Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday Check-in everyone!

It's hot and humid here, and I am dreaming of autumn temperatures, warm drinks, sweaters, boots and all the loveliness that comes with ushering in the cooler weather.

Reminder that the monthly poll is open until Monday. We are voting on the September group read – a book of letters. You can go here to vote: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

I finished three books this week:

The Long Way Home (Inspector Gamache #10) by Louise Penny - book #11 is waiting at the library for me. At this rate I will be ready to read #13 when it comes out at the end of August!

The Real Thing: Lessons on Love and Life from a Wedding Reporter's Notebook - this was cute, and a good palate cleanser to try and pull me out of my reading slump. No groundbreaking information, but it gave me some material to think on.

And I finished my advanced copy of Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel. Definitely a 5-star read for me, and also LOTS of info to think over. I need to dig into some of the topics a little further (specifically cognitive function and enneagram) to help me better identify and understand myself. Recognizing my personality and typical thought processes really helps me to understand my motivations as well as pitfalls that often trip me up.


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is still in progress

I started The Bear and the Nightingale for my book set in the wilderness.

I did some rearranging so I am currently at 38/52.

Question of the week:

Submitted by Cheri

Do you sometimes read the last page of your book first?

I know this is a thing, and I can understand why someone would want to, but NO I never read the last page early. I also don't skip ahead a little just to see if things turn out (this is tempting sometimes though). :)

How about you?

Good morning! It has continued to be beautiful here although dry so we have been on a no burn order (Nova Scotia)
I didn't get as much reading as I'd like this week but I did finish Station Eleven (loved!) and started Fever Code which is really just because I'm so curious after reading the other books in the series but I'm not really that into it yet. Still going through Prisoner of Azkaban one chapter per week.
For my toddlers challenge I did the cat in the hat for an eccentric character and Polly MacCauley's Finest Divinest Wooliest Gift of All by Sheree Fitch for a book published this year. We're also doing a book bingo challenge for the library so I'm splitting our reading between this challenge, that one and books he wants to read a billion times lol

QOTW NO! I'm not a monster! Lol just kidding but no I don't typically do this. I'm actually not concerned about "spoilers" though and don't really get why people are other than the ones that really spoil a twist or surprise (a character dying in game of thrones is not a spoiler. They are all going to die!) I always figure that if a book, movie, show etc has good writing and is interesting and engaging then a spoiler won't ruin anything because the whole story surrounding the spoiler should be just as important as the small detail. Anyway, occasionally if a book or movie is giving me anxiety I'll check ahead to see if a character is still alive later so I don't feel panicky.

Good morning! It is cool and humid here in northern NY - the kind of weather where you're both hot and cold and can't decide if it's better with the a/c on or off.

This week I finished three books (and I finished them all yesterday, by coincidence!). One of them was a picture book, so ... sort of a gimme ;-)

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler - 5 stars! This is the second Chandler/Marlowe book I've read, and this one was - if anything - even better than the first (The Big Sleep)! I will definitely be reading all the rest of his books, I am so excited to have finally discovered how fantastic he is.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson - this is a collection of previously published essays, but it does not feel scattered, it reads as if it they were meant to be together. If you enjoy reading about science and the universe (and I do) and you are looking for a book that is a quick, "light" read, this is the book for you! I read one chapter a night, before whatever other book I was reading, and that was a perfect pace.

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt & Adam Rex - fantastic picture book! Must read aloud! I swear even my dogs were excited to follow along.

QOTW Noooooooooooooooo! Never! I'm one of those people who abhors plot spoilers! Sometimes, during really tense parts, I will allow my eyes to quickly skip to the end of just that page, just to see if the protagonist stays alive.

Hello!! I'm sipping my iced coffee and counting down the hours until I get to leave work for a three day weekend. Also, there is a huge sale this weekend at my convention center held by Half Price Books and I'm excited to go fill up my bag full of books! (Yes, I'll be purchasing my book from a used book sale!)

I finished 5 things this week! Two audiobooks, one graphic novel, and two young adult. Some really great stuff. Here's the break down:

Finished the audio of You Can't Make This Stuff Up: Life-Changing Lessons from Heaven on my walk last Friday and I really enjoyed it. I want to try to re-read it in the future because there was some really uplifting things in this book. Using it for my book with a sub-title.

Finished The Sun Is Also a Star for my immigrant or refugee book from the advanced section. Really enjoyed this one too. I liked how it took place over a short period of time. Made it an even faster read with the short chapters. I never wanted to stop reading.

Finished the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Loved it of course and it will complete my book I've read before that makes me smile.

Finished Big Mushy Happy Lump in one sitting. I love her comics on Instagram and this got a little deeper in her social anxiety and it was so relate-able for me.

Finished Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index last night and I loved this. Deals with grief, friendship, and family. Although I had one tiny problem with it, it didn't take away from the book. I can't fit it in the challenge but others could use it for published in 2017.

My totals for this challenge is 28/40 and 7/12.

QOTW One time I was checking how many pages a book had and flipped to the last page, saw a huge spoiler. You could say I learned the hard way not to look at the last page again.

Nadine wrote: "The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler - 5 stars! This is the second Chandler/Marlowe book I've read, and this one was - if anything - even better than the first (The Big Sleep)! I will definitely be reading all the rest of his books, I am so excited to have finally discovered how fantastic he is."

I'm working on The Big Sleep right now. I haven't read much of it lately so I didn't include it in my update, but I'm glad to know you love his stuff!

What's surprising to me is that Chandler and Hammett are usually grouped together, and I hated The Maltese Falcon. No more Hammett for me, but allll the Chandler.

Hi all,

It's humid and cloudy here in Michigan, wish the sun would come back out. I'm pretty sure I am solar powered, I function better if there's bright sunbeams! Think it's going to rain later today, so boo. At least I won't need to water my plants.

I have 5 books ticking away in my library stack, so been trying to read at a brisk pace to make sure I can get through them all before they're due.

So this week I finished:

The Hidden Oracle - I like Rick Riordan, his books are fun brisk reads that delve into parts of mythology that are less familiar. I like the modernizing twists he takes. However my favorite books of his are the ones where the perspective shifts around. I like seeing things from the other character's eyes. Apollo got a little annoying after a while.

Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus - I'm counting this on Reader Harder's book about sports. I don't like traditional sports. But I don't think anyone could argue that being an aerialist isn't athletic. Someone in another group recommended this to me, since my ballet book didn't pan out as being very readable. I enjoyed it a lot, though it lived up to the tragedy part. My only real qualm with it is that the author kept inserting his own thoughts upon how the people might have felt. I get wanting to fill them out, give them depth, but doing so can't help but color how the reader feels about them. (Things like "Perhaps he felt resentment his wife was there during this first meeting") I kind of wish he'd either left them out, or said "this is a novelization of her life" that followed the bones of her life, but was embellished for readability.

Fire Touched - I'd read the Mercy Thompson books a couple years ago, and then lost track of the series. Turns out there were two new books! Got them both from the library, so the next one is on the stack. I enjoyed it, nice to get back into the world.

Currently reading: Stranger in a Strange Land Which will count for Read Harder's banned book. I only just started, so not really far enough in to have an opinion. However I did read the intro by Gaiman, and skimmed a review or two so am trying to remind myself that the book was written in the 60s. As is, I'm a little dubious about the way he's writing the one female character that's shown up so far. I'm impressed that my library got the really fancy version of the book though, with the shiny embossed cover.

QOTW: I don't, although occasionally I'll catch a line or two of the last page when I'm flipping to see how many pages there are. I try not to, though. I'm funny when it comes to books, I sometimes get annoyed if even the book blurbs give too many details. I like to know JUST enough to know if the subject interests me enough to read. Otherwise I want to go in mostly blind. I like feeling the story unfold, not trying to guess what happens to get to some tidbit mentioned in the dust jacket. Not that I won't read a book if it's 'spoiled', or that I can't enjoy it. Just I really like the first pure experience of just seeing where the book goes without trying to mentally outrace it.

I've read three books this week but only two for the challenge.

The one that does not fit into the challenge was Heroine Worship. This is the second instalment in the Heroine Complex series and this time the story was not about the sidekick becoming the hero but the hero trying to find out how to be a co-hero. I just didn't like it as much as the first book, the narrator didn't agree with me and I always struggle when a book is filled with too much self pity.

For a retelling of mythology I read Deathless which showed great promise but in the end was too repetitive. I found that it kept too close to the style of the fairy tales which I'm not a fan of.

Finally I read the World Tree Girl which held me captive from page one and right up until the end. A book filled with suspense and interesting characters about a middle age female paranormal investigator. This is the first I read in the series (which was not a problem despite it being the second book) and would read more.

Y'all, I finished some books this week! At last! \o/

Finished

Heat Wave - I got this as an ARC and slotted it into Around the Year's "a book published outside the 4 major publishing houses" prompt, bringing me to 29/52 for that challenge. It was pretty cute, but I don't have a lot of patience for books where the conflict could be resolved by a single honest conversation. I was excited to get to read some more f/f, though!

Dreamland Burning - This filled my Popsugar prompt of "a book set in two time periods," and it was excellent! It alternates between Tulsa now and Tulsa in 1921, just before the massacre of Tulsa's black citizens by white mobs - an event I'd heard of but really knew very little about. I'm now at 28/40 for this challenge.

In Progress

Blood of Tyrants - I'm switching back and forth between audiobook and hard copy for this one, which has been fun! These books are so densely plotted, though, that when I listen to it, I feel like I'll miss something if my brain wanders for even a second. I'm about 3/4 of the way finished.

Pictures Of The Floating World - Very slowly picking my way through this collection of Amy Lowell's poetry, originally published in 1919. (I got it from a University library, so my copy is actually *from* 1919!)

DNF

For the first time in several weeks, I didn't quit anything this week! I hope that means I'm climbing out of my reading funk.

QOTW

I don't read the last page first, but I'll definitely skim ahead and then go back and read in detail. (Or skim ahead, figure out what happens, and DNF the book.)

Hello from hot and humid Columbus! I was on a roll to finish a second book for this week last night, but then I ended up needing to get 4 stitches in my finger 😑. Now, all I can concentrate on is my throbbing finger. Hopefully the Advil starts to help more soon.

Fates and Furies ended up in my two time periods prompt after I saw someone else here mentioned that it fit, and I really wanted to read the book so I went for it. I guess the second half was more split between two distinct times periods, early life and late life but I had wanted something obviously split for this category. I'll probably add another pick that fits better. But over all, I really enjoyed the story. I loved the style and it kept me engaged the whole time. It broke my damn heart though

So that brings me to 34/40; 4/12 with 51 books read this year.

QOTW: short answer: no. But I do sometimes I'll peep the last line or word of a book for no discernible reason.

Hello, everyone!!! It's still sunny in Arequipa with just a bunch of clouds but definitely chilly at nights.
So I finished 2 books this week.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This is such a lovely read. As I said before, it began very slowly for me but I think it's because I'm used to other types of books, but I ended up enjoying it so much. I was delighted by every single event in Count Rostov's live. The writing was just so thoughtful. Anyway, I loved it and I'll be checking out more from this author. I used this one for the category a book set in a hotel.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber. This I am not using it for the challenge, but I am a fantasy girl so I read mostly everything related. It was good, I liked it, but to be honest I don't know what was missing. The characters are good, the story was interesting and it ended with a nice cliffhanger for the next book. But I only managed to give it 3 stars.

QOTW: No, I've never looked at the last page or skipped pages to see what happens. What I do when I want to know what happens next or if I want to know how it ends is read faster.

Hello from Cleveland! We finally had a few days of cool weather, and it was glorious. I am counting down to fall. (It's been so hot that when our house got down to 70*(!!!) one night, I had to grab a blanket!)

First up this week I read The Devotion of Suspect X for a book with a red spine. Technically the book's spine is blue and only the jacket's is red, but since it's a library book and the jacket is permanently attached, I feel like it counts! I have really mixed feelings on this book. The twist is very interesting, but it's artificially created by withholding information from the reader. If I get a character's perspective, you can't tell me at the end they had been wondering something the whole time, but not show me that when I'm in their head. I do want to say it had the same translator (Alexander O. Smith) as All You Need Is Kill, and he totally knocks it out of the park.

I also read Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said for a book by an author who uses a pseudonym. Despite what the Goodreads page may say, Kurban Said's real identity is unknown. (I did some research and it sounds like the person Goodreads says is Said did publish something under that name, but there's no evidence he also wrote Ali and Nino. I want to convince my friend who speaks German and Azari to solve this mystery!) It was really difficult to read Ali's very misogynistic views of women, but it was accurate to the time and I liked the comparison of East and West. It also made me realize how little we're taught in the US about this region. I was lost in names and politics mentioned 90% of time, and I only knew the other 10% because of my friend.

QOTW: It's super embarrassing to admit, but when I read angsty (or even sometimes cute) fanfiction, if it's not tagged that it has a happy ending, I have to check before I can emotionally invest myself. (I swear I'm not a middle school girl in disguise...it's just my guilty pleasure!) Conversely, I've started reading a bunch of classics this year, and I quickly learned not to read the Introduction until I've finished, since they spoil the whole plot! I appreciate the context/analysis they provide, but I don't understand why they aren't Afterwords instead.

Hi!

I didn't update last week so I'm going to include last week's also. I have been super slow on reading lately. Been enjoying the weather and picked up my bassoon again! Hoping to try out for a community orchestra later in August.

The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road Book with a subtitle. I wanted to read this because my dad is a truck driver. It's more about the moving industry than trucking, but still really informative and a great memoir.

The Time Machine didn't use for a prompt. This wasn't what I was expecting. I guess it's been a while since I read something in this style of writing!

Exit West I used this for different ethnicity for now. This started off strong for me, and then fizzled out. Kinda like the character's relationship. It just seemed meandering, and the style of writing was dizzying! I'd still recommend it, because it is so unlike anything I've read.

Audiobooks:
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women LOVED this!

Life of Pi finally read this since it's been on my TBR forever. Did an audiobook because I had unfortunately already seen the movie and I knew I'd need it to move quicker.

QOTW:
I am impatient and will read the last sentence just for kicks. It never gives away anything. I just get curious what an author chooses to use for their last sentence!

Rebecca wrote: "Conversely, I've started reading a bunch of classics this year, and I quickly learned not to read the Introduction until I've finished, since they spoil the whole plot! I appreciate the context/analysis they provide, but I don't understand why they aren't Afterwords instead.
"

I agree! I always end up paging through trying not to read those. I don't want the whole plot spoiled before I even have a chance to read it! Put that stuff at the end, where once I'm done I can read further if I'm interested.

Good morning! I'm also waiting to get through this day so I can get to a three-day weekend... but mine is to fly to Chicago for wedding that I'm in. Still, airport/plane time is reading time!

Finished:
Holding by Graham Norton. I was delighted by this book and its small-town quirkiness. The twists were organic and none of the characters were stupid... it was a believable mystery and Norton's writing is just lovely.

A Most Unlikely Duke by Sophie Barnes. I have too many unread romances on my Kindle (and then Smart Bitches, Trashy Books sends me deals and I acquire more) so I settled in with this over the weekend. Very cute and I cannot wait for the next book in the series (see?! more!).

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. This book was ADORABLE. I'm having a YA moment this month, it seems, and after The Hate U Give last week I needed a more upbeat and light read!

Currently reading:
Murder on the Orient Express (audiobook read by Dan Stevens). It's so great. He's wonderful. I'm delighted.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for my Harry Potter re-read this year. I cannot remember the last time I read some of them, so it's been really great to revisit.

QOTW: I have been known to flip ahead if I get concerned that the story is going to go in a way I will not like (so I can preemptively DNF)! It's a pretty rare occurrence but I've definitely done it a few times to save myself some frustration later.

Week 30 - 37/40 & 10/12 (47/52)

Hello, all! Waiting for some rain to fall & hoping it will cool off when it does. Here in central Oklahoma, we've been having highs in the upper 90s & low 100s, and I'm totally over it. I'm with you, Sara - let's have sweaters & boots & that crisp feel to the air!

I made more progress than I thought this week! I changed my completed books (on the regular list) from 34 to 37, and thought I must have forgotten to change them last week, but then realized that no, I really did finish three books this week. Sweet!

I finished reading Protocol One by Nathan A. Goodman for prompt #9, an espionage thriller. I was less than impressed, but after I finished, I realized that this novella was a prequel to the series, and that the series contains actual novels that are longer, and therefore (I assume) contain more information. I felt like this was just too much top layer stuff without digging deeper into the story like I would expect from a spy thriller. I may try some of the other books to see if they are better.

I also started and finished Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham for prompt #32, a book about an interesting woman. I loved it! I already loved Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls, and then recently started watching Parenthood on Netflix, so I was pretty sure I would like the book, too. I listened to the audiobook, since it is read by the author, and that made it even better. I recommended this to every friend I have who loves Gilmore Girls and/or Parenthood and/or is thinking about watching one of them. So funny!

My son & I finally finished The Tin Snail by Cameron McAllister for prompt #28, a novel set during wartime. It was a good story to introduce my son to some WWII issues, but it was light enough and focused more on the development of a car than the war, so it was definitely appropriate for a 9-year-old. We both quite enjoyed it, and were rooting for the good guys.

I am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield for prompt #7, a book that is a story within a story. I read it before, many years ago, but all I remember about it is that I really enjoyed it. Even as I read it, it hasn't sparked enough memory that it's ruining the story or the ending for me, so I'm having a good time trying to guess & see if I'm right. That sounds kind of terrible that I know I've read it and can't remember it, but I guess I should look at it as a gift. I can read it again & it will still be new to me. :-)

I also stared reading Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama for prompt #3 on the advanced list, a book with a family member term in the title. It is very readable, more like a novel than non-fiction. Unfortunately, I have had to put it to the side to focus on The Thirteenth Tale, as that is a library book that is on loan through my Overdrive app & it only gave me a 7-day loan time, so I'm trying to hurry through it in the limited time that I have.

My son and I also started Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan last night, and should finish it tonight. That doesn't count towards any of my Popsugar prompts, but I'm counting it for my GR reading challenge.

QOTW: No, no, no, no!!!! I can't read the last page of a book until I get to the last page naturally. I don't understand how people can do that, but to each their own. Just don't spoil it for me! ;-)

Hey, everyone, good morning!

I finished two books this week and started two more. I'm on a roll!

Finished

Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories - I learned that we're all conspiracy theorists to some degree. I really liked how Brotherton examines the psychological attributes that we all share - and use daily just to function in the world - and shows how these same habits of mind contribute to belief in conspiracies under the right conditions. His tales of various conspiracy theories, and their origins, are fascinating. This didn't fit any challenge slots that I haven't already filled but it worked for a non-fiction challenge I'm doing.

The Mummies of Ürümchi - So good! This is the second book by Elizabeth Wayland Barber that I've read in as many months and I'm off to start a third. Her writing is so accessible to a non-expert that it reads like a real life detective story, yet is so thorough and well-argued that it clearly is a professional monograph. She is trying to understand how 4,000-yr-old blond Caucasian mummies (even the women were over 6 feet tall!) came to be buried in a salty Central Asian desert. Exploring that question takes her deeply into linguistic, geographical, climatological and historical evidence, but the clothing - some of it much like modern Scottish tartans - is key. There are lots of photos, drawings and maps that greatly aid in understanding. This also fits a different challenge but not this one.

In process

The Art Forger - I'm "reading" this for the audio book prompt. Last week's discussion of audio books inspired me to look for something by Xe Sands, who I think is a great reader, and I found this. It's fascinating to me that I started this book a year or so ago by reading (not audio) and didn't much like the main character and just stopped reading. But I really like the narrator's voice, and so in audio book I like the main character more!

The Sheltering Sky - My book club will be discussing this and I'm hoping to fit it into one of the prompts, but haven't read enough yet to know where it might fit.

Question of the Week

When I was a kid I would often peek at the last page, but I don't do that anymore. In fact I get really annoyed when book blurbs spoil things. I like to let an author tell a story in their own way and don't want to have it ruined. Sometimes, if I'm thinking of quitting a book, I'll seek out reviews to see if things happen later that will make the book worth finishing. Sporting events are different -- my husband usually tapes them to watch a couple hours later and on the rare occasion that I watch, too, I always google the final score first! (I don't tell him, though.)

Happy Thursday!

It is a warm one today. I'm hoping the afternoon rain will help cool things down but lately they have seemed to only make it worse.

20/40 (YAY!! I reached my goal to have 20 read before the end of July.)

Read:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for a book you loved as a child. I did the audiobook so I could listen to it while driving to and from work. I still really love the book and forgot how horrible Edmund was for most of the book.

Animal Farm for a book from a nonhuman perspective. I know I read it back in high school but really didn't remember too much. It's crazy how some of the themes of the book line up with what is happening right now.

Currently Reading:

Final Girls for a book by an author who uses a pseudonym. I'm just over half way through this and really like it even though I'm kind of yelling at the book out of frustration. I think I know how it's going to end but I could be completely wrong.

Argo: How the CIA & Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History for an espionage thriller. I'm doing this on audiobook so I can listen during my driving commute. Haven't start it yet but am interested in the story.

QOTW:

Yes, I've totally flipped ahead. I don't mind spoilers for the most part. I'll sometimes read the last few paragraphs of the book when I'm in the middle of the book. For the most part, it doesn't give that much away. I for sure looked at the last page in Deathly Hallows when I got it at the midnight release.

Hello everyone!

Once again, no books finished for this challenge - holding strong at 44/52! I did finish, however, both She Persisted and Bossypants this past week though. Both I really enjoyed.

QOTW: I NEVER look at the end of a book! I despise spoilers and I love surprises. I was never the kid to try to open my presents under the Christmas tree. I actually avoided them at all costs! It's not Christmas morning if you know what you're getting! Same with books!

I am killing time sitting in the Client Tech department of my company while my colleagues try and prep a new laptop for me since my previous laptop up and died today. #firstworldproblems

I finished The Golem and the Jinni this week. I really loved this book. It was on my TBR and I picked it up on a whim at the library a few weeks ago. So glad I did! This will satisfy a lot of prompts but I am using it for mythical creature - at least for now.

That brings me to 20/40 and 1/12. I have turned my sights to some shorter books that are lighter reads in the hopes of completing some prompts and getting on track again. I hope to finish Little House in the Big Woods tonight for "loved from childhood". I also have started "The Color of Water in July" for "with day of the week or name of month". I bought the latter last year for "takes place in your home state" (Michigan) but ended up reading a nonfiction for that.

QotW
Yes and yes! I frequently read the last page of a book and almost always skim ahead. The only thing that stops me from these habits is reading on my Kindle. If I have a paper copy, I will almost always do one or both.

I finished one book this week, for a book involving a mythical creature - American Gods, taking me to 19/40. I liked this a lot but didn't love it - it went on a bit too long for me and I think I'd have enjoyed it more if it had been more tightly edited.

I'm on holiday for the next two weeks, so hoping to catch up a bit.

QOTW: not deliberately! If I flip to the back to see the number of pages, I deliberately unfocus my eyes so I don't see any spoilers! Reading on the kindle really helps with this...

Happy Thursday everyone! I didn't have time to check-in last week, but in that time I've finished three books.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler for "a book that's been on your TBR forever." I bought this new when it first came out 3 years ago, and it's been sitting on my bookshelf since. The layout of the book was gorgeous, but the content had me a little disappointed. I explain in my review I wish Amy had delved a little deeper into certain topics. No - not her divorce or relationship, but more into the challenges she's faced as a female comedian etc.

Atonement by Ian McEwan for "a book set during wartime." Let me just say I'm really bummed I watched the movie first. If you're familiar with the story, you know there are certain things that were ruined for me since I knew the ending. Still a beautiful book. I definitely need to re-read at some point, as some of the detail was hard to soak in the first time.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. This didn't fill any prompts, but was a quick classic that's been on my TBR for a long time.

I'm currently working on:
The Bookshop on the Corner
The Light Between Oceans

15/40, 0/12

QOTW: I really try not to spoil things for myself but sometimes I can't help it! There's been a few instances where I visit a book's Wikipedia page to get a little better understanding of the plot and I just can't stop reading the summary! I've also purposely looked up an ending when a book is really dragging and I am curious.

I never just read the last page however.

Kristel wrote: "...So I finished 2 books this week.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This is such a lovely read. As I said before, it began very slowly for me but I think it's because I'm used to other types of books, but I ended up enjoying it so much. I was delighted by every single event in Count Rostov's live. The writing was just so thoughtful. Anyway, I loved it and I'll be checking out more from this author. I used this one for the category a book set in a hotel..."

I felt the exact same way you did about A Gentleman in Moscow! It took me quite a long time to get through it, but it was probably the most charming book I've ever read. I loved everything about Count Rostov. He was the quintessential gentleman. I will definitely be looking for more by this author, as well.

Bonjour from rainy Montreal,

We had not so nice weather since the beginning of my vacation, but I can't complain. I like being home with the kids.

I finished Winter of the World for no prompt at all instead I decide doing the advance challenge. It would count for more than 800 pages.

I am now reading Code Name Verity for no prompt again. With two books back to back about WWII I guess I will have enough for a while.

QOTW: My husband always reads the last sentence of a book. I don't really mind myself and he often read to me the last sentence of my books. 99% of the time, it gives away nothing, but once I got something like: And then Richard dies. Not that fun.

Sheri wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Conversely, I've started reading a bunch of classics this year, and I quickly learned not to read the Introduction until I've finished, since they spoil the whole plot! I appreciate..."

Plus I find there's nothing so demoralizing has finally finishing a long and/or difficult classic, but then not being "done" because you have to flip back to the front and read a few more pages!

Guess what I finished this week! LES MISERABLES! *loudly toots own horn, aggressively tosses confetti, and inserts small flag atop book in gesture of dominance* That mountain is conquered! I will say that vol 2 was way more interesting than vol 1 (mainly because more things actually happen). I would still encourage anyone who wishes to torture themselves with this monster to find an abridged version.

I had a lot of free time this weekend and ended up reading a ton of books (most of them pretty short).

The Fault in Our Stars: I'm a big fan of the vlogbrothers online, but I had never read one of John Green's books, mainly because I don't like YA. I expected this to be very sappy, like A Walk to Remember, but it was actually very grounded and realistic.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy: I loved this! I adore the characters and the whole thing just makes me want to go to summer camp. I went and read the next two in the series too. I've got vols 4 and 5 waiting on me at home, and vol 6 on hold.

Akata Witch: This is a middle grade/ YA fantasy set in Nigeria and it was pretty good. I'm interested in reading the next one, but I can't say that this was amazing or anything. Would work for anybody looking to satisfy the myth prompt with something non-Greco-Roman.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard: I liked this, but it felt really short. It kind of needed like another 2 stories to round it out.

Three Chinese Poets: I'm doing the Read Harder challenge too, and so I needed a collection of poetry in translation not on the subject of love. That's fairly specific and I would probably never have even come across this book otherwise. I enjoyed it and now have a favorite Tang dynasty poet.

Milk and Honey: In looking for the chinese poetry book I saw this on the shelf and grabbed it. I remember it getting a ton of buzz and having now read it, I don't get the hype at all. It was just so amateurish and the average high schooler could probably throw something better together in a couple hours. That sounds harsh, but it was really really bad.

Jim Henson's Tale of Sand: I was only familiar with Jim Henson's puppet work; I had no idea he wrote screenplays. This was a screenplay that never got picked up by a production company that someone decided to turn into a graphic novel (after Henson's death). It was super weird. Like Salvador Dali weird.

I also dnf'd Cocaine Blues b/c the writing style wasn't working for me, and started Run Fast. Eat Slow.: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes and Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words. Massive reading week for me!

Rebecca wrote: "Plus I find there's nothing so demoralizing has finally finishing a long and/or difficult classic, but then not being "done" because you have to flip back to the front and read a few more pages!
"

haha I never go back and read them, if they're at the front. I hit the end and am like "whelp, done. Shoulda put it at the end if you wanted me to read it". Especially on kindle where it's kind of a pain to navigate back to the front.

Juanita wrote: "I have turned my sights to some shorter books that are lighter reads in the hopes of completing some prompts and getting on track again."

I've been doing a little of that myself. Trying not to get stuck on thinking I must finish this massive book for a particular prompt. Yes, Sara, it's ok to change your selection to something a little lighter or smaller. Those big books aren't going anywhere!

Rebecca wrote: "It's super embarrassing to admit, but when I read angsty (or even sometimes cute) fanfiction, if it's not tagged that it has a happy ending, I have to check before I can emotionally invest myself. (I swear I'm not a middle school girl in disguise...it's just my guilty pleasure!)"

That's not embarrassing at all! Hands-down, the best, most interesting writing I've ever read has been in fic. It's not even close! (Sometimes, when library patrons ask me for recommendations, I have to consciously remind myself that they mean published books.)

Also, I recently stayed up late reading a 90k fic only to have the main couple break up at the end. I was, shall we say, Not Well Pleased.

Oh and QOTW: Never ever. I want no spoilers. I often won't read the back of a book for fear of too much information.

Once when I was in like second grade (~age 8 for non-americans), I read a book about a kid who runs for president and when I got to the end there was an extra page that was basically the narrator making fun of you for trying to "cheat". I thought it was funny and wanted to show my friend. She obstinately refused to even so much as look in the direction of the book. She was convinced that I was trying to get her to read the ending of the book. I got angry that she wouldn't just read the joke page even after I explained what it was. She got angry that by telling her even that much that I had "ruined" the book for her, and then I got more angry that she didn't trust me to not spoil it...a MASSIVE fight ensued.

Jackie wrote: "Oh and QOTW: Never ever. I want no spoilers. I often won't read the back of a book for fear of too much information. "

I do this too. I sort of want to read the back just to know if it's up my alley but I do something where I read it super quickly and sloppily and then decide. Sometimes if I read too carefully I'm in the mindset where I just wait for those things to happen and have a hard time enjoying the book.

Hi all,

Warm in Vancouver, in fact, there's no rain in the forecast! Looking like a dry summer.

I'm at 30/40 and 1/12.

Dipping my toe into the advanced challenge, I read and finished The Next Best Thing. I read it for the prompt of a book you brought at a used book sale. It was nice and light. I also enjoyed the humor of Hollywood and anyone who has to create a TV show!

I moved onto the prompt about a book that has the character's name in the title, and I'm reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette. My hubby was sleeping last night, and there I was laughing out loud beside him!! SO FUNNY! The book is set in the Seattle/Vancouver area, and I am truly enjoying that part, and yes, the Seattle Public Library is stunning.... and cutting down giant blackberry shrubs seems to be a common problem!

QOTW: No, no, no. I do not read the last page. I find reading ahead is usually a disappointment. So I try not to do that.

Quick check-in for me.

Currently sitting at 34/40 and 7/12 completed.

Completed
42. A bestseller from 2016: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Feels good to finally read this--one of those modern "great works" that everyone has read and says you should read. And, thanks to the TV show, this qualified as a bestseller late last year. It's been on my TBR for a long time, too, so that's a win!

In Progress
40. A book you bought on a trip: California: A History by Kevin Starr
Finally made a bit of progress on this this week, as I'm between library books. I have to wait in an airport for a bit tonight, so I'm hoping to make a dent in it. Strangely, I was reading this on the subway in Toronto, and a guy interrupted to tell me he'd enjoyed this book. Really random.

QotW
With books, I don't read the end before I get to the end, but I will do it with fan fiction. I read fanfic for the escape, so if it doesn't have a happy ending (and the author has not told me that up front), I will fast forward to the end. I'm not going to waste my time if it doesn't. I don't read books for the same reasons, so while I'd rather not have my heart shattered in pieces and do tend to avoid sad stories (in fiction because non fiction is a whole other can of worms), it's not a hard rule.

Ann wrote: "and yes, the Seattle Public Library is stunning..."

Yes! So funny you should mention it -- I was in Seattle for the first time last week and we stopped by the public library. Amazing!! Gorgeous, but also filled with banks of computers, social services of all kinds, and lots of interesting activities. Amazing place!

Sheri wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Plus I find there's nothing so demoralizing has finally finishing a long and/or difficult classic, but then not being "done" because you have to flip back to the front and read a fe..."

I wish I could have that attitude. I feel like I can't count the book as truly complete unless I read all of it, so I just sit there hating myself and getting frustrated that those pages aren't even included in the final count, usually. I think Les Mis was the worst. I had finally slogged through the Appendices and I just wanted. to be. done.

Rebecca wrote: "Sheri wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Plus I find there's nothing so demoralizing has finally finishing a long and/or difficult classic, but then not being "done" because you have to flip back to the front..."

Oh my god I know right? I don't know about your edition, but mine must have more than a hundred pages of appendices! I confess that I did not read those in full. I don't think of appendices as "counting".

Thegirlintheafternoon wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "It's super embarrassing to admit, but when I read angsty (or even sometimes cute) fanfiction, if it's not tagged that it has a happy ending, I have to check before I can emotionally..."

I totally agree, but I think there's so many stereotypes about bad fanfic that I was afraid to admit it! I was trying to explain why the "angst with a happy ending" tag exists to my husband, and he was like BUT SPOILERZ!, but I don't want to go through a bunch of sadness just to find...more sadness.

Hello from a very hot Dallas, TX! I was in Las Vegas for a trade show this week (where it was actually only 92 and rainy - not what I expected), and the 14 hour days didn't allow for much reading. But only one more day until I get to go on vacation!! I can’t wait to lay around by the pool and on the beach for a week. I really need this time to relax and recharge. And hopefully I’ll get some good reading done.

After a couple of weeks with no progress on this challenge, I crossed a prompt off this week. I’m now at 33/40, 8/12 or 41/52.

I read:
#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amorusa for a book with career advice (20). A quick read tailored to starting an online sales business, but also containing great information about hard work, determination and being a female in the business world.

Raging Heat by Richard Castle. This is #6 in the Nikki Heat series and a good breather from the tissue-required books I seem to be reading lately.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. I loved this. I would say this is one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time. Noah relates stories of his youth to the history of South Africa, which I found very educational and interesting. If you can listen to the audiobook, I can’t recommend it enough.

I am currently reading:
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott.
Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah.

QOTW: Absolutely not! If I read anything about a book before reading, it is the publisher's blurb or a few reviews, carefully avoiding spoilers. However, when it comes to TV shows, I've been known to find spoilers online before watching an episode.

I finished The Kite Runner, and I used it as my "book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you."

So, I am 35/40 and 2/12.

QOTW: No. Never.

I'm melting here in Denver - especially since Maddie is cuddled up to me and napping. It's been a decent reading week, which is good because Tuesday guests come and when they leave in a week my parents arrive. I predict less reading time.

Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters - not very good. Doesn't fill a prompt from this year.

Boy - this was a free summer download and I didn't like it at all. It's an audio of a play and i wanted to diversify and read a few plays but this is just annoying.

Skilled Artifice - I have one more episode of this and then I'd have to buy the full season to finish it and I think I probably will. I'm enjoying the writing so far and it's a monarch I haven't read about before.

The Good Girl - I really enjoyed this audiobook, even though I guessed the twist fairly early on. It wasn't much of a mystery and what I mostly enjoyed was the romance element. The triller element for me was mostly about whether they would get together and if so would it work.

I'm presently just starting The Fire Next Time and I got about a third into All the Birds in the Sky before my loan expired. I actually own the paperback, but I might just wait until my hold comes up because I find it so hard to have time to read paper books.

QOTW: I don't read the last page or read ahead, but my mom always did. I definitely don't mind spoilers - it's a different enjoyment, reading to pick up the clues as I go if it's been spoiled for me versus reading it unknowing, but I don't find it lesser. Plus sometimes I think I know what I'm going to get and then it's surprising how different the book ends up being - like with Frankenstein.

It is cloudy and cool today in SF, but I don't mind at all!

This week I finished:
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, charming novella that I picked because it was shortlisted for a prize, and then found out it was written by the mother of one of my recent students! 4 stars, mostly because it ends unnecessarily abruptly.

The Magician King, which I liked almost as much as the first of the series. I think the only thing that brought it down to a 4-star read was that the structure (timeline) of how the chapters bounced around got a bit rough for me. The plot, writing style, and characters were all just as good as I could hope! I already have started on the third book, and am loving it so far.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I slotted into the "eccentric character" prompt. I enjoyed it, but found it hard to read in parts - too painful. 4 stars

And just now, I finished listening to the audiobook of Everything I Never Told You. It was just really sad, without any sense of uplift to me... I agree with various reviewers that it was sensitive and the characters were believable, but I took no enjoyment from it. 3 stars.

QOTW: Never!! I really like not knowing what is going to happen in books, TV, etc. So much so that I keep myself from trying to guess most of the time. My husband is exactly the opposite - he reads recaps of shows and movies before watching them, and has no problem reading the end of a book first. I just don't get it!

I had a good challenge reading week, actually!

Finished:

The Ice Beneath Her - for my book set in two different time periods. Actually, originally read this because it is the recommended book with 'ice' or 'snow' in the title for the Scandinavia House Nordic Summer Reading Challenge, but it fit so nicely into the two different time periods slot which I needed to fill, I have it doing double duty. Liked this book -- a somewhat classic nordic noir set in Stockholm, deeply psychological but with some really amazing twists and turns to the narrative. There were at least 2 specific moments where something was revealed that had me sit up and say 'Wow - I did not see that coming!" Told from multiple viewpoints, and every character has what I would call 'issues' of one kind or another. Would fit some other categories such as unreliable narrator (and how!), author from country never visited.

Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir - my book about an immigrant or refugee - Padma Lakshmi emigrated to the US from India as a very young child, although she still spent significant time going back and forth during her childhood, and some of her story includes her feelings of not belonging in either country. I loved this book! Could not put it down, and actually stayed up much too late 2 nights in a row reading it. For those unfamiliar with who Padma is: Emmy nominated host of Top Chef, ex-husband is the gifted writer Salman Rushdie, home cook, cookbook author, writer, founder and spokesperson of Endometriosis Foundation (she endured the pain and suffering of undiagnosed endometriosis until she was 36, and the damage it did to her body is a horror story), mother, survivor. The title says it all -- and the scenes in India had me smelling the curries and tasting the pickles. This book would fit a whole slew of challenge prompts - food, interesting woman, different ethnicity, bestseller from 2016, and more.

That brings me to 36/52 - 28/40 and 8/12!

I also finished another book recommended for the Nordic Summer Reading Challenge (book with a white cover) : The The White City. Awful. Hated it. Only good thing about it was that it read fast and was thus relatively short, which is essentially the only reason it did not end up a DNF. So even if it fits a prompt for you, don't bother.

Currently reading for challenge as my book with a subtitle: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Enjoying it quite a bit, actually - a family decides to go back to a more seasonal and local based diet (think locavore). Not as radical as it may seem, as both Kingsolver and her husband had agrarian childhoods, were avid gardeners, and the family had always had gardens and even chickens, even in Tucson. If you are thinking about reading it, wait for the 10th Anniversary edition being published this year in trade paperback with red cover as it will have updating chapters to present time. Also check out the linked website: www.AnimalVegetableMiracle.com which has photos, recipes etc. An aside: I'm finding this read to fit nicely in after having read Station Eleven and even The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story which both address in some fashion being forced back to more local simpler food sources. Just one of those odd reading synergies that seem to happen to me during these challenges.

QOTW - I don't read the last page or chapter first or even right after starting. I occasionally skip ahead a bit to see how something works out but very rarely and never in a mystery or thriller. I enjoy the suspense, the unfolding of the story, actually. Besides, IMHO, the author is taking you on a journey and that journey has and end that is the end for a reason. If you were supposed to read that part first, the author would have put it at the beginning not the end.

Theresa wrote: " If you are thinking about reading it, wait for the 10th Anniversary edition being published this year in trade paperback with red cover as it will have updating chapters to present time. Also check out the linked website: www.AnimalVegetableMiracle.com which has photos, recipes etc. ..."

Thanks for this info, Theresa! I read the book when it first came out because I'm a Kingsolver fan, but I didn't realize that an updated edition is coming out. I'm curious to read the follow-up. And I'm on my way to the website!

And....it' still rainy in Columbus. We get a dry day or so...in which EVERYONE mows, and then it starts raining again.

I've finished:

The Blue Fox Around the Year Challenge, The Spy Around the Year Challenge, Finnikin of the Rock TBR Roulette, George Read Harder Challenge, and Red Seas Under Red Skies.

They were all for other challenges, but I'll see what I can do. LOL

ETA: I finished Discount Armageddon for the Bookshelf Challenge last night.

Rebecca wrote: "Sheri wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Conversely, I've started reading a bunch of classics this year, and I quickly learned not to read the Introduction until I've finished, since they spoil the whole plot..."

MAGNIFIQUE! Definitely a Mt. Everest read! (I look at tackling War & Peace in the same way). Congratulations Rebecca, and well done!

Cheri wrote: "Theresa wrote: " If you are thinking about reading it, wait for the 10th Anniversary edition being published this year in trade paperback with red cover as it will have updating chapters to present...hanks for this info, Theresa! I read the book when it first came out because I'm a Kingsolver fan, but I didn't realize that an updated edition is coming out. I'm curious to read the follow-up. And I'm on my way to the website!
."

Cheri - I only found out about the 10th Anniversary Edition from the website which I happened to look at today since it's mentioned several times as you read.

I'm just now reading the original, which I purchased when it was published in 2007, started it, then lost track of it. I think it got shuffled into a box when I moved around that time and did not resurface for some time. The bookmark that I was using back in 2007 permanently dented the page!

Theresa wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Theresa wrote: " If you are thinking about reading it, wait for the 10th Anniversary edition being published this year in trade paperback with red cover as it will have updating chapt..."

Just checked - 10th Anniversary Edition of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life was published May 2, 2017 and looks like it has the same green cover.

Tallyho wrote: "And....it' still rainy in Columbus. We get a dry day or so...in which EVERYONE mows, and then it starts raining again.

..."

Same here! (north of Syracuse, NY) - we have had rain after rain after rain. It's been impossible to mow! I'm going away next week so I NEED to mow the lawn tomorrow. Naturally, it's rained for the last three days. If it rains tonight or tomorrow, I'll have to leave with the lawn unmowed, it will become a jungle while I'm gone for two weeks, the snotty neighbor will complain to the town, and I'll come home to a "mow or else" notice taped to my door from the town inspector. Well, that's what happened last year anyway! I'd love to know which neighbor phoned me in.

Hey from Brittany and its ever-changing (but mostly cool) weather...

One book finished this week, just in time for the checkin:

✅10. A book with a cat on the cover: Ernesto Sabato, L'ange des ténèbres , Points Seuil, 1996 (trad. de l'espagnol par Maurice Manly, éd. orig. 1974).

This was a tough nut to crack. Close to genius, probably; still, a little bit long in the tooth for me. I loved it, but only inasmuch as I eventually did manage to read it! The book cover on the edition I've read does have cats on it; at least two I think, but feel free to check! Interestingly enough, that cover pic is a painting by surrealist painter Victor Brauner, who does play a role in the book - which is a sui generis mixture of autobiographical facts, references to Sabato's other books, and fiction stricto sensu.



QOTW: I've done that sometimes. Not for mysteries or books like that obviously... I once heard that to judge a book the quickest way was to read the first and last sentences, and a random sentence from the middle of the book!

For the Sabato book I sort of did the opposite: I had to read back the first pages while I was reading the end of the book... That made me realize that the book was much more closely knit that you'd think.

Theresa wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Cheri wrote: "Theresa wrote: " If you are thinking about reading it, wait for the 10th Anniversary edition being published this year in trade paperback with red cover as it will hav..."

And thanks yet again, Theresa! I appreciate all the info. :)