Preeti’s Comments (group member since Sep 26, 2021)

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

Jason Momoa!

Laura wrote: "Preeti wrote: "Food:
Pg. 4: One of her more recent initiatives—only in the last few days, as a matter of fact—had been to start offering cupcakes—gorgeous, fluffy, decadent cakes the size of your f..."

I was first going to do that but then I reached this part of the book and the description made me want to order cupcakes immediately... And I did... And they were awesome... 😊 😉

Battle: CUP

Book: Cupcakes for Christmas (Return to Willoughby Close #1) by Kate Hewitt
Date Read: Jun 23
Page Count: 212


Shelter:
Tea shop/bakery on the cover, red and pink on the cover

Food:
Pg. 4: One of her more recent initiatives—only in the last few days, as a matter of fact—had been to start offering cupcakes—gorgeous, fluffy, decadent cakes the size of your fist, loaded up with icing and decorated to perfection, a step up from the scones and sponge cake she usually offered, and when placed in the shop’s front bow window in a tantalising display, hopefully enough to entice a passer-by into the shop—and to make a purchase or two.

Defense:
Green and blue on the cover

By the way, I noticed something interesting in the Wiki page that Opal copies into her document at the end of Chapter 4. (view spoiler)[There are 3 books listed in the Further Reading section.

The first book is by an author called L. Mandelo who I found out is an author who wrote a novella called The Woods All Black which Alix E Harrow talks about in an interview.
(https://skiffyandfanty.com/blog/inter...)

The second author, A. Liddell is, of course, for whom Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland and who Alice is based on.

I have not been able to find any information about the 3rd author. N. Atwood has something to do with illustration if the previous books are any indication. In the interview I have linked above, the author talks about a few easter eggs in the book. Any ideas/thoughts? (hide spoiler)]

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - Day 2

Chapters 8 - 13

6. The narration is using dual POVs: 1st person for Opal, 3rd person for Arthur. Does it work for you? Do you think this suits the story?

I think it is a brilliant idea as it gives us an insight into Opal’s thought processes while still keeping us a bit distant from Arthur who has a lot of hidden things which, I am guessing, will be slowly revealed as the book continues.

7. Opal goes to the Library to find out more about Starling House and finds her mother's phone number among the Gravely family's documents. What implications can it have? Do you think it could be a hint about Opal's parentage?

I think that is what we are meant to assume but my feeling is that it is going to be something more complicated and a lot darker.

8. After Bev's story about the relationship between Eleanor Starling and the Gravely brothers, we get a totally different perspective from what Nathaniel Boone went through. What do you think about the Gravely family and their "hold" over the town of Eden? What do you think Nathaniel may have discovered in the dark?

Initially, I thought the Gravelys were going to be like your typical rich family in a small town that controls everything without any regard to either the town or its inhabitants, but having heard that story, it seems more ominous and has me very curious to know what really happened. The Gravelys are definitely at the epicentre of all that is happening but whether they are in control of it or not is to be determined.
As for what Nathaniel found, I think it is definitely connected to Eleanor Starling and Underland. My guess is that Underland was not fiction but an actual place and that Eleanor accidentally opened it and released something (or some things) very evil. My belief is that they are in/under Starling House and are attempting to get out and that is the reason for requiring a warden at all times. The first this came to my mind was when I read the bit about the book and the main character being called Nora Lee which is an anagram of Eleanor.

9. Finally we learn some more about about Arthur's role (warden) and his connection to the House. What do you think about their "relationship"? What is your opinion about Starling House as a sentient being? Could it be good or evil?

Starling House is definitely a sentient being. I think that whatever caused “Underland” to open also caused Starling House to become imbued with a spirit. Reading the parts including Starling House and Arthur made me change my initial opinion of the house being evil. I think Arthur is angry with being stuck in the house and is taking his displeasure out on the house. At the same time, I think the house itself looks upon its inhabitants as people it has to take care of and is doing its best to do so.

10. On "characters not communicating"
In Chapter 12 we find out that Opal has not told Jasper about the fact that she arranged for him to go to a different school and she actually managed to put together the fee for the 1st year already. Opal doesn't tell his brother about her working in Starling House and she doesn't tell Arthur about her spying on the House for Elizabeth Baine and getting more and more demands.
What do you think of all this?

This is my least favourite tool that an author can use to complicate plots. I hate it when something that could easily be sorted out by having one character be open and honest with another is overthought and overwritten and instead makes the characters feel entirely juvenile.

Sammy wrote: "Battle books are to be read 22-28th 😊"

Thanks, Sammy! It seems I am not only confused about the dates but also my team. I meant to add that post to the Capitol thread but added it here instead. I am going to blame it on the thirst games 😉

Karl Yune!

Can we start reading the battle books? I am so confused with dates right now ☺️

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - Day 1

Chapters 1 - 7

1. Have you read other books by Alix E Harrow? Was this on your tbr list before it was a BOM selection? Any expectations going in?

While this is my first book by this author, I have had a few of their other books on my TBR list for some time now, surprisingly not this one. From the description, it sounds like something I would enjoy.

2. Did you read the footnotes as you went along? Find them helpful? Annoying?

I am listening to the audiobook where the footnotes are narrated along with the rest of the text. I find them very interesting. As far as I have read, they seem to only appear when it is Opal’s narration (?!?!?) and I think that speaks to maybe not taking everything she says as gospel. I think that she is recalling all the entire events at a date in the future and, like most people, misremembers some things. Now whether this is intentional or accidental is something that I think we will get to know at a later period in the book (I hope!).

3. The discussion of E.Starling's book being too scary for children reminded me of some interviews with M.Sendalk when the Where the Wild Things movie came out several years ago about books, etc that scare children (when children are the target audience). His response was basically children should be scared sometimes and there's nothing wrong with that. And has further said, it's better to have a book full of fears than one pretending there's nothing to be afraid of. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Sendalk’s statement is so very true. I think it is good for children to experience fear in what is essentially a controlled environment. It enables them to learn how to deal with and react to this emotion and helps them build a mental toolkit to handle similar feelings in the future. This is particularly essential in today’s world where real life can sometimes be weirder and scarier than fiction,

4. What are your thoughts so far on Eden and Starling House? Has the author done a good job so far of creating an atmosphere and setting for a good gothic story?

I think the author has done an excellent job of building the atmosphere, both with regards to the town and the house, and it has me wanting to continue with the book to learn more about both.

5. Any favorites so far in our motley cast of characters? Opal, Arthur, Jasper, Bev, and Starling House.

Right now, my favourite is definitely Opal. I think that she is very resilient and is just doing whatever she can to ensure that she can get Jasper into a better situation. She is definitely a realist and has had to curb down on her optimism tremendously in order to survive. Sitting where I am, I could criticise her methods but in her shoes, I don’t think I would have been able to do anything different.
With the crazy things that have occurred, Starling House has to be treated as a character rather than just a location and I am curious to see what further information we learn about it.

Melindam wrote: "Oh, I just learned that Donald Sutherland died today. :'(
Another iconic actor gone. :'("

Such an amazing actor! The very first movie of his I ever watched was The Dirty Dozen.

Oh, absolutely Hiddleston! I'm with Sammy, that show made it impossible for me to vote for anybody else.

I am so happy... This is my favourite book and I have read it more times than I can count. I have decided to go slow this time and enjoy every bit.

Coincidentally, I came across a retelling on my audiobook subscription app today, and it sounds interesting. Similar to the TV series, Revenge, this is also a gender-swapped retelling.


So far, the two retellings I have enjoyed the most are
and .

Book: Mandu by Malathi Ramachandran
Date Read: Jun 20
Page Count: 217


Weapon:
Pg. 152: The two guards outside the palace raised their swords.

Shelter:
Part of a palace on the cover

Food:
Pg. 55: They arranged the plates and the fragrance emanating from the steaming hot food… curried meats and vegetables and seasoned dal and tawa rotis smeared with fresh ghee… made Hiba moan and bury head in her hands.

Defense:
Green cover

Sammy, I agree completely! And you're not the only one. I am the same.

Karl Urban, please and thank you!

By the way, has anybody watched the First We Feast episode of Hot Ones Versus with Homelander and The Deep?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqv9-...

Book: So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens
Date Read: Jun 19
Page Count: 352


Weapon:
Sword on the cover

Shelter:
Purple and pink on the cover

Food:
Pg. 34: If smelled like fresh biscuits and cheese and sausage. And was that gravy?

Defense:
Blue on the cover

Kari wrote: "@Preeti, go ahead and take Cup if you'd like, no problem."

Thanks, Kari!

It is my patriotic duty to vote for Hrithik Roshan 😉

Laura wrote: "All right, team! Start looking for your INN titles (or IN and then a word that starts with N).

People who still want a spot in the Battle:

Yasmine, Carrie, Patti
Preeti & Kari - one of you gets t..."

Thanks, Laura! I am ok either way with the Cupcake book and will wait for Kari's reply about it.

Book: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Date Read: Jun 18
Page Count: 239


Food:
Orange cover & food on the cover