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

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

DQ: 17 May - The Unsentimental Farmer

5) I really like reading the cat's thoughts. It can be quite funny. Do you think these are convincing cat thoughts?
I’ve often wondered what cats and other animals think. Cats are seemingly indifferent to us unless we have treats. They don’t fawn all over us the way dogs do. I think Nana is a bit more realistic and cynical because of being a stray for so long. I enjoy his thoughts & quite like his voice.

6) In this chapter we are introduced to Yoshimine, another potential owner for our cat. What do you think of him and his backstory?
Good backstory! It really goes a long way to explain his behavior. He’s so brusque and straightforward. Definitely more of a dog person, I think…

7) Do you think Yoshimine would have been a good owner for Nana ?
Definitely not. Nana didn’t like him immediately. I think Nana’s sensibilities would have been offended daily should he have ended up living there!

8) Yoshimine has already a kitten called Chatran, and Satoru makes fun of him for naming his cat with such a cliché name. What is for you the most cliché cat name(s)? In french it is quite common to call a cat Chaussette (meaning sock), Mistigri or Felix (actually a cat food brand).
Well, Kitty or plain old Cat are terrible! I had a tuxedo cat that we named Kitty when I was a child. In my defense, I was only 3 years old at the time & that was probably the best that I could come up with! We also had a tabby that my mom named Muffin. She was definitely NOT a Muffin! I think you should wait awhile to pick a suitable name…

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Sonia wrote: "4 places? What have we said about being overachiever?!

Fingers crossed for a nice and proper mend. And stay put to avoid more accidents."

haha I know
Funny they do wonder if 2 of th..."

Screws? Oh NO, Karen! Screws don’t belong in humans! That sounds horrible!

And Sammy, I can’t even begin to understand your story! Is healthcare free in the UK so that they put you at their mercy? Crazy! Here healthcare is very expensive, BUT if we’re not seen for something serious the very day (or next day with swelling) we scream bloody murder! At the ER, cardiac, bloody head wounds and respiratory episodes are triaged first. I once spent a whole day in ER because my doctor sent me there with abdominal pain. They were worried about my appendix or gall bladder. Turned out to be diverticulitis. I was introduced to some lovely morphine. Thought I was literally dying because the only people who usually get morphine are dying. Surprise!

I feel so badly for you both. Hope you get some decent pain meds at the very least…

DQs 16 May: Prologue - The Husband Without a Wife

1. How are you liking the way the story is written with its alternating POVs ? Is there a POV you prefer ?
I do like the way the POVs alternate, actually. And although I like Satoru’s generally laid back attitude, I much prefer Nana’s voice. Gotta love an opinionated cat!

2. Through the flashbacks we get to know Satoru's personality a bit more. What do you make of him so far ? What did you think about his way of helping his friend Kosuke?
Satoru is a good friend and a loyal one. He’s obviously an animal lover. I think his worldview in 6th grade was just too small for him to understand Kosuke’s dysfunctional family. He wanted to help him, but he just didn’t know how.

3. Talking about Kosuke, what's up with his parents ? It seemed to me that Kosuke was genuinely convinced that his father would agree to keep the cat (Hachi). What did you think about his backstory ?
Japanese culture is vastly different than Western culture. I’m sure it’s a bit more relaxed now, but back then? Daddy ruled the roost and his word was law. I think it was just wishful thinking on Kosuke’s part that he’d ever be allowed to keep Hachi. So sad.

4. Why do you think Satoru can't take care of Nana anymore ?
I’m guessing he’s terminally I’ll or perhaps mentally I’ll and planning to off himself. He wants to find a good home for Nana before he leaves this earth.

bookswithpaulette wrote: "..... The Chris Hemsworth effect its a real phenomenon 🤓

Shout out back to ........ when it all started! Do you know what show this pic is from??

" />"
So adorable! **sigh**

Sammy wrote: "Lauri wrote: "I'm reading all over the place! I need to settle down and finish something - - anything! Having too much fun, though.

On the autism spectrum note: I read [book:Aspergirls: Empowerin..."

Wow! I worked at a preschool for 10 years as the school secretary. We had dozens of boys with “behavioral problems.” Only a very few girls. These are children between 3 & 6 years of age. I remember one adorable girl (3) who could READ anything you put in front of her! You couldn’t touch her unless she initiated it. She would not nap & rarely ate anything. I was the only one who could calm her down or we had to call one of her older siblings or her mom. I wish I had known then what I’ve learned now. I wonder whatever became of her??

I'm reading all over the place! I need to settle down and finish something - - anything! Having too much fun, though.

On the autism spectrum note: I read Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome earlier this year and immediately thought, "That's ME!" So I am definitely undiagnosed, but recognized myself in so many of the first person accounts. I could read before anyone tried to teach me, memorize tons of trivia (facts), like to talk incessantly about the weirdest things.... The only difference I see is that I am intuitive and have wonderful people skills. Go figure. Finding this out has made a tremendous difference. Now I know why I read 30+ books simultaneously... I suspect many family members on both sides had/have it too!

Very inspirational, Sammy! Go Team Hector!

I know what you mean, Sonia! My family got Covid for Christmas! It was the worst Christmas ev-er! We think we got it from my son. He’s a cook/kitchen manager at a bar & grill. He was coughing and hacking all over the place, but didn’t want to get tested. I was actually on vacation & started to feel snarfly. So my husband & I did drive-thru testing on Christmas Eve. I was positive & he was negative!
We live in a small apartment, so I isolated in the bedroom, he stayed downstairs in the living room. My son took a rapid test & since he was negative, he went out with a bunch of friends for his birthday. Then he tested positive on 12/26. My husband didn’t test positive till 12/29. It’s so strange.
I don’t ever want to get it again! That’s all I know. Counting my vacation, I was home for 3 weeks. My body hurt from sitting/lying around so much. I still have extreme fatigue. My doctor said that may never go away. Oh joy!

You all take care, now!

Sonia wrote: "27 hours to go.

Everybody ready?

Which book are you going to read first?

Since I'm still coughing my lungs out, I'll probably choose a digital one. Phone is a little more resistant to the random..."

Oh, Sonia! I hope you feel better soon! I had a co-worker test positive for Covid this week with another suspected, so they’re out. I work in a hospital, so infection control came up to test the 2 of us remaining. We have no symptoms. Thankfully we’re negative, but they want to retest us Monday & Wednesday! Ugh!

I’m a bit of a serial book starter, so I’m not sure which book I’ll go with “first.” I’ll probably start a whole bunch tomorrow depending on what sort of mood I’m in… maybe Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason? I really need to laugh right about now…

Sammy wrote: "Sonia wrote: "Sammy wrote: "Or 'santinho' in Portuguese, I believe? (not sure I have the spelling right, lol)"

Nailed it!"

Woohoo!

We have this tendency to mess about with different languages i..."

Same with my family. We like to try to count to 10 (or higher), say hello, please, thank you and 'where is the bathroom!'

Eldarwen wrote: "Sonia wrote: "I came across this title: Caution: This Vehicle Makes Frequent Stops For Boiled Peanuts. 144 pages and on KU. I think we have a winner."

I really hope the title is a good indication ..."
I would totally make frequent stops for boiled peanuts! Here in Hawaii we do a very wet version with just a touch of star anise. Delicious!

Eldarwen wrote: "Lauri wrote: "Could our Fantastic Four please see message #92 and and my books to our spreadsheet for me? Thanks so much!"

Ah yes - taking care of it :-)"
Thank you so much!

Could our Fantastic Four please see message #92 and add my books to our spreadsheet for me? Thanks so much!

Laura..devouring books like crumpets wrote: "Yes all you skin Mummies and Fur Mummies happy mothers Day!!!! for Sunday!!!!

I have Y for the spellout im going to start Year One by Nora Roberts on the 15th but cant see where to..."

I loved that book! If you like paranormal, you will too! (Guilty admission: I love anything Nora Roberts writes!)

Sehrish wrote: "hello hello lovelies!!! how is everyone doing? how was your weekend?

I celebrated Eid with my family last week, it was amazing.. due to Covid in the last 2yrs we didn't have a lot of friends and f..."

We didn’t do much… visited with some family on Mother’s Day yesterday. Happy belated Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, btw! Of course, there’s always my weekly visit to my local library as well as the obligatory trip to the laundromat. Ugh! We’ve been without a washer/dryer for months now. Apparently our old building’s pipes can’t handle the new high capacity washing machines. *sigh* Other than that, books are my happy place! Just trying to finish up a bunch of books before we start our game…

Eldarwen wrote: "Empress of All Seasons was a decent yet somewhat disappointing read. So much potential wasted on not expanding enough. But definitely worth a read despite my critical comment hehe."

Thanks anyway! I did like the one other book I've read by this author. I'm actually very easy to please and grade on a curve!

I am going to make Portugal Day an actual thing here! HA! We have Kamehameha Day on June 11th. It's an official State Holiday & fortunately I work for the State. We're getting the 10th off as the 11th falls on Saturday this year. Yaaayyy! More time to read in bed!

I will do The Travelling Cat Chronicles for BOM participation. I will also read Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason for MPG Humor, The Color of Our Sky for MPG Hisorical Fiction AND take 3 of the dreaded E books for the spellout with Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, Empress of All Seasons & Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice



**ALSO** I can never manipulate a spreadsheet, so can someone or one of our DEAR captains please add these to our spreadsheet for me? Thank you so much!

Hi Claire! Yes we’ve played crazy games together in the past! And Miss Vicki, too! It’s so nice to see old friends and make new ones, too! Love these big group challenges…

Hey Sonia & Felipa — oddly enough I AM ethnically Portuguese (also German, Irish, Spanish & Native American) and am always looking for Portuguese stories! Of course, they have to be in English, because my Portuguese vocabulary is extremely limited…. So if you have any recommendations, I’d love some.