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

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

I've also added a countdown clock to the top of the book tab so it'll be easy for everyone to know if TT has started.

Hello Team!

Here's the tracking spreadsheet for our team:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Feel free to start adding books you plan to read, just don't start reading until TT actually starts.

We have some things automated, if you played TT last year this should be familiar to you.

Column H on the Book tab is where you can enter a code for the mini challenge task and it will auto populate the mini challenge tab, so you just have to enter things in one spot. It's why the mini challenge tabs are locked so formulas don't get overwritten.

I'll add some books I'm going to be reading as examples in a little bit which may help more than looking at a blank spreadsheet.

I'm also adding the link to the tracking sheet in the top post so it's easy to find later.

Mahi wrote: "Hi everyone!

I'm Mahi and I live in Texas. Right now I work as a research assistant but in July I'm going to be starting medical school!

I gravitate to fantasy more than anything else but I do re..."

Congratulations! Very exciting :)

Sammy recommended it to our team during the last round of My Restaurant Rocks. I thought it sounded fun so 🤷🏼‍♀️🙂

Hello Hello!

Welcome everyone whose checked in so far! Most of the team has, just a few left which is great since the thread hasn't even been open 24 hours.

I love the excitement!!

Logan wrote: "I think my link didn't paste correctly so here you go!

tower-teams-×"

There was certainly something weird going on with the links starting about halfway down the team list. I fixed your shelf and a bunch of others. Hopefully it's all fixed now!

Sonia wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Sonia wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Sonia wrote: "Yey, the teams are up. Have you notice you have not one, not two, but three former mods in our team?

And since our captain just asked so n..."

A wee bit of housekeeping. . .

If I could clearly tell it was your shelf for TT, 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 TT shelf here in the thread? Then I can add the links above.

Thank you!

Team Neeznáá is open!

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

Come say hello and meet your teammates :)

Hello and Welcome to Team Neeznáá (Navaho for the number 10)!

I'm Judith and your captain for this round of TT and I'm also one of the mods of the group behind this crazy challenge.

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 3 months.

reserve

                        

Tower Teams X - Build towers based on past TT challenges!

This is an optional mini challenge which will run for the whole period of Tower Teams X.

1. Rainbow Towers
Using as many shades of colours as possible from the list below, create a rainbow tower using book cover colours.
You do not have to read for every colour, you do not have to differentiate between bright or dark, but it needs to be a clear rainbow, with at least ten colours (which means at least 10 books).

Got a tower together of rainbow colours? Start a new rainbow! At the end of TT each team can receive points for each complete rainbow tower.

You can also receive bonus points for creating a tower with all 18 colours. You can only do this once for bonus points.

Cover Colours:
(view spoiler)[White
Bright pink
Dark pink
Bright red
Dark red
BROWN
Dark orange
Bright orange
Dark yellow
Bright yellow
Bright green
Dark green
TEAL
Dark blue
Bright blue
Bright purple
Dark purple
Black (hide spoiler)]

Points: 100 points per complete rainbow tower
A bonus 200 points for creating a tower with all 18 colours (so a total of 300 points. You can do this once during TTX)

2. Crayola Towers
Use the below Crayola colours and spell-it-out. Each name can only be spelled out once. At the end of TT each team will receive points for any name that has been completely spelled out, plus one partially completed word.

Crayola Spell-outs
(view spoiler)[- Atomic Tangerine
- Blast Off Bronze
- Cadet Blue
- Cerulean
- Electric Lime
- Leather Jacket Black
- Mango Tango
- Mauvelous
- Moonstone
- Purple Mountain's Majesty
- Radical Red
- Tickle Me Pink
- Wild Blue Yonder (hide spoiler)]


Points: 10 points per letter and 20 points per completed word

3. Mod Towers
Read any book listed on the 'read' shelf of our past mods!
Each team can only read one book per mod for points.

Lisarenee
Rachel
Lisa Kay
Jex
Laura
Sonia
Karen
Amanda
Renee
Tea
Kelly
Karsyn
Shannon
Laura
Silje
Cat
Eldarwen
Aiswrya
Judith
Sophie

Acknowledging other prior mods (with private profiles or no longer active on GR)- thank you for your contributions!
Sashana
Mary
Susan
For these three mods, read a NBRC BOM from anytime between and including August 2010 and December 2019. (Check the "BOM" tab here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...)
one BOM per mod. It needs to be three different BOMs

Points: 20 points per book read

4. Winners Tower
Each team can read up to 5 books per winning tower team name (below).

Your books need to relate in some way to that Tower Team name. Be creative!


Past Tower Teams Winners:
(view spoiler)[Team C
Moonstone
Thundercats
Anubis
Palpatine
Remus Lupin
Lust
Lord Vetinari
Electra (hide spoiler)]

Points: 10 points per book read

Some examples under spoiler
(view spoiler)[
Team C - Books starting with the letter C, a C on the cover, a main character who is a bit of a c.... whoops there...., a book about an alphabet killer, a book that includes huge groups of people (go and check out how big those teams were!) etc.
Anubis - based in Egypt or ancient Egypt, jackal in book or on cover, scales on cover, book with funeral rites etc.
Lust - Romance genre, red cover, characters lust after an item or another person Word lust in text, etc.

Hopefully you get the idea! Be Creative, don't overthink it :)
(hide spoiler)]

                        

◈ Each book read can only be used for one task.
◈ Books used for your core tower of 223 books can also be used for this mini.
◈ Books can be started at any point since the start of Tower Teams X (May 1)
◈ The usual Tower Team book length rules apply



SPELL-IT-OUT RULES
(view spoiler)[Spell out the word(s) using the first letter in the book's title, the first letter in the author's first or last name, or the first letter of a character's first, last, or nick-name, or the first letter of the series name.
As always, if the first letter of a title starts with an indefinite or definite article ('A', 'An', 'The', etc.), you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word.
If the first letter of a title is a numerical digit, then you use the first letter of that digit for your spell out (i.e. 1984 is N; 2046 is T; 1Q84 is O)
If you are listening to an audiobook, the first letter in the narrator's first or last name also can be used.
We're also allowing for Translators names, as long as the edition you are reading is a translation version. (hide spoiler)]

Important Links and Information

Spreadsheets
Tracking Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Team Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Status Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

General Links
General Rules
Pre-Challenge Chat
Tower Mini Challenge

Resources
Cover Color: https://labs.tineye.com/color/
Word Count: https://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.a...
https://www.arbookfind.com.au/UserTyp...
https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/UserType...

Countdowns
Start of TTX: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Team Shelves

• judith: tt2023
• lexi: tt2023
• jax: tower2023
• michelle: x tower
• mahi: 2023 tower teams
• brittany-mccann: 23 tower teams
• laura-devouring-books-like-crumpets: tt 2023
• aoife: ttx 2023
• April-Raimond: tt2023
• Rebecca: ttx
• tricia: tower teams
• kira: towerteams 2023
• logan: tower teams x
• megan: ttx
• sharon: towers23
• jamie: ttx challenge
• Bobbi: team tower x
• susan: tower team 2023

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/...

Day 5: Chapters 35 – End


18. The Black Tongue is revealed! What did you think of this revelation? Did you suspect the double identity of Crawford/Jeremy?
I started to wonder when Ern made the comment someone isn't dead if you haven't seen the body. And Crawford seemed dodgy for awhile. And it was bonkers enough to fit with the book.

19. Ern has a unique role as narrator of the story. I felt like he was trying to give us all the clues to solve the mystery for ourselves. Did you get that impression or a different one? Did Ern’s narration make the book different from other crime novels; if yes, how?
I did enjoy his narration and overall I enjoyed the format. I sometimes wished I'd gone with audio instead of physical book.

20. What did you think of the book overall? Did you find it funny or witty? Do you think a humorous tone works for a crime novel?
I enjoyed it and am planning to read the sequel when it comes it out. I think the author was able to walk the line and pull it off. I'm worried other authors will try to copy this format and it's not going to work.

21. How well did the author stick to the rules?
For the most part the author did but also good with distracting me from catching certain clues.

Day 4: Chapters 27 - 34

14. Erin shares her killer story. Do the revelations here change your view of her or Ern?
A little bit. I still think she made some really bad choice and did Ern dirty. But all in all her story is just plain sad.

15. Nooooo! Michael! Just as you were starting to be redeemed and reconciled with Ern, killed! Did you expect that one? Any suspicions?
I was expecting the next body to be Lucy, though that's likely what that author wanted and then hit us with Michael's death. Nicely played. I've stopped trying to figure it out and just going with it.

16. Apparently it is Audrey, not Marcello who went over to the party hotel to meet the McAuleys. What's going on here??
I'm guessing some revenge for getting my husband/father killed and Audrey and Michael were working together to get one over on Alan? Or maybe Audrey was brought in later? It goes to more reasons for Audrey to be super pissed Ern testified against Michael. Maybe though this is also part of the reason Michael was only willing to trust Ern?

17. In fact, what ACTUALLY is going on? I am so confused by the money swirling around. Was it the ransom drop? Did it come from Lucy's pyramid scheme sales? Is it payment for the truth from the McAuleys?!
I've stopped trying to figure this out too. It was making my head hurt, I will just read and hope the author tells me what the heck is going on. LOL

DQs Day 3
Ch 18 to 26

10) in chapter 18 there’s some discussion about names. Ern starts it off talking about Jeremy and how he’s not referred to as a Cunningham. He states As a Cunningham, he is part of those dreams that wake me dry-tongued, gagging. Without our surname to anchor him, he is part of the sky, the wind, the mind. what do you make of this? He also mentions some names are changed and then Juliette Henderson (anagram: lederhosen jet unit, make of that what you will)… Do you think this is a clue? Something to do with the killer or the dead guy perhaps?
I thought it was interesting and it seems fairly true. Like by dying so young before Jeremy became an adult he reached a reverent or celebrity status. The elephant in the room everyone knows is there but never discusses. I'm not sure if that anagram was a clue or was just Ern being silly.

11) What a tragedy! In the last group of questions Judith asked us about killing vs being a killer…is Audrey responsible for killing or being a killer of Jeremy? What are your thoughts on this segment?
Awful, it explains a lot about Audrey though. I wouldn't call her a killer of Jeremy. I think she was a woman at her wits end and just lost it all. And trying to come back from that I wouldn't think would be easy.

12) Suffocation by ash...makes sense I guess. How do you think the couple Sophia dealt with at the hospital and the corpse in the shed are related? The Black Tongue...how are they related to the Cunninghams do you think?
I'm guessing it all goes back to the Sabers? The money, ransoms, etc. I'm guessing the victims are connected in the same way. And the Black Tongue is trying to keep a lid on whose involved to avoid getting caught.

13) A coffin is in the truck…is anyone else bothered/suspicious that the authorities have detained Michael but haven’t thought to check out this truck? And now Ern’s life has experienced peril while discovering the contents of the coffin…share your pondering thoughts at this point.
Some of this was bothering me a bit and Crawford's actions seemed a bit weird. But now reading this question . . .are we sure Crawford is actually a cop?

DQs Day 2
Ch 11 to 17

5.) Do you like it when Ernest blatantly foreshadows events like 'no one's phone battery runs out of battery until page 280' or whatever? Does that make you want to read faster to get to that part? Or if you are reading the ebook version, do you click on the links (Cat mentioned this was an option, I'm reading a physical book so I didn't realize that was a thing)? Also, did you enjoy the recap chapter?
I find it a bit fun and it does make me wonder about future happenings. I'm kinda glad I'm reading the ebook as I might in some situations be curious and click. But this is a book I think is better not to get spoilers for. And I enjoyed the recap chapter.

6.) Wow. Fun family times. Erin and Michael are now an item (gross). Why do you think Lucy is there? She clearly still loves Michael, why would she do that to herself? If you were the ex and had no kids together, would you go to family functions/events like this (funerals aside)?
I'm not sure why Lucy is there. Money? It sounds like she's struggling in very real ways. And hell no I would not be there, especially with that bag of familial disfunction. Hard pass.

7.) Ern and Audrey had an interesting discussion about killing versus being a killer. What are your thoughts on this? Did Audrey have a point about Michael or is she just being a mother rationalizing her son's behavior/wishful thinking?
I think it's an interesting discussion. And agree to a certain extent, intent is a big part of the difference. Like self-dense versus out of revenge or for financial gain. Though I'm not so sure of Michael's intent.

8.) Why do you think Sofia needs the money? Do you think she'll get her $50K?
I think it's something more than just the lawsuit. Might be related in some way, but that seems too easy of an answer for this lot.

9.) Any guesses as to why Michael said Ern was his lawyer? And to Sofia's question, what's in the truck?
I think to have a private conversation with Ern though not sure about what. And no clue about what was in the truck.

your estimate is fine :)

It's just an estimate. If you find yourself running well over, you can always read slightly longer books. Or it may allow you to 'cover' books for someone who might be reading under their estimate for some reason (life happens!)