Ebook and audio book below (link will expire in 7 days) Audio https://wetransfer.com/downloads/cb21ed8574142be96da1ec1f742ceda720230210153705/0affa6 Ebook https://we.tl/t-Yni5KZSmuk
For those new to Book club the discussion format is saying how far youve read then thoughts in the spoiler Ex Spoiler: Through Ch 10
Talk to me like I’m stupid I downloaded the file onto my phone how do I load it into an app to play the audio book
It really depends on what device and app youre using. The easiest and usually what I do when I listen audio books is DL on my laptop. Import into music, convert to audiobook then upload it to my iphones books app. Im sure there's a way to open it from your phone though
General thoughts about 12% in Spoiler i have no idea what I would do in this situation. Would I want to know how long I had to live? Probably so. I think my curiosity would get the best of me. And if I got a long string, I don’t think I’d be reckless with my life. I could see it going badly like the couple who tried to commit suicide after their wedding where he lived and she died
Need an audiobook player app. Maybe i have an iPhone now. With my old pixel I just downloaded rocket player. With the iPhone need some app that will let me play at 2x speed.
Excited about a new independent bookstore close to my house. Paid 2.5x Amazon prices but fuck Bezos. Let's roll
I’ve read the book already so I don’t want to comment too much in fear of accidentally spoiling something. I remember the main points but not all the details. Started it again this morning. It really is a great book that does so many things well. Looking forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts.
Spoiler It would drive me crazy either way, knowing or not knowing. Anxiety would definitely make me open the box and look. About 70 pages in Spoiler interesting reading about the experiences of short stringers, being denied health care, tests, jobs etc. Would definitely keep that info to myself, but easier said than done perhaps. About halfway Spoiler Really enjoying reading about what's going on in the world and the treatment of long stringers vs short stringers than I am reading about the actual characters at this point if that makes sense.
A little over half way Spoiler Agree with all of this. I’m a little over halfway, and I’m hoping they dip their toe a little more into the lore behind why what’s happening/how it’s happening in the second half as well. Hank was my favorite character, so even though you knew it was coming it was still a bummer. Enjoying it so far.
Finished. Spoiler The Amie and Ben part of the story was to me far and away the best part. I thought the first half of the book was ok, I just didn’t find myself getting much out of the Maura/Nina dynamic. I thought once they introduced the therapy group that was a really helpful narrative shift. The Javy and Jack dynamic and the president Rollins stuff just seemed like narrative fluff that could’ve been told more effectively a different way. I enjoyed the social commentary the book weaved in, I just didn’t find the senator Rollins character to have any depth or that story arch offer much. I mentioned this at the halfway point, but I found myself more interested in the lore ideas than I did in most of the story narratives, still feel that way after finishing. I thought the character wrap ups broadly speaking were nice, Amie/Ben/Nina especially as I’d forgotten that Amie never opened her box so her dying caught me off guard when I read it. Overall enjoyed it somewhat. It’s not a book I’ll go back to, solid 6 out of 10 for me.
Spoiler The Blackfish [*]Fusiontegra [*]Dukes [*]20/20/20/20 [*]NCHusker [*]Dillingham [*]jkun [*]laxjoe [*]CBH [*]Upton^2 [*]Tangman [*]Truman [*]Kevintensity [*]RonBurgundy [*]Gallant Knight [*]Doug [*]WillySaliba [*]Cabs [*] everyone that voted to participate in the book club. Just making sure no one missed this.
Finished - 9/10 Spoiler As I said - this was a re-read for me and it still held up on a 2nd read. The premise is so smart as vehicle for social commentary and holding a mirror up to society. Asks a lot of question of the reader. Would you look? Could you date/marry a short stringer? ect. The characters are all pretty good, but also not really important. Just a vehicle to explore the themes of the book that I thought was done really well. It would be interesting to read this book in 5-10 years to see if it still hold true.
About 1/3 of the way through Spoiler I'm enjoying it as a story, but it's failing to really grab me and make it hard to put down and go to bed like some books do. It's an interesting thought exercise - and I'm enjoying it for that but without that hook I'm reading slower than I normally would.
I’m about fifty pages in, and the whiplash I’m experiencing from reading Main Street by Sinclair Lewis ( he won the Nobel prize for literature) to this book is pretty jarring Interesting premise though
Spoiler: 120 pages/Spring Interesting premise. For some reason it kinda reminds me of Recursion though they're very different. Already hate this politician fella so props to the author for making that authentic.
About 190 pages in Spoiler So far I think it’s just ok. The premise is interesting, but no information about how the boxes appeared seems very strange. The only time I particularly cared about any of the characters was when Claire broke up with Ben. I want to like it more because I know some of y’all really enjoy it, but I just keep thinking that this is something a freshman high school girl would really be in to.
Hmm. Maybe they zapped it. PM your email I can send you the ebook. IF you want the audiobook, that might be more difficult. Will have to figure that out.
Finished - (read it back in October & didn't re-read this soon) Spoiler Enjoyed it, but didn't love it. Pretty much what Detlef said. Enjoyed Claire/Ben, but Anthony/Jack storyline just didn't really intrigue me. Did enjoy how she tied everything together at the end - best part of the book for me was just thinking about the premise & how I would react and how she portrayed the short stringer/long stringer reactions.
Just finished Spoiler Just finished. Pretty stunning there is no exploration whatsoever about where the boxes/strings come from. There were some touching moment-when Ben and amie are in the apartment together, when Moura and Nina get married at the courthouse. But overall I think it was just ok
Spoiler: Finished thoughts I really liked this book, but didn’t love it. I wish I had been aware that there was no explanation of the boxes origins in the book. I kept waiting for that part of the story, and it kept me from getting into the actual book. It was just a completely different book than I thought it was going to be and while that can sometimes be a great thing (the first time reading the passage, for me) I think it hurt this time. I enjoyed the thought exercise of how I’d react to the saturation and the social aspect of the world she built. Coming out of COVID, I could see the world reacting that way or worse, and that was a fun part of the book.
Finished, give it about an 8/10 Spoiler the lack of explanation about where the strings came from didn't really bother me. The reaction against short stringers I could definitely see happening in our world. Thought it was a fine idea that made me think a bit of what I would do if I were in this world, but characters of the story themselves didn't really interest me.
Rebuttal to some that felt underwhelmed Spoiler I get feeling unfulfilled by getting no back story on the strings. I kept waiting for it. Once I realized it wasn’t coming (maybe 1/3rd to 1/2 into the book), and I realized it’s not about the strings. It’s about the meta social commentary on society, I really got into it. Some of it was heavy handed but I thought it did a really good job I hope that didn’t come off as preachy to those that were underwhelmed. Not my intention. Just that once I shifted my perspective on what it was about, the book hit differently
Spoiler So I understand what you’re saying, the themes the book explores are much more interesting than the characters for me at least, it was the saving grace of the book for me at least I just felt like zero exploration of the initial hook of the book (the strings source and abrupt appearance) was a deal breaker for me.
To but not through the chapter Once The Truth… Spoiler Nice change of pace book for me so far and the premise is really interesting as others have said. I like to think I wouldn’t have looked at my string but I probably would have eventually. side note - I wish we could post questions or polls within threads to generate discussion e.g. •Would you have looked at your string? I’m a huge sap so I love that Amie responded to Ben’s therapy writing and left it for him. Businesses and insurance companies fucking over short stringers is exactly what would happen, maybe not as overtly as in this book but yeah… glad she mentioned that.
Spoiler I know I'd look - and would base my life decisions off of it - but would also have to know that alive, doesn't always mean healthy and alive. Businesses, insurance companies, and government would absolutely use the information and fuck it all up, as always
Random thought, not really a spoiler but I'll do it anyway Spoiler I am very interested in the who and the how of the strings, but I am assuming that we don't ever find out (don't tell me.) Just doesn't seem to be the purpose of the book which I'm OK with. It is a case study on how humanity would react given this information, not a sci fi book about who could possibly do this. If we find out cool, but I'm going forward assuming we don't.
Spoiler Finally finished. Thought it was a really interesting concept and loved it at the beginning. I thought it was kind of a slog in the middle but really enjoyed the ending. It kind of reminded me of the show Lost when they’re in purgatory and everyone’s stories are kind of interlaced and all of the characters meet each other at one point.
Finished Spoiler Very interesting concept and themes, but the characters were boring. I'm sure the Aime revelation was meant to be a gut punch but I honestly didn't care much at that point. Maybe it would've been better to focus on a few characters instead of so many? Also the connections felt so forced. I was in a big reading slump so I'm glad I read it but not sure if this will get any recs from me. Looking forward to the next one.
Finished this morning Spoiler I really enjoyed it. I kind of viewed the strings through a Covid lens. Doesn’t really matter where it came from. It’s here, now the world has to figure out what to do in response. I agree with most that the end was the best part of the book. Kind of lost me a bit about 3/4th of the way through, as I really liked the beginning. But the author did a great job ending things, the Amie ending was well done imo.
Last Amie chapter before Winter (not quite done with it just need to put this thought down) Spoiler If her and Ben don't work out I will rate this book a 1
Finishing the book now, about 5 minutes left. This book is fucking Spoiler emotional manipulation, I’m not crying you’re crying.
Don’t even know how to covey where I am, about 1/3 through. Spoiler enjoying it, looking forward to reading the other spoilers.