Petra’s Comments (group member since Aug 13, 2013)

Petra’s comments from the All About Books group.

I'm in!

We did great! That's a wonderful total!

See you at next month's readathon.

I'm in!

Mon, Oct 20: 36 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 36 pages

Tues, Oct 21: 75 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 43 pages
A Second Chance - 32 pages

Wed, Oct 22: 38 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 38 pages

Thurs, Oct 23: 61 pages
A Second Chance - 36 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 25 pages

Fri, Oct 24: 36 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 36 pages

Sat, Oct 25: 15 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 15 pages

Sun, Oct 26: 57 pages
A Second Chance - 34 pages
Thriving: 1920–1939 - 23 pages

Total pages read: 318 pages

Currently Reading:

I'm in!

Monday 18th: 32 pages
Half a Crown - 32 pages (started)

Tuesday 19th: 45 pages
Half a Crown - 45 pages

Wednesday 20th: 0 pages

Thursday 21st: 106 pages
All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience - 58 pages (audio; started)
Half a Crown - 48 pages

Friday 22nd: 46 pages
Half a Crown - 46 pages

Saturday 23rd: 102 pages
All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience - 59 pages
Half a Crown - 43 pages

Sunday 24th: 106 pages
Half a Crown - 106 pages (finished)

Monday 25th: 55 pages
All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience - 43 pages
The Last Gift - 12 pages (started)

Tuesday 26th: 29 pages
The Last Gift - 29 pages

Wednesday 27th: 12 pages
The Last Gift - 12 pages (my ereader quit working)

Thursday 28th: 105 pages
All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience - 49 pages
A Symphony of Echoes - 56 pages (started)

Friday 29th: 15 pages
A Symphony of Echoes - 15 pages

Saturday 30th: 65 pages
The Bird Sisters - 30 pages (started)
A Symphony of Echoes - 35 pages

Sunday 31st: 76 pages
All That Moves Us: A Pediatric Neurosurgeon, His Young Patients, and Their Stories of Grace and Resilience - 49 pages
The Bird Sisters - 27 pages

Final Total: 794 pages

Currently Reading:


Completed:

Thanks, Alannah!

I've updated Post 6 with the final total.

Alanah, I'll be home on Wednesday evening. I'll update then.

I can read and post comments, but cannot edit a post to update it.

The month really has flown by quickly, Alannah. It's scary sometimes how quickly the days pass by.

I just wanted to say that I'm leaving town for a week and will only have spotty internet reception. I'll update my post (#6) when I can but I may be a few days late, depending on access.

A whole month! I'll give this a try....

1st: 42 pages
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 42 pages (audio)

2nd: 41 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 16 pages
Ha'penny - 25 pages

3rd: 12 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 12 pages

4th: 72 pages
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 51 pages
Ha'penny - 21 pages

5th: 35 pages
Ha'penny - 35 pages

6th: 73 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 31 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 27 pages
The Old Testament - 15 pages

7th: 42 pages
Ha'penny - 42 pages

8th: 42 pages
The Old Testament -10 pages
Ha'penny - 32 pages

9th: 14 pages
Ha'penny - 14 pages

10th: 40 pages
Ha'penny - 16 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 24 pages

11th: 28 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 15 pages
The Old Testament - 13 pages

12th: 0 pages

13th: 26 pages
The Old Testament -26 pages

14th: 31 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 31 pages

15th: 12 pages
The Old Testament -12 pages

16th: 34 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 34 pages

17th: 0 pages

18th: 61 pages
The Old Testament -15 pages
Ha'penny - 26 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 20 pages

19th: 37 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 37 pages

20th: 36 pages
The Old Testament - 9 pages
Ha'penny - 27 pages

21st: 25 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 25 pages

22nd: 44 pages
The Old Testament - 12 pages
Ha'penny - 32 pages

23rd: 0 pages

24th: 64 pages
The Old Testament - 13 pages
Ha'penny - 51 pages

25th: 61 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 28 pages
Ha'penny - 33 pages

26th: 79 pages
Ha'penny - 67 pages (finished)
The Old Testament - 12 pages

27th: 26 pages
Farthing - 26 pages (started)

28th: 56 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 24 pages
Farthing - 32 pages

29th: 64 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 64 pages

30th: 76 pages
Robinson Crusoe - 76 pages (finished)

31st: 52 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 52 pages

Final Total: 1,225 pages

Currently Reading:



Finished:

I'm glad you enjoyed the story, too, Laura.

Yes, I expected it, too, ever since Philip read that story in the sanctuary after returning home from war. I was hoping not, but expected it, in a way.

Still, I really enjoyed the story and characters. It's a story of the importance of self-forgiveness, I think. Philip and Sylvia forgave each other for everything, but neither could forgive themselves and this guilt wouldn't leave them.

I look forward to your thoughts when you finish.

I agree that it's a story of inner life, contemplations of "what is" and "what might have been".
"What might have been" will almost always be rosier and more to our wishes than the "what is" reality we live in. Life is messy and not always as rosy as "what might have been", which is almost always perfect.

I enjoyed the story a lot but found the final chapter weak and unsatisfying in comparison. However, as a whole, the story works and Elizabeth Gaskell's writing is wonderful.

As for the story, it's one about Life's choices. Sylvia took the easy (and expected) way out by marrying Philip. Kester had offered her an alternative path (living with his sister), but that was rejected by Sylvia. After that, it was a life of neutrality for her.

Philip also lives a lie. His happiness depends on Sylvia and she's not happy, so neither is he. Plus he's dealing with his choice to lie to Sylvia.

Charley is someone who'll always land on their feet. He rolls with the punches that Life gives him. In the end, he's a changed man from who he was at the beginning. He's become what he used to fight against. But he's the only one who ended up happy.

I thought this was a story about self-forgiveness. Neither Sylvia or Philip could forgive themselves for their sins against each other, and they were never happy. Charley never had these feelings. By going with whatever Life gives him, he didn't think of what he left behind, had no guilt and led a decent life.

The last chapter was a disappointment but the rest of the book was full of twists and turns. The story could have gone in many directions at many points in the story. As a reader, I was not sure where the story was headed.

Laura, I look forward to you finishing the book and hearing your thoughts.

I'm in!

Monday, June 16: 169 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 24 pages
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 57 pages (audio)
The Partridge and the Pelican - 88 pages

Tuesday, June 17: 107 pages
The Partridge and the Pelican - 45 pages
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 62 pages

Wednesday, June 18: 64 pages
The Mayor of Casterbridge - 9 pages
The Partridge and the Pelican - 55 pages

Thursday, June 19: 24 pages
The Partridge and the Pelican - 24 pages

Friday, June 20: 109 pages
The Partridge and the Pelican - 82 pages (finished)
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 27 pages

Saturday, June 21: 48 pages
The Rift - 48 pages (started)

Sunday, June 22: 48 pages
We Came, We Saw, We Left: A Family Gap Year - 33 pages
The Rift - 15 pages

Total: 569 pages


Reading:



Finished:

I finished the book.

Suzanne, your review summed up the story well.

I found this story heartbreaking in some ways. Both Philip and Sylvia made mistakes (we all do) and these mistakes lead to hard times.
I thought this story wonderful throughout. It never gave itself away and I wasn't sure where the story was going right until the end.
The final chapter, though, sounded a bit preachy. What it said is Truth in the words of the Bible. But it made for a, perhaps, pat ending.
Still, this was a good read. The story has depth and characters that the reader cares about (good or bad caring). They are real. They make mistakes, they suffer, they try to find happiness in Life.

Elizabeth Gaskell can tell a good tale and this is one of them.

Nidhi, I look forward to your thoughts on this book when you read it.

I've read North and South and Mary Barton. I enjoyed them both a lot. Elizabeth Gaskell does not disappoint.
I have a few of her books left to read and am looking forward to all of them.

This book has jumped to being my favorite book by Elizabeth Gaskell that I've so far read.
It has wonderful, flawed characters. Melodrama. Deep, spiritual dilemmas. It's well written and keeps the reader on the edge of their seats.

The story keeps getting better the further into it I get. I'm thoroughly enjoying this book.

Who else is reading or planning to read this?

Anyone else reading this book?

I'm so very much enjoying this story. While some of it is sort of predictable, it has twists & turns and moments of surprise that keep the reader pulled into the story and turns it into quite the page turner.
I'm reading this slowly with another group and am finding it difficult to not read ahead of the schedule. This slow reading is giving me time to savor each page.

I am not a fan of Philip, at all. Right from the start he irritated me. His manipulation of Sylvia is horrid.

Suzanne, I haven't finished reading the book yet and will save your review until I do. I'll comment later.