Sophie’s Comments (group member since Apr 28, 2013)

Sophie’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Rather than running downhill after a cheese, I’d propose a readathon for the last week! Speed reading as many pages as possible is much less likely to cause lasting damage.

It’s amazing what a small length of time starts to feel v needed!

I've just shifted yours. Have managed to get 15 mins away from the kids and Nana.

It has a couple of wise characters. The problem is that it’s depressing so I’m reading it v slowly.

Roots: The Saga of an American Family works for the page count. I’ll get it done by the end of TT one way or another.

The only fantasy of manners I can think of are the Austen books. Will see whether I can find an alternative.

Definitely! TT will finish then we’ll get the chunksters.

Anula has finally been returned to Sri Lanka.

While we have all come across Centaurs before, this is their first visit to us as a group.

300 to 349
forest on cover
character is an archer
MPG Classics
character who is considered wise

Kelly and MelanieJoy- congratulations! Exciting things to come.

Sammy - yay for the house news finally.

Argh line has me beat this month. Must refocus.

I’ve just picked up something for Sri Lanka

Swiss cheese! Lucky you!

My travelling is confined to books at the moment. Off to Oman and Sri Lanka in my head.

All the ones on the top of my mental list start with M (Medicus, Mistress of the Art of Death). Will keep thinking.

Mel, I think a cheesy dong might be something else entirely

Blue cheese - you either love me or hate me apparently!

I swear I had nothing to do with the flinging of cheese after the mention of the cheese bar.

DQs Day 6, July 7
Chapter 53 - 59 88-100%

24. For most of the first half of the book, I kept picturing a lot of tragic endings for multiple characters. Did the book end happier than you figured? Are you happy with the way everyone's lives turned out and do you think it matches their upbringing and experiences?

I was happy that more of them survived that I thought might. I think most of them did well given the start to life they had - Joar in particular.


25. We now know the final fate of the painting. Do you agree with the choice? Did the result end up fitting the artist mentality and the magic of the friendship or was it illogical?

I think it getting back to where it all began was the right choice and the magic of putting it back where it had been placed by the friends when they were together was the right choice.



26. Louisa starts the book and much of it is her journey, but Ted surprisingly takes over as a big main character as well. With the past history it mainly seems to be Joar's experiences that are told the most. Do you think the book has a main central character that stands out the most? Do you think some of the other characters are not mentioned enough equally?

I think it wasn't so much about any one friend as the way they all interacted and how their friendships could teach Louisa something about herself and what comes after her friendship with Fish.



27. We learn what happens with Ali. Spoilers if you have not gotten to this part, so I'll get it general. It was stated in a way that there is also beauty in a sense of also going out a certain way while they mourn and talk about tragedy. Did you think Ali would walk in alive also, such as when the car with the woman pulled up?

I wasn't surprised to find out she wouldn't be there to meet Louisa.



28. If this is your first book by Fredrik Backman, are you planning to now read more? If you have read another book by this author, was the style of this one with the writing similar to the other(s) you have read?

To start with there was something oddly disjointed about the prose for me and I found it difficult to settle into. I might pick up another one by him but it's not a must read for me.

DQ's Day 4; Chapter 31 - 43 55-74%

15. “She wishes he hadn’t said what he did about believing in her. That’s too much responsibility. All she can give him is disappointment.” Belief is a big theme of this book. How important do you think it is to have people that unequivocally believe in you? Have you ever had someone’s belief in you feel more like a burden than support?


I think having the unconditional support of someone who believes in you can be uplifting, but if it isn't something you've had before it could be terrifying. I'm very lucky in that I've had people who believe in me throughout my life and they've given me the courage to do things that I wouldn't have thought I could achieve. If you haven't had that experience from a young age, I can see that it would seem more like pressure and you would be waiting for the backlash if you didn't live up to their expectations.


16. This book is, obviously, a lot about memories and the happy times we look back on when the people we cherish are gone. I thought the shopping/shopping cart scene was particularly vivid and one I could’ve seen me and friends doing something similar. Do you have any particularly memorable times with a group of friends from when you were a child/teen?

I don't particularly, but then I spent most of my time as a child with my nose in a book.

17. We’ve come to the first(?) death from that summer, is it one you expected? It’s probably the most obvious one, but I still forgot it was a possibility.

It's not one I expected, but still it hit.


18. While this is a story of friends, it’s also really a story of parents. From the bad ones, to the indifferent ones, to the kind loving ones. Did you expect for Ted and Louisa’s savior to be the mother? How important do you think parents are versus friends on your formative years?

I think parents lay the groundwork when you are small so that when you are a teen you have the ability to choose friends who make you better (as Ted told his brother to do).


19. Ted seems to think that any of the other friends would have been better to care for Louisa, do you agree?

Oh Ted! Such as lack of confidence in himself. I don't agree with him at all.

Day 1, Chapters 1-11 (1-18%)


1. Warm-up question: have you read any other books by Fredrik Backman before? If yes, what do you like/dislike about his themes/style, etc?

I've read Ove which I enjoyed the twists and turns of, but haven't picked up any of the others by him.

2. In the first chapter we are intorduced to quite a memorable auction scene with super-rich people who all want to possess THE PAINTING, though their intentions are questionable. Did this make you think of some similar events happening in the world right now?

It's that portrayal of how people want something for it's monetary value rather than the emotional effect of it. It made me quite sad to see the painting as a status symbol rather than something they enjoyed.

3. "Artists vs Normal People" - another apsect of these first chapters is the great divide between true artists and normal people. Backman seems to suggest that most people don't/cannot get true art and artists are so much more different (possibly better people?). Do you agree with this? Or is it a generalisation?

This view that artists are better and that they see the world in a different and more true way was a generalisation throughout and I don't agree with it. I think they can sometimes help us to see parts of our world with more clarity, but that anyone in a creative field, or in fact anyone at all can say things that brng a new clarity to our world.

4. In a sequence of weird events, Louisa ends up in possession of The Painting.
Any guesses what may happen to her and to it?

i hope the painting helps her find a home.

Bonus Q: do you have a favourite artist or a favourite piece of painting/sculpture?

Oh good question. I'd say Waterlilies.

We'd get more points for using it in the spell out so I'd use it there by preference Denise.

Claire - we still need a Z in the spell out. If it's something you want to read then go for it. If you'd prefer to read something longer then that would be helpful too.

Notifications decided to turn themselves off for me which was not v helpful.