Audrey Jane’s Comments (group member since May 27, 2014)

Audrey Jane’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Sammy wrote: "right then, I managed to fix the formula on the planning SS (I'm really proud of myself, lol!)"

Bravo, Sammy :) ! You tamed that monster of a spreadsheet. Btw they are amazing. Thank you and Eni for captaining so far.

Preeti wrote: "I'm trying to read as much as possible but with Diwali coming up, it hasn't been as successful.
We did our sweets and snacks shopping today and I..."

I wasn't familiar with the festival, I had to google it. Learnt something new! The decorations are so pretty. All the little lights are captivating. Enjoy the festivities !

It seems the weather knew my plans for the weekend. All that rain confirms that I was right to stay inside and read. I was able to finish two books this weekend. Will start another one tomorrow. As it's a longer one I don't know if I will be able to squeeze another book before the round ends. I will see and keep you posted...

Thanks to the motivational pics I will be able to read a bit more this round :)

@Captains: I've put one short book under 'extra books' in case you might need it at the end of the round.

Sammy wrote: "I have a blog where I share some of the cards I make (mostly ones I make for design teams).

https://sammyjeancrafts.blogspot.com/..."

Those are great ! Especially love the vintage and steampunk-ish ones.

Sammy wrote: "Hehe, well, according to one of the characters in The Brothers Karamazov, if someone annoys you, it is perfectly acceptable to shoot the next person you see. (You just need to make sure..."

I'm always reaaaally nice to the people who handle my money ;)

Your book has quite some interesting advice. I see some Russian efficiency going on there.

Kaley wrote: "Audrey Jane wrote: "I'm actually silently hoping that our next word has at least an U or a Y or a Q...

I feel like we're finally going to get a difficult letter aside from O and the whole team is ..."

Same. I can feel it too, Kaley ! The Wheel will have to grant us our wish for sure. It's always like that isn't it; when you don't need it, you find/have it, when you need it you can't find it... The universe needs to learn timing.

@Melinda: Haha, I would trust anything in the hands of Granny W & Nanny Ogg :D

Kaley wrote: "Has anyone else read House of Hollow yet? I think I’m going to start that one next for those sweet sweet BOM points."

I did. I thought it was okay; it wasn't bad but for some kind of reason it read like a novella stretched out to a full length novel. The ending in my opinion was a bit underwhelming. However you might enjoy it as I tend to normally not really like YA. I prefer reading YA with a group as I found that my enjoyment of the book increases due to the discussions. I love reading other reader's answers :)

Sammy wrote: "Melindam wrote: "I also intend to reread "Bring up the bodies", but will use HU edition as it's circa 550 pages, but if I use the English audiobook the default edition is like 418. ;)

And it has a..."

I'm actually silently hoping that our next word has at least an U or a Y or a Q...

Taking a break from work as it's driving me nuts atm. By that I mean colleagues. Is it me or do some people wake up in the morning and their only job is to find ways to annoy others around them. Anyway on to some nicer things :)

I'm almost done with the Witches subseries of Discworld as that was my favourite thanks to Nanny Ogg & Granny Weatherwax. I love cranky/grumpy characters! Everyone needs an Esme Weatherwax in their life haha. I'm thinking of continuing the Death subseries afterwards.

@Sammy: Do you happen to have a website or something ? I love to see creative minds at work :)

Day 5 - 20 to End

17. This last part had some big reveals. Did you predict the identity of the Horned Man? What about the Hollow Sisters and how they came to be? Share your thoughts.
Mmm, yes and no. I had a suspicion he might be Gabe Hollow as soon as they entered the Halfway since nothing else came to mind and it would feel weird to introduce a completely new character so close to the end. Iris also described him as having human features earlier.
I'm kind of surprised they made it back in the end, even Grey. I'm definitely missing some information, especially regarding Grey's motive for harming the 3 children. It seems like a vicious cycle.

18. What do you think about how Iris' relationships with her mother and with Grey ended up?
I like the mother, she seems very loving and it seems she likes Iris the most as she resembles her real daughter the most. And I agree with her when she said she considered Iris as her daughter since they already lived together for 10 years.

19. Do you think Iris and Vivi will find any trace of Tyler? What did you think of that way to end the story?
I don't know, I think they might since the ending is mostly a happy one. However in my opinion it was not necessary. Could have done without the epilogue.

20. What did you rate the book and why? What was your very favorite thing about it, and what is the thing you disliked the most?
I gave it 2 stars. I agree with some readers that it was quite repetitive (same infodumps), overly descriptive, and sometimes boring. I wouldn't mind the same story in novella format as I didn't think there was enough material to keep me engaged for 300+ pages.

Day 3: Chapters 11-15

9.Let’s talk about Cate. What could Grey have possibly said to her to make a mother hate her child? (If she is her child.) What do you think of Cate and Iris’ relationship?
No idea, maybe a kind of threat ? Or she used her power of suggestion on Cate.

10. What do you think causes the sisters to have the power of suggestion, or the power of the kiss, or whatever you call it?
It's what they gained from going to the other world I guessed.

11. How do you feel about Grey's actions in the hospital and during the escape?
It was confusing as I didn't understand who would be after them. I don't trust Grey since she's the least human and knows way more than her sisters and it's not like she's likeable either. I actually feared for the other people around Grey as she's unpredictable & ruthless.

12. The girl says “It is in me…In her…In you.” What is in them? And, may I say, yuck. This story seems very myth-laden. Has anyone recognized the myth yet, or do you think this is an original one? Are you enjoying the story so far? (Is anyone else having a flashback to the creepy video in season one of True Detective, or is it just me?)
The same strangeness? Maybe the flowers? No, I didn't recognize any myth, at least not any I have studied in my Latin classes. I was enjoying it but started to get bored.

And, just out of curiosity, has anyone done a Google search on the flowers yet? I did. Googled the carrion flowers. They are creepy looking.

Yay! Henry Cavill <3 I'm feeling extra motivated. Thank you, Sammy ;)

And well done, Team !

Sammy wrote: "I've been really wanting to re-read The Count of Monte Cristo! But it's about 1400 pages long, and we wouldn't get points for the 400!
So I keep thinking I'll re-read in between challe..."

Mmm, I shall stick to the French version then which usually split up the classics, both are around 700 pages (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo I). The same goes with the D'Artagnan Romances, all my books in that series are around 900 pages so I think I will go for those ;-)
I have to admit though that the French edition prints them on kind of see-through paper. I spilled some coffee on one of those yesterday, I panicked a bit. 50 pages later and you can still see the stain.

Preeti wrote: "Looks like a lot of us are reading The Da Vinci Code for the next round. I hadn't planned on it initially but I am reading 2 veeerrry heavy books so need the break in between.
I don't know how I m..."

I remember you saying that you were planning to read A Suitable Boy at the end of this year. Once you're done with that book I presume you tackled the longest book on your TBR ;)

Unfortunately even though I own the Brothers Karamazov, I need to be in a special kind of mood to read Russian authors (same for Czech writers). Still undecided about my longer book for round 2, will see after my current read. I'm thinking of re-reading an Alexandre Dumas.

Day 2: Chapters 6-10

5. Grey leaves her sisters a note that reveals the creepy guy is really a very bad person...that she's in peril. She provides a key and sends them to a super creepy apartment...'The missing sister, the dead body, the burned apartment, the gunshot wound, the armful of stolen artifacts. Even harder: the man in the skull, the flowers growing rampant in all the soft parts of a corpse.' What is your conclusion so far?
I have absolutely no idea. I have not enough information at this point yet. Maybe they are undead or a zombie type of thing.

6. Vivi and Iris find a diary from their father...his notes supporting the Vogue article with all kinds of rumors about the girls. What do you think about their father? Was he crazy? Are his girls dead?
I don't think he's crazy. I compare his reaction to Angelina Jolie's (forgot her characters' name) behaviour in the Changeling movie. If you're convinced it's not your kid then it's not your kid and the fact that nobody believes you might drive you bonkers.

7. What is with the flowers and vegetation found in the girls and around the girls? This organic, smelly stuff keeps showing up? What do you think is behind it?
It creeps me out, especially the way flowers are growing out of their wounds. Makes me think they are definitely not human.

8. Tyler shows up at the end of this section of our reading. There's an article referenced with mention of a disappearance. Someone else came back. What do you think is next? What will Tyler's role be...hero, bad guy, or is his appearance a cameo/distraction?
It seems to me that his involvement in this is a bit sudden. I didn't expect him to take such an interest so maybe he links his sister's disappearence to Grey's.

Bravo on the creative finds of spiritual books !

Finished my last book for round 1. Updated the spreadsheet.

1. I will be able to finish my planned book before the deadline. Probably tomorrow.

2. Either way is ok. I'm curious as well but as mentioned above don't want to end up with something worse. If other team members are happy to read for it then I vote we keep it. Based on how we're faring we can eventually re-spin mid round :)

Day 1 - prologue - Chapter 5

1. What sort of stuff do you like in your horror books? Do you like the slow pacing here?
I tend to gravitate towards gothic/victorian "horror" books à la Grimm or Poe. I enjoy unusual settings & the very atmosperic, slow paced, character driven stories. I don't mind a bit of paranormal sprinkled here and there. My favourite in that category so far is The Silent Companions. I usual stay away from gore/body horror though.

2. What do you think of the sister's and their relationship with each other?
It's always nice to see siblings going along with each other and especially Vivi and Iris seems to have a nice sisterly relationship. However some of the things they feel about each other is uncanny, especially towards Grey. It seems unhealthy/obsessive.

3. We are getting hints about the strangeness around the Hollow girls, and at what happened to them. What are your suspicions? Would you be like Cate with her daughters, and not push at the memories overtly or dig actively?
At the beginning I thought vampires due to their appetite & smell & glamour but what others said about Fae/changelings makes more sense now. I think she might already have done so in the past since it's been a while the incident occurred. Cate has not giving up the search yet.
Oh, I'm not a mother but I would have shaken the truth out of my kids haha. I can't help if I don't know and I would want to help.

4. The descriptions (of Grey's clothing in particular!) is very atmospheric. Are you enjoying the descriptive language used?
I like atmospheric, especially about the setting but about clothes not so much. It's fine now but I agree that it might be a bit much as the story progresses. We shall see how it goes.