MelanieJoy’s Comments (group member since Apr 26, 2016)

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

Woohoo!!

I will be slower this week too as my parents are in town but they leave June 1. We have until June 15 to get the BOMs done, correct? Not May 31?

Best of luck Kamaria!

definitely captain hook! But I do love this show and they're both great.

Aaaahh Chris Pine!!! He's been my favorite actor since I was like 15 or whenever the Princess Diaries 2 came out... my love always and forever!!

I volunteered for Starling House; would love to volunteer for the Wishing Game but I don't think my library copy will make it in time for the read

I'm in for the Capitol for DQs!

That one looks like my kind of book Laura!! I’ll add it.

Thanks Preeti! I'll put this one on my list! She never disappoints, I'm constantly enjoying her writing. Even the romance novels are really good; often the romance part is in the background, and the story/plotline takes priority! You should try The Corinthian if you haven't yet.

Karl Urban!!! **swoon

Preeti wrote: "Book: The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
Date Read: May 18


Preeti I love Georgette Heyer! What did you think of this one?

question - for defense, I read a book about unlikely superheroes, and they're working to save the city from a blackout and becoming an EMP, and they have powers. The book already has a blue cover, but would "defenders" work under defense?

So if we could go back in time and I can get a vote for Day 2 - Christian Bale please!

But with Kilt Day definitely Gerard Butler!!!

Jumping in from the capitol

And this is why I don’t volunteer for captain…

Thanks Laura! will do!

Finished Book 1 -

What's interesting to me is the overall feel that the Capitol is truly in control, outside of the berries scene. It makes the events sequence in the following books all the more real and drastic.

The ending was heartbreaking for me. In literature you don't usually see the girl breaking the boy's heart (or at least I don't), and you could truly feel Peter's heart breaking and closing up through the writing. And I think Katniss musings on it were mostly valid, except remember Katniss you feel only platonic things towards Gale? Like why is it even a question? Is it just because he's too close? Or because you DO recognize that Gale has feelings for you? But yeah, now I'm on pins and needles for the second book!

Melindam wrote: "I have not been into this Dystopia kind of fiction, but it seems like it was a conscious decision on Collins part to make Katniss as unlikeable as possible, maybe to bring home the fact even more w..."
This is a good thought! I remember not liking her very much at all, and not really understanding what drove her. This discussion about her background and her constant battle against starvation and receiving little love outside her family (except for her exchanges at the Hob and with Gale) really helps the second time around. I also remember her saying that she felt nothing romantic for Gale, which is I remember not being team Gale.

I borrowed the books from my high school library when I was a senior. That was maybe 15-16 years ago? I have only read the books once and until last year I had only watch the movies once, but they were put on a new streaming service and I got through all of them. So the story feels fresh in my mind, but reading the specific that Collins wrote in, a lot of her descriptions are striking me for the first time, like the description of Cinna, Katniss' memories of her father and being taught by him, and even the mental health struggles that her mother went through.

The line that struck me this time was her mom saying something about now having the medicines as an apothecary and that helping her stay in control. I forget the actual words she used, I'm about 50 pages farther now.

You guy are right, this book goes fast! I remember reading it in one or two days back then, but it really does go quickly even with all the detail scenery descriptions. In my opinion that's the mark of a good writer and a good story!

woohoo! i finished my book yesterday so i can start all new now!

one more conversational question from me before we get started:

What's your top book or book that you would recommend from 2024 and why?

For this group that looks like they love fantasy, my recommended read from this year so far would be The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso. It starts a trilogy. The world building is really decent, and it's an underrated fantasy series. Some sections are slow going, and I'll admit I liked book 2 better than book 1, but it's got some great elements and ideas that it tackles, and I love how she handles character building and character dynamics. I think most of you would like it.