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

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

Alysa wrote: "Judith wrote: "And Alysa your BOM understanding in regards to tokens and using them is correct."

Yay!"

Actually a follow-up question:
So "tokens" (i.e., ruby gem coins) are being traded in for the extra entries? I want to make sure to log that correctly in my gem coin collection if/when it comes up.

Judith wrote: "And Alysa your BOM understanding in regards to tokens and using them is correct."

Yay!

FWIW, I agree with everybody who is saying to just play for fun even if one feels one can’t be very competitive. 🙂

I tend to be competitive by nature (as some of you may recall, lol) but for the past few years I haven’t been able to play very competitively in NBRC challenges due to stronger constraints on my time. I still play when I feel like I can at least contribute something within the various time limits, and I enjoy choosing books based on the rules of the game, and chatting with teammates.
So, the more the merrier!

Bigger books are always great but the mods already improved the point system a while ago to make points/page counts fairer.
So, you never know what can happen. Up to a certain point, it’s anyone’s game.

Wait wait wait...

Remember that you can collect your participation points from previous BOM (from January 2022) for an extra entry in the randomiser, on a basis of 3 participation points to 1 extra entry. Your team will be allowed a maximum of 6 entries for each BOM

So if a person has [fully] participated in, say, 6 BOMs between Jan 2022 and Sept 2025, that's 6 points, which would be 2 extra entries for that person? Meaning that if 4 people in total volunteer from their team including that person, the team would have 6 entries (1 entry each for the three other members, plus that person's "3" entries)?

Sorry if it's a dumb question, I just wanna make sure I understand!

Quite a while since I’ve been able to commit to a group challenge but this time I am in! 😃
I love NBRC Wheelathons. Looking forward to it!

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Kingdoms, an epic Cold War novel set in a mysterious town in Soviet Russia.

In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he won’t go insane. But on one ordinary day, all that changes: Valery’s university mentor steps in and sweeps Valery from the frozen prison camp to a mysterious unnamed town that houses a set of nuclear reactors and is surrounded by a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within.

In City 40, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he’s expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But as Valery begins his work, he is struck by the questions his research raises: why is there so much radiation in this area? What, exactly, is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town? And if he keeps looking for answers, will he live to serve out his sentence?

Based on real events in a surreal Soviet city, and told with bestselling author Natasha Pulley’s inimitable style, The Half Life of Valery K is a sweeping new adventure for readers of Stuart Turton and Sarah Gailey.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez (from Argentina)

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,” says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.”

DQs Day 6 : Chapters 34 - end

[22.] Within this section, we learn more about the dappleglass. What about the dappleglass do you find realistic? What is unrealistic about this plant?

I have a pretty vivid picture of it in my mind, and it “looks” realistic there, if that makes sense. But certainly the speed at which it bursts into bloom is the most unrealistic thing about it!

[23.] What did you think of the secrets Ana and Din told each other in the “darkest hour.”

I had guessed fairly early in the book that Ana was aware of Din’s trouble with reading, but I liked how that conversation went. It seemed in keeping with both of their characters.

[24.] Were you expecting the answer to the mystery as Ana revealed it?

Maybe some bits and pieces, but definitely not the final reveal of Uhad’s involvement! But then, I am not very good at solving mystery plots in books or movies before the end.

[25.] What were some of your favorite parts of the book? Was there anything you would have changed?

I loved all of it and would not change a thing.

[26.] How likely are you to read the next book in the series? If you have read the series, are there other books by Robert Bennett that you have read and would recommend?

I already knew going in that I would probably love this and would want to read the next one. From RJB’s other books my first recommendation would be the Divine Cities series, which starts with City of Stairs. I liked his subsequent series (The Founders Trilogy) a bit less, mainly because I felt it took a wrong turn somewhere near the end of Book 2 and never fully recovered, at least in my opinion.
From his standalone works, I would recommend American Elsewhere.
The only RJB book I’ve read that I would *not* recommend to anyone is Mr. Shivers, which I just finally read earlier this year. I think it was his first novel, and that unfortunately shows. At this point it is for superfans only, and even then merely as a way to sort of study his development as an author.

Preeti wrote: "I checked my copy and discovered my library book was missing a page"

Weird! It seems like this sort of thing has been happening a lot lately. Last week, my daughter was reading Klara and the Sun (school summer reading assignment), and a bunch of pages in the middle has been mysteriously replaced by a chunk of the book Sharp Objects! Wth?

DQs Day 5 : Chapters: 26 - 33

17. We learn more about the world and the empire’s rules in these chapters. What part of this world feels the most unusual or fascinating to you? Would you want to live there?

It’s a small thing but for some reason I really love the reagents keys. Just this tiny little object with the wee liquid vials in it, controlling access to different places. It is so neato!
I would not want to live in this world though. Too much anxiety about potential breaches, and too much inequality and corruption.

18. Power and control come up again in these chapters—especially with the way information is kept or revealed. Why do you think certain characters hide things, and what does that tell us about them?

This is a world where nearly everyone is out for themselves, and maybe their immediate family and intimates, and to hell with everyone else. Maintenance of power and control and even basic safety and comforts seems tied to selfishness and secret-keeping.

19. We are introduced to Fayazi Haza and her Sublimes in this section. What was your opinion of these characters? Did you notice anything interesting about them?

This was fascinating. So messed up how these people manipulate everything. It was especially interesting to find out that Sazi connection to Ana. I wonder how she actually knows the Hazas (or a Haza) so personally.

20. “Born into systems beyond our control, into relationships and organisations that obligate us to change…”
How do these lines reflect the pressure felt by characters like Jolgalgan or Din during these chapters? Who seems trapped by expectations, and how do they respond?

Definitely brings to mind the different ways that people react to societal pressures. Some by working within the system, some trying to avoid the system, and some trying to bring it down.

21. As Din gathers evidence around the Haza family’s estate, water tanks, and engineer gatherings, he begins seeing clear connections. What moment in these chapters felt most like a turning point in understanding the conspiracy and why did it stand out to you?

All of it was suspicious from the start, but especially when Din was only grudgingly allowed 5 minutes in the rookery, and Fayazi had already burned all the correspondence that had been held in there.

Bonus: When Din is talking to Fayazi Haza in Chapter 28, he says, ”Last time they communicated to the staff at your household by throwing a yellow ball over the walls.”
I searched the ENTIRE book and never found any other reference to this “yellow ball”. What do you think of this? Is it a way of getting new information to the readers or do you think this got missed in editing? Or did I miss something? 😊

It was mentioned in Chapter 5! “Yellow wooden ball”
I have an eARC though, so if no one else saw it, I supposed it’s possible that something got edited out in the final publication?!

DQs Day 4: Chapters 21-25

12. At the start of this section, Din is experiencing some type of battle shock after the fight, and Strovi helps him deal with the situation. He’s quite gentle and especially after their drinks earlier with the whole “we’re too formal” thing, do you think he’s (romantically) interested in Din? Or what else could be going on there? Do you trust him or do you think he’s spying on them, especially as it’s revealed he’s gentry?

At first it seemed like Strovi was hitting on Din, but then seemed to back off. Maybe he really was just lonely for friendship. I guess it's possible that he's a gentry plant in the legion or something like that. I hope not! I also would not put it past RJB to write a layer scene wherein Din begins to suspect Strovi of weirdnesd, and confronts him, and then Strovi is like, "Actually I was just hitting on you, but you were not picking up what I was putting down."

13. Din’s engraving skills seem to be a bit different to what is usual, based on the reactions of everyone else to his fighting skills, and also the lockpicking before that. I wonder how that interacts with his dyslexia, and also how it’s connected to his performance on the exams… what do you think?

Definitely seems unusual, to everyone else other than Din. Like he actually just thinks this is normal Engraver stuff when it's not. Maybe it has something to do with his unusual decision to stay awake during his enhancement, as well as (coinciding with?) his difficulties with reading.

14. One of the things I always find interesting about fantasy is figuring out what technology exists and what doesn’t. Aristan and Suberek were quite obviously killed by gunshot wounds, yet neither Din nor the rest of the investigation team seem to recognize that, so guns aren’t a well-known weapon in this world – however, Ana seemed to have an inkling… something the might of the Empire is hiding from us? What do you make of this? Is types of technology also something you pay special attention to in fantasy?

I don't know if any technology is being willfully hidden in this book, but either way I do appreciate consistency in fantasy world building and that includes whatever technology is or isn't in line with everything else we're given. Like, it could be that there is a "gun" but this world's version of a "gun" shoots plant-based bullets that can burrow quickly through bone, or something along those lines. I'm inclined to believe that, or just the possibility the book has already stated, that the wounds were made by something sharp, wielded by a person with great strength.
FWIW, here is a somewhat obscure book that has a mystery and very interesting magic/technology. It's been a while since I read it but I remember it being basically like our modern world, but with all technology operating via something magical. For example there are telephones, but they work by Magical Gremlins or some such. It was a fun read: The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

15. Speaking of technology – I’ve also been thinking about its relation to social class and especially fertility in this world. We have Strovi, who’s gentry which is why he doesn’t have any augmentations, as they impact fertility, and then we have Fayazi Haza who’s so heavily modified there doesn’t seem to be anything “natural” left about her, surely leaving her infertile (but maybe this doesn’t matter when you’re part of the Haza clan. Or maybe they found a way around that.) And then there’s people like Din who seem to undergo these transformations as a way of improving their situation in life (not that we know much about his or other regular people’s backgrounds – but him sending almost all his earnings back to his family does suggest a significant degree of poverty), where it seems like nobody considers infertility a negative impact… I’m not sure I have a concrete question here, so: thoughts?

It's complicated! Haha. But it seems like a commentary on real life in many ways. Different socioeconomic strata; different paths for upward mobility but only to a point; money and power corrupting politics and law.

16. It seems very neat that Jolgalgan, from the Oypat canton, would be the one behind this plot and all of these murders. Do you think it was actually her, or do you think there’ll be a big twist? If it was her after all, what do you think she knows?

There's bound to be a big twist. Possibly several. But maybe the Haza family was directly responsible for what happened in Oypat and everybody else who dies in a revenge plot against them is collateral damage? We shall see.

DQs Day 3: Chapters 13-20

9. Were on the move now and hearing more of the environment. Are you able to imagine the world and How do you feel about the mix of genres - fantasy, sci-fi, mystery?

Love love love it. I hardly ever read ‘straight’ mystery novels or procedurals but am actually quite drawn to ones that take place in fantasy or sci-fi settings. And it’s a blend that this author has become particularly good at, I think.

10. Were seeing Ana showcasing her skills and abilities more and seeing Ana and Din interact even more. Have your thoughts changed about them and what secrets do you think Ana and Din is hiding from one another if any?

Ana’s past is still so opaque, I have absolutely no idea. We’ve had a few more breadcrumbs about Din. We know he sends all his earnings back to his family, we know there’s some question about his training and his abilities. But it doesn’t seem to me like either of the characters has been involved with something overly nefarious. In any case, they make a good team.

11. Knowing this is book one and we probably wont get much how are you imagining the Leviathans so far? What is your closest comparison to what they may be/look like?

I’m having trouble with picturing the leviathans, but I guess it’s been left vague on purpose? Like, sometimes they sound humanoid and sometimes they sound like sea dragons. At this point I am just hoping we aren’t in for a Lovecraftian turn because I am just not in the mood, lol.

DQs Day 2: Chapter 6 - 12

5. In this world, many choose enhancements that facilitate their selected jobs - and it seems like most have some sort of Monkey’s Paw negative effect as well. On one hand, an enhancement like Din’s enables his perfect memory, so he never forgets anything. On the other hand, he CAN never forget anything, even if he wants to.
If you were to be augmented with a skill/ability, what would it be and why? Alternatively, what, for you, would be the worst or most dreaded skill/ability you could get?

Having had random conversations on this topic before, I immediately know my answer to the first part: I would want my augmented skill/ability to be facility with languages (which I think was one of the ones mentioned in this book, which was neat).
Not as sure about the worst. If we were talking super powers, I would definitely not want the ability to read minds. But that’s not what we’re exactly talking about. I really don’t know. In the context of this book, the perfect-memory thing sounds like it has some nasty side effects over time, so perhaps that. I have quite a good memory in real life, though not eidetic, and I can actually already relate to some of the negative emotional issues it can bring (though there are positives too).

6. I thought it interesting that the leviathians are getting bigger every year, and that most of the special grafts and suffusions are from collected titian bits and bones. Do you have any theories about how this will come into play going forward?

Only the most obvious ones, which means I am probably very wrong.

7. “...I no longer formed normal memories. For a memory is just a sketch a mind makes of one’s experiences, imperfect and interpretive; yet what my mind made, from that moment on, was perfect, absolute, and endless.” Do you think this robs Din of the ability to be fully human, from the standpoint that one’s subjective take on the world around her/him is what makes a person "human"?

No, this doesn’t rob Din of anything, and I disagree with the notion that having a perfect objective memory undermines subjectivity. First of all, objectivity and subjectivity are not mutually exclusive. One can have objectively perfect recall and still apply subjective perspective and interpretation. One can still associate different emotions to a memory, and so on. One person can have a fuzzy memory and insist that it is the whole truth of what occurred, while another can have a perfect memory but not be in posession of all relèvent context or facts. These two people may argue, and both of them could be equally right and/or equally wrong. What makes someone like Din different isn’t ultimately that he has perfect recall, it’s that everyone else fully relies on Din’s recall as a source of objective truth.

8. I’m enjoying the evolving relationship between Ana and Din, especially Ana’s humor. Despite Ana joking that Din had “lost his sense of humor in some tragic accident,” what is your take on the twosome? Do you think Din cheated somehow to pass his tests? Or do you think it's something else?

I am enjoying their relationship! And I don’t think Din cheated, but also have no real sense of what else is going on.

DQs Day 1: Chapter 1 -5

1) Do you have any expectations going in? This book is one of the 6 novels up for the Hugo award for Best Novel this year: https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-hi.... Did you know that and do you try to read the Hugo books or winners or have no interactions with the awards?

Well my general expectation going in was that I would like it, since I am a fan of the author’s work! This will be my 9th or 10th book by RJB, and it’s one of three that I have on my kindle but hadn’t read yet (and the only NetGalley of the three… I am obviously super behind on NetGalley since this is no longer a new book, ugh). I don’t pay too much attention to book awards, but sometimes if I see a book has won Hugo or Nebula it does make me go “Hmm, could be interesting.” Perhaps I will pay more attention to that stuff in future.

2) What do you think of the world building so far? Are then any particular details that stand out and if this is a reread, is anything standing out more on your re-read this early in the story? (please use spoiler tags if applicable)

I am enjoying the world building. It seems well paced: it’s not info-dumpy, but gives you what you need when you need it. Details are added for context. There’s a sense of history, and also a sense of menace.

3) So this runs right up to the edge/ crosses over into body horror between the murder scene and modifications to people? Do you read body horror or books with that theme in it? Do you have any favorites?

I watch a lot of body horror films as opposed reading body horror books. I don’t tend to seek out the latter, but I have enjoyed on occasion and am trying to read more horror, overall. One thing I love about body horror, in films at least because that’s what I know more about, is that it often intersects with sex and gender issues, and that is interesting to me. That hasn’t been the case with this book so far, but that’s okay. It’s all good.

4) Does your version have a map? If it does, did you look at before reading or at any point when reading this first section? Do you like maps in books? (Map under spoiler if you were audio only)

Luckily my NetGalley version does have the map in the beginning (which is not always the case) and I looked at it before reading. I love maps in fantasy books. I can look at them for ages.


I might be the only one here doing this BOM but not doing Tower Teams, lol. I am just happy that the BOM gave me an extra incentive to finally read it.

I finally completed a maze!!!

And it only took me 3+ years lolololol

I may do another one but not immediately. First I will bask in my success. 😁

We Burn Daylight

An epic novel of star-crossed lovers set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie that What would you sacrifice for the person you love?

“Symphonic and suspenseful . . . In an epic act of empathy, Bret Anthony Johnston inhabits every point of view, from doomed devotees to perplexed law enforcement.”—Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March

Waco, Texas, 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb’s gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes and shedding marriages. They’ve come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye’s mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb’s methods—and his motives.

Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff, a fourteen-year-old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother’s attachment to the man who is currently making his father’s life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families. The Lamb has plans for them all—especially Jaye—and as his preaching and scheming move them closer and closer to unthinkable violence, Roy risks everything to save Jaye.

Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston’s We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of emigrants led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and fourteen others set out for California on snowshoes and, over the next thirty-two days, endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.

In this gripping narrative, Daniel James Brown sheds new light on one of the most infamous events in American history. Following every painful footstep of Sarah's journey with the Donner Party, Brown produces a tale both spellbinding and richly informative.

Task: Read a book where mc has big, quirky family
Direction: South

P : Peter, character in Until the End of the World
A : Real Vampires Take No Prisoners by Amy Fecteau
S : Spacer
S : Storm Glass

Task: Read a book shelved (listed on the first page on GR) as relationships - plurals and spelling acceptable
Direction: North

H : Hummingbird Salamander
A : Free: My Search for Meaning by Amanda Knox
L : Larely, character in Consorting With Dragons
T : Tinbu, character in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

It's always weird answering one's own DQs, haha


DQs Day 5
Ch 28 - End

18.) In case anyone had any doubt that we've been reading not only historical fantasy but an Action Adventure novel, things have ramped up even more: Amina's deal with the peris, the flight with Khayzur, the council of pirates, the new friendship (?) with Magnun... And now Amina has gained supernatural strength and sight! What do you think about all these developments? What did you like (or dislike) most about all these elaborate plot elements introduced between the Peri island and the final showdown on Socotra?

It felt like there was a LOT going on, maybe a little too much at times, but it all fit together pretty well like a big plot jigsaw puzzle. I appreciated Khayzur being like a sort of conscientious objector/voice of reason among the peris, and how his strong hint about the marid is largely what helped Amina (along with her newly-gained abilities) do her part in thwarting Falco's plans. I also really liked how Dunya flipped the script on Falco, quite literally, and how all of Amina's old friendships came to bear on the final outcomes. I also loved Magnun and his insanely cool pirate ship.

19.) We finally found out the full story of what happened to Asif. Do you think Amina is culpable for Asif's fate, as she believes she is?

I knew right away that the scene with Asif beyond the door in the cage was a hallucination caused by some supernatural force or creature (I've seen/read too many stories that had this twist, I suppose!) but it was no less effective. I'd never have guessed that Amina didn't "kill" him, per se, but in fact kind of "re-killed" him after he'd essentially come back as a revenant following his death of natural causes. He was resurrected because of Raksh's foolishness, but not intentionally -- and I think Amina is wrong to blame herself simply because she let Raksh on her ship. That's just nonsense, really. If anyone can be blamed (and I'm not saying they should!), it's not even Raksh but Asif himself.

20.) It seems like the author wrapped things up fairly well, while neatly setting up for further installments. Will you read more in this world? Any particular teases or loose ends that most interest you?

I LOVED this book, one of my best reads of 2025 so far, and I will definitely read the next one when it comes out. I'm curious how long Amina will be able to keep Raksh from finding out about her daughter. And I would love to know what "Transgression" Amina will hunt down next, and whether the author will be able to make that plot as fun and surprising as this one.


21.) Did you read the "Author's Note and Further Reading" -- and if yes, are you interested in any of the books she cites or recommends?

There's so much that sounds great, but I'd be most interested first in reading The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History .

Bonus question: Dunya / Jamal ! Did anyone see that coming?! Thoughts?

I did NOT see that coming! But mainly my blindspot goes back to what I said in response to that DQ Day 1 question, about how the "sitting at Amina's feet" bits felt a little clunky to me. We've always known that Amina's talking to someone named Jamal, but even now, knowing the whole context, it still feels clunky -- like, there's nothing about the characters' relationship thus far that would point to the tone Amina uses when speaking to Jamal.
IDK. Like, the twist felt a little bit pasted on. But neat at the same time. Perhaps if we get to see how their friendship evolves over time, it'll make this Book 1 stuff work better in retrospect!