Eldarwen’s Comments (group member since Feb 21, 2015)

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

Mini Challenges

For anyone having a slot open and willing to read something specific, we have a tiny amount of tasks left in mini 2, namely:

- orange cover
- brown cover
- pink cover

That way we could maximise our points, but bear in mind that mini 2 is one of those few mini challenges where we do not get a completion bonus - besides, we've already finished it once, so even if we did get a bonus, it would only have been for the first go-around. Buuut it would be 10 extra points per completed task, which isn't nothing :-)




All other tasks have been claimed, with not many of them left unread as of this moment, most books almost completed.
You did an awesome job, team!!
Lots of mini challenges and tasks, and we're almost done with all of them :-)

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "...December is a weird month for me in a way because I have yearly reading challenges I have to wrap up...."

And that's why I barely do any individual challenges anymore, and if I do it's the relaxed ones where it really doesn't matter (to me especially) if I finish them or not. I don't like those kinds of constraints and the self-imposed stress (getting too old for that shit haha). Especially because I'm not much one for sticking to my reading plans :-)

Louise wrote: "Nearly finished my 800+ book. Grabbed the last 2 country spots."

Fab, thanks!

Right, I think I'm going to have to admit defeat haha.

Time is just too short these days.

Looking at the audio for the last BOM "The Reformatory", it's 20hrs, and there just aren't enough hours left anymore for me to even consider being able to read it for this round.

So I'm going to skip that one and read it some other time because it sounds like a book I want to read. This means a country task opens up for Mini 9 (remember that there needs to be at least 1 tag).

I'm going to finish my book for the Taxes task latest tomorrow as it is my read for tomorrow's bookclub meet, and then I'll spend the rest of the round finishing Nevernight for Mini 7.

It's on the brink between teal and blue, probably depends on the screen settings, so I'll go with yes :-)

DQ'S DAY 6

26. Just backtracking for a moment, I'm really intrigued about Adela disappearing in the "haunted house" What do you really think happened to her arm and will this event play into what happens later in the story?

Ever since that missing arm was mentioned, I was sure she had lost it in a Ceremonial at some point early in her life.
With Rosario's part bringing clarity about who Betty (Beatriz) was, it became clear that the family was part of the Order.

As for what happened to her in the haunted house... I don't know!! And I really want to!! I assume the Darkness has taken her, and I can't help but wonder if she was one of the final pieces/offerings needed to keep Gaspar's block and protections in place in the event of Juan's impending death.

27. We're half way through, are you enjoying the novel? Learning anything about an awful time in history? Did you know much about the situation in Argentina at this time? Are you finding it a fascinating insight into a chilling political era, a creepy horror novel or a combination of both? How do the two genres/themes/story lines interact to enhance your understanding of what actually happened?

I am actually learning a little something about history while reading this book. Argentina wasn't a country that was really much talked about in our history lessons other than a brief side mention that things weren't great in South America, so this gives quite a bit more insight than I expected when reading the first section for this BOM. Also, I never realised that Nigeria was known by a different name before it was colonised, or that Nri was an actual kingdom as I only knew that name from an African-inspired fantasy novel I read a couple of years ago. Again, the African continent as a whole wasn't much discussed in our history lessons, hence the lack of knowledge.

I find this blend of politics and horror/paranormal surprisingly enjoyable.

28. The author paints a depressing visceral picture of The Other Place. I also note this section involves a lot of hallucinogenic drugs which seemed to be a big part of the swinging 60's! So to my way thinking much of what is depicted on the page is portrayed as a drug trip to emphasise the horror of what really is going on? What do you think.. am I way off or on the right track?

I honestly have no idea how much the hallucinogenic drugs play into what the youngsters are experiencing in their little explorations. It would definitely work for the three living in London for a longer time (Rosario, Stephen, Laura) but Juan isn't taking drugs I don't think? It would probably not go down well with his heart issues and even less with his medication. So I don't think their adventures are drug trips. Besides, what Juan & co are experiencing in the Other Place comes close to what Gaspar experienced in the haunted house, and I'm preeeetty sure that Gaspar wasn't taking drugs at that time.

29. And what about the character of Eddie? Do you think his descent into madness and death is an important part of the plot going forward?

Poor creature. Florence's experiments on her own son are much more terrible than whatever Juan had to endure in order to become a medium, but nevertheless, I can't help comparing Eddie and Juan. The latter is incredibly lucky that he has never gone down that same path of madness. On the contrary, compared to what we know about other (potential) mediums, they all went crazy or died incredibly young. Juan was always described as very powerful, but he was lucid until the very end. Cruelty and coldness aside, he really was, ok mostly, lucid.

It may not necessarily be an important part of the plot going forward since Eddie isn't an isolated case in the history of the Order, but it may be yet another reason why some stuff may or may not happen going forward.

30. And now we move into Section 5 and a complete change of pace! How do you react to the clinical explanations of the killing, death and destruction after the largely supernatural explanations for what has been happening? (And are provided with the truth about Adela) How is the author using the supernatural/horror themes of the book to shine a light on the political situation in Argentina at this time?

Damn, my time at work is up, I'll get back to this question later, or tomorrow.

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "nominations for 2026 Weighty Tome read are now open

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


I'm going to bump this briefly, even if there haven't been many messages since.

This thread needs a bit of love with big fat nominations!

Don't be shy! It's time to dust off those chunksters :-D

21st December ok?

Or do you want to start next week?

I won't have time tonight since I have to finish another BOM read before time is up hehe, but I'll leaf through the book tomorrow for a nice way to split up the days.

Nomination #2.


Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson


Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods—World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty—we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."

All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes—inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe—team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties.



Audio length: 42h 44min
The linked paperback edition is 918 pages.
The kindle edition is 1168 pages.

Nomination #1.


The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili


Six romances, one revolution, the story of the century.

'That night Stasia took an oath, swearing to learn the recipe by heart and destroy the paper. And when she was lying in her bed again, recalling the taste with all her senses, she was sure that this secret recipe could heal wounds, avert catastrophes, and bring people happiness. But she was wrong.'

At the start of the twentieth century, on the edge of the Russian Empire, a family prospers. It owes its success to a delicious chocolate recipe, passed down the generations with great solemnity and caution. A caution which is justified: this is a recipe for ecstasy that carries a very bitter aftertaste ...

Stasia learns it from her Georgian father and takes it north, following her new husband, Simon, to his posting at the centre of the Russian Revolution in St Petersburg. Stasia's is only the first in a symphony of grand but all too often doomed romances that swirl from sweet to sour in this epic tale of the red century.

Tumbling down the years, and across vast expanses of longing and loss, generation after generation of this compelling family hears echoes and sees reflections. Great characters and greater relationships come and go and come again; the world shakes, and shakes some more, and the reader rejoices to have found at last one of those glorious old books in which you can live and learn, be lost and found, and make indelible new friends.


Audio length: 40h 57min
The linked hardcover edition is 944 pages.
The kindle edition is 1258 pages.

Tory wrote: "Completion Post


The Essential Phantom of The Opera by Gaston Leroux
Date Read: 12/15/25
Pages: 345"


GR is being weird again. This has the add date as 15th Dec, but it doesn't show a read date.

Can you fix this please?
Thanks! :-)

Let me check with the rest of the mods and we'll get back to you on the start date.

If you're all fine with waiting for a bit, we might as well completely postpone this until after the team challenge is finished and then I can help with DQs as well. If nobody else joins in, then we can divide the days between the 3 of us.

That'll give you time as well to pick up the physical book, Jenny :-)

DQs Day 5 ~ to 61%
start: "He was sitting on the front stoop..."
end: "Just then, that was all I needed to hear."

21. Did you grow up with a haunted house in your neighborhood? Did you dare knock on the door, or go inside if it was unoccupied? Did you see strange body parts and see ghosts and lose your senses like the kids did?

Sadly, no. There was no haunted house in my area.

22. Did you expect Juan to actually succumb to his illness? How do you think Gaspar is going to deal with this?

Sadly, yes. It was bound to happen sooner or later. It's a shame that Gaspar couldn't talk to him one last time but Juan still helped him out when the boy needed him. I'm not entirely sure how Gaspar is going to deal with Juan's death, especially since I'm not entirely certain what happened in the hospital when Juan died, and with Gaspar feeling so much pain. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just grief and the pain of loss he felt, but something more, since Juan took some of Gaspar's pain away from him - probably on a regular basis while the others were keeping up the magical block.

I wouldn't be surprised though if Gaspar was going to try and find out more about his family and the many adults in his life that are keeping secrets from him.

23. We are given a new POV, and a jump back in time. What do you think of Rosario?

That was unexpected, but I found it quite enjoyable to get to know a little more about Rosario as well as the rest of the family. A family tree would have been a good addition to this book because at some point before this section I got completely lost with who was who. This part helped a lot with that.

Rosario is quite an interesting character. Hasn't had an easy life with that kind of mother, I have to say - terrible parenting seems to be a major part of this story. She may have had to bow to her mother even against her own will, but still she managed to rebel in her own little ways. I like that she wanted to learn more about the history of the Order and the occult in general, to be able to understand and not just believe blindly.

24. What do you think about the relationship between Juan and Rosalia so far?

Their bond as children was quite intense, but that kind of household, I'm not even surprised. Juan was the only other young person around from what I gather, once Tali had been banned after Leandra's unfortunate demise, and they were both trapped in their own circumstances. It turned their relationship (even more?) obsessive once Rosario was appointed the medium's guardian, like she herself admitted. All the better for Rosario to not waver in going away for a while because that really, really was not at all healthy. Being away from each other for a while benefited both of them.

I can't help but wonder though if they would have eventually become a couple if the Order hadn't sort of pushed for it. That's the sense I'm getting, not in the least because Rosario knew they were going to end up being together, the Order's heirs. Would they have fallen in love under different circumstances and not just be really good friends because they were trapped together in a shitty household?

25. We get some more history of The Order, and a glimpse into how they try to get their power. What do you think of Mercedes' actions with her daughter and those children?

Mercedes is a horrible, horrible person. I think nothing else needs to be said about her.
The history of the Order I found quite interesting. So many of the thoughts George Mathers' shared about the way of the Order or rather the way of rich people in general were so true, and this once again put against the backdrop of Argentina or the colonisation of Nigeria just puts it in rather stark relief again. They can just do whatever the hell they want and get away with it.

Janeylou wrote: "Oh , ok...yes, i was just looking at posts that hadnt claimed anything"

We've used all books from Round 5 so far, apart from Elen's last two, but I don't see anything for them. Unless you do?

Beatrice's book has been used for the yellow cover task, so it isn't really necessary to switch things around.

If that was your idea - make the most use of the books we have read?

Yes, I'd say that's over 50% white.

Stephie wrote: "My apologies for not updating. I'll do it tomorrow. Dealing with personal stuff has me out of my head this past week."


Don't worry :-)
We have a few days before the end of the round and the end of the challenge for you to update.
Personal stuff comes first!

Gabe the Babe is heeeeeeere!!!

So the continuation of the story was that the replacement book came here free of charge, the original book arrived with a little love letter from customs wanting me to pay about the same amount in taxes that the book actually cost haha.

Safe to say that I only accepted the one free of charge and had the other one be returned to the sender ;-)

This will be my Christmas read. Full of fluff for the season haha :-p

DQs Day 4 37% to 49%

16. Gaspar looks through his Mom's music collection in the beginning of this section. I've never read a book where the characters say "I don't like music that much." Just like Gaspar, I wondered "Is that weird?"
Do you find it strange when people do not care for music? Do you find you lean towards books/ movies or music more?

Each to their own tastes.

17. Entering the order is becoming more and more disturbing. What questions does this part of the novel raise about personal agency in the face of supernatural or systematic power?

Is everyone in the know?! In the end, it may just be a question of the lesser evil for those who aren't part of the elite - the Order or the government.

18. What do you think about Gaspar and Juan's relationship at this point in the book? What part of their relationship stems from the conflict with the Order and what part seems more of a father / son relationship?

The Order is at the basis of it all, because Juan does it all to protect his son from the Order. Not that he is doing an incredible job as a father... the further along we get in the book, the more disturbing their relationship is. Whenever I think it can't get worse, Juan proves me wrong. All in the interest of protecting Gaspar? Hmm..

19. I am loving all of the sensory details in this book. Do you find that these details move the plot along? Or add to the tension at all?

Some of them definitely add to the book. Other parts could just be skipped over. Or so I think, and then Enriquez adds a little something where I'm thinking it is a useful bit of information. Definitely doesn't slow the plot in my opinion.

20. What do you think will be a resolution between the medical, spiritual and supernatural world in this book? Have you read any other books by South American authors that also wrestle with these seemingly different worlds?

I have absolutely not thought about what could be a potential resolution between all these elements. I'm just along for the ride.

Lara wrote: "Completion Post


Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Date Read: 13/12/25
Pages: 385


I don't think it counts for any of the minis unfortunately"


It's tagged book club, so we can use it for that task.
I'll switch my option over to the food section :-)