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

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

Whoops. I got so excited I could play I forgot to pay attention to the rules.

Would you be willing to look at a spreadsheet? Active TBR is what I'm currently planning, but feel free to pull from my GR Sheves:
a-mm-tbr ‎(23)
*z-old-mm-tbr ‎(375)

I read about 5 books a week so I can fit just about anything in. A lot on the spreadsheet will work since we can be creative with the meaning.

Do you have a list or TBR you want me to review?

When you are done with the review of my spreadsheet, can you hide Through line 99? Please and Thank you.

I do read primarily MM Romance and the book I'm reading now totally fits with Stay.

Ty is recovering from a car accident that kills his parents and he totally resists Cole's attempts to help him move on. A Restored Man. I can get more details as we move to the story stitch too.

I really wanted this challenge to be interactive and super creative.

🧩 Prompt #: Journey / Stay

Type: Wildcard Prompt

What this means:
This is a Wildcard Prompt. Each of you picks one side of the theme — one chooses Journey, the other chooses Stay.

Then your partner gives you three book options
For this one:
Journey could be physical (road trip, quest, expedition) or emotional (self-discovery, healing, transition).
Stay focuses on stillness — staying in one place, rooted in a community, resisting change, or finding meaning in the familiar.

📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.

💡 Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret the prompt. “Journey” might mean leaving a mindset. “Stay” might mean choosing peace. If it fits your take, it counts.

Stretch Example:
One of you reads a sci-fi epic about intergalactic travel — full-on journey.
The other picks a cozy mystery where the protagonist refuses to leave their small town bookstore — total stay.
🧵 Your Story Stitch? “One ran to find purpose, the other stayed to protect it.”

Movement isn’t just physical — and roots can grow anywhere. 🚗🏡

Let's go with reading rebels. I'll go update and get our first prompt. I did randomize, so I don't even know the order they are coming in. :)

I messaged Victoria on 6/28. If you don't have any objections, I can be your partner for this challenge. Otherwise I can try and find another replacement.

Correct. Finish date is what matters, not start date.

Kat wrote: "I have been wondering if a book says past and future could you read a book released in the past or future"

Yep. If you can make a connection, make it. I can't wait to see the creativity in interpreting the prompts.

🧩 Prompt # 1: Legacy / Escape

Type: Split Prompt

What this means:
This is a Split Prompt, so each of you will choose one side of the theme — one picks Legacy, the other chooses Escape. Your books will be different but thematically connected.

For this one:
Legacy might mean a character tied to family expectations, carrying on a tradition, facing a prophecy, or dealing with generational weight.
Escape could involve running from the past, resisting control, breaking patterns, or physically leaving a place, person, or situation.

📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.

💡 Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret the prompt. If it makes sense to you, it fits.

Stretch Example:
One of you reads a fantasy about a chosen one reluctantly fulfilling their destiny — pure Legacy.
The other reads a contemporary romance about someone finally quitting their toxic job to move cross-country — definitely Escape.
🧵 Your Story Stitch? “Both protagonists are trying to decide who they are — the person they were expected to be, or the one they want to become.”

You define the chains — and how to break them. 🗝️🏃‍♀️

FYI. Story Seekers was claimed by Team 5.

🧩 Prompt #: Saint / Sinner

Type: Split Prompt

What this means:
This is a Split Prompt, which means each of you will choose one side of the theme and pick a book inspired by it. You're reading different books, but building a connection between your contrasting choices.

For this one:
One of you picks Saint — a story with a morally upright, idealistic, or self-sacrificing protagonist. Think healers, heroes, or people just trying to do the right thing no matter what.

The other picks Sinner — a book featuring a morally gray, selfish, chaotic, or outright villainous main character. Think antiheroes, con artists, dark lords, or loveable disasters.

📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.

💡 Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret the prompt. If you can make a case for your character's sainthood or their sin? It counts.

Stretch Example:
One of you reads a cozy fantasy about a grumpy bartender who grudgingly helps everyone — clearly a “saint in disguise.”
The other picks a romance where the protagonist makes terrible choices but is doing it all in the name of love — morally gray but emotionally honest.

🧠 If it makes sense to you, you’re doing it right. Saints and sinners come in many forms. 😇😈

🧠 Stretch Example!
Let’s say your prompt is Past & Future. You might think that means strictly historical vs. sci-fi — and it can! But maybe…

One of you picks a book set in the future that’s all about rebuilding ancient traditions.

The other chooses a time travel novel where someone from the past is forced to face the future.

Or maybe one book is set in the 1800s but feels modern, and the other is futuristic but reads like folklore.

📌 The connection doesn’t have to be obvious. It just has to make sense to you.

✨ Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret the prompt. If you think it fits, it probably does. Trust your instincts, lean into the weird, and have fun with it!

✨ Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret each prompt.
There’s no single “right” answer here. If you can make a case for it, it counts. Lean into your wild ideas, stretch the theme, and have fun with it. The Narrative Nexus thrives on imagination. 💫

📚 Partner A (Past): Reads A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers — set in a far future post-industrial world, but focused on slow, quiet reflection, tradition, and rediscovering a forgotten way of life.

📚 Partner B (Future): Reads Kindred by Octavia Butler — a time travel novel where the protagonist from the 1970s is pulled into the 1800s, forcing her to confront both past and future consequences.

🧵 Story Stitch:
"One book imagines a future shaped by returning to the past; the other sends its protagonist into history to change her future. Time might move in one direction, but these stories prove it’s never that simple."

Please see updated prompt. Only one book is required. the "Switch Role" was an optional bonus round.

Janeylou wrote: "So , for Wildcard Prompts ..we have to read 2 books each ?"
No. You only have to pick one book from the list your partner provides.

The "Switch Roles" is if you want to. Kind of like Extra Credit and to extend the game a bit. It's option and I see where it was confusing so I'll fix the prompt.

✨ Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret each prompt.
There’s no single “right” answer here. If you can make a case for it, it counts. Lean into your wild ideas, stretch the theme, and have fun with it. The Narrative Nexus thrives on imagination. 💫

📚 Partner A chooses “Love”
They read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree — a cozy, feel-good fantasy where the love is found in friendship, new beginnings, and a cinnamon-scented life.

📚 Partner B chooses “Loss”
They read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman — full of melancholy, memory, and the loss of childhood innocence.

🧵 Story Stitch example:
"One book wrapped us in the warmth of found family and lattes; the other slowly peeled back the heartbreak of remembering what you've lost. Both explore love — one in the joy of creating it, the other in the ache of its absence."

**I almost wanted to assign Jackie the "Love" piece. LOL. I know its not her favorite and I'm mean like that. 😆🦦

✨ Creativity is key — not just in your connection, but in how you interpret each prompt.
There’s no single “right” answer here. If you can make a case for it, it counts. Lean into your wild ideas, stretch the theme, and have fun with it. The Narrative Nexus thrives on imagination. 💫

📚 Partner A chooses “Fact”
They read a science-based thriller like The Martian by Andy Weir — fictional, but packed with real-world science and data.

📚 Partner B chooses “Fiction”
They read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — fully fictional, metaphysical, and emotion-driven.

🧵 Story Stitch example:
"One of us stuck to physics and botany, the other explored the philosophy of alternate lives — but both books wrestle with survival, choice, and what makes a life worth living. One uses facts to build fiction. The other uses fiction to explore truth."

🧩 Prompt #1: 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. After that, switch roles!

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.

💡 Fact and fiction might seem like opposites, but they often speak to the same truths. Be playful, be insightful — your connection can be literal or layered.

Truth or tale — it’s all part of the story. 📖📰

🧩 Prompt #: Past & Future

Type: Mirror Prompt

What this means:
This is a Mirror Prompt, so you and your partner are working with the same theme — but from opposite ends of the timeline.

For this one:
One of you will choose a book rooted in the Past — historical fiction, historical fantasy, period pieces, or any story set in a time before now.

The other will choose a book that leans into the Future — science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopian worlds, or forward-looking fantasy.

📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.

💡 You might be reading centuries apart, but the connections are there — legacy, change, cycles, echoes. If it clicks for you, that’s what matters.

Time to stretch across the ages. ⏳🚀

🧩 Prompt #: Real World / Other World

Type: Split Prompt

What this means:
This is a Split Prompt, which means each of you will choose one side of the paired theme and read a book inspired by that choice. Your reads will be different, but thematically linked.

For this one:
One of you will pick a book grounded in the Real World — contemporary, historical fiction, memoir, or anything that feels rooted in reality.

The other will escape to the Other World — fantasy, magical realism, speculative fiction, or alternate realities. If it bends the rules of reality, it fits.

📌 Once you’ve both finished reading, post your Story Stitch (your connection blurb) in the Check-In Thread to unlock your next prompt.

💡 Think about how your two worlds reflect or contrast each other — emotionally, thematically, or just through vibes. If you can find the link, you’re on the right path.

Reality or fantasy — both have stories worth telling. 🌍✨