Laura’s Comments (group member since Nov 04, 2015)

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

Laura wrote: "I could be mistaken, and Aiswyra might yell me at me for misinforming everybody, but for the book cap here's what I believe is what happens..."

She wouldn't really yell at me. Just in case anyone thought I was serious.

I could be mistaken, and Aiswyra might yell me at me for misinforming everybody, but for the book cap here's what I believe is what happens.

We get to the end of the month. (June 16th I believe.). We have some books which have been moved to the spreadsheet because they have been used in a mini or a cheese spell-out. Those are automatically already books we're using for our Tower and the first books that count toward our cap. After that we'll look at each individual cap. So to use mine as an example, my cap is 35. Imagine I read 40 books by June 16th. And in this example, 20 books were already used toward mini challenges and can't be changed. So I have 15 more spots and 20 books to fill them with. We would take the 15 longest books. We would do that evaluation for each player's books. And if it turns out that anyone read under their cap, we would look at all the books left and use the longest of those.

I’m about to finish What the River Knows with Tio Ricardo. That would work for that R.

So now we just have Jacqueline’s Dairy Queen for India!

You can switch my Bahrain book.

This isn't a long list, but I figured before I go searching for a spa trip on my Kindle or on this list I would see if anyone else has one of these on their TBR:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Jacqueline wrote: "Laura wrote: "Jacqueline wrote: "I just finished Obviously: Stories from My Timeline by Akilah Hughes
I listen to the audio early this morning while I was working ..."

Thanks!

Discussion Questions Day 3

10. As we reach the halfway point I am seeing more and more similarities to the Amelia Peabody series. Is anyone else finding this. Does this affect your impression of the book?

I do expect her to come around a corner and run into Amelia at any moment. And because of these similarities I am comparing Inez to Amelia. And Inez does not come out favorably in that comparison.

11. We have been introduced to a number of Characters is there anyone that particularly stands out?

Not really. I don't like any of the characters.

12. We have been introduced to Isadora and her Father. Why do you think he doesn’t let her out of his sight?

I'm beginning to think she might be a flight risk.

13. Inez seems to be attuned to Cleopatra and sees some of her memories. If you could choose to see one memory of a historical figure whose memory would it be?

I don't think I can pick one.

Jacqueline wrote: "I just finished Obviously: Stories from My Timeline by Akilah Hughes
I listen to the audio early this morning while I was working on a class project."

Can you mark this one as read, please?

We got 2 new ones after I used a few banked books. If one you've read that hasn't been used fits one of these, let us know!

Read a book that covers multiple generations
Read a book with a body of water on the cover

Tricia wrote: "Oh, I just realized that I read it before the author from North Korea task was revealed, so it won't work for that one.

However, Robin's book The Burning by Tim Madigan is on the ALA's Office for..."

I actually posted in the captain's group about 30 seconds before you posted here saying that we should check her middle grade lgbtq books to see if any had been banned. I just got back home so I'll be right back with a new task.

Discussion Questions Day 2
Part One, Chapter 6 - Part One, Chapter 12

6. In this part Inez spends some time with Mr. Hayes. What did you think of their afternoon in Cairo? Did you enjoy their banter?

I did enjoy their banter. I really want him to be a good guy. Maybe an undercover agent of some kind?

7. After sensing familiar magic from an old trinket, Inez buys it and later has a vision of Cleopatra. What do you think this vision means? Do you believe Cleopatra’s burial site can only be found with Inez’s help?

I think there might be a magical connection of some sort.

8. Every now and then, the point of view shifts briefly to Mr. Hayes. Do you enjoy these moments from his perspective, or would you prefer the story to stay entirely with Inez?

I always enjoy other characters' POV.

9. Inez finds a letter from her mother, in which she suspects that Tío Ricardo is involved in illegal activities. Does this letter, along with the boat conversation Inez overhears, make you suspicious of Tío Ricardo? Or do you think he’s not responsible for Inez’s parents’ murder?

I don't know what he might be responsible for, but there's something shady there, for sure.

Hey team, when you are grabbing the link for your discussion posts for the BOM points, please refresh the page before you grab the link. Often, because of how many people are discussing, your post ends up on a different page than the one you are on when you post it. This makes the link not work correctly.

Am I making any sense? I don't know how to describe it differently, I just know that if your post is on a different page the link you grabbed doesn't work.

ETA: I have found the posts and fixed all links that are currently on the spreadsheet.

Discussion Questions Day 1
Prologue - Part 1 Ch 5

1. The first line is “A letter changed my life.” Would you say this was a good start, cheesy start, or are you indifferent?

It's not a bad start. It is a bit intriguing. I like it.

2. Why do you think Tio Roberto wanted to immediately send Inez back to Egypt without even seeing her? Do you think he’s hiding something? Or do you think it’s just typical of men at that time to dismiss young women and enforce them being chaperoned and taken care of?

I think he believes she will be in his way. Wether or not his actions will turn out to be nefarious remains to be seen. But I'm not sure I buy that he is a good guy.

3. The ring scene with Thomas Sterling was definitely outrageous; I felt Inez's outrage and all of her shock. Do you expect to see the ring later in the story? Any guesses to its significance?

I expect the ring to be a major plot point in the story. Probably not a guide/map because she was able to draw it accurately. So maybe a physical key to something they are searching for.

4. What do you think of the writing style and the pacing so far? Are you enjoying the lyrical, rich descriptions or do you prefer a more fast paced story?

I'm good with the pacing. I'm doing audio, and I listen at 2x speed, so that might make a difference in how it feels to me.

5. In Ch. 5 we see politics at play, and we can tell this is just the beginning. How do you think this will affect your enjoyment of the book? Will it enhance the story for you or will you feel bogged down by the details?

Politics in a story never bothers me. I love the intrigue!

Laura wrote: "All right, team. After going through all of our already read books, we need one O to complete this cheese spell-out. I looked at titles, authors, narrators if you shelved an audiobook, translators,..."

Actually, there's an O character in What the River Knows, right? I had placed that as an I, but we have Silje's Iron and Magic. I'll swap that around and then our spell-out points are safe.

Good past job reading for all those letters!

All right, team. After going through all of our already read books, we need one O to complete this cheese spell-out. I looked at titles, authors, narrators if you shelved an audiobook, translators, and the book description/details for characters. If you remember an O character and I didn't use your book for an O, please speak up. Books can still be moved around.

Aiswrya wrote: "Laura wrote: "Let me see what we've got in books that haven't been used yet. Does anyone remember a U character in one of your books?"

Yes! Ghost story- Uriel"

We ended up having a U author!

Let me see what we've got in books that haven't been used yet. Does anyone remember a U character in one of your books?

Jacqueline wrote: "@Laura Thank you for your assistance. I did not understand the book cap this is my first Towers challenge. I am trying to maximize my 10 books before the month of May ends. I am reading smaller boo..."

Tricia already cleared up the timeline, but I wanted to let you know that it does work for the Education tag. It has been tagged Education by 553 people.

I'm adding it to the spreadsheet for you now.

New task:

Read a banned book