I'll put my answers at the bottom, just in case anyone wants to hear what an unabashed fanboy of the series thinks (you might be surprised).
Also, don't forget to check out all these wonderful blogs to get a feeling for what everyone else is saying about the Read-Along.
Nashville Book Worm
Dark Cargo
Rose’s Thingamajig
Felix Pearce
Books Without any Pictures
Lynn’s Book Blog
Geeky Daddy
Scruffy Fiction
Vilutheril Reviews
Booky Pony
Tethyan Books
Paperless Reading
Beware of the Froggies
John Ayliff
My Awful Reviews
Just Book Reading
Kaitharshayr’s Musings
All I Am – A Redhead
Realbooks4ever
Coffee, Cookies and Chili Peppers
Rememorandum
The Hugo Endurance Project
LisaPizza
1. If this is your first time reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, what
do you think of it so far? If this is a re-read for you, how does the
book stand up to rereading?
2. At last count, I found three time lines: Locke as as a
20-something adult, Locke meeting Father Chains for the first time, and
Locke as a younger child in Shades Hill. How are you doing with the
Flashback within a flashback style of introducing characters and the
world?
3. Speaking of the world, what do you think of Camorr and Lynch’s world building?
4. Father Chains and the death offering. . . quite the code of honor
for thieves, isn’t it? What kind of person do you think Chains is going
to mold Locke into?
5. It’s been a while since I read this, and I’d forgotten how much of
the beginning of the book is pure set up, for the characters, the plot,
and the world. Generally speaking, do you prefer set up and world
building done this way, or do you prefer to be thrown into the deep end
with what’s happening?
6. If you’ve already started attempting to pick the pockets of your family members (or even thought about it!) raise your hand.
1. This is probably my 6th or 7th read of this book. It's a yearly deal with me, usually a book that I go to when I'm burnt out and want something comforting (yes, like Little Red Reviewer, I like my comfort with lots of violence, torture, sex and vulgar language). This book never disappoints me, which is why it was perfect to read after I finished Chuck Wendig's Blackbirds and felt that anything I read after it would disappoint.
2. The timelines were confusing for me the first time I read the book, but now they're old friends. I remember having to think really hard about what was going on the first time I read so that I could understand whether we were in the past or the present. I think for a lot of readers, this could throw them off. I stuck with it, and I'm incredibly glad that I did.
3. Camorr is amazing. This is the book that I look to when I want to read great description. I think that it can get a tiny bit info-dumpy for my liking, but I'm a recovering addict to skipping descriptive paragraphs in favor of the action. I understand now that I was hurting my abilities as a reader AND as a writer by doing that, so I've been correcting it of late. Camorr is a fantastic place to see, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to live there (unless I were rich and far from the eyes of The Gentleman Bastards, that is).
4. I have always enjoyed the idea of thieves having a code of conduct. I think it also makes it easier to root for thieves if they have honor and an organized style of pilfering. Knowing how stubborn Chains is, I would think that he's molding Locke into exactly what he says he is, the head of a guild of thieves that will make the heavens weep and will be richer and cleverer than everyone else.
5. Reading for the umpteenth time, as LRR said, the beginning is starting to get just a tad slow for me. I'm about 60% of the way through so far, and a little surprised that there was so much set up. Thankfully, when the book starts kicking, it REALLY starts kicking and doesn't stop until the end.
6. Look in my hand, that's your wallet.
