literarycrew

I‘m so behind on this book, but I‘m enjoying it!! I‘m mostly reading this at bedtime or in the middle of the night when I wake up but today I‘m trying to get a bigger chunk of it done.
Oh Nita! I hope you find what you need!
Sophie, I hope you learn you already have what you need!

Thanks for choosing this book @Librarybelle
#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

mcctrish I really enjoyed this, I hope you find more reading time 1d

tpixie @mcctrish thanks! Hopefully today is a day I can actually sit and read! it is so good. (edited) 1d

Librarybelle This is a good one. I‘m over halfway in it and have a couple of quotations bookmarked! 1d

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tpixie @Librarybelle I‘m glad I‘m not the only one that didn‘t finish it! 1d

Suet624 I get so much of my reading done between 2 am and 4 am. It\'s kind of a bummer but it\'s also a wonderful time to read. 22h

tpixie @Suet624 Yes! Me too! I agree, a nice quiet time, but sleep would be nice also 😂 16h

47 likes6 comments

kwmg40

Shrines of Gaiety | Kate Atkinson

pick

An enjoyable historical novel set in 1920's London. It started slow but I liked how the various plotlines eventually wove together, and I also found the morally ambiguous characters (which, frankly, were almost all of them) interesting.

My first book finished for #HauntedShelf! #Flerken @PuddleJumper
#52bookclub (A revenge story)
#AfterDarkBingo #BodyCountBingo #PumpkabooHunt #GottaCatchEmAllSpooky

kwmg40 #Spookoween @TheSpineView
#31by31 @Catsandbooks
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#HalloweenAtoZReadathon @Texreader
#RedTaylorsVersion @Emilymdxn
#BookCrossing 3d

Librarybelle Yay! #LiteraryCrew is reading this one this month, and I‘m looking forward to it! 3d

kwmg40 @Librarybelle I will certainly drop in to see the discussion! 3d

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Texreader Fantastic! #letterS 3d

Ruthiella I liked this a lot too. I also liked how she kept the ending open for two certain characters. 3d

DieAReader 🎃👻Excellent!! 3d

Catsandbooks 👏🏼👻🧡 3d

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2d

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 Well done! 2d

kwmg40 @Ruthiella Me too. I found that, even with the open ending, I found the way the book concluded very satisfying. 2d

48 likes10 comments

kspenmoll

Watch Over Me | Nina LaCour

My October hopefuls. Mix of reads leftover from last month, buddy reads, library book, my kindle & my TBR shelves. Poe is snuggling me.😻
#cofffeeandbooks #catsoflitsy #sundaybuddyread #literarycrew #readyourkindle #serieslove2024 #seasonalcozies
My one concession to Halloween is the tagged book, “ a modern ghost story,” which I took from our 9th grade English class bookshelves. I am too much of a scaredy- cat to read Halloweeny books.

TheBookHippie, Librarybelle, Andrew65, TheSpineView, CBee

TheSpineView Enjoy! ❤️📖 4d

TheBookHippie 😅😂🖤 4d

Librarybelle Good luck! 4d

CBee Kitty snuggles are the best ♥️ 4d

49 likes4 comments

Librarybelle

Shrines of Gaiety | Kate Atkinson

We‘re reading the amazing Kate Atkinson this month for #LiteraryCrew ! I‘ll post periodic checkins, with discussion on the 31st! #BuddyRead

LaraReads, mcctrish, mjdowens, melissajayne, Jerdencon, Crazeedi, tpixie, Cuilin, kspenmoll, PurpleyPumpkin, Deblovestoread, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Sace, Bluebird, CatLass007, Mollyanna, BookwormAHN, Sargar114, sblbooks, Karisa, Singout, KristiAhlers, Sparklemn, PageShifter, julieclair, AllDebooks, BookWrym

julieclair Still looking for a copy, but I‘m looking forward to it! 6d

Librarybelle Hope you find a copy, @julieclair ! 6d

Balibee146 Hey can you add me... I love her and have this on my TBR shelves 😁 5d

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Librarybelle Of course, @Balibee146 ! Welcome! 5d

BookNAround Add me to the tag list for this one! 5d

Librarybelle Will do, @BookNAround ! 😁 5d

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Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

It‘s time for our discussion, #LiteraryCrew ! I didn‘t quite finish in time for the discussion, so hopefully I pulled the main themes to discuss in the 7 questions posted as spoilers. Sorry! Feel free to add anything else to discuss in the comments below.

Don‘t forget—it‘s time to nominate titles for next year! Comment any you think would be good for the group, and I‘ll compile a list for voting!

Thanks everyone!

LaraReads, mcctrish, mjdowens, melissajayne, Jerdencon, Crazeedi, tpixie, Cuilin, kspenmoll, BarbaraJean, PurpleyPumpkin, Deblovestoread, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Sace, Bluebird, Mollyanna, BookwormAHN, sblbooks, Karisa, Singout, KristiAhlers, PageShifter, julieclair, AllDebooks, BookWrym

julieclair Didn‘t get to this one this month. 😩 1w

Jerdencon I couldn‘t find this one in the library so didn‘t get to it either! 7d

34 likes2 comments

Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

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7. What did you think of the ending? Some reviewers considered it rushed while others had hoped for a happy ending. #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

mcctrish Personally I thought it was kind of fast wedding wise, but the auspicious date picking is a valid traditional point. Sophie is an interesting mix of modern woman - marrying at an older age, having a career, going on a solo adventure/trip and then choosing traditional ways 7d

BarbaraJean I was glad about the happy ending—so much of the book was so depressing! Like @mcctrish, I thought the quick wedding was justified from a cultural standpoint. And the couple conversations Sophie had with Kiran beforehand (in Paris & at home) made it feel less abrupt. They had some of the open communication that Nita was not able to have in her marriage. I did feel like the resolution of things with Vijay was rushed—I wanted more development there. 5d

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Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

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6. Mental health also plays a role in this novel. Think about Nita and Sophie and their mental health journeys in this book. Especially Nita. Any thoughts? #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

Deblovestoread I never really picked up on the mental health piece. Impulsive, definitely. Maybe some depression. 7d

mcctrish Nita had postpartum and she was unfulfilled without her art being a bigger part of her life. She was raised to be a wife and mother and not need more. She didn‘t know how to ask for more or felt she shouldn‘t need more. Shame is a huge and powerful weapon and her parents raised her with it. Running away to Paris she put herself further into trouble because she couldn‘t get ahead money wise without papers to work legally. The burden of this on her 7d

mcctrish Mental health leads to self medicating to take a break from the cycle of pressure of never having enough or being enough. Add in abuse from Matthieu = perfect storm 7d

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Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

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5. Shah gives the reader a glimpse into addiction through Nita's story and her relationship with Mathieu, not to mention his toxicity and the way this impacts Nita. This adds to some heartbreaking moments that Nita has to navigate. What are your thoughts? #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

Deblovestoread Nita‘s descent into drugs was so sad. I think she was very immature. Leaving her family for a new life with no real concrete notion or preparation for what that would be like. We know she wanted to paint but never knew if she really had the talent to support herself as an artist. 7d

mcctrish It was heartbreaking to watch - I‘d say just as many good people were in Nita‘s life in Paris and were in Sophie‘s life when she went to look for Nita but Sophie knew her worth. Nita felt worthless, in part because she felt like she failed as a mother, because she felt unhappy in her life in India, so she accepted Matthieu and his crap. 7d

BarbaraJean It seemed like initially Nita just went along with Matthieu because she didn\'t know how to do anything different. She didn\'t know what she wanted out of a relationship, but he could be very charming, so she got pulled down along with him. I agree @Deblovestoread, she seemed very immature. She hadn\'t had (or pursued) experiences that grew her emotional maturity and as @mcctrish said, her lack of self-worth also definitely played a part. 5d

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Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

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4. Twenty years later, Sophie follows her mom to Paris. What did you think of Sophie's journey? Sophie faces similar obstacles to Nita but finds a different path. Why do you think Sophie's experience is different? #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

Deblovestoread Sophie was looking for a concrete thing in the search for her mother. Nita‘s search was less defined. 7d

mcctrish Sophie was more prepared with visas and passports, thanks to her dad. She had a job skill set too thanks to her dad. She also had more life skills - she still got herself into trouble with scam artists but she didn‘t let it sink her. @Deblovestoread is right, Sophie was looking for her mom = concrete, Nita was looking for happiness/herself = didn‘t know where to start 7d

BarbaraJean I enjoyed reading Sophie\'s story so much more than Nita\'s--Nita stressed me out! I agree with @mcctrish, Sophie was more prepared and had a less traditional upbringing than her mother had. Those differences were so interesting to me. In a way, Nita leaving opened the way for Sophie to be more independent. As the daughter of a single father, she had more opportunities to develop those life skills Nita so desperately needed in Paris. 5d

mcctrish @BarbaraJean Nita stressed me out too, she threw every part of herself out the window and made no attempt to think about whether she liked any of it 5d

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Librarybelle

The Direction of the Wind | Mansi Shah

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3. Let's now look at the two voices in the novel. First, Nita. What were your impressions of Nita? How did Nita struggle with her decision to leave Rajiv and Sophie? Note that we'll discuss addiction and mental health more fully in a later question. #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

Deblovestoread In the beginning I rooted for Nita. While I didn‘t like her leaving her family behind I did understand her wanting a different life for herself. I do think if she could have communicated how necessary painting was to her happiness her husband would have found a way to help. He obviously cared deeply for her. 7d

mcctrish @Deblovestoread I rooted for her too but as soon as she got to Paris I realized how ill prepared she was and I dreaded what lay ahead. I think her husband would totally have taken her to Paris to visit, gotten her art lessons, helped her with Sophie if he realized how she was struggling. Her parents drilled into her head about appearances and shame and it suffocated her 7d

BarbaraJean @Deblovestoread I started out really rooting for her, but got so frustrated when she just kept swapping one dependence for another (parents-->husband-->Mathieu/drugs) instead of truly following her own path. I was surprised by how easily she gave in to alcohol, smoking, then the modeling and subsequent drugs/sex. Yet, as @mctrish said, she was so ill-prepared. I have to realize that she was too innocent/expectation-driven to stand up for herself. 5d

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