Keely’s Comments (group member since Aug 30, 2013)

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

Oh no! I just checked the page count for Moby-Dick or, the Whale and it is 654 pages! I was sure it was in the limit when I started it. We won't be able to use for the first task in Scylla but could still use it for a body of water. I don't think I will finish it today, but hopefully will tomorrow.

Melissa wrote: "Keely wrote: "I am reading Moby Dick (on my phone so I can't link) and it will cover task 1, 2 (the sea) and maybe 3. It seems like the sort of book where someone/something is sacrificed by the end..."

Sorry, I meant I was commenting on my phone. I'm reading Moby Dick as an audiobook. I do occasionally read things on my phone via the Kindle app if I'm out and end up having to wait somewhere, but I have an Ipad that I use for ebooks.

I am reading Moby Dick (on my phone so I can't link) and it will cover task 1, 2 (the sea) and maybe 3. It seems like the sort of book where someone/something is sacrificed by the end.

Nevermind, I guess it is as many as we can. I took a sneaky look at some other teams sheets and some of them have slayed 50 monsters!

I'm about to begin a 650 page-ish book. Some of the books I have saved from Audible plus are leaving it on the 27th so I'm trying to squeeze in what I can. Most of them are long books though (800+ pages). So once I have done this one, I will start one of those long ones. I can do some shorter books if we specific ones, but most of you seem to prefer the shorter books so I thought I would tackle a few longer ones.

Is there a maximum number of monsters we can slay? Or is it just until we run out of time?

Day 3 - DQs

14. Saved by Cock-Crow -> 18. Unwelcome visitors

11)
“Since antiquity, the rooster has been, and still is, a sacred animal in some cultures and deeply embedded within various religious belief systems and religious worship….
In the sixth century, Pope Gregory declared the rooster the emblem of Christianity and in 9TH century the figure of the rooster was ordered to be placed on every church steeple. Also in Central European folk tales, the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a rooster.” (Source : Wikipedia)

Maybe it is just me, but I think there is something deeply symbolic about the fact that in the seemingly atheistic society a man is saved from black magic/the devil by a bird that is strongly connected to Christianity and is part of people’s inherent belief/superstitions. Do you think this was intentional on the author ‘s part and if so what possible message was he trying to pass on?
It seemed to be intentional.

12) Connected to the question above: were there any superstitions you were brought up with or were told about by your family/friends?
Other than the usual ones of breaking a mirror gives 7 years bad luck or don't walk under ladder etc, I didn't really grow up with any superstitions.

13) While the plot mainly concentrates on the weird happenings in “modern” Moscow and only few chapters are devoted to Jerusalem, do you think any parallels can be drawn between the two cities or their people?
I still don't really know what is going on so I'm not sure I can draw many parallels.

14) One of the many memorable scenes was when people broke out in a “song and dance flashmob” despite their not wanting to (the evil workings of Korovyev, the “ex-choirmaster”, translator ad assistant of Woland). Have you ever participated in a flashmob or saw one performed in person? If not: have you ever been involved in a school play/choir/etc?
I'm not been in a flashmob nor have a seen one in person but I did used to participate in school plays and the choir at christmas.

15) We already agreed that it is quite difficult to make sense of this book. Have you ever read a book that had similar effect on you? (fascination/bewilderment/what-am-I-just-reading? :)
I remember reading a couple but I can't think of what they were called off the top of my head. That's how little an impact they had on me.

The other Sandy wrote: "Laurie wrote: "Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with their TBR list just growing and growing🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"

I've been doing the GR annual reading challenge since 2013 and reading more than ..."

When I started doing this challenge my TBR was sitting around 600 I think. It is now double that despite reading at least 200 books a year (not all of them from my TBR list though).
Right now I am so far behind my GR annual challenge, but I've been reading longer books this year so I'm not too upset about it, and hopefully I can catch up in this second half of the year.

Laurie wrote: "Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with their TBR list just growing and growing🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have cleared out 120 books but feel like I have added just as many!"

I just checked and mine isn't as bad a I thought. But it is currently just over 100 books larger than when this year started, despite me having read close to 40 from my TBR so far. Once TT is over I plan to read some of the shorter books from my list and I should have more time to read in the next couple of months.
I intend to be more ruthless with books if I'm not reading them for challenges. If they aren't holding my attention or I just don't like them then I'm just going to delete them.
My main goal this year was to get as many read that I added in 2012 as I could anyway and I've done okay on that so far so I'm happy with my progress regardless.

The Book of Cold Cases works for 1 and 4 for the birds one and 3 and 4 of the Python. Both Kit and I have finished it and neither looks to have been used for a monster yet.

I couldn't sleep so I have finished Paradise Lost which is one book completed for us on the warships.
The book was on my TBR since 2012... I can say it was not worth the wait.

Oh yeah. I know this doesn't happen for a bit yet, but I am going home to the UK on the 13th July. My boyfriend is coming with me and will stay for about 10 days before he returns to Norway. I doubt I will get much reading done in that time as we will probably be busy so I'm trying to get as much read as I can before then.

I can definitely cover a classic. I've had one waiting to start that isn't too long.
I also have a book that would cover History, Military or War.

Those are the two off the top of my head that I would like to read soon, but I could probably find something for any genre if needed.

Has anyone else read The Master and Margarita BOM? I'm not really enjoying it and if I wasn't reading it for the point, I think I would have given up. On the upside, I'm close to reaching the end of day 3's chapters and then I can just power through. I will finish it this weekend.

The last time I checked, my library app or any other apps I use did not have the July BOMs available. I'll check again, but I do have an Audible credit so I can use it for one of them.

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?
Probably kids if I had any. Otherwise I would assume I either forgot where I put things or that my partner moved them.
A lot of people disappeared during Stalin's purges so maybe it is symbolic of that.

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?
I'll admit, I'm kinda lost with this book. I know there is a cat involved so I will just chose that one, because cat.

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?
A lot of corruption went on in the time period so I would not be surprised if something bad happens later.

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 also thought about that. I am glad we have options nowadays although I know currently people are struggling to buy property. I'm in a different situation where I am trying to move to a different country, but I have somewhere to live sorted (rent an apartment with my boyfriend that his parents own) it's just the being allowed to live in the country that is proving an issue.

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?
Honestly, if I wasn't reading the book for the BOM and TT I would have given up already. I keep zoning out because I'm finding it hard to follow.

Wildfire (the BOM) works for both 1 and 2 which I finished the other week, if that helps. But it would work for 3 tasks if we get the Mares of Diomedes so I don't know if we want to save it just in case.

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'm intrigued but I'm not really sure what is going on.

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 knew who the professor was from the synopsis and it realised it was him when he started talking about all those things that he had done.

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)
Sometimes I enjoy seeing different versions of people I know about, but I must admit I seemed to have zoned out for part of this. Philosophy isn't really my thing.

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've had days where nothing seems to go right, but never to that extent. Poor Ivan.

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'd probably be there for a while, but then again he seems to have a way with words so maybe he will get out early.

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?
I studied Stalin's Russia as part of my A levels and then some more at university (I studied history) so I am familiar although it's been a while since I've done any reading or research on it. It helped me understand references and why some people acted the way they did.

I could read another 800+ page book, but as I haven't started one yet I would rather wait until after the 1st so that it can potentially be used in this new challenge. However I just remembered one of the rules of the monster mini, "9.) Books used for this mini challenge cannot be used for other mini challenges."
Does this include the warship one? I'm guessing it would count as a mini challenge as the individual group ones don't overlap, but I would like to make sure.
I'm probably going to wait until after the 1st until I start anything new anyway. I'm still working on a BOM and a couple of other books.

I just finished The Book of Cold Cases. It would work for the metal on cover (there's a car on the cover), but it also work for quite a few other tasks. Some monsters it will cover two tasks so maybe we will want to keep it just in case. I've listed everything on the spreadsheet.

DQs Day 3: Chap 20-29

10. Beth's house has seemed important from the beginning of the story and there have been a lot of descriptions of the "Frankenstein ugly" house. During one of Shea's interviews Beth told her to go upstairs and see her childhood bedroom and then she said, "Not all of the answers you want so desperately are going to come from me. Some of them are going to come from this house." What do you think Shea learned from the house when she perused Beth's room?
She seemed to see what a lonely childhood Beth had that made her so hard and cold.

11. We now have a better insight into the note that was left at the murder scene that said, in part, Am I bitter or am I sweet? In this section we got a lot of details about how this "bitter/sweet" was played out in the house with Mariana and the two girls. Lily also told Beth that everything was her fault and she could have stopped it. What do you think the note will reveal about the murderer and how do you think Beth could've stopped it or could she have?
It is beginning to hint that Lily was the murderer and I guess could have happened differently that would have stopped the murders.

12. Julian's treatment of Lily is rather atrocious, especially considering how young she is when she first visits them. Why do you think he hates her so much and who do you suspect Lily's father is? (I have only read through chapter 29 for my questions, so I don't even know if that is revealed. Just curious what others are thinking about the situation.)
He hates her because she is a child his wife had out of wedlock. Maybe he didn't know about it until not long before Lily showed up which could add to his resentment.
I'm not sure Lily's father is going to be important to the story so I'm not sure it will even be mentioned. Maybe just played off as some "young love" sort of thing.

13. Lily told Beth she wanted a lot of things, including the house. Beth told Lily she hated the house to which Lily said, "That's because you don't understand it...It's an abomination that shouldn't exist...It's exactly like me." What do you think she meant by this?
I'm not really sure. I can understand why Beth hates the house, but I'm not sure why it would be an abomination.

14. Lily appears to have more power in the relationship between her and Beth, but based on Beth's current day ability to manipulate others, do you think Lily really is the more powerful one in their relationship? Why or why not?
It seems like Beth has spent so long being in the shadows and just keeping to herself that she doesn't express herself much. So in that regard Lily is definitely more outgoing and seems more controlling.

DQs Day 2: Chap 12-19

5. Shea is trying to explain the taps being turned on and the cupboards being opened by themselves through telekinesis. If you had experienced what she did, do you think you would have tried to explain things logically or do you think you would have believed it was ghosts and left it at that?
I probably would try and be logical about it too.

6. After getting a cat, Shea calls on Michael to ask for advice on how to care for it, through the conversation she thinks about wanting to meet him. Do you think they will end up together or perhaps just remain as friends? Could Michael be interested as well?
At the end of chapter 19 she calls him to meed so I think it is going to happen very soon. I hope it works out well for them, but I don't know if it will.

7. Mr. Greer’s former secretary tells Shea Mrs. Greer wasn’t competent and that she was "sent away somewhere when she was eighteen". Do you think she was crazy or do you have any other theories?
She probably wasn't crazy. Given the time period that she would have been "sent away" it was probably for something dumb. My theory though is that it was a pregnancy but as she was unmarried at the time, it would have been shameful for both the pregnancy to be known and for her to keep the baby.

8. While listening to the recording of Beth’s interview Shea hears a voice in the background whispering “I am still here” and poor Winston gets spooked. Did you find this scary? Do you think cats/animals have a feel for the supernatural? If it were you, would you come back to the house after hearing that?
I'm sure if I heard it myself, I probably would find it scary. If supernatural beings exist then I definitively feel like a lot of animals are more in tune with it than we are.

9. Finally, in order to get in the mood for more scary stuff. Have you or someone you know have any scary/ghostly experiences you might like to share?
Personally I have not, other than my own mind playing tricks on me, but I know several people who claim to experienced something.