Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th] Showing 951-1,000 of 5,829

[Brian]

Damn Iain. I want to read that series but am so slammed. Haven’t read book 1 yet

[Brian]

Soo wrote: "I always had books. Maybe there was a while when I didn't own books at home because I wasn't in S. Korea and learning English, but that's probably the only time I didn't have books. XD

I'm sure yo..."

I have some books I keep for my small library. I would love to have a bigger someday. I only keep a small amount of books as collectors. The rest I donate to local library or to the retirement community in my City.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Brian wrote: "Damn Iain. I want to read that series but am so slammed. Haven’t read book 1 yet"

Conjuring of Assassins?... me, Soo, and Julian read the first book a few weeks ago, so I used one of my last January credits on Hoopla on it, hoping the BR would continue in time... if not, I guess I'll read alone...

Not sure what I'm going to do about the 3rd book... it never made it to audio, for some reason...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

So many BRs have been happening lately, it's easy to lose track...

[Julian]

My plan is to eventually create a small library. At my current rate it will take quite a while, but it's satisfying getting to see the shelf slowly get filled up with new books. I want to make sure that I read all the physical books I own before buying more though. In the case of the two malazan books, I've already read them once years ago on my kindle so I consider those a bit differently.

@Iian I can start on it perhaps later this week or next weekend. I just started two new books so it'll be the next thing I read after finishing those.

[Choko]

You guys have exactly the opposite problem of mine. I used to live in a much bigger house and had over 3000 actual real books... Now I have downsized tremendously, I have forbidden myself to buy any physical books, and have donated or gifted about 2800 books... I still have too many, but at least manageable... I do have above 2000 audio and tons of Kindle books though... So I am never running out of something to read...

[Choko]

Iain, Re: Constance Verity 02... I am a close to 90% in. (view spoiler)[ Tia is with Benita and the aliens ( haha, Benita's husband doesn't approve of her job, meddling in controlling lesser specie's lives, hahaha) and the discussion about the Snurcab is taking place. This is getting good:) (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

Chimera #2:

You may have to read it first. I'm going to wait until March when my Audible membership renews to buy the audiobook. There's no audiobook for #3. I may wait until #3 is out and get them at the same time.

[Brian]

I’ll join you then Soo.

[Julian]

@choko if I could have even 20% that amount one day I'd be happy lol. I do have a decent amount of ebooks on my kindle but it's not the same.

[Choko]

Julian, you are right, it is not the same. I think once I move into something else, I might keep some of my favorite books in their best publications... And you will totally be able to gather a great library, I am sure!

Iain, Re Constance Verity 02. Just finished it and I enjoyed it, but I thought the middle was a bit full of filler... The beginning and the end were much better:) I wish they could have kept the abomination Cupcake:))) Also, did we ever get an explanation what happened with fairy godmother's ghost? I want an answer about that.
I liked Larry and his mother, but Tia always steals the show. Now I am looking forward to the new book coming out next month:) Thanks for the BR , Iain!

[Nirkatze]

@Julian--do you have any library book sales in your area? I've managed to grow my book collection pretty decently at our local book sales--50c~$1 per book or so. Found a lot of great authors that way too.

[Julian]

I think that the next library book sale is next March. I've never gone to one so I don't know what kind of books to expect though. Usually half price books is my go to for purchasing books.

I'm extremely bad about going to the actual library lol. I'm always using libby instead.

[Tonari no Emily]

Thriftbooks.com is a good option too! Free shipping at $15 right now too I think.

[Tonari no Emily]

@ Soo, starting The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver
Okay, really not a fan of the cover, but you know, book covers and judging…

Chapter1-2
Hah, poor Tommy just doesn’t have a lot going for him. Also short cutoffs on guys in the 70’s… was that a thing?
I thought Tommy was really young but if he’s a sophomore I guess I feel better about him going to a high school party.. Thought he was like middle school at first.

Chapter3-4
(view spoiler)[Oof, tale as old as… drunk kids at parties mixed with cars. Teenager killed in a drunk driving accident. Although I don’t think Tommy was actually drunk. It was more the circumstances of deer + rain + no seat belt. But that guilt ate at him for sure.
And he still can’t catch a break.
His “evolution” of returning to humanity after black-out drunk was amusing, if very sad.
This guy should have gotten therapy after the accident, but I don’t think that was super common at the time… And he’s planning the suicide for a while. That was a bit sad/hard to read. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

@ Soo, also went back to look at the dimension numbers in Chapter 1 v Chapter 5, and Chapter 5 is one number higher.

[Soo]

Emily, I'll start after Silkworm. I want to click open the spoilers. Hahaha

Also, it was short shorts were a thing for both men and women in the 70's. Heh


Caption: The Forgotten Trend of Men's Tiny Shorts

[Nirkatze]

oh gods, my eyes....

[Tonari no Emily]

Nirkatze wrote: "oh gods, my eyes...."

🤣😂

[Soo]

Bwaahhahahha~~~

[Tonari no Emily]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[That little domestic bliss scene with Tommy and his family made Zack’s death and Tommy’s life all the more painful. Wonder how this whole time travel thing will work out, and consequences thereof, etc. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6
(view spoiler)[“Feeding the machine” hm so cryptic. Maybe some sort of data mining using people’s time travels? Are they the ones that decide who will travel? Alternatively, is it everyone who dies who time travels and they monitor everyone.. Seems unlikely bc that’s ALOT to cover? Are the people from that chapter even human or some sort of boring divine workplace… (hide spoiler)]

7-9
So far, this has really caught my attention. Granted, I love time travel books there’s so many questions it brings up. Moral, logistical, consequential… (view spoiler)[
In this case it seems to be time travel of the mind.. So did middle age Thomas taking over young Tommy’s mind kill him? What does someone who knows about all the technology of the future change how it’s played out? I like how we’re already kinda given a general guide on how it works, Tommy going back in time sprouted a new dimension.. So I guess his old dimension is still there with one less Thomas due to suicide?

What are the odds he has a serial killer in his class. Is that why he’s transported back in time, to stop this kid? (hide spoiler)]
Also this has already made me chuckle a few times, probably just situational awareness of a middleaged man in a teenager body/setting.

[Soo]

Emily have you read Threshold series by Peter Clines? That's one that we have geeked out over. A Vagabond Club fav. If you haven't read it, we may have to do it again. Hehehe

[Tonari no Emily]

I've read 14 and The Fold. Still need to read the others though, and I'd be down to reread those two! I really liked them.

[Tonari no Emily]

Through 14

(view spoiler)[Zack’s such a good big brother… And now I feel like the serial killer kid is gonna do something to him as well as their dog :(

Back to Emillion-yep. Looks like they are some sort of divine. Angels maybe? (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Through 22

(view spoiler)[ Ugh really hate this serial killer kid who will henceforth by SKK LOL but I’m so glad he got Amy back. I feel like there’s a better way to deal with him than just not telling anyone… but honestly I have no idea what I’d do in that scenario.

End of 21: “So. How many lives is this for you?” I almost literally spit out water here lmao. So is time travel a suicide thing?hmm.
And I’m guessing people reliving lives aren’t supposed to meet based on Emillion’s reaction. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Through 36
(view spoiler)[ Why the hell did Thomas goad the literal serial killer? That makes absolutely no sense. Like you know this guy is willing to kill and has gone after things you love before. Just wtf. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Threshold is an awesome series… always down for 3rd/4th re-read…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

@Choko: I think that plotline was abandoned between books…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

@Soo: #3 has been an ebook/paperback for a year already… not sure what’s going on with the audiobook…

[Tonari no Emily]

Oof, the last half of The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver I feel like the writing is getting worse and the dialogue is kinda bad... Still want to know what happens though.

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Threshold is an awesome series… always down for 3rd/4th re-read…"

Maybe around the middle of the year!

[Choko]

Emily and Soo, Re: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver... Ch. 1. Zack is such a typical big brother! And boy, is he all about the trends! He thinks he is sooo cool! And the conversation about the short shorts and the cut-off jeans was hilarious!

[Choko]

Re: Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver Up to Ch. 4 (view spoiler)[ Wow! One horrific teenager mistake, not even his, but his brother's, and the loss of a young life and horrible survivor's guilt... I feel sorry for all of them, their mom included... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Re: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver Up to Ch 10... (view spoiler)[ Why the hell did he leave the gloves back there with his blood on them? Didn't he just remember how they had call the serial killer kids when he grew up? Exactly by going back to couple of drops of blood! Think, dude, think! (hide spoiler)]

[Narilka]

Julian wrote: "My plan is to eventually create a small library. At my current rate it will take quite a while, but it's satisfying getting to see the shelf slowly get filled up with new books. I want to make sure..."

That's just the start. Wait until you have books stacked on books and no place for more shelves LOL I might be speaking from experience :)

[Narilka]

Choko wrote: ... I have forbidden myself to buy any physical books..."

I don't think I'd have your self control lol

[Narilka]

I finished Blood Oath. It took a bit to get into the groove and I really enjoyed the ending. Gave it 3.5 stars. (view spoiler)[I'm a bit irritated that Konrad got away but it wasn't what he wanted so there is that! Sad that Griff died. Impressed with Zach stepping up. Cade is the bad ass as expected and very interesting that the Frankensteins were actually stronger so happy that Cade let himself have some human blood at the end to keep his strength up. (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Narilka, it is not easy! It had been my addiction for most of my adult life, buying books... Not having any space in the house because of books was a good way to get on my path to sobriety from it:)))

[Soo]

- Time Travel Thomas aka TTT or 3T: Let's make it easy on ourselves, I'm starting Thomas now. Writing out the whole title is a line by itself. Hahaha

Can't wait to open the spoilers and add to Choko's thoughts.

- Blood Oath: Glad you enjoyed it! =D
It's a bit slow to start but I thought it was a great setup book for the series. I wish he would write more in that world.

- Personal Library: I find that an electronic library is more dangerous because you don't see it with your eyes every day. I have books on two floors of the house. It's nice to see them. Even if they're in a dire need to be reorganized & stuff. XD

If I count the ebooks & audiobooks, I have a library of 5K+ probably. The freebies on Kindle are dangerous. They may suck but you just get it anyway.

[Soo]

TTT: Grabbing the ebook on KU so I can see the chapter headlines.

Even if you don't have KU, you can still look at chapter titles in the sample.

Also, I was only a baby swimming in a sac in August 1976. LOL
I'm going to guess that we need to keep tabs on the dimensions.

[Soo]

TTT Ch1: Simple things like clothes, magazines, music, etc are nice way to establish setting.

[Choko]

TTT Up to Ch. 40... (view spoiler)[ For an adult trapped in a teenager's body, he is making a ton of stupid mistakes. First, as Emily was saying, what was he thinking challenging Michael?!?! A serial killer, a person who obviously is not afraid to kill and actually enjoys it, and you go ahead and challenge him, when you don't have it in you to be a killer yourself... WTF?!

There were so many chances he could have thought things through, but he only reacts, whatever comes up in the moment... I get it, the whole situation is a lot to process, but take time to think before you act!!! Or say something stupid!

I am very interested in the... I have no idea what to call them, aliens I guess, who monitor the souls that are reborn. What exactly is their job and what is the purpose for the monitoring. Obviously the one responsible for Tommy is trying to get personally involved and by her boss's reaction that is not acceptable, so what is their deal? And at one point they said their moto is achieving the best outcome or something such, what is that? And Best for whom?

I am just so hurt right now, because we all could see this coming in Ch. 40, and he was still clueless more or less...

And let say, as the girl has been doing, killing herself over and over to start a new, she is not thinking about the lives she is affecting by doing that in that dimension, and the fact that she is taking over her other self's life, without giving her a chance to live it ... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

TTT: Ch. 43... (view spoiler)[ So the watchers are angels or something like that, and we still don't know what their purpose is... I liked Tommy's confrontation with his dad though... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

TTT Ch. 43... WOW!

[Soo]

TTT #1: Done!

Table of Contents: Things to Note(view spoiler)[
- Ch1 August 1976 - Dimension AG54298-M85676
- Ch3 May 2016
- Ch5 1976 - Dimension AG54298-M85677
- Ch6 Universal Life Center, Temporal Relocation Assigment Department, Earth Divsion
- Ch45 Universal Life High Council
- Postscript July 4th, 1986

(hide spoiler)]

I liked it. Not quite sure what some of the story elements will be about for later in the series, but it was a good intro. Author did a good job of using music, objects, etc for establishing the setting. Though, the language is very much in the 90's range for most of the book.

Gonna go back and read all the spoilers now! =D

[Soo]

- Re Emily Ch7-9:

Tommy (view spoiler)[: Oh that's a great question about if old Thomas' brain killed the new one! Yet, is it death or an add on? Going by the story that followed, it does seem like Thomas took over the other dimension's body without that one's memory. (hide spoiler)]

Time Travel vs Dimensional Travel: Both is happening, but if choices spin off for different paths, etc, is it really time travel?

- Threshold: Yah! I'm down to re-read the series later this year. Woo to geeking out! =D

Also, thought it was ironic & cool that you posted about having read 14 and the Fold and then wrote about Ch14 of TTT. Hahaha

- Re Emily Ch 14: (view spoiler)[I'm not sure what to think about this council, feeding the machine, are they actually angels or that there's a department like a calling center that watches souls. (hide spoiler)]

Anyone else get the Good Place show vibes? XD

- Ch21 Carrie - Loved this twist! It was a good one.

- SKK: Honestly, how would anyone deal with that?

- Emily Ch36 - Preach!!! What the hell Thomas!!!

- Emily (Last Half of TTT): I didn't feel like the dialogue grew worse. Some things just felt a bit off, but I think that has to do with the author not knowing how to make the character sound like a 54 vs teen, etc. Though, if you never got past a certain point in your mind, are you a grown up?

[Soo]

- Choko Ch4: I know right? I mean, I knew something was going to happen and it still sucked. Thought that was well done.

- Ch40: We need more answers about the Machine and Council.

I want to know more about Carrie, Thomas, Council, the 'Machine' and why people are chosen to have do overs.

I slowed down the audio to 2.2x and leisurely took it in while doing other stuff. =D

It's cool that Thomas has a good heart. He's not the brightest bulb and fairly average as a person. So, I don't mind that he screws up. I am curious to see what else will happen and I think there's going to be payback from SKK.

Despite having lived two lives, I don't think Thomas is going to have become more jaded and that's nice.

Zack: (view spoiler)[Thomas setting SKK to be found out definitely made a change in Zack's life. Though, I guess he was always meant to have something tragic or harm done to him considering he died consistently in the other lives and then had that accident in college.

I was wondering if there was some other conspiracy behind Zack's death, but guessing that was just a regular party too hard can be disastrous type situation. (hide spoiler)]

Carrie & Thomas: (view spoiler)[Who couldn't see that coming from a mile away? Hahahah!

Carrie doesn't seem to be too bright either with having chosen to kill herself multiple times. Then she finally decides to live her life beyond the 80's and she becomes the first victim for a serial killer.

Bad luck Carrie seems more fitting than Cooties. =P

I wonder if she'll come back into the story line in another dimension?
If she does, will she be the same or different? (hide spoiler)]

SKK: (view spoiler)[Did anyone else think it was weird that Thomas went on serial killer website and knew all this info? I mean, I watch different cop shows & stuff but I haven't done that in years and I've never gone on a website that talked about killers. Heh

As a conflict, the whole serial killer angle was not one that I had predicted! So, I was happy to go with the odd twist. LOL

Since SKK family is rich, how much you guys want to bet that he'll get out and go after Thomas? (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

The Redemption of Michael Hollister

Woah! Next book is about SKK aka Michael Hollister. OOo, so maybe the books will explore the different characters we meet. That's cool.

I'm planning to read the next book. I think it'll be fun. =D
You guys in? Also, it doesn't have to be right now. XD

[Choko]

I finished the first one too. That ending (view spoiler)[ When Michael Hollister killed himself and was reborn obviously very, very young, do you guys think he might meet Emily, the reborn "Angel" and she might save him from being a such a horrid person again? And I hope he remembers what was done to him in prison and learns at least a bit from that...! (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

I say we read Michael's book next Sunday/Monday like we did this one. What do you guys think?