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

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

Judith, my Egypt book just got in at the library and I will get it tomorrow if you want to pass on yours.

Yay, new monsters. I will look this evening for some books.

I’ve finished my classic book if anyone is around to spin for a new one. Thank you

It is pretty amazing how many people vote v actually read. 75 voted for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and you had 7 readers. There really seems to be a very small subset who read. I'll join Middlegame next month but neither appealed to me this month. I’m going to try one a month but January has been a fail so far.

Melindam wrote: "#2



this is a bit of cheating, I guess, as this is a favourite book of mine from a favourite series, but this time I went for the Graphic Audio full-cast produc..."

I listened to the first three of the Innkeeper books on Graphic Audio before reading the most recent Innkeeper as a reread. They were fun, but sometimes the sound effects are really silly. I was lucky that my library had copies.

Are we good with spaceship as a ship? That might be easier for this group. Also, I have a rope book but have some others I want to read first.

First monster done and we got Nemean Lion as our next one

First DNF for the new year, I have been meaning to read since 2017 and at this point, it is just so out of date and non-scientific in its writing that it comes across as way too simplistic to me and I am learning nothing. Off to find another non-fiction to listen to while cleaning snail tanks today.

Have a good trip

#2 -

This one is from 2017. It was a good audio as I was doing other things, nothing groundbreaking or that new but a nice synthesis. A little disorganized and starts too far in the past. I likely would have given it 3 stars if I read it but 4 with the audio.

All of mine are over 100 pages which is my personal cut off for calling it a book but word count is either clearly too short or unverifiable.

#1 for the year


This was my oldest on my TBR list from Feb 15 2016 (tied to be fair). I enjoyed it but it was a bit dark for a children's book.

What are our thoughts as a team in using non-standard books for this challenge? I know it’s officially allowed. I have some poetry and comics I’m reading this week and some unverifiable children’s books.

Sounds good, name has been updated everywhere

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If.

If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive?

How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm?

If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce?

What if everyone only had one soulmate?

When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire?

How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?

What would happen if the moon went away?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.

I stopped a few episodes into Peter Capaldi's doctor as well. I did not know David Tennant was returning.

Also, I added 2 books to the spreadsheet and feel free to claim as many spots as you want

Judith wrote: "And look, Sirens! A monster Lexi and I never managed to get during TT.

Too bad I already read True Biz"

We also never had Centaurs so 2 new ones and no snek (yet)

Jenny wrote: "Sammy, do you agree that "Blink" is the gateway drug to Doctor Who?"

That was the first one I was shown in college when I started watching, though I have seen none of the newer seasons