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

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

The Quill Questers (MN Lisa, Amanda, Jackie, Janine and Kirsten) would like the following buddy reads for January. Thanks!

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer (All of Us)
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden (Amanda, Jackie, Kirsten)
The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen (Amanda, Jackie)
Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes (Amanda, Jackie)
Champagne Charade by Leighton Greene (Amanda, Janine, Kirsten, MN Lisa)
Breathe by Sophia Soames (Amanda, Kirsten)
Karaoke Queen by Dominic Lim (Amanda, Kirsten, Jackie)
Let There Be Light by A.M. Johnson (Amanda, Kirsten)
The Geography of Happiness by Jay Hogan (Amanda, Janine, Lisa)
Mandatory Repairs Mandatory Repairs (Janine, Lisa)
Sawyer by J.J. Harper (Janine, Lisa)
Serving Mr. Chamberlain by Izaia Winter (Janine, Lisa)
Ship Happens by Pandora Pine (Janine, Lisa)
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (Kirsten, Lisa)
Second Shot by Con Riley (Kirsten, Lisa)

I know this is a lot, but we should be set for January. Let There Be Light is planned for later this week, so that's the first one we need if there are some that need to wait.

A bit schmoopy at the end. I don't know why I was thinking that there should have been a bit more drama in this one....

87% Complete....When he decided to do it, he really did it. Just with his Dad, but its a start.

After Janine takes a look tomorrow about books. I'll request the first set of Buddy Reads. We can ask for more if needed and they are always open to anyone so if someone selects it after it'll be ok.

Rowan is great.

Declan and Jonas are moving along nicely.

75% in and Declan is still quiet with his family, but got caught by Maren. That turned out good so hopefully.

I got nervous when the racing team wanted a second opinion. I don't think this is going to turn out good, but that Mark reporter guy seems like a good person to know.

Amanda wrote: "As a group, do we care if we read our buddy reads at the exact same time, or just as long as we're still conversing? That way I can read ones I'm not using for this challenge over the next couple d..."

I think the conversing is the important part. I think we would want to avoid Amanda leaving lots of posts, then Lisa leaving lots of posts but we don't ever respond to each others posts.

I think I can muddle through. I'm doing that right now with On the Edge. Its a little hard, but not too bad.

My library doesn't seem to have Slow Horses so I'm trying to see if i can get it somewhere else.

I have to get it from my library...I don't even remember the last time I read a physical book., but they have two copies in stock so I'll probably pick it up Tuesday.

It looks good.

Ok. Here are my current selections:
Read a book about someone starting at a new school. - Second Shot (BR)
Read a book where a character moves to a new place. - We Used to Live Here (BR/Team Read)
Read a book about making New Year's resolutions. - New Year's Resolutions (BR)
Read a book where a character learns a new skill. - The Geography of Happiness (BR)
Read a book about someone starting a new job. - Serving Mr. Chamberlain
Read a book where a character reinvents themselves. - Mandatory Repairs
Read a book about overcoming a major life change.Sawyer
Read a book set on New Year's Day. - Champagne Charade (BR)
Read a book about someone starting over after a setback. - Our Wives Under the Sea (BR)
Read a book where a character embarks on a new adventure - Ship Happens

I don't think it has to be the same task.

I was just thinking we might need a spreadsheet to track this stuff. :)

I have not read any of them before. Usually its not such a big deal.

I don't mind Declan. Jonas is a bit self-sacrificing for my taste. Declan needs to grow up and come out to his family at least....IMO. I get its hard, but its gotta be hard to hide too.

Never been a huge Onley James fan either. i'm kinda waiting to see where everything goes, but I would probably do all the MM I can get my hands on. A few are not KU for me and I can't seem to find them anywhere.

Janeylou wrote: "Pretty easy going for MM BRs
Just not all long ones please 🙏"

Champage Charade is only 136 Pages

I got through Chapter 10. It's pretty good. It seems to me that Jonah is going to be the issue with the "he's straight", even though Declan basically admitted that he's not and the age gap and Jonah calling him "kid" to keep that distance.

Declan was a bit of a jerk on NYE, but he's adjusting.

I think I'm gonna go with Shifter Rogue.

It doesn't say that we can't overlap.
Q: Does the whole team have to choose the same race & class?
A: Absolutely NOT! In my opinion, it is better to have a variety of skills. However, the strategy your team chooses is up to you. Have fun choosing your characters.

You will each make your own decisions on race & class. This is a good thing. Everyone will have their own skills. You may need a variety of skills because you never know what quest you will be sent on. It may be easy but it may not be. Your skills may be the answer. You decide the path you take in this game.


Per my daughter and her boyfriend, variety is good in D&D. They would not recommend EXACT duplicates. (Their knowledge is based on actual game play).

Once we figure out most of the books, their placement for January, I'll request all the BR Threads at once.

I'm leaning toward Shifter Fighter or Shifter Monk....

Ok. Having a hard time sleeping.

Max Points per book (for 135 Pages, add one point for each 100 pages over 150) is 33.
That is:
1pt - Page Points
5pt - 200 Word Review
5pt - Buddy Read
5pt - Monthly Theme (Jan is MPG Contemporary)
5pt - Diversity Read
2pt - Team Read
10pt - Task

So, if we aren't able to find a team read book each month, we only lose 10 points TOTAL (2pt per person per book) from our score per book. We can easily make that up if we make sure we are doing as many buddy reads as we can, since those are 5 pts per person per book.

We add 15 pts for books we finish from 1/8 to 1/14 that have a strong female leads, so we should try and complete as many in that week as possible.