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

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

@Lexie - can you please add a read date to Love on the Brain?

Did you guys ever officially post your 10th book to our thread? I don't see anything, and I would hate for it not to count on a technicality.

Sorry. I should have posted this earlier. Battle Round starts in just under 3 hours. Books must be started after the countdown hits zero.

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Day 4 - Chapters 26 - 34

15. We get to see what happened to Clovis before she went into the Mechanism. We already had a pretty good sense of what happened. Why do you think the author included this scene?

I think it will be necessary to understand Clovis' past in order to understand something she's going to do in the future.

16. Speaking of authors, did you notice the quote at the start of Chapter 28 is from one of Lawrence's books? He chose it just as Livira tells Arpix that Yute suggested they read and write fiction. Arpix is shocked and wonders what would be the point. What do you think society would be like without any creative writing?

I did notice it was his.

No creative writing? How boring and utilitarian.

17. What did you make of how the Assistant and Soldier appeared in Clovis' past? They know about the lost children in the Mechanism and can see Evar. Are they controlling this world? And are they friends or foe?

I still don't know what to make of them. I think they are both the last of their 'kind'.

18. Livira once again jumps in to save lives without hesitating. And Malar thinks this is Algar's second attempt to kill Livira. Do you think she is really being targeted? Why is she so dangerous to the status quo?

Because she questions everything and pushes forward to discover her own answers.

19. Why do you think Evar and Livira have such different experiences of the Exchange and even within the portals?

I think it's the time separating them.

That’s not a problem at all. It’s good for more of us to be double checking everything.

Battle Round Two. Does this look right to everyone?

One Plus One - Patti
One by One - MelanieJoy
One by One - Preeti
The One - Carrie
One by One - Claire
The One - Laura
One by One - Preeti
One by One - Keely
One Day Like This - Laura
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - MelanieJoy

@Karolyn - you forgot the NEVER in the title of your final Battle book on the spreadsheet. :)

Give me a second and I'll post what we ended up with for our reading.

For the final shot of the epic Capitol/2 battle, we will be reading The Final Revival of Opal & Nev.

I know this one comes as a complete shock to you all. Whatever will you find to fire back? :)

Karolyn from District 2 who has been handling the Battle posts from their end was stuck in the travel nightmare that was yesterday. So she forgot to post here, but they would like Melanie's book.

Karolyn wrote: "I just added Angela’s book and will let the Capital know.

That means all our battle books are set! I’ll get a countdown to when we can start reading posted this afternoon."

So you want us to go with The Final Revival of Opal & Nev?

Your travel addled brain to forgot to post in our thread. :)

Sounds like travel through all of that was a nightmare!

Day 3 - Chapters 17-25

11. We learn a lot more about the library in this section, for example that new head librarians create new systems to secure their power and make themselves indispensable. I know we have a few librarians in this group… how do you feel about that? 😅 If you’re not a librarian –what would you do if the library you use just changed systems whenever it felt like it?

I'm either browsing, in which case organization doesn't matter, or I request a book. In which case I just pick it up at the pick-up point. So I don't think it would bug me. But at the same time I'm frustrated for a few days when Apple changes the look/functioning of my iPhone, so maybe I wouldn't be so cool with it. Even if it didn't affect me at all.

12. We also finally had our stories converging, albeit briefly. Livira and Evar were exploring new places in consecutive chapters, both of them marking their origin/path (Livira with books, Evar with a knife) and then their journeys culminate in them meeting in what Livira identifies as an “in-between place”. Were you expecting them to meet so soon? What was your impression of their brief time together – and why did the meeting end so abruptly?

The assistant said they weren't suppose to be there. I assume the magic of the library separated them.

13. In her time in the library, Livira acquired a companion in the raven: is he an ally or guide? Or something sinister? Do you think it’s actually “just” a (magical) animal or maybe even a character we know already?

A guide. I think it serves some purpose/function that isn't working properly in Evar's library.

14. I can’t help but constantly think of the Book of the Ancestor as I’m reading this – the young girl protagonist who’s an outsider, the school setting, navigating friendships and political machinations while also learning about whatever type of magic there is… Have you read anything else by Mark Lawrence?

I have not. Although I have apparently had Prince of Thorns on my TBR since 2015!

Karolyn wrote: "@Laura - you sure can!"

The final question of the Battles is here. Do you guys want The Final Gambit or The Final Revival of Opal & Nev?

Dale wrote: "when in doubt reread a favorite book or series =]."

I agree! My go-to slump buster series is Murderbot. They are fast and engaging, and I just love him! (It, I know, but the narrator is male, so my brain says he/him all the time.)

Melanie and Yasmine, I'll ask District 2 which of your books they would rather have.

Keely wrote: "Yasmine wrote: "Keely wrote: "I ended up looking after a very small kitten for the past couple of days. He is very small compared to his siblings and so he would get pushed out of the food and not ..."

Kitten cuddles are the best! My kid recently found one in the dumpster building of their work. He's 6 months, and so adorable. Even when he bit my nose (he doesn't like it when our Roomba is running).

DQs Day 2 Chapters 8 - 16

6. How are you enjoying the book so far? How's the pacing for you?

I really enjoy it. I wish it would go faster, but that's not the pacing of the author but rather the limitations of my reading/listening speed. :)

7. What are your favorite characters, situations, quotes so far?

While I do like Evar, I think my favorite so far is Livira. I'm sure she's the one who wrote the note/book for Evar.

8. What are your fondest memories of a library?

School trips and checking out alllllll the Black Stallion books at once!

9. Library as prison... does that ring true for you?

Prison in the sense that they are trapped? Yes. Prison as a punishment for crimes? No.

10. If you could have one natural ability relating to books (view spoiler), what would it be?

Osmosis. So I could know all the stories. Or maybe the ability to remember the plot of a book at least a week later!

Hey District 2! Please can we have His Carrot Her Muffin?

Sincerely,

The Capitol

I’ll wait until morning to send them out choice. If no one else suggests anything I’ll send them your book. That’s a good ending. And they’ve already had to do AME before.

I’ve read Ender’s Game before. I may still listen because my library has the audio, but I’m good with you taking this one.

If we ask for His Curvey Friend, I could read Ender’s Game and, Melanie, you could do One Day Like This.

Anyone else have any other ideas/options?

This will be our last Battle book.