Calling all poetry lovers, casual readers and newbies to the genre! Time to use this chance in our Discovery Read to discover some poetry you will love!

Let's take a walk out of Poetry Corner into the crisp, contemporary world to nominate some new poems, poets and poetical sentiments. As Discovery Reads indicates, it is time to spread our wings and learn more about a collection that sounds intriguing that we can explore over the month. It could be the larger collection of a poem you've read or one unfamiliar collection that sounds interesting, as long as the following applies:

• Less than 200 Pages

• Published no earlier than the year 2010 AD

• One coherent collection published by one poet i.e. no "100 Best Poems for Winter" or "The Collected Poems of Dante"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nominations are open from now until November 4th, so don't wait to nominate or vote (you know, here, and in elections)! We will read the winner over two weeks later this month, beginning November 21!

Feel free to add links with more information or a description. Or throw in a rhyming couplet in iambic pentameter to temp us-unless only a haiku will do!

Welcome outcasts, outsiders, and the unwanted let's forge on with the adventure!

"For what was earth but a mirror of heaven?"

If you need a refresher from book 1 (Black Sun) and/or 2 (Fevered Star) you can check out the old discussions or the links provided by u/Vast-Passenger1126 in the Schedule here. Can't wait for the rest of the murder (...of crows!) then head on over to the marginalia here with your thoughts.

I am sooooo pleased to finally get to Mirrored Heavens. I low key loved book one and two and the wait for book three has felt too long. So without further ado lets get on with it.....

#Summary

• Chapter 1 - CITY OF TOVA: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

The eclipse from the solstice and the comet from when the Odo Sedoh ascended the throne, the turning season and the constellations all point to the fact that the war in heaven has already begun. War on earth will follow.

Zataya serves as the matron of Coyote clan's Shield captain. Using a fire in the hearth she communes with the Coyote. The embers tell her to survive the war she must bind herself to the Crow God Reborn. Unsatisfied with the answer she decides to get high use Coyote's Paw to induce visions. She is given a riddle, the Coyote's song, that she repeats unceasingly. Even after knocking herself unconscious by smashing her head repeatedly into the rock wall.....

• Chapter 2 - TEEK TERRITORY: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

Xiala is trying, unsuccessfully, to force herself to change into a mermaid by drowing herself. She recalls the wild storm, the rogue wave, Loob hanging loose-limbed from the rope, Baat leaving her behind, and shifting into a mermaid to escape. The paradise of the Teek home Xiala remembers is no more. The Teek are now land-bound and have lost their song youngest first and spreading through to the elders. A devestating blow beginning after Xiala left. Mahina (Xiala's mother) was named their queen. Their time is running out.

Ships are approaching from the north. Mahina is out making allies and Yaala (Xiala's aunt) was left in charge. Xiala and her aunt's relationship is....strained. Xiala is softening to the idea that there can be forgiveness between her and Mahina. Xiala speaks to the sea and learns the heavy ships are not Teek. Xiala wants to sing the ships back, but the rest of the Teek are excited. They contain an army which the Teek learn too late. Arrows and blades cut down the Teek as Xiala flees only to be knocked unconscious.

• Chapter 3 - CITY OF HOKAIA: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

Iktan is at the remains of the war college aware that soon Nuuma Golden Eagle will summon xir back to the Mink Palace to keep her company. Iktan reminices about meeting Naranpa for the 1st time at 15 whilst training to become a tsiyo. Naranpa had asked to be xir friend and Iktan had given her a knife previously gifted xir from xir father. They become lovers, and later Iktan became regret. Xe looks forward to the coming bloodshed.

• Chapter 4 - CITY OF TOVA: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

At the Golden Eagle Great House Serapio fights Golden Eagle Shields. He calls his crows to search out any remaining Eagles. He is exhausted. Using a crow as his eyes Serapio follows Maaka, the leader of his Tuyon, to the Golden Eagle great room. He dismisses the servants and children. Suuakeh Golden Eagle, the matron's mother, steps forward saying they will not renounce her clan even though the matron, Nuuma Golden Eagle, is in Hokaia plotting Tova's fall.

Serapio presents her the head of the spy who was captured bringing drawings and info out of Tova. It is Suuakeh's grandson. He accuses Golden Eagle of the war college slaughter. Someone murdered every Sky Made scion as they slept, save Golden Eagle. The matron's had come to Serapio demanding justice and bringing the clans to his side more than anything else. The Golden Eagle scions are given the chance to rebuke their house or die. The children will live. Suuakeh kills a woman who declared fealty to Serapio then slits her own throat. Maaka is ashamed of underestimating the old lady. Serapio orders the remaining scions killed.

Serapio returns to Sun Rock now known as Shadow Rock, and the fortress he had built there. Serapio, Carrion King, orders the district burnt to the ground, but wants to allow the common folk to leave.

• Chapter 5 - THE NORTHERN WASTES: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

Naranpa (former Sun Priest and current avatar of the sun god) is in Charna in the land of the Northern Wastes looking for godflesh - a mushroom - amongst the bones of the gods in the graveyard. She'd travelled here after Denaochi’s death and her abdication as matron of Coyote clan. The village sat on the banks of the Lake of Flames, said to be formed by coyote god’s heel and filled with his sister's tears. In the lake golden scales of the sun god had been found, taken back to Hokaia to be mixed with the blood of a sacrifice and forged into the Sun Priest’s mask.

Naranpa had worked hard to prove to her teacher, Kupshu, that she was worthy of being taught to be a Dreamwalker and enter the realm of the gods. She drinks the godflesh tea grasping her talisman (a small carving of a long-tailed firebird) whilst mentally building her house and teather where the dreams were arranged like books in a library.

For her first Walk she chooses to go into Iktan's dreams. Iktan is digging desperately through ash and dirt throwing bones and branches aside searching for something. Naranpa plants the knife xe had given to her. When Xe finds it Iktan's ache, regret, fear, rage, and so much love tears through Naranpa. Iktan weaps, something Naranpa has never seen. Suddenly women appear around them attacking Iktan but xe doesn't fight back. Naranpa tries to intervene but the women turn into monsters, and she tumbles back into the real world. She relates the tale to Kupshu. In 2 days they will try again but this time Naranpa must not interfer. She laughs hysterically, unable to stop.

• Chapter 6 - CITY OF CUECOLA: YEAR 297 OF THE SUN

Flashback - Balam is 17 and at a party in honour of Tiniz, his cousin, who was a knife to the Sun Priest that defected on the night of the Knives' great slaughter. Xe intends to marry the Crow girl (whose mother he killed) that he saved and bought back to Cuecola. Tiniz was never cut out to be a Watcher. Many people want to hear about Tova and the elder Lord Balam, after rejecting Saaya with disdain, drags Tiniz away. Saaya feels she has no choice but to marry Tiniz, but really her goal is to kill the Watchers.

Balam and his father do not see eye to eye, still, he will inherit everything when his father dies from the rumoured bone disease from which he supposedly suffers. Balam offers to help Saaya. He intends to become the next Jaguar Prince and talks of using Cuecolan sorcery to help Saaya. The two leave the party for Lord Balam's library full of books of forbidden sourcery. Tiniz watches.

• Chapter 7 - CITY OF HOKAIA: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

Powageh, previously Tiniz, admonishes Balam for using too much godflesh, he must be careful or go mad. His mind is straddling the worlds of the living and dead more and more A dead spearmaiden appears to Balam warning him to beware....., but he does not know of what. Balam complains that Serapio should, like Saaya, be dead.

At the war council Tuun (Balam's co-conspirator), Naasut (the Sovran of Hokaia), Nuuma (the Golden Eagle matron), with her younger daughter Ziha and Iktan are present. Balam has decided not to pass on Xiala's message for Iktan "she lives" referring to Naranpa.

Tuun and Balam have been trying to learn more about Mahina but she holds everyone at arms length. Tuun wants to wipe out the Teek. Balam is wary of them and their song. Balam has funding from the Seven Lords for the duration of the war against Tova. The Teek were supposedly building the ships they needed to counter Tovan’s water striders. The Cuecolan force should be formidable. However, Naasut has not given the go ahead for her spearmaidens to enter the battle. Balam expects their victory over Tova to be quick once it starts, but he needs to make things happen faster, and for that Mahina needs to die. Balam wants to send Tuun back to Xiala with news of Mahina's death and two squadrons of soldiers as honour guard. Tuun intends to build herself a new palace in Teek lands.

• Chapter 8 - TEEK TERRITORY: YEAR 1 OF THE CROW

Xiala comes to in the listening house in the presence of Lord Tuun of the House of Seven, Jade Serpent. She begins to use her song but is quickly neutrilised by Tuun's ground magic and surrounded by soldiers. She is bound and gagged. Tuun threatens to cut out her tongue if she doesn't co-operate. Teanni and Alani are alive and Tuun uses them to manipulate Xiala. Mahina is dead.

There was no fleet of tidechasers, Xiala had lied to Balam. Tuun intends to make herself empress with Xiala as her Teek cacica. Xiala requests time to tend to the dead with Teanni and Alani.

Hello to all Skill and Wit users! Next week we are heading back to the Six-Duchies with Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb. You can find the schedule here. Until then, here's a spot for you to jot down anything that strikes your fancy while you read the book.

Now you might be asking - what is a marginalia post for, exactly?
This post is a place for you to put your marginalia as we read. Scribbles, comments, glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, illuminations, or links to related - none discussion worthy - material. Anything of significance you happen across as we read. As such this is likely to contain spoilers from other users reading further ahead in the novel. We prefer, of course, that it is hidden or at least marked (massive spoilers/spoilers from chapter 10...you get the idea).

Marginalia are your observations. They don't need to be insightful or deep. Why marginalia when we have discussions?

• Sometimes its nice to just observe rather than over-analyze a book.
• They are great to read back on after you have progressed further into the novel.
• Not everyone reads at the same pace and it is nice to have somewhere to comment on things here so you don't forget by the time the discussions come around.

Ok, so what exactly do I write in my comment?

• Start with general location (early in chapter 4/at the end of chapter 2/ and so on).
• Write your observations, or
• Copy your favorite quotes, or
• Scribble down your light bulb moments, or
• Share you predictions, or
• Link to an interesting side topic.

Note: Spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise.

As always, any questions or constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. The post will be flaired and linked in the schedule so you can find it easily, even later in the read.

Have fun and see you soon!

Welcome back everyone to a beautiful Free Chat Friday! Incidentally, also the first day of November!

I hope everyone was able to celebrate (or not celebrate) Halloween exactly how they desired yesterday, and everyone is excited to usher in a new month.

For anyone brand new here, hello and welcome! For all those regulars, welcome back! We're happy to have all of you. This is a space for us to get to know one another better and chat about whatever fits your fancy.

RULES:

• No unmarked spoilers
• No self-promo
• No piracy
• Thoughtful personal conduct

I am excited for this weekend as my partner and kiddo are coming back from 8 (!) nights away! It's been fun having some solo time but I'm so ready to see them again and have our house be filled with a bit more noise again. I'm also happy I got a good amount of reading done this week and am looking forward to even more reading today and tomorrow. What are you all up to for the weekend?

Welcome to Gabon 🇬🇦 for the Read the World bonus novella Awu's Story.

Let's dive straight in....

#Book Summary

• Part One

Awudabiran is Obame Afane's second wife. His 1st wife was infertile and died of a broken heart the day Awu and Obame's twins were born. Obame and Awu had already had a child, Ondo, together before they married.

Awu has a degree, she's an Elementary school teacher and master seamstress, as such Obame paid a good dowry to her family. Awu didn't want to share a husband, but even after Obame's first wife died she knew she still shared him. Awu dreamed of being embraced, but even after several pregnancies Obame still hadn't embraced her in such a way. Instead she imagined another.

Obame is close to retiring from his career as school teacher. His sister's 12 year old daughter is heavily pregnant. Obame's reaction reminds Awu of the time when he hiked 2 miles to one of his student's home to find out why she wasn't attending her exam. The family bathe at the river.

50 years previously Obame was born the same day Ebomane's public school opened. The village sits between two hills atop one is the missionary church and the other are tall trees where the temple of Melan worship was located.

Obame's mother's labour was assisted my her mother-in-law who takes the placenta and buries it in the ground near a clump of banana trees using a machete. Later she gifts this machete to Sikolo Obame a week after his circumcision at 6 years old.

Obame's extended family is meeting at his house. His niece Ada got pregnant whilst away at boarding school. Her mother, Akut, had picked her up and upon arriving back in the village exclaimed Ada was dead to her. Obame presents the case of Akut's mourning over Ada. His Elder and father, Afane, says he cannot understand this, as in his time being fertile and bearing children was always a good thing. Awu's father steps in asking if it is possible for Ada to return to school after her child is born and, as it will be, Afane judged there to be no problem. Afane decrees Ada will return home and Akut will look after her considering her current state sacred. Akut refuses telling Obame it's now his responsibility to rehabilitate Ada.

Ada's presence in the house bring Awu and Ntsame (Obame's older sister) together. Ntsame had lived in the city and returned with values conflicting with those of village values, namely, remaining single and childless Ntsame and Awu talk about when Nguema's (Obame's younger brother) business began failing and Obame took his nephews in to ensure they could continue schooling. They were rude and expected Bella to do their laundry. Obame made her do it in the hope the hardship would bring the favour of the gods and thus a child, but it never did. Obame did at least kick his nephews out after this incident.

Ada apologises to her aunts for her situation

• Part Two

Obame is retired, but his new home is still missing all the windows and doors. He goes to the Capital to find out about the pension he paid into for 30 years.

Awu and Ntsame arrive at the hospital with Ada who is going into labour. The hospital is filthy and underfunded. The midwife demands supplies the trio don't have. She is awful to Ada and even slaps her for crying. The baby is a boy and will be called Sikolo after Obame. The midwife returns with Ada's placenta for Awu to deal with. Luckily an old lady loans her a machete and points her in the direction of the banana trees. Back in the labour room Ntsame and Awu must clean up using their pagnes. Nstame retuns home for food and supplies while Awu stays with Ada and Sikolo.

Obame stayed with distant family for a week while dealing with all the bureaucracy. Everyone came to visit (hoping to get a hand out), conveniently around noon and so stayed for lunch. Obame returned home and after 7 months still had no pension. Finally he hears from the National Social Security Office he needs to go back and sign a document.

Obame's generosity and respect ensured Awu a dream social life. However, retirement had made their funds very tight. Awu, in order to help her husband, found more work embroidering. Supporting Ada, the baby and Nguema two wives was a strain on their finances, and so they cut back on luxuries using corncobs and malva leaves in place of toilet paper.

Ada doesn't connect with her baby and Awu returns home to find it screaming and covered in feces while Ada chats with her cousins and ignores him. Awu cleans him up and Ntsame yells some truths at Ada and her cousins. Awu had been to get leaves from Akut to treat Ada's infection, but had been sent away empty handed. Ntsame, however, didn't ask permission.

Obame travels back to the Capital with money borrowed from a teacher friend. It seems all is in order and he can finally collect his benefits the next day. Unfortunately the next day happens to be a holiday fete du mouton aka Eid El Kebir. When he returns to collect a day later he is told no funds remain. He must continue to wait. Upon arriving home he sees that Awu has had all the windows and doors fitted. After Obame's initial reaction they finally share a real moment of intimacy.

A year later Obame discovers his pension application is lost. To save Obame from the humiliation of their financial issues Awu becomes more daring in their intimacy. They discuss how they've never really made love because Bella and Awu's imaginary lover have always been in between them. Obame confesses to feeling suicidal due to their money woes. He shows her the machete his grandmother used to cut his umbilical cord at birth. They make love.

Obame resubmits his application on a third trip to the capital. 2 years later it is ready, with back pay, to pick up. He invited Awu to join him and, dressed well for the trip, they look like newly weds.

• Part Three

Afane has been unable to sleep this night. He watches a sparrow hawk swipe one of his chicks. Pastor Gambier comes and asks him to pray (as high priest of the Ancestor's religion the Elder refuses). The Pastor informs him Obame and Awu have been in a bus accident. Obame needs an operation and they are missing 20,000CFA of the fees needed. Both hills of worship pray for the money to help him that day, but it comes too late.

After the burial Akut leads the torment of Awu, slapping, spittting and even inserting hot pepper into her vagina (excuse me what?!?!?!?). Ntsame steps in to stop Akut, but others come to dole out punishment for all the nice things and good times Awu had. She must endure it.

For seven days Awu had to keep her head on the ground sleeping there and enduring. Akut came again to torment and spit upon her, but this time Ada was the one to confront her. She stuck up for Awu and then confessed that the boarding school was full of abusive teachers trading sexual favour and/or money from students for passing grades. Ada was impregnanted by one of them and didn't get an abortion because a girl from her class had died doing a home abortion.

The funeral guests took practically all Awu's belongings. She had also used ¾ of her savings for the funeral. None if the family helped financially though they all showed up for the food and drink. All Obame's belongings were divided up between his children. Even Awu herself was bequeathed to Nguema. She'd win if it went to court, but she couldn't do that to her husbands memory

Nguema comes to Awu and calls her a thing, his thing, but she stands up for herself. She claims her room as her own and will not allow Nguema to lay his head there ever. He considers how to make her obey even contemplating raping her. Instead he settles on a once a week visit less than an hour to check in.

Every night Awu checks Obame's machete is still safely in the headboard. She thinks back to the day if the bus trip....

#References

• Polygamy remains a tradition that is still practiced in Gabon. In the past, a man could have up to 50 wives, but the current government has limited the number to four.
• Obame's father Afane was a high priest of Melan. I was curious about this and went hunting for info about this type of worship/tradition. Sadly I didn't find much about the Melan. I did, however, discover it was primarily practiced by the Fang or Ekang people that originated in the Congo basin and spread outward into modern day Gabon, Cameroon and other nearby countries to a lesser degree. A reminder that so many country borders are where they are due to some arbitrary decision by leaders and politicians of the coloniser.
• Learn more about the game Songo here. If you want to try it there are actually a bunch of free apps where you can learn and play.
• Ada mentions the atangatier tree it looks beautiful. I am always so fascinated by exotic fruits that I have never tasted before. They are referred to a blue plum in the book. I wonder if they taste like western plums...
• I was intrigued to learn that Gabon does not have its own currency and uses the CFA or Central African Franc which is ysed by multiple countries in the region. I had no idea about this currency before reading this book. Learn more here including history and images of the notes.
• Upon reading the Introduction after finishing the novella I learnt that the Fang people have an oral poetry and instrument both called the mvet. Check out some of both at this video here.

[Discussion] Bonus Read - Before They Are Hanged (Book 2 of The First Law Trilogy) by Joe Abercrombie - Beginning, Part I through Chapter Seven - Allies

“We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged.”

Hello, readers! Welcome to the 1st check in for Before They Are Hanged, Book 2 in The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. This week we are discussing the beginning, Part I through Chapter Seven - Allies.

Now a word about spoilers!

A note about spoilers:

The First Law series is an extremely popular book series. Keep in mind that not everyone has watched or read any of these items. This book may be the first time a person learns about it. Please keep r/bookclub's rules on spoilers, and the consequences for posting spoilers, in mind.

Everyone has a different perception of what is a spoiler, so here are a few examples of what would be spoilers:

• “Just wait till you see what happens next.”
• “This won't be the last time you meet this character.”
• “Your prediction is correct/incorrect.”
• “You will look back at this theory.”
• “Here is an Easter Egg: ...”
• “You don't know enough to answer that question yet.”
• “How do you first-time-readers feel about this detail that was intentionally not emphasized by the author?”

If you're unsure, it's best to err on the side of caution and use spoiler tags.

To indicate a spoiler, enclose the relevant text with the > ! and ! < characters (there is no space in-between).

For any type of comment or idea that may be a part of The First Law Trilogy, just use proper spoiler labels, for example “In ” then describe the connection between books. Please be mindful when posting.

If you see something that you consider to be a spoiler, you can report it. It will be removed and the mods will look into it. To do so hit the “report” button, click on “breaks r/bookclub rules”, “next,” “spoilers must be tagged” and finally “submit”.

Enjoy the section and the discussion questions. Hope you all enjoy this book!

Rogue

Schedule

Marginalia

Hello!

Welcome to our first discussion for our current Mod Pick read, Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Bowser and Robyn Smith. This week we're covering the first three sections, Wash Day through Bright Side.

A woman, who we later learn is Kim, walks home after a night out. She wakes up around 10 AM the next morning and starts to get ready, washing, conditioning, and detangling her hair in the shower. Afterwards, she heads into the kitchen to make coffee and finds a note from her roommate Cookie - they're out of milk. So Kim wraps her hair and gets dressed to run out, leaving a sleeping Cookie behind. Kim heads to the bodega and grabs some milk and breakfast, all the while ignoring texts from Malik, who is clearly trying to suck up after he did something to annoy Kim. Anyways, when Kim gets back to the apartment Cookie is awake. Kim is about to tell Cookie about last night's party when Cookie has to take a call from her grandmother. So Kim finishes her breakfast and then continues getting ready, showering and then styling her hair into twists. Kim's just taken a hit when Cookie comes back in asking her about the party. Kim tells her that she saw Cookie's crush Jordan and that she put in a good word for her, telling her to come to her show the next week and see Cookie. And then Malik texts again because he's the worst. Kim tells Cookie that Malik is texting her and wants her to come by his place, but she's not going anywhere because it's wash day.

A woman, who we later learn is Nisha, walks into a beauty supply store and purchases a bundle of hair. Then she heads to a beauty salon for what is apparently a last minute appointment. Phenix, the hairdresser, can just manage to fit her in though, so she starts on Nisha's hair, washing and blow-drying it. Then Phenix starts braiding Nisha's hair and while she does so Nisha hops in the group chat with Kim, Cookie, and Davene to tell them what's going on. The past weekend, Nisha went to an exhibit opening party with Daniel, a friend and colleague with some extra benefits. At the party, Daniel tells Nisha that while they've had an on-off thing for a few years, he wants to try dating for real. Nisha doesn't know what to say, which is definitely not what Daniel was hoping to hear. He told Nisha she didn't have to have an answer right then, since he needed to head out early to finish preparing for his campaign anyways. Daniel leaves and Nisha stays at the party a while longer. A little while later, someone calls out to Nisha - it's Carl Depaul, a famous model and apparently a big fan of Nisha's work. The two of them spend the rest of the party and the night together, before going to brunch the next day and spending the afternoon in the park. That morning, Nisha had taken the subway out to Coney Island to shoot for Daniel's campaign, wondering what she was going to do about Daniel's offer; she had history with Daniel, but she'd also really enjoyed spending time with Carl. Daniel greets Nisha when she arrives, and just before they get ready to talk Carl arrives! Turns out that he's filling in for the original model who can't make it. Daniel is surprised that Nisha and Carl apparently know each other, so Nisha panics and says she has to leave because she unexpectedly got her period. But Coney Island is really far, so Nisha doesn't want to waste the trip - she texts Phenix to see if she can squeeze her in for an appointment. As she's on the train back, someone calls out her name, but Nisha doesn't get to explain who it was in the group chat because her phone dies. Eventually, Phenix finishes her hair and Nisha leaves, satisfied with her new braids.

We see Davene having a sleepless night, with no new posts on Instagram to at least distract her. Eventually, her alarm goes off and she reluctantly gets out of bed, wishing she hadn't skipped her hair appointment yesterday. She texts her hairstylist Michelle to see if she can fit her in but Michelle is booked for the week. So Davene calls out for work and then tries to figure out what to do with her hair. She texts Cookie to see if she can stop by to do her hair, because a previous bad experience has her sure that she can't wear her natural hair to work again. Fortunately Cookie can stop by before work, so while she's on her way Davene showers and washes her hair. Cookie buzzes to be let in to the building and Davene frantically tries to pick up her apartment while Cookie takes the stairs. Even then, Cookie still notices that things are out of place, asking Davene if she's ok since it's unlike her. Davene plays it off as just looking for something she lost, and they head into the bathroom so Cookie can braid Davene's hair. After she finishes, Davene thanks Cookie, who asks her how things have been since she's been so quiet in the group chat recently. Davene explains that she's been struggling mentally for the past few months. Work has been rough, and Davene isn't sure she's cut out for social work anymore, but she's not sure she can afford to change careers. At the same time, she also feels like everyone has things figured out and together while she's so lost. Cookie tries to encourage Davene to stay positive and remember the good things she does have, like her health and relationships with loved ones. Davene tells Cookie she's started going to therapy and that she's been considering taking antidepressants, which alarms Cookie. Cookie tells Davene that she seems fine and that she doesn't know how the antidepressants might affect her. Cookie gives Davene a piece of citrine she has in her bag - it's a piece of rock that she can wear against her skin that will help ward off negative thoughts. Davene awkwardly thanks her and suggests that she might want to get to the train early since it's unpredictable and she doesn't want to be late for work. Cookie agrees and leaves after confirming that Davene still plans to attend Kim's show that weekend. Afterward, Davene goes to use hairspray but finds the bottle empty. Defeated, she climbs back into bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Discussion questions are listed below. Please remember that we are only covering the first three sections, Wash Day through Bright Side, and limit your discussion to those sections. Any comments discussing later portions of the book will be removed, even if they use spoiler tags.

Next week, we'll wrap things up with La Benedicion and Ride or Die. See y'all then!

“They were the sort of words that begged the accompaniment of music in a minor key, words to make a more astute person experience a shiver of fear at the premonition of irony contained in those syllables, words to cause the author of them to laugh softly in a manner composed of both fiendishness and glee at the future already planned several chapters ahead.”

Hello, again, dragon readers!! Our stone has hatched into a small lizard like creature! What will our characters do with the hatchling? Let's find out!

Welcome to the second discussion for Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olsen, our Indie Author winner!! We will be discussing Chapter Seven through Chapter Twelve.

Now, a word about spoilers!

The Miss Percy Series is an extremely popular book series. Keep in mind that not everyone has read any of these items. This book may be the first time a person learns about it. Please keep r/bookclub's rules on spoilers, and the consequences for posting spoilers, in mind.

Everyone has a different perception of what is a spoiler, so here are a few examples of what would be spoilers:

• “Just wait till you see what happens next.”
• “This won't be the last time you meet this character.”
• “Your prediction is correct/incorrect.”
• “You will look back at this theory.”
• “Here is an Easter Egg: ...”
• “You don't know enough to answer that question yet.”
• “How do you first-time-readers feel about this detail that was intentionally not emphasized by the author?”

If you're unsure, it's best to err on the side of caution and use spoiler tags.

To indicate a spoiler, enclose the relevant text with the > ! and ! < characters (there is no space in-between).

For any type of comment or idea that may be a part of Miss Percy Series, just use proper spoiler labels, for example “In ” then describe the connection between books. Please be mindful when posting.

If you see something that you consider to be a spoiler, you can report it. It will be removed and the mods will look into it. To do so hit the “report” button, click on “breaks r/bookclub rules”, “next,” “spoilers must be tagged” and finally “submit”.

Enjoy the discussion! Answer any or all of the questions you want. Hope to see you in the discussion! Now,

Schedule and Marginalia links are below.

Schedule

Marginalia

Rogue

Link to schedule

Welcome!

Week four! Let us sit together in the shade and unravel the patterns of The Other Wind for the last time. Sorry about last week, my schedule has flipped on its head and Reddit isn't the only thing that had to go on the back burner. However, next week is the final unread materials of the Earthsea series, check the top of Week 1 for more information. Here's the info blurb from Week 1:

• Please only comment about things in the story up to that point! If you've read ahead, please skip the discussion questions, etc.
• The amount of reading is staggered (usually less-more), the last added week in November contains all the extra material, all you can get from The Books of Earthsea and some you can get from other collections.
• Example discussion questions will go in their own comments, but please feel free to add your own and/or your own reading impressions like before! I like to try interesting or leading questions but, especially if I'm ahead, I'll miss avenues that can be explored.

Chapter Summary

Chapter 5 - Rejoining

Everyone has dreams of portent: Seppel of Lily (though he misinterprets it), Onyx of the ship being dragged to the dry land, Lebannen of his stone souvenir and his kingdom in trouble (interestingly, also a women who could raise the sun), Seserakh felt she was on a harsh, corrupted Dragon's Path, Irian as dragon bound and dropping from the skies, Tehanu struggling underground (interestingly points: this might mirror Irian's, also the tree roots), Tenar on the Throne of the Nameless looking for an important stone Ged had left behind but finding only refuse, even Ged has a dream: that Thorion is telling Ged that his losing his magical ability was just a dream, then Ged notices Thorion has black wings and talks of being "yoked". Furthermore, on Roke the dreams: the Master Summoner in the Immanent Grove dreams of the Grove becoming dead and mirroring the dry lands, the students of being drafted to a dusty, far-flung war where their enemies are meek and defenseless, the other Masters dreamed of the ship, heavily laden, bringing ominous things, and they awake to the Doorkeeper telling them the king will be there at daybreak. When they arrive the greetings are pretty tense though some interesting things happen including that Lebannen's old chum is the new Master Windkey and we meet the new Master Summoner, Brand, and most of the group decides to go to the Immanent Grove since Tehanu became interested in Kalessin's mention of it. As Tenar recalls what Ged told her about the Immanent Grove and the Roke Knoll (some new information here!), the Master Summoner meets with Irian after their last interesting parting of what feels like so long ago and sidesteps the princess's taboo dream, at this mention of dreams Tenar feels trepidation at Tehanu and Alder, they all retreat to housing in the Grove where after the Masters arrive however the discussion doesn't go that well since they think it's something for them to deal with, let alone dragons or the Kargish, where Tenar takes great offense (clarifying the Kargish belief and the Vedurnan), and the scene breaks with the Master Patterner and a foreboding prophecy. Alder slips into a dream and seems to know what to do, he goes to the wall, but then suddenly he is back in the grove, and we learn in detail (with extra information from the Master Patterner, but especially the Master Namer and Irian) the division of man and dragons, the realm of "the other wind" and the oath breaking, the barrier and the true nature of the dry lands and how it functions in the physical world, and then Alder (still seemingly in multiple worlds) breaks the conversation with some clarification and seeks to destroy the wall with Tehanu but is somehow suddenly stopped. It comes to light that the Master Summoner has pulled Alder from death, and he has a hard conversation about the sanctity of life (and death) with the king. Tenar and Tehanu have a moment heavy in symbolism, about the star Tehanu and other things. The Mages discuss, amongst other things, Paln lore, the changes in Roke and magic in general (if it will disappear), even more info about the Old Powers and that connection to sorcery, and how they will have to take a backseat to what is happening now (somewhat mirroring Ged). There is a quick interlude about Ged (all of Earthsea seems effected) and we get not just a shorthand of his nature but his nature post-change. Alder finally awakens and, going to the wall, tells Tehanu that they need to destroy it, with help. Most of the group goes to the other wind (Lebannen going back for Irian) besides Tenar and Seserakh who "keep the house" and watch after the temporary vacant bodies. All of them are attacking the wall when Kalessin appears, the wall falls and (Tehanu first, but then those from across the wall) seem to mix with the firelight in the sky with the appearance of Kalessin, lastly Alder and Lily as well. The dry lands are instantly transformed back to life that hasn't existed for ages, there are dragons flying free and Kalessin confirms the change (the division of the division and the breaking making whole), before Seppel says it isn't their time and the Master Patterner asks Kalessin if "she" would return through the forest sometime. It is dawn in the other land, Tenar knows Alder is gone and asks the Master Patterner about Tehanu, and if she was whole when she went, she grieves for Alder but it's obvious it's not just for him. The Master Patterner recovers to the princess standing over the king with a dagger, a misunderstanding, it's cleared up along with the fate of everyone else. Sometime later, Tenar arrives at the Old Mage's House and Ged understands upon seeing her. A bit later still, she tells Ged that she was there for the real wedding before the official one (performing her duty with "their" ring-bracelet, the Rune of Peace), she talks about how difficult Roke is but also of the Master Patterner (of his longing for Irian, though Ged is surprised in a good way to how he reacted in following Alder, which may talk of an unsaid future), Tehanu is brought up to some hard pauses and some more information about the dragons, they also talk of her mostly in disguise of talking about Irian and if she would reappear. Tenar brings up the snippet of the king's lullaby about letting someone go free in joy, Tenar asks what Ged did (he kept house, of course), and she asks him if he walked in the forest yet.

Afterword

Some history, the themes and questions of the sequels (two trilogies): "...not only Cob in The Farthest Shore but Thorion of Roke embodied this misunderstanding of the uses of power, the desire for control, and the nature of death. This was my great theme," info on the new characters, an ending, a spiral, the future, including the future of Tehanu and Ged. The storyteller.

In-depth Summary

Note: Example discussion questions in the comments! See the "Welcome" section which also contains information about the format.

Hey y'all! Happy Halloween and welcome back to our final installment of I'm Glad My Mom Died. TW: Discussion of disordered eating.

Chapter Summaries

Jennette's Interview on the Minimalists Podcast - thought this was nifty because it predates her memoire but definitely shares the same feelings toward child stardom.

Hello readers, starting in December, we will tackle another classic, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens! The read will start when Neuromancer is wrapped up, so after November 26th. Get your copy ready and watch this space for a detailed schedule to be posted later.

Summary (from goodreads):

The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.

Hey folks it is the end of the month and that means book report time. Share with us all...

What did you finish this month?

Timor Leste 🇹🇱 Read the World winner....

#Beloved Land: Stories, Struggles, and Secrets from Timor-Leste by Gordon Peake

The first discussion will be in early December

Keep an eye on the sub for the reading schedules coming soon. Time to get your copy ready, we will be seeing you all soon for our journey from Ireland to Timor-Leste

The book that will be added to the Wheel of Books for the chance to become a Runner-up Read is;

"If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die": How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor by Geoffrey B. Robinson

And finally....

#The next Read the World destination will be Germany So get your thinking caps on for that!

Soooo.....Are you joining us in Timor-Leste?

Happy reading (the world) 📚🌍

Hi scythes and unsavories, welcome to another discussion of The Toll! We have a major event here involving the sibilant tonists and a large reuniting between main characters takes place. We find out what the Texans want with Rowan and learn more secrets about the lunar disaster. I can’t wait to see how it all pieces together!

Anastasia’s first broadcast goes out after she has discovered more on the lunar disaster. She also learns about the mass gleaning incident at the stadium and that the Texans rescued Rowan. She sends out another broadcast and Goddard is furious. Allied scythes with Goddard are generally supporting him, opposing scythes are doubling down, but most are not taking a side. People are fleeing to the LoneStar region. He also learns of reports that the Toll is still alive.

Anastasia’s next broadcast talks about the lunar disaster. Every colonist died, but she mentions that public history databases are able to be censored by scythes. She encourages people to discover what actually happened themselves. Rowan is brought to Austin and Constantine talks with him, revealing he has joined the LoneStar scythedom. Scythe Coleman gives Rowan a list of 50 scythes that he wants gleaned in exchange for him freeing Rowan. He refuses though and the LoneStar scythes go to plan B. They are about to bring Rowan’s family out but he doesn’t want them involved so agrees to the gleanings. In the next broadcast Anastasia mentions the likelihood of the disaster happening was extremely unlikely and there was no cleanup of the site by the Thunderhead. The last thing in its file is “Lunar event beyond Thunderhead jurisdiction. Result of scythe activity”. During her research, Anastasia notices some pearl-white silk unaccounted for at the colony. They trace it to Scythe Dante Alighieri. At this time Tenka’s phone rings; it’s his father and they must leave immediately.

Sibilants attack a fire station with grenades. They then move on to Tenka’s palace using weapons given to them by an unknown supporter. They attack mercilessly and Baba is rendered deadish until they dragged his body to a burning pyre. Anastasia deduces that they took out the firefighters and peace officers first so they couldn’t extinguish the flames. Tenka is killed and we find out his parents are tonists. Jeri tells Anastasia they should switch clothes and Jeri distracts some of them. Anastasia shoots at the curate but misses and reunites with Jeri. They go to the rooftop and Jeri goes renders himself deadish to attract an ambudrone which they use to escape.

SubSahara becomes a police state and aligns itself with Goddard due to him being against tonists. Greyson visits sibilants in SubSahara, but their curate doesn’t believe he is the Toll. Greyson tells Mendoza to inject the tonists with nanites so their tongues will grow back, and tells Morrison to glean the curate, something he wrestles with heavily after the fact. He forgives the tonists and they are no longer sibilants.

Jeri wakes in a revival center. The nurse says scythes are there to interview everyone at the palace but Possuelo comes in beforehand and suggests they try and find the Toll. We go briefly to Ezra who was painting murals of reformed tonists until he’s caught in Amazonia by Possuelo, which is how the scythe found Anastasia. The Thunderhead also subtly reveals where the Toll is through Ezra. At the end of the chapter Anastasia’s broadcast mentions the survivor Carson Lusk who was Xenocrates’ personal valet when he visited the colony. Carson’s name disappeared after the disaster because soon after he became Scythe Goddard.

Anastasia and co enter the cave and meet Morrison before Greyson comes in and talks with Anastasia in private who wants to know where scythe Alighieri is. Possuelo leaves and Greyson tries to figure out how to find Alighieri without the Thunderhead telling him. He uses Jeri as a go-between. They have a general conversation as Greyson asks the Thunderhead questions. He narrows the location down to Brittania.

Welcome to the marginalia for our next Evergreen read, the first book in William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy being Neuromancer.  Also in this series are Count Zero (Sprawl #2) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (Sprawl #3).

This is a communal place for things you would jot down in the margins of your books.  That might include quotes, thoughts, questions, relevant links, exclamations - basically anything you want to make note of or to share with others.  It can be good to look back on these notes, and sometimes you just can't wait for the discussion posts to share a thought.

When adding something to the marginalia, simply comment here, indicating roughly which part of the book you're referring to (eg. towards the end of chapter 2).

Because this may contain spoilers, please indicate this by writing “spoilers for chapters 5 and 6” for example, or else use the spoiler tag for this part with this format  > ! SPOILER ! < without the spaces between characters.

Note: spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Here is the schedule for the Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) discussion which will be run by u/Reasonable-Lack-6585, myself, and u/Meia_Ang. 

Any questions or constructive criticism are welcome.

I look forward to meeting some fellow data-thiefs in cyberspace!  Our first discussion will be Nov. 12th.

Welcome all to the absolute >!horror show!< adventure that is our fifth discussion of Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the second book in the Children of Time series. This week we’re chatting through Present 3: Ch. 6 - 8 & Past 4: Ch 1 - 8. The Marginalia is here and the schedule is here.

Anything previously discussed in this book or Children of Time are fair game, but for anything in the future (even minor references), please use spoiler tags. Please mark all spoilers using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Present 3: Rolling Back the Stone

Ch. 6: We have another Those-of-We chapter. A bit more is explained about how exactly they work and took over Lante’s body and mind. They have set down memories of their past adventures until the right time, which they say is coming again.

Ch. 7: Meshner is still deeply affected by the brain implants and changes. He’s with Zaine as they explore the console on the octopus ship.The controls aren’t easily usable, but when Meshner is close the console suddenly “awakens” (using Kern’s language), and Kern tells Zaine to let him lead. Kern begins directing Mesher solo to contact/connect with Lante. Kern searches but finds nothing of importance and doesn’t hide her frustration from Meshner. Zaine gets a signal; Meshner is distracted and is locked in his own head with Kern (although he’s not sure how exactly he’s gotten locked in). He opens his channel to a babbling feed from the Lightfoot - Helena and Portia have made contact.

Everyone is confused as Meshner suddenly receives the signal saying “We’re going on an adventure”. There is a discarded suit that is suddenly inflated and filled, described as being wraith-like, and it is next to Zaine. Meshner yells and Artifabian leaps and pushes Zaine away. Artifabian tears a hole into the suit where black ichor begins seeping out. The ichor has made it onto Meshner when Kern asks for Meshner to let her “see him clearly”, so he does. He then directs Artifabian to get into the lock and leave him behind.

Ch. 8: Helena and Portia know the Nod virus has hit. They see the octopi communicating and Portia is also talking to Viola, but as they attempt to translate they see the octopus group acting swiftly, as though they are combat-ready and sense immediate danger from both the virus and some other thing. They have fired on the Lightfoot, which is now barreling down to the planet below.

Past 4: Pillars of Salt

Ch. 1: Senkovi has lived an extra long life on the Aegean. He still talks to his octopi; they visit him often. He thinks he’s the last human in existence. One octopi (Salome) tries to send a message to him but he can’t fully interpret it even with the ship’s translation help. He reflects on Baltiel’s crash landing spot on Damascus which he has sent many warnings to the octopi group about, hoping to keep it off limits to them. Senkovi dies, leaving behind his progeny.

Ch. 2: Well after Senkovi’s death, on Damascus, the society of octopi has greatly advanced. They are incredibly individualistic and the main city is falling apart (OH WAIT you mean this strategy doesn’t work?!?). There are lots of roving gangs and seemingly random warfare with groups fighting for control. Paul fights again with Salome, who wants to take resources and begin properly spreading out from the city. Even though Paul wins the fight, he realizes he’s switched sides in the debate suddenly and now his former allies are enemies. This is normal and accepted in octopus society; the status of opinion is ever-fluid and changing.

They have erected a “statue” of remembrance to Senkovi. It represents their interpreted emotions of loss. The octopi are grossly overpopulated in the city, so they are forced to begin spreading out, but still avoid the quarantined spot Senkovi warned them about incessantly. It’s noted that the path the octopi took was different from the spider populations, because they had starting technology in the Aegean, as well as an awareness that they came from both the water and the stars.

Ch. 3: The octopi have started living in space, but are avoiding Nod for now. They’ve overpopulated beyond any sense of control. They’ve begun mining the asteroid belt with altered tardigrades from Damascus (a throwback to our beginning chapters) to get resources, but they are fighting an unwinnable internal war. Today, of all days, Paul has simply had enough. He is too poisoned by all the heavy metal in the water and he rises up and begins a proper war. Thousands follow.

Ch. 4: Salome is in space inspecting the tardigrade mining catch points. As she’s inspecting, an attack begins. Their space tech is very advanced at this point, and both her ship and the smaller ships designed and built to help defend the operations are well able to do what’s needed. Rebekah, one of the fighters in Salome’s group, fights with all her ability. An awesome battle ensues, and then she is called back to Salome’s ship, the Requisition.

Ch. 5: Another deeply frustrated octopus, Lot, emerges. He gains a following and leads them to the abandoned/quarantined section of the water that has been off limits. He thinks it’s their best opportunity, and assumes there is some weapon of mass destruction available there. He orders his followers to cut through the metal box, and inside the body awakens.

Ch. 6: These-of-We are let loose and they enter the various octopi. They split, attempt to learn and grow, take over, and expand.

Ch. 7: The virus continues to multiply and spread. Another octopus, Solomon, on a hub of an elevator cable leading to a habited area in space sees the chaos, knows they are wholly compromised now. He cuts the elevator ties, the only ties to a home he has never really known.

Ch. 8: Noah, another octopus, decides he wants to get out and escape the chaos. He and two others, Ruth and Abigail, head for a Nod orbit, for the station. They work there researching and testing, conducting various experiments into a potential antidote. They bring various entities up from Nod during their tests. Just after bringing a human body up from Nod, they are attacked by other octopus space ships who’ve deemed their actions too risky. They mutually self-destruct, shaking off the attackers but also taking themselves. It’s mentioned those who come will next are far off, but unfortunately uncautious.

Will you continue on this adventure? Join u/jaymae21 next week as we dive into our penultimate discussion of Children of Ruin!

Welcome to the marginalia for Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse.

This is a communal place for things you would jot down in the margins of your books. That might include quotes, thoughts, questions, relevant links, exclamations - basically anything you want to make note of or to share with others. It can be good to look back on these notes, and sometimes you just can't wait for the discussion posts to share a thought.

When adding something to the marginalia, simply comment here, indicating roughly which part of the book you're referring to (eg. towards the end of chapter 2).

Because this may contain spoilers, please indicate this by writing “spoilers for chapters 5 and 6” for example, or else use the spoiler tag for this part with this format > ! SPOILER ! < without the spaces between characters.

Note: spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Any questions or constructive criticism are welcome.

Let's go, everyone! See you in the first discussion on Friday 1st November.

Intrepid readers, The - fairly limited - nominations are in, and so now it is time to make sure your preference wins. Be sure to head to the Timor Leste nomination and voting post here, and upvote all the books you would read with r/bookclub if they win.

12 ish hours remain at the time of posting...go...do it now!!!

Happy reading upvoting (the world) 📚🌏

Salvete omnes!

Welcome back to our second discussion of Pandora by Anne Rice, where we’ll be diving into chapters 3 through 5.

We follow Pandora during her first days in Antioch, and learn new things about her strange nightmares.... spooky.

Please mark major plot points from past books that are not mentioned in this book (yet) as spoilers to give newcomers the gift of suspense (see r/bookclub’s spoiler policy). Or, if you’ve read ahead and are about to burst like a vampire in the sun, you can always comment in the Marginalia or check the Schedule with links to the next discussions.

Below you'll find a short summary and some explosive tidbits. 💣

See you in the comments! 🧛

Summary

The Hebrew merchants bring Lydia to Antioch, a Hellenistic Greek city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Unfortunately for her, the city is in turmoil due to the recent death of Germanicus. Rumor has it that the governor of Roman Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, was responsible for his death, sparking the city's inhabitants to seek vengeance by targeting all Romans. She hides in her recently bought house with all of her fortune from her father. She calls herself Pandora now to be anonymous. Haunted by increasingly violent nightmares, she chooses to avoid sleep altogether, which begins to drive her a little mad.

Once the city is back to normal, she decides to go out to buy slaves but does a poor job at dressing herself, since she hasn't ever done it herself before. She finds two young twins, Mia and Lia, and after a poetry-off with a one-legged slave called Flavius, buys him too. She sends them to her home to get fed and dressed, while she makes for the temple of Isis to get answers to her nightmares. Once inside, she is perturbed by the different appearance of the priestess and any illustrations of her godess, who is no longer in her Romanized form. The priestess takes her to another room where she confesses to all her (perceived sins) and her dreams. The priestess calms her, telling her that she suffered just like Isis did, but is perturbed at the nightmares, which she says don't come from the godess, although there are rumours that Isis and Osiris still walk the earth. A rumor the priestess doesn't belief. She recommends to meditate in a room with a shrine of the godess, and afterwards to speak with another priest.

Pandora feels much better after praying to Isis, but doesn't find the priest so goes out and finds a group of philosophy students. She starstrucks them with her knowledge of philosophy and invites them to a dinnner five days from now. It grows dark and she hears a voice in her head that tells her it is summoning her. In the shadows she sees a perculiar figure, her youngest brother Lucius. Against the urges from the priests and Flavius who has returned with a torch, she goes to him. He tells her she has to leave as she is drawing too much attention. Pandora finds out that everyone in her family is dead except for both of them and Lucius' mistress. She accuses him he left his family to die, he accuses her she's acting like a whore. After he escapes in the shadows, Pandora goes back into the temple to speak with the priest.

Tidbits

• The most sacred relic of all time is of course The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Discovered by none other than Monty Python themselves, who dared to unveil this divine weapon to the world. And now, let us recite the sacred scripture: First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.
• Antioch, the capital of Roman Syria, was one of the most important cities in the Classical World also called the Rome of the East. After Rome and Alexandria it was the most populous city with around half a million inhabitants in the second century CE.
• It is believed that the term "Christian" first originated in Antioch. The first recorded use of the term is in the New Testament, in Acts 11 after Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) to Antioch where they taught the disciples for about a year. The text says that "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). Source
• Tiberius' son Germanicus died in 19 CE in Antioch, and his body was burnt in the forum. To the Roman people, Germanicus was the Roman equivalent of Alexander the Great due to the nature of his death at a young age, his virtuous character, his dashing physique, and his military renown.
• In one of her blood dreams, Pandora mentions that she is a monster called the Lamia. In ancient Greek mythology, this was a child-eating monster, and in later tradition it was regarded as a kind of night-haunting spirit or "daimon".

Hello Hackers I am pleased to revel the upcoming schedule for the next Evergreen read Neuromancer! This will begin the following week after 11/22/63 ends so you do have time to pick up a copy!

Schedule:

November 12th: Chapter 1 through Chapter 6

November 19th: Chapter 7 through Chapter 15

November 26th: Chapter 16 through end

We will see you on the 12th for the first check in!

Welcome to our penultimate discussion of 11/22/63. The past certainly tried to throw everything possible at Jake in this section. From amnesia to car/bus crashes, we took the word obdurate to a whole new level. Eventually though, Jake succeeded and the assassination was stopped, but at what cost!? And what on Earth is Jake going to do now?

Here are links to our full reading schedule and the marginalia. Chapter summaries can be found here.

Discussion questions are in the comments and I'm excited to hear all your theories on how this book will wrap up.

Welcome to the marginalia for our two books for our next RTW destination of Ireland 🇮🇪 - That They May Face the Rising Sun and Under the Hawthorne Tree.

This is a communal place for things you would jot down in the margins of your books.  That might include quotes, thoughts, questions, relevant links, exclamations - basically anything you want to make note of or to share with others.  It can be good to look back on these notes, and sometimes you just can't wait for the discussion posts to share a thought.

When adding something to the marginalia, simply comment here, indicating roughly which part of the book you're referring to (eg. towards the end of chapter 2).

Because this may contain spoilers, please indicate this by writing “spoilers for chapters 5 and 6” for example, or else use the spoiler tag for this part with this format  > ! SPOILER ! < without the spaces between characters.

Note: spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Here is the schedule for the discussion which will be run by u/bluebelle236, u/fixtheblue and myself u/nicehotcupoftea.

Any questions or constructive criticism are welcome.

Let's go, everyone!  See you in the first discussion on Tuesday 25th November.

The moment you've all waited for! The results from our monster round-up are here!

While those monsters were very engrossed in their reading, you helpful bookclubbers went out and reminded them that they had an engagement! They arrived to the mash on time and had a blast!

In gratitude, the monsters have decided to share their party favors with those who helped them get to the party - all participants will receive a 🎃 added to their flair.

In total, there were fourteen groups of monsters wandering the sub - congrats to u/AirBalloonPolice, u/Less_Tumbleweed_3217, and u/Combative_Slippers who gathered them successfully! As something a little extra, you have been dubbed the Pumpkin Royals. Mostly you get bragging rights, but your pumpkin flare will receive a crown 🎃👑 as well!

I hope you all had a blast rounding up our monsters! Happy Halloween!

~The Ministry of Merriment~

Hello everyone! Welcome to our final discussion for The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. What a journey it has been! Were you able to pace yourself, or did you read ahead of the class because you needed answers?

The chapter summaries are below, spoiler tagged so they don't show up in any "previews" and ruin the suspense!

!Dee!<

!Dee runs through the forest, not thinking about the probably infected rattlesnake bite. She remembers a conversation with Karen, the detective working Lulu’s case, where Karen realized Dee knew more than she was telling, but Dee said nothing. As she retches, she sinks into a memory.!<

!Dee flirts with the older, yellow-headed boy, Trevor. Lulu is with her. They go to get ice cream, but only Lulu gets any. Trevor then steers them into the trees. Lulu wants to go home, but Dee admonishes her and tells her to go play by the lake. Dee and Trevor make out and get handsy, but then Dee hears a noise by the lake and no reply when she calls Lulu’s name.!<

!Running to the lake, Dee and Trevor find Lulu half submerged in the lake surrounded by a cloud of blood; her skull is dented. Dee attempts CPR but Lulu is gone. Trevor runs off. Continuing CPR, multiple snakes emerge from under Lulu’s body. Puncture marks on her ankles show that she must have fallen and hit her head when she was struck by the snakes. The escaping snakes bump into Dee and she bolts, leaving Lulu in the water.!<

!After a moment of panic, Dee returns to Lulu, thinking that she must not be dead since she was still bleeding, but Lulu is gone; all that remains are a bloody shore and a strange footprint in the sand. Dee hears a car start, and door slam, and sees a car drive off.!<

!Dee goes into the bathroom to try and wash off the blood, telling everyone she had gotten her period. She slips Lulu’s sandal, that she had been carrying, into a random woman’s bag.!<

!Back in the present, Dee believes she is chasing Lulu through the trees, content to play tag a bit longer.!<

!After her parents were gone, Dee had no one to admit her guilt to, so she took it upon herself to avenge Lulu. She didn’t believe that Ted had an alibi for the day and set out to prove he had killed her sister. She wanted him to mourn loss as she did. She spent time watching him, observing how he cared for the birds in his yard, so Dee killed the birds.!<

!Dee chases Lulu, until Lulu turns and red birds explode from her head. Finding herself alone in the forest, Dee collapses. After a brief sense of a touch on the head, Dee passes. Her remains are never found - the animals ensure she returns to the Earth.!<

!Ted!<

!Ted wakes up in a hospital. An orange-haired man is watching him and he asks about his snake-bitten neighbor - but Ted was alone when the man found him. The man explains that he is a park ranger and was investigating someone defacing the trees. While he was following the trail of tagged tries, his dog led him to Ted.!<

!A doctor enters and tells Ted that his pills had been discontinued 10 years prior due to side effects of hallucinations, memory loss, etc. The doctor also mentions the damage done to Ted’s body and that someone should have intervened on his behalf; Ted appreciates that he cares. When recommended therapy, Ted responds that he is a bit tired of therapy. The man brings Ted new clothes and Ted enjoys the silence that the drugs bring him.!<

!The orange-haired man asks Ted if the knife wound was really an accident, and Ted, exhausted from hiding, asks Lauren if he should start, or her.!<

!Lauren!<

!Lauren explains that Mommy used to tend to Little Ted’s injuries: no matter how small the scrape, she would open the wound and sew it back shut. Lauren existed to share the physical pain. As Mommy cut into Little Ted’s flesh, she recorded her actions on tape with medical precision. If Ted made a noise, Mommy would put Ted into the chest freezer and pour hot water and vinegar on him and his fresh wounds. Lauren took over when Ted couldn’t take it, letting him disappear inside himself.!<

!Ted!<

!Ted enters what is his home, yet is not his home, and is greeted by Olivia. The blue rug that he hates is now a beautiful orange. Sitting with Olivia, Night-time emerges from the dark. Ted now has two kitties and his mother can’t reach him. The freezer is his door to this space. Big Ted and Little Teddy are both here. Little Teddy can look scary, but he would never hurt anyone.!<

!Lauren!<

!Ted has escaped within and left Lauren with all the pain. As she lies in bed, scared and covered in Mommy’s handiwork, she sees the white mouse watching her. Ted softens and tells Lauren to sleep as Night-time comes upstairs and takes over.!<

!In the morning, Lauren wakes up to find Snowball’s bloody bones. Ted is more upset about the mouse than the sutures down his back - he didn’t feel them, but Lauren did. Mommy led Ted into the woods after that to tell him to hide his true nature, the old sickness that his grandfather had. Lauern has figured out that it wasn’t Ted or his grandfather with the sickness, it was Mommy. She was cast out of Locronan for a reason.!<

!Ted is cast out at school, but now that he has his kitties, he doesn’t feel alone. Lauren, who had been there through all the pain, was not happy with that statement.!<

!Ted’s “weekend place” is his inside house. He slowly added to it the things he couldn’t have in life: a workshop, white socks, a window in the ceiling. He put a lot of mice to keep Night-time happy so he wouldn’t hunt upstairs anymore. In a locked attic were the green boys who had gone missing from the lake. The TV inside showed the outside: if something good was happening, Ted would come upstairs.!<

!Lauren began to resent Olivia and Ted kept Lauren in the freezer more often. Outside of the house, Lauren can’t come forward for more than a moment: long enough to write a note in leggings. Ted’s broken mind made Lauren maimed and unable to walk, despite her strength keeping them alive.!<

!Starving, Ted goes through Mommy’s things, including a single white child’s flip flop. Teddy no longer fears Mommy’s punishment because he knows he can escape downstairs and Lauren would take all the pain. As he goes to eat mints, Lauren threatens to scream. Ted responds by stabbing himself with a pin again and again until Lauren promises not to scream.!<

!Lauren tries to explain what is happening to Ted but he blocks her out, so Lauren attempts suicide. Not wanting to die, Ted conditions Lauren to vanish when music plays to avoid pain. Lauren still attempts to kill themselves sometimes - it is her doing when Ted wakes up with a knife, but Ted is too strong.!<

!Ted!<

!The police are circling Mommy: she had slowly started performing her unnecessary “fixes” on children at work. After a long “fix” on Teddy, Mommy is on a chair tying a laundry line over a ceiling beam. She sends Teddy to get ice cream and he hears her whisper “Ya, ma ankou” as he leaves.!<

!Ted returns to his mother hanging in the kitchen, her possessions around her, with instructions to be taken to the woods. Ted hides his mother in the cupboard beneath the sink and cleans the mess until night comes. He then takes her body and her belongings into the woods. Lauren encourages him to get into the grave with her, but Ted doesn’t want to kill Olivia, Lauren, Night-time, or the little ones, so he can’t die. Mommy and her things become gods in the earth.!<

!Two days later, the police search his home but find nothing. Mommy had mailed a letter to the Chiuaua lady that she was going away for health reasons. Mommy was never found after that. The little girl was also still gone, but probably not in the same place.!<

!Lauren was originally six years old, the same as Little Girl With Popsicle. Lauren aged slowly and got more mad as she did. Ted loved her for taking the pain, but Lauren hated their male body that couldn’t even wear clothes she liked, like star-spangled leggings. Ted notes that even his weekend place isn’t safe, as sometimes things show up, like white flip flops and long-lost boys.!<

!Ted reaches the end of his tale and Lauren is gone. The man states that Champ must have known - Ted says that his barking must have been because Olivia was trying to escape. The Chihuahua woman is currently watching Champ - she hadn’t disappeared, only had a worried daughter. Ted realizes he is in the hospital where Mommy used to work. Upon discharge, the orange-haired man arrives to bring Ted home.!<

!The orange-haired man brings Ted home, politely ignoring the state of the place, and they share a beer in the yard. The tabby cat, thinner than usual, joins them. They discuss how they had met before, in a bar, but Ted doesn’t remember. Ted has a moment of panic and asks the man to leave, but then catches him as he puts on his seat belt and asks him to stay, apologizing. The man, Rob, stays and discusses life with his twin brother: they used to swap places, except with their girlfriends. Then Rob began seeing a man, but didn’t tell his brother. When the man mistook the twin for Rob, the twin beat him. The man moved away, and Rob no longer speaks with his brother. As night approaches, Rob goes home, and Ted realizes that the birds are returning to his yard.!<

!Night Olivia!<

!It’s the first episode of *CATching up with Night Olivia.*They discuss the inside world versus the outside; they are no longer an indoor cat and can now experience the world. The tabby in this outside world is not the one Olivia loved. Rob has taken to feeding her, and Olivia notes that he smells like his dog.!<

!Inside, the tabby outside the window is still there; she is another personality, one who does not speak. The LORD is inside as well, revealed to be Mommy’s ankou. She spoke of it so much that it passed through Mommy, through Ted, and into Olivia’s world.!<

!There is now no cord binding Night Olivia to Ted. Night Olivia does not like the upper world. She notes that now Ted, Lauren, and Night Olivia can all be together upstairs, as well as others who are just beginning to come into the light.!<

!Ted!<

!Three months have passed. Ted and Rob are returning to where Little Girl With Popsicle disappeared. Ted, despite having wanted a friend to look after them, now just wants to look after Rob. They stand by the water and Ted thinks of her.!<

!Returning to the car, Ted finds a pretty pebble, green with veins of white. He falls hard and this time, he feels it. The pain allows Little Teddy to come through. Guided by Little Teddy, Ted finds his murder suspect list in his pocket. Mommy stands out to him. Little Teddy’s memory rushes forward.!<

!Little Teddy!<

!Little Teddy overhears as the terrier/chihuahua lady gives Mommy dog care instructions - she is going to Mexico, and Mommy is house/dog sitting.!<

!After dark, an almost gleeful Mommy takes a suitcase into the woods only to return a few hours later with a now heavy suitcase. Little Teddy watches as Mommy goes to the terrier lady’s house. Returning later, Mommy is humming. In the morning, she smells of damp cellar earth and the big suitcase is never seen again. Mommy sends Big Ted to the store for ice cream.!<

!Little Teddy has been trying to tell Big Ted. Leading him to the house. Now, Big Ted is realizing the truth. He cries.!<

!Ted!<

!Rob gets Ted to the car and they go straight to the police. After explaining himself, a woman is called in. This possum woman had been at his house eleven years ago. As Ted talks, she looks less tired. After, Ted is brought to the hospital and then Rob brings him home. At the Chihuahua woman’s house, there is a van and police cars. A white screen is erected to block the view of the home. Hours later, Little Girl With Popsicle is removed from the home, having been dug up from the basement.!<

!Ted tells the possum lady about Dee’s presence and learns that she was Little Girl With Popsicle’s sister. In Dee’s house, they find Mommy’s cassette with her notes on Little Girl With Popsicle, where it fortunately sounds like she was already dead when Mommy got her. Ted notes that Mommy must have mistaken her for a little boy, because Mommy never messed with girls.!<

!Ted and the possum lady share a drink in the yard. She asks where Mommy is, but Ted just says that she is dead. Possum lady leaves, and a faded ‘s’ on the street sign makes it look like Needles Street.!<

!Bug man is gone. Ted has a new therapist who suggests he listens to his tapes to find his lost memories. Hearing Olivia’s voice, he cries, wishing they could have spoken. “Integration”, the bug lady says. Olivia and the other one wanted to be together, and Olivia won’t be back. There are other voices on the recordings that Ted doesn’t even recognize.!<

!Ted has a part time job now, and finds that his body is actually getting rest. The plywood has been removed from his windows to let in light. Ted and Lauren are working on coexisting!<

!The possum lady and police are now searching the woods near the lake looking for the little boys that Mommy took. As many as six boys may have been taken, their absence not noticed.!<

!Ted has replaced the blue rug. He makes a breakfast that everyone agrees on, even cracking a dad joke. All of the personalities are learning to coexist.!<

Was this the perfect read for your spooky season, or was this a let down? On to the discussion!

Welcome everyone, I hope you enjoyed the movie! ⚔🦈🐳 It has gone through hell and back, being delayed multiple times until it eventually got canceled. Luckily, it was picked up by another studio and ended up being distributed by Netflix! If you want to learn more, this is the Wikipedia Page of the movie.

I’ve read the book multiple times and it is very close to my heart, so discussing it with you all has been wonderful! See you in the questions!

Welcome to the marginalia post for our next runner up read, The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel. A link to the discussion schedule is here. What is a marginalia post for?

This post is a place for you to put your marginalia as we read. Scribbles, comments, glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, illuminations, or links to related - none discussion worthy - material. Anything of significance you happen across as we read can be put here. As such this is likely to contain spoilers from other users reading further ahead in the novel. We prefer, of course, that it is hidden or at least marked (massive spoilers/spoilers from chapter 10...you get the idea).

Marginalia are your observations. They don't need to be insightful or deep. Why marginalia when we have discussions?

• Sometimes it's nice to just observe rather than over-analyse a book.
• They are great to read back on after you have progressed further into the novel.
• Not everyone reads at the same pace and it is nice to have somewhere to comment on things here so you don't forget by the time the discussions come around.

How should comments be written?

• Start with general location (early in chapter 4/at the end of chapter 2/ and so on).
• Write your observations, or
• Copy your favorite quotes, or
• Scribble down your light bulb moments, or
• Share you predictions, or
• Link to an interesting side topic

As always, any questions or constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. The marginalia will also be linked in the schedule so you can find it easily at any point during the read. Happy notating!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our marginalia post for Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith. Now you might be asking - what is a marginalia post for, exactly?

This post is a place for you to put your marginalia as we read. Scribbles, comments, glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, illuminations, or links to related - none discussion worthy - material. Anything of significance you happen across as we read. As such this is likely to contain spoilers from other users reading further ahead in the novel. We prefer, of course, that it is hidden or at least marked (massive spoilers/spoilers from chapter 10...you get the idea).

Marginalia are your observations. They don't need to be insightful or deep. Why marginalia when we have discussions?

• Sometimes its nice to just observe rather than over-analyze a book.
• They are great to read back on after you have progressed further into the novel.
• Not everyone reads at the same pace and it is nice to have somewhere to comment on things here so you don't forget by the time the discussions come around.

Ok, so what exactly do I write in my comment?

• Start with general location (early in chapter 4/at the end of chapter 2/ and so on).
• Write your observations, or
• Copy your favorite quotes, or
• Scribble down your light bulb moments, or
• Share you predictions, or
• Link to an interesting side topic.

Note: Spoilers from other books should always be under spoiler tags.

As always, any questions or constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. The post will be flaired and linked in the schedule so you can find it easily, even later in the read. Have at it people!

Hello fellow bots, augmented humans, and everyone else!

Welcome to the first of our two discussions about Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. This week, we're discussing Chapters 1-4. A summary is listed below.

We pick up right where we left off, with Murderbot onboard Ship as it heads back to HaveRatton from Milu. As they near the station, Murderbot intercepts an alert for Ship to head to a public dock in the embarkation zone, next to the security team's area. Now maybe it's fine - it's possible that GoodNightLander International (GI) has sent word ahead about Milu and this is a routine evidence sweep. But Murderbot quickly decides that it's best for it to not be onboard when Ship docks, just in case.

As Ship begins to dock, Murderbot exits through the opposite end of the spacecraft using the evac suit and wipes the last traces of its presence from Ship's memory. It spacewalks to the station a little ways away from where Ship docks; fortunately no one seems to notice anything. All it can pick up are random bots going about their work, including a bot removing a module from a cargo transport. Murderbot gains access to board the cargo transport, where it inspects itself. It got rid of the blood and fluids covering it on the trip earlier, but there's definitely still visible shrapnel damage. Murderbot hops that the dark clothing helps disguise the damage and that people will generally assume it's an augmented human again.

Murderbot dons its "awkward augment human" costume and heads into the station docks. It quickly overrides the weapon scanners to force them to ignore it, which is crucial because of the in-built energy weapons in its arms. And because it had also taken Wilken's armor piercing projectile weapon and rebuilt it into a more compact form. So you know, the kind of thing that might alarm a security team. The good thing was that it was pretty easy to fool the weapon scanners. By now, Murderbot has had to interact with so many systems on the fly to do things that it's gotten a lot better at doing stuff like this.

Anyways, Murderbot joins a crowd of humans as they head from the docks toward the station mall, which conveniently passes over the area where Ship is docked. Below, there is an impressive number of security personnel and drones preparing for a boarding operation onto Ship. Interestingly enough, the logo on the security uniforms isn't the one for HaveRatton - their security team is actually standing further back. No, this is an outside security team, and those aren't cheap. As the crowd passes over the standoff, Murderbot pulls comm data from one of the security drones, and a quick search reveals that they are looking for a rogue SecUnit. Yeah, they're looking for Murderbot.

While traveling back on Ship, Murderbot used the time to build upon the changes ART had made to its body to disguise itself as an augmented human. It still worries that it's not enough, though, so Murderbot has a shopping spree at one of the stores inside the station mall, replacing its damaged clothes and knapsack. Afterwards, it walks back out into the mall, downloading new entertainment media, news reports, and transport schedules. It also discovers that the logo on the security uniforms is for a company called Palisade and starts a search on them too. In the meantime, it chooses not to ruminate on how exactly it plans to hand over the memory chips to Dr. Mensah.

Murderbot walks around, analyzing the new info in its feed when it sees something that literally stops them in their tracks: GrayCris has accused Mensah of corporate esponiage! Which makes no sense given that three books ago, it was pretty clear that GrayCris was the aggressor in all of this. A little more digging reveals that it's all speculation because it turns out Mensah is missing. Here's what happened: half of the team had left Port FreeCommerce and headed back to Preservation. Mensah was supposed to follow with the other team members but she never did. Apparently, GrayCris said that Mensah had gone to TranRollinHyfa (TRH) to negotiate the suits, which Port FreeCommerce didn't confirm. Murderbot learns that TRH is a station that serves as the headquarters for a large number of corporations, including GrayCris. It's obvious that Mensah didn't go to TRH voluntarily given the risk. So why would GrayCris have waited so long to pull something like this?

Well, it turns out that given the timing of events, GrayCris likely thinks that Mensah had purposely sent Murderbot to interfere with operations at Milu. It's not actually what happened of course, but it's not an unreasonable conclusion, hence the accusation of corporate espionage, etc. etc. It's clear that Murderbot needs to get to Mensah immediately, so it takes advantage of the currency and fake IDs it took from Wilken and Gerth to travel in style. It takes an indirect route to head to TRH, traveling on extra-fast crewed transports and hiding from the other humans on board. Along the way, Murderbot watches part of a fictionalized documentary, works on its code for fooling security cameras, and reads everything it could find on TRH, discovering that Palisade was also headquartered there. At one point, Murderbot decides to mail the memory clips it'd taken from Milu to Mensah's marital partners on PreservationAux just to be on the safe side.

Murderbot also catches a new clip of a newsburst of Dr. Bharadwaj stating that Preservation is working with GrayCris to resolve the matter. As far as Murderbot can tell, Bharadwaj is reluctantly making a statement, likely doing so only because GrayCris is threatening Mensah's life if they don't. Oddly enough, neither DeltFall nor its former bond company have said anything. It's especially odd because the bond company must be desperate to have someone pay for the security bonds and lost equipment. GrayCris should be able to pay them, but maybe they don't have enough money now. They had been spending all of this effort to recover these strange alien remnants, but they could only use them if no one knew about it, and now everyone did. Maybe some of their own deals had started to fall through.

Eventually, Murderbot's ride begins to approach TRH, which was a much bigger station than Port FreeCommerce. And, apparently, there's a company gunship just chilling outside of the station. It's not docked or preparing to go anywhere, just...waiting. It's been there for a bit, so while it could be there for some other reason, it's unlikely. Given everything involved, if Mensah had come to TRH voluntarily, the safety bond likely would have necessitated travel by gunship. So it's another clue to the puzzle. It also has the potential to reveal more clues, because Murderbot quickly discovers that the station feeds are useless. It can, however, hack into the ship's comm, sending it identifying keys and telling it it's in incognito stealth mode. The gunship replies with a databurst that Murderbot examines. From what it can tell, it looks like the gunship had been sent to retrieve Mensah. But, something had interfered and caused them to pull back and wait; likely GrayCris has somehow convinced TRH not to let the gunship dock, so its security team can't enter the station to find Mensah without dealing with station security first. Additionally, the databurst notes that others - likely Pin Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin - are essentially unaccounted for, meaning that they likely had taken a shuttle to the station themselves without company approval. So, now Murderbot has to find four people.

Once the transport finally docks, Murderbot heads into the suspiciously secure transit station with the rest of the passengers. It's unlikely that someone is actively walking the transit ring looking for Murderbot, but it's still suspicious. Based on Bharadwaj's statement, Murderbot thinks that GrayCris might suspect Mensah of using statements in newsbursts to order it to do things. So, in return, GrayCris used a set of targeted messages in newsbursts to lure Murderbot to TRH. It's not the best theory, because it doesn't explain why GrayCris would want Murderbot and Mensah, but it's something. Murderbot walks into a very swanky mall while reviewing a whole bunch of data from the various feeds, such as the best of the best downloads and a resident directory. It confirms that the rest of the Preservation team took a shuttle to the station and are staying at a hotel. At this point, there's not much else Murderbot can do with the lack of intel, so it goes off to find its friends.

Murderbot heads to the equally swanky hotel situated further down the transit ring. As it enters the lobby, it spots a number of potential hostiles; it's not clear if they are working for GrayCris or Palisade, but they are clearly tapped into the security feeds for information. It books a room on Gerth's dime again and heads up to the incredibly luxurious room with a giant bed and display surface. Unfortunately (for Murderbot at least) the hotel doesn't have any security cameras or surveillance in the hotel rooms themselves. So it'll have to dive into the security footage from public areas and review the various archives to see if it can spot anything useful. It doesn't take long before it finds footage of Ratthi walking around the hotel, seemingly unaware that he was being followed at the time. With that, Murderbot plays some media and works on code while it waits.

A few hours later, Murderbot's alert pings on Pin Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin as they leave their room. They're followed by two people but Murderbot manages to redirect their feeds to send them in another direction. After waiting to confirm that the Preservation team was leaving the hotel proper, Murderbot heads out to meet them, taking its things with them. Murderbot catches up with the Preservation team as they enter a plaza. They recognize that they're being followed, at least, because they lead Murderbot on a convoluted route through a number of plazas and stores before ending in a somewhat obscured public sitting area of another hotel.

Murderbot watches from a security camera as they appear to have an argument, or rather Pin Lee and Gurathin have an argument that Ratthi tries to mediate. While it could and should go ahead and say something to them, Murderbot isn't quite sure what they are to each other and how the interaction will play out, so it opts to just watch. Eventually, Pin Lee leaves the others at the table while she heads to a mercantile area, full of vending kiosks for different businesses. Murderbot follows her to a kiosk for a local security company but she doesn't interact with it. Murderbot can tell that she's extremely reluctant to do whatever it is she's planning to do. So Murderbot says hello.

It takes a few seconds for Pin Lee to recognize who it is, but when she does she puts on a fake smile and agrees to go to one of the nearby transit bubbles for sightseeing to talk. They climb inside and Pin Lee quickly drops the fake smile. She's pretty angry that Murderbot had just left like that, worrying everyone, even though they'd realize that they hadn't handle the situation the best way. She asks Murderbot what it's been doing, trying to confirm that it's not currently contracted to someone else. Murderbot explains that it's been doing what it wants and had come back to see what had happened with Mensah, which sort of relieves Pin Lee. Apparently, GrayCris had been demanding that Murderbot be submitted as part of the evidence so it seemed unlikely they had custody of it.

Eventually, Pin Lee lets her guard down a bit. She asks Murderbot why it came back to help given how things left off. Murderbot neatly sidesteps that question and asks if Mensah came to TRH voluntarily. Pin Lee explains that back on Port FreeCommerce, there was a meeting where the families of the DeltFall team had come to collect the remains. It was an emotional event, and when Mensah stepped away for a moment GrayCris grabbed her and took her off-station. Preservation and Pin Lee managed to bully the company into treating the situation as an extension of her safety bond and sent the gunship to TranRollinHyfa. But GrayCris told them that to save Mensah's life, Preservantion would need to drop the lawsuit and make a public announcement. They did, via Bharadwaj's statement, but the three of them were still there to negotiate a ransom. GrayCris is in need of money, but while Preservation is trying to liquidate assets it doesn't have enough. Since the station refused to let the company gunship dock, they were doing nothing, although they'd given them the key for Mensah's fail-safe interface implant. However, Gurathin was blocked from accessing it, likely because of a signal dampener wherever Mensah was being held, something that Murderbot quickly confirms.

At this point, Pin Lee explains, they're running out of time to raise the money for the ransom. She was going to try hiring one of the local security companies and hope it wasn't one paid off by GrayCris. On top of that, the company was likely playing a double game between Preservation and GrayCris. But, now Murderbot is here, so they've got a plan - or they will soon. After the transit bubble returns to the hotel, Murderbot books a room while Pin Lee goes to fetch Ratthi and Gurathin so all four of them can talk. She evidently tells them the news on the way there because Ratthi's and Gurathin's greetings are about what Murderbot expects. Pin Lee quickly switches back to the topic at hand of rescuing Mensah.

Doing so will be complicated. GrayCris won't release Mensah without the ransom money that Preservation doesn't have. Murderbot can't just swoop in and grab Mensah since she's on the upper transit ring in GrayCris headquarters, which is their territory. By forcing GrayCris to interact with them on "neutral" ground in the second transit ring GrayCris has to personally negotiate with each entity that has jurisdiction for access. The company gunship can't be relied on - GrayCris probably plans to use the ransom money to pay off the company. Which presents another problem, since it's a pretty good guess what will happen to the Preservation team if GrayCris is able to pay off the company. It's unlikely because GrayCris is apparently also hurting for money, but it's still a potential risk.

There is one potential solution: if they can somehow manage to get Mensah past the security barrier on the upper transit ring, Murderbot can track her location via her implant. And with that, an idea is born - the Preservation team can arrange a meeting to exchange the ransom and essentially bluff about having the hard currency on hand. That should be enough to get them to move Mensah, and Murderbot can then track her location. At that point, it can grab Mensah and they can all make a run for it. And thus, the plan is made.

Murderbot heads down to the lobby to wait and connect to the various security and surveillance systems. There's no camera in the rooms, so it can only listen as Pin Lee makes a call to their GrayCris representative informing them that they have the ransom and that they want to see Mensah before the authorization is sent. The GrayCris representative agrees, saying that first they'll send their own representative to confirm that everything is in order and Mensah will follow behind them. Shortly afterwards, Gurathin comes down to the lobby to wait for the GrayCris representative. They're all nervous - Gurathin is sitting stiffly, Pin Lee is pacing, and Ratthi keeps going to the bathroom. Murderbot tries not to ruminate on seeing Mensah again and figuring out what they mean to each other while also trying to plan various escape routes and contingencies.

Eventually, the GrayCris representative, Serrat, enters the lobby. While the security scans show he is unarmed, it also matches a pattern suggesting that he has a way to fool the scans and likely has a weapon and a secured comm device that would need to connect to the hotel's relays. Serrat meets Gurathin, who takes him to the pod junction to the hotel room. Murderbot sends a warning to Pin Lee and Ratthi and keeps scanning the lobby, spotting more potential hostiles, as well as others outside of the plaza entrance. It had planned to stay in the lobby during the exchange and scan for Mensah's implant, but given how things are going Murderbot decides to head up to the room. It taps into the mobility system (MobSys) and takes a pod up to their floor, arriving in their section as Serrat and Gurathin enter the room. It listens in as Pin Lee tells Serrat that they have the ransom and want to see Mensah; Serrat says she's on the way and that he needs to see the documentation first. Then it gets "disastrously complicated."

Ratthi asks for help via the feed, and based on the conversation something has gone wrong. Pin Lee and Serrat are calling each other on their bluffs/plots. Murderbot is hooking into the hotel's security system while still trying to ping Mensah's implant and intercepting the comm signal Serrat had just sent. There's no time for subtlety, so Murderbot kills the main relays for the hotel and the backup relays. Ratthi explains that Serrat has some type of small energy weapon in his hand. Murderbot tells them to keep talking as it heads to the room. It has to slow down a bit as two people exit their room but once they make it to a pod junction it listens through the door to gauge Serrat's likely position.

In a flash, Murderbot bursts through the door, overloads Serrat's energy weapon, and pins him to a wall, forcing him to drop the gun and the device. Murderbot confirms that it intercepted the signal as the others pick up the gun and comm device. Serrat accuses them of bringing in a privately owned, supposedly missing SecUnit, a violation of station law, while the Preservation team accuses GrayCris of lying about planning to release Mensah. Meanwhile, there's still no response from Mensah's implant. Serrat and the Preservation team argue more, with Serrat accusing them of sending Murderbot to Milu and the team responding confusedly, since they have no clue what Milu is and from their perspective GrayCris is the clear aggressor. Meanwhile, there's still no response from Mensah's implant, and Murderbot realizes they never planned to bring her there. Everything up to then had been for nothing. Murderbot tells Serrat Milu was its idea as a rogue unit, and Serrat realizes that he is definitely in danger.

But then, finally, there's a response from Mensah's implant. Murderbot chooses to just choke Serrat until he falls unconscious instead of actually killing him. Murderbot tells the team to leave Serrat, his gun, and his device there and head for the shuttle; it's already mapping Mensah's location and runs outs of the room. As it sprints down the corridor, Murderbot tells the others over the feed that Mensah is two minutes away and that they need to be out of the hotel by then. It'll have her meet them at the shuttle. They can't contact it over the feed to prevent station security from tracing them. The team heads out and Ratthi just has time to tell Murderbot to be careful before it breaks contact and shuts down its risk assessment module.

Discussion questions are listed below. Please remember to limit your comments to the end of chapter 4 of Exit Strategy. Any comments about the rest of the book will be removed, even if they are wrapped in spoiler tags. Since it is expected that readers have read the first 3 books, references to those books can be made without using spoiler tags.

Next week, we'll cover the second half of the book. See you then!

Welcome to the marginalia post for Never Whistle at Night, an anthology of horror stories by many Indigenous authors from around the world. Link to the discussions schedule is here. Now you might be asking - what is a marginalia post for, exactly?

This post is a place for you to put your marginalia as we read. Scribbles, comments, glosses (annotations), critiques, doodles, illuminations, or links to related - none discussion worthy - material. Anything of significance you happen across as we read. As such this is likely to contain spoilers from other users reading further ahead in the novel. We prefer, of course, that it is hidden or at least marked (massive spoilers/spoilers from chapter 10...you get the idea).

Marginalia are your observations. They don't need to be insightful or deep. Why marginalia when we have discussions?

• Sometimes its nice to just observe rather than over-analyze a book.
• They are great to read back on after you have progressed further into the novel.
• Not everyone reads at the same pace and it is nice to have somewhere to comment on things here so you don't forget by the time the discussions come around.

Ok, so what exactly do I write in my comment?

• Start with general location (early in chapter 4/at the end of chapter 2/ and so on).
• Write your observations, or
• Copy your favorite quotes, or
• Scribble down your light bulb moments, or
• Share you predictions, or
• Link to an interesting side topic.

As always, any questions or constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged. The post will be flaired and linked in the schedule so you can find it easily, even later in the read. Have at it people!

:It is done”

~spanreed begins transmitting~

HERE.WE.GOOOOOOO!!!!!

Welcome to our FINAL discussion of Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson! We are at the end!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

This week, we are discussing Chapter 113 Through Epilogue . There are chapter summaries linked below. 

Before we begin, a note on spoilers: If you think it might be a spoiler, just mark it as such.

Additionally, please review r/bookclub's consequences for posting spoilers before commenting. The speculation is the most exciting thing for first time readers of Sanderson's books. And we want to make this read great for everyone.

To indicate a spoiler, enclose the relevant text with the > ! and ! < characters (there is no space in-between).

Please label your spoilers appropriately, e.g. use [Mistborn era 1] for things that happened in Mistborn era 1. And be aware that not everyone has read the Mistborn books. Any connection between books, that are not explicitly stated in the books, or things we can learn from Words of Brandon, is a Cosmere spoiler and should live in the Marginalia.

If you see something that looks suspicious, hit the 'report' and follow the prompts.

Enjoy the discussion! Answer any or all of the questions you want. Hope to see you in the discussion! Now,

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Chapter summaries can be found here. Be wary of spoilers as things may be revealed in the summary that haven’t been revealed in the reading. Read at your own risk! Schedule and Marginalia links are below.

Schedule

Marginalia

Rogue