Reading List Completists discussion

Discuss Part I - Mr Norrell - This may contain spoilers so proceed with caution!

What I am enjoying so far since I am trying to do a chapter a day is that each chapter really does feel like a short story of its own. I am sure that some of the specifics will have long term ramifications throughout the book, but each chapter really feels like it has the beginning, middle, and end of its own story.

It really felt this way in the chapter about the ships and in the chapter where we meet the Strange's for the first time.

The chapter about the ghost ships was great. I like the subtle humour in the book too.

It is exciting to finally meet johnathon! His father certainly has a clever new servent! ;)

At first I thought the book might be too dry for me but now I'm really enjoying it. That's greatly relieving when dealing with a thousand page book! :)

Kirstin wrote: "At first I thought the book might be too dry for me but now I'm really enjoying it. That's greatly relieving when dealing with a thousand page book! :) "

You should have gotten the hard cover instead - less than 800 pages! ;)

Used book store shoppers can't be choosers! Lol I'm trying to picture how big the hardcover is and how small the type must be to shave off 200 pages! My paperback is the size of a hardcover and the type is already tiny.

If you think that's small, mine's 1000 pages and the size of a small paperback. I'm just glad I have good eyes lol.

I read this when I was a freshman in high school (10 years ago, yuck), and besides my copy having gotten so beaten up by spending so much time in a backpack (I had to tape up all the edges and the binding to stop the damage from spreading too much further lol), I don't remember anything of what's happening, but I'm loving it so far. It's like I'm reading it for the first time again.

Oh, and the footnotes have really settled down (for now at least!)

Just getting in to where Mr. Norrell is actually doing magic. I thought this part was funny about the mermaid figurehead of the ship being turned to life: "But though the mermaid could be made to speak she could not at first be brought to answer any questions. She considered herself the implacable enemy of the British and was highly delighted to be given powers of speech so that she could express her hatred of them. Having passed all her existence among sailors she knew a great many insults and bestowed them very readily on anyone who came near her in a voice that sounded like the creaking of masts and timbers in a high wind. Nor did she confine herself to abusing Englishmen with words. There were three seamen that had work to do about the ship, but the moment that they got within reach of the mermaid’s wooden arms she picked them up in her great wooden hands and threw them in the water."

Ha - yeah - so he could make her live, but he could not overcome her "upbringing"!

A woman after my own heart haha. I'm pretty sure I would have acted the same way.

This is turning out to be a fun book. I like how each chapter is a sort of anecdote in itself.

But that leaves me trying to tie all these stories together into one--I'm not sure what the main "plot" of the book will be yet. I'm guessing this thistle-down hair dude is going to get nasty, and...?

It's hard to be patient when I've been eating a steady diet of 200-400 page books lately.

Daniel wrote: "But that leaves me trying to tie all these stories together into one--I'm not sure what the main "plot" of the book will be yet. I'm guessing this thistle-down hair dude is going to get nasty, and...?"

I am almost through part two and I am not quite sure what the main "plot" will be yet either! ;)

Same here :) .. I feel like I can almost detect a plot, but not quite.

I've given up on the footnotes though. I find them far too distracting and slowing down whatever plot may be there even more ...