Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) > Recent Status Updates

Way more interested in what Nature of Things actually says than what Poggio is doing and stuff like that. It’s really cool to think a lot of modern thinking came from something written 2K years before now, and why no one talks about it

Interesting about Pogs emotional attachment to his mentors, and friends. And the aggression towards his enemies. I don’t really know the point of the chapter, and the timeline is a lil confusing bc I thought he wasn’t allowed to be papal secretary bc the old one was excommunicated, but still interesting chapter

Very very interesting about Alexandria and how Christianity is basically to blame as to why there's nothing from ancient times. Some parts about the villa are pretty forgettable, but still important to understand what people thought of Lucretius when 1st published, and how books were seen. Epicurus philosophy also very interesting

Finally actually discovered the poem, after weirdly descriptive pages on monk bookmaking and keeping. Other interesting finds seem a lot more important, why Lucretius above everything else? Maybe bc it was scandalous

Already pretty long winded writing, a whole chapter devoted to saying what Poggio isn't probably isn't necessary. I'm taking a lot of vocabulary notes, and I think the story about Antipope John 23 sounds a lot more interesting, but we'll see. I'm just glad it's written mostly like a story

Even though I absolutely hated some characters, it's only to this advantage. I just love the ones your supposed to love even more with everything they do. Even ones who have flaws, they're redeemable in Davids case with Benji. I just love Benji

I want Maya to kill him so bad I hate his father enough for it to happen like you go girl

Think I'm finally really getting into this book. It was really slow in the beginning, but it's nice to know all the characters this well. Some things that happen seem unnecessary, but idc j liked them

Yes Maya go out and destroy Kevin I believe in you

I always get annoyed by girls in books or kinda anywhere that don't do anything after they get raped, but tbh I'd probably do the same thing. Kevin's anger at Benji is kind of weird, since he let him go at the party. They do a good job of vilifying a rapist, I'm completely with Benji

I actually didn't think it would be Kevin who raped Maya, I thought Bobo or William Lyt might. I do kinda appreciate how the scene is written though, doesn't go into graphic detail.

I don't understand a word of Hockey but it was a good scene playing the game. I'm starting to get a kind of feel for the characters, starting to actually feel for them

NONE of these characters are likeable. Maybe Amat, but he just lets himself get shit on the whole time I don't get it

There are some parts or lines that I don't really get the meaning of. Like when Amat joins the jr team and "there r no almosts in hockey" is the line after it. I don't get the meaning. And some scenes inserted in the middle of chapters I don't rlly get the meaning of either, but maybe it's just background or character building

I kinda like that Violet actually had a journey after Finch dies, even if I dont really care about their pretentious wanderings. Some of it is actually nice anyway. I still don't get why Finch even killed himself, like it was obvious he was getting bad but there wasn't really a thing that set him off. I kinda feel the author was like "well this is a sad sad book about sad suicide so obviously someone has to die in it

Is it bad to say that it was really obvious finch would kill himself? It's spelled out basically through the whole book, I just feel like a lot is going really fast, and I HATE the whole clues to where he is thing. It makes sense that he would do that bc he's just crazy, but I hate that trope. The dumb pretentious quoting is annoying too, the few things are really holding it back from being a better read

It's books like these where the Huge Turning Point in their relationship is them having sex that reminds me that yeah I have to be ace

I really like finch at times but he lies to violet too much. He always expects her to do things but never lets anything in his mind out. He never really gives her anything besides making her talk and go to places she needs to and somehow it ends up with her loving him for it? Sometimes scenes go way too fast too, like there's just talking and talking but no feeling or pauses like there should be

I keep going back and forth whether I hate these characters or like them. Maybe it's just when they're being really prententious to each other for like no reason

The characters aren't very fleshed out, even though most of the book is describing them. It's weird, and I really liked Amat before he just had to love maya. She seems really cliche so far