Cat’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2015)

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

Was .just worried about the lighter yellow making it not the 85%

Is that solid cover colour?
It's 118 pages

I think that works. Central European castle rather than classic English/ Welsh (or Japanese version), but castle

Verified, but I'm on phone so can you post and get a new spin please?

I've picked up another hard country book, but do also have Don Quixote to hand for Spain if we are so lucky!

TASK UPDATE

Mini Three
WW160 character eats sausage - claimed Cat
WW161 character plays football - claimed Stephie

WW110 character eats Sushi
WW111 cherry tree(s) and/or blossom(s) on cover - claimed Danielle
WW112 features a geisha
WW114 J
WW116 P
WW117 A


Mini One
Itinerary brand new! 2 medium & many hard countries welcomed!

Countries we CAN'T use are:
Albania
Bulgaria
Croatia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
Kuwait
Philippines
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Sri Lanka
Uruguay
Zambia

yup, got it now. GR is weird!

Day 4 DQs (Chapters 13 to 16)

13. There are multiple references to the snow and the mountain turning red. Scenes like this are for me a stark reminder of the brutality and bloodiness of war, rather than the romanticised glory of protection.

Is there a scene or a moment from your life you can pinpoint when the realities of war struck you the way it did Mamoru?

I've been lucky enough that no, I've no such moment. But there are plenty of cultural references that built up ideas. Firstly around the Holocaust (Anne Frank, Schindler's List) and then the trenches in WW1. Blackadder's final would be a standout there.

14. Misaki revealed herself as a fighter, and Mamoru revealed his abilities in blood manipulation to his uncle that he learnt from his mother. As the reader, how did you feel when these moments came about in quick succession in relation to Misaki?

It started shifting the weight of the book from Mamoru to Misaki.

15. Since the beginning, we are repeatedly told that the Matsuda family is powerful, important, etc. We get to see this over the battle as the two brothers join forces and create the Matsuda Dragon.

Powerful families put a lot of pressure on their children to carry on the legacy. We see this in Mamoru and Hiroshi, who at five years old is determined to do better than his peers at any cost. Do you think this is a practice that should be continued in today's day and age?

I think people should be encouraged to do their best, but in something that fulfills them, not in service to someone else's opinion or family expectation. But there's also a need to embed persistence in the face of failure or difficulty that is harder to do.

16. Well, this has been quite the bloody section. Takashi's last order to Mamoru, Mamoru having to order his master to leave him and his having to face all the enemy himself, Misaki desperately protecting her home, the killing of all these mighty warriors of the Sword of Kaigen...

What I'm wondering though, is that if such a bloody battle that spans across six chapters and 15% of the novel is in the middle of the story, what happens after? Do you have any predictions for what happens after this battle?

I presume more battles, and politics with the wider empire. But it's definitely gone a different way to what I expected!

Finished a book for a U spell out

squeaky cheese!

also the punchline to one of my favourite cheese-based jokes :)

(What did the cheese say to the mirror? "hallomi!")

Finished a Thailand book. It's short, but does finish an itinerary....

Teresa wrote: "Would this be enough of an umbrella? (it's in the umbrella stand beside the sword)

"

I see the umbrella furls when embiggening - all good :

Sally906 wrote: "Not sure if it can be counted but the book I posted on the SS a couple of hours back - Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen - fits the tea drinking - the MC and her 2 English friends dr..."

it was finished before we got UK. and in fact was essential fro finishing off NZ, with the Dora char :)

New Country!

WW1 Author born in UK
WW2 Red, White, and Blue found on cover
WW3 Character drinks tea
WW4 features a royal character
WW5 umbrella on cover
WW6 mentions the Beatles
WW7 U
WW8 N
WW9 I
WW10 T
WW11 E
WW12 D
WW13 K
WW14 I
WW15 N
WW16 G
WW17 D
WW18 O
WW19 M

on it like a fly on honey!

I picked up a short book set in Thailand - not sure if we should use it or not.

I've also got Don Quixote and Sword of Kaigen on the go, both big books, so I'm sort of switching between each to pace myself. I'll finish one of those two big ones before going back to a hard country, so my next hard country will probably be Sunday....

DQs Day 2: Chap 5 to 7

6. What do you think about the hierarchy of the villages and the Matsudos and Yukinos being the "rulers" of the mountain?

It's a very strange setup - this feudal way of life on the mountain with a high-technology world outside. The insular nature is not long-term sustainable, either

7. We get to know the history of the relationship between the Matsudos and the Kotetsus. Do you think this relationship / the Kotetsu family will play an important role later on in the story? If so, how?

I think that understanding how steel is made by introducing "impurities" to aid the strength will help Mamuro unlock his mixup of blood and pure ice magics to great effect

8. In chapter 6, we find out that Misaki was a real badass in her past. Was there anything that stuck out to you when getting to know her backstory? Something interesting, shocking, odd?

I was surprised that she was allowed to join the school given she acknowledged that she'd be married off in a relatively short timeframe. But I did enjoy seeing the different attitudes

9. The conversation between Misaki and Mamoru was heartwarming. Do you think we will see both of them side by side as warriors by the end of the book?

Hopefully!

Mini One- Countries!

We just need two more books to finish our current itinerary, one medium one hard

Can anyone who is reading / near finishing books intended for this mini shout out with countries and ETF (estimated time to finish!) please?

Thanks!

I see the track suit as red, also the roof. All good for red white and blue and yellow on cover

Can't get my hands on it beyond £££, so not currently.

fab! we'll pencil it in for born in China :)

I've updated our task progress in the post at the top of this page.