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

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

Cilla wrote: "Completion Post

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Date Read: July 21, 2021
Pages: 325"

Please add to your TT shelf

Swamp Team 3 by Jana Deleon
Date Read: 7/22
Pages: 270


One Day in December by Josie Silver
Date Read: 7/22
Pages: 417

UPDATE

We are currently in 3rdplace with 10 days to go.

BOM points still available - 20pt for 3 days discussion comments

Mort ends 7/22
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ends 7/31
Pumpkin Spiced Omega ends 7/31
The House in the Cerulean Sea ends 7/31
Guards! Guards! ends 7/31

Tasks
5 - camera on cover - Jammin Jenny
60 - sausage on cover - Rina
62 - MC is a funeral director/undertaker - Rina
165 - Rodent on cover - Audrey
243 - fossil / skeleton on cover - Jammin Jenny

Bingo
A5 - Hat with feathers - Louise
G2 - Golem - Carrie

Jackanory
We will need to come up with a story of upto 500words. Volunteer please

Genres
MPG Horror & Humor

Setting
Set in Georgia
Set in a residential reform academy
in the future where parents buy AFs (artificial friends) for their children
summer camp in the woods where 4 people were murdered

Protagonist - max 2 Characters
- 30 yr old teacher, lonely and loves her red wine, old enough to know better, a wannabe writer with a twisted sense of ethics
- 17 yr old crime solving podcaster, loves someone against their better judgment

Antagonist - max 2 Characters
- evil, delusional
- Mercenary MC & Assassin - bomber
- Double identity, pilot, killer

Secondary Characters - max 3
- one is a test tube baby, no male DNA in her system
- children eavesdropping into things they shouldn't
- police officer, street smart

What's death upto
Malice
Murder
Taking Hostages
"murdering university women by stabbing/slashing them with a big knife
"

Cameo - Max 2
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Native American chief
royalty
grateful
pyrokinetic
brave

Plot
Beginning
Blood Wedding
Wicked Gentlemen
A Matter of Love and Death
woman she meets suddenly disappears

Motivation - Antagonist
they want to shoot them (gun on cover)
they want to avoid heartbreak
after revenge
The Perfect Husband

Reaction of the Protagonists
keep themselves from going to prison
living new lives
living a mysterious & isolated life on a secluded island
return to their hometown

Middle
title (fatal chaos)
aliens attack
power goes out
playing baseball

What are the Secondary`s Up to
they are looking for ways to escape
killing men
freezing
trying to get married
having affairs
spying

McGuffin
grizzly bear on cover and in title
the therapist who tries to help

Obstacles in the protagonist way
aliens
ivy school league
sisters looking for rich husbands
a strange disease

How the Protagonists Overcome Them
faking them out
hire a hard-ass lawyer
hiring a private eye
lots of money

Final Twist
the protaganist cast a love spell
the antagonist bit the protaganist making a vampire
the antagonist is not the father of the child
an insider was in on the plot

The endng
moving to South Carolna
Title
Title
Title
Voltaire as cameo
magic!!
moving to Hawaii to attend University

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Date Read: 7/20
Pages: 531


The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
Date Read: 7/21
Pages: 306

UPDATE

We are currently in 2nd place with two weeks to go.

BOM points still available - 20pt for 3 days discussion comments

Mort ends 7/22
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ends 7/31
Pumpkin Spiced Omega ends 7/31
The House in the Cerulean Sea ends 7/31
Guards! Guards! ends 7/31

Tasks
5 - camera on cover - Jammin Jenny
60 - sausage on cover
62 - MC is a funeral director/undertaker
165 - Rodent on cover - Audrey
243 - fossil / skeleton on cover - Jammin Jenny

Bingo
A5 - Hat with feathers
G2 - Golem - Carrie

Jackanory
We will post the prompts tomorrow for this. We will need to come up with a story of upto 500words

Pumpkin Spiced Omega by Susi Hawke
Date Read: 7/15
Pages: 194

Day 1
Day 2
Day 5


Rocky Mountain Retreat by Vivian Arend
Date Read: 7/15
Pages: 158

Task
30 - #8 Six Pack Ranch

Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters
Date Read: 7/13
Pages: 360


Kill Fee by Barbara Paul
Date Read: 7/14
Pages: 256


Queen Bee by Jane Fallon
Date Read: 7/15
Pages: 400


Dead Daughters by Tim Meyer
Date Read: 7/15
Pages: 316

Yasmine wrote: "Louise wrote: "
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
Date Read: 7/8
Pages: 473

[bookcover:Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond E..."

Really enjoyed it, I didn't think I would as I'm not a fan of Space Opera.

UPDATE

We are currently in first place with just over two weeks to go.

BOM points still available - 20pt for 3 days discussion comments


Firekeeper's Daughter ends 7/16
Mort ends 7/22
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ends 7/31
Pumpkin Spiced Omega ends 7/31
The House in the Cerulean Sea ends 7/31
Guards! Guards! ends 7/31

Tasks
5 - camera on cover - Jammin Jenny
30 - #8 in series - Louise
60 - sausage on cover
62 - MC is a funeral director/undertaker
165 - Rodent on cover - Audrey
228 - Rabbit on cover - Carrie
243 - fossil / skeleton on cover - Jammin Jenny

Bingo
A5 - Hat with feathers
G2 - Golem - Carrie

Jackanory
We will post the prompts in a day or two. We will need to come up with a story of upto 500words

Cilla wrote: "Completion Post
Book: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
Date Read: July 8, 2021
Pages: 218
BOM/Participation: NA
BOM/Writing DQs: NA



Please add to your TT Shelf
:)

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
Date Read: 7/8
Pages: 473


Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond Evil by Christopher Berry-Dee
Date Read: 7/9
Pages: 288


The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Date Read: 7/9
Pages: 560

DQ Questions Day 8
DQ Day 1
DQ Day 2
DQ Day 3


Mort by Terry Pratchett
Date Read: 7/10
Pages: 320
DQ Day 1
DQ Day 2
Day 3


Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
Date Read: 7/11
Pages: 277


Between You and Me by Lisa Hall
Date Read: 7/12
Pages: 337

Day 7: Part 5, IX - Part 6, VI (p447)

28. Addie has taken Luc’s words “Ideas are wilder than memories” and become a muse for renowned artists and goes to visit “her” paintings. Why do you think she does this Would you visit art knowing that you inspired the work.

29. We learn a lot in this section about the relationship between Luc and Addie, where they seem to be reliant on each other. What are your thoughts on this?

30. On their night out Addie seems to have an brief emotional breakdown when Toby sings the song that they created. Why does Addie react so much to this?

31. Addie and Henry declare their love for each other. In light of Henry’s curse and Addie’s relationship with Luc, is this true love or is it a dream that they wish to be true?

32. It would seem Henry’s curse has a time limit. How long did Luc give him? What effect will this have on Addie?

Day 6 ~ Part 4, XIII - Part 5, VIII (p382)

23. Henry wanted to be loved; he wanted to be whatever they wanted; he wants to be enough. He gave up a lot to get what he wanted. Why do you think he is rejecting the offers of love? Why does he want to know why they love him?

Because he knows it’s not real, they are in love with what they perceive not him. This is telling in the reasons they give for loving him

24. How does the jumping back and forth between times work for you? Can you easily tell when Addie is telling a story from her past or do you get lost just for a minute in where she is and with whom?

I’ve read quite a few books recently like this and easily flip between the two time lines

25. When Addie is with Luc she tries to pretend that she is good with her circumstances. His taunts about how disappointed Estelle would have been with her making a deal, pushes Addie to the brink and she slaps him. Luc retaliates with pain and suffering and still she refuses to give in and tells him to “Go to Hell.” Who will break first? Do you think Luc treats Addie differently than the other people he has made deals with? Why or why not?

I do think Addie will break first, he treats her differently as he wants her to give him her soul willingly. But I do think he finds her strong willed nature entertaining

26. Henry loathes repeating things; he wants everything to be something new for both himself and Addie. Why do you think this is so important to him?

Normally when things are repeated we know what to expect and there is sometimes an element of boredom to it, in Henry’s case doing the same things tarnishes the first experience as anyone he is with will love it, no matter what. Doing new things keeps it fresh and real for him

27. Luc words to Addie long ago – “Ideas are wilder than memories” – comes back to her and she thinks she should have seen it then as a clue or a key that she could use. She sees that she can leave her mark on the world when Matteo shows her his sketch. Do you think anything will come of this? Do you think she will find a way to use “ideas” to her advantage?

Not sure, possibly if she sets her mind to it

DQ Day 5 Part 3, XIII to Part 4, XII

18. We learn more about Henry. What do you make of his "broken heart"? What about the way the author described it?
I thought it was a good way to describe a sensitive person


19. Now we know why Henry isn't affected by Addie's curse. Did Luc make a mistake like Addie thinks?
I don’t think so, I think it’s planned. Henry’s is a lifetime, whilst Addie’s is until she doesn’t want her soul anymore. I think losing Henry could be what “breaks” her

20. What do you make of Henry's "curse" where everyone loves/admires him? Is this the kind of love Henry is after? Do you think the same happens as with Addie, that when they don't see him anymore they are out of love with him?
This is definitely not what Henry wanted and it takes Vanessa’s obsession for him to realize this. I do think the saying “out of sight, out of mind” fits here

21. We have a few side characters, any favorites among them or one you might want to get to know better?

Not really

22. A small interlude in where Addie and Henry visit The Artfact. And Addie still gets surprised after 300 years. Do you have a favorite museum or art you like to go see?

The natural history museum in London

Day 3 Questions end: "Then Cutwell sighted carefully ... [spoiler removed]" (p151 / 58%)

Q11. Do you think Mort is physically changing? When it says, "The gargoyle looked up into his face and suddenly felt like a very frightened doorknocker indeed, Mort's eyes glowed like crucibles, his expression was a furnace, his voice held enough enough to melt iron. It didn't know what he could do, but felt that it would prefer not to find out." - it seems these may be actual physical manifestations. With the photo Mort sees soon after with the wizard Cutwell, do you think that was originally Death in the photo before a transformation?

I think what Mort has seen and experienced is changing Mort, he just hasn’t realised yet

Q12. What do you think about the plot point where Keli is dead, but is not? Do you think this was a clever twist of the author or do you find it a confusing jumble? How will this affect the story and will Death find out what actually happened and react?

I think this is a clever plot twist and shows Mort that meddling doesn’t benefit anyone, Death will find out and use it a lesson for Mort

Q13. There suddenly seems to be sign that Death may be playing matchmaker of sorts with Mort and his 'daughter'. Are you surprised, and what do you think will happen with the relationship between him and Ysabel?

I think Death doesn’t want Ysabel to be lonely and Mort is his answer to that.

Q14. Do you think that before Mort was chosen by Death, that he was a normal boy? Do you think he must have some wizard properties buried or are his "abilities" gathered from being Death's apprentice? What do you think about Mort attracting death's attention - what is so special about him?

I think Mort is a normal boy and by being the only boy there when Death arrived meant there was no other choice.

Q15. Mort seems to be getting a bit homesick after his day off, and Death is changing his tune as well. What do you think about Death's new adventures to experience some human experiences, try to understand fun and how humans behave?

I think Death is trying to recreate human behavior but doesn’t know how to.