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

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

Sounds like a plan then

New one:

David McCall (Fear)
350 to 450
MC high school age (14 to 18)
character goes to amusement park
character is stalked
one word title

Ent gone and we got a Galatea

Galatea
350 to 450
MPG Mythology
White cover (>50%)
5 in page count
Page number is a multiple of 50

Another team is considering re-spinning after getting a monster three times. Do we want to consider this too?

Great job, everyone and thank you for being part of the team

Brides was used in the last wheel and cannot be moved. However if you are listening to one now, that would be great.

DQs Day 5 Chapter 31-End

19. Have you ever forgotten an important event? How did you make up for it? Did it involve pastry?

Yes, as in birthdays, but not meeting someone at a specific time that I can think of. I use baked goods generally as bribery and not apologies since I bake.

20. So, who is the daftest of the two? Miles, for not telling Daphne what he was doing and basically doing all the things he knew Daphne’s dad did to her as a kid. Or Daphne for immediately stomping off in a huff and assuming only bad things and refusing to talk to Miles? (I can’t be the only one who is so sick and tired of this kind of thing happening in every contemporary romance book?)

They both are an unnecessary suddenly really bad at communicating mess and utterly unnecessarily. Also, by my response and later on, I am utterly sick of this too.

21. The readathon seems like a lot of fun! Anyone even a tiny bit surprised that Miles was there? If you were to set up a dream readathon – budget not a problem, where would you hold it, who would be the participants (kids, adults, women between 33 and 37 only, etc.), and would there be a theme? Any other cool additions, like readings by certain specific authors?

No, not in the slightest on Miles showing up. I think this kind of event works best with middle schoolers and teenagers but it could be fun with adults, but I would not limit by gender, though you would need to figure out childcare for many adults. Themes are fun but would need to not limit who might want to join, such as fantasy or romance only. Local authors could also be fun.


22. What did you think of the book overall?

It was fine until the utterly unnecessary and exactly predictable 80% (on the dot) miscommunication breakup. It always seems unnecessary for the plot. Otherwise, it was a fast read and sweet.

DQs Day 2 Chapter 9-13

6. In this section, we learn that the countdown at the start of every chapter is for the Read-a-thon, a reading event Daphne is planning at the library. Did you try to figure out what it was about? What did you think? Or were you just along for the ride, waiting to find to, like I was?

It seemed to be until she could leave but was unclear was the holdup was at first. I wasn’t that invested in guessing.

7. Speaking of the Read-a-thon, have you heard of or participated in (or even organized!) something like it? Would you like to?

No, I never have nor really wanted to.

8. “[Sadie] and Cooper were our best friends” Daphne is not only going through the end of her romantic relationship, but also seems to have lost her best friend. What’s your take on that? Have you ever been on either side of this situation? (No need to answer/go into detail of course!)

I have lost friends when a friendship breaks up and people take sides. It can be hard as it feels like you lose a lot more than one person. I imagine it would be worse with couples.

9. “I think the beard is sheer chaos, but not inherently bad. It’s your face, Miles. All that matters is how you feel about it.” I think Daphne makes a great point here and think we should all remember that a bit more before we judge people’s looks. Were there any quotes that really stood out to you?

I didn’t note any quotes, but it is a good, if fairly common, thought.

10. What do you think is up with Miles’s family so he doesn’t have a relationship with his parents? How do you feel about Daphne neither probing nor really wondering about it?

I appreciate that she leaves him alone and as they are just roommates of convenience at this point, it is none of her business and up to him what he feels like sharing. I won’t guess as I finished the book.

Stacie wrote: "Check my Haunted Ever After book if it hasn't been used. That looks 50% orange to me."

If you mean the sky and his shirt, that is only about 30% of the cover.

Lexi wrote: "Krissy wrote: "I have a Bomb title"

Great, I will go look for an orange one."

I did not find a good orange one if someone else has one.

Tricia wrote: "When does the challenge end? I've lost track."

It ends on Aug 15th in 2 days and 15 hours and ~20 minutes. There is a countdown on the summary page on the tracking spreadsheet.

Krissy wrote: "I have a Bomb title"

Great, I will go look for an orange one.

What we have unclaimed:
N
R
set in Argentina (50%+)

Tricia wrote: "I recently read Mammoth at the gates which has animals on the cover, which you could consider related to livestock. It's currently being used in the spell it out if you wanted to move it."

I moved it, thank you

Cordelia wrote: "Not sure if it got added but I finished East of Eden :)"

Added, thank you

Just a reminder for rules for spell-it-out:

Spell outs can use the first letter of the title or series title (ignore or use THE, A or AN as you prefer), the first letter of the author, narrator* or translator* first or last names. For this version NO character names are permitted.
* these can only be used if the edition read was audio or translated

DQs Day 1 Chapter 1-8

1. Is this your first Emily Henry book or have you read others by her? If not your first, what has been your favorite book of hers, so far? If your first, has she been on your radar before or is this a BOM/Games thing you're reading for?
I have read Book Lovers and while she is very fast read, they are not books I would read without being a BOM.

2. What do you think so far of the story and the writing?
It is light and fun. I liked the start but got tired of it as it went on.

3. What would you do if you found yourself in the same shoes as Miles and Daphne and were invited to an ex's wedding?!?
I would not go. Time to move on and define yourself separate from them.

4. I love Emily Henry's characters. I always find myself laughing throughout her books. Are you enjoying the characters so far in this one? Anyone in particular an early favorite?
I like Miles though they define themselves a bit too much by the other person. Though that is a bit of the plot of the book.

5. Any early predictions for how this will turn out? Do you think Peter's call to Daphne is an indication of jealousy? Do you agree with Ashleigh when she said "If Peter was going to break your heart now, he wouldn't done it eventually." and "He's a lunch swapper, and whether it was the rusty metal Batman lunch box or a Cars 2 zip-up one that's filled with mold, at some point, he was going to trade in the sake lunch." (I love that metaphor!!)
I think Peter is a jerk and it would have happened eventually. Cheaper not to have to get a divorce.

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide

With echoes of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Yejidé’s novel explores a forgotten quadrant of Washington, DC, and the ghosts that haunt it.

Nephthys Kinwell is a taxi driver of sorts in Washington, DC, ferrying ill-fated passengers in a haunted car: a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere with a ghost in the trunk. Endless rides and alcohol help her manage her grief over the death of her twin brother, Osiris, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River.

Unknown to Nephthys when the novel opens in 1977, her estranged great-nephew, ten-year-old Dash, is finding himself drawn to the banks of that very same river. It is there that Dash--reeling from having witnessed an act of molestation at his school, but still questioning what and who he saw--has charmed conversations with a mysterious figure he calls the "River Man," who somehow appears each time he goes there.

When Dash arrives unexpectedly at Nephthys's door one day bearing a cryptic note about his unusual conversations with the River Man, Nephthys must face both the family she abandoned and what frightens her most when she looks in the mirror.

Creatures of Passage beautifully threads together the stories of Nephthys, Dash, and others both living and dead. Morowa Yejidé's deeply captivating novel shows us an unseen Washington filled with otherworldly landscapes, flawed super-humans, and reluctant ghosts, and brings together a community intent on saving one young boy in order to reclaim themselves.

My new nominate until it wins book:

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

Mary,

When you get a chance can you add The Walk to your challenge shelf?

Thank you!