Books and Jams Readalong discussion

Here we go! What are your initial thoughts? Are you finding it easy to read? Did it grab your attention right away or no? Any initial feelings about the characters?

i own this one; it was my grandmother's. has been sitting on my shelf forever. i think i tried getting into er once or twice & couldn't. really hoping an open discussion will influence my experience with this book. there aren't many books that intimidate me this way lol. count me in!!

The character introductions have been slow and easy to read. There seem to be some pearls of wisdom intermingled with the story, whole paragraphs of philosophy. I keep forgetting about the Hamiltons. I wonder why they were introduced so early in the story if there is so little mention of them.

I’d for sure rather be reading about the Hamiltons. My thought was that the families marry together at some point since the story is told by a descendant. I wouldn’t wish Charles or Adam on any of the Hamiltons, though. 🤨😳 Adam seems more reasonable on the surface than Charles but he’s still a pretty awful person.

It’s not as difficult a book to read as I thought it might be (I’m no longer feeling quite as intimidated by it)but I’m not at all interested in the sexual kerfuffles and Freudian ideas. Since the story is just starting I expect there will be a LOT more of those. 😭

So far, I like the writing style & where it is going thus far. :)

At this point I am just trying to keep the characters straight and get to know them.

I had a hard time with the pacing at the beginning of this book. It was quite a slow build with lots of set up. Things are starting to pick up a bit now with the introduction of Cathy, who is a hot mess!
It feels like we are just meeting all these characters and getting their back stories so we understand who they are when they all intersect. I'm ready for a bit more plot though. I need something to happen.

What is your take on the brothers - Adam and Charles and their relationship?

I'm with you, Krista, the pacing in the beginning was a little slow. The brothers, Adam and Charles, seem to have a love...well, maybe not love but more...like/hate relationship. Charles seems to be unstable, doesn't seem to take much to set him off. Seems to be a sibling rivalry going on with those two. And Adam just wants to get along no matter what. And he seems to be content being anywhere but home with his brother. He didn't have a lot of ambition until he met crazy Cathy.

Things sure started picking up when Cathy was introduced. My goodness, she is something else! Her character, as mean and manipulative as she is, is going to bring a lot of drama to the story. I can't believe what she did to her parents and now she has Adam wrapped around her finger. Charles can tell shes no good, probably because they are two peas in a pod...LOL.

I can't wait meet the Hamiltons and get their stories and see how to two families will come together.

I'm struggling---haven't read anything in a week. I think I may be too much of a mood reader for read-alongs. I'm going to pick it back up tonight and see if I can get back into it. It's not that I don't like it. While it is a little slow in this first part, it isn't a bad story. I'm determined! I may not finish by the end of the month but I WILL finish! : )

Okay... so I'm in the minority here because I'm really enjoying the book! I'm at the chapter where Cathy has been introduced so will finish that chapter + more tonight. I struggle with Dickens, so maybe Steinbeck is just my kind of writer.