Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

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

DQs - Day 2

Starting with a Bonus question...
“They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.” (Granny said)
First off, who are “they”? I have always wanted to know. Secondly, do you agree with “them”?

LOL, this question. There's somebody at my work who constantly says They are doing various things that mess her up. I think They are just an excuse to cover up her own problems. However, in the case of this quote, it's… Well, I was about to say I agree with Them, but then again, sometimes ignorant people can do a lot of damage with just a sliver of incomplete knowledge. So… I don't know!!! Depends on the situation!!! Dammit Jenny stop torturing my brain!

5. Esk went ahead and did not follow Granny’s advice, and thought since she had a feeling she could get into the bird’s brain, then why not do it.
When you were a kid, did you jump off the swing, or touch the hot burner? If so, give us examples.
Do you think she learned something from it, or are we looking at shades of her future University life?

Hah, those possibilities are not mutually exclusive. Maybe Esk learned that if you do something, you learn something. Even if what you learn is that the outcome of the thing isn't always good.

6. What do you think of Hilda and her version of Headology? What do you think of Headology in general?

To me it's just understanding the utility of showing people what they think they want to see. Hilta is good at it. It's showmanship, in a sense, but with real effect.

7. Esk finds herself on a moving barge. Loved loved loved the resume of talents beyond washing and sweeping that Esk rattles off in an attempt to stay on the boat. What skills could you bring to the barge?

I'm a good singer, and I can organize everybody's book collections. And sock drawers. They totally have those things on the barge.

8. Speaking of the barge, what do you think of Esk’s decision to just leave Granny? Did she mean to leave on her own adventure, or was it an accident? Do you think her matter of fact attitude is a product of her magic, or just her personality or upbringing?

I think it was an accident, but once they were separated Esk didn't especially care. I think her matter-of-fact attitude is a combination of magic and upbringing. She just wouldn't be Esk without both factors.

Only 100 tasks left and we're not even done with the first month???
We need to read longer books or we'll end up spending the entire months of June and July writing Jackanories lol XD

Celia Buell wrote: "I finished my reread of . I enjoyed and appreciated it more than the first time around, especially in relation to the past year.

Used it for *footnotes (G6) in Bingo

On..."

I was just thinking about this series yesterday. I read Thunderhead pretty recently but I haven’t read Book 3 yet. I probably should soon!

@Lexi, what's your other least favorite? You have me curious now :)

DQs - Day 1

1. If you are new or relatively new to Discworld, what do you think of Pratchett’s world and writing style so far? For more experienced Pratchett readers, what are your favorite things about his writing style or Discworld in general?

I've read a few Discworld books (including this one), as well as a few of Pratchett's non-Discworld books, and what striked me most about his writing style -- which he certainly honed over time -- is that he can get at the heart of serious human issues while using multiple types of humour, all at the same time. The problem I had with the first two Discworld books was that the humor was kind of "trying to hard," and I think Equal Rites is the first where he relaxed that impulse and began to achieve greatness. It also helps that the main characters are female.

2. So we have our plucky heroine Esk and her witchy mentor Granny Weatherwax. What do you think of our two main characters and their relationship with each other?

They are both great, and I like their relationship. Granny is kind of awkward around children and has to learn to understand Esk a bit better. It's interesting how she disapproves of "wizard magic" but still has to figure out the best way to guide Esk given that Esk has it, while Granny is used to a different sort. Esk is just cutely annoying in the way that curious children at her age tend to be!

3. A major theme is witch magic vs. wizard magic (and women vs. men), and I can’t wait to learn more about these different magical theories and world views. What do you think of this dynamic, and which type of magic are you more drawn to?

I kind of think that the whole point is that there's room for both, and that a blend is the best thing for everybody.

4. Oh dear. Esk went a bit too far with the borrowing. What do you think is going to happen next? And what will Granny say or do?

I don’t remember from previous read, so I’ll guess that Granny will scold her a bit, but start to be understanding of Esk's impulses. Esk may have learned her lesson well enough already that a scolding is not necessary.

Bonus: I am really enjoying Pratchett’s wit so far. What is your favorite quote from this first bit? Mine is:
“What’s an elephant?”
“A kind of badger,” said Granny. She hadn’t maintained forest-credibility for forty years by ever admitting ignorance.


So hard to choose. I was struck by "But magic has a habit of lying low, like a rake in the grass."
It's so quietly evocative of a rake flying up to hit someone hard in the face when they step on it! Another writer might have put "a snake in the grass" instead but "a rake" is so much better.

Who else is excited!? I'm going to try to start this tonight.
Stupid job keeping me from starting now lol

So... I got impatient and added an Audible Audio edition of my own book Cuckoo Song.
Not really a conflict of interest on that since there's nothing to do with page counts or covers or spellings or whatever. :)

Again today I have no reading time, though I should have plenty over the weekend! Happy Dance!

Ugh I should not have started a new audiobook this morning. I only listened to like 20 min and have had zero time since then. Boo. I’m gonna go read some more of my Shadowhunters book right now though!

Who else is looking forward to the first Discworld BOM starting? This one will be a re-read for me and I feel like I remember the first half of it pretty well but not the end. Come to think of it, that seems to be the case for several of the other Discworld books I have read for some reason. Maybe the second reads will make the endings stick!

Diane ~Firefly~ wrote: "Is anyone having books on their shelves show up as both read and to-read? For some reason some of my to read books have both shelves listed, which shouldn't be possible."

Sometimes that happens multiple editions. Dunno why. It seems like it shouldn't be possible.
I'm kinda OCD about my GR shelves not having duplicates, so I usually go in and blast them out asap!

Enjoy Eurovision, Karen! 😆


Completion Post


Details on spreadsheet

Amazing world-building. So-so characterizations and plotting.
The story world is so great though; I will probably read the next installment. I am way more excited for the sequel to Roanhorse’s Black Sun though. Now THAT was a great book!!

Thirded/fourthed? The Bird King is great.
I thought the last section brought the book down slightly, but I also recommend this book anyway.
:D

@captains — can you ask someone to add an Audible edition of Cuckoo Song ?

Here is Amazon’s listing of Audible’s version:
https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoo-Song-Fr...

Jessi wrote: "Sorry I've been silent the last few days. Busy busy weekend…"

Wow, that is a LOT. I hope today went better for you!

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything.

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition?

Ariadne gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is an exceptional debut novel.

A mesmerising retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

Christina wrote: "I already see The House in the Cerulean Sea winning; I doubt anything else will get enough votes going against this book everyone and their grandma has been talking about the last c..."

Not necessarily. I have only read one of this author’s other books but I didn’t like it, so I would be hesitant about voting for this one. I am going to nominate something else…
*wanders off to pick something…*

Finished a 2015 TBR --



Fun story, okay writer.

Tina ❣ wrote: "I didn't know you could do that. That's pretty nifty and great if you need to double check someone's edits. Thanks for the heads up Alysa. Also is very considerate of you think think of conflict of interest with these challenges :) "

Yeah during the last TT there was a huge background drama involving page counts being updated in a hinky way (often after people had already logged the books in question). I'm sure there are GR Librarians who still update stuff for themselves and their own teammates, but it's a really bad idea, expect maybe for stuff that is immediately verifiable like Amazon ASINs. When you start getting into non-Amazon ebooks and old print editions and such, you can encounter a lot of inconsistency!


Also --
COMPLETION POST


details on spreadsheet
ETA: I used it for Bingo because I will probably read more books that fit the tasks this book matches (and obviously other people may wanna read for them too!)

Tina ❣ wrote: "Alysa wrote: "If it helps any, there is a book I plan to read in June (it was not on the spreadsheet yet) that is on the satire list — and although I’m sure it’ll work for a spell-out or an mpg tas..."

Well apparently Melanie from Team Sam Vines is spying on all the team threads, because she (as a GR super-librarian) added it 34 minutes ago. :D
Thanks Melanie!

I'm a GR librarian (regular, not super) but I don't update page counts on my or my team's books during challenges, due to potential conflict of interest. I can still see other peoples' edits though :D

If it helps any, there is a book I plan to read in June (it was not on the spreadsheet yet) that is on the satire list — and although I’m sure it’ll work for a spell-out or an mpg task, I am only reading it because it is on the satire list. I’ll go ahead and stick it on the spreadsheet.
So @Celia, feel free to put your Adams book(s) on other stuff. ☺️

ETA:
@Captains, can you get a page count added to this edition of Extraction ?

395 p according to Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...