Nancy’s Comments (group member since Dec 31, 2012)

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

Wow, just checked the overall status spreadsheet and we are doing so well! Currently 3rd place?!!! Great job team!

I just finished my 3rd book which I enjoyed. Updated the planning sheet.

Discussion Questions Day 5 - Part 10 to End

17.) Anyone else find Giovanni's thoughts on Cord (his a 36 year old adult) to be a refreshing bit of grow up, you're an adult, figure out a way to handle your crap? Did Regan's revelations to Giovanni change your opinion of her?

I liked Giovanni and could see how he couldn't be with Cord since he was so comfortable being gay and Cord clearly wasn't. Regan's revelations at the end made me like her more and showed she wasn't the pushover that she seemed to be in the beginning.

18.) What did you like about the revelation Lee (or really Jason via the credit card) paid for the trip, pretending Charlotte won the contest? Why do you think the author did this?

That was actually very surprising! I'm not sure why the author did this, maybe to show that her daughter really did love and appreciate her.

19.) A lot happened at the final stop. Charlotte had the 'big O' and fixed by the magical penis. Regan got back in touch with her artist self and her kids randomly appeared in a foreign country (how did they get passports? both parents must be present at the time of application in the US for children to be issued passports), Cord and Giovanni worked things out, Lee had her breakdown and started healing. Did anyone else think this was abrupt and when they were all together (including Regan's kids) thinking WTH is going on?

Yes! I thought the ending was very abrupt! I was like, wait how did the kids get here?!!

20.) Final Thoughts on the book? Rating? Any idea what point the author was trying to make with this book?

I thought it was an okay read. I gave it 3 stars. It's a book that I'd normally read on my own, but I wasn't impressed.

Discussion Questions Day 4 - Part 7 - 9

13: The characters have each made some defining decisions on the vacation. Which decision or resolution stuck out to you the most? Example - Mine was when Charlotte pretended not to see Cord at the end of part 9. It broke my heart to see her have so much difficulty loving her son!)

I'm not sure if I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I thought that Regan leaving her husband and discovering that she was actually orchestrating the whole thing definitely stuck out to me. At first you feel bad for her, like he's obviously controlling, why is she with him. But then you realize that she is a lot stronger than she appeared.

14: Why do you think Charlotte took on and passed on the traits of her mother that she didn’t appreciate? What might have been different in her interactions with her children if she intentionally shook those off? Example traits are her mother’s inability to communicate, and her disapproval turning into a lack of love)

I'm not sure that you can control the traits that you inherit/learn from your parents. Seeing how miserable her childhood was, I would think she would try not to be a parent like her mom.

15: The characters each have a flaw in that they hold back a piece of themselves from their family and the ones they love. Which character is the hardest to read about and why?

I think Cord because you don't have control over whether you are gay or not. And for his mother not to accept him because of it is heartbreaking.

16: This was my first time reading this author. Do you think you’d read something else by Amanda Eyre Ward? Why or why not?

This was my first time reading this author and I don't think that I'd read anything else by her. This story was disappointing with unlikeable characters. If there was another book of hers that everyone raved about, I might give it a try.

Cat wrote: "just updating the sheet is ok, PROVIDED that the sheet has the information on it. Though I do like to have a prompt here to go look at the sheet - like you did here :)

What was Beach Read like? I'..."

It was good! I didn't really have expectations going in. Based on the cover, I got chick-lit type vibes, but it was a contemporary romance with a decent amount of substance.

Is updating the planning sheet and letting you know okay or do you want a book summary, like I see some people posting?

I just finished my second book and updated the planning sheet.

Discussion Questions - Day 3 - Parts 5 & 6

9. Structure: "The Jetsetters" is divided into nine parts with an average of five different chapters (other than Part 1, which had nine chapters) in each part. Each chapter has, as yet, indicated a point of view change. What do you think the different parts are designating, if anything? How is it affecting your reading of the book, if at all?

I think the different parts, at least later in the book, are to break up the different locations they are visiting. It didn't affect my reading of the book. As for the multiple POV, I enjoy reading stories with them, as you get the whole picture of what's going on and not just one person's side.

10. Setting: So far, the Perkins have visited, in some capacity, Athens, Rhodes, and, most recently, Malta. How has the Mediterranian setting impacted both the story and the characters, if at all? And how do you think the story and characters would have been affected if the cruise was traveling through a different setting (say the Perkins boarded an Alaskan cruise line), if there would be any?

At this point in the story, I don't think the setting is affecting the story.

11. Minor Character (Paros): As a follow up to question eight (since I am biasedly refusing to discuss Matt at any great length if I can help it), Paros has positively influenced both Charlotte (in feeling seen and admired) and Lee (in reconnecting with her family after coming to some big personal realizations). Why do you think Paros (and not Charlotte's recently deceased friend Minnie or Lee's one-time therapist) has been able to make these positive influences? Do you think this will continue and Paros will positively influence Regan and Cord in some way? If so, how?

I think sometimes people open up to strangers that they think they will never see again more than they do those close to them. Plus, Paros is there and seeing Charlotte's family together and their interactions. It's different being able to see what's going on versus just hearing someone tell stories about their problems. And being on vacation, I think Charlotte is more relaxed and possibly open to suggestions.

12. Minor Character (Kiko): Kiko's character has been used to further characterize the children indirectly: signifying Regan's meticulous mind (a mind that is plotting a murder, ha!), Lee's reformed ways rejecting the advances of men, and Cord's attraction towards men. Is Charlotte's character also indirectly characterized via Kiko? If so, how? (Also, I was so dismayed because Cord was my favorite character and his engagement to Giovonni was so cute and yet many of you predicted that Cord would be outted by being caught in a compromising situation by his family! gasp! So I ask you...) Was Cord's flirting with Kiko harmless, or was it a foreshadowing of a similar situation to come later in the novel?

I think Cord's flirting with Kiko was harmless.

Discussion Questions Day 2: Parts 2 - 4

I've finished the book, so I'm only answering the parts where I don't already know what happens and/or give spoilers away!

5. We get more flashbacks to Charlotte's early life in Paris, and start to get an understanding of why her family isn't close or communicative - she herself was brought up to repress feelings. Will her current crush on Paros blossom into a full relationship? How will her fascination with Paros help or hinder her main aim of this holiday - to reconnect her children?

I was glad that Charlotte found someone. She's been alone and too lonely all her life since Winston died.


6. Cord: he jettisons a year and a half of sobriety very easily, though I did enjoy how the author then used his drunken ramble through the ship to show off some of the glorious absurdities of massive cruise ships. Will Cord be able to pull himself together over the cruise or is he going to self-sabotage any happiness he might have had? Do you think Charlotte would react badly to his coming out of the closet? Any guesses on how he gets outed?

It made me sad that Cord was so easily able to start drinking again on the cruise ship. I've been on several cruises and yes, alcohol is all around and pushed a lot.

7. Lee: We get confirmation that Winston did commit suicide, and chose to do it in her bathroom (what a $*!@$!). Why would Charlotte make her lie to her siblings about how he died? And why does noone call her out about her lies about her career?

I think Charlotte made Lee lie because again, she's all about appearances and what would people think of her husband killing himself. It would reflect poorly on her somehow. That was so unfair to Lee who's been harboring that secret all of her life. I think the whole family is all about keeping their thoughts and feelings bottled up. If Lee wants to pretend that her career is fine, they don't want to say anything otherwise.

8. Regan: plotting murder! The plot thickens! What do you think the private detective has turned up? I assume it must be worse that infidelity, because you don't hire a PI unless you suspect infidelity, right? ('cos of course we have all thought about having our partners trailed rather than just, y'know, communicating with them!) Do you find the flashbacks to Matt rescuing Regan from the artist teacher (shades of Charlotte again!) make him more likeable?

I think Matt rescuing Regan from the artist teacher is the only likeable moment I have of him.

Discussion Questions - Day 1


1) This is not a book I would’ve picked up on my own, and from the beginning I felt very strongly that I’m not the target (age) group, so I’m extra curious how I’m going to feel about this. Had you heard about this book before it was chosen as BOM? What were your expectations going in?

Before this book was chosen as BOM, I would have probably read it on my own. I thought it would a be a fun, light summer read.


2) I was surprised to see that the POVs rotates. Somehow the blurb made me think the whole book would be from Charlotte’s POV. Whose POV are you enjoying the most so far? Who is your favorite character?

I finished the book and honestly, I did not have a favorite character. I disliked them all!


3) While Charlotte is supposedly the closest to Regan out of all her kids, their POVs show that they actually resent each other the most out of any of our four main characters. I can understand where Regan’s coming from, but Charlotte’s dislike of Regan so far is quite a mystery to me. What do you think is at the core here?

I guess maybe Charlotte is possibly embarrassed. She's all about appearances and Regan was there for her worst. While her older two kids went to private school and had a mother who took care of them, it was the opposite for Regan. She took care of Charlotte a lot instead of her mother taking caring of her.

4) What do you think will happen on the trip? Will they even do the whole thing? Who will be the first to pack their bags and run back home? Which secrets will come out first?

I finished the book so I know what happens. Won't reveal any spoilers here!

I just finished my first book! . It was a quick read, but not my fave. Will update the spreadsheet and wait for the discussion questions.

Happy Birthday Danielle! Hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday Cat! Hope you have a great day!

So lat night I finished my last book before the Wheelathon begins. Now I need to wait and not read anything until tomorrow night....such torture with so many (hopefully!) good books waiting to be read on my kindle!

Also, my library will be open starting next week for curbside pickup. So excited!

I am going to read the June BOM for my first read, since it just came in as an e-book from the library!

Here are some of my book recommendations to add to the list:

Cat wrote: "@Sarah, I thought you'd had a dizzy moment and thought that the task points multiplied by page count. I hadn't stopped to think deeper about the further implications!

@Nancy, for maximum points I'..."

I thought that I just read that each of us has our own task list. So we each can do each task once?

And if I read the directions more closely, I would have seen only one task per book! Sadness....thought that would be a way for me to help add more points for the team! LOL!

And I just read that it's two weeks to read a word.....so that answers that question!

Oh, good to know! Yes, I better check that! LOL!

Does anyone have a recommend strategy? Is it better to try to get as many tasks for a book now or later....or it doesn't matter? I have my first book planned and I looked at the Planning sheet and I think it covers 6 tasks.

Words change weekly, correct? I will definitely read the one book and I'm hoping for two books finished.

Since I will likely be a slower reader, didn't know if my strategy was okay or if anyone had recommendations.

This is my first Wheelathon!