Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
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Catton, Eleanor - The Luminaries - Informal Buddy Read - Starts August 1, 2017
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Checking in. I didn't start yesterday, but I'm planning on starting tonight.
Rose wrote: "Checking in. I didn't start yesterday, but I'm planning on starting tonight."Did you manage to start? I was finishing up a buddy read of the Silmarillion so I'm only a few pages in. I haven't caught the rhythm yet, so even a couple pages was tough going.
I haven't actually. I've been reading another book, and only dipped into the first page. What pace were you planning on reading?
I might join in. I have a break from school and would love to read this book. I haven't started yet, but after Tuesday will have plenty of time to get caught up. Let me know if you are planning on doing questions and I can help out.
Can I join in? I've been meaning to start this book for months and keep putting it off because the length intimidates me. Are you guys setting up any kind of pace or schedule?
Totally, to you both :)We haven't set a schedule. The thread was up a bit late, so our starting got delayed, and I'm planning on starting to dip into the book seriously this weekend. What kind of pace would work for you?
I'm thinking maybe we could just check in after every hundred (or so) pages read, with our thoughts (spoilers hidden). That way we can have different pacing, but still discuss. If anyone wants to do questions and a more set schedule, though, I'd be up for that, too.
Also, because this has a huge cast, and I'm going to suck at names when we talk about them. I'm just going to post this here. Te Rau Tauwhare (a greenstone hunter): Aries
Charlie Frost (a banker): Taurus
Benjamin Lowenthal (a newspaperman): Gemini
Edgar Clinch (an hotelier): Cancer
Dick Mannering (a goldfields magnate): Leo
Quee Long (a goldsmith): Virgo
Harald Nilssen (a commission merchant): Libra
Joseph Pritchard (a chemist): Scorpio
Thomas Balfour (a shipping agent): Sagittarius
Aubert Gascoigne (a justice's clerk): Capricorn
Sook Yongsheng (a hatter): Aquarius
Cowell Devlin (a chaplain): Pisces
Walter Moody: Mercury
Lydia (Wells) Carver née Greenway: Venus
Francis Carver: Mars
Alistair Lauderback: Jupiter
George Shepard: Saturn
Anna Wetherell: The Sun/The Moon
Emery Staines: The Moon/The Sun
Rose wrote: "Totally, to you both :)We haven't set a schedule. The thread was up a bit late, so our starting got delayed, and I'm planning on starting to dip into the book seriously this weekend. What kind of..."
That sounds like a reasonable schedule, every hundred pages or so. I'll be sure to post under spoilers and check in if something warrants more discussion earlier.
At one point I had something bookmarked for this book. Someone had posted something online because the book was a bit hard to get into and hard to keep all the people straight. I'll see if I can find it. That was years ago.
Ok here it is:https://www.evernote.com/shard/s250/s...
Its a kind of Cliffnotes sort of summary of the book done by this blogger I used to follow. Not sure how helpful it it, as I haven't read any of it yet but I'll post it in case anyone finds it useful.
Rose wrote: "I haven't actually. I've been reading another book, and only dipped into the first page. What pace were you planning on reading?"I'm going to aim for 50-100 pages a day since I'm also working through a personal challenge. Now let's see if I actually stick to that. :)
I wrote this before I saw all the responses, and checking in every 100 pages or so sounds good to me too.
Okay,I'm technically at pg 95, but I'm just going to check in here. So far I am liking the book, but it is quite slow going. The first chapter was really hard for me to get into, for some reason. I think, because it really just focuses on a guy entering a drinking room for 30 pages. lol
Once past the first conversation, and into the story I was much more interested, though. The most confusing part of the story so far is how many of the events happen the day before the gathering and there are 12 people in a room conspiring the next day. I can't even make facebook event invites happen that fast.
As far as characters, I'm thinking this isn't going to be very character driven, as much as puzzle and plot driven. We know the mannerisms and faults of the characters, but even for Walter, your not really "inside his head" unless it's a flashback to the voyage.
Hopefully, I start reading a bit faster. I've been going back and forth between this book and others for a bit a breather, but I might a binge reading session to really get into it.
To be perfectly honest, I haven't started this book yet. Really hope to soon though.
Started this one tonight. Since I'm reading an ebook and so don't know what precisely will work out to 100 pages (kobo measures by chapters, not pages) I'll just try to comment every chapter or so.Mercury in Sagittarius
I have to admit, I'm not very interested so far. The beginning especially seemed very slow going, although now that some of the people in the room are going to start talking, things should pick up in the next chapter. I'm takings things slow and referring any mentioned characters to the list in post 10 here so I can try to remember who is who.
Gonna start on the next chapter tonight and see how it goes. How is everyone else making out with this book so far?
Finished the second chapter. This book starts to pick up now that the first chapter is done.Jupiter in Sagittarius
(view spoiler)
Finished a couple more chapters:Mars in Sagittarius
Saturn in Libra
Definitely getting the feeling that many threads are being set up, and each chapter has numerous new characters, which is making it hard to follow a little bit. Usually when I start a book I read slowly to figure out the world and characters and then can speed up, but in this one, each new chapter is like starting over with new people so it feels slow going. This is definitely the type of book that benefits from reading in long stretches rather than slowly over long periods. I don't know how you would keep everyone and everything straight if you only read a bit at a time.
I've finished Mercury in Sagittarius. I will start Jupiter in Sagittarius today. I agree with everyone else that the book is a bit slow going. It has my attention, but I would like to actually learn some information soon. We keep getting hints that something has happened or like the short beginnings of a tale, but no really information. But I am not too bored with the book just yet. Here is to hoping the next section is more interesting.
I am about 200 pages in now. I thought I would have more time this weekend, but then some day drinking took out my reading time (oh, summer). I agree this book would be best in long stretches. I find the story really interesting, but each character adds so little to the picture that it seems really slow to get through. I am enjoying it, but it does feel like a 400 page mystery engulfed in 400 pages of character sketches.
What does everyone think about Staines? I'm most curious about where he wound up, and if it has anything to do with the mysterious figure on the ship.
I still feel like we know almost nothing about Staines. I noticed that Anna is listed as Sun/Moon and Staines as Moon/sun which makes me wonder if they are the same person maybe or at the very least closely connected.
Just finished Part One. Near the end, I was having trouble keeping some of the details straight so if you feel the same way, have no fear. In the last chapter of part one (also called Mercury in Sagittarius), Moody basically internally reviews the whole affair in his head. There were even a few things that I was thinking "wait what? when did that happen?" lol.I'm excited to see what comes next now that the story has been set up.
I'm not quite there yet, but I'm getting more into the story. Hopefully I sit down for a larger chunk of time, but I'm away this weekend on a group trip.
I have to finish by Friday evening for another challenge so I am powering through. Just starting part 3 right now. My Kobo is telling me I'm 62% done and have 5 hours of reading to go.
Jupiter in SagittariusOk, well that is a significantly more interesting chapter. I don't particularly like the story. But I am enjoying all the character description and character reactions. It adds a depth to the story.
So I had an awesome trip away, where I got to reading done. I'm about 50% of the way through the book, so I'm going to attempt a binge when i get home and see how it goes. I really want to finish this book soon, because it's a pretty demanding nighttime read and I feel like something lighter
Synopsis
It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky. Richly evoking a mid-nineteenth-century world of shipping, banking, and gold rush boom and bust, The Luminaries is a brilliantly constructed, fiendishly clever ghost story and a gripping page-turner