Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2017 Weekly checkins
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Week 36: 9/1 – 9/7
Happy Thursday everyone!I haven't done a check in for a while...but I also haven't finished many books either! I recently started a new position as an assistant at the library in our local high school! I love it so far but it is not helping with managing my TBR list! I think I added over 10 books yesterday alone!!
Wedding Night - finished the audio version. Light, easy read. Recommend for a filler book or someone needing a break after something heavy. EDIT - I read this for 'author who uses a pseudonym'.
A Game of Thrones - still working on this one. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I love the story line but it's just so dense that I have to read much slower than I am used to.
QOTW:
I have used the duplicate feature once in a while and caught a couple duplicates - not all too often. I did just use it again after seeing this questions and found that I did have two duplicates! One was intentional (Illustrated Harry Potter vs. regular) but one was not...and I had recently read that book too! I guess it is worth checking every once in a while...
Books that could fulfill a prompt but I’ve already ticked it off:Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach. It was billed as a mystery/thriller. And I’m sure if I read some reviews, they’d mention Gone Girl. I didn’t really like it, if goodreads let us do ½ stars, I’d probably give it 2 1/2. It wasn’t horrible. There were no likable characters and the plot wasn’t clever enough to let me get past that. However, I didn’t hate it and I’d probably give another of her books a try.
It would tick off the book of letters prompt.
And books that don’t fulfill a prompt:
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner. YA and so good. So good. I loved it and I want Zentner to write forever. It’s about a teen who loses his three best friends in a texting and driving accident. He was at home and his friends were in the car and the main character was the one texting his friend/the driver. His first book, The Serpent King is excellent as well.
Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. Not a book I would have chosen for myself even though I like the show but one of my seniors LOVES these books and he brought me the first one to read. It’s the Governor’s origin story. I enjoyed it and it was a quick read.
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare. Historical Romance and it was absolutely delightful
QOTW:
Never used it and I don’t have duplicates when I did go check.
It's a rainy day here in Nova Scotia. We are looking at getting some of Irma. I read a couple this week; I finished Before Green Gables which ended up working for a book with a cat on the cover and finished Prisoner of Azkaban for a book that always makes me smile (it's my favourite hp book)QOTW: I've never used this feature because I very seldom go on the browser site. I only recently discovered I could change the edition lol baby steps!
Mod
Yesterday was the first day of school here (yes, compared to many US regions we start "late," but we also go til the 3rd week of June), and I always take that day plus previous day off, so I can accommodate all my kids' last minute laundry and shopping needs, plus be home when they get home from school so I can hear all about their first day; they are never as chatty several hours later when I get home from work!
We are in northern NY state so we aren't affected by hurricanes here.
I didn't get as much reading done as I'd hoped. I finished three books this week, none for the Challenge, so I remain 51/52.
Shake Loose My Skin, a book of poetry by Sonia Sanchez that I did not care for.
Someone to Love, a historical romance from Mary Balogh, whose books are usually better than this.
Queenpin, the first book I've read by Megan Abbott (but won't be my last!). I started out frustrated with this book because it wasn't what I expected, it was unlike anything I've read before. Looking back, it was really pretty good. But it's not a mystery - I kept waiting for the mystery to start!
QOTW Because I play with my bookshelves A LOT, I end up with a lot of duplicates (for some reason the Goodreads app gets very confused when you add a book to a new shelf, it often grabs the wrong edition, marks books I haven't read as "read," and vice versa - I think it doesn't happen when you use the browser version). Because I also like my stats to be proper, I check for duplicates a few times each month, and clean them out.
Bonjour,Autumn is already here. Even the leaves are slowly turning red.
I hope all of you are safe from the storms. It's really big this year no?
I haven't read anything toward the challenge this week. I read two graphic novels that are very popular here and liked them both:
Paul à la campagne and Paul a un travail d'été
I am still reading 11/22/63 and reach half of the book. In french, this book is over a thousand pages. I like it very much so far.
QOTW: I did that cleaning of duplicates a few times. I'm going to check that right now.
In the last week, I've finished three books although only two count toward the challenge. I'm at 30/40; 3/12.The Spy in the Deuce Court: read for espionage thriller. This was one of the most poorly written books I have ever read. And that shocks me because DeFord is a noted journalist. He wrote it in 1986. I bought it probably 5 years ago as a Kindle deal and it's been lurking on my device unread for all this time. I cannot say enough bad things about this book. The only reason I finished it was to complete the prompt. I'm a tennis fan and DeFord has covered tennis for decades so silly me thought there would be some fun there. Also, spy novels don't age well IMO. Some of the antics seem downright silly given today's technology. And don't get me started on DeFord's portrayal of women.
I finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm convinced I was the only woman in North America who hadn't read it. /exaggeration It was a lovely book. This is for "book of letters." I gave it 5 stars, rare for me.
My bookclub pick for the month is The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I can't find a prompt that this one fits. I also "mostly" enjoyed this one though more often than once I thought: why doesn't he just drive or take the train!!!
Question of the Week
I haven't done this but I periodically happen upon books that are marked read that I haven't actually read so that is fun.
Greetings from Cleveland! The fall weather continues and it's amazing. I feel like I'm flying when I run now, without the humidity. (In reality I'm going just a tad faster than my regular slow pace.)Not a book, but the book-ish highlight of my week was getting to see Colson Whitehead speak last night. I'm so thankful to have such a great library that can get such amazing authors to come. I've only read The Underground Railroad (so far!) so I didn't expect him to be so funny. It's inspired me to keep the rest of his bibliography in mind when we get next year's challenges.
The first book I read was Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea for the book recommend by a favorite author. I found an interview with Candice Millard where she recommended it. I knew very little about North Korea going in and learned a ton, especially about the famine. I also liked the author did a ton of research to verify accuracy of the different testimonies, since it seems like all the "escape memoirs" are tinged with doubt. I had no idea how topical this book would be when I picked it, and I think it would be a great educational read in the current political climate. The only thing I didn't like was the narrator - you could hear her audibly gasp for every breath, and it was so distracting!
I also read There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale for a book by a person you admire (Sean Astin). He does a lot of work now organizing races and fundraising with them for various causes and speaks a lot about how keeping himself in physical shape really helps with his mental health. I found this book pretty disappointing though. Some parts were interesting, like how Hollywood works and what the decision to join LotR was like before anyone had a clue how big it would be, but he was very whiny and said some very harmful things about mental illness. I hope his views have matured with time.
QOTW: I usually double-check after working on my challenge lists, since that's when GR tends to mess up and add new editions as read.
Week 36 - 39/40 & 12/12 (51/52) - SO CLOSE!!!Good morning, everyone! I am so excited that I'm almost finished with this year's challenge. I finished one book yesterday, and immediately started on my last book, which I should have no problem finishing before check in next week. Woo hoo!
Finished
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama for prompt #3 on the advanced challenge, a book with a family member term in the title. That finished off the advanced challenge for me. I think it's funny that I finished it before the regular challenge.
Still Working On
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling with my son. This is not for a challenge prompt, just for fun. It's his first time to read the series and I love reading it with him. We will definitely finish it this weekend.
Started Reading
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer for prompt #3, a book of letters. I am almost 20% of the way through already, and enjoying it. I actually kind of saved this one for last because it sounded good and like something I would want to finish with, and I'm glad it seems to be living up to my expectations so far.
Question - for those people who finish the challenge, do they still come back & check in with reading progress in general or towards other challenges, or do they kind of drop off until next year? Just curious. I haven't decided one way or the other which way I will go, but I thought it would be interesting to see what others do.
QOTW
I had never even heard of the duplicates feature until this question, so no, I have never used it. I did go & check, and the only duplicate I have is intentional (the original & the illustrated version of one of the Harry Potter books), but then, I've only been on GR for less than a year, so it makes sense that I wouldn't have many or any in that time frame.
Good morning, all! Hope everyone is staying safe, warm, and dry. I didn't finish any books in the past week -- work has been pretty crazy lately, so I've only really been able to read on the metro/train. Still at 18/40 and 4/12 --> 22/52
Still Working On: That said, I'm still working on Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. It started off pretty slow, but I'm now about 2/3rds of the way through it, and it has gotten more and more engaging. I'm looking forward to finishing it (hopefully this week and upcoming weekend). I'm using it for the advanced prompt of a book with more than 800 pages.
QOTW: I had no idea about the duplicates feature, but I just checked it out and I had one mistaken duplicate for two editions of The Time Traveler's Wife, so I cleared one from my "read" shelf. I will make sure to check that occasionally!
Mod
Hello, I can't believe summer is ending (which means my three day weekends are over too). But I really do love the fall so I guess I can't complain too much.I finished two things and started (almost finished) a third.
Finished Jet for my character name as the title. It's just like any other New Adult book. I still need to complete the series - that's my goal for this year.
Finished Relish: My Life in the Kitchen for my book about food. None of the other food books really captured my attention and then I saw this one. Its cute for an afternoon read. I'm a little bit interested in reading her wedding planning one, even though my wedding planning days are behind me.
Started The Raven Boys. (I have five other series started so why not start another!) Like many reviewers said this does start slow. I am enjoying it and I hope my library copy of book two comes quick!
I'm at 34/40 and 8/12. With the end of the year approaching I need to start being more realistic with my reading goals. 1. Finish two more series - The Marked Men series, and the Raven Boys Cycle. 2. Finish re-reading Harry Potter? Hopefully using that for my 800 page book? Otherwise suck it up and read Steven King. 3. Finish the remaining prompts of this challenge.
QOTW I have to check duplicates because my kindle likes to mark the kindle version of books read when I've shelved a different version. I'm pretty OCD about my goodreads account so I like to keep the shelves as up-to-date as possible.
Olá, from sunny and wet( seatype) Algarve-Portugal. This holidays week I finishedO Coração das Trevas, for a book set in the wilderness, and I'm halfway Palavras para José Saramago. Today, just off computer I'll finally startOutlander V - A Cruz de Fogo. I'll start work on next tuesday, bye.
Mod
The Spy in the Deuce Court: read for espionage thriller. ... I cannot say enough bad things about this book. ..."
LOL Juanita! Tell us how you really feel! I used to love listening to deFord on NPR, he was funny to listen to but I can see how his books might not be as great (and maybe kinda sexist); I had no idea he wrote a spy novel! I won't be adding it to my TBR list ;-)
Hello, readerly friends! I took advantage of the long holiday weekend in the U.S. to plow through several items on my TBR since our last check-in.Finished
- This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare - I used this for Around the Year's prompt of "a collection" since it's actress Gabourey Sidibe's collection of personal essays/memoir. I often struggle with celebrity memoirs because I don't usually think their stories are very interesting (I will never care how anyone discovered improv!), but this was smart and funny. She's had a fascinating life!
- League of Dragons - Finally finished this one! I used it for Read Harder's prompt of "a book about war." Not the best book in the series, but a satisfying conclusion nonetheless.
- Solo - I used this for Around the Year's prompt of "a book with a one-word title." It's another of Kwame Alexander's novels-in-verse, and I listened to it on audiobook that he narrated. It wasn't quite as great as either of his previous books, but it was still very strong.
- Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep - I used this for Around the Year's "a book from someone else's bookshelf," where the "someone else" is author Claire Messud, who talked about it in an interview she did recently. I'm so grateful to her! I loved this short, moving story.
- I also finished three comic book collections that didn't fit any prompts but had been on my TBR for a while: The Mighty Thor, Volume 1: Thunder in Her Veins (great! love this series!), Ms. Marvel, Vol. 7: Damage Per Second (not the strongest entry in the series, but fun enough), and All-New, All-Different Avengers, Volume 1: The Magnificent Seven (a fun read).
Now at 35/52 for Around the Year, 19/24 for Read Harder, 10/12 for Modern Mrs. Darcy, and holding steady at 32/40 for Popsugar.
In-Progress
I'm slowly reading through Money Can Buy Happiness: How to Spend to Get the Life You Want. There's nothing revolutionary in it - and it frustratingly presumes a level of baseline wealth from its readers - but it's a good reminder to think strategically about how to use what I have.
DNF
I quit the second Flavia de Luce novel, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, at about halfway through. I only read these books because the audio performer is a joy to listen to, but this time the story was so weak that I couldn't soldier on.
QOTW
I didn't even know this feature existed! I just tried it out, though, and was able to remove a duplicate. I'll definitely check it in the future.
Hello from a very rainy Indiana morning. It would be a great day to curl up with a good book but unfortunately I am not independently wealthy and have to work today.I didn't really get any reading done over the weekend. I was away from home, staying with my parents for a couple of days and eating lots of fried festival food.
Finished:
I finished The Snowman last Friday. This wasn't for the challenge, I just wanted to read it. It was pretty good, a little slow moving in parts but now I'm interested to see how it translates on screen.
Currently Reading:
The Shining for a book set in a hotel. I'm listening to the audiobook for this. I'm currently on chapter 32/part 9 of 14. So, I've made good progress on that.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War for a book of letters. I've read a few more sections in it but not that far into the book. I need to not read this one right before bed because I tend to just want to sleep and not read.
A Man Called Ove for a book with a cat on the cover. I've actually owned this book for years and am glad to finally actually read it. I'm enjoying it so far. It's a little darker than I would have thought.
QOTW:
I didn't know this was a thing but will have to check it out.
Nicole wrote: "Question - for those people who finish the challenge, do they still come back & check in with reading progress in general or towards other challenges, or do they kind of drop off until next year? Just curious. I haven't decided one way or the other which way I will go, but I thought it would be interesting to see what others do."Some people continue to check in and some don't. Personally I like to continue checking in. The weekly check-in is not only for challenge reads but for anything you might be reading! We love to hear from everyone!
Juanita wrote: "I finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm convinced I was the only woman in North America who hadn't read it. /exaggeration It was a lovely book. This is for "book of letters." I gave it 5 stars, rare for me."You're not the only one because I'm pretty sure I am! I started it one time but I put it down before I got hooked. Books of letters are not always a good format for me (it really depends on the book). I will probably get around to it someday :)
Expecting lots of rain in Maryland from Irma and my parents are heading to South Carolina to pull the deck chairs in from our beach house this weekend. Crossing our fingers as many on the East Coast are!Finished (at the beach over the weekend):
Exit West for my book about an immigrant or refugee. I really enjoyed this story and its blend of harsh realities we see on the news and magical realism. I wouldn't mind reading more by this author.
The Art of Hiding as an ARC that needed to get read. It was a good tearjerker and a lovely little piece of fiction I would recommend to my mom, if that makes sense as a category for anyone.
Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive & Creative Self for a book with career advice. This was another ARC which just sounded fascinating and I enjoyed how it kind of distilled the research from every think piece on how we're addicted to our cell phones but also offered concrete actions you can take to unplug a little or a lot. I find most articles I read just say "we're screwing up our brains and humanity is in trouble!" with no solution. This book was is associated with a week-long challenge with various exercises to help you change your habits.
Currently reading:
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land because it's due at the library Saturday. Wow, is this a fascinating story! Really getting sucked in.
QOTW:
I only deal with duplicates when I stumble upon them, but you guys are making me want to do some housekeeping!
Hello everyone! I spent a long weekend in Portland, OR where it was really warm—and ash was falling from the sky because a wildfire was burning outside of town—and came home to Dallas yesterday morning where I actually needed a jacket. In early September!! Things are just plain weird weather-wise lately. I hope everyone on the east coast stays safe this weekend and doesn’t have to experience what the folks in Houston are going through now. It’s awful.This week I finished:
The Weight of Lies by Emily Carpenter. I'm not sure if I like this one or not. The main character was not someone I cared about, and the ending was really frantic. But I thought overall the story was intriguing.
Rising Sun by Michael Crichton. I was nearly done with this at the last check-in, so it almost feels like cheating to count it this week. I enjoyed the story, but the atmosphere and attitudes of the characters don’t hold up well over time.
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak. This was something fun to read when I was traveling last weekend. The “stories” range from 3 sentences to 20ish pages. They are cute and creative, and you can actually find a lesson about society or human nature in most of them.
I am currently reading:
Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris. Still plugging along with this one, reading a few months of the diary entries at a time.
I Let You Go by Claire Mackintosh. I like the writing of this author. I have added her to my list to explore. This is about a woman whose 5-year-old son dies in front of her after being hit by a car and the 2 detectives that are on the case.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Oh my goodness I love this book so much. I listened to it via Audible, which I think enhanced my experience. I think this should be required reading for high schoolers across the country.
QOTW: I actually didn’t even know this feature existed! I am going to have to check it out.
Sara wrote: "Juanita wrote: "I finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm convinced I was the only woman in North America who hadn't read it. /exaggeration It was a lovely book. This is..."I haven't read it either. I've meant to since it came out, but it somehow never makes it into my more immediate TBR.
Hello from hazy Colorado. People here keep talking about the air quality, but after a decade living in Seoul, this is nothing for me. The extent of the fires is troubling though. I started the past reading week with The Secret Loves of Geek Girls only to fail to finish it before the library loan ended. I was about two-thirds done, but since it's a series of essays, no biggie to wait until I can get a copy back to finish it offf.
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race took its place as my book by multiple authors in the meantime. It was a good and serious read. It really made me think about what I'm missing as I go through life in white skin. It's loosely inspired by Baldwin's The Fire Next Time which I read earlier in the year and is also very moving.
And, after waiting on the hold list because I let my library loan expire some time ago, I finally finished off All the Birds in the Sky. I really enjoyed this - I met the author and heard her speak at Comic Con, which added to the read for me. I liked the humour of it. It didn't fit in any slots for me.
I've just started Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass, but I've only gotten through the introduction by A. S. Byatt. When I was reading Cat's Cradle I got a little obsessed with why Vonnegut used the alternate lyrics from this for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and since I've never actually read Alice (though I know I have copies back in Canada that I've had since my early teens), I thought it was about time.
I'm also still waiting on my hold for Percy Jackson so I can finish the audiobook. In the meantime, I've been listening to podcasts instead of audiobooks.
QOTW: yesterday I actually went through the duplicates on my 2017 list and tidied those up. I've been getting a lot, since my kindle automatically marks the kindle edition for me, but that seems to cause confusion with any rereads or books I'm marked to read.
I finished one book this weekFor the Advanced list: book from a genre you've never heard of before. Cuz, I don't know about you, but prior to reading Amish Vampires in Space
, I had never heard of "Amish Science Fiction". It was surprisingly good and I highly recommend it if you like Science Fiction.I'm still working on a couple other books that I hope to finish up in the next day or so.
QOTW: never did it, never saw a need to.
Greetings from the fiery west, where I haven't seen the sky in about a week. My local fire now has nearly a thousand people fighting it as it's over 33,000 acres and only 5% contained. I worked all weekend but didn't leave the house on my day off Tuesday because of the smoke, and got some reading done then.I'm at 23/40 - 28/52
Odd Dog Out and Fleabag are both very nice. I figure it's about the same as an audiobook, so I always mark as read anything I watch from Cbeebies Bedtime Stories. I find them rather soothing, and one more way to feed my undying love of picture books. I particularly enjoyed Tom Hardy's performance of Odd Dog Out.
The Cuckoo's Calling is my pseudonym author. It was fine.
I've been hoping for something different, but nothing has really tickled me, so I read The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which was mentioned in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. If I find something else for this prompt, I can move the Frog to book you've read before that never fails to make you smile. It makes me smile because I've been to Angel's Camp, Calaveras County, and walked the Frog Hop Of Fame. It was part of a nice little trip through California Gold Country. I would go back for the Jumping Frog Jubilee in May or the Mark Twain Wild West Fest in October if I had the chance.
I listened to How Not To Be a Boy, Robert Webb's new memoir. It includes many examples of how the idea of masculinity and the patriarchy in general are really damaging for boys and men as well. It was pretty good.
QOTW: How regularly do you check your "Duplicates" shelved on Goodreads and clean them out?
Not that often. I take a peek once every couple of years, I think. Most of mine are there because I mark whatever random edition comes up first as To Read, but use the correct edition when I finally read it. I don't always remember to "switch to this edition" first.
poshpenny wrote: "Greetings from the fiery west, where I haven't seen the sky in about a week. My local fire now has nearly a thousand people fighting it as it's over 33,000 acres and only 5% contained. I worked all..."I hope the fires are under control soon! It would be nice if we could send Irma's rain (not the wind) to the PNW to help!
Yeah that would be great. I think Montana in particular would love it. They have had over a million acres burn, and they are expected to continue until it snows.
Bonjour from Columbus! Thankfully I busted out a lot of books earlier in the week because my MIL surprised me with a two day warning for carpet cleaning. My carpets desperately need it (toddlers are disgusting and who carpets a dining area?) but I've been scrambling to put toys and laundry and clutter away so that can happen. I haven't had time to sit and read but thankfully there's always audible. Fierce Kingdom was my August BOTM pick. I picked it because the premise piqued my interest. It's essentially about a mom and her 4-year-old son who get stuck in the zoo after hours due to a mass shooting taking place. I literally read this almost 300 page book in one sitting, which is unheard of for me. It wasn't necessarily the best book I've ever read but I was so worried about these characters and I had to get to the end to make sure they were okay. It was such an intense journey, as a mom of a three-year-old. For the last week I randomly get anxious thinking about what I'd do if that happened to me. Anywho. This could fit a few prompts but none of the few I have left so I didn't bother finding a place for it on my reading challenge list.
The Silkworm was a second pick for a book by an author I admire. Or well, it was actually my first pick until I realized Eddie Izzard wrote a new book so I had to do that one first. The Cuckoo's Calling was my pseudonym pick earlier this year and I couldn't wait to get to the second book. I really, really love these books. They're so engaging, I enjoy reading them as much as I loved reading Harry Potter as a kid.
The Thanksgiving Visitor was my book about a holiday other than Christmas pick. I actually read A Christmas Memory first because Wikipedia told me to. They're both very short and A Christmas Memory complimented The Thanksgiving Visitor really well. Capote is one of my favorite authors and these short stories most definitely have that unique Capote quality I love so much. Since I've read a few 800+ page books this year I'm not feeling too guilty about having a few short stories on my list lol.
Howl's Moving Castle was my pick for the first book in a series I haven't read before. For a while I've been meaning to read the source materials for Miyazaki (or really any Ghibli) movies. So the fact that this was a series was perfect. This book was whimsical and lovely, I can see how it caught Miyazaki's attention. My 11 year old also loved it. There's more to the book than the movie (isn't there always?) and I'm excited to read the next book.
So that brings me to 39/40; 4/12 with 61 books read this year.
Hi everyone. Hope everyone is staying safe with all the crazy weather over on the other side of the pond. I have a lot of friends in Florida I'm hoping will all be safe.This week I finished The Count of Monte Cristo which I did really enjoy, even if a lot of things were way too coincidental or over dramatic, but that just added to the fun.
That brings me to 51/52 (plus three off prompt). My last book is the used book sale prompt, which was super difficult because I have sooooooo many! I have finally settled on A Pair of Blue Eyes. I am only a couple of pages in and liking my choice so far.
QOTW: I had absolutely no idea this function existed! I have found a few just off my own back (normally when Goodreads asks what year I read a book that I've never read) but this will be useful
Hi, everyone! Sure is rough with all the fires and hurricanes. Thinking about all those affected.I only finished one book this week, but it was my 800+ pages one! Yay! I chose Winter for this task because I wanted to finish the series, and I knew that the action in the story would keep me going through ALL THOSE PAGES! ;)
In progress
The Futilitarians: Our Year of Thinking, Drinking, Grieving, and Reading - About 2/3 of the way done. I have mixed feelings about it -- some of it is very interesting and it's beautifully written, but overall I'm not sure that it pulls together. I'm reading it for #51, a book about a difficult topic.
The Underground Railroad - Such a good book but so painful to read. I'll finish it this week, though, because my book club will be discussing it. I'll use it for #42, a bestseller from 2016.
Sourdough - This is out!! I loved Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore so pre-ordered Robin Sloan's next book, which came out 2 days ago. I was going to wait to read it, but...I couldn't! Enjoying it very much. Not sure if it fits any prompts I have left, I'll have to check.
Question of the week
I've never heard of this feature, thanks for pointing it out! I need to use it. Ever since they added the possibility of marking a book read more than once, I've been accidentally getting duplicates because I'll click on a different edition to mark as read than I did when I put it on my list.
Yay, I finished a bunch of stuff! Finished:
Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi - very good. Sometimes has ingredients you can't find in a regular grocery store, or gets way too involved for my limited cooking windows, but definitely makes me want to eat more vegetables!
Shotguns v. Cthulhu - worth reading, even though there were some serious duds in here for me. It was lovely to read stories by my favorite podcasters and there were also some GREAT stories so that more than offsets the duds.
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - LOVED IT! If you liked The Martian, definitely check this out - it has the same feel. I'm so happy there are two more books just waiting for me!
Abandoned:
Summer of Night - it has a great intro that nods to Shirley Jackson, but after that it becomes a more tedious, more sexist, less engaging retread of IT.
Currently reading:
Fool Proof - clearly a rookie effort but still fun and engaging.
Only one challenge finish this week: Season of Migration to the North - Put this as my book where the main character is a different ethnicity than mine (Sudanese) but could easily fit several other categories, including story within a story. LOVED this book! It's beautiful, lyrical, intricate, compelling. Basically the story of two men a generation apart who are sent from the Sudan to Europe to be educated and return. Their stories are told within each other, one in a linear manner, the other as tales within that story. It's only 140 pages, a slow read, a masterpiece that brings to life post-colonial Africa. I stumbled on this book as a result of a favorite bookstore's Blind Date With A Book, where you purchase a book wrapped in brown paper based on a description of it - this one said 'Read if you liked Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart, Orientalism or The Stranger. This particular edition has an excellent Introduction which I would NOT read until after you have read the book - it's a serious piece of literary criticism and would spoil the experience of discovery the book provides.
Don't you hate it when an introduction ruins a book??? I've at least learned to skip it if it looks too revealing! I think they should come with 'Spoiler Alerts'.
That brings me to 47/52: 10/12 and 37/40 - only five prompts remaining! I have books selected for each of those, although I will likely mix it up a bit when I actually read them.
Right now I'm taking a challenge break - just read the two books out in Emma Cane's Fairfield Orchard Series, and all those in print of Raeanne Thayne's Haven Point series -- which are mostly set in winter or at Christmas. I always get a bout of Christmas spirit in September, and a longing for winter cold and snow. I know it's a reaction to the endless hazy hot humid NYC summers. My antidote is reading cozy mysteries and fiction set at Christmas and in winter.
QOTW: Had no idea that feature existed. I'm sure there are duplicates ... I have duplicates on my print bookshelves, why would I not here? LOL! Speaking of print duplicates...last year I was on a ladder searching the upper most level of one of my bookcases for a couple books I knew I had that I wanted to read for the 2016 challenge. As I searched, I pulled other books to fit challenge prompts, including The Waste Land and Other Poems (for book of poetry prompt). As I moved farther along shelf, I found two more copies of the same exact collection, just different editions/publishers. Yes, I had THREE copies of The Wasteland and other poems by T.S. Eliot on the same shelf...and I have no idea how I came to own all of them. And no, I'm not much of a poetry reader - at least one copy probably dates from college.
Theresa wrote: "Only one challenge finish this week: Season of Migration to the North - Put this as my book where the main character is a different ethnicity than mine (Sudanese) but could easily ..."
Thanks for the heads up about NOT reading the Intro first! I wish book editors would think about these things. In Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, there was a lot of info AFTER the book that would have been so helpful to know before reading. Go figure!
Mod
I finished one book this week, leaving me at 24/40 for the main challenge - Perennials. I read this for a book set in two time periods. I was really looking forward to it - summer camp! coming of age! - but sadly it really wasn't great. Very fast read though. In the meantime I'm still working on City on Fire for my book over 800 pages. It's a bit daunting but a really enjoyable read so far.
Hi everyone!I had a three day weekend like most people did, but I had people over the whole weekend so had even less time to read than usual which made me sad and stressed out.
So finished this week:
Murder on the Orient Express - This was a fun easy read. I enjoyed it, and was surprised by the ending. Also enjoyed that there was clearly an animaniacs episode that had referenced it.
Love Bites i just needed a bread so did a re-read.
Homegoing - This was a tricky one for me. I found the format to be kind of difficult. Each chapter was a new character, a child of the previous character. It was interesting, going through the generations, but it made it hard to really get absorbed. I was going to count it for read harder's immigration challenge, but i'm not sure it really qualifies. Guess I'll see what else I can find and use it in a pinch.
Currently reading: Technically nothing because I just finished Homegoing, but I am starting The Obelisk Gate next.
QOTW: Not really. I generally am going through the books as I read them to shelve and remember what I read for check ins. Before they added re-reading, I'd just update the "date finished" on goodreads, rather than adding additional versions.
Also for Nicole's question, I finished in July and still check in. I like talking about what I read!
I had a busy but fun Labor Day but not much reading got done. I don't foresee much reading in the upcoming weeks either but I'll do my best.I finished: Kushiel's Dart for my over 800 pages challenge, hated it, only finished as I had a few friends who loved it and wanted to talk to me about it (they'll be disappointed)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone This was for a book that always makes you smile. I'm not much of a rereader these days but Harry does make me happy. Also this version was new to me filled with Jim Kay's beautiful art (that I just hear will move like pictures in harry's world on the ebook version)
The Rope for my wilderness book and was pretty disappointed in it. Anna is so abrasive it's hard to like her but the real problem was the unbelievable medical and forensic details.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon This was for my recommended by a librarian prompt and it left me with mixed feelings but over all I liked it.
Currently reading - Still slowing getting through my bestseller in a genre I don't normally read, Antisocial,
for a book recommended by a favorite author I have The Book of Three which is technically a reread but it's been like 35 years (it could have been a book from childhood too),
For an author using a pseudonym I have Echoes in Death which should be okay. I usually like the Eve Dallas books.
I gave up on my from a non-human point of view book I listed last week, just terrible. The one I'm trying in it's place isn't much better. Might have to go read another Chet and Bernie mystery but I did want to try something new.
That doesn't leave me too many more. I know I have to month/day of the week prompt left but I'm not sure what else (without digging out my spreadsheet).
QOTW - I had no idea that duplicate function existed so I've never used it til today. I have 86 duplicates and that bothers me as I'm not sure how it even happened other than I suspect some of them were from GR giveaways for various editions. Now I'll have to remove them eventually.
It's the first week back at school here in England, and this is my first year not being involved as I took early retirement at the end of the summer term. It's a bit weird being up to my eyeballs in decorating rather than in a classroom, but no less wonderful! Have been using that decorating time to tackle the audiobook challenge. Completed Marilynne Robinson's Gilead to take me to 37/52. Did manage some real reading as well, but can't report any finished.
QOTW: don't use the Duplicate feature as I don't catalogue my books on GoodReads. Probably heresy to say this, but whilst I prefer the discussion groups here, I much prefer the cataloguing facility on LibraryThing, and use that for my library.
Hi all!We are still super smoky in Vancouver.... it looks strange and almost post apocalyptic out there. Normally, the sky is bright blue, but not for the last few days.
I'm at 32/40 and 2/12.
Currently reading for #9 - An espionage thriller, and I'm reading The Bourne Identity. Okay, I have literally had this paperback on my shelf at home for YEARS. Time to read it! And I love the movies (the whole Bourne trilogy with Matt Damon). Just to let you know, the book is quite different so far. Some plot differences and even with the character of Marie!
QOTW: Duplicates! I didn't realize Goodreads had this feature. Now, I'll have a closer look at my list. I'm thinking I may have a couple of them.
Finished 2 books since my last check-in a fortnight ago, with both counting towards the 2017 challenge (1 for the standard category and 1 for Advanced category). I've also increased my personal Reading Goal for 2017 from 40 to 60 books as I'm ahead of schedule and currently at 49 titles, so I'm fairly certain I can read another 11 titles before December 31st! On average, I've been reading 6 books per month with August my most reads ever (9 books finished). I have a week's leave coming up at the end of the month so I intend to relax and enjoy some dedicated reading time.
Completed:
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir (A book recommended by an author you love - Paula Hawkins)
Very confronting with hard hitting topics of child abuse and the death penalty so not an easy read. I've always been intrigued by the death penalty and discussions around for/ against.
Rating: 4 stars
Dear Fatty (A book you've read before that makes you smile)
This didn't make me laugh as much as it did when I previously read it.
Rating: 3 stars
Currently reading:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which I am enjoying and I should finish over the weekend.
37/40 + 7/12 = 44/52
I have had an amazing day; I got a call today that I won tickets to go see Garth Brooks this weekend!!! I'm super pumped about it as it's been a life-long dream to see him in concert. I finished Friday Night Knitting Club for my prompt with a day/month in the title. Working my way through Three Sisters, Three Queens for Family member prompt and Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe for Cat on a cover. Only prompt left is Refugee/Immigrant Prompt then I'm done!!
QOTW:
I didn't even know about this feature, I'll have to go check it out
I finished one more for Popsugar this week, plus 3 other titles. This in spite of the fact that I didn't manage to read very much over the weekend while I suffered through 100+ degree heat. I know this happens all over the country, but it is really uncommon in San Francisco to have air conditioning, and we are among those without. Lots of ice packs and fans.First, I finished Tomorrow Will Be Better, which I chose because of how much I love the author's most famous book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I liked it a lot, but it was pretty sad / frustrating. I also saw a lot of common familial patterns, which gave pause.
Followed that up by finishing 2 audiobooks: Fairest - I really liked this as a part of the Lunar Chronicles series (moreso than on its own merits) because it provided some depth to the previously 1 dimensional "bad guy" of the series.
Binti - there were aspects of this story that I thought were great (characterization, world building) but the plot was NOT. Just didn't make sense to me.
Finally, something to fulfill a Popsugar category! The Dream of a Common Language as a book mentioned in another book; in this case, Cheryl Strayed talked about it a lot in Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. I loved so many of the poems, and a few in particular have stuck with me.
This means I have just 3 prompts left to finish the PS challenge! One of them is on deck for this month, but it might take a while for the last 2 because of other challenges and commitments in my reading list.
QOTW: I didn't know about it, but just checked. Zero duplicates!
Hi, everyone! I managed to finish 3 books this week.The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Not for the challenge, but I've been wanting to read it for a very long time and it finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. It made me cherish what I have but also inspired me to never conform.
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw, for the book recommended by a librarian prompt. It was a very easy read and fairly entertaining. Gave it 3 stars.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, for the book that makes me smile prompt. It definitely made me smile, even after seventeen years. They will forever be my best friends.
QOTW: I just checked for duplicates with this tool for the first time. Only one duplicate!!!
Hello! Busy week for me, today in particular. I feel like I haven't stopped moving yet. My to do list is just insane right now. I managed to finish I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life over the weekend and it was just meh. The author accomplished his goal of showing how interesting and important microbial life is, but the book felt kind of repetitive. I was pretty bored, and glad to find out that at 65% I was actually done because the rest is notes and bibliography and whatnot.
I've got a whole bagful of books from the library so hopefully next week my check in will be more fun.
QOTW: I check this on occasion. I've found some things were a book will stay on my want to read even after I've moved it to read. Of course I have a few intentional duplicates where I've read something in both english and french, but there really aren't that many of those.
Juanita wrote: "finally read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm convinced I was the only woman in North America who hadn't read it. /exaggeration It"Juanita - I stand as the last woman in North America to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society LOL! It's currently slated to be read as my book of letters, but I just bought a book that caught my eye that is epistilary, and also fits well with a couple other recent reads.
Juanita wrote: "The Spy in the Deuce Court: .And don't get me started on DeFord's portrayal of women.i>*snort* - that's what I say after reading a John Grisham!
Hello,It's been a few weeks since my last check in. August was a crazy one at work. I had less time to read and little concentration even when I did find time.
Since my last check in I've only finished one challenge book: The Color Purple. I thought it was wonderful.
QOTW: I didn't know about this feature but I just checked and no duplicates!
Hello readers!I am really bad about checking in each week. Too busy reading, I guess. :)
I would like to send prayers and positive thoughts to all the Americans dealing with fires, hurricanes and flooding. Seems like everyone is being hit with so much tragedy these past few weeks.
Anyhow, reading wise, I have 4 books left in the challenge. I expect to finish well before December. I have been saving some of the "spooky" reads for the month of October.
I recently finished Half Broke Horses, which I enjoyed very much. I listened to this on audio and it went by very fast.
Also finished:
The Good People, which comes out Sept 12th. I read this one for a review. It's a bit dark, but Hannah Kent captures the Irish culture and superstitions so well.
The Vengeance of Mothers, also read for a review. I love a good Cowboys and Indians story!
Finally, for the prompt of a book with pictures, I read Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter.
Currently reading When We Were Worthy, which comes out Sept. 12th. Tough subject matter, but it's also hard to put down.
Also reading Old Yeller for a book I loved as a child. Not sure why I loved it, as I cried so hard at the end!
QOTW: I do clear off my duplicates occasionally, but my TBR shelf is so hard to keep up to date!
Hey people! Time flies - and I'm sort of running late on the challenge by now...One "book" finished for the challenge this week:
✅4. An audiobook: Haruki Murakami, The Elephant Vanishes , Audible edition (1st pub. 1993).
That was a first on many levels: I hadn't read anything by Murakami (at least THIS Murakami; had read a novel by Murakami Ryû last year, no relation at all I think); and mostly, that was my first full audiobook. The first chapter (the first short story, actually) was available in the plane from Europe to Austin; and then I used Audible to listen to the rest of it.
I don't think I'll make an habit of it though: mostly because it takes way too much time. I'm guessing roughly twice as much as actually reading the stuff... Plus, you really can't interact with anybody while listening to a book, so it is for pure alone time. I did some listening during easy runs (no way I'd do that while working out harder), but I like to be attuned to my environment when I do... Well, now I associate one of the small park I ran across with a Chinese encyclopedia salesman that appears in one of the stories!
I have two books being read at the moment; one history book I'll use for the TBR prompt, an one funky vampire novel I'm going to use for the non-human prompt.
My standing now: 25/40 for the regular challenge; 10/12 for the advanced challenge. My average pace being one book a week, I am one week late right now. Still manageable.
i finally had a chance to catch-up over the Labor Day Holiday. I read three books all of which fit a prompt. In fact, I had those three prompts left for both challenges, so I have finished the challenge! I already posted in the I'm Finished! thread. I'll definitely participate in this challenge again next year. My goal was get focused on reading again as I hadn't been able to read as much in the last few years. I also wanted to diverse my reading and find some new authors and series. I was definitely successful with that, so I'll be excited to continue next year.I read Indigo Slam by Robert Crais. I've read one of the Elvis Cole series books years ago but had not continued with the series. I have no idea why because I enjoyed both the characters and the story. I'll now go back and read all of this series. Another new find, Yay! This book fit a book mentioned another book.
I read Potluck: Stories That Taste Like Hawaii for a book about food. It wasn't what I expected. Won't be reading it again.
Finally, I read I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God for a book about a difficult topic. When I selected this book, I did not realize it was written 25 years ago. It definitely shows us how much more persecution there is towards Christians in predominantly Muslim countries. It is about a Pakistani woman who converts to Christianity. As the government regime changed, she was forced to leave her country. It was sad because it is true, but also a great book.
I finished both challenges on 9/3/17.
Books read: 40/40 and 12/12, 17 books read off-prompt.
Since we are supposed to keep our post related to the challenge, I'll post going forward if I read a book that fits a prompt. i'm looking for suggestions for another challenge I could do for the rest of year.
I'm currently reading the next book in a series I read years ago, The Teaberry Strangler. This would work a book about food.
I've started the newest book from Kyle Mills Enemy of the State. This was just released this week. This is a continuation of Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp series. this would work an espionage thriller.
I also started listening to The Cairo Affair. I think it's going to be good, but I'm not very far yet.
QOTW: I didn't know about the feature, but i just used it and found I only had one duplicate.
Have a great week!
Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "We Are Legion (We Are Bob) - LOVED IT! If you liked The Martian, definitely check this out - it has the same feel. I'm so happy there are two more books just waiting for me!"Yay! Another Bob fan! Did you read or listen? I really liked the audiobook of this. Especially GUPPI!
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost (other topics)The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories (other topics)
Witness for the Prosecution (other topics)
The Good German (other topics)
Der Fall Jane Eyre (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Margaret Atwood (other topics)Vivian Shaw (other topics)
Colson Whitehead (other topics)
Candice Millard (other topics)
Sean Astin (other topics)
I have to admit that I’m less than thrilled with most of the books I have left to read. I may spend a little time researching other options in the hopes that I will find something more appealing. I’m not in a big hurry to finish. I plan to read my “season in the title” book closer to December, and that will likely be my final book.
Books finished:
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn. Not my favorite in the Veronica Speedwell series (this is #3), but the main characters are just as fun as always.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley. As it was a retelling it was fairly predictable, but it was still an enjoyable read. Using this for the first book in a new series.
The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley. Disappointing. I love Susanna Kearsley’s books, and a large part of the appeal is the dual timeline/digging into the past nature of them. This book barely touched on the historical part of the story. Nearly the entire book was the modern storyline. It wasn’t bad, but I felt that it didn’t deliver on its promise. This is my story within a story.
Currently reading:
Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory. Audio version. Still working on this one.
The Three Lives of Thomasina – I had read about half of this book earlier in the year and just returned to it for my book with a cat on the cover. This was one of my favorite movies as a child.
34/40 & 10/12 for an overall count of 44/52
Question of the week:
From Nadine: How regularly do you check your "Duplicates" shelved on Goodreads and clean them out?
I have to admit that I had forgotten about this feature until Nadine posed the question. I have used it before, but not in a while. Thankfully I only had a handful of duplicates when I checked.
If you have never done this, the purpose is to look for duplicate copies of the same book that you may have on your shelves (it happens more than you may realize). Before Goodreads rolled out the “read multiple times” feature some of us would intentionally use different editions of a book to mark different readings (especially easy with classics that have SO many editions). Now that you can mark the same edition as read multiple times it’s probably a good housekeeping task to clear out old editions on your shelves.
This feature is, I believe, only available on the web browser version of the site, not the app. To do this in your browser you can go to “my books” then look on the left-hand side of the page under “tools” for “find duplicates” (it’s below all of your various shelves). There you will see any book that you have shelved more than once. For each title, click on “view all my editions” to see the various editions you have. You can then click on “delete review” for any books you want to get rid of.