Benedicte’s Comments (group member since Mar 23, 2025)

Benedicte’s comments from the Hooked on Books group.

(view spoiler)[Found it fascinating too to see how much Coriolanus Snow changed from the beginning of the book to the end, while still being the same person and thinking in similar ways. From the very start, he never cared about anyone but himself, and if he pretended to care (for example with Lucy Gray), it was only because it could benefit him. I don't think he ever truly loved or cared for Lucy Gray, but maybe he was as close to love as a person like him could ever be.

I also think him throwing away his mother's powder and family pictures and only keeping his father's compass when he returned from the woods at the end was very symbolic of how much he had become like his father, the one filled with twisted, cruel ideas like inventing the Hunger Games, and how little remained of his mother and her kindness in him. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[In general, I was very impressed with the amount of detail and thought put into this book, as I remember being with the Hunger Games series too. It was well-written and satisfying to read, as I felt like it tied up many loose ends from both the trilogy and itself. I really enjoyed the foreshadowing about Lucy Gray's mysterious ending with her Ballad, and just in general how songs were a big part of the book :D And also getting the background story for "The Hanging Tree" song (hide spoiler)]

I finished it earlier today, and now I really want to reread the Hunger Games series, as I read it more than three years ago and think it would be very interesting now that there are so many things I understand better.

(view spoiler)[What did you think about the end, where he starts firing away in the woods? Did he kill Lucy Gray? If not, did she die or did she manage to get to District 13? Did she understand that he killed Sejanus? Did she leave the orange scarf by the snakes on purpose?

I don't know if he killed Lucy Gray, but if he didn't, I'm wondering why she didn't go back to 12, as she said herself she wouldn't have gone if she were alone. And if he did, surely the Coveys would have found her body?

For the orange scarf, I think it just got blown away by the wind, and that Coriolanus, already crazy at that point and trying to convince himself he was in the right and she was evil, saw that as evidence. The snake wasn't even venomous, and she of all people should know that. I think she just went out to get some katniss, but why did she not answer when he called her name? Lucy Gray was smart, so maybe she did put two and two together about Sejanus, especially thinking about the talk she had with Snow about being free and the control of the Capitol.

Well, whatever the answer is, I think the ending was most tragic for the rest of the Coveys. I couldn't help thinking about Maude Ivory and how heartbroken she must have been, after not only discovering Billy Taupe's body, but losing Lucy Gray and not being able to perform at the Hob anymore. Even though Lucy Gray left some money for them, it would run out eventually.

What a well-written end though! Gave me the chills, seeing how egoistic, heartless and crazy Snow had become. Well, he was always all three, but it wasn't as extreme and didn't show as much in the beginning of the book. (hide spoiler)]

Prompt #5 / Name: Wedding Veil
Book: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Author: Suzanne Collins
Date Read: April 17th 2025
Pages: 517
Task: 👰🏻‍♀️ 3. Read a book that is long - more than 400 pages
How it Fits: The book is 517 pages

🎪 Team Name: The Misfit Readers
🎟️ Task Completed: 🎭 Genre Attraction: The Young Adult Boardwalk
🔗 Proof of Completion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
✨ Summoning the Carnival Master for our next adventure!

🎭 Genre Attraction: The Young Adult Boardwalk

YA Romance: Witching and Scheming Teammate: Princesspint Date Completed: 4.16.25 Page Count: 360 Tickets: 4

YA Fantasy: Saint Teammate: Benedicte Date Completed: 04/10/2025 Page Count: 338 Tickets: 6 (Surprise Sprint)

YA Contemporary: Breathless, Teammate: Bernadette Date Completed: 04/05/2025 Page Count: 414 Tickets: 4

YA Fantasy: When the Bones Sing Teammate: Sharon Book Dragon Date Completed: 04/01/2025 Page Count: 342 Tickets: 3

YA Fantasy: They Bloom at Night Teammate: Sharon Book Dragon Date Completed: 04/09/2025 Page Count: 272 Tickets: 6 (Surprise Sprint)

Fantastic! 😁 Don't worry about it, life gets busy sometimes🥰❤️

You have one book left to finish for the genre attraction, and we haven’t finished a book for the E in the spell-out, so we won’t get new tasks for those until we finish them. 😉☺️

I have finally gotten around to reading Ballad, and think I will be able to finish it tomorrow. So will probably start reading Sunrise on Friday :)

Princesspint wrote: "@Benedicte
I finished 2 during the 9th and 10th
The Chocolate Chip Cookie 🍪 Murder
~Joanne Fluke
4-10-25
436..."

I will send a message to Ashley to inform her about your second book (Ruined Wings), but I don't see The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder on the SS, so it unfortunately won't count as the books had to be used for one of the tasks in order to count for the bonus. 😊

As for the SS link not working, I don't think there is much I can do about it...😞 Maybe try this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

You’re welcome🥰 Was reading when Ashley gave us our new task, and was lucky enough to find one of the words just minutes later! 🍀 Good luck with your searching 😊

I finished Crier's War yesterday, and used it as my book for the genre swap as I have never read a LGBTQ+ book before. 🏳️‍🌈 The rules say you have to share your thoughts on the genre after reading it, so here they are:

I really enjoyed the queer romance in the book, and will definitely be reading more LGBTQ+ books in the future, as I myself am bisexual. 🩷🩷💜💙💙There is no reason as to why I had never read a book with this genre, I think it's just an unlucky coincidence.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on your genre swaps of this month! ☺️

Finished the book yesterday, and I can't wait to read the second one in the series. I loved (view spoiler)[Crier and Ayla's relationship, and Crier was by far my favourite character. She was so sweet and innocent, always trying to make Ayla happy. (hide spoiler)]

I rated it ⭐⭐⭐⭐, and it would have been five if not for the writing. I don't know why, but there were some places in the book where I felt like they were repeating things I already knew too many times. I also wasn't a huge fan of all the parentheses. That's just my personal taste though, it doesn't mean it was badly written.

Excited to hear your thoughts on the book!

Catsalive wrote: "I'm having little luck with this months books. Sigh!"

Ashley posted this somewhere, and it really helped me brainstorm for this month. Thought I'd post it here for you guys ❤️

🌿 Unexplored/Remote Location
Creative Take: Anywhere unfamiliar to the protagonist—could be a hidden magical realm, a futuristic colony, or even a metaphorical "wilderness" like a new city or emotional journey.
📖 Recommendation: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann (Amazon jungle) or Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (surreal wilderness).

🚀 Space Exploration
Creative Take: Exploration doesn’t have to mean NASA—could be a character discovering their place in the universe, a philosophical journey, or even a dystopian "space prison."
📖 Recommendation: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (hard sci-fi) or The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (cozy space adventure).

⏳ Time Travel
Creative Take: Memory jumps, alternate timelines, or even a character reliving their past metaphorically (e.g., through letters or dreams).
📖 Recommendation: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar (lyrical, nonlinear) or Recursion by Blake Crouch (mind-bending time loops).

⛰️ Climbing a Mountain
Creative Take: Overcoming a personal "mountain" (addiction, grief) or a symbolic ascent (career, social ladder).
📖 Recommendation: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (Everest disaster) or The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (spiritual journey).

🛣️ Epic Road Trip
Creative Take: Any transformative journey—a pilgrimage, a escape, or even a "road trip" through time (e.g., a multiverse hop).
📖 Recommendation: On the Road by Jack Kerouac (classic) or The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub (Epic quest, Americana with a twist, and eerie alternate dimensions)

🏺 Ancient Ruins
Creative Take: Exploring personal/family history, uncovering metaphorical "ruins" (old secrets, forgotten cultures).
📖 Recommendation: The Ruins by Scott Smith (horror) or The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (mystery in a forgotten library).

🌊 Ocean Voyages
Creative Take: Sailing through emotional "storms," a spaceship as a "ship," or a surreal aquatic world.
📖 Recommendation: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (philosophical survival) or To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (metaphorical voyage).

🏕️ Wilderness Survival
Creative Take: Surviving societal collapse, a mental health crisis, or even a competitive reality show.
📖 Recommendation: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (lost in woods) or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (post-apocalyptic).

🎯 Quest-Based Story
Creative Take: A heist, a detective’s investigation, or a character’s mission to achieve a dream.
📖 Recommendation: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien (classic quest) or The Martian by Andy Weir (scientific survival mission).

🏄 Extreme Sports
Creative Take: High-stakes competition (e.g., chess, gambling), or literal extreme sports (parkour, freediving).
📖 Recommendation: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (adventure gone wrong) or Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (virtual extreme challenges).

Good luck with your reading!

🎪 Team Name: The Misfit Readers
🎟️ Task Completed: 🍿 Food Vendor: The Ringmaster's Grill
🔗 Proof of Completion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
✨ Summoning the Carnival Master for our next adventure!

🍿 Food Vendor: The Ringmaster's Grill

🍿 Food Vendor Word: Succulent
Book: The Winter Maiden by Cristina Lollabrigida
Date Completed: 04/02/2025
Page Count: 399
Tickets: 4
Location: pg12
Sentence: A potent desire to taste her succulent lips...

🍿 Food Vendor Word: Dominant
Book: The Winter Maiden by Oscar Wilde
Date Completed: 04/10/2025
Page Count: 191
Tickets: 4 (surprise sprint)
Location: Page 59 chapter 5
Sentence: "hated him through some curious race instinct for which he could not account and which for that reason was all the more dominant within him."

🍿 Food Vendor Word: Fiery
Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Lyssa Kay Adams
Date Completed: 04/01/2025
Page Count: 350
Tickets: 4
Location: Ch 23
Sentence: that fiery little expression got him hot and bothered"

🍿 Food Vendor Word: Sizzling
Book: The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermot
Date Completed: 04/04/2025
Page Count: 546
Tickets: 5
Location: Page 422
Sentence: "Bullets sizzling past him, he ran like hell for the Temple of Poseidon."

🍿 Food Vendor Word: Savory
Book: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Date Completed: 04/06/2025
Page Count: 372
Tickets: 4
Location: Location 100
Sentence: "...Izumi still visited it when the trees turned a reddish gold and the ramen's savory promise until it was their turn..."

That is correct :)

I finished Crier’s War today, so I’ll be starting this one tomorrow ☺️

Prompt #1 / Name: Octothorpe
Book: Crier's War
Author:Nina Varela
Date Read: April 13th 2025
Pages: 429
Task: #️⃣ 4. Read a book with the word VILLAGE found in the text.
How it Fits: Page 311: "But she had another, ulterior motive for traveling south. The village of Elderell."

June 22nd: You know what... I kind of gave up on updating this, and I am too lazy to do it now that it's over

🌸Last updated🌸
April 11th

Books read: 10
Pages read: 3 043 (not counting dnf-ed books)
Time read: 68 hours and 8 minutes

🌸Books read🌸