Lisa - (Aussie Girl)’s Comments (group member since Sep 26, 2012)

Lisa - (Aussie Girl)’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Judith wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Story "flies" between two time periods ...

The Muse by Jessie Burton

A picture hides a thousand words . . .

On a hot Jul..."

Oh thanks.. I really like the sound of Lexi's nomination so I think I'll hold off on another book nomination for now.

Sammy wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "And this is why any book I want to keep.. I buy in paper. 😊"

I already have over 2.5k of those... Can't afford to double that and don't have the space 😆"

I know the feeling.. I have had to be a bit more discerning/ruthless in what I keep now. Been slowly going through my books and culling.. either to fundraisers/donations or to the local library.

And this is why any book I want to keep.. I buy in paper. 😊

The thrill of spinning a new Wheel was just tooo much..

Finished Animal Farm (still a 5* read) to finish for the communist theme and dispatch The Unbearable Lightness of Being duo.

New Vegi-Might Wheel - Golem.

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!

Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.

There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can't believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself – to investigate what really happened from the inside.

Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family – and anyone who could help her.

Vicky wrote: "Okay - crisis averted. Let me know if it's still not letting you edit but it should be good.

I've also added the new wheel!"

Great. Thanks Vicky. All good.

I'd like a second entry from my tokens please. TEAM 6

Hi Team, for some reason our spreadsheet is showing no edit, consult owner.. which is Vicky.. not sure what has happened can you give us access? Thanks.

Ooh we have a new wheel O Monsters to enjoy/defeat..

Could one of you tech savvy ladies add it to our spreadsheet, Thanks so much.

ooh.. excited (and perhaps slightly terrified) about this new challenge. Bring it on...

I'm in for DQ's too. I'm in TEAM 6 .

PS - By my reckoning I have read 9 BOMS - does that mean I have 3 extra book tokens?

by Mark Lawrence

Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Best Fantasy (2023)
A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That's about to change.

Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.

Looking for Alaska.. is found and defeated.

New monster is Mutant Spiders

Grendel's mother has been despatched!

New Monster is - John Willoughby and Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.

It would be good to get that 650+ done. I'm also reading a 900 pager but I've already put it in another spot. 😊

New monster..

Tom and Summer are gone...

Hamlet is in the building.. (Bad romance)

LISA'S BOM TRACKING.

DAY 1 - DQ'S - 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/...
DAY 5 - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5
Part 5 to end

17. What do you think of the ending with Frank? What do you think caused his final response?

Mmm.. I guess some readers would say that revolting Frank got what he deserved. I'm not so sure. Yes, he did a lot of despicable things but murder wasn't one of them. Did Frank commit suicide as a way of saving his family from the truth coming out.. or because he couldn't hack jail. We'll never know. Unfortunately from what we've seen of Frank's character it was probably the latter.

18. Were you surprised by the family’s response to Nell especially Rose’s response? Would you have sided with the family or Nell?

That's a tricky question. Whether as a reader/person you're a stickler for the truth no matter what or you can see shades of gray. I can see both sides. It certainly made it easier for the rest of the family to let Frank take the blame and let sleeping dogs lie.

19. This book deals with serval major themes. Do you think the author handled them well? Especially each person’s response to what Frank did to Rose?

They all verbalized disgust.. and took revenge into their own hands I guess. And one action led to another.. If just one person had gone to the police the telling of the story would have been very different. The way it unfolded made good drama.

20. Finally, the epilogue. Did you think it was necessary and were you surprised?

It was the final assassination of Frank's character. His greatest legacy wasn't even his. Truly a despicable character.

Overall the book wasn't what I thought when I nominated it. It was a bit slow in the middle but gathered pace by the end. All the pieces did fit together to make quite a good story. Although all the characters were flawed and that did make it a bit of a depressing read overall. 3 stars.

DQ Day 4: Part Four

13. The relationship between Billie and Nell - do like like this relationship and how it's developed over the course of the book? How does it fit with the other parent-child relationships we see (explicit or implied, like with Frank and The Admiral)

It makes sense that Nell would have such a close relationship with Billie after her own childhood. An opportunity to pour all her love in and make a difference for an unloved child. Give her the support and good parenting that she never had.

14. Cora and Dom: did anyone expect that twist?! What do you think of this big reveal?

No, I didn't see it coming but it improved my enjoyment of the story after it lost my interest in the middle.

15. The Bonehunters: what do you think of the different Bonehunters? In day 1 Lisa asked about how digital / social changed the mechanics of the hunt. Have your thoughts been played out in the book? Given at the start we were all thinking about it as a hunt, and it's ended up being a relationship book, who has the move to digital for the Bonehunters affected their interactions, with each other, the world and the hunt?

Wow, the majority of the Bonehunters seem to have big mental health problems. I know people can be passionate about their hobbies but to take it to the level they do...The internet does seem to bring obsessed people together. Somehow taking it digital does take the fairytale romance out of the hunt. In a funny way it's like reading an eBook in comparison to a hardcover. For me anyway, LOL.

16. Who's portrait are they actually hung up on, if it's not Bridget (given that Bridget was clear there was a portrait of her in the last part)

Ahhhh. It's Rose, a lot of it makes sense now, especially Dom following through on his plan to frame Frank.

DQs Day 3
Part 3


9. "Home was vomit and broken glass, and under Frank's hands she was a ripe peach splitting open, danger and solace merged in the act." - what compelling language! I had to re-read this line multiple times, and I'm still unsure if I received the author's intent. What was your interpretation? What are your thoughts on Frank and Bridgit's affair as a whole?

It seems Bridget wants out of the whole Frank/Lall show.. and by sleeping with Frank it lights the fuse. If/when Lall finds out he'll never forgive her and she can make a break for it.

10. Let's talk about some of the characters. In this section I grew to truly despise Frank, understand Cora and Dom a little more, but Bridgit is the most interesting to me- I keep mulling over her desire to no longer be tied to Frank, divorce Lal, and get out, but seemingly choosing to stay for Rose; and shocked but intrigued by her actions on the phone at the end. Who stands out to you and why?

I agree with Judith, what a lot of crap parents and selfish people the whole cast of characters are. I'm getting a bit tired of them really. After what happened to Nell they should have shut the whole thing down but it seems to have a life of its own and all the adults but especially Frank and Lall seem to revolve their life around it.

11. This section breathed new life into the book for me. It was refreshing to see one night of the story from multiple viewpoints, and it drew me in, knowing that it will be catalytic for the remainder of the book. Did part 3 increase, decrease, or have no effect on your enjoyment of the book and why?

Glad you enjoyed it.. but not me. What a bunch of narcissists, I'll be glad to get to the end.

12. Who do you think got into the car with Lal?

Don't really know and at this stage don't care..