Team Manderley

[Stephanie]

count me in for the buddy read as well. :)

[UNO Pixie, Our UNO Helper]

Hi Team Manderley,

please welcome new member Eli

replacing Lelani.

[Eli]

Hi, just joined your team. I’ll update my books later. Already started on some. Let me know if you need/want some information.
Ellie

[Angela]

Welcome Ellie! Glad to have you on the team!

[Sara]

Hi, Eli! And welcome to the team. :)

[Andy]

welcome to the team Ellie

[Sara]

Andy wrote: "anything we need in the last 24 hours?"

We need a read to fulfill the interior room task. I'm not sure if any of the already read backup books fulfill the task yet. I'm double checking now, but it might not be covered. Everything else is finished.

Just in case Ashley doesn't finish in time. :) Though, she has assured she'll have it done today, it wouldn't hurt to have a backup because life can come up.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Sara wrote: "Andy wrote: "anything we need in the last 24 hours?"

We need a read to fulfill the interior room task. I'm not sure if any of the already read backup books fulfill the task yet. I'm double checkin..."

No need to worry about me lol, I am just about to finish it.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Eli wrote: "Hi, just joined your team. I’ll update my books later. Already started on some. Let me know if you need/want some information.
Ellie"

Welcome to the team!

[Sara]

❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀ wrote: "Sara wrote: "Andy wrote: "anything we need in the last 24 hours?"

We need a read to fulfill the interior room task. I'm not sure if any of the already read backup books fulfill the task yet. I'm d..."

Okay, yay! Thank you, Ashley. ^^

[Karolyn]

Welcome Ellie!!!

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Completion Post

Book - Magpie Lane by Lucy Atkins
Date Finished - Feb.28

Cards - 0 (SA), 4 (CLN Faraday), Skip (CLN Khan), 9 (CFN Nick)

Mini - Task #7

[Sara]

Yay! Thanks Ashley. When I get home, I'll finish the updating.

[Sara]

Hey, everyone, non-book related question, and absolutely no pressure to help me here, but I could use some unbiased opinions, I thought you guys as readers might be the sort to give some good feedback. So I work for a nonprofit organization. I just got assigned to work on their blogs as the editor basically, but I'm having a bit of a disagreement with our CEO over content. She's a hardcore academic, and I was a reporter and I feel our content is too academic and not geared for a more general audience.

I wanted some non-biased opinions on an old blog. Do you think any of you would be willing to read this one blog post and let me know three things: one, was it interesting and/or held your attention? Two, did you think it was approachable/understandable for a layman reader? And three, do you feel like you understood what our organization's mission was based on the article?

I'd really appreciate the help. I've basically only got my mother's opinions and she agrees with me, lol. But she's also my mother so, not a great unbiased opinion when she agrees with me.

Here's that article: https://www.rootsroutes.org/blog/2020...

[Sara]

Also, fun update! I've fully finalized our sheet, and put in all the books for every hand and all of the mini. And with all of that, we're in second place currently in the ranking order! So yay!

[Andy]

Sara wrote: "Also, fun update! I've fully finalized our sheet, and put in all the books for every hand and all of the mini. And with all of that, we're in second place currently in the ranking order! So yay!"

wow!

[Andy]

Sara wrote: "Hey, everyone, non-book related question, and absolutely no pressure to help me here, but I could use some unbiased opinions, I thought you guys as readers might be the sort to give some good feedb..."

hi Sara, not sure I'm in target audience
just my perspective
struggled through most of the early sections - quite a few terms I had to look for definitions of, and some of these not found
I may not have made it much further if you hadn't asked for feedback
some of the pieces did click into place for me with the final paragraph

" At Roots & Routes our central instruction is... "

would have helped me earlier, but maybe there's an expectation that readers will already know some of this coming in?

[Sara]

Andy wrote: "Sara wrote: "Hey, everyone, non-book related question, and absolutely no pressure to help me here, but I could use some unbiased opinions, I thought you guys as readers might be the sort to give so..."

Hey, Andy, thank you so much for the feedback! I appreciate it. We're working on targeting a more general audience, so I think it's important to know that outside readers, not part of our organization or causes, can't fully understand what we're trying to communicate.

Truthfully, even I have been confused by some of these early blog posts, and I'm involved in the organization, so I did think clarity was a big issue. It's nice to hear from outside perspectives though that they experienced the same issue.

I'll definitely include your feedback when I'm making my case to adjust our future posts to better reach a wider audience.

[Narsku]

Sara wrote: "Hey, everyone, non-book related question, and absolutely no pressure to help me here, but I could use some unbiased opinions, I thought you guys as readers might be the sort to give some good feedb..."

I think the balance between content and language could use some work. Are we introducing the reader to the concept of decoloniality and the notion of decolonial praxis? Then the vocabulary is too academic. Do we assume the reader is familiar with these and we want a reaction/support/etc. from them? Then there is no need to, as it were, talk down to the reader and explain when and how coloniality began.

I do appreciate the fact that it can't be easy to introduce Mignolo & Walsh in an approachable manner since their languge by design is not.

Disclaimer: I'm not an unbiased reader. As a linguist who had to take about a year's worth of literature studies to get my teaching credentials, I'm allergic to certain types of needlessly opaque discourse in cultural studies. So, while I did not find the blog post difficult to read, I was mildly annoyed by some parts that were not saying much but were saying it with a lot of buzzwords. Someone who actually studies the subject would say that it shows I merely grasped the surface level meaning but not all the implications.

[Narsku]

Sara wrote: "Also, fun update! I've fully finalized our sheet, and put in all the books for every hand and all of the mini. And with all of that, we're in second place currently in the ranking order! So yay!"

Yay for a great UNO month! Let's go March!

[Narsku]

Eli wrote: "Hi, just joined your team. I’ll update my books later. Already started on some. Let me know if you need/want some information.
Ellie"

Welcome! :)

[Sara]

Narsku wrote: "Sara wrote: "Hey, everyone, non-book related question, and absolutely no pressure to help me here, but I could use some unbiased opinions, I thought you guys as readers might be the sort to give so..."

Thank you, Narsku! That really helps, and I appreciate having your perspective. That you have some familiarity with it. You're right, I do think we expect some of our readers to have some understanding of some terminology. But I think also we're not going to reach many people if we don't have some approachability for people who aren't fully in that specific discipline. So, thank you for your notes. I appreciate it so much! :)

[Sara]

Narsku wrote: "Sara wrote: "Also, fun update! I've fully finalized our sheet, and put in all the books for every hand and all of the mini. And with all of that, we're in second place currently in the ranking orde..."

Yes! Excited for another great month! Happy start of March!

I'm happy to finally get reading! I've been putting off books just so I could finish them in March, lol.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Completion Post

Book - A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Date Finished - Mar.1

Cards - 1 (1st in Series), 6 (AFN S.T.)

[Angela]

Completion Post

By Catherine Ryan Howard
Completed: 03/01

Cards - 3 ALN Howard, 0 - standalone, 1 - CFN O'Dowd, 2 - title, 6 - CFN Sal, 8 - Emily

[Angela]

Completion Post

By Rebecca Serle
Completed on 03/02

Cards - 1 - title, 6 - SLN Searle, 8 - Eric, 9 - Nika, Skip - Katy,

[Andy]

going to assume this cannot be used - graphic novel - can't find word count but don't imagine it would be 20,000

The Secret to Superhuman Strength

[Sara]

Andy wrote: "going to assume this cannot be used - graphic novel - can't find word count but don't imagine it would be 20,000

The Secret to Superhuman Strength"

Most likely not. We tend to assume most graphic novels don't fall within the word count.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Completion Post

Book - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Date Finished - March.4

Cards - 0 (SA), 2 (Title The), 6 (CLN Sanders), 7 (CLN Vance), 8 (CFN Eleanor)

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Completion Post

Book - Wraith by Mark Wheaton
Date Finished - Mar.4

Cards - 0 (SA), 2 (CFN Therese), 4 (Place Felice), 5 (CFN Ina), 6 (CFN Sandrine), 7 (Place Val d’Oise), 8 (CFN Eglantine), Skip (Place Paris)

[Narsku]

I've had a brisk start to March with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History and Lord Edgware Dies. Still, I don't think I will be claiming other books in advance for now and will simply mood read whatever. I have several friends and several students who are from either Russia or Ukraine and this has been an incredibly rough week and a half emotionally. Reading is a great temporary escape for me but I don't have the energy to plan it in advance right now. I'm sure most of the things I end up reading can be used :)

[Denise]

because of school, I have so many books almost finished. I'll get them logged as soon as I actually get them done, which should be soon. I'm basically just checking in with this post

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Narsku wrote: "I've had a brisk start to March with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History and Lord Edgware Dies. Still, I don't thin..."

Completely understandable, it is a very difficult time right now. Do whatever it is you need to do for the sake of your mental health, and my thoughts are with your friends and students.

[Sara]

Narsku wrote: "I've had a brisk start to March with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History and Lord Edgware Dies. Still, I don't thin..."

Of course, Narksu! This is a difficult time for a lot of time. Don't worry, and do what you need too for your own health and well being. Also, I'm sending your friends and students well wishes, I hope everyone stays safe.

[Karolyn]

Narsku wrote: "I've had a brisk start to March with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History and Lord Edgware Dies. Still, I don't thin..."

Please take care of yourself. I’m struggling a bit as well, as I have a former exchange student with family in Russia and several who live in neighboring countries. And colleagues with family in Ukraine. It’s a stressful time and books are not helping me as much as I’d hoped - I might need to pivot away from historical fiction for a bit. Will be thinking about you, your friends, and students.

[Sara]

Karolyn wrote: "Narsku wrote: "I've had a brisk start to March with The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History and Lord Edgware Dies. Stil..."

I'm sorry to hear this, Karolyn. I hope your friends are okay and I'll be keeping them in my thoughts.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Completion Post

Book - A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olsen
Date Finished - March.8

Cards - 0 (SA), 3 (CLN Harris), 7 (CFN Vincent), 8 (CFN Elsie)

[Eli]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Book: Flowers for Algernon. Finished March 8.

Cards: 0 (stand alone), 4 (title), 6 (character Strauss), 9 (place: New York), skip (author D. Keyes).

[Eli]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Book: Ready Player Two. Finished date March 6.

Cards: 1 (place: Oasis), 2 (book two in a series), 3 (character: Halliday), 6 (character: Samantha), 8 (author: Ernest Cline), 9 (character: Nolan), skip (character: Kira).

[Karolyn]

Eli wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Book: Flowers for Algernon. Finished March 8.

Cards: 0 (stand alone), 4 (title), 6 (character Strauss), 9 (place: New York), skip (author D. Keyes)."

I’ve also read Flowers for Algernon, so could use it as a reverse if needed.

[Denise]

I finished two books today and put them on the spreadsheet.

[Andy]

just got notification from library that this is ready for pick up


when suits everyone taking part in group read?

[Sara]

Andy wrote: "just got notification from library that this is ready for pick up


when suits everyone taking part in group read?"

I think we were thinking next week. Or the week after. I was waiting for the announcement for the March mini before fully deciding on the week.

But let's check in on how everyone else is feeling. Do all of you want to do the buddy read next week, or wait till the week of the 21st, when the mini will no doubt be in full swing?

[Angela]

It doesn't matter to me either way. Next week I will actually be in town (at home) so it may be slightly easier but I can swing whatever works for everyone else.

[Kylie]

I am ready to read the book whenever it is best for everyone. I have no preference :)

[Stephanie]

Just got my copy from the library today!! Ready to start the group read whenever the green light is given :)

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

I already have my copy from the library and I have it for 18 more days so maybe the earlier the better for me...

[Karolyn]

Sooner is probably better for me as well. But will go with whatever the team decides.

[Sara]

Okay, I think for those who have a library copy that might be expiring soon, why don't we start the group read this coming Monday, on the 14th.

I also have a second thing to vote on. Would you guys prefer to do a buddy read where we break the book up into five sections, reading Mon through Fri, and read at the same pace and talk about how we're feeling about the book as we go, or would you like to do a read at your own pace deal and we all just agree to finish by Friday. And we could discuss then at the end our thoughts.

Both styles of buddy read work for me, but I definitely wanted to poll and see what all of you would prefer.

[❀●○●○Ashley○●○●❀]

Sara wrote: "Okay, I think for those who have a library copy that might be expiring soon, why don't we start the group read this coming Monday, on the 14th.

I also have a second thing to vote on. Would you gu..."

Either works for me, guess it would just depend on how fast of a reader everyone is.