The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Fall 2024 Group Read The Echo of Old Books in the category Fiction: Magical Realism. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

I just finished this book, and I truly enjoyed it - honestly, it's probably never a book that I would have picked up if not for this challenge.

I appreciated how the two stories were woven together to bring closure to everyone involved. My only true complaint was the Psychometry aspect - while I appreciated the premise and the idea, I felt that it was kind of lacking in the role that it actually played in the storyline. The story could have been told just as easily without it and I suppose I was just hoping for it to have played a larger role.

Another small nitpicky complaint was the relationship between Ashlyn and Ethan. One day they're eating chowder and the next they're kissing. I just wish that with all of the buildup for the Hemi/Belle relationship that there had been a little more development spent on the secondary romance.

I thought this story was delightful. I loved the bit of magical realism where Ashlyn could sense the feelings emanating from old books related to their previous owners. The strong sense she got from 2 recently acquired books led to her meeting Ethan, who donated the books, and watching their relationship develop as they unraveled secrets from the past surrounding the books.

My only complaint was if I was in possession of these books and was detecting such strong emotion from them, I would have read them much quicker.

4 stars.

I enjoyed this book but it left me oddly sad. Maybe not so odd. I loved the magical realism but there did not seem to be much of an emphasis on it? It kicked off the mystery but then never really became pertinent again. It was frustrating to be left with such negative emotions for the characters of Corrine and her father (and Marian's) and also I would have liked more details on her mother's illness and an explanation for how and why Marian's father married Helene seemingly on accident. Did he not know who she was? And did she not realize what he was. I guess the fact that I am this invested in the characters means the author really got me attached to the story and characters!

Full disclosure, this isn't my kind of book. I dislike magical realism as a whole but I love the paranormal. I find that fiction authors who try to include fantasy elements tend to fail greatly.

Anyway, I've always liked the concept of a story inside a story but this turned out to not really be the case. I was rather disappointed that Ashlyn's psychometry was the main reason for my reading this and it barely played a role in the story. And lastly, I simply didn't like any of the main characters - Ashlyn, Hemi or Belle - which made this a tough book to get through. I feel that this book should have been way shorter. I think I'll stick to my fantasy and paranormal genres.

I'm with Barbara on this one, particularly the disappointment in finding no development of Ashlyn's ability to read the "echoes" of books. In the books defense, though, I also wouldn't have chosen it if I knew it was going to be based on two romantic relationships. Romance is not my genre of choice, especially now that I'm 71. I also agree on the length, especially the first half which dragged for me. I was more drawn in as the second half started to unfold. I ended up going with 3 stars because I know I was not the targeted reader for the book, so the book gets the "benefit of the doubt" from me.

LAUREN JODI

Books about books is one of my favorite genres and the premise of this one was very intriguing. It starts out well with the Ashlyn's unique ability to "read' the emotions emanating from certain books that she touches. Even the mystery of the two companion manuscripts by Hemi and Belle caught my interest. Unfortunately, the actual execution is disappointing. To begin with, neither Hemi nor Belle is appealing, so it is difficult to care one way or another if they reconcile. Moreover, as an avid romance reader, the miscommunication and secret keeping tropes are annoying in the extreme.
The narrative structure is also problematic as it shifts from past to present and one manuscript to another. This leads to unnecessary repetition as well as numerous internal inconsistencies and several plot holes.
Ashlyn also has to be the slowest reader on the face of the earth - if these books are so compelling, why is she reading only a few pages at a time?
The audiobook is very good as the three distinct narrators help to differentiate between the narrative voices. It would have been more difficult to finish the book if I had been reading.

I read this book earlier in the year and it was painful to finish for reasons already mentioned. Dropping the "echoes" part. Unlikeable characters. Repetition and plot holes. How slowly she read the book. The unnecessary length. The fact that she just couldn't leave it alone...Ashlyn is literally told to leave them alone and still pushed her agenda. I think that was supposed to be the "echo", the she wouldn't leave Belle in peace. I felt it had all the problems a book could possibly have.

And I know this is petty but my biggest issue was that Ashlyn found an old copy of Remains of the Day...in 1984. Remains was published in 1989. Ashlyn does not have internet, but the author does

I gave this one 3 stars. I didn't hate it, but I think it could have been done so much better than it was. I didn't catch the Remains of the Day anachronism that Denise mentioned, but I also had a really hard time remembering that I was supposed to be in the 80s. It didn't feel like the 80s.
I also think i would have gone through this a lot better on audio (but I already had it on my kindle, I guess it must have been a first reads pick?) but on kindle it was a bit of a slog. I liked it okay while I was reading, but forgot about it as soon as I set it down and felt no need to pick it back up again.
Verdict: Good concept, poor execution.

I appreciate reading these, I was going to use this for Group Read, got through a few pages and felt like it wasn't going to work for me, Your comments confirmed my decision. I'll pick something else for Group Read.

I am all the way through but ihas been like wading through treacle. It feels to me like an epistolary fiction with one letter being responded to by the second. I am not sure where the magical realism comes in. I have to say I am really disappointed at this stage


The magial realism is really only the way Ashley feels when she touches a book and to be honest that feel has nothing to do with the actual narrative

I did get through it but in essence I never feel like the group read gives what it promises. Lists on GR are never truly representative of their genre. The nomination process means that books nominated may not actually fit the category and I wonder if what we are doing is the best way to choose books.

Marie (UK) wrote: "The nomination process means that books nominated may not actually fit the category and I wonder if what we are doing is the best way to choose books."

I was thinking about this too, since this was the only option I hadn't already read and I didn't feel like doing a reread of any of the others. I think a good alternate would be "or a 500+ page book of your choice with one of the categories as a main page genre." The page count would keep it from being a lazy choice, but it would give an extra option for when none of the selected books hold any appeal.

Fly wrote: "Marie (UK) wrote: "The nomination process means that books nominated may not actually fit the category and I wonder if what we are doing is the best way to choose books."

I was thinking about this..."

I know I have nominated books - often choosing by how easy it is to get hold of the book or by the length because the category is not really one of my favourites. That is why I have chosen not to nominate for next season this time around and hope someone else has some really good ideas about the categories.

I had read two of the the other books nominated this time and the third was not available to me at low enough cost

I don't know what the answer is and I know that this challenge takes such a lot of time and energy.

Sarah H

TLDR: Basically a Hallmark movie. Two stars.

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't find much to enjoy about it either. The writing was barely serviceable. The story was overly sentimental, on the verge of saccharine, and for all its attempted twists and turns I found it extremely predictable.

My biggest complaint is that such a huge part of this book was set in italics. Every time I got to an excerpt from one of the two books the characters were reading, I groaned, not enjoying the prospect of more pages of solid italics. It was really unpleasant for me to read.

I do think the 80s setting was pretty solid. The whole book felt, in fact, like something I might have found on my mother's bookshelf when I was a kid. If you'd told me it had been published in 1989 instead of 2023, I would have believed you.

At least it was a quick one for me!

Delicious Dee

finished this up today - like most others just underwhelmed in general. I actually liked the story within the story but the rest of it just felt shallow and not developed and the ending just worked out - too nicely...Marian finding Hemi - him forgiving her for hiding his kid for 40 years - getting married etc - it was just ehhh

started out reading on kindle and felt like I was slogging through mud. I realized it was free on audible and tried listening...still slogging. I finally finished it. I get that many people liked it but it wasn't for me

I tried reading this a few months ago and couldn't get into it. I like the author and the genre, but for some reason, this didn't resonate with me. When I saw it was one of the choices for this task, I figured I'd give it a go, again. Sadly, still a no. Hoping the 9/11 book is returned to the library in time for me to read it, instead.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds Ashlyn awful. She gets weirdly obsessed, reads the book really slow and why would you investigate before finishing and getting as much information as possible?

The worst thing for me is asking big favours of people. She asks the librarian for help who spends hours finding Goldie's real name, then not telling her anything about the books over 'privacy' concerns. If she's worried about privacy why is she reading it?!

She then shows up at Ethan's house after he doesn't return her calls which is unacceptable behaviour. She admits its creepy but apparently she can't see past her own wants.

This would have been better if Ashlyn was no part of this story and Regretting Belle was the book we got.

I was just reading through the other comments because I FINALLY finished the book last night and was feeling really puzzled by the 4+ average rating for the book on Goodreads. I don't always agree with the masses but on this one I was so off-side that I needed the comfort of seeing that other readers felt the same way. I didn't connect/like any of the characters, found them immature in the case of Belle and Hemi. There was so much manufactured melodrama. And it was SO SLOW. I was beginning to get worried I wouldn't finish it in time!

I didn't go into this read with any expectations. I didn't read the summary again since putting it on my tbr, didn't read any reviews. Just went into it with a fresh mind. I enjoyed it. Its not the best I have read for sure but I enjoyed my time reading the book. I liked the story. The characters were not bad but not spectacular. I think out of it all I just enjoyed the journey to see how it would end.

I have it a 3 star.