Karen ⊰✿’s Comments (group member since Sep 23, 2012)

Karen ⊰✿’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Ryan Reynolds

DQs Day 4: Chapters 20-26

16. I love Bev’s line ‘ How in hell is anybody supposed to help if you won’t ask?’ Are there any characters who don't need to hear this? Did it resonate with you?
haha true. They are all stuck in their own heads

17. Opal and Jasper finally reveal their secrets and talk. Were you surprised that they are both Graverly’s? How do you feel about the outcome regarding schools?
I wasn't surprised about either. I'm glad Jasper had made his own choices and organised what he wanted. The whole picture and writing from the private school was messed up. That is not where he would want to be. Opal annoyed me though trying to get him to promise to not study business. That is a sensible choice for him and he can still be an artist but perhaps it's not his main vocation.

18. Elizabeth Baine seems to have an amazing connections and pull. Who do you think she works for? How do you think she figured out what the right leverage was?
She is annoying as the Uber villain. I suspect there is something up with her. Maybe she is originally from the underworld or another like it

19. So much happened in these chapters, yet I really don’t feel like I learned much. How do you feel about the pacing/storyline?
Far too slow. Disappointing as I really enjoyed the first section and have been kind of yawning ever since

20. We learn that being a warden is a choice, although the house asks very vulnerable people. Do you think that the other wardens understood the price? How does Opal fit – she chose, but she isn’t a warden at this point.

Bonus cat question: Which name do you prefer – Baast or Hellcat?

It is a choice, although not really when you don't have choices in life.
And embarrassingly I thought they were the same cat they just both call it by a different name LOL. Shows that maybe my yawning became a bit more like snoozing

Eldarwen wrote: "I just reached a point in American Psycho that is making me feel a liiiiiittle more than just disturbed. Bloody hell o.O

And still, the book has a very particular writing style that keeps me readi..."

I watched the movie and it was disturbing. Can't face the book 😂

haha Andy, I believe it does!

Great stuff Keri :)

DQs Day 3
Chapters 14-19

11. Starling House reminded me up to a point with some vibes of Beauty and the Beast, although lesser now as the story progresses. Is the book reminding you of any other stories you have read before?
It has touches of lots of different stories, There is one in particular in my memory but do you think I can remember the name of it?!! lol

12. Ch 14-19 have answered a lot of questions about Opal, the house, Arthur, the history of the place and what's going on. Has anything revealed in this section been surprising to you? Does the explanation so far of everything that has happened ring true?
Nothing surprising per se. I'm glad we got some reveals but the book seems pretty slow going at this point

13. Jasper and Opal are clearly close, although he is sometimes moody and surly. He seems resentful at times of Opal going out so far on a limb to take care of him and get him out of Eden. What do you think of the character now that he has more fleshed-out scenes and more has been revealed about him and their relationship?
Opal needs to let the kid do his thing! She is so suffocating of him but then wants to be so independent herself.

14. Arthur and Opal have heated a few things up. Do you think they fit each other well with these developments?
This was expected, but I'm not sure it is believable or necessary to the story.

15. There is humor in the book that is overshadowed by genuinely creepy horror like tales, What do you think about Underland "beasts" revealed so far?
It is pretty interesting so far. I hope the pace picks up a little

DQs Day 2 - Chapters 8 - 13

6) The narration is using dual POVs: 1st person for Opal, 3rd person for Arthur. Does it work for you? Do you think this suits the story?
I like it actually. Opal is so unreliable that 1st POV is best for her. Arthur is naturally distant so similarly I think this adds to his character

7) Opal goes to the Library to find out more about Starling House and finds her mother's phone number among the Gravely family's documents. What implications can it have? Do you think it could be a hint about Opal's parentage?
Although I didn't see this coming it makes sense. Her mother was clearly running from something.

8) After Bev's story about the relationship between Eleanor Starling and the Gravely brothers, we get a totally different perspective from what Nathaniel Boone went through. What do you think about the Gravely family and their "hold" over the town of Eden? What do you think Nathaniel may have discovered in the dark?
It is interesting how it is this old rich family that have a hold on the town trope. I'm not sure it works for me but I'm going along with it.

9) Finally we learn some more about about Arthur's role (warden) and his connection to the House. What do you think about their "relationship"? What is your opinion about Starling House as a sentient being? Could it be good or evil?
I'd like to think the house is mostly good. Or at least wanting to "survive". It does feel like Arthur is stuck and losing hope

10) On "characters not communicating"
In Chapter 12 we find out that Opal has not told Jasper about the fact that she arranged for him to go to a different school and she actually managed to put together the fee for the 1st year already. Opal doesn't tell his brother about her working in Starling House and she doesn't tell Arthur about her spying on the House for Elizabeth Baine and getting more and more demands.
What do you think of all this?
This is super odd to me. She is his quasi-mother now but is hiding all of these things and it is not like he is a little kids. So strange

Andy wrote: "going to start Catching Fire today

how does it compare to book 1 for those that have read them?"

I only gave it 2 stars first time around. I found it repetitive and lazy.
This time I’m appreciating it a bit more

Sorry Ashley, now added!

Insiyah wrote: "Thoughts on Part 2:

- I really feel for how trapped Katniss feels after Gale gets whipped. She's trapped in this engagement she would not have chosen, trapped in a house she feels unsafe in, trap..."

I like that you have picked up on that sense of loneliness. I agree but wouldn't have thought it until I read your words! It does feel lonely eventhough they are all essentially trapped together

Preeti wrote: "By the way, I noticed something interesting in the Wiki page that Opal copies into her document at the end of Chapter 4. There are 3 books listed in the Further Reading section.

The first book is ..."

Interesting, thanks for this!! I'm behind and haven't finished so I will come back to this when I am done

Part 2

I felt this much more of a gut punch this time when they announced the tributes would be from the victors.
I think the first time I read this I found it a bit lazy to throw them all back in. Perhaps this time I appreciate the nuance more about how badly Snow needs Katniss to be gone to stop the rebellions .

Loved the scene in her house with the peacekeepers after she jumped over the newly electrified fence!

I did notice this read how we get to know more about life in her district - and what the other districts produce- than we did in book 1

my library hold finally came in. Yay!

DQs Day 1
Ch 1 to 7

1.) Have you read other books by Alix E Harrow? Was this on your tbr list before it was a BOM selection? Any expectations going in?
No, no and no :)
I even considered this morning if I should start it as I need to get it done this week for points. Haha! Glad I did

2.) Did you read the footnotes as you went along? Find them helpful? Annoying?
I have the audio and I like that they add them into the narration. It isn’t done in a disruptive way

3.) The discussion of E.Starling's book being too scary for children reminded me of some interviews with M.Sendalk when the Where the Wild Things movie came out several years ago about books, etc that scare children (when children are the target audience). His response was basically children should be scared sometimes and there's nothing wrong with that. And has further said, it's better to have a book full of fears than one pretending there's nothing to be afraid of. What are your thoughts on this topic?
Kids love to be scared! I think it is a strong emotion and I know my kids have been continually fascinated with “scary” stuff. As long as it is age appropriate I’m ok with it

4.) What are your thoughts so far on Eden and Starling House? Has the author done a good job so far of creating an atmosphere and setting for a good gothic story?
oh I love the creepiness! Especially when it said the house “licked” her blood

5.) Any favorites so far in our motley cast of characters? Opal, Arthur, Jasper, Bev, and Starling House.
not yet. Really enjoying Opal so far

Jenny wrote: "There are two points in this book where I wonder if things would have gone differently if the characters had spoken honestly to each other. The first is the horror that was the visit to District 11..."

Yes I agree with this.

The District 11 piece was particularly brutal but required to be so to push the story arc of rebellion forward .

Also being reminded again of how Katniss is 16… although she is frustrating at times with what she doesn’t share with Peeta she is also so young and it is in keeping with her age that she wouldn’t think about the consequences

And omg I just checked the weather app and Sydney has a low of 4c! That never happens. That cold front must be on its way up. I’m going to have to find my thermals when I get home 😬

Laurie B wrote: "I've been reading, just not updating! I've finished three in the last couple months:

Even though I own a signed, paperback copy, I did the audiobook, and it was ..."

Demon King sounds intriguing!!

I absolutely recommend Enola. Such quick reads too 😊

Yes and I didn’t do the activity on day 3 - they went white water rafting (as I had foot surgery last year I wasn’t keen) and for that they left at 6am!! Crazy. No one seemed to find it odd though so perhaps these are just normal hours for conferences here.

Wow gtk Chava as my flight tonight I actually go to Melbourne and then change to domestic up to Sydney. I better get my hoodie out 🤭

This was not my favourite the first time around.... I only rated it two stars.

This time, 2 chapters in, I am appreciating the interaction with Snow more. I love the line "It must be very fragile, if a handful of berries can bring it down" when they are talking about potential uprisings. He has been made the right amount of menacing, creepy and cold

Hey team!

Hi all

Checking in from Bali. It has been a crazy few (5?) days. Very early starts and late finishes. It is only a 2 hour time difference but it means I am awake and up around 5am, the conference starts at 7.45am and we were going through until 9.30/10pm. 150 people from 9 countries across the APAC region. Only 3 Aussies and 1 Kiwi. It was quite fun and also interesting meeting so many different people.

Bali is a beautiful place. Unfortunately full of Australians, but the locals are lovely 🤣🤣
Traffic is absolutely horrendous. I don't know how they cope so well and calmly with it. 10km takes 45 minutes.

11pm flight home so I will be cactus tomorrow. Hopefully the time difference doesn't knock me around too much seeing that I leave again for Thailand in a week.

Although I did some reading on the flight here I haven't had much of a chance since. I should be able to finish Crown of Midnight on the plane and I'm almost done with Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High although I brought that one with me as a paperback and left it in my suitcase as I didn't think I would cope with a business book on an 11pm flight 😂

Jean wrote: "Cat wrote: "We can take DOG happily!"

Coincidentally that is the omega book I would be most interested to read."

We will lock in Omega Dog then?

I’m sitting in Sydney airport checking in :)
Just finished my last book for the round and added to the spreadsheet.
Emily Henry - so lovely! Although I was trying not to cry in the Uber on the way here 🤭

I’ll get into my chunkster now so I won’t finish any more before the round ends