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

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

Double Completion Post!

Terror in Taffeta
Marla Cooper
Finished 8/13/20
Page count: 278
Letters:
S - location San Miguel de Allende
L - Laurel
A - Zoe Abernathy
N - Nicole Abernathy
O - Antonia Ortiz
P - Dana Poole
N - Frank Nolasco
Task #160 - featuring a wedding
How it fits: Kelsey is a wedding planner & the murder takes place at a destination wedding in Mexico



The Sugar Queen
Sarah Addison Allen
Finished 8/14/20
Page count: 276
Letters:
S - title
L - Livia Linley-White
A - author
H - Helena
P - Rawley Pelham
N - Nova Berry
G - George Cramden
Task #156 - MPG chick lit



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

Completion post!
Plantation Shudders
Ellen Byron
Finished 8/10/20
Page count: 282
Letters:
S - Marie Shexnayder
L - Lia Tienne
A - Alice Ryker
N - Ninette Crozat
D - Bo Durant
H - Hal Clabber
P - location: Pelican, LA
P - title
G - Dr. Felicia Gilbert
Task: 89 car on cvr (there's a police car on the cover)



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

I can't believe we're on our very last round! I shall try to acquit myself admirably by actually finishing Illuminae and perhaps even Eragon for some extra points! I'll start on Spin the Dawn today for BOM. I will definitely read Plantation Shudders & Terror in Taffeta

Completion post!
The Preacher's Daughter
Beverly Lewis
Finished 8/8/20
Page count: 352
Letters:
I -Irwin Ranck
S - Sarah Mae Zook
L - Louisa Stratford
A - Annie Zook
H - Esther Hochstetler
O - Omar Zook
P - location Paradise, PA
Task #137 - takes place in 2 places: Paradise (Amish country) & "modern" Colorado where Louisa runs away from her impending marriage.



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

For round 5, I'll continue working on Illuminae, finish up The Preacher's Daughter & The Sugar Queen & read Plantation Shudders. I also picked up Spin the Dawn & hope to do the BOM questions. Let's see how well I do!

Completion post!

Brownies and Broomsticks
Bailey Cates
Finished 8/6/20
Page count: 323
Letters:
T - character Mavis Templeton
R - character Cookie Rios
S - setting Savannah, GA
M - character Margie Coopersmith
Task #51 dessert food on cover



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

Cathy M. wrote: "Lauri wrote: "Completion post!
Too Hot Four Hula
Jill Marie Landis
Finished 8/3/20
Page count: 232
Letters:
T - title
O - character Trish Oakley
R - character Roland..."
I would safely say that more than 90% of the book is set at the Hilton! I'll stick with my original hotel task... I love that hotel.
I had my wedding reception next door at the Halekoa, but since we're not military, we had to stay at the Hilton for the weekend. Such a tragedy! *Memories* 😄

Completion post!
Too Hot Four Hula
Jill Marie Landis
Finished 8/3/20
Page count: 232
Letters:
T - title
O - character Trish Oakley
R - character Roland Sharpe
S - character Suzi Matamoto
M - character Louie Marshall
Task: #11 takes place in a hotel
How it fits: our wacky band of quirky characters comes to Oahu so Uncle Louie can take part in the Shake Off competition which takes place at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in beautiful Waikiki!



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

Trinia wrote: "Completed The Poisonwood Bible, added info to SS.
(Sorry, on my phone app 😜)"
I LOVE that book!

Paula wrote: "Completion

Book: The City of Brass
Date: 1/8/2020
All data on SS"

I read that one! What an imagination the author has. I kept thinking it would make a great movie...

I am working on Too Hot Four Hula and Brownies and Broomsticks this week because I need to read them for another challenge. Nice, fun, quick reads. I'm still plugging away at Illuminae but no guarantee on finishing because I'm still doing it as a buddy read with my friend. I'll try my best!

Completion Post!
Blood Cross
Faith Hunter
Finished 7/30/20
Letters:
T - character Angelina TrueBlood
O - character Aggie One Feather
R - character Rick LeFleur
S - character Sabina
M - character Molly TrueBlood
Task #23 - MPG paranormal

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

Thanks everybody!

Completion Post!
The Atomic City Girls
Janet Beard
Finished 7/27/20
Page count: 353
Letters:
T - character Tom
O - location Oak Ridge, TN
R - character Ralph
S - character Sam Cantor
M - character Moriah
Task: #131 Historical Fiction



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

I'm alive!! Hurricane Douglas ended up being almost a non-event, thank God! See what happens when you watch too much news? It was like watching a slow motion train wreck that veered off at the last minute. Finally caught a break! YAAAYYY!!!

Yeah, Hurricane Douglas is scheduled to pass by tonight about 8pm as a category 1 hurricane. If if moves southward, we're screwed. Right now it's about 45 miles offshore. It's muggy & overcast right now, but still pretty dry & quiet.
If those damned murder hornets show up, I'm done. (They're scheduled to arrive in our Christmas tree shipments from the Pacific Northwest.) I wonder if Amazon sells flamethrowers?

Thanks, Diane! My anxiety has anxiety! We just can't catch a break...
Thank God for books & movie escapism! I watched a Star Wars marathon last night & didn't go to sleep till after 5am...🤓

Hi, all! I'm just about finished with The Atomic City Girls and am totally loving Blood Cross so far!

As if worrying about this damned pandemic isn't anxiety-producing enough, now were bracing for a hurricane! It was a category 4 yesterday, but should become category 1 by the time it hits us. It's due for the Big Island tonite, Maui tomorrow & Oahu by Sunday night. *sigh* at least we have lots of water, toilet paper & books to read!

That'll be it for me this round! I'm still plugging away on The Atomic City Girls, Illuminae & Eragon. I'm starting up Blood Cross & Twisted Twenty-Six.... Those should keep me very busy for now...

Double Completion Post!

Troubled Waters
Sharon Shinn
Finished 7/22/20
Page count: 400
Letters:
C - character Calvin
R - character Romelle
E - series Elemental Waters #1
A - MC Zoe Aredelay
T - title
I - character Ilene
V - character King Vernon
Task: #91 River on cover
How it fits: MC Zoe is pictured controlling the River Marisi



Dear Martin
Nic Stone
Finished 7/22/20
Page count: 210
BOM: Yes
Discussion participation - Msg. #198, 199, 200 & 202
(Sorry! I can't do a link...)
Letters:
C - character Jared Christensen
R - characters Mr. & Mrs. Rivers
E - character Emmanuel Rivers
A - location Atlanta
T - character Melo Taylor
Task #62 MPG young adult
How it fits: tagged MPG YA



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

DQ Day 4
Chapters 19 - end

16. What do you think about Justyce going to see Martel. Do you support him going or disapprove. I know he later regretted it, but I can't help feeling he went to fit in. Or maybe to become more like "his kind"
Yup. He had already tried the intelligent route & that wasn't working for him, so he tried another way. Martel is kind of charismatic & Jus was being sucked in by him. Then he realized the man was a criminal agitator -- the ankle bracelet & the firearms. I never got what the white boy was doing there, though...

17. During these chapters there was the scene with the police at Justyce's graduation. Do you think it was wrong of the police officers to approach him in front of all his friends and family. Should they have waited until he was done talking to them to approach? It's definitely a difficult situation cause I can see it being argued from either end.
That was outrageous! They ruined his graduation! Horrible, horrible, horrible.

18. During the conversation with the police, Justyce stands up to his mom and asks her to treat him like an adult. He also mentions that if he went along with his mother's idea and refused to talk, he would've appeared guilty. What did you make of these two confrontations? Also, we get the behind the scenes reasoning about why Justyce's mom doesn't approve of him dating white girls. What is your opinion on her reasoning? I personally understand what she's saying, but not all white people are alike just like not all black people are alike.
I think Mama will come around in the end. If you remain ignorant about other cultures, you're doomed to repeat & perpetuate the same bad behaviors forever. I said earlier that I never considered even dancing with a black guy because my dad would have literally killed me! It was okay to have black girlfriends, but not to date a black man.

19. While hanging out with S.J., S.J. says, "Jus, I think I hate everything... Why can't we all get along like butterflies." To that quote Justyce thinks to himself that all the butterflies "look exactly alike." What do you make of this quote? Why do you think there is so much hate around people looking different (doesn't only have to be about race, but defects, disabilities, other differences as well)?
Back in the bad old days, white people considered black people as animals -- NOT human beings! That was why they felt it was acceptable to own them as slaves. Later on, they conceded that they were a substandard version of humanity, but not able to care for themselves. All because of skin color! We now have every shade imaginable due to all the different combinations. (You can't stop love, Mama.) But still, if you're not white, you're black. I think we've evolved as a whole species, but people are always threatened by those that are different than themselves.

20. I thought that Justyce's last letter to Dr. Martin was the most meaningful. He mentions that maybe the issue is that he doesn't know what he was trying to achieve by his "What would Martin do?" project. I found it very resonating when he mentioned Doc asking him "What would Martin be" and he couldn't find an answer. What did you think of the last letter to Martin? How do you think Justyce has changed throughout the book?
His eyes have been opened to reality and sadness. The judicial system, which is supposed to protect everyone equally has failed Justyce spectacularly. He's older, wiser & sadder now. I really want to know what Dr. King would think & what he would have accomplished had he not been assassinated. Maybe I'll have to read his writings...

21. I personally think that by the last chapter Jared changed the most thoughout the story (which actually surprised me a lot because in the beginning I thought he was hopeless). He went from a racist to actually caring and being Justyce's friend. Did your opinions change on Jared at the end of the book? What about the other characters?
I was really surprised at the change in Jared! I thought he was a lost cause & had already written him off as an elitist asshole! I was glad that our story ended on a hopeful note, but I still reserve judgment on Jared until he proves himself.
Do I smell a sequel?