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

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

DQs: Day 3 ~ Chapters 12 – 17

9. It seems like the whole book is a test of Charlie’s character. Hera’s conversation with Charlie is one example. Charlie suddenly asks if Hera and Persephone like him. She says they were sent to watch him, but they like him because Charlie chose to take them in and treated them well. Do you think the book is portraying a series of tests from his uncle? What do you think it means?

Some of the parts seem like a test - like the conversation with the Convocation and all. I'm just not sure what they're testing him for. He already owns the business.

10. “Business is business. It’s different from respect and friendship.” What did you think of this statement? Do you agree with it or do you think these things can’t be separated?

Yes, although this is difficult. There is some room for friendship in business of course, but putting distance in is very important as well, otherwise things can get messy.

11. Charlie was quick to pick up clues on the Lombardy Convocation members. What did you think of his assessment? Did it change your opinion of him?

Yes! I was thinking of him more of a drifter - but he showed his own with the Convocation members. Loved the cats during this scene.

12. There has been a lot of great banter in the book so far. I have to say I think both parts with the dolphins were my favorites. What has been your favorite line/quote, or your favorite part of the book so far?

I loved the dolphin part in the beginning of this section - with labor disputes. I also loved how all of the Convocation members had cats sitting next to them eating tuna.

Some updates:
Ariel, could you put Catch Your Death on your shelf? I got all the other ones :)
Brittany, could you put What Kind of Mother on your shelf? And how was Ancillary Sword?

It looks like we might finish another synthesizer today - just one s slot is missing
I better go finish my 2 books. This Starter Villain is kinda growing on me...

Megan! Shogun! Impressive.... Will you read the second in the series?

Lauri, your three books there are updated :)

Lauri wrote: "Completion Post!
A Thief of Time
Tony Hillerman
Finished 11/17/23
Page count: 209
Spellout letters:
E - CFN Eleanor
H - ALN
N - CLN Nakai
T - AFN
Z - CLN Zah!!

White..."

As the kids say..

Winner, winner chicken dinner!!!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lauri wrote: "Do we think this is an orange cover?



If so, I will claim for round 4 with an O for ALN…"

Definitely orange!

I should be good to finish - plodding through a few right now.

5. We learn Hera and Persephone are both sentient cats. My cats love lying next to me and staring at my computer screen (when they’re not stomping all over my keyboard), so I can picture a cat using a computer vividly. What mischief would your pets come up with if they were sentient? Even if you don’t have pets, what mayhem do you think could happen?

They'd definitely update the Chewy order and get more treats for themselves. Probably email me incessantly to come home and pet them, or figure out a way to blast the heat.

6. Charlie seems to be surprisingly chill about going along with everything happening, from sentient animals to attempts on his life to being whisked away to the Caribbean. Does that make sense to you, with how his life was before the book started? How would you react if you found out your uncle was a supervillain?

He seems pretty go with the flow - a good character to unravel a suspicious location.
Hmm. I don't know? Maybe figure out what he was up to?

7. Although travelling there was a bit of a hassle, St. Genevieve sounds like a pretty sweet place to be. Where would your ideal villain (sorry, process disruptor) lair be set?

Yes, it sounds lovely. I think an island in the middle of the ocean sounds ideal.

8. We got a list of more or less exciting options including sharks, so: what is Charlie going to decide? How is Jacobs going to “die”? Or might his death end up being a real one after all?

Maybe lava? Volcanic explosion?

Bonus question: The (soon to be striking) dolphins have, uhm, quite the vocabulary. Any favorite insults? Do you want to give coming up with some creative insults a shot yourself?

"Ambulatory collection of skin tags" was a good one :)

DQs: Day 1, Chap 1 - 6

1. I'm so excited to be reading another John Scalzi book with you all. He has quickly become one of my "always read" authors. Is this your first Scalzi book? What are your expectations?

I read most of Lock In - but not all of it. I thought it was a good start!
I'm hoping for a light sci-fi with a couple twists.

2. What are your first impressions of Charlie? Do you think he is using his sad life events as an excuse to coast through life easier as his siblings and attorney seem to imply? Do you relate to him so far?

Charlie is okay. He reminds me a lot of the main character in 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Just kinda meh.

3. “When people name cats, they usually do it in one of three categories: food, physical characteristics or mythology,” Morrison explained. What do you think Mathilda imagines Charlie's choice of "the goddess route" says about him? What sort of name would you choose and what do you think that could tell someone about you?

Mythology - I think all my pets are mythologically based?
Maybe it means Charlie is a nice guy? Going with goddesses and all?
I think it just says that I'm a book worm :)

4. What would your reaction be if a rich, but estranged family member left you a huge inheritance?

I think I'd cry.
Then I'd see if my cat had anything to say about it :)

Yes - it is a Greek god retelling.... (but it's so good)
I'll think of another.....

Ashley wrote: "I should finish 2 books today (if I can keep from falling asleep tonight).



I planned to finish them yesterday, but then I got sucked i..."

The only book I can think of for sad romance is one you might have already read:
The Song of Achilles 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Let's see!
This week I finished one really interesting book about ants for the non-fiction reading group - Empire of Ants: The Hidden World and Extraordinary Lives of Earth's Tiny Conquerors
and one meh - just too violent then beautiful then violent then I don't know what the heck is going on Split Tooth

Thanks :)

Yup!
Brittany and Ariel, sorry to be a pain in the butt, but The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (I put it on my TBR:) is linked to an audio, and the first one listed doesn't match up to the page numbers. Ariel, Beautifully Broken Spirit also doesn't line up.

I hope everyone had a good weekend :)

Announcement: Tier 3: no colour cover caps, no limits on instruments on cover

:)

The instruments are harder to find than I thought...

A new book is THE BEST :)

Ashley wrote: "Here's an update from me! My husband went out this morning and picked up the new Fourth Wing book for me - also, our (now) 3-legged dog!

"

I'd be really interested to hear what you think!
I thought the first one had too many similarities to Divergent. I did like the dragons though, and I thought the setting was cool, so I'll read the second one too.

I agree - looks white to me.

Brittany wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Hey Brittany!
For The Winner's Curse, there is a discrepancy in page numbers between your shelf and the spreadsheet."

Oh dang let me check, This one was a re-read, I hate the way t..."

Thanks Brittany!

Lauri wrote: "For around 3, I’d like to claim the following books:

The Way Of The Traitor: A Samurai Mystery
Laura Joh Rowland
H - CLN Hirata, I - CFN Ichiro, N - CLN Nagai, R - ALN..."

I put them on the spreadsheet!
Nice Y's :)