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

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

Same, Sophie. well, 800 pages, but soooooo annoying.

yup: dogs tagged 32 times :)

I've popped in a yellow text book, so that's #3 covered. just need a shortie to finish it (though not in a hurry if Mel's not picking up the book till next week)

by my Poverty Safari is missing the K. pesky pesky letters!

Finished the Devourer.

did a foolish, and respun:

Hound of the Baskervilles
1 100-150
2 Tagged "dog" (5 or more times)
3 Bright yellow or green text on cover
4 BASKERVILLES in title (any order)
5 "Phosphorus" in text


feel free to hate on me!

New spin

100-250 pages

reading:
listening: Hazard, by Richard Marx

link: the character in the song feels poor (certainly disenfranchised). also: being poor is a hazard (sorry, that sounds more flippant than I mean)

Danielle, what are you going to read when you run out of Anita Blake? I'm amazed at your commitment in getting through them!

grabbed three of ROPEN, witha possibility of the "goes out at night" as I read.

As for next wheel? Entirely up to the spinner which they go with I reckon :)

I've started a south asian tagged book, so we can get rid of the long hanging about one.

New monster:

Joffrey (Game of Thrones)
1 500 to 650
2 MC is royalty
3 Title starts with a letter in CROWN
4 Gold item on cover
5 More than one death in the book

oh! Sammy, doesn't your Vaudeville book have a crescent moon inside the pentangle on the cover? (aka, get out of my space and fill in the moon on cover! - I'm pretty confident there's going to be some sort of chase. I've already had two characters in the air ducts!)

little blurb text, black, check!

I'll put it in for 1 & 3, waiting on #4 in case Sophie or Mel object to "mystery thriller" rather than the vanilla "thriller" :)

I'm reading this which is
1. 384 pages
4. Mystery Thriller MPG - we happy with this?
5. two arms on cover

2. possibly - not far enough through to be 100%
3. white stars. not sure if the title is black? thoughts?

could be a one-fer

Jenny wrote: "Fingers crossed that Prophet Song is out in the US by then!!!!!
The publisher is rushing the release, but I don't know the date yet."

looks like 22 Dec. fingers crossed!

Sisters of the Snake by Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua

A lost princess. A dark puppet master. And a race against time—before all is lost.

Princess Rani longs for a chance to escape her gilded cage and prove herself. Ria is a street urchin, stealing just to keep herself alive.

When these two lives collide, everything turns on its head: because Ria and Rani, orphan and royal, are unmistakably identical.

A deal is struck to switch places—but danger lurks in both worlds, and to save their home, thief and princess must work together. Or watch it all fall into ruin.

Deadly magic, hidden temples, and dark prophecies: Sisters of the Snake is an action-packed, immersive fantasy that will thrill fans of The Crown’s Game and The Tiger at Midnight.

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

A feminist Guardians of the Galaxy—a smart, swashbuckling, wildly imaginative adventure of a rag-tag team of brilliant misfits, dangerous renegades, and enhanced outlaws in a war-torn future.

A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she's trying to outrun those who are trying to steal her success.

In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.

The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider--until Vivian arrives. Trapped between the Pride, a ravening horde of sentient machines, and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.

A magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson.

Posts for token:

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQ Day 4 Chap 32-45

15. We finally see Martha start college! Before she goes in, she starts to question herself and it's Mrs. Bowden who gives her a pep talk to actually go. Would you need a pep talk to restart college again? Can you sympathise with Martha and what emotions & memories college brings up for her?

I can empthaise, yes. It's hard going back to a different way of using your brain and engaging. Loved Madam B's pep talk!

16. The book brings one of the darkest parts of Irish history to the forefront with the Mother & Baby Homes. If you knew about them, do you think this was an accurate portrayal of the institutions? If you hadn't heard of them previously, how did the cruelty from the staff to the women make you feel?

I can believe it was accurate, both as a mental institution and as a mother & baby "home" for fallen women. I wasn't shocked, cos I've seen the film The Magdalene Sisters, which was pretty harrowing, and read The Woman They Couldn't Silence - about US mental institutions.
I found it hard to believe that her brother still cared about what she was up to, especially given her change of name.

17. Henry ends up coming back to Ireland looking for Martha after leaving to end his engagement. Henry finds out that Martha never got his note. Would you accept this explanation?

Probably. Though the whole reactions from Martha are just odd. She sees him at the beach and immediate kisses him? and then has a hissy fit moment?

18. Opaline's baby was taken from her before she was able to even see or hold the baby because the child was born with the cord around her neck. Do you think the poor child is dead or that they lied to Opaline?

I think they lied. Is Martha a descendant?

19. While in the asylum, Opaline shows a lot of compassion and empathy with the other women. Do you think over time she'll lose yourself and become hardened?

Nope. She's been portrayed as having a load of resilience (go Dad!) and the total golden glistening heroine, so getting a glow down now isn't going to happen!

@Christina Q7: The Wayward Children series is your classic portal fantasy, not magical realism

DQs Day 3: Chapters 23 - 31

10. Armand pops up again twice in this section, revealing his true colours at the end. What do you think is the purpose of Armand in Opaline's story? especially as he has been a pivot point for her life many times.

I think he's probably doing a number of things, one of which is propelling plot points. but also he's there to say something about insta love and how that can be bad / unhelpful if viewed as love not lust. and that a person can be good to you (rescuing Opaline from her brother's plot) and also not good (after sex and whatever glory he can luck into). Which is I guess supposed to be a contrast with Henry?

11. Henry has a revelation or two in this section. What do you think of his approach to building a relationship with Martha? and his father?

He's more than a bit annoying here, especially with regards to Martha. The doorstep note, the general passiveness. His conversation and realisation about his father does seem to have shaken something loose, so maybe he'll actually communicate now!

12. Martha luckily escapes from abusive Shane with no comeback to her externally, and in a pretty passive fashion (the house / Madam B / drunkenness puts paid to him, and then Madam B finagles a clear up). Why do you think the author chose this route rather than give Martha a more active role in finally freeing herself?

I did feel like this was a bit of a cop out, especially after Martha had done so much to get away from him. She didn't even really get to say a hard no to him before he was deus ex machina-ed down the stairs. and magical house/bookstore is not a good answer!

13. We've two different treasure hunts going on - for a lost book in 1920s and for a lost bookshop now. Are you more invested in one - which and why?

I'm not really invested in either. I was slightly more in the book until it was suddenly "Emily Bronte's writing about an Irish location" As if! That completely pulled me out of it

14. If you were inventing a lost book, who would you pick as the author?

hmmmm.... despite asking this, I don't know.