Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

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

Jenny wrote: "I will if you will. Book masochists r us."

I am down, but as for the date, maybe let’s wait to see when this Quidditch thing might be happening... Or maybe we can talk Cat into doing it as a Back Room BOM for Wheel... heheh...

Lexi wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Lexi wrote: "I read The Mysterious Benedict Society as #24.

I have a copy of that but haven’t felt drawn to read it. Maybe I should just get rid of it. :/."

Maybe if y..."

Ugh, The Devourers was pretty bad, yeah. I gave it a very generous 2 stars, but have thought about going back and removing one of them.

Lexi wrote: "I read The Mysterious Benedict Society as #24. It was just standard. It did not need to be as long as it was and the whole plot was just ridiculous. I will not continue the series."

I have a copy of that but haven’t felt drawn to read it. Maybe I should just get rid of it. :/


In other news, I finished my #13:


This was another read-aloud to my daughter. As with many such books, she liked it more than I did and is more interested than I am in continuing the series. So, young target audience job done, but there was a lot that just didn’t sit quite right with me.

Anyone serious about Buddy Reading that "tree" book over in the Back Room? Heheh...

DQs Day 3: Chapters 11 - End

11. Uh-oh, the mutineers. Daphne has to think fast to get out of the sticky situation with Foxlip and Polegrave. After Foxlip dies from the beer, Daphne feels so guilty that she demands the Nation put her on trial for murder. What did you think of Daphne's decisions and behavior throughout this section? What did you think of the trial?

12. Cox became the new leader of the cannibal raiders -- just as Daphne predicted he would, if he'd survived the wave. Was this credible to you?

13. It turns out that the ancient islanders were scientifically advanced. A globe! Star charts! False teeth! Quite possibly, the island was the true birthplace of civilization. It remains only to convince the Europeans, once Daphne's father arrives, followed quickly by the Cutty Wren -- at which point we get much general hilarity, including some rather on-the-nose humor about imperialism. Did any of this make sense to you? How would you place it against real-life history? Any additional thoughts?

14. These last few chapters continue to dig into the ideas that "people want lies to live by" and "lies help you understand what's true," but also that sometimes it's good to "just believe… in things generally." You might or might not be familiar with Terry Pratchett's public comments on religion, but how would you interpret the ultimate message of Nation when it comes to theology, religion, and belief?

15. Concerning the non-romance between Daphne and Mau. Did they really just miss their right moment ("For some people, there is only one right moment for the right word," Chapter 12), or would a romantic relationship always have been impossible? This is discussed by the modern day characters in the "Today" epilogue, and also by Pratchett in the video posted here on NBRC, where he says that they had neither a happy nor a sad ending, but "an absolutely appropriate ending." Do you agree, or would you rather have seen something different?

Stray bits:
Cookie lives!
Doctrine =/= religion : Mau meant Doctoring, hahaha
Professor Dawkins, lol

Lexi wrote: "
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey
Beyond the walls of the small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognizable world. A world wher..."

Oooh, I read that like a month ago. It was great!

I signed up with a number that seemed like it would balance out the facts that A) I have been reading less lately, B) I will probably go into a modest version of “challenge mode” for at least some of the time, and C) I don’t know what is going to happen over the summer with my work and childcare situation.
I like to give as accurate sign-up numbers as possible so it doesn’t create unfairness later, but sometimes this is just hard to figure out. 🤔

The new point system helps a lot though! Should be easier to balance book lengths with number of books read!

Oohooooh! Wheel!
I will go sign up later today.

I must, meanwhile, go and silently contemplate what it says about me that I now consider Wheel to be a low-key challenge... 🤣

#12 finished, thanks to the BOM!



So good. Dunno why I didn't get around to reading it years ago.
At some point, Sir Terry Pratchett called it his best book. Not sure about that, but it's definitely excellent!

Apropos of nothing, I apparently have a co-worker named Winter Scarlett.

Legal name, yes.
Birth name, probably not.

Lexi wrote: "I think we start at feral and go down hill from there."

Yes this.

I have not played before either, so have no idea what position would be best.
I am normally a pretty fast reader but have a lot less reading time these days because of The Situation.

I can get super competitive (*cough*) but solemnly swear I am up to no good that I will not get insane about it this time because See Above.

ETA: on a team.

Will the winners get to keep the Golden Snitch?!?

*rubs hands together in glee*

My reading is down too but I guess that means my current version of "challenge mode" would be like most people's normal reading. ;D

Sammy wrote: "One weekend a month sounds like a good plan (except for the fact that I read more during the week, can't win 'em all, lol)."

Well, for a lot of us, the distinction between weekends and weekdays has become meaningless these days. So there is that, hah.

Me too!!

(Except everyone else might worry that my tendency toward rigid rule-following will slow the team down.
Wait... does that mean I am, in fact, a spelled broomstick? Or am I just Hermione?)

Jenny wrote: "Chava wrote: "Could we play a group monopoly game with book?"

Platform 9 3/4and Diagon Alley instead of Reading Railroad and Park Place?

It would be fun choosing the properties."

I think my daughter's friend has a Harry Potter edition of Monopoly... Must investigate...
*is still sad about missing the HP edition of Tower*

g. wrote: "I'm a bit late to the party, but I plan on buying the book on kindle and starting it in the next day or so. I'll attempt to get all caught up as soon as possible :)"

No worries, Day 3 DQs won't go up until Fri or Sat.
(I was aiming for Fri, but I can wait until Sat if it more people want to catch up!)

Sammy wrote: "Often people will refuse to even try to understand you, even if you're speaking their language with only a mild accent. With those people (mostly deliberately obtuse) it's not usually worth trying to engage, as they won't budge."

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about my encounters with this type! So obnoxious. You are so right.
I must have forgotten them on purpose.

I'll see your thud and raise you one plop.