The Midnight Readers discussion

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Woo!

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It's starting day! Do we have a set goal to talk about it? Basically, how does this work? :) I'm excited

yess yaayy!
You can either go free paced or set a target number of chapters each day and then discuss about it
which one do you want?

Let's try a chapter goal and discuss! That sounds fun. :)

But we'll have to be generous about deadlines at least for the end of this week. Cause Christmas and all haha. But after Christmas, I'm VERY free.

Oo if you want, we can do it after Christmas
I’m all hands
I wouldn’t mind it extending for a few days :D
Enjoy Christmas moi dear child

That sounds great! Thanks!! You too! (if you celebrate!) :D

Lemme know when you wanna start

There are 27 chapters and the book is quite lengthy…so

We can start today if you’d like!

Katie wrote: "We can start today if you’d like!"

On 29 December?
Btw what’s your gst hours or timeline or something idk what we call it

29th works great for me and I’m in Eastern Standard Time/New York time zone

Aah okayy mine is IST
Did you start it

Yes I did! I’m on chapter six

That part where We come to know that Helios has sexual intercourse with COWS
Excuse me while I go yeet myself off a cliff

Right?! Hahahaha mythology, man.

I'm on chapter 10, but the chapter where she embraces being a witch is just **chef's kiss**

Chapter 10 man… if you thought it was weird that Helios had sex with his cows wait till you hear about the birth of the Minotaur lol

It makes you really not like her family. But again they’re gods, and Circe is more mortal than the gods. Which I guess makes her a little bit more relatable in our eyes. Chapter 10 is definitely a roller coaster

Katie wrote: "Right?! Hahahaha mythology, man.

I'm on chapter 10, but the chapter where she embraces being a witch is just **chef's kiss**"

Wow you’re so ahead but I’ll catch up today :D

Yesss aah I know how the Minotaur was born
I read Percy Jasckson 😂
Poor Pasiphae but I hate her for how she treated Circe

Half the characters of Greek Mythology wouldn’t exist if Zeus had kept it in his pants
And btw can you keep the spoilers in spoiler tags

I just want to kill Glaucos🔪🔪🔪

Oh yeah of course! I’m sorry!

And I too would like to kill Glaucos.

Where you at?

I am at chapter 14 rn
It’s really interesting

I just started chapter 12

Katie wrote: "I just started chapter 12"

See I told you I’ll catch up today😎

How are you finding it so far

I think the book basically fits the ‘embrace the beautiful mess that you are’

You did catch up! Lol

I’m enjoying it. I’m listening to it as an audiobook so I can read while at work. The narration is beautiful.

And I agree. She’s embracing who she is, even though she is different. The similarity to Prometheus is some great and sad foreshadowing. I have a degree in mythology so I know what’s going to happen but I’m looking forward to hearing her point of view. :)

Wow how is the audiobook narration?

Yes and oh btw 14 chapter is kinda brutal
It’s all very sad indeed
Wow that’s so great a degree in mythology
I have a…degree in Percy Jackson? 😭
Ah yes Circe is always viewed as a bad witch but now that we see from her perspective, it all clicks in✨

“Most men, in my experience, are fools,”

Lmao this is so true

I made it to chapter 16, but I'm behind because I'm trying to hard to finish Starless Sea. I'm like less than 50 pages from the end but it's SO HARD to keep reading it. But I'm going to finish it today so I can catch up in Circe.

Chapter 14 was especially brutal omg. I'm glad she was able to...do what she needed to do after that. (view spoiler)[Though I think it's VERY interesting that when she finally met Odysseus, it wasn't like how The Odyssey portrayed her. Turning his men into pigs it totally valid once she knew she couldn't trust strange mortal men. (hide spoiler)]

And a degree in Percy Jackson is 100% valid. hahaha and 100% that quote is very true. It's pretty much said by every woman in existence who's ever met a man. haha

Wha no you’re not behind
I think I just completed chapter 18..I don’t have time now a days school is wearing me down😭

Ikr🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 though I still wish she could have done something before it happened. You know what? She shouldn’t have to do anything!
Yesss aaahhh exactly
I liked Odysseus

Ahahahahah why thank you✨♥️ And some men say it too😂

Never in my life have I hated (view spoiler)[ Athena (hide spoiler)] so much

Spoiler for the god that is trying to harm someone close to Circe

I didn’t get much of a chance to read today. But I’m on chapter 19 and I agree about that person!! (But also I forgot that fact about Circe so I was like ….wat…)

I’m on my phone it won’t let me do spoiler formatting…

Wait what fact about Circe? :0
Her son?

You know I actually understand now why Athena wanted to kill Tele-person
But still, it’s not excuse to kill someone

This book is really big

I finished the book
It’s so amazing awww so well written
Madeline Miller is like ✨✨✨✨

The writing just appeals to your soul

Yeah, Circe's son! I was trying to avoid spoilers but my phone wouldn't let me so I wanted to be safe and vague. hahah

I'm on chapter 21 and I just want to say that Tele-person is SO annoying. Since he was born. I know what his eventual fate will be, but I'm pained by the fact that all of his life, Circe has just been trying to protect him from death and he's like "lol see ya" or has the world's biggest tantrums about it.

I'm gonna try and binge the rest of it today, after I make some work calls. :D

I was actually super impressed about how Circe went to the Stingray God and he just ended up giving her the stinger. That's a mothers love. Which isn't shown often in mythology.

Katie wrote: "Yeah, Circe's son! I was trying to avoid spoilers but my phone wouldn't let me so I wanted to be safe and vague. hahah

I'm on chapter 21 and I just want to say that Tele-person is SO annoying. Sin..."

The goodreads app isn’t exactly great

Ikr like Circe should have told him how the actual world is cruel and all and how much she has to endure to keep him safe and alive
And she had next to no sleep after he was born and he is just leaving her like—

He’s like I can protect myself but
Sinskajdkwoenowje idk Circe has suffered so much😭😭

Katie wrote: "I was actually super impressed about how Circe went to the Stingray God and he just ended up giving her the stinger. That's a mothers love. Which isn't shown often in mythology."

I actually have never heard of this stringray God until I read this but I agree
It was so amazing and then people put her like she’s some evil witch and all
Like sweetie
No one asked you to rape a person

Do you have more info on this Stingray God?

Btw did you finish this?

I haven't finished, I have an hour left, so it'll def be finished today.

The stingray god isn't actually a thing in Greek mythology. In the myth of the sons of Circe, it's just a regular stingray tail that kills Odysseus. But I thought it was an interesting addition to the story. It reminded me of Hawaiian mythology where they view the stingray as like the master of the sea. So it made me think she was bringing other world mythology into the story, which would have been cool. But I don't know that for sure.

I think its general vagueness in the mythology was used by the author to expand on the lengths Circe would go through to protect her son.

Right now, I'm at the point where Penelope is telling her the fate of Medea and we've found out the Odysseus wasn't that great a guy cause he could never settle down. And that Penelope is trying to protect her son from Athena.

I just finished!

It was a beautiful story that actually humanized the gods in the perfect way.

And she gave up her godhood for happiness is just wonderful. The myth of Circe isn't that happy (from what I remember), so I'm glad this Circe was able to find happiness. This was a beautiful book!

What did you think of the book?