Alisha’s Comments (group member since Jun 02, 2011)

Alisha’s comments from the Reader's Ink group.

How did having two narrators alter your views on the story or on either character? Did you find yourself drawn to one over the other?

Thoughts on the "How To Be an American Housewife" guidebook that we saw excepts from?

In what ways did you identify with the mother/daughter struggles in the book between Shoko and Sue?

What rating did you give, and why?

Hi! I'm finishing school in August (woohoo!) so, I'd like to claim September, if no one minds. I'm not sure which book yet- ok if I come back later with a decision?

I was able to download it for free on iPad also.

I'm spending lots of time on airplanes in the next couple of weeks- maybe I can actually join in this month! :)

I read Inferno in college- tough read. Piccoult's The 10th Circle was good though. Kind of different, and not her best, but still a good read.

When I think of creepy, I think my mind goes more toward murder mystery/suspense.

I'm a neutral vote here. I've pretty much been on hiatus since January, and don't really see that changing until I'm done with my degree. I figure at that point, if Readers Ink is still going I'll jump back in and become more of an active member, and if its not, then I'll either find a new group or read on my own. Either way, realistically, I'm still a year away from having time to read anything but a journal article or textbook.

I missed a lot of these. Just one more year of grad school, and then maybe I can come back full time!

Of what I read, Halfbroke Horses was the best. Unexpectedly, Milo was the worst. I wanted to quit reading it so many times, but couldn't because it was my terrible pick!

Looking for suggestions on audio books- I prefer something on the lighter side probably: Fiction, humor, etc.

Like I mentioned in the Beauty Queens discussion, I'm in the middle of a really big project, and would like to have some entertainment that doesn't require my eyes or hands (they are already occupied). :)

Has anyone listened to something really good they'd recommend?

Thanks!

I had two favorites: Adina and Tiara.

Adina was who I think I would have identified with most if I were to actually meet this group of girls. I loved her flatness- she was not overly excitable or girlie. I liked her journey, also.

I loved Tiara also- may partially have been due to the voice Bray gave her in the reading, but she was really entertaining.

Just finished. Gave a 3.5 for the story, but I'd give it a 5 for the performance by Bray. I was behind in reading, so I decided to listen to it, because I am in the midst of working on a massive macrame project. Literally sitting and tying knots for hours at a time. Listening to the book was really entertaining, especially because Bray did the reading, so I knew she got the characters (and she is excellent at many different accents!).

Ah, yes, and V-neck shirts are like, the sluttiest clothes ever.

I'm not much further than that part in the book- but I actually thought the next sentence made the whole statement: "but once I turned ten, my mom thought I needed something new". Imagining a 9 year old doing that was so ridiculous!

Hadn't heard of Proof before- I'll keep my eye out for it. Thanks!

I've been trying to think of my OCD. Came up with a few things.

1. I cannot wear pants to bed. Just a tank top, when its cold out, socks. I will start with pants on, and kick them off before I fall asleep.

2. Another sleep thing- cannot be touched while I'm sleeping. Kinda feel bad for my husband on this one...I'll cuddle up before I'm ready to sleep, and then as soon as I'm ready to fall asleep, it's like something switches in me and I need to be left alone.

3. I am a bit compulsive about the orderliness of books on a shelf. This was tested yesterday when I was in a school library, and the librarian had been absent for a couple of weeks. I assisted in returning our classes books to the shelves, but couldn't stop at that- had to go around making sure the books were straightened, facing the right direction, etc. and really, if time permitted, I would have been quite happy to check every single shelf to make sure every single book was in its exact order. But- had to let that one go!

Lauren- I think I'm a slow learner. I've been drawn to many novels like this, and am ultimately disappointed by them. Maybe one day I'll learn! So, no novels that I felt strongly about. However, I can suggest a few non-fiction books that I loved- these are all written by people with autism about their lives. (well, the last one is mostly written by the father, but the daughter wrote the last couple of chapters).

Send In The Idiots, Kamran Nazeer

Songs of A Gorilla Nation, Dawn Prince-Hughes

Born on a Blue Day, Daniel Tammet

Carly's Voice, Arthur & Carly Fleishmann

I think Emma's character could have been way more developed. She describes trauma- essentially PTSD, and years of therapy with still seemingly a lot of work left. But then she will suddenly go back home with a complete stranger after only knowing him for an hour, and never shows any signs of distress during the journey home. Yes, the story is much more focused on Milo at this point, but it didn't really have to be- some of the (way too many) words could have been devoted to Emma.

I agree- hiding the OCD made it worse for him. I'm sure he couldn't hide all the physical signs of the psychological distress he felt, which ultimately drove the wedge between him and Christine.

This part of him actually drove me nuts- I work with kids with autism and their families, and I work with the attitude that although the child's brain functions differently than most, it doesn't mean there's something "wrong" with him! He is who he is, and that's ok, we'll just work on teaching him in a different way than may be necessary for neurotypical children. There is still so much of a stigma attached to having some sort of disorder- I just wanted to yell at Milo to get over himself and deal with it!