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

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

I have already had the discussion with my sister that starts with, you know I don't even own a dining/kitchen table? I do own a sofa as of last year, but I have more bookshelves than anything else.

Cat wrote: "Me three, cos I carefully picked what worked around a busy weekend with sister and nephew! :D"

Ah, sneaky. I have my niece and nephew visiting with parents in my one-bedroom apartment at the end of the month. It will be chaos.

I'm good with my day

Links for BOM Participation
Day 1 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4 DQs - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 5 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5: Cottonmouth Remembers Flowers ---> One Year Later

19. What an action-packed ending! What was your favorite part about how this all resolved? What do you think happened to Paul? Do you think Nina and her Grandma will be safe after everything that occurred?

I like that it keeps on going. Some things are resolved but many things are not. You get a sense of that with the locket story mid-text, but I read from one Native author (not to generalize) that many stories do not end the way more Eurocentric stories do, but there is a sense that you stopped in for a part of a life but that the story and the life keep going.

20. I love how this book casually talks about big issues, like climate change. Did you enjoy how that was woven into the story? Do you think the author should have done more to highlight the issue? Do you generally enjoy fantasy books that weave in real world issues?

I liked that it was just a part of life in Texas, and it did not even need to be that much further in the future considering what Texas is already dealing with on a regular basis. I think it was stronger making it so day to day because it was normal to them. I like when it is done well such as here but I feel some times authors think that if they don’t shout the message that a reader will miss it and that gets a bit old.

21. What do you think happened between the Mockingbird and Thou Own Dave? Do you think he truly turned over a new leaf?

That was definitely Mockingbird and she did well for closing legal loopholes. I think he will be in for a surprise.

22. I really enjoyed the concept of the St0ryte11er app! Does it sound like something you would enjoy or use? What do you think the author's own feelings on social media might be after reading her portrayal of this app?

Not for me, too public and still room for predatory activities. I think the author showed a balanced approach that it could be both good or bad.

24. Lastly, the obligatory question... how did you like the book?? What was your favorite and least favorite part? What did you end up rating the book? And would you read from this author again?

I loved Elatsoe and I enjoyed this one as well. I will read whatever Little Badger writes next. I gave it five stars and I liked the stories in the reflected world the best.

My copy came in early so I am good for DQs

DQs Day 4: Cottonmouth Falls to Earth to Nina, 2 Days Before Landfall


15. To get to earth, Oli and friends must go up to then fall to earth. This is further emphasized in the title and the chapter name. Why do you think the author made the choice that the path to Earth is by falling?

16. We meet the Mockingbird again in this section. What do you think of her role so far as a character and as a trickster character?

17. What are thoughts on Own Dave and what was shown about him in the give away scene? Do you think Nina is overly trusting that this will work out?

18. If you had the ability to have an animal form, what would you choose? (You may want to consider the potential tradeoffs like wing ears).

DQs Day 3: Nina, Age 16 to Cottonmouth Meets an Originator

10. We know why Ami is sick. What do you think of how the author has woven extinction and how humans treat the Earth into the story? (Did the revelation make you want to cry like I did?)
This is a reread but I thought it was a sad as they talk about losing the ability to transform and then the fading away.

11. The threads of the story are coming together. Oli and the twins are going to Earth. The twins and Bright immediately signed up for the journey and the danger. Do you think you would do the same for a dear friend? In our world, what? Donate a kidney, or something similar?
Yes, I think so. Hesitant on kidney specifically but have some of my own health issues.

12. Any ideas on why Grandma cannot leave her home? And, what will happen to her when the hurricane lands?
I thought she is tied to the spirt world since they come in there. Maybe not an animal but something.

13. Who is this nightmare king in our world, do you think?
I thought before that Paul is a minion since they keep saying he is in France.

14. What do you think of Nina decoding Rosina’s last story? How important is the story and the warning? Do you think Nina’s mom knows more than she is sharing about the family history?
I think it is wonderful that she has this both as a project and the story itself. I don’t think her mom would have any reason to know more, her dad either, but her grandmother might.

The monsters were my favorite as well. I loved the randomness. I liked the minis in this TTs much better than a known set challenge the entire time, and it keeps teams a lot more engaged. I might even end with a monster wheel-type challenge potentially, as it kept teams constantly updating so there was more a sense where teams were in ranking.

This was a wonderful team and hands down, the most BOM points I have ever had on a team. You all were great and we came in an impressive third place. Great job, everyone

I didn't link this earlier, but I wanted to share this article of loss of languages/elders with the COVID pandemic from Jan 2021.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us...

Hold is three weeks so I should just make it but I'll see closer to time if I can volunteer for DQs

DQs Day 1: Nina, Age 9 to Cottonmouth Meets the Coyote Sisters

1.) Did you like the opening chapter? What do you think of efforts to preserve disappearing languages/dialects? Do you think these efforts are worth it? Why?

That part really stuck with me the first time I read

2.) Do you have diaries from your early years? If you did, do you think you'd be surprised by what was in them? What would you tell your younger, pre-teen, self?

I hated keeping a diary and kept one successfully only once. I’m not sure the handwriting was ever readable even by me, as I was in elementary school. I’m sure it would be amusing, as I think I put stickers all over it and drew pictures as well.

3.) Opposable thumbs or tentacles, which would you prefer and why.

Hmm, tentacles seem good at opening things and octopi seem to do well but can they type? It might be worth trying out. Less concern on breaking fingers. Maybe be less of a useful tradeoff if I also had to switch out lower appendages.

4.) What do you think of the concept of animal people? And how they are tied to animals on Earth? Are you loving that some of them come to Earth to go to the bookstore?

I love how seamlessly it is woven into the story and the slightly future earth (better tech and more climate change). The stories with the animal-people work really well on the audio (I read it the first time but like to do rereads as an audio as I sometimes experience the book differently).

5.) At the end of the section the Lake Monster answered Oli's question. Did that surprise you? What question would you ask the Lake Monster?

I liked that it was such a simple question and resulted in a qualified answer (“for now”). I think avoiding lake monsters (and lakes, because amoebas) is a good life plan.

We seem to have a bit of a darker theme going this month.

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairytales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.

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Why? Set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India. (Also, over 500 pages)

Cat wrote: "Pandora's Tragedy is almost blank verse Homer in it's magnificence!"

Thank you, I had fun playing with second person

Pandora's Tragedy

Come, let me tell you a story of Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine, a story about how A Quest of Heroes turned to bones and Bitter Blood. They say there is a book, the Doomsday Book and a path to the Rise of Empire and power untold. Ah, you know this part then, I see you claim I lie. You sought this book and found it, venturing Into the Mist and other heroic deeds of the bards’ invention. The Secret History tells a different story than what you Claimed. At Eventide, The Devil and the Dark Water were waiting for you. The Provenance of your power by The Luminous Dead. All the Secrets of the World and the power in your hands for the taking for a simple command, Kill the Queen. They Came From The Ocean, and as The Spear Cuts Through Water, they overwhelmed those on shore. A dead queen I may be but not powerless. For now, now is the Hour of the Witch. Call and Wake the Bones, Call and bid the dead to rise from Hallowed ground and The Host of those who died by your army’s hands. Come, can’t you hear the pounding of their steps.

Pandora's Comedy

It started simply, a nice invitation to meet my cousin Emma’s new groom. I had Grave Reservations about the lack of previous knowledge about a fiancé, but Emma had never lived down the Up the Down Staircase joke, so I decided to give her a break on her wedding. Anyway, I couldn’t talk, as I had the whole The Lost Girl in Paris incident that had made international news. I would like to say that the evidence was only hearsay, some so-called The Last Confessions of Sylvia P., and I was never charged. So, we are a mostly A Nearly Normal Family, and I looked forward to meeting whoever was deemed as good Husband Material for my dear cousin Emma.

Upon arriving at the family farm, Emma told as that she had met him on her last job, which she called, “The Emma Project,” which the rest of us called, “An Affair to Dismember.” Emma was always The Winner in the family business. As she said, “Here Comes My Man,” we turned and looked, I relaxed as he would fit in fine with the family business. Emma’s man was a Mafia Prince. We shook hands all around and took the party outside to The Bone Orchard. He turned and offered a hand to Emma and said, Dance With Me. As they danced under the bleached skulls, I knew Emma had found true love. She was always one of many Book Lovers in the family and used to read books titled, “To Marry a Scottish Laird” alongside her work readings like “An Easy Death.” They had even made lists titled, “Ten Things I Love About You” that included such items that started if One of Us Is Dead. Their marriage will be quite an Escapade and I look forward to the holidays and whoever we decide will be Dying For Christmas.

Well done, everyone. Twenty min to go if anyone else finishes one. Otherwise, I used only 5 from book overflow, so you all have done great. Other teams have 24 hours to update their spreadsheets. A few teams have not started yet so still much is unknown but this team has done really well.

Edited: Make that 4 books, just added Truitt's last book

I'm done, thank you for a lovely maze.