2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss On the Proper Use of Stars by Dominique Fortier.

Pages: 280 pages

Length: 1 month (January)

Participants: Valerie, Lorraine

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 }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

Hi Lorraine, probably start this on Thursday or Friday after I finish my present book.

No problem Valerie. I will be starting today but intend to take it slow.

Started today and read the first chapter. Different viewpoints and different perceptions but Crozier seems the one with the clearest vision (and the least absurd lifestyle!). Jane sounds like a formidable lady behind the ‘hero’. Her husband comes across as very full of himself and only concerned with his own legacy (there’s a thin line between bravery and stupidity). Enjoying it so far. I know very little about the actual historical events but decided to read the novel first before finding out more.

I know a bit about the events surrounding the Terror and Erebus, mainly because it was a big story in Canada during the 2000s due to its connection to the North Pole. As you might know, Canada claims the North Pole as part of our territory—which, by the way, also means Santa Claus is officially a Canadian resident! His postal code? HOH OHO. It’s true! That’s where children send their letters and receive personalized responses.

But don’t worry—I'm quite sure Dominique Fortier’s book has anything to do with Santa Claus! 🤣 I won’t say more for now because I don’t want to spoil the story for you. I’ll share some interesting links once you get further into the book.

Finished the long second section. Not sure what to think of it overall. Some parts are wryly witty and quite evocative of time and place, whilst other parts had my eyes glazing over and seemed rather superfluous to the plot. Not entirely sure of her intentions but there’s enough good to keep me interested.

I understand that On the Proper Use of Stars is Dominique Fortier's first book. While I don’t find it as captivating as her later ones—especially the one about Emily Dickinson—I still enjoyed it enough to stay interested. It doesn’t quite have the same poetic feel as her other books, but I can see glimpses of what’s to come in her writing. The story about the expedition really caught my curiosity, and I think I’ll look for more books on the topic.

Is this one available in your area? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Finished. I agree with you that this early novel shows glimpses of potential rather than being as bright a gem as her later works - but I suppose we should expect that! We’ve had similar experiences with both Richard Powers and Louise Erdrich. I did appreciate the main Frances Crozier narrative and the character of Lady Jane, but didn’t really see the point of the Sophia storyline. I definitely skimmed through some of the other additions which seemed rather random and gave the novel a disjointed feel - I just wanted to get back to the main story! Just glad she built on this and developed her skills in later works.

The Wonder is not available here except as an extremely expensive import but maybe that will change in the future.

I see you have The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder on your list. Now that is an amazing story!

Valerie wrote: "The Wonder is not available here except as an extremely expensive import but maybe that will change in the future.

I see you have The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder ..."

I was wondering if it was good. I will read it.

Happy New Year, Valerie! I took a short break from reading but just finished Du bon usage des étoiles. I definitely plan to explore other books based on the events described in it, and I’ll follow your suggestion to read The Wager.

Now, onto Dominique Fortier’s book. I liked it, but I felt it didn’t quite measure up to her latest work, even though her talent is clearly evident. As for Sophia, she struck me as the character most closely resembling the future characters Dominique would go on to create. By the end of the book, Sophia was immersed in the poetic and magical world Dominique is so skilled at crafting. That said, I agree—she wasn’t as likable as some of the other characters.