Jessica’s Comments (group member since Feb 05, 2013)

Jessica’s comments from the Readers in Wonderland group.

Check out my new blog HystericalLiving.com for a major laugh!!!

bahaha your such a hater kristi! I didnt even get a chance to read this month flight attending training/moving across the country apparently takes a lot of time lol

mostly everyone just suggests books and we go from there. So just text or post whatever you feel like reading and ill post all of our choices on the page and we can all vote for which seems best :)

1. The opening scene features a litany of the books Madeleine loves. What were your first impressions of her, based on her library? How are her beliefs about love transformed throughout the novel?

2. When Phyllida fell in love with Alton, she gave up her dream of becoming an actress in Hollywood. What sustains the Hannas' marriage despite this sacrifice? How are Alwyn and Madeleine influenced by their parents' marriage? Is Alwyn's marriage to Blake a bad one

3. In Jeffrey Eugenides's depiction of Brown University culture in the 1980s, what does it take for the students to impress one another and their professors? What might Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida have to say about the signs in Dr. Zipperstein's Semiotics 211 class?

4. Why is Madeleine more attracted to Leonard than to Mitchell? As she copes with Leonard's instability and her feelings of guilt, how does mental illness shape the relationship?

5. What does Mitchell hope to discover as a student of religion? What role does religion play in his quest to be loved? Is his ideal --- a religion devoid of myth and artificial social structures --- attainable?

6. What does sex mean to Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell? Over the course of the novel, what do they discover about fantasy versus reality and the tandem between physical and emotional satisfaction?

7. What recurring themes did you detect in Mitchell's trip overseas as he tries to manage his money, his love life, and Larry? Does he return to America a stronger, changed person or an amplified version of his college self?

8. What does Alwyn try to teach her little sister about being a woman by sending the Bachelorette's Survival Kit? What does the kit help a woman survive?

9. Madeleine's parents are affluent and have enough free time to stay very involved in her life. Does this liberate her, or does it give her less freedom than Leonard, who is often left to fend for himself?

10. In their chosen career paths after college, what are Leonard and Madeleine each trying to uncover about life? Does his work on the yeast-cell experiment have anything in common with her work on Victorian novels?

11. Would you have said yes to Leonard's marriage proposal?

12. How does the novel's 1980s setting shape the plot? Do twenty-first-century college students face more or fewer challenges than Madeleine did?

13. Discuss the novel's meta-ending (an ending about endings). Does it reflect reality? What were your expectations for the characters?

14. Eugenides's previous fiction has given us unique, tragicomic perspectives on oppressive families, gender stereotypes, and the process of trying to discover our true selves. How does The Marriage Plot enhance your reading of Eugenides's other works?

15. Who did you become during your first year after college?

1. Which character did you relate to most closely, and why?

2. How does Close use humor to convey character? Are the women themselves funny, or the situations they find themselves in?

3. Ambivalence—toward jobs, men, apartments, and children—is a recurring theme in Girls in White Dresses. Why do you think that is?

4. What did Isabella learn from JonBenét?

5. Several of the characters keep some pretty big secrets, such as the way Abby keeps her friends away from her hippy parents. How does this affect Abby’s life? How do the book’s other secrets affect the characters?

6. What is the metaphor of the peahen?

7. On page 98, Isabella thinks about her young nephew, Connor, “All he wanted was to know what to expect. His world didn’t look like he’d thought it would, and she understood. How could he keep calm if he couldn’t see?” Who else does this describe?

8. Why does “the ham” become so significant for Lauren?

9. Mary wonders why nobody warned her that during her first year as a lawyer, “You will be constantly afraid.” (page 120) What role does fear play in the women’s lives?

10. “Kristi and Todd stood with their shoulders touching, wrapped in the cloth. It reminded Isabella of the way that Lauren and Kristi used to huddle together, whispering and laughing at jokes that only they understood.” (page 174) Why does Isabella get so emotional during the “chuppah within a chuppah” wedding scene?

11. Connect the dots between Shannon, Dan, Barack Obama, and the contestants on “The Biggest Loser.” Why is hope so important?

12. Throughout the book, questions of identity pop up. For example, when a friend gets divorced and decides to keep her married name, Isabella thinks it may be because, “She’s afraid no one will remember who she is.” (page 249) How do these characters determine who they are? By the end, who seems to have created the strongest sense of self?

13. What is the turning point for Isabella in her relationship with Harrison?

14. Why is Lauren ready to call the turtle Mark gives her Rudy, when she wouldn’t use that name for the goldfish?

15. Discuss the last scene. How have the women changed over the course of the book? Who is the most satisfied with her life?

16. Where do you imagine Isabella, Mary, and Lauren will be in five years?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

Ok. I think its safe to say that most of us dropped the ball with this months reading (Alexis and Kristi excluded). I know that everyone is crazy busy and that most of you guys don't know eachother except through me or through another member so we have some decesion to make. I'm now living in Colorado, so we can continue to meet the first tuesday of every month(also this is flexible) and ill facetime into the meeting. Or if you guys don't want to do that anymore but still want to continue the book club we can make this a full on virtual club. We all continue to read the books and then each month ill open a discussion board on the book with some questions(like usual) and we can each answer/respond to everyone feelings. I'm good with either option. Its really up to you guys. I'm also wondering since its summer time and people lives are picking up do we want to limit the books down to just one a month or stay with two? We also need a better way to pick our books. I think that everyone each month should give suggestions for the next month then we can vote online which book we like the most. This is different than the other system because this way we'd be voting ahead of the month so were not scrounging for books the night of book club. Up to you guys. Text me of just post what you think here and well go from there also for the two members who actually did the reading( im inwardly shaming myself) im going to post a discussion board for y'all to actually get your thoughts out :) Cant wait to hear from y'all!

Hey guys! As most of y'all know we pick our books based on suggestion and a voting system, but a lot of us are having a hard time all being together at the same time or even remembering which books you were recommending. These dilemmas inspired this discussion topic! Feel free to add your recommended book club books here. Hopefully, if we get a lot of books here we can even start voting for books a month or two in advance that way we have lots of time to find our books!

U did!!

SO for our commuter followers I figured its best to set up a discussion so yall can contribute too! What do you guys think love it, hate it, or does it fall somewhere in-between?

Where do you store your books? On bookshelves?In your closet? In your kitchen?
Sound familiar?? Everyone texted me pictures of where they keep their books and now you can see them if you look to our group photos :) Each month our group photo will change to a members book space. This month is Kaye's reading nook :) I think its really cool how different all of our reading spaces are. Each person has something different and I think that's the coolest part!

I think there shouldn't be a loop whole. I think you should get one day, one perfect last day. I wouldn't spend it rushing. I'd spend it being as lazy as possible. It'd hot, really hot but on my last day there would be some type of water close... ocean, lake, pool, sprinkler, I'm not picky. The sun would be shining the entire day, so I guess my last day would be the longest day of summer. I don't know the exact date but I know its out there, I've heard people mention it. I think I wouldn't want everyone around me all at once like a massive party, but I'd like it if the important people came and went at their leisure. Then for the quite in-betweens of the day i'd have some fantastic book that let me experience not only my perfect day, but another's as well. Well I guess that's kind of a loop hole, but I think its one that I could live with.

What would be your perfect last day??

After reading Safe Haven, I am curious to know what you guys think? Who was your favorite character in the novel? Also who is your favorite Nicholas sparks character?

I'd have to say that my favorite character out of the total five characters in Safe Haven is probably Jo even though I didn't like her ending. But overall my favorite Nicholas Sparks character will always be Noah from the Notebook. I feel in love with his character in high school, and I don't know if I can move one from such a sweet, noble character.

Legend is the first installment of a trilogy. What do you think is in store for Day and June in the next book in the series??

I think that we may learn that there is less to this war than we think, perhaps it doesn't exist at all! I also think that Day and June are in store for a very rocky relationship during Prodigy since they still barely no anything about each other let alone the Patriots(i think that's what the other side are called, maybe its the Colonists I can't remember exactly lol).