Elinor’s Comments (group member since Apr 06, 2022)

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

I haven't read Scalzi before either but I've changed my vote - fingers crossed.

@Sophie, seeing as you're a fan of RoL... :)
I often find myself feeling some books are better than others in (long) series. If you have the time, I'd love to know how you feel this series has progressed since book 1?

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Oo just 3 days to go before we kick off! 😅🙂

Jenny wrote: "Jumping in from Punk to say Hi!!!
Sammy, glad you made it to the show.

One more YouTube video from Home Free, this time from their Sing Off days...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZoNi..."

Hey Jenny *waves* :)
Great battle!

@Sammy, sorry to hear you had such a hard time getting there - but it sounds like it was worth it!

Those were excellent shares - added My Church to my "Walking on Sunshine" playlist :). See how that goes... The opera is pretty impressive singing too! Perhaps we should share with Team Opera ^^

I'll pass on the October BOM (b/c horror)... November Adult looks like it's either Delilah Green Doesn't Care or Starter Villain - A Bad Day for Sunshine is not going to make it, so I'll change my vote to one of those.

Suzanne wrote: "Oh weird - it SHOULD be open for comments. I'll check on that!
Ha I thought I'd better look up bindle before I put it in there, in case it was something naughty. With rap, you never know."

Must have forgotten to refresh my page - apologies for that Suzanne. There are some great raps out there! :-)

Hi Team Rap,

Must have forgotten to update my page when I saw the thread was frozen - just popping by as lots of familiar faces here!! :)

Loving all the rap songs, wouldn't know where to begin!
Enjoy the challenge! :)

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Jenny wrote: "Elinor, I am so glad you ended up liking the book. If I remember correctly you were unsure whether to even read it.

And amen to your answer of question 23."

Jenny, thank you - yes, you're quite right, I wasn't sure about this one and am very happy I did read it in the end - quite a discovery!

I caught up on everyone's answers today - and yours to question 17 much in the same vein! Have you checked out "The New Gurus" on BBC Sound? It's interesting (mostly). Also, social media algorithms as they now stand are geared up for polarisation. Can't remember where I heard/read this - but apparently the "best" tweet/insta/... reportedly supposed to please 60% of your followers and infuriate the other 40% to generate the optimal number of clicks, shares and comments.

BTW, thinking about BOMs, I'll do my best but cannot read Horror, which is October's theme.

Polls for November Adult and November Theme are open here:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/3...

(I nominated "A Bad Day for Sunshine" by Darynda Jones if you're having trouble choosing November Adult ^^).

Aaaw... can't stop by Team Rap: it's closed for comments -
Suzanne, love those lyrics! :)
(yo! - thank you for defining the word bindle btw^^)

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Nanci wrote: "Just popping in to say hello to Elinor and my other former teammates! Have a great time and may the best team win! That will be Team Rap, of course! There, I've already thrown down the gauntlet :)"

Oo hello Nanci, thank you for stopping by, lovely to see you :).

We are READY to pick up the gauntlet and beat you to the finish line =D!

Hope you get lots of great reads this challenge :)

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Melissa wrote: "Hi Snezana, Sophie, Elinor, and Jhmingos! Glad to see you all again!

Elinor I think we were Team Agamemnon together! Don't feel bad about not remembering the challenges, my memory is quite horribl..."

Hi Melissa, you're absolutely right about TT9 (coughs uneasily).
Despite mounting evidence, I refuse to despair about my memory 😂
Congratulations on the baby BTW! :)

Welcome Sandy and Navi :)

Participation Tracking:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

DQs Day 5 Chapters 31 to End

20. What is it with powerful people wanting to go to war? Why do you think Yudhajit dismissed Kaikeyi’s argument against going to war so completely? Do you think that Rama’s reasoning for starting a war were rational?

I think unfortunately (very) powerful people are sometimes somewhat detached from others' feelings and lives, and they can view going to war with the privilege of knowing they'll be thoroughly protected (or perhaps they don't know but think it's safer than it really is). I'm not sure about Yudahjit, and I do feel that Rama was young and didn't truly realise what going to war would mean.

21. Why do you think that Bharata's blue choker of doom was broken?

I think the grief of losing his uncle to his brother broke the bond he had with Rama - I think it had to do with no longer believing in the plan (by exposure to concrete evidence of its consequences).

22. Did you expect Kaikeyi to use her two boons in this manner? Did you think it was the right choice?

No, but I do think it was a clever way to wrap the story up from the author's perspective. I love that she kept her boons for that long!

23. Does anyone else want to find that sage Vanadeva and slap him? Does he remind you of any other pernicious women haters in history or current events?

Yes, yes, and yes. Unfortunately, there are still many culture where women are told to take the backseat. What I find equally worrying is how this kind of message is being spread in our Western cultures again, despite decades of progress. It feels like we're moving backwards in time at the moment - it's a strange situation: there's push and pull I guess - but I feel the views are getting more polarised, and there's less compromise.

24. Were you satisfied with the ending, and did you like the book? Did the world of Hindu mythology interest you enough that you want more stories that take place in this world? (Or are you going to Wikipedia to read the original story?)
I thought this was an excellent read, way better than I had initially imagined, and I loved the ending :). The author got this idea from a discussion between her mother and her grandmother, and it made the book feel even more important to me - the clash of generations, the mother speaking up for Kaikeyi and framing the story quite differently. I'd love to learn more about Hindu mythology.

Oo guys I'm on Team Country - I can't say I know much about country music... yet. Our captain Sammy is a fan and is going to share top tips though :)!

I've popped by Heavy Metal to say hello - just had to: "Yeaaaaah! Come on!" 🎸

Do pop over and say hello to us @Team Country, we have a Team mascot : Sonia and a lovely photo of Dolly Parton already.

Have a great time everyone!

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Hi Sophie and welcome - wow that's a lot of challenges! I only started a couple years ago (I think) with UNO, then with TT last year.

@Sammie, we've also got the instruments we can look out for - ha... I'm going on a scavenger hunt this week-end lol!

Hi,
* waves *
I'm not on the team but played with several of you this year - so just popping by - so excited about the music theme! I'm on Team Country with Sammy (Sonia is our mascot :))!
Apocalyptica absotuely rock - Metallica by four cellos - absolutely brilliant!!
Have a great time everyone :)
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Snezana wrote: "Elinor wrote: "Lol, Sonia, sorry, I hadn't realised you weren't on the list - I'm more concerned about the dropdown that's not validating properly, lol. A bit of mayhem will do us good :).

My edit..."

I checked (I'm a geek) - and it was last year (less embarrassing :)) - we were on TT9 - Team Agamemnon :).

Lol, Sonia, sorry, I hadn't realised you weren't on the list - I'm more concerned about the dropdown that's not validating properly, lol. A bit of mayhem will do us good :).

My edition of The Witches not in the library so... I'll ask for it to be added in the librarians group (but not today) and I'll be reading something else. Looks like the 25 points for colour already covered - I hope I've understood those rules correctly.

Snezana, I think it may have been UNO - relieved I wasn't being rude (in not remembering)! :)

Hi everyone,

I'm Elinor - I live in Belgium with my partner and we have two mischievous dogs, each in their own way. I work in IT but I'm currently off work, so I've been reading LOADS but I'm now slowing down... (just in time for Wheel, apologies everyone =D).

I'm not a great fan of country music ALTHOUGH I do love Lucinda Williams' Car wheels on a gravel road album - does that count? I also rebelled during my teenage years and have a faves playlist which I now find myself having to remove things from (I mean: did I really enjoy listening to Sepultura screaming ROOOOOOOTS! at me?!). I love 80s and 90s pop/rock - songs like Don't dream it's over by Crowded House, Don't look back in anger by Oasis, Kissing a fool by George Michael, rank among my all time favourites. I'm looking forward to an introduction to Country music by Sammy (I'd forgotten about Jolene - it is a classic!) :)

Re books, I've read a few this year which I feel are worth a mention - Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, The bluest eye by Toni Morrison, and If you want to make God laugh by Bianca Marais. I also enjoyed reading the Orphan X series - phew! I don't like horror either Sophie and not a great fan of romance.

I think I've played with Snezana before (? - I can't remember when, I'm so sorry - my memory is terrible), and I recognise Sammy and Sonia (?) from TT, but I think that's all. I'm looking forward to "online-meeting" and playing with you all :). Let's do this!!

@Sammy, BTW, lol about Chris Stapleton - am I playing with fire if I say he looks more like Jesus, though?

@Sophie, haha, your comment about books made me laugh :)

@Sonia, standing ovation from me! Never heard of Blake Shelton (I am ashamed) but he does look good.

Here's a link to my Wheel shelf:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Re, the covers - obvs I was planning to read The Witches and it's... green (Murphy's law at play again!).

Note to captains: the "Rules&Points" tab (lines 2, 7 and 8) in the planning sheet has the 160 pages rule in it - but pretty sure someone confirmed it should be 100 in The Green Room?

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