EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi everyone!

Year's half over already! First half is spent waiting for summer and then it'll just disappear before we know it!

This week I finished:

The Serpent of Venice - this was my ATY Shakespeare book, and Read Harder humor book. It was alright, not as good as some of his other works.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - ATY book with a strong sense of place. I saw Trevor Noah on Hot Ones a couple weeks ago, decided to finally check the book out since i'd heard such good things. It was really good! Pretty eye opening, I vaguely knew about apartheid, but i hadn't really studied it or read anything in-depth about it. I liked the lens of humor he used to talk about a really serious subject.

The Emissary - Read Harder book written by a woman or AoC that won an award in 2018, ATY book that won a national book award. This was very weird. The description called it funny, light hearted, charming. I found it more bleak and sad, and really confusing towards the end. It almost felt like the author just didn't know where to go so stopped. Clearly I didn't get it!

Currently reading:

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters - Read Harder epistolary novel, ATY book written in an unusual format. This is interesting so far. It's written pretty humorously, but I have to say it's kind of an uncomfortable read for me, currently. Basically the current American climate makes any sort of dystopian literature a bit uncomfortable right now.

QOTW:

Another question from Kathy:

Kathy read an article called The Suck Fairy https://www.tor.com/2010/09/28/the-su...
To sum up: sometimes the Suck Fairy visits a favorite book from your past, and when you re-read it, you can't figure out why it was such a favorite. What books has the Suck Fairy visited for you?

Well, we touched on this a little bit last week. Anita Blake I really loved in high school/college. I have re-read the earlier ones multiple times. But really as I got older, I like them less and less and thinking back on even the earlier ones I don't know why i loved them so much. I suppose some is just getting older, more aware of problematic things in media etc.

I haven't tried Ready Player One, but i think she somehow worked through memory. I gave it 5 stars after reading, and wrote about it positively in the book club discussion...but since then I can't remember anything good about it and am not sure why I loved it so much. I haven't even bothered with the movie, even though it's streaming on HBO free. I feel like if i DID try to re-read I probably wouldn't enjoy it much after the fact.

This week, I finished:

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria. I liked this a lot. I enjoyed the characters and the world-building here.

I also read several manga volumes:
The Water Dragon's Bride, Vol. 9
Queen's Quality, Vol. 7
I Hear the Sunspot

I am currently reading The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan, which I am really enjoying a lot. I really love the characters.

QOTW: Ooh, that's an interesting one. I feel like a lot of the urban fantasy/paranormal stuff I used to love as a teen would fall into this category. Stuff like Sookie Stackhouse, Anita Blake, etc.

I agree, a lot of it getting older and becoming more aware of problematic issues that you didn't understand when you were younger, or that were more accepted in the time period when a book was written.

For example, I used to love the Little House on the Prairie books when I was a kid. But now I recognize all the problematic stuff about Native Americans that was a product of the time, and it kind of takes the shine off.

After slogging through GoT book 4, my brain needed some short reads to reset, so this week I managed to get through

Brokeback Mountain for House Cup / book that has won an award

Chemistry for Potions / book with potions, alchemy, or chemistry

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which didn't really fit anywhere but I slotted as Ancient Runes / book set before you were born

Recommencements for Flying / book with a bird on the cover

A Streetcar Named Desire for Apparition / book set somewhere you'd like to travel

That puts me at 40/52 for the Golden Trio challenge. With half the year through, I'm a bit behind overall (hoping to reach triple digits), but I'm also on a pretty good roll.

Currently re-reading Pawn of Prophecy for Divination / book that includes prophecy or fortune-telling. I don't usually re-read for challenges, but Popsugar and Pingel Sisters both have a re-read as a prompt.

QOTW: My re-reads are few and far between, and I'm happy to say they hold up decently. I have an incredibly hard time re-reading thrillers/mysteries/procedurals, though, because once I know the big reveal, my attention starts to wander.

Finally finished plowing through last week's hold pile.

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth- I largely liked it, although his uber-serious tone got a bit repetitive and drug a bit towards the end. But it was still a fun glimpse at an incredibly unique lifestyle.

Uprooted. I was really looking forward to this one, after so many of you have expressed love for it. Unfortunately I was never more than lukewarm on it, and I tried hard, trust me! As I reflect, I think the personalities of both main characters were just off-putting; it was two egos constantly pushing against each other for too much of the story, with little other personality to flesh them out, or other elements to drive the story. I also wasn't terribly okay with the romance dynamic, given how he so utterly verbally abusive towards her for most of the book. I still plan to try Spinning Silver though, and am hoping that I like it better. I was sooooo bummed about this one!

The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite. I'm still trying to figure out what I thought. I adore the Netflix series, and I knew the graphic novel source was very different, which was very helpful to know in advance. It starts and ends at (roughly) the same place in both, but the path between the two is radically different, and all of the subplots are completely unique to the TV series. I definitely enjoyed it, but on a very different apples/oranges-comparison level than I did with the TV series.

And have made a bit more progress on Wheel of Time #11 The Gathering Storm. As news of the TV series develops, I'm finding myself taking it more and more personally, really needing for it to be done RIGHT.

I've been on vacation so I've been quiet here for a few weeks.

@sarah - I had An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth from the library and was about 2/3 of the way through when it was due. I did not renew it nor finish it. I came away with a lot of similar feelings you did. He is 5 years older than me so basically a peer and I found his writing style rather preachy. Maybe it was more directed at kids/teens. But my memory of the book at this point was basically "work hard, be prepared" and there was little for me to take away from the book.

Anyway, I'm almost done with my audiobook Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens. The action is building up and I really need to just walk alone and finish this. Even if it is laps around my living room. I've been very much enjoying this series, particularly as audiobooks. I've been listening to Graphic Audio versions and their sound effects are fantastic.

On vacation I finished Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating. It was light and fluffy and a good lake read. Not sure how/why it got on my TBR list on GR but it was on there and on the shelf at the library so I grabbed it!

I am now in the middle of Station Eleven. This was another vacation grab from my GR TBR list. It is really good. My 21 year old daughter and my husband both read it while on vacation, while I just started it 2 nights ago. They loved it and I'm really enjoying it so far.

I have 2 non-fiction books from the library that I hopefully will get to soon, but I won't name them until I actually start them!

I don't often re-read but I have reread a few Nora Roberts books, and particularly her earlier work starts rubbing me the wrong way. Some of the behaviors of the characters are very much the product of their time period, like the 1980s. I don't think she'd write them that way today, even if the book was based in the 80s.