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

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

Okay, tracking sheet is ready for Round 4. The genres for the bonus are listed on the bonus tab for reference. Please check them off if you claim one.

For right now we can only grab one of each but the mods will be looking at totals after the end of round 3. Go ahead and double up, the captains will make sure things get sorted and we don't count more than we are allowed too.

Here's a link to the details for the Round 4 bonus

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

Working on getting everything set up on the tracking sheet now. Should be ready shortly.

Sorry, I’m not back from vacation until tomorrow and don’t have reliable internet until then.

Words were distributed to teams today.


Our Round 4 word is viola pomposa, red cover.

Yes, I’d say that’s blue enough.

Sorry for the delayed response I’m on vacation and was having issues with the app showing me the book. But it finally did 🙂

First spelling of Round 3 is complete :)

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Hi Mods, can a YA book be nominated .. "

for the themed BOM, yes YA is acceptable.

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

Final Day DQs:

17. Charlie definitely came a long way towards leaning into the supervillain vibe before it was cruelly snatched away again. How about you? How would you decorate your supervillain lair?
Books of course and a variety of comfortable places to read said books.

18. How did you feel about the ending? Right? Too convoluted? Predictable? Needs more cowbell?
I'm glad his cats came back for him. I think Charlie is happy and got a new start. I'm not sure anything about this book is predictable. LOL. But part of me is a little bummed he's not still a supervillain.

19. If this was your first Scalzi, will you go back for more? If not your first, where would you rank this one compared to others you read?
I'll definitely be reading more. Most of his are on my tbr but keep getting bumped because they don't have musical instruments on the cover.

20. And finally... Cats. Do you have any? Are you under the delusion you own them, rather than the other way around? If you don't have cats, is that because you're wise to the fact they they are indeed evil supervillains intent on taking over the world, or some more mundane reason?
My husband is allergic. I was starting to look for one when we first started dating. Then found out how allergic he was and decided to wait to see how the relationship went. so . . .here I am with no cat. LOL

Unfortunately my library doesn't have it but if you like YA has a Z main character and a zither on the cover.

DQs Day 4: Ch 18 to 23

13) Well we now know what happens to Jacobs. No shark death for him! Were you surprised about how all that went down? Do you think all of those men (Dobrev, etc) are dead?

14) "Humans do a good job of making outcasts." Do you agree with this statement?

15) Was everyone else as entertained as I was by the first Zoom call? There are times I'd love to do stuff like that at work.

16) What did you think of Charlie's response to the attach on Jenny's Bay? Settling in to his super villain role?

DQs: Day 3 ~ Chapters 12 – 17

9. It seems like the whole book is a test of Charlie’s character. Hera’s conversation with Charlie is one example. Charlie suddenly asks if Hera and Persephone like him. She says they were sent to watch him, but they like him because Charlie chose to take them in and treated them well. Do you think the book is portraying a series of tests from his uncle? What do you think it means?
I didn't think of it as a test. More of Charlie has been basically abandoned by everyone. And then found out his pets were being paid to be there. It was akin to finding out someone was paid to pretend to be your friend. I think he was looking for validation that their connection was real?

10. “Business is business. It’s different from respect and friendship.” What did you think of this statement? Do you agree with it or do you think these things can’t be separated?
Hmmm. I do think business is business but there is no reason to perform business in a disrespectful way. You can be ruthless without being disrespectful. There's always a line and I think greed can push people over it.

11. Charlie was quick to pick up clues on the Lombardy Convocation members. What did you think of his assessment? Did it change your opinion of him?
I think it highlights that people who are down on their luck can get written off. I wasn't actually surprised by it, they talked enough about his journalism career in earlier sections so I was expecting it to pay off in some way or another.

12. There has been a lot of great banter in the book so far. I have to say I think both parts with the dolphins were my favorites. What has been your favorite line/quote, or your favorite part of the book so far?
I think the conversations with his cats? Or maybe the way he is taking things in stride?

DQs: Day 2, Chap 7 - 11

5. We learn Hera and Persephone are both sentient cats. My cats love lying next to me and staring at my computer screen (when they’re not stomping all over my keyboard), so I can picture a cat using a computer vividly. What mischief would your pets come up with if they were sentient? Even if you don’t have pets, what mayhem do you think could happen?
I no longer have pets because my husband is allergic to everything. But I could see dogs coming up with ways to trap their owners in the house so they won't be gone all day.

6. Charlie seems to be surprisingly chill about going along with everything happening, from sentient animals to attempts on his life to being whisked away to the Caribbean. Does that make sense to you, with how his life was before the book started? How would you react if you found out your uncle was a supervillain?
I mean, what does he have to lose? And there was a body found in his burned down house. I would be tempted to leave too in his situation. I guess it would depend on what type of supervillain. Like a Lex Luther/Dr. Evil type, eh. But a Hilter/Pol Pot type? hard pass.

7. Although travelling there was a bit of a hassle, St. Genevieve sounds like a pretty sweet place to be. Where would your ideal villain (sorry, process disruptor) lair be set?
Somewhere in the mountains in a temperate climate on a lake.

8. We got a list of more or less exciting options including sharks, so: what is Charlie going to decide? How is Jacobs going to “die”? Or might his death end up being a real one after all?
I'll go with sharks because why not.

Bonus question: The (soon to be striking) dolphins have, uhm, quite the vocabulary. Any favorite insults? Do you want to give coming up with some creative insults a shot yourself?
I like old school insults like "cabbage head" but I do use "they didn't hurt themselves doing X" a lot at work

Done with my last book for round 2

You have one month from the start of BOM to read and answer at least 3 sets of DQs.

So for Starter Villain you’ll have to Dec 2. The Violin conspiracy until Dec 16

Like last round, please post in the thread when you've finished your last book for the round. It makes it a bit easier for check in for the captains.

Thank you and happy reading!

A little less than 24 hours left in Round 2, please let us know if you aren't going to be able to finish a book currently on the spreadsheet.

If you finish a book that's not on the spreadsheet and it doesn't fit an open letter, please just add it to a line underneath the last open word and the captains will get it to fit by shifting books.

Round 3 Word

ALPINE ZITHER

Color: BLUE

Round 3 Bonus
For this round, find musical instruments on the cover of your books (any instrument, just has to be obviously an instrument)

Each found instrument will earn an additional 5 bonus points. Only one instrument per book cover and a maximum of 10 bonus instruments. You can find the same instrument multiple times (not least because no one's got time to decide if it's a violin or viola etc etc)



Note to players: any changes to the standard bonus rules, similar to what was done for Round 2, will not be determined until after the results of Round 2 and the mods see the point spread between teams. A lot can change from round to round.

DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 6

1. I'm so excited to be reading another John Scalzi book with you all. He has quickly become one of my "always read" authors. Is this your first Scalzi book? What are your expectations?
I'm expecting some snark and interesting commentary. I'm expecting to be thoroughly entertained. I mean there's a cat in a business suit on the cover, how could it be a bad book? LOL

2. What are your first impressions of Charlie? Do you think he is using his sad life events as an excuse to coast through life easier as his siblings and attorney seem to imply? Do you relate to him so far?
I think he's had a run of bad luck and has gotten into a funk he doesn't quite know how to get out of. I feel like I've been lucky in some ways for this not of happened to me but I know people that have ended up in similar situations. I feel like he's gotten some unfair resentment from his siblings for things that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the 3 parents.
Also, I agree with Sammy that it makes him easier to push around a bit.

3. “When people name cats, they usually do it in one of three categories: food, physical characteristics or mythology,” Morrison explained. What do you think Mathilda imagines Charlie's choice of "the goddess route" says about him? What sort of name would you choose and what do you think that could tell someone about you?
That he recognizes greatness when he sees it? hehe. We always tended towards food. I had beta fish in college/graduate school that were all named after booze or shots tied to the scale color (like midori for green). Not sure that sends the most positive message about myself.

4. What would your reaction be if a rich, but estranged family member left you a huge inheritance?
Once there was multiple confirmations that it wasn't a scam? Relief that my family had financial independence and I could set up trusts to make sure we had the level of care needed for our lives.

The other Sandy wrote: "Judith wrote: "I can add the links in the Master task spreadsheet. They are also all in the announcement thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

D'oh! I forgot that was there. Sorry!"

No worries! Links to the wheels in the Master list was a good suggestion and they've been all hyperlinked at the top of each tab.