Louise’s Comments (group member since Aug 29, 2015)

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

Melissa wrote: "@Sam - The Seven Year Slip is on your shelf but shows that you began reading on May 10. If this is the case then we won't be able to use it since the game didn't begin until May 15...."

Done, I need to remember to do that

I’ve finished part 1 of this and although it’s been several years since I read it, I am finding it enjoyable. On re-reading it I forgot some parts of it that aren’t picked up in the film, as far as I’m aware. We get more of a sense of where Katniss’ strength of character comes from, something she sees as a weakness due to the guilt she feels about not being able to help as much as she wants to.

I love the character and world building in this, you’re given just enough to imagine them without being overwhelmed

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 don’t normally read dark fantasy, I tend to lean towards the paranormal, urban fantasy genres but I’m not averse to it especially if I can get team points

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 have to admit that my mental image of a wizard is exactly that, years of watching movies with wizards portrayed in this way as well as my favorite wizard “Gandalf” is portrayed in this way

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?

Landing us right in the the thick of it is a strong start, but I have to admit I was a little confused

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?

I think he has a certain image to uphold but is in essence a decent guy

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?

I have to admit I’m very confused

@Christina please add Wood You Be Mine to your shelf

@Jillian please add a read date to Billionaire Lumberjack

@Stacey please add Creed to your shelf

Supply Drops

Everyone needs a little help from a friend (or sponsor).

Supply drops consist of books read by the sending team to be used in a way chosen by the receiving team within specified criteria.

Teams have been paired up for the duration of Book Games and are allowed to send up to 3 supply drops each to their partner team per round. This is not required - your team could decide to not send any supply drops. But if that's your team's choice, your partner team could decide to do the same.

Paired teams are allowed to coordinate with requests for books which would be most helpful to the receiving team. However, the sending team ultimately gets to decide which books are sent as supply drops.

Sending Team

The sending team chooses up to 3 books to send to the recipient team each round. These can either be 3 random books or books that meet specific needs of the recipient team.

The books can be sent any time during the round and the books do not have to be sent at the same time. That being said, it would be most helpful to the receiving team if the supply drops were received early enough in the round to decide how best to use the books for their team.

The sending team logs the supply drop books on the respective round's book log, puts the books in an appropriate resource category, and receives page points for the books sent. However, the books sent for supply drops cannot be used for other tasks. The appropriate code for supply drops is added to the mini reference column.

Supply drop books cannot be sent until they have been read by the sending team.

Receiving Team

The receiving team can choose from a variety of options on how to use the supply drops. But once used, they are locked in and the supply drop books cannot be moved to a different spot.

Supply drops can be carried over into future rounds but can only be used for mini challenge tasks in the round they were sent.

- Mini Task: Supply drop books must work for the mini task they're being used for. This includes the read date being within the timeframe of the mini challenge.
How to log this on the spreadsheet: add the book to the appropriate round's book log, enter 0 for the page number, select "Supply Drop" as the resource category, then enter the appropriate mini reference code.

- Additions to resource piles: Supply drop books must meet a requirement of the resource pile.
How to log this on the spreadsheet: add the book to the appropriate round's book log the same way you enter any other book read by your team, select the appropriate supply drop code in the mini reference column.

- Protecting supply piles: Supply drop books must fit into that category AND have some type of shield/defense. These would need to be separate. So if you want to use a supply drop book to protect your defense supply pile, the book needs to fit into the defense category in 2 different ways.
How to log this on the spreadsheet: add the book to the appropriate round's book log, enter 0 for the page number, select the resource category you'd like the book to protect in column F and provide the reason why the book meets that pile's requirements in column G. Then add the appropriate supply drop code in the mini reference column in column H and provide the reason why the book meets the defense resource criteria in column I. Protection (column G) and defense (column I) must be two different reasons.


Team Pairings

District 1 & The Capitol
District 2 & District 13
District 3 & District 12
District 4 & District 11
District 5 & District 10
District 6 & District 9
District 7 & District 8

Let the games begin

I’m also going to read A Game of Thrones which at 800+ pages is a “Big Boy” book

Not long to go, going to start with Three Dark Crowns as I need it for SOS bingo

BOM The Malevolent Seven

If you are participating in this BOM this is the chapter breakdown.


Date Chapters MPDQs
16 May: pages 1-71 - Chapters 1-8 Melindam
17 May: pages 72-141 - Chapters 9-18 Judith
18 May: pages 142-212 - Chapters 19-27 Alisha
** Break DAY **
20 May: pages 213-285 - Chapters 28-39 Jenny
21 May: pages 286-365 - Chapters 40-56 Rosina

No DQ points for us unfortunately but we get participation points.
20 points for at least 3 days of discussion questions answered.

If you go onto the summary tab of the team spreadsheet it shows how long until we start 😀

May 2024
Lady Louise: Lvl 8, HP :5/25; Sword: Level 8, Magic Staff: Level 8, XP: 341

5/13 Taste the Rainbow Completed Gain: 9XP
Lady Louise: Lvl 8, HP :5/25; Sword: Level 8, Magic Staff: Level 8, XP: 350

5/26 Two Halves of a Coconut Completed Gain: A horse
Lady Louise: Lvl 8, HP :5/25; Sword: Level 8, Magic Staff: Level 8, XP: 350

I enjoyed this the first time I read it. Hoping my perception hasn’t changed although I will be listening to the audio this time around 🤔🤷‍♀️

Happy Friday everyone. Still recovering from the bank holiday weekend but looking forward to a relaxing weekend finishing some books before we start.

I read The Wishing Game at the beginning of the year and enjoyed it, I should be able to reread for points. Note to self - Do not finish until July 1st

Probably going to start with The Hunger Games first but see what fits my mood

Volunteering as backup District 9

I’ll volunteer as backup District 9

Those of you looking to read/re-read The Hunger Games the Informal buddy read dates are:

The Hunger Games: May 15th to June 15th
Catching Fire: June 15th to July 15th
Mockingjay: July 15th to August 15th

They can be read at anytime during the challenge but for participation points discussion posts must be completed during the month of the buddy read.

Happy Tuesday everyone I’m finally back from a long weekend away playing pirates in Brixham. We actually arrived back yesterday but spent the afternoon in A & E as my boyfriend fell on Saturday and broke his elbow 🤦‍♀️

Glad to see lots of familiar faces here as well as new ones.

Loving all the book suggestions my TBR is growing.
Definitely going to be re-reading The Hunger Games as part of the buddy read.


Before I forget my shelf Book Games 24

Hi all. My name is Louise, I’m a little excited about this challenge and being in a team with you all. Like Melis I have taken part in a lot of team challenges over the years that it’s difficult to keep count.

I live in South Wales with my boyfriend and 2 dogs.
I’m an avid reader, although I’ve cut back a little in the last few months as RL pressures have arisen. I do enjoy a varied collection of genres and will go out of my way to find that elusive read for a challenge.

In response to Melis’ questions
What was your last 5 🌟 book? - I don’t give 5* out very often but Wildflower Hill warranted 5*. Set in Australia it tells the story of 2 women Emma and Beattie separated by decades but whose lives are forever intertwined.

What book are you excited to read from your TBR shelf? My TBR is huge but I do need to get back to the Women’s murder club series

Have you read/watched the Hunger Games? Did you enjoy it? I have read The Hunger Games and thoroughly enjoyed them. They were 5* reads for me. I may have to do a reread. I also want to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
I have watched the films but as with most films produced based on books they were dissatisfying.

What is your favorite food? (Since we are the grain district!) - it has to be lamb especially on a Sunday dinner

What is your favorite season? ☀️❄️🌸🍁 - I love spring when new life begins