Teri-K’s Comments (group member since Mar 16, 2025)

Teri-K’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Team Maximus:

I got so intrigued by Falls the Shadow that I just kept reading till I finished it. :) No obvious goal.

580 pp; by Sharon Kay Penman;
letters in title=14; page #s=13; first pub 1988; #Chap. 42, Prologue & Afterward;
Blue with gold letters, knights, horses, weapons on cover;
genre fiction, historical, medieval;
Char. names Elen, Owain, Gwladys, Llelo, Simon, Isabella, Alice, Joanna;
Setting England & Wales; Series #2;
Text starts with "They"
Lots of people die, some of them important, some natural deaths some murdered or killed in battle.

Mini Challenge words: Morning star and mangonel
"Mansel had just murmured a prayer over a dying soldier, all the while clutching a morning-star mace…" pg 194
"Simon kept the defenders distracted with a relentless barrage from mangonel and trebuchet." pg 257

Team Maximus: (Sorry, I forget to say that sometimes.)

So last night I had insomnia really bad, and grabbed my Kindle. I thought I was reading the book with the bicycle on the cover but it turned out not. lol So I've finished this book, not for a goal:

The Doubtful Marriage, 224 pp; by Betty Neels;
letters in title= 19; page #s= 8; first pub 1987; #Chap. 9;
Green, wheelbarrow, oranges on cover;
genre romance;
Char. names Matilda, Tilly, Rauward;
Setting England, Holland;
Pet Dickens;
Text starts with "The", contains artichoke;
Important character (her uncle) dies, bomb explosion with multiple deaths, MC's Dr. & nurse.

We can always use more attack points, right? :)

❀Tea❀ wrote: "ok :)

I was also thinking of starting next In Death book on audio. Roarke is always hacking to get data for Eve. Not to mention McNab :)"

I hadn't thought of that series, but you're right. There's a lot of serious hacking going on in those books. :)

That's one of the advantages of a great team. I'd stare at a lot of these goals thinking "no way". But someone always has an idea.

I've finished Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, 224 pages. Since she's on safari she encounters elephants several times, for "book with an elephant".

I started a book with a bicycle on the cover last night, too.

I finished The Charm School, 408 pages, for Goal 3 - Main location South America. It primarily takes place in Brazil.

Also, you can put me down for "bicycle on the cover". I have several possibilities for that one.

I love how challenges change what I notice about books. Not only do I now focus on pet's names, but the people I read about no longer just eat "something". Now I'm always looking for artichokes, asparagus and chamomile tea. Not to mention leeks. :)

Denise wrote: "Updated it! I figured I probably missed a couple that people mentioned they were reading for. Sooo many posts! ;)
"

Thanks for updating! It's got to be messy to do, but it helps us know where our books are most needed. I suspect we owe our great showing so far to our hard working Captains. :) As well as lots of busy readers.

Eldarwen wrote: "Sorry for being absent today, but had a major headache for most of the afternoon/evening so I stayed away from scrolling around here and switching between a million spreadsheets ;-)

I've been lyin..."

I hope your head's better. :)

Team Maximus: I've finished a book that I don't think fits a current goal.

Tomb of the Golden Bird, 317 pp; by Elizabeth Peters;
letters in title= 19; page #s= 11;
first pub March 28, 2006; #Chap. 11 & Afterword;
Gold, bird, gold/orange writing on cover;
genre mystery, historical fiction, humor, thriller;
Char. names Radcliffe, Amelia, Nefret, Charlotte, Kadija, Jumana, Evelyn;
Setting Egypt;
Series #18;
Text starts with "Ramses", Two people die, Spies, Author died 2013.
Forgot it has poetry in the text, and quotes Shakespeare. (Almost forgot it quotes from one of my favorite Tennyson poems. lol)

Can we use "bombarded" for "bombard" in the mini challenge? I have "The sheer abundance bombarded her senses" in my South America book.

I found a book on the pb rack at the library that is set in Brazil. So I can take "Book set in South America". With Karen taking "author from South America" that will help a little. :)

Why can't we get "Read a book you got for free" over and over? lol Practically everything I read is free, and I suspect I'm not the only one. :)

Allison Ann wrote: "Thanks Teri. I went to message 3 and saw no spreadsheet at all. I seriously need to sleep one of these days. If we need the weapon then I don't mind reading it, might take me a couple of days th..."

I'm not a mod, but my understanding of the game means a sword should work just fine, and that's definitely a sword on the cover. The weapons can be repeated within a team as many times as you need up to a total of five. So a sword should be great.

I have chronic insomnia, so I can really sympathize with a lack of sleep and how hard it makes it to focus on details. :( I hope you'll sleep better really soon.

OK, I'm reading a book the has "Welsh longbow", which according to Wikipedia, is another name for "English longbow". But they probably won't let us interchange the two, will they?

ETA - It also has trebuchet, mangonel and morning star. If we still need them by the time I finish. It's a great book, but none of Sharon K Penman's novels are what I'd call quick reads. :)

Allison Ann wrote: "Perhaps I'm just stupid from exhaustion, but I can't for the life of me find where we are keeping track of the mini-challenge. I found a book with a sword on the front, but quite honestly if Juba ..."

It looks to me like Juba can still use three weapons found on the cover. You have to go to message 3, click on the spreadsheet, and look on the left hand side. :)

But whether you read a book you're not in the mood for, that's another question entirely...

It's fun to log on in the morning and see so many goals finished while I sleep. :) I've finished The Hermit of Eyton Forest, 224 pages, for tarot card The Hermit in Title or Text.

I can go to the library today and look for something "set in South America", if you want to put Karen's book down for "author from SA". That will cover two of those goals. (I might stumble on something set in Central America, but that doesn't seem as likely.) I'll report in when I get back.

Denise wrote: "New Xena goal: Read a book with the main genre (listed on the first page on GR) as Spiritual"

I can read a book for that goal again.

I've finished Garment of Shadows first published Sept. 4, 2012. It was quite good. :)

I've finished Journey of Hope, for Goal 19--Spartacus--: Read a book about someone who is extremely religious. The MC is a woman who goes to Liberia in the 1920's to be a missionary to cannibals, so I think she qualifies. :)

That is a great list - lots of choices. Now if only there was one for "pet names that start with J". :)

Thanks for reposting goals. I have finished "character name starts with X" and that goal has changed to "book that contains an elephant". So we have two elephants now. :) (I know several books I can read for elephants, and I suspect others do, too. It's not one of the harder goals, I don't think.)