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rubysparkles

Dark academia meets straight up academia I love mythology, legends, the natural world, and when the pursuit knowledge drives people insane

1137 points

0% overlap
Greek Myth Retellings
British & Irish Classic Literature
Level 4
My Taste
The Secret History
Underland: A Deep Time Journey
Circe
Bog Queen
Medea and Other Plays
Reading...
One Hundred Years of Solitude
34%
Silk: A World History
6%
Crime and Punishment
29%

Post from the Pagebound Club forum

1d
  • Thoughts on referencing Spark Notes and other resources while reading

    Since graduating college I’ve been on a quest to fill in the gaps in my classic literature knowledge, but I’ve realized how important in-class discussion and explanations of themes was to my enjoyment/understanding of books throughout school.

    Since starting Crime and Punishment and 100 Years of Solitude I have really been feeling the itch to go to some online resources mid-read to help me frame the book better in my head. I’m hesitant though bc of “spoilers” partly but also I worry that it’s an intellectual crutch that might harm my ability to draw my own conclusions from the text. Pagebound has given me some of the classroom discussion vibes which I love, but I feel like it might be nice to go deeper.

    How do you approach more challenging literature, do you integrate external sources into your reads?

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  • rubysparkles made progress on...

    1d
    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    Gabriel García Márquez

    34%
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    rubysparkles made progress on...

    1d
    Crime and Punishment

    Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    29%
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    rubysparkles made progress on...

    4d
    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    Gabriel García Márquez

    19%
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    rubysparkles TBR'd a book

    6d
    Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

    Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures

    Merlin Sheldrake

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    rubysparkles is interested in reading...

    6d
    Wife Shaped Bodies

    Wife Shaped Bodies

    Laura Cranehill

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    rubysparkles is interested in reading...

    6d
    A Botanical Daughter

    A Botanical Daughter

    Noah Medlock

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    rubysparkles commented on a post

    1w
  • The Odyssey
    Thoughts from 28% (page 90)

    I must admit I'm having trouble reading this as all my other books seem more appealing to me 💔 I'm not saying this isn't good, it is. I just think I will like my tbr more so I'm kinda forcing myself through this (I have a rule of not reading more than one physical book at the same time. Only 1 audiobook and one physical allowed simultaneously. And I physically cannot dnf any book nor do I wish to dnf this one LMAOO)

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  • rubysparkles commented on a post

    1w
  • A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe, #1)
    Thoughts from 61% (page 215)

    I think this is the first time I've actually been surprised by something in the plot...

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  • rubysparkles made progress on...

    1w
    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    Gabriel García Márquez

    12%
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    rubysparkles wrote a review...

    1w
  • Clytemnestra
    rubysparkles
    Apr 16, 2026
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.0Characters: 3.0Plot: 3.5

    More than a retelling, this is a full reimagining of the story of Clytemnestra. I would warn any purists off of this one. The book is interesting but the writing style gets a bit repetitive, I was not too surprised to find out it was a debut novel.

    Spoilers start here:

    The concept of mostly removing the gods from the narrative while retaining their impact on a religious society was a strong point of this book.

    The changes to Tantalus and Orestes made in this book are very interesting, especially given where the story ends. I am not sure if it is to the book’s detriment or not.

    Helen is also an interesting character in this version. The text seems to want us to see this as a more powerful twist on her character, but then she is repeatedly presented in the vain, flighty, jealous way that is frequently critiqued in older portrayals.

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  • rubysparkles made progress on...

    1w
    Clytemnestra

    Clytemnestra

    Costanza Casati

    86%
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    rubysparkles commented on a post

    1w
  • Galatea
    Afterword
    spoilers

    View spoiler

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  • rubysparkles commented on a post

    2w
  • The Metamorphosis
    Thoughts from 13% (page 15)

    I find it interesting that Gregor is more worried about being late for work than being a giant bug, lol. Its a pretty good commentary on work life balance.

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