MN Lisa’s Comments (group member since Jul 20, 2023)

MN Lisa’s comments from the Hooked on Books group.

Updated to here

Michelle wrote: "When I look for the stitch I sometimes feel like I'm a rambling idiot 🤣🤣🤣"
I love to read them. Sometimes I only get a sentences and that's just not as fun!

🧩 Prompt #9: Fact / Fiction
Type: Wildcard Prompt
What this means:
This is a Wildcard Prompt, which means each of you will choose one side of the theme — one selects Fact, the other chooses Fiction.
Then, your partner gives you three book options that match your chosen side — and you pick one of those to read.
Optional Bonus: Once you're done, feel free to switch roles and repeat — but only if you want an extra round of fun!
For this one:
Fact can include nonfiction, memoirs, history, true crime, essays — anything rooted in reality.
Fiction can be absolutely anything made up: fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, romance, or whatever story lives only in imagination.
📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.
Truth or tale — it’s all part of the story. 📖📰

danielle wrote: "At the risk of angering the dolls... I have a question! Does a cover showing grass work for plants in the chain asking for "your ward material chosen on the cover"?

Here is the book I have in mind..."
Annabelle sat very still, listening to Danielle’s question.

Her painted lips curved just a little too wide.
“Grass is a plant, dear. Each blade a thousand tiny knives. Yes… it counts.”

The doll’s head tilted, and for a moment you thought she almost blinked.
“You asked politely. That’s why I answered sweetly. Keep doing that… it keeps the anger away.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Janeylou wrote: "Angie ☯ wrote: "Found one!
The Princess, the Prick and the Priest"

I knew those ella frank books of our Lisa's would come in useful somewhere 😂😂😂"

Yes!!!!

We’ve had a partner spot open up in the DNO Challenge (1 book per week). If you’d like to jump in and get paired up, this is your chance! You’ll step right into an existing team and continue with the weekly prompts from here on out.

Sign Up Here, and I’ll get you partnered up right away.

We can certainly ask for a replacement player. Hope you feel better soon.

Updated to Here

1. Annabelle

Annabelle is inspired by a true story about a doll believed to be haunted by the spirit of a young girl. In 1970, a student and her roommate reported that their Raggedy Ann doll, the real Annabelle doll the movie is based on (pictured on the right), was acting strangely. A medium told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of Annabelle Higgins. Despite their attempts to care for the doll, they couldn’t control its behavior and eventually sought help from Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous demonologists. The Warrens concluded that an unnatural entity was manipulating the doll. They took the doll and secured it in their museum, protected by sigils and wards. While the Warrens documented several instances of unusual activity, including the doll seemingly moving on its own, there is no proof it has ever caused physical harm or death.

The movie Annabelle draws heavily from this story, but is a fictionalized version. Still, the doll in the film (pictured above on the left) is undeniably creepy.

Complete the following tasks

Step 1: Purify the space & spirit by burning sage
Read a chain of 3 books that start with a letter in SAGE

Step 2: Choose the materials for your wards
Read a chain of 3 books with your ward material chosen on the cover (the team must choose from plants, stones, metal, or crystal, but you will all read for the same material)

Step 3: Put your ward items at the 4 corners of your area (around Annabelle). Draw your sigils/symbols in oil or water, encircling your space with a defensive boundary. It's all about intention.
Read a chain of 3 books that have the word SYMBOL in the text

3. Zuni Fetish Doll

The Zuni Fetish Doll from Trilogy of Terror (1975) is one of the most iconic and terrifying horror dolls in film history. It appears in the third segment, "Amelia," based on a Richard Matheson story.

The doll is a small, tribal warrior figure with sharp teeth, wild hair, and a gold chain around its waist. According to the story, the chain is meant to imprison the spirit of a Zuni hunter god named "He Who Kills." When the chain mysteriously falls off, the doll comes to life, unleashing pure, relentless violence.

Despite its tiny size, the Zuni Fetish Doll is shockingly fast, aggressive, and nearly unstoppable, attacking with a spear and a savage, high-pitched growl. It terrorizes the main character, Amelia, in her apartment in a tense and claustrophobic battle that ends with a chilling twist. Destroying its body ends with the spirit looking for a new vessel, the one who defeats it.

This doll is remembered for its primal fury and the intense suspense it creates, making it a standout in horror anthology history.

Complete the following tasks

Step One: Collect items for binding spell
Read a chain of 3 books with paper on the cover
Read a chain of 3 books with candles on the cover
Read a chain of 3 books with black covers (min 50%)
Read a chain of 3 books with a string on the cover or in the text
Read a chain of 3 books that start and end with a letter in BINDING OIL

Step 2: Write his name on the paper
Read a chain of 3 books with all the letters of HE WHO KILLS in the title/subtitle/series

Step 3: Anoint the candle. Then light it, focusing on the person being restrained and visualising them stopping their actions. Tie the string around the paper to bind.
Read a chain of 3 books that starts with a letter in the word BIND

🗝️ Week 3 Response
This key slipped into place like it had been waiting for you.
Maybe the stories we resist are the ones we need most.

What did your partner’s choice reveal about what they might be ready for now—even if they weren’t before?

Kelly and Anastasia....

The Boy’s painted lips did not move, but the air grew heavy.
They think all the digits must gather at once, he murmured, voice like soot dragged across glass.

Belle’s laugh was low, sharp as broken china.
Not in the pages. There, two are enough, if the number runs long enough to hold you. You slip in easily.

The Boy’s eyes glistened wetly, his voice curling out of the frame.
But in the dates, I will not scatter so thin. All four must appear, no matter how they hide. There I remain.

Belle’s gaze burned bright as she answered him.
One scar binds you. Page or date — either will do. They don’t need both. We are not so easily caged.

The painting and Belle fell silent together, leaving the room colder than before.

—Toymaker Lisa
** Task updated in the thread too.

Vicki wrote: "Trisha wrote: "🔐 Week 4 Prompt: Pick a Trope, Any Trope
This lock is a little more dramatic than the others. It wants a twist.
Choose a book with a trope you either love, hate, or can’t stop readin..."

That's a good idea. I'll have to remember that for next year. :)

🗝️ Week 3 Response
This key slipped into place like it had been waiting for you.
Maybe the stories we resist are the ones we need most.

What did your partner’s choice reveal about what they might be ready for now—even if they weren’t before?

Choose a book with a trope you either love, hate, or can’t stop reading.

The strength of the feeling doesn't matter, just have an opinion on it.

I would actually prefer saint so that works for me. Thanks!

🔐 Week 3 Prompt: Your Missing Piece
Some locks stay closed because something’s missing.
Choose a book that fills a gap in your reading life—something you’ve been avoiding, neglecting, or meaning to try.
Even better if it’s outside your comfort zone.

🗝️ Week 2 Response
Looks can be deceiving.
But sometimes… they’re not.

If your partner had chosen your cover instead, how do you think their reading experience would differ from yours?

Each unlock is an invitation. What matters now is how you respond and continue the conversation—nothing more is needed.

Week 2:
Book: Perilous Cuties
Date: 9/16/2025
Reflection: Picked because of the color and it reminded me a bit of Pumbaa and Timon from The Lion King movie.

Updated to here