The Once and Future King (June 2023) Buddy Read Discussion - Laura, Faith, Leslie

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

Welcome to the The Once and Future King Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on June 7th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 06/7
June 7: Book I: Chapters 1-12
June 8: Book I: Chapters 13-24
June 9: Book II: Chapters 1-7
June 10: Book II: Chapters 8-14
June 11: Book III: Chapters 1-15

Week of 06/12
June 12: Book III: Chapters 16-30
June 13: Book III: Chapters 31-45
June 14: Book IV: Chapters 1-7
June 15: Book IV: Chapters 8-14

PARTICIPANTS
~ Laura
~ Faith
~ Leslie

[Laura ☾]

Started on this - still on Book 1 but somehow I'm having a hard time getting into this.

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

I haven't started yet because my hold lapsed 😬 so I have to wait a bit to start.

It was written in like the 1930s I think, and in a storybook style so I wonder if the writing style is just a bit archaic and that's why it's harder to get into, maybe?

[Laura ☾]

Possibly! But yeah I’m really struggling to get myself immersed into it!

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

I'm tired of waiting for the library hold so I got Scribd instead lol! I'm going to start either tonight or tomorrow

[Laura ☾]

Ooh yay! Keep me posted

I haven’t made much progress so far

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

I recommend trying the audiobook if you haven't been listening to it already. The narration might make it more comprehensible for you

[Leslie]

I have been struggling with the language too. Now I remember why I didn't read it again after my SFF class in high school. But I will make progress on it today, I swear (on Excalibur)!

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

I'm about 15% through now, and honestly I'm absolutely loving it haha but I personally don't have any difficulty with the language. It's a style common to children's books of the era (Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan come to mind as particularly popular entries) and I've always been a big fan of the tongue in cheek, whimsy of it all.

Also, Leslie, you had a SFF class in high school??? That sounds amazing!! I took a sci-fi class in high school but that's only because I was in concurrent college-high school enrollment and the class was at the college.

[Laura ☾]

I don’t think it’s the language so much as I don’t know what to put my finger on but let’s see as I get a bit further in - I feel like lately I’ve not been vibing with books aimed at younger readers generally so maybe that’s it

[Laura ☾]

Finished through book 2 - I definitely enjoyed book 2 more than book 1. The characters are getting a bit more developed. Whimsy is definitely the right word to describe it!

[Laura ☾]

Ok I finished the book yesterday!

Book 3
(view spoiler)[The love triangle seems strange here and I didn’t enjoy the storyline. Guenever’s jealousy was not a good look and somehow Lancelot was not likeable either (hide spoiler)]

Book 4
(view spoiler)[ Something about the storytelling with this one didn’t sit well with me - just didn’t really grab my attention the way I would want it to (hide spoiler)]