Judith’s Comments (group member since Apr 15, 2015)

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

I moved a book of mine from S to the O. Looks like someone grabbed the T.

Leaving U and S in spelling 1.

It looks more of a pinky orange (like a dark salmon color) than a red on my computer.

the formulas got overwritten somehow. Anyway, it should be fixed now!

Lexi wrote: "Darren, the last three books you added to the spreadsheet are all missing read dates on your wheel shelf. Could you please fix them, thank you"

Thanks Darren!

Preeti wrote: "Thanks, Judith! That is very helpful.

I have added my last book to the spreadsheet but below the last line as all the slots where it can fit are full."

Moved a book for you and it's on there now :)

Judith's BOM Participation Tracking

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/...

Day 5 Discussion Questions

17. Let's discuss the fight that Joy and Stan had in Chapter 53. Joy is arguing that Stan didn't support his own children because his focus had always been on tennis and elsewhere - whereas Stan argues back that they were given everything and had no idea how lucky they are. What are your thoughts on this argument and its relation to the memory question that was asked earlier on?
I think it's just a matter of perspective and what one person places importance on is different from another's. I think both were right in their own way. But I get what Joy is saying, without hiring help, there is no way Stan could of coached Harry to that level with Joy left at home to run their business and raise 4 children. The grandmothers didn't seem to be the pitch in and help ferry children around, etc.

18. After reading the whole book and seeing all of the different sides of this family, what are your overall thoughts on the marriage between Joy and Stan? Was it has happy as they tried to portray or were the frictions too hard to ignore?
I think they were and are happy when things are tallied. But it's not, nor was, perfect. And I don't think either of them thought it was perfect despite what others in the community may have thought. Marriage, like every relationship, is messy and complicated.

19. A small surprise to me was that Liane Moriarty included current events as the novel went on. I wasn't expecting the covid references or the Australia fire references. Were you as surprised to see that show up? Do you think that will become the norm for authors moving forward in the upcoming years?
This actually felt a bit tacked on but it didn't bother me that much. I do think COVID will be popping up in contemporary novels, it's had too much of a social impact not too.

20. Joy is alive?! There was no murder? There was no violence? That final twist took me by complete and utter surprise. When I say that Liane wrote a book that I was not able to guess, that isn't an exaggeration. What were your thoughts on this massive reveal and the oncoming explanation? Were you expecting this?
Eventually yes, though not the exact explanation. That was a bit too random to of guessed, at least for me.

21. Any other thoughts on the other characters endings? Were you satisfied or dissatisfied with the novel as a whole? Will you read more Liane Moriarty novels?"
I was really happy with Logan's ending. And Stan reaching out to meet his wife/children halfway with communication (cell phone, no more disappearing). Troy, not sure how I feel about that one. I was happy with Amy and Brooke's too.

Day 4 Discussion Questions
ch 33-50

13. "I come in peace". That made my laugh out loud. Exactly what the bad extraterrestial guy would say before hacking your head off. I'm pretty sure, that's what Dave thought for a minute. What do you think Logan expected to achieve with going to talk to the ex-boyfriend. Do you think he got it?
I think Logan was hoping to get a 'neutral' opinion of Savannah and I think he thought her story was bunk after seeing that clip on the TV. I do think he got the information he was looking for.

14. So, not only is Savannah related to Harry, her visit to the Delaney's was not innocent. But it turned out differently than planed. That girl is seriously damaged. Were you expecting this turn of events?
It went a bit more bonkers than I was expecting, even for a book by this author.

15. Were you expecting the body found to be Joy? Did you think it was Savannah's doing? Or maybe Stan's? Was Joy's betrayal a cut so deep to heal?
No, I didn't think it was Joy's by this point. But I'm glad there was closure on the other side story with the iron.

16. So. Savannah seems to be out of the picture (even if I'm not totally convinced about it). Christmas was a disaster. And nobody realized that Joy simply disappeared, till it was too late. Do you think she's dead, just off grid, or is this a Gone Girl situation?
I've finished the book so I'm going to skip this one.

Also, I've added countdown links to the tracking spreadsheet.

You'll see the countdown (in day/hours/minutes left) at the top of the Week's tab in the ss.

No, no reading penalties this year. It's such a short game this year we decided to let people go crazy :)

Nope, you can start books now for round 2

I'll be finishing my 3, though I moved Child of the Prophecy to next week. I don't think I can get that done by the cutoff on Monday. And it works for the mythology tag.

But I replaced it with a shorter one I can get done.

It's fine and I just got it worked into the second spelling :)

Add it below the lines. We’ll shift some books around and get it to fit. We can only have 1 partial spelling and as long as these words are we don’t want to start a 3rd unless we know the first 2 are complete.

DQs ~ Day 3 (Chap 23 - Chap 32)

9. More and more Delaney secrets are being revealed. Learning that Stan would get upset over something and just leave regardless of the situation was very odd, especially with stopping the car on the way to a tournament in the middle of the highway and just walking away. This was the strangest of the described behaviors to me. What secret made you pause? Did any of the secrets help you to understand the family dynamic?
This scene was so strange. The middle of the highway!?! What. The. Heck. I'm guessing he disappears because he's afraid of committing violence against either his wife or children like his father did. But I was surprised he stayed away for 5 days at one point. Again, where was he? A night is bad enough, but 5?
It helps explain why his children have convoluted personal relationships, it can be hard to trust that one day their partner just won't up and leave.

10. Joy’s narration of the events of Father’s day were more dramatic than any of the other views. She kept referring to feeling sick and the things she was describing kept making me think of poisoning but I really don’t trust Savannah! What caught your attention from this section of the story? Do you have any theories on the circumstances of Joy’s disappearance?
I was wondering if she up and left like Stan used to do without a word to where she was going to be. A taste of his own medicine perhaps? But I'm not sure where she would of gone for so long without a monetary trail.

11. Joy and Savannah are enjoying an afternoon of shopping. During their stop at the cafeteria, we see a glimpse into a different Savannah. She reveals that she did classical ballet and she seems to have contempt for the child ballerina who was eating a cupcake. Do you think this was a look into the “real” Savannah and what, if anything, does it tell you about her past?
I think she's got an eating disorder of some sort, there's been mentions of her not eating much scattered throughout the book so far. Maybe she was a ballerina with one of the cray-cray dance mom types that was counting calories for a 5 year old or whatever. I think this is a look at the 'real' Savannah and not whatever story she's spun.

12. Savannah shows up unexpectedly at Troy’s home with a story she wants to tell him; it takes Troy a bit to realize the true intent of the visit. Were you surprised by visit or did you expect something like this? How do you think Troy will handle the situation? Do you think this is Savannah’s true reason for seeking out the Delaney’s or is there more to it?
I was expecting it. And it explains why Stan wanted her gone, I think Savannah tried to seduce him and failed. But she's going for the blackmail anyway, clearly.
She seems to have it out for them for some reason that remains a mystery to me. I'm assuming there is some sort of tie to tennis but not sure what.

Day 2 Discussion Questions
ch 13-22

5. The list of characters continues to grow. Although, I do think we are getting more views of the family. Have you been able to form opinions about the family members, yet? Do you have any favorites?
They all have their faults, I like that none of them are perfect Mary Sues, it makes them seem like potentially real people. I like Brooke and Logan the best. I think I can just relate to them more.

6. The scenes with the brownies struck me as strange. The family all seem to know that the brownies are important to Amy, but Stan is weird and seems to be making it into a competition. Everyone else seems to be trying to avoid the show down. As a family that has been competitive for so long, is it weird that they seem to shy away from it?
It didn't actually strike me as strange for a family that while competitive, circle their wagons when someone needs protection. I have a feeling at one point Amy's mental health was much more precarious than it is at the current point in her life. Stan likely just doesn't get it. Or maybe is the only member not selling Amy short, without knowing more about Amy's mental health journey it's hard to say.

7. Savannah continues to stay just out of focus for me. I don't know what to think about her. Any thoughts on who she is or why she is working so hard to ingratiate herself with Joy and Stan?
She's got some agenda going on but the hell if I could really figure out the motivation at this point in the story.

8. "Why not rewrite the memory and remember it as a perfect day? What was the actual benefit of accuracy when it came to memories?" (p157) I like this quote. It gives a bit of insight into the collective memories of the family. I think it offers a bit of unreliability to all of our narrators. What do you think about this view of memories?
I think it's what people tend to do. It's like listening to older generations talk about "the good old days". Like rampant disease, child labor, high illiteracy rates, slavery, and a complete lack of women's rights were something to be proud of. They focus and remember all of the positives and the negatives just fade away like they weren't also part of the past.

Day 1 discussion questions

1. Traditional 1st BOM question! What has led you to join in?
Is Liane Moriarty one of your must read authors or are you more like me, where I'm happy to read her books as I get round to them.
Her books always end up on my tbr list, for audio because I love the accents and they are always well narrated, but like Sophie I get to them when I get to them. This BOM put it at the top on my list.

2. I'm finding this difficult to sink into. 2 different timelines and multiple points of view. So far we've had the prologue, the waitress, Joy, the beautician, Barb, Brooke's physiotherapy patient, Brooke, the Uber driver, the police officer and Logan. I feel like I've missed someone as well! Do you think we'll circle back to anyone other than the family?
I find it's easier to get into her books in audio and she tends to circle back to minor characters randomly. My assumption at this point in the reading (I've gone beyond this section) was we'd be revisiting these characters and likely more.

3. Savannah has just appeared at the house. Do you think she has more of a link to the family than she is saying? I feel like the house choice isn't entirely random but I can't put my finger on why (other than reading too much and trying to see patterns). What are your feelings about Joy and Stan taking her in?
Yes, I was assuming there was some sort of angle I just couldn't see. I thought it was totally weird to let her stay, especially longer than one night. I would be very worried if Joy and Stan were my parents.

4. There's a lot of hints towards Joy and Stan's relationship being less than picture perfect. Do you think he's responsible for Joy's disappearance or has she really taken herself off grid? With the comments in her section about memory loss, is this actually a case of a lady with relatively early onset dementia getting lost?
I don't think he had anything to do with her disappearance, I suspect Savannah though. I think the dementia is a red herring that people are throwing around because she's almost 70. But in many families (like mine) when people tend to live well into their 90s, 70 isn't all that old. But then one of my bff's mom is in her early 60's with early onset Alzheimer's, so anything is possible I guess.

Almost forgot to do this!

Judith's Participation links:

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: questions: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Lexi wrote: "I'm back in the US from my 30+ hour trip back. It looks like most everyone is doing fine with the spreadsheet.

Preeti, it looks like someone fixed the missing box so that's great.

There are no p..."

It was me! But the app hasn't been letting me post so it was not fun while I was on vacation.

I’m in for DQs!