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Winterset Hollow
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April 2022 Group Read #2 - Winterset Hollow
message 51:
by
Ann
(new)
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rated it 4 stars
Apr 06, 2022 04:12PM
I'm 49% in (starting Ch. 10) , & I'm wondering if anyone else is having a feeling of "dream logic" at this point -- all the POV shifts & such remind me a lot of the way things happen in dreams sometimes. Not sure how much of this is intentional, but it's certainly unnerving.
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Just started tonight, loved the poem at the beginning. It makes me think of a hobbit party.
Starting chapter 3 and doing what I always do. I want the book from the book to be a real book so I can read it too. To make myself feel better because I can't do that I put Watership Down on my TBR.
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I liked the poem parts, but other than that I really struggled with this one. To be honest I just half-focusedly pushed myself to finishing it, but I guess no book is for everyone...
Trustno1 wrote: "I liked the poem parts, but other than that I really struggled with this one. To be honest I just half-focusedly pushed myself to finishing it, but I guess no book is for everyone..."We all have books like that, I hope your next read is better.
I have to ask, is your username base on the X-Files?
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The beginning had a nice magical feel to it and I liked it but at some point everything just bogged down for me and it took too long to come to a conclusion.
Just finished Bunny... starting Winterset Hollow tonight!Looking forward to chatting with everybody! :)
61% in, & having some mixed feelings -- but honestly can't remember ever reading anything quite like this book, which makes me want to keep reading. Still having general "dream logic" sense, though more like nightmare logic. I really, really want to know how these very non-mundane creatures wound up in our mundane world. Hoping that some explanation is coming, but willing to wait for it.
I'm at 58% and I would love an explanation too Ann!
It's definitely strange that they all so readily accept these animals but I figured, they're all people obsessed with the book and these characters, right? So maybe they don't lose their minds over it as much because they're just experiencing something they want to be true?I must say, I think I was most taken with the amount of carnage haha. I was never sure where the story was going and I wasn't hugely concerned with the back stories. I just wanted to experience some brutality.
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I'm at 78% now and I gotta say, I'm still loving it. The background story is pretty deep emotionally, there's trauma from the animal's past and the human's. But the setting is so absurd and unbelievable that I've been thoroughly entertained.
WendyB wrote: "At HA, we try to bring books to the attention of our members that maybe they wouldn't have known about otherwise. Sometimes we find really great books... sometimes not so much. It's all about being open to new things and our members are the best."I love that so much. April is my first month reading along with the group, but when the two group reads were announced, I was really happy with them because they weren't the obvious choices, the really over-hyped choices we've seen over and over again everywhere online. And, I love the rabbit/Easter theme! :)
HA, I'm here for it!
Sally wrote: "Starting chapter 3 and doing what I always do. I want the book from the book to be a real book so I can read it too. To make myself feel better because I can't do that I put Watership Down on my TBR."Right? I want this book to be real! Or, maybe after the popularity of this book Durham could release an illustrated version, or something.
But, I definitely want this book to be real. I was also thinking of needing to re-read Watership Down, Wind in the Willows, or the Redwall series.
I'm one chapter into Part 2; so, I'm on Chapter 5.So far, I'm loving it. A lot of it seems familiar. It's got a bit of 100-acre woods vibes in the way that Eamon interacts with Runny; it seems very reminiscent to Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin. It's also got a bit of Wind in the Willows vibes.
There have been a few red flags that foreshadow the violence and horror that I assume is to come. (view spoiler) I guess I'll find out soon enough! :)
@KDL, I would love an illustrated version of this. Also going to look up the Redwall series, don't think I've heard of that.
Sally wrote: "@KDL, I would love an illustrated version of this. Also going to look up the Redwall series, don't think I've heard of that."Oh my God. Yes, do! I was OBSESSED with Redwall in middle/high school. It's so good. I'm due for a re-read!
How have I never heard of Redwall, I would have loved those as a kid! And there's a bazillion of them!
Sally wrote: "How have I never heard of Redwall, I would have loved those as a kid! And there's a bazillion of them!"Definitely check them out! I used to get them at our annual scholastic book fair. I don't think they're scholastic because I don't even think they're kids books... but that's where I got 'em. So good!
I just started Part 3. The tension is rising and I'm excited/dreading what's to come!New motto: (view spoiler)
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@KDL Nice motto, solid advice! @Kimberly hope you enjoy!
Sally wrote: "@KDL Nice motto, solid advice! @Kimberly hope you enjoy!"
Totally solid.
Sally wrote: "Trustno1 wrote: "I liked the poem parts, but other than that I really struggled with this one. To be honest I just half-focusedly pushed myself to finishing it, but I guess no book is for everyone...."Yes, love X-Files <3
Trustno1 wrote: "Sally wrote: "Trustno1 wrote: "I liked the poem parts, but other than that I really struggled with this one. To be honest I just half-focusedly pushed myself to finishing it, but I guess no book is..."I knew it! I love it too!
KDL wrote: "Sally wrote: "@KDL, I would love an illustrated version of this. Also going to look up the Redwall series, don't think I've heard of that."Oh my God. Yes, do! I was OBSESSED with Redwall in middl..."
I was equally obsessed with Watership Down in junior high. My friends & I gave each other nicknames from the book . .. I was Fiver.
Sally wrote: "How have I never heard of Redwall, I would have loved those as a kid! And there's a bazillion of them!"I got the first one as a kid - my mum bought it for me after I insisted I would definitely read it ... and I didn't get further than a chapter or two. But I pulled it out of storage last visit so I'm almost ready to commit to it!
@Ann what a great memory for you, thanks for sharing that!@Krystal I need to find some to buy "for my kid". I can't tell you how many middle grade series and authors I've loved that I buy for them and read myself.
I think I may have figured out what having the human characters so accepting of the animal characters reminds me of: Alice in Wonderland! Alice also finds herself dealing with very real, & sometimes violent, talking creatures who are in no way standard humans. Speaking strictly for myself, I'm just suspending my disbelief (for the rest of the semester . . . at least ) & going on with it.
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Kimberly wrote: "I'm honestly finding this creepy in a unique way....Maybe it's because I live surrounded by woods, or perhaps because Alice in Wonderland frightened me as a kid (Yet I could watch movies such as Ch..."Regardless of what I thought of the plot, I also had that experience, walking in the woods around my area. Saw quite a few bunnies, squirrels, and a fox (and apparently, according to my neighbor, there's a family of black bears in his back yard) and kept wondering if they grow human-size and chat around the fireplace :D
I’m on chapter 5 and struggling to read more than a few pages at a time. I’m curious about the story but its painfully slow. Is it worth pushing through? I know it’s not supposed to be horribly scary but does the story pick up?
Nicole wrote: "I’m on chapter 5 and struggling to read more than a few pages at a time. I’m curious about the story but its painfully slow. Is it worth pushing through? I know it’s not supposed to be horribly sca..."I'm on Ch. 17. And yes, it most definitely does pick up. (-:
@Nicole I agree with Ann, once it picks up the action is really fun I think. I would definitely stick with it a bit longer.
Sally wrote: "@Nicole I agree with Ann, once it picks up the action is really fun I think. I would definitely stick with it a bit longer."Also, some of the "slow" stuff -- the character development -- in those first chapters actually will matter, later.
Nicole wrote: "I’m on chapter 5 and struggling to read more than a few pages at a time. I’m curious about the story but its painfully slow. Is it worth pushing through? I know it’s not supposed to be horribly sca..."Took me like a month to get through the first few chapters then I read the rest in a few days and it ended up being one of my fave reads of 2021. Absolutely picks up haha
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Also, some of the "slow" stuff -- the character developme..."
This beginning stuff is what has the dread building heavily already!
Kimberly wrote: "Ann wrote: "Sally wrote: "@Nicole I agree with Ann, once it picks up the action is really fun I think. I would definitely stick with it a bit longer."Also, some of the "slow" stuff -- the charact..."
Yes, although the stuff about Eamon's odd family life doesn't come into play until much later . . .
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Kimberly wrote: "I just finished. I am still floored by it all. Very unique, and nothing like what I was expecting."So unique, I agree. It was like it was unbelievably believable. I still want someone to release a version of the book Winterset Hollow. I would buy it in a second.
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So unique, I agree. It was like it was unbelievably believable. I still want so..."
EXACTLY! I could picture everything so clearly. I wasn't prepared for how DARK it was--honestly creeped me out!
Kasia wrote: "5 stars wow Kimberly"You. Would. Love. This. Kas. You would love it, for real. It's kinda painful with a heart like yours, but it's so freaking good! I'll wrap your heart in a blanket of protection so you can read this. It talks about food a lot, you love food!
Just finished it. I loved it! I really liked the collision of dark fantasy and horror and the ultimate message is just so damn powerful. There were times that I thought the (view spoiler) scenes dragged on a bit, but with the payoff at the end (view spoiler), I'm not even mad. Such a good one! Very unique.
KDL wrote: "Just finished it. I loved it! I really liked the collision of dark fantasy and horror and the ultimate message is just so damn powerful. There were times that I thought the [spoilers removed] scene..."Agreed, super unique. Glad we read this one for sure!
Bunny and Winterset Hollow were two really fun, themed reads for this month. I love it! I hope we do theme reads often here .
KDL wrote: "Bunny and Winterset Hollow were two really fun, themed reads for this month. I love it! I hope we do theme reads often here ."Every month! I didn't get to Bunny this month, time allowed for reading is not fair in life! But with all of the fantastic and weird reviews I'll get to it eventually. Glad you enjoyed this one!
Finished the other crazy group read and I'll join in here this week, I'll be listening the audiobook!
