Judith’s Comments (group member since Apr 15, 2015)

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

Lexi, I’m starting the book today so if you want to swap to get some breathing room, we can

Lexi, if you run into procurement issues I can swap if you need the extra days. Just give a shout!

I picked it up the last time Tiny Tyrant asked to go to the bookstore

Works for me!

And then one from Vegi-Might. Apparently the wheels want us to read some short books!

Vampire Pumpkins
100 to 175
Book has a clear sense of season
Orange item on cover
Main antagonist is not very effective (your interpretation)
Title starts with letter in BLOOD

Decided to revisit an oldie but goodie and spun the original Greek monster wheel.

Harpies
100 to 125
features a feast or banquet
contains a chase (car chase, foot chase, etc)
character is royalty
features a thief

And I've finished off Troll finally which we've had hanging around since Nov 1st.

2 new monsters coming shortly

I just finished a monster if someone is around and wants to spin. I likely won’t be back on the computer until tomorrow

I'm in for DQs

I'm in for DQs

The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature by Peter Wohlleben

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES A powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the color green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses. In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world.In an era of cell phone addiction, climate change, and urban life, many of us fear we’ve lost our connection to nature—but Peter Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees shares how to see, feel, smell, hear, and even taste the forest. Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging and moving way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees—it’s about saving ourselves, too.

My current nominate until it wins or I read it anyway (with a nice green cover, this may not survive UNO over in Perks):



Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes Masters of Death, a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself!

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the house has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.

Fox D’Mora is a medium, and though is also most-definitely a shameless fraud, he isn’t entirely without his uses—seeing as he’s actually the godson of Death.

When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with her ghost-infested mansion, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few high-functioning creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as they thought.

Yes, that’s fine!

I’m so happy people are enjoying this so much 🤗

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

Reason: went for the High Seas with this nomination

My current nominate until it wins or I read it anyway (with a nice green cover, this may not survive UNO over in Perks):



Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

From Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six comes Masters of Death, a story about vampires, ghosts, and death itself!

Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. But her biggest problem currently is that the house she needs to sell is haunted. The ghost haunting the house has been murdered, and until he can solve the mystery of how he died, he refuses to move on.

Fox D’Mora is a medium, and though is also most-definitely a shameless fraud, he isn’t entirely without his uses—seeing as he’s actually the godson of Death.

When Viola seeks out Fox to help her with her ghost-infested mansion, he becomes inextricably involved in a quest that neither he nor Vi expects (or wants). But with the help of an unruly poltergeist, a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel, a love-stricken reaper, and a few high-functioning creatures, Vi and Fox soon discover the difference between a mysterious lost love and an annoying dead body isn’t nearly as distinct as they thought.

Cat wrote: "@Judith, happy to finally have read the book?

Overall, I enjoyed it as a very silly romp"

Haha! Yes, it was silly fun and a good way to start the year and the book clearly didn't take itself seriously

Thanks for joining :)

Judith's BOM Tracking

Day 1: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 2: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Day 4: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQ Set 4: Chapters 43-End

15. We’ve come to the actual murders! What did you think of each executed plan? Were the success levels what you expected?
I was a bit surprised Doria's worked out successfully but then her twist I think came after her successful deletion. Cliff's and Gemma's seemed fitting and was happy with how they all played out.

16. Doria’s chapter starts with the enquiry, “Have you given your target every last chance to redeem themselves?” Did you believe she did?
Probably. Men like Kosta don't think they are doing anything really wrong in the first place so what's there to redeem? The eventual outcome of her actions though went a bit pear shaped on her and that seemed fitting to me.

17. Cliff’s Chapter starts with the enquiry, “Is this murder necessary” Do you think it was?
Necessary? Probably, he was an awful person who caused multiple deaths and no compunction about causing plane crashes.

18. Gemma’s chapter starts with the enquiry, “What Innocent person might suffer by your actions?” This ends up being vital to her plan. Did the result change your opinions of Gemma? Reinforce how you already felt about her?
Reenforced it, she never really came across as a murderer and how her story played out proved that.

19. How’d you feel about Cliff’s benefactor? To me, it seems like in another life Jacek Horvath could have been a McMasters student. What did you think of these reveals
It ended up making sense. Who else would of had the motivation to send him there? But it wasn't something I had expected though his benefactor wasn't something I had thought much about. I guess I'd assumed it was someone we'd never really know.

20. What did you think of where the author chose to have each of the three end up? Do you think they’ll be appearing in sequels?
I liked the endings for each of them and Cliff and Gemma would appear I assume since they now have places on campus. But I could see Doria popping back up too.

DQ Set 3: Chapter 22 - 42

11. We've left the campus! But first, a couple of points: there's an area of debate around the Dean v Assistant Dean approaches (wide v narrow curricula, focus on quality v focus on quantity). What side do you come down on? Did you expect Jud's outcome?
Dean for sure. One, he brought up an excellent point that Assistant Dean's way makes them all conspirators and accessories before the fact. And it allows for better improvisation if things go pear shaped.
I was not surprised Jud was deleted but how it happened for some reason did.

12. Cliff has put into practice an extremely complex plan. What do you think of the plan?
If it all works out, brilliant I suppose. It's so twisty-turny that I'm not sure anyone could unravel it all without his thesis. But so many places for things to go wrong. Sometimes simple is best. I guess we'll find out in the last section.

13. Doria's plan isn't as complex, but her target - whilst obnoxious - seems less worthy of deletion, being very much male abusing his power. Do you have thoughts on Doria's strand?
This is a tough one. He deserves his comeuppance for sure but for what he did to Doria, not sure it rises to the level of murder. But I also keep forgetting this book is set in the 1950's and her options were so limited I can see her feeling completely trapped. But murder? Maybe if we knew more about what else he'd done?

14. Gemma is having to free-style, given Adele is not handily falling into line with the plan. Do you think Gemma will be successful in her attempt to kill Adele?
Honestly her original plan was dumb and all the McMaster's profs tried to tell her. I mean Adele needs to go for sure so I hope Gemma is successful. I'm curious to see what she come up with.

Amanda, that would be great if wanted to write the last set!

DQs Day 2
Chp 11 – 21
6. This book is about how to murder your employer and a school of helping those perfect it. Would you watch a series or movie if made on the storyline? Why/why not?
Probably, if I heard about it. I really don't watch all that much TV and most of what I do watch is kid shows, baking competitions, and true crime. I would at least try to give it a go. If done right I think it could be entertaining.

7. The ethics of the book could be questioned but have you learned anything new that all media in the world has to offer?
It's provided some different perspectives on things. But the rules for selecting a person for 'deletion' I find the most interesting. Mainly the, who will be impacted by the murder. Like do they have kids, spouse, people depending on them in some way. Honestly, I wish some of the powers at be would of thought that through more when they decided it was time for a coup in this country or that. Only to create a power vacuum and for the situation to end up much worse.

8. What was your favorite scene in these chapters?
The dinner poisoning scene maybe? That was a fun twist to Christmas dinner.

9. We are getting a mix of media from storyline, rulebook, reports, and pictures. Are you reading this physically, electronic, or audio?
Physical copy. I've heard the audio was well done but I enjoy the artwork that pops up from time to time in the books. The illustrations are beautiful.

10. What do you think of each of their Hunting game? Did you think their names were mixed up?
That whole thing seemed weird and a bit forced. I think it could of been written in a much more interesting way. A bit of a wasted opportunity for the author to do some clever things.