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

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

DQs Day 3
Ch 22 to Ch 35

9) Why do you think they are so concerned about August being in the hall of records? Shady stuff with his grandfather's estate? Also, does anyone else think the people on the island are basically horrid people?
I'm guessing they did something with the inheritance of the orchard to give it to the town or something instead of to August. The people in this town are horrible, what was the point of setting the truck on fire. If they would of just helped August in his goals, he'd of been there and gone. WTF is wrong with the older generation.

10) Someone call Maury Povich! Who's the father? Do you think Lily was actually preggers? Lily honestly doesn't seem like she was a nice person and I 100% believe she's keep secrets from Emery. Any guesses on the father if she was?
I'm thinking Dutch was the father and she was seeing him on the down low. And didn't want people to know because she was 'slumming' or at least that's how I think Lily's family would of seen it.

11) Do you think this love triangle is over after that last fight between Dutch and Emery?
I certainly hope so. And I hope Emery or August resolve themselves one way or another and stop making moon eyes at each other over the tree tops or whatever.

12) Do you think a 'spell for forgetting' was cast over Emery and that's why she's having nightmares, it's her brain trying to remember what happened?
I'm starting to wonder if it's something like this. I don't really know at this point I'm just rolling with it. I still think August set the fire. But no clue what Dutch was up too.

DQs Day 3
Ch 22 to Ch 35

9) Why do you think they are so concerned about August being in the hall of records? Shady stuff with his grandfather's estate? Also, does anyone else think the people on the island are basically horrid people?

10) Someone call Maury Povich! Who's the father? Do you think Lily was actually preggers? Lily honestly doesn't seem like she was a nice person and I 100% believe she's keep secrets from Emery. Any guesses on the father if she was?

11) Do you think this love triangle is over after that last fight between Dutch and Emery?

12) Do you think a 'spell for forgetting' was cast over Emery and that's why she's having nightmares, it's her brain trying to remember what happened?

Stepping in here for Kavya, sorry if you come in later with your questions!

Wishy-washy witchy 😂

DQs Day 2 ~ Chapters 11–21

5. We knew that Emery and August were a couple before the fire, but we learn now that Dutch and Lily were a couple as well. Were you expecting that at all, given that Dutch and Emery are a couple now? Does it seem odd to you that they would hook up considering their pasts or do you think it’s just because of lack of available people on the island?
Probably a combination of few prospects and shared grief. And it sounds like they were both quasi-outcasts for a least a while after everything went down.

6. What do you think about the fact that Hannah (Emery’s mother) and Eloise (August’s mother) continued to communicate with each other after they left? Also, that Hannah knew where they were and not only didn’t tell Emery, but told her that they weren’t coming back? (All the while with the knowledge that August had come back to see Em.)
Oof. I understand both sides I think but at the end of the day I'm not sure Hannah did the right thing. Or Eloise either. I'm not really sure what was really gained by keeping them apart. Unless it was Hannah wanting to keep Emery on the island?

7. We learn that August and Emery had ferry tickets to leave the island the day after Lily’s death. Emery was sure that it would further prove August’s guilt with most of the town already believing he was guilty. Even Eloise says in one of her letters that “what August did” is unforgivable. Do you think even his mother thought him guilty? Do you have a theory on what “really” happened yet?
With some prior mentions of how much Eloise loved the orchard, I'm guessing August started the fire to punish his grandfather for all of the abuse. If he was leaving the next day, it would be a great eff-you, at least in the mind of an 18 year old and a reason for Dutch to cover for him. To Eloise, destroying the orchard would seem unforgivable. And if she knew he did that and it was the main source of the island economy, it explains why they split before anyone could find out.

8. Finally, we learn there are more secrets than just those about the fire and Lily’s death. One centers on Emery’s dad, Noah. Any speculation as to what his secret is? How do you think it ties into the fire and Lily or is it random?
For Emery to be so mad about whatever he did and keeping quiet about it. I'm guessing he had an affair?

DQ Day 1 :
Ch1-10


1. This is the first book by Adrienne Young, and I really liking her writing style so far as well as the witchy autumnal vibes of the story so far. (I really like the tea shop!) Have you read any of her other books and how are you finding this one?
This is my first book by her but I know a lot of people have read her series Fabel. It's an easy read and agree with others that it's very seasonally appropriate (sorry southern hemisphere people).

2. What do you think of the island and life on the island so far? It seems really cut off from the rest of the world because the islanders keep to their own. But I think it also feels quite eerie the descriptions of the island.
It sounds like a place where you have to keep geniality charts to legitimately make sure you aren't marrying close cousins. Socially it seems like a very unhealthy place to live. Some things sound relaxing and nice but as a place to visit, not live.

3. Are you as curious as me to find out what exactly happened the night of the fire, how Lily died, and why everyone blames August? It seems like there will be lots of secrets on the island.
Yes and having some occasional flashback chapters are nice to start pealing back those layers.

4. What do you think will happen next? Is August going to start to look into what happened or do you think his presence on the island will result in secrets coming to the surface?
What I'd like to have happen is August and Emery to have a conversation like the adults they are and not give each other puppy dog eyes across the island. But I highly doubt that is going happen until the end of the book. I'm not sure he's going to go digging around, it doesn't seem like the island residents would tolerate that. Well, after that 'town meeting' or whatever I'm not sure they tolerate much of anything.

Joyce wrote: "Please put me on the reserve list. I don't know how I missed the sign ups. I always love playing this I read 1-2 books a week."

Sign-ups are here, same form as regular sign ups.

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

Thanks for voting everyone!

Sonia wrote: "Judith wrote: "I think this team is a group of veterans, maybe not for Wheel-a-thon but for challenges in NBRC."

Lucky you!

Hey team Jazz, just wanted to say Hi. Sadly, I'm not doing wheels this..."

I swear it wasn't on purpose! And HELLO SONIA!!!

Nominations for the Dec BOMs can be made here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

As most of you are veterans, you are aware bonus points can be earned by participating in the BOM discussions. 20 points for answering at least 3 sets of DQs per book and 40 points if you write a set of DQs.

Book nominators get a guaranteed set of questions, so if someone from the team's nominations wins the vote, we don't have to rely on the randomizer to get a set of questions.

For November, Lexi's nomination for the adult/nonfiction BOM is close to first place. If you are interested in that one or don't have a preference, if her nomination wins, we have a guaranteed spot for DQs (meaning more points). Her book:

For the Themed (Music) BOM my nomination, , is in second place but not nearly as close to the first one as Lexi's is.

Please vote for whichever book you'd actually like to read but if you don't have a preference, one nominated by a team member is always a good choice.

Links can be found in this post: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories by Yamile Saied Méndez

From zombies to cannibals to star-crossed, shapeshifting lovers to Death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology written by superstar authors from across the Latin American diaspora offers bold new thrills for every monster lover. From zombies to cannibals to death incarnate, this cross-genre anthology offers something for every monster lover. In Our Shadows Have Claws , bloodthirsty vampires are hunted by a quick-witted slayer; children are stolen from their beds by “el viejo de la bolsa” while a military dictatorship steals their parents; and anyone you love, absolutely anyone , might be a shapeshifter waiting to hunt.

The worlds of these stories are dark but also magical ones, where a ghost-witch can make your cheating boyfriend pay, bullies are brought to their knees by vicious wolf-gods, a jar of fireflies can protect you from the reality-warping magic of a bruja—and maybe you’ll even live long enough to tell the tale. Set across Latin America and its diaspora, this collection offers bold, imaginative stories of oppression, grief, sisterhood, first love, and empowerment.

Full contributor Chantel Acevedo, Courtney Alameda, Julia Alvarez, Ann Dávila Cardinal, M. García Peña, Racquel Marie, Gabriela Martins, Yamile Saied Méndez, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, Claribel A. Ortega, Amparo Ortiz, Lilliam Rivera, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Ari Tison, and Alexandra Villasante.

Fits: collection of short stories that seemed fun :)

This is my new nominate until it wins or I read it :P I'll swap it out if if happens to wins the vote for November.


The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell

'Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We're going to kill them first.'

Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he's wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn't protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic? Wouldn't want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).

Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be you're probably not going to like it, because we're violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations.

At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way.

My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title - until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.

Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . . .

I think this team is a group of veterans, maybe not for Wheel-a-thon but for challenges in NBRC. However, if you have any questions, please ask!

We have a tracking sheet set up for people to claim letters and indicate bonuses. It can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

It also linked in post 4 at the top of the thread so it can be found easily. Everyone should be able to edit the tracking sheet but if you have issues:
-First check to make sure you are trying to edit the tracking sheet and not the official team sheet as they'll look very similar. Only Lexi, Michael and I can edit the official sheet.
-If you are in fact in the tracking sheet, please post in the thread that there's an issue and I'll get it fixed.

Feel free to start grabbing letters. Right now we are keeping to 4 words to make sure we don't end up with more than one partial by the end of the round. As words fill up, we'll open more spellings.

On the tracking sheet there is a column for additional letters your book works for. I've never not needed to shift books around to get things to fit. That column is very helpful when we need to play book tetris.

If your book works for the color bonus, all you need to do is check the box and make sure you link and shelve the proper edition of the book that shows it's at least 50% of the color (in round 1, green)

The round 1 music bonus is fairly straightforward. It just needs to be one of the instruments from the list. There's 25 instruments on there and several are pretty common. For those just check the box and specify a location of some sort and which instrument. We can repeat instruments. But only one instrument per book.

A book can, however, work for a green cover and instrument bonus.

Yay! The whole team is here

Lexi's reminder about all books needing to be started after the start of wheel reminded me of a question for the team.

Mods built in the countdowns into the spreadsheets this year. If people want a separate link though, I can make one. Is the countdown in the spreadsheet okay for everyone?

Team Jazz is open for member check in!

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

A wee bit of housekeeping. . .

If I could clearly tell it was your shelf for wheels, it’s linked above. Please check it’s correct! Copy paste was involved so something may not be correct.

For everyone else can you please create and post a link your wheels shelf here in the thread? Then I can add the links above.

Thank you!

Hello and Welcome to Team Jazz!

I'm Judith (she/her/hers) and your captain for this round of wheels and I'm also one of the mods of the group behind this musical journey.

We have a lot of fun things in store for you and please ask questions here in the thread as there are many moving pieces.

Personally speaking I live in the US on the East Coast and professionally am an economist for the USEPA in the toxic chemical office. Outside of work and reading, I spend most of my time chasing after an active 5 year old. I read almost any genre of books and am always looking for new recommendations.

I think we have a great team and am looking forward to getting to hang out together for the next 10 weeks!

We are waiting a bit before putting reserves on teams in case we need replacements for people who ghost after signing up.

Once we get through that, we will hopefully find a spot for everyone else and still have balanced teams :)