Melissa’s Comments (group member since May 12, 2019)

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

I'm into the painting myself so I look like a rock.... go Peeta....

Tammie wrote: "Michael wrote: "Tammie wrote: "Michael wrote: "I cannot help but to picture all us teams at the cornucopia waiting for the gunshot to go off so we can run to grab supplies!!!"

hehe...what should w..."

OMG that gif is hilarious! Who makes these things?!

Tammie wrote: "I've decided to start with the prequel...it's kinda long...does anyone have an opinion? Would it be better to reread the others before I read the prequel...it's been a long time since I read the or..."

Yeah, I can't find it either...

I think we should start off balanced, but I think there is an element of risk that we won't be able to account for until we see it played out for a month or so. I wonder if each of us is naturally drawn to one of the categories? I'm not sure if that would even be a thing, but I guess we'll find out!

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

4 days!! I'm starting to stack books. Anyone else?
I'm trying to figure out a space where I can stack ones for food, weapons, defense and shelter....

I found this at the library, which looks good for food!

M wrote: "So, I got some bad/good news today.

I have had a recent breast cancer scare, and I have to have another surgery. I hate it, but what can you do. I consider it a win that it is not cancerous, just ..."

Maybe it's time for a Brandon Sanderson series! Have you read Mistborn? I really loved that series.

M wrote: "So, I got some bad/good news today.

I have had a recent breast cancer scare, and I have to have another surgery. I hate it, but what can you do. I consider it a win that it is not cancerous, just ..."

I'm so sorry. That's a scary thing. Ugh. I'm glad it isn't cancerous. I hope they get it out and you don't have to deal with this again!

Tammie wrote: "Welcome Stephie! Glad to have another experienced teamie to lead us in this new challenge!

We've got some serious love for salmon here...I'll share my latest recipe here soon too. I've been doing..."

Yes, salmon! Yes, salmon sushi!!

I am going to read two books this weekend 🤞🏼The Night Parade and Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers. I'm on a women's memoir kick these days. Any suggestions?

Aside from that, I hope to get in the garden and putter around.

M wrote: "Hello Tammie, nice to see you again. Here is the recipe for you and Melissa. I hope you like. I also admit that yes, I am a hobbit and I like to cook.

It is for 2 servings
2 - 6 oz salmon fillets
..."

This looks amazing!

M wrote: "🏹 A bit about yourself
Hello! I am M from Vancouver, Canada. I live in my little hobbit hole with too many books and my cat.

🏹 History with challenges...what do you love about them?
I have partici..."

Yes please on the maple salmon recipe!

Tammie wrote: "any favs?"

The Dry and The Lost Man are my favorites, but I like them all too!

Tammie wrote: "Sharon wrote: "🏹 A bit about yourself
My name is Sharon and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania with my husband and our dog, Millie. I am the director of a community foundation for my area. I love rea..."

Me too.
I love Jane Harper.

About shelves.... mine is book games- 2024
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

🏹 A bit about yourself
Hello! I'm Melissa from Vermont. I am a middle school teacher with two grown kiddos and lots of pets. I'm a co-captain on this challenge.
🏹 History with challenges...what do you love about them? I just love them. They fuel my reading. I have read some books that I never would have looked at twice, and many of them were good! And a couple were humorously terrible. I love a good competition and I love to hear what other people are reading.
🏹 When will you check in
Every day - morning or night
🏹 Any fish tales? We are district 4 after all!
I had a student teach me how to fish once! I caught a sunfish! (lol, not much!)
🏹 Have you read or watched the Hunger Games? Any favorites books in the series, characters, scenes, etc
Yes. I love the second book. Cinna is my favorite character, and after him, Katniss is my favorite.
🏹 Any advice or questions for the team? Don't be afraid to read weird! :) Put your books on your shelves! And of course, have fun :)

Yes! This was a good challenge. I read many more music books than I ever had before.

I really enjoyed being on Team Opera!! We are awesome!!

Have a good holiday everyone :)

10. Armand pops up again twice in this section, revealing his true colours at the end. What do you think is the purpose of Armand in Opaline's story? especially as he has been a pivot point for her life many times.

I am not sure! Maybe his purpose is just to be the father of the baby? Maybe he has something to do with the magic? I still don't think he's terrible or anything.

11. Henry has a revelation or two in this section. What do you think of his approach to building a relationship with Martha? and his father?

Well, he seems honest enough. His relationship with his father seems too easy right now. It seems cliche almost. Maybe there is this much forgiveness and healing in some relationships, but it seems like it would be a little rougher than what we see.

12. Martha luckily escapes from abusive Shane with no comeback to her externally, and in a pretty passive fashion (the house / Madam B / drunkenness puts paid to him, and then Madam B finagles a clear up). Why do you think the author chose this route rather than give Martha a more active role in finally freeing herself?

These types of situations are just the worst. Having someone sweep in and take care of it all is a fantasy, that is nice to have sometimes. I'm not sure why this fantasy is more palpable than Henry's, but it is.

13. We've two different treasure hunts going on - for a lost book in 1920s and for a lost bookshop now. Are you more invested in one - which and why?

The bookshop. It is revealed in a magical way.

14. If you were inventing a lost book, who would you pick as the author?

Hmmmmmm......
JRR Tolkien?

Shannon, could you add An Education in Malice to your bookshelf?

Thanks!

5. In this section, we find out how Opaline ends up in Dublin. What do you think of Armand and her relationship/friendship with him? I feel there is something off about him but he does seem to want to honestly help her.

I'm not sure. I thought Armand was proof that she could love someone who was decent - even if it was just for a short period of time. I am hoping she has other loves as well.

6. In many ways there are parallels with Opaline and Martha's stories. Both are running from abuse and from a life they do not want and both have ended up living in a basement apartment where the vanishing bookshop was located. Do you think these parallels will continue? Do you think this plays a part in Martha solving the mystery of the Lost Bookshop?

I am wondering if the Lost Bookshop saves people who are lost? I suppose the parallels will continue, although Martha struggles with reading while Opaline did not.

7. The old library in Italy! What a coincidence that a book that showed up in Martha's apartment, A Place Called Lost, is the same story of how Matthew's father built the building where his shop was! I just love how the author is building the connection from the past to the present. Do you have any guesses yet about what the connection or what happened to the Lost Bookshop? Have you read magical realism before? It's one of my favorite genres to read.

I also love magical realism. I have mostly read this genre with South American and Mexican authors, so I am excited to see how it plays out here. I think it disappears once a person doesn't need it anymore - but I'm hoping it's more than that.

8. "Were we all preconditioned to love certain things? A moment in childhood, lost to memory but indelibly marked on our souls?" This quote jumped out at me while I was reading and made me think. I don't know when I started reading or where my love for reading came from. My mom always says I was carrying a book around before I could walk! But I have no specific moment where I fell in love with reading just that I always have loved it. It made me think was there a moment that happened but I can't remember? Something so significant it created something in me? Or was I preconditioned to love reading? What do you think about this quote?

Interesting. I'm not sure? I guess it could be a moment in childhood, or maybe it is a disposition? I have several friends who discovered reading as an adult. I remember finishing my first book in first grade and feeling so proud of myself. I guess that is how my love of reading started. That, and my Dad reading to me at night.


9. I think Madam Bowden is going to prove to be a character with surprises. Could she be Opaline? Or a descendent? I think she knows about this vanishing bookshop and why it shows itself to certain people and not others.

Yes, I am thinking Madam Bowden is Opaline, but I would prefer her to be an eccentric outlier who just finds out about the place randomly.

Hey Brittany! I see you really liked Nevernight. I think a lot about that book! Are you going to read the second one? Did all of the blood bother you? Or was it just a part of the plot?

1. Love the cover, love the blurb! I'm expecting big things from this novel. "The thing about books" she said "is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of."
Is this why you love to read or do you just enjoy good old fashioned escapism? Discuss.

There are many reasons why I love to read. I love to learn, that is why I read biographies. I love to connect ideas, that is why I read history. Travel books and historical fiction help me imagine a life bigger than mine, and fantasy helps me escape. And when I read sci-fi, I help out the whole universe :)

2. In the Prologue and the first two chapters we are introduced to the main protagonists, Opaline, Martha and Henry. First impressions of these characters and what differences and similarities to you notice about them?

I like them all! Opaline's motivations are a little less clear than Martha and Henry, but maybe her role is to bring Martha and Henry together.

3. In a novel about books (and big bonus points to the author for Wuthering Heights being the first book mentioned) there seems to be a lot of novels names and famous authors mentioned in the early chapters. How many of these have you read and loved.. or hated!

I loved Jane Eyre. I'm not a big Hemmingway fan.

4. The novel is taking place in two time lines with Opaline in one and Martha and Henry in the other. How do you see the two timelines/storylines being linked and being a novel with a magical theme do you think the characters in the two timelines might actually meet?

There must be something with the cracks in Martha's wall. She seems to have some sort of extrasensory perception, so I'm hoping she'll be the one to bring the timelines together.