LavenderLane’s Comments (group member since Oct 11, 2023)

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

I have a question on the itinerary mini challenge.

The instructions for the mini challenge seems to indicate that if you chooses a fictional book, the author needs to have been born in the same country the book is set in, but if it’s non-fiction the book just needs to be about the location but the author doesn’t need to be born there - is my understanding correct?

Catsalive wrote: "Hi Team. I have no idea what I'll be reading. I haven't played in Tower Teams before, is there anything in particular I should be reading?"

There’s some mini-games in the team spreadsheet that have some criteria, but the great thing about TT is you have a lot of freedom to read what you like. This is also a great challenge if you like chunky books because the bigger the page count the more points you get, so you don’t get penalised if you need more time to read a bigger book.

Insiyah wrote: "LavenderLane wrote: "Karen, I’m trying to finish The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson so I can finally get to Book 2. Way of Kings is a reread for me because I last re..."

Oh yes, let’s! From Karen’s advice it looks like there is a thread ready to go when we start 😀

Hi Everyone, I’m excited to get to know you all better over the coming months of Tower Teams 🥳.

I’m not a big tower person, probably because I’m not a huge fan of heights and the cost to go to the top is often too much for me to pay to be uncomfortable for 30 minutes+ 😂. The only towers I think I’ve actually gone to the top of is the Space Needle in Seattle a couple of decades ago and the Telstra Tower in Canberra many years ago. I have stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower, does that count 🤔😆.

I’ve got so many books I want to read, but I’ll probably start with as it fulfils a mid-level country for the book itinerary challenge and because I’ve wanted to read it for a while now but it’s never fitted in with another challenge.

I also need to get to the next book in a couple of series and .

Karen, I’m trying to finish so I can finally get to Book 2. Way of Kings is a reread for me because I last read (and loved it) about five years ago and never managed to get to Words of Radience. Maybe I will get to finish Radience during Tower Teams (if I can finish my reread of Way of Kings before the challenge starts) 😁.

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan


When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Mountain setting - Appalachian Trail


Heartwood by Amity Gaige

an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.

At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie’s disappearance may not be accidental.

2nd! That’s amazing!

Thanks Deanna, you did an amazing job!

Just checking in. My reading has slowed a bit after my holiday and starting a new role at work. I’ve got two that are nearly finished though.

Hi Deanna, I put the mini code AH8 in column N and the reason in column O, but it isn’t populating in the Arena Hazards tab. It’s for my book Assassins Quest, are you able to check and see if I’ve missed something?

Thanks 🙂

I can read Back to the Garden as it seems to be a free download on Audible for me.

I agree, this particular challenge isn’t worth the points, considering you have to read obscure books that aren’t necessarily enjoyable and you wouldn’t read in any other circumstance. I also wouldn’t expect anyone to pay money for a book that they wouldn’t otherwise read.

Personally, I think we should avoid getting breaths back and just go for the last option. Let’s just try and get through this challenge and move on as I agree that protecting our resources is more advantageous than 5 points.

I’ve found this one, The Running Back and the Prima Donna but I’m not prepared to pay the $10 it would cost me to buy it 🫣. Is it maybe available through Kindle Unlimited (for those that have an account and would be interested in reading it)?

Wow 2nd, that’s amazing!!

Thanks!!

I apologise, I’ve just finished my last book for the mini challenge, but realise I’ve missed the deadline. I’ve got my time zone conversion messed up 😩

Sounds like a good option… great find!

Would Secret History by Brandon Sanderson work. It’s 160 pages and book 3.5 in the Mistborn Saga. It would contain spoilers for the rest of the series though, so if you did want to read that series it may not be appropriate.

There’s also The Lesser Devil by Christopher Ruocchio. It’s 1.5 in a series and 185 pages. It’s sci fi / fantasy.

Oh and if you fancy paranormal romance there’s Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost. It’s 1.5 in the Night Huntress series and comes in at 106 pages.

Deanna wrote: "@Lavender - Can you add The Lost Metal to your shelf please?

@Ann - Can you add Starling House to your shelf please?"

Hi Deanna, I’m still reading The Lost Metal. I was only adding them once they were finished, do I need to add them while reading them?

I can listen to the audio of a non-fiction genre The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder which will cover off on the extreme conditions requirement.

I can read Yellowface for the literary fiction genre.

I did a quick random scan of another District’s spreadsheets to see if anyone had read a shelter book that is on my tbr and I found District 7 had read Bright Young Women in Round 1 and put it under the Shelter category. The reason it could be a door is the GR synopsis has the word ‘door’ in it.