Karen D’s Comments (group member since Aug 25, 2015)

Karen D’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Great!

Also, I just checked the statuses and we're currently #1 in total pages read! Nice job team! :)

And we're #1 in most improved this week.

We're also #5 in ranking order (total points), not too bad!

Ashley wrote: "I think 1down is box jellyfish"

Oh great! Never would have figured that one out....

J should be easy enough, lost of J names. But X, that might be another challenge!

Was looking at our new crossword, in case there are some books we should save because they'll be tough to find. I couldn't get all the answers but here are some:

2 Across: Koala
4 Across: Platypus
6 Across: Freezing

1 Down: ???
3 Down: Kangaroo
5 Down: Unique

So keep looking for U's, we'll need at least 3 in the next crossword! (as well as Q, Y, and whatever comes with 1 Down)

Discussion Questions / January 8
XI: Masquerade - XII: Sanctuary & Sacrifice

26. The gleam Lila saw in the guards eye, she also noticed in the Red Queens eye at the masquerade ball. Do you believe Astrid has already corrupted the entire palace and royalty? And once people are corrupted with this black magic, is there a way for them to be free again? Will destroying the stone free them from their corruption?
Astrid did say that she'd already corrupted most of them, but that's an interesting question about what happens after. I would imagine they'd be ok afterwards, or wouldn't Astrid have just done that to begin with and wouldn't need the black stone?

27. We finally find out that it was, after all, Astrid who set up Kell and tricked him into taking the stone. Did this surprise you at all? Or was this something you had already figured out?
It did, I assumed that the White London royals had found out about the stone at about the same time that Kell did but that Black London was ultimately behind the whole thing. I liked Astrid's explanation for why she had to involve Kell, I was worried that was going to be a loose thread.

28. The Dane siblings want the stone to create doors between the Londons that stay open for anyone to pass through. Do you agree with Kell that this would be a horrible idea?
I guess I don't really understand this. If the doors are open, then it basically becomes one big city that's intertwined. I don't really see why that's a bad thing in theory (certainly in practice given how White London is.) But Kell knows more of the history so I'll assume he's right.

29. Any ideas as to why the stone physically stitched itself to Kell's palm after he used it for a "soul seal" to save Rhy's life? Why didn't the stone do that any of the other times it was used?
It could be because the soul seal required so much magic it had to be part of him to do it. Or maybe it's just that at a certain point (no matter what spell) if you use the stone enough it becomes part of you.

30. So Lila has a glass eye. When questioned about it by Teirin, she claims to not remember what happened to her eye but that she was told it was an accident. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Is Lila Antari? Did she have one solid black eye at one point? Maybe someone didn't want people to know she was Antari, so they cut it out. What are your thoughts on this?
Loved this twist! I had assumed already she was Antari, but this makes it so much more interesting. And that's an interesting idea about why it was cut out, I hadn't thought about that.

31. How do you feel about the relationship between Kell and Lila? Do you think they make a good team? Will they be able to defeat King Athos and retrieve the missing half of the stone?
Lila is scrappy, I imagine that will be needed the farther in they get.

32. A Darker Shade of Magic is quite a fitting title for this book, in my opinion. Do you agree? Why or why not?
It is! The stone is certainly bringing a whole new, darker element to the magic that the Londons are already used to.

Updated Goals
*New* Read a book where the ISBN10 number has exactly 6 odd numbers
*New* Read a book which has the main location (setting) as Canada
-Read a book with the word crash, bang, collide, bump or knock (plurals are acceptable) in the title
-Read a book that is on your Captain's or Co-captains "to read" shelf with the highest GR average rating
- Read a book with an orange cover

More than Neighbors is first one with a door

Updated Goals
*New* Read a book with a door or gate on the cover
*New* Read a book which has the main location (setting) as Canada
-Read a book with the word crash, bang, collide, bump or knock (plurals are acceptable) in the title
-Read a book that is on your Captain's or Co-captains "to read" shelf with the highest GR average rating
- Read a book with an orange cover

Good catch, removed it.

In the meantime, The Book of Lost Things is #30 on the Best Cover Art list

Updated Goals
*New* Read a book which has the main location (setting) as Canada
*New* Read a book that is in the "Best Book Cover Art" Listopia List (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...)
-Read a book with the word crash, bang, collide, bump or knock (plurals are acceptable) in the title
-Read a book that is on your Captain's or Co-captains "to read" shelf with the highest GR average rating
- Read a book with an orange cover

A Funny thing happened on the way to the future is the first one on our list that's non-fiction.

(Also updating for Deal Breakers, didn't see that earlier)

Updated Goals
*New* Read a book shelved (listed on the first page of the "top shelves" of the book) as non-fiction - plurals and minor spelling variations are acceptable
- Read a book where a character is an emergency services worker (Fire/Ambulance/Police)
-Read a book with the word crash, bang, collide, bump or knock (plurals are acceptable) in the title
-Read a book that is on your Captain's or Co-captains "to read" shelf with the highest GR average rating
- Read a book with an orange cover

Looks like Kim's book Pentecost Alley has 7 even numbers in the ISBN: 0449225666

Jan 7 DQ Questions Sections IX: Festival & Fire and X: One White Rock
Q21: It wasn’t too surprising that Lila was able to successfully cross into Red London. After Kell gave his jacket to wear, she gave him her handkerchief. Seems right somehow, you gave me something of yours. I give you something of mine. Now we’re linked. Do you think Lila was able to cross because of the black stone, Kell and Lila’s “link” or that she may have Antari blood that has not revealed itself yet?
I think she has Antari blood. Kell's first reaction to her was that her eyes were different colors. One's not black though, so she's clearly not as powerful, or maybe just not trained yet. So I don't think she'll be able to go by herself just yet.

Q22: We are learning more about Lila. What do you think of her?
She's not as annoying as she was in the beginning. But I don't particularly care for her yet. She doesnt' seem all that useful to the story just yet.

Q23: Do you think there will be any long term side effects of the black stone Lila and Kell are using?
That's a good question, I hadn't thought about that. Probably, to some degree, I guess they have to survive their quest first!

Q24: The Royal Guards pick Kell up at Fletcher’s shop. It appears that someone in the royal family posted a missing person’s bulletin out of concern for him not coming back when scheduled. Kell seems to know one of the guards. Ellis seems genuinely concerned about Kell and sorry for placing a cloth over his mouth. Why do you think Ellis drugged Kell? Why kill Fletcher? Who do you think issued the missing person bulletin?
I think it's connected to Holland somehow. He's coerced them into doing his will somehow.

Q25. At the festivities, Parrish notices a black eyed stranger cutting between tents heading toward the riverbank. When they confront him, the stranger thrust his blackened hand through Gen’s armor and says “dark heart”. Is the magic able to see who a person truly is? Why was the stranger heading towards the river? Do you think now that Gen is infected with the dark magic that he will complete the stranger’s journey?
If the river is truly the source of power in Red London, I imagine they're going to try to infect that somehow with this magic. The "black heart" interpretation is interesting, but he then said "noble heart" to Parrish, and he's not noble, so that doesn't really work. Unless it's the sense of noble as in loyal and true and all that.

Finished 1/6

Characters: Margaret, Elizabeth, Mary, Matthew (goes by Lennox), Henry (Goes by Dunley), Charles...it goes on and on
Takes place in England and Scotland

Updated Goals
*New* Read a book that contains the word beetroot (or beets)
-Read a spin-off novel of a popular series
-Read a book that is on your Captain's or Co-captains "to read" shelf with the highest GR average rating
- Read a book where the ISBN10 number has exactly 7 even numbers
- Read a book with an orange cover

The Weight of Feathers was essentially a circus

6-Jan VII: The Follower - VIII: An Arrangement

Q16: "I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still." - Lily. This appears to be Lily's philosophy on life. What do you think of this quote/worldview? Are you similar?
I think it's one thing to die on an adventure, but Lily has NO idea what she's getting into. She might die trying to walk into the other world, which isn't really an adventure at all.

Q17: It seems as if we know the least about Lily and her background at this point. We know more about Kell, Holland, Rhys, etc. Do you think she has a back story that will be fleshed out more? Or is she just going to stay the sole plucky sassy female character? Any theories?
While it's true that we know less about Lila's background than some of the others (and we only know a tiny bit about Holland or Rhys), we know more of her motivations and current state of mind. I'm sure her background will come out eventually.

Q18: Do you like the writing style of constantly switching point-of-view between characters between chapters?
I like it if it's done well. In this case I think I've found most interesting the really minor characters and short snippets from their perspective. It adds a different depth.

Q19: Holland seems very ruthless. Why do you think he did not kill Kell? Or did he intend to?
I think he's acting under orders from the White London twins. He's bound to what they want, despite his own feelings, so I think that was all out of his control. Maybe bleeding him out was a work-around. He didn't outright kill Kell, but put him in a position where he would probably die.

Q20: Does the stone remind anyone of any other story? (The ring in Lord of the Rings immediately came to mind, and the horcruxes in Harry Potter). Do you think the stone CAN be destroyed? Will Kell be able to do it?
Yeah, I mentioned earlier it reminded me of the horcruxes. But perhaps that's not fair, as someone else pointed out, because those came from evil and the stone isn't necessarily evil. I do think Kell will destroy it or get rid of it somehow,

A Darker Shade of Magic DQs
Day 3: Jan 4

Chapters V Black Stone – VI Thieves Meet

Q11. Lila still intrigues me. First she gives money to the beggar boy and even go after the little rat thieves that rob the boy. But then, while running she can't help herself and steal from a man that is hurt and bleeding! What do you make of her? Are you liking/understanding her?
Her idea of morality seems a bit warped. She claims at first that she's only stealing from rich who can afford, but then she steals from a man bleeding on the street?

Q12. So the package was a trap! But from who? Holland, The Danes siblings, the Red Royals, ... Any guesses/theory?
I think it's from a force we haven't really met yet. The remnants of Black London. I think enough of that is left to have built itself up enough to send out a small token into the other worlds.

Q13. What do you think about Lila and Kell interaction? The 'made up Kell' strip-tease was kind of funny, if we disregard the black eyes and the will power. Could Lila have magic on her? Will these two characters meet again later on?
Yes to both. Kell's comment about her having one eye lighter than the other seems an obvious reference to a hidden magic capability in her, probably an Antari herself, although either not as powerful or just not trained yet. It seemed odd to me that neither character really reacted to the magic--both Kell's appearance and the effects of the rock. Given that magic has basically disappeared from Grey London, you'd think Lila would have had some sort of reaction to learning about that. Similarly, Kell didn't seem too surprised that Lila was able to harness the power of the rock. That's probably not something that just anyone, especially in Grey London, can do.

Q14. It was just me, or this black magic is creepy?! The shell breaking and being absorbed into the cutthroat, all the things created by the stone has a taint of black, and the final part with the drunk guy, made me think that maybe the law against carrying things between worlds was very much needed still.
Yep, that was my original thought. People forget why laws were created over time, but there was a very real reason for it in this case. And this token of Black London is now infesting itself in Red and Grey London.

Q15. Ideas to where the story is going?
Black London is coming back. This reminds me of Harry Potter. Voldemort was "dead" but still had enough of himself around to be able to come back after enough time had passed and he'd collected enough power. Black London has been able to send out this stone that will start infesting black magic in the other Londons, and ultimately it will come down to a war between Red London and Black London (not sure where White London will fall), with Grey stuck in the middle. Lila will end up becoming a very powerful Antari herself and will be critical in the war.

In reading some of the other comments (regarding question 6, day 2) I liked the way they distinguished "tomboy" from a strong female character. I'd completely agree with that, I appreciate a strong female in any novel. Tomboy seems to have too many other connotations so I wouldn't use that term.

A Darker Shade of Magic DQs
Day 2: Jan 2
Chapters III – IV, pages 58 - 108

06. "Lila Bard lived by a simple rule: if a thing was worth having, it was worth taking." We are introduced to the Shadow Thief. Do you enjoy "tomboy" heroines in literature? What's your favourite female lead in a book?
Honestly, not typically. I feel like in most novels they typically end up falling for the guy at the end anyway, and ending up back in traditional female roles. Lila reminds me a lot of Inej from Six of Crows so far. I don't know if I could pick an overall favorite, there's too many to choose from.

07. "Looking for trouble, he’d say. You’re gonna look till you find it. Trouble is the looker, she’d answer. It keeps looking till it finds you." Which side are you on, on this debate and why?
In this case, his. She seems to be a risk-taker, and most of those risks are probably careless.

08. "Our throne is not something you’re born to. It’s not held by blood. But taken by it." The Dane siblings and Holland seem to keep a cruel balance among them. Can you identify any clear leader among them? Will this unholy trinity last? What might keep them from going for each other's throat?
It seemed pretty clear that Holland is not a leader in this case. He's completely trapped by them and has to follow their bidding. Between the twins though, I'm going to guess that is the more brutal one and Astrid is the more cunning.

09. We are now introduced to all 3 Londons. If you could live in any of them which would you choose?
Well, the author has made it pretty clear it shouldn't be White London. I think I'd still pick Grey London even though Red is written to be more appealing. The magic is probably going to cause problems.

10. Kell has the bad habit of carrying trinkets from one London to the next. Is the law against it reasonable? What are your thoughts on the package the woman gave him?
The law was created for a reason, and even if the breaking the law part wasn't the problem in and of itself, this seems like a really bad idea. Or perhaps just very simplistic writing? The second Kell makes a promise to himself to not transfer anything, he's approached about that very same thing? Clear foreshadowing, this will obviously turn out badly.