Ange’s Comments (group member since Mar 01, 2018)

Ange’s comments from the Readalongs with Ange group.

Here we can discuss The Blue Castle

I finished it some time ago and it still has stayed with me. I loved this story! It was eerie and dark but then I felt like the characters added lightness and humor to the story. I like how the story really doesn't tell in anything in the end about hanging rock and does leave it quite open. I feel like this is probably divides people, you either hate it or love it.

I finished reading last night but I'll wait to discuss on here until more people have finished. But I really enjoyed it. I forgot a lot of the detail of this book. I guess it has been a good 18 years since I read it though.

I find Mrs. Appleyard to be an intriguing character. I also like Dianne de Poitier.

And I agree there are some humorous parts to the story and it feels like quite a light read despite the darker side of the story.

I'm enjoying the descriptions of the Australian bush and nature and also all the Australian sayings.

Okie dokie :) 2 chapters a day sounds like a good reading pace.

Would you like one? I thought because it is quite short that is wasn't really needed. But I still could set one if you would like.

Here we can discuss our thoughts

Glad to hear you are all enjoying it. I'm loving diving back into this book. Francie is one of my favourite characters for sure.

Here we can discuss our thoughts :)

Hi Everyone! Here is a schedule for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. You can follow the schedule or you can, of course, read at your own pace.

Tuesday 10th: Chapter 1 - 3
Wednesday 11th: Chapter 4 - 6
Thursday 12th: Chapter 7 - 9
Friday 13th: Chapter 10 - 12
Saturday 14th: Chapter 13 - 15
Sunday 15th: Chapter 16 - 18
Monday 16th: Chapter 19 - 21
Tuesday 17th: Chapter 22 - 24
Wednesday 18th: Chapter 25 - 27
Thurdsday 19th: Chapter 28 - 30
Friday 20th: Chapter 31 - 33
Saturday 21st: Chapter 34 - 36
Sunday 22nd: Chapter 37 - 39
Monday 23rd: Chapter 40 - 42
Tuesday 24th: Chapter 43 - 45
Wednesday 25th: Chapter 46 - 48
Thursday 26th: Chapter 49 - 51
Friday 27th: Chapter 52 - 54
Saturday 28th: Chapter 55 - 56
Finished!!

Jill wrote: "So I’m thorough 15 chapters now and the story and social commentary are really picking up. Enjoying it more now that I think I have the llingusirics figured out, although I’m sure I’m missing a few..."

I agree! I would have hated to always have to speak this way. I find it so entertaining though!

Mopple wrote: "they certainly were!
me too..i'm flying through it! though paired with the bbc show which has a LOT of differences to the bookit's only loosely based-however, i needed a visual for the characters r..."

I love the BBC adaptation and think its a great way to keep up with all the characters.

Bthrifty wrote: "I am enjoying this novel very much. I am having a difficult time imagining how Margaret looks. Earlier in the novel, Haskell says that she is not pretty, but later in the novel, other characters re..."

I agree. But also I feel like people don't see her beautiful character when they first meet her. But then once they get to know her, her beauty then really shines through.

Hi everyone.

I made it through to chapter 15 today and loving it so much. I'm finding myself wanting to continue once I've finished the chapters for the day. But I'm holding back :)

I also love Margaret's strength. She also has such a kind nature too. She seems to carry all the weight of her family's struggles on her shoulders but doesn't seem to let that get her down.

How does everyone feel about her mother (Mrs Hale)? I can see that she has faced a few hardships in life (including not being able to see her son) but she just seems so weak and unable to handle any sort of change or hardship. Mr Hale doesn't seem to be doing well either and I felt quite sorry for Margaret when he refused to let her kiss him.

I love Mr Thornton. It's interesting how he perceives Margaret. I do not like Mrs Thornton at all, she seems very snobby. What does everyone think of Mr Thornton so far? And his mother?

The writing is fantastic and so engaging.

So far I have read the first 4 chapters and I'm loving it so much more already than I did the first time around. I think it may be because I know the characters already and so can already be fully immersed in the story.
I really like Henry Lennox, and felt bad for him when Margaret turned him down. But what kind of story would it be if she accepted this proposal? A very different one I guess.
I love how level-headed Margaret is, even upon hearing that her life is about to change.

What are your first impressions of Margaret? How are you finding the writing style? Easy to get into? Or is it harder to get a grasp on?

Here we can discuss our thoughts about North and South

Mopple wrote: "can i join? though it starts tomorrow! how does it work, do we discus the chapters in the evenings?"

Of course you can join! You can read at your own pace or by this schedule. Whichever suits you. You can comment on the discussion post whenever you have a chance. Just a really relaxed readalong :)

Hi Everyone, I have set out a schedule for the North and South Readalong. For the first ten days, we will be reading 2 chapters a day and then 3 chapters a day until the end of the month. You don't have to follow this schedule, you can read at your own pace of course :)

10th: Chapters 1 and 2
11th: Chapters 3 and 4
12th: Chapters 5 and 6
13th: Chapters 7 and 8
14th: Chapters 9 and 10
15th: Chapters 11 and 12
16th: Chapters 13 and 14
17th: Chapters 15 and 16
18th: Chapters 17 and 18
19th: Chapters 19 and 20
20th: Chapters 21 and 22
21st: Chapters 23, 24 and 25
22nd: Chapters 26, 27 and 28
23rd: Chapters 29, 30 and 31
24th: Chapters 32, 33 and 34
25th: Chapters 35, 36 and 37
26th: Chapters 38, 39 and 40
27th: Chapters 41, 42 and 43
28th: Chapters 44, 45 and 46
29th: Chapters 47, 48 and 49
30th: Chapters 50, 51 and 52


For those of you with books that have 2 volumes.....

Volume 1:
10th: Chapters 1 and 2
11th: Chapters 3 and 4
12th: Chapters 5 and 6
13th: Chapters 7 and 8
14th: Chapters 9 and 10
15th: Chapters 11 and 12
16th: Chapters 13 and 14
17th: Chapters 15 and 16
18th: Chapters 17 and 18
19th: Chapters 19 and 20
20th: Chapters 21 and 22
21st: Chapters 23, 24 and 25

Volume 2:
22nd: Chapters 1, 2 and 3
23rd: Chapters 4, 5 and 6
24th: Chapters 7, 8 and 9
25th: Chapters 10, 11 and 12
26th: Chapters 13, 14 and 15
27th: Chapters 16, 17 and 18
28th: Chapters 19, 20 and 21
29th: Chapters 22, 23 and 24
30th: Chapters 25, 26 and 27

Thanks everyone for your feedback :) This was very helpful!

Thanks so much for your feedback Theresa :)