Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th] Showing 2,251-2,300 of 5,829

[Nirkatze]

Interesting seeing y'all @Choko & Iain talk about the Marla Mason books. Like @Emily I think I'll be adding to my TBR. :) Added the G.A. Aiken too.

Had a slow reading week so far, but hoping to catch up over the weekend. Just finished Mossflower and going to jump in on the TTCC train tomorrow. Some mediocre listening'll do just fine for all the papers I have to bring home and finish after work Friday. :)

I had a lot of fun with Mossflower, but I had a hard time focusing this week. I had forgotten all about the bats, toads, and the eel, and I really enjoyed hearing the Hares at Salamandastron. I had very vague memories of this book, but I have forgotten most save that it was my favorite. Some of the shine has tarnished with time, but it was still a nice feel-good story, and trying out the audiobook was a lot of fun.

[Nirkatze]

Emily wrote: "Damn, I had a comment written up about Misfit Soldier and I guess I forgot to hit post...

Finished that yesterday and I also very much enjoyed it!

Nirkate re they/them: I rather like them for non..."

Good point about they/them! My biggest peeve with the plural is when I'm reading--I can't be lazy about paying attention to who's doing what, and "they" makes me do a doubletake for which "they" the PN is referring to. But when talking to folks, or talking about folks, it works out fine. I wonder why I have the disconnect between conversation and text?

I agree with your note about not getting much on the war. It's different reading a military SF story with absolutely no background on the forces involved in the conflict, unless you count the (view spoiler)[mob-involvement (hide spoiler)]reveal near the end. It really gives a different feel to the whole story. It's a targeted plot, rather than a space opera.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Choko wrote: "Ok, Iain, I know I sound like an idiot, but which stories from the anthology should I read next?"

Encounter in a Back Street, Haruspex, Doorman, Mommy Issues, Pade Dog, Ill Met in Ulthar, and Pride is an Engine... first couple stories in Part 1 and all of Part 3...

[Choko]

Nirkatze, Mossflower, it is difficult sometimes to come back to a childhood favorite as adults. You are not going to have the same reaction, no matter how much you loved it, for better or worse. I didn't have this issue, since this was the first time I read it, and it was a brand new experience for me. I am glad we read it:)))

Emily, I am so glad you enjoyed the Misfit Soldier as well! It was a light read and entertaining, and as you said, I would like to know more about the war and the enemies... There could be a bunch of books set in this world, the way I see it, and I would be all for it!

Iain, thank you so much for the clarification! Second week of chemo round two, and I am already going a bit foggy... I will try to keep it on point:)))

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

This is just part of your treatment, right?... not a relapse?...

Either way, you're reading like 5x as much as I am, and carrying on like 3-4 book discussions :D

If we need to slow down, just lemme know...

I'm still working on the ebook material... it's hard for me to make time for that...

In the meantime, I'm reading another Laurenston book, and made it another chaper in Time Travel #1... came across serial killer Hollister, torturing animals in the woods near the school... and that guy gets his own book?!?...

[Choko]

Yes! Actually, if you ask me, Michael Hollister is the best book in the series:)))

Yeah, just part of the treatment. Trying to actually kill the stupid tumor that keeps hanging on to life...

I started a book, but I will be back to the Kindle later on tonight. You know how it is, with the books that are not on audio, you have to be in one place and sit to read, which is always a much more hassle than the audio:)))

[Choko]

Speaking of, do we have any idea if everything is Ok with Soo? Not that I am just expecting her to be around, but I don't want to worry for her either... I just want to know she is OK... ❤️

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

She's been known to go quiet, when she gets super active with her hiking/etc... but she's usually better about continuing to do book updates, since Kindle/Audible lets you do that with a button press at the end of a book... so I guess I dunno...

She HAS been super active on GR this year and most of last year... the first year in this group she went silent for 8 months...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The competitive person in me is like "now's my chance to outpoint Soo" with tons of books or BR/challenge bonuses... but then she goes and reads tons of stuff solo and it doesn't matter... and my reading speed / dedication is all over the place...

[Choko]

I just worry, you know how it is:) But we will keep up the front! And no, we have no chance of ever truly competing with her, hahaha:)))

[Narilka]

Choko, I didn't realize you were still in treatment. I hope this time works. Fingers extra crossed! Sending virtual hugs.

[Choko]

Thanks, Narilka! Second week of five and only chemo, no radiation, so I am doing a hundred times better than the treatment last spring and summer. And I have no doubts this time around, much higher spirits, so everything is good:)))

[Tonari no Emily]

Hoping your treatments go well Choko! :) ❤

I was also wondering where Soo went. Hope all is well with her too.

[Tonari no Emily]

Definitely agree with Choko, TTMH was the best so far.

[Julian]

@Choko I was wondering the same thing. I assumed she went on some hiking trip now that spring is here. Our team has absolutely no chance of competing without her.

[Nirkatze]

@Choko--wishing you smooth sailing through your treatments! And sending more virtual hugs too.

[Nirkatze]

Emily wrote: "Definitely agree with Choko, TTMH was the best so far."

Third-dittoing this. I was in the same boat as you @Iain, where I couldn't believe that Michael Hollister was the next book... but it was worth it.

[Nirkatze]

Julian wrote: "@Choko I was wondering the same thing. I assumed she went on some hiking trip now that spring is here. Our team has absolutely no chance of competing without her."

You do really well by yourself Julian!

Does Soo usually read on her hiking trips? Will she come back and add 100 titles to her spreadsheet?

I knew there was a reason House of Chains had pulled ahead...

Actually, on that note, where do all the names for the reading challenge groups come from? Reading Malazan, I'm wondering if House of Chains is a reference, but I don't know about the others.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nirkatze wrote: "Julian wrote: "@Choko I was wondering the same thing. I assumed she went on some hiking trip now that spring is here. Our team has absolutely no chance of competing without her."

You do really wel..."

Soo listens to audiobooks while hiking (when not doing astrophotography)...

Not saying it'll make a difference, but the points on the competition come down to how often people update... I'm like a month behind, and some people only update once or twice a month...

The group was pretty heavy into Malazan when the competition started... 2 of the names are Malazan-inspired (Jaghuts and Chains)... other 2, I like to take credit for...

I was in Blood Eagles my first year, and I think people were coming up with ideas and I merged 2 into Blood Eagles, and people really liked it and it stuck...

Tome Raiders was looking for a name and I pointed out the wordplay of Tome Raiders, Tomb Raiders / Lara Croft, and Tome Readers / big books... they Raid Tomes for big points :D

There was also Team Pillow Fight Club... the super secret team of sleeper agents I had planted in all the groups (like Hydra)... but we don't talk about the Dark Times ;) ... there was honestly a period back then when this group was super chatty, responding as fast as we could reload/read/type, and things got a bit hectic... mods took a couple of us aside (through email), myself included, and asked us to calm down :D

[Nirkatze]

Oooh, cool Iain! Thank you for sharing that name history. It's pretty funny.

Looking forward to seeing your updates. :)

Also really cool that Soo does astrophotography! I do remember that one picture she shared a while ago. I love pictures of the night sky. All of my desktops are set to night-sky and deep-space photos.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

My idea for Team Pillow Fight Club stemmed from this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_d1I... (I didn't remember there being any dialogue, before... but I found like 3 copies of that video with a search, so I guess my memory is faulty)...

[Nirkatze]

Started TT Cassandra Collins a little later than I was expecting, and I'm not far enough along to open all those tantalizing spoiler tags. But I have thoughts & questions...

Through Chapter 10

Veronica & Danny (view spoiler)[The conversation with Cassandra & Veronica--Danny is Veronica's second husband, in her third life right?

So her "you only live once right" comment was ironic.

Interesting which lives are in which timelines. When we see her again in Cass' second life, she recognizes her but pretends otherwise...but we don't know which life it is exactly. (hide spoiler)]

I'm not as far as y'all when you started typing up about finding this one lackluster. At the beginning though... I can't help but feel for Cassandra as she's wondering about what path to take. (view spoiler)[The way her parents calmly assume her only life path is marriage is... infuriating. Maybe it's because my mom faced similar situation and ended up in an unhappy marriage because of it, but this old attitude always gets me riled.

But I can also see how hard it is to take a chance when you have a safe option open to you. When I was in college, I took the safe choice, and put myself on the path of my current career, but I always wish I'd tried something different. There's a big part of me that wishes I had taken hard science and actually tried to become an astronaut. Or dated people. Taken a few chances. There was a person I really liked and never told, and I still wish I had decades later.

I also knew a lot of folks in college who came from families like Cassandra's--some of them the first time they did their own laundry was their freshman year in college! And others used a laundry service so they didn't have to. They had to go through much of the same rude awakenings--learn how to fend for themselves without servants.

So, one thing I appreciate about these books is how much they make me think about the forks in my own life. None of mine are anywhere near as extreme as anyone in the previous books, so while Cassandra's is more sedate, I feel like I'm relating to her more that the others so far. (hide spoiler)]

Still time for her to annoy me though!

Also just hit her thought on colors--"ghastly--what were we thinking?" What I think every time I come across a house with burnt orange and brown colors.

[Julian]

I'm still trying to push for there to be a Horns of Hammerad team next year and to be on that team lol

[Nirkatze]

TTCC Chapter 15--why was the (view spoiler)[women's bathroom worse? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Julian wrote: "I'm still trying to push for there to be a Horns of Hammerad team next year and to be on that team lol"

LOL that sounds awesome!

[Choko]

Julian, hahaha! I wish we had more people participating in the contest, just because the more is merrier, and it would be a good reason for a fifth team:)

[Julian]

Yeah I enjoy it since it brings out the competitive side in me and more importantly, gets me to read a bit more than I normally would.

There would be a lot of ways to make the contest more interesting too

[Nirkatze]

I enjoy browsing other folk's spreadsheets and seeing what people are reading. It's a really interesting collection of titles.

And @Julian it totally brings out the competitive side on me as well. >.< Not always a good thing! I need my sleep more than I need more excuses to read more pages!

[Nirkatze]

Narilka wrote: "A bit of fun is just what I needed. Kaiju prompted me to start Space Team 3 as my next audio :D"

Ditto on @Choko--yay space book! I miss space books--the past few years I'd been on an SF bend but since joining FBR it's been 90% fantasy...

What is the Space Team series like?

[Brian]

Space Team is Amazing!!! So funny

[Nirkatze]

I'm looking at Space Team on Audible right now--has anyone compared the dramatized version to the single-narrator one?

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "It is Monday, so I am reading TTCC #8... Up to Ch. 21... [spoilers removed]"

I'm definitely curious about the same questions--what are the requirements for a reset? (view spoiler)[Maybe all you need is to have some of your life in Middle Falls? Maybe the pixis folks are all aliens doing an experiment?

We haven't seen the pixis folks for a few books, have we? Maybe the new "kindness first" policy means they're taking more than just suicides? (hide spoiler)]

re: first classes (view spoiler)[Linda's description of high school v. college--so true. I wish high schools were more interested in training kids for the future and less for passing them. All the teachers I know are trying so hard, but it's an uphill battle with angry parents and caving admin... (hide spoiler)]

I haven't seen the Green Knight yet, but Cass's first class made me want to watch it today. :)

[Nirkatze]

TTCC Chapter 26 halfway through (view spoiler)[I'm waiting for Ethan to come out as gay. (hide spoiler)]

And five minutes later... (view spoiler)[nope, asexual! (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Haha! I thought he was gay too... I have never known an asexual person in real life. Would really like to meet one of those, just to understand...

So true about the highschools and college! I had a friend who was an administrative director of a local highschool, and he quit, because disgruntled parents were threatening to kill him all the time, unless their kids were passed... It is ridiculous and horrible! And teachers have absolutely no incentive to continue doing a good job, because the pay is worse than if you work at McDonald's, and the parents don't teach respect for the teachers anymore. They are looked upon as glorified babysitters... Don't get me started...!

[Tonari no Emily]

The competition definitely has made me read more than I have in previous years! I can probably only be this prolific this year. I'll probably calm down a bit next year. Especially since I'm planning on going back to school... again. Also, I've definitely done more text-reading this year which I'm proud of. :) (still not near how I used to be though)

@ Iain, I enjoy the story time for the beginnings of the group, thanks for sharing :D

[Choko]

Nirkatze, I would get the one narrator Space Team books - he is awesome! And if you ever decide to read them, I would totally join you - they are a wonderful pallet cleansers:)))

[Tonari no Emily]

@ Nirkatze
-Green Knight: I've really been wanting to watch this, but I keep forgetting about it! lol

-I understand where you're coming from when relating to the quieter life of CC more than other characters. I've had quite a few branches in my life that looking back now I would have done something different..

-I guess I needed a space fix too cuz after Misfit Soldier I went to pick up where I left off in The Expanse, and also (not space but Scifi) started Too Like the Lightning

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "Haha! I thought he was gay too... I have never known an asexual person in real life. Would really like to meet one of those, just to understand...

So true about the highschools and college! I had ..."

Oooh, I could rant with you all day Choko! Working in education is like a tug-of-war. Aaaand I found myself halfway through writing a rant of my own and just deleted it. :) No need to vent or preach to choirs.

re: Space Team--I will totally let you know, Coko! I put it on my Audible wishlist--there's a 3-in-1 bundle for the start, and I liked the sample narration. I'm actually looking at checking out the G.A. Aiken books @Iain & you mentioned. Book one is on Libby and two is on Hoopla, so I'm going to give it a try when I finish TTCC.

[Nirkatze]

Emily wrote: "The competition definitely has made me read more than I have in previous years! I can probably only be this prolific this year. I'll probably calm down a bit next year. Especially since I'm plannin..."

Hear hear Emily! Usually I read around 100 books in a year. It's only April and I'm already at 75. It feels crazy. I blame the competition. And audiobooks.

And best of luck with your return to school! I am have the highest respect and awe for folks who figure out something they want to learn and make the decision to do so in adulthood. It takes a lot of courage and energy. Three cheers for you!

I'm almost done with TTCC, and I'm actually really enjoying it. It's quieter, but (view spoiler)[it's a nice glimpse into the Flower Child culture in the 60s and onward. (hide spoiler)]

I added "Too Like the Lightning" to my TBR. It looks interesting! I like non-space SF too. :)

[Nirkatze]

TTCC Done!

Overall, I liked this one more than I thought I would--though I liked the first 3/4 more than the last quarter, up until (view spoiler)[they start doing drugs and join a cult. Then the ending seems like a rapid wrap-up (hide spoiler)]. I didn't like the romance, but I did like that Cass did really try at pursuing her dreams, and lived a very different life from her original one.

Picking up The Blacksmith Queen now for audio on Iain & Choko's recommendations. Is it too late to jump in for BR counting?

[Tonari no Emily]

Nirkatze wrote: "Emily wrote: "The competition definitely has made me read more than I have in previous years! I can probably only be this prolific this year. I'll probably calm down a bit next year. Especially sin..."

Thanks so much Nirkatze! It's a specialist's certification, so it's not gonna be too bad, but it will definitely take away alot of free time since I'll still be full time at work.

I would also like to try out Space Team if that's gonna be a thing :D

[Tonari no Emily]

Nirkatze wrote: "TTCC Done!

Overall, I liked this one more than I thought I would--though I liked the first 3/4 more than the last quarter, up until [spoilers removed]. I didn't like the romance, but I did like th..."

That is true, she did try! (view spoiler)[It's a shame she had to have a second life to realize she could pursue art without education though, cuz otherwise her life was pretty normal, if ending a little sad... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

We should revive our Space Team thread!!!! Yay!!!

Nirkatze, not late at all for the Blacksmith Queen, and it will count as BR! Please, share your thoughts here - it is different than most what we usually read, but it is fun, in a specific kind of way:))))

[Choko]

Emily, good luck! I have been contemplating going back to school myself, once I get done with the treatments... Kind of scary at my age, but I really want to give it a go...

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "We should revive our Space Team thread!!!! Yay!!!

Nirkatze, not late at all for the Blacksmith Queen, and it will count as BR! Please, share your thoughts here - it is different than most what we ..."

Yay! Blacksmith Queen through Chapter 3--I'm enjoying the shocking juxtaposition of crude language and violence with the lighthearted humor. And Kieran (not sure of spelling on audio) has the best way of breaking up fights: (view spoiler)[Everyone stop fighting or I'm getting naked. Right now! And then beating you all up! (hide spoiler)]

Having lots of literal LOL moments.

From the title of the book, it seems like the fact that the (view spoiler)[Aumuchai (sp?) think Keely's sister is the queen is going to be a mistaken-identity/misinformation plot point. I always enjoy those reveals. (hide spoiler)]

Is this series set in a world that the author already established? I know she's written something with dragon shapechangers and the statement (view spoiler)[that Keely knows what the Amuchai are makes it sound like shapechangers of some kind. (hide spoiler)]

Through Chapter 4--Keely's family. Still cracking up all the time. Sibling spats. Siblings with secrets. Little siblings swarming for hugs. Parents looking on fondly--and wrestling pigs, and needing back cracks.
(view spoiler)[Mom: "You two will not fight in front of the little bastards. You'll give them ideas."
Dad: "Maybe we shouldn't call them little bastards."
Mom: "They're little bastards." (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Emily wrote: "That is true, she did try!"

True! The more I think about it, the more I feel like the ending of TTCC was a cop-out. In the end, (view spoiler)[she didn't do anything with her art. It was a "happy" ending just because she got married and settled down--which was the path she'd left in the first place. I would have liked to see her keep up with her art at least--maybe become a graphic designer instead of an assistant manager. (hide spoiler)]

I'd be down for picking up Space Team later in the week--I'm doing the Blacksmith Queen and going to do the sequel after that for audio, but would the week after next (circa 12th or so) work?

If there's already a thread to be revived, would someone mind pasting the link here since I'm lazy? XD

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "Emily, good luck! I have been contemplating going back to school myself, once I get done with the treatments... Kind of scary at my age, but I really want to give it a go..."

Ditto on good luck Emily! So cool to be getting a certification! But classes after work...oof! Extra good luck!

And to you to Choko! Cheerleader cheering for you in further education! What are you thinking of studying?

[Nirkatze]

Blacksmith Queen through Chapter 6--Gemma's reveal was pretty epic.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nirkatze wrote: "Blacksmith Queen through Chapter 6--Gemma's reveal was pretty epic."

felt pretty anime :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Phil Thron is a great narrator for Space Team... no way I'm doing a re-read, but I'm down if/when Barry writes another book/trilogy... he's been so sidetracked with his JD Kirk mystery writer persona, the last few years, since the car accident wrist injury...