Denise’s Comments (group member since Mar 31, 2021)

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

Andy wrote: "sorry 😕
still guilty of poking the chipmunks"

I didn't notice that you posted the cheese buffet! I thought it was a moderator post to tease the next cheese. I was so confused. I thought I'd missed an inside joke. I'm caught up now. I will pay more attention and go get some coffee. :)

Carry on poking the chipmunks...

Fiona wrote: "Cheese is done, no extra letters needed :)"

Yay!

Minor note of clarification - I wasn't sure if the date of the BOM sheet was referring to the date I read the book or the date I submitted the answers to the DQs. If it matters, I finished My Friends on the 14th and submitted the last set of questions on the 16th. :)

DQ's Day 4; Chapter 31 - 43 55-74%

15. “She wishes he hadn’t said what he did about believing in her. That’s too much responsibility. All she can give him is disappointment.” Belief is a big theme of this book. How important do you think it is to have people that unequivocally believe in you? Have you ever had someone’s belief in you feel more like a burden than support?

I think this quote from the book sums it up best:
"The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else's belief in them."

I was about to say no to the question about someone's belief in me feeling like a burden, but I think most of us have felt that way in at least some small way.

16. This book is, obviously, a lot about memories and the happy times we look back on when the people we cherish are gone. I thought the shopping/shopping cart scene was particularly vivid and one I could’ve seen me and friends doing something similar. Do you have any particularly memorable times with a group of friends from when you were a child/teen?

I do. I had a close group of childhood friends that were just the silliest. We had so much fun not caring what the world thought of us. We were a bunch of weirdos and proud of it. I was then blessed with a very caring group of older kids when I entered high school. They took me under their wing and made sure I had someone to sit with, show me around, etc. I still had some struggles, but I knew I always had a solid group of friends. That makes a huge difference.

17. We’ve come to the first(?) death from that summer, is it one you expected? It’s probably the most obvious one, but I still forgot it was a possibility.

I don't think it's the one I expected, but I guess I should have seen it coming.


18. While this is a story of friends, it’s also really a story of parents. From the bad ones, to the indifferent ones, to the kind loving ones. Did you expect for Ted and Louisa’s savior to be the mother? How important do you think parents are versus friends on your formative years?

I think that's different for everyone. For most, it's probably a balance of the two. But if you have great friends and indifferent parents (or vice versa), that's going to shift the balance of influence.

19. Ted seems to think that any of the other friends would have been better to care for Louisa, do you agree?

Ted is perfect for Louisa.

DAY 3 DQ'S CHAPTERS 20-30

10. "Art is coincidence. Love is Chaos."
"Art is a small break from human despair."

Do you agree? Discuss these quotes in relation to the book and real life in general.

I'm not sure these are statements to really agree or disagree with. I think art is different for everyone. I noticed another person compare the visual arts to the way she felt about books and I can certainly appreciate that sentiment.

11. We still don't know the artist's real name and now we find out he isn't even in the picture! What do you think is the author's intention in regards to the Artist's role throughout the novel? And how about the significance of the title of the picture, " The One of the Sea instead of the Artist's thoughts it should have been called, The Boys and Her?

I think the author wants the artist to seem a little bit mysterious and also to show that he's a central part of the story. I liked how he continually made a point to show that the artist was crazy talented, but also "just one of the guys" or....just one of their friend group.

I actually love the title of the painting. They worked so hard to convince him to paint it. They even chose the subject. "The One of the Sea" feels perfect.

12. Louise asks Ted, "Were you two a couple?" In light of how the relationship is written were you surprised by his answer?

I was a little surprised, but I think it's pretty obvious that Ted was in love.

13. This novel is full of big emotions, real life hardships, death and tragedy but connected and possibly redeemed by the beauty in meaningful and fragile human relationships. The Artist and his friends, Christian and the Artist, Ted and the Artist, Ali and Joar, Ted and Louisa, Fish and Louisa... Which relationship has made the most impression on you? Which one do you think is pivotal to the storyline?

That's like asking me to choose a favorite child. They are all so interwoven and important. Some of the relationships wouldn't even exist without the others.


14. Chapter 30 - Louisa leaves the picture then gets off the train when Ted is asleep. Did you see that happening, what do you think will happen next? Ted and Louisa reconnecting or big tragedy? (More tissues needed!)

Well, I think we know this isn't the end for them. There's a lot of book left! I never saw Louisa selling the painting. I think that might have felt like dirty money to her.

Sophie wrote: "We'd get more points for using it in the spell out so I'd use it there by preference Denise.

Claire - we still need a Z in the spell out. If it's something you want to read then go for it. If you'..."

Thanks! This notification glitch is the worst. 🫤 I said this earlier, but I've found that if I log out of all devices and then log back in, it's much better. Otherwise, it continues to happen for me about once a month.

I am looking at books for the next couple of weeks. If I read a book by an Indian author, do you want me to just use it for spell-it-outs since India is an "easy" country?

Ok, if we get desperate, there's one that will work at the library, but it isn't super appealing to me. I'll take one for the team if we can't find anything though. 😂

I have a book with the word "moose" on the cover, but no picture of the moose. That isn't what you're looking for, right?

Edited to add cover:


(There's a subtitle/caption that says "How the Moose Stole Christmas")

I finished My Friends. I don't think there's a moose. I did, in fact, get selected for a jury, so have had pretty limited access to technology.

Melindam wrote: "Keli wrote: "Mel, I hope you feel better soon. I think I’m just coming down with something."

Thank you, Keli. Turned out it's a bacterial throat infection, so I'm on antibiotics now. :( But slowly..."

That sounds miserable. I hope the antibiotics work well and work quickly!

maria helena wrote: "I finally finished Depraved Heart and it had the word vinegar in it!"

🎉🎉

KayLynn wrote: "I FOUND A BOOK WITH A CAMEL ON THE COVER THAT I ACTUALLY WANT TO READ!!!


Ok. Sorry to yell. That one has been haunting me for days.
I'm already sign..."

I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to the effort of tracking this book down:
.

I found one copy, but it was an alternate cover. Great find!

I hope you're feeling better soon, Mel. And that heat was no joke. I think half the globe felt it. I had some longer reads planned for this challenge, but I've mostly been reading comfort books. Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors, but even his book has been kind of stressing me out. I still enjoy his writing, but a lot of kids are getting beaten up in this one. Not relaxing!

1. Warm-up question: have you read any other books by Fredrik Backman before? If yes, what do you like/dislike about his themes/style, etc?
I have read lots of his books. I love his writing, but admittedly enjoy some of his less violent books more than a few of his heavier novels (even though there's often so much wisdom in the heavy stuff). And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer was a very cathartic read for me after my dad's illness and death. I will always be a fan of his.

2. In the first chapter we are intorduced to quite a memorable auction scene with super-rich people who all want to possess THE PAINTING, though their intentions are questionable. Did this make you think of some similar events happening in the world right now?
Now that you mention it, it brings to mind a few recent political issues that I won't delve into here. It also feels similar to the SpaceX flights that cost millions of dollars.

3. "Artists vs Normal People" - another apsect of these first chapters is the great divide between true artists and normal people. Backman seems to suggest that most people don't/cannot get true art and artists are so much more different (possibly better people?). Do you agree with this? Or is it a generalisation?
I think he's just trying to get us to appreciate that art is its own type of genius. You might be unsuccessful in many other academic pursuits, but could still be an artistic genius. And I do think it's true that many artists see the world in a different way. I just read an article about how some people see sound as color (synesthesia) and how several famous artists are known to have the condition. It's not a disorder, just a neurological trait that makes the way they experience life different from most other people.

4. In a sequence of weird events, Louisa ends up in possession of The Painting.
Any guesses what may happen to her and to it?
I'm hoping she ends up living with Ted and that the painting somehow makes that happen.

Bonus Q: do you have a favourite artist or a favourite piece of painting/sculpture?
I don't necessarily have a favorite, but I recently discovered Liuidmila Kondakova at an art gallery in California and I love her work. We were just discussing that while we can't afford an original of hers, maybe we want to buy a few prints.

KayLynn wrote: "Denise wrote: "KayLynn wrote: "Denise wrote: "Melindam wrote: "Denise wrote: "I'm about to finish up Shopgirls. I'll list character names, etc for the spell-it-outs and let a capta..."

Sign me up!

KayLynn wrote: "Denise wrote: "Melindam wrote: "Denise wrote: "I'm about to finish up Shopgirls. I'll list character names, etc for the spell-it-outs and let a captain decide what we need most.

..."

I think I was just thinking of Uno where the location is supposed to be the most specific setting you can narrow it down to. There have been some individual challenges at NBRC with cities though. I have a hard time keeping up, but I also have FOMO. ;)

For both of these GR glitches (switching editions and not receiving notifications), the most successful fix I have been able to find is to log out of Goodreads on all devices (laptop, phone, tablet, etc) and then log back in to the desktop version, switch editions and/or check the notify me box on the posts you want to follow, then log in on mobile devices. I don't know why that works, but it usually buys me 6 weeks or so with fewer glitches. Then I have to do it all over again. :(

Melindam wrote: "🤭 Mixing challenges happens."

There is a lot of mixed up stuff in my brain, Mel.

Melindam wrote: "Denise wrote: "I'm about to finish up Shopgirls. I'll list character names, etc for the spell-it-outs and let a captain decide what we need most.

I haven't listed this, but pleas..."

Ha - I think I'm mixing challenges. I was thinking of most specific location/setting. U.S. definitely isn't the most helpful country.