Introductions

[Ray]

For anyone who would like to introduce themselves to the group. 🙂

[Stephen]

Hello everyone! I'm Stephen from Michigan, USA. Reading has been a hobby of mine since before I could remember. When I'm not reading, I'm writting about or discussing the books Ive read. I also dabble a bit in writting fiction.

Was browsing goodreads for a bookclub to join and stumbled across this one. I loved the deep conversations you all were having and decided this might be a good one to join. Look forward to having some discussions with you all!

[Ray]

Welcome to the group! Thanks for joining.

[Blue Ghost]

Heyo, heyo! I'm Meg, Daddy of Rats (I have 6 lovely ladies of whom I affectionately refer to as "the dirty freeloaders in the next room" or "my little fucks"), from the most desolate state in the union. I have alotta books, and I wanna read 'em, and this platform is keepin' me honest.

I also dip, sip and dabble in writing, but plots don't come to me easy; most of my writing is in letter form to penpals and answering prompts. All my life I've answered prompts. Otherwise, I love dancing—nothing of instructed skill, though I did grow up learning Country Swing—I've always been found headbanging in a cleaned-out garage, but nowadays I'm a punk-raver-hybrid, baby. (I have discovered that those 2 scenes have A LOT of overlap. Think you'd see neon and glitter on the dancefloor? Nah, mostly monochrome black beneath Eraserhead graphics.)

[Stephen]

Thanks and nice to meet you both! Meg, you differently write like a writer. Got a flow and structure to your writing like something out of novel haha. Love it! Never owned rats before, do they require a lot of attention and care? I've owned dogs, cats, turtles, birds, hamster, fish but never a rat. My wife wants one though. We have two cats and I joke with her that they're pretty much oversized rats haha.

[Blue Ghost]

Stephen wrote: "Thanks and nice to meet you both! Meg, you differently write like a writer. Got a flow and structure to your writing like something out of novel haha. Love it! Never owned rats before, do they requ..."

My ladies and I have been lucky enough that they've always had a bedroom to themselves that they free roam. I've also always had a dumb amount of rats because I've had the space (usually average having 10 beasts at a time); the more rats you have and the richer their environment the more hands off you can be. I've also found that the more rats you have, the happier those rats will be—they need the company of other rats more so than they 'need' the company of humans, and they will mostly entertain themselves.

I wouldn't have any more than 3 rats in a large cage though, and they're smart little shits (mine learned how to undo screws and started taking apart their treat dispensers as well as the handle off their bedroom door), so you'll have to have daily outside-the-cage time and teach them tricks and make them do puzzles for food. They're emotionally complex creatures that go through the same personality developmental phases that people do, but they only live for 2 years, and it's quite the trip to go from a loving baby for a few months to an angsty teen for a few months to an individualistic adult that acknowledges you as their caretaker to suddenly a loving geriatric folk who acts like it took them 2 years too long to make it to retirement. Anyway, I love rats.

[Stephen]

Wow, that's fascinating. I've always heard they are intelligent creatures but didn't realize how complex they are. Sounds like a hand full but also a very rewarding experience. It's funny, a lot of the behaviors you describe do sound like my cats haha, except with a much longer life span.

[Madelyn]

Hello everyone! My name is Madelyn but I go by M for short. I’m a little new to Goodreads having just gotten it at the beginning of this year but I’m really enjoying it. I read adult and YA fantasy romances but I also enjoy mystery. My favorite authors are Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. My hobbies are reading (ofc), baking, playing video games, singing, theater, and running. My babies are my two dogs, Max and Izzy, and my two cats, Ellie and Kiki. I love yapping so expect a lot out of me lol! I hope we can have some fun times together :)

[Blue Ghost]

Welcome, M!

[Rachel]

Hello! I am Rachel, and I definitely need to get notifications from Goodreads on again! lol I live in Oregon and know Meg from college! (Hi Meg!) They told me that they were part of a really rad virtual bookclub and here I am! Thank you all again for taking my book suggestion lol "A Gentleman in Moscow" is not something I would typically read, but I am enjoying trying something new!

Other than that I am a Sagittarius, social worker and cat Mom of 3! When I'm not reading or working I am most likely coloring and watching true crime documentaries or trashy reality TV. Ha!

[Stephen]

Hello M and Rachel, Look forward to some good book discusions in the future with the both of you. I wish I could have read Gentleman in Moscow with you all but already had a full slate for March, on book #10 for the month right now. I might have a problem, haha. I'll definitely participate in the next though.

[Blue Ghost]

Hi Rachel! Glad I could peer pressure you 🖤

[Ray]

Hey everyone! I thought I’d introduce myself too so you can get to know me a little better. As you all already know, my name is Ray.

I have two main hobbies: reading and art. I draw and lately I’ve gotten into diamond painting. It takes hours to complete. The last one I did took 22 hours in total to finish. But it’s really relaxing, especially when I'm listening to music or podcasts in the background.

When it comes to books, I’ll read just about anything as long as it keeps me interested, but I’m mostly drawn to fantasy and romance. I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember, and I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon. As soon as I could read my mother would bring home books for me to read. I remember I used to read alot of books from the Junie B. Jones series.

I also have two cats or five if you want count the kittens one of them had recently. I love them so much, though I have to admit, they’ve become a bit spoiled. These days, they mostly just lay around and sleep all day.

[Stephen]

Hello Ray! 22 hours, wow! That's awesome though, can't rush creativity or else you lose the art in the process. I went to college for art before switching focus to forestry. Really wish I kept up with it but only have so much time in the day.

I hear you about the cats. As hard as i tried preventing it, my cats are beyond spoiled. It's their house and I'm just their servant haha

[Blue Ghost]

My rats run my life 🤷

[Ray]

Stephen wrote: "Hello Ray! 22 hours, wow! That's awesome though, can't rush creativity or else you lose the art in the process. I went to college for art before switching focus to forestry. Really wish I kept up w..."

There's never enough time for everything we'd like to keep up with.

My cats definitely think that I'm their servant. I only exist to them when they want food. And I'll give it to them everytime 😂

[Ray]

Ratdaddy wrote: "My rats run my life 🤷"

They have you trained well too? 😅

[Arin]

Hey, I’m Arin! I’m new to the app and I’m looking for friends :) My pronouns are he/him. I’ve always loved reading but I haven’t had the time to lately since I’ve been super busy, I’m currently trying to get back into reading. One of my favorite books is Educated by Tara Westover, I definitely recommend it! My other hobbies are art and origami. I hope I can get to know you all soon!

[Blue Ghost]

Arin wrote: "Hey, I’m Arin! I’m new to the app and I’m looking for friends :) My pronouns are he/him. I’ve always loved reading but I haven’t had the time to lately since I’ve been super busy, I’m currently try..."

Welcome! I've been wanting to read Educated for awhile now; I grew up in a militant Mormon household, so there's an amount of familiarity mixed with the curiosity I have toward the memoir.

[Stephen]

Hello Arin! What a strange coincidence. I literally started reading Educated last night. My friends have been telling me to read it for ages and finally got around to it. Now I'm even more excited to dig in!

[Arin]

Thank you! I hope that you have the chance to read it someday, it’s such an interesting book and I hope you enjoy it!

[Arin]

What a coincidence! I hope you’re enjoying the book so far, I’m so happy that your friends have been telling you to read it haha, it’s nice to know that there’s other people that enjoy the book as well :) I hope that you enjoy it!

[Blue Ghost]

Heyo! It's Ratdaddy/Meg. I just finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and decided that my MaddAddam name would be Blue Ghost, like the Blue Ghost Firefly. It's a dystopian turned post apocalyptic trilogy, and a few of the characters have 'MaddAddam' names--which are the names of species that have gone extinct within the novel (hence the names Oryx and Crake). Anywho, figured this was the perfect platform to take on a name inspired by a book, so pardon any confusion this may have caused. I'll keep my little late lady Fentan as my profile pic.

[Ray]

Blue Ghost wrote: "Heyo! It's Ratdaddy/Meg. I just finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, and decided that my MaddAddam name would be Blue Ghost, like the Blue Ghost Firefly. It's a dystopian turned..."

I was confused for a tiny bit when i saw your new name 😅