Suzanne’s Comments (group member since Aug 13, 2015)

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

I added that Janeylou.

And wow you are all so awesome. Those chipmunks are gonna get all fluffy and ready for winter :)

Wow - it's fun just observing the kind of achievers that readers are - and what a great idea to compete with friends on Duo Lingo Shannon.

If you put it on the book page with the reference # in the mini-challenge task it populates automatically (Kirsten has a good example in there for task 7). Or if you want to reserve it here - tell us the # and the book so we can add it to the spreadsheet.

MN Lisa wrote: "I'm looking for Dark Yellow so we can finish our 18 book rainbow. When I check Tin Eye most of the books I found on my Yellow List they are coming back brown....any ideas?

[bookcover:Wild Magic|48..."

I personally can see that as dark yellow. What do you other team members think? I have a feeling dark yellow may not appear much in our "by choice" rainbows :)

I hope I answered all the questions! But I'm not the sharpest in the mornings so if I missed something or didn't answer fully, just speak up :)

As I hinted above, we are probably going to get quite a few books now that don't fit a mini-challenge spot, and that's ok! What a good problem to have - that we've almost filled in our mini-challenge.

The chipmunk challenges are in the spreadsheet now (thanks Lisa!). To fit this challenge, books have to be finished after June 1, but could be started anytime. As one is completed, I'll enter it officially, and then we will get another.
Here are the first 10:
* Top 10 Books 2014 - Read a book from the GR "best of 2014" list (see https://www.goodreads.com/list/best_b...)
* Film 10s - Ten Little Indians - Read a book that shares a title word (singular indian is ok)
* Top 10 Books 2013 - Read a book from the GR "best of 2013" list (see https://www.goodreads.com/list/best_b...)
* 10 commandments - "Don't commit aduletry" - read a book where someone cheats
* Film 10s - "The Whole Ten Yards" Read a book that shares a title word (note: THE cannot be used)
*Solve for X - read a book with a fraction in the title (e.g. the Vanishing Half, 7 1/2)
* Top 10 books 2015 - read a book from the GR "best of 2015" list (see https://www.goodreads.com/list/best_b...)
* X books - read a book where the author name starts with X
* 10 Commandments - "Don't covet" - read a book that you've really been wanting to read
* 10 awards - read a book that won a Hugo

@ Nanci - that is so funny about the Spanish edition!

@Kirsten - sorry no grey covers - they have to be one of the basic colors on that 18 spot rainbow. Too bad they won't count grey as pastel black :)

And keep on marking books as free choice. We are required to have 103 free choice books by end of May but that's just our lower limit - we can have as many as we'd like - yay!


@Cris & Nanci - if there isn't a mini a book fits for, that's kind of expected at this point with how well we've been filling things in. And it's 100% ok - the book points are what give us the majority of points anyway. So don't hesitate to read something just because you don't see a mini-challenge fit - every book helps! I think I have a couple of books now in that same situation (no mini).

Suzanne Verification Post

DQ1 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DQ2 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DQ3 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DQ4 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
DQ5 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5 (Chapters 26 -End)

19. Earlier, Eduardo seemed like a fine person to me despite Montgomery's reservations. In these last chapters, he had a stark change in character or his true nature came out. Did you expect him to turn out like this? Do you think he might have been a good husband to Carlota if she were not a hybrid? I always was suspicious about Eduardo, although I think to him, his passion/love for Carlota was real. But as his cousin said, once the conquest was made, Eduardo was kind of on to the next thing. I think he would have been a TERRIBLE husband. But he was also bad in the last part of this book.

20. Dr. Moreau was not a great father throughout the book but his last moment touched my heart. Do you find his love for Carlota redeeming enough for his character? Or would you categorize him as a villain? To me he is still a villain, but I did like that he tried to provide for Carlota.

21. Carlota became more jaguar-like as the story drew near its end, and she finally embraced that part of her in the climactic scene. I somehow expected her physical changes to be more lasting and prominent afterward and maybe have a lifestyle closer to a jaguar which evidently didn't happen. Anyone else had an odd expectation like this or something else that you expected to happen? It is weird (and doesn't make sense) that she was the only one who basically shifted back and forth. I didn't have odd expectations, but I did expect more from the book.

22. How do you feel about the relatively open-ended epilogue? Do think Carlota would be reunited with the other hybrids? Will Montgomery come back into her life at some point? Do you think Moreno-Garcia kept the option for a sequel open? If there is a sequel, I think I'd pass (unless team points were involved. I don't think Montgomery will come back, but I would expect she'll be reunited with the other hybrids.

DQs: Day 4 Ch 19-25

15. Welcome to the penultimate set of chapters! A lot of revelations came to light in this set of chapters: did any of them surprise you? If so, which ones?
My biggest surprise was that we still haven't seen a huge amount of hybrids, etc. I had this mindset of how things would go, and it didn't match what's really happening in this book.

16. Montgomery and Carlota finally seem like they are going to make love but Montgomery stops this from happening. Do you think he made the right choice? Why or why not? Also do you think they’ll still get together in the end?
I think FOR SURE he made the right choice given her emotional state. And frankly, this surprised me. I do kind of think they'll end up together.

17. It looks like Dr. Moreau is going to die by the end of the book. In the original novel and adaptations Dr. Moreau is a villainous figure. Do you think he is portrayed as a villain in this book or do you think he has redeeming qualities? I think he is portrayed as a quiet villain. He's just so obsessed with his work, and doesn't think of his creations as having any kind of feelings. So he's basically a psychopath. I don't see any redeeming qualities - and seeing him beat the kid made me decide he was truly evil.

18. Carlota is given a key to the laboratory. What do you think she will find there? Also any predictions for the end of the book?
I've actually finished the book. I thought she would find hybrids or scary notes or something exciting.

Weekly Status Report

Summary: Ten days left in May! Time has certainly flown by. Our current mini-challenge is looking strong, and the upcoming one will be fun. Keep on reading things you enjoy (or things you can complain about to us).

Status sheet Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

May Books:
Needed Page ranges - all done except:
500-599 need 8 more books
Any other books you read, put in "free choice" (if you remember).
Together we have read a LOT of books - keep it up :)

Shelf fixes
Andrea - need War of the Worlds on your shelf

Amanda- need A House of Sky and Breath and A Rival for Rivingdon on your shelf

Shannon Need The Daughter of Doctor Moreau on your shelf.


Books of the Month
If you want to participate, the last day to answer daily questions is 2 June. Be sure to link three of your answers into our planning sheet.


starts 16 May - Nanci is asking the DQs on day 3 - yay!


(Backroom read) starts 10 May


Starts 2 June


Starts 16 June

Mini-Challenges
Rainbow Towers: I made all of the unclaimed spots uncolored (white) so that you can just fill in your books whenever. When I've checked/confirmed the colors, I'll fill in the colored box and the pull-down menu (that also helps me keep track of what I've checked so that I don't keep looking at the same things). Remember the colors in each rainbow have to be unique.

The new Chipmunk mini-challenge is described here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Books finished after June 1st, 9 am UTC can be used for this challenge. As we finish each task, we will get another one. If we finish a book that doesn't fit any task, it can be used later if it finishes a future task. Unlike our current mini-challenge, once a book is officially used for a Chipmunk, it cannot be changed to something else. Anyway, it looks fun and it'll be great to see what tasks are thrown at us. Please let me know if you have any questions about this challenge.

Keli wrote: "Shall I pause Kushiels Dart? And read a 500-599 instead?"

It sounds like we will be ok! I'd guess continuing with Kushiel's Dart is just fine.

And thanks all you reading volunteers (of any length book)! I think I'll have two 500-599 page books read by the 31st.

I'm not loving Doctor Moreau either - I want more hybrids and less...angst.

Great thinking Nanci. I'll try to add that to the update too.

The mini-challenge tasks need to be finished by the end of the challenge. Of course, finishing them early is not a bad thing, but we do have time to complete them. And as we finish the rainbow towers, we can add more. There are 4 more added to the official sheet, and we'll get them over to the planning sheet today sometime.

To get points for ANYTHING we have to finish our book towers. So the page count tower. So by the end of May (10 days!) we need 8 more 500 - 599 page books and 8 more free choice books. Other books will be also valued for points, but we need those ones. Thus, if you have a 500-599 page book you've been contemplating, this is a good time!

DQs: Day 3, Chap 12 - 18

10. I've noticed Carlota's perceptions are often described using non visual cues: she hears a lot, and even smells Montgomery behind her bedroom door but then dismisses the idea. After her attack, she finds herself noticing that "Her fingers, in the mirror, looked very long, the nails almost too sharp and the eyes...". Do you feel Carlota ever questions her own nature as a human/hybrid or is she too ingenuous to do so? Do you also feel the author is using alternate senses and, if so, as clues for the reader or red herrings?
I really loved this question because I may not have noticed it otherwise. But it totally supports my Carlota is a jaguar theory.

11. For much of this part, I felt Montgomery was conflicted regarding his feelings for Carlota. He "writes" to his wife using what I felt was a brotherly perspective only to realise, a few lines and drinks later, he could not resist kissing her if she were there in that moment. What did you make of this change of heart and do you find his various missteps bring something to the story?
He's definitely starting to lust after her. Probably why the story jumped six years :) It still seems a little weird because she is so innocent and young in the ways of the world.

12. We're already halfway through the story - Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are both complex characters. Am I alone in thinking Carlota and her hybrid friends deserve to be more thoroughly fleshed out and layered? Yes! I want to see so much more of them! I hated the part where Doctor Moreau is beating the hybrid - child abuse!

13. What did you make of the scene where Carlota loses her virginity by the cenote - did her reaction seem natural to you or did you find yourself questioning her fearlessness? In your opinion, if Carlota is herself a hybrid, what effect might that have on their progeny? That whole part felt pretty weird to me. I was kind of thinking that hybrids would be sterile.

14. There's a storm brewing as the hybrids plan to join Juan Cumux and Carlota attempts to retrieve her father's notes and formulas. Do you think the hybrids will remain subservient once they remove themselves from Doctor Moreau's influence or could the story turn dark? I HOPE it turns dark. I want to see a rebellion! I'm kind of hoping for more action.

@Keli and everyone: We can officially use the pastels (like the pink color above) as "bright" - applies to green, purple, etc. too

I will also ask about grey - I am pretty sure it has to be one of the 18 colors listed in the first huge rainbows. But I'm sure hoping we can count light versions like that pink above.

But if you put your brown book on a task where the task number has a purple background - we'll change it and label it brown :)

I'm going to ask for a few more rainbow towers. As Lisa said we can use any 10 of the colors in a rainbow. so if you don't see your books color on a task just choose a color and write down your color and we will get it sorted.

what a fun weekend Shannon!

Keli I'm pretty sure we can use it for pink but I'm going to verify in the captains group. We have the same issue with purple. I'll let you know soon!

I think Apoorv did it for me - I just had a note linking to that spreadsheet. Thanks so much Apoorv!! That was fantastic of you.

My other notes were basically "on my tbr". :)

I think your questions were fantastic!!

I'd agree that's a dark blue cover.

When I get home I'll look at that MD 23. I think I have a note somewhere.