Emma (M)’s Comments (group member since Dec 02, 2014)

Emma (M)’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Hi Everyone! Lol, for some reasons my notifications/inbox are not updating (last one says 12 days ago) so the only reason I knew I had been added to a Wheels team is that I had a number of friend requests out of nowhere. Only took some minor stalking of the new friends’ pages to figure out what team I was assigned 😂.

I’m really excited to join the team! I’ll go back through the thread and see where we are at 🙂

I’m late to the party as I was on holiday for two weeks without internet access. I’ve filled in the form but understand if I’m too late.

What a great result for Team Ajax! Thanks to the Captains and Co-Captains for all your hard work, this TT has been a pleasure.

I really disliked the changes to the book pages for the beta. It was a relief when they went back to normal but it looks like they are going to change it to the beta style again soon. I think there is more meaningful changes they could make, such as the ability to rate at 1/2 stars, rather than the stylistic changes they are doing.

I can’t finish Strange the Dreamer but am replacing it with Seduced by a Stranger, so it shouldn’t affect the mini-challenge.

I’ve finished the BOM Ariadne, but didn’t know how to provide links in the spreadsheet to my DQ responses see so I’ve listed the post numbers so they are easy to find.

19. What did you think about Ariadne's reaction when Phaedra confides in her regarding Hippolytus ? And Hippolytus' answer to Phaedra when she expresses her feelings to him ? Did you suspect it wasn't romantic love?
I agreed with Ariadne, it seemed like Phaedra had a teenage crush that was being blown up in her mind into something greater than what it actually was. It was probably a result of he4 unhappy marriage and a desperate Sun conscious desire to leave her situation.

20. Ariadne and Theseus finally meet each other again after all these years. Was their reunion scene satisfactorily enough for you ?

It satisfied me, after 15 years and a happy ending (at that point) for Ariadne, it seemed natural that there wouldn’t have been fireworks.

21. We learn more about Dionysus: his worshippers and blood rites, his obsession with his status as an Olympian god, and his interaction with his brother, Perseus. Did your opinion about him change after those scenes ? Were you expecting his relationship with Ariadne to change like that ? I was expecting such a change in his relationship and it made me very sad that their relationship ended up that way. The fact that Dionysus ended up behaving exactly like a vengeful God was disappointing.

22. What do you think about the way Phaedra's and Ariadne's stories ended ? Does it give enough closure or is there something you wish ended differently ? I think their sudden deaths in both cases wasn’t the most satisfying of endings, they are not called Greek tragedies for nothing.

23. Did you enjoy the book ? If you had any expectations, did the book meet them ? Will you be reading more by this author ? She recently published another Greek mythology retelling: Elektra.
I really didn’t like the first third at all and really struggled to pick it up. However it finally started to grow on me and I really enjoyed the final two thirds. I might try the author again as I did mind her writing style, but I can’t say I’,m in any rush for another retelling.

Same here, just added The Kingdoms to the spreadsheet but was a battleship book.

Elisabeth wrote: "Emma (M) wrote: "My version of Ariadne has leaves on it . I’m hoping to finish it over the weekend."

Is it being used for another task though? Most listed books are as ..."
Oh, yes - I just checked and it’s been assigned to another task.

My version of Ariadne has leaves on it . I’m hoping to finish it over the weekend.

DQ Day 3

10) What did you think of Pasiphae’s response to the death of her son, the Minotaur? It seemed to me that that there was probably a mix of grief and relief.

11) Dionysus makes quite the entrance, doesn’t he? What are your thoughts on him and the interaction between him and Ariadne? I like him better than I liked Theseus when we first met him. But it’s hard to trust his motives, especially given what happened with Theseus.

12) Phaedra comes into her own in Athens. What do you think of her in her new life? I like Phaedra and I think her storyline is great in Athens. The way she is slowly gaining influence over time is great to see. I think her character is more what I would have hoped for Ariadne.

13) We see many examples of the gods playing with mortals in this story; Pasiphae with the bull. King Midas and his golden touch, Hera causing Semele to burn. what do you think it would be like to live in a world where gods existed and interacted with humans?
Not great…. You would certainly want to keep your head down and try not to inspire the interest of the gods.

14) Do you think the sisters will find out the truth about one another? If so, any predictions on what will happen? I think they will based on Dionysus saying her saw a future where Phaedra turned up on Naxos in all her glory. I definitely Italy think that is foreshadowing.

5. Have you heard of Theseus before? What do you think of his backstory, does it compare with other well-known Greek heroes like Hercules and Achilles? Do you think it fits his humble and collected demeanor in the previous chapter?
I don’t think I’ve heard his name before and I certainly didn’t know his story. I’m not sure how much of a ‘hero’ he is, but I guess we shall find out.

6. I don’t know about you, but “insta-love” stories royally annoy me. Ariadne spends a significant part of these chapters reveling in her undying and world-changing love and devotion to someone she just met. Do you think this is realistic, or just a cheap plot ploy from the author? It annoyed me too, I dislike instalove in stories immensely. I suppose the author had to figure out some reason why Ariadne would betray her father and take the risks she did.

7. Why do you think Theseus left Ariadne on the island with no heads up whatsoever? How do you feel about her thoughts and actions, as she processes this new reality? I wasn’t at all surprised, it seemed pretty obvious to me that he had something planned for Ariadne, I just didn’t know what. I don’t why he decided on this method of revenge except maybe he had intended to kill her but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

8. During the "great escape", Phaedra is left behind - do you think it was by accident, or purposefully (and if so, why)? Do you think it was wise of her to return to the Palace?
Definitely left behind on purpose, although I’m not sure why - did Theseus not want to hurt Phaedra like he planned to hurt Ariadne or did he see a future where she would be offered to him in marriage? I don’t think she had much choice but to return.

9. A common theme in Greek mythology is the linear progression of Fate - from Hubris (thinking and acting as if one is a God), to Atis (blindness of one’s puny nature, leading the mortal to commit an unforgivable or insulting act), to Nemesis (the anger and revenge of the Gods), and finally Tisis (the mortal’s punishment). Where have you noticed this process so far? Where do you think Nemesis will strike next?
I’m thinking the Poseidon story was the most obvious example of this process. I’m wondering if Theseus will somehow suffer from Nemisis at some point?

Finished my book for Battleship - Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez. It’s in the spreadsheet.

Day 1
1. Excited about the book, or just here for the points? Were you familiar with the myths behind the story before starting this book? A mix of both, I only read BOM during TT but at the same time I only read them if I’m interested in the actual book. I wasn’t familiar with Ariadne’s story at all but it sounds interesting.

2. "Let me tell you a story..." I don't know about you, but I love opening lines like that. Do you have a favourite opening line? Have you ever bought a book on the strength of the opening line alone? (I have!) I’m not one to read the first page or chapter of a book before buying, so I’d have to say a first line hasn’t played a part in my purchase of a book. The first line didn’t particularly stand out to me in this case.

3. Asterion: The early years. I bet no-one was fooled by the few paragraphs of almost sweet baby and toddler descriptions: This was always going to end with a monster in a maze of course.
But do you think it served well as a way to establish Ariadne's character? Not having any real exposure to this story before I was a little fooled. I thought it may be a case where everyone considered him a monster because of how he looked rather than his behaviour. That thought was quickly wiped away as the story continued. I think it served the purpose of highlighting how monstrous he Minotaur actually was if his sister that cared for him as a youngster felt that he was beyond redemption.

4. What do you think of the writing so far? There's a lot of description and narration and very little dialogue, which tries in with the idea that Ariadne is telling the story to the reader. It allows for a lot more depth and detail than more dialogue-heavy storytelling does. Is that a style you enjoy, or do you prefer the faster pace of a book that is more about character interaction? I don’t mind the writing style, it’s perfectly ok, although I don’t think there is much intimacy in it - I feel like Ariadne is keeping the reader at arms length as it comes across a bit dispassionate.

Just finished The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story and posted to spreadsheet. However was used for Battleships so haven’t included any Monster Mini information.

Helter Skelter is non-fiction so not sure if it works for ‘character’ but they are all in jail in that. It’s blue in the SS so not sure if it’s been used already but there was no T number assigned that I could see.

Also, I seemed to have made a mistake and listed Boar 5 against that book when that task doesn’t apply. It should actually be Harpies 3. I’ll change it but just wanted to note in case it has been applied against Boar 5.

Let’s hope that we get Minotaur again, the book I just finished covers 4 of the 5 tasks for that Monster.

Yeah, the flu this year is brutal. It just went through our whole family. I can’t remember feeling that sick since having measles 30 years ago! It’s also the first time In 10 years I’ve seen my partner so sick. And, the symptoms are what you expect of Covid - we only know for sure it’s the flu because they test for flu as well as Covid when doing a PCR test in NSW.

The most galling thing was I had, had the flu vaccination 6 weeks earlier. They sure did miss the mark with the flu vaccination this year.

Also, I couldn’t bring myself to read either. Thankfully the not being able to read passed once my symptoms cleared up.

I hope you feel better soon Sara!

Yep, the Battleship game has me rather confused. I feel like I’m going to have to reread the rules multiple times for it to make sense.

I just bought a book yesterday that has 125 pages, so can fill #1 of Harpies.