Stacey’s Comments (group member since May 31, 2023)

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

Ugh I just finished it. I understand if it has to count for the next round. I was trying,

Michael wrote: "Would someone mind marking my book, A Flicker in the Dark, as read (11/16/23) on the spreadsheet?"

Done.

9. It seems like the whole book is a test of Charlie’s character. Hera’s conversation with Charlie is one example. Charlie suddenly asks if Hera and Persephone like him. She says they were sent to watch him, but they like him because Charlie chose to take them in and treated them well. Do you think the book is portraying a series of tests from his uncle? What do you think it means?
Perhaps this was a test of Charlie’s character. He certainly seemed to do a good job and he definitely stuck up for his morals and what was best for others including his cats and the dolphins. I’m not sure if it’s a series of tests but something was afoot.

10. “Business is business. It’s different from respect and friendship.” What did you think of this statement? Do you agree with it or do you think these things can’t be separated?
The two shouldn’t usually be mixed. But in this instance in the book, they would have to be mixed. You can’t kill someone you are friendly with because its business. That goes completely against your moral character. If your job makes you question your morals, its time for a new job.

11. Charlie was quick to pick up clues on the Lombardy Convocation members. What did you think of his assessment? Did it change your opinion of him?
He did seem to get an early read on them and I adored his follow through maneuvers with their pressure of him. Almost everyone expected him to be a dumb, lazy guy who didn’t know anything at all.

12. There has been a lot of great banter in the book so far. I have to say I think both parts with the dolphins were my favorites. What has been your favorite line/quote, or your favorite part of the book so far?
I love every single part of the book that features a cat! Its amazing how great their dialogue is while still being so very feline.

5. We learn Hera and Persephone are both sentient cats. My cats love lying next to me and staring at my computer screen (when they’re not stomping all over my keyboard), so I can picture a cat using a computer vividly. What mischief would your pets come up with if they were sentient? Even if you don’t have pets, what mayhem do you think could happen?

Oh dear. I think my cats are too lazy to create much mischief. They are also old and chunky.

6. Charlie seems to be surprisingly chill about going along with everything happening, from sentient animals to attempts on his life to being whisked away to the Caribbean. Does that make sense to you, with how his life was before the book started? How would you react if you found out your uncle was a supervillain?

Ok, this is the one issue I had with the book. Charlie was so chill and “coasting” in his life but then became confident and authoritative. I think we probably all have supervillains in the family tree, but Charlie’s was just more wealthy and smart about it.

7. Although travelling there was a bit of a hassle, St. Genevieve sounds like a pretty sweet place to be. Where would your ideal villain (sorry, process disruptor) lair be set?

A cool underground lair in a forest would be just lovely.

8. We got a list of more or less exciting options including sharks, so: what is Charlie going to decide? How is Jacobs going to “die”? Or might his death end up being a real one after all?

Jacob really seemed to want an exciting and slightly unbelievable death. So maybe the sharks.

Bonus question: The (soon to be striking) dolphins have, uhm, quite the vocabulary. Any favorite insults? Do you want to give coming up with some creative insults a shot yourself?

I enjoyed all the insults and several made me giggle out loud which hardly ever happens!

DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 6

1. I'm so excited to be reading another John Scalzi book with you all. He has quickly become one of my "always read" authors. Is this your first Scalzi book? What are your expectations?
This is my first Scalzi book. I have heard of him of course, but never thought his work sounded like my thing.

2. What are your first impressions of Charlie? Do you think he is using his sad life events as an excuse to coast through life easier as his siblings and attorney seem to imply? Do you relate to him so far?
He may be coasting a bit, but its hard to blame him for wanting to stay in the house he lived in most his life. I think he did have unrealistic expectations for getting the bank loan. Did he really expect that would work?

3. “When people name cats, they usually do it in one of three categories: food, physical characteristics or mythology,” Morrison explained. What do you think Mathilda imagines Charlie's choice of "the goddess route" says about him? What sort of name would you choose and what do you think that could tell someone about you?
For Charlie, I think that this just shows how important his kitties are to him. They are “goddesses” to him when he has no family or close friends. I have four cats currently and am a cat lady. I named two littermates “Oliver” and “Dodger” after a play my family was involved in. We found an outdoor cat and named him “Lion” which is kind of boring, but we didn’t realize at the time we were essentially adopting him…and he looks like a lion without its mane.

4. What would your reaction be if a rich, but estranged family member left you a huge inheritance?
I think I would be overwhelmed. The inheritance would be welcomed but the idea someone I should have been close to passed away before I could know them, would really haunt me.

I have read my last book for this round.

Delilah is a great book!

Sorry- just saw this and added it to my shelf. I also just finished another book on the list. Thanks

I had a pretty bad reading month in September. I thought I was approaching burnout. But my reads for October, including those I read for Round 1, were some of my fave books I've read this year.

I had three 5 star books I'd recommend. Remarkably Bright Creatures, which I held off on reading for too long. This book was not at all overhyped in my opinion. A beautiful interesting story.

Teach the Torches to Burn which is the 7th in the Remix Classics series. This one is by far the best of the bunch and is a queer re-imaging of Romeo and Juliet.

And finally my most shocking discovery: Monstrous by new to me author named Jessica Lewis. I'm a sucker for YA horror/thrillerr book. I think it takes me back to being a teenager obsessed with RL Stine and Christopher Pike. But usually they aren't great these days but Monstrous is the most unique and well written one I've read in years.

The other books I read for this challenge were four stars other than one 3 star book. I'd recommend any of the books I read for Round one if you are interested.

All- For Round 1 I read a really good historical fiction novel called "The Undertaker's Assistant" about a woman who was an enslaved orphan as a child and has just moved to New Orleans to get work as an undertaker's assistant. She tries to find out about her past and fight the discrimination she faces for both her race and her chosen profession.

Not only could it count towards New Orleans in round 2 but its also on Kindle Unlimited at the moment.

Any takers?

I have finished my last book for the round.

I just added another "L" book to Round 1. If anyone else can grab the other "L" we will complete another word before Round 1 ends.

That makes sense, thank you.

FYI: I went ahead and added two books to the next round list because they are due in one week and I want to make sure I prioritize reading them before they go back.

I won't start them until Round 1 is officially over.

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "."

My shelf is Wheels8:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

COMPLETION POST



Book: The First Ladies - Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
Date Read: 30 July 2023
Pages: 352
Rating: 5 / 5

MINI CHALLENGES:

Title: "F"
Author: "M B, V C M"
Characters: "E,F,M" Eleanor, Franklin, Mary

COMPLETION POST



Book: Boys of the Beast -Monica Zepeda
Date Read: 29 July 2023
Pages: 314
Rating: 3.5/ 5

MINI CHALLENGES:

Title: "B"
Author: "M,Z
Characters: "M.E, O" Matt, Ethan, Oscar

COMPLETION POST



Book: We Could Be So Good - Cat Sebastian
Date Read: 27 July 2023
Pages: 384
Rating: 4.5/ 5

MINI CHALLENGES:

Title: "W"
Author: "C,S
Characters: "N, A, E" Nick, Andy, Emily

COMPLETION POST



Book: Snow Place Like L.A. - Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Date Read: 26 July 2023
Pages: 192
Rating: 4/ 5

MINI CHALLENGES:

Title: "S"
Author: "J,M, S, S
Characters: "A, L" Angel, Luca
Series: "C" A Christmas Notch

COMPLETION POST



Book: Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Date Read: 22 July 2023
Pages: 528
Rating: 5 / 5

MINI CHALLENGES:
Title: "F"
Author: "R,Y"
Characters: "V, D, X, A, M, R,J, S, O" Violet, Dain, Xanden, Amber, Mira,Rhiannon, Jack, Sawyer, Oren
Series: "E" Empyrean

BOM Discussion Links
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3