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

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

Emma wrote: "I’ve just been given access!!"

That's great. Happy reading.

Emma wrote: "I am still unable to access the spreadsheet unfortunately"

Oh no Emma. Does anyone know how Emma can gain access?

That's great Vicky. Glad you gals are right on the spreadsheet expertise. Something I'm a bit lacking sadly.

We're off to a great start. Better go and check out what teenagers eat... with 3 kids and 6 grandkids you'd think I'd know, Lol.

Kaley or anyone.. have anything for our restaurant blurb?

Cat.. I though the Concierge's daughter was possibly Sophie as well. The author threw out a few hints but maybe just a red herring.

DQs Day 3 - Mimi - Sophie
9. Now, we know they are one big (not so) happy family. What do you think of the family dynamics? Do you think it is odd to live in an apartment in someone else’s house? This also means that anyone could have a key.

Very dysfunctional family. The kids have got a totally unhealthy co-dependence on their father and stepmother. Very creepy indeed.

10. We have learned about the father and his view on sex/chastity with two of his children (“becoming a man” and his daughter’s outfit). How do these two scenes reflect on the family and character development?

Totally a caveman, his unhealthy influence seems to have totally driven his children's skewed development. Are they all into something sinister driven by the father or is it just totally f***ed up family dynamics. Time will tell.

11. Ben seems to have been investigating the family business. What do you think is really going on and is represented by the “wine” transactions? I think there is one obvious choice, but I will wait for others to comment.

Wow, I didn't really pick up that the "wine" transactions was something illegal. But doh now that I think about it, it totally is. And Ben was investigating surreptitously and got caught. Makes perfect sense.

12. Finally, do you have a favorite character so far? Do you think the characters have developed much or are they still mostly defined relationally?
Can't say any of the characters leap out at me. In fact I'm finding the book a little tedious to be honest. They all seem a bit whiney and try hard. I suppose Jess is the most interesting really.

Morning Everyone,

What a great start. Good idea about the BOMs Kaley. 😊

Ariel, for the desserts and alcoholic drinks. The books have to have 500+ pages to use the words . Could you check and amend your entries on the spreadsheet. Thanks so much, you're going great.

Emma, any luck accessing the spreadsheet?

Emma wrote: "Thanks Lisa- do you know how I can get access to the spreadsheet? Ive requested it but nothing so far. Are you authorised ?"

Not sure Emma, I think the Mods will get back to you.

Emma wrote: "Do we need to have a dedicated shelf for this challenge?"

Emma, I just checked the rules and it doesn't specifically say you have to. But I created one for this challenge, for me it makes it easier to keep check, but I think it's up to you.

Vicky wrote: "Lisa - are you talking about the error in the "used as scavenger or spell-it-out" column on the Books Read tab? That's the only error I see and I have NO CLUE what's causing that... I tried in a fe..."

Thanks Vicky! All seems to be working now.

Day 2 DQs Jess to Jess

5.) This section opens with Jess and Nick meeting which provides more insight into Ben and his relationships with friends. The conversation Nick and Ben had about the apartment rent seemed really odd, why was the rent for that apartment so cheap? And how could Nick really arrange it?

The way it is written it seems there is something more to Ben and Nick's relationship. Some undercurrent. Maybe they are just casual uni friends with nothing untoward. It seems Nick is quite wealthy and helping out Ben might just be something he does to help an old Uni buddy and think nothing of it. We will see.

6.) More layers added to the Concierge, she seemed to like Ben because he treated her like a person. Anyone else think he had an angle there and he wasn't just being a decent person? However, she's following Sophie's instructions about Jess and vaguely threatened her. Any thoughts as to why?

I'm thinking Ben is hot on the trail of some journalistic expose and is playing all the angles. And all the people.

7.) Things are not looking good for Ben, I'm back to pondering the freshly planted flower bed in the courtyard. Any guess at what he's been up to? The blackmail of Sophie?


See answer above

8.) The police station. Do you think Nick told them what Jess think he told them? Or do you think he told them "this is my friend's nutter sister who thinks he's missing when he's off getting laid".?

Probably a bit of both. I really don't think Nick is up to anything. It is just dramatic license for the reader to think that he is.

So I logged my book on the spreadsheet so you can get an idea of how it works. My book has 421 pages so I can use 8 ingredients - so I made the Special that takes 6 and finished Meal 1 and Started Meal 2 with two - it needs 3 more to finish.

It is showing an error on the first page, Kaley or any spreadsheet gurus maybe have a look and see why? Ta.

Just checking, can the word fowl be substituted for chicken in the monthly special?

Emma and Ariel. Yes, it can be a bit confusing but you'll get the hang of it. You can use an item if it used several times in a book, coffee is a common one. But as depending on the number of pages you only have a limited number of ingredients, so it comes down to the best use of them. See Kaley's awesome table.

I'll be finished my first book later on today. Or maybe one of the other previous players might finish. Just hang off a tad and follow on the spreadsheet and you'll get an idea. Or if completely lost, come back here and post your books, items and pg numbers and I'm sure someone will post on the spread sheet for you till you get the hang of it. It's fun, I promise.

DAY 1 QUESTIONS - PROLOGUE - CONCIERGE

1. Lucy Foley has been a very popular author over the last few years starting with The Book of Lost and Found in 2015, this is her sixth book. How many have your read? Have you a favourite? What is it about her writing style that keeps you coming back? And if you are a newbie what are you expecting from The Paris Apartment?

2. Ahhh.. Voila. Paris the city of love and light. 💕 How important do you think the apartment's location will be to the story? Have you been to Paris or is it on your travel bucket list? Any memories/stories you want to share.

3. And now to the prologue. Does is set the scene? What are your initial thoughts of Ben and what is to come? PS Isn't the key so cute with the Paris landmarks on it. I want one!

4. It's a bit of a femme fest with all the main characters at this stage women. Jess, Sophie, Mimi and the mysterious Concierge - all seem to be full of subterfuge and secrets. Compare and contrast these women and what do you think their ongoing role in the novel will be?

Thanks for checking in Ariel. Enjoy that party!

Only Emma to check in .. and we’re off🥰📚🥪🥗🍔👨‍🍳

Great to see you Vicky and CB. Happy reading!

Only half an hour or so till start time.

I'm going to start off reading and writing the DQ's for the BOM. If we read for BOM we can swap out two meals for meals of our choice which can come in handy. Hope I can find some nice juicy food words as well. I'm hopeful, it is set in Paris.

CB, Emma, Ariel and Vicky.. can you check in. Happy reading everyone.

Awesome. Only one more day to go.. hope everyone is ready to read and eagle eye those ingredients.

Kaley wrote: "So . . . if you're like me, you might wonder . . . what is the best way to maximize points?

So, I compiled this list of what the highest value points per ingredient is if using the minimum require..."

Hi Kaley, just checking back about your incredible points calculator! Amazing. So say the meal is the Special for example are the points 13.33 or 13.33 x 6( minimum) for total points of 79.98?

Judith wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "All good for me too.

Mods, can we still earn the BOM credits for extra entries or has that finished now?"

That runs year round, and you just bank the credits until y..."

Fantastic. 😍