Ashley’s Comments (group member since Apr 27, 2022)

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

Sammy wrote: "I know E, but I'm a competitive player. If I read 20x 100-200 pagers every week I'd be seriously dragging the team down, which would make me feel bad = no fun.

Maybe if I was certain to be on a no..."

I'm sure there are super competitive people, but I just like to read, play, and organize books hahaha! Maybe you could make your reading number higher to accommodate your smaller page count?

No pressure - just thinking out loud!

Exciting news! Around the Wheely World we go!

H - The Honeymoon Crashers
A - The Awakening
L - The Grace Year (Liggett)
T - Four Psychos (The Dark Side)

H - Winter Lost (Hauptman)
E - Emergence
L - Tattered (Lark Cove)
P - The Girl with All the Gifts (Parks)

M - Catching Fire (Mellark)
I - Devil's Thirst (Isaac)
S - Spiral of Need
S - Accidents of Nature (Sara)

S - A Curse Dark as Gold (Spinner)
K - What You Are Looking For Is in the Library (Komachi)
I - Pucking Around (Ilmari)
P - That One Night (Price)

Woo! Congratulations 🎉👏🎉

Woo! Thank you Captains!

I'm updated

Finished The Whispers

15 hours left, I'm going to try to squeeze in a short book!

I will be done with this 756 page book before the end! Pucking Around, and I really hope I'll finish Apprentice to the Villain (it's taking way too long)

Day 5, Chapters: 26 - 33

17. We learn more about the world and the empire’s rules in these chapters. What part of this world feels the most unusual or fascinating to you? Would you want to live there?

I think the most unusual thing is definitely the Leviathans! What is going on with them?! Why are they coming out of the seabed?! What the HECK! It’s got big ancient-cosmic-horror-meets-biotech vibes, and I’m both fascinated and deeply uncomfortable.
As for living there? I’d rather not. Too many surprise tendrils.

18. Power and control come up again in these chapters—especially with the way information is kept or revealed. Why do you think certain characters hide things, and what does that tell us about them?

Power. Money. Control. Fear.
Pick one—or all of them. Everyone’s playing chess, and withholding information is how they stay three moves ahead. In this world, knowledge isn’t just power, it’s currency, leverage, and protection. It tells me most of these people don’t trust anyone, and they probably shouldn’t.

19. We are introduced to Fayazi Haza and her Sublimes in this section. What was your opinion of these characters? Did you notice anything interesting about them?

They are WEIRD.
There’s something deeply uncanny about the Sublimes, almost like they’ve given up so much of their humanity in pursuit of refinement or perfection that they’ve become alien. I found myself wondering whether the "perfection" they’re chasing is actually a form of self-erasure. Fayazi herself is a power player, but there’s something hollow about her, it’s all control and spectacle.

20. “Born into systems beyond our control, into relationships and organisations that obligate us to change…”
How do these lines reflect the pressure felt by characters like Jolgalgan or Din during these chapters? Who seems trapped by expectations, and how do they respond?

Honestly, this line hits everyone in the book, but especially Din and Jolgalgan. Din was literally reshaped to fit a mold someone else chose for him, whether to pass exams, serve Ana, or support his family. And Jolgalgan? She’s operating within and against systems of empire, politics, and legacy. Both feel that pressure, but while Din adapts, Jolgalgan fights back.

21. As Din gathers evidence around the Haza family’s estate, water tanks, and engineer gatherings, he begins seeing clear connections. What moment in these chapters felt most like a turning point in understanding the conspiracy and why did it stand out to you?

I’m not sure there was a single "aha!" turning point for me, but the cumulative effect of the water tank details, the restricted access, and Din’s growing unease really started to shift the atmosphere. This book does a great job making quiet, technical details feel ominous. You don’t get a red siren moment, it’s more like slowly realizing the ground under your feet isn’t solid.

Bonus: When Din is talking to Fayazi Haza in Chapter 28, he says, ”Last time they communicated to the staff at your household by throwing a yellow ball over the walls.”
I searched the ENTIRE book and never found any other reference to this “yellow ball”. What do you think of this? Is it a way of getting new information to the readers or do you think this got missed in editing? Or did I miss something? 😊

Interesting! I'm not sure I actually noticed. So… editing oversight? Maybe. Intentional "detective logic" moment? Also possible.

Day 4, Chapters 21–25

13. Din’s engraving skills seem to be a bit different to what is usual, based on the reactions of everyone else to his fighting skills, and also the lockpicking before that. I wonder how that interacts with his dyslexia, and also how it’s connected to his performance on the exams… what do you think?

The way his skills manifest differently from others is really intentional, and I think the reactions around him are meant to highlight that he's not just talented, he’s rare in a way that challenges the norms of this world’s systems.

His dyslexia plays an important part too. It’s a great subversion of the “brilliant mind” trope (he struggles with standard forms of communication but excels in pattern recognition, spatial logic, and hands-on applications). It also underscores how rigid and inaccessible traditional education/testing can be for neurodivergent people, even in a world full of augmentation. Din had to adapt and find his own way to thrive, and that ends up being his greatest strength.

14. One of the things I always find interesting about fantasy is figuring out what technology exists and what doesn’t. Aristan and Suberek were quite obviously killed by gunshot wounds, yet neither Din nor the rest of the investigation team seem to recognize that, so guns aren’t a well-known weapon in this world – however, Ana seemed to have an inkling… something the might of the Empire is hiding from us? What do you make of this? Is types of technology also something you pay special attention to in fantasy?

I enjoy the craftsmanship of fantasy worlds! It’s exciting to watch authors reveal things slowly. The gunshot mystery is a great example of how controlled knowledge can be weaponized, literally and politically. If the Empire is hiding gun technology, it suggests a vast power imbalance between regions or factions. I do pay attention to this stuff because it often hints at the real-world parallels the author is playing with: who has access to innovation, and who doesn’t get to ask questions.

15. Speaking of technology – I’ve also been thinking about its relation to social class and especially fertility in this world. We have Strovi, who’s gentry which is why he doesn’t have any augmentations, as they impact fertility, and then we have Fayazi Haza who’s so heavily modified there doesn’t seem to be anything “natural” left about her, surely leaving her infertile (but maybe this doesn’t matter when you’re part of the Haza clan. Or maybe they found a way around that.) And then there’s people like Din who seem to undergo these transformations as a way of improving their situation in life (not that we know much about his or other regular people’s backgrounds – but him sending almost all his earnings back to his family does suggest a significant degree of poverty), where it seems like nobody considers infertility a negative impact… I’m not sure I have a concrete question here, so: thoughts?

Such a fascinating take. Fertility seems to have become a luxury good in this world, preserved for the gentry who can afford to stay “natural,” while those scraping by accept its loss in exchange for survival. It’s not just about power, it’s about legacy and control. The powerful still get to choose when and how they reproduce, while the working class has to trade theirs away for a shot at a better life. It’s deeply political, and subtly horrifying.

16. It seems very neat that Jolgalgan, from the Oypat canton, would be the one behind this plot and all of these murders. Do you think it was actually her, or do you think there’ll be a big twist? If it was her after all, what do you think she knows?

(SPOILERS!)
So I won’t elaborate here just yet, because yes, there are developments I don't want to ruin for anyone still reading. But I’ll say this: the neatness should make you suspicious. And in a world built around obfuscation, bio-political manipulation, and layered motives? One woman with access to titan materials and secrets doesn’t seem like the only player on the board.

Day 2: Chapters 6–12

5. In this world, many choose enhancements that facilitate their selected jobs - and it seems like most have some sort of Monkey’s Paw negative effect as well. On one hand, an enhancement like Din’s enables his perfect memory, so he never forgets anything. On the other hand, he CAN never forget anything, even if he wants to.
If you were to be augmented with a skill/ability, what would it be and why? Alternatively, what, for you, would be the worst or most dreaded skill/ability you could get?

This is SO hard. I’m going to go for a reading-lean and say I’d like to be able to remember everything, like Din, but not with visual/perfect memory. Just solid recall of what I’ve read or learned, without the burden of remembering literally every detail or sensation.

As for the worst? Maybe an emotional graft that forces you to feel other people’s emotions constantly. Or some kind of truth-detection ability that never lets you lie, or lets you only hear the truth, always. That would be unbearable.

6. I thought it interesting that the leviathans are getting bigger every year, and that most of the special grafts and suffusions are from collected titanic bits and bones. Do you have any theories about how this will come into play going forward?

I won’t comment on theories (since I’ve finished the book), but I do think it’s fascinating how reliant this world has become on the remnants of the leviathans. Whether that’s sustainable (or ethical) is something I hope the series continues to explore. There’s definitely an undercurrent of commodifying nature in ways that feel risky and unstable.

7. “...I no longer formed normal memories. For a memory is just a sketch a mind makes of one’s experiences, imperfect and interpretive; yet what my mind made, from that moment on, was perfect, absolute, and endless.”
Do you think this robs Din of the ability to be fully human, from the standpoint that one’s subjective take on the world around her/him is what makes a person "human"?

Not at all. There are people in our reality who have near-perfect memory recall and they're still absolutely human. Subjectivity is only one part of the human experience. Din still interprets, processes, and reacts emotionally. He might not forget, but that doesn’t make his responses robotic. If anything, it adds a layer of complexity to his humanity.

8. I’m enjoying the evolving relationship between Ana and Din, especially Ana’s humor. Despite Ana joking that Din had “lost his sense of humor in some tragic accident,” what is your take on the twosome? Do you think Din cheated somehow to pass his tests? Or do you think it’s something else?

I LOVE THEM. They’re both brilliant in different ways, and I enjoy how Ana balances out Din’s intensity with wit and irreverence. As for the tests... no comment, again, for spoiler reasons, but I think there's more going on than meets the eye, and it’s fun watching it unfold. The trust and banter between them is one of my favorite parts of the book.

WW220 Red, White, Blue, Green, Yellow and Black on cover

I'm currently reading What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. I added it there, but if you want to move it, that's fine!

I. am. struggling.

I'm really hoping to finish a book today. I have already DNFed one, and I just keep not starting others.

I've gotta get in gear!

Got it! Sorry!

And I just finished The Odyssey too! Off to mark it on the sheet!

Finally finished Ulysses! 86pts!!

I think I have 2 on the official sheet, so I'll post that I want to use an extra entry token

Alright I added my completion posts for the ones I did this challenge, let me look at the SS for how many I have

DQ Completion Post

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3