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

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

So considering a very different type of monster with ear worms (definition: "a song or melody that keeps repeating in one's mind."). It would fit with the last challenge's music theme. Inspired by the fact that I am working on a schistosomiasis paper this evening while listening to music from the early 2000s.

MPG Time Travel


The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown

If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door .

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is, it seems, Drummond Fox. He is a man fleeing his own demons - a man with his own secret library of magical books that he has hidden away in the shadows for safekeeping. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all . . .

Because some doors should never be opened.

If it gets a voted BOM, I will pick a new one


The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

We used to label each other as such in one of my game groups even though I never played. Does not need to be a paladin, mage etc. but a personality type.

Some of the new tasks (Vegi-Might Monsters), for those not familiar, deal with the DnD alignment system: https://www.figma.com/resource-librar...

This is for lawful evil, chaotic good etc.

Its the alignment system used in Dungeons and Dragons but I realize that may not be obvious/recognizable to most people. It may not fit then. The cop would need to be evil while following the letter of the law.

I may go post a comment for people - https://www.figma.com/resource-librar...

I never played DnD but it has entered other contexts.

Jenny wrote: "Ooh! Reading a book with a former corrupt cop. That should work. Of course, the title's second word starts with a K, so almost good enough. teehee

This new wheel is the one that will make me use t..."

Here is the definition if that helps:

"Lawful evil covers anyone or anything that follows a strict code, hierarchy, or system for personal gain at any cost. Lawful evil characters (e.g., Darth Vader) are calculating, organized, and tyrannical."

Do I need a completion post for my 2 answers and a whole lot of randomness?

I found a copy, so I'm in for DQ's. (District 8)

I am fully aware that I should never be allowed to be a mod, but I seem to have (mostly) adopted the monster wheel.

Thank you. I like the name.

Ha, this is mine. I am in for DQs. You may also want to change the sentence in Book Games since it reads, "The first BOM for this challenge is the 16 May Survival Theme BOM," since this is the survival theme one but not the May 16th one.

If that is one of mine, I almost put 6 or more years but figured I would leave it up to teams.

I read #13 for the year:


It was only 3 stars as it was a little too let me spell out the message for the reader. The author even repeated the message directly to the reader at the end of each chapter. I prefer authors assume I am smart enough to understand without that. Also the ending felt rushed and not entirely earned.

Melindam wrote: "Sammy wrote: "I thought you'd read this already! It certainly sets the whole tone for To Say Nothing of the Dog!"

I should have done so... long ago.... but I arrived to it the other way round. ;)"

I also arrived in this direction. I have a older paperback version that I found for free -

As someone who recently spent a month sleeping at night in a tent with days getting to 42 C, may I suggest that a tiny USB fan is my new favorite thing.

Considering Cat's and my questions, you could probably join the discussion without having read the book.

Andean condors sound lovely. I have seen California Condors out at the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Vultures are magnificent. They ones is the US are smaller but still really interesting but the ones I have seen in Africa, who apparently also are in Spain, are giant and really fascinating.

Set 2: 6 - 17

5. Iconic wildlife make their way to Knepp spontaneously once the land is left. Were you expecting the volume and variety that made an appearance when you started the book, with the unappealing claggy clay was described?

Poor hedgerows and hedgehogs. That made me very sad to read that. Also, how much of the loss had been even in the last 30 years was sad. I liked the part of the 80 years olds remembering before the war to what the country used to look like. None of these animals were that surprising as all can function off smaller space and are fairly mobile. Glad it worked though as most depend on somewhere nearby or soil seedstock.

6. Beavers! In general the section on the river rewilding was probably my favourite segment, and it's frustrating that there is such a wide acknowledgement that the current management of rivers and adjacent land (in England & Wales at least) is not really compatible with effective flood reduction. Anyway, rather than politics: favourite river creature(s)?

I have to agree. I adore Kingfishers, and I tend to see them a lot. I have one that lives by the pond (dammed creek) by my apartment, and it is a very noisy little bird. There are huge ones in Ethiopia and tiny blue and orange ones that I see a lot. A lot of my work involves waiting so I have taken up bird watching to fill the time and aquatic birds are my favorite. I also love giant storks and herons. I love to visit the great blue heron who lives in the pond and had both hooded merganser and a very lost green winged teal duck there this winter. I want to see a shoebill stork someday, as they do exist in areas with Guinea worm.


7. The minibeasts are revealed as the unsung heroes of a healthy environment, and yet are generally unloved. Any suggestions for "sexing up" the image of the humble earthworm, or making the pesky wasp more palatable?

I am confused by the decaying body issue. Are there no vultures? Who is picking up all the dead deer? We don’t let livestock rot in fields but deer, and roadkill occur all the time. Earthworms are cute. Did you ever have an earthworm farm as a kid?

8. Comparisons with Norway and Scotland, and the size of deer under different management methods. To noone's surprise, Tree is sniffy about both the Scottish and Norwegian approaches, on the basis that both lack the "authentic" way of life and thus dynamism within the landscape. What do you think about her point of view? Any recommendations for other nature writing?

Genetics likely play a role too even within the same species. In the US, white tail deer are much larger in Michigan versus the Florida swamp version. The desire for funding versus attempts to be self-sustaining and then the entire ignoring or privilege was annoying. My recommendations are above Wendell Berry, and Aldo Leopold.
I also like: Your Farm in the City: An Urban Dweller's Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer and want to read
The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love.


Bonus: horsemeat: would you eat it regularly?
I lived a year in Mongolia. I have eaten a lot of horse; mostly boiled or as jerky. Just don’t eat it undercooked like most meats as that’s a risk for Trichinella.

DQs Day 1
Introduction and Chapter 1-5

1. Why did you want to read this book? Are you familiar with some of the books that it quotes, such as Wendell Berry or Aldo Leopold?

I have read both and enjoy both of them a lot. I linked my favorite poem above for Jenny and A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There is a really peaceful audio book as Leopold describes his farm across the seasons. I will have to look into Running Hare. I have read more of the practical side of things books on farming as some day when I don’t travel so much, I want a farm again.


2. This book focuses on re-wilding as compared to ecological farming or balancing crops and conservation, as is mentioned in the first chapter from other farmers. What are your thoughts on the idea and how it fits in the context in England? Did you know England had such biodiversity loss and low protected land?

I also got annoyed at how one sided and unfairly the author treated the issue and her neighbors and no comment on finances or privilege, as compared to ways to improve farming or share land with nature and biodiversity, especially livestock. This is more of my interest long term.

3. Giant oaks. What is your experience with them and do you want to visit any now that you have read this chapter?

We don’t have oaks as much, but I really want to see the giant redwoods out west.

4. The introduction of domestic (feral) species to replace wild animals is interesting to me. What do you think of this as a concept, and how it is handled differently in their plan versus the one in the Netherlands? Had you heard about the closed canopy theory before?

I mean the US fills public spaces (national parks) with wild animals and then spends a lot of time trying to keep US and foreign tourists from trying to pet the fluffy cows (bison). No dogs though and that is truly the one that causes most of these animals to get very aggressive. There are a lot of rules on registering animals. We would have had to remove the horns on our goats to register them and never wanted to do that. It seems odd to me because while we have feral animals out west of cattle, pigs and horses, they are seen as not natural compared to the native grazers.