Lisa’s Comments (group member since Dec 27, 2020)

Lisa’s comments from the The Perks Of Being A Book Addict group.

I just finished The Heart Principle. I enjoyed it, but it was much heavier than I expected.

I just realized I have a Q book I can read: The Heart Principle. The main male protagonist is Quan. I think that will get us more points than other things I was planning on reading, so I'll make it a higher priority. It should be a quick read, so I made not even need to bump anything. Let me know if I'm thinking about this wrong...

Camilla wrote: "That looks very pretty, Lisa! And complicated. You are really skilful."

Thanks! It has a lot of small pieces and while it's no where near perfect, I can tell my skills have progressed in the last few years as it is going together much easier than some previous quilts I've made....still some swearing at times though!

I finished Salt to the Sea this morning. It is set in East Prussia, so I put it in the travel souvenir section on the mini challenge.

A comfy armchair definitely qualifies as a reading nook!

The quilt I'm making for my parents is called Mrs. Miller's Apprentice. Here is a link to what it looks like:

https://www.heartspunquilts.com/shop/...

I am done with the center of the quilt top, just adding the borders now. Then I'll need to quilt and bind it. We're going to have an informal gathering for them one night when we go camping this summer - my extended family goes every July in Door County, Wisconsin. So nothing extravagant, but they'll appreciate it.

Hello All,

I'm having a good week off - the weather has been nice again for the most part so I've been getting my steps in every day. My weekend focus is a quilt I'm making for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary this summer.

Reading-wise, I'm making progress on all of my started books but probably won't have a finish for a couple of days yet. Next week is a work week which generally means more reading time, but my normal work partner will be on vacation so I may have to spend more time chatting with all the different employees who fill in for her throughout the week. I'm still optimistic that I'll get to all of the books I haven't started yet, though!

Good luck packing Camilla! Moving is so much work, but it's fun to set up a new space...will you get a reading nook?

I am almost done with my 2 Yellow cover with letter W. Chemistry - I'll likely finish it by the end of today.
I am reading The Lincoln Highway, which could work for white cover or W.
I am also over half way done with Salt to the Sea which is set in East Prussia (~1945) and West with Giraffes that can be used for a W title.
When I finish these, I will start The Starless Sea for black cover. If I have time after these, I want to read Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Firekeeper's Daughter which I think could be fantasy paintings.

Kaley wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Also, I checked in about West with Giraffes and whether it would work for white cover, and we only got two responses — one yes and one no…. And the no came from a mod. So, I’m taking that one as a no. Sorry!"

No worries - I agree it is off-white to beige, so I can see why it doesn't work. At least it starts with a w, so it might work for part 4. :)

Good news - I found a Yellow covered book with a W author: Chemistry, so I can read that for our Yellow 2 card for bonus points. I started it today to make sure I wouldn't hate it (I think I'll even like it, which is part of what makes these challenges so fun - finding something you like that you wouldn't have found otherwise!), but will finish it next week after the 15th start time.

I'm reading The Kiss Quotient today for my Blue 3 card and will read The Bride Test for the wild 4 card too...I should be able to finish both of these before the mini challenge starts since they won't count for anything for the mini challenge. Then I'll focus on books that will work for the four categories.

I am competitive myself, so absolutely agree that we need to max out the color card points that we can get in part four of the mini challenge, if possible. I don't think my Yellow 2 book The Bride Test will have a W character based on the goodreads description, but will look for another yellow book tonight for that category when I'm at work (if anyone else has one that will work, feel free to take it). I'll plan on still reading The Bride Test so we can use it for the Wild Draw 4 as you described above.

I have these three books at home too - I think they would work for the classical or fantasy painting categories:The Paper Palace, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Firekeeper's Daughter

Finally, I realized West with Giraffes will work for part 4 (if it doesn't qualify for white cover); I also have the next 3 murderbot novellas (written by Martha Wells), and Seven Days in June by Tia Williams. All could work for 2 cards in part 4.

I don't think I'll be able to read all the books I've mentioned, but will focus my attention where we think we will need it. Besides the books I've already started, The Starless Sea is the only other one that I absolutely want to read this month. I will put that one on the spreadsheet for a black cover.

I finished Weather Girl tonight - it was a cute rom-com.

I'm still working on West with Giraffes, but might save finishing it for the mini-challenge. I just saw that the rules for the March Mini-challenge are posted. It looks like it will be fun!

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

For the first part we need books with different colored covers. I have No Land to Light On (orange), The Starless Sea (black), and West With Giraffes (I think could work for white?).

For another part we need books set in certain countries...I just started Salt to the Sea tonight and I think it could work for that section.

I've finished both The House of the Spirits and Lair of Dreams so far this week; both are on the spreadsheet.

Hello All,

I've been following this thread, but realized I hadn't checked in for almost a week so wanted to touch base. I've had a great week - the weather's been nice and COVID rates have fallen such that I've felt safe meeting up with friends to catch up and just getting out in the community more. Unfortunately this has meant that I've spent less time reading, and don't have any finishes since Tuesday, but I'm approximately half way done with all four books I'm reading - most importantly The House of the Spirits which we need for our Yellow 5 Uno card. Next week is a work week for me, and generally that means I'll have more time to read so I'll be able to make up for this slower reading week easily.

I finished my first book of the month! It was an easy one - only 150 page novella - All Systems Red. I'm glad it's March and we can start reading our March TBR in earnest! I seem to have four other books started: West with Giraffes, Lair of Dreams, The House of the Spirits, and Weather Girl. The weather has turned nice this week, so I'm hoping to get extra daily audiobook time in while walking outside.

Jhmingos wrote: "That's awesome work everyone! I've been reading a lot of thrillers and horror, which has been kinda intense and depressing. So now I'm looking for some feel-good reads. Any recommendations are welc..."

My first thought for you was The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it looks like you've already read it. TJ Klune's more recent Under the Whispering Door is a little darker, I suppose, but still very good. I'm also tempted to recommend A Man Called Ove although that also starts kind of dark and has sad moments - but I think is overall uplifting. And definitely a different feel than thriller/horror. Finally, I read Midnight at the Blackbird Café last year - it felt very much like a Hallmark movie to me, so it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling you might be going for.

Sounds good; 5 Yellow is mine. I have requested The House of the Spirits from the library and should have it in a couple of days. This book has been on my TBR for a couple of years and I always seem to put it off as I think it will be slower paced and a more difficult read. But I've heard such good things about it that I'm glad to finally have the motivation to tackle it!

I finished After I Do tonight, so my February books are complete! I very much enjoyed it.

I finished Kingdom of Ash! Such a good ending to the series.

I also reviewed the Uno Colored Cards goodreads lists for books I want to read and which would fit our open colored cards for March. I am willing to read one or two of these, if no one else finds books they want to read for these cards.

Yellow 5: - Author First Name Isabel
Yellow 8: - 8th book in series
Yellow 9 - - Set in New York City
Green 8 - - Title starts with E
Red 5 - - character last name Ishigami

I'm also willing to switch out the two I claimed on the spreadsheet (Yellow 2, Blue 3) if someone would prefer those cards as I'd be happy reading any of these books.

I still plan on finishing After I Do for this month yet - I anticipate I'll finish it on the 26th. Are there any regular cards we're going to need to fill for February yet? I can try to find something quick that would fit if we need one. Otherwise I'll plan on starting something for March.

Exciting that the list for next month is out - planning always so much fun!

I did a quick comparison of the books I have checked out from the library and the color lists and I have The Kiss Quotient which is on the Uno Blue list, so could work for Blue 3 (author's name starts with H) and I have The Bride Test which is on the Uno Yellow list and can count for Yellow 2 (second in series).

I also have Aurora's End - which I didn't see on the Uno Green list, but I don't think that's a requirement? It could also work for Green 2 as one of the main character's names is Tyler but I think we have that card covered, which is okay - I can focus on finding something else we need.

While I'm at work tonight I'll try to peruse the yellow list and see if there is anything there I want to read that will fit one of our cards and which I can get from the library in time (as those sound like they might be the most difficult?).

p.s. I finished both These Silent Woods and Iron Widow in the last couple of days - they are on the spreadsheet for February already. And I anticipate being able to finish my Yellow 7 Kingdom of Ash tonight at work too as I have only about 100 pages left!

I'm reading four books that I plan on finishing by the end of the week:

Iron Widow - this one is due back at the library today, so I put my other books on hold and am trying to finish it tonight or tomorrow
Kingdom of Ash
After I Do
These Silent Woods

I'm curious to know when the March cards will be announced - do we get any planning time or do they come out on March 1st?

Camilla wrote: "Update about the mini challenge

We're doing very well with the mini challenge! Please find below the list of the tasks that still need to be covered, i.e. they are not claimed, and another list fo..."


I've also claimed flowers on the cover (will read After I Do) ad trees on the cover (will read either These Silent Woods or Hunted).

Camilla wrote: "Sounds great, Lisa! How did you like the ending of the series?"

I did really like the series, although the last book was my least favorite. There was just a lot of corruption/religious fanaticism that weighed it down. I very much liked the ending in regards to Rowan and Citra, though.

I finished The Dalai Lama's Cat today and will update the spreadsheet soon. I've also started After I Do.