Nanci’s Comments (group member since Jan 29, 2016)

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

Keli wrote: "Thanks, Elinor. 😆 The more I thought about that book, the more I detested it. Like Before answering the dqs, I just disliked it. Now having to think about all that time spent listening to honestly ..."

Kelli,
You and I were on the same page with The Fourth Wing. I wanted to read your comments, but when I clicked on the link, it didn't take me to yours. I'm sure I would be nodding my head and saying, "That's right!"

Lisa,
Thanks for moving things around and giving us the list of needed letters.
I can take the "L" with the book, Eggshells. The author's last name is Lally. I'll read it this week at the beach.

We are doing great, team!
I finished answering the questions for Fourth Wing, so that's checked off my list.

Our daughter, son-in-law and their 5 month old baby arrive today! They live in Colorado, so visits are rare and treasured. So excited to see our little grandson! We leave for our family beach week Saturday, so I may not be communicating as much, but I will be reading and hoping to check the thread off and on for updates.

I didn't sign up for a Wheel task, as I'm not sure I could read it fast enough. Wish I wouldn't have already used my elephant book.
I'm 53% done with one book (blue cover or Team Tower letters E, D, or B), so maybe I can get that finished on the drive down on Saturday.

DQ Day 3 Chapters 14-20

10. So we are half way through the book. Thoughts and feelings? Loving it? Hating it? Ambivalent?

. I really do not like this book at all. If it weren't for the challenge I would DNF. It's just way too immature for me. Call me a snob. :)

11. Jeremiah gets killed pretty quickly as his signet shows. Do you agree that power can't be allowed?
Yes, I think mind reading is of course super powerful. I don't like the story overall, but I do think the different signets are interesting.

11. What's the deal with Andarna? Why do you think 2 dragons have bonded with Violet?
The dragons are the part of the book, I do like. Oddly enough they bring a human perspective and emotions more than the humans in the story do. I love little Andarna! I think Andarna bonded with Violet because they're both seen as being so little and therefore not as strong warriors (even though they are). The all and mighty Tairn bonds with her maybe to show that even with a lesser, weaker rider he can still succeed. I like how he talks to her and doesn't put up with any of her wining.

12. If you coul choose a Signet what would it be? https://www.julesbuono.com/fourth-win...
In that world I would choose healing power, since everyone is always getting maimed and injured

13. Were you surprised about Amber's betrayal? How about when Xanden completely believed Violet but Dain didn't?
Not shocked. I don't think anyone can trust anyone else in a world like this. When Dain didn't believe Violet and used his mind reading powers, I thought that showed the desperation Dain was feeling over wanting Violet to choose him over Xander. Xander believing Violet was used by the author to start setting Violet's feelings changing towards Xander as a possible love interest and maybe even someone she could trust in the future.

DQ Day 2: Chap 7- 13

6. This section starts with two scenes with each of the male love/lust interests. The comparison of them continues very clearly. Do you like Xaden or Dain better or neither?

Ugh. I don't like either one much. Dain is too controlling, even though we understand he's just wanting to keep Violet safe. He wants to be more than "just friends", which is a shame because I think the book would have been better and maybe not as predictable without the triangle love story. Things like this make me feel it's YA, although no way would I approve of someone young reading this book with all the swearing in just about every sentence. But, I digress. Xaden's character is so one dimensional. ie "I am unbelievably muscular and handsome and cunning and women fall at my feet and immediately slobber all over me hoping that I will bless them with my godliness." Yuck!

7. Violet uses alternative methods to survive the fighting challenges. Do you think that counts as cheating or using the resources available? Do you think she is aware that she only has this information because she comes from a privileged background and her sister count sneak in it? Do you think one of the professors should have noticed after 5 rounds?
Violet is using her resources to stay alive. I think she is aware that she has certain advantages due to her mother's position, but at the same time people also hate and target her because of that. Morals don't seem to be a strong centerpiece of this book, so if she is cheating she's just doing the same as everyone else.

8. The obstacle course is straight out of American Ninja warrior (and other similar TV shows) including ending with the giant ramp. Did you enjoy this section and how Violet figured out working with her height limitations? Have they told us how tall she is? (Though in real life, the shortest person to make it up the wall has only been 5’1” – I just Googled it).
It was ok. I really didn't get into or like any of the fight scenes. Overall, the book just seems silly and immature to me.

9. Finally, we meet the dragons. Was it all you were hoping for? Did anyone guess the black one when it was first introduced in this section? (Also, I am not taking the fall seriously at the end of my section since we still have 2/3 of the book to go).

Yes, at the time I figured the black one was going to be hers, but I also thought maybe the author would change it up and go for the little one (and was kind of hoping it would be).

Bonus: If you could have a dragon from any book or movie, which one would you want?
As you've probably assessed from my answers this genre is not something I read, so I don't have past dragons that I love from books. The only dragon I can think of is, Puff the Magic Dragon from the musical group Peter, Paul and Mary. Now I'm showing my age! Haha!

DQs Day 1, Chapters 1 - 6

1. As someone who grew up with the Pern books, I love diving back into a world with dragons and dragon riders. And this one has extra bonus Gryphons, apparently!
Do you have any first impressions of the main characters (Violet, Dain, Rhiannon, Xader) and the world building? Do you want to know more?
Initially I rather liked Violet. Now I'm finding her annoying with all her swooning over certain boys. Xader is already seeming over the top with his muscles and meanness. I do like some of the lesser characters, but I'm thinking most of them will be killed off sooner or later, so I'm not getting too invested in them.

2. What do you think of Violet’s mother and sister? Any idea about why her mother chose to order her to the Rider Quadrant instead of the Scribe Quadrant?
I like her sister and how she was trying to look out for Violet and giving her special clothing and helping educate her so she has a better chance of surviving. She seems to love her and worry about her. Her mother? Geez, with a mom like that you don't need any more enemies. She is cruel, cold-hearted, judgemental, and any other negative character traits you care to add.

3. The brutality of the selection process and the casual acceptance of murder is something else. What do you think the purpose of it is? (If there is one beyond societal norms.)
Would you have given your boot to a stranger?
I listened to the book and it was at this point that I wished I was reading it so I could just skim over all the violence. It really bothered me at first, but then I just became numb to it. Waaay too much for me and it just became ineffectual. I found myself rolling my eyes when I'm sure the intent of the author was that I would be on the edge of my seat. The one saving grace was when Violet did give away her boot. I would like to think I would try to help someone else have a better advantage by giving them better foot-ware, but who knows? I think the author added that part to help us see that Violet has a soft, caring side to her.

4. So this is a world at war, but at the battle briefings at least, they don’t seem to know why the outer provinces are currently attacking the borders. Any ideas about why this is happening?

I wondered about that when I was reading that part. I figured it was going to become an important part of the story later.

5. Do you think that Violet will survive and get chosen by a dragon? If so, any predictions on what kind?

Yes, she'll definitely survive. Without Violet there wouldn't be a story and there wouldn't be any sequels. That's the thing I least like about this book so far. Pages and pages to go and the ending is already obvious. Of course Violet will be chosen by a dragon. At the time of reading I thought it might be a dragon with some physical issues, like Violet and together they would show everyone that their handicaps don't limit them.

Kirsten wrote: "I loved it. I love Kingsolver. I’ve been reading her books for 30 years."

Me too!

Kirsten wrote: "I’ve signed up for 5 books in the 400-600+ range, and I’ll definitely get them done. I’m reading Prodigal Summer now and should finish it by tomorrow or later today.

I do have a fe..."

I really liked Prodigal Summer, Kirsten. Here's my short review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...

Most of my friends also weren't big fans of the Vegas part for Goldfinch. I do give her credit for describing the area very vividly though.

Movie alert! If you have the opportunity to see "The Sound of Freedom" at your local theater, go see it. It's about child trafficking and it's excellent. I almost walked out in the first 5 minutes as I didn't think I could make it, but I'm so glad I stayed. It is so well done and it's a true story, which makes it that much more impactful. It took years to get through the political red tape to get it in the theaters. If you go, be sure to stay all the way through the credits. The main actor speaks at the end and you don't want to miss it. Our state (Virginia) is ranked 3rd in the US for trafficking. Hopefully the movie will get some grass roots movements going to get the backing needed.

I just found Ten Women to fit the task "letters in SITH" for Wheel. Oh, never mind, I see that task is already claimed by Lisa, who will read faster than me for sure. I will still read it and place it in the Team Towers for "S" ALN.

Kelli, I loved Goldfinch and hope you do too! Some of it went a bit slower for me (the Vegas part), so hopefully you're into the faster read part. I find it hard to read the longer books when I feel like I should be speeding through the shorter books for the Wheel tasks, etc.

We had a great time at our friend's lake house, although spending the day in the sun on the lake and then playing games/cards until 11pm didn't afford me much reading time. Hopefully I can stay awake tonight a bit to make up for some lost time.

I agree on saving the longer books for Team Towers.

My oh my, it's going to be a furious finish this month with teams reading like crazy to get first place!

Cris,
They took out our deck and screened porch last week for a big remodel we're doing. Exciting to see our project start, but yes, lots of banging!

I finished my book for Wheel. Fast and good!
Ready for another spin!

Elinor wrote: "The chapter breakdown for Fourth Wing has been posted -

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

There were so many vo..."

Drat! Those points could have helped us, but that's the luck of the spin. Thanks for letting us know, Elinor.

I've got BEATER covered for Wheel. I just read the first chapter and it's very good, so hoping I finish it today.

Kirsten wrote: "Janine is literally the best and finding and fast reading specific books for specific tasks. She’s the like the best teammate ever."

So true! Janeylou, it's like those books are bones and you are a bloodhound! WTG!

Keli wrote: "I downloaded the audiobooks of carrie soto in Scribd. Only to discover that it's in dutch. Nanci, you're not alone!"

Haha, Keli! Good to know I'm not alone, but hoping you can find the English version!

Suzanne wrote: "Oh! I just noticed! caRRiE SOTO works for Rooster! I'm going to move one of those that were finished after July 10. And yes - let's watch for the pages from that other book - I'd guess they'll appe..."

Good catch, Suzanne!

I just finished my book, and added it to Wheel for the "flour" in text task. It also works for blue cover, so if you feel it would be better there, feel free to move.

So glad you found the mirror task, Jackie! I spent well over an hour searching for a cover and only found a few that looked acceptable, but were way too long.

I searched for mirror on cover, but no luck finding anything. If someone knows of something that's free or I can find at my library I'm happy to take that task.

Ugh. I wish we could have something different.