Allegra’s Comments (group member since Nov 03, 2017)

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

I don't see where we sign up. With a very busy next couple of weeks, I don't want to miss the sign-up, but when I just called up the main page for this challenge, it said it was closed to new comments.
Is it only me?

While I wait for my soda bread to bake, I'm signing up for another go

◄ March is Irish American Month. Read a book that takes place in Ireland, or was written by an Irish author.

◄ March is Women’s History Month. Read a book by a new to you female author, or a book with a strong female lead.

◄ March is said to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. Read a book that starts out strong and wimps out to the end, or read a book featuring animals. (Last year was a Stephen Fry book, this year Douglas Adams. I guess March brings out my penchant for funny, animal-loving Brits.)

◄ The flower of March is the daffodil. Read a book that has a predominately yellow or white cover, or where the first letter of the title can be found in DAFFODIL.

◄ March was named for Mars, the Roman god of war. Read a book set in space, a book about war, or a book with a red cover.

◄ March: to walk in a military manner with a regular measured tread. Read a book where a character is very determined with moving towards their goal or a book with a character in the military.

◄ March splits Pisces and Aries for zodiac signs. Read a book with water or fire on the cover, the final book in a series, or the first book in a series.

◄ March Madness is the college basketball tournament performed each Spring in the US. Read a book featuring a sports team or someone who plays a sport.

◄ March 2nd is Old Stuff Day. This is a day to try something new, break out of your routine, make a change! Read a book from a new genre or author. Break out of your reading rut!

◄ March 9th is Panic Day. Rather than freak out, read a book that calms you down! Alternatively, read a book that raises your blood pressure and makes you uncomfortable.

◄ March 12th is Girl Scout Day. Read a book with cookies in the title or on the cover, or read a book about a group of girls or a where a character does community service.

◄ March 14th is Pi Day, a day that celebrates Pi, the number that never ends. It’s often abbreviated to 3.14. Read a book with an average rating of 3.14 or higher, a book that was published in March of 2014 or a book featuring a mathematician or bakery.

◄ March 17th is Saint Patrick’s Day. Read a book written by an author named Patrick (first or last name) or with Patrick as the main character (Pat is acceptable). Alternatively, read a book where the main cover color is green or has alcohol on it.

◄ March 20th is the first day of Spring in the United States. Spring represents ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Read a book where the main character undergoes a transformation of some kind or gives birth to something (a person, a new idea, a business).

◄ March 29th is National Smoke and Mirrors Day. Read a book where something isn’t as it seems or where the main character is hiding something.

New year, new start!

2019 Heat 1: Duration: January 8 - March 28

1. Australia: Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time by Doris Pilkington
2. United Kingdom: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Fillets of Plaice by Gerald Durrell
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Canada: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
4. Poland: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
5. Russian Federation: Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
6. Norway: The Bat by Jo Nesbø
Lost Cat by Jason
7. France: Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
8. South Africa: Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
9. China: The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran

Feb. 19
160 pages


Feb. 22
178 pages


Feb. 27
304 pages


Feb. 28
280 pages


Feb. 28
416 pages


Feb. 28
130 pages


March 1
144 pages

Group Total: 309,709 pages

I know a challenge like this is more complicated to set up and monitor, so thank you to all who did the work. This was fun. Plus I learned about some new parts of the world.

I'll drink to this!

Feb. 5
104 pages


Feb. 6
320 pages


Feb. 9
342 pages


Feb. 12
304 pages


Feb. 13
220 pages


Feb. 17
321 pages

Group Total: 230,491

Looks like I've got my Masters. (Message 51)
I expect I'll move on to my PhD next, but first I want to take a moment to enjoy this accomplishment.

Cat wrote: "@Allegra #9: I agree about Drew's knee-jerk funny response. I'd've said that too. and then (I hope) followed up with a "but seriously, let's talk when we're not @work""

Exactly

DQ Day 4 Answers


14. How do you think Alexa handled the situation at the party with Drew, and then later when she snuck out of his apartment?
I thought she was being stupid. I blame the alcohol, and then she was in too deep.

15. I loved Alexa's passion about TARP (yes, horrible acronym for that!) but just didn't get her fear and anxiety about speaking with Olivia about it. What did you think about this, and their relationship?
Sisters can be tough. As I said earlier, you've got a lifetime of past and future to be worrying about. I don't think she should have felt so guilty. More than that, if their relationship was tense but on the mend, I would have thought some of this would come up. Alexa talks about never crying, but she comes across as too emotional for me to think she could discuss things with her sister and not "confess." Overall, I thought the sister stuff was overblown.

16. Though it did have a level of steam, the author wrote more in the way of fade-to-black love scenes. Do you prefer this style? And do you think it adequately showed the increasing intimacy between Alexa and Drew?
I strongly prefer "fade-to-black." I got the increased intimacy, and I don't think sex is the best way to portray it anyway. The implications were pretty intimate from the get-go, so what would they do later to show something stronger?

17. Did you like the ending? The book overall? Any final thoughts?
Ending was fine. I like the doughnuts. But I figured they'd end up back in the elevator and engaged before they were even out of the elevator.
Overall, there were some cute moments, some scenes that reminded me of my own when-it-was-new days, but I'm still no fan of romances. Drew and Alexa were cute and each had their moments but both came off as kinda dumb a lot of the time. I know that plenty of strong outsides have insecure insides, I just thought these two flipped too frequently to be functional.
I liked the friends. Drew couldn't be too bad from the way the exes talked. In some ways, I found the casual characters more relatable than the stars.

Cat wrote: "@Allegra #9: I agree about Drew's knee-jerk funny response. I'd've said that too. and then (I hope) followed up with a "but seriously, let's talk when we're not @work""

Day 3 DQs Answers

9. I don’t blame Alexa for wanting a more definitive set of rules around her relationship with Drew. Partly for health reasons since if he’s sleeping with other people she needs to know to protect herself (same for Drew). But do you think she went about it in the right way (via text) and time (middle of work day)?
Um, No. In fact, given the circumstances, I may have answered the same way (first round anyway; he should have deferred after that). Text/email may be an easier way to ask, it's also harder to see if the answer is true. But middle of the day and/or while at work would never be an appropriate time for this discussion.

10. If they hadn’t run into each other at the bar do you think one of them would of caved and called the other? If you were in that situation would you of called the other person to give it one more shot?
If they weren't in a book, I don't think either would cave. Maybe if a friend intervened. Their fight seemed a bit weak for an ending, so I might have tried again, but most people don't look back.

11. Drew keeps saying he’s going to have to end it before Alexa really hates him. Do you think he’s going to be that man-dumb and break up with her? Do you think he feels the way he does because of what happened with Molly?
I do think Molly is a factor, but IRL a lot of guys are that man-dumb. But I never found Drew that convincing when he said it.

12. Part of my brain keeps screaming at Alexa to just talk to him already. But I also get why she is scared to ask, those are questions you can’t unask and answers you can’t unhear. Would you of had the conversation with Drew already about making things official?
Probably not.

13. Alexa’s reaction to Drew believing her about racist Mike, seemed very real to me. I was expecting some excuses too. But was pleasantly surprised. While as a white girl my experience with these situations is more from a gender/sexual standpoint, the excuses usually come fairly quickly. Why do people feel the need to defend people (even non-close friends) who make racist/sexist/homophobic/whatever comments? Who would make that up (at least when their is no gain)?
I thought this one of the better moments in the book. Full disclosure: Another middle-class white girl here.
I think it boils down to a basic human instinct that other people are "good" and that you should defend your friends. Also, if you admit your friends are jerks, you admit that you didn't choose wisely. It's not that most folks would "make it up," but sometimes it's easier to accuse a friend of overreacting than to accuse a friend of being an ass. All of that said, I try to be open to what the "new" person is saying. I prefer to take in the accusations and reflect later when possible. I do try to validate what is being said in the moment. In a similar situation where I'd invited the "new" friend, I'd probably avoid the "old" friend for that evening and not make the "new" friend uncomfortable. Certainly if the "old" friend was someone I didn't know/like well (as it seemed here), I'd probably believe more and faster. But it gets more complicated the longer you've had to make your own assessments.
Good question. The truth is, this comes up a lot in life.

Day 2 DQ Answers

5. Oh boy... I got the steamy section. We are approximately half way through the book... do you have a favorite scene? What is your favorite quote?
It's always fun to watch people falling in love. And I found the steamy scenes just steamy enough.

6. Drew "mislead" Alexa about the wedding situation and his own friend calls him a jerk yet he goes to see his patient Jack when he isn't working or on call. What do you think about Drew? Do you like him?
I did like him. But I don't think I'd have set him up with a friend at this point. I've known several men who were wonderful, warm people who either didn't know how to deal with romantic attachments or simply didn't want romantic "attachments." (As I got older, I knew a couple of women like this too.) If Drew were a friend, I'd encourage him to be upfront about his goals (which he was with Alexa) and I'd let him know that I wouldn't lie about his past, but after that, I would let him live his life.

7. Communication is important in relationships. With all the different ways of communicating that technology now offers, have you ever had a text or email exchange that was misinterpreted and that led to conflict?
( yes.. I "borrowed" this question from the readers guide)
Who hasn't? With no nuance or intonation, you probably only think you've never been misinterpreted. Then again, now that everyone uses these media, you may be misinterpreted less often than you think.

8. Which character have you related to the most and what about them did you connect with?
It's hard to say because I find everyone relatable, but no one feels much like me.

Day 1 DQ Answers

1. What made you pick this up to read? What are you hoping for?
I'm not a big Romance fan, but I was between books and this was available on my library website. My only hope was for something quick and fun.

2. I loved the lift scene and introductions to Alexa & Drew! Have you ever been that impulsive? What did you think of the difference between Alexa's behaviour in the lift and with Olivia?
Like Alexa, I probably fall into the "overthink" camp, but when you're stuck in a situation, some harmless flirting is a good way to pass the time. And as she pointed out, she'd never see the guy again. As for Olivia, there's history there as well as a future. Sisters are the hardest to BS and can put you more on your guard.

3. The author includes major issues subtly (impact of prejudices, body image etc). Do you think it's important for romances to include this sort of issue in the story? Isn't it supposed to be escapism?*
I find self-doubt pretty common in the the Romances I've read, but that may be the most redeeming factor. I'm not saying everything requires a lesson, but reading (movie, TV) can give a person a way to see themselves and others in a new way. In fact, soap operas have been credited with quite a bit of social reform and community acceptance.

4. What's up with Amy? What's the real history with Molly, do you think?
Oh, come on. Amy's a self-serving, um, witch, and we've all known her. I'd guess Drew has a more genuine concern for Molly's happiness than Amy does.

Only trying for 5 books in the Sand Hemisphere

• 3. Flat Tire--Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories Feb. 6: In "Zlateh the Goat," Aaron and Zlateh must find shelter when caught in a blizzard.
• 10. Ants In Pants - Read a book where one of the characters is very annoying.
• 9. Mirage - Read a book where one of the characters is not who he or she originally seems.
• 8. Quick Sand - Read a book where the main character is sucked into a situation by someone else.
• 3. Flat Tire - Read a book where a character makes an unintended stop.

Sounds good. I'm in

I'll probably try for a combo.


Read a book with a heart(s) on the cover.
Read a book with a pink cover
Read a book in which two characters fall in love
Read a book with red text on the cover
Read a book that starts with the letter L
Read a book from the Best Valentine's Day Gifts list
>Read a book with a red cover The Almost Sisters (see below)
>Read a book in which someone gives a gift(s) to someone else: Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (lots of Hannukah gifts; in "The Mixed-Up Feet and the Silly Bridegroom" there are several gifts for the bridegroom)
Read a book that has the letters L O V and E in the title ( in any order)
Read a book with pink text on the cover
Read a book in which a character receives flowers
Read a book in that has two characters that go on a date
Read a book with "chocolate" in the text
>Read a book with wine glasses and a bottle of wine on the cover The Wedding Date (see below)
Read a book that is tagged MPG Romance
Read a book with the numbers 14 in the page count ( ie. 314 pages)
Read a book with a HEA
Read a book published on February 14 ( any year)
Read a book that the page numbers add up to 14 (ie- 374 pages= 3+7+4=14)
Read a book from the Best Love Stories list.
Read a book with the words "Valentine's Day" in the text.
Read a book with chocolate on the cover

What's the time frame on this one? Or are we allowed to fill as many spaces as possible from each book? With 28 days, even the 5-book minimum to "complete" a single card seems to preclude a lot of participants. Personally, I think the "get all you can" approach would be fun--and a fun twist as a quick challenge

I had an ambitious month planned and posting was slowing me down. Here's what was missed:

January 9

135 pages

January 11

438 pages

January 14

320 pages

January 18

210 pages

January 22
- - - - -
131 pages - - - 353 pages

January 24

311 pages

January 25

136 pages

January 29
- - - - -
369 pages - - - 64 pages

January 31

229 pages

Group Total: 139,921

Obviously, I was out of rigatoni.
(Thanks again for the help, Karen ⊰✿)

It works! Thanks so much for everyone's patient help and thorough notes.