Beth’s Comments (group member since Aug 12, 2014)

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

I'll keep reading my forest book, since it was also written before 1980 (Card 5 -- 20+ years old) and so can also back up Plethora, who has the last book for Card 2 and is probably concentrating on that. If I finish it early we can stick it in either of those spots.

Carmen also has a heavy load -- Sheila, do you have author whose initials are in ALKA, book written in the year you were born, or one of the first 4 books on your tbr list?

Last night I pulled a forest book to back up Erin, but I can go back and hunt for one of those others if you cant find them. I know I don't have the tbr books on birth year on hand, but I could probably find the initials one.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Paperback: 416 pp
Rating: 3 stars
Finished: 10/15/16

Foreign country book for Card 3

I put in another English book. At book club tonight I suddenly noticed that our book was set in England. So I used the book club book for Erin's spot.

I've got a kid's book with a forest on the cover that I could read tomorrow, Erin. If you haven't marked that one as started by the time I wake up I'll pick that one up. I'm not sure which two you were planning to finish, and I think I only have a distant series book on the spreadsheet.

Erin, do you need someone to pick up your foreign book? Because I could totally read another Daisy Dalrymple tonight!

Now that we have a stash of cash we should probably save new banked books until we need more. That way with luck we'll have some rapid card turn-over.

Nursing Homes Are Murder by Mike Befeler
Hardback:261 pages
Finished: 10/14/16
Rating: 2 stars

Mountains on Cover for Card 3

I finished my -ing book and found something with mountains on the cover. I think it's also #6 in a series but I think we need to get some cards done. We are almost done with most of them!

A Mourning Wedding by Carola Dunn
Kindle: 280 pp
Rating: 4 stars
Finished 10/13

For Card 2 -- suffix -ing

It's also a series #13, but I think the bird in the hand now is better.

Sheer Folly by Carola Dunn
Kindle: 354 pages
Finished: 10/12/16
4 stars

For Card 5 -- book set about 100 years in past (set in 1920s)

We'll need lots of lower level series books, since we have to read them for each new level! So don't worry if most of them are fives or under, we'll still probably get to use them.

I'd say our first priority is to get our weapon up to level 4, which is almost there. If you finish a book, push it up as far as possible on the spreadsheet -- if I finish a third in a series today (unlikely, but remotely possible) and Ang isn't finished yet, I'd steal her spot and slot her in on a level further down.

After that, we should concentrate on cards, which give us experience and STUFF. We want rapid turnover and lots of loot :-). So that's where the fast readers should concentrate. If you are reading a book that won't be done for a week, I would hold back on putting it in until a day or do before you are done. With luck it will fit somewhere else, or is a series book, and worse case it's always good for gold.

So Sheila, as you are the fastest reader, I'd say you should look at the cards and see which ones you can finish. Maybe help Erin with some of the stuff on card 3? She's got a hefty 3 books to read. Or card 4 is almost done.

If we complete a card, we get a new one, and it might be a monster. That's when our weapon matters. Cards give us experience, which also helps.

Does that make sense, strategically? Of course, sometimes life intervenes. Right now I'm reading a book for book club. It's first in a series but otherwise doesn't fit anywhere. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

So, how do we level up our weapon?

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
NOOK: 283 pages
4 stars
Finished: 10/12/16

Banked

He's adorable, Sheila. So alert already!

Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn
(Daisy Dalrymple #1)
Paperback: 240 pages
Finished: 10/10/16
4 stars

1st in series. (Also foreign country, set about 100 years ago)


Dead In The Water by Carola Dunn
Kindle: 185 pages
Finished 10/10/16
4 stars

6th in series (also foreign country, 100 years in past)

Congratulations to you and your daughter, Sheila! What happy news!

ETA
(Wait, dissent and distress are different words, nevermind.)

ETA (again)
from Online etymology dictionary:
distress (n.) Look up distress at Dictionary.com
late 13c., "circumstance that causes anxiety or hardship," from Old French destresse, from Vulgar Latin *districtia "restraint, affliction, narrowness, distress," from Latin districtus, past participle of distringere "draw apart, hinder," also, in Medieval Latin "compel, coerce," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + stringere "draw tight, press together" (see strain (v.)). Meaning "anguish, suffering; grief" is from c. 1300.

So maybe?

--- Hey, I'm really enjoying this Daisy Dalrymple series. Short, fun, and easy to knock off in a few hours. So of course I look for any chance to use them :-) But Damsel in Distress is #5, so it would fit in as a series book anyway. The Suffixes are all later in the series, so probably aren't going to find homes on the weapon upgrade list.

And if anyone wants me to roll a big die for you (Card 1-4), I've got 4 sided, 6 sided, 8 sided, 10 sided, and 20 sided dice. Probably also a 100 sided one, but that's a large series.

Looking at prefixes and suffixes, and more excuses to read all those Daisy Dalrymples, I've got:

Prefix:
Dis- (Damsel in Distress)

Suffix:
- er (Fall of a Philanderer)
- ed (Anthem for Doomed Youth)
- ing (Mourning Wedding)

For example, Card 1 has a "HEAL" but should we wait to use it until we get damaged? We didn't get any cards with monsters on them so I'm not sure we can get hurt? All the other cards are potions we can stash.

I think we can level up our weapon twice, since we have Levels 1 and 2 done.