Ashley’s Comments (group member since Aug 03, 2022)

Ashley’s comments from the Hooked on Books group.

C wrote: "Hi Ashley, oh whew, that's good! You have no idea how many spreadsheets I've coastered in Excel and had to start over. And calls from coworkers being like "this doesn't make sense". Yeah, the paran..."

I can't believe Excel behaves that way. Come to think of it, when I used to work in an office (LONG AGO, lol), and used Excel, I remember being paranoid about that. Now - that could have been my paranoia only (bc that tracks... hah!) but maybe it's just an Excel (NOT FUN) quirk.

danielle wrote: "Ashley wrote: "The first book is a Formal BR for December. FBR's are chosen at the beginning of the year, and SBRs are voted in, and that occasionally causes an overlap, as people are free to choos..."

Yay! I love when people read outside their norm! It's fun to do and you might find something you love!

C wrote: "Got an access request on our book log, so assuming that is Mrsgeo; welcome!

Ashley, be careful about highlighting a single column. Maybe Excel has gotten better, but historically it hasn't expande..."

Google sheets always reorders correctly, I use it extensively all day at work and for this and it always does it correctly. I promise. Also, I made the template we're using, so I am comfortable with it, even if we all broke it - I can fix it.

Beth wrote: "Is there a reason our list is getting reorded in alphabetical order by reader? I've been keeping it sorted by page count, but when I do that, it's being reset to alpha by reader.

I'm fine with it,..."

It was me, I was trying to see what books I'd added, and that's the easiest way to find them. I'll try to remember to put it back in the order you want it in (tell me what that is!)

You can order it anyway you want at any time, though. Just click-highlight the entire column you want to sort by, then right click, and select sort A-Z - you can do it for any column.

Mrsgeo has been added to your team!

Mrsgeo, you can use any books you have started after August 30th (beginning of the challenge), and FINISHED after October 1st.

The first book is a Formal BR for December. FBR's are chosen at the beginning of the year, and SBRs are voted in, and that occasionally causes an overlap, as people are free to choose whatever series they want.

You're free to read it however you want. I don't know what other people will do, but I will most likely wait until December, and maybe read them all then? If I can... lol

I completely spaced, I'm starting the thread for this: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Also, I will note that the first book in this series is a DEC group read, so do with that what you will.

We will have a new vote for Q1:26

Welcome to the 4th Quarter Series Buddy Read!
starts 14-Oct-2025, ends 31-Dec-2025

Book 1: The Bear and the Nightingale
Book 2: The Girl in the Tower
Book 3: The Winter of the Witch



Important Notes
> Reading and discussion can continue beyond these dates, but will no longer be moderated after the specified end date.
> Bonus Points: Any bonus points (dependent on ongoing challenges) will only be available during the official discussion period. Please note: All books in the Series are eligible from 14-Oct-2025, ends 31-Dec-2025. You may read at your own pace.

When using this Buddy Read to get Bonus Points for a Challenge, please check with the mod running the Challenge for any posting requirements not listed below!

🚀 2025 (Impossible) Solar System Challenge: While there's no specific post count requirement, your participation should go beyond simple statements like "I liked the book." Quality of contribution matters more than quantity, so focus on crafting well-considered responses that add value to the discussion.

💬 This Week’s Universal Question
Even if you’ve never read Butler: what’s a book where the future it imagined felt uncomfortably possible?

OH MAN - I have read Butler, but the one that comes to mind was a semi-recent read: Tender Is the Flesh...

Oct 12–18 | Octavia E. Butler

🌌 Prophetic dystopias. Unflinching futures. Transformation at any cost. This week belongs to Octavia E. Butler, whose stories feel more urgent every year.

👉 Join the conversation: What’s a book where the future it imagined felt uncomfortably possible?

🌌 Futures on the Edge | October 12–18 | Octavia E. Butler
(Kindred, Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, Fledgling, Dawn)

Octavia E. Butler reshaped science fiction into something urgent, intimate, and prophetic. She wrote of time travel that exposes America’s scars (Kindred), dystopian survival that feels more real with each passing year (Parable books), and vampires who blur the line between family, predator, and community (Fledgling).

Her characters are rarely chosen heroes; they’re ordinary people forced to adapt in extraordinary circumstances. And in Butler’s universe, adaptation isn’t optional—it’s survival.

💬 This Week’s Universal Question
Even if you’ve never read Butler: what’s a book where the future it imagined felt uncomfortably possible?

🔥 Hot Take
The Parable books are less dystopian fiction and more "how-to guides we refused to follow."

🕺 Casting Chaos
A Kindred adaptation already exists, but let’s dream bigger: who would you cast to lead a prestige TV version of the Parable series?

⏳ Nostalgia Prompt
Do you remember the first time you heard of Octavia Butler? Was she recommended as "essential sci-fi," or did you stumble across her through a specific book/teacher/friend?

🎲 Mini-Game: Six Degrees
Connect Octavia E. Butler to Shirley Jackson (last week’s author) in six steps or less — through themes, genres, adaptations, vibes, or even wild reader headcanon.

Hello Teams!

It was brought to my attention that a couple of the Sheets were incorrectly calculating Salary books, so I've audited them and fixed the problem. Most were fine, but the following teams has adjustments made in their Bank Accounts:

Fantasy Foreclosers
Sci Fi Slumlords
Literary Loft Dwellers

There are no additional steps anyone needs to take, this is just notifying you of the edit!

Thank you!

👍

I will fix this tomorrow! Sorry I missed it!

Erica wrote: "Hi Ashley - I messed up the SS for Narrative Nomads. I entered my books in the wrong section. So I cut and paste them into my section (immediately below where I originally put them) but the numbers..."

Fixed! :)

MOD Clarification

Team Dystopian Developers has notified me of an error when calculating their salary, and are correcting that, so the $$ earned in message 101 will be inaccurate. Please ignore this if you notice the discrepancy.

Thank you!

C wrote: "Nice! Lol, one classic I've tried multiple times and just can't do lol. I'm working on the 4th Dungeon Crawler Carl, but likely won't have it done by our next turn, so it can be a chonky book for n..."

Me toooo!

I'm waiting on that one from the library as well Jax. If you want a thread for that one, let me know, and we can do it.

I didn't usually read horror either, but I'm making an effort to be spooky this month lol.

was adding books to the SS - who would like to BR these books?

Something Wicked This Way Comes
Someone You Can Build a Nest In
Frankenstein
If We Were Villains
House of Leaves

Janeylou wrote: "Can myself & lisa ( quill questers) have a thread opened for The Well please"

IBR - The Well by Marie Sexton