Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Hello everyone! I hope your week has been great so far! It’s turned hot and humid here which makes me want to be on a deck overlooking the ocean with a book in my hands and the ocean breeze blowing. It’s too bad I live 4 hours away from the ocean :)

I finished one book this week: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache #6). It was definitely my favorite of the series so far. Doesn't fit into a remaining prompt though.

Currently reading:
A Trick of the Light (Inspector Gamache #7) by Louise Penny
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage by James Bradley

27/40 & 7/12

Question of the week:

I loved this article about the impact of different markets of book buyers on bestsellers: http://www.thedominoproject.com/2014/...

How do you feel about bestseller lists? Do you check them every week? How likely are you to choose books based on what’s currently on the bestseller list of your choice?

Honestly I think the only time I check the bestsellers list is when the reading challenge specifically calls for it like “A bestseller from 2016”. I don’t usually want to read what the masses are reading, but now that I’ve found a few fantastic bookish communities (including this one) I am often reading great books before they become the book the average reader is raving about.

Good morning! it is also very summery here in northern NY, hot, humid, and I'm very grateful for Willis Carrier's invention of air conditioning ;-) (Because I also have nasty spring allergies that aren't quite done yet, so I can't have the windows open right now.)

This week I finished four novels and three other books, and that all sounds like a lot, but most of them I've been working on for a while now. Three of the novels are for the challenge, so I am now 49/52.

Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (I actually finished this last Thursday evening, but I think I didn't count it that morning) - I tentatively used this to check off "book of letters" - I'm not sure if it really fulfills that category. This book started out seeming to be great, but then it disappointed me. It seems to be about a bunch of people who are vaguely unhappy because they are drifting through life without any sure goals.

A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith- this was sort of a last minute read for me, I wanted another audiobook but it was checked out, so I took this one instead because I love Highsmith. It was very good, of course (but the guy who reads it isn't my favorite - his attempt at a West Indies accent sounded Russian). It's kind of the same plot as Gone Girl, and I'm really surprised that people weren't crowing about that at the time that Gone Girl was such a sensation, the same way people derided The Hunger Games for being a repeat of Battle Royale. (Note: I have NO issues with plot recycling, so long as the book feels fresh. Even Shakespeare did it! I loved Gone Girl and The Hunger Games, and I still haven't read Battle Royale yet but I'll get to it eventually.)

Slow Horses by Mick Herron. This was my "espionage" book and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is thinking about reading it.

Wrong Beach Island by Jane Kelly - this fulfilled my "book you bought on a trip" category, and I sure am glad I bought it years ago but never finished it, otherwise I don't know what I would read for this category! It was ... okay. It's a murder mystery set on Long Beach Island in NJ, which is where my parents live now so I take my kids there every summer, and I know the island fairly well because of that. Even with that perk, this book was kind of dull. It takes place over a span of months, and nothing much happens during most of that. I know that's probably how most actual murder mysteries go, but that's not what I want to read about!


Other books I read:
Bright Dead Things, poetry by Ada Limon - this was amazing!
Turner Classic Movies: The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter - exactly what it sounds like - this had lots of interesting behind-the-scenes photos and trivia.
Happy Cooking: Giada's Recipes and Tips for Making Every Meal Count...Without Stressing You Out by Giada De Laurentiis - this is not one of Giada's best, but I did find a few good recipes; I'm glad I just borrowed it from the library.

QOTW I'm just peripherally aware of the best seller lists - I find them interesting, in the same way that anyone finds lists of their favorite things interesting. But I only really know what's on them because I see those books featured on my library website and in the grocery store aisles, that sort of thing. I have never chosen a book because it was on the bestseller list (except for those times when it was a Challenge category, of course!). It usually has the opposite effect on me, I tend to not like bestsellers! So if I see it on the list, I will give it side-eye.

Hi from Brisbane Australia.

I am still reading Atlas Shrugged which was my choice for a genre I have not heard of before (Dieselpunk). I can understand why it polarised so many people but so far I am enjoying it. It is 1163 pages so it might keep me occupied for a while.

QOTW: I have mixed feeling about best seller lists. I think sometimes these lists are dependant on how well marketed a book is. Usually if a book is on the best seller list I have heard of it before.

I rather read books that people I trust recommend to me. That is where sites like Goodreads come in handy.

I finished two books (one challenge, one not) and started another.

Not for challenge - Untold final book in the Unspoken trilogy. Can't say that I cared for this one. Its a very "meh" series. A redeemable quality is that those books didn't take very long to read. That brings me to 4 series finished this year which is a personal goal for me to complete series and not let them linger.

For the challenge - A Dirty Job. Thanks Mike for giving me the push to read it in the "genre you've never heard of" thread. I enjoyed it and even requested the 2nd book.

Started Off the Page which is a continuation of Between the Lines that I used for story within a story. I want to finish this duology while it's still fresh in my mind.

21/40 and 2/12 with a lot of great books on hold at the library! Starting to stress about that 800 page book that I haven't found what I want to read, therefore, haven't started it yet - yikes! I think I have ideas for everything else.

QOTW I personally don't look at the list unless the challenge requires me too. Although, it is interesting to look at the trends - like what books come back on the list one the movie is released.

Good morning everyone! The weather in my corner of the world (eastern Canada) has been bizarre ranging from blistering hot to downpours with hail.
I'm finally finished reading My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor which was sort of interesting but also sort of boring. It's reading about a relatively interesting person who I really don't care much about. Now that I'm done that one I can focus on books I'm more interested in which will make reading them go faster.
I also got the steampunk book for my kid's challenge from the library interloans yesterday (local library didn't have any that I found on lists of sp books for kids so had to order from Halifax) How to Train Your Train. It's cute, I don't know if a true sp fan would think of it as sp but I believe it's the best I can do given my library's limited resources and the age of my kid (2.5).

QOTW
I have a bit of fomo when it comes to best sellers. I often (because if groups like this) read them before they're big but if everyone I know is reading something I have to! I've almost always been the most voracious reader in any group of friends or colleagues so I also feel a little like I'm letting them down if they've reAd something and want to discuss it but I haven't read it lol with this challenge the past 3 years and 2 kids under 3 though I've vastly opened up my mind to not reading or finishing books that I don't think are worth my now limited reading time. I think I'm better for it. The first major example of a best seller I opted out of was the girl with the dragon tattoo, I read the first and hated it so I haven't (and likely won't) read the rest. Then 50 shades I didn't even bother. When I read that it was essentially started as twilight fanfic and she was a huge Meyer fan I was like god no!

Good morning from less-blistering-hot Maryland! I'm counting the hours until I leave my desk today because I've got a three-day weekend at the beach coming (more on that in a minute).

This week I finished The City Always Wins which was beautiful and I think everyone should read it. I slotted it in for another challenge I'm doing for a book set in the Middle East but it would also fit a handful of Popsugar challenge items.

Then I read I See You which I was enjoying as a quick, creepy thriller but ultimately would not recommend because I felt the twist at the end was unearned.

Yesterday I finished The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit for a book set in the wilderness. It was quick, enjoyable and really had some interesting insights into solitude and loneliness.

Currently reading (and intending to pick back up again at the beach... I tabled it for a couple of weeks): Coming Home.

I'm bringing a huge stack of books to the beach because who knows what I'll feel like reading once I'm there -- I'm going alone so three days of sun and uninterrupted reading! I also have audiobooks for the 8-hr drive (Lincoln in the Bardo and This is How It Always Is). Any good beach read recommendations?

QOTW - I rarely pay attention to bestseller lists although I guess if a book is getting really mainstream and highly buzzed about it makes it into my awareness. It will still take a trusted friend to recommend it, I don't trust that a bestseller will necessarily be a great book, so I guess I had already recognized what this article talked about?

Good morning, Popsugar friends! It's hot and sunny in Lawrence, Kansas - great weather to sit on my tiny front porch and read :)

Finished

The Ruin of a Rake - I used this one for the Popsugar Advanced Challenge's prompt of "book with an eccentric character." I was SO excited to get this ARC because I really like the other books in this series, but this one didn't thrill me - it felt rushed and seemed to lack the motivation of the other books. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't meet my expectations. This brings me to 2/12 for this challenge.

Hello, Sunshine - I used this one for Popsugar's "a book about food" prompt. This was a good breezy-but-with-some-depth read for the start of summer. Now at 27/40 for this challenge.

True Grit - I used this one for Around the Year's prompt of "a historical fiction" book. Very enjoyable! One of the first actual Westerns I've read. Sitting at 23/52 for this challenge.

In Progress

Prince's Gambit - I'm about halfway through this book, which I'm using for Around the Year's "a book where one of the main characters is royalty." I hope to finish it today or tomorrow and try to knock out the final book in the trilogy over the weekend. ETA: I finished this one Thursday night! Make that 24/52 for Around the Year.

DNF

I moved Under the Udala Trees back to my TBR shelf - I'm just not in the mood for it right now. I do think I'll go back to it, though.

QOTW

I may be more likely to try a bestseller just because I see it around more often, but I don't check the lists or follow that particularly closely.

Hi everyone from an airport! Heading to Chicago for the weekend and boarding is delayed so figured I might as well update.

This week I read:
Phantom Pains for my book by or about someone with a disability. Was a second in a series, just came out this year. I really like it, the main character is a double amputee with some mental issues. But while her disabilities affect her life and the situations she's in, the plot has nothing to do with them.

Dragonsinger which was just for fun since I read dragonsong last week.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher for my book I loved as a child. It was still a fun read! I remember after I gave it to my moms classroom when I "grew out of it", I'd still sneak if off the shelves for rereads when helping in the classroom.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul for my used book. I scoured my shelves and found this which I got ages ago and never read. It was ok, I don't think dirk gently is entirely my style.

This puts me at 50/52. I really want to just finish up, but I'm pretty far down my library waiting lists for the last two books!

Currently reading : The Fate of the Tearling just for fun.
QOTW: I never actively look at bestseller lists unless for a prompt. I just read whatever catches my eye. Sometimes it happens to be on the list, sometimes not.

Happy reading!

Megan wrote: "Although, it is interesting to look at the trends - like what books come back on the list one the movie is released. "

Or when political or social change boosts a book back up like we saw last year with 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. Just yesterday my mom was talking about how in a few years the technology behind Siri, Amazon Echo, etc may become more standard. And I said "then sales of 1984 will spike yet again". :)

Hi!

Pretty short reading list for me this week. I'm still working on The Stand for my 800+ page prompt. I'm about 50% in, which is a bit slower than my normal reading pace. I'm really enjoying it so far, even though the story could have easily been half the pages ;)

I also finished the audiobook The Night Circus but not for a prompt. I didn't like that it was hyped up and marketed as a story for Harry Potter readers, which sort of ties into the whole bestseller list discussion. I had heard good things about it so I thought I'd try it. Maybe it just didn't work as an audiobook, because it just didn't interest me very much.

I started back up where I left off on A Gentleman in Moscow. I had gotten 80 pages in on my print copy and gave up a few months back. I finally got a copy of the audiobook on OverDrive this week so I can -force- myself to finish it. I'm even listening to it at x1.25 speed to get it done! Still not really interested in it. Am I in an audiobook slump???

QOTW
I have books in mind before they end up on the bestseller lists. I usually follow the NY Times only because the university library I works at has an approval program to buy these automatically. So whatever is new on those lists gets sent to us as soon as our vendor processes them (2-3 weeks after they are on the list normally). This means is that I can get first dibs on these books if I want :)

My reading this week got derailed by a book I've been wanted to reread and has been on my brain for about a month, so I finally bit the bullet and read it. Thankfully, I was able to slot it in for the challenge (more on that below).

Completed
37. A book that's becoming a movie in 2017: Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
This title has been on my radar forever, mostly because it featured on Jack O'Connell's IMDB page, and I'm a big fan of his since I first saw him on Skins, but the premise didn't interest me much, so I never picked up the book. But I needed something for this slot, and everything else coming out this year I'd either already read or had even less interest in reading, and, well, the trailer looked decent. Anyway, I really didn't like this book. I thought the story was super predictable, the characters weren't developed at all, the author told me everything without giving me any reason to believe it was so (massive Insta!Love! here). I basically had secondhand embarrassment reading it. I hope the movie is better. It's a movie about art and tulips, so hopefully the visual medium improves it. But how can a book about art and beauty be so badly drawn?

18. A book you've read before that never fails to make you smile: Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen
I needed something to cleanse me from Tulip Fever, and this book had wedged itself into my brain for weeks and wouldn't leave. I'd been saving this category for later in the year, a sort of delaying gratification. I'd intended to use this for Pride and Prejudice, which I try to read every year, but HNITS may be my favorite book since P&P, so I just slotted it in its place. This book is incredible. And since it's independently published and a queer F/F book, it's massively underrated.


In Progress
I've made very little progress on the following books, which is not to say I'm not enjoying them, but they're going to take a while. But since I've started them, I'm going to keep tracking them for motivation.
40. A book you bought on a trip: California: A History by Kevin Starr
48. A book that's more than 800 pages: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This puts me at 38/52 (34/40 and 4/12)

QotW
I only pay attention to best seller lists at the end of year, when it's the year's cumulative total. But my reading interests (and interests in general) tend to be outside the popular norm, so lists like this don't often serve me. That's not to say I haven't read best sellers or enjoyed some but that they don't drive my decisions in choosing what to read. I rely on recommendations and other niche lists for that.

The longest day of the year is almost here again and it's just great. Just yesterday I was walking home literally at night, at 1 am (it's my pub quiz evening) and even though there are street lights, one doesn't really need them because the sky is quite "lit", you could probably read outside without light. Usually at that time there are not that many people around, unless of course the students are partying bigly, but I passed quite many Muslims this time. Then I remembered that it's Ramadan and there is some "prayer place" nearby, so yeah, they were probably coming from there or something. This must be the worst time to have Ramadan, though I believe they don't really follow our sunrises and sunsets because it would be pretty impossible, especially at north, where the Sun doesn't set at all.

I am hoping the water in a nearby lake will be warm enough to go swimming soon, I already thought about it on Sunday but then something else came up. Though of course some people swim through winter, but I am not one of them. I think it was in February when I was walking on that lake (it was frozen) and at the same time I saw someone skiing on ice and people going for a swim in a hole in the ice...

I have started a lot of books but haven't finished any this time, probably because I keep starting new ones. This week I started listening to a novel about a relationship between a male teacher and female student. I know it may sound "icky" but I think it's pretty well and realistically portrayed, and nothing has actually happened yet. One of the better parts of the book are the funny descriptions of the school life and the happenings in the teachers' room. Some teachers have even commented that the author must have been earsdropping because they are so accurate.

QOTW: I don't really pay any attention to the bestseller list. I am not even interested in reading them for a challenge. I may take a look when I see the books shown at the wall of a bookstore and that's about it. The end of the year list is pretty predictable. The winner of the biggest prize will be one of the bestsellers (maybe some of the nominees, as well) and then there are books by authors who are always there because they are "safe" to buy as presents.

This weeks reads that are relevant to the list:

Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong (for covering a person's lifetime) Really enjoyed this. I like creative-person biographies anyway, but this was a particularly interesting one, and I thought very well done.

Station Eleven (for 2 time periods) This was fun, but I had to keep deliberately turning my brain away from picking at the little details. In particular, as mentioned in another group I belong to, the plague was... a bit unscientific. :) This was a non-groundbreaking but fun & pleasant read that I enjoyed but am glad I only borrowed.

*edit* now at 44 of 52, with 2 TBR on hold and 4 "gimmee" spots that I know lots of my usual will fit in. Waiting to fill those out last. So only 2 totally unaccounted for.

QotW:

That article seemed... like a very shallow statement of the obvious, rather than any "new way to think about publishing". Word-of-mouth? Smaller groups of "core" fans? Duh. And the whole if you want it to sell, first step is making it good... well people have probably been telling other people that ever since the first ancient humans crafted things to trade.

Honestly, a lot of the stuff that hits the "big" bestseller lists here in the states is often the same handful of people. Great if you're a fan, but I'm usually not. Then you get the "famous person" effect, where people buy it because they really like someone who mentioned it, often without looking into the book to see if they will like it first. And then the movie adaptations where the movie was a big hit.

The big benefit to these big time bestseller lists is that you'll (certain famous exceptions aside) get a book that is not riddled with spelling/grammatical errors. Also, probably clear and coherent enough that even most people who aren't strong readers can follow the story. (again, with exceptions)

Trying to find something readable from "best of" lists on places like Amazon, can by contrast, be very painful even for those of us who are very flexible about what we'll read. And if you don't read a lot, you may not know where else to go for better recommendations. Bestsellers narrow things down to reliable level of quality choices for those people for whom 1-2 Nora Roberts or Clive Cussler every year is all they need. (Not intended to imply anything wrong with either author, they are just very dependable, safe, "middle of the road" choices within their respective genres to the point where they almost define them.)

olá, from sunny Algarve-Portugal.this week after finishedHúmus, for a difficult topic book, started Um Quarto com Vista, a story in a hotel, and have a lot of characters and historys.
QOTW: I only see list of sellings when I visit online the sites of books, but is only because they appered, I do'nt look for then.

Good morning everyone! It was a pretty good week for me in terms of reading. I also had the chance to go to a book discussion with Kristin Hannah on The Nightingale last Friday, put on by my local library. Kristin was lovely and so so funny - she even donated her speaker fee back to our library. It was interesting to hear her stories and anecdotes about working on the book. I'm looking forward to her latest book to be released next year, set in 1970s Seattle/Alaska.

I finished 3 books this week:
Kulti by Mariana Zapata - I needed something light and fluffy and this did the trick. I thought it was alright, but had many issues with the story. I hate the lack of reality in most romances I pick up.
The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks - This is one of Sparks' earlier works I never hear much about. Sparks is somewhat of a guilty pleasure - most of his novels exhibit the type of cheesy romance I abhor, but I find them breezy beach reads that pull at my heart strings all while providing great writing and a good story. I found the characters forgettable in this one, however.
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I read Little House in the Big Woods for a prompt earlier this year and I've been working through the rest slowly. This one was the hardest to get through, I just found it too dull.

Didn't fill any prompts, still at 12/40 and 0/12.

Question of the Week:
I don't check best seller lists per say - but I'll usually hear chatter about a popular book on here, from friends, or on display in bookstores.

I'm sometimes skeptical about picking up the latest fad book, because oftentimes they can be a disappointment (especially with the latest Gone Girl phase). But if something appeals to me and the reviews look good, I'll probably pick it up.

Megan wrote: "For the challenge - A Dirty Job. Thanks Mike for giving me the push to read it in the "genre you've never heard of" thread. I enjoyed it and even requested the 2nd book. very "..."

My pleasure, glad you liked it. I have to get around to read that second book soon.

Hello from Chicago! Busy week for me, but I've got a relaxing weekend to look forward to.

This week I read:

Theft on Thursday: I didn't mean to start in the middle of a series but it was the only one the library had, and I've been getting a bit desperate about checking of the Month/Day in title prompt. This wasn't great. The plot was meh, and the characters were bizarrely dated in their attitudes and points of view. I mean, I know it's set in a small town in England, but really?


The Sittaford Mystery: I read this immediately after finishing Theft on Thursday and finished it in just a couple hours by the pool. Such a breath of fresh air to read a well done mystery! The Queen of Mysteries reigns supreme.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1: I loved this! I've been reading more graphic novels this year, and this is one that makes me feel how much I have been missing by not reading them before. Good, light, fun. And steampunk! I'll be reading vol 2 next for sure.

QOTW: I don't think this article was making any profound statements. It's pretty clear though that we are a crowd of "first market" readers haha. Like the rest of you, I pay little attention to bestseller lists and tend to avoid anything that "everybody" is reading.

Hi everyone! It's hot and muggy and my Mon-Wed were hugely stressful and busy this week, so I'm very glad to arrive at Thursday, and look forward to drinking wine and reading tonight!

I'll be reading Spill Night to start, because I finished Spill Zone this week and LOVED it.

I heard the author on Professional Book Nerds (so I'm counting as my book recommended by a librarian), and it was fascinating hearing how he was inspired by real life events to make something totally surreal. Also, I grew up right around Poughkeepsie so the idea of it being an eldritch zone of monsters and sci-fi weirdness was interesting!

I also started The Eyre Affair - I don't know what's going on, but I'm intrigued!

Finally, I started The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well because I needed something exceedingly gentle and cozy to read during stress week. This fits the bill. I'm already planning on buying some good candles and recruiting the family for more hyggelig evenings!

QOTW: I don't pay attention at all. I'm pretty disconnected from standard channels for that info - don't read the paper, keep up with Oprah, or whatever. I strongly prefer the networking version of seeking out new books. :)

Right now I'm dying of heat because I've got a toddler who has basically put me in a headlock while she sleeps and the baby is sleeping but won't unlatch and is half heartedly nursing. Even with a fan directly aimed at the bed, it's too hot.

Bossypants - This was my PS used book and it was so funny. Of its type, this may be my favourite - unsurprising, I suppose, because I really like Tina Fey. I'm going back and rewatching 30 Rock now, since my husband has never seen it.

Tomorrow, When the War Began - I found this book through the previous QOTD about required reading and I'm so glad I came across it. It's a YA from australia about a group of teens who go camping and come home to find that Australia has been invaded and everyone in their town has been rounded up. I love a good dystopia/apolcolypse style book and this is so much better than most of the YA of it's kind out there. I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I slotted it into Book Riot Read Harder as a book set 5000+ miles from me.

Imagine Wanting Only This - This was a lovely graphic novel that covers ruins and their fascination for us, grieving an uncle and a woman trying to figure out what to do with her life as she goes through university. It's my graphic novel by a woman for the Bustle challenge.

In Real Life - I'm going to Denver Comic Con and decided to try and plot through some books by the authors who are going to be there. Cory Doctorow is one. I'm super glad I read this because it might not have appealed to me if I wasn't looking for anything by Doctorow that didn't have a hold list on Overdrive and it was really interesting - I'd never really heard of gold miners in online games and it was fascinating. This would be a great read with students about globalization and economics. It just went on the PS 2015 list as a graphic novel.

Embarkations- This was also inspired by Comic Con - though it's episode two of this serial novel that is by the author I'm looking to read. It was a solid start and I haven't read much historical fiction recently, so that's nice. Once I get through a full season, I'll probably slot this into the multiple author's prompt. When did books start being written with seasons and episodes? I feel I missed something in book culture.

I'm at: BRRH -18/24, PS- 34/52, Bustle- 7/20 and I am trying to finish off the challenges in that order. However, with trying to read books by authors at Comic Con, I may not make any progress again until July unless they happen to fit. At that point, I think I'll start being more methodical about knocking off prompts.

I'm presently reading The Murder on the Links because I'm trying as a personal challenge to work through three series right now: Poirot, Inspector Ganache, and Discworld. It's early days with all of them.

QOTW: if I come across a bestseller list, I'm usually interested and in theory, I like the idea of reading and being able to comment on the latest big book - but in reality, I'm so slow at them getting to the big book that everyone but me has moved on. I ama sucker for a list, but I tend more to lists like the 1001 books to read before you die or an award shortlist.

Hey all!

Gently raining in Vancouver.
I'm currently at 28/40. Nothing on the advanced challenge yet.

This past week, I finished a novel set during wartime. My mother in law suggested, Lilac Girls. I actually borrowed her copy. I knew nothing of this book, but now being done....I 100% loved it. Similarities to All the Light We Cannot See, but Lilac Girls focuses on three women - and three very different women (starkly different stories). And also I gave the book 5 stars, and I do not hand those out lightly.

Now I'm reading a book written by someone you admire. I picked Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. I really do enjoy Anthony Bourdain and also his show, Parts Unknown. The book has been really fun so far, and even with some laugh out loud moments.... I'm about half way through.

QOTW: I like bestsellers and I also like bestseller lists. But I tend to listen more to friends who say, "Hey, did you know about this book, it's really good!" I do tend to go more on personal recommendations... also very handy on a site like Goodreads!

I've got a pup with a leg injury of some sort. While the vet visits (and bills) and the worry aren't fun, the one up side is that while he's on a strict prescription of limited movement, I have more time to sit and read without trying to keep up with him!

I finished The Bees which I really enjoyed as my non-human perspective book. I really enjoyed this one (I did it as an audiobook on my commute and kept looking forward to hearing the next installment.

A Dirty Job was my pick for a book from a genre I hadn't heard of. I saw it mentioned on the discussion here for that topic and I'm happy I did. It was quirky and different in great ways and I would definitely read more from the series.

I read The Woman in Cabin 10 which I'm probably going to count as a book set in a hotel since I have something else slated for a travel related book. I had mixed feelings about this one. It was a quick read and it kept my attention enough to keep it quick, but I wasn't thrilled with it.

Lastly, I read Come Sundown as a book released in 2017. It was enjoyable and another pretty quick read for me.

26/40, 35/52

QOTW: I don't really pay attention to the bestseller lists apart from seeing 'bestseller' pop up in when I hit up Amazon and the like. It seems to me that too many books claim to have been on some sort of bestseller list and/or that they've been written by a bestselling author to really put much stock in that labeling. I'm thrilled to have found this group for book recommendations to keep my 'to be read' list growing.

School’s out. I’m trying not to spend money before vacation so it’s been a lot of reading and Netflix.

This week, I read a lot but a lot of them were relatively short.

As Good As Gone by Amy Gentry. Thirteen-year-old is kidnapped and then returns 8 (or 9) years later but her story doesn’t add up. It’s was a decent beach read but I don’t think it ticks off any challenges.

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig. YA: MC’s girlfriend goes missing. I feel like the mystery is almost second to the MC coming-of-age/coming out story. I enjoyed it. The author is gay so it would tick off that box on the Read Harder challenge.

The Fall Guy by James Lasdun. Billed as a thriller. Nothing really happens in the first 100-150 pages. The book is only 250 pages. Also none of the characters are likeable or even fun to hate. The end just kind of sputters out. Would not recommend.

The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot. I love Meg Cabot. She’s delightful. I’m using this a book of letters because it’s all told through text messages and emails. All of her Boy series are this way. This was good but my favorite of hers is Boy Meets Girl

Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell. Recommended by Sarah MacLean who is one of my favorite romance authors, so it ticks off that category. This is a M/M romance. It has insta-lust and the MCs fall into bed immediately and that generally annoys me, however, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it a lot. In fact, I went back and bought the first of the series. The characters from the first book showed up in this one but they are standalone books.

Strong Signal by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell. M/M romance (used it for that category on Read Harder). They meet online, one character is in the army and the other is a gamer who has social anxiety. I really enjoyed it. I was going to buy the third but the reviews seemed very meh and I didn’t want to spend the four dollars on kindle.

QOTW: I don’t really pay attention to the best seller lists. Sometimes, I’ll pick up a book after seeing it everywhere but I couldn’t tell you who is on the best seller list this week.

Sacramento is completing its transformation into the Surface of the Sun for the next 3.5 months, so I'm laying in a supply of books and sparkling water to survive. Luckily I've got a few trips to the mountains planned so I will get breaks from the heat!
I finished two books (almost 3) for the challenge this week, bringing me to 28/52.
I read The Buried Pyramid for a book based on mythology, since it's based on like all of ancient Egyptian mythology and religion. It wasn't a very good book, but I enjoyed it quite a bit in the end. If you want to read about solving word puzzles and musings about the morality of tomb robbing interspersed with descriptions of tombs, you might enjoy it too!
I also finished listening to Ready Player One [audiobook]. I chose this entirely because it was read by Wil Wheaton, and I just love that guy. I'm a nerd in all the ways that would help me enjoy the book, so I'm sure that contributed to my enjoyment, but man it was so fun to listen to.
I'm almost done with One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway, which is BRUTAL but very good. I have full respect for the journalistic integrity of describing the massacre in complete detail and not softening the horror of it, but there were parts where I was sobbing as I was reading, so I will be glad when I have finished it.

Hello, hello! I had some travel time this week which meant extra reading time, so I have three finishes:

Hotel du Lac (35. set in a hotel) - I was not really taken with this book. It was something of a comedy of manners, written and set in the 1980s but much of it felt old fashioned, especially with regard to gender.

Raven Black (38. A holiday other than Christmas; this one centered on Up Helly AA, the Shetland fire festival) - This was a wonderful mystery, with good characters, unusual setting, and intriguing plot. I'm so glad there's a whole series! Someone in this group recommended it, thank you!

The Terracotta Army: The History of Ancient China’s Famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses (8. Book by multiple authors) - Shortly after seeing the terracotta warriors on their US tour, I picked up this book on a Kindle daily special. It's short and informative, especially with regard to how the warriors were made. I wish I had read this before seeing the exhibit. However, the book has a lot of cut-and-paste from other writings on the subject and so the writing seemed disjointed. It felt more like reading a student's term paper than a monograph by an expert.

Question of the Week: I don't seek out the bestseller lists, but I skim through the list if I see one. I'm more likely to look at a nonfiction bestseller list because there's often less buzz elsewhere about those books, and I read a lot of nonfiction.

Hello from burning hot Cleveland. We have had some rain, but even that hasn't been enough to cool us down! I think next week will be back to more seasonable temperatures.

No progress for me on the challenge this week. I have been severely neglecting the Read Harder challenge, so I'm catching up on that. I did get an audiobook hold in today, so I will start that soon. (One of my biggest pet peeves is I can't see when Overdrive items are due at the library. Don't they know I need to micromanage my holds?!)

QOTW: I definitely encounter "hyped" books, since my library has a rotating display of them when you walk in, but I don't ever look at actual bestseller lists unless it's a challenge prompt. I usually do get excited if I pick up nonfiction marked as a bestseller, since it seems to be unpopular. (Another pet peeve - nonfiction is the best!)

Nadine wrote: "Good morning! it is also very summery here in northern NY, hot, humid, and I'm very grateful for Willis Carrier's invention of air conditioning ;-) (Because I also have nasty spring allergies that ..."

Eugh, the evil pollen is effecting me this week too. Sore eyes should be from reading, not allergies!

Hi everyone. The weather is really humid today, hoping for a thunderstorm to break it up a little bit.

I finally finished The Way of Kings, Part 1. I felt really let down and cross with this book when I first finished it. I was annoyed at the lack of plot and really unsure whether to start part two or not, but now a couple of days later I find myself still thinking about the characters and wondering what is going to happen eventually so I think I will actually finish it up.

Still plodding along with V for Vendetta and for a palate cleanser I've started something completely different, Mistress Pat. I've already completed the person's name and cat on the cover challenge so not sure where I'll slot it in, but I needed to read something cosy and comforting.

QOTW: My local bookshop always has bestsellers as soon as you walk through the door. As far as I can tell it tends to be a mass of D list celebrity's autobiographies and TV chef cookbooks. I'm not interested in either so I tend to give it a wide berth.

Summer vacation means lots of time to read! I finished 5 this week, I think... just one for my Popsugar list.

For the June theme of travel, I read At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe. I enjoyed it, and felt like I share a lot of the same feelings about travel as the author, even though I don't have kids and that is a lot of what the book revolves around. 4 stars

Next, I read Cinder as a buddy read in another group. I liked the world and idea for the plot, but was a little disappointed by how thin the writing was. It seems like people like the later books in the series more, so I will probably give the next one a chance in the July read-along. 3 stars

Then came Truly Madly Guilty. I got a bit impatient while reading because the major plot points were held back for a long time, but after finishing I kept thinking about the deeper messages of the book. In particular, the idea that bad experiences are often needed to set things right kind of rang true for me. 4 stars

My favorite of the week was Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is my "book with a red spine". I actually chose this by searching library shelves for a red spine, and loved it.a great example of the challenge helping me find a book I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. I thought the teenage voices were spot on, and the romance was just right. 5 stars

This morning I finished up the audiobook version of A Fatal Grace, the second Inspector Gamache mystery. I have listened to three of these, and I'm not sure why - I don't really like the narrator. I will probably try to read the rest of the series on paper. This one wasn't very mysterious, I figured it out in the first 1/3 of the book. It also suffered from pretty egregious fat hatred. That said, there were some lovely passages and character development. 3 stars

QOTW: I almost never look at the best seller list. I did find that blog post interesting, in that it might explain why I don't find the lists helpful... I am almost never interested in things that the general public has been persuaded to consume. That sounds snobby, and it is, really. But now it makes some sense to me- the tastes of people who only read a couple of books a year probably have little to do with mine. I do care how highly a book is rated on GR, though.

Hello from Columbus! This week I honestly haven't gotten much done for the challenge. I just haven't felt like sitting down with a book this week. But I did finish a few and have started some.
John Dies at the End was my unreliable narrator pick. I really loved the movie and so I did like the book a lot too. I now have This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It on my TBR list. I had JDatE on audiobook and listened to it mostly in the car since we've been nonstop on the go. My 11 year old thought it was HYSTERICAL. But she's 11 and thinks fart jokes are the epitome of humor.
Watchmen I'm like 95% done with this, as my book with pictures pick (along with This One Summer, I'm glad I had that two picks because otherwise this would have been a letdown category). I feel the comic was just as confusing as the movie, it's supposed to be self-contained but it's all written in a way that unless you're familiar superheroes and that universe it doesn't really work that well. Or maybe I just don't get it because I don't really enjoy that type of thing. My SO had to practically hold my hand through the whole thing since he's a nerd and knows everything about every character in every comic, movie, or show and can explain the nuances that I don't get. I guess that's a lot of words to say "I didn't really care for this" lol. I wouldn't have read it if he hadn't insisted and Marisha Pessl hadn't added it to her Read To Survive list.

I'm still reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane since it's a physical book and I haven't had the time for it. I started Pachinko and am about halfway through that. I plan to start The Executioner's Song soon but it's the size of a human child and I am still recouping from Vanity Fair and Anna Karenina.

So this brings me to 30/40; 3/12 with 42 books read for the challenge.

QOTW: I only tend to know what's on best sellers lists when they're out on the best sellers end caps and display tables. I'll generally pick them up when they sound up my alley, I start hearing about them a lot, or a movie is being talked about with actors I like.

Greetings from muggy Syracuse! No books for the challenge, but some interesting books read nonetheless.

Glass Houses: Few authors can make the 13th book in a series one of the best, if not the best, books of the entire series; but Louise Penny has managed to do it with Glass Houses. If I could, I'd give this a 6th star.

The book mainly takes place during the 2 day testimony of Armand Gamache at a murder trial, with many flashbacks. One of the best parts of the book was Ruth; always an interesting character this book gives you further insight into her life and why she is how she is. The story had me on the edge of my seat; the worse part was when I had to put down my Kindle to interact with the real world. And the knowledge that I have to wait another year for the next book in the series.

If you're a Louise Penny fan, pre-order the book and take off August 29th to enjoy. If you're not a Louise Penny fan, go get Still Life, remember that the series get better as she goes, and be ready to read this by the time your library hold comes up.

Thank you to Macmillan and Edelweiss for this ARC. ARC provided for collection development purposes, all opinions my own.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones: I'll finish this during my dinner break tonight. I love this series and was so glad to grab it when it came out Tuesday. Amazing character development and fantastic lines such as “The concept that perhaps biology was not destiny, and that not all little girls would be pretty princesses, and not all little boys would be brave soldiers.” If you haven't picked up Every Heart a Doorway, grab it and then read this. Short, fabulous reads!

Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate: interesting book for those who are buying or selling a house. The best part was the chapter on the federal mortgage interest tax deduction and how it actually does not help most people and how the government could better offer assistance to home buyers.

Running Like a Girl: An enjoyable read about a new runner. It got repetitive, but that seems to occur in this genre. Recommended for anyone new to running or wondering if they should start.

QOTW: I look at the NY Times list weekly to make sure I bought the books for the library, but I wouldn't otherwise. I could care less about James Patterson's 57 books a year or those by Debbie Macomber or Clive Cussler. I'd rather decide on books from reviews here, Library Journal, or NPR.

This week I finished Scarlet. It is my book "with a title that's a character's name." (I also finished Cress, but couldn't find a place for it on the list.)

QOTW: I don't usually pay attention to Bestseller's List. I'll look sometimes, just out of curiosity, but I don't make my decisions based on them.

Week 24 - 30/40 & 8/12 (38/52)

Hello, everyone! Here in central Oklahoma, it's currently 91, but feels like an even 100 degrees. And it's only halfway through June! I am not looking forward to the temps in July & August if this is any indication of what our summer is going to be like. :-(

I had a pretty good week, reading-wise, although I only finished one book. I made good progress on another & started a third, so I'm happy with that.

I finished listening to the audiobook Why Not Me?, written and narrated by Mindy Kaling. It was pretty good, but I've never seen her in anything, so it might have been a little more interesting if I knew her from one of her shows before I listened to the book. As it is, though, she interested me enough that I may go back and watch The Office or The Mindy Project, just to see her in action.

I am still working on A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, but I actually made a lot of progress on it this past week. I only have about a quarter of the book left, so I am really hoping to finish in the next few days. I love the book, but there are times where it is more in depth than others, so I may fly through a few pages, and then I have to slow down and really pay attention to figure out what's going on for a few pages. Still, I'm really enjoying it.

On Monday, I started reading The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. The first thirty pages or so were really hard for me to get through, because there was just so much detail of every little thing. I found myself skimming paragraph after paragraph due to the lengthy descriptions of the scenery and the locations. I appreciate details, but I felt like there was just way too much of that in the beginning of the book. Thankfully, I guess that was mainly to set up the story, because there hasn't been as much of that lately. I still skim the occasional paragraph that gets too long & convoluted with details, but overall, I'm quite enjoying the story & can't wait to see where it leads. I'm only about a quarter of the way in, but I feel like I know the path the story is going to take us on. However, there are two possible ending points, and I can't figure out which way it will go. I'm interested to find out!

QOTW: I don't really pay much attention to bestsellers. I mean, I hear about them through the grapevine sometimes, or here on GR, but I don't actively look for them. The only time I do is like some of you have previously mentioned, when I have a prompt that looks for a bestseller from a certain year. I used to pay more attention, but I've found that just because a book is a bestseller, that doesn't mean I'm going to like it. Some of the most talked about "bestsellers" of the past couple years have been books I didn't like at all! Right now, I have a long enough TBR list that I don't need to look for anymore books for a very long time, so I have no interest in looking at a list to try to get me to add more. ;-)

Amanda wrote: "Greetings from muggy Syracuse! No books for the challenge, but some interesting books read nonetheless.

Glass Houses: Few authors can make the 13th book in a series one of the best..."

I have a question: I have heard a lot of people recommend Louise Penny and they almost always mention in one way or another that you should take the first book with a grain of salt because the series gets better. As someone who has never read one of her books, is there a reason to read the early books? Could you just skip to the point in the series where they are good, no caveats? Or do they need to be read in order?

Bonjour from Montreal where it is a very beautiful day. I spent the day at my son's school for the end of the year party. It was great.

I finished three books last week which is very rare for me:

The Goldfinch: for the librarian recomendation prompt. I liked it.

Emma: for the book that make me smile. Emma's dad and Miss Bates are making me laugh everytime. And I read it at least 4 times.

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions: for no prompt, or I can't find one. That one was a lot of fun.

QOTW: I never look at bestsellers list.

Jackie wrote: " I have a question: I have heard a lot of people recommend Louise Penny and they almost always mention in one way or another that you should take the first book with a grain of salt because the series gets better. As someone who has never read one of her books, is there a reason to read the early books? Could you just skip to the point in the series where they are good, no caveats? Or do they need to be read in order? ."

You could skip the first few, but I wouldn't recommend it. They aren't bad, just not quite as good as later books. The appeal of the series for many people is the deep character development. You would miss some of that if you skipped. I suggest you just dive into Still Life. Just my 2 cents :)

Greetings from mild sunny NYC! I am jealous of all of you heading off to vacations and long weekends, packing bags of books. I just see work, work and more work in my near future!

And reading, of course.

I've made no further progress on Pop Sugar challenge finishes this week - still holding at 28/52 - 24/40 and 4/12. Still have same 3 in process: The Tenderness of Wolves, Hunger’s Brides: A Novel of the Baroque, and The Towers of Trebizond - I KNOW! I need to move forward.

However, I did finish a book for another challenge - the Nordic Summer Reading Challenge at Scandinavia House here in NYC: The Boy in the Suitcase for challenge #1 - Nordic crime novel written by a woman. First of the Nina Borg series (I'd read the third in the series for 2017 Pop Sugar Challenge book in translation), I did like it a lot, especially that it did not go down the expected dark path (pedophilia or sex trafficking), and most of the characters were sympathetic. [I should probably see if it fits an available Pop Sugar challenge category actually]. But I've now moved it to challenge #3 - author with a Scandinavian letter in name - because....

I discovered when perusing my ebook library that other Nordic/Scandinavian books I already own and want to read for the challenge don't quite fit as I originally thought. So I am now reading 1222 for challenge #1, I've put The Unit on hold at NYPL for challenge #2 a Scandinavian fantasy (this is the one recommended by the challenge and there will be a discussion on it at Scandinavia House on June 27th). And for challenge #5 - a book with 'ice' or 'snow' in the title - I'm reading The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter - figuring 'winter' in the title is close enough, especially since the jacket art includes snow-capped Nordic mountains. Still have to see if I have a book set in Iceland to use for challenge #6 or a Scandinavian book with a white cover for challenge #4 -- but I've got a start.

I'm also reading The Long-Winded Lady: Notes from The New Yorker - a collection of essays - for the Bas Bleu 2017 monthly challenge. Just started it but it's a wonderful book to dip in and out of a bit at a time. These essays were published over many years in the New Yorker Magazine, so never were meant to read as a book. Might see if I can fit it into a Pop Sugar challenge category still open as well.

QOTW: I really don't pay much attention to best seller lists, although once upon a time, I did religiously scrutinize the NYTimes lists. However, I very quickly came to question the value of the ranking for so many reasons, including that it seemed to be the same people over and over. I mean - John Grisham writes a perfectly entertaining legal thriller, but they are not all equal, and how many copies of his books are picked up simply because it is his latest and they make good airplane reads?

I am however tickled pink when a tv series/movie or world event suddenly catapults a classic back onto the lists -- like ,1984 or
Sense and Sensibility when Emma Thompson's movie was released, or Alexander Hamilton because of the fantastic Broadway musical. That means the publishers put those books on racks in supermarkets, drugstores, and Walmart, and they become available to those who do not have a good nearby bookstore or library.

I really liked Still Life and I think I'm only on book 4 or so and I've enjoyed each one. I am enjoying each additional book a little more but that's largely because the characters just get deeper and more interesting as she adds to their backstories.

Jackie wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Greetings from muggy Syracuse! No books for the challenge, but some interesting books read nonetheless.

Glass Houses: Few authors can make the 13th book in a series ..."

I'm with Jackie - I read the first one of her Inspector Gamache series just before it was first released - a friend lent me a reviewer's copy - and thought it was awful - poorly written, no sense of place, characters uninspired. I was shocked when a second came out - and borrowed a friend's copy, found no improvement, and just never bothered with the series since.

Based on what I keep reading here on GR, I am now rethinking my aversion -- but no way am I going back to read those awful first ones! So given that, where would you suggest starting? And btw, I read a levels of writing -- I'm really not overly picky.

Happy Thursday! This has been a crazy busy week. I’ve been in meetings basically 12 hours a day each day at the corporate office (big change from working from home in my pj’s all day), but tomorrow night I get to sleep in my own bed again. I plan to do nothing but read and chill at the pool this weekend.

I finished 3 books this week, 1 for PopSugar. I’m now at 27/40, 8/12 or 35/52.

For PopSugar:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for a book set in a hotel (35). I really enjoyed this book and plan to read more by Towles.

For another challenge:
Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I didn’t read this in school like many of my classmates did. It is a modern classic about what happens when a group of boys are stuck on an island after a plane crash. It translates just as well to today’s time.

Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?: True Stories and Confessions By Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella. I’ve read Scottoline’s mysteries before, but I didn’t realize she had a humor series with her daughter. It’s cute – basically turning everyday life & family into a bunch of short, humorous essays – but I like her mysteries better. Laurie Notaro and Jenny Lawson are more my style.

I am currently reading:
Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich.
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. I should finish this before I get home tomorrow night.
Going Off Script: How I Survived a Crazy Childhood, Cancer, and Clooney's 32 On-Screen Rejections by Giuliana Rancic.

QOTW: I notice best seller lists, but I don’t search them out. If I am in a bookstore, I will check out any displays of best sellers, and they are on the landing page of Amazon’s ebook section. But I pay more attention to reviews or new authors than I do to best sellers.

Theresa wrote: "Based on what I keep reading here on GR, I am now rethinking my aversion -- but no way am I going back to read those awful first ones! So given that, where would you suggest starting? And btw, I read a levels of writing -- I'm really not overly picky."

Book #4, A Rule Against Murder, turned the corner for me, and #6, Bury Your Dead, was fantastic. I'm on book #7 right now.

Sara wrote: "Book #4, A Rule Against Murder, turned the corner for me, and #6, Bury Your Dead, was fantastic. I'm on book #7 right now."

Thanks! I read only the first Inspector Gamache and thought it was awful (though I gave it 4 stars because a close friend who is also on Goodreads LOVES the series and had recommended it to me). I've never been tempted to pick up another one, but after the discussion here, maybe I'll start with book 4. I love getting everyone's input!

Hello from Southern Alberta. We had a couple days of bad rain so I was able to get a lot of reading in. I finished 3 books this week and made signficant progress on 2 more.

I finished:
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living This was not a book that I would have normally picked up, it was a bookclub pick. Honestly I loved it. It seriously resonated with me and where I am in the life right now. It actually almost brought me to tears at points. I wasn't able to slot it into a Popsugar catagory but was able to use it for others.

The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day was an awesome read. If you have any interest in science this is a great book to pick up, it explains so many physics concepts in laymen's terms. Another one I couldn't use for Popsugar.

Finally I finished Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories I didn't really enjoy this book at all, only the last couple stories I found interesting at all. I'm running out of Popsugar catagories so another one I couldn't slot here but could elsewhere.

Currently reading:
The Conspiracy of Us Loving this!! It is a nice breath of fresh air after some heavier books. I have an ARC for The Ends of the World so I need to read the first two first.

Greek Myths and Legends is a book in progress I'm reading to my kids. This will fill the "Book Recommended by an author you love" prompt

Charlotte's Web is another one I'm reading to my kids

Challenge numbers:
Popsugar: 35/40 7/12

MMD:
Reading for Fun: Completed
Reading for Growth: 7/12

Around the Year: 39/52

Book Riot Read Harder: 13/24

QOTW:
I love looking at which books are on the Bestseller List and sometimes I will add them to my Library list to pick up.

Sara wrote: "Jackie wrote: " I have a question: I have heard a lot of people recommend Louise Penny and they almost always mention in one way or another that you should take the first book with a grain of salt ..."

I agree 100% with Sara. It's not that the first one or two are bad, just sort of slow, but it's worth it for getting to know the characters. I want to move to Three Pines.

Sara wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Based on what I keep reading here on GR, I am now rethinking my aversion -- but no way am I going back to read those awful first ones! So given that, where would you suggest startin..."

thanks Sara!

We had a busy week, so I didn't get too much reading in, but I did finish Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike, which was written as a sequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet. I really liked it and look into these well-known characters' backgrounds. I also read Monster High by Lisi Harrison, which I thought was a really fun twist on the monster genre.

QOTW: I don't usually look at the best seller lists intentionally - like others these are called to my attention by in-store or library displays. I only purposely use it to select a book to read if it's for a challenge prompt. I don't have anything against them, it's just not a habit I've ever gotten into, I guess.

Hello everyone!!
This week I finished I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban and I used it as a book from someone I admire. It has been on my TBR list for so long that I am really glad I finally read it. It was amazing. First of all you need to remember it was written by a child, a very smart, but nevertheless child. So that being said, it was really sad to become aware of the atrocities this family had to overcome, but it was also an inspiring story.
I also finished The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith as a book with a pseudonym. I really enjoyed this one. JK Rowling wrote the books that were a landmark in my childhood so she will forever be one of my favorites. After reading the first of the Cormoran Strike's books I will definitely keep track of it. I ended up in love with the characters and the story.

QOTW: I end up finding out about the bestseller lists because of the social media but it doesn't affect my personal TBR list. I don't think it necessarily reflects the quality of the books.

I finished Mr. Splitfoot last week and nothing else since, but I have made a fair bit of progress on probably 5 different books in an attempt to move towards completing some more. It was honestly too hot in NYC earlier this week to do a ton of reading otherwise.

In other news, my graduation went well. I got to spend some more time with my dad and stepmom after as they came up and then treated my boyfriend and I to a very tasty dinner. The speakers at the ceremony took TWO HOURS and then they galloped through, like, 250-300 names in about 45 minutes. It was crazy.

Monday morning I actually woke up to a phone call offering me a job I wasn't sure I wanted and had actually been very non-serious throughout the interview process. I didn't prep for either interview, emailed them a paper I wrote on preventing the zombie apocalypse as my writing sample, etc. Tuesday morning I had a doctor appointment, rolled my ankle on the way there, and then had to get one vaccination (pneumonia vaccine, as I'm asthmatic).

The rest of my week has actually been phenomenal since about 4:30 pm on Tuesday. I turned down the job I was offered on Monday because the contracting gig I was kind of casually accepting unless something better came along went from being a good option to being the best option I could have hoped for. Long story short, rather than being hired on as a 1099 contractor, they've decided to take me on as a W-2 employee (1099, for non-Americans, means I'd have to make quarterly estimated tax payments to the feds, state, and city; W-2 they take the taxes out automatically). I'll be getting a better benefits package than many in the US and have much more hope for stability than if I were just a contractor. It also pays quite well, even for NYC standards, so that has turned out to be a dream. I will actually have to try pretty hard to not be able to pay all my bills and put money in savings comfortably with what I'll be making.

In addition, I was given a start date of July 10, which has been moved up to ASAP because I've been asked to step in for someone who pulled out of another project early, so I'll get to do two projects when most recent graduates don't even get approved to do this work AT ALL. I am unbelievably excited about that!!

Finally, I get to see my mom next week! My boyfriend is loaning me the money needed to fly with him on a work trip that will be 45 minutes away from where my mom lives. The better part? She's bringing my two cats up that I haven't seen in almost 5 years!!! I am SO excited about this.

I've almost cried from happiness nearly a dozen times this week because the entire week has just been phenomenal with the deluge of good news. Since some of you folks have read and commented on my previous posts, I wanted to make SURE to let you know of the good news in my life.

QOTW: I scroll through bestseller lists periodically, if I'm curious what's popular or if I'm unsure of what to read next because I have nothing going at the moment (rare). Book lists are fun for me to read through, but they don't often guide my reading much, if at all, unless I see a really pretty cover of a new book and HAVE to have it.

Hello from rainy-season Japan! It's thundering outside as I type this.

I finished I Capture the Castle as my book recommended by a favorite author (Jk Rowling in this case) and really enjoyed it--I ended up watching the film as soon as I closed the cover. I've been reading lots of grim fare recently, and this was a delightful break.

I also finished the audiobook of Kindred which I slotted into the title with a family member category. I found the concept intriguing and liked the main character, but ultimately wished that the plot/situation had been more emotionally complex, and the time travel mechanics explained. I thought the writing was a bit stilted, too.

I ended up reading 400+ pages of In the Woods in 3 days because I couldn't bear to put it down! It's a literary psychological mystery set in and around Dublin, gorgeously written. Even if the mystery itself isn't terribly surprising, I got so caught up in the devastating emotions, the character building, and the prose that I didn't even care! :) I LOVED this. (It was my used book category).

QOTW: I pay zero attention to lists. I might pick up a book because of buzz, like The Hate U Give--which turned out to be well worth the buzz! Other times, I'm very dissapointed. Honestly, my personal tastes skew more to dark, obscure, or older books. At the airport, I'll sometimes play a little game with myself at the convenience store bestseller bookrack: "if you were forced to pick and read one of these books at gunpoint, what would it be?" Tricky business. :)

Hello from Chicago, where it's been hotter than the seventh level of hell lately. We finally have some cool rain today, and I'm thrilled with the change!

I haven't finished any books this week. 😫 I'm still reading Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. As per usual when I read historical books, I keep getting sidetracked by trivia and end up doing research on the internet for hours!

QOTW: I don't think that I've ever checked a bestseller list in my life before this challenge. I tend to read things friends and family recommend to me, new releases by favorite authors, whatever looks good on the library shelf, etc. So I certainly do end up reading bestsellers, but not because I seek them out on a list.

Congrats, Caity on all of your good news!

Wendy, I'm adding I Capture the Castle and In the Woods to my TBR. Thanks!

I haven't checked in for a while. I was getting ready for a trip, going on the trip, then recovering from the trip. lol! I've read a few books during this time but only one for this challenge.

Longbourn - Jo Baker. Read for a book that's been on my TBR for way too long. This story is based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, telling the story from the servant's point of view. It was well done however I didn't feel the love for Jane Austen's characters once seen from this point of view!

Also read for other challenges or free reads:

They Came to Baghdad - Agatha Christie
South and West: From a Notebook - Joan Didion (book published in 2017)
Sailor Song - Ken Kesey
Rutland Place - Anne Perry

Reading now:
Vittoria Cottage - D.E. Stevenson
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware - for this month's Book of the Month and a book about traveling I'm enjoying it so far.
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman (at a snail's pace...)
Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
The Shoemaker's Wife - Adriana Trigiani Reading this for a book that takes place over a character's life span. I'm listening on audio in spurts so it's taking a while.

QOTW
I only look at bestseller lists if one pops up in front of me, such as a poster at the library or online. I find most of my books through groups like this on Goodreads, from friends, or if a book just keeps coming to my attention over and over again.