The Invisible Librarians discussion

Here we will submit our suggestions as to what we would like to read in the month of February. A poll will be created on Sunday, January 7, 2018 with a list of titles to choose from. Let the submissions commence!

Ok....Outlander #1- Diana Gaboldon
Murder on the Orient Express-Agatha Christie
Mata Hari’s Last Dance-Michelle Moran
Magnus Chase series- Rick Riordan
War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy

Some really good choices Holly!
I’ll be reviewing my TBR list at home and adding them here in the next couple days. February is looking to be a good reading month already. 🧐

Great choices Holly! I really want Murder on the Orient Express.

Hans emailed me his suggestions so I'm just going to add them here.

Liv Constantine - The last Mrs Parrish
K.S. Hunter - Just one time
Bernard MacLaverty - Midwinter break
Su Bristow - Sealskin


Don't forget to post your suggestions before Monday everyone! :)

Tomorrow we’ll create a poll for February and finish up the poll for January. Please submit your suggestions for February here and don’t forget to vote!

I would like to suggest the following for February:

Elantris - Brandon Sanderson
Blindsight - Peter Watts
Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

Or ... hey guys, shall we read "Fire and Fury" by Michael Wolff?

Holly wrote: "Ok....Outlander #1- Diana Gaboldon
Murder on the Orient Express-Agatha Christie
Mata Hari’s Last Dance-Michelle Moran
Magnus Chase series- Rick Riordan
War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy"

Great Choices Holly!

Thank you to those who have made suggestions. Please choose from the following:

Outlander #1- Diana Gaboldon
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)
War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy
Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

I don't think I should add anymore. This is a very good list!

Great minds think alike Kate!

Alex Farrand wrote: "Great choices Holly! I really want Murder on the Orient Express."

Me too!!

Okay everyone! The book choice for the month of February has been decided and the winner is: Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson.

I will be posting a breakdown of the chapters later this week and would like a few volunteers to begin the chapter summaries. Once a week that volunteered individual will post a summary of the chapter in a new topic. After a chapter topic has been posted, we can then discuss our thoughts/views.

This way we can all stay on track (or extend the reading if necessary) and everyone will have a chance to speak up in the group. I can't wait to read your reviews everyone and as always HAPPY READING!

Are we going to read the whole series then? I heard they are really good.

We can read the first and see how everyone likes it to determine if we want to carry on?

Well, I have plenty of friends who have read it, and they say the series is a challenge, but better than asoiaf.

Little change in plans everyone: We're going to be extending the reading time based on the books' page/chapters. That being said, we will also have a 3 week grace period between books to give enough time for everyone to vote on a the next read and have a decent transition.
Here is the schedule for Gardens of the Moon. Please comment below for which week you would like to volunteer. Volunteers are to begin each summary with either a brief description of the chapter or ask the group questions about the pages read.


Feb 4 - Prologue & Book 1 ~ p. 25 - 81..... Kate
Feb 11 - Book 1 ~ p. 82 - 129..... Lori
Feb 18 - Book 2 ~ p. 133 - 185..... Giki
Feb 25 - Book 3 ~ p. 189 - 248.....
Mar 4 - Book 4 ~ p. 251 - 272.....
Mar 11 - Book 5 ~ p. 313 - 357.....
Mar 18 - Book 6 ~ p. 361 - 397.....
Mar 25 - Book 7 ~ p. 401 - 438.....
Apr 1 - Book 7 & Epilogue ~ p. 439 - 488.....


**I'll change it from page numbers to chapters either tonight or tomorrow**

i'll volunteer for week 3 - I reckon that is enough time for me to work out what i am supposed to do, but not so much that i will have fallen drastically behind

Giki wrote: "i'll volunteer for week 3 - I reckon that is enough time for me to work out what i am supposed to do, but not so much that i will have fallen drastically behind"

Thanks for volunteering! You are on the schedule. I was considering getting the audiobook so I can submerge all of my senses. What do you guys think?

Is this brief description spoiler free?

It can be up to the reviewer if they want to be the first to spoil or not, but the point of the comments will be to dissect what we read and have people elaborate on it or if they had a different perspective, to state it.

I can go for week 2.

Lori wrote: "I can go for week 2."

Thanks for volunteering! :D

is this still happening?

This contains spoilers.

Under orders from Empress Laseen, Ganoes Paran ships to Genabackis, and then flies by Quorl with the Green Moranth to Pale to take command of the remaining Bridgeburners, specifically Wiskeyjack’s squad. They are to take Darujhistan for the Empress. Topper the Clawmaster tells him that the fishgirl, Sorry is corrupting the Bridgeburners. Sorry is a vessel for a god of the Shadow Realm. She has been with Wiskeyjack for two years. Within hours of arriving at his command, Paran is killed by Sorry in the company of Cotillion and Ammanas.
The twin gods of chance, Oponn, like Paran’s sword, Chance. They interfere and heal his injuries. He returns to life.
The mage Hairlock in his marionette body is using the warren to try and find who betrayed the Bridgeburners and who possess Sorry. One of the Shadow hounds, Gear, tracks him back to Tattersail’s rooms. Tattersail’s magic cannot resist Gear. Hairlock joins the fight. He is trying to take the hounds soul, but Paran stumbles out from his sickbed and stabs Gear. Hairlock tries to prevent Paran’s action, but Tattersail trips him. Now, he is mad at both of them.

I’m so sorry everyone! Between family health issues and conflicts within my schedule, I was unable to read the physical copy, however, I’ve been looking adamantly for the audio version at my local library/on Libby to try and catch up. If anyone knows where I can listen to it for free, please let me know otherwise please continue on without me while I continue the search or have enough money to spare to purchase it.

This was truly a rotten start and I will be more prepared by May, that I can guarantee.

thanks for the summary lori

You're welcome, Giki. It's awfully rushed. I apologize for that.

I listened to it then realized that I couldn't write anything useful based on the experience. So, I read the ebook of the Prologue and Book 1. Garden of the Moon lays the groundwork for a ten book series. There are reveals and side characters that I don't want to miss because of their significance later in the series.

I am way behind already - it is tough reading

Yeah, it starts out a hot mess all those names: characters, kingdoms, factions, betrayals, warrens, elder races, and characters whose names change. I've taken a lot of notes. It's supposed to get better! Once I got a little context, I started to enjoy it more.

I will do it in chapters: this is book 3 chapter 1

I feel there is a joke in here somewhere, something like:
'if you are in Whiskyjack's squad then you are either Quick or you are Sorry',
but it doesn't seem that sort of book. I digress...

spoilers are for this chaper only
(view spoiler)[Whiskyjack tells his band of soldiers that he has dropped the Empress's plan because it was designed to kill them all and he has come up with a new one. It involves two teams with two objectives, he give no other info other than that they will sail across a loch pretending to be fishermen, Sorry says she knows how to fish.
Quick Ben does some ritual thing to find hairlock the scary-weird man-puppet deep in the warrens, hairlock says he has been deep into the warrens to the source of their power. He says that Ganoes is looking Tattersail who is recovering slowly from being attacked by a mean magic dog, he thinks that Ganoes may have killed the dog, but whether the dog is dead or not is unclear so I fully expect it to jump out at someone when least expected. He says that Tattersail was raving about a spinning coin. Hairlock gets even more scary and weird and Ben kicks him down a cliff.
Back on the beach the soldiers are getting the boat ready, most of then are standing around watching one poor fool try to drag the laden boat down the beach, Whiskyjack gets very annoyed by this and makes him sit on the boat whist the rest of the team pull it into the water. (hide spoiler)]

Thank, Giki! I feel like I set a bad example. But, this is fun!

book 3 chapter 2: spoiler for this chapter only.

(view spoiler)[Toc is riding into the plains for a meeting with Lorn, he finds some dead soldiers and follows tracks leading away. Lorn is on top of a barrow with a couple of injured soldiers being attacked by barghast. At the last moment a strange wizened creature comes out of the ground as saves her – it is a T'lan Imass. Toc and Lorn travel to Pale.

In Pale Tattersail wakes up, she tells Ganoes that the coin has stopped spinning. Both of them are confused about what is going on. Although to be fair, probably less so that I.

Toc and Lorn arrive at Pale. The soldiers there seem pretty fed up – almost on the brink of rebellion.
Lorn chats with Dujek and gets his view on things before Tayschrenn arrives. They talk about military campaigns in places with odd yet instantly forgettable names. Tayschrenn arrives, he has been delayed by a fire at the public records office. This will complicate his task of locating the nobility of the conquered city so he can slaughter 90% of them, kids included, this is standard post battle practice, it helps win over the commoners, apparently. Lorn tears a strip off him for not being in control – she is also not impressed with is unsubtle battle tactics, she seems hard to please. The discuss how there are going to kill everyone who remains who fought under the Emperor, so whiskyjack and his squad etc, Dujek is exempt because he has too many men behind him.

Tattersail and Ganoes don't talk much but they have a 'thing' going on, there is a cold tense attraction. A messenger calls at invites Tat to dinner with Lorn, Ganoes lets slip that he knew Lorn was coming and Tat immediately knows he is working for Lorn, she ain't happy.

Toc thinks that Tat looks nice for a big girl. Dinner gets off to a sticky start as Lorn accuses Tat of a murderous rampage in a place called Mouse many years ago, Lorn's family perished in the aftermath. Tat admits the charge and says she will submit to trial and execution. The 'boy's' step in and calm things down a bit – they remind Lorn that the adjunct cannot have personal feelings. They then make a joke about Tat's travelling wardrobe which is not that funny. They talk about Oopon inflencing events and Shadowthrone joining in too.

Back at Tat's room Hairlock has been to visit and Ganoes passes on a smug cryptic message from him. Tat knows immediately that it means that Lorn has a T'lan Imass working with her. Tat thinks Lorn is going to kill whiskyjack, Ganoes thinks that she is not, we know already from her conversation with Tayshcrenn that she is. Tat plans to leave to warn whiskyjack – she wants Ganoes to stay behing and wait for her in hiding.Tat is tired, but not too tired for a bit of whatever with Ganoes.

Lorn leaves Pale with just her T'lan Imass for company, she calls him Tool, he likes the name. He says that the diaspora is about to come to an end, he does not explain what that means, and Lorn does not ask, but it sounds ominous. If I was Lorn I would have asked.

The Krone, which is, I think, a Raven(very intelligent bird) is flying across the planes looking for Caladon Brood. He is one of the enemies of the empire (I think) (hide spoiler)]

Giki wrote: "book 3 chapter 2: spoiler for this chapter only.

Toc is riding into the plains for a meeting with Lorn, he finds some dead soldiers and follows tracks leading away. Lorn is on top of a barrow wit..."

Do you have a favorite character?

Tattersail of course - she is tough and cool and has absolute confidence in her own abilities - is there any other possible answer?

Giki wrote: "Tattersail of course - she is tough and cool and has absolute confidence in her own abilities - is there any other possible answer?"
Nope, Sail is the best!

Book 3 chapter 3: spoilers for this chapter only
(view spoiler)[Toc meets up with Ganoes in an Inn in Pale. He tells Ganoes that Lorn is going to kill the whole of Whiskyjacks squad after all – not just sorry. Ganoes decides to head off after Tattersail to warn them. Toc says he will help too (Why? What is his motivation? One moment he is risking his life to save Lorn, the next he is undermining her)

Tattersail is travelling through her warren when it begins to collapse and she has to bail out in the middle of the Rhivi plains. Bellurdan is wating for her. He carries a sack that we assume contains the remains of a loved one. He explained that tool has cast a spell to stop her using the warren and he has orders to arrest her and take her back to Taycherenn. Tattersail knows she will be killed. She discovers that Taycherenn and Lorn intend to release the Jagurt Tyrant from his barrow – this will be a very bad thing. Tat wonders if the contents of the sack provide a way out – she thinks of hairlock – some magic happens and there is a magic collum of fire that burns for ages. Crone sees it but does not know what it means. Ganoes and toc see it, when at last it burns out the approach and find the burnt remains of bellurdan and Tat, small skeletal footprints lead away ( – my theory is that tat ha scast some spell like moved hairlock into the puppet at the moment of his death and she has moved into the long dead boody of nightchill that bellurdan was carrying in the sack).

Crone has a chat with caladon brood about tactics. When she leaves she sees crows getting blasted with magic. She sees hairlock and he blasts her but she survives and identifies his warren as an elder Warren.

Tool and Lorn see Crone being blasted by Hairlock. Lorn is not worried and goes to sleep. Tool thinks that she is complacent and wakes with his sword at her throat. Tool is growing in power and developing a very dry sense of humour. (hide spoiler)]

I feel like I have discharged my duty now.... I might put this book aside for a while