Week 32: 8/6-8/13 > Likes and Comments
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Happy Thursday all.Still covered in wildfire smoke here. I don't remember it ever being this bad before... Other than that, not much new here.
Books read this week:
One Final Vinyl -- a hilarious and emotional read about a young woman not prepared for college and a retirement-home escapee who embark on a road trip together.
Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books -- nothing groundbreaking here, but it does give plenty of ways to incorporate reading into one’s daily life and make you a better reader.
Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod: A Veterinarian's Story -- a great read about the Iditarod sled dog race, and the veterinarians who make sure the hundreds of dogs who participate stay healthy and safe.
Plant Lady -- creepy but empowering read about a plant shop owner who takes back power from men who would objectify and demean the women of her city.
Currently reading:
Juarez Square and Other Stories
Greenwild
Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves—and How to Find Our Way Back
Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian's Guide to Autism
QOTW:
My dad reads quite a bit... and believe it or not, his favorite genre is regency romance! My brothers don't read as much, though my youngest brother used to be an avid reader and says he wants to get back into reading.
As for the empathy question... I do think reading can make you more empathetic, as it helps you learn more about other people's lives and better "walk a mile in their shoes." And I do think nonfiction can do this as well as fiction -- biography/memoir especially.
Happy Thursday! We’ve been without a dishwasher for almost two months, but yesterday the new one was finally installed! It sure makes our after-dinner routine more manageable.Reading Challenges:
52 Book Club: 50/52
52 Books Read It, Watch It: 7/12
ATY: 51/52 (Summer Challenge: 24/25)
Booklist Queen: 50/52
Popsugar: 49/50
Goodreads Summer Bookmarks: 9/11
52 Books Mystery Challenge: 29/50
My Ever-Growing TBR: 85/285 – 29.8% (My goal is 33.3%.)
Recently Completed:
🌻 Cherry Baby (GR Bookmarks #7 – Staff Shelves) ★★★★
🌻 Edmund Bertram's Diary, Jane Austen Heroes, #4: Jane Austen Book Club. ★★★
🌻 Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America, Presidency of Donald J. Trump, #4 ★★★★
🌻 Things We Never Got Over, Knockemout, #1 Ridiculous dialogue. (view spoiler) ★★
🌻 Deja Brew, Elemental Love, #3 ★★★
🌻 The Devil's Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee ★★★
🌻 The Calamity Club: Books and Brews Book Club. Tried to tackle way too many issues… and I was disappointed by the ending. (GR Bookmarks #9 – Fact or Fiction) ★★★
🌻 The Look: Gorgeous coffee table book about Michelle Obama and fashion. ★★★★
🌻 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: Page Turners Book Club. ★★★★
🌻 A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy ★★★
🌻 James: Reasonable Doubt Book Club. (ATY #10 – an award-winning book/Popsugar #43 – books by real-life partners or spouses) ★★★★★
QOTW: No, the men in my life rarely read for pleasure. My husband read one or two books a year. He read much more when he was younger, but predominantly spent his free time playing video games rather than reading as he got older. My son Rhys just picked up the first book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives after not reading anything for years. He and Ashley are trying to buddy-read it, but it’s not going quickly.
I am in one book club that is majority male. We read a lot of nonfiction, some literary fiction, a little sci-fi. These men are older and progressive.
Yes, I think reading – both fiction and nonfiction – builds empathy. It gives us an opportunity to live in times, places, and circumstances that otherwise would remain closed to us, giving us the opportunity to see the world through someone else’s eyes.
Good morning, everyone! Happy Thursday!This has been a pretty good week! I had my birthday at the beginning of the week, and my dad took me to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. He also surprised me with a gift card to Barnes & Noble, which I will definitely be using before the end of the month.
This turned out to be a really good reading week! Not only did I continue my reading of the Legend of Drizzt series, but I was also able to read a couple of nonfiction books, and some new releases.
I also continued participating in the Full Moon Readathon, which started last week. I’ve managed to complete 6 of the 12 prompts so far, but the readathon is ending this evening, so I probably won’t manage to finish them all.
Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…
Goodreads Challenge: 169/250
Mount TBR Challenge: 104/150
📚Physical TBR: 98/462
📱Ebook TBR: 5/161
🎧Audiobook TBR: 1/1
TBR Checklist Total: 104/624 (16% complete)
TBR Books DNFed in 2026: 6
TBR Books Soft DNFed in 2026: 3
I picked up a few new books this week, including: The Wandering Inn, by pirateaba; The Witch Queen, by Heather Walter; Catharsis, by Travis Bagwell; Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels, Book Three, by Nancy Springer; and UNCAGED: SOLDIER, SURVIVOR, SHARK GUY., by Paul de Gelder.
“New” Books Bought in 2026: 87
“New” Books Read in 2026: 64
“New” Books DNFed in 2026: 0
“New” Books Checklist Total: 64/87 (73% complete)
Here are the books I finished this week…
Finished Reading (Fiction):
This week I continued reading The Legend of Drizzt series. I’ve really been enjoying this series! I will be taking a break from the series from the 17th through the 23rd because I’ll be participating in a romance-centered readathon, but I’ll definitely be returning to it as soon as the readathon ends. Content Alert: (view spoiler) I finished books 14-16 this week, which included…
~Servant of the Shard — This is the fourteenth book in the Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Drizzt series. I was somewhat disappointed to find that this installment of the series (like book 12) did not focus on Drizzt and his companions. However, unlike that previous book, this one did present an interesting twist as a couple of the series’s recurring antagonists had their chance to be the heroes for once. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Promise of the Witch King — This is the fifteenth book in the Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Drizzt series. It follows the same side characters from the previous book (plus a few new ones). Even though Drizzt was not in this book, I enjoyed it immensely. It was very exciting and felt more like a classic D&D dungeon crawl than many of the previous books. The Indiana Jones reference was also quite entertaining. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Road of the Patriarch — This is the sixteenth book in the Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Drizzt series. I thought this was a good conclusion to the Sellswords story arc, but there were moments when the narrative felt a bit slow. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I also read…
~Sea of Charms — While this is technically the third book in the Spellshop series, its plot actually weaves throughout those of the previous two books. I thought the story and characters were delightful, and read the entire book in a single sitting because I just did not want to put it down. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~A Trade of Blood — This is the third book in the Shadow of the Leviathan/Ana & Din Mystery series. I really enjoyed this story, especially since the mystery was so twisted. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~Cher: The Memoir, Part One — This was a really good book! The book basically covers Cher’s early life through her relationship with Sonny Bono, and I learned so much about her that I never would have known otherwise. I will definitely be getting a copy of the second book as soon as it’s released (which I believe is now scheduled for November). Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Boy Who Lived: When Magic and Reality Collide: My Story — This was an incredible book! Not only did it tell the story of David Holmes’s life, as well as the movie-set accident that changed his life forever, but it also provided a really good look at movie-making from the perspective of the people responsible for doing the stunts we all find so impressive. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None
Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None
DNFed:
~The Secret — I found out about this book while watching an episode of Expedition Unknown, and was very curious to check it out. Unfortunately, it was very different than I expected. The poem/artwork pairs that make up the treasure hunt comprise only a tiny part of the book. The majority is actually a rather silly, pun-filled encyclopedia of the fair folk “currently residing” in the United States. Had I known how little of this book was taken up by the treasure hunt clues, I would not have bothered to get a copy. I’m definitely disappointed, because it sounded intriguing. 📚
Currently Reading:
~The Thousand Orcs — This is the seventeenth book in the Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Drizzt series. I'm only a couple chapters into this book, but I'm enjoying it so far. 📚
QOTW:
Yes! My dad reads all the time, and really enjoys historical mysteries, classics, and anything by Clive Cussler. He’s planning to read The Odyssey when he finishes his current mystery series.
Hi folks!We had the flooring replaced in half the house, so it's been a whole lotta packing stuff up and now unpacking. Place looks great, though!
I'm up to 91 books.
Popsugar 50/50- DONE
52 Book Club -52/52 - DONE
Booklist Queen - 51/52
This Challenge Killed the Bookworm 24/25
Around the Year 49/52
Finished:
Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men You can take the girl out of social work, but you can't take the social worker out of the girl, so I still read books like this. The author is a therapist who runs a specialized program for batterers. Depressing but really insightful read.
I grabbed Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves off the library shelf because I liked the title. Turns out a lot of the poems are about birding! So if you still need a book for that category and you like poetry, this is a quick and enjoyable read.
Yay! all queer Free and Queer is a collection of short stories, both SF/F and real-world. And I'm one of the contributing authors!
Currently reading:
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Love the premise, a tradwife influencer suddenly stuck in the 1800s. As unlikeable narrators go, this one's not quite up to Humbert Humbert level, but she's up there.
QOTW:
My brother isn't as book-obsessed as I am, but he does read both nonfiction and fiction, especially SF. My writers group is 4 women and 2 men, all voracious readers of course. The "open book club" at my library is usually a bunch of women and one or two men.
I do think reading builds empathy, especially in children. That's why it's important for children to have books about people of other races, religions, etc.
Greetings from NYC in the Dog Days of August! It's actually settling into tolerable temps here for the next 10 days or so, which is a blessing. I'm plenty busy with work and more. PS 41/50 ATY 50/52
Finished:
Dungeon Crawler Carl - I"m now an official member of the fan club!
A Loyal Character Dancer
Of Monsters and Mainframes
Currently Reading:
Louisiana Purchase (03) by Fleming, Thomas Hardcover (2003)
Brigands & Breadknives
QOTW: Some men in my life read, some don't. Yesterday I was recommending some historical fiction to a colleague, for example, and we both were recommending one to a female colleague heading to Siena on vacation. My brother does not read books of any kind, hasn't since his army days, but is better read on contemporary affairs than I am - reading newspapers and magazines, and of course now finding things online. My nephew-in-law reads books, both fiction and non-fiction. My dad, who only had an 8th grade education, was dairy farmer, and until he retired - meaning sold the cows and went to work for a neighboring farmer as a handyman - he only had time to read the daily newspaper and some farm magazines, though he did read National Geographic cover to cover every month. Once he retired, he read books all the time, starting with working through my mom's collection of Reader's Digest Condensed Books (I'm older than most of you .... those dated from the 1950s) and what books he'd find at yard sales -- such as The Last Days of Pompeii or ones my sisters and I were reading and had set down for a minute. He definitely leaned into the fiction, which is most of what we all read.
'Declining literacy rate' is too often misused to mean 'reading books for pleasure' or 'reading any books voluntarily'. That's not what 'literacy rate' is, but 'reading literacy' or 'reading rate'. Literacy is about reading and writing. However, on doing a little rabbit hole digging, I see that starting in the 1990s, the definition of 'literacy rate' came under great debate and that continues --- which is exactly what Stuart is doing in his little essay.
In fact, here's a link to the Wikipedia article on Literacy - which in its detailing of the literacy debate today blew my mind - it's all over the place - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy
As for whether empathy is learned primarily from reading fiction? I think that's a crock. Yes, you learn empathy from fiction - especially from the oft-looked-down-upon romance novels. But in truth you learn it from reading almost anything - newspaper articles come to mind, along with memoirs, history - in fact anything that isn't just a technical analysis. You even learn it from reading case law decisions.
In my mind, literacy is still the basic ability to read and write with a level of assurance and ease. Now reading voluntarily on a regular basis, especially books? That is something else and maybe it is something to be concerned about. What's more worrisome to me is the ability of people to read and write at all, in at least a basic level of competence.
I'm a fiction reader, always have been. But I also spend my day reading and analyzing non-fiction if you will - I'm a lawyer. I also spend it learning and researching and writing it. In my free time, the last thing I want to do is read more to learn. I want to be distracted and entertained first and foremost. But I also learn a lot from my reading - I recently read Pachinko which led me down some rabbit holes as I learned something I never ever knew about the treatment of Korean Japanese. This week I learned about certain types of video game structure from reading Dungeon Crawler Carl (as I have never played any of those types of video games) - and was wildly entertained by the fictional world and plot as I learned it.
Uuugh... I'm sleeping so much! I'm getting such a late start to the day.52 book club: 47/52
ravenous bonus round: 17/22
Powell's summer: 3/25
Finished: The Incandescent I enjoyed this one. It's a dark academia but focuses on the teacher's experience rather than the student's. It details how much work being a teacher is.
Started: Conscious Dreaming: A Spiritual Path for Everyday Life This one surprised me because it actually felt too advanced for my dreaming levels, talking about meeting up with people in dreams and going into other people's dream. I did appreciate, however, that Moss seemed to treat the dream world as a real world.
QotW: I feel like my husband has been BUYING more books than me lately but reading less. He spends most of his time dinking around on his computer. My father-in-law just finished reading The Astral Library at my suggestion. But he spends most of his time doing fix-it-up projects. My dad just finished reading Humankind that I gifted him. He too, reads occasionally but not constantly.
I know fiction is supposed to develop empathy, I don't enjoy fiction nearly as much as I used to. Is this because my empathy button is broken? I just finished reading The Removed by Brandon Hobson. It was brutal and devastating. I don't think it really helped me become more empathetic to Native Americans. It just made me want to read less depressing literature.
At first, I thought non-fiction doesn't build up empathy, but when you mentioned biography and memoir, Nadine, then of course it does. I also think non-fiction that surveys multiple culture's takes on things can be helpful to developing understanding and empathy.
Rain, glorious rain this week! And family drama. Obviously, I liked the rain better. And I'm going to see Spiderman today! It looked good in the trailers.PopSugar 47/50
AtY 38/52
Curiosity Killed the Bookworm: 20/25
Rocky Horror Challenge 10/12
Finished:
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor for #50, a book about Afrofuturism.
Currently Reading
Better Than the Movies, German Edition by Lynn Painter (87%) For #19, a book about teen angst, also a red-headed character, for the Rocky Horror Challenge.
How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space Another TBR
Vagabond by Tim Curry for #42, inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist; also for the Rocky Horror Challenge
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser A retelling of Cinderella, with some interesting changes. No prompt.
How to Rule the World by Theo Baker
Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty
DNF
Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee Entertaining to start. Kate trades her life to save her brother’s life but spends the next third of the book complaining about how she was tricked. Seriously girl, what did you think that meant?
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris I read a quarter of this, then realized I'd read it before. The book is fine, I just don't feel I need to read it again.
QOTW
My Dad read, my husband used to but probably hasn't since the last Harry Potter book (we were on a houseboat trip with my entire family-- several of us had brand new, just released copies and were racing to get to the end of the book, what fun), at least 2 of my 3 brothers read, and both of my sons do as well.
I don't think reading is the only way to learn empathy, I think you can learn it from your family and all the people around you. I think empathetic (is that the right word?) people have always existed, whether books were available to them or not.
Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday all.Still covered in wildfire smoke here. I don't remember it ever being this bad before... Other than that, not much new here.
Books read this week:
[book:One Final Vinyl|493262..."
So I just saw 4000 Paws and had to go get a copy. I love my dogs and have always had mixed feelings about dogsledding, that mainly started with Ann Bancroft (not the actress) and Will Steger, who dogsled to Antarctica and other places, losing dogs on the way and occasionally having to have the entire expedition rescued.
Anyway, I've always been concerned about the welfare of the dogs and will find this an interesting read and maybe in the future, I'll be able to follow the Iditarod and the John Beargrease races as well 😊
Re nonfiction building empathy: I can still remember my absolute outrage, at age 8 or so, reading about the arrest of Rosa Parks. I had never heard of segregation before then.
Theresa wrote: "Greetings from NYC in the Dog Days of August! It's actually settling into tolerable temps here for the next 10 days or so, which is a blessing. I'm plenty busy with work and more. PS 41/50 ATY 50..."
Dungeon Crawler Carl looks like a really good read. I don't know how it's been off my radar all this time! I'm glad you mentioned it.
Kate wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Greetings from NYC in the Dog Days of August! It's actually settling into tolerable temps here for the next 10 days or so, which is a blessing. I'm plenty busy with work and more. ..."
Glad to have been of service!
Kate wrote: "(we were on a houseboat trip with my entire family-- several of us had brand new, just released copies and were racing to get to the end of the book, what fun),..."Oh that reminded me ... One of the books was released on the eve of a long weekend retreat road trip with my stitching group - - I think it was Half-Blood Prince -- and of course, we each had our brand new hardcover copies with us, having delayed departure for those who did not wait on line for the midnight release the night before to stop by their local bookstores and pick up a copy. Instead of sitting and stitching as we usually did, we all would sit out around the hotel pool under umbrellas reading it. It was a blast!
Another heat wave! Just one really hot day to go, and then it’ll be over. Hopefully this is the last one—I’m completely done with it. I want fall.Last night you could see a partial solar eclipse here (about 90%). I didn’t have any special glasses. Two years ago, we were driving in Tennessee during the solar eclipse, but we didn’t remember exactly what time it was. We didn’t notice a thing. So we didn’t go out yesterday to watch it. What I experienced: the light changed. And the birds started singing and then fell silent. Since it was almost sunset, they just stopped completely—haha—they didn't bother going out their nighttime mode for an hour.
Read this year: 41
PS: 17/40
Finished this week: none
QOTW
Yes they do. When I was a kid, my father was the one I saw reading fiction. He read all kinds of things: feelgood (!, those books about people on the countryside working hard and finding their better half), newspapers, magazines, and religious publications. My mother read parenting magazines.
My boyfriend reads too. We both read before we go to sleep. He reads thrillers and sports biographies.
I think the author is a bit too categorical. There are other ways to learn to be empathetic. And you can also learn empathy by reading nonfiction. That, too, gives you a sense of others, people with different views, and so on. Now that I’m writing this: no, I don’t agree with him.
Kate wrote: "Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday all.Still covered in wildfire smoke here. I don't remember it ever being this bad before... Other than that, not much new here.
Books read this week:
[book:One Fina..."
I won't spoil too much of the book here, but the dogs are exceptionally well cared for on the trail.
Happy Thursday, everyone! I read seven books this past week! Most of them were short or easy to read so that may account for the big number. Only one of them was a dud. 2025 Reading Challenges
PopSugar- 41/50
52 Book Club- 47/52;
HRCYED 3.0- 45/150; Side Qwests- 1/12
New York Times Summer Bucket List- 9/10
GR Bookmarks-
BOTM- 12/15; Omnivoreader- 6/6; Long Hauler- 3/4; Debut Darling- 4/5
1001 Books- 14/20
TBR- 32/50
Finished
All the Lonely People- I only read this for the song-inspired prompt, and I saw that it had above a 4-star rating. I thought it was okay, but maybe too maudlin for my tastes. It was like they were just milking how depressing this guy's life was ☆☆☆
PS #42- a book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist
ATY Summer #2C- title starts with letter in "ice cream"
52BC Beach Reads #21- CHANCE: last name starts with the same letter as your previous author (Any)
HRCYED 3.0- animals #1; old secret prompts #2
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen- I came upon this children's book while shelving books at our library. It was a solid biography geared at kids. ☆☆☆
The Missed Connection- added this to my TBR because it sounded like it would be a fun rom-com, and it did not disappoint! The banter between the leads was great, and the detective/spy elements helped add to the tension. ☆☆☆☆
52BC Beach Reads #22- related to the word "destination" (Romance)
HRCYED 3.0- pocket monsters #3
GR Bookmark- Summer Encore
TBR #32
Bound- I've suspended this hold on Libby for almost a year now and recently decided to unsuspend since it fulfilled a prompt I needed. Ali Hazelwood knows how to deliver on entertaining romances and this was no exception. Yes, it has all her usual tropes, but I don't mind. A good time was had even though I'm not typically a fantasy/paranormal reader. ☆☆☆ 1/2
52BC Beach Reads #2- a one word title (Romance)
HRCYED 3.0- choose your party #1; US road trip #1
All Them Dogs- read this because it was on the Booker longlist and it seemed the most interesting to me. It's written in first-person with a strong Irish dialect and follows a young gangster trying to break back into the business after returning from exile. It's a lot more thrilling and violent than the typical Booker-nominee, and for that reason I don't think it will make it on the shortlist, but I enjoyed it all them same. ☆☆☆☆
PS #36- a book about a mob (fiction or nonfiction)
HRCYED 3.0- choose your party #1; pocket monsters #4
The Summer Girlfriend- I only read this for the GR bookmark and now I wish I would have picked something else. This book was so SLOW for a romance. It took like 3 hours (audiobook) for the leads to enter the premise of the book, which felt so contrived. I didn't see the chemistry between them, so even though they all said the right things, I felt nothing. This was a boring romance. ☆☆
52BC Beach Reads #7- even/odd final page number (Romance)
HRCYED 3.0- pocket monsters #5; birthday #1
NYT Summer #6- a book that takes place during the summer
GR Bookmark- Literally Summer
Black Bag- read this because it was on the Booker longlist. The premise intrigued me: a struggling actor gets a job as a psychological test subject where he has to wear a black bag in class without engaging with anyone. The dude gets dragged into some crazy shenanigans which had me laughing throughout. It's satire; I think on how we project our desires onto objects and how everything is monetized now? The book does end rather abruptly, but I did have a wild time reading this. ☆☆☆ 1/2
ATY Summer #1C- book cover contains the color green
52BC Beach Reads #10- character with a unique career (Literary Fiction)
HRCYED 3.0- old secret prompts #3; rainbow of words #2
Currently Reading
The Renovation
The Shippers
Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys
QOTW
My dad doesn't read much, but that may have been because he worked from 9-9 daily. He's retired now and he tends to gravitate towards thrillers/true crime and nonfiction, especially if its war or history related. I remember trying to get my younger brother to read when he was a preteen, and the only books he marathoned through were the Harry Potter series. After that, he went back to not reading for pleasure. He spends his free time doing animation instead. I work at a library, and most of the male patrons seek self-help books in finance/business/health, which I don't think lends itself to empathy as much as other genres since the focus is themselves.
I agree that nonfiction can build empathy, especially the memoirs. Like fiction, you get to experience someone else's life and see things from their point of view.
Hi all! Well, it's been an interesting day so far. Woke up not feeling great, so decided to take a sick day. Then when I was trying to rest again, there was a decent sized earthquake. And then a few hours ago the landlords emailed me to let me know that the construction guys will be in my apartment tomorrow and saturday to replace all the windows- so I had to get up and start pulling all the furniture away from the windows. I've been trying to reach out to get more info- like what time, which windows, where can I park my car?- and they have basically responded with a shrug, so that's great.And I overheard my upstairs neighbor screaming earlier this week that they'd left glass all over her apartment when they replaced her windows, so kind of dreading that. Especially since she had linoleum in her place, and i have carpet, and my vacuum is not strong enough to get a bunch of glass out of carpet. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Finished:
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1-cute but forgettable manga, not sure if I'll continue with the series
-no prompt, netgalley
Let's Kiss and Tell- really liked this fake dating romcom. Loved the two main character, will need to read more from the author
-no prompt, netgalley
Dreamers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop-the third book in this series, and it went in a slightly different direction than the last two. Less astrology in this one, but I think that it worked for the book. I liked that it focused more on the characters' pasts.
-no prompt, netgalley
Currently reading:
Voices in the Sea Foam-got this manga from netgalley for the underwater prompt
I'm Glad My Mom Died-finally getting to this after everyone else has read it. Good but upsetting so far
The Wild Card-set this down to finish some other books, need to focus on it now
Things Remembered and Things Forgotten-still working on this short story collection
QotW:
My dad and his brothers were always big readers, a lot of nonfiction and classics. My brother has been getting back into reading over the last few years. One of his friends- also a guy- is big into all the new fantasy coming out, and has been recommending a lot to him. And then for my friends who are guys, not all of them are readers, some are more into music or sports, but honestly quite a few are readers.
Definitely disagree that you can't get empathy from nonfiction. Anything that exposes you to new experiences and new points of view can help build empathy.
QoTW - My husband is a reader. Mostly sci-fi and the opposite of what I like - but still a reader. We did go to the Hemingway Days in Key West a few weekends ago (he grew out his beard/hair and entered the look-alike contest) and both of us re-read several Hemingway books in preparation/anticipation of the trip...Agree with Erin - Any book that exposes you to new experiences and new points of view can help build empathy - and that includes all non-fiction - not just biographies. Other non-fiction often talk about the people, cultures, decisions, history, etc. involved in whatever the non-fiction book is about.
Hi all! Kiddo spent the last 2 nights at my dad's house! It was weird not having her here, but goodness, I appreciated the quiet! Especially because I had a migraine yesterday (I knew I would, it's a side effect from my monthly infusion). And she had tons of fun. They took her to see a local production of Annie. She's never seen the movie before (it's honestly not one I really care for), and she loved it! She's 3.5 weeks away from going back to school!! On my way to pick her up today, I stopped at the library and checked out books with that in mind! ;)Next week, other than her weekly gymnastics' lesson, we don't have anything planned. Maybe I'll have to come up with an afternoon trip or something.
With a migraine, even though I had the house to myself, I couldn't read, but I could listen to an audiobook, so I got like 2 hours read in A Magic Deep and Drowning. It's fairly ridiculous, but I can honestly say it was perfect for an afternoon where I had no brain power. lol
I have read a little more in both 10 Hours to Go and Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned, but I don't know if I'll finished them before they're due back.
QOTW: Ha, for a minute, I had forgotten about this! Yes, the men in my life read for pleasure, though not as much as the women in my life. My dad usually reads the news, some magazines, things like that, but he does read books occasionally. My brother reads scientific or sci fi books mostly. My boyfriend prefers comics, but he will read nonfiction and the rare novel. He really likes being read to. I don't think I've mentioned, but I've been reading Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap to him a few pages a night for several months. It's an interesting book to read together because he liked quite a bit of 90s rap, I liked some of it, so I'm learning about it through reading whereas he knows most of the music being referenced.
I definitely think that you can experience empathy through nonfiction. I don't know if I think fiction can teach it better. I think nonfiction is getting better about putting you in the minds of the people in the book so you can relate to them better. But I think fiction is meant to trigger emotions whereas nonfiction is meant to be more intellectual. In general, obviously you can learn stuff in fiction and have emotional reactions to nonfiction.
Raising a kiddo in a very rural area, I feel like her exposure to different people, cultures, histories, etc might only come from books for most of her childhood, so I think about these things a lot.
Can someone please tell me who thought it was a good idea to have school start the first week of August..in LA where it's in the 90's? These poor kids need to have an actual summer. And my students are teenagers, I feel even worse for the little ones. (This is a rhetorical question, I know why LA thought it as a good idea. It's not and the reasoning is not sound but until parents rise up nothing to do...)I finished only one book as back to school time is hectic and exhausting. I did not use it for PS but I did use it for other challenges:
Expiration Dates Rebecca Serle
QOTW:
My daughter's dad, my ex, reads a lot. There were days when all three of us were just lounging around the living room with our books. He reads mostly nonfiction. My daughter's BF reads quite a bit, he likes his Kindle. He reads fiction and nonfiction. My cousin's husband reads a lot of manga.
I was the only reader one I was a kid, so no my dad did not read (maybe the occasional Western, 1 or 2 a year) and my brother thought books were the devil incarnate. He still does not like books very much and I don't think he owns any.
Nonfiction CAN teach empathy. I haven't read it but heard on podcast yesterday about a book called The Last Act of Love a memoir about a family whose child was in a coma for 8 years before they had to decide to end care. How can you not feel empathy for that family?
Ah, missed last week because I was in Gettysburg doing a couple talks at the Key City Steampunk fest (it was a blast). I did get some reading done.The Secret of Red Gate Farmby Carolyn Keene. I read this one for ps11 A book with a dad as the primary caregiver. We don't know when Nancy lost her mom (or if we do I don't remember) but her dad is definitely her primary caregiver and this version is the original 1930s version. If you didn't know, Nancy got gutted in the 50s (in theory to remove some of the racist stuff as people got slightly more enlightened, but really they just deleted any person of color and/or Jewish persuasion and they made Nancy less independent and needing a man (Ned) to help her because girls shouldn't be independent of men.... eye roll).
So yeah this version did have a wee bit of Asian exoticism in it. It's not much but it's there.
At Gettysburg: Or What a Girl Saw and Heard at the Battle by Tillie Pierce Alleman. I bought this last year in Gettysburg after visiting Tillie's home and her neighbors. I decided to finish it before I returned to Gettysburg this year and read it for ps 40 A book outside your comfort zone.
I am not a memoir reader but we rarely see war from a woman's point of view. Now this was written nearly 30 years later so some of it has to be taken with a grain of salt. It was interesting enough (and I can see the museum I took it from lifted their tour info from this entirely)
I'm at 44/50 for the challenge.
QOTW
If we define 'men in my life' as my dad and brother then they read some, mostly in the winter. They both only read non fiction. I'd say they read 6 books or less a year.
Happy Thursday!Finished:
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters - 3.5 stars - for fruit on the cover. Overall, I enjoyed this, and it kept me interested, even though there's not really much tension or mystery because it's pretty obvious from the beginning what's going on.
The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi - 4 stars - for a book in a different format than your usual (audio). This story revolves around the Chibineko Kitchen, a small restaurant where you can order a remembrance meal in honor of a loved one, and that person may appear to speak with you. The stories are about people who lost someone, so they all explore grief in different ways, but with an element of hope.
Comics/manga:
I Want to Be a Wall, Vol. 3
Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 27
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day 2
I am currently at 37/50 for the Popsugar reading challenge (27/40 and 10/10).
Currently reading:
Rootbound: A Tangled Novel by Margaret Owen - not currently for a prompt. I'm really enjoying this so far. Love the characterization of Rapunzel and Eugene.
Upcoming/Planned:
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews - not currently for a prompt.
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao - for a book that starts with the letter "Z".
QOTW:
My partner is mainly an audiobook listener, and he is also an author, so he definitely reads. Our reading tastes are pretty similar so I recommend stuff to him all the time. My dad wasn't a reader, except for the occasional magazine or newspaper.
Theresa wrote: " having delayed departure for those who did not wait on line for the midnight release the night before to stop by their local bookstores and pick up a copy. Instead of sitting and stitching as we usually did, we all would sit out around the hotel pool under umbrellas reading it. It was a blast!..."Yep, that's just what it was like!
Cornerofmadness wrote: "If you didn't know, Nancy got gutted in the 50s (in theory to remove some of the racist stuff as people got slightly more enlightened, but really they just deleted any person of color and/or Jewish persuasion and they made Nancy less independent and needing a man (Ned) to help her because girls shouldn't be independent of men.... eye roll).."I didn't know that. It makes me sick to think about. I'm sure I completely missed the fact that everyone was white, but then I lived in a small town that was completely white. TV was completely white and pretty much the movies were, too. (I'm older than dirt.) But what I never forgot is that she always needed a man to rescue her. Total BS.
Happy Thursday!I did not finish a book this week. In fact I started a third one. And Libby just notified me tonight that a reserve is in.
However, I did move the books I'm working on along. And I'm enjoying the books I have. It's the journey, not the destination.
Series - 6/12
Number 1s - 6/10
Nobel laureates - 2/5
Rocky Horror challenge: 8/12
Summer Reading challenge - 3900/5000 points
PS - 26/30
ATY - 32/45
PS movies - 24/50
Currently reading:
Survivor by Tabitha King - 75%
The Unknown - 75%
Scarlet - 30%
PopSugar movies
A travel ghost story - Ghosttown
QOTW: My husband sort of reads. I buy everyone a book for Christmas (something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read). He eventually reads his book.
Kate wrote: "Cornerofmadness wrote: "If you didn't know, Nancy got gutted in the 50s (in theory to remove some of the racist stuff as people got slightly more enlightened, but really they just deleted any perso..."Same here with my hometown growing up and I learned about the fact that Nancy got the McCarthy treatment a few years back. I expect casual racism in books this old unfortunately but I didn't know until recently about the fact they made Nancy wimpier.
Hello and happy Thursday/maybe Friday depending on when I’m done typing. I think I’m in the final phase of getting hired at a small, local insurance company. The hours and ability to work from home and the predictability of a stable income is very appealing to me. I loved doing nails, but commission based jobs just aren’t great for a single income household lol. I’m really hopeful that I get it. My son starts his first day of middle school next week. I don’t know where the time goes 🥲
Finished:
Dark Places for the hidden past prompt. Gillian Flynn might not have been the best choice when I was already dealing with some unpleasant feelings and surly moods. But, I enjoyed this still. I really love her type of mystery, they’re so bleak and I always eagerly want to find out what happened. This was the last book of hers I had left unread, so now I’m hoping she releases a new book soon.
Currently Reading:
Balthazar
Tom's Crossing
The Count of Monte Cristo
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible
Recently Watched:
Just some YouTube play through of the ocarina of time. Needed a bit of a nostalgic mood boost.
QOTW:
No one in my family is a reader, I think my youngest brother and my daughter might sometimes do an occasional manga. My son loves graphic novels and audiobooks. He enjoys reading but he also struggles with adhd so sitting down with a book is hard. His dad reads, but is more into gaming and his grandpa worked for newspapers his whole career so the last thing he wanted to do at home was read some more lol. My boyfriend majored in English, so he does read quite a bit.
2026 Challenges:
Popsugar - 17/40; 0/10
Read Harder - 14/24
Classics - 6/12
European Tour - 12/10
12 Friends - 10/12
Yearly Goal - 85/180
Life update: If our buyer does not stop faffing around and negotiate on price like a normal person, I will not be responsible for my actions. Ahem. Perhaps we should move on to books.
Reading update: I had a really good reading week! I finished:
Ruth - PS: Michigan (it takes place in a series of Hutterite communities there); Touch the Rainbow: Pink, completing that challenge. This read too much like an amateur memoir for my liking, but the insight into the Hutterite way of life was interesting. 2 stars.
엄마를 만나러 가는 길 1 (On the Way to Meet Mom #1) and 엄마를 만나러 가는 길 2 (On the Way to Meet Mom #2). PS: different format. This is a super cute Korean webtoon about a human boy being raised by aliens. 5 stars.
The Secret to Superhuman Strength - PS: Pilates. This was so much more profound than I was expecting. 5 stars.
In a Dark, Dark Wood - PS: bachelorette party. This is basically airport reading, but it's a decent one despite some clunky prose. 3 stars.
Homebound. I really enjoyed this one. I was hoping it would work for the r/Fantasy Game Changer prompt in hard mode, but it didn't. It would work if you aren't doing hard mode, though, and I may well consider it as a comp for the novel I'm planning to write. 5 stars.
The Machines Are Coming For Your Masthead by Bona Press, which does not have a GR listing, but is a really useful report on AI in publishing for authors and small press owners. No prompt. 4 stars
Stats:
Popsugar: 4 this week, 39/50 total.
Diversity Challenge: 0 this week, 9/14 total
Touch the Rainbow, Read the Rainbow: 1 this week, 13/13 total
Queer Reads Bracket Challenge: 0 this week, 6/7 total
Flowers for Your Shelves: 0 this week, 4/22 total
r/Fantasy Bingo: 0 this week, 8/25 total
Spanish Titles ABC: 0 this week, 1/26 total
French TBR: 0 this week, 2/50 total
Great Big Jewish Literature Challenge: 0 this week, 7/24 total
Anti-Capitalist Inspiration: 0 this week, 18/30 total
Reading About Writing: 0 this week, 4/40 total
All books finished this year: 7 this week, 94 total
DNF or paused this year: 0 this week, 20 total
Challenges completed this year: 2
Challenges in progress (end date in 2026): 2
Challenges in progress (no end date or end date in 2027): 9. I joined a new one about books in "Odd Formats" to capture the ones I'd considered for the PS format prompt and then not used.
Currently reading:
Network Effect - PS: Type C character. For a while in the middle of this one I was really hating it and considered DNFing it for the second time, but I'm starting to enjoy it again as we head towards the end. I'm at 86% and really don't want to find another book for this prompt, so I'm going to persevere.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts - PS: travel ghost story. I'm really enjoying this one so far; the main character reminds me of a beloved aunt.
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job - Diversity Challenge: Women in Translation; Anti-Capitalist Inspiration: workplace novel. I have a difficult history with translations from the Japanese, but this one is great so far.
Book of Sketches - for a project, no prompt
The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI - research, no prompt.
Your Author Business Plan: Take Your Author Career To The Next Level - Reading About Writing: Business Planning
Your Author Business Plan Companion Workbook: Take Your Author Career To The Next Level - companion to the above, no separate prompt
What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers - Reading About Writing: bonus topic
The Complete Mahabharata Volume - 3 Vana Parva & Virat Parva - spiritual reading, no prompt.
QOTW: All the men in my life have been readers, I think. My grandfather left school at 12 and then taught himself from books, especially history books and mysteries. My father was an English teacher and, when he died, owned over 4,000 books across pretty much every genre under the sun. My husband reads mysteries, adventure stories and SFF. My older son studied English with Creative Writing and reads pretty broadly across classics and contemporary; my younger son is not a huge reader compared to the others, but likes adventures and non-fiction about sports. My daughter and her boyfriend have what they call their "mini book club" where they both read the same romantasy book and then discuss it. Even the last in-person book club I attended was at least 50% male, maybe more.
I do think that reading fosters empathy, provided you read something that contains people different from yourself and encourages you to think of them as someone with an inner world of their own, not just a statistic. That can be fiction or non-fiction. As others have said, though, I don't think that's the only way to develop empathy. Other media can do the same, such as movies. I've heard people describe how well written video games with a strong storyline did it for them. Conversations will do it if you're a good listener, and when I was doing my Master's I read a study about how one of the most effective ways is to work on a joint project with someone who is different than you. I think the advantage of reading is just that books are quick, versatile and non-threatening. Compared to some of the other methods, you can access more different types of experience in a shorter time without feeling like you're being put on the spot, which can make people defensive.
Hello, y’all. Spent last weekend catching up with this group's check-ins and then put some books on hold at my local library. When no books showed up on my account as being on hold by Thursday, I notified the library only to discover that the library card had expired in July! Had to renew it, promptly lost it before leaving the library but was given a replacement at no cost. All to check out two books! I have another 8 or so on hold now.
Currently Reading:
Second Wind - PS #10 (horse on cover). Should finish this week. Started in July but quit reading for a bit.
The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly - ATY #22 (Korean author). Audiobook. Listening when driving. Short. Should finish this week.
Started but not currently reading
The First Fig Tree – PAS.
True Detectives – ATY# 52 (sunset vibes - 2025)
Spiritual Reading:
On Deck:
(library)
This Is How You Lose Her - ATY #47 ("this" in title)
Future Forward: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence - ATY #21 (tomorrow)
(owned)
Tainted Sand - ATY #44 (death symbol on cover)
Tales for Twilight: Two Hundred Years of Scottish Ghost Stories ATY #46 (not a novel)
PS 25/50
ATY 42/52, Seasonal Winter 9/14, Seasonal Spring 6/15
GR 94/200
QotW:
My brother reads novels mostly through audiobooks. (He's blind.) My father read newspapers and I suspect medical journals. (He was a physician.) My husband read fiction and non-fiction.
Empathy can be fostered through reading or through experience or most importantly through living.
I finished Who Are You Following?: Pursuing Jesus in a Social-Media Obsessed World as my book about influencer culture.And I read The Devlin Diary as my book about college. It was really good.
QOTW: My dad didn't really used to read, but he does now. My last bf did not. Previous ones have not.
Part 2: I don't know. I know I tend to get more emotional reading fiction, but I did cry one time reading a biography of George HW Bush, so maybe. But, I would think you would learn empathy more by parenting and personal experience with others than with fiction or non fiction.
Sasha wrote: "Life update: If our buyer does not stop faffing around and negotiate on price like a normal person, I will not be responsible for my actions. Ahem. Perhaps we should move on to books.
Reading up..."
I hear you! Been there, have the t-shirt.
Happy Friday! Ugh, I completely forgot yesterday. SIGH.Finished 34/50
Babylon 5: In Valen's Name for "book in a different format than you normally read". Wasn't the biggest fan of the art, but the story was great!
Currently Reading
Blessed Is the Kingdom: Reflections on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom "book about or inspired by a song". Considering the entire Divine Liturgy is sung....I think this counts.
QotW
Yes, they do! Not as much as I do, but that's mainly for lack of time. My dad was the one who introduced me to sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopian. My husband loves mysteries and fantasy. My priest regularly attends the parish book club (which is also run by a man). Most of my male friends are well-read as well. As are my female ones.
Yes to all of this! While not all fiction/non-fiction can help you learn empathy, I think a lot can. Good fiction with well-written characters definitely does, and non-fiction that takes you into someone else's life like history or autobiography/biography will too. We need more practice seeing from another's perspective and walking in each other's shoes!
I forgot to check in last week (whoops!), so two weeks' worth of check-ins tonight! I finished one short story, DNF'ed another, and finished two audiobooks (one of which was for one of my book clubs ). I'm now at 15/40 and 3/10 for this challenge, and 45/75 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge (includes the DNF book). DNFed:
* Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson, which was one of the freebie bonus short story picks for Amazon FirstReads. Did not hook me, so I bailed, even though I was about 30% into it and it wasn't that long.
Finished:
* The Glassmaker written by Tracy Chevalier and narrated by Lisa Flanagan, which is one my book clubs' picks for August;
* Famous Once by Jane Green, which was an Amazon FirstReads bonus short story; and,
* Violeta written by Isabel Allende, translated by Frances Riddle, and narrated by Yareli Arizmendi, which I used for the advanced prompt "a book that features birding." It is brief and near the end, but I decided it counted!
Currently Reading:
* The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries edited by Michael Sims; and,
* Mother Daughter Sister Stranger by Hank Phillippi Ryan, which is a NetGalley copy I received from the author's "Super Reader" program. Always love her twisty tales, which seem to keep getting better and better with each new novel!
QotW:
This week's question was suggested by Jennifer:
I saw this article* on The Independent: https://www.the-independent.com/arts-... I know most of the members of this group are women, but man or women, do the men in your life read for pleasure?
Related, the author in the article, Douglas Stuart, laments that people may not learn empathy if they don't read fiction. Can you learn empathy from nonfiction? Does fiction teach it better?
Several of the men in my life read for pleasure. My significant other is a reader and my Dad reads a little (and is a re-reader), but my brother reads very little (in his defense, he works for a company that records books for the blind and visually impaired, so reading can feel like work to him...but he does read occasionally). Several of my male coworkers and friends are readers, too. I think this is probably not the norm, though.
I think readers can gain empathy from both fiction and non-fiction. I have read some incredible non-fiction books that taught me something about experiences not my own. I have found both fiction and non-fiction to be equally moving and like to think that both types of books have helped me become more empathetic (though, there's always room for improvement).
I haven't checked in since June. I didn't mean to go so long, but I just put off writing my post because there were so many books, and then another week would go by and there would be even more books, so I'm just going to put a select few.Stats
GR: 144/250
PS: 38/50
ATY: 41/52
ATY Rejects: 18/25
TCKtB: 22/25
GR Choice: 16/20
GR Summer Bookmarks: 8/11
TBR: 6/10
Some of the books I finished:
Slayers, Every One of Us: How One Girl in All the World Showed Us How to Hold On⭐⭐⭐
PS: Infertility
GR Community Picks Bookmark
I was a Buffy fan right from the beginning, so when this was on the bookmark list, it was an easy choice. I did not expect it to work for the infertility prompt though, so it was a bonus. I did the audiobook, and I'm glad I did, because that meant I could actually listen to the songs they were discussing. (They wrote an original song for each podcast episode)
When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: Character with a Clue occupation (Col. Mustard)
GR Fact or Fiction bookmark
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY Rejects: Pun in title.
GR Staff Shelves bookmark
Falling Into You⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Hidden past
Gravity Lost⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: Series book
Heartstopper: Volume 6⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Teen Angst
The final volume in the series.
Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock's Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Didn't fit any other prompt.
In Deep Water: A True Story of Sharks, Survival, and Courage⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY Rejects: Set somewhere creepy or scary.
GR Summer Encore Bookmark
Even though (view spoiler) I was so on edge for most of the book about what was going to happen. It was about 3 men who went out fishing off the coast of Louisiana and had their boat sink before they were able to radio for help, so they were out treading water/swimming in the open ocean waiting for help.
But Have You Read the Book? Romance Edition: 40 Love Stories That Inspired Our Favorite Films⭐⭐⭐
PS: Horse on cover
This was full of errors, so I wouldn't recommend it. And that was just in the entries about books/movies I've both read and watched. I wouldn't know how many errors were in the other entries.
Chorus⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Single Dad raising kids
In Progress
Problematic Summer Romance
The Tapestry of Fate
The Raven at the Ash Door (The library took this back, so I have to wait for it to come back to me before I can finish)
Jane Eyre
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
QotW
I come from a family of readers, but honestly, most of the non-readers in my life are all women.
I think empathy comes from interacting with and trying to understand people who are different from yourself, and reading is one of the easiest ways to do that, provided you don't just read books with MCs who are just like you. And it doesn't matter if it's fiction or nonfiction.
Another super hot weather weekend, really looking forward to the cooler weather months.49/70 GoodReads Challenge
39/50 PopSugar Challenge
45/52 ATY Challenge
Finished:
1.) Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie (PS#42 Inspired by James Taylor & Joni Mitchell || ATY None) ⭐⭐: I was really excited to dip into Brodie's backlist after enjoying Into the Blue, but this was not good. It was too technical - Janey did this, Jesse did that - it got on my nerves and took me entirely out of the story, almost like she didn't trust the reader at all.
Currently Reading:
1.) Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
2.) Lady Tremaine
3.) The Calamity Club
QoTW: Do the men in your life read for pleasure? Can you learn empathy from nonfiction? Does fiction teach it better?
My dad and brother are the only people in my family that read. My brother probably reads a little less than I do - loves horror and scifi. My dad used to read nonfiction daily, and has a massive book collection, however I'm not sure if he actually picks up a physical book anymore.
Cody has started reading after being bored one Friday in April, so I jokingly handed him a book and he read it, and hasn't stopped reading since! (It was the Dog Stars for anyone interested). Interesting timing since the movie comes out later this month.
K.L. wrote: "~Sea of Charms — While this is technically the third book in the Spellshop series, its plot actually weaves throughout those of the previous two books. I thought the story and characters were delightful, and read the entire book in a single sitting because I just did not want to put it down. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"YAY - I just love this series so much, so glad to see you enjoyed it KL. it's on my TBR...
Britany wrote: "YAY - I just love this series so much, so glad to see you enjoyed it KL. it's on my TBR...."Every book in this series has been so lovely and cozy! I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series, which is supposed to come out in January.
Totally agree, and didn't realize how fast these were coming out! I wonder if she wrote them all at the same time.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! I’m at the beach and i almost forgot what day it is! (Im not literally AT the beach, I'm sitting at the kitchen counter in my mon’s house drinking coffee after walking my dogs to th..."Nadine, I don't know what the protocol is for signing up for leading discussions now that there is no personal messaging. I also haven't participated in many discussions so I'm not familiar with the format. That being said, I would like to lead the discussion on The Correspondent in September.
Doni - we don’t really have a protocol, other than posting here like you just did! So far as i know, no one else has volunteered. So i think Sept is all yours! I told Lynn you’re interested. Thank you for volunteering
Doni wrote: "Nadine, I don't know what the protocol is for signing up for leading discussions now that there is no personal messaging. I also haven't participated in many discussions so I'm not familiar with the format. That being said, I would like to lead the discussion on The Correspondent in September."Yep! There is no true format for volunteering, so this was totally proper!! LOL Thank you so much for volunteering!
You might want to review some of the prior discussions and there is a list of potential questions posted HERE
There is no set structure, as you can see from other discussions!
Hopefully, there will be participants who offer their own comments/questions to help the discussion flow! Thanks again!!
Doni wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! I’m at the beach and i almost forgot what day it is! (Im not literally AT the beach, I'm sitting at the kitchen counter in my mon’s house drinking coffee after ..."I admit I had to chuckle at the idea that there was a specific protocol to volunteer!! 😁
***** Admin stuff *****
The August group read (Afrofuturism) is: Death of the Author You can join the discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
The September group read (a book told in letters) will be: The Correspondent
The October group read (overweight character) will be: The House in the Cerulean Sea
The November group read (debt) will be: Spinning Silver
The December group read (horses) will be: Horse
Let us know if you'd like to lead any discussions!
This week I finished 1 books, none for this Challenge, so I remain 45/50:
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center - i absolutely LOVED this book!
Question of the Week
This week's question was suggested by Jennifer:
I saw this article* on The Independent: https://www.the-independent.com/arts-... I know most of the members of this group are women, but man or women, do the men in your life read for pleasure?
Related, the author in the article, Douglas Stuart, laments that people may not learn empathy if they don't read fiction. Can you learn empathy from nonfiction? Does fiction teach it better?
The men in my life do not read! I never understood it. The "men in my life" would be my father and my ex-husband.
The last book my father "read" (and I do not think he read it) was The Last of the Mohicans in high school. It became a running joke because he hated that book so much.
My ex does read sometimes, maybe one book every year or two. He likes horror and memoirs mostly. I have no idea if he learns empathy from his books.
The article annoyed me, though, because this guy is younger than I am, and he's acting like this "decline" is something new - what is he even talking about?? - my brother in books, it's been like this since before I was born, it's been like this your entire life, so you really don't know if things have changed or not. And for him to clutch his pearls over working class men feeling excluded from literature is just weird, because I can GUARANTEE my father would have not had any interest in Shuggie Bain or Young Mungo, so he's "excluding" them himself. I realize his words are being taken out of context and spun for maximum "click bait' effect on the part of the newspaper, so I can't hold this against Stuart.
I've seen articles talking about the value of fiction is that it teaches empathy, and maybe it does, I don't know. Those articles rub me the wrong way. The value of fiction is that I love it. Just let us enjoy things without them being "nutritious"! Maybe I have more empathy because of the books I read, I have no idea. I cannot know what I would be like if I didn't read. I have learned plenty of things from reading fiction, though! Especially historical romance, for some reason. So many times, some random tidbit will come up, maybe in a trivia contest, and I'll think "oh yeah, I know this! I read about it in The Duke who Stared At Me!" (that's a made up title)
And yes you can definitely "learn" empathy from nonfiction, also. Obviously memoirs and biographies would do it, but also science books like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks & Hidden Figures & even Cosmos etc