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

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

I’m in for DQs (Team Belem)

Yay! My nomination won

I’m of course in for DQs

Oh thanks, I got distracted doing spreadsheet work for TT and forgot to spin for a new monster

A final call will be in the May newsletter. I’d say if you want to avoid the reserve list to sign up by like May 3

Robin (Saturndoo) wrote: "Judith wrote: "Yes, ask away"

Thanks Judith.

For those of us who do read over 60 BPM cap or it's highly likely that we will read over the 60 BPM cap--I'm not sure I'm quite understanding how tha..."

Correct, those books may not be used. But there is nothing saying which of 60 books read you'd have to use. And what I mean by that is the player wouldn't be obligated to use the first 60 books they read.

Maybe some books are longer than others or some work for a harder mini challenge task. There'd be flexibility to use the most advantageous books for the team until you had to lock in the books for the end of the month or end of mini challenge time period, etc.

And if you are getting close to your reading cap, whether it's the 60 or the limit set by your sign up, you can always try and target those larger books on your tbr list.

One of the reason for the caps, as mentioned in the sign up description, is to help with team balancing. And I mean the number of people on the team and not just the total sign up for books per month. For example, we try not to have one team with 4 people and another team with 9 people.

No matter how big or small of a reader you are players are supposed to check in at least once a week so the captains know you are still around and playing. Also we mods are known to throw mini challenges, etc at teams without notice so players should check in to be aware of new things going on, discuss good or bad books being read by team members etc.

Part of the point of challenges is to be interactive with other readers and share reading experiences. It's hard to do that if there's no interaction on the team thread.

Hope this helps!

Yes, ask away

Those do sound cute. Cameron is still into Paw Patrol and I happened to find a chocolate Chase and Marshall at Walgreens and they weren't all that big. So I got those instead of a chocolate bunny for his Easter basket.

And we had a fun egg hunt here at the house. Overall he had a good haul and we've had some chocolate negotiations.

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/...
Day 5: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

DQs Day 5

17. what did you think of the quest into Faerie?
I thought it was one of the more interesting parts of the book but Emily's attitude was still a bit annoying. One of the things I like about this series is the inclusion of common/lesser Fae as actual, important side characters instead of just focusing on the royal/high Fae. Honestly I find the common Fae a lot more interesting.

18. Orga seems like a fun addition to the characters, but do you have a favourite of the various Fae we've met?
I liked Snowbell and thought it was great when they reappeared in the Fae realm and helped Emily reach the palace.

19. Did you enjoy the ending? And the book generally? Any thoughts on character development during this book?
The ending was fine. The book was overall a bit meh, mainly due to how repetitive it seemed to book 1 (maybe it would of be less annoying if I hadn't read the books only a couple months apart) and the complete lack of character growth for Emily.

20. There's a book 3! Will you be reading about their retaking of Wendell's kingdom?
I will be reading it at some point. After reading and liking book 1, I bought books 2 & 3 at the same time. So I already own book 3 and may as well read it. I'm hoping for the best since the plot should be different from the first 2 books.

Yes, I think that’s fine

DQs Day 4

13.) Well, they found de Gray and the answer to the weird damage to the front door of their cottage. And she's now anticlimactically out of Faerie and time. Did that meeting go as you expected at the outset of the book?
I was expecting this to be, I don't know more. Or harder. Not take like a page. I thought they'd have to venture into Faerie to find her. Though after pulling out Einhorne in a similar fashion I wasn't completely surprised. But this was a bit of a miss for me in terms of expectations.

14.) She said yes! Surprised? Do you think it'll be that simple to be engaged and marry a prince of the Fae? Or become queen of a Realm?
Not surprised at all that the answer was yes. I'm guessing most of these questions will actually be answered in the 3rd book as I don't think there is enough left of book 2 to deal with them. But I don't think it will be all that easy for Emily and Wendell to achieve.

15.) It is just me or has Emily learned next to nothing? Why does she still seem to always think doing it her way and alone is best? *bangs forehead on book*
I'm disappointed in her overall lack of character growth from book 1 and this book is feeling repetitive. I'm not sure why half this book is even necessary to move the story forward.

16.) Do you think Emily's trip into Faerie will be successful in retrieving the cat? Will we finally meet the stepmother? And do you think she and her niece will make it out of the Realm in one piece?
I'm assuming they will get the cat and save Wendell because, well there's a book 3 and he's in it. Not sure what the price Emily and Ariande will pay though, I'm assuming there will be one.

DQs Day 4

13.) Well, they found de Gray and the answer to the weird damage to the front door of their cottage. And she's now anticlimactically out of Faerie and time. Did that meeting go as you expected at the outset of the book?

14.) She said yes! Surprised? Do you think it'll be that simple to be engaged and marry a prince of the Fae? Or become queen of a Realm?

15.) It is just me or has Emily learned next to nothing? Why does she still seem to always think doing it her way and alone is best? *bangs forehead on book*

16.) Do you think Emily's trip into Faerie will be successful in retrieving the cat? Will we finally meet the stepmother? And do you think she and her niece will make it out of the Realm in one piece?

DQ's Day 3
2nd October- 6th October - late 63%

9. Shadow (a grimm) is getting older it seems and although he has been back in fairy for brief moments. Do you think if he goes back to Wendell's fairy that he will regain his vitality?
I'm assuming it's from his time in the mortal realm. Even the collar seems to improve his vitality. So I guess going back to a fae realm will improve his health considerably.

10. There seems to be so many fairy doors here and different folk in this area of the continent that it seems weird there has not been more research in this area. Do you think it's because of the missing scholars (DeGray and Icorn)? What did you think about when Wendell moved them through the landscape several times running from the huntsman?
I'm guessing it's because scholars didn't know to look? I feel like Emily has pieced together a lot of knowledge that isn't as well known and seems to have a knack for finding what she's looking for, like there's a drop or two of fae blood in her. And fae magic and especially Wendell's skills seem fluid and vague to me. I certainly don't have a good handle on the parameters of his abilities.

11. What did you think about when Wendell moved them through the landscape several times running from the huntsman? And creating a castle?
The landscape jumping came as a surprise since he doesn't seem to be able to get to his own lands? That seems strange. Though maybe the issue is finding a backdoor/sneaking into his home realm, opposed to the front door which would alert his stepmother to his arrival? Creating the castle wasn't a surprise, it was very Minecraft of him (sorry my kid is 7 and we just saw the movie a couple days ago). LOL

12. Emily seems to be leading the pact with Wendell sick and Rose seeming to cautious. Do you think Emily will find the correct Fairie or end up finding a land they have never studied?
I think she'll find his door and hopefully settle the situation with Wendell's stepmother. Or at least I hope that doesn't drag through book 3 as well.

Also, Emily needs to pull her head out of her butt before she ends up in a similar situation to what happened with the winter king in book 1.

Melindam wrote: "BTW, I don't remember Emily being so conveniently clumsy in Book 1. Impractical and non-athletic, yes, but not tripping over her own feet all the time."

Yes, I agree. I think Emily needs different boots or something as she seems to be doing an awful lot of tripping and falling this go'round.

I figured if we are going to travel around the world via books, we might as well be comfortable.

hehe!

Also, love the excitement everyone

DQs - Day 2
5. We have the identity of the ribboned visitor. Did you guess this? What do you think of another anti-social scholar character, but gender switched?
I had guessed it was that scholar or he was on my short list of potentials after we learned a bit about the ribbon system.

6. Would you use the ribbon system if you were in this area, or do you have a modification?
I would probably modify it in some way. It seems overly complicated like Mel said and if my husband ever needed to mind me via ribbons it 100% wouldn't work. He's very colorblind even with special glasses for it and wouldn't be able to tell half the colors apart.

7. Do you like Rose more after his talk with Emily. Do you think he was being honest or manipulative?
I'm going with honest for now, but he's still getting the side-eye for awhile. Something still seems a bit off but I might be a bit overly suspicious.

8. Fox fae appear to be vicious. Do you have any thoughts on what Wendell meant when healing Rose? How do you think this will affect Emily and her view on fae?
I think she'll file it away into her pile of fae facts to ponder at appropriate moments but I don't think it will have a large impact on her views.

DQs - Day 1

1) Emily is back! What are your first impressions of her this time around? Can you see any changes in her compared to Book1?
She seems more settled/secure in herself. I'm guessing partly due to her experiences in book 1 and now she has more job security with her tenure position. Emily is not also as socially isolated.

2) Apparently Emily is still stalling on giving an answer to Wendell's marriage proposal. Do you think she'll say yes at the end of the book or will this stay unresolved?
Not sure when it will be resolved but yes, I think they'll end up married. I think she wants to marry him but has some legit reservations about marrying Fae royalty.

3) We meet some other characters of the Faculty in Cambridge. What do you think of Farris Rose getting in the picture and establishing himself as part of the field research team? Do you think he'll be an asset or a hindrance?
I'm hoping an asset and I'm hoping some entertaining group dynamics. There is certainly an advantage to Rose for the trip to be a success so he'll at least try to be helpful. But he may be a bit of a pompous ass to Emily, but maybe he'll be on his best behaviour.

4) And finally: Ariadne, Emily's niece joins the team as student. Do you think Wendell was honest with Emily about why he didn't want Ariadne to join them? Was it as simple as what he said or may there be an ulterior motive?
Well, I think he was honest about his reasons for not wanting Ariadne to come. But whether those were Wendell's only reasons for not wanting her along, I don't really know.

Bonus Q: If you had to survive in Emily’s world, what role would you play? Scholar? Adventurer? Faerie trickster?
Bonus Bonus Q: Give yourself a whimsical job title, like “Moss Mapping Cartographer, Third Class or Senior Fae Liaison” ... 🤭
Scholar probably studying the economics of Fae cultures.

Lexi wrote: " DQS Day 4: Ch 75 to end (pg 289 to end)

10. How did you like the ending? Do you try to guess as you go or do you like to be surprised?

11. This has clearly been set up as a series. Would you r..."

I will admit it took an embarrassingly long period of time to realize the cat was sitting on the barrel of the gun.

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/...

DQS Day 4: Ch 75 to end (pg 289 to end)

10. How did you like the ending? Do you try to guess as you go or do you like to be surprised?
It was a little bit chaotic but still fun. I threw in the towel about trying to be serious about figuring it out who did what about halfway through the book.

11. This has clearly been set up as a series. Would you read more in the series or others by the author (if you have not already)?
Yes and I have The Thursday Murder Club lying around somewhere to read at some point.

12. Did you like the last line? Did you see if coming with the running joke about book titles throughout?
I thought it was funny and a good name for an investigative firm that wants to specialize in solving cold cases. Not sure how profitable that will be. Though not sure money is really an issue with this crowd.
I didn't think much of the running gag with book titles throughout the book because of one of the MCs being an author.

Bonus: Do you think it made sense to put a cat on the cover? What would you have put in the cover that is more relevent to the story.
I expected a bit more hijinks from Trouble with the cat being on the cover. As for more appropriate items. Maybe a smart phone, plane, and booze? Pile of money?