Lexi’s
Comments
(group member since Jul 27, 2016)
Lexi’s
comments
from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.
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Day 2 DQsCh 9 to 18
6.) Did Galass turning into a blood mage and Fidick being the cause of Lucian's death (I assume that's what the black cloud that left the tent did) surprise you? Or were you expecting their bit in the story to be over and just a footnote about Cade's character?
Well, they bumped off Fidick really quickly but he wasn’t written to have more than an obvious sacrificial role to motivate others. I expected Galass to stick around the way she was written but hadn’t really thought it through on if she would become a mage or not.
7.) We learn about more magic types and there's pretty much any type of magic you can dream up. What type of magic you like to have or what animal would you like an affinity with?
The lightning seems to be the most practically useful since you can also apparently drive a boat somehow with it. The rats are fun, and I thought we were going to get more of a pied piper character. My job would be a lot easier if I could chat with baboons so that would be nice.
8.) Is anyone else's favorite character Mr. Bones? Just me? mkay.
I just caught that he was on the cover as one of the 7 which is fun. I hope he stays just a pet jakal and is never more than that.
9.) At this point I think it's clear Cade is a fallen Glorian of some sort, likely a Justicar. Do others agree with my guess here or do you have other thoughts?
I think that was made pretty clear as really the only thing that he could have been with the comments on what the currently do and some of his skill set.
10.) Assuming my guess in Q9 is right, why do you think Cade got the heave ho from the Glorians?
He got beaten up when he left so no entirely voluntarily but apostate means to renounce a faith so maybe, he stopped believing and following orders.
Sonia wrote: "Okay... all done and sent to the Wheel Mistress for validation. Thank you for all the suggestions. I was a bit rusty and they were a priceless help!!"I left you lots of comments, as always take which ones you want.
DQs - Day 1: Chapters 1-8 (pages 1 -71) 1. The book has the MPG Dark Fantasy. Do you like this genre in general? If so, do you have any favourite authors or books?
I like fantasy and read a bunch. I am less fond of dark fantasy, and its over reliance on sexual assault to make it “realistic.” It is such lazy writing that we introduced the MC as not that bad by less than 10% into the book by him not being a pedophile. So far, I am not that impressed by the book.
Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he's wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn't protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic?
2. The book starts with the quote above. Is this your mental image of a wizard, too? Or something different? :)
I think a bit more of Gandalf and not quite the symbols but yes on male, older with a beard.
3. And the author lands us in the middle of a siege (ideal for the Book Games, right? ;) with 2 of the main characters Cade Ombra and Corrigan Blight. Cade is narrating what is happening and offering us his views on good and evil, the part they are playing and how they "win" this particular siege.
Do you think it's a strong start to the book? Has it got you intrigued?
I am not fond of the narrative voice so far. It does read fast though so benefit in that direction. I have read this author before and would not have joined if it was not a BOM.
4. As an extra incentive & entertainment, the Ascendant Lucien offers young girls and boys (sublimes) to the wanderists after the siege. We get introduced to Fiddick and Galass and learn that Cade decided to kill Lucien. We can actually start putting some pieces of Cade's character together. What do you think about him at this point?
Eh, don’t really care. He is kind of a walking cliché, including his “tortured” past.
5. Some demonic highlights to this introductory part: Tenebris the demon, with whom Cade as an "infernalist" mage trades with to get his spells.
What were your impressions of Tenebris? How do you find the "religious/magical" system of the Infernals and the Celestines?
The magic system is my favorite part so far, as it is overly specific and seems to have furies. The religious part does not make sense too much so far on why some magic is, and some is not. The religious messaging seems a bit forced this early in the book. It could have been built in more subtly, but this book does not seem to do subtle so far. I will be interested if it gets developed more than "Catholics in funny hats" to use a phrase from an author I like describing most fantasy system’s religion.
Sonia wrote: "Why didn't I think of coming here sooner? I'm having so much fun! I guess I missed the creativity outlet of thinking on tasks."Yay, for monster wheels. Home of strange lists and overly specific tasks.
Happy reading, everyone
Most wheels so far are around 20-30 monsters with one having less than that.
I am keeping it at ~35 songs so moved some of the suggestions in and some other ones out. There is room for one more song. I'll get it moved over to a spreadsheet and if anyone wants to help on tasks, feel free to message me and I'll share the link. (view spoiler)
Mary wrote: "How do you know how many BOM tokens you have? I think I've participated in 4 books but I'm not sure if I answered enough questions for a token or not."You would have three that I could tell but you need to make a completion post so the mods know you have answered the questions. You have none right now; three equals one extra entry so that is not a lot lost.
For everyone, Judith put everyone's token's on the summary sheet on the tracking spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Jenny was nice enough to make a post recently on making completion posts so copied that below the spoiler for anyone who needs the help:
(view spoiler)
Lists endless, yes. Originality and feasibility of tasks, slightly less endless. I’ll get the planned ear worm list updated after work today but with the note that some may not make the final list if tasks end up too similar to other ear worms or other lists.
General reminder to everyone that books started before the challenge cannot be used for points or Books of the Month or anything. We are under 24 hours until start and please feel free to ask any questions.
Melindam wrote: "What would you recommend, Lexi?"She has four main genres:
Fantasy Romance - These are great, even as I don't often read MF romances. It is a very fun series, though not as fond of the most recent one but committed to the overarching plot - start with Paladin’s Grace. Good audios too.
Horror - tend to be more creepy than straight out horror but does tend toward body horror if that will be an issue - short - What Moves the Dead and longer - The Hollow Places
Pure fantasy - Nettle & Bone. Her older work is mostly pure fantasy and fairytale retellings, but this is a great starting one.
MG - you have read the one I suggest first but otherwise, Minor Mage is very thoughtful
Melindam wrote: "#34 
4,5 stars
Bob, the Sourdough-Starter is my hero. 🥰"
Glad you enjoyed it, T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors.
#14 -
- ***I may not make it over the line this month, but I finally finished The Grapes of Wrath, which took me 2 months. It was also one of my only 2 books left from 2016 on my list. I have two other books this year that I want to read that can be considered "classics" so off to a good start. Also, no, I did not like it but felt I should read it so I did.
Since we had 2 veggies, 1 Dr Who and 1 Bad Romance, I got us a new Overly Specific Literary MonsterThe Enemy / Woman in White (The City We Became)
250-300
Woman wearing white on cover
"avatar" in text
"City" in title or series title
Book from: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
New one from plant monsters Mandrake
500 to 650
MC experiences increased heart rate, hallucinations, dizziness, or vomiting
MPG Romance
Fertility important to plot (your interpretation)
Purple cover (>50%)
Attempts to get under 15 by the end of 2024 are not doing great, and I have in fact gone up again to 30. I want to be down under 30 by the end of the month. Goal for 2024 as set in Jan: I want to get some of the older books cleared and to be under 15 by the end of 2024.
May NetGalley Challenge
Beginning of month
Books on shelf: 30
Feedback ratio: 84%
2020:
2021:
2022:
2023:
2024:
To Be Published:
Stacie wrote: "Oh yay, gives me the push I need to read Starling House"Same for me. I wasn't that fond of The Ten Thousand Doors of January but wanted to give the author a second try, especially as I grew up in KY.
July BOM are chosen and posting early, in case you need to go get in line at a library or find a random person to borrow the books from:
Here is my first run at ear worms. This clearly is mostly relevant to my rather odd music taste/upbringing/background, and I only picked songs with English lyrics. Under spoiler since the list is 35 songs long. I need to try to shorten it. Also, have fun on Youtube but note some are not for playing at work or around small children (probably). (view spoiler)
Sorry all, I got the date wrong for when the poll for June closes. It is tonight at midnight PST if you still want to vote here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/3...
