Nancy’s Comments (group member since Dec 31, 2012)

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

Okay guys the Weekly Update has been posted. We are in 9th place with 190 books read. Keep up the reading and have a great Memorial Day!

@ Jodi -Yikes! So sorry, must not have been following that conversation too closely. Updated our spreadsheet!

@ Jodi - You will need to take off of your team shelf (see message 284 from mods) since the page count is too low.

Wow Wendelin! I was page checking member books for the weekly count and noticed you've been reading some chunksters there! Go you!

Questions and Comments for Little Bits of Metal/end

35)The audiobook has a line that doesn't appear on the book. Did you think that maybe the audiobook could have a key to the riddle? Since the author was the fastest decoder ever?

Yes, I thought the audiobook might be the key once we discovered the extra line.

36)Were you surprised that the majority of the Unbroken Spine members continue to work on the code? Even after google couldn't find anything?

No, maybe they didn't trust the technology since Corvias was against it. Plus, they have been devoting their lives to this, I'm sure they wanted answers!

37)What did you think about Decklan's proposition to trade Penumbra's address for the Punches. They seem to have a lot of faith into Clay's abilities.

I thought it was interesting. He had trust in Clay's abilities.

38)Did you think it strange that Decklan gave him the clue to find the punches which held the answer? Did he know already they held the answer? There was a comment made by Mr. Penumbra that made me wonder.

I didn't get the impression that Decklan knew. I thought he just wanted the complete set of letters.

39)So the key to find the missing punches was in the words of a 5 year old. Pretty ironic. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere? Sometimes the simpler approach is the right one? That people tend to complicate the uncomplicated?

Definitely....I think we tend to think things are harder than they are, or make things harder for ourselves!

40)I'm still baffled with the easiness that was to retrieve the punches - at least after going through the moving shelves.

What I didn't understand was why he Clay couldn't keep the punches. A year is a long time that he could borrow them for which was probably enough time to be able to buy them. But they were donated/left and that warehouse seems to be a holding house for unclaimed items.....and nobody else wanted them.

41)“Climb, my boy! Climb!”. What did you think about the final book having Penumbra and the bookstore? I though it was cool and sweet. And Clay is right. Penumbra is already there for generations to come.

I liked that it had him...yes, very sweet.

42)Were you surprise that the key was in the punches?And what about Gerritszoon’s message?

Yes I was surprised that the key was in the punches and couldn't believe the message was so short and simple but all the Unbroken Spine members were hoping for a huge secret.

44) Did you like how the epilogue wrapped all the characters? Any development you liked to see it another way?

Yes,really enjoyed the epilogue. I hate after reading when I'm left with thoughts of well, what happened?!

45)How will you rate the book? Final thoughts? Too much product placement - with the references to kindle, apple, google, even ILM had its appearance - did anyone notice that Mat worked for Lucas f/x company? Seriously, this book is a nerd's dream or what?

I gave the book 3 stars. It was an okay read but didn't love it. Way too many google references for my liking. Felt like it was an ad for Google.

I just updated and completed my "Easy" goal of 10 books today. (see post #27). Since there are some other books that I'd like to read I'm going to keep going and see if I can read "Moderate" by the end of the year!

Questions and Comments for The Strangest Clerk in Five Hundred Years/Pop-Up

18) Manutius' codex vitae is supposed to hold the secret to eternal life. Hmmmm....This is right up Kat's alley. Do you think they'll find it? Will it be what they expect if they do? Obviously Manutius didn't achieve immortality or did he?

They are obviously going to try to find out the secret. Not sure they'll be successful though.

19) Why do you think Corvina is so against using a computer to solve the puzzle?

Maybe because it's too modern? Not sure.

20) What do you think of the plan to copy Manutius' book?

I'm hoping they don't get caught! It sounds like a plan but a dangerous one.

21) Anyone else curious about this Grumble?

Yes! Who is this guy?

22) What do you think about the Unbroken Spine with it's codex vitaes, dark robes, and underground secret library?

In some ways it sounds kind of cool. An elite book club of sorts for intellectuals.

23) So do you respect Clay for not working for his friend? I think it would change their friendship. What do you think of Neel's request for Clay to find him a filmmaker? Does Clay even know anything about film making?

Yes, I think working for a friend can change the dynamic of a friendship. I couldn't tell if Clay and Neel were being serious with this discussion about the film making.

Questions for 68-End:

56. The Dreamliner didn't end up so well. Looks the juvies were ready for it with the truck they placed. Landing gear gone, Starkey injured, he just gets more and more unpleasant doesn't he? And then he killed Trace and left behind all those injured! Why do people keep following him? Predictions for Starkey for Book 3?

I think he's going to have a very difficult time "rallying" his grouop to follow him. He's so unpleasant!

57. Lev came up with yet another brilliant plan and gets both himself and Connor out of the battle. What'd did you think of the plan?

It shows how smart he really is. While reading the firt book he really annoyed me in the beginning and started growing on me by the end. In this book I have to say I defintely liked him a lot more!

58. Risa hears about the graveyard and is free to say what she wants. Did you like her speech on camera? Were you surprised that Cam hid her in his dressing room? What do you think is in store for Risa and Cam for Book 3?

I hope that they can stay friends. It seems like Cam is out to help her to try to win her affections but I think if/when she gets reunited with Connor, Cam is not going to like it.

59. Miracolina, who we thought was left behind, ends up saved by her parents of all people! Turns out everything that happened to her was just what she needed to realize that living was ok. Do you think she'll be happy with just living now? Or will she play a bigger role in the rebellion?

I think she may play a part in the rebellion after seeing what Lev's done.

60. When the com-bom scene happened I almost cried. The kids going mad as they slowly drifted to death and then finally gave themselves up. Why didn't Hayden give just himself up? Or why didn't they go out shooting?

I don't know. Hayden was 17 and can't be unwound but the others can. If anything I thought that he should either shoot himself or go out alone and let the others die like they wanted. They didn't want to be unwound.

61. Nelson now has a bigger vendetta then ever against Connor and Lev. Predictions for him for next book?

I don't like him! He's super angry now but don't think he'll get to Connor.

62. Turns out Sonia is part of the husband/wife team that created the unwind technology and the Proactive Citizenry! Such great vision of what the world could be and it all turned into monstrous disgust. Were you surprised?

I was surprised to find that Sonia was the wife. I wasn't surprised too much about them creating technology that ended up being used for something bad. I think sometimes people get very excited with inventions/technology and don't think al of the consequences through enough before making it public.

63. Any crazy predictions for book 3? Anything else you want to say about this book that we didn't talk about? Was it better/worse then unwind? How many stars did you give it?

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I enjoyed this story but definitely not as much as the first one. I'm giving it 4 stars and I will definitely be reading book 3. Have to find out how this all ends! No crazy predictions but I'm hoping Risa, Connor, and Lev get reunited.

So I stayed up last night finishing this.!

Questions for Chapter 48-67:

50. We finally found out why Risa took the spine and it wasn't for selfish reasons. She did it to try and save the graveyard! Too bad she doesn't realize that Trace is really a good guy and that he's not telling anyone anything. Do you think she made the right choice?

In her position I think she did. She really thought that Connor and the others were in jeopardy. I find it honorable that she would go against what she believed in to try to save the others.

53. Starkey has ruined the graveyard! All his treacherous rescue missions of storks have lead the juvies to retaliate. And he doesn't even feel bad about it! Were you surprised when he broke free and started his mission to steal the dreamliner?

Starkey annoys me so badly! He's so selfish and I can't believe he ruined the escape plan. He really thinks he be a leader.

54. Trace came running back after he got fired! Were you surprised? relieved? happy?

I was both surprised and relieved. He really was true to his word about not giving away their plans.

Unwholly Chapters 36-47

43. Janson Rheinschild, who is he and what did he do? Any guesses?

Have no idea....very curious though!

44. How do you feel about Risa’s PSA? I am so curious why she signed it. Any guesses what their leverage against her is?

I think they threatened Connor/the Graveyard. I don't think there's any other way that she'd voluntarily do it.

45. What do you think of Starkey showing Connor the interview with Risa? Do you think it will achieve the end that Starkey wants? Do you think Connor will finally figure out that Starkey has an agenda?

Starkey does everything to benefit himself, so his intentions were purely selfish ones. I think he wants to get Connor upset and could this bring Connor to leave?? Not sure what will happen

46. What a horrible rescue mission by Starkey and the stork club. What do you think the fall out will be? How do you think Connor will react? What do you think will happen to Starkey?

Connor is going to be pissed! Hopefully Starkey will lose some of his followers when they see how violent he is.

47. Risa is in quite a pickle. What do you think of the “arranged marriage” between Risa and Cam? Cam seems more human and the Proactive Citizenry seems more horrible in my mind. Do you think Risa will eventually care for Cam? Do you think Risa will ever see Connor again? Do you think Cam can really love someone?

Arranged marriage??!!! I think I missed this! I think she's already started caring for him or she's being a really good actress for the interview together. At this point I'm not sure how she'll be able to see Connor again. Once it's discovered that he's alive I think they'll want to capture him.

48. We find out why Cam is in love with Risa. Do you believe Cam, that Samson just tapped him on the shoulder to notice Risa?

It makes sense but it's weird! He's made up of all these different people. But if all of those people behind those parts can do that it's really kind of creepy to me!

Questions and Comments for Maximum Happy Imagination/Empires

8) What do you think about Kat and her singularity theory? Her brain upload makes some sense, in a nerd programmer talk kind of way.

Totally doesn't make sense to me but really none of this computer/google talk in the book does!

9) Mat’s plan of making a book sounds amazing. It looks like having an f/x guy as a roommate is handy. What do you think about this? Don’t you think weird that the only customer targeted by google app is a google tech with a purely academic interest in Clay’s 3D model?

Having Mat around is pretty handy. I think his job is pretty cool. I did think it's weird that bookstore is right by a bus stop and his app only targeted one customer.

10) A virtual presence in a party? And drinking while working? Talk about doing strange things to impress a girl.

I'm sure there are many who have done a lot worse! LOL! Drinking at work is definitely a no-no, but really, he wasn't getting drunk and there are rarely customers.....

13)“I see it now. You cheated—would that be fair to say? And as a result, you have no idea what you have accomplished.” Wait, what?

Well Clay has figured out what everyone else is trying to do by reading the books they come in for. He did it through some computer program but doesn't understand the whos and whys of it.

15)In the very near future google will rule the world. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but all this google references are starting to annoy me. The good part is they found out were the bookstore is. Any crazy predictions about what will happen next?

I'm hoping they rescue Penumbra, wherever he may be.

@ Tricia - I have all of the books for my nook. I haven't read any of them yet but have heard good things.....but I got my husband hooked to the books. Since he commutes to the city on the train I let him take the nook. He's made his way through them all and is on the last one!

@ Wendelin - Sorry, I'd never even heard of that series until you posted it!

As for the 7% Challenge....I think it just requires a little advanced planning to make it work. But like Rebecca mentioned, if each participant goes through their TBR piles/shelves so we can pre-pick the books read I think it will help and people don't have to go read something just for the challenge. We can chat more on the thread!

Hoping to get in a lot of reading time this holiday weekend!

Questions and Comments for Help Wanted/The Prototype

1) What is your first impression of Clay? Do you like him?

I like Clay....all of the programming talk makes me think computer geek, but not much description has been given as to his physical appearance. So having a difficult time getting a good visualization of him.

2) What do you think of the bookstore and its three requirements--Would you look?:
ONE: You must always be here from ten p.m. to six a.m. exactly. You must not be late.
TWO: You may not browse, read, or otherwise inspect the shelved volumes. Retrieve them for members. That is all.
THREE: You must keep precise records of all transactions. The time. The customer's appearance. His state of mind. How he asks for the book. How he receives it. Does he appear to be injured. Is he wearing a sprig of rosemary on his hat. And so on.

I think the requirements are a bit strange....but honestly so is the book! I don't think I'd be able to not look at books. Actually, I know I'd not be able to control myself and have to read/peruse the books.

3) Did you notice the book is set in the future? It talked of "the great food chain contraction that swept through America in the early twenty-first century." It also talked of a rusty Golden Gate Bridge.

I didn't pick up on that. I remember "the great food chain contraction" being mentioned but didn't really think too deeply about it. I noticed that there are a lot of references Steve Jobs death, kindles, etc. that let you know the book was written recently.

4) What did you think of Matropolis and Clay's roommates--Ashley and Mat?

They are all kind of interesting and quirky in their own weird ways.

5) What do you think is in the books? Why is it all in code? Any thoughts as to what the bookclub is about or doing? Penumbra's says it's more than a bookstore. How much more?

I have no idea! It seemed like a code and there seems to be a pattern in the way that the members take the books out. I'm dying to find out though!

6) What do you think the angry customer, Eric, meant about Clay not even being a novice?

I have no idea....like some others have mentioned, possibly that he's not a member and has no idea what's going on.

7) What do you think of the model of the store Clay's built and the pattern of check outs he found?

I found the pattern of check outs interesting. The 3-D model, I'm thinking.....why?!!! What's the purpose? Boredom? I guess some people find that kind of stuff fun??!!!

Chapters 22-35 Questions

33. What are your thoughts on The trust? It seemed to me that they were just brainwashing the kids against unwinding, the same as they were convinced of the opposite previously. Do you think it is right to keep Miracolina locked in, even when after a few weeks she still wants to be unwound?

The trust seems kind of shady to me. The group is idolizing Lev....who doesn't even want to be idolized! So yeah, it's almost like a mini-cult of former tithes. I don't think it's right to keep Miracolina locked up, but if they let her go, I'm sure she'd tell authorities and they'd be discovered.

34.Lev has become a bit of a cult-hero. Do you think it is right that they are looking up to him (to the point of worship?)

No, he doesn't think he's a hero and doesn't want to be worshiped.

35.I found Miracolina is like Lev was originally, except her faith in needing to be unwound seems to be immovable. What do you think of her character?

Yes, she's very similar to how Lev was in the beginning. I have to admire her strength and perseverance, even if I don't agree with her!

36. So the discussion about souls comes up again. Lev really stumped Miracolina with the question of what happens to her soul if she is unwound. And this theme is also explored with Cam. Do you have an opinion on this?

I'm not sure. It seems that part of the unwound's personality goes to the person who receives the organ/part. But in a case like Cam when you have have so many body parts does he really have a soul.

37.Do you think Risa was kidnapped from the Juvies, or are they working with Roberta's group? It seemed pretty hostile to tranq her with a dart to the chest.

I thought it was Roberta's group since that's where she ended up.

38. The first meeting with Risa and cam didn't go well (understatement of the year!). Why do they want her to accept a new spine?

I have no idea! So the two "look" better together??

40. Nelson is pretty cunning and determined! What do you think of his plan to find Connor? Will he use Lev as negotiating power? Poor Connor is going to have some rescuing to do!!

I think so. It almost seems like there's too much going on and Connor won't be able to help everyone. I have a bad feeling....

41. We are about half way through the book now. What are your thoughts so far? How does it compare to Unwind?

I'm not as awed and in disbelief as I was reading Unwind but I am still finding the read to be very interesting and keeping me reading on!

@ Jodi - I have to admit didn't think The Scorpio Races would be my kind of book. I thought it was kind of slow in the beginning and was a bit longer than necessary. But it really picked up at the end. YA books today are SOOOO much better than when I was a YA!

Will be starting One Breath Away tonight. Hoping it's good. I've read her other two books. The Weight of Silence was okay but I enjoyed These Things Hidden.

Thanks for the reading update Jodi!

What is everyone else reading/recently read?

I just finished today and am finishing up with others in a NBRC Buddy read.

Up next for me is the NBRC BOM and .

I was updating our team's books read spreadsheet this past weekend and noticed we've been doing a lot of reading recently. Unfortunately, other teams have been doing a LOT more reading than us though and we've fallen to eighth place this week.

The mods June/July Challenge sounds like a lot of fun. They've just posted it, check out the link the post above! Hopefully this will get us motivated to read some more!

I've never read any of the Sookie Stackhouse series and have never seen True Blood. I'm afraid to even start the series since there are so many books!

@ Vikki - I've never seen Vampire Diaries or read the books either.....however I may have to start since I think Ian Sommerhalder is absolutely gorgeous! :)

Questions for Chapters 13-21

26. Connor struggled with the idea of being the leader of the graveyard. Although he has a fake ID and could go an disappear if he wanted to, he stays to be involved with the ADR. Do you agree with his choice? What would you do?

I think he is grateful for how the graveyard helped him and he's trying to help all of the other AWOLs. I think I'd be done with everything and go somewhere private to live my new life!

27.Only 14 kids with the latest plan shipment. Do you think the ADR is just very disorganised and isn't able to get to kids before the parts pirates/juvies, or are not as many kids being signed ovr for unwinding, or is the ADR intentionally not finding AWOLs?

Something is going on with the ADR....not sure what though. Not sure why the drop in numbers though. Some are definitely being being caught by pirates.

28.Trace is a Juvie! Would you trust him?

Was so surprised to discover this! I think I would trust him though. He didn't have to let Connor know and he respects Connor. So I think that he will be a help.

29.Cam is released to the media as the first composite human. I was surprised, as I thought this would be a secret. Do you think Connor is right and they made Cam just because they can? I found the comment by one of the journalists that Cam was "no more human than a football is a pig" interesting. Do you agree?

I'm not sure if I agree. He has all the body parts, but none of the thoughts are his own. I don't see the purpose of creating Cam. It must have been super expensive and a lot of work. All to say, "look what we can do?"!!!

30. So we discover that Cam was on the bus with Risa when she was being shipped for unwinding. I am guessing she will become Cam's companion. Why do you think Risa swapped with Dylan?

Yeah, I'm thinking he's going to want Risa as his companion. I think Risa swapped because she made a promise to Dylan and she wants to make good on it. She's probably upset about the last two injured AWOLs being sent to harvest camps.

31. Part four begins with another news article: http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioe...
I love how the author disperses these through the book. Euthanasia is such a controversial topic. Do you think unwinding is a 'natural progression' of harvesting organs when someone is euthanised?

If someone is terminally ill and wants to die then harvesting their viable organs is much more humane than the unwinding process.

31. we finally get more information about Lev and his life since the end of Unwind. I choked up when Pastor Dan was killed! Were you surprised about Marcus' choice and Lev's reaction to it?

I was surprised at Marcus choosing harvested organs since he seemed against the whole unwind process in the beginning. plus, he's now under control of their parents since they paid for the organs. I was more upset that the parents want nothing to do with Lev. He's on his own now....so sad!

Questions for Chapters 4-12

16. So I looked up the article that was in the beginning of Part 2. Nebraska does a safe haven law that allows children (which they consider up to the age of 19) to be left. What do you think of that? Do you think the government wouldn't have made up the Unwind Accord if there will safe haven laws such as that still in affect?

I'm surprised. 19 seems so old. But they have storking which seems like a safe haven type thing but parents don't have a choice whether they want to raise the child that was storked to them.

17. What do you think of Connor's rescue mission? I thought it was very telling how Connor made the parents write down why they chose for their child to be unwound and the threat of the identity cocktails. Someone can give their child up for reasons of personal hygeine; are there no limits? If they don't like the way their child looks can they be unwound? I wonder about Connor's parents now. I am hoping we get to see how what their life is like now.

It seems like parents need some counseling before they choose to have their child unwound. After Connor talked to the parents they almost seemed to regret their choice but it was too late. In a lot of cases I think parenting workshops and advice/support groups for those with "difficult" children might be a more healthy alternative.

18. I found in interesting that the disabled aren't unwound. Is is because they are in a way "damaged"? Do you think Risa regrets not taking the spine from the Unwind? It seems to have created some problems for herself and her relationship with Connor (though I like the fact that she didn't take it).

I thought they mentioned in the book that it was like a saving grace for them since they were already "damaged" or something similar to that. But yes, otherwise I'd think it was because they were damaged, depending on the disability. I guess if they really got desperate they'd pick/choose only the parts in "sellable" condition. Sickening even typing this!

19. I also wonder why the kids are at the Graveyard. If there is such an organ shortage but then there are hundreds, what used to be thousands, of kids just sitting in a desert. Why do you think they are leaving them alone?

I think there's something being planned/going to happen. Especially with the ADR committee slowing down deliveries.

20. I see Connor still has issues with Roland's arm. I think it would be difficult to be in his position but then to be scared of part of your body and what it could do.

Agreed. It's hard not to look at that arm and remember the horrible things it's done.

21. I wonder what the deal is with the ADR and not helping the Graveyard kids. Either the ADR isn't capable of helping the Unwinds or there is something else going on. I almost feel like the Graveyard is one huge experiment.

I mentioned above that I definitely think they have something planned.

22. Oh Starkey. I was hoping he would prove me wrong and end up being a good guy but it doesn't look like it. Connor did save a storked baby but apparently that isn't good enough for Starkey. I don't think he would be a very good leader and it seems like everything he does is only to make himself feel more powerful. He sounds like a sociopath.

Yeah, I didn't have a good feeling about him from the beginning. He's definitely out for himself and the storked kids.

23. I might not remember this but what did Hayden mean when he said "Last year didn't count" in reference to him being 17? If he is 17 can't he leave the Graveyard and Connor?

I was confused about that too....

24. Wow! So now every teenager is even more at risk. They have to make sure they don't make their parents mad but they also have to watch out for traps set out by parts pirates. Sounds like a pretty scary world for 13-16 year olds. But didn't anybody see this coming? Why would the Black Market only want AWOL's when they could get any healthy teenager? And wouldn't they want some of the "good" teenagers because they would be better people to be divided into other people...

Well that would be really scary to think that any teenager could be abducted for parts. Maybe because AWOLs were already destined to be unwound it doesn't matter as much since the end result is the same....people getting their body parts????

25. The whole idea that you can keep changing body parts until you find what you are happy with is absurd to me. There should some sort of limit and wouldn't that be doing more harm to your body having repeat multiple surgeries especially on eyes.

Yeah, that's kind of disturbing. You don't like a certain part, or it's not working to your expectations and you have the money, you can get a newer/replacement one??!! Again the whole concept of this book is so frightening and disturbing to me!