Buddy Read: The Pillars of the Earth

[Samaria]

I have finished chapter 13 as well. I am so glad that it’s turning around and there is a glimpse of hope lol I can continue on if everyone is doing so.
Enjoy your vacation I hope you get lots of rest and reading done. ☺️

[Pien]

I finished chapter 13 as well. Shall we continue? Have a wonderful time Erin!

[Erin]

🙌🏻 I’m not sure when I’ll be able to tackle chapter 14, but definitely continue! I’ll catch up after we return if I end up falling behind.

[Erin]

I got through about 1/3 of chapter 14 tonight.
Poor Elizabeth 😭

[Pien]

I’ve just finished chapter 14 and will take a short Pillar-pause until you have had time to catch up (and take your time with that Erin!)
How far are you Samaria? Enjoying the book?

[Erin]

I’ll try to have it finished by tomorrow night. 🤞🏻
I have a ton of unpacking to do, but I’ll try to take time for a walk or two, or maybe do some stitching in the evenings with the audiobook (we had glorious weather on vacation but have come home to a crummy forecast of storms).

[Erin]

Finished chapter 14 via audio while running errands.
I can’t fathom how Phillip will rebound after William poached his workers. And we only have 4 chapters left! How will everything be resolved? Will Jack finish the church for Phillip? Will Jack and Aliena ever be able to marry? Will they ever discover Jonathan’s true parentage? Will we find out what happened with that ship, why Jack’s father was actually hung? Will William and Waleran get their due? What else am I missing that needs to be resolved? 😆

I may start chapter 15 tonight, though I have another audiobook to get back to as well.

Do either of you have adult summer reading programs through your library? Ours has started and I’m eager to fill up my bingo board 😂

[Pien]

I know! There’s so much to be solved!
I am so frustrated about Alfred, taking the workmen away after Jack’s good deed to him. William Will Not Succeed.
Or I’ll eat the book.

I’ll continue reading tomorrow too.

We don’t have a summer thing in our library, at least not for adults. Too bad, it sounds like fun! Maybe I’ll look for something like that online.
We have a yearly award show (The golden noose) for best Thriller / horror writer and it’s tonight. I understood that it was possible to watch online, and my big idol Thomas Olde Heuvelt is one of the nominees. It sounded like such a fun night but now I find out I had to buy tickets and really gó there… so there goes my night of the frightening novel. I’m not used to ‘postcorona’ yet I guess 🙈
Hope he wins though!

[Erin]

Yes! I was so proud of Jack for being the bigger person, giving Alfred work despite how rotten he’d been. And then Alfred proved himself a true jerk to the core. 😠

So sorry you don’t get to watch the award show, Pien. What a bummer! I don’t think we have anything like that here.

[Erin]

I got through chapter 15 tonight. One unresolved matter I forgot to list before seems to have been answered… but all the rest are still outstanding 🤔
I am happily going back to my other audiobook until we’re all on the same page again. Don’t feel any need to rush! 😁

[Pien]

Ive finished chapter 15, let’s continue?!

[Erin]

Oh boy! So much for a break 😂
I’ll probably still do a day or two on my other audiobook, but yes, we can press on with chapter 16.

How’s it going for you Samaria?

[Samaria]

Hi guys sorry I have been busy with work and house stuff teenagers too 🙃 lol
I have managed to Finished chapter 15. This book has taken me in a wild emotional roller coaster ride. One minute I’m like yes finally something good is Happening and the next I’m like seriously 😒. I am looking forward to the ending of the book I’m curious to read how it will end.
I’m good to keep reading since my book is almost due in the library.

[Erin]

Samaria wrote: "Hi guys sorry I have been busy with work and house stuff teenagers too 🙃 lol
I have managed to Finished chapter 15. This book has taken me in a wild emotional roller coaster ride. One minute I’m l..."

No worries Samaria! I feel exactly the same! Hopefully we’re all left with a feeling that everything is resolved at the end 🤞🏻

I am certainly interested to see if Richard will be able to hold on to the earldom and turn things around. What wretched things will William try in retaliation though?!? 😬

[Pien]

I agree Samaria, it’s time for the rollercoaster to end. Can’t wait to flip the last page. With a positive ending please! 😄

[Pien]

I just found out I have to return the book this Monday, and all three copies in the surrounding libraries are lent out. So my copy is probably reserved by someone and then it can take up to twelve weeks before I can get the book again. (Probably a local bookclub started it, poor things 😜). Samaria, you also said your book was almost due? Are you both fine with me rushing to finish this this weekend? I have an English copy but I’d like to finish in Dutch, because of all the architectural mentions I don’t understand in English!

[Erin]

Pien wrote: "I just found out I have to return the book this Monday, and all three copies in the surrounding libraries are lent out. So my copy is probably reserved by someone and then it can take up to twelve ..."

Absolutely Pien! We’re so close to the end, I think it’s fine for us all to push to finish and then come back for final discussion when everyone is done. I only have about a week left with my other audiobook which was why I wanted to give it some time, so I completely understand!

[Erin]

Went ahead with chapter 16 tonight myself. There’s definitely an air of “let’s wrap things up!” So much reflecting 😆
Happy to get another question answered, though we still have a handful 🤔

[Erin]

Finished 17 as well… getting closer with the answers… though I’m now wondering what became of Martha? Did she ever get married herself? She seems to have disappeared these last couple chapters…

[Erin]

Finished!!!
(view spoiler)[I’m content that we got answers to all the big questions. I felt Waleran’s end was fitting and satisfying. I don’t feel quite the same for William though. I don’t know what exactly would have been fitting for him, but it seemed like he lived a fairly long, not-so-bad life before his end. For all the suffering he caused, I don’t think he suffered enough.
I’m also left wondering what became of Martha and Elizabeth. Martha was last mentioned at Jack and Aliena’s wedding. What became of her later? And what happened to Elizabeth after she turned over the earldom? Surely William would want nothing to do with her after that? Did she go back to her parents? Or worse, did William just make her suffer intensely? Just a quick mention of them during all the other “wrapping up” and “reflecting” would have been nice. Ah well… (hide spoiler)]
Looking forward to your final thoughts Pien and Samaria!

And do we want to continue with the series, perhaps after a break? I was thinking I might be ready at the start of September.

[Pien]

Yes I finished too!
(view spoiler)[ I am satisfied about the ending. But I agree about Elisabeth, I would have liked to read how she ended up.
Martha was in love with a nice guy and had a job she loved, so that will be okay. For me, the bad guys were ending in a satisfying way, I thought. William, wetting himself in front of everyone, screaming like a pig, dying slowly, it must have been the most humiliating way to die for a guy like that. And he has never been happy.
And for the good guys, it ended nicely. (hide spoiler)]

I’m not shure about the next book. I like to read it but for now I’d prefer smaller stories. But hey, September is months away so probably I’ll be enthusiastic then 😃

[Erin]

I suppose you have a point about (view spoiler)[William never having been happy his entire life… though it still doesn’t sit quite right with me.
And I think you’re thinking of Jack’s daughter Sally who works with glass and finally has a love interest at the end. I did a search for Martha’s name in my ebook and can’t find any mention of what becomes of her. It seemed she was always enamored of Jack and so never attached herself to another, but I wonder how she fit in after Jack and Aliena were married and Aliena took over the estate and whatnot. Oh well! (hide spoiler)]

And yeah, I feel like I could use a decent break before jumping into the next which was why I suggested putting it off a bit. We can see how we’re feeling when the summer winds down.

[Pien]

Oh that’s right! I was talking about Sally! Yes I’m wondering it too now… :-)

[Erin]

Do either of you have any interest in World Without End? I think I might pick it up soon…

[Samaria]

Sure. Im open to it.;)

[Pien]

Yes, I’m in too
Reading the synopsis it might feel a bit like our time now, everything is changing and there’s a great gap between proponents and opponents.

[Samaria]

Wen do we start?

[Erin]

I’m ready as soon as you all are. I’ll make a separate discussion thread for it so I can post the reading schedule at the beginning for easy reference. I haven’t looked at the chapter length for it yet, so we’ll have to figure that out.