Melindam’s Comments (group member since May 02, 2017)

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

Richard, you are still good for another 16 books before you reach your cap of 30 for this round. ( no pushin', just sayin' 😊)

Thank you. :)

We are "missing" a G-book from our current last-but-one word, if anyone has one that works, pls think about that slot going begging. Thank you. 😊

Hi Sana,

you have a different edition of Sleepy Hollow on the sheet and on your shelf. I presume the right one is the one on the sheet. Could you please fix it?

Thank you. 😊

Karen has added a new set of rows for another round of Gardening Mini.

Books finished from now on may be used, feel free to claim them.🥰

No need to apologise. Fantastic!!! :)

Awesome. :)

The A & T look promising, but there's also H, E & R and some other options we could work with. :)

Getting a doorstopper and finishing it for the next round would be great way to boost our points further. :)

I think we'll probably get our new word by the end of today (for some of us 2morrow morning ;)

Lisa,

please add any extra books you finish until the end of the round to the overflow tab.

This time the cap is rather strict, so overreading would only be considered by the Mods if a team loses a member or sth along that line, but thankfully you are a DreamTeam. :))

I agree about the cap being a good thing and gives all teams an even chance. :)

DQs Day 3
Ch 8 to 10

10.) Any guesses about "find the extra coffee cup and you can rest in peace"? Does that fact Lawrence found it indicate guilt or innocence do you think?
Hidden agendas. :)

11.) With books as old as this, some language/terms just do not age well and can be jarring to randomly come across in the text. Should language like this be censored/edited to match less offensive terms of the times (though not sure there is a correct way to say a lady dressed up in blackface). Or should they be left as is and used as a point of discussion on race/sexuality/class/gender/etc?
While I understand concerns, I'm against changing books in any way and dislike this development where people are pushing for this. Books are creations of their times and their authors were mortals with flaws, with opinions that may be outdated, but these were theirs. People should really just grow up and deal with this instead of expecting beds of roses.

12.) Lots happening in the section, arrests abound! Do you think John was arrested for his step mother's murder or for some other reason like Dr. B?
Skipping this as I know the answer.

13.) What do you think about our narrator and giver or random marriage proposals, Hastings?
Hastings is prone to such actions. :)) Cynthia and Lawrence were hinted at before, so that was not unexpected.

DQs Day 2
Ch 5-7

6. Poirot is concerned because Cynthia does not take sugar in her coffee and calls back to when he tasted all the coffees, but it’s never expanded upon. We later find out that the poison was likely administered in coffee and that it has a bitter taste that coffee could mask. Do you have any theories as to why Poirot put such importance on “Cynthia does not take sugar”?
He wanted her to turn out innocent, but somehow this suggested possible guilt on her side.

7. Witnesses have testified to overhearing an argument between Mr & Mrs Ingelthorp the day she was murdered — but Mr Ingelthorp claims they are mistaken. Do you believe he is truly the one who was having the argument, or do you have any other suspicions? Poirot certainly thinks he is innocent and claims to be able disprove the other claim (about him buying the poison) — does that sway you at all?
I thought he was lying when I read the book for the first time and that he was the one Emily Inglethorp argued with.

8. Most people seem to believe Mr Inglethorp is guilty (ESPECIALLY Evie), while Lawrence seems to believe the death came by natural causes, and Mr. Inglethorp doesn’t seem to have any theories at all except to believe it was murder but never pointing fingers at a suspect. I have to admit, I expected more finger-pointing from this group! Have any characters’ reactions so far stood out as peculiar to you?
Lots of red herrings, obviously, but this was AC's first book, she was just getting it all into her stride. :)

9. One of my favorite things about mysteries is trying to figure out what happened before it’s revealed. Are you trying to solve the murder, or would you prefer to be surprised by the eventual reveal? Do you feel like you’re usually good at solving the mysteries, or do they evade you?
With Agatha Christie I don't remember ever having guessed the murderer right, but in her books there is so much else to enjoy: the characterisation, motives, setting, so for me guessing it right is secondary importance as long as it is a clever mystery.

DQ Day 1
Chapters 1 - 4


1. The first few chapters set the scene for this (first) instalment of Hercule Poirot. What do you make of the various characters we are introduced to? Especially "Alfred dearest" whom everybody seems to dislike. Do you agree with Mrs Howard that they're all only interested in the money? Do you agree with Hastings that they're all somewhat suspicious?
It is Agatha Christie after all, so even those who are seemingly innocent have some hidden agenda. :)
Alfred dearest IS a shady character and AC was using the xenophobia card, making him foreign-looking.

2. A murder has occurred! Anyone want to venture a guess at this stage as to who has done it? And was it really death by poison? Or is Dr. Bauerstein's expertise in the matter and the fact that Mrs. Inglethorp suffered from severe convulsions in front of practically the entire household merely a red herring?
Skipping this as I have already read the book, but I did not guess it the 1st time I read the book.

3. There was an argument the day before the murder between the late Mrs. Inglethorp and an unknown person, potentially Mr. Inglethorp. What might this have been about?
I thought that it was about cheating.

4. What might Mrs. Inglethorp not have wanted to show Mary Cavendish that resulted in the latter feeling somewhat peeved?
Skipping this.

5. Are you enjoying the narrative so far? I assume I don't have to ask if this is your first Christie book? It seems like most everyone has read at least one of her books, or has seen an episode or two of the tv adaptations.
I enjoy it and appreciate it more this time around, though it is not a favourite AC of mine, and I have read it all.

Gardening Mini ALL tasks have been claimed.
- only 2 books are pending

Admin Mini - Unclaimed Tasks
the main character works in an office
typical administrative material on the cover
the main character works in taxes
someone is murdered in an office
the plot revolves around white-collar crime

Feeding Mini - Unclaimed Tasks
potato in text
rice in text
pasta in text
bread in text
chicken in text
fish in text
lentil in text
broccoli in text
carrot in text
pumpkin in text
yam in text
bean in text
okra in text
tomato in text
cucumber in text
apple in text
banana in text
pepper in text
sugar in text
spice in text
Mexico *5 tags
France *5 tags
India *5 tags
Thailand *5 tags
Korea *5 tags
Turkey *5 tags
Nigeria *5 tags
Jamaica *5 tags
Bangladesh *5 tags
Hawaii *5 tags

Richard wrote: "It worked for fish, lamb & grape. I figured Grape might be harder to find in other books."

Great, thank you. 😊

Thank you.

if it doesn't work, I'll swap it with Kat's non-fiction book. Hers has "bread", "salt" and "sugar" in text.

Richard,

I'm so sorry, but we won't be able to use your Xuanzang: China’s Legendary Pilgrim and Translator for the tagged 5x China task. 😪

It's clear that it's a book about China, but for this instance MPG is not acceptable and because only a very few people has marked this book as read here on GR, we are unable to establish the actual number of tags (and we tried every trick we knew of). I'm sorry. 😪

Could we use it for one of the food items instead?

Audrey,

I have moved up your G-book (The Gathering) to the 2nd fixinG appliance word, same spot. :)

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Melindam wrote: "I hope it works for that one, Lisa. :))"

Pretty sure it will, there is already mention of Wills and burnt fragments of letters so it sounds promising."

I've read it like twice already (shame on me) and I can certainly recall paperwork as being important, but I cannot pinpoint my vague memories 100%.

So a reread is certainly justified. 🤭

I will listen to the audiobook this week.

Otherwise I need to reshuffle my reading a bit as this week is the heaviest workwise. Financial annual reporting in the EU is tough, fits our main theme and the admin mini perfectly.

I will be able to do short reads, but will move my 600+ pager for the next round, once we have our new word.

I hope it works for that one, Lisa. :))

Books finished from now on may be used from a new round of Feeding Mini!


Fantastic Teamwork!!!

I have updated the tracking sheet, the new codes start from F46.