bamaace83 ’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2018)

bamaace83 ’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I just finished the Princess book. It was a pretty quick read and I'm off today. I'm about to tackle my closet for a bit and then come back and check in.

Happy American 4th of July!

I'm planning on reading Radiant Darkness that is a retelling of Persephone if that helps. I'm doing some mythology challenge somewhere and I need to read that one.

I just finished a book that works for seeker. Now, question, should I start the princess book or find a keeper book so we can get a new group of tasks? Not sure if anyone is working on a keeper one but I'm off work tomorrow and should be able to knock out at least 2 books maybe 3 depending on page counts. I do have a closet project that I'm going to tackle but I can listen to an audio during that.

Actually, it looks like we already have a keeper book that we can use from July 1st!! I'll start that princess book.

I could tackle that book this week as long as it fits. I think rogue just means a person with a naughty, bad reputation. I should have the seekers book done tonight/morning. It's a pretty quick read.

The Murderbots are not for me! I try, every single time I try but I thank goodness that they are super short and I can fly through them. Can the princess book be historical romance where a princess ends up with a disgraced duke or such? I'm sure there must be a book out there like that.

I can read a Murderbot if I need to. I save those dreaded books for tasks only. I'm working on a book for seeker next so that we can work on finishing that set. I don't really have any definite books planned this week so I can help fill in things.

DQs Day 1 - Chan v Cortez & The First Time Around (26%)

1. The most popular releases by Taylor Jenkins Reid have been BOMs in this group before (Daisy Jones & The Six in 2019, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in 2021, and Malibu Rising last year). Have you read any of these books (or others) by TJR too or is Carrie Soto is Back your first book by the author? What are your expectations going in?

I've read all three of those books. I liked The Seven Husbands the best. I think it should be a pretty good book. I've been wanting to read it and glad I saved it so that it can be used for points.


2. After the first chapter is set in 1994 and Carrie Soto decides to get back into the sport to get her record title back the next few chapters follow her early years up until she felt like she had to retire because of her knee injury (and because she felt humiliated lbr) somewhat 30 years later. Her dad always wanted her to be the greatest whereas her mother just wanted her to be kind and happy. It doesn't seem like Carrie is either at this point in her life, also not the greatest anymore. How do you feel about her as a character so far? What do you think (sort of) being forced into retirement by her own body has done to her, mentally and physically; do you think she's changed at all in the last 5 years?


I don't think she really knows herself. I think her body was trying to give her a break but I'm not sure if she used it like she should've. I'm interested to see her character evolve in this book.


3. What we've learned about Carrie's childhood and teenage years has quickly started to remind me of 'King Richard' the movie about the Williams sisters' life and I'm seeing a lot of similarities between Carrie's dad Javier and the Williams' (movie) dad (as I'm sure is often the case when athletes' parents are involved in their kids' sports careers/futures).
Javier seemed to have good intentions and only ever wanted what (he at least thought) was best for his daughter, but they grew apart after going separate ways in 1979. As we know, they've found their way back together (does this sound weird seeing they're father and daughter??), but things definitely changed between them. How do you feel about Javier and about his and Carrie's relationship growing up vs now?

I think the relationship was normal. I grew up in a family with a dad that was my brother's coach for many years and I think that's just a normal relationship. It didn't seem weird to me.


4. It seems like Carrie doesn't believe in love (or actually of being worthy of being loved imo). She's been having flings/ONS left and right apparently, and appearing in tabloids with random guys regularly. The one time she let herself finally believe this could be IT for the long run was with Brandon Randall (who some of us already knew from Malibu Rising) who was cheating on his then wife with her. No surprise he left her for (yet) another woman, but were you surprised Carrie took him back after he wanted to go back to his ex-wife and she rejected him? Do you think losing her mother at such a young age and only ever having her dad as a single parent in her life has influenced how she views love, relationships and generally a deeper bond with other people?

I don't think she really knows what love is. She's so career driven that she just looks for guys to give her some sort of happiness. I think Brandon showed interest in her and she liked it so she took him back. I'm curious to see how the rest of the book plays out with relationships.

I'm not sure how the Muse's work but I just finished Queen Charlotte which could maybe be used for love because that's a big part of the book and it can be found in the precis.

Oh man! Thanks for logging my June books. I know that I had a bunch. I thought I was going to get back on here last night and ended up with a major migraine that I still haven't gotten to go away but I was hopping on here to try to log some things. I will try to stay more on top of it this month. Also, what books should I try to find to help with tasks this week? I have a bunch of reading time and can hopefully knock out a few things.

The City of Brass book works for the CHASER task on the mini. We are about to go to some wineries because John is off today but I did mark that one read and I have some other random books I finished off this week that I'll add either tonight or in the morning.

I finished the dreaded City of Brass book this morning. I didn't really like it but I trudged through it. I'll have time tomorrow to get my books on the spreadsheet and update stuff. I'll also have time to look at the mini and see what I can do about that.

DQs Day 3 - Chapters 10-14

9. As he walks through the Daeva Quarters, Ali is shot by a toy arrow, let loose by one of the children playing about. Rashid suggests to Ali that he should punish the boy by taking him to be raised in the Citadel, which Ali refuses. What do you think this says about Ali, and about others in the city’s upper echelon?

I think Ali is trying to find his ground and not turn to violence every time someone tells you.

10. Nahri and Dara have a moment, but are interrupted. Do you like this partnership, romantically or otherwise? Is it doomed, or meant to be?

I thought at this point in the book that it was a good partnernship.

11. We learn about the terrible conditions in the shafit orphanage and the difficult lives all the shafit are forced into. Even though he immediately refuses to help, how do you think this will influence him in the future?

I think he will be made to help eventually.


12. As Dara and Nahri cross the last illusion shielding Daevabad, Nahri has an odd reaction and ends up flat on her back on the deck of the ferry, with Dara rudely refusing anyone’s assistance. Do you think this was caused by something related to what Nahri is, or something else?

I was so confused with most of the book that I wasn't really for sure what was going to happen at this point.


13. Muntadhir takes Ali to a secret room filled with dead Nahids. Do you think this room will be a turning point for Ali? Do you think Dara will discover this and his relic, and what do you think will follow if he does?

I thought this room could be a big part of the story. I was interested in seeing what was going to happen if the relics were discovered.

Day 2 DQs : Chapters 5-9

5. So many groups! We had a couple of chapters in this part that described some of the tribes in Daevabad and elsewhere - the Daeva/Djinn, Ifrit, Simurgh, Zahhak and I'm sure I haven't listed them all. Where on the confusion scale are you - with 1 being totally confused and 10 being "I've got this". And are you ok with your level at this point in the book?

I don't really like this book. It's not my thing and I'm trying to figure it out.

6. Somewhat related to this - we learn that Suleiman curbed magical abilities because the daeva harmed humanity. I learned (thanks Google) that in the non-book world Suleiman the Magnificent was the longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 to 1566 - he ruled over at least 25 million people. Did you know anything about Suleiman and what do you think of his inclusion in the book?

Nope, I knew nothing of Suleiman. I like adding a little bit of history into books. It's those tidbits that keep me finishing this one and the points.

7. We now know Dara was a slave for many years and was forced to do some things that haunt him. How does this make you feel about his character?

It didn't change how I felt about him.


8. Ali's father was portrayed as brutal when we first met him at the execution, and then later he seemed like a pretty good ruler as he listened to and judged people's problems. What do you think - good king or bad king?

I'm going with bad king for this one.

I can probably walk you through using Libby. I use Libby, Scribd, Kindle Unlimited and sometimes Audible and Hoopla. I mostly use Libby unless I just can't get the book on there. I also have two library cards because I work in one county and live in another. That allows me to have two cards. I probably need to look to see if there are any other free library cards that I can get because different libraries carry different things.

Cool! I’ll my questions done this week and I’ll save the last couple chapters for July.

If I hold off finishing the City book until July 1, will I still be able to get the bonus points for us? The other books I have are not that big of page numbers.

Oh no! So sorry to hear about the hospital trend. I hope everyone makes it out okay even the really sick ones. I also joined way too many challenges and am now trying desperately to catch some up and see if I can finish a couple because I got myself in others. I've got the City of Brass on audio for my commutes this week so I can get it done and out of the way. I also have a few other books that I need to finish before the weekend. We had some pretty rough storms roll through but no damage which was good.

I'll have one done. I'm working on the City book.

DQs Day 1, Ch 1-5


1. This book begins in 18th century Cairo, with France and Turkey fighting over Egypt. I have never encountered this conflict in fiction before. Have you? Were you familiar with it before you started reading?

I had no idea about this conflict before I started listening to this book. I'm slowly beginning to like history a little more especially when I travel.


2. Nahri has several mysterious powers, including healing, the ability to sense illness in others, and the ability to understand and speak every language she hears. Which of her powers would you like for yourself?

I would like the ability to sense illness in others. I think this would be a pretty cool gift to have.


3. What do you think of the world building so far? Do you find it confusing, or do you feel like you’re along for the ride?

I think it's a touch confusing but I'm sure it will add more to the story as we go along.


4. So far we’ve met 3 significant players in this book: Nahri, Ali, and Dara. Do you have a favorite character so far, or one who intrigues you the most?

I don't have a favorite character yet. I like Nahri the most but I wouldn't say favorite.

I have all sorts of books that I need to finish this week, including that City of Brass book.