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

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

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.

DQs Day 1
Ch 1 to 4

1.) Had you heard of this book before it was nominated for/was selected to be a BOM this month? Or read other books by the author? Any expectations going in?
I had a different book from the author on my want to read list but had not been previously interested in this one. I expected it to be high fantasy.

2.) How effective is the author at conveying the isolationist nature of Kaigen? And at the glimpses of what the rest of the world is really like? How do you think the Emperor has managed to do this so effectively?
Some of the technology did not entirely make sense with cell phones and TV and some of the Empire knowing this stuff and others not. It would have worked better if the technology level was set in the 1980s as that was much easier to have state run media. I was disappointed by the world building so far as I hoped for entirely new geography and cultures, but the map is just the world upside down with slightly different coastlines. Many of the stereotypes in the current world are just used here which is lazy writing.

3.) Misaki is an interesting character with a lot of repressed or hidden depths I think. I like that one of the main characters in an epic fantasy is not a 20 something who just happens to master everything in 5 pages. What are you most curious about her at the moment. Also, shout out to her friends, who seem like real women-friends. Yay!
I have read ahead but really like that she had female and supportive friends. I read a lot of fantasy these days with middle age women characters but recognize that is still more rare in high fantasty, which this really isn’t.

4.) Tekure (husband/father) has managed to make me hate him without even popping up on page yet. Go him. Do you think we'll get a scene where Misaki does her version of 'down with the patriarchy' before the end of the book?
I have read ahead.

5.) What do you think of the magic system so far?
It seems like Airbender and I have never even seen Airbender but you have nations and specific powers and bloodlines, and reverse historical slavery and racism is kind of weird as it is trying to use existing cultures without wanting to deal with real history.

Whichever makes you happy, but if you are asking on points, we get points for (page number divided by 10) plus 10 for normal books and another plus 20 for harder countries.

I will be one short of my cap because of two long books left, so I am adding a hard country novella as the most extra points for the number of pages.

For examples, two 300 page books are 40+40 or 80 points which is the same as one 700 page book. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Steven, I think you have 2 to go. You get 11 total for the round.

Great job, everyone. Just a reminder on book caps and that we don’t have to finish every task as there is no completion bonus. It may be better for some team members to read longer books than specific tasks for points as we near the end. We have been holding on to 2/3 place so far.

DQs Day 6 : Chapters 34 - end

22. Within this section, we learn more about the dappleglass. What about the dappleglass do you find realistic? What is unrealistic about this plant?
I don’t think it needs to be realistic but I think of it as modified bamboo as the only thing that grows that much faster than any other plant I know of here and you can impale people on it.

23. What did you think of the secrets Ana and Din told each other in the “darkest hour.”
The hints had been laced throughout but it was nice to see them trust each other and start a next step in their working relationship.

24. Were you expecting the answer to the mystery as Ana revealed it?
Yes, I always find it fun when the answer ends up being a Scooby-do type mystery. It was land price fixing as the underlying plot for most of those.

25. What were some of your favorite parts of the book? Was there anything you would have changed?
I liked the relationship between Ana and Din and how it evolved over the course of the book and the next book. I liked the leviathans and how bizarre and giant they were. I just really like this book.

26. How likely are you to read the next book in the series? If you have read the series, are there other books by Robert Bennett that you have read and would recommend?
I have read it already and I really want the next one. I also really liked the City of Stairs series and need to get back to Foundryside but was less pulled into that world.

Works for me on spelling of ax. Also just pick whatever wheel makes you happy today.

Day 2: Ch 6-12

5. In this world, many choose enhancements that facilitate their selected jobs - and it seems like most have some sort of Monkey’s Paw negative effect as well. On one hand, an enhancement like Din’s enables his perfect memory, so he never forgets anything. On the other hand, he CAN never forget anything, even if he wants to.
If you were to be augmented with a skill/ability, what would it be and why? Alternatively, what, for you, would be the worst or most dreaded skill/ability you could get?

They are also all trading off sterility and shorter life spans for these changes so it is not something everyone can have or you wouldn't have any more population. I would likely do something with numbers or memory as that tends to be my strong suit already.

6. I thought it interesting that the leviathians are getting bigger every year, and that most of the special grafts and suffusions are from collected titian bits and bones. Do you have any theories about how this will come into play going forward?
This is a re-read for me.

7. “...I no longer formed normal memories. For a memory is just a sketch a mind makes of one’s experiences, imperfect and interpretive; yet what my mind made, from that moment on, was perfect, absolute, and endless.” Do you think this robs Din of the ability to be fully human, from the standpoint that one’s subjective take on the world around her/him is what makes a person "human"?
I think it is still subjective but just without missing pieces. He is still processing what he sees when not just repeating it. It is very different though.

8. I’m enjoying the evolving relationship between Ana and Din, especially Ana’s humor. Despite Ana joking that Din had “lost his sense of humor in some tragic accident,” what is your take on the twosome? Do you think Din cheated somehow to pass his tests? Or do you think it's something else?

Their give and take is great fun. I enjoy their relationship and its development over this and the next book. Also, this is a re-read so I won't guess on the other part.

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.

Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.

Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.

In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. As tensions with rival states grow, revealing elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, Òdòdó must defy the cruel king she has been forced to wed by re-forging the shaky loyalties of the court in her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.

Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade takes you on a journey of epic power struggles and political intrigue that turn an entire region on its head.

New nominee:

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis

Two parents and their recently-bitten-werewolf daughter try to fit into a privileged New England society of magic aristocracy. But deadly terrors await them – ancient prophecies, remorseless magical trials, hidden conspiracies and the PTA bake sale.

When Vivian’s kindergartner, Aria, gets bitten by a werewolf, she is rapidly inducted into the hidden community of magical schools. Reeling from their sudden move, Vivian finds herself having to pick the right sacrificial dagger for Aria, keep stocked up on chew toys and play PTA politics with sirens and chthonic nymphs and people who literally can set her hair on fire.

As Vivian careens from hellhounds in the school corridors and demons at the talent show, she races to keep up with all the arcane secrets of her new society – shops only accessible by magic portal, the brutal Trials to enter high school, and the eternal inferno that is the parents’ WhatsApp group.

And looming over everything is a prophecy of doom that sounds suspiciously like it’s about Aria. Vivian might be facing the end of days, just as soon as she can get her daughter dressed and out of the door…

Erin, it is all yours as mine is quite short but just wanted to let you know in case you wanted options. I also wanted to tell people about a book with haka in it.

I read it May of this year so I can't reread it but Chocolate Cake for Breakfast has the word haka in it ("and the haka began" 30%).

It is written by a large animal vet, and I really enjoyed it because the vet side is immensely accurate and a bit graphic (just a warning), which is really fun in an otherwise standard romance.

I have another book by the same author but no haka in it. (Though I can read for NZ author, Erin, if you don't like your book).

Maria Jo wrote: "I'm so disappointed, I've had My Friends on hold at my library since it was announced as the BOM for July, and I've watched my hold count creep steadily closer and closer, but not close enough to g..."

That is a bummer, sorry. I just got the questions answered today so right at the deadline.

Day 6, July 7
Chapter 53 - 59 88-100%

24. For most of the first half of the book, I kept picturing a lot of tragic endings for multiple characters. Did the book end happier than you figured? Are you happy with the way everyone's lives turned out and do you think it matches their upbringing and experiences?

I found that most of the plot was by withholding info from the reader which was a bit much. It was happier than I figured but without committing to real happiness. Everyone had not moved on really from that summer and Ali seemed a bit odd how she was added late and then just died off scene.

25. We now know the final fate of the painting. Do you agree with the choice? Did the result end up fitting the artist mentality and the magic of the friendship or was it illogical?

That was the best part of the evening and how the auctioneer was in on it.

26. Louisa starts the book and much of it is her journey, but Ted surprisingly takes over as a big main character as well. With the past history it mainly seems to be Joar's experiences that are told the most. Do you think the book has a main central character that stands out the most? Do you think some of the other characters are not mentioned enough equally?

I found a lot of the author’s choices a bit odd such as leaving Ali out and then having Joar be assumed dead and then just was at home. I liked Ted but found the conductor part just wedged in as if the author didn’t want all the relationships to be tragic (they still were).

27. We learn what happens with Ali. Spoilers if you have not gotten to this part, so I'll get it general. It was stated in a way that there is also beauty in a sense of also going out a certain way while they mourn and talk about tragedy. Did you think Ali would walk in alive also, such as when the car with the woman pulled up?

I agree with others that Ali felt like an afterthought and her death was entirely off page.

28. If this is your first book by Fredrik Backman, are you planning to now read more? If you have read another book by this author, was the style of this one with the writing similar to the other(s) you have read?

I am now planning to be done with this author, and I have not liked his most recent books. I liked the humor more and not everyone just suffering. Also, I disliked that there was no sense of place. Issues were lightly touched on but not committed to, such as immigration on the Scandinavian countries, but everything was just vague. I real Girl, Women, Other at the same time and there was a very stark difference to me in sense of the characters being real and having a place.