Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Stacey & I will be attempting to read this book in January.

Feel free to join us, if you like.

Schedule (start Jan 1):

week #1: ch 1 - 13
week #2: ch 14 - 26
week #3: ch 27 - 42
week #4: ch 43 - 55
week #5+: ch 56 - end (200 pages)

Don't know if I will be up for the buddy read; but, just in case, I checked my local library and it has the book.

i downloaded the audiobook today - its 25hrs long - right now, i can probably manage 3-5hrs a week (which is about 100-150pgs or so)

I was able to find a digital copy to borrow, so that should hold me until the hard copy is available. Not my preference for night-time reading, but I'll give it a try.

I just got the book from the library. I would like to join the read as well

Yay!!

I'll pick up my book & try to draft a schedule tomorrow :)

Ok so taking the maximum of Dee's forecasted page range of 150 pages per week (knowing her, she'll probably speed ahead of all of us anyway... especially if she really likes the book)

week #1: ch 1 - 13
week #2: ch 14 - 26
week #3: ch 27 - 42
week #4: ch 43 - 55
week #5+: ch 56 - end (200 pages)

Is this ok? Or do we want to stretch it out a little more (less pages per week)? say make it 2 months instead?

haha! i'm doing audio though so its a bit harder to speed ahead ;)

hm, that's what you say... I know you better - you may even get the ebook or something, if you get too impatient with how slow it's going for you on the audio lol

Tien wrote: "Ok so taking the maximum of Dee's forecasted page range of 150 pages per week (knowing her, she'll probably speed ahead of all of us anyway... especially if she really likes the book)

week #1: ch ..."

Sounds great!!

Tien wrote: "Ok so taking the maximum of Dee's forecasted page range of 150 pages per week (knowing her, she'll probably speed ahead of all of us anyway... especially if she really likes the book)

week #1: ch ..."

This looks good to me. Some of us are going to be limited by when library books have to be returned, so spreading it out more isn't very appealing.

Are you thinking to have week 1 start Jan 1?

oh sorry, yes, planning to start Jan 1

I'm picking up my copy at the library tomorrow. I'll be ready to go on Friday. :)

I finished reading till Chapter 13 yesterday. It was a bit hard to get into in the beginning getting used to the names but I am hooked now. I would say some of the chapters dragged a bit since they are more intro to the lore and the system.
I wonder how the fantasy authors comes up with the names of the characters and places... I like to write now and then and its very hard for me to come up with names for my characters

I'm only on chapter 8, Kishore. I'm taking it slowly since I'm also reading a number of other books :)

But yes, you're right, it drags a bit with all the world set up. As far as I can see chapters are by East & West (different kingdoms etc) and each have 2 MCs: Tane | Dr Roos & Ead | Loth. So far, none of these four 'belongs'...

I am a bit compulsive reader Tien but I am trying to curb it but reading only the chapters that we decided upon but I tend to read them all in one day and then wait the week out reading other books.

I understood the east and west setting but the map went right over my head. I tried to go back to the map whenever a new place was mentioned but most of the time, I didnt find that place on the map. I guess it will become more clear once we get further in the book.

I have the smaller format paperback and I didn't want to fold the cover over so I can't really see the map really well so I don't bother. Otherwise, I would ;)

Kishore wrote: "I am a bit compulsive reader Tien but I am trying to curb it but reading only the chapters that we decided upon but I tend to read them all in one day and then wait the week out reading other books..."

I often find the map to be useless in fantasy books like this one, and it is no exception.

What I do find helpful is the sections at the end - lists of names, vocabulary words, and dates. I keep flipping back to them frequently.

I'm about midway through the week's section, like Tien. So far, I don't dislike it, but I'm not getting excited about it at all either.

I am interested in learning more about the orange tree priory. Ead says just enough about it to make it tantalizing.

Susan wrote: "What I do find helpful is the sections at the end - lists of names, vocabulary words, and dates. I keep flipping back to them frequently."

Ooh! I should do this!!

i'm behind already - i had 2 audiobooks come in at the library that i've had on hold for several months...lol!

Susan wrote: "Kishore wrote: "I am a bit compulsive reader Tien but I am trying to curb it but reading only the chapters that we decided upon but I tend to read them all in one day and then wait the week out rea..."

I felt the same about the maps before. I dont think I have ever followed a map for any of the fantasy books I have read.

I like to read from cover to cover so I usually don't take a look at the end before I reach it. But maybe I should check it out for this one.

Susan wrote: "I'm about midway through the week's section, like Tien. So far, I don't dislike it, but I'm not getting excited about it at all either.

I am interested in learning more about the orange tree prio..."

Me too!! I imagine getting powers while I drink orange juice in the morning.

Dee wrote: "i'm behind already - i had 2 audiobooks come in at the library that i've had on hold for several months...lol!"

oh no! which audiobooks were you waiting on? Hope they're not as long as this one so you can somehow try to catch up :)

I have started! Yay! I'm struggling with all of the names, but trusting that they will straighten out as I read along. I like that its a fairly easy read -- not all the dense paragraphs I sometimes get overwhelmed with in high fantasy.

I'm up to date which means I've finished the scheduled week 1 reading & have started week 2.

It's an okay read so far. I haven't felt the need to keep going beyond my allocated 2 chapters a day though... so it hasn't captured me completely. I do want to find out more about the Priory and Niclays' past. And the dragons!! I wish one of the POVs was a dragon's.

I've finished week two's reading (through ch 26). I'm a bit like Kishore, in that I like to read the week's section quickly, then have a chance to read other books before going on.

I'm finally beginning to get a little involved in the story towards the end of these chapters. It's interesting to me that there are only a few characters that I find empathetic at all.

Yes, Tien, a dragon's POV could be cool. I wonder whether we'll get some of that when we start hearing from Tané when she's with her dragon.

I'm still a bit confused about the non-human beings. Are there only dragons (presumably good) and the creations/followers of the Nameless One (presumably bad)? Or are there others as well?

I also wish I knew more about exactly what it is that Trudye and [her companion -- I've forgotten his name at the moment] believe and are trying to accomplish. I find him likable, and I trust him; but not her.

Tien wrote: "Dee wrote: "i'm behind already - i had 2 audiobooks come in at the library that i've had on hold for several months...lol!"

oh no! which audiobooks were you waiting on? Hope they're not as long as..."

Ready Player Two and A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

Susan wrote: "I also wish I knew more about exactly what it is that Trudye and [her companion -- I've forgotten his name at the moment] believe and are trying to accomplish. I find him likable, and I trust him; but not her."

I can't tell you exactly where I got these impressions but here's my thought:

(view spoiler)[I think in conversations between Trudye & Ead and Sulyard & Dr Roos, there's something about why Trudye thinks Nameless One & cohort are arising... How the East dragons are weakening and this points to West dragons are therefore wakening. It's like yin & yang [they didn't say this precisely but this is how I got it stuck in my mind] - all about balance; they take turns, it seems.

Sulyard did mention to Dr Roos that they're asking the East for help because even if their dragons are getting weaker, they are still dragons (ie. not human) and therefore, still stronger than the humans. (hide spoiler)]

Dee wrote: "Ready Player Two and A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow"

These should be quick-ish, right?! ;)

Tien wrote: "Dee wrote: "Ready Player Two and A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow"

These should be quick-ish, right?! ;)"

lol - RP2 is like 16 hours, but its getting good...cuban girl's guide is shorter (about 8hrs)

Dee wrote: "Ready Player Two"

My request for that just came through -- along with 7 others I've been waiting for forever. It seems like feast or famine at the library. I'll have to triage what to read next based on which are less likely to be renewable.

And my walk home from the library tomorrow is likely to be ... well, a workout!

Susan wrote: "Dee wrote: "Ready Player Two"

My request for that just came through -- along with 7 others I've been waiting for forever. It seems like feast or famine at the library. I'll have to triage what to ..."

right! i do like that yuo can delay books via overdrive now - but then i have to wait all over again...and RP2 has a wait list of like 3 months, so got to get it done (and its getting good now - the beginning was a bit slow)

Dee wrote: "right! i do like that you can delay books via overdrive now - but then i have to wait all over again "

I agree, Dee - both about the convenience and about the waiting.

But I still prefer to read a physical book rather than digital when it's late at night and I'm getting ready to sleep. So I tend to use Overdrive only when the library doesn't have a physical copy or the waiting list is too long there.

ch 21

(view spoiler)[I was just thinking that I'm loving this friendship between Loth & Kit and then Kit died... WHYyyyy?!?!?! gah (hide spoiler)]

Tien wrote: "ch 21 [spoilers]"

Agreed, totally!

I'm behind, but I have finished the first week's reading -- I got distracted this week by Blood Heir, so I'll try to catch up this week.

TBH, I'm not really feeling it. I don't feel like I'm getting enough time with any one character to get handle on the story, and the thought of trying to push through soooo maaaaany more pages when I'm not really invested is daunting. I'll try to give it another 200 pages or so.

I think you can tell by the silence in this thread and we don't have much to say about the book either! I'm about p 355 and I think, maybe, things are getting interesting... Week 3 read.

I will finish reading the book, but I sort of agree with Stacey that it's not really worth the many pages it takes to get anything. There are a few characters I really like, but some I could entirely do without. Niclays Root, for example, is so self-centered. How could anyone ever have loved him?

Chapter 32 (view spoiler)[ Finally! We get to the actual priory of the orange tree and its story. And what an interesting twisting of the Judeao-Christian biblical story of the serpent in the garden of Eden!

But really, Loth is never going to be allowed to leave the priory? I guess he and Ead could find happiness together there, but I can't see things working out that way, especially because of his strong belief in the myth of Virtudom. (hide spoiler)]

I've finished Ch 34 now. By chapter count, that means I'm half-way through. It's hard for me to imagine what else could be going to happen to fill those pages. But I guess we're just building up to (view spoiler)[ a fierce struggle between the "good" dragons and the "bad" ones (hide spoiler)]

Just finished week 2 reading, I wonder how you managed to split the chapters in a way that it ended in a cliffhanger at the end of chapter 26. Good job Tien.
Finally something interesting is happening I would say. It was getting hard to get into once I took a long break between week 1 and 2 reading. Now its a a bit better. I agree that they are very few characters to sympathize with. I like Ead and what's happening with her and Loth and Niclays story also seems to be picking up. I find Tane's chapters a bit boring.
Hopefully it will get better in week 3 reading.

Tien wrote: "Susan wrote: "I also wish I knew more about exactly what it is that Trudye and [her companion -- I've forgotten his name at the moment] believe and are trying to accomplish. I find him likable, and..."

I agree with your assessment, I think they talk more about the yin yang thing in future chapters

Tien wrote: "ch 21

[spoilers removed]"

I felt that we didn't spend enough time with this character to feel anything

Susan wrote: "Chapter 32 (view spoiler)"

On pairings...

(view spoiler)[Near the beginning of the book, I did think Ead + Loth but at the moment, I'm thinking Ead + Sabran and Loth + Donmata though not sure how as Loth is supposedly never to leave the Priory (hide spoiler)]

Kishore wrote: "Just finished week 2 reading, I wonder how you managed to split the chapters in a way that it ended in a cliffhanger at the end of chapter 26. Good job Tien.
Finally something interesting is happe..."

That was just luck, Kishore. I was looking at splitting reads as close to 150 pages each as I could :)

And I agree that it'd be hard to pick up after having a break which is another reason why I try to read a bit everyday but don't worry if I miss a day since I can easily make that up.

Tien wrote: "Susan wrote: "Chapter 32 (view spoiler)"

On pairings...

[spoilers removed]"

I agree with the pairings, I have few more thoughts but I dont know how to mark something as spoiler

Tien wrote: "Susan wrote: "Chapter 32 (view spoiler)"

On pairings..."

Yes, I've definitely seen hints of the first one you mentioned. (view spoiler)[ Loth is difficult. He seems to be just a very good friend to women, including both Sabran and Ead. (hide spoiler)]

Since no one is screaming to me that I HAVE to continue because it gets soooo much better, I think I'm going to shelve this one for a while. I've peaked at your spoilers, and I'm still getting "meh" when I read those. If it was 400 pages, I'd push through, but.... I'll keep an eye on the thread to see if the end makes it worth returning. :)

Kishore wrote: "I agree with the pairings, I have few more thoughts but I dont know how to mark something as spoiler"

There are hints on html to use on the top right hand side of the dialog box for comment - you can check there...

I'll put the spoiler one here too - you just have to remove all the dots I've put it, ok

<.spoiler.>INSERT SPOILER TEXT HERE<./.spoiler.>

Stacey wrote: "Since no one is screaming to me that I HAVE to continue because it gets soooo much better, I think I'm going to shelve this one for a while. I've peaked at your spoilers, and I'm still getting "meh..."

yeah, I think if I borrowed this one, I may have this same thought but I bought this one so I'm going to finish it lol It's ok so I can deal :p

Tien wrote: "Kishore wrote: "I agree with the pairings, I have few more thoughts but I dont know how to mark something as spoiler"

There are hints on html to use on the top right hand side of the dialog box fo..."

Thank you Tien