Kari’s Comments (group member since Nov 08, 2020)

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

The letter U is awful!! V and Z don't seem so bad next to U.

Suzanne, please don't feel bad, these things happen. I hope you feel better soon, sending you hugs.
Thanks for helping out, Amanda.

Amanda wrote: "Added a book for Salsa, so we have 8 now

ETA: and one for Tango so just 1 more!

ETA2(lol): And one for Ska so should be good! (But if anyone wants one of mine feel free :) )"

Awesome, we're all set!

Suzanne wrote: "Does tin eye add the "grey" of his shirt and face and come up with more than 50%? His shirt looks green to me too. I'm not positive the cover is over 50% green though? What do others think?"

Amanda wrote: "I think the shirt is green but still looks to be about 1/3 green total"

I agree it's probably not enough green but figured it didn't hurt to ask, thanks guys!

Is this enough green for a green cover? His shirt looks light green to me, tineye says it's grey but I'm not sure I agree. Help!

Sounds good! I added a book for Folk

Suzanne wrote: "Thanks Kari - I was just updating and thought - wow I was already wrong with my red cover count! ..."

That's what I counted too, Suzanne :) I'm sorry about your cold.

For the instruments I only see two planned, we need one more person/book?

Suzanne wrote: "And given that we just talking about the countdown - looks like we still need:
3 more Red covers (We have 4 still planned on the spreadsheet - 2 of them are mine)
3 more Instrument on cover (we hav..."

One of the red covers has a finished date, it's mine. It's not on the final sheet yet. So we need 2 red covers.

Janeylou wrote: "Is there a countdown for end of this round ..i cant remeber when due to finish"

Janine, there's a countdown on our Summary SS, I noticed the other day. Round ends on 18 Nov.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Nanci wrote: "Yes, that is correct, Kari. However, if you happen to want to read a book and the cover is red, please mark it as such on the sheet. We probably won't need them, but it's nice to have backups, just..."

Ok thanks!

We have 7 X's marked for red cover, so we don't need anymore?
And we need 5 more instruments on the cover?
Just double checking :P

Of course! Those were the only letters I could find, I was hoping for an O somewhere but nada!

I finished Starter Villain and it was so much fun to read. Great choice, Bobbi!
I answered questions and posted the links on our BOM sheet.

No worries, Suzanne, it happens!! I also agree you're doing great.

DQs: Day 3 ~ Chapters 12 – 17

9. It seems like the whole book is a test of Charlie’s character. Hera’s conversation with Charlie is one example. Charlie suddenly asks if Hera and Persephone like him. She says they were sent to watch him, but they like him because Charlie chose to take them in and treated them well. Do you think the book is portraying a series of tests from his uncle? What do you think it means?
---Yes, it’s a sort of test for Charlie, we see that in the funeral scene as well. His conversation with Hera shows he’s very sensitive and kind. He loves his cats, I thought it was sweet that he cared about their opinions. It gave us so much insight on Charlie’s true nature.

10. “Business is business. It’s different from respect and friendship.” What did you think of this statement? Do you agree with it or do you think these things can’t be separated?
---They should be separate so there are no conflicts and misunderstandings between friends, especially in Charlie’s new world that is mostly full of mobsters and gangsters. Every new character that he meets is scary.

11. Charlie was quick to pick up clues on the Lombardy Convocation members. What did you think of his assessment? Did it change your opinion of him?
---Charlie is very intuitive and smarter than I thought. He’s also very brave, I love that he isn’t intimidated by the evil members. The entire thing really is like a cult.

12. There has been a lot of great banter in the book so far. I have to say I think both parts with the dolphins were my favorites. What has been your favorite line/quote, or your favorite part of the book so far?
---I think the dialogues are very funny, the dolphins are especially clever, and I also like when Charlie communicates with Hera, I think it’s so amusing that he’s having a conversation with his pet cat.

DQs: Day 2, Chap 7 - 11

5. We learn Hera and Persephone are both sentient cats. My cats love lying next to me and staring at my computer screen (when they’re not stomping all over my keyboard), so I can picture a cat using a computer vividly. What mischief would your pets come up with if they were sentient? Even if you don’t have pets, what mayhem do you think could happen?
---Probably stealing extra food or treats, or having friends over. Or making online purchases for toys, things like that. It sounds like it’d be a lot of fun.

6. Charlie seems to be surprisingly chill about going along with everything happening, from sentient animals to attempts on his life to being whisked away to the Caribbean. Does that make sense to you, with how his life was before the book started? How would you react if you found out your uncle was a supervillain?
---I love that Charlie is so chill about things, even after the fire. Maybe he’s in shock deep down, who knows. I honestly like his personality and the way he accepts things. It’s fun to be inside his head. I wouldn’t be a good supervillain, I'd be too stressed.

7. Although travelling there was a bit of a hassle, St. Genevieve sounds like a pretty sweet place to be. Where would your ideal villain (sorry, process disruptor) lair be set?
---I’d prefer my lair to be somewhere in the mountains. Not near the sea or near a volcano.

8. We got a list of more or less exciting options including sharks, so: what is Charlie going to decide? How is Jacobs going to “die”? Or might his death end up being a real one after all?
---That whole scene of deciding how he should ‘die’ was weird and funny. I guess they’ll go for the shark option which sounds extra dangerous. I hope it’s not a real death.

Bonus question: The (soon to be striking) dolphins have, uhm, quite the vocabulary. Any favorite insults? Do you want to give coming up with some creative insults a shot yourself?
---They were so funny, they sounded like pirates. I liked how Charlie makes an honest attempt to listen to them.

DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 6

1. I'm so excited to be reading another John Scalzi book with you all. He has quickly become one of my "always read" authors. Is this your first Scalzi book? What are your expectations?
---I’ve never heard of this author so I had zero expectations, I picked it up for this challenge.

2. What are your first impressions of Charlie? Do you think he is using his sad life events as an excuse to coast through life easier as his siblings and attorney seem to imply? Do you relate to him so far?
---I like Charlie, it seems he’s trying to make the best out of his circumstances and the pile of bad luck surrounding him. I also like he’s not willing to get bullied. He’s also very witty.

3. “When people name cats, they usually do it in one of three categories: food, physical characteristics or mythology,” Morrison explained. What do you think Mathilda imagines Charlie's choice of "the goddess route" says about him? What sort of name would you choose and what do you think that could tell someone about you?
---Using mythology makes it seem like he has a whimsical side, like he’s a bit of a dreamer deep down. I can see myself choosing a name from mythology, something like Thor or Odin, those are great cat names.

4. What would your reaction be if a rich, but estranged family member left you a huge inheritance?
---I might be suspicious at first. I’d be very grateful, then I’d pay my bills/debts and wish I’d had a chance to interact with the person who left me the money.

Just confirming, for Starter Villain we all use the same page count 336?

Suzanne wrote: "Wonderful reading everyone! Here is the countdown again:

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

If you finish something before..."

Thank you, Suzanne!