Melindam’s Comments (group member since May 02, 2017)

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

Julia wrote: "⚔️ If you needed rescuing, which literary character(s) would you choose would you choose the Nazgûls, the Balrog or the Orcs?
Nazgûl all the way! (Horse girly here, so this is a non-brainer.)."

😂 Love it!

Here is my intro. ☺️

🌍 Where are you journeying from?
- I am Melinda, Mel for short, from Hungary. Living in a small lakeside town not too far from the capital, Budapest.


💖 A book, author, or genre that’s always “preciousss” to you?
Lots of favourite books
Classics - Jane Austen
Fantasy - Terry Pratchett, J.R.R. Tolkien (no big surprise there ;), Sharon Shinn
Historical Fiction - Dorothy Dunnett, Hilary Mantel, Georgette Heyer
History - Dan Jones, Ben Macintyre
UF - Ilona Andrews


🍫 Optional snack check: if you were bringing second breakfast for the road, what’s in your pack?
- Coke, milk chocolate and "pogacsa" (cs is the sound for "ch" in Hungrarian). The latter is a small, scone-shaped (ish), salty pastry characteristic of our country, the Balkans and the Levant with various ingredients and modes of preparation. It can be prepared with cheese, cottage cheese, potatoes or even pork cracklings. And in HU folklore tales, the wanderers always take some with them when setting out on a journey - so ... sort of lembas, I guess. ☺️
I'd also carry some miniature coffee-making machine that could whip up cafe latte. ;)


🧿“Who is your favourite villain… and why is it obviously Me, Sauron?”
Well, one of the vilest and most blood-chillingly epic villains for me is Gabriel Reid Mallet from the Lymond chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett. I wouldn't call him a favourite, but unforgettable, nevertheless.


💍 Which unread book on your shelf whispers to you most like the Ring?
There are so many, I guess there are whispers not only from the One Ring, but from the Three and all the others. 🤭
But it's probably Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography. The reason I'm putting it off is because I know it will make me ugly cry.


🌋Which books/characters did you feel like throwing into Mount Doom?
Lots of books on my MEH and DNF -shelves, but the highlights.
- Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and especially Harry from it. (LOL)
- Winter's Heart from the Wheel of Time series
- The Golden Bowl by Henry James


🥾What’s your favourite real-life walk… and why is it clearly the Road to Mordor?
- In Hungary, my university town (not too far from where we live) is built on hills and in valleys and there are lovely walks that feel like nature hikes,
- In and around one of my favourite places in the world, the city of Salzburg in Austria,
- Anything on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.


🎒 Would you survive the Tongariro Alpine Crossing carrying Sam’s cookware set and Frodo’s the Mighty Lord Sauron's Ring?
- Sadly, I don't think so. I'd love to give it a try, though. ;)


⚔️ If you needed rescuing, which literary character(s) would you choose would you choose the Nazgûls, the Balrog or the Orcs?
- Orcs? Because they don't fly? :D
Otherwise it would be Sam Vimes from Discworld (aka my chosen literary husband - no, my real husband doesn't know about this crush of mine ;)

Welcome to our Team, Christene! 😊

Sauron has gone away, so feel free to list other literary characters as possible rescuers. 😅

Sammy,

My 500+ book will not work for the 1st round wheel word, so should you have anything up your booksleeve, feel free to boot it. If not, I'll go and look for sth else. 😊

🤭

Fellow Travelers the Road to Mount Doom Tongariro Alpine Crossing is open. (Just avoid black-hooded figures on horses or flying odd creatues.)


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

🌋 Fellow Travelers, welcome to Team Tongariro Alpine Crossing! ⛰️

Here, amid volcanic craters and emerald lakes, we’ll be walking one of the most iconic hikes of Middle-earth New Zealand—“the greatest one-day trek in the world.”
The fact that Tongariro National Park doubled as Mordor and Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings films makes it even more epic—it’s like our team is marching straight into Middle-earth itself! ⛰️🔥 (If only!)

🎒 So, let's put on our reading boots and fill our backpacks with books overflowing with Is, Os, Us, Xes and Ys, etc. 😉

📚 I hope we become a Fellowship of Readers.

👁️ Our Journey, directed by the Madly Spinning Country Wheel and by our Creative Mods plotting mischief in their Dark Tower of Moderator-ness, promises all kinds of excitement, as usual. 😉

👋 Please introduce yourself and also feel free to answer the following questions. (Not necessary, though you may get a visit from a Nazgûl or 3. No pressure, obviously.)

🌍 Where are you journeying from?

💖 A book, author, or genre that’s always “preciousss” to you?

🍫 Optional snack check: if you were bringing second breakfast for the road, what’s in your pack?

(While I was writing the Qs, Sauron overtook the thread, so don't be surprised at what's coming.)

🧿“Who is your favourite villain… and why is it obviously Me, Sauron?”

💍 Which unread book on your shelf whispers to you most like the Ring?

🌋Which books/characters did you feel like throwing into Mount Doom?

🥾What’s your favourite real-life walk… and why is it clearly the Road to Mordor?

🎒 Would you survive the Tongariro Alpine Crossing carrying Sam’s cookware set and Frodo’s the Mighty Lord Sauron's Ring?

⚔️ If you needed rescuing, which literary character(s) would you choose would you choose the Nazgûls, the Balrog or the Orcs?

🎡⚔️

🌋 🛣️

1️⃣🔠WORD FOR ROUND 1: DJIBOUTI🔠1️⃣

🕰️🕰️Start of Round 1🕰️🕰️
11 October, 9pm, UK time
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...


⏲️⏲️End of Round 1 / Start of Round 2⏲️⏲️
25 October, 9pm, UK time
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...


🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️🌋🛣️


H*O*U*S*E*K*E*E*P*I*N*G


📝 message 4: RULES + link to the Tracking sheet and Countdown


📝 message 5: BOM Info


🛣️ If you are a planner, feel free to add books to the tracking sheet and claim tasks, but not more than 3-4 at a time, please.
Please make sure you also add other options your book works for. Once you finished a book, you can claim another task.

🌋If you are more of a mood reader it's enough to add the books as you start reading them or finish them, no hurry.

✅ Karen, Julia and I will try our best to make sure that your books get assigned to claimed tasks, but sometimes, to move forward and for the sake of points, we may need to play tetris, if its OK with you. We will let you know if some more targeted reading is needed, but otherwise will be happy to leave you to follow your own pace and mood. 😊

➕ If you are uncomfortable using spreadsheets, you are welcome to make completion posts in the thread and we will help you adding the books to the sheet. Just make sure you link the right edition of the book you read and list the options the book works for.

❓Feel free to ask any questions if you something is not clear.

❗And the MOST IMPORTANT: Have fun and read good books!! 📚 😊

📙 OCTOBER 📙

by O.O. Sangoyomi

starts on 16 October
Link to BOM Discussion


NOVEMBER

🎡☸️🛞 ALL ABOUT WHEELS 10 🛞☸️🎡

🌋 Link to TRACKING SHEET
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...


🌋 RULES


🌋 MINI CHALLENGES


🌋 COUNTDOWN

🕰️ The challenge starts on 11 Oct 2025, 9pm UK time.🕰️

Only books STARTED after the challenge begins can count.

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Horse (Chinese Zodiac)

1. 100 to 175
2. Published in the year of the horse (1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 etc)
3. MC can be described as cheerful, popular, and/or social
4. Gold letters on cover
5. Set in China, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines

Snake (Chinese Zodiac)

1. 350 to 450
2. Published in the year of the snake (2025, 2013, 2001, and 1989 etc)
3. MC can be described as wise, intuitive, and/or elegant
4.Red letters on cover
5.Reptile on cover

Domi finished off LCC, so new monster incoming.

How do you like TLWL, Sophie?

Yaay!

Lol

Very fittingly seasonal new monster, unfortunate page count. 🤭