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

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

Weekly Status Report

Summary: Amazing! We are currently in first place, although a lot of that is dependent on when and how official sheets are updated. But still...
Status sheet Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

May Books: Required Tower 72/223: 33% complete
100-199: 7/10 - 70%
200-299: 18/20 - 90%
300-399: 30/30 - 100%
400-499: 11/30 - 37%
500-599: 0/20 - 0% (but several Kings of the Wyld in progress!)
600+: 3/10 - 30%
Free Choice: 3/103 - 3%

Notes
As you can see, we've finished our required 300-399 page books. So if you remember, when you read one of those label it as free choice. No biggie if you don't remember though, and please keep reading them - they are fantastic points!!

Shelf fixes
Lisa - can you add Rebel to your tower team shelf?
Apoorv - can you add date read to Seven Moons on your shelf (it's on the spreadsheet)
Kirsten - Can you add Him to your tower team shelf?
(I put those notes here because it is easy to miss them in the thread.)

Book of the Month

is in full swing and I think people are enjoying it - I know I am. 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


(Backroom read) starts 10 May

Be sure to message if you have any questions or issues.

Also, big congratulations to Shannon on graduating!

Good luck on those exams Vi!

And Janeylou thanks for adding to the shelf!

@Lisa - can you put Rebel on your tower team shelf?


I bet you can all tell what I'm doing tonight :)

@Kirsten - Can you put "Him" on your tower team shelf? Thanks :)

Janeylou wrote: "Completion posts

Private Charter
N.R. Walker
254 pgs
1st May
CT46..N
N = Author

Hot Seat
Eli Easton
274 pgs
2 may
CT47..E
E = a..."

Janine/Janeylou can you make sure you put all of your books completed for tower teams on your shelf? That way we can make them "official". So the ones you listed above, plus The Uncertain Unicorn.

Congratulations Shannon!!!! Hooray! That's a huge accomplishment - and worthy of many parties!

And Kerri - wow yes - big money projects are stressful for sure - I hate making that kind of decisions!

@ Janeylou - thanks! I'll get those entered as soon as I get home from delivering dinner.

@Chris - thanks for the heads up about the Pride book - I'll point it out to Lisa (unless she's fixed it already) :)

@Leslie - I suspect it'll get done anyway, but I noticed your book Allegdly isn't on the spreadsheet yet.

DQ Day 4
Chapters 22-30

16. The Maxithon, now that was an adventure. Was this what you were expecting was going to happen? What did you make of the fight?
I figured they would win, if only because there is lots of book left. I did NOT expect the complete and utter destruction - although with all the hints about wings being tied, I expected the chimera to be able to fly. I really liked how brave every member of Saga was.

17. We meet yet another one of the old bands - what did you make of Vanguard? They seem a little friendlier at least than Raff's band. Did you expect them to say no? Or would you have thought they'd team up with Saga?
I really expected them to team up with Saga, but I can understand why they didn't. It was funny that they have a living bard. :) I also liked seeing a tough woman in the band.

18. Saga seems to have had a rather large amount of unfortunate bards. I can't help but wonder what they're going to lead Kit into, or do you think that maybe Kit will truly be the first ever bard of the band who will actually survive the adventure? Kit is supposedly unkillable after all, so maybe they're going to be lucky? What are your predictions on Kit's life expectancy as bard of Saga?
I've been wondering the same thing. I feel like Kit will make it, but I'm not positive! I like his character, and his interests in history and music. So I'm hoping for his continued "life."

19. Are you enjoying the writing style of the book? What about the story in general?
I'm enjoying this a lot. It is a re-read but I remember VERY little - so I have no clue what will happen. Maybe that is a benefit of growing old + reading a lot of books. The book has made me want to read more fantasy.

20. The Heartwyld beckons! We are going to get a closer glimpse at this mysterious forest. What are your expectations? I'm guessing at some point they will crash and need to walk through the forest. I hope nobody else gets rot (or that Moog finds a cure). And I suspect that we will see more monsters and probably see that beautiful bounty hunter again.

21. Oh my word, someone went overboard! Over the forest! With the daeva no less. Makes me wonder if the band will be intact for much longer. Or could the daeva potentially not have killed Matrick, or intend to take him back to Lilith so she can kill her beloved husband herself? There was this one moment where it looked as though the daeva may let them be, seeing that they're on their way to rescue someone's daughter, so a noble feat in a world that seems to have kicked Larkspur all her life. Maybe? Yes? No? Am I alone in thinking something like this?
You aren't alone! I'm guessing (like I said above) that she'll end up in the forest with Matrick and they will all reunite. I hope so, because I'd love to see her working with the band. So hopefully I'm not just being too wishful.

I LOVED that Clay threw Kel overboard. I hated that guy and he for sure would have done everything he threatened and more. However, I can't believe Kel was stupid enough to voice the threats. And I SURE hope he is dead.

I too am amazed Kerri! I hope your week was good :)

DQ Day 3
Chapters 16-21

11. The fight with Raff's old band (who looked like clowns) that ended with snakes is one of the first times we see the almost full band working together. What did you think of this scene? Did you like the action or was it confusing?
The thoughts Sammy brought in about KISS made my day! I was initially very confused about the clown makeup, but I thought the fight was well done. Chaotic, as a fight would be. And thinking about the ground writhing with snakes - shudder. As a side note, now I'm wondering about the Screaming Eagles, etc. Do they have a real world analog

12. So the hoarder kobolds - I thought they were great! And the bird-like creatures pulling the carriage. Do you have a favorite creature you've seen so far, or one you'd like to see? Tell why.
I loved the kobolds and how they were honest and gave back the bag of gold - but also honest saying they wished he had died instead. And the little nests. I also liked the description of the evil gorgon lady.

13. I think in the last half of this section we really start understanding what a big deal the Kings of Wyld really were. And we get to compare them to the Screaming Eagles. What do you think about the ethics and popularity of the new bands that kill captive monsters in arenas?
I really feel like it almost mirrors real life (the original bands) vs. social media. That's how I felt while reading it anyway. Those new bands with so much style over substance. And then I felt old. :)

14. Lastleaf gave his (and the hordes') motivations for conquest. Do you think his reasons were valid, or is he just evil? Do you feel at all sorry for the monsters?
I have no doubt Lastleaf is evil - but also - his whole race was wiped out, and he found a way to get revenge and take over the world - (insert evil laugh). Being the last of his kind gives him some good motivation.

15. We all picked our favorite character in day 1 questions. Has yours changed since then? If I can count a side character, I'd pick Ginny (Clay's wife). Just her strength and her ability to inspire Clay to be stronger. I'm loving Moog, and I think he is my new favorite band member.

(Note: it's a re-read, but I didn't get nearly as much out of it the first time!)

Eldarwen wrote: "Whenever I pick up my paperback and see the bit above the title "The Boys are Back in Town", I think of this scene from A Knight's Tale :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWuNi...

Kind of fit..."

I was enjoying the book anyway, but all the comments in this thread have made me enjoy it even more - thank you!

Oh my goodness Sammy - how did I not see the KISS reference??? I'm SOOOO glad you mentioned that - I love that so so much!

Thanks Keli! I suspect you are right about it being some kind of mix-up - and we will probably never know what :)

Lisa gave me that saved copy (way to go doing a backup Lisa!!) and I went through and the spreadsheet is almost all set. There are a few "reasons" that will need to be re-filled in - each of those I put **need by. Sorry for the inconvenience!

@Keli - I think for the Black Wings book you claimed for a black cover it won't work unless your book is a different cover than the one linked in the spreadsheet, since it needs to be over 50% black. It SEEMS as if the word black should work too, but it doesn't. Anyway - I moved it to the spell out - and feel free to move it somewhere else if you'd rather.

Final note - when we first got the mini-challenge, I thought "wow I hope we can do all these tasks by August." Everyone's excellence at claiming tasks has made me think "wow I hope we get more mini-challenges." Way to go!

I will do an "official" weekly status update on Saturday or Sunday.

Hmm...so from a quick look - it seems as if MOST of the reasons are in the correct place, but some are certainly off. Two that I can tell for sure are:
The first one with Anubis - I'm sure he isn't in the Nanny
The one with Moonstones, which I seem to remember being in one of Nanci's books.

Many others I glanced at seemed correct. Let's have Lisa weigh in, and worst case, we may need to glance through and fix our book / mini-challenge reasons :)

Thanks for noticing that Tone - I know Lisa was fixing some things yesterday, but I haven't looked today (I needed to drive home from my dad's house, about a 4 hour trip). I do know that the only editable sheet for the team will be the "read" sheet since the mini-challenge ones will autopopulate. I'll go take a look now, especially since I need to check in a book. I think that is a good idea to leave for now and hopefully all will be sorted soon :)

Vi - I like your comment about the wife and family aspect of that book. It seems like such a small part of the book so far (I'm about 45% right now) but it's also THE most important part of shaping Clay. I'm giving the author a pass about the lack of major women characters, since I believe the second book in the series has a woman main character :)

Thanks for the visit Sonia! It is fun to see other teams!

Elinor - I had a hard time getting into the Scorch Trials too. And then it ultimately just made me mad. It was years ago, and I still remember angry-reading most of it. Lol - I might not even have the same reaction now, and I know lots of people really enjoyed it! So I hope it turns around for you (and don't feel compelled by us to finish it if it does not). More importantly, have fun with your family this coming week!