Rita’s Comments (group member since Jul 23, 2010)

Rita’s comments from the Unlocking Books group.

Gwen, I haven't read anything else by Elizabeth Moon. Is the Legend of Paksenarrion series good?

Stephanie, I'm not who normally reads books a second time as I don't often have extra time, but recently, I've discovered that reading favorites (I really love the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs--NOT YA thought) is very rewarding. All the dialog and characters and favorite moments were more savory the second time around.

Do you ever feel that way about re-reading a book?

I have this as an audiobook from the library. Can't wait to read it!

Have you read it yet? What do you think of it?

I was the one who recommended this book to read. Until reading this book, I had known very little about Autism and autistic people. Written in first person, this book is from the perspective of an adult man (Lou) who was born just before the medicine was created that eradicated autism. He and a handful of others are the only ones left who struggle to fit into a world that hates them.

This book is not YA. It is an adult sci-fi, but I know of very few books that deal with the kinds of questions that this book addresses. Who am I? What makes me the person I am? What is normal? If I could change those things that make me unique, should I?

I'm not autistic, but I could identify with this man as he questions who he is and his place in the universe.

One of my favorite scenes is when Lou is talking to his boss who is angry with him for something that was outside Lou's control. Lou does every polite thing that his therapists had trained him to do since his childhood--look the other one in the eye, say thank you, speak kindly, don't yell... That's what normal people do, he was told.

But his boss didn't do those things, and Lou had to wonder who was really the more "normal" person.

Is "normal" really better?

Didn't Renee once have a monthly challenge where you have to write something that challenges social norms? We had to write an upside down sort of story.

Every chapter in Pippi Longstocking is like that. Pippi was raised on the sea by her father before he disappeared in a storm, and now she's raising herself. She has no clue what is socially acceptable.

Yes, I do remember the hands in the air. After the spell was broken, what happened to those hands? I don't remember.

Stephanie, I'd be interested then in what you think of Wendy's story in the anthology Unlocked. I think she did an excellent job of capturing the voice of a character without resorting to using dialect.

Have you read Unlocked yet? You can get a free eBook copy at the www.UnlockedProject.com web site.

Stephanie, I'm so glad you came!

I'm reading Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher. These are both the second books of a series that I started last year.

Sonia, I think you are so right. We did two tragedies and a history, and I think Midsummer's Night Dream with all the references to the faerie world would make a great discussion in a high school literature classroom.

And you'd learn a lot of useful information, IMO. A lot of books today use references to the faerie world in their Urban Fantasy books. As a reader and a writer, I think that would be interesing to know more about.

I'll schedule those in.

How come I only heard of Brandon Mull in the last few days? And here a second person mentions him for a totally different series! I've ordered his first Fablehaven book from the library (as an audiobook). We'll get to read it as a family in the car. We've been sharing books that way a lot lately.

I remember you saying before how much you didn't like that book, and I've been wondering what it was about it that you didn't like.

Stephanie wrote: "I don't know if this has been said but I think a classic is a book that can be enjoyed by several different generations..."

I agree, Stephanie. I just read Pippi Longstocking with my kids. I remember she seemed so magical when I was a kid, and I loved sharing it with my kids.

They started sleeping with their feet on their pillows at night. They thought it was so funny.

Will you be reading Unwind by Neil Shusterman with us?

Tell us your thoughts about the early chapters. NO SPOILERS.

Will you be joining us for February's read I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter?

Tell us your thoughts about the early chapters. NO SPOILERS.

Because we are a small group, I'm not going to have voting at this time. Instead, I will just start scheduling books from this list. Any objections?

I just finished White Cat by Holly Black. Really intriguing story, and very different from anything I've read in a long time.

Has anybody heard the fairy tale about the White Cat? It has always been my favorite fairy tale, but I've only heard the story once. It's not one of the more popular stories, like Cinderalla, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Rapunzel.

Hi Alice! Welcome to our book group.

Logically speaking, it's a matter of the subconscious vs. the conscious. When the characters take over, it is likely when your subconscious mind becomes the writer.

But I've had characters who have done what you've said. I had one that I planned to be an honor-bound, go-get-em kind of guy. Instead he got really wishy-washy and I couldn't stand him. No matter how I edited him, I coudn't get rid of his whiny voice.

I've been doing some co-authoring, and that requires a lot of pre-work. Forced to outline, I found how much I loved it. My first 2 books were pantsed. My 3rd was plotted but not so carefully. Now I'm working on my 4th (other than the joing project), and the process has been much easier over all with a few notes about each scene.