Marquise > Recent Status Updates

So, our beloved site that hates us sent out a notice that they will eliminate private messages.

Am I understanding it right? No more DMs from user to user, but group mods will still be able to send messages w/group activity updates?

If I'm not mistaken, this means no more talking privately with your friends.

Oh, no! How else shall we trash-talk, whine comfortably, and secretly judge our friends' book tastes?! :'(

Well, the time has come for Bruna Wayne to reveal she's Batgirl. :D

I'm officially launching a project dedicated to tales some of you have been aware of for a while, and for some of you it might be a surprise (especially if you knew my past work but didn't know it was me).

Here's the link to my 1st piece, that explains it:
https://pawntoplayer.com/2025/11/30/a...

As of today, I have a house in the US.

Fourth try luck. First a Civil War house w/ghost included, we got outbid. Then a fairy tale cottage, we got outbid. Then a lil' ranch, we got outbid. This? A cute townhouse in a big city suburb where I can learn to bake, become the town's selectwoman, trade books & pies w/my American friends so y'all can experience food poisoning at my hands.

My Lorelai Gilmore life begins. :D

FRANKENMESS: I'm a miserable monster and it's your fault! Make me a wife so we can have monster sex & monster babies.
VICTOR: Ja, I mean nein.
FRANKENMESS: *murders bestie*
VICTOR: OMG! I'm a monster! Three innocents died, and all I'll do is wring my hands and fall ill and want to die!
ELIZABETH: Victor, are you in love with another woman?
ME:

#120: Do you have an odd/funny ritual for reading?

It was pointed out to me that I always seek a window to sit by & read. Even if it's dark outside, I'm by a window.

Childhood habit, apparently. I was afraid of the dark, I was always perched on the windowsill or on a tree by the window to read.

The vet is right, it's my fault the kitty refuses to eat w/lights off even though cats see perfectly in the dark. :D

Hahaha! So he wasn't Dr Frankenstein yet but only a college kid?

Wish his formula to animate dead matter wasn't a "never gonna tell" secret, & his motives were more impactful.

Disappointing, but still interesting dilemmas.

My dear Victor, all of this trouble wouldn't have happened if you had TALKED and taken immediate countermeasures.

Or better yet, not done that experiment.

But then we'd not have this novel.

In today's episode of Marquise's Milestones: One of my reviews reached 1000 'likes'

(Well, 2 reviews, but one's a few 'likes' behind. All right! Three, but that one's even further behind).

All negative reviews. Don't know whether to be proud or laugh, I'll proudly laugh at myself.

Will I be forever remembered for my negative reviews? I mean, I do popular 5 star reviews, such as... such as... nevermind. :D

No idea what happened here. I'm a simple girl: I see a book, I leaf through it.

Somehow the 'leafing through it' turned into me reading 50 pages in one sitting without evenrealising it. :D

I blame Guillermo del Toro, my friend Becks, the bookkeeper who had this edition dangling under my nose like candy, and myself for not reading this before. It's engrossing!

But, wait, why do Swiss folks have English names here?

Well . . . is that all?

This felt too short, surely there's more pages missing from my copy?

If there's a literary equivalent to blue balls, this ending comes close to it.

Surely there's more pages missing!

Hooray! I knew it had to do with that magnificent bastard, Richelieu.

I like Pérez-Reverte's portrayal of Monsieur le Cardinal better than Dumas'. He comes across as a tougher nut, more... regal? More conscious of his place & role? Somehow grander. It's difficult to describe the vibe other than 'he be a tuff nut.'

Now all this book is missing to be a Three Musketeers: Spanish Version is Milady & Bonacieux.

That duel was disappointingly short.

Iñigo and d'Artagnan can't be killed because this isn't the time & place, but if Iñigo is obviously better at swordfighting due to more real experience on the battlefield as opposed to salon soldier Artagnan, then their duel should've been more epic.

Instead, it was I stab you there and you stab me here, and we call it even.

Even fanservice isn't done so well these days. :'(

Uh? When did Iñigo and Angélica do the dirty? They're barely 18 in this book, and haven't seen each other in three years! So I either need a refresher for the previous books, or I'm misunderstanding "poseído."

Trust Spanish to have a double-entendre word that can mean both possessed and lovemaking. 🤣

Love this language.

Because I'm a curious chit, I went to have a peek at the Goodreads' Choice Awards nominees, and what do I find?

I haven't read a single one of the nominees in any of the categories, except for two: Fantasy and Romantasy (I read Romantasy and didn't know? o.O).

And from those two categories, I've only read one nominee.

And I've 1-starred both of them.

And my unintentional hipster streak continues unbroken.

Hahaha, Alatriste broke Athos' nose. Big Milady fan, been wanting that for so long. Now, don Arturo, have Iñigo break d'Artagnan's ribs, please.

I never knew the Huesca cathedral was like Notre Dame! o.O

Pérez-Reverte is having the time of his life mingling his characters with Dumas'. If Richelieu is here, this may be the best in the series yet.

When are they translating this for the crowd that failed Spanish? :D

"Elisabeth saw what the Third Reich had in mind for Christianity, as it sought to create a new ‘German church’ that would be an arm of the all-powerful Nazi state and in which Adolf Hitler would outrank Jesus Christ."

Uh? Steigmann-Gall is LOLing.

Fine, I know Freedland learnt about the Solfs yesterday, but after bragging about his research, this makes 3 strikes of wild false claims so early & I bail out.

You can tell from how Freedland writes each member of the Solf Circle who his favourites are and who aren't.

The pretty girls certainly are, ha.

But is he aware that his suspense film style of writing makes Maria von Maltzan look like the stupidest member of the Circle? If this was fiction, we'd complaints that her character was Too Stupid To Live.
She deserves better.

Do I give this a few more pages or DNF now?

I'm starting to understand why natives of certain nations have a low opinion of their diaspora living in the US that pretend to be as representative as the folks back home.

Long ago, I commented that some (ethnicity)-American authors misrepresent the original country's folklore in their retellings & how the natives react to that. And now some Indian-American user came to tell me that's offensive & stereotyping. o.O

I want to give Freedland the benefit of the doubt, but he's not cooperating.

Two short notes & 2 chapters in, he already made two capital mistakes that are big red flags in history writing:
a. Grand generalisations based on partial & incomplete stats.
b. Ascribing thoughts & feelings to dead people he didn't know nor interview.

He should've written a novel, added that it's a true story & let people check sources.

#119: "What book would you be embarrassed of being seen reading in public?"

(A GR user had that as their challenge question)

Had to put on my Thinking Pink Hat, for I honestly don't know. Never was the type to be embarrassed by/ashamed of what I read, but I know people online & in real life who wouldn't be caught dead w/certain books they secretly enjoy. I even know some who are ashamed of what their friends read.

Starting this w/zero expectations, because:
a. Freedland isn't a historian, he's a tabloid journo & thriller writer,
b. He's a pro-Israel Jew, bias is a given with sensitive/controversial aspects of Israeli & Jewish history.
c. His book on Vrba was so bad I'm surprised no more people called it out, but maybe they don't bother w/Guardian ink-lickers.

But 'tis the Solfs. I haven't found a book about the Solfs before.

I haven't eaten Apfelstrudel since The Shire, when an immigrant lady invited me some & made a lifelong fan of me. But I'm a strudel snob, I only accept it from Germans.

I finally heard of a German-owned patisserie & ran there. 10/10, bestest strudel evah. The kids were looking bug-eyed at me & couldn't resist filching some from my dish.

I'm Hans Landa. :P

For many reasons, I've been on a reading slump for 2 weeks already. o.O

Not a 'nothing's grabbing me' kinda slump, a 'not reading at all' slump.

Must be my longest slump this year, probably the 2nd or 3rd longest since I'm a regular reviewer & not just a lurker/casual user. My longest lasted 2 years, I didn't read fiction/for pleasure but only for work/research.

#117: How long was your longest reading slump & why?

Site problems again & there's nothing better to do...

One of my sisters just bought "Shogun"! She found it whilst looking for books to gift another of our siblings. She'd heard us fangirl over it, she bought it & plans to circulate the book amongst the family when she's done.

I've successfully converted my tribe to the religion of "Shogun"!

#116: What's one book you're evangelical about & press on all and sundry?

Like lots of users, I've more starred-only 'reviews' here than proper reviews with my thoughts written down. I havee over 5k books added & my reviews don't even reach a paltry 2k.

Thinking of revamping my profile & deleting all the no-review, empty starred ones. For decluttering purposes as much as for a revamp looking to move to my site. I already deleted some (few) as a test run.

Would you do it? Pros & contras?

My Cub got me used to birthday books that when the seller notified me they cancelled (yet again) my order for a rare & outta print book, it felt so wrong to NOT have a book on my special day.

So I went & bought myself another rare but easier to get book. A B&B one, of course!

I must've been born with my umbilical cord connected to a book.

Oh, and my site's finally up! No content yet, so you'll have to wait a bit.

This year, I've had several breaks from GR for life demands, twice for a few months but most for 1 week at a time, and I noticed something.

I feel better, MUCH better, when I'm offline.

Oh, I do miss friends but can stay in touch w/them off GR anyway, and disconnection + not having to deal w/social media improves my mood, productivity & wellbeing.

Is this a sign that, after 15 years, my time to leave has come? o.O

Was playing w/my Top Friends function hoping to not miss so many people, & noticed some interesting trends:

- Fewer Tops than I thought.
- I have 25 favourite reviewers (only two know they are. :P)
- 51 users I like very much but that are never/rarely reciprocal with 'likes' & comments (I feel ignored, man.)
- 10 of my friends are chronic mass-reposters (Me no likey).
- Considering 18 users for adding to Tops.

You?

Uh! They got David French to translate this, no less. o.O

High bar, that.

And Jesus said, "Blessed be the realtors, for they shall inherit the Kingdom of God for preventing homebuyers from going nuts."
-The Gospel According to Marquise 4:10

Househunting is stressful! I'm this close to jumping onto the 1st Tiny Home with 1 inch of lawn for my pets & my rose and cactus pots just to spare my sanity. :'(

Anyway, back to books. #114: Is there a fictional house you like/wish you owned?

In today's episode of Improvements GR Sorely Needs But Won't Implement, we have the need for turning off comments under individual reviews. Or at least restrict them to who can comment.

Not just due to negative comments or trolling, though that's the primary reason to need this. Sometimes, you keep getting comments on reviews from 8-10 years ago you don't remember or not think the same you said then anymore.