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

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

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..

DQs Day 2
Part 2

5.) What do you think of Richard, past & present? Do you believe that he really loved Nell? If you were Nell could you of stayed with Richard or ever forgiven him?

Once Nell found out the truth about Richard it was too late, even if he had fallen in love with her. There was no way back from that sort of betrayal. He probably still carried a torch for Nell through the years and she seems to use this when it suited her. Not really a good basis for any sort of relationship even friendship.

6.) Do you like the set up of the book, flashing back and the current timeline? What about the Frank/Lal chapters with the Up/Downs, complicated friendship there. Do you find this effective or distracting?

Can't say I'm loving this book. I'm not fond of books with a plethora of dysfunctional characters and this book has a lot of them. The Up and Down chapters do provide a break from the current action and I think they are providing important backstory about Frank and Lall which may unlock the mystery by the end.

7.) "He used other people's bodies as weapons." Do you think Frank and Bridgit had the affair? If so do you think Lal knew/knows?

Nell's theory about Bridget being one of Frank's nude models thus they slept together provides possible new information. But contradicts Frank's thoughts in the last up and down. The truth coming out may be an important part of solving the mystery.

8.) Oisin got quite the reality check about his family. Poor dude, grandparents weren't always old and could of been very different people from who they are at 70. Do you think Frank and Lal did it? A setup, if you any guesses as to who?

Frank and Lall may be a red herring. I think there is going to be an almighty twist in the final chapters. It is that sort of book.

Melindam wrote: "Dear Fellow Monster-Hunters,

has anyone come across a book where a character went to an amusement park?

Thanks in advance. :)"

This list may help..

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

Sophie wrote: "Just a suggestion but what about a list of monsters/villains from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel? There are A LOT to choose from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of......"

That's a great suggestion. I loved those shows back in the day. 😍

Eldarwen wrote: "Shall we say May? Right on the 1st or later in the month? (Starting preferably on a Saturday so I can actually spend some quality time with the book instead of work hehehe)"

Works for me.. ❤️

DQ'S DAY 1 PROLOGUE - PART 1

1. First up let's discuss the artwork on the cover. When this book first popped up on my Goodreads feed I was drawn to the intriguing combination of bones, keys and flowers. Pretty. How important are covers and cover art to you when choosing to pick up (or download) a book? Does the growing popularity of audio and eBooks lessen the importance of what the cover looks like?

2. The author's note and the prologue set the scene for a riveting tale. Have you ever heard of Kim Williams' Masquerade (I hadn't)? What differences do you think the digital and social media era would bring as compared to the original treasure hunt?

3. "What's mine is his and what's his is his". (Lall)
Frank - generous Patriarch, friend and benefactor or control freak? Discuss.

4. Finishing up Part 1 the story is a little different to what I thought it would be. I was thinking along the lines of an epic Grail quest and for me it's more a story of the family dynamics and egos. Not about the actual text of The Golden Bones but how it has affected the author, family, friends and the Bonehunter community. What's your thoughts on the novel so far and what's your prediction for what's to come?

Great ladies.. lets me off the hook, LOL.

I'll get Day 1 questions up a bit later on. Happy reading, hope we all enjoy it.

Thanks for this. I knew it was soon...

Anytime towards the end of April is good for me. I'll actually buy a copy of this one, too long to wait for the library copy.

I think I might re-read Book 1 just to refresh before.

There were 17 votes for this one.. so there may be a few more readers. If no one else wants to do DQ's I'm happy to do the first three sections if Cat wants to take the last two after break day.