Cat’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2015)

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

You did not make a mess :) and thank you for doing that! <3

done!

2 doesn't feel long, but it did make me check: we could use Time's Convert - 4 years between #3 and it's publication. plus 8 years since I read #3 and this one.

that good? (unlike the book!)

true! but we were in the midst of Trojan's slaughtering the Greeks whilst Achilles' was sullking, and suddenly Hera's all "I'm gonna hafta distract the Big Man from all this blood shed..... hmmmm.... only option is to love-drug him and then he'll be all ready for some nookie, distract him and let the Greeks retreat"

Sammy wrote: "Nice! Lemme know if it's a good one. I'm not as much of a fan of that one as I am of the Odyssey, but I've often wondered if that might in part have been down to a rubbish translation."

I'm enjoying the translation so far!

Why, in all the retellings, was there no mention of Hera tricking Zeus into sex to distract him from the soap-opera war-watching?! I was not expecting a nookie interlude at that point!

Sophie wrote: "I've got set in New York covered with In Five Years which has not been what I expected, but in a positive way."

I remember feeling that way about it too!

Boooo. But thanks for taking it for the team!

I'm reading a 651+ book , the Emily Wilson translation of the Iliad

I've finished it!!!!!!


not. worth. it. all that lead up to New Orleans? and then pfffffppppp....
nope

Day 5: Ch 28 - Epilogue

21. Jenny's echoes of Salem witch trials were very strong in this section. What did you think about the trial sequence?

22. We get the big reveal of Grace's true heritage, and the battle. What did you think of this, and the pacing?

23. What did you think of the epilogue: heart-warming happiness for both sapphic couples a suitable end after all of the preceding?

24. Overall, what did you think of the book? any preferences on character, time period, themes, evocation of place?

DQs Day 4 ~ Ch 21 to 27

16.) “The curse can be broken only by the maiden, the mother, and the crone, who must speak Nathaniel’s true name thrice to cast him out.”
Anyone have “Beetlejuice” go through your head?
Do you think that Gracelynn noticed the name by the blood moon in the grimoire as the true name? Will she remember when it matters? Am I wrong here?

Beetlejuice is just you you Jenny!
Hopefully she'll try Merzoth, sounds suitably demonic to me.

17.) Would you ever date again or hug a family member if you could read people’s thoughts when touching them?

No! It's a really crappy superpower to have!

18.) Have any of you seen a “faith healer” or a snake handler in person? What was it like?
How much of the control that Bellflower seems to have over the congregation is religious fervor and mob mentality vs his power over them? Did that make sense?

I've not seen either in the flesh, no. I suspect that he's not having to work too hard given the mob mentality, but he's certainly using some power I think.

19.) Did anyone have super-villain monologuing vibes when Bellflower was telling Grace about the history of him and her family?
Anything in that speech that surprised you?

It was textbook monologuing, but I don't blame Grace for encouraging it! super villains should always be encouraged to monologue :)
the only thing is: I didn't think Grace was actually Deirdre's granddaughter - I thought that was a pretence when she was rescued from her crap situation?

20.) I keep thinking back to the Salem witch trial times when reading this, and it is many many years after those horrible times. But, it is exactly the same. Why? Is it ignorant and proud of it mentality, or the evil influence of "Beetlejuice"?

Mob mentality goes a long way. They say there is wisdom in the masses (averaging out a lot of guesses is usually pretty accurate) but there is also stupidity in herds - once in motion it's hard to turn the viewpoints

Bonus.) Any predictions on the ending?
Deirdre will awaken, Walker's going to get his comeuppance, Abby and Grace will skip off to distant climes.

DQs Day 3 ~ Ch 14 to 20

11.) Jakob’s decision to get Deirdre out of Tin Mountain seemed desperate, but I think he was trying to prevent another event like the one that took his mother’s life. Do you think the decision was a good one or one made in haste that could cause more harm than good?

I think it was a good instinct but poor delivery in the end, that's going to cause harm

12.) Grace is visited by Anneliese and gains a new power from the encounter. Do you think this ability to read thoughts will be needed to stop the madness and bring the town of Tin Mountain out of the curse? Do you think that Grace may gain other powers to aid in the fight?

So far the thoughts she's read have hardly been a big surprise! Currently it looks likely to put her MORE at risk (answering thoughts not words) than help. I suspect additional powers possibly to come.

13.) We learn from Anneliese’s journal entries in the grimoire the real reason that Nathaniel Walker had her burned as a witch. Also, Anneliese’s strength and determination to protect Jakob and not allow Walker’s tainted blood to run through her descendants. What did you think of this revelation and Anneliese’s stand?

don't mess with a woman! I didn't quite get the reason why an incubi wants an offspring, though I get the benefit to them of stealing the witch's powers.
I think that the switch of the inheritance of magic out of Annaliese's blood to Gracie is throwing the Bad Guy off the scent - presumably he's not realised (yet) and that's why he has been tupping Aunt Val...?

14.) Deirdre ignored Jakob’s warning to never show the Grimoire to anyone and showed it to Esme. Then later, the girls at the school are talking about it and seem to have sneaked a peek inside it. I was afraid that this might be the start of Gentry getting a hold onto Dierdre. Then the use of the book to get a little revenge on Phoebe. I think a line has been crossed. What do you think? Do you believe that she will be able to reign everything back in and not use the book for ill intentions again?

Definitely crossed! and again, not even like she actually needed the book to get her revenge - a little light poison is hardly a stretch for a country bred person, surely?

15.) I really want to know the promise that Dierdre made to Gentry all those years ago. Do you have any ideas or guesses as to what the promise may have been or why it was made?

some sort of delayed offering of offspring rights? to protect Esme?

wasn't sure precisely which City Watch book it was from (though obvs post Sybil & Sam marriage)

yeah. agree that the Morris & Seth seems wasteful and a bit "kill the gays". Unless we are supposed to relax now - the queer-bashing has happened, so Abby will be safe, until aha! she's not.... ?
Either way, just a bit odd...

DQs Day 2: Ch 6 to 13

6.) Well, the connection between the women has been explained. Anyone surprised? Were you surprised Ebba popped up as an adult?

I wasn't surprised, no. Though I did think it interesting that Gracie isn't actually related, except through ties of love. Puts the message strongly onto general powers of mother- and sisterhood rather than it being a super special family thing.

7.) And now we also have a reasonable amount of the back story. Was anyone surprised about there being an actual grimoire? Do you think it's the same preacher/devil/spirit? Or descendants on a revenge mission?

I don't know. It feels a cop out for it to be a specific demon doing the dastardly deeds, when general (not all) male fear is real as it is (see the beating up of Morris and Seth)

8.) Did you enjoy having the interlude with journal entries and find an effective way to convey that information?

The journal was a good way to get that original story in, yes.

9.) This quote struck me as funny, sad, and true "Why is it that most of a woman's troubles in life have to do with a man?" Reminds me of phrases along the lines of "why are we taught to fear the witches instead of the men who burned them?" which is also appropriate for this book. How do you think these phrases apply to current times?

So much. And also the additional fear of transwomen too now.

10.) All kinds of random dramatic love pairings going happening on Tin Mountain. Is it distracting, necessary, a bit much?

I didn't need Aunt Val and the dodgy preacher, thanks! Otherwise, it's a reasonable way of showing the community connections, I guess?

The dragons from Colour of Magic that rely on imagination to be real!
Errol, obvs, right?
DEATH? the Hogfather?

noooooooo Judith! I've been reading it since 1 April, and am now 34% in.....

I don't care about Phoebe, barely care about Diana and her non-issues with the perfect family, and Marcus' travails in the Revolutionary War are frankly not enough....
but it's got a brown cover for UNO, and clears it out of the TBR Closet. Failure is NOT an option!

But I am also not going to buy the next book in the series, however enticing a blue cover it might have!

ETA: even the appearance of a griffin is doing nothing for me! How can a griffin not actively enliven a book?!

DQs Day 1: Prologue - Chap 5

1. Historical Fiction and Witches. Do you enjoy reading either or both of these types of books? Did the cover, genre, story catch your eye or was it because of the BOM that you're reading?

I like them well enough, though I am also trying to read Time's Convert which is historical fiction + witches + multiple storythreads and am struggling so hard.
Happily, Tin Mountain is going much better!

2. The Prologue captured my interest right away. What part do you think Anneliese is going to play in the rest of the book?

Either the link that ties it all together or she's a distraction...
Well, Jakob, anyway (is he the ancestor of Deirdre & Gracie?)

3. Deirdre seems like a wild child from what we've read so far. Do you think Robbie is going to end up causing her problems? When she helped to deliver Hannah's baby she seemed to be able to calm her with her thoughts. Do you think she will end up having some calming influence that can be transferred by her thoughts?

Robbie is going to be a problem!
I don't know if the calming influence was anything more than the physical actions of contact and calm attitude, to be honest

4. What do you think of Gracelynn's dream of the two women standing before a burning tree? Could it be a memory or an omen of what is to come?

Omen!

5. All three women, Anneliese, Gracelynn, and Deirdre, seem to be interesting in their own ways. Any early ideas as to how they will be connected, if at all? Any early favorites?

No favourites as yet, they are all interesting :)

as affectionate nickname for the police? yup! :)

Three Men in a Boat is one of my favourites, from an early age. Helped along by the fact that I grew up in the Thames Valley, so many of the locations were intimately familiar to me. The humour very much speaks to me. my dad was a big Wodehouse fan, so there were lots of silly upper class nitwit books about for me to pick up and help form my reading worldview

https://www.theguardian.com/environme...

Go the earthworm!