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

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

tell me you've got a shaggy cow costume for that gorgeous shaggy cat?!

I'm still outraged at Jenny wanting to cow-tip a shaggy!

and am perfectly able to ignore W-nonsense

You can't tip a shaggy (aka highland cow)! their horns would get stuck in the earth and they'd be in a permanent side-plank! silly person!

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis is brilliant, though heavier than Dog, mostly in that it has plague epidemics going on. Foreground is the relationships forged in adversity.But also broadly more straightforward.
Her Blitz books also excellent!

Oh Mele! Many hugs and glad you have good access to treatment x

hurrah! 'cos I've not been moving fast on my one!

208 pages

Current total 453,007

Pretty sure that the only way we'd make this work without using The Hound of the Baskerville's is if we use the post colon bit. So I'm on board

382 pages
393 pages

Current total: 451,041
edit to correct total

Sammy wrote: "Also, did anyone else here actually ever watch the Doctor Who episode "Blink"? (I'm guessing not Sonia!)

That was the first thing to scare me since watching the Daleks as a little kid. And I've h..."

Yes! SO scary! DON'T LOOK AWAY!

Sonia wrote: "ooooohhhh My current anthology is 688 pages. I just need to finish it.

Unless I decide to use the story that they meet at a food fair, that has a ferris wheel and other rides for the amusement park."

I might have a trip to a fair in my new book!

Dominomaj wrote: "Now I'm reading Fantastic Mr. Fox, but The Witches is next on my list. 😊"

Sammy wrote: "Glad you enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Domi. Have you tried The Witches yet? That one was always my favourite Roald Dahl book."

They are all great! I liked Matilda too - possibly the first book that I read that was about someone who loved reading too!

My nephew, who is 8, loves them all, and the films too. Have you seen any of the films? He dressed up as The Trunchbull from Matilda recently!

DQ4 - Chapters 28-end

15. I ended up getting the hardcover from the library and I found the photos and 'family tree' at the start really helped too bring this book to life for me in a way the audio didn't.
How about you? How did you read this?

I read the audio, and could definitely have used access to the supporting info :(

16. Brunhild's execution seemed to happen rather quickly. Maybe just because the whole book she had been this dominant force and then boom. I also found the idea of getting a camel ("a public ritual for humiliating deposed tyrants") does go to the theory that she was no 'ordinary' queen. How did you find this chapter?

Super quick! and so rude to offload Fredegonde's deeds on her! and Clothar 2 (sp?) is a bad egg in getting rid of all mentions of both Brunhilde (which makes sense, given how he'd done her & hers WRONG) but also his mother.
The whole killing of her was extra - why not just kill her quietly - I didn't fully get the elevation of her death as it would just bring more attention to the dubious charge sheets....

17. I found it amazing that there have been at least 5 discoveries of Merovingians in the 21st century and how the author describes how they were supplanted and almost written out of history by Charlemagne and his Carolingians. What were your thoughts?

18. Final thoughts on the book? Would you recommend it to others?

I would

Fab news Sonia! Well deserved squees of excitement!

DQ2 - Chapters 10-19

6. Chilperic's blind devotion to Fredegonde is quite...admirable ? Isn’t it ironic that Fredegonde eliminates prince Clovis (Chilperic & Audovera's son) just in order to have to adopt Brunhilde’s son, king Childebert as the heir of Neustrie ? A miscalculation maybe ?

Fredegonde was clearly something else - charismatic & convincing to get so many men (Chilperic plus her assassins etc) to do what she needed. Generally, Fredegonde seems to be a bit shortsighted or one-track in her plans - it's all about relative short term securing of her position, whereas Brunhilde seems to be a bit wider, and setting her plans to work for her country as well as herself.

7. In these chapters Chilperic and Fredegonde lose multiple sons to dysentery. What were your thoughts about their ways of coping with their grief and depression ?

Wow, that's just an unbelievably hard run for them. I think their differing ways of dealing with it reflect their positions and what would seem acceptable to the outside world - Chilperic has to continue to present some sort of kingly external interests, whereas Fredegonde can go more insular with it

8. What do you think of the practice of reading the letters out loud to the entire court ? “The letter would establish the overarching topic and indicate that the messenger himself was authorized to convey the rest of the information...”

Interesting. I hadn't known the read aloud bit, but that couriers would have additional info to share isn't new

9. What do you make of the two women so far: Brunhilde and Fredegonde ? Do you have a sense of getting to know them better (even though it’s via biased accounts) ?

As above, Brunhilde seems a bit more politically savvy, building her support network on more than just personal charisma. But Fredgonde is compelling in her fierce drive to protect herself.

10. During this section, is there an event or historical character that provoked a particular emotion or opinion while reading ?

I've read on, so couldn't say, sorry.

DQ3 - Chapters 20-27
11. Do you think you’ll read anything else written by Shelley Puhak? They have a book of poetry so I’ll be interested to see what that’s like. If they release a new historical nonfiction I’d be on board too.

Probably not poetry (not my jam!), but I'd look up other prose, yes

12. What were some of the ways society tried to control women during this period? How did both women subvert these?

I enjoyed the rebellion of the nuns! The image of them sieging a convent is remarkably funny! Which isn't about the two queens, but does show that even when women had been theoretically closely controlled, cloistered in fact, they can still make their wills known and take action. Given confidence and a willingness to take risks, women can do more than is expected.

13. The pregnancy that disappeared from the record, this really intrigued me. What do you think happened? Like Puhak mentioned it could have been an unfortunate miscarriage, an error and that she wasn’t really ever pregnant, or a calculated ploy? (or something else?)

Any of the above! Pregnancy being a source of power for queens, after all...

14. Eek Fredegund's failed attempt to kill her own daughter was incredibly shocking. It was suggested that Fredegund was jealous of Rigunth, do you think this was the reason? She’s a loose cannon imo

possibly. Possibly her daughter knew too much and couldn't be let out of her control in the end? Fredegonde defo warrants being closely watched and with lots of protective plans put in place against her!

Hi Domi, good to meet you!
What's the most interesting book you've read recently?
😀

DQ1 - Chapters 1-9

1. Just a general question for warming up: do you like reading non-fiction-history books in general? If yes, any specific eras you are more interested in than other?

I do, and have been through various eras. One I read recently and enjoyed was modern history of Britain 1970 - 1974, whilst another was about prehistoric burials!

2. Are you familiar with the time/historical setting of the book?

Certainly not the French location! And a bit sketchy about the British Dark Ages too, tbh!

3. Which historic fact did you find the most interesting or the weirdest so far?

Like others, I guess it was the witch-calling being the worst thing ever. And the apparent readiness for Fredegonde to be believed highly literate whilst also a slave...

4. Do you think the author manages to bring these obscure characters into life? What about her writing style?

She's doing very well! I enjoy the writing - it's the right balance of narrative and clarity on where conjecture is doing the heavy lifting

5. Concerning the poisoned dagger episode, which was one of the high points of this part (at least for me): did you think they would manage to pull it off?

It was suitably high tension! I did wonder if there would be a surprise escape, but no....

135 pages

Current total: 440,026

288 pages


Current total: 432,817

352 pages
170 pages

Current total: 427,717