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

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

Not sure if anything I'm reading has ice cream on the cover, but I will spell out my go-to flavors: MINT CHIP and COFFEE. The other letters* are to go for the Coin. (Ergo, alterations could necessary.)
DEADLINE: September 22


M - Mason Reese in Slow Burn
I - Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only
N - Nora Ephron's Heartburn
T - Tony Dunbar's Crooked Man
*C - Comet Jo in Empire Star
*H - Hawkes Harbor
*O - George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four
*C - George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?
*O - "The Old Navy" by Frederick Marryat in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems
*L - James Lacey in Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
*A - Allegra Babel-17 (of course, to me she's the star)
*T - Jill Twiss's A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo
*E - Ellie Alexander's Meet Your Baker
C - Charlotte Pence's Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President
H - Harriet Tubman: A Life From Beginning to End
I - In Cold Blood
P - Peggy Guggenheim in Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

C - Claude in Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life
O - Oscar Hammerstein II's A Real Nice Clambake
F - "Fantastic Mr. Fox" on The Roald Dahl Audio Collection
F - Virgil Flowers in Heat Lightning
E - Lady Emily in Wild Strawberries
E - Lady Evangeline Youngblood in My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
*F - Frances Goodrich in The Real Nick and Nora: Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Writers of Stage and Screen Classics
*U - Uloopi in Death and Night
*D - D is for Dahl: A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl
*G - Zane Grey's Bernardo's Revenge
*E - The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

June 29th
183 pages


June 30th
181 pages


July 1st
218 pages


July 3rd
438 pages


July 6th
327 pages


July 7th
244 pages


July 10th
210 pages

Group Total: 873,529

June 11
100 pages


June 15
391 pages


June 20
32 pages


June 20
204 pages


June 21
160 pages


June 24
146 pages

Group total: 766,823

I want in. I haven't played a good game of BINGO in quite a while.

Question for everyone: American authors often write books set in other countries. Can anyone recommend books by not-Americans that take place in the USA? I’ll take “visiting foreigner” stories, but my primary curiosity is for books you might unknowingly attribute to a native (even if it’s an ill-informed native).
Thanks

With so many books that qualify, I'm going to join just to see where it leads. I'll start from now, so

Deadline: June 19, 2019 (I like a bit of cushion)
1. A Separate Peace Released 1972; 2004
2. James and the Giant Peach Released: 1996
3. Manhattan Beach In production
4. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine In production
5. The Bell Jar Released: 1979; In production
6. Cat Among the Pigeons Released: 2008
7. 1984 Released: 1956; 1984
8. For Your Eyes Only ("For Your Eyes Only" & "Risico") Released: 1981*
9. Heartburn Released: 1986
10. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds Released: 1972
11.

*Movies I saw before reading the book.
^Movies I saw after reading the book.

Be back soon

8: So, Abby seems to be an annoying type of girl who will talk your ear off. How do you feel about Abby and how the other girls treat her? How do you feel when Leah invites Abby on the roadtrip?

9: In chapter 13, we catch a glimse of her mom. Do you like it when moms are so overportective and want to do everything for their daughter together?

10: How do you feel about Abby flirting with Leah? Do you think that they could have a relationship and it last?

11: How do you feel about Morgan being racist. What would you do in this situation?

12: My feelings definitely changed for Abby. Have your feeling changed towards Abby? If so, then what changed and why?

1. Have you read Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda? Maybe seen the Movie yet? (I haven't, it is not out in The Netherlands yet) Did you like the book/movie? For me it was a while since I read Simon, but some of the characters stuck in my mind so for me it helps with the dynamics of Leah's group of friends.
>Haven't read or seen Simon. I was so confused in the early goings, that I wrote a crib sheet.

2. From what I've read so far I love the references to fandoms, fanfiction and reading. A quote for the Slytherins among us: "I'm basically your resident fat Slytherin Rory Gilmore.", Do you think this describes Leah?
>I love Rory and am comfortably familiar with Harry references, but I'm not sure what she means. Does she mean she's like a late-season Rory (post yacht-theft and rift with Lorelei)? Does she mean she's a bookish trouble-maker? If I was into fan-stuff (not just the HP books and movies) would this make more sense?

3. I love the friendship between Simon and Leah. Did you have a friendship like theirs in high school?
>Yes and no. When I was in school, I don't think anyone could have been as "in contact" with their BFF unless they lived next-door and with facing windows. My sister had her own phone line, but I still don't think that comes close.

4. "Imagine going about your day knowing someone's carrying you in their mind. That has to be the best part of being in love - the feeling of having a home in someone else's brain. What's the best of being in love for you? Do you agree with Leah?
>I never looked at it as being in someone else's brain, but I love the image. For me, the best part is that feeling of unity, that whatever happens to one, it's made better by sharing with the other person; bad times are alleviated, good times are enhanced.

5. Do you read fanfiction like Leah does? Or make fanart like she is making? Do you post art or pictures you make on Instagram or Tumblr? Do you maybe write fanfiction, if you do what kind and which fandom?
>Nope, nope, and nope. Maybe I should give it a try.

6. What do you think of Leah's group of friends? Do you like them?
>Hmm. I certainly like the way they all stand up for each other and are there for each other. And I like that they're open to new-comers, and to existing friends "growing" into adults.

7. Will Morgan's rejection letter break up the group of friends? What did you think of her reaction as to why she did not get in to the university? Do you agree with Leah's reaction?
>Whether it breaks up the group mostly will depend on Morgan. The group seems strong enough to survive with forgiveness, especially because I read Morgan as having a bad day. (I'm still VERY confused as to why she didn't get into her state school, but that's not the issue.) I thought Leah's immediate reaction was right. I have to admit, I don't know if I'd have called out a friend so publicly at that age or if I would have internalized or if I would have spoken privately. In any case, I understand Leah's reaction, but I also feel she knows Morgan well enough to have a sense of how she really feels. I'm not defending a deeply jolted 17-year-old from Georgia for voicing the comment, but in times of trauma, people say things they don't mean, whether they're looking for some meaning or they're just repeating what others have said. It's unfortunate, but it's true. And cutting the person off doesn't advance the cause/allow for "teaching moments."

Every year, I promise myself to use the tagines I bought and every year ... well, I'm sure some of you know the rest of this sentence. So I'll start this challenge by spelling the word. Maybe it will work as a prompt.

T
A
G
I
N
E
S

June 1
224 pages


June 4
925 pages


June 4
192 pages


June 6
208 pages


June 10
343 pages

Group Total: 701,004

I'm in. For now, I'll play cards as items come (as in real Bingo), then I will focus after I see a pattern(s).

Challenge completed 5/31.

May 6
274 pages
May 9
309 pages
May 19
101 pages
May 20
336 pages
May 26
251 pages
May 26
160 pages

Group Total: 629,226

I've headed back abroad. Still writing from the U.S.A., and still aiming for Silver.

Heat II: May 19 - August 6
1. England: Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
—Murder on the Links, Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
—The Enormous Crocodile, James and the Giant Peach, Vile Verses, The Roald Dahl Audio Collection by Roald Dahl
--The Tragedy of MacBeth by William Shakespeare
--Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
2. Japan: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
—Black Butler, Vol. 1 by Yana Toboso
--Other Voices, Other Vistas: Short Stories from Africa, China, India, Japan and Latin America by
—The Boy in the Earth by Fuminori Nakamura
--I Am a Cat: I by Natsume SōsekiCarlo Rovelli
3. USSR/Russia: "The Vistior" by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky
4. New Zealand: Bliss by Katherine Mansfield
5. Scotland: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
6. Italy: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

Countries visited so far: 15. For Heat III, see message 32.

I need a new Scavenger list. I'm in


A
accepting,
adopt--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 83
adoption--1Q84 disk 14
adore--Murder on the Links 85
affection,
amazing--Fun House page 83
ancestor--A Most Imperfect Union: A Contrarian History of the United States page 195
appreciate--1Q84 disk 14
appreciation--
B
beautiful--1Q84 disk 14
beloved--Murder on the Links 115
best--Fun House page 109; Now We Are Six page 16
birth--Moby-Dick chapter 41; Other Voices, Other Vistas: Short Stories 337
bouquet--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 131
brave--Now We Are Six page 17
breakfast in bed--Leah on the Offbeat 337
C
cake--Fun House page 110
candy--Fun House page 42
card--1Q84 disk 14
care--Leah on the Offbeat 319
caring,
carnation,
celebrate--Moby-Dick chapter 42; A Separate Peace 35
celebration--Moby-Dick chapter 42
cherish,
child--1Q84 disk 7
children--1Q84 disk 14; At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 113
chocolate--Fun House page 232; Now We Are Six page 22
compassionate,
cookies--Fun House page 116; Leah on the Offbeat 337
D
daisy--Something Childish But Very Natural 201
darling,
daughter--1Q84 disk 5
day--1Q84 disk 7
dear--Something Childish But Very Natural 188
dedication,
devoted,
doting
E
elegant--1Q84 disk 9; James and the Giant Peach 144
endearing
F
family--Moby-Dick chapter 41; Fun House 81; 1Q84 disk 17
feelings--Fun House 80
flowers--Fun House 132; 1Q84 disk 14
fond--1Q84 disk 9
G
gift
grandma--Bite Me 245
grandmother--Fun House 49
gracious,
grateful
gratitude--1Q84 disk 8
guiding
H
heart--Fun House 90; Moby-Dick chapter 41
helpful--Fun House 191
heritage,
holiday--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 134; Fun House 192
honor--Fun House 82; Moby-Dick chapter 42
hug--Leah on the Offbeat 204; Manhattan Beach 11
I
inherit
inspirational
J
jewelry--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 51
jewels--The Tragedy of MacBeth 135
K
kin--Moby-Dick chapter 42
kind--"The Lady with the Lamp" from Writing the Garden: A Literary Conversation across Two Centuries 120
kiss--Bite Me 308; Fun House 47
L
lady--"The Lady with the Lamp" from Writing the Garden: A Literary Conversation across Two Centuries 120
lineage--"The Tomoshibi" from Other Voices, Other Vistas: Short Stories 337
lovable
love--Moby-Dick chapter 42; 1Q84 disk 6
M
ma
mama--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 79
maternal,
May--Now We Are Six 51
meal, memories, mom--Bite Me 245
mommy--Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine disk 1
mother, motherhood
N
nuclear family
O
offspring
P
parent--At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories 113
perfume, precious, present, proud
Q
quality
R
remember, resourceful, roses
S
sentimental,
smart--Murder on the Links 105
son, special, spouse, Sunday, supportive, sweet, sweetheart
T
thanks, thoughtful, tradition, tulips
U
understanding, upbringing, unique
V
virtuous, vows
W
warmth, wife----"The Lady with the Lamp" from Writing the Garden: A Literary Conversation across Two Centuries 120
wise, wisdom, woman, wonderful
X
xxx ( kisses)
Y
years, youthful
Z
zeal, zestful

Fixing vacation backlog


April 16th
240 pages


April 24th
342 pages


April 25th
160 pages


April 27th
320 pages

Group Total: 559,763

I just finished my bedtime cup so I'll join in honor of coincidence. I expect I'll be spelling but maybe i can find some "high tea" settings to add in

So my internet today has been...let's call it spotty. But I did finish The Yellow Sofa by Eça de Queirós. Considering that I only picked it up because the author's name began with a Q (challenges, challenges), it was such a fun surprise. Reading along as a man drives himself nuts over [sorry, no spoilers], I hardly noticed the differences in time and culture.
Anyway, I also read several pieces in Amy Hempel's At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories.
All together, probably another couple of hours.
Anyway, it's time to choose what to take to bed as I try to last until midnight.
Finish strong, everyone to my West. Good night and GoodReads.

April 12
112 pages

Group Total: 458,703

Happy DEAR Day to all!

I started just after midnight as well, and will probably be there again to finish off tonight. Add the time before breakfast and what I'll call a coffee break (alas, no coffee; I read instead of grinding and brewing) and I'm nearing the end of my book. As a notoriously slow reader, I'm not aiming for a certain page count but I"m enjoying using books to fill all the blank spaces of my day. Will report next when I finish this shorty.