The DIS Book Club Discussion Group: Round 10 - A Discovery of Witches

[Soarin Hubby]

Merry Christmas to all.

 

[DisneylandDeeDee]

I hope it is not too late to join in the book club at the last minute. Everyone's comments so far have been great to read. I have been enjoying the book despite the fact that I have never been a fan of first person fiction. I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next.

Diana has worked hard in her chosen field without the influence of magic because she is an intelligent woman who wants to "own" her achievements without help from her witchcraft powers.
If I had the power would I use witchcraft? As others have said, yes, for the every day tasks on occasion. Dishes and laundry!!! And traffic. I feel that my "self worth" would suffer if I didn't work for what I had.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I hope it is not too late to join in the book club at the last minute. Everyone's comments so far have been great to read. I have been enjoying the book despite the fact that I have never been a fan of first person fiction. I am on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen next.

Diana has worked hard in her chosen field without the influence of magic because she is an intelligent woman who wants to "own" her achievements without help from her witchcraft powers.
If I had the power would I use witchcraft? As others have said, yes, for the every day tasks on occasion. Dishes and laundry!!! And traffic. I feel that my "self worth" would suffer if I didn't work for what I had.

I only had a chance to begin reading the day. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!


Just a suggestion, would anyone mind if we put the last page we read at the top of our post? This way those of us who are behind the reading schedule know whether or not there could be a spoiler in the post.

 

[CDolacki2003]

I only had a chance to begin reading the day. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!


Just a suggestion, would anyone mind if we put the last page we read at the top of our post? This way those of us who are behind the reading schedule know whether or not there could be a spoiler in the post.

I think that's a good idea Nikki. I am glad you chose to pick it up, I cannot believe how much I am enjoying it and this thread. I always lurked in the past when you had the book club and regret not jumping in and participating.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I think that's a good idea Nikki. I am glad you chose to pick it up, I cannot believe how much I am enjoying it and this thread. I always lurked in the past when you had the book club and regret not jumping in and participating.

Well I'm so glad you are here now!!

A couple of thoughts this afternoon...I just finished Page 63....

- When Diana meets Agatha in the cafe, she uses Matthew's name as if Agatha would know him. Why is that? Why did she assume Agatha would know who he was? That threw me.

- Diana has a very intense and vivid dream about drowning in the beginning of Chapter 7. After getting sick, she sleeps for a few hours and then decides to go rowing on the lake. Why'd she do this after her dream? I would think that she would skip it for a day.

- Anyone find it odd how creatures like vamps and daemons just hang around Oxford? It's like they're just normal citizens. Was this how society felt or is this just us looking at thjngs through Diana's eyes? Agatha said humans abandon their children if they're daemons. Obviously there's some knowledge then. Is anyone else finding this conscious awareness of the creatures in the human world odd?

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I'm about 20% in (don't know the page since I'm reading on the Kindle). I agree that she wants to be known for her smarts and not her magical power. But I also think she is afraid of it. Clearly her mom and dad were very powerful and it ruined them. I think she's afraid of destroying herself with her own power.
Me? I would use it for some things like others have said. I doubt I would be the type to want to rule the world with my uber power (bwahaha) but it would make life a lot easier. Leaky roof? BAM! All fixed. Need a new coat? SHAZAM, it appears. Want to go on a trip? ZING! There in a flash.

 

[CDolacki2003]

Well I'm so glad you are here now!!

A couple of thoughts this afternoon...I just finished Page 63....

- When Diana meets Agatha in the cafe, she uses Matthew's name as if Agatha would know him. Why is that? Why did she assume Agatha would know who he was? That threw me.

- Diana has a very intense and vivid dream about drowning in the beginning of Chapter 7. After getting sick, she sleeps for a few hours and then decides to go rowing on the lake. Why'd she do this after her dream? I would think that she would skip it for a day.

- Anyone find it odd how creatures like vamps and daemons just hang around Oxford? It's like they're just normal citizens. Was this how society felt or is this just us looking at thjngs through Diana's eyes? Agatha said humans abandon their children if they're daemons. Obviously there's some knowledge then. Is anyone else finding this conscious awareness of the creatures in the human world odd?

I too have found a few inconsistancies but overall I think the book is interesting.

I dont think I would be going anywhere near water if I just dreampt about drowning to the point I got sick.

I would have liked the abandoned child idea explained a little more, do the parents think the children are evil or are they placed into an asylem??? She keeps referring to the fact that if to many otherworldly gather then they draw attention to themselves from the humans. It is obvious that some humans know about the existance of vampires, witches and daemons; look at Matthews friends butler, I believe he is human.

I find her spin on the creatures to be new, she throws out all our preconcieved Hollywood notions of vampires: they dont sparkle, burn up in sunlight, they eat food, dont sleep in coffins, etc... This makes the story fresh and not a cookiecutter supernatural story.

I am a little farther than the planned reading so I hope I did not talk to far ahead.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I am on Chapter 20 so I hope I am not going to give anything away, but has anyone else been thrown by the idea of Matthew's "son"? When we first meet this person, we have no idea of his relevance. Then, just a chapter or so later the idea of Matthew's "son" is mentioned about 5 times in just a few pages. The way it was omitted and then repeated over and over, makes me think that it was an after thought or something. Or maybe I missed a clue at his first introduction. I guess I feel like the author is shoving the idea down our throats - we get it. He has a "son".

Anyway, I'm enjoying the book in general but I keep wondering why a person would be attracted to a cold vampire. Who wants to snuggle up to someone cold? Or maybe it's just me, being from the cold northeast, that wants to be near a warm being - haha.

 

[UConnFan]

I am on Chapter 20 so I hope I am not going to give anything away, but has anyone else been thrown by the idea of Matthew's "son"? When we first meet this person, we have no idea of his relevance. Then, just a chapter or so later the idea of Matthew's "son" is mentioned about 5 times in just a few pages. The way it was omitted and then repeated over and over, makes me think that it was an after thought or something. Or maybe I missed a clue at his first introduction. I guess I feel like the author is shoving the idea down our throats - we get it. He has a "son".

Anyway, I'm enjoying the book in general but I keep wondering why a person would be attracted to a cold vampire. Who wants to snuggle up to someone cold? Or maybe it's just me, being from the cold northeast, that wants to be near a warm being - haha.

I know...I thought the son reference was kind of weird. It was an awkward transition.

Overall I'm really enjoying the book! Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I promise I'm back for good I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

I've been thinking about why Matthew is attracted to Diana. If I was thousands of years old, I would think I'd be bored, not in love like I'd never been in love before. Do you think her magic has anything to do with this attraction?

How are you enjoying the book so far? Do you like the Matthew Diana connection? What has been your favorite part?

 

[msande]

This was a really good book. I will not spoil it for every one. I finished it the first week and bought the second in the series.

The charactors are more complex than they seem at first. Diana seems boring and withdrawn, Matthew seems cold and calculating. It was very interesting to me to watch them evolve as the story is told.

Michaelle

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I'm struggling with the Matthew and Diana connection, myself. Maybe I'm just SO against the Twilight series - sorry Twilight lovers - so I'm reluctant to get behind the idea of the two of them together (if that actually happens). But I do like Diana as a person. Since she shys away from her magic power, I think of her as a regular person - a normal human. I also like that she is independent and does what she needs to do to work through her problems. I like that she is an empowered woman who is proactive by running, rowing, working, etc. So I like her. I can identify with her. She's not a wilting flower who needs to be saved. I like that. And I think Matthew likes that about her too. He might find it frustrating, but it's alluring to him.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

I haven't read the book, but my daughter did. She was much more excited by it then the twilight series. She has passed it on to friends at school.

We had been invited to a book pick up courtesy of American Red Cross. For all who support them, please know that the military members and families are very greatful for the books donated. This is where we received our copy.

Enjoy!

 

[CDolacki2003]

I finished the book a week or two ago and was suprised that I liked it as much as I did, I am reading something else now and want to start the sequel soon.
I think the holidays, unfortunatly slowed this thread down to a slow crawl. I hope we can get it up and reading again

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I think the holidays, unfortunatly slowed this thread down to a slow crawl. I hope we can get it up and reading again

In hopes that we can revive this thread, I have a discussion question for everyone (if I may be so bold!):

Who is the Congregation? Do you think it is good or evil?

(I confess that I stole this question from another site regarding this book)

I think that the Congregation was probably first formed to keep order. But I'm not sure that's always a good thing. Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[BriarRosie]

In hopes that we can revive this thread, I have a discussion question for everyone (if I may be so bold!):

Who is the Congregation? Do you think it is good or evil?

(I confess that I stole this question from another site regarding this book)

I think that the Congregation was probably first formed to keep order. But I'm not sure that's always a good thing. Anyone else have an opinion?

The Congregation is like a Grand Council of sorts comprised of representatives of the vampire, witch, and daemon communities. I think like any governing body, there are various levels of good and bad, corrupt and non-corrupt.

 

[UConnFan]

I'm also thinking about love and Diana's power. Do you think her falling in love has any influence on her power becoming stronger? Also, do you think human "powers" are made stronger when we fall in love? How do we change when we fall in love?

 

[mousefan5]

I definitely think we are stronger with love. Think of the love a mother has for their child and what they would do for her children.

 

[BriarRosie]

I think you all need to read Book 2 to find out some surprising revelations about Diana's powers. It's that good.

 

[msande]

I think you all need to read Book 2 to find out some surprising revelations about Diana's powers. It's that good.

I agree, everyone needs to read book two as it goes into much more detail.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Hi everyone. Is it too late to join this thread?