Lexi’s Comments (group member since Jul 27, 2016)

Lexi’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I would like to complain that the book I jut finished was tagged 9 times Books-about-Books, 1 short.

Great, thank you

Sorry, yesterday was a bit hectic, but here are the sections.

Sept 5 - Part 1 - Chap 1-13 - Catherine
Sept 6 - Part 2 - Chap 14 - 27 - Lexi
Sept 7 - Part 3 Chap 28 - 44 - Amanda
Sept 8 - Break
Sept 9 - Part 4 - Chap 45 - 56 - Catherine
Sept 10 - Part 5 - Chap 57 - 69 - Lexi
Sept 11 - Part 6 - Chap 70 - 84- Amanda

I got two done last month but still way behind the line. TTs was not good for me reading these books. I did get two of my oldest ARCs read, and both were 4 stars, so that was good. I will need to read 7 this month to catch up. My goal is five, and I'll try to catch up over the next few months.

Read in Aug:

Judy wrote: "#13 -

I know this is many people's favorite here so my expectations were high... and after I somehow got through the first 300 pages or so, this really was as goo..."

I'm in the minority in not liking it for this group. I also found it boring and few odd choices seemed to me to made on the minor characters. I have not read any others, but others (Sammy) on here love and reread the series.

I can. How many sections should I divide it up into?

I can write DQ's as well.

Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías

A taut, harrowing novel about a woman and the people who depend on her as the world around them teeters on the edge of apocalypse—marking an award-winning Latin American author’s US debut.

In a city ravaged by a mysterious plague, a woman tries to understand why her world is falling apart. An algae bloom has poisoned the previously pristine air that blows in from the sea. Inland, a secretive corporation churns out the only food anyone can afford—a revolting pink paste, made of an unknown substance. In the short, desperate breaks between deadly windstorms, our narrator stubbornly tends to her few remaining with her difficult but vulnerable mother; with the ex-husband for whom she still harbors feelings; with the boy she nannies, whose parents sent him away even as terrible threats loomed. Yet as conditions outside deteriorate further, her commitment to remaining in place only grows—even if staying means being left behind.

An evocative elegy for a safe, clean world, Pink Slime is buoyed by humor and its narrator’s resiliency. This unforgettable novel explores the place where love, responsibility, and self-preservation converge, and the beauty and fragility of our most intimate relationships.

Picking a new random one, as not feeling my previous one:


Heartwood by Amity Gaige

Heartwood takes you on a journey as a search and rescue team race against time when an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.

At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.

I finished my book as well. Went back to Bad Romance and got:

Karenin (Anna Karenina)
350 to 450
train on cover
has a love triangle
MPG historical fiction
a book from this Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Judith, that is quite a list. It is a mix of true classics and utter trash that people have added to the list. I think someone clearly needs to read Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers, as I am not sure if it was on the original list or not.

Edited: My library has a copy so I may have to read Tarka.

My food item on cover book also works for unicorn and monarchy. If someone else has a book that works for one of those two tasks, I can put it for the other monster.

Edited: I moved it to Unicorn as that seemed harder

As part of being done with TTs, started some bread after work today. I will hold it in the fridge overnight and finish tomorrow.
(recipe for fun: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/nut...)

Hope you all get internet and are doing fine with the storm. I thought we might be over specific geography so spun Discworld.

Queen of the Elves
200-299
Author's initials in MORRIS DANCING
UNICORN mentioned in text
silver text on cover
set in a country with a monarchy

Thank you and Judith, I hope you liked that book better than I did

Hi all,

Now that TTs is over, we have two location tasks that someone might have read.
1. Has anyone read a Taiwan, Japan or Korea book since July 15?
(We spun that country earlier so not helpful there)
2. Takes place in Australia - Judith's BOM works for Tasmania which is more specific but if anyone has this one since July 27?

Seconding, this was a great team and hope everyone had fun and maybe tried a book they otherwise would not have read

My last one was just going to be too many pages to finish so I switched it out for two hard countries to hit my book cap.

Great reading everyone

Day 8
Ch 30 - end

29. In reconnecting with Robin, Misaki realizes that she is no longer the Misaki from those days, just as he is no longer the same Robin. Do you have a story about yourself you have carried for years that is no longer true about the person you are today? Or perhaps, sense there is a self-narrative you have been carrying that you need to shed in order to grow?
No, not really.

32. “...a person’s tragedy doesn’t define them or cancel all the good in their life.” This quote reminds me of the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold, so the break and subsequent repair is what makes the piece beautiful and unique. What do you think about Misaki and Takeru’s newfound communication and future relationship? What about Misaki’s new self awareness?
Seemed a bit rushed after so much pain but glad there was some good to come out of it and some communication. I hope this makes a healthier household for the children to grow up in.

33. One theme that jumped out at me while reading was the tension between expectations based on dreams and the acceptance/embracing of reality, with all its ugliness and beauty. Do you believe that setting expectations - parent to child, wife to husband, self to self - is a root cause of unhappiness?
I agree with others that expecting others to change for you or to meet your reality if very likely going to fail and lead to resentment which can cause all types of harm in relationships.

34. I loved how the ending of the book left such hope for the future - not an easy future, but one with stronger relationships, better communication, and new self-acceptance. But now I want more! What will Izumo be like when he gets older? What’s the story with the creature collecting children with talents? What was your overall take on the book? Will you be reading more by this author? My post-script says there is another series that takes place 13 years later, so I assume with the children and the kidnapped army. I just looked it up and it appears to have been written first and be portal fantasy and deals more with the flipped racism issue. It is Daniel as the MC so that makes sense why we got the scene at the end more so to try to get people to read the other books. Considering I didn’t find this writing style my favorite, reading an earlier book that seems like a much messier plot is something I am highly unlikely to do. I still need to figure out if I will read the authors other book, which I had on my TBR before I read this one. I hope for some better world building if I do.

Thank you both

DQ'S Day 3 Chapter 8 - Chapter 12

10. Mamoru is becoming more friends with Kwang Chul-Hee and seems to be rebelling more and finally has a fall out with his father. Do you think his father would have hit Mamoru again if Misaki wouldn't have accidentally interupted?
I think so as he clearly had lost control of his temper. He is constantly stated that he is not a good teacher or really father.

11. Are you understanding their powers and magic system more through these last few chapters and the fighting that has occurred. Which power would you want?
Most are entirely family and blood line based. It still seems overly simplistic with it all being nationality based. We have fire, wind and water/ice. (And the blood one on the side and you seem to be able to have blood plus ice but not the major elements together). Still seems lazy worldbuilding to me.

12. Misaki received a letter from her friend and told her to run and get out of town. With the Emperor keeping it a secret. Do you think anyone else knew war was coming? And why they are attacking such an isolated village?
I feel like an Empire that keep this much control on its villages would have controlled the mail better. The village is known for its ice magic so makes sense to decimate it first, but someone should have seen the armada at sea. This world has modern technology and there seems to be time when the author remembers that and forgets.