Mimi’s Comments (group member since Apr 13, 2020)

Mimi’s comments from the The Nerd Daily Book Club group.

okay I finally made it to the end as well and um STRESSFUL doesn't begin to cover it. My heart was not having it haha.
But I agree with you, Nicole, I thought it was so well done and realistic and not too "out there".
I'm just so glad that Alex is okay!!
I mean Simone did say happy tears so I was hoping nothing too bad happened but still.

Hi, my fellow readers!

We promised you at the beginning of the month that there would be a few surprises - one of them obviously being the livestream with the author of The Train Is Being Held herself, Ismée Williams this Saturday (hope to see all of you there in the comments going wild!).

Lo and behold, that was not the only treat we have for you!
Ismée kindly decided to send something else along so we could gift it to some lucky reader from our group !

What do you guys think it might be? :)

How did you go about writing the book with these 'glimpses' of Alex and Isa with long stretches of time between their meetings? Did you envision what they were doing apart as much as what they would be up to together?

And: Did you have a dream cast in mind for Alex and Isa while you were writing or did they jump out 'fully formed'?

Also, just for funsies:
What's the weirdest thing that you've witnessed while on public transport?

Okay I finally caught up (sorry guys, my TBR of ARCs is trying to murder me this month, netgalley should have, like, a warning of when you're requesting too much haha) and I agree with what you said about the microaggressions that Alex has to deal with - I feel like it's so seamlessly put into the narrative because this is what people have to deal with all the time and it's infuriating especially!! since it's such a common occurrence. Makes me want to tear shit down.

But the poems, man. Adorable AF.

Nicole wrote: "suuuuuuuure "happy" weeping :P"

listen I'm trying to be optimistic here :D Simone is the only one who' read this book so far and I am hoping we're getting some happy weeping after the pain from the last few reads haha

Nicole wrote: "Ok am 46 pages in and am really enjoying it! It must be so frustrating to want to talk to someone on a subway but it's so rammed that you can't."

I honestly think that's so funny considering that strangers constantly (try to) talk to me on the subway even when they can clearly see I have headphones in and it's so crammed that I wouldn't understand them anyway :D so this is kind of a reverse situation but so entertaining!

only happy weeping of course haha

Hi, you guys!

Since it's the first day of the read-along, we thought we'd give you a little treat - Simone managed to snag a coveted livestream with Ismée herself at the end of the month! Which means that if there's anything you'd like to ask or share with Ismée about her stellar novel, you will actually get the chance to do so at the end of August!

Drop your questions, comments, whatever you want to share with Ismée down below and we'll get you all the answers you crave!

The date and time of the livestream will be announced in a bit and we hope you guys join in to hear Ismée's chat with us! The more, the merrier :)

P.S. There's also a giveaway heading your way this month...just...you know...saying...things are going to get interesting ;)

haha the exact same thing happened to me when I first started the audiobook on spotify :D I got a tiiiinnyy bit confused

oh yay!! I'm going the audiobook route as well and I really like the two narrators' voices so far :)

Week 1: until Tuesday February 14th, Isa

Week 2: until Wednesday May 17th, Alex

Week 3: until Saturday December 9th, Alex

Week 4: read till then end and then weep with us :D

Hi guys, gals and nonbinary pals!

We've been a bit quiet on here during July as we were focused on educating ourselves as much as possible (and devouring our July read This Phoenix First Must Burn which has some short stories in there that should be used in school curricula worldwide imo) but the months keep coming and they don't stop coming (50 brownie points if you sang that line in your head) and that means that it's almost time for our August book:
This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Williams!

Now, this book choice was all Simone! She has been raving about it ever since she got an early copy and we just thought it was the perfect choice for a summery read and we hope you all agree!

You might also be happy to know that there might be a sneaky giveaway with a special something something from the author herself included in this month's readalong...so keep your eyes peeled for that info ;)

We hope you guys are all doing well, wearing masks and taking care of yourselves!

All the best,
Simone and Mimi

THANK YOU THAT WAS MY EXACT SAME REACTION. like, can you imagine that Noah peed ON JOSH?? I still can't get over that haha. and Noah's parents really are a clueless bunch, this poor boy just can't catch a break to save his life :(

Hello, guys, gals and nonbinary pals!

I know our noses are still buried in Noah Can't Even (the second-hand embarrassment deserves its own scale, I'm telling ya) but we thought it was about time to announce our book pick for July!

You guys probably know by now that we strive to read books that highlight important stories and are relevant to current events and we thought, with everything that has been happening lately in particular, we would switch things up and bring you:

A Phoenix First Must Burn!

It's an anthology comprised of sixteen stories from Black authors who share their experience with race, social injustice, hope and resistance with fictional short stories. There are ones that are contemporary, others that are science fiction and even some fantasy! And you will most certainly recognize a few familiar names because there are some badass authors in this collection!

We hope that we can have some truly enlightening and hopefully (un)comfortable discussions about race, privilege and how to help the Black community with you next month (and really, any month) and are looking forward to hear your thoughts!

Lots of love,
Simone and Mimi

yessss never have I ever met characters who were this pure of heart but dumb of ass and that's my favorite combo ever!!

literally!! the boy just has the worst luck of all time. I shudder to think what he would do if he ever didn't have a next crisis to face

I felt so seen by that quote haha

Nicole wrote: "omg it is SO awkward. Also, I don't like his mum..."

RIGHT? it's like he lives in Awkwardia, population: 1 haha. And his mom seems so mean but I hope she gets somewhat of a redemption arc??

Alina wrote: "Just started reading and.. oh my... I am cringing so hard, pretty much all the time, not gonna lie 😅 I have only just finished Chapter 3, but I can already tell that I'll enjoy this very much!"

that's exactly how I feel haha. Simone warned me that the second-hand embarrassment was off the charts but I did NOT expect this level. I'm convinced that the title of the book was "Noah can't catch a break" at one point or other

Well, I have begun to fear for the control over my own bladder while reading this book because I was already laughing way too much during the first chapter. Noah is just such a hot mess which is extreeeeemely relatable but also. The second-hand embarrassment oh my. I can't put it into words but I think the amount of times I was nearly crying with laughter (like my fav emoji) speaks for itself so far :D