Navi’s Comments (group member since Mar 05, 2018)

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

Cait S wrote: "I just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Phew! I wasn't sure I could pull it off in a week but I diiiid. Should have another one done today too."

Yay, Cait! Good for you :)

I have a few animal recommendations (fiction and nonfiction) that I will post a little bit later!

I have a stupid question about the following rule:

Books will either count towards the main part of the challenge (the Seven Deadly Sins) or towards this mini challenge.

Anything we read for this mini challenge will still count for our total number of books read for the week right?

This challenge has come at such an opportune time! I’ve been meaning to get around to my animal nonfiction books for the longest time. I’ll be focusing on the tricky animals!

1. It’s interesting to see the dynamic between the main girls (Hetty, Byatt, Reese). They can fist fight over food one minute, but still be best friends the next. Reminds me of my sister & I. LOL. Have you ever had this kind of relationship with someone?

Their relationship struck me as odd in the beginning but as I was reading it totally made sense. Whenever you’re in a stressful/unpredictable/isolated environment you cling to the people around you for the familiarity even if you butt heads with them. It’s interesting that you mentioned your relationship with your sister because that’s exactly what it reminded me of.

I have this relationship with my brother and sister. We’ve had full on physical fights when we were younger lol! But now that we’re older we’ve become so close!

2. Byatt sneaks out of the room when she thinks Hetty is sleeping, then crawls up in Reese’s bunk when she returns. Where do you think she snuck off to? & what did she mean when she said to Reese, ”If you know something...”? Reese shuts down & kicks her out of her bunk. Wonder what their secret is?

I actually have no idea where she snuck off to lol. But I have a guess about the “something”...it may have something to do with Reese’s obsession with getting on the boat shift. Maybe they overheard something and know something about what is going on outside the institute.

3. Hetty says, “And I’ve wanted boys, and I’ve wanted girls, but I’ve never wanted anyone enough to miss them, enough to pluck them from the slideshow of my old life and bring them here.”
People have different ways of handling emotional stuff like this. Some people (like Hetty) believe thinking or talking about your loved ones or past life would only make the situation harder to deal with emotionally. Put yourself in this situation. How do you think you’d cope with missing your old life/family? Would you be like Hetty & shut down emotionally to prevent more pain? Or would you be like the other girls, laughing & sharing stories of your old life?

I loved that quote!

Personally I think I would be a combination of both. I’m an extroverted introvert. I love talking things through with people I am close with but it can take me some time to open up. Sometimes I have to process things myself and can seem guarded as a result before I can let that side come out. (I love how you’ve made me psycho analyze myself haha!)

4. Personally, I’m really enjoying the book already! I love the writing style, the world building, & the characters. I know we’re only a few chapters in, but how are you liking it so far? What aspect of the book do you like best at this point (writing, world building, characters, etc.)?

I haven’t read YA in a long time so I was unsure if I would enjoy it but I am really enjoying it so far.

What I like:

- the bleakness: I love reading dark, gritty books at this time of year
- the pacing: even though you’re thrown into this world, I like the slow unfolding. I don’t like info dumps with world building. This is a natural progression of that makes sense
- the post apocalyptic vibes: I am a sucker for books about plagues/viruses...I’m not even sure if that is what is afflicting the girls but I’m here for it!

Great questions, Frankie! ☺️

Samantha wrote: "What do we think, purple enough?



I think yes but I always like to double check!"

Yes!

I started the audio book today! I’m on chapter 3. Loving the dark, bleak setting setting so far (it’s been raining all day today so I’m already in that kind of mood!)

P.S. - my first NBRC BOM!😊

32 hours is so long!! I bet it’s going to be such a relief when you finish 😭

I LOVE Priory! But for me you can’t have enough detail in world building. Also, it’s a standalone so the length makes complete sense to me. Even though there’s a bunch of characters, they are so fleshed out and I’m a sucker for dragons!🐉

I definitely think you should pick it up, Samantha!

At this point, I’m going to focus on finishing Cronkite and The Priory of the Orange Tree. Surprisingly the biography is a much faster read than the fantasy 😅

Priory is quite dense so it’s taking me longer to read but that might be because I’m getting used to the world building and extensive character list. I’ll keep you all posted but just a heads up that I may not get around to everything on the sheet!

Samantha wrote: "Reading is going well! I was hoping to finish Outlander today but of course I left my headphones at home and I'm listening to it on audio at work! So that will probably have to wait un..."

I’ll be reading Outlander too at some point for TT! Kudos to you for listening to it on audio! How long is the audiobook?

Sarah wrote: "Paperbacks From Hell is on my TBR! I think I'm putting it off because I know it will explode my TBR list when I'm trying to whittle it down, haha. "

Some of the books sound so bonkers lol! Killer babies, mutant insects and devil orgies 😆

The Institute is on my TBR!

I finished Paperbacks From Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction and The Friend today. I really liked the first book (so many horror book recommendations!) and not sure how I feel about the second. I can’t decide if I liked it or not 🤔 No rating yet haha!

I’ll be plugging away at Cronkite tonight. It’s my longest book but so far I’m really enjoying it!

Sorry, Sarah. I see white

Hmm that’s a tough one. I would say yes as well but not completely sure...

I have entered all of the books I plan on reading this week on the planning spreadsheet (including Wilder Girls which is listed in the BOM tab). Please let me know at any time if you need me to slow down.

I will add the links, pages etc. a little bit later today.

- yellow enough?

My Kindle is telling me I still have 2.5 hours of reading time left lol! So I’m going to call it and say that that’s it for me this week! Good job everyone 😊👏🏽

So we are currently in second place for the week. It’s bringing out my competitive side so I’m planning on power reading and finishing Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. It’s a really fast read so shouldn’t take me too long to finish it. 🤞🏽

Brown for sure!

How many books are we at right now?

I think I can finish two more. It’s freezing out so I’ve been holed up inside with a bunch of layers on, tea and my Kindle - basically my dream come true! 😆

Let me know if you want me to slow down.