Angela’s Comments (group member since Mar 20, 2023)

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

A character does cheats, but since who does is spoilerish, I wasn’t sure I could use it without being specific.

Thanks so much for your understanding Jenny and Angie! I do not like committing to something and then not being able to follow through.
Regarding cats...mine has been staring under the bookshelf since 5 this morning (about 4 hours and I have no idea what is under there although I suspect its is a bug of some sort).
It bothers me too when the book does not match the link and I wish GR would get the poop together!

Just want to give an update on my June progress and what I hope to start/finish for first weekish of July. I just added a 400 page book I finished today to the spreadsheet and plan to start and finish another by tomorrow. I have about 250 pages left of 11/22/63, which should be completed by either tomorrow or July 1st. I will start Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah over the weekend for the Chipmunk task, but if someone else finishes a book for that particular task first, feel free to take it.
The books I have checked out of the library currently are Pretty Things by Janelle Brown, The Little Pieces by Jilliane Hoffman and Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead. Not sure if they will work for the new mini but maybe for later Chipmunks and spell out.
I did look over the rules and I think I understand the new mini. This will definitely require some communication.
Sorry I did make my book of 12 for June (should be 11 when I get my other 400 page one done), but will my ongoing cat issues and trip to Mexico reading has been challenging because my mental health (anxiety issues) have taken over! Ugh... looking forward to July.

Great! Thanks for the clarification Angie.

It looks like task 100 has a book that has over 400 pages. Should we use that for the page count rather than the Chipmunk if I am reading what we should be prioritizing. Similarly the book i slotted for the Angels task is over 400 but if I finish in June it should go to the June towers, right?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I am still working on 11/22/63 (chapter 18) and started another book on the plane ride here. Did very little reading as I am a very anxious flyer 😬. I plan to get some reading done in the next few days.

Thanks Jenny!

Just added Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah to the spreadsheet for Angel in title (#71) but I will not be starting it until later today, so if someone else finishes it before I do, feel free to take it.
I am also leaving for Mexico tomorrow morning for a wedding and will not be back until Wed, so I will not have access to the spreadsheet during that time. I do plan on reading while I am away as I started 11/22/63 but had the hardcover and my Libby loan finally came, which is great because that book is chonky!

DQs Day 3 - 17 June
Chapters 7 - 8

10) We find out more about Frank Dunning. He is portrayed as a smooth talker and good looking. Do you find this stereotypical of someone who will go on to murder most of his family? It always seems to be someone no one suspects. Jake's opinion of him obviously isn't very good. Do you think Jake would feel differently if he didn't know what Frank was going to do?
I think these behavior's of Frank's are typical of someone who can be abusive in some form or fashion. Would I assume someone like this would murder his entire family? No. People that are good looking and smooth talkers are known for getting away with some pretty egregious things because no one suspects them initially. Jake is going into this situation clearly biased because he knows the horrific outcome.

11) Jake plans how he is going to stop Frank. Would your thought process have been the same as Jake's? How would you plan to change the event?

I was thinking about Jake's situation as I was reading it and too was stumped as to the best way to handle the situation. I think Jake put a lot of thought into his plan, which was good because you do not want to go in without a plan and thinking of the consequences if you get it wrong. I don't know if I could kill him as Jake plans to do, but I also have no idea what I would do because perhaps I could be capable of it because I know that a lot of lives will be taken if I do not act.

12) There is something off about Derry. The place itself feels weird and the people act strange. Would you stay somewhere where you don't feel welcome? Would you investigate more into what was going on?

No! I would get the heck out of there as soon as I felt something was off and would not investigate more into what is going on.

13) Well, stopping Frank didn't go to plan but he did get stopped. What do you think the consequences of changing the event will be in the present, if any? Do you think he will go back and try again? If so, what do you think he will do differently?

I do think things will be changed, but not in the way he expects, so he will probably go back to try again. It was difficult to stop reading at this point because I wanted to know what happens once he gets back to present time. I do think he will try to say the entire family the next time.

Day 2 DQs
Chapter 4 - 6 or 18%

#5. How did you feel when you read Harry Dunning's essay? What would you have done if you had the power to enact change in the past?
This was a very difficult essay to read and I cannot imagine how Harry felt seeing/ hearing his family being murdered at the hands of his father. I would hope I would have to courage to be like Jake and want to go to change that traumatic event for Harry.

#6. Money is a big deal in any timeline. Would you be able to acclimate to the past in terms of financial transactions as well as Jake? Do you think Jake acclimated TOO quickly?
I often read books that are told before all the technology we currently have has been invented and I often have to remind myself that things were different back then when reading. I think I would probably mess up, although I am a pretty paranoid person, so I would probably overthink it casting suspicion on myself.

#7. Fashion is also an issue in the past. Do you think Jake is having an easier time of it because he is a man? What would be the most challenging fashion change for you to get used to? Is there something you would love to be able to wear?
Yes I think most fashion is easy for men. I am not big on being "on trend", so I would not really care about wearing something that was fashionable back in the day.


#8. There are a lot of interesting nods to older Advertising terms and slogans that King uses to help the reader recognize the timeline change of the past. Which one stood out to you the most and why?
As an ex-smoker (now quit for almost 5 years!!) the cigarette ads, especially making smoking appealing and cool.

#9. If you have read any past King novels, some of these chapters have a lot of connections to early books about Derry, Maine, and surrounding locations. Did you find any Easter eggs from previous stories? If you haven't read earlier King novels, what about Derry seemed to stand out as unique to you?
Since I am unfamiliar with King's other works, I would say that Derry reminds me of a town that seems to be suffering and on the downturn. Very unwelcoming and unappealing/ a creepy vibe to it overall.

Just finished Alien task (#63) and entered in spreadsheet.

Day 1 DQs: ch1- 3

1) I have only read a few of Stephen King's books. Is this your first book by the author or are you quite familiar with his storytelling?

I dnf'ed Lisey's Story many years ago and overall, I am not a fan of the horror genre. I have had this particular book on my tbr for many years, so excited to finally read it.

2) What do you think about the character Jake so far? Would you have gone along with what Al wanted and took the initial step back into the past, or would you have not humored him and tried to get him help?

I have no issue with Jake as a character and I am interested to get to know him better as the book moves along. I do not think I would have just jumped in with both feet like Jake did. I would have needed some questions answered first.

3) I am not sure how I would feel if I just stepped back into the past the way Jake and Al have, but I am really curious about how the time traveling works in this story. It seemed that Jake was somewhat calm about it. How do you think you would feel if it was you?

Time-travel is one of my favorite tropes/ sub-genre and I love seeing how different authors use this device. I do not think I would have been so calm about it as I struggle to go to different and new places in the current year.

4) I think it is clear that Jake is going to pick up Al's mission to try and stop the JFK assassination. Would you choose to continue Al's mission? Also how much do you know of the history surrounding this event?

I don't think I would choose to continue Al's mission because it is too much pressure to get it right and so many variables to factor in when changing the past (the butterfly effect), but I am really excited to read about it! I don't know a lot about the history surrounding this even, despite being American, but I am finding that learning the history of impactful events is much more interesting now that I am older.

Just finished Chipmunk #65 with You in title and added to spreadsheet.

Just finished chipmunk task of cardinal number in title- No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister.

Yay!! Glad so many of the books worked for new chipmunk tasks.

Just finished a chipmunk task and added it to the spreadsheet. It was read a book with MPG New Adult.

Just started a New Adult book today and put it on the spreadsheet.
Also trying to add a book I just finished (Secrets of a Shoe Addict), but for some reason that line is not formated for me. As of right now, it does not fit a chipmunk task.

Checking in! Sorry I have not been reading as much lately. Sunday my boyfriend decided to bring his cat to introduce to my cat (they did not actually meet: one was in the main house and the other in the sunroom) and my cat has been redirecting her aggression towards me once she realized another cat was on her territory. Needless to say, the entire ‘interaction’ did not go as plan and I am dealing with the fallout: lack of sleep, food and more importantly reading. I am not happy this was sprung on me without my input beforehand so also dealing with my emotions on that level. I had to sleep in a hotel last night since I feel extremely uncomfortable with her because she is unpredictable and she violently attacked me on Sunday. I apologize if is seems incoherent.
I did finish Lisa Unger’s Beautiful Lies if someone can add it to the spreadsheet. I do not have my laptop available to me. I think it only works for Crayola Towers. CFN: Ridley, Jake, Zack, Grace, Ben. Thanks!

I personally do not have many books on my TBR that are less than 250 pages. Some I do want (or could) read these books in June: Infinite Country, Nights in Rodanthe, or Luster. Hopefully they will fit future mini tasks.
I can do Saint X for X in title or TV show but if someone has a shorter book that’s fine for me. I do not have a big library at my home (maybe 35 unread books), so I depend on my village library and sometimes I need to request books from the inter library system and they unfortunately are not quick to get there (3 to 4 days).

My personal preference is to claim it either on the spreadsheet or thread, especially since they cannot be moved around. But am open to other ideas.