 360
Book: The Mystwick School of Musicraft (Mystwick 01) by Jessica Khoury (76449 words) - Mar 8
No. Of Pages: 368
Book: Ignorance Is Strength (The Dystopia Triptych #1) by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey & Christie Yant - Mar 10
No. Of Pages: 310
Book: The Institute by Stephen King - Mar 11
No. Of Pages: 485
Book: Camp Cacophony (Mystwick #0.5) by Jessica Khoury - Mar 13
No. Of Pages: 31
Book: Bear to Be Wild (Yellowstone Shifters #3) by K. Panikian - Mar 14
No. Of Pages: 246
Book: The Midnight Orchestra (Mystwick #2) by Jessica Khoury (76980 words) - Mar 16
No. Of Pages: 400
Book: Danger on Parade (Nancy Drew Files #77) by Carolyn Keene (31918 words) - Mar 17
No. Of Pages: 155
Book: The Day of the Triffids (Triffids #1) by John Wyndham - Mar 20
No. Of Pages: 228
Book: The Complete Angel Catbird (Angel Catbird #1-3) by Margaret Atwood, Johnnie Christmas & Tamra Bonvillain - Mar 20
No. Of Pages: 320
Book: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Miss Marple #7.1) by Agatha Christie - Mar 21
No. Of Pages: 304
Book: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - Mar 23
No. Of Pages: 338
Book: Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea #1) by Natasha Bowen - Mar 24
No. Of Pages: 336
Book: A Murder is Announced (Miss Marple #5) by Agatha Christie - Mar 25
No. Of Pages: 382
Book: Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales #1) by Olivia Atwater - Mar 26
No. Of Pages: 304
Book: Hook, Line, and Sinker (Bellinger Sisters #2) by Tessa Bailey - Mar 28
No. Of Pages: 400
Book: My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun - Mar 31
No. Of Pages: 128
My Mar Total: 6259
Running Total: 535,165
New Group Total: = 541,424
Feb 29, 2024 03:55AM
February
Book: Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #1) by Stephanie Laurens - Feb 5
No. Of Pages: 163
Book: What Is Hidden (What Is Hidden #1) by Lauren Skidmore - Feb 6
No. Of Pages: 256
Book: The Twelve Suspects of Christmas by Ana T. Drew - Feb 7
No. Of Pages: 250
Book: Two-Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac - Feb 9
No. Of Pages: 228
Book: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed - Feb 11
No. Of Pages: 160
Book: A Crafty Crime (A Stoneybrook Mystery #1) by Eryn Scott - Feb 13
No. Of Pages: 222
Book: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan - Feb 16
No. Of Pages: 319
Book: Steeped in Suspicion (Pebble Cove Teahouse #1) by Eryn Scott - Feb 17
No. Of Pages: 260
Book: The Case of the Fan-dancer's Horse (Perry Mason #29) by Erle Stanley Gardner - Feb 18
No. Of Pages: 189
Book: Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega - Feb 20
No. Of Pages: 344
Book: Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella - Feb 23
No. Of Pages: 384
Book: Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie - Feb 24
No. Of Pages: 256
Book: Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child - Feb 26
No. Of Pages: 532
Book: People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield - Feb 27
No. Of Pages: 432
Book: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - Feb 28
No. Of Pages: 240
Book: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum #1) by Janet Evanovich - Feb 29
No. Of Pages: 320
My Feb Total: 4555
Running Total: 319,153
New Group Total: = 323,708
Feb 01, 2024 09:37AM
January
Book: The Guns of Navarone (Guns of Navarone #1) by Alistair MacLean - Jan 1
No. Of Pages: 416
Book: Towards Zero (Superintendent Battle #5) by Agatha Christie - Jan 2
No. Of Pages: 301
Book: The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor #1) by Laurie Gilmore - Jan 4
No. Of Pages: 267
Book: Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter - Jan 5
No. Of Pages: 480
Book: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene - Jan 7
No. Of Pages: 256
Book: Cogheart (The Cogheart Adventures #1) by Peter Bunzl - Jan 9
No. Of Pages: 362
Book: By Hook or by Crook (Crochet Mystery #3) by Betty Hechtman - Jan 9
No. Of Pages: 260
Book: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Jan 10
No. Of Pages: 237
Book: Exhalation by Ted Chiang - Jan 12
No. Of Pages: 368
Book: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - Jan 13
No. Of Pages: 281
Book: The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart (Tales from the Chocolate Heart #1) by Stephanie Burgis - Jan 15
No. Of Pages: 247
Book: Peril in Paris (Taylor & Rose, Secret Agents #1) by Katherine Woodfine - Jan 17
No. Of Pages: 307
Book: Book Lovers by Emily Henry - Jan 19
No. Of Pages: 373
Book: In the Dark by Loreth Anne White - Jan 25
No. Of Pages: 413
Book: The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers by Peter Lovesey - Jan 29
No. Of Pages: 599
Book: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd - Jan 31
No. Of Pages: 391
My Jan Total: 5558
Running Total: 175,963
New Group Total: = 181,521
December
Book: Brick Lane by Monica Ali - Dec 1
No. Of Pages: 413
Book: Starter Villain by John Scalzi - Dec 2
No. Of Pages: 264
Book: Five Go Adventuring Again (The Famous Five #2) by Enid Blyton (38936 words) - Dec 2
No. Of Pages: 150
Book: Purrs and Peril (Norwegian Forest Café #1) by Jinty James - Dec 3
No. Of Pages: 228
Book: Along Came Holly (Mistletoe Romance #3) by Codi Hall - Dec 3
No. Of Pages: 368
Book: Once Upon A Christmas Carol by Karen Schaler - Dec 4
No. Of Pages: 62
Book: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells - Dec 5
No. Of Pages: 156
Book: They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon - Dec 8
No. Of Pages: 695
Book: Limelight (Penny Green #1) by Emily Organ - Dec 9
No. Of Pages: 344
Book: The Rookery (Penny Green #2) by Emily Organ - Dec 10
No. Of Pages: 302
Book: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb - Dec 11
No. Of Pages: 345
Book: Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells - Dec 12
No. Of Pages: 158
Book: The Maid’s Secret (Penny Green #3) by Emily Organ - Dec 13
No. Of Pages: 344
Book: And Then She Vanished (Joseph Bridgeman #1) by Nick Jones - Dec 14
No. Of Pages: 246
Book: M. S. Subbulakshmi: The Definitive Biography by T.J.S. George - Dec 14
No. Of Pages: 285
Book: Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells - Dec 17
No. Of Pages: 158
Book: Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4) by Martha Wells - Dec 17
No. Of Pages: 176
Book: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Vol. 1 (The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service #1) by Eiji Otsuka & Housui Yamazaki - Dec 18
No. Of Pages: 208
Book: The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman - Dec 20
No. Of Pages: 336
Book: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - Dec 21
No. Of Pages: 922
Book: An Upper West Side Story by Rachel Cullen - Dec 22
No. Of Pages: 342
Book: The Six by Anni Taylor - Dec 25
No. Of Pages: 434
Book: A Winter's Promise (La Passe-Miroir #1) by Christelle Dabos - Dec 28
No. Of Pages: 446
Book: The Undertaking by Audrey Magee - Dec 29
No. Of Pages: 304
Book: The Missing American (Emma Djan Investigation #1) by Kwei Quartey - Dec 29
No. Of Pages: 433
Book: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (Zachary Ying #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao - Dec 30
No. Of Pages: 352
My Dec Total: 8471
Running Total: 1,831,565
New Group Total: = 1,840,036
NBRC - Serious Readers Challenge 2024 - Level 1 - Part 2Pt.1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
51. Hook, Line, and Sinker (Bellinger Sisters #2) by Tessa Bailey - Mar 28
52. My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun - Mar 31
53. Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #2) by Stephanie Laurens - Apr 1
54. Not the Ones Dead (Kate Shugak #23) by Dana Stabenow - Apr 3
55. Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Apr 5
56. Fire and Ice (Liam Campbell #1) by Dana Stabenow - Apr 6
57. The Boyband Murder Mystery by Ava Eldred - Apr 8
58. You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao - Apr 10
59. The Man With the Dancing Eyes by Sophie Dahl - Apr 13
60. The New Garconne: How to Be a Modern Gentlewoman by Navaz Batliwalla - Apr 14
61. Judges by Andrea Camilleri, Carlo Lucarelli, & Giancarlo De Cataldo - Apr 15
62. Vogue On Manolo Blahnik by Chloe Fox - Apr 16
63. Windows on the World: Fifty Writers, Fifty Views by Matteo Pericoli - Apr 17
64. Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie - Apr 19
65. The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - Apr 24
66. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - Apr 25
67. The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett - Apr 26
68. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells - Apr 27
69. The One and Only Ivan (The One and Only Ivan #1) by Katherine Applegate (26263 words) - Apr 29
70. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu - Apr 30
71. Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot #14) by Agatha Christie - May 2
72. The Under Dog and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot #31) by Agatha Christie - May 4
73. The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill - May 6
74. Sudden Death (Andy Carpenter #4) by David Rosenfelt - May 7
75. Elodie's Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin - May 9
76. The Secret House of Death by Ruth Rendell - May 12
77. The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer - May 18
78. Roses Are Red by Miranda Rijks - May 19
79. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins - May 21
80. The Engagement Party by Darby Kane - May 23
81. Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm (Sergeant Cluff #1) by Gil North - May 25
82. Saga, Volume 1 (Saga) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples - May 26
83. Saga, Volume 2 (Saga) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples - May 26
84. In the Shadow of a Wish (Fareview Fairytale #1) by Maci Aurora - May 26
85. Secret of the Spa (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #9) by Carolyn Keene (30835 words) - May 28
86. Isabelle by Sophia Holloway - May 29
87. The Guilty Girl by Ruth Harrow - May 30
88. The Girl in the Ice (Detective Erika Foster #1) by Robert Bryndza - May 31
89. Salt & Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher - Jun 1
90. Saga, Volume 3 (Saga) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples - Jun 2
91. Saga, Volume 4 (Saga) by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples - Jun 2
92. Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros - Jun 3
93. The Ice Princess (Fjällbacka #1) by Camilla Läckberg - Jun 6
94. A Most Efficient Murder (Mr. Quayle Mysteries #1) by Anthony Slayton - Jun 9
95. A Quite Deadly Affair (Mr. Quayle Mysteries #0.5) by Anthony Slayton - Jun 9
96. The Malevolent Seven (The Malevolent Seven #1) by Sebastien de Castell - Jun 11
97. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez - Jun 13
98. Eeny Meeny (Helen Grace #1) by M.J. Arlidge - Jun 15
99. Silas Marner by George Eliot - Jun 16
100. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - Jun 18
Level 2
Pt. 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Pt. 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Pt. 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
NBRC - Serious Readers Challenge 2024 - Level 1 - Part 1Pt 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Completed: 100/100
1. The Guns of Navarone (Guns of Navarone #1) by Alistair MacLean - Jan 1
2. Towards Zero (Superintendent Battle #5) by Agatha Christie - Jan 2
3. The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor #1) by Laurie Gilmore - Jan 4
4. Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter - Jan 5
5. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene - Jan 7
6. Cogheart (The Cogheart Adventures #1) by Peter Bunzl - Jan 9
7. By Hook or by Crook (Crochet Mystery #3) by Betty Hechtman - Jan 9
8. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Jan 10
9. Exhalation by Ted Chiang - Jan 12
10. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - Jan 13
11. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart (Tales from the Chocolate Heart #1) by Stephanie Burgis - Jan 15
12. Peril in Paris (Taylor & Rose, Secret Agents #1) by Katherine Woodfine - Jan 17
13. Book Lovers by Emily Henry - Jan 19
14. In the Dark by Loreth Anne White - Jan 25
15. The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers by Peter Lovesey - Jan 29
16. The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd - Jan 31
17. Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles #1) by Stephanie Laurens - Feb 5
18. What Is Hidden (What Is Hidden #1) by Lauren Skidmore - Feb 6
19. The Twelve Suspects of Christmas by Ana T. Drew - Feb 7
20. Two-Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac - Feb 9
21. The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed - Feb 11
22. A Crafty Crime (A Stoneybrook Mystery #1) by Eryn Scott - Feb 13
23. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan - Feb 16
24. Steeped in Suspicion (Pebble Cove Teahouse #1) by Eryn Scott - Feb 17
25. The Case of the Fan-dancer's Horse (Perry Mason #29) by Erle Stanley Gardner - Feb 18
26. Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega - Feb 20
27. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella - Feb 23
28. Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie - Feb 24
29. Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child - Feb 26
30. People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield - Feb 27
31. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - Feb 28
32. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum #1) by Janet Evanovich - Feb 29
33. The Corset by Laura Purcell - Mar 3
34. Salem's Cipher (A Salem's Cipher Mystery #1) by Jess Lourey - Mar 5
35. Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny - Mar 6
36. Murder at Irish Mensa (The Mensa Mystery Series #1) by Clare O'Beara - Mar 7
37. The Mystwick School of Musicraft (Mystwick 01) by Jessica Khoury (76449 words) - Mar 8
38. Ignorance Is Strength (The Dystopia Triptych #1) by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey & Christie Yant - Mar 10
39. The Institute by Stephen King - Mar 11
40. Camp Cacophony (Mystwick #0.5) by Jessica Khoury - Mar 13
41. Bear to Be Wild (Yellowstone Shifters #3) by K. Panikian - Mar 14
42. The Midnight Orchestra (Mystwick #2) by Jessica Khoury (76980 words) - Mar 14
43. Danger on Parade (Nancy Drew Files #77) by Carolyn Keene (31918 words) - Mar 17
44. The Day of the Triffids (Triffids #1) by John Wyndham - Mar 20
45. The Complete Angel Catbird (Angel Catbird #1-3) by Margaret Atwood, Johnnie Christmas & Tamra Bonvillain - Mar 20
46. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Miss Marple #7.1) by Agatha Christie - Mar 21
47. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - Mar 23
48. Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea #1) by Natasha Bowen - Mar 24
49. A Murder is Announced (Miss Marple #5) by Agatha Christie - Mar 25
50. Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales #1) by Olivia Atwater - Mar 26
Congrats, Team Classical! Thank you for an awesome challenge, Mods.
Wishing all of you the very best of the holiday season.
NBRC - Serious Readers Challenge 2023 - Level 3 - Part 1Level 1 (0-100)
Pt.1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Pt 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Level 2 (101-250)
Pt. 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Pt. 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Pt. 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Level 3 (251-500)
8/250
1. The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman - Dec 20
2. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber - Dec 21
3. An Upper West Side Story by Rachel Cullen - Dec 22
4. The Six by Anni Taylor - Dec 25
5. A Winter's Promise (La Passe-Miroir #1) by Christelle Dabos - Dec 28
6. The Undertaking by Audrey Magee - Dec 29
7. The Missing American (Emma Djan Investigation #1) by Kwei Quartey - Dec 29
8. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (Zachary Ying #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao - Dec 30
Yay! Congrats, team! Thank you to the captains and all of you. Wishing you the best of the holiday season!
Dec 14, 2023 12:26PM
Preeti’s BOM Participation Post: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Dec 14, 2023 12:25PM
Day 5: Chapters 28 - End17. What did you think about how the "black market Serbian violin debacle" turned out? Do you think it hurt Ray in terms of the competition?
It went exactly as I expected so I wasn’t a bit surprised. I think it did hurt Ray because of the deleterious effect the entire experience had on his mental and emotional balance.
18. Were you surprised at the outcome of the competition? I know I was rooting for him, but I instinctively assumed Mikhail would take first - perhaps solely for the plot. Do you think that was the case or did Mikhail genuinely win?
I was rooting for Ray but had a feeling that while he would definitely place, the first position would go to Mikhail mostly because of the way that Ray described each of his fellow competitors. He had a lot of praise for Mikhail’s playing and that made me feel that this was written in to prepare us for the results.
19. When the missing papers are discovered in Ray's PopPops violin case, were you surprised at what they contained? Does the narrative they showcase further cement his family's provenance of the violin to you?
I thought there was something up with the case with Grandma Nora asking Ray about it so many times but I was pleasantly surprised when it was explained why it was so important. I think the narrative was a heartbreaking story and showed the awful plight of his ancestors.
20. It was (view spoiler)! What did you think of her reasons for committing the crime. Do you feel any sympathy for her?
This was, in my opinion, one of the weakest parts of the book. It made absolutely no sense to me after they way this person behaved and the extent to which they moved their life around to accommodate Ray. I had this person down as my number one suspect even though I kept wondering why they would do this and ran into a blank wall every time I tried to think up their possible motive.
BONUS - Author's Note
Brendan Slocumb reveals that the novel’s wedding scene and the Baton Rouge shakedown are based on his own experiences. How did this knowledge affect your experience of the book?
Even before I read about many of the scenes in the book being based on the author’s own experiences, I had an inkling that something like that had occurred. The way many incidents are narrated, the details and the reactions the writing works to bring up in the reader made me feel this came from personally having gone through these horrible events.
Dec 14, 2023 12:23PM
Day 4: Chapters 20 - 2713. We have learned that Janice is Ray’s mentor and he finds light in her. She is still by his side at the competition giving him encouragement and hope. Do you have a Janice in our life? Have you ever served as a Janice for someone else, lighting the way for others who lack the tools (or the hope) they need to thrive?
I have sadly never had a Janice in my life though I would dearly have loved to. I have attempted trying to provide assistance to many people I have come across over the years and hope it was of use to them.
14. After lots of talk about who owns the violin and multiple lawsuits, Ray offers his family a settlement. $100,000 each and a bonus of $500,000 to split between them for the Leon Marks papers, plus making them beneficiaries of the insurance policy (with conditions). That was quite the offer! Would you settle for that if you were part of his family? Why do you think he made this offer, especially against the advice of his lawyer?
I think this was an excellent idea. It provided the family with humungous motives not to harm Ray while allowing him some amount of peace. In his shoes, I think I might have done the same realising that peace of mind was going to be more valuable than the money.
15. Ray has an idea/thought that he can’t shake. Could Mikhail Lezenkov (his rival at the competition) have had anything to do with the theft of his violin? Upon calling his lawyer with the possible person and motive, he learns there was a black market violin in Serbia. What do you think of this theory? Do you think there is any way that his farfetched theory could actually be true? Do you have another theory (or do you still stick to your original one)?
I think this was meant to be a red herring and was more to show Ray’s obsession with searching for the violin and how much the loss has shaken him.
16. Throughout the novel, we learn about the pieces that have special significance to Ray. Did you make note of these pieces to explore later or did you make a playlist and listen as you read the novel?
There were a few pieces that were mentioned so many times that I had to listen to them immediately. I have made a note of the pieces listed and plan on making a playlist and listening to it soon.
This was something I did with another book I read that also had a connection to chamber music - An Equal Music by Vikram Seth.
Dec 14, 2023 12:22PM
Day 3: Chapters 13 - 199. I don't know how I feel about the school basically milking Ray owning a Stradivarius and him having to do an interview without even getting asked to do so. I personally would have preferred to keep it private, at least for a while. What are your thoughts on the situation?
While I don’t condone it, I can understand it as it is one of the ways schools and universities get more funding, by showing off their star students. It would have been more considerate of them to first find out if it was something that Ray was comfortable with.
10. I can see where Ray's family is coming from wanting to sell the Stradivarius and divide the money, but they never showed any interest in the violin even though it had been in the family for a century, and Ray's grandmother gave Ray the fiddle for Christmas. He had to take care of everything surrounding it and his school/education himself, and he never even had much money to begin with. Would you be selling whatever in your life might turn out be worth this much money, and would you feel like your family was entitled to fair shares?
I think this was one of the points at which I was made even more aware of how horrible some of the members of Ray’s family were. They didn’t believe Grandma Nora when she talked about the fiddle still being in the house and even mocked her but then decided it belonged to them when they found out its true value. I was saddened by their not respecting Grandma Nora’s decision to give the violin to Ray.
The thing I remember clearly thinking when I reached this part and just after was “Grandma Nora, put it in your will. That family of yours is going to cause all kinds of problems later for Ray and you won’t be around to help him.”
11. Another family claiming ownership of the violin - it was bound to happen. On one hand I'm surprised they're suing Ray for the Stradivarius since I doubt they can prove the fiddle was stolen in any way, but on the other hand the odds clearly are against Ray. And now his family is suing him for the violin as well?! Who do you think is the rightful owner of the Stradivarius?
I think Ray is definitely the rightful owner though I wish people would be smart about having wills made. Like I mentioned earlier, all this chaos could have been sorted out with just one document.
As for the other family claiming ownership, I wasn’t at all surprised. I knew that all kinds of people were going to show up as soon as the world was made aware of the immense value of this violin and claim that it belonged to them.
12. We've been introduced to a lot of different people (whose names I don't even all remember) and they all (most of them anyway) seem to have different reasons to possibly want to steal Ray's Stradivarius - greed, jealousy, racism,... it's all there. Do you have any more guesses of who's behind it all?
I had a nagging feeling it was a particular character right from the beginning though I couldn’t think of a motive and it turned out to be them. That was one of the things that made me reduce the rating as this bit made no sense to me.
Side note: I laughed out loud when [don't remember who] described the Tchaikovsky competition as a cross between the Olympics and American idol; what does that even mean?! 😂
That was such a perfect definition and it makes sense. After all, the contest does seem to require not only talent and endurance but also stage presence and an ability to connect with the audiences.
I am going to be busy with some urgent work for the next 2 days so I completed my last two books including one with a musician. The cover of the "musician" book looks brown to me so I have marked it as such. I would appreciate it if somebody could unmark it if it doesn't work for that. Thanks.
M. S. Subbulakshmi: The Definitive Biography by T.J.S. George
