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

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

I am done for the round as well.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore - Day 5 - Part VII

18. How did you feel or think about TJ locking up her father. Was it really to keep him safe or more for revenge/punishment reasons?

I think she cared deeply for himself and was worried how the family might react if with his illness he started saying things that shed light on Bear’s death.


19. What do you think of the Characters and who was your favourite / Least and why?
Judyta and TJ were the tolerable ones. I wasn’t that fond of the others and found the teenagers written a little shallowly.

20. There seemed to be many topics covered in the book with the main one being abuse. What did you take away or feel about any of the issues highlighted?

I think it is important to discuss but not sure this book added anything to the conversation. It was more of a standard mystery/thriller with a past and current timeline. I didn’t find it especially novel or deep but I hope it might have provided help or information to others.

21. How did you like the book and will you read another book by Liz Moore? Would you consider this a book you would re-read and would your rating change?

Nope, I wasn’t that impressed, but it seems to be very popular so glad others like it. A lot of books like to write about rich, abusive, miserable rich people and this is another one. I have no general desire to read these. I guess this is not a new trend considering Gatsby and all that. (I didn’t like that one either).

Day 4 - Dec 5th - Part VI

14. How do you think the police are handling the disappearance of Barbara and how this compares to how Bear’s disappearance was handled?
It is the 70s but the current one isn’t too bad even if the police in charge seems to be more focused on keeping the family happy and avoiding the past case.

15. What do you think about what is implied about TJ and her relationship with Barbara? How does this relate to the themes of the book so far?
The book had already shown earlier with Louise that TJ was honorable but it did want you to question it and showed the other relationships that were toxic and abusive.

16. Do you have a favorite point of view or conversely, any point of views so far that you don’t think are necessary for the book?
I thought Alice was unnecessary and the police office (name began with a J) provide the most narrative progress along with Tracy. I think the book could have been those two.

17. What do you think of the survival trips and the squirrel hunting? Do you think this is a good idea with 8- to 14-year-olds? Any experiences from your childhood/schooling as comparison that you want to share?
I went camping as a kid and we had an overnight camping trip with my school but with lots of adult supervision. I think there is a line that is important for self-reliance and then there is neglect/endangerement.

Day 1- Part I

1.) Have you read any Liz Moore books before? Or, did you buy it to find out what the big drip of pink paint on the cover means?

Nope and not generally interested in this author. I am purely here because Judith’ s library wait list was too long. 60 points was worth it while 20 points I likely would have skipped. Flash back, rich people books are really not my thing.

2.) Have you ever gone to (or been a counselor at) a summer camp or the like as a kid? Did you like it? Is the setting of this book descriptive (or nostalgic) enough to bring you into the story?

I had overnight school trips but never a camp. I went to a day camp for a week here or there, but they usually cost too much and I spent most of summer outside anyways.

3.) So far we have been introduced to just a few characters; a couple of campers, a couple of counselors, a couple of useless parents, and a boogey man. What do you think of them so far?

Awful, or abusive, or being abused. I was not looking forward to this book at this point.

4.) How did you react to Louise not being very truthful about the night Barbara disappeared? How will it come back to haunt her (if it does)?

If everyone communicated well the first time, we would not have a book or a much shorter, more straightforward book.

5.) If you have not read ahead, do you have any wild guesses about what happened to Barbara? If you have read ahead, how do you like the way the story is unfolding?

I was going with run away at this point of the book. I don’t like all the points of view and wish it was a bit more focused.

Day 4 - Dec 5th - Parts VI

14. How do you think the police are handling the disappearance of Barbara and how this compares to how Bear’s disappearance was handled?

15. What do you think about what is implied about TJ and her relationship with Barbara? How does this relate to the themes of the book so far?

16. Do you have a favorite point of view or conversely, any point of views so far that you don’t think are necessary for the book?

17. What do you think of the survival trips and the squirrel hunting? Do you think this is a good idea with 8- to 14-year-olds? Any experiences from your childhood/schooling as comparison that you want to share?

I also have 4 left but know one is going to have to wait for another year but hopefully can get at least two others.

Day 4: Chapters 11-13

14. How do you like Poirot's style of revealing what happened? Do you enjoy reading whodunnit mysteries?
These are always such light and fun reads and I try to remember that they set the patterns for later books in the genre such as sitting everyone down in a circle that is sometimes made light of or goes wrong in more recent books.

15. The mystery has been unraveled and we now know what happened to Mrs. Inglethorp. Have you guessed who it was or were you surprised?
I was a bit suspicious the first time as he wasn’t even trying to be sneaky but this is a reread by now so it was interesting to see how everything lined up since I remembered the ending.


16. Is there anything you would have changed about the narrative? Something you didn't like? If so, here's your place to rant :)
The general antisemitism that is in all her works.

17. If you haven't already, would you consider picking up another Hercule Poirot book or any other of Agatha Christie's works?
Her stuff is fun and fluffy so I read them especially when I need a specific item on cover or other task.

Anyone planning on reading The Spellshop for BOM points has until Dec 2 and all other BOM run until the end of the challenge.

Day 2: Chapters 5-7

6. Poirot is concerned because Cynthia does not take sugar in her coffee and calls back to when he tasted all the coffees, but it’s never expanded upon. We later find out that the poison was likely administered in coffee and that it has a bitter taste that coffee could mask. Do you have any theories as to why Poirot put such importance on “Cynthia does not take sugar”?
This is a reread for me but it indicated that something was wrong if all had sugar.

7. Witnesses have testified to overhearing an argument between Mr & Mrs Ingelthorp the day she was murdered — but Mr Ingelthorp claims they are mistaken. Do you believe he is truly the one who was having the argument, or do you have any other suspicions? Poirot certainly thinks he is innocent and claims to be able disprove the other claim (about him buying the poison) — does that sway you at all?
This is a reread for me.

8. Most people seem to believe Mr Inglethorp is guilty (ESPECIALLY Evie), while Lawrence seems to believe the death came by natural causes, and Mr. Inglethorp doesn’t seem to have any theories at all except to believe it was murder but never pointing fingers at a suspect. I have to admit, I expected more finger-pointing from this group! Have any characters’ reactions so far stood out as peculiar to you?
Lawrence’s reaction did seem the oddest as he had a background in medicine before he dropped off. Inglehorp seems to be purposedly making his life difficult at this point but this is a reread.

9. One of my favorite things about mysteries is trying to figure out what happened before it’s revealed. Are you trying to solve the murder, or would you prefer to be surprised by the eventual reveal? Do you feel like you’re usually good at solving the mysteries, or do they evade you?
I usually read for fun and if I guess then often that means to me that it wasn’t very well done but I do like if there is a way to figure it out and not just luck overheard something or out of nowhere at the end.

General reminder that the task Water: word in title contains and H and 2 Os needs to be in a single word so school, or hook etc.

Very impressive

Judith finished off two monsters so I spun 2 Discworld ones:

The Hiver
500 to 650
Person wearing a cloak or cape on the cover
MPG Travel
word BOREDOM in text
features a powerful character (your interpretation)

Vorbis, the Exquisitor
200-299
An X or Q in the title
word TORTOISE in text
tagged Gods at least 5x
there is character development in the plot (your interpretation)

DQ Day 1
Chapters 1 - 4


1. The first few chapters set the scene for this (first) instalment of Hercule Poirot. What do you make of the various characters we are introduced to? Especially "Alfred dearest" whom everybody seems to dislike. Do you agree with Mrs Howard that they're all only interested in the money? Do you agree with Hastings that they're all somewhat suspicious?

This was a reread for me so I don't remember if I had issues following the first time or not. I isn't quite one of AC's house party books but you get all the suspects in one place at first.

2. A murder has occurred! Anyone want to venture a guess at this stage as to who has done it? And was it really death by poison? Or is Dr. Bauerstein's expertise in the matter and the fact that Mrs. Inglethorp suffered from severe convulsions in front of practically the entire household merely a red herring?

This is a reread for me so no guessing.

3. There was an argument the day before the murder between the late Mrs. Inglethorp and an unknown person, potentially Mr. Inglethorp. What might this have been about?

Again, a reread so I will not guess

4. What might Mrs. Inglethorp not have wanted to show Mary Cavendish that resulted in the latter feeling somewhat peeved?

Again, a reread so I will not guess

5. Are you enjoying the narrative so far? I assume I don't have to ask if this is your first Christie book? It seems like most everyone has read at least one of her books, or has seen an episode or two of the tv adaptations.

I've read quite a bit. I ended up with a lot of Christie's books when I was overseas for a year and have a fondness from them as I really had nothing else for a few months while I figured out how to get ebooks. This is a reread and not my favorite but pretty impressive if you consider that it sets the model for so many books after it.

I'm in for DQs Team Traffic Jam with an extra entry as well.

My last book is done for this round

Thank you

We can spin for two new monsters again

For anyone who does audiobooks, Xe Sands narrates a bunch of different books for an X.

If it my U, I’ll be done today

Back up for Judith. Team traffic and an extra entry please. I cannot do either of the first two days as I will be on an 18 hour flight.