Team Metamorphosis (2) ~ Chat

[Andrea]

Oh wow. I guess cleanup is going to take a while for many states, then. So glad you were able to squeeze in some fun time with your mom and brothers. It's great to recharge when life's been rough with natural disasters and the cleanup from that.

[Kimberly]

Thanks to you guys I was able to spend the weekend enjoy my daughter and grandchildren

[Andrea]

Aw, I'm so glad we could help. Kimberly, if there's ever a time you need us to cover your assigned category, let us know. That goes for everyone in the group, too, by the way. Life happens, and we should enjoy those precious moments when we get them. Part of being on a team is that we've got teammates who can help us out when something pops up.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Finished my book and posted. :))

[Andrea]

Awesome! We only need one more book to get all the possible points for this round. Great job, Team Metamorphosis!

[Monique the Book Geek]

ROUND THREE: TEAM METAMORPHOSIS ✔
(September 13-26)

#4: Pool Party/Barbecue ✔
*Read a book with a swimming pool or barbecue on the book’s cover or in its text.

*Book: A Place to Belong by
*Read by: MONIQUE, finished 9/25/17, rated 5 stars
*How it works: “…gone to the pool with Cynthia and her mother” (p. 176). “…and her dad, grilling hamburgers and watching baseball” (p. 287).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#5: Camping/Hiking/Fishing ✔
*Read a book with a camping, hiking, or fishing scene on the book’s cover or in its text.

*Book: My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni
*Read by: JAMIE, finished 9/14/17, rated 5 stars
*How it works: “…wore his fly-fishing vest and lucky cap, but he was already feeling far removed from the gentle rocking of the flat-bottomed boat…” “…their fly-fishing trip cut short” (Chapter 3).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#25: October 31st (Halloween & Reformation Day) ✔
*Read a book that: 1) has candy on cover or in book's text; 2) has a part of the story that takes place in Germany; OR 3) contains the number “9” in either the publication date or number of pages. BONUS POINT if your book has a character named "Martin" or "Luther”.

*Book: Loving Luther by Allison Pittman
*Read by: MELANIE, finished 9/25/17, rated 4 stars
*How it works: Part of the story takes place in Germany and there is a “9” in the publication date (09/01/2017).
*How it works for the BONUS POINT: Book has a character named “Martin.”
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#37: Higher Education ✔
*Read a book with a main character that attends/attended college (must be in text).

*Book: Looking for Lovely: Collecting the Moments That Matter by Annie F. Downs
*Read by: ANDREA, finished 9/14/17, rated 4 stars
*How it works: In the beginning text - “As my oldest friend, kid sister, college roommate, and an honorary aunt to my children, Annie has been a constant in my life for more than twenty-five years.” - Annie is the author and the main character in this book, and she has earned a bachelor's degree in early childhood education from the University of Georgia, which is made evident in this book's text.
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#40: Spark a Blaze ✔
*Read a book that has 1) fire on the cover; 2) a character that is a firefighter; OR 3) a fire or fireplace is mentioned in the text.

*Book: The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
*Read by: ANDREA, finished 9/18/17, rated 1 stars
*How it works: There is fire on the cover and in the text - "I fed the fire, adding larger sticks as the fire popped and crackled and grew in size” (p. 74).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea]

Woot woot! Fantastic job, Metamorphosis! I am so proud of all of us.

Now I wonder what the next categories will be...

[Monique the Book Geek]

Andrea wrote: "Woot woot! Fantastic job, Metamorphosis! I am so proud of all of us. Now I wonder what the next categories will be..."

I'm wondering about our upcoming Round Four tasks as well. ;)

[Andrea]

Round 4 (September 27-October 11)

#12: Cold Drinks
Read a book that has some type of cold drink (lemonade, iced tea, soda, etc.) on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#36 School supplies
Fill a backpack! Read a book with one of the following on the book's cover:
Pencils, pens, rulers, binders, notebooks, paper, etc

#17: Halloween costumes
Read a book with a character wearing a costume on the cover or in its text.

#35 Baseball
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- with a character who plays baseball
- with a baseball on the cover or mentioned in the text
- Page count contains TWO of these numbers: 1,8,4,6
BONUS POINT if your book mentions a MLB team or player in the text.

#31: National Grandparents Day
Read a book that fits one of the following:
-a grandparent appears at least once in the story
-has blue flowers on the cover
-title starts with one of these letters: N,G,D

Round Four ends 10/11/17 at 12:00 a.m. (Goodreads time), reviews for books need to be posted in their team's review thread by then.


Out of my upcoming books, the only categories I can do are #12 or #31.
Petticoat Detective has lemonade.
Piece de Resistance has a grandfather (called "Papi" since the family is French).

I prefer #31 since I'm already nearly 100 pages into that book, but I don't mind starting the other book instead if no one else may cover #12.

[Andrea]

Let's try for that bonus point again this time, y'all! We're doing so great with those.

[Monique the Book Geek]

I'm searching for baseball mentions in my "to read soon" books, hoping to find something... ;)

[Andrea]

I hope you're successful. That one seemed a tough find to me.

[Monique the Book Geek]

Got it! This is a book I need to read for a NetGalley review, and it works for our #35 task. :)

Round 4 - #35: Baseball

*How it works: Page count (128) contains TWO of the numbers: 1,8,4,6.
*How it works for the BONUS POINT: Book mentions a MLB team - "Aimee had sung the National Anthem for a Miami Marlins game. As she drove home from the baseball stadium..." (pg. 33).
*Confirmation of how this works can be found here and here (the page count can be seen at the bottom of these images). I received a digital copy of this book courtesy of Bethany House via NetGalley.

[Andrea]

Awesome! Great job, Monique!

[Monique the Book Geek]

Andrea wrote: "Awesome! Great job, Monique!"

Thanks Andrea! :)

[Andrea]

I'd like #31 (already 100 pages into the book that would work for it) but could also do #12.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

I'll take cold drinks.

Sorry for the delay in commenting. I've been really sick and couldn't get online.

[Monique the Book Geek]

I'm so sorry you haven't been feeling well Melanie. I hope you are feeling better now or feel better very soon. *HUGS*

[Andrea]

Aw, Melanie, I hope you feel better soon! Wish I could send you some hot tea or soup or something. Will a virtual hug do? :)
*hug*

[Andrea]

Monique, my book will be Piece de Resistance. Celine's "Papi" (Grandfather - they's French folks) has been mentioned, and it sounds like he'll be coming to America for a visit in an upcoming chapter. Thought you'd like to add the title into the next update.

[Andrea]

I just remembered: Celine dressed up as a Japanese princess in Piece de Resistance. Would that count for the Halloween costume one? If yes, and no one else has that category covered, I can switch to that one. Let me know.

"She found some other girls to dress up with as Japanese princesses, and then she and a boy climbed into a pretend Metro bus." p. 51

[Monique the Book Geek]

Andrea wrote: "I just remembered: Celine dressed up as a Japanese princess in Piece de Resistance. Would that count for the Halloween costume one? If yes, and no one else has that category covered, I can switch t..."

Because the #17 task is a bit more difficult to fulfill than the #31 task, it would serve our team well if your Piece de Resistance read could cover the #17: Halloween Costumes task. The instructions for this task are to: "Read a book with a character wearing a costume on the cover or in its text."

The quote you gave clearly describes girls playing dress up and putting on costumes to make themselves look like Japanese princesses, so I believe this would work well for the #17 task. :)

[Monique the Book Geek]

During Round 4, in addition to my #35: Baseball task read (All Saints)...

I'll also be reading a book that can serve as a back up book for task #s 12, 36, or 31 (12 Days at Bleakly Manor), to cover for any of these tasks should they not get finished in time, for whatever reason, or if someone in our group needs a break...

With these books being only 128 and 178 pages, these are quick reads that I've been looking forward to, and I need to get through and review them soon for NetGalley. :)

[Andrea]

Okay, awesome. I'll do #17 Halloween Costumes, then. Whew! I am SO glad I recalled that little bit from a few chapters ago. I was really nervous about us finding a book for that category.

Monique, great job of finding a couple of shorter books for this round. That will help us get finished quicker, I think.

I'll keep my eyes open for a backup book as well, though I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to read it since I've also got a proofreading job for the next couple of weeks. It's so great we can cover for each other in case life happens on any of our ends. Go team!

[Monique the Book Geek]

😃 So here's what our new round looks like for us so far:

ROUND 4: TEAM METAMORPHOSIS

#12: Cold Drinks - Melanie
#36: School Supplies - Kimberly (The Truth)
#17: Halloween Costumes - Andrea (Piece de Resistance)
#35: Baseball + BONUS - Monique (All Saints…)
#31: National Grandparents Day - Jamie (Love Me to Death)

[Andrea]

It's looking fantastic! I'm so excited.

[Kimberly]

I'll read The Truth by Terry Pratchett for 36. It has paper on its cover

[Monique the Book Geek]

Andrea wrote: "It's looking fantastic! I'm so excited."

I'm excited about this round too! :)

Kimberly wrote: "I'll read The Truth by Terry Pratchett for 36. It has paper on its cover"

Thank you Kimberly! :)

[Andrea]

I'm so glad you found one for that category, Kimberly. None of my upcoming books had any school supplies on the cover. I was pretty surprised, actually, because several of the ones I read earlier in the year had books or paper on the cover. Hope you enjoy the read!

[Monique the Book Geek]

Our works in progress... :)

ROUND 4: TEAM METAMORPHOSIS
(September 27-October 10)

#12: Cold Drinks ✔
*Read a book that has some type of cold drink (lemonade, iced tea, soda, etc.) on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

*Book: Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck
*Read by: ANDREA, finished 10/4/17, rated 3 stars
*How it works: In the text - Coke and sweet tea are mentioned. "Colin, do you want something to drink? A Coke or tea?” (p. 328)
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#36 School Supplies ✔
*Read a book with school supplies (pencils, pens, rulers, binders, notebooks, paper, etc.) on the book’s cover or in its text.

*Book: The Truth by Terry Pratchett
*Read by: KIMBERLY, finished 10/6/17, rated 5 stars
*How it works: Book has paper on the cover.
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#17: Halloween Costumes ✔
*Read a book with a character wearing a costume on the cover or in its text.

*Book: Piece de Resistance by Sandra Byrd
*Read by: ANDREA, finished 10/1/17, rated 1 star
*How it works: In text - "She found some other girls to dress up with as Japanese princesses" (pg. 51).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#35: Baseball ✔
*Read a book with: 1) a character who plays baseball; 2) a baseball on the cover or mentioned in the text; or 3) a page count that contains TWO of these numbers: 1, 8, 4, 6.
*BONUS POINT if your book mentions a MLB team or player in its text.

*Book: All Saints: The Surprising True Story of How Refugees from Burma Brought Life to a Dying Church by Michael Spurlock and Jeanette Windle
*Read by: MONIQUE, finished 10/07/17, rated 4 stars
*How it works: Page count (128) contains TWO of the numbers: 1,8,4,6.
*How it works for the BONUS POINT: Book mentions a MLB team - "Aimee had sung the National Anthem for a Miami Marlins game. As she drove home from the baseball stadium..." (pg. 33).
*Confirmation of how this works can be found here and here (the page count can be seen at the bottom of these images). I received a digital copy of this book to review, courtesy of Bethany House via NetGalley.
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#31: National Grandparents Day (September 10th) ✔
*Read a book with: 1) a grandparent mentioned in the text; 2) blue flowers on the cover; or 3) a title that starts with one of these letters: N, G, D.

*Book: Love Me to Death by Allison Brennan
*Read by: JAMIE, finished 09/30/17, rated 5 stars
*How it works: A grandparent is mentioned in the text. “The lavender from the dried flowers Grandmother hung everywhere” (pg. 161).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Reviews for books need to be posted in our team's review thread by 11:59 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, October 10th.

Happy Reading Team! :)

[Andrea]

My review for #17 Halloween Costumes is posted.

How are your books coming along?
Melanie, are you feeling any better?
How is everyone doing this weekend?

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Andrea wrote: "My review for #17 Halloween Costumes is posted.

How are your books coming along?
Melanie, are you feeling any better?
How is everyone doing this weekend?"

Feeling much better, thanks for asking! I think I'm nearly over it completely. :))

[Andrea]

So glad to hear that, Melanie! Praise the Lord for His healing hand.

[Andrea]

Melanie, I just finished Once Upon a Prince (about to write my review). It mentions Coke and sweet tea. So if you like, we can use my book as a backup in case you're pressed for time near the end. No rush at all. Just thought I'd offer.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Sounds great! Go ahead and post. Thx!

[Andrea]

All righty. Will do that right now. Glad to help!

[Andrea]

Posted.

According to my notes, here's where we stand for this round, which is due by 11:59 p.m. PST on October 10:

#12 Cold Drinks - Andrea - done
#36 School Supplies - Kimberly
#17 Halloween Costumes - Andrea - done
#35 Baseball (with bonus point) - Monique
#31 National Grandparents' Day - Jamie - done

Kimberly and Monique, are you enjoying your books? Think you'll have them finished in time? We've still got a few days left for this round. Just thought I'd check in, but please don't feel rushed. We'll save the rushing for the last round, in case there's a tie to break.

[Monique the Book Geek]

Although I'm enjoying reading All Saints, it's taking me a little longer to read than I thought it would because I've been spending a lot of my free time going through everything I own, figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of, and packing anything I can live without for a few months in preparation for my upcoming move to Texas. I've been so exhausted by the end of each day that I can barely read 1-5 pages in bed before falling asleep. With this, I will be finishing All Saints and our #35 task no later than the end of this weekend. :)

[Andrea]

Aw, Monique, I'm so sorry you've been so exhausted. But I'm happy for you too, because decluttering prior to a move is better than moving everything and then deciding you don't need all of it. And of course I'm happy you're moving to Texas! :) Hope all goes well with the decluttering and packing and moving.

[Andrea]

Fantastic job on getting your book finished, Kimberly! Do you have another one you'll be enjoying this weekend?

I'm reading A Twist of Faith this weekend. Only a few chapters in, but it's pretty good so far.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

I'm reading . Around 40% done and loving it!

[Monique the Book Geek]

ROUND 4: TEAM METAMORPHOSIS✔

#12: Cold Drinks - Andrea (Once Upon a Prince)✔
#36: School Supplies - Kimberly (The Truth)✔
#17: Halloween Costumes - Andrea (Piece de Resistance)✔
#35: Baseball + BONUS - Monique (All Saints…)✔
#31: National Grandparents Day - Jamie (Love Me to Death)✔

Round Four for our team is FINISHED. Good work team! :)

[Monique the Book Geek]

I'm now preparing for Hurricane Nate to hit my area tomorrow... Mainly for the possibility of more downed trees and power outages. It's crazy that Hurricane Irma prompted the first ever tropical storm warning for the Atlanta area less than a month ago, and now Hurricane Nate has prompted a tropical storm watch, soon to become a warning. Many records are being set this hurricane season. https://weather.com/

I'm hoping and praying Nate doesn't take any more lives than it already has (22 last I heard).

[Andrea]

Melanie wrote: "I'm reading . Around 40% done and loving it!"

Melanie, I'm glad you're enjoying Deadly Proof. I've got it coming to me soon. Hoping it's a new author I'll enjoy.

[Andrea]

Monique wrote: "ROUND 4: TEAM METAMORPHOSIS✔

#12: Cold Drinks - Andrea (Once Upon a Prince)✔
#36: School Supplies - Kimberly (The Truth)✔
#17: Halloween Costumes - Andrea ([book:Piece..."

Great job, Team Metamorphosis! So proud of us for getting every possible point.

[Andrea]

Monique wrote: "I'm now preparing for Hurricane Nate to hit my area tomorrow... Mainly for the possibility of more downed trees and power outages. It's crazy that Hurricane Irma prompted the first ever tropical st..."

What a crazy season! Stay safe, my friend.

[Monique the Book Geek]

Andrea wrote: "What a crazy season! Stay safe, my friend."

Nate weakened and only ended up bringing much needed rain to my area, which I'm feeling really grateful for.

I'm looking forward to becoming a Texas resident (north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area) in the near future! :) Like you mentioned earlier Andrea, it is easier to downsize before moving than to move things you don't really need, use or enjoy. I'm getting rid of as much as I can. Next on my list of donations to make are a couple of boxes of books to my local library. :)

[Janet]

I'm new to this group and just trying to catch up on what is being discussed. Andrea you are moving to Texas from where? Sending your books to the local library is a great idea. Depending on their genre, sometimes a local school will welcome them as well. Clearing out our things is one of the advantages of moving. God's blessings on your move. Janet Stobie

[Andrea]

Hallelujah! Monique, thanks for the update, and I'm so happy all y'all got was much-needed rain.

Janet, it is Monique who will be moving soon, not myself. Welcome to the group! This particular thread is part of a team game for which the teams have already been decided. I hope you'll join in on a future game, though. They're lots of fun! It's great to meet you.

[Janet]

Thanks for answering Andrea. I hope to get to know all of you. Blessings Janet