HelenaExMachina

Thanks for that, was on my to read list. There's also a number of other titles including The Warlord Chronicles and some various stuff by Gemmel

Thanks! Must say that 2020 brain heard “Coronabeth” and thought guilty kill her now... but yeah, i really loved all the secondary characters. Gideon was obviously the highlight as the narrator but i loved all the secondary characters and felt invested in them even when they only had brief page time. I guess the cast on Ninth House was a bit bland but that was the whole point really, as I read it anyway. They were a dying house fanatical in their worship of death. Though Gideon’s narration does make any time spent on the Ninth or recollecting the Ninth more enjoyable I’ve read the spoiler tags for Gt9 now and I also assumed from the beginning

Oh my. *leave meeting* wait this isn’t a zoom call?

Oh my poor heart reading this back damn, things turn very dark very quickly in this book. I know its all a bit macabre but i feel it starts off more darkly humorous and then flips to be much darker. Which isn’t a criticism, i actually liked the tonal shift, but it certainly surprised me. Anyway, finished the audiobook today and wow, loved it all. The last part (the big fight) goes on maybe a little too long but that is just a minor quibble and its not as though it bored me. In fact I stayed out walking far longer than I should have because i wamted to finish it up. I think for the next one I’ll read it first. As I said, audio is great but a little hard to follow for a first time with the novel. Also, I may just need to listen to the Epilogue again but what happened to the other third twin, Coronabeth(spelling? Im just going with the way its pronounced which, kind of an unfortunate name for 2020 but alas...) It seemed like the Emperor said only Herrow and the one Third twin survived but did I miss Corona dying or going missing? I thought she was just left in the lab

They are golden and the audio for them is great too. "Magnooooooooseeee"

We get a 30 minute paid break and 15 minute unpaid break and aren't supposed to roll them into one unless cleared by our manager first. We also can't take either break just before end of day to finish early. I have always taken my 30 minutes as like BFC I go for a walk during my break because sitting at a desk all day gives me terrible aches and pains (Since I've been WFH I've been alternating sitting at the desk and standing which helps a lot actually). However I am also like Iskaral Pust, I struggle to switch off at the end of the day and log out on time. Even when I do I'll find myself logging back in later "to check emails" as I tell myself only to wind up doing more work. I am trying to work on it but it's especially hard during lockdown when I don't really have a great deal else to do

Oh for sure, I'm really enjoying the narrative and the way it's narrated. I'm especially enjoying the voice that gets used for Gideon, it really sells her somewhat cocky anti-authproty attitude. it's just difficult to follow as an audiobook without any real knowledge or context of the story beforehand. I will definitely be buying the book to read once I finish the audiobook

Most news reports I've heard today seem to think NHS will be exempt from the pay freeze. I would say even the Tories couldn't be so ill-advised as to include the NHS in a pay freeze right now but I just don't have that confidence, somehow. Agreed regarding MP pay freeze.

I had a free audiobook credit so bought Gideon the Ninth. I wish I had checked this thread first as I'd have realised beforehand it's something I'm going to need to read to fully understand. I'm enjoying it so far but finding I need to keep relistening to parts to be sure I've made sense of what's going on

Unfortunately agreed. I love Monza. I was glad we got to see Vitari again though, even if her redhead is gone a bit ashy now.

With lockdown 2.0 there are understandably a lot of delivery cyclists (deliveroo, Uber eats, etc.) around the city. Great, stay home stay safe whatever. But really, someone ought to introduce some kind of cyclist test because these people are so lethal and pay no mind to pedestrians. Switching from road to pavement at the drop of a hat as it suits them. Oh lights red? Off the road I go! swerving high speed round corners with not a care in the world to who might be walking by, not even looking where they are going because they are too busy monitoring their app. My frustration with their complete disregard for others increases daily. What's even more annoying is that the city has actually added several cycle lanes that should mitigate the issue but do they get used? Nope

I was planning to do this. I've held out a grand total of less than a day and that was only because I was at work. Turning on iPlayer now...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54824120 Furlough scheme extended to March

I'm drawing a blank as to what advice I gave, sorry. Was this a while ago?

The queues of people going for a final drink before lockdown are unsurprising but discouraging all the same