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

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

Sammy wrote: "also, there have got to be a gazillion books with squirrels on the cover. I just can't think of a single one 😂"

I think I instantly cast squirrel (and pigeon) based covers out of my mind on the basis that they are foul fiends! (yes, a red squirrel is not a foul fiend, but I'm no Lexi, able to identify animals from slim pickings on a cover, so I err on the side of caution!)

Sammy wrote: "Oh, springs to mind!"

That's a great call too!
(yes, totally ignoring the creature feature horror suggestion!)

oh! oh! have you read any of T Kingfisher's Saint of Steel books? I think they have rats, and are just wonderful


horrific to say, but the concatenation of love + rat nudged me!

First two are cishet romances, the last is MM. all are mid-years, damaged people and there's very little fake miscommunication to drive the stories.

I'm reading which has wasps on it.

Also The Secrets of Hartwood Hall - Hartwood is compound word (Hart = deer / Wood = small area of moderately dense tree plantings) - this is 352 pages, so fits two.

Circus and CP / PC initials not to hand though

or! ooooh! is there a small team challenge where using books published 2+years ago get more points? hmmmmm..... thoughts and ideas!

Sammy wrote: "You know, I originally joined team challenges to motivate me to get through my tbr...

I don't think I've been able to read a single book from my tbr for several of them! 😂"

Sometimes you need to NOT take one for the team!

That said, I really enjoyed some of the new books I was pushed to find in Towers - esp the Tallest Towers tasks.

Maybe I should add TBR-busting tasks to our bin of ideas.
like..... "Read a book published at least 3 yrs ago that you already own"

Sammy wrote: "80% is still pretty awesome! Enough to put you ahead of the dreaded line this month?"

I should be well clear of the Line of Shame, yup! :D

and am planning on reading some more from the Closet this month, so that I'm not panicking in December, which is the norm for me!
Hopefully the Wheel will be helpful there, and not force me to hunt down new shinies!

overacheiver!

I was chuffed to be at 80% of my target, having just finished , which was fine - a bit too much pining for the teen boyfriend, and I feared for the dreaded love triangle (not to mention the fact that the MC was not immediately killed seemed to rely on a love-at-first-sight from the potential love triangle point, and a lot of VERY unsubtle "covert" shenanigans)

189 pages
160 pages

Current total: 1,392,770

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DQs Day 1 - 16&17 Sep: Vol One

1.) Some of the set up of this book reminds me of Rebecca and Jane Eyre with a dash of The Tennant of Wildfell Hall. Did you get those vibes and is that a good thing or a bad thing for you?

Bit of Turn of the Screw too!
Yup, all about the gothic vibes....

I did think the titles of the books mentioned in the text were interesting: very feminist, and with hiding / chasing being a theme.

2.) What do you think is going on with the staff at Hartwood? Everyone seems to either be hiding out there or at least sitting on a pack of their own secrets. Do you think Susan will get her comeuppance?

Oohh... Susan's a strange outlier compared to the rest of them. The "senior" ones clearly know more about Mrs E than she's let on to Margaret so far.

3.) Mrs Eversham. What do you think her business is that she keeps leaving for stretches of time? Do you think it's just her writing? Do you think her husband and daughter are actually dead?

It's something more than jsut "business". Whether the dad and daughter are still about (is she a runaway wife, escaping and hiding from him?) I do not know - enjoying the ride more than wanting to speculate!

4.) Margaret. Do you like her? What do you think she's hiding? Do you think she actually killed Richard, if so for what reason?

I like her. I doubt she's actually killed him, but he's not coming over as anything other than a stinker of a man.

5.) Are you enjoying the book so far? Guesses for what's really in the East Wing?

I am! The uncovered room is strange - someone being hidden in there? but whether with Mrs E's knowledge, or just Mary (do I mean Mary - the ghost-believing maid) hiding someone?? I very much doubt that it's the daughter.

289 pages
400 pages
169 pages

Current total: 1,391,717

Hurrah!

I'll split it into 3 parts, Judith first up, me second, you last. and allow two days per part. Precise breakdown this evening

384 pages

Current total: 1,387,589

currently reading:
There's barbed wire on the cover - in her body - if you are all OK with that. is 400 pages. not found an instrument yet, but not into the swing of that yet - time to warm up?!

Christina wrote: "Wait you said Oct 7 WHY OCT 7 THAT'S SO FAR AWAY *throws temper tantrum*"

But that's when it starts.... Sign ups will be soon(er)

Judith wrote: "
The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell

'Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We're going to ..."

just finished this, and it is about as much fun as you'd expect from de Castell! I listened to the audio, and adore the narrator. Which is also to say: I very much hope this doesn't win!

When an army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist becomes humanity's last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor new space opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.

Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards--ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine.

But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens--the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus's swan song becomes humanity's encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their pilots dedicated to saving humanity.

When everyone is watching you can run, but you can’t hide…

2051. Marlow and her mother, Floss, have been handpicked to live their lives on camera, in the closed community of Constellation.

Unlike her mother, who adores the spotlight, Marlow hates having her every move judged by a national audience.

But she isn’t brave enough to escape until she discovers a shattering secret about her birth.

Now she must unravel the truth around her own history in a terrifying race against time…

An explosive and unsettling novel set in the near-future, perfect for fans of Station Eleven, Black Mirror, The Circle and Friend Request.

395 pages

Current total: 1,385,144