2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Pages: 531 pages

Length: 1 Month (August)

Participants: Nadine, Alekhya.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Hi
This is my first time participating. I don't know how this generally goes but I'm looking forward to reading with you!!

Alekhya wrote: "Hi
This is my first time participating. I don't know how this generally goes but I'm looking forward to reading with you!!"

Hello! I'm so excited to read this book with you, too! :)

I would love to be added to this buddy read. I have tried to read this book like 3 times and I just can never can get into it. I'm hoping a buddy read will help. I've heard it is good after you get through a bit of it but for whatever reason I never seen to get through the first bit.

The more the merrier!!

So far so good. The writing is indeed beautiful. (view spoiler)[Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle - Oh so that's how she got blind oof (hide spoiler)]

Hello! Please add me to this read. I too have similar issues reading this one like those of Joan. Maybe buddy reading can sail me through!

Feel free to join!

Hi, I’m also reading this book right now and I love it! I’m halfway through already and I feel that it’s a 5 star read for me :)

sign me up for this buddy read also.

Ron wrote: "sign me up for this buddy read also."

Join in!

Nadine wrote: "So far so good. The writing is indeed beautiful. [spoilers removed]"
I just managed to start the book today. Always been a fan of the alternating narration!
(view spoiler)[Key Pound: "Looks like they're cursed!" Do you think Marie-Laure will have something to do with the Sea of Flames later on in the book!!? (hide spoiler)]

I have started this book awhile ago and will have to restart it. I did like the writing but the story didn't grab me right away. I'll try to get through some of it tonight.

Believe it or not, I first found this book on CD at a used book store this weekend on a long drive to visit an old friend. Then I checked my email and found this book on the August buddy read, so I signed up. Listened to 4 of the 13 discs on the trip. So I am 31% through. It is a story over 10 years - 1934 to 1944, about the life of two young people - one from France and one from Germany. The story starts in 1944, then goes back to 1934 and continues to go back and forth between 1944 and 1936, 1938, 1940. That is where I am starting on disc 5. That is all I will say for now.

Ron wrote: "Believe it or not, I first found this book on CD at a used book store this weekend on a long drive to visit an old friend. Then I checked my email and found this book on the August buddy read, so I..."
For a moment there I thought you were giving a spoiler without the tag, LOL.

I am on page 70. Up till now I haven't found it gripping but I liked the father daughter duo!

Priya wrote: "I am on page 70. Up till now I haven't found it gripping but I liked the father daughter duo!"

I'm in the segment Three: June 1940/Brittany. I agree that the father, daughter duo is adorable, but I'm more excited about what's happening with Werner.
Maybe it isn't "gripping" in the traditional sense but the curiosity of how the two characters will end up meeting each other keeps me going.
They've such contrastingly different lives that, if not for the first line of the description of the book, I would've imagined them as two parallel stories, one on each side of the war, never expecting them to meet.

I might have to continue the book next week or so because I've been having a reading slump ugh.

Alekhya wrote: "Priya wrote: "I am on page 70. Up till now I haven't found it gripping but I liked the father daughter duo!"

I'm in the segment Three: June 1940/Brittany. I agree that the father, daughter duo is ..."

I agree with you on the two parallel stories thing. I have started enjoying it. Just finished the chapter Flying Couch(beautiful! chapter. Imagination can lead us to so many places without the necessity of being physically present) . I am also intrigued how the two sides will be knitted together later!

And the search for the 130 carrot diamond seems to be a main theme. The French Museum had it, made false duplicates and sent them in different directions. The Germans want it. Bet it is in Saint-Malo. Glad to see all the comments. Read on.

Well, followed my advice and read on. Now they are going back and forth from 1941 to 1944. Won't give away any more. Am almost half done with the book. Ron

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just have a short review. I read it in April and really enjoyed it!

Liz wrote: "Hi, I’m also reading this book right now and I love it! I’m halfway through already and I feel that it’s a 5 star read for me :)"

Looks like you finished the book already and you highly rated it. Ron

Well I had started this one a couple of times, the last of which a couple of months ago and I got up to page 37. I re-read it and I'm up to page 52 now and on the "Open Your Eyes" chapter. I feel more invested this time. I just think I wasn't in the mood for it before. I feel like the characters are more likable now. I'm hoping I can get halfway through with it today but there are a lot of chores to do around the house.....yuck.

I read sections 1 and 2 and I'm on section 3 now, page 107. It is definitely going quicker for me this time and I'm invested in the characters. I've been doing some chores and then reading a couple of chapters. Hopefully maybe I can finish it this weekend since it seems to be going faster for me this time.

Joan wrote: "I read sections 1 and 2 and I'm on section 3 now, page 107. It is definitely going quicker for me this time and I'm invested in the characters. I've been doing some chores and then reading a couple..."

Glad to see it is going better for you this time, and glad to see you are responding to the rest of us. I am 54% done and have been holding back waiting for others to catch up. Am listening to the CD version. I have heard about the German radio finder vehicles and this book explains how the development of this device may have happened.

I am on part 7 of the book. Did not make any progress today as l was busy completing an August challenge from one of the other groups. I ll be continuing to read it day after tomorrow and will try to finish it this week.
So far in the book the events taking place in the year 1944 are sounding more interesting however I am also curious to know about the scenario that led to this state(from the previous years to 1944). There is suspense building now and I am excited to read what's going to happen next.

I've read the first 4 parts and I'm on page 217. I'm hoping to finish part 5 tonight.

I find the radio part interesting and wondering if all of these characters are going to collide at some point. The characters are defined well. The writing is really pretty and flows well. I love Marie-Laure's character and how it makes you think a little bit more about how you would deal with things if you were blind.

I guess the other two times I picked it up I just wasn't really in the mood for it. I'm definitely a mood reader. Sometimes I like fluff and sometimes I like substance. Sometimes I like easy and sometimes I like a challenge. I knew this would have to be a book that I read somewhat straight through and didn't put down. For me it's too hard to get back into but I'm in a good groove this time.

70% done. Beginning 1944. 1943 went bye quickly,. you can see where it is going to come together - Werner manning a radio detecting truck in Russia, the Germans in retreat. Marie-Laure in Saint-Malo, with her uncle sending out radio messages to the allies. The German Sgt Major still hunting for the diamond. You can see where it all comes together soon. Any comments?

I just finished Six, starting Seven: August 1942 now.
(view spoiler)[ Six ends with Marie-Laure in the attic and the German in the same house (hide spoiler)] I think I've reached the point where I can't put the book down anymore!

Just finished the book, will still be available for discussion. Without revealing the end, the finish was anti-climatic - didn't see much purpose in it. Will give the book a rating of 4.

Reached part 10.
Hope to finish it tomorrow!

This is my first Goodreads group challenge. I'm not sure what to expect but I'm jumping in!

I've started this book a few times, and it seemed well written but I couldn't stick with it. Just got a new eReader so I'm on a reading kick.

Just finished the book.
It was a 4 star rating for me i didn't get along with it so well I suppose! However i gave an extra star for the style the book was written in. I really liked the intertwining of the events and the to and fro writing which really deserves appreciation and I suppose grabs the reader's attention.
Also I found the later part of the book a little slow paced and a bit dragging!

I finished the book yesterday but took my time to swim and bathe in the world of the characters for a little longer.

"Every hour, someone for whom the war was memory falls out of the world."
As much as the ending kind of twisted my heart a little, the depiction of the lives of casualties of war, the next of kin and the rest of the world moving on around them seemed gut-wrenchingly real.
(view spoiler)[ There was a tint of resigned sadness in the chapters post Werner's death. The war was a memory to all of them and it was a difficult memory to forget. (hide spoiler)]
But then again I've never been in a war so I can only imagine.
There is one thing though, (view spoiler)[ throughout the book, I've been anticipating the meeting of Werner and Marie-Laure and was disappointed that it only lasted a few hours (hide spoiler)]
All in all, it was a great read and I'd definitely recommend it to others.

I'm still reading it. I didn't have time to read a physical book this week. I only listened to audio and I read a little bit of my ebook because I had to read in the dark.

I just finished part 5. (view spoiler)[ Madame Manec just died so that was sad. I feel so horrible for what happened to Frederick. I wonder if there will be more on Frederick. That was really sad. I'm wondering how Marie-Laure will fare without Madame. (hide spoiler)]

I am still enjoying the book but it isn't going as fast for me now. I'm glad I'm making progress though.

I just finished part 8. The suspense is ramping up for me now. (view spoiler)[ I don't know if Etienne is alive and if Marie-Laure will be heard by the German. Those parts keep me reading on. I wonder if Werner will be reunited with his sister. I'm guessing Werner eventually rescues Marie-Laure is my guess. (hide spoiler)]

I will mostly likely finish this definitely by tomorrow night. I only have 133 pages left.

Wow! I just read through part 10. (view spoiler)[ I didn't think Werner was going to die. I had a happily ever after vision in my head. I'm such a romantic. I was hoping for a happy ending. (hide spoiler)]

It is so interesting to read your reactions. This is one of my all-time favorite books. I read that once it was completed, Doerr's wife read the final copy and told him, "This book is gonna change your life." :) I thought that was cool! Since it did win the Pulitzer... I thought the intertwining of plot lines was intricate yet very easy to follow, and the tension throughout created such suspense for me. Anyway, it seems as if you've all at least enjoyed it. I'm glad for that. But, Nadine, where are you? I sure hope your slump has eased...

I finished it earlier. I was kinda disappointed in the ending but at least it was tied up at the end.

I ended up rating it 4 stars but really 3.5. I rounded up for the writing and the characters. It will be a story that I remember which is another reason why I rated it a 4. So many books lately I can read them and then forget what the story was about a month later. The good books stick with you and this story will stick with me.