2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, the first book in the All Souls series.

Pages: 579 pages

Length: 1 Month (July)

Participants: oshizu, Rebecca, Queenie, Sunny, Saha.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

May I join this buddy read? Am new to the club.

Faith wrote: "May I join this buddy read? Am new to the club."

Hi, Faith! Welcome. Anyone can join any buddy read they choose; so long as the buddy read is still going on. Be sure and read the 1st post, which explains how this all works.

I'm gonna' start reading this coming week.

Well, I started reading this one, planning to stop when I reached page 50. I ended up stopping at page 196!

Witches and vampires aren't my usual thing ... then why you may ask am I reading this? Oshizu suggested I join in. And she has yet to steer me to a book that I couldn't finish =)

Anyway, these characters are well written and likeable. I love the Oxford setting. The elements of history and science are interesting. And the story-line is compelling.

(view spoiler)[I'm wondering if Diana's parents had something do with the book -- the reason it opened for her. I also wonder how she was given the book if it's been missing for 150 years. And now it's gone, again! Whomever sent her the photo of her parent's bodies really should be hanged (hide spoiler)]

I'm looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.

This is an excellent trilogy and not your usual witches & vampires book, as the author's day job is teaching medieval European history at University of California at Santa Cruz. :D

Sunny, so happy to hear you got so caught up that you read past your intended first 50 pages. I have two more Buddy Reads before I can start this one. I'm thinking mid-July. Can't wait!

On Oxford ... I was wondering how Inspector Lewis would handle all this stuff -- witches, daemons, & vampires -- I have weird cross-over ideas when woken at 5:30 AM. =D

Finished this one up yesterday.

These characters just get more and more interesting.

(view spoiler)[Diana going missing wasn't a surprise. I figured something would have to happen to her. It makes sense for the plot. I hated she went through so much, but am glad she wasn't as alone as everyone thought! How neat that she was able to see her parents. And I'm glad she learned why she's having trouble with her magic.

I love the house and the ghosts! I'm hoping nothing happens to them during the battle that's coming.

I was a bit unclear how the time travel thing would work ... if you meet yourself things can go very wonky! I've gathered, though, that with the magic things work around so its like the present self is the only one there -- they are simply reliving where they have already been.

I'm not crazy about Miriam; thus, I don't trust her. She may turn out to be okay, though.

And how nice to be right about her parents being responsible for the book and all the rest! Sacrificing their lives for her was just so touching. I hope we see their ghosts again. (hide spoiler)]

It was really hard not to start reading the next book! =D

I also finished this book earlier today. I first read this the year it came out 11 years ago so I barely remembered any details.
it's more of a romance than I recalled but I didn't mind that so much.

My thoughts on finishing the book: (view spoiler)[
Setting: I love the two main settings in Oxford and at Sarah/Em's house in Madison. Was that originally the home of Diana's parents? How quickly I forget! Lots of architectural details through the story but the sentient house was the best!
Diana: Enjoyed the process as she denied her magic, gradually realized she'd been using magic all the time, then finally embraced her magic. She has worked so hard to get where she is (top of the academic dog pile at a prestige uni) but is willing to give everything up for Matthew.
Matthew: Such a complicated vampire! I love his Sept-Tours family, Ysabeau and Marthe. His son Marcus looks so dissimilar yet have similar characters. Matthew the broody vamp with the secret past. He's extremely appealing!
Miriam: Not a fan of hers. Didn't her parents teach her that she's only allowed to blab her own secrets, not the secrets of others? She is tactless and has the worst timing. She does round out the cast of characters, though.
Daemons: I love the cosmology of this series and how daemons are the creative, inspired creatures who are also mentally unstable. Well, except for Hamish.
Sarah & Em: They are such hippies.
Enemies: Such dastardly enemies--Knox, Satu, Gerbert, and such. How will they figure in Book 2? (hide spoiler)]

Okay, I'll stop rambling now. Like Sunny, I really look forward to starting Book 2!

Hi Ladies…oshizu, Thank You for your invite to read this series! I read this first book years ago (I think when it came out) and then watched the first season of the TV series (which wasn’t nearly as good as the book, I thought)! I would like to join in reading the series with you!

I see you and Sunny have already finished …I will start on this in the next couple days 😉. It will be interesting to see what I remember from reading this before! I do remember I liked the Oxford setting!

Alison,
So happy to have you join our discussion!
And I truly hope that your puppers is feeling better soon!