Ashley’s Comments (group member since Apr 27, 2022)

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

Hmmm... I don't mind giving it a shot! Do we have any other titles we haven't used yet? Anything at all might work.

So, can we add additional words that aren't part of the title so it makes more sense?

Also, it's just supposed to be the titles of the stories? I originally thought we had to write a coherent (if probably ridiculous) story using book titles.

what about the story tasks?

I'm Currently Reading the following that I should finish before 8/15:

How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them - Poem in text
Lily and the Octopus - Will work for TBR task

ETA: FINISHED BOTH!

Lake Silence Anne Bishop / 9-Jul-2022 / 433pgs
A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin / 11-Jul-2022 / 835pgs
Trouble with the Cursed Kim Harrison / 14-Jul-2022 / 464pgs
Until Next Time Amy Lignor / 18-Jul-2022 / 224pgs
All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr / 20-Jul-2022 / 531pgs
Malibu Rising Taylor Jenkins Reid / 26-Jul-2022 / 365pgs
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee / 28-Jul-2022 / 336pgs
I Must Betray You Ruta Sepetys / 30-Jul-2022 / 321pgs

Current Total: 1,252,702

NEW PUPPY!?

Finished The Violence and added to tracker. I also put it in the Muses - Melpomene (tragedy story), feel free to move elsewhere. There didn't seem to be anywhere else to make it fit.

Cheers to that!

Alysa wrote: "I normally don't add or edit my own books or potential books during team challenges, due to some drama during a previous TT."

Same, although it seems as though the general consensus among all the editions I could find were closer to the 456/457 mark. I honestly don't know where GR gets their page counts sometimes, as they will be WILDLY different.

I felt comfortable making the change and using the pg count listed for the new edition as well. If the TT gods want to strike me down, so be it... I'm sure they will find me!

Ok, so....

I edited this version (Kindle ASIN B08BL96LXH) to reflect the correct page count. (might take a few minutes to update)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I'm having difficulty making a new edition for 9781472273192. It doesn't come up in a search, but it does say that it already exists when I attempt to create a new edition. You might pose the question in the GR Librarian group?

Either way, for our challenge purposes, I'd use the Kindle version with the correct page count... but that's just me. Maybe a captain will weigh in if that isn't acceptable.

Friday update!

Currently Reading:
How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them 40ish% done
I Must Betray You 50ish% done

I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and put it in CLIO, but it can definitely be moved if needed!

Update!

Finished Malibu Rising and started 2 new books:
How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them
To Kill a Mockingbird

on a personal note... my husbands surgery went well, and he's recovering by making sure I get him as much chocolate pudding as possible. I think I'll get a decent amount of reading done between waiting on him and working from home! (I hope)

DQs Day 3: 41% 5:00 PM to 59% 10:00 PM

9. The Riva house on the beach and Nina's husband's place on a cliff are described several times in the book as the most important settings. Do you find the houses and Malibu as appealing places? What would your own dreamplace be like? And where would it be?

I do not love Malibu or beachy places. I have actually traveled some of the PCH and it is definitely beautiful, but I would never want to spend extended time there. I prefer more “foresty” vibes.

10. As we are moving forward in the story, the siblings characters may be getting fleshed out a bit more. What do you think of Nina? Does it seem like she's following in her mother's footsteps in her choices?

I find Nina’s storyline challenging and heart-wrenching. She’s presented with such enormous responsibility at far too young an age and in her only “selfish” moments, if ends up going the same direction as her mother. I can’t imagine her frustration and exhaustion!

11. Connecting to the previous question about Nina: while TJR is handing out information concerning her husband and their marriage rather sparingly, how do you see Nina's choice and their relationship? Any impressions on what Brandon is like?

I dislike Brandon so far, and I think he’d have to do something amazing to change my opinion. I feel like Nina’s “choice” is just another spiral of guilt.

12. What do you think about the relationship between Jay and Hud? How do you think Jay will react when he learns about Hud's betrayal especially as he seems to have found a real love interest?

Their relationship seems tense, even if it is loving. I think Jay will loose it, but will eventually accept it.

DQs Day 2: 1959 "It was last December 1959"
41% 1981 "...in her arms, on her back."

5. 1959 - "It was last December, 1959" -
It sounds like a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons song...Wow! What an explosive chapter. Your reaction? Mick was characterised as a sleezy womaniser, it was always going to happen or I didn't see that coming! And June's reaction? Sensitive woman with a huge heart or a doormat for putting up with what she suspected?

I think this chapter illustrates just how complex people and their trauma is, and how that trauma and personality intersect and ultimately alter other peoples lives. I think Mick is more complex than a womanizer, I think he’s a sad man, stuck with a terrible example of love, who either isn’t willing or unable to overcome it. I think June is genuinely in love and that makes us do things that aren’t always in our best interest, especially when children are involved, and I think she blames herself when she shouldn’t.

6. "He gave no thought to the idea that he might break his children like someone had broken him". "You're drunk and you're killing yourself with this stuff." Discuss Mick and June's parenting styles and how they have affected the siblings as children and adults.

They both parent as a product of their and their parent's relationships. Mick gives up and dissociates. June throws in to compensate, while slowly killing herself to do so.

7. The title of the book is Malibu Rising and the author gives the reader a sense of the beach culture both in the past and the present time lines. What does it bring to the story and would it be as effective in another setting?

I’m not sure on this one. Other than bringing the children together, I’m still deciding what this brings to the book/story itself.

8. Already with the first set of questions there are varying opinions by the group about both Taylor Jenkins Reid as an author and how it compares to her other work. I loved Daisy Jones and the Six but I am finding this one a bit like Days of our Lives... but the author is skillful enough to make it into a page turner. Where do you sit, engaging tale well written or too much drama and as we are half way through do you see this ending in triumph or tragedy for the Riva siblings?

I haven’t read her other books, and I don’t usually indulge in this genre. I find it interesting, I’m compelled by the characters, but I feel as though I’m waiting on a cliff. Is there something more engaging going to happen, or is this one of those books that just carries on and then eventually ends.

DQs Day 1: Prologue - 11:00AM

1. Both Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo have been BOMs in this group before. Have you read these books (or others) by Taylor Jenkins Reid too or is Malibu Rising your first book by the author? What are your expectations going in?

I haven’t read any books by Taylor Jenkins Reid before, so I have no expectations about this book.

2. We have been introduced to quite a lot of MCs and their different POVs in the first 20% of the book. Do you prefer one character/POV over the others or is it still too early to tell?

I think I’m preferential to Hud at this point, but I feel like that could easily change. As far as the POV, I’m enjoying the “love story” of the parents most so far.

3. The writing has quite a contemporary feel to it, especially the 1983 timeline, which makes it easy to forget the book is actually set in the past. What's your opinion on the writing and the back and forth between the two timelines so far, and how does it compare to other TJR books you've read (if any)?

I like the feel of the writing, but as it’s still early in the building, it’s somewhat disjointed. But I disagree that it feels as though it’s not set in the past. I can almost feel the age when reading, even with the children’s POV.

4. "The story of June and Mick Riva seemed like a tragedy to their oldest child, Nina. It felt like a comedy of errors to their first son, Jay. It was an origin story for their second son, Hud. And a mystery to the baby of the family, Kit. To Mick himself it was just a chapter of his memoir."
We don't really know how June and Mick's marriage post kids 1 + 2 went (and ended) yet, but from what we've learned about each of the siblings and their (love) lives so far, how do you think their parents' story has affected them after reading the quote above?

I’m assuming that their relationship affected all of the siblings dramatically in one way or another.

Bernadette wrote: "I agree - should we put it in comedy or tragedy for now?"

Hmmm... Tragedy, maybe? Maybe it could be the "end" of the story?

Also, FYI - My husband did indeed rupture his Achilles tendon and has to have surgery on Tuesday. I may get lots of reading done that day, or none at all. It may be slim next week if I have to help him a lot. He will be non-weight bearing for TOO MANY weeks. hah! I feel terrible for us both.

I put "Until Next Time" on the muses tab for Clio/S2, but it could potentially be used for a story if we want to switch it as we get that together.