You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

One of the group reads for September is Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. Please discuss the book in this thread.

Margo will be leading the discussion (with helpers).

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during September 2021.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

A note on discussion: Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc.

In addition to this, the group reads are meant to be a "read along" so it is preferable that you discuss the book as you read rather than wait until you've finished the book.

And finally, discussion is not about just listing your thoughts. Please interact with the other group members, comment on their thoughts, and if they comment on yours, respond to them. This is what makes a good book discussion!

You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread.

Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

I may try to read this one this month depending on how much time I have. I have it on my TBR and already own it, so I hope I can fit it in.

I am planning on reading this book on an airplane heading to our family reunion vacation in Utah. I won't have access to a computer (we will be camping and hiking in the national parks), so I will chime in when I get back around the 25th/26th. Happy reading everyone.

Have a great vacation, Jayme!

I started reading this book yesterday, I am about 1/2 way!!!

I downloaded the audiobook and may also check out the ebook, since it is available also. I wanted to read the other book, but my library hold for it still says 4 weeks.

I really need to finish reading The Labyrinth of the Spirits before I take on anything else.

Lori wrote: "I started reading this book yesterday, I am about 1/2 way!!!"

Hope you're enjoying it Lori! I started yesterday too but I'm only on chapter 2.

Prologue: (view spoiler)[ Great start, this had a feel of victorian london so I was really surprised when we were told that the year is 2025! This society is very screwed up - Jess is more shocked by the Book Licker than he was to witness the murder of a woman an automator - wow! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[ Neither of Jess parents seem to care that much about the safety of their kids. Not a close knit family. Jess father makes it clear that he is expecting payback for sending him to study at the great library.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm planning on joining this group read after my current book.

I have to keep reminding myself, as I read, that this book is "in the future"!

Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[ I'm getting serious Hogworts vibes from this!
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I have just finished Chapter 1. Wow! Talk about getting off to an exciting start! I do have to agree with some others that there are some parallels to today, but I will have to see how things unfold.
Prologue (view spoiler)[ Josh’s father was something else! The whole runner thing was terrifying and I felt as if I were the one being chased. The automatons were frightening but I appreciated the terror they instigated. I, too, was appalled at the rich guy eating the book. I am curious about what role Brenden will play. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 1: (view spoiler)[ the train ride to Alexandria was a bit reminiscent to me of the the trip to Hogwarts, as was the meeting of the friends on the train. I really like the Ephemeras. I find the idea of using these “excerpts” a unique ploy. (hide spoiler)]

I have finished the book. My comments aren't going to be specifics of the story because I am finishing the book too early for that.

I will enjoy commenting on those things later as others share them.

I did enjoy the book, but...

...it's like a TV series that took almost the entirety of the first season to make the characters real enough for you to be interested in what happens to them, then....

....the season ends,

anticlamatically,

with more of a beginning of what is to come than a closure of what has occurred.

I am definitely interested enough to read the next book!!!!

Sharon wrote: "I have just finished Chapter 1. Wow! Talk about getting off to an exciting start! I do have to agree with some others that there are some parallels to today, but I will have to see how things unfol..."

(view spoiler)[ The train and the meeting other students reminded me a lot of the Hogwarts Express too! I also love the Ephemera but I must admit to googling to get a definition :-)
(hide spoiler)]

Lori wrote: "I have finished the book. My comments aren't going to be specifics of the story because I am finishing the book too early for that.

I will enjoy commenting on those things later as others share t..."

I know what you mean about it being the end of season one before you get attached to characters - I had just that experience with "the irregulars" on netflix!

Look forward to reading your comments as we go ;-)

Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[ As expected, jess is an unusually gifted student even though he's not at the top of the class :-D It seems that Morgan is an Obscurist -I'm still not clear what they do.

It seems likely that Jess family knew about the raid on Abdul house in advance. How?
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Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[ That was a pretty mean trick to pull onthe students but once all the MCs had drawn 2s and 4s it was obvious that they weren't going to be sent home.

So the rumours were correct - Wolf was onde in favour of free sharing of knowledge. Was his thinking "corrected"?
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Sharon, I loved the high intensity of the chase!! The author did a fabulous job with the descriptions.
Poor kid, arrived home emotionally and physically drain and the only comfort he received was fromthe guard.

Lori wrote: "Sharon, I loved the high intensity of the chase!! The author did a fabulous job with the descriptions.
Poor kid, arrived home emotionally and physically drain and the only comfort he received was f..."

Right? His father is a piece of work!

I have finished Chapter 5 and find myself holding my breath. It seems like one punch follows another. Fantasy is not a common genre for me but I have been more samples of it lately. I am quite enjoying this story.

(view spoiler)[ What a horrible man Artifex Magnus is! Such a cavalier opinion of human life. Of course, this happens all the time in today’s society, and I suppose that is the author’s point. I knew that Brenden has a bigger role to play! I hope that he and Jess will be able to reunite. Morgan and Jess and sharing their secrets! I hope that goes well. I am also very interested to find out more about Christopher Wolfe’s story. He intrigues me. (hide spoiler)]

I started listening to the book just before I went to bed and promptly fell asleep. My ears were listening to the “noise” but nothing was interpreted in my brain. Too bad! Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to “read” an audiobook in your sleep and remember the contents?

So, I downloaded the ebook and I am currently in chapter 5 at page 10 of 39. (view spoiler)[ The remaining nine students just entered the “burners” shop, through the back door and confronted Wolfe. The schooling they have been going through has been very exciting, to say the least. (hide spoiler)].

Re chapter 1 spoiler comments. I cannot read them on my iPod (the Apple App for GR does not allow it). However, I inferred from what I see that (view spoiler)[ The opening chapter with Jess running through the streets with the group of cutters, escaping from the animated lion and the Garda, delivering the book to the ink licker, and making it back home alive WAS a total success at getting our attention into the book. I also agree with the other comment about Jess’s father. Yes, he is a “piece of work”. (hide spoiler)].

Sharon wrote: "I have finished Chapter 5 and find myself holding my breath. It seems like one punch follows another. Fantasy is not a common genre for me but I have been more samples of it lately. I am quite enjo..."

(view spoiler)[ Yes, we've definitely found the character we're supposed to hate with Artifex Magnus! He treats the students as cannon fodder.

I'm unsure if the Great Libraries were set up to save the originals of books from the Burners, that should be a good thing, right? But the way they treat people is not good.
(hide spoiler)]

Cherie wrote: "Re chapter 1 spoiler comments. I cannot read them on my iPod (the Apple App for GR does not allow it). However, I inferred from what I see that [spoilers removed]."

It was a great start all right Cherie!

Can anyone tell me what the role of the Cutters is? I've got my head (mostly) about the other factions in this world but that one still eludes me.

Margo, the Cutters are distraction/diversion. The chance of the Guarda grabbing one of them may increase, but the chance of them grabbing the right one goes way down.

I am now at 67%. I am looking forward to finding out what happens to our group from here on out.
(view spoiler)[The escape from Oxford had me anxious and on the edge of my seat. I am glad to know that Frederick and the baby made it. But what a cost! I am glad that Jess is ok from his stab wound. I feel for Morgan. Finding out about her dad and now facing a life inside the tower, if they don’t kill her. And Wolfe…he’s hard to like sometimes but I think a good guy. I even like Santi more than I did! (hide spoiler)]

I agree with Margo! They do not treat people well.

Jenn wrote: "Margo, the Cutters are distraction/diversion. The chance of the Guarda grabbing one of them may increase, but the chance of them grabbing the right one goes way down."

Thanks Jenn

Sharon wrote: "I am now at 67%. I am looking forward to finding out what happens to our group from here on out.
[spoilers removed]

I agree with Margo! They do not treat people well."

I'm about where you are Sharon, it's the end of chapter 10. (view spoiler)[ It was so good to hear that Fredrick is going to adopt the baby. I was shocked that Wolf wanted to let it sink into the mud - just as I was starting to like him a little better!

I was struck again by how screwed up this society is. They send students into a war zone to rescue books. No thought of humanitarian aid, it's all about the book :-O
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No prob Margo 👍 Isn’t it cutting horses that work cattle on a drive? I wonder if it comes from that? I am finding the naming conventions, including the nicknames very interesting - “Ink Lickers”, and “Burners” being the more disturbing. (view spoiler)[ It is hard to imagine wanting something so much that it’s destruction, through one means or another, is of more importance than the protection of that item. (hide spoiler)]
I am really enjoying it! It is feeling like The Maze Runner meets Divergent meets Fahrenheit 451, and I can’t wait to see where it is going to go next

Chapter 11 (view spoiler)[ Whoa, Wolf and Sandi - that was unexpected!

The final item in the ephemera was very criptic, what's going on? Who is "the prize"? Who might never forgive Magnus?
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I have finished. I like trying to figure out where the origins of the name come from too, Jenn. I like your insight and comparison of the book being similar to Divergent,Maze Runner and Fahrenheit 451.I can see all of those.
(view spoiler)[ I was so distressed over Thomas’s death. He was an innocent along with being so gifted. Once we found out he was working on a press, it seemed inevitable. I also was so saddened by Morgan’s enforced duty to the Obscurists. It was sad and made me feel so bad for her and Jess. But she is so smart! She will find a way! The assignment of duties was surprising. For Jess to only be given a year was shocking. Who is the one checking up on Jess? How will he report on Wolfe? And yes, Margo! I didn’t see Sandi and Wolfe! But now, it seems to be right. At least Wolfe has someone. It was surprising about his mom though. (hide spoiler)]

I also have to comment about how much I loved the cover art on this book. I am looking forward to the second book in the series.

One thing a little odd to me is the author chose to give more depth to the characters of Thomas and Morgan than to the protagonist. Jess is a little flat in comparison.

Cherie wrote: "I started listening to the book just before I went to bed and promptly fell asleep. My ears were listening to the “noise” but nothing was interpreted in my brain. Too bad! Wouldn’t it be nice to be..."

I could get SOOOO much more reading done that way!!!!! The worst part is it's really hard to find your place in the book again!! Hahaha

I have suffered that same problem Lori 🤦‍♀️

Jenn wrote: "No prob Margo 👍 Isn’t it cutting hoFahrenheit 451rses that work cattle on a drive? I wonder if it comes from that? I am finding the naming conventions, including the nicknames very interesting - “Ink Lickers”, a..."

It reminded me of Fahrenheit 451 too Jenn, I've yet to read The Maze Runner.

(view spoiler)[ interesting parallel between lickers and Burners
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Jenn wrote: "I have suffered that same problem Lori 🤦‍♀️"

Me too LOL

I finished aswell. Considering it was 14 hour story it went very quickly. The narration, by Ben Allen, was so good. I wonder how the war between England and Wales came about?

I enjoyed the story and the next book will be added to my wishlist. I often don't care for YA fiction but this one hit the mark for me. I agree with Lori though, some more character developments is needed. The world building was excellent and my main question was answered: (view spoiler)[ the great library is corruption and the Burners are the idealist freedom fighters. They do want the knowledge continued in books to be available to all - at a small price - it is the system they want to destroy, not the books.

The ending left me wanting more. I was surprised by Thomas death - though we didn't actually "see" him die it was implyed. I wasn't surprised at Morgans imprisonment, it is too early in the series for the course of true love to be running smoothly! Jess being given such a lowly job was another surprise. I guess he can report on Wolf by just writing things in his journal. I wonder if the communication from Morgan was visible? Hopefully not as it was so short lived.
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Wow! This book is really hard to put down!
I would be reading still but my tablet battery just got down to the critical 7% of power left.
I had to get up and put it on the charger.
I just got to chapter thirteen.
I am still trying to take it all in!
I should sleep on it but I need to finish the chapter that I am reading in The Labyrinth of the Spirits before I can crawl into bed.

Reading these two stories back and forth is definitely keeping my mind active!

I have not read The Maze Runner yet. I have been meaning to, even as far as having it on a few tasks in past challenges. I just haven’t gotten to it yet.

I am still not sure what the purpose of the Burners are yet. (view spoiler)[ I don’t know if they really burn books as much as they want to burn and destroy the library system. They are rebelling against the hold that the library system has on learning and managing how knowledge is dispensed. (hide spoiler)]

It is hard to put down Cherie.

I was wondering why I was able to finish this one so fast. lol. Is it because we became attached to the story itself instead of the character??

When a personality in a book seems real to me, the kind of real where you can actually picture their life goes on even though the book is over, I usually read slower the closer I get to the end because I don't want to sever the connection.

The connection to a character in this book is absent for me.

Interesting thought. You're right, all of my questions in this one were about the world, not the characters. Even the character back stories emerged through the Ephemera. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of Ephemerae but they did answer our questions - nearly before we asked them!

I'd like to get the next book to see what changes the characters effect on the world, not to see what happens to the characters.

I have some time before my trip and got a jump start on the book.
Wow! The Prologue was riveting and got me vested in the book.(view spoiler)[ I didn't know that the book has elements of steam punk, so that was a nice little surprise. This really is a different London (hide spoiler)]
If the excitement continues I just might finish the book before we leave Friday.

Margo wrote: "Chapter 3
It seems likely..."

Chapter 4: I agree. I am seeing a lot of similarities between this book and(view spoiler)[the Harry Potter series. I had a feeling that Wolfe was a good guy kind of like Snape is at Hogwarts. (hide spoiler)]Now to figure out who else to trust...

I do like how fast-paced this book is and I already know that I will continue reading the series.

I decided to skip my library book and start this one instead.

prologue (view spoiler)[ What a strange world this is. Lions that protect the library and kill people? Only certain people are allowed to have books? Certainly not a happy place.

That rich man (the book-licker) was crazy. Eating the book so no-one else could possess it? Yikes.

And his dad sending him off with something that carries the penalty of death if he's caught! What the heck.
(hide spoiler)]

I'm not much in the mood for for this one tonight, so I'm going to stop here and hope I'm feeling more up for it tomorrow. Fantasy isn't really my go-to genre, though I do enjoy it sometimes. Unfortunately, I just finished a paranormal book that I didn't love so now I'm just not feeling this one. I want to give it a fair go, so I'll try again tomorrow but if I'm still not in the mood I'll put it aside for a bit and try something different first.

up to Chapter 7 - (view spoiler)[Wow! What a frightening way to travel. Reminds me of the Star Trek transporters "Beam me Up, Scotty" It seems to me that Cain is taking elements of popular books/movies and melding them into her story.
The Obscurist I think are now good people who are being enslaved to do the dirty work of the Library led by our villain Artifex Magnus. My big worry is that now that they are down to 7 who will be the last one to go? (hide spoiler)]

Kristie wrote: "I decided to skip my library book and start this one instead.
"

Kristie, I hope you decide to pick this up again but there's no point in punishing yourself. (view spoiler)[ Yes, the book-licker shocked everyone, as did the callus attitude of Jess father. Were you surprised when the date was given? (hide spoiler)]

Jayme wrote: "up to Chapter 7 - .."

(view spoiler)[ At least the star trek transporters didn't cause agonising pain! I do remember Bone complaining of transport sickness LOL
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Thanks, Margo. I don't think it's the book, but me at the moment. I felt in a bit of a slump with the book I just read, not wanting to pick it up. I'm trying to avoid that settling in by reading something that grabs me right away. I'll be picking this one back up today to see how it goes.

(view spoiler)[ I was very surprised by the date! The letter was written in 1800s, right? The story felt like it could have taken place then. 2025 was quite a surprise! (hide spoiler)]

As Jenn mentioned above, it has a Fahrenheit 451 vibe.

To Chapter 16 - No! No! No! (view spoiler)[ I can't believe that Thomas is dead! He was my favorite character. If the author can kill him off then no character in this series is safe. This notches up the intensity. (hide spoiler)]
Thanks Margo for getting me sucked in to another series. Now I have to put book 2 on hold at my library! lol

@Jenn and Margo - I agree with what your thoughts were about the ending of this first book. We should do a buddy read for book 2 sometime soon. :)

Finished - Great beginning to a new series. (view spoiler)[ I think the friends of course will all meet up and help each other. Except for the one friend who is also a spy - which friend is it? I don't think Thomas is really dead - at least I hope not. (hide spoiler)]
Enjoyed this read so much that it only took me less than a day. Now what am I going to read on the plane tomorrow? lol

Got back to it today and I'm through chapter 2. Rather enjoying it. I'm getting the Divergent vibe now with (view spoiler)[ the way the kids are housed / training.

Some tough competition there... and a difficult teacher.
(hide spoiler)]

Jayme wrote: "@Jenn and Margo - I agree with what your thoughts were about the ending of this first book. We should do a buddy read for book 2 sometime soon. :)

Finished - Great beginning to a new series. [spoi..."

At least your library carry the series, I'll have to buy the blasted thing😂 If you can take yet another fantasy series, I recommend [book:The Shadow of What Was Lost|22878967], the other group read this month. I think I'm even more sucked into that series!

I'd be interested in buddy reading the next one. (view spoiler)[ you're right, Thomas supposed death has really upped the ante.
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Hope you enjoy your trip 😊