YA and Beyond discussion

Place to discuss Tithe - I loved Holly Blacks White Cat series so will try to track this one down on audio

I read this way back in middle school, and I remember feeling at the time like it was a little too mature for me––so I'm interested to see if I'll like it more as an adult. :D

That should be interesting Brigid!

My Overdrive doesn't have this on audio, so back to the paperback I go! Hoping to get through Riders and more of the Blade Itself this weekend, then start this early next week.

Got a copy from the library today! Unfortunately my library only seemed to have a large-print version, but oh well ... I'll deal. :P

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Got a copy from the library today! Unfortunately my library only seemed to have a large-print version, but oh well ... I'll deal. :P"

I can't decide if I want to buy the audio since it is on sale or get the book from the library in print. It seems like this is one of those books people really like or don't like at all so I am afraid to spend money on it but I trust Ashley's book judgement and I do like Holly Black so I am torn!

When in doubt, library!

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "When in doubt, library!"

:) I know but another problem is that my library doesn't have the audio and it takes me forever to read print books lately.

I hear that loud and clear. I'm hoping to get started on this sooner rather than later; I still need to read Cold Mountain this month for another group read, and finish the Blade Itself and Watership Down... WD has been chugging along lately though, so maybe I'll finish that one sooner than I thought and pounce on Tithe then.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "I hear that loud and clear. I'm hoping to get started on this sooner rather than later; I still need to read Cold Mountain this month for another group read, and finish the Blade Itself and Watersh..."

I really liked Cold Mountain when I read it years ago (hopefully it holds up). I used to read at least one print book per week but I am lucky if I read one per month lately!

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "When in doubt, library!"

Haha! That is my policy. ;)

I should be picking this up from the library sometime this week!

Me too!

I need to get this one as well but am still on last months read! I will get to it but may be a month behind :)

I'm having a hard time keeping up lately. I buy the books, it's just getting to them! Ugh :p

I know the feeling Donna - I figure better late than never so feel free to join me in that thinking and get to it when you can :)

Better late than never for sure! At this rate I don't know if I'll get to it before the end of the month -- this being tech week means I get even less reading done than normal :P

Have any of us even started????
Maybe we move it to May and use this month as a catch-up month?
She says with trepidation that no one will hate her for suggesting such an abomination...... :)

I am fine with having May be a "catch up" month for everyone to catch up on our previous monthly gem read. Anyone else have any thoughts?

That sounds good to me. I've started Tithe, just starting chapter 3, I'm intrigued so far.

@Ashley - Ooh what's the tech week for?

@Elora - Haha that's not a bad suggestion!! I probably won't get around to reading this til the start of May, anyway.

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Ashley - Ooh what's the tech week for?

@Elora - Haha that's not a bad suggestion!! I probably won't get around to reading this til the start of May, anyway."

We're putting on Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike :)

Good luck Ashley!

Thanks! It's fun but I'll definitely be ready for a break after we're done :)

Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "I am fine with having May be a "catch up" month for everyone to catch up on our previous monthly gem read. Anyone else have any thoughts?"

Sounds like a fantastic plan to me.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* wrote: "Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "@Ashley - Ooh what's the tech week for?

@Elora - Haha that's not a bad suggestion!! I probably won't get around to reading this til the start of May, anyway."
..."

I've never heard of that before, but it sounds fun!! :D I remember tech weeks from back in my theater days and they were always hell, lol. Good luck, I bet it'll be an awesome show!

I'm not sure who picked Tithe for April, but I'm so glad you did!!! I loved it!!! Before I started reading it I noticed the reviews and it seemed like some people loved and some hated it. I didn't know what to think. Im definitely one who loved it. It's a very dark faerie story, which was very different. Holly Black did an awesome job of immersing me into Kaye's world!!! I'm so glad I made time for this!!!

Yay Donna! I think it was Ashley who picked it - right Ashley?

Yes, it was Ashley! Glad to hear you enjoyed the book so much Donna. :D I read it a long time ago and didn't like it at the time, so I'm interested to see how I feel about it approximately ten years later, haha.

Aw you're welcome Donna! Glad you liked it! :) It's actually the first in a trilogy if you're interested in reading more :)

Yes Ashley, I will definitely check out the rest of the trilogy!! :D

This book just wasn't for me. Sorry, Ashley :(
(on the plus side, I started listening to Hamilton and I LOVE the music!)

it's okay Elora! for all I know, it might not be for me this time around either ;)

in unrelated news: HAMILTON IS AMAZING *flails* you're the second person this week who's told me they listened to it! :D

I think I need to look into this Hamilton!

You totally should, Heidi. I just was able to listen to half of it and wow. I'm totally blown away :)
And even more amazing, it was written by just the one guy.

Just finished Tithe this afternoon! WOW that went fast.

I'm reading it right now Ashley! And yeah, it is very fast reading ... maybe it's because I just read something that was 500+ pages long, but this book seems to be going by very quickly, haha. I'm already about halfway through it.

I think I'm liking it a tiny bit more than the first time I read it, but honestly I'm still not super into it. I love the faerie mythology, but otherwise I have trouble connecting to the story for some reason. I think the main problem is that I'm not crazy about any of the characters. Corny is pretty cool, but everyone else kinda annoys me. They're all like "oh I'm so hip and edgy and I shoplift and drink a lot" and I feel like ... it's trying a little too hard?? :P (view spoiler)[It also makes me uncomfortable that Kaye seems to be attracted to two guys who both sexually assaulted her?? (hide spoiler)]

Yeah that seemed awkward. I like the mythology aspect -- the kelpie in particular, and the Seelie/Unseelie Courts. I think the reason I don't get overly excited about faerie stories is because they all tend to recycle the whole MC-becomes-a-fae concept. I remember reading Wings after this, ages ago, and it just seemed so dull because it was predictable. It does make me want to reread Maggie Stiefvater's faerie books though, to see how they differ.

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "I'm reading it right now Ashley! And yeah, it is very fast reading ... maybe it's because I just read something that was 500+ pages long, but this book seems to be going by very quickly, haha. I'm ..."

Your spoiler was exactly why I didn't care for the book. Controlling boyfriends and that whole element are a huge turnoff for me in books.
In other news, @ Heidi, you'll be glad to hear that I tossed my Twilight books. I'd been saving them for my raining day reads but no more!

Yay Elora! I hope you find better written rainy day replacement books :)

Ashley I was not a fan of Maggie's fairy books but let me know what you think.

@Ashley - Exactly ... I like the mythology behind it and all the creepy faeries/creatures, but the story itself is kind of predictable and not that interesting. I remember liking Wings when I was in high school, but in retrospect it probably wasn't very good. :P I also remember enjoying Maggie's Books of Faerie, but I don't think they're anywhere near as good as her more recent books. I might give them a re-read at some point, though. Re-reading Tithe also reminded me of Wicked Lovely ... I'd kind of forgotten that series existed, but I feel like there are a lot of similarities.

@Elora - Same here, it can really just ruin a whole book for me. I guess Roiben gets slightly less bad as the story goes on, but the way their relationship starts out is just ... blehh. (view spoiler)[I realize he was under a spell and all, but it still grosses me out. Not to mention, Kaye is pretty emotionally manipulative––she assaults him, too by forcing him to kiss her just because she knows she can make him do whatever she wants. And it bothered me how she dealt with Kenny as well. (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, especially the bit when she was taunting Kenny -- I understand WHY she did it of course, and I have to remind myself that she's in high school, but STILL.

Exactly ... like yeah, he was a real asshole, and I understand why Kaye would want to manipulate him like that. But it still felt really wrong to me.