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

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

Just finished my last book for Round 1!

When people have finished their last book for Round 1 can you post in the thread?

The confirmation will be really helpful as captains need to have things finalized as soon as the round ends.

Thank you!

Melanie, I’d be okay with calling that white

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 chapters 32 - end

19. I was excited that Louise and Mark were going to contact Aunt Gail. I liked meeting Barb. I was surprised that they could not really help, and suddenly, we were back where we started, in the creepy house with the puppets. Why do you think Barb and Aunt Gail were in the story?
Barb was fun and should be invited to every party. Maybe they were in there to show some variety and force the siblings to work it out together? for fun?

20. I found the horror of Poppy’s plight with Pupkin to be the most concerning. Did you find the horror in this book effective? Which parts creeped you out the most?
The Poppy angle was certainly the creepiest part for me.

21. Gary Hendrix is also known for his humor. I laughed out loud when the puppets got together to form a golem. What parts (if any) did you find humorous?
That was pretty funny at least what I pictured in my head. The squirrel nativity was funny to me, not the I'm going to attack you part, just the fact that was a thing her mom made and displayed in the house. Also that Louise didn't seem to think her family was weird. Everyone's family is weird.

22. I was shaking my head when Louise gave her daughter her stuffed animals. I would want no part of that house to be a part of my daughter’s life! How did you feel about that part?
It did bother me.

23. How do you feel about the ending?
It was fine. Not mind blowing but mostly what I expected except no one really died expect for Pupkin.

You can start them during Round 1, that's totally fine. Just don't finish them until Round 2.

Now that the challenge has started books can be started during any round and will count in whatever round you finish. So you could start a 1,000 page book now and finish it in Round 5 and that would be fine.

We just don't allow books to start before the challenge starts so people don't stack up a bunch of books with like 5 pages left before the challenge begins.

DQs Day 4: Ch. 23-31

14. After Mark's story, the siblings kind of bonded. What did you think of that and the hug. At that point of the story, did you feel like they were going to be unified or that it would be short-lived?
I thought a bit of both. United to fight the good fight but they'd never be besties.

15. So they made a plan to go back in and take care of Pupkin vs. just burning down the house? Why?? Pretend you don't know how that turned out - what would you have decided to do after they both shared their Pupkin experiences?
I wouldn't of been surprised but I guess it would be hard to burn your home down. And not sure that would of worked anyway.

16. The battle! I don't even know what to say other than I kept needing to put the book down. Did you expect this level of brutality? Would you have been able to cut off the arm?
That was bonkers! I honestly don't know what I would of done in the heat of the moment.

17. Did you expect Pupkin to show back up like he did?
I was wondering but it was creepy and I do not like Poppy's father. What a dink.

18. What did you think of Gail? If you haven't finished already, what do you think will happen?
She was an interesting character for sure. Honestly probably the most sane person in the bunch.

Bonus: Are you systematically removing all puppets from your house now? If so, don't worry - they'll be back =O
No, but we don't have many just a few animal ones my son still sometimes plays with.

New Monster:

Fernand Mondego (The Count of Monte Cristo)
350 to 450
MC betrays or is betrayed
Stone building on the cover
"ND" together in author name
Set in France, Italy, or on the Mediterranean

I added the list of bonus locales for Round 2 to the bonus tab in the tracking sheet.

There is also a check box next to each, if you use one of the locations, please check the box to help with avoiding duplications. It's okay to have some duplicates as back-ups are never a bad thing since life happens. But we don't want to be short bonus points if we can avoid it.

But don't get too distracted from finishing up round 1 :)

Round 2 information is live!

Bonus information can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

One important thing to note is we cannot duplicate locations, we only need 10 of the 25.

Our new word is synthesizer and cover color is white.

DQs Day 3; Chapters 16-22

10. Pupkin is,,, alive??? Okay, no big surprise there to be honest, but we did finally get some interesting background info from Louise and Mark's childhood, even if that's not how Louise remembers it. Do you think she really doesn't remember, has simply forgotten, due to trauma or it just having happened way too long ago, or does she remember but chooses not to acknoledge it? Or maybe Mark misremembers himself and it didn't even happen (that way at least)? They were both still very young after all, Mark especially. Is it possible to remember something that happened when you were only two years old?
Denial and blocking out trauma are powerful influences on memory. And memory is squishy and not the concrete thing people treat it as.

11. The second perspective adds a new layer, however it only got added halfway through the book. Were you surprised we got Mark's POV at all, and would you have preferred for it to be there from the beginning of the book? Also, has this last section changed your opinion on him in any way? He did save Louise from Pupkin after all....
I wouldn't award either of the them Person of the Year. But he's not as all bad as Louise was making him out to be. He still sort of sucks at life though.

12. To me, the last chapter feels a bit like a fever dream, definitely like they were on drugs. I personally don't remember which MPGs the book has and don't want to check in case of 'spoilers' now, but do you think there's a possibility the house, our main characters, the puppets, the dolls, Pupkin, everything- isn't actually haunted and none of it is actually happening?? What if it's just a dream (which would be the worst ending ngl), mental problems like Louise wants to believe, or mold in the house that's effecting them like this plus possible drug use from Mark when he was away?
I've finished the book so I'm not really sure how to answer this. Aside from I never really thinking it was a fever dream. I've read Hendrix before, he manages to blend the horror-paranormal with real world fairly well and assumed it was the same with this book.

13. I can't help but wonder how the book is gonna end... If Pupkin is indeed an evil puppet come to life I only see one way it can be destroyed - fire. Do you think they'll end up burning down the entire house (although Hill House (in the show at least) wouldn't let itself be burned down either, so who knows if that would work), or will the dolls and puppets take over? What do you predict will happen in the rest of the book?
I've finished so I can't really answer this. Though I will say at about the halfway point I was expecting one of the siblings wasn't going to be alive by the end. Maybe I was right or maybe I was wrong since I don't want to give anything away. But it was a thought I had around this point in the book.

Melanie wrote: "I will likely be reading the BOM sometime next week. Not looking forward to the creepy puppets but hopefully the book is good?"

It was a crazy, creepy ride. I think I enjoyed it about as much as I can enjoy a true horror book. It's certainly not a genre I enjoy reading all that often. Suspense, yes. horror, no. But I've had good luck with Hendrix in the past and I think he delivered with this book as well.

He certainly kept me turning the pages. And looking at the BOM thread it's looking like several others are having trouble not reading ahead/just finishing the book. So I'd take that as a positive sign.

Hello Everyone!

There's just a little over 3 days left in Round 1. If you aren't sure you are going to finish a book that's on the spreadsheet, please let us know. We can shift some things around to make sure we only have 1 incomplete spelling.

This team is doing great and to those reading the BOM I hope you aren't getting to freaked out by the puppets :)

DQs Set 2: Chapters 8 - 15

6. Were you expecting those wills? Why do you think both parents were so unfair on the kids?
I knew something was going to go pear shaped because, well we need a story for there to be a book. But those wills were messed up and no wonder the family is so dysfunctional.

7. Yikes! killer stuffed squirrels! The first violent haunting here, was it effective?
I would of done more that put it in the trash. I think a burning would of been in order for sure.

8. Despite the various creepy things that Louise has experienced, she's refusing to let her aunt exorcise the house. Would you still be hanging onto rational reasons over accepting family help?
I'm not sure I would 100% believe in a haunting at this point but I would let the exorcism happen. Because what could it hurt?

9. We've had more insight into the childhood of Mark and Louise. Does this change your opinion of either of them?
I think they both have issues and it's certainly not all on Mark.

FYI - I did some minor shifting around of books to get to completed spellings.

We are doing well so far! I hope everyone is enjoying their reads

I'm a bit bummed neither of the winning books are from the team because it's nice to have the DQs points in a lock.

But both books look like good reads so not all that bummed :)

DQs Day 1
Ch 1 to Ch 7

1.) What are your first impressions of the family and of Louise and Mark? How pivotal do you think their relationship (or lack thereof) will play in the story.
Aside: I plan to steal and use the phrase "Terminal Assholism" in future. Thank you Hendrix!
I had the feeling their relationship was going to be a main driver in the plot and that there were many family secrets and they both understood some things right and some things very wrong. Mark though does come across as a huge dink.

2.) The book is organized into sections following the 5 stages of grief. Does this impact your expectations of the book at all?
I assumed it would mirror the interactions between Louise and Mark as they deal with their familial issues and uncovered the family secrets.

3.) Okay. Life size dolls named after her children. Weird, creepy? Would you be excited to have them as part of your inheritance?
Just creepy. More that they were set up to watch TV, etc like actual family members. I would not be excited to bring them to my own home one day. I'd be a lot happier with some other handmade item of my mother's.

4.) Have you ever experienced a family post-death squabble/fight like the one Louise and Mark had in front of the junk clean out guys?
Not really and certainly not to that degree. However, my husband is a funeral director. 100% fights like this and much, much worse happen all the time. It's insane.

5.) Did anyone else google Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers? If so, were you surprised to find they were a real organization? Has anyone interacted with them before or a similar organization for other religious beliefs?
I'm not sure why I was surprised but I was. It does make sense because things like puppet shows can be an effective way to communicate complex concepts to children. I've never heard of them before this book and the only puppet show I was remotely familiar with was a part of the local library.

DQs Day 1
Ch 1 to Ch 7

1.) What are your first impressions of the family and of Louise and Mark? How pivotal do you think their relationship (or lack thereof) will play in the story.
Aside: I plan to steal and use the phrase "Terminal Assholism" in future. Thank you Hendrix!

2.) The book is organized into sections following the 5 stages of grief. Does this impact your expectations of the book at all?

3.) Okay. Life size dolls named after her children. Weird, creepy? Would you be excited to have them as part of your inheritance?

4.) Have you ever experienced a family post-death squabble/fight like the one Louise and Mark had in front of the junk clean out guys?

5.) Did anyone else google Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers? If so, were you surprised to find they were a real organization? Has anyone interacted with them before or a similar organization for other religious beliefs? [note: please keep responses respectful to people's beliefs, this is a safe space]

Since it's already 10/16 in some countries, I'm going to go ahead and post these now!