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

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

Cat wrote: "@Joanne, q12: her mother's last words were to shout (anguished, possibly??) Gideon! Gideon! Gideon!; which the people in the Ninth decided was a cue to call the child Gideon.

So it might've been ..."


Yes, this. I didn't think she was naming the baby, but that's just how the people of the Ninth decided to interpret her shouts.

Day 3 - Chapter 14- 20

10. Thoughts on the deaths, did you care to lose these two or are you just waiting for the body count to increase?

That was Magnus and Abigail, right? I liked them; they seemed the most normal (relatively) and genuine, so their deaths were sad. I admit it WAS just about time for a real body count though.

11. I like the electric toothbrush detail. What do you think of the room they found? Are there any details from the room that you think are going to be important later?

I like the toothbrush thing too. It clinched, for me, the idea that this book takes place in a sort of far distant future, where the technology (or possibly grasp and use of magic instead of tech) has far surpassed our own. That room was interesting in its stasis. The letter fragment should be important later.

12. The letter clearly has Gideon’s name in it (see below) but we get no comment from Gideon as the narrator on her reaction to this. What do you think of this as an author’s choice and what do you think the letter means?
" ut we all know the sad + trying realit
is that this will remain incomplete t
the last. He can’t fix my deficiencies her
ease give Gideon my congratulations, howev"

That letter exactly! I don't recall Gideon not having any reaction at all, just a pretty close-to-the-vest one. She seemed disturbed, but not ready to think about it right away -- because of, and not in spite of, being disturbed. I liked this choice.
I think Gideon was named after an earlier Gideon. And the "current" Gideon's mother knew something about all this.

13. This quote feel like somewhat heavy handed foreshadowing , though I may be wrong.
“You’re all right. Gideon, Gideon … you’re so young. Don’t give yourself away. Do you know, it’s not worth it … none of this is worth it, at all. It’s cruel. It’s so cruel. You are so young—and vital—and alive. Gideon, you’re all right … remember this, and don’t let anyone do it to you ever again. I’m sorry. We take so much. I’m so sorry.”
She would remember each word later, loud and clear. It seems to imply this is Dulcinea’s voice and does this impact your opinion of her?

I didn't find it too heavy-handed, or out of keeping with Dulcinea and Gideon's interactions thusfar. Was there actually question that this was Dulcinea speaking? It seemed clear to me.

Bonus Question: The skulls on top of the chapters belong to each house but I have been unable to find any pattern or meaning to their order. Anyone think there is a purpose or pattern? Did I miss something obvious?

Cat said something in an earlier post about the skull/house for each chapter telling something about which house Gideon would have the most interactions with in that chapter. I didn't test it (and my loan was yoinked this afternoon *sniff*) but it seems like a good theory!

(@ Jessi, LOL to your GIF ;D)

Apparently there's only a different paperback at the public library, and its checked out until the end of the month. And also might not be brown.
So Green it shall be! At least it's A color cover and not just ...

WAIT A SEC, it is a SIN BINGO! Green, YA, read by Cecily from Team Invidia in 2019!
SCORE!

I need everybody's opinion:

I was planning to read the following book this week, for Envy (top shelf: young adult):


but I am considering reading this one instead:


For the latter, it would also be for Envy (top shelf: young adult), unless everybody thinks it's green enough to use for Color Cover?

(Grrr, if I could track down a copy of the HC version at the library, it is like so , which would be a Wrath Brown Cover instead, but A) I don't know if I can get it in time, and B) based on the other editions with that cover image, it might actually not be that brown, but more pink.

Should I risk looking for the HC version?
Is the green one green enough for Color Cover?

*head hurts*

Yay!!!
So funny, I just mentioned The Addams Family in the BOM discussion, and then you finding that GIF.
LOVE.

I feel like we're behind in our minimum reading, but I ALWAYS get like that on Wednesdays during team challenges, and then everybody else proves I'm just paranoid, by having big reading binges on Saturdays, lol.

Cat wrote: "I keep going back to the epigraph rhyme, to give me a steer on the Houses & where their characters might be coming from"

Wow, that's a really good idea. The rhyme is so cryptic, a lot of it only makes sense AFTER you have gotten to know the characters.

Finished Gideon after midnight so I’ll put 9 Oct as the read date :)
Not giving it a star rating yet, as I need to think about it some more. 🧐

Minx wrote: "Also, if they don’t have many humans left then where is the human fat coming from?? Seems like other houses have non-human fat soap so it can’t be an import. Weird."

So I recently rewatched the early '90s movie of The Addams Family with my daughter, who is almost 9 and has a tendency to be literal (like me, heh). Many of the morbid jokes are confusing to her, but if I try to explain them, they fall apart completely. It was like "They keep talking about the Bermuda Triangle [or other random supernatural-ish thing]. What is that?" After explanation: "But if people disappear there forever, how did Uncle Fester get out?" Or, like, "How come so and so doesn't die when you kill them? Are these characters already dead? Why do they care when the bad guy tries to hurt them if they can't be hurt or if they like being hurt?" Me: has no idea, but likes movie anyway.

That's kinda the feeling I get from details like the human fat soap thing in this book. Adds to the overall theme, tone, morbid humor and therefore is cool -- but falls apart if you try to examine it any more closely.

I just posted my answers to your DQs :)

I only have like 30something pages left of the book, so I will definitely finish it tonight before I go to sleep!

Day 2: Chapters 8-13

6. I think we all had a feeling (including Gideon) that Harrow wanted her ring - & of course, she got it. What do you think was her purpose of stealing the ring from Gideon?

Harrow is afraid at this point that including Gideon on, well, pretty much anything would provide too much opportunity for the revelation that Gideon isn't a real cavalier.

7. Gideon has never seen modern technologies such as a sink with running water, or a toilet. She didn’t even know the difference between night & day... nor had she ever had a hot beverage before. This, in itself, tells us more about the Ninth than we knew before, but could also leave room for speculation. Would you consider this book to be speculative fiction? If so, what are some of the different things you could speculate from this or other parts of the story?

It actually seems to be "ancient" technologies, which we would consider modern, that Gideon has never seen. The running water thing was because they wash with some sort of sonic dirt-removal technology or something, wasn't it? This world seems to take place in a sort of far far far future time from now, though of course in a universe where necromantic magic exists. Possibly other types of magics on other worlds too. But as far as hot beverages and such... let's say the Ninth is a barren place for sure.

I've always tended to think of the expression "speculative fiction" is like an internalized form of genre bias. Painting readers of various types of fantasy and sci-fi with the same brush has both good and bad sides, but I feel like... if you like fantasy and/or sci-fi, just own it. No need to dress it up with a fancier name.
Anyway, "speculative fiction" really just means fiction with elements that don't exist in real life, but considering that the "speculate" part is like a big giant "What if?" question (e.g., what if there was a planetary system of necromancers? what if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War? what if dolphins could talk?)... it could practically apply to any work of fiction.

8. Somehow the Third twin knew Gideon was hiding in the stairwell eavesdropping, even though she couldn’t physically see her, & told her that isn’t the way to start things off. Will this encounter affect Gideon & the Twins in the future? Is it a sign of what’s to come?

I've read ahead, but at this point in the book I felt that those twins seemed a little off. I couldn't tell if the attractive blond one was actually nice or just faking it, and the other one seemed weird and creepy even in a book full of people who are all weird and creepy. That scene with the stairwell was a good example.

9. What do you think Dulcinea’s motive is when talking to Gideon? She seems to be the only one really “intrigued” by Gideon, to the point of wanting to be around her a lot. Is this just normal, friendly interest? Or is there something bigger at play here?

Again, I've read ahead, but I couldn't work out Dulcinea's motivations either. At this point in the book, I was thinking she just liked how different Gideon was from all the rest, and a sick/dying person like her doesn't have much to lose in terms of befriending people that she otherwise probably wouldn't.

Just saw that wren put a book on the planning spreadsheet as "Brown Cover according to TinEye." The edition does indeed have a brown cover, but...

FYI ALL:
The Mods decided in Caps Group that we are not actually using TinEye!
* We are using eyeballs and common sense. Ask your team if you're not sure about color.
* If we're still not sure, caps can ask in Caps Group for additional votes.
* TinEye and all mention of it have been banned from TT VII.

I am pretty sure Jessi posted about this here last week, after the issue with Dark Age as yellow VS brown, but, well, here it is now :D

I cannot imagine attempting to do audio of Gideon, really.
This is a book that would definitely not be its best in that format.

It's making me feel a little bad for the author, frankly, that so many people (now that Audibooks have become such a Big Thing) are going to come away with a negative impression.

I have about 6 chapters to go. Got some RL commitments this evening, but will finish it after, or in the morning.
I had BETTER, since the digital loan will expire tomorrow and I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY AT WHAT TIME! Yikes.

I'm gonna switch to majority audio for The Pillars of the Earth. I like it so far but I don't think I'll be able to get through the print ed quickly enough, and it'll slow me down too much re reading other stuff. Library has audio hold available now, and cover is still brown (even more brown!!!). :D
Note to Self: default ed is 973 pgs

I haven't tried the Audio at all, but I suspect that for me this would just be one of those books that doesn't translate well to the format.

Hopefully it doesn't leave "listeners" with too bad an impression, because the writing in the actual book is pretty great.

It's too bad that people are having that problem, because actually I've been impressed by how well the author manages to make all these people into distinct persons with unique character voices.

Sometimes in books with large casts (or even small cast), all of the characters have basically the same personality. Tends to be a factor in making a book boring.

Jenny wrote: "Wow. That hadn't occurred to me. Can you imagine the sex scenes between them? I'm guessing a lot of jockeying for the best position. And a lot of name calling."

The book is not explicit about it, but I gather they are both virgins, too. It'll be so awkward and hilarious when they hook up.

Jenny wrote: "My thought on the children was that they were being used for body parts. Perhaps I am getting into the spirit of the Ninth."

Hah. Maybe. But that would be way too... Laini Taylor.

Jenny wrote: "I think Harrow killed them. Not sure why I think that."

Maybe someone else who wanted Harrow to be in charge sooner?

Trinia wrote: "@Joanne- I’m listening to the audio too, it’s so hard to keep track of all of the characters with unusual names 😲"

I cannot imagine how hard that is on Audio, what with pretty much each character being referred to in multiple ways: name, honorific, nickname, epithet (“the necromancer said”... um, which one? There are like 5 in the scene...)

Day 1: Chapters 1-7

1. I love the world building this author does for her universe. I find it helpful in epic fantasies when authors give a little narrative upfront about the main characters in the story and their interrelationships. The world is very grey where Gideon lives - even her porridge is grey. Her arrival in this house as a baby from a woman that fell into the world was very auspicious. Gideon attempted to run away when she was four, and tried 86 times to run away by the time she was 18. What were your initial impressions of this world?

Very odd, but cool. There’s a lot left up to the reader to infer, rather than having everything spoon fed to us, but in a way that is also somehow rich with detail. This feels like an old, lived-in universe, like the author must have millennia worth of backstory living in her brain.

2. Harrow tricked Gideon when she talked about her offer of freedom. Gideon seemed to have the upper hand, but then Harrow won the fight through her earlier planning and planting that day. What do you think that says about their relationship?

They know each other super well, and as much as they claim to hate each other, they clearly thrive off of their mutual antagonism.

3. So Harrow wants Gideon to be her guardian as she travels to the other houses. Seems like a good opportunity to get off the Ninth, and become a Cohort. Gideon does take the position. Do you think that was a good choice for her?

Yes. If she were forced to remain on the Ninth, she’d have just kept trying to run away, which would have been futile and to her own detriment. This way at the very least she gets a chance to see what else is out there.

4. I liked when Gideon’s sword instructor said “anyone can learn to fight, not anyone can learn to think”. Do you think that Gideon needs to do more thinking than fighting?

Yes. I love this character and I like when she does both, but it’s great when she starts thinking with her upper brain, so to speak! Maybe some of her bravado is masking low self esteem, and when she uses smarts she also feels better about herself.

5. What do you think about the House of the First? The world seems like the exact opposite of the ninth in terms of light and sky, rather than everything grey. All the houses are there - do you think Gideon is going to get into trouble or save Harrow from trouble?

Soooo much opportunity for trouble. I’ve read ahead, but at this point in the book I was thinking: Gideon and Harrow are going to need to band together, or just put up a united front.