Please take a look at the discussion questions below and Nancy's responses, then comment with your own responses to some or all of the questions. Also, please include the number of the question(s) with your response(s) so we can all keep track of what is being discussed. Feel free to add any other comments you have that are not prompted by the questions. Thank you for reading Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion and participating in our discussion!

1. What is your perception of Lola?

Lola seems to be miserable when the book begins, but not understandably so. She is a complainer, annoyed because her friend, Piper, is always taking care of her young son, and frustrated that because she made nasty comments about her friend Hubert’s girlfriend, he doesn’t speak to her much anymore. Lola is selfish and not that likable. She flips out when her younger sister, Mindy, reveals that her wedding will be on Lola’s thirtieth birthday and she wants to have a cake and sing, “Happy Birthday,” to Lola at the reception. Lola is also bothered when Hubert suddenly shows up at her house after a fight with his girlfriend and wants to stay there for a while. I didn’t really get why Lola was so upset with everything going on around her because it didn’t seem that bad. Also, Lola tends to avoid social situations and really dislikes her overly involved neighbors.

2. Were you rooting for Lola to end up with Ryan or Hubert?

Ryan seemed like he was hiding something from the start. Hubert was an okay character. I knew early on who Lola would end up with, but I wasn’t too excited to see how it all worked out. I didn’t connect with these characters very much.

3. Describe the friendship between Lola and Piper.

Since Lola is relatively non-confrontational, she bottled up a lot of the negative feelings she had toward Piper and just let everything go, but she was clearly frustrated with her. Piper was a pretty good friend to Lola, though, and seemed to genuinely care about her. She was willing to help Lola with whatever she needed, a great quality to have in a friend.

4. Describe the relationship between Lola and her sister, Mindy.

Strained would be the best word to describe Lola’s and Mindy’s relationship. Mindy is condescending and rude to Lola, and Lola understandably doesn’t want to be with Mindy much, especially when it comes to planning Mindy’s wedding. But, Lola’s lack of involvement and lack of interest are not good either. I kept hoping that Mindy would make an effort to be nicer and that Lola would just make some sort of an effort.

5. Overall, would you recommend this novel to others? Why or why not?

Probably not. It wasn’t for me, but other people may enjoy it. I’m not opposed to reading something else from Karen McQuestion, though. Each novel is different, so I might like another one of her books better.

What do you think of Easily Amused?

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