Shannon’s Comments (group member since May 21, 2018)

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

I’m in!

July Readathon
✿Duration: July 19- July 26 (7 days) Start time whatever works for you

Mini challenges
✿Read a book that has been on your TBR for more than 6 months
✿ Read a book that has over 5000 ratings : Untamed


Sunday:
Monday: Untamed 61 pages - 18%
The Shadows - 28%
Tuesday: Untamed 25 pages - 25%
Wednesday: The Shadows - 31%
Thursday: Untamed 158 pages - 78%
Friday: Untamed 74 pages - 100%
The Haunting of Hill House - 8 pages (rip)
Saturday:

Total pages:

- 336 pages

Current Total: 728,759

Can we use theFive Feet apart as BOM next week or do we have to use it for this week. I just started reading it but i could probably finish it this week if i really tried to. I just have an exam tomorrow tho.

Just a reminder that books must be at least 160 pages in length or verified with at least 40,000 words (by arbookfinder.com or arbookfinder.co.uk) or have an audio edition that is at least 5 hours long

6/22 - 352 pages

Current total: 715,059

Bernadette wrote: "Donna wrote: "Tammie wrote: "Donna will start working on the SS soon I'm sure"

Done. All of you planners can start planning your books."

Question - Do books for Round 2 need to be started when Ro..."


You can carry over books started but not finished. The only thing they said they didn't want was banking books (so no carrying over already finished books).

Ashlee wrote: "When will they spin for our new word? Just wondering about planning time for the tags."

The countdown to round 2 (next spin) is posted above by Tammie. It is also in post #8 also by Tammie.

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 also hated that part. Charlotte is her son. He's literally a part of her! How is it that hard to accept him. Like okay, i get it. You don't believe in same sex marriage or dating, but can't you at least try harder! If you love him, you would. I think Cord could've helped her loosen up in life just by accepting how the world is changing. And to be more accepting.

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)

Sometimes when you grow up around someone and are alway trying to get them to be happy with you (which was what i noticed she seemed to be trying to do), you start copying things they do. This makes you seem more like them and hopefully they will like you more. I think Charlotte internally wanted her mother to be happy with her so she took on some of her traits.


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 thought Lee was the hardest. She always tried to have her brave face on and be there for her family when in reality her whole life was falling apart. I can somewhat relate to that but not to the extreme that she got to. When she was about to commit suicide i actually was thinking about putting the book down and just not finishing it. But i was so far into it already i decided to finish it. I was very happy that Regan was there to help her and they somewhat became closer because of it.


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?

I don't think i will. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I usually prefer horror or mystery books. I think if she came out with a book in one of those genres i would think about it but i definitely struggled with this book.

Right now we need a N, O, R and a G

- 6/16
Pages: 367

- 6/19
Pages: 272

Current Total: 689,872

Also please remember to update the drop down menu that says "planned, CR, read." This will make it a lot easier for me and the rest of the captains. Thanks guys!

Donna wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Do minor characters count for the letters?"

I believe that it has always been characters that have a speaking part in the book."

ok thank you for clarifying :)

Discussion Questions Day 2: Parts 2 - 4

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 personally don't think that their relationship will turn into anything once the cruise end. I do hope that Charlotte enjoys it though while it lasts. It annoys me how much she complains about not having anyone around.

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?

I thought that the chapter where Cord got that drunk was really sad and I understand why his sponsor didn't want him to go on the cruise. I wish his family was more helping in keeping him from drinking so much or maybe they will be in the future (praying). I definitely hope things turn out alright for him because he's a respectable character. I know that Charlotte is a Christian and some Christians don't approve of being gay, but I hope that this isn't Charlotte. If he's your son I feel like you should respect him for who he is no matter who they like. I hope that if Charlotte is resentful towards Cord, she realizes this and gets over it quickly. I think that Cord will be drunk when he says it (like he did to Lee I think)

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 no one call her out about her lies about her career?

I think its 100% screwed up for Winston to do that to his own daughter. Seeing someone dead is traumatizing, but seeing someone you love, in your own family is even worse. I think that maybe Charlotte made Lee lie to her siblings about how he died to make him seem more respectable. She might have also been protecting Lee from the blame being thrown on her (even though it wasn't her fault at all). Sometimes when you're looking for a reason why it's easier to blame the first person around.

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 have no clue what the detective turned up, but I also think it must have been something bad. Taking by the way Matt seems rather aggressive towards Regan in certain chapters my mind goes wild (maybe like drug dealing or assault that turned into murder). I think that the flashbacks makes me understand why Regan ever liked Matt. Sometimes when I don't know the backstory I just think to myself, "why would you ever like someone like that." I think the reason Regan is still with Matt is possibly because of these flashbacks (and of course their kids)

Do minor characters count for the letters?

Thank you Rebecca and Tammie :)

how do you link the BOM evidence to your post specifically?

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 had not heard about it. It is not my usual read but I decided to branch out to participate in this. My expectations going in was that it was going to be hard for me to read. I usually am into horror, mystery, and dystopian books so this is out of my comfort zone. I got the audiobook however and I listened to it on the drive home from the shore and I actually enjoyed the first part!

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 also was surprised the POVs changed. My favorite POV is either Regan or Lee. They are also my favorite character. I used to take acting classes and was looking for acting gigs so I can relate to what Lee was going through looking for jobs. I also like Regan because she feels the most real to me.

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 think that seeing someone while you're struggling can either lead you to be very close to or distant from them. Regan was with Charlotte during the worst part of her life while she was struggling to pay off everything and I think that might be part of the reason Charlotte doesn't like Regan.

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 think that the family will argue at first and a few people might leave, but the ones that stay will grow closer. There will definitely be drama though. I HOPE that Matt (might not be Matt, im totally blanking but Regan's man) that literally invited himself to the cruise is the first to leave. Even though he paid for his own ticket, people need time away sometimes and I feel like this was what Regan wanted. However, he butted himself into the trip :( I think the first secret to come out will definitely be Cord being gay. I think there's not that much of a way around that one with Giovanni threatening to leave him so often.

Im in!!


Duration: June 21 - June 28 (7 days)

Mini challenges:
✿Read a book that starts with one of the letters in J U N E
The Jetsetters - Pages: 352
✿Read a book tagged audio books (or any variation of)

Monday, June 22nd
The Jetsetters : Finished
The Last House Guest : Continued
144 pages

Tuesday, June 23rd
The Last House Guest : Continued
37 pages

Thursday, June 25th
The Last House Guest : Finished
Five Feet Apart : 2%


Books:


Total Chapters: 96

Total Pages: 688

- 368 pages

Current Total: 656,816

Sorry for forgetting to post my recommendations for so long!
Here they are though...