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

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

🗝️ 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?

🗝️ 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 gap do you think your partner’s book filled for them—and was it the one you expected?

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

What do you think your partner would have expected from your cover—and were they right?

This message is yours to unlock together. Keep the responses flowing between you; nothing else needs to be checked in.

my a case of possession would work. there is a rotting soul that is possessing bodies. 211 pages. read 9/10?

good thing hunt is done. now all my other books will be. light and fluffy. 🤪

and the Q4 task should be easy for us.

now those horror books we've been saving... buffalo hunter hunter?

I took two spots, but I also have a C and L I could use for the spell out too.

Jackie....not sure I remember, but if you don't want to read shapeshifter, I could do two of those if you want to do two of one of the others - Kirsten too....

I think the one I'm listening to would cover legacy....A Psalm for the Wild-Built.

There is a robot that lives in the woods and comes out after years of all robots hiding to see what humans need. From Precis: One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "I kneel to the toys for their generosity in saving my humble self for another day."

The toys creaked and shifted, their whispers curling through the dark.
“Kneel, Kelly. We like that. Gratitude keeps the teeth at bay.”

Belle’s porcelain smile flickered in the shadows.
“Saved for another day… yes. But not promised another.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Trisha wrote: "how about this one? Smile? (pumpkin)



🫣🫣"

The toys studied the cover.
“Yes… the pumpkin smiles. Crooked, carved, and hungry. The figure behind it doesn’t need to smile — it’s already holding one.”

—Toymaker Lisa

🧩 Prompt #10: 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.
You define the chains — and how to break them. 🗝️🏃‍♀️

Oh. I can use my Mafia book.

The Killer Who Kept Me Mob Boss with cracked heart of gold. A man saves him from being killed and then he saves the man from his "father" who was super abusive. He worked to build him up from a scared man to one who was confident.

Bridge: They are both about the mob.

Trisha wrote: "Oh great scary toys, in an effort to not anger you at check in, I wanted to double check if these books would work for "a pink cover" before they are read.

[bookcover:The Hunger We Pass Down|2231..."
The toys leaned over the covers you offered, their eyes hollow but hungry.

“Yes…” they hissed. “Pink enough. Sickly sweet, bleeding bright. We’ll take them.”

One doll’s cracked lips curled.
“Now hurry and read. Don’t make us wait too long — we’ve cursed for less.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Trisha wrote: "also, is this a smile?

"

The toys lean in close to the cover.
“Teeth, yes. Smile, no. A smile bends. This mouth only bites.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Kat wrote: "For eyes on the cover can I use this? You can see eyes if you click on cover Our Beautiful Mess"

The toys shifted closer to the cover.
“Almost-eyes don’t count. We want to see you see us. Whites, pupils, something staring back. If it only looks like the space where eyes should be… the toys aren’t fooled.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Kelly (Maybedog) wrote: "For mirrored or reflective titles, themes, or imagery, can imagery mean something in the text (like a few sentences depicting something occuring) or only on the cover? Thanks in advance!"

elle tilted her head, voice soft as dust.
“Imagery doesn’t need to be painted on a cover. Words can reflect too. A mirror in glass, a reflection in water, a world turned backwards, even a character staring into themselves… it all gleams the same to us.”

The toys shifted in the dark, whispering.
“If it doubles, if it echoes, if it reflects — the toys accept it.”

—Toymaker Lisa

Updated to here

In this eerie tale, a woman named Elaine purchases an antique dollhouse from a mysterious store. The dollhouse is exquisitely detailed(an exact replica of a Victorian home) and comes complete with tiny, delicate furnishings and dolls posed within.

As Elaine brings it into her home, she begins to notice unsettling phenomena: the dolls shift positions on their own, rooms in the dollhouse rearrange themselves, and events inside the miniature house eerily mirror or even predict occurrences in her real life.

The boundary between the dollhouse and reality begins to blur. It becomes clear that the dollhouse isn’t just a toy, it’s a supernatural force, observing, controlling, or even reshaping Elaine’s fate.

This episode stands out as one of The Twilight Zone’s chilling modern-era entries into the haunted object subgenre, tapping into primal fears of losing control over one’s own world.

Complete the following tasks:
🪞2. Double Trouble
Read a chain of 3 books with dual POVs or two timelines. Reality doesn’t like to be alone.

🏠5. Haunted Home Vibes
Read a chain of 3 books with a house on the cover or in the title. Bonus if it's slightly too perfect.

🔤6. The Word “Doll” Appears
Read a chain of 3 books where the word “doll” shows up — in the title, series name, author name, or anywhere in the text.

An ornate, antique silver vase believed to be cursed, originating from the town of Basano del Grappa in Italy. This mysterious vessel is said to bring tragedy and death to its owners, with a dark history of every family member who possessed it dying under strange or unexplained circumstances.

The vase is intricately crafted, featuring detailed engravings and an elegant shape that masks its sinister nature. According to legend, the vase carries a malevolent spirit or curse that dooms anyone who keeps it, making it a feared and avoided heirloom.

Its true whereabouts remain a mystery, and many stories warn of the misfortune it brings, making the Basano Vase a chilling symbol of a haunted object with a deadly legacy.

Complete the following tasks:
🏺1. Death in the Family
Read a chain of 3 books where a family member dies — on or off the page, recent or ancestral, tragic or suspicious.

👻3. Spirits Attached
Read a chain of 3 books that feature a ghost, spirit, or lingering presence — friendly, malevolent, or just confused. Bonus if it haunts an object.

🗡️5. A Body on the Floor
Read a chain of 3 books that includes a murder or homicide — it can be part of the main plot or a key backstory detail. The more mysterious or cursed, the better.