Our Traveling Shelf discussion

Hi Everyone! Caro and I decided that it might be kind of nice to have an outline of discussion questions to talk about books for each month. Personally, I think it will encourage me to write my thoughts, feelings, etc. on books if I had something to go off of. So, you can answer all of them, a few or whatever you want to do. We'll see how this goes for the next few months! :)

Happy reading & discussing!

Discussion Questions:

1. What did you like best about this book?
2. What did you like least about this book?
3. Which character(s) was your favorite in the book?
4. Share a favorite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out to you?
5. What feelings did this book evoke for you?
6. What do you think of the book’s cover? How well does it convey what the book is about?
7. Do you have any book recommendations for next month’s poll?

1. What did you like best about this book?
The part I enjoyed best about this book was how the book was different in several perspectives, from Vishnu to the Pathaks to Short Ganga. There were many characters with all different stories, backgrounds and roles throughout the book. Also, I haven’t read very many books based in India so it was interesting reading a little about India’s culture, religion, social practices, etc.

2. What did you like least about this book?
My least favorite part about this book was how sometimes the chapters seemed to drag on. I found myself not 100% focused on what I was reading so I had to go back and read sections.

3. Which character(s) was your favorite in the book?
My favorite characters of the book were Vinod and Sheetal. I think their story was the most captivating of all the families throughout the novel. Although I don’t necessarily agree with arranged marriages I think their story ended up turning into a pretty beautiful and sad one. Vinod respected Sheetal and began to love her more and more each day. **Spoiler ahead** When she passed away there was a void and an emptiness that I think we can all sympathize with if we’ve ever had a loved one pass away. He did rituals that reminded him of her and did little things to keep her in his thoughts for nearly twenty years. He had the opportunity to marry another woman, but couldn’t bring himself to fall in love again because he had already experienced this before. I think these two characters were the most relatable in the story and weren’t consistently fixated on the drama within the apartment complex.

4. Share a favorite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out to you?
“Why, then, did he not understand the mechanism of faith? What did religion do to people, to provoke such obstinacy, such hysteria-how did it push people to the stage of torturing themselves and killing each other (137)?”

The first quote stood out for me because in this world there are many different religions, practices, beliefs and yet, there is so much violence. People who are claiming to have strong faiths are the ones to lash out in violence towards people, create unnecessary hysteria and commotion and feel the need to take it out on others.

“He had always assumed it was a flaw in people, a human failing, that created this need to believe in something beyond the ordinary (137).”

The second quote seemed to stand out for me because sometimes you just need to believe in something, whether it is a god(s), superheroes; something ordinary maybe even extraordinary. But sometimes putting so much faith into something can be detrimental to a person, especially if they feel as though whomever they look up to has failed them.

5. What feelings did this book evoke for you?
The feelings this book evoked for me were fairly pleasant. I would say there was some slight annoyance, mixed with empathy, and enjoyment from reading this novel.

6. What do you think of the book’s cover? How well does it convey what the book is about?
I enjoy the book cover. Prior to reading the novel, I thought to myself, “okay, there’s a lot of random people on the front cover. The most obvious character being Vishnu.” After finishing the book the cover captures the characters perfectly and their daily lives. It shows the dynamic of the apartment complex and its inhabitants.

7. Do you have any book recommendations for next month’s poll?
Homegoing by: Yaa Gyasi

1. What did you like best about this book?

I really enjoyed the way this book was written. The different perspectives, as Leah said, created many different characters and stories and I loved how the author moved through each but still represented each character fully. He created very personable characters, some of which I kind of hated, and some that I felt bad for.
2. What did you like least about this book?

I have to say I really hated the characters of Mrs. Asrani and Mrs. Pathak. The constant fighting and trying to one up each other was pretty nauseating. I also really didn't like the focus on what other people though, which both characters had a lot of, but which seems to be ingrained in the culture.
3. Which character(s) was your favorite in the book?

My favorite character in the book was Mr. Jalal. I know it's a bit of a strange choice but he was the most interesting character to me. Out of all of the characters, and besides Vishnu, he is the only person suffering from something that fell out of the realm of domestic life. It seemed like everyone's story revolved around family and their life but he was entirely obsessed with figuring out a higher purpose and what religion meant.
4. Share a favorite quote from the book. Why did this quote stand out to you?

"Evil is evil. It springs up from inside the hearts of people, it needs to external source to appear."

This quote stood out to me because to me it represents each character completely. They all blame others and make excuses to justify their actions and thoughts but in the end it's really just them. Half the time being shitty people.
5. What feelings did this book evoke for you?

Actually a lot of feelings. I felt disgust, sadness, surprise, wonder, happiness. And all from the actions of all the characters in the book. They were all so different and kind of crazy!
6. What do you think of the book’s cover? How well does it convey what the book is about?

I really love the cover of the book. It's so simple and clean but represents the story fairly well and does a great job of drawing the reader, or at least me, in!
7. Do you have any book recommendations for next month’s poll?

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Caro wrote: "1. What did you like best about this book?

I really enjoyed the way this book was written. The different perspectives, as Leah said, created many different characters and stories and I loved how ..."

Haha I felt the same way about Mrs. Asrani and Mrs. Pathak! They were so obnoxious annoying, and petty!