Preeti’s
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(group member since Sep 26, 2021)
Preeti’s
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from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.
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Jul 19, 2023 05:49AM
Fourth Wing SignetsBelow is a chart of Fourth Wing signets (special powers a human gets from its bonded dragon).
(view spoiler)
Jul 19, 2023 05:49AM
Hi, all. I discovered that the link to the Fourth Wing Signets in question 12 of the Day 3 DQs is not accessible in all countries (definitely not here in India, I could only access it when I was logged into a VPN). I am adding them here in case there is anybody else who isn't able to access them. Apparently, the descriptions can be spoilers so I have put them within spoiler quotes.
Fourth Wing SignetsBelow is a chart of Fourth Wing signets (special powers a human gets from its bonded dragon).
(view spoiler)
Hi, all. I discovered that the link to the Fourth Wing Signets in question 12 of the Day 3 DQs is not accessible in all countries (definitely not here in India, I could only access it when I was logged into a VPN). I am adding them here in case there is anybody else who isn't able to access them. Apparently, the descriptions can be spoilers so I have put them within spoiler quotes.
Preeti wrote: "I tried again and it didn't work again. I keep getting this message:1 error prohibited this comment from being saved:
Content block There was a problem saving your comment.
If I delete any links, ..."
OK. Problem solved. It seems there is a problem with the edition I used. The second I switched to a different edition, everything started to work again.
I tried again and it didn't work again. I keep getting this message:1 error prohibited this comment from being saved:
Content block There was a problem saving your comment.
If I delete any links, it works.
Hi. Is anybody else getting an error message while posting completion posts? I am not able to add any links for books or covers.
Jul 17, 2023 03:21AM
Day 11 DQs: Chapters 28 - 2938. That was a stressful chapter 28! Did you have any doubts that Jake wouldn't succeed after all?
Oh my, that was brutal. The speed of the book definitely increased the last few chapters and I found myself staying up quite late in the night reading, not being able to put away my book. I didn’t have any doubts that Jake would succeed. What I was more worried about was how “the obdurate past” was going to harmonise itself, what chaos it was going to create. I just knew King was going to put in some kind of heartbreaking event and sadly, I was proven right.
39. Do you think this will be the last time we see Sadie? If not, any predictions on how they'll meet again or maybe even get together? Because this can't be it for them after what they've gone through. (Yes, I'm in denial.)
On one hand, I think this is the last we get to see Sadie in this timeline. The more optimistic side of me wants a Making History kind of ending.
(P.S - For those of you who haven’t read it, Making History by Stephen Fry is a similar book with the MC travelling through time to prevent Hitler from having been born. One of my favourite books by Stephen Fry. But then I say that about all books by Stephen Fry ;D )
40. What did you think of the government's reaction to Jake's role in the whole disaster? I thought that he got off more lightly than I expected, but maybe all the American espionage media has made me think worse of them.
I was expecting something like that to happen. It was a definite case of CYA being quickly put into place by the people who would have been blamed for the whole sordid affair.
41. We all know that changing the past never ends well. I'd say it's practically been foreshadowed since the beginning. Would you agree that a future (or present depending on your perspective. with JFK alive is likely to be worse or do you have a different opinion?
I wholeheartedly agree with King’s description of the past as “the obdurate past” that makes all attempts at harmonising itself. I think certain events occurred for reasons we will never understand and I don’t think trying to change them would ever be successful. In my opinion, they would somehow manage to take place no matter what we mere mortals attempted. The one thing I do know and believe in is that the saying, ““Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” is not only true but also teaches us that the past is a place we cannot change, only learn from.
Jul 17, 2023 03:21AM
Day 2 DQs: Chapters 4 - 65. How did you feel when you read Harry Dunning's essay? What would you have done if you had the power to enact change in the past?
Reading Harry Duncan’s essay made me feel sad for him as I would for anybody whose life had been destroyed by this level of trauma. While a part of me would want to change the past allowing this man to have lived a better life, I would also be hesitant because changing the past could potentially cause more problems. Also, if one looks at the lives of many people around the world whose lives included events too ghastly to contemplate, those events were also sometimes the impetus to their achievements. One wonders then if making changes would prevent these from occurring.
6. Money is a big deal in any timeline. Would you be able to acclimate to the past in terms of financial transactions as well as Jake? Do you think Jake acclimated TOO quickly?
I think Jake was written as a character who easily adapts to any surroundings and so this was easy for him. I am also used to adapting to the environment I find myself in and would not have much of a problem. However, being Asian and a woman, I doubt if the surroundings would so easily adapt to me.
7. Fashion is also an issue in the past. Do you think Jake is having an easier time of it because he is a man? What would be the most challenging fashion change for you to get used to? Is there something you would love to be able to wear?
I don’t think it is only fashion that was easier for him compared to anybody else in his shoes. I think it was a combination of his gender, class and race that made it easier for him to adapt to his surroundings as well as allowed him to be accepted by the people he met. Anybody else not from these same demographics would have had a tough time adapting and being accepted.
While there is nothing in particular I would love to be able to wear, there are definitely some things I would not have been even the slightest bit pleased with, mainly corsets and bustles.
8. There are a lot of interesting nods to older Advertising terms and slogans that King uses to help the reader recognize the timeline change of the past. Which one stood out to you the most and why?
As somebody who has not lived in the United States other than a few months for work, I am not familiar with either historical marketing/advertising or numerous products mentioned so I was not able to get much from that part of the book.
9. If you have read any past King novels, some of these chapters have a lot of connections to early books about Derry, Maine, and surrounding locations. Did you find any Easter eggs from previous stories? If you haven't read earlier King novels, what about Derry seemed to stand out as unique to you?
I have read a few Stephen King novels but none connected to Derry though I am aware of the place and some of the books set there. Having not read any of them, nothing stood out as such. The only thing it reminded me is that it is time I read more of those books and soon. As for Derry itself, the only thing that stood out is that the place definitely has an undercurrent of evil running through which fits what I know of the books set there.
Jul 17, 2023 03:20AM
Day 1 DQs: Chapters 1 - 31. I have only read a few of Stephen King's books. Is this your first book by the author or are you quite familiar with his storytelling?
I have read a few of his books and was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed most of them very much. The only one I didn’t like was Rose Madder and I think it was more likely because of when I read it.
2. What do you think about the character Jake so far? Would you have gone along with what Al wanted and took the initial step back into the past, or would you have not humoured him and tried to get him help?
I like that Jake is an average man and I think the author did a smart thing by creating a character who doesn’t take attention away from the plot. Additionally, by not making him the “chosen one” or a “special snowflake”, he feels more relatable. I have a feeling that Jake initially agreed to help Al just to humour him and only took what Al told him seriously once he realised that what Al was saying wasn’t just the uttering of a seriously man but was the truth. I would probably have been the same and done whatever it took to bring peace to Al. Additionally, a part of me would have been constantly asking “What if?” and wanting a reply to this question.
3. I am not sure how I would feel if I just stepped back into the past the way Jake and Al have, but I am really curious about how the time travelling works in this story. It seemed that Jake was somewhat calm about it. How do you think you would feel if it was you?
Like I said earlier, I feel that Jake wasn’t taking the whole time travel thing seriously when he agreed to help Al. I think he was just trying to pacify Al and the reason he was so calm when he did actually travel through time was that he wasn’t expecting it to happen. I think that I would also be too flabbergasted to be scared if it was me travelling through time like Jake and Al. As for the time travelling bit, while my knowledge of the associated science is quite poor, the way I understand it is that many scientists have theorised that time is not linear but flowing in multiple directions simultaneously. There is also a theory that there are multiple timelines that have connections to each other and that the way to time travel would be to find a connection between two such timelines that allows one to move from one to the other. (Sorry for the terrible explanation, this is as much as I have understood so far and I want to read more about this subject as I find it fascinating.)
4. I think it is clear that Jake is going to pick up Al's mission to try and stop the JFK assassination. Would you choose to continue Al's mission? Also how much do you know of the history surrounding this event?
While I can understand why Al was so passionate about changing the outcome of this event, it is not one that I can relate to. There are many more events that have occurred here in India that I would be tempted to change should I ever been given an opportunity to do so though whether I would actually do so is not something I could answer easily. As for the history around the event, I have a slight idea of what occurred but somehow have never been tempted to read up more about it.
Jenny wrote: "Woohoo! That is an accomplishment. I hope you liked it."This was my second time reading it and I loved it even more this time. Stephen King is "little by slowly" becoming a must-read author for me.
Angie ☯ wrote: "Great, Preeti!Heron's park will work - Heronsford will not. :-)"
Thanks, Angie, I have edited my completion post accordingly.
Wheel Task: Read a book with "heron" in the textBook: Green for Danger (Inspector Cockrill #2) by Christianna Brand
Date Read: Jul 11
Page Count: 256
How It Fits Task: Pg. 7: The crucial events take place at Heron’s Park, a hospital three miles out of Heronsford in Kent.
Jenny wrote: "Preeti, I grew up reading Agatha Christie books, and of course the Nancy Drew books and the like. So I have a soft spot for classic mystery as well."I recently discovered the British Library Crime Classics series. They have put together a very interesting series of full novels and short story collections. So far, I have loved every book I have read from the collection. And many of them are available through kindle unlimited. I am waiting for Prime Day to renew my KU subscription so I can read more of them.
Life here has suddenly become quite hectic. And my books are rather long this month. I am currently in the middle of 11/22/63 as well as Lords Of The Deccan:Southern India From Chalukyas To Cholas: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas which is not very long page-wise but is quite a heavy book, full of facts many of which I was not at all aware of.
I started a classic mystery today as a break from the heaviness of both books. Only managed the first chapter but am liking it so far. Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand. The next book in the series has heron in the text and I have this obsession with reading books in sequence. I should be done with the first book by tomorrow as it is quite a short book. I only knew this author for her Nurse Matilda books which were adapted into the Nanny McPhee movies so this was a pleasant surprise. I am trying to read more classic mystery books.
By the way, I found platypus in a very long book: The Terror by Dan Simmons. The kindle book is 944 pages so I doubt if I'd be able to read it soon enough for the task but thought I'd add this here in case any of the faster readers wants to try it.
Thanks, Jenny! Platypus would be a cool name for a character.☺️
Any idea if heron can be part of the name of a place? One of the books on my TBR list has a place called Heron's Park mentioned multiple times. Thanks.
Jenny wrote: "Our new set of tasks-Tower Teams 2: Vanilla (Lemon Cupcakes)
-Read a book with cake or cupcake in the text
-Read a book with chocolate in the text
-Read a book featuring a baker
-Read a book wher..."
Silly question but didn't we already complete this set of tasks. I ask because I know I read a book for the task, "book featuring a baker". I can't find it on the spreadsheet now but my completion post is in Message 892
