Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
Archive [Retired Book Clubs]
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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
Chronicles of Elantra is a fav for me but not sure if it would be a fav for you. However, you don't need CoE to read The Emperor's Wolves. That's a story about Severn before he gets back in touch with Kaylin. The new Severn series will be happening before the first Chronicles of Elantra. Cradle - Breaks are healthy. I think Wight is another of the indie authors that are making their own publishing and etc. I like the Cradle series but not sure if I'll try too hard to read other work by him. I didn't enjoy the Duel POV series he has out.
Will Wight & Tao Wong are kind of disappointing in that I only enjoy one series by them and not their overall writing. Total bummer.
Iron Prince - Eh, I read (by audio), A Mark of Kings and I wasn't impressed. I thought the writing & ideas were so-so. I'm not sure if these books are truly co-written or what. I like Luke Chmilenko's Ascend Online series but did not enjoy the Mark of Kings as much.
Brian, yeah, Iain confirmed. We're good to go on Black Hawks. =)
Mod
Almost finished Wintersteel, then I got sidetracked by Brooklyn 99 season 3... haven't watched in forever...
I'm near the end tho... (view spoiler)
I liked Ruby too but the way it happened made sense. Yerrin isn't the kind to be able to handle having another person ride around/etc.
Mod
Update on my Ergonomic Setup:Logitech ERGO K860: The keys were a bit stiff at first but they feel better now. Not the a little bit of typing noise but not enough to detract. I love the reverse tilt design & larger wrist rest area that's attached to the keyboard.
- Full Keyboard + Keypad
- Wave Design
- Slight V Split
- Reverse Tilt (On lower end to raise up to create more neutral position for wrists/arms.)
- USB Connection (One dongle can connect up to 6 Logitech devices.)
- Switch & Connect Keyboard to 3 Devices
Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB: It was easy to install. I think issues may arise if I want to customize it. Something I probably won't have to do. No adjustment phase needed. I was able to start typing, etc on it right away.
- Versatile Adjustments on Placement of Split Keyboard
- Comes with Wrist Rest
- Easy Install (Reviews had me thinking it would be hard.)
- Cool Lighting with Colors
- Customizable
- Fast & responsive keys (Harder to type because of raised keys but easy to type and felt comfortable.)
Cons:
- It's really big. The split keyboard is the main keyboard. No keypad. There are function/etc keys built into the sides.
- I got the MX Red Keys that are suppose to be quiet. IT IS NOT QUIET.
- Spacing & design of the keyboard is like the old keyboards from 80s/90s. Very large keyboard.
- All of the keys are raised up high because the key itself is large. So I have to press down more because it needs the full movement to trigger.
- This keyboard will not travel well & would be a pain to setup & use in a coffee shop/etc. Takes up too much space.
The Logitech keys are slightly raised. So, it's like less than a 1/4 inch for the whole key & pressing down to sensor.
Freestyle Edge are more like 1/2 inch height & raised keys with large spacing between each key.
Both keyboards have their Pros & Cons but I don't think I'll find a better fit for what I want. I'm going to use the Logitech for now & see how my hands feel over time. House is currently getting rearranged/etc. Once I have my desk area ready to roll, that's where the Freestyle Edge will go.
For the most part, I'm ready to roll.
Laptop raiser make the screen higher & more across than below angle. Keyboards are nice to work on. The mouse pad with wrist rest are cute.
I've been playing Nitro Racer typing game. On the game I'm stalling around 87 wpm. I used to type over 120. I'll get back to that speed. =)
Timelord Iain wrote: "Things would have definitely been complicated... weirdest Love Triangle ever..."LoL Yup! But he's not stupid. He already realized that they are not the same and what he feels for Yerrin is for Yerrin.
Mod
Also working on finishing Charlie Parker #2 and several other unfinished audiobooks...
Cradle is a great series to read when you want a lot of action or anime style setting. =) Glad you liked it!
Woah! I just learned how to make a checklist in Google Doc. Well, it's not really a checklist because you have to right-click & change the square to a check but that works.
Mod
Checkboxes are a form of Data Validation... you can highlight a group of cells, right click, go to Data Validation, and set them up as checkboxes... then you just click them to turn them on/off... if you want to use the cells as triggers for conditional formatting or an IF statement, you test whether the text matches TRUE/FALSE... and if you ever need to reset the whole row/column of cells, you can highlight and hit spacebar twice to set them all to TRUE then FALSE...
That works for the Tracker spreadsheet right? The checklist boxes I was talking about was for Google Docs.
Mod
Soo....is thread for The Blackhawks or we doing it in here?
We're doing Black Hawks here.HAPPY NEW YEAR! =)
Mod
One is wrapping up a series BR, the other is a refresher to continue with a YA series I started BRing back in 2019, and only read one book this year, back in April...
ANYWAY... Black Hawks has a pretty quick start, kinda movie-esque, showing the personality of the MC with a bit of action and running around... then it quickly plops you into the blurb plotline with very little fanfare... I'm 1hr into the 12hr audiobook...
I'm gonna start the audio today too. =)
Mod
Black HawksChel is the main character and he's kind of dumb. lol
Story has a lot happening! Waiting for the pieces to fall together.
Pretty sure I met the Black Hawk Company & they are much cooler than Chel. lol
I am going to start sometime today (hopefully). I am listening to 11/22/63 by King and it's a slow burn but pretty intriguing.
OO that sounds good. I want to know what you think of 11/22/63.
Soo wrote: "OO that sounds good. I want to know what you think of 11/22/63."Very good so far. King if very hit or miss with me too. I have all day to listen so hopefully I can get through quite a bit of it.
Mod
Chel is the main character and he's kind of dumb. lol
Story has a lot happening! Waiting for the pieces to fall together.
Pretty sure I met the Black Hawk Company & they are much co..."
Sounds promising... I definitely agree about Chel... if the blurb is going to compare Articles of Faith to First Law / Abercrombie, then Chel is the Jezal dan Luthar of the series...
Mod
I'm trying to mostly stick to main/side/named characters, relevant to plot... if I try to count everything, a single war book would = thousands/millions, depending on era...
So far, for Black Hawks, I'm at like 2-3, unless I'm forgetting some (view spoiler)
I'm nearly halfway through Black Hawks now, and enjoying it well enough... kinda annoying that this is a debut author with little known about the release of book 2 :)
Chel has definitely grown on me as the story progressed... the Black Hawks and story definitely vaguely reminds me of First Law World, with less magic and more religion...
I am starting The Black Hawks right now! I have to say that the cover is fantastic, almost like a comic book cover!
Sweet! Feel free to share all your thoughts. Use spoiler tags for spoilery stuff. =)Brian is currently working on 11/22/63 and joining us for Black Hawks tomorrow-ish.
I'm almost done with it. Solid intro book and ditto what Iain said about no word on #2 coming out.
Mod
Petrik says the same artist made
that made
Timelord Iain wrote: "Solseit wrote: "I am starting The Black Hawks right now! I have to say that the cover is fantastic, almost like a comic book cover!"Petrik says the same artist made [bookcover:The..."
Soo is right - it really seems the same artist! Both great covers!
Mod
Speaking of which, I'm expecting some twists and turns towards the end... to that end, (view spoiler)
I think your death count is a bit off.Brian & Solseit, you guys need to help count how many people die in the story. =)
I finished it. Solid start to a series. Lame that we have no idea when the next one will be out. I had a "raised eyebrow" phase towards the end.
Will explain when people get there. lol
Ok. Will start tmrw. About 6-8 hrs left on 11/22/63
Soo wrote: "I think your death count is a bit off.Brian & Solseit, you guys need to help count how many people die in the story. =)
I finished it. Solid start to a series. Lame that we have no idea when the..."
I was doing a bit of research on when book 2 will come out - to decide whether to buddy read it or not - and I found Harper Collins’ site with publication date of June 21 2021 (https://www.harpercollins.com/product...). Yet it worries me that the book does not have a title yet so I am not sure this date is realistic.
I wouldn't worry about when the next book will come out. That's the life of a reader. Besides, wanting more is a good sign. I think it's the author's 1st book? Not bad for a debut novel.
Mod
Brian & Solseit, you guys need to help count how many people die in the story. =)
I finished it. Solid start to a series. Lame that we have no idea when the..."
I'm new to trying to keep a death tally for the spreadsheet... I just know I'm going to be terrible at it, as fast as I read... I tried to limit my tally to characters significant to the reader, significant to the MC, or significant to the plot, so the numbers don't get crazy big with nearly every book...
What's your list, Soo?... or maybe just for the whole book, and I can wait until done to check it?
Mod
Brian & Solseit, you guys need to help count how many people die in the story. =)
I finished it. Solid start to a series. Lame that we have no i..."
I kinda feel like new authors are the most at risk of failing deadlines?... Some authors just can't write a book every year... or wrap up a series on a timer...
And then some readers get burned by that and decide to wait for series to finish before starting... sometimes I'm one of those people, others I go for it...
Death tally - I wasn't trying too hard to keep a tally but I'm pretty sure the first few hours has several deaths. I was counting by the fact that it's stated within the story. Like, if you're reading a war battle, you're only going to get 'death notices' of the important characters or those that have been named. I wouldn't count the general "___" of our people died, wounded, etc.
I guess I'd make the death toll count by the ones the author writes into the story.
Ex:
- guard died defending
- side character killed in ambush
Black Hawks: I kinda wish the story centered more on the Black Hawks but maybe that's where the story is heading? Chel doesn't stay stupid but he's a (view spoiler)
Then again, Chel is surrounded by interesting people. =)
I did hold off on reading this book for a while because I was hoping to get the next one first. Now that I read it, I don't mind waiting for the next one.
I think the whole "expectation of the reader" to get a book every year is a bit much. Writing process is one chunk of time and then production process is another chunk of time.
While I'll grumble & demand gratification with other readers, it's more of a "woo I'm excited and want more" than a I'm going to stalk the author and yell at them for not writing at MY schedule. lol
Mod
I just finished the book and I feel like it is a book between 3 and 4 stars. The plot is interesting, predictable as Iain said, but interesting nonetheless. Characters are not fully fleshed out (in fact, barely) and also the world building aspect of the story are pretty simplistic.Said so, I really enjoyed the end once again. I forgot it ended that way and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
(view spoiler)
I keep caring very little for Chel - a bit of a flat character for me - but I think most of the characters around him are interesting. The one I would love to know so much more about is Palo (but also Loveless).
As for the deaths, (view spoiler)
Iain, that's a decent death count by Solseit. lol - I don't count the last one mentioned in the spoiler.
Mod
That ending really reminded me of the twists at the end of Onyx and Ivory, despite not being much like that duology overall... it did make me wonder if this was a duology or a trilogy or what?
And that cliffhanger really frustrated me, since we can only hope the 2nd book will be out next summer, with not much to confirm...
Damn! Y'all are done already and I haven't even started! lol
Mod
I was kinda impressed Solseit read it so fast...
You can do it, Brian! Don't forget to count deaths! lolI only partially paid attention to it. Just enough to know there's more than four. LoL
Timelord Iain wrote: "Brian wrote: "Damn! Y'all are done already and I haven't even started! lol"I was kinda impressed Solseit read it so fast..."
It all depends on the time I had available. This is the positive side of the virus for me, I guess: more reading time!
Iain & I are going to BR Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt) series. Plan is to do one book per month. Starting in April. The audiobooks are coming out for the series and the last ones will be released in November. Any of ya'll want to join us? =D
Trying to decide if we want to do it in the Book Club or have official threads.
Fantasy Buddy Reads
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I am also gonna start 11/22/63 on 01/01 on audio and going to start a paperback A Feast of Crows. My mother in law just dropped off about fifty paperbacks she found during her move so trying to make a dent in them.