Lauri’s Comments (group member since Jan 23, 2016)

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

Thanks everyone, particularly our mah-velous Captains, for putting up with ME! Maybe one day I'll step into the 21st century, but not quite sure when THAT will be... I had a great time.

Steven, I still think you are super-fun. Can't imagine a world where you wouldn't be...

Hope everyone had as much of a blast as I had! I'll see you in the groups....

Completion Post!
Flame in the Dark
Faith Hunter
Finished 7/31/23
Page Count: 382
Fits the following spellout letters:
B - CFN Ben
F - title
H - ALN
I - MCLN Ingram
O - CFN Occam



My last one! Use it as you will! Yaaayyyy! Peace out!

Completion Post!
The Hundred-Foot Journey
Richard C. Morais
Finished 7/30/23
Page count: 280
Fits the following letters for spellout:
H - title
I - CLN Iten



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

I still have one chunkster up my sleeve along with 2 short ones…
Go team Kumi!

Completion Post!
The Secrets of Jin-shei
Alma Alexander
Finished 7/29/23
Page count: 504!
Fits the following letters for spellout:
A - author
C - CFN Cheleh
H - CFN Hsui
O - CFN Oylian
T - CFN Tai
W - CFN Weylin
Y - CFN Yuet



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

I am almost finished with my 500 pager... I possibly have another chunkster I will finish by Monday and at least a couple short ones.
Hope everybody is doing well. I'm wondering what I will do with myself next month!

maria helena wrote: "Lauri wrote: "Completion Post!
A Cold-Blooded Business
Dana Stabenow
Finished 7/26/23
Page Count: 231
Grey cover
Fits the following spellout letters:
D - AFN Dana
..."

Thank you!

Completion Post!
A Cold-Blooded Business
Dana Stabenow
Finished 7/26/23
Page Count: 231
Grey cover
Fits the following spellout letters:
D - AFN Dana
E - CFN Ekaterina
J - CFN Jerry
M - CFN Martin
S - MC LN Shugak



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

I’m still good for at least 3 more books this coming week! One has 500+ pages…

Completion post!
Hallelujah - my coup de grace!
The Sunne in Splendour
Finished (finally!) 7/22/23
Page count: 936
Cream cover
Fits the following letters for spellout:
A - Anne CFN
C - Cicely CFN
E - Elizabeth CFN
F - Francis CFN
G - George CFN
H - Henry CFN
I - Isabelle CFN
L - Lovell CLN
N - Neville CLN
R - Richard CFN
S - title
W - Woodville CLN



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

Trinia wrote: "Finished Dune, FINALLY! Not sure I want to continue on that series , may just opt to watch the movie.
So that's one more for the Wheel"

Congratulations, Trinia!! Don't feel bad! At least you finished the book! I have started it at least FIVE times over the years & still have never finished it. I think maybe because it seems so *ominous* ...

Steven wrote: "Lauri you are a reading fiend!"

SOME kind of fiend, anyway! No, I'm trying to finish up everything I've started thus far. Resistance is futile....

Completion Post!
Grave Consequences
Dana Cameron
Finished 7/16/23
Page count: 368
Blue cover fits the following letters for spellout:
A - CFN Andrew
B - CFN Brian
C - ALN
D - AFN
E - MC FN Emma
F - MC LN Fielding
G - CFN Greg
J - CFN Jane
M - CFN Morag
P - CFN Pooter
S - CFN Sabine
W - CLN Whiting



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

Completion Post!
One Italian Summer
Rebecca Serle
Finished 7/16/23
Page count: 255
Yellow cover
Fits the following letters for spellout:
A - CFN Adam
C - CFN Carol
E - CFN Eric
K - MC FN Katy
N - CFN Nika
O - title
R - AFN
S - ALN



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

Completion Post!
Backseat Saints
Joshilyn Jackson
Finished 7/15/23
Page count: 352
Green cover
Fits the following letters for spellout:
A - CFN Arlene
B - title
E - CFN Eugene
F - CLN Fancy
J - author
L - CFN Lilah
P - CFN Parker
R - MC FN Rose
T - CFN Thom



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

Completion Post!
Carrie Soto Is Back
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Finished 7/14/23
Page count: 384
BOM - yes!
STILL can’t do a link to save my own life, but my discussion answers are in the following messages: 80, 81, 150, 174 & 175.



Could someone add this to our spreadsheet for me, please? Thank you!

DQs Day 5 - Wimbledon 1995 & The 1995 US Open

18. Nature vs nurture. Carrie has her issues with tennis, but her real struggle is with relationships. How much of that do you think is due to who Carrie is innately as a person and how she was raised?
I think she would've been a totally different sort of person if she'd grown up with a mother. Javier was great, don't get me wrong, but a mother's love is all-important.

19. I don’t know much about tennis, but I found myself really enjoying the matches as they are described. I got so pumped up while Carrie was playing! Did you find all the tennis terms, both during and after matches, to be a hinderance or did you enjoy getting immersed in the sport through Carrie’s eyes?
I'm not into sports at all, so not so much. I liked the emotional aspect of it all & not so much the blow-by-blow.

20. Carrie Soto, the star of our novel, has been seen previously in a TJR novel where she was a minor character. TJR seems to enjoy connecting her books which makes me wonder… could her next book be about one of the minor characters we’ve come across in Carrie Soto is Back? And, if so, who do you think it would be?
I liked when she mentioned Carrie as reading celeb magazines to see the gossip. She was also planning to read Daisy Jones & the Six! I think Carrie could very well come up again in another book or ever Javier or Bowe!

21. ”But right now, in this moment, I love this drugstore cologne more than I love the smell of Wimbledon grass or California oranges or the rubber of a freshly popped can of tennis balls. This drugstore cologne is my home.”

I really loved this quote and it made me start thinking about some of my favorite smells. What are some scents that you love? What scent would be your home?
I don't really consider background scents that much, but I would like something fresh & clean. Love the smell of ecalyptus & mint from Bath & Body. I have body wash, air freshener, linen spray & lotion. My husband HATES it, though! I still use it anyway!

22. And, finally, how did you like this book? What was your rating? Would you consider reading more from this author if you haven't already?
I rated it 4 stars. I did love it, but not so much tennis, please! I think I would've liked it even more if it focused more on her life outside of tennis & just thrown in some training & competition peripherally...

DQs - Day 4 - The 1995 French Open (76%)

14. At the end of The French Open Section, can you feel any character development in Carrie? If yes, in what ways do you think she may have changed? Also has there been a change in your feelings towards her? Still dislike/like her or not any more?
I see a bit of change in her -- the way she views herself, her father & Bowe. I will always like her -- or at least admire her. She just needs to be more open & honest. She can be her own worst enemy. It's all in the interpretation.

15. There are some hard lessons for Carrie to take away from Paris and some vital discussions between her and her dad as well as between her and Bowe about parental expectations and expectations from one's own self. Do you think Carrie is ready to accept the different POVs and use them to her own advantage?
She's not ready yet, but she's getting there. She needs to see herself as worthy of love and happiness & not worry so much about winning every time. That way lies madness.

16. This is what Carrie Soto is thinking of her opponent Ingrid Cortez while playing against her in Paris: ... she has a burden I have never had. In order to keep getting paid, she has to keep looking beautiful on the court. I wonder, briefly, if it weighs on her. Or, if, conversely, it frees her from the pressure I live with, the pressure to win. Either way, it’s a prison. Both her beauty and my ability—they’ve both got an expiration date."
This reflection struck a chord with me. Building on what has been previously discussed about media pressure and also how men and women athletes were/are still treated differently, what are your thoughts on this issue?
It's hard to be female. We can do all sorts of things, but are still seen as being pretty or as sexual objects. Men don't have to deal with that. They simply are.

17. Do you have any other quotes that "spoke" to you (in any part of the book up to the 75% mark) or you made a note of for further reflection?
Not that I recall....

Completion Post!!!
Yaaaayyyyy!
11/22/63
Stephen King
Finished 7/11/23
Page count: 849
July BOM
Still can’t do a link to save my own life, but my DQs are in the following messages: 107, 193, 293, 305, 323, 327, 353, 354, 360, 366, 367 & 368.

This was an excellent story! 5 stars all the way!



Could someone please add this to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you!

Final DQs - Ch 30 through the End

42. It seems that the past likes to repeat itself over and over, and the people coming in and out of Jake’s life are no exception. This time, Jake ended up in the same motel room, his driver was remarkably similar, and the yellow-card man has been replaced by a green-card man wearing a lookalike outfit. It would appear that King is hinting that some things are inevitable, and that History wants what it wants. What’s your opinion on this theory? Do you think that some things are inevitable, and no matter what, would have similarities to all other timelines in those details (like people, places, etc)?
I have a terrible problem. In the duality of nature, I am half fatalist and half eternal optimist. So I am always hoping for the best while expecting the very worst. I think Jake knows what I mean! Can we really change the past? Can we affect change in the future?

43. The green card man’s card changes colors, and the nonsense he is spewing seems to be indicating that he’s much more aware of everything than any other humans. Almost like a Watchman of sorts, it would seem. And he explains that things aren’t really reset, just restrung into a new thread. Actions → Consequences. Did you expect this little twist? I remember on my first read of this book not trusting or understanding the “everything resets perfectly” bit and wondering what the catch was. Did you trust it or did you expect there to be a catch?
I really couldn’t believe in the ‘everything resets every time you go back’ thing. How the hell would THAT be possible? There is ALWAYS a catch!

44. Jake’s return to 2011 is a shock. Everything is different… and not better. It appears saving Kennedy didn’t bring about the paradise that Al was expecting. What did you find most shocking about the “new world” created by the harmonies Jake’s changes made? For me, I was stunned to find that Maine was part of Canada, how hateful everyone seemed to be, and… the physical changes to people.
I was shocked at the nuclear fallout & disease. No wonder people are so horrible! The earthquakes are pretty scary, too.

45. I was happy to see that King chose to use Harry to be Jake’s connection to learn about the new reality. I really loved him earlier in the book, and it pains me to see him so broken. Was there anyone else you’d have wanted to see?
I liked Harry, too. I would’ve liked Al to have been mysteriously resurrected and Sadie, of course.

46. Another IT reference here near the end: “The past is obdurate for the same reason a turtle’s shell is obdurate” Did you catch that one? The little reference to the magic space turtle? Jeez, King writes some odd stuff, doesn’t he?
I did NOT catch that! Good call. He is a scary MF, that’s for sure!

47. So not a happy ending for the Sadie-Jake romance, but one that ended being good for Sadie and the world in the long run. Were you happy with the ending? As much as I was rooting for them, I had a feeling that King wasn’t going to be able to make it work without tearing the world apart.
I was totally expecting them to be together forever, somehow, someway! See? Eternal optimist. They could have selfishly kept going back to be young & in love forever & screw the world! Silly, I know, but if you’re going to have fantastical happenings, why the hell not? I did like the ending, however. At least Sadie was still alive & they had a last dance together…