Keli’s Comments (group member since Jun 23, 2016)

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

Sammy wrote: "Keli wrote: "I daren't do that. I literally have over or near a thousand books most of them I've not read. We inherited my father-in-law's old paperbacks from the 40s, 50s & 60s (including tons of ..."

I forgot about the books in attic!
I just assumed you were one of those disciplined people who could keep a reasonable amount of books in their possession and pass themon when finished. The question is how many of those 2000+ (because a lot of books can be crammed into a crawl space!) books have you read?
Or do buy way more than you can read just because you love books?

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Laurie wrote: "Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "chapter 26

Possibly my favourite so far. I loved Scarlett here [spoilers removed]"

Just finished Chapter 26 myself. The last few chapters have been something! Hav..."

You haven't seen the movie?! It's epic. Make some popcorn or brownies, get a beverage of choice and spend a couple hours with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. It is a fantastic film. Although, maybe wait until you finish the book. Of the few bits that I had read, I kept picturing Scarlett from the film and when it didn't quite fit it left me a little disjointed.

Sammy wrote: "So instead of taking stuff *off* the TBR, I finally got around to adding a load more of the unread books I have at home to GR, so my TBR just shot up by another 40 books, lol.

At least they're all..."

I daren't do that. I literally have over or near a thousand books most of them I've not read. We inherited my father-in-law's old paperbacks from the 40s, 50s & 60s (including tons of classics, though no Dickens) and he had hundreds. Plus, my husband's, but many of his are non-fiction 😴😴😴. Add to that my compulsive book buying and our house is filled, though nicely displayed, with books.

Sammy wrote: "Keli wrote: "Anyone a Dickens fan? Can you recommend a good second Dickens novel?"

Me! Memememe! I've read most of the novels now (just Barnaby Rudge and [book:The Mystery of Edwin Dr..."

Thank you! I will see if I can get the Richard Armitage version of David Copperfield.
I think part of my not reading Dickens was the perceived drudgery they would be. I've got some strange misconception about 19th century novels as being boring and slow. Why I think this? I've no idea because every novel I've read from that period has been fab. I love me some Jules Vernes and the horrors from then (Dracula excluded, that was boring). I also have an aversion to films from the 1970s. I will never choose to watch one. If someone else puts one on and asks me to watch it with them I will, but otherwise no. And yet, I invariably like them. I've really got to stop judging time periods. 😆

My first Dickens was surprisingly enjoyable. I cannot believe how invested I got at points. Dickens is wordy but, man, can he tell a story. I think I was unwittingly wise going with A Tale of Two Cities as my first.

Anyone a Dickens fan? Can you recommend a good second Dickens novel?

True to my style, I've purchased the book but haven't gotten past page 30. I'm going to give this ago in 2022. I can apply it to my cleaning out the closet challenge.

Donna wrote: "I will go with Vampire-Alien Madness for now. I can change it if someone comes up with something better."

Sorry, titles are not something I'm good at. Yours defo works.

Story is finished. Sarah is editing. So sorry it's down to the wire and that I gave you so much, Sarah. 😬😬

Just put my last book onto the Ss.

Thanks to all of you for making another great TT team. I've enjoyed it, no matter where we place.

Good luck to all of you partaking in AMMP's Mythology Madness. Go team Greek!

Sarah I'm giving it a go now.

Donna wrote: "Keli, we can use it for both the BOM and jackanory. Did you enter it on the BOM tab?"

No.🤦🏾‍♀️ I'll do that.

Also, i read Mort for BOM and answered three days of questions, but I don have any bom points showing. I know it's listed in the jackanory but if we use it for Bom and replace the jackanory, we'll get more points.
I'm about to add Real Life to the SS. It doesn't involve death collecting souls, but it does have a story about the devil getting you, winning souls if you let him in. And how thunderstorms are God's wrath. Ir might be a hood trade.

Thanks so much for your hardwork captains!
I'll help write the story but I won't be able to get to it until Saturday. Is this all finished by the 31st?

Winning is a bonus. I've enjoyed this and we've completed everything, that's what counts in my book.

Just finished Olive Kitteridge, meh. I love Strout's writing but the book wasn't Pulitzer material to me.

Sophie wrote: "The last book I read was Jade City which I had high hopes for but sadly thought it was a mediocre read. Oh well, not continuing with the series means 2 fewer books on my tbr."

😬😬I've got Jade city in my pile. Hmmm, i may bump it after reading this. I've had a series of mediocre reads, i want something fab.

DQ - Day 5
Start: Albert sat on his narrow bed..."


21. Wow, Albert has got quite the temper on him! The way he goes about ordering the wizards around and wanting to change the current ways of the Unseen University. Do you think the changes would have worked the way he intended, had he stayed? What do you think happened to Albert's staff though? Also, one has to commend the owners of the Drum though to have passed down a debt for generations.
I was not expecting such meanness from Albert. I didn't think the changes would stick, only cos I thought he would want to return to not aging back in the realm of Death.

22. Mort and Ysabell go on an adventure, and the changes in Mort seem to take root completely though Ysabell manages to snap him out of it. Somewhere down the line, the two of them have fallen in love. Did you expect this to happen? Do you think they are a good fit?
I didn’t expect it at all. When and where did it happen? Honestly, I was actually rather surprised. And I'm not sure they're going to be a good fit. Isn't she really like 60 or something. I don't have thr book anymore but did she say she been 16 for decades?! I maybe remembering it wrong.

23. For someone who doesn't actually feel emotions, DEATH seems a bit put out with Mort, and it culminates in a fight between DEATH and Mort. Would DEATH have killed Mort? Or was he always planning to turn the hourglass around and have the boy start over?
Honestly, I don't know. I thought the ending very strange. It felt at odds to the whole tone of the book. Was this all just a metaphor for trying to escape responsibility and become someone else, as this is what both Albert and Death were doing. I do think if Death had been serious he would've won. Besides a winning Death would have been even more at odds with the rest of the story. So, yeah, he probably would have been planning to turn it all along. But maybe not as he let a lot of people die, get wounded and/or have near death experiences for no good reason otherwise. I don't know.🤷‍♀️

24. What did you make of the ending? Was it a satisfying solution to the problem of a reality slightly out of whack? Mort tells DEATH that he has certainly learnt a lot while working as his apprentice. What do you think the most important lesson might have been?
I thought the fight weird but the wedding scene was okay. I've no idea what Mort learnt. Coordination, maybe.

25. Don't you just adore DEATH? *grin* Which was your favourite character or appearance in this book, and why?
Death was alright.

26. Did you enjoy this book? If you've read the previous month's BOM, Equal Rites, does it compare? Or not?
I gave this book 2.5 stars. It was silly, which I liked but that was about it. All the characters were pretty flat, except Death. The story was fairly dull. I liked Equal Rites better. Not sure Id read anymore in this series. I do have two others, so maybe but not soon.

I haven't fille in any of the jackanory slots with my books. Captains, would you all like for me to do that? Or would you prefer to input where you think appropriate.

Sarah wrote: "⚚♆ Cynthia ♆⚚ wrote: "Hi Team! For those of you that have read Mort, which justification can I add for the white horse? I am going to pick one of yours for the BINGO rather than waiting for me to f..."

🤦‍♂️lol I didn’t even think of that.

I still have one more day's questions to answer for bom points.

I managed to finish three books this weekend and two of them fit this challenge.

Magic for Liars and Blood Kissed.

I enjoyed Magic for Liars. It was a well written magical realism mystery. But Blood Kissed was so boring. Nice cover though.

DQs Day 2 - start: "Five minutes later, Mort was lost"
end: "Sooner or later, everyone remembered the magic word (p98)


Q6 - Mort walked through the walls a few times but couldn't when he tried to get into the castle. Why do you think this happened?He was too aware of it. Maybe the magic exists and liminal spaces open up only subconsciously

Q7- What do you think of Ingneous Cutwell's character?I think he's pretty brilliant. He's like a college student wizard.

Q8 - The Abbot has been reincarnated 53 times. The concept of reincarnation is an interesting one. If you were to be born again what life would you choose?

Q9 - Death sent Mort to reap three souls. In light of how he performed do you think Mort was ready for the job?Well, he'd have to go out at some point. I think he did alright, except for Keli. But 2 of 3 is pretty good.

Q10 - Mort found Ysabelle's handkerchief in the library. Why is she reading other people's life?Because she doesn't have much of one. She's stuck in a grey world with a skeleton supernatural father and an ancient butler. All she has are those books.

1. Mort is nothing if not determined. He refuses to give up on being a “prentice” until the last stoke of midnight. Then at the very last second, Death arrives for him. Do you think Mort was quick to take the apprenticeship perhaps from feeling humiliated at the days events or was it something that truly intrigued him? Would you have been willing to work for Death?
Honestly, I'm not too sure Mort thought about it very long. Though I do think it intrigued him.

2. Death has a sarcastic tone during this first section. What do you think of his fawning over Mort to ensure he gets new clothes and food and Death eating with him like a regular guy? Is he up to something sinister or does he just want to make Mort comfortable?
I can’t remember but I'm fairly sure he states that he is doing this as this might be the last time Mort truly engages with his mortal world. Well, in a normal way. So I guess he was trting to put Mort at ease.

3. Mort may be a bit gangly and lost in his own head at times, but he seems to have a lot of compassion. Upon realizing that he was talking to Death, he asked him to spare his Dad. Later he tries to intervene and warn the King that he was about to be killed and finally on that same trip he wanted to tell the King’s daughter not to trust the Duke. What did you think of all that? Are these normal reactions to someone who is the apprentice to Death? Do you think it will continue as Mort sees more and more of Death’s duty?


4. What is up with the constant utterance of “Mort” every time someone calls our MC anything other than Mort or Mortimer after arriving at Death’s House and meeting Yasbell? Is there some significance to this or is it just rather annoying?! Lol!
Lol. I'd hate to be called "the girl" or "the woman." So I can totally understand Mort's frustration. I'd be doing the same thing.

5. Mort, surprisingly, asked Death for an afternoon off. I think our dear Mort is growing up! He explains to Death that he wants to meet people for more than a few minutes. When he arrives in his own time and finds out where he is, he asks if he is near Sto Lat. He seems to have a plan when he says he wants a very fast horse. What do you think he intends? Will it work out like he plans?
He is totally going after the girl. I'm betting it will not work out as he hopes. I predict he's going to go through a series of calamities. Things don't work out for him