Louise’s Comments (group member since Aug 29, 2015)

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

We have defeated the Lamia I have requested a new monster. Going out soon for the evening. Will catch up on post in the morning. :)

DQ - Day 6 - Covers 28. The Final Adventure of Koroviev and Behemoth -> end

26) Out of all the people in the city, why do you think the Devil decided to help the Master and Margarita? Or did he really even help them?
He needed someone named Margarita for his ball and she fit the bill. Her relationship with the master gave him a means to exploit the situation to his own ends. Not sure that he helped them, maybe they thought he did.

27) What do you think are some of the things the author was trying to convey with this book?
Not really sure that, that greed makes people gullible!

28) All through the Devil seems to insist to others that Jesus really exists. Why do you think that is?
To bring a balance to the world, the devil is seen as evil and the good (Jesus) is needed to balance that out.

29) (Thanks Google! - I thought this was interesting) The title to Chapter 30 (It’s Time! It’s Time!) references this poem by Alexander Pushkin:
It's time, my friend, it's time! The peace is craved by hearts...
Days flow after days -- each hour departs
A bit of life -- and both, you and I,
Plan a long life, but could abruptly die.
The world hasn't happiness, but there is freedom, peace.
And long have I daydreamed the life of bliss --
And long have planned, a tired slave, the flight
To the removed abode of labor and delight.
Now the question:
It seemed to me that peace (as described in the poem) was a pretty great reward for the Master. But why do you think/ what did in mean that the Master " earned peace but not light?"
I really have no idea

30). What did you rate the book and why?
I gave this 4* even though I didn't have a clue what was going on half the time. There were amusing moments in there that kept me entertained.

DQs Day 2
7. The Haunted Flat -> 13. Enter the Hero

6.) Berlioz kept having things disappear from his apartment. What would you of thought if stuff was randomly disappearing from your home? Blame it on the kids? Partner? Ghost? Thief? Do you think it's supposed to represent Stalin's infamous purges where people simply disappear?
That’s a common occurrence in my house, they generally turn up eventually.

7.) What do you think of Woland's posse of 3? Would you want to be a part of that group? Of the 3, do you have a favorite character?
They are certainly an odd group. I wouldn’t want to join but I wouldn’t want to get on their “bad” side either

8.) Thoughts on Stavinsky? Would you want him treating a family member? Considering this is the 1930's and it's a mental asylum, was it what you'd expect? Or more modern?
He seems “kind” I’m waiting for the “corrective” treatment to begin

9.) This section made me think about the housing/apartment situation in Stalin's Soviet Union. Maybe because I recently moved house, it made me grateful for the choices I have available about my living situation. Did this resonate at all with you? How so?
I am grateful for the situation I am in with my housing situation. Unfortunately there are a lot who are a victim of the housing crisis in this country.

10.) I still have like no idea what's going on really. I feel like I'm just going to keep reading and hope it either starts making sense or the book ends. How are you enjoying the book so far?
I am enjoying it doesn’t really make sense though

Found a physical book with sheep and a person 🎉

@Trinia please add Girl in Snow to your TT shelf

Jen wrote: "I just finished Empire of Storms, it could cover Task 13, 14, & 15"

Can you add details of how it fits on the monster mini tracker please 😀

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "And technically it says people, which is plural - wonder if the mean has to be multiple people, or if can be person/people. Captains, do you know?"

From the Captains thread One of each is fine. It was one person per sheep after all when they snuck passed him ;)

This may only be stated on the spreadsheet for point tracking. But I will accept humanoids for people. So yes, I would accept that book.

has been approved for this if anyone fancies it.

Jenn wrote: "Louise wrote: "@Jennifer please add Flying Lessons & Other Stories to your TT shelf.

@Trinia please add This Vicious Grace to your TT shelf - please confirm whether..."

There is no read date which is why I couldn’t see it

Jax wrote: "Louise wrote: "@Jax please confirm that Nothing to See Here and The House on Mango Street were completed after the mini started within the last hour."
Confirmed. Sorry..."

That's fine just needed to check :)

@Erin please add The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Baby Shower to your TT shelf

@Jax please confirm that Nothing to See Here and The House on Mango Street were completed after the mini started within the last hour.

@Jennifer please add Flying Lessons & Other Stories to your TT shelf.

@Trinia please add This Vicious Grace to your TT shelf - please confirm whether this was finished after the mini started (within the last hour)

The mini has officially started

Day 1 DQs
Book 1- Chapters 1 (Never talk to strangers) - 6 (Schizophrenia)

1) Poetry and literature. Religion. Philosophy. Deep topics, deftly handled by a mad, funny writer. What do you think so far? Are you fans of Homeless (Ivan) and Belioz and their pretentious academic discussions? Are you intrigued? Confused?
I am confused but intrigued enough to find it mildly amusing. Took me a while to realize they were discussing the crucifixion as if they were there.

2) So, you meet a stranger that that knows your name, and says that he just had breakfast with Immanuel Kant (who died over100 years ago), and was there to see Jesus, then tells you how you are going to die.
Did you know who the Professor (W, foreigner, stranger, consultant, etc.) is from the synopsis, or when did you start to realize who this character really is?
I actually had to read the synopsis for this one. I assume that the stranger is the devil.

3) We move to Judea, in the story that the Professor is telling. Pilate and Yeshua discuss why he has been imprisoned. What did you think of their talk? Did the characters of Jesus and Pilate differ from how you imagined them? What do you think of the different philosophies of authority vs the kingdom of truth and justice, in the book or in life?
What do you think of Yeshua’s belief that all men are good?
(I Personally loved the comment of Yeshua that his disciple keeps recording his words wrong. Teehee)
This is when I realised there was a religious take to the novel 🤦‍♀️. I was confused as to why we were in modern day Moscow one minute in terms of the novel and then in Judea at the crucifixion the next. The narrative definitely gives a different take on what we were taught, and I am not surprised that Yoshef believes all men to be good.

4) Well, Ivan’s life just took a turn. A dead friend, levitating men, a giant cat, a dip in a river resulting in missing clothing. Ever had a day like this? Do you think you would have given chase?
I have had some crazy days, thankfully not that bad. I’m not brave enough to give chase, I tend to avoid conflict situations and refer to authority to settle them.

5) I love the psychiatric hospital scene. It is so absurd. “Let him use the phone.” Teehee. I mean, poor Ivan. Do you think he will be there a while, or convince the doctor to let him go?
He’s not getting out anytime soon.

Bonus question) Anyone familiar with Stalin’s Russia? How does what you know relate to the book so far? Does the fact that this book was written during Stalin’s Russia make a difference to how you are understanding the book?
Other than the little I was taught in secondary school I am not familiar with Stalin’s Russia.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Vicky wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Eek, we have been bumped from #2 to #7 on All Team Status. 0_0"


Ohhhh so this is interesting. We're currently 500 points behind 1st place. But we'r..."
In the last two weeks of the challenge I’ll go through and remove smaller books to make sure we remain within our cap and are maximising our point potential.

Hi Team, in terms of the monster mini if you can please hold off finishing books until after the start of the mini which is June 15, 9pm GMT+1
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

When we complete a monster we can request a new monster which can be any of the monsters listed. As there is no limit to the number of monsters we can defeat we may well find ourselves having to defeat a nest of Pythons

@Cindy please add The Goldfinch to your TT Shelf and add a read date to Wicked Wolf

Celia wrote: "Since we are over our cap, should we only log books that fit on the mini this month?"

Please log all books. The cap relates to the whole challenge. If we are at risk of running over our cap we will remove books as needed.

Weekly Update

Hi Team here is your weekly update of all things TT

May BOM

The Travelling Cat Chronicles - you still have a few more days to complete and answer DQs on this, deadline for this is Thursday 16th June
Wildfire - head on over to the Backroom for this surprisingly good read.

June BOM
The Book of Cold Cases - started June 2
The Master and Margarita - started June 8
The Witch’s Heart - Starts Thursday June 16

July BOM
There is still time to volunteer for DQs for the following July reads.
Ariadne - Starts July 2nd
Malibu Rising - Starts July 16th

Supergroup Mini
We’ll done to all of you that managed to take part in the maze. Unfortunately we came in last but we got some extra points, which is always welcome.
If you completed any books for the maze please make sure these are tracked on the tracking sheet with a read date. If you think you are missing maze books please let us know and we can get it resolved.

June Mini
We have a new month long mini. If you haven’t already please check out the mini and do share if you know of books that you have recently read that would cover 4-5 of the tasks for a monster. I’m sure someone will find the ultimate book that completely defeats a monster.

Some Stats
We are currently in 2nd place overall and are ahead in the number of books read.

Book Points: 7204 (4th place)
BOM Points: 400 (tied for 2nd)
Total Points: 8204

Books Read: 207
Pages Read: 72,091

We are currently at 108% of our cap.

Volunteering for DQs Team Circe