Albany Public Library discussion

Hi all, and welcome to Theme Week 2 of the Albany Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

This week's theme is Rockstars. Remember to comment with any books you have finished this week! We will keep track of them for you, and let you know if you have reached a prize level!

Here's a list of Rockstars themed recommended reading curated by your local APL librarians!

The Autobiography of Gucci Mane- Gucci Mane
The Rest is Noise - Alex Ross
Musicophilia - Oliver Sacks
How Music Works - David Byrne
Turn Around Bright Eyes - Rob Sheffield
Beastie Boys Book - Michael Diamond & Adam Horovitz
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop - Jeff Chang
Beethoven - John Suchet
My Love Story - Tina Turner
Punk Rock: An Oral History- John Robb
Just Kids -Patti Smith
The Flame: Poems, Notebooks, Lyrics, Drawings - Leonard Cohen
This is All a Dream We Dreamed - Blair Jackson & David Gans
Becoming Beyonce - J. Randy Taraborrelli
Queen Bey - Veronica Chambers
Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Bel Canto :A Novel - Ann Patchett
The Commitments - Roddy Doyle
A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
Orfeo: A Novel - Richard Powers
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto - Mitch Albom
Telegraph Avenue - Michael Chabon
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby

Happy reading!

Hi all!

I have added books from the 3 SRC discussions so far.

@Molly, you have a Level 1 and Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Jessica Marsico, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Paul, you have a Level 1 and Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Evee, you have a Level 1and Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Susan DE, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@ Alicia, you have a Level 1 and Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@ Emily, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@ Valerie, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

Hi!

I've been doing the BINGO card but I figured I might as well do this as well too! So far I have read:

* Graham Masterson - "Feast" (a book you randomly picked off the shelf)
* Alice Walker - "The Color Purple" (an award-winning novel)
* Harper Lee - "To Kill a Mockingbird" (a book recommended by a friend)

Finished Puritan U over coffee this morning. Can't wait to read Daisy Jones and the Six for the rock stars prompt--I've been hearing amazing things about the audiobook.

I have added the titles above!

This weekend I finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Scone to Die For by H Y Hanna.

Nicole wrote: "This weekend I finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and A Scone to Die For by H Y Hanna."

@Nicole, you have a Level 1 and Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

I'm thinking of picking up "We Sold Our Souls" for this week's theme. Here's what I've read since last week:
Again!! Volume 9. One of the sudden glut of "time travel back into your own past to fix things" stories, this one's about redoing high school!
Hiroaki Samura's Emerald and Other Stories. Surprisingly poignant! Some of these stuck with me more than others.
He's My Only Vampire, Vol. 1. I'm pretty sure this is leaning toward becoming a paranormal romance, but it isn't there yet!
Kill Shakespeare, Vol. 1: A Sea of Troubles. If all the Bard's characters were sharing a stage, it'd apparently involve a lot of blood.
Science: A Discovery in Comics. A quick overview of where we started, where we are now, and how we got there!
Beauty Pop Volumes 2-5. A cute series about a girl who's a haircutting genius.

First off - I am amazed at how much a lot of you read! Wow. I need more endurance and time lol.

I finished "The Two Family House" by Linda Cohen Loigman. This one kept me on edge - it was interesting to know pieces, but know the characters didn't know all the parts, and have to watch as all the pieces unravel. Again - never fits with the theme, but it looked good!

The next few things I'm reading are some elementary level books to get some recommendations for my students for next school year.

I tried reading Can't Stop, Won't Stop a few years ago since it has great reviews and is supposed to be the definitive book about the birth of hip-hop, but I just could not get into it. And the font was annoying. Have read and enjoyed several of the novels on this list, so maybe that is the way for me to go.

Emily wrote: "First off - I am amazed at how much a lot of you read! Wow. I need more endurance and time lol.

I finished "The Two Family House" by Linda Cohen Loigman. This one kept me on edge - it was interes..."
I am amazed too! I think I must be a slow reader.

I've finished both Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind by V. C. Andrews. I'm revisiting books I read in middle school and looking at them through a modern lens.

I also finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. I did not love this as much as my friends did. I think I've made it to 10 total now! Whew!

I have read Harry Potter and the half blood prince and I just finished the goldfinch!

Aargh, somehow I am already a week behind. How are people plowing through 3+ books/week? I'll have to pick something quick for week #2. Especially since I made the mistake of picking up a giant book that's new so it's got a 14-day loan period. (Which you speedy people would plow through before lunch, I guess.) ::grumble::

I finished two books this week: Beyond Beauty by Anuschka Rees and Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly.

Mirkat wrote: "Aargh, somehow I am already a week behind. How are people plowing through 3+ books/week? I'll have to pick something quick for week #2. Especially since I made the mistake of picking up a giant boo..."

The pleasure of having summers off combined with mixing up my formats! Reading is reading whether you read one or five just like getting off the couch is running-- you're doing more than most who sit on the couch!

I finished reading "The whole story of half a Girl" by Veera Hiranandani. I read this to offer a personal recommendation for my students next year - might have to wait until midway through the year as topics include some romance & depression but still a good read!

@Emily Sh, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch
@Christine, you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch
@Valerie, you have a Level 1 and Level 2 and Level 3 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

Alicia wrote: "Reading is reading whether you read one or five just like getting off the couch is running-- you're doing more than most who sit on the couch!"

Great point, Alicia! Better to read than not read. (And of course audiobooks + running = WIN! :) )

This week i finished Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson.
Maybe in another life-i picked this book up because it it the same author as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which I LOVED. This book was just ok. It reminded me of the movie Sliding Doors, because it’s about choices you make and how one choice can affect everything else in your life. It was cute, a quick read, but did not grab me.

Which might be because Another Brooklyn, which i read first, is excellent. It’s a thin book, but there is so much to unpack, it reminded me of The House on Mango Street. 5 stars.

This week I finished:

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (which was excellent)
Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff (also excellent)
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (which was gripping but ultimately not that great)
and Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young (one of the best YA books I’ve read in a minute)

So I'm broadening the scope of rockstars and will share a few of the books I read this past week that would fit under that category!

Sonia Sotomayor's adult biography AND her children's adaptation were both phenomenal at sharing how she grew up and got into law and judgeship. I'd say she's a rockstar! And then I read the children's adaptation too of It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood Again, rockstar but not musically.

Then I also finished a lovely new book from Brandy Colbert The Revolution of Birdie Randolph, This Time Will Be Different (both EXCELLENT) and a cool short story collection that won't be out for a few months called The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat and Fierce.

I just finished Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. It took a bit for me to get into it but once I did it was a lovely, engaging tale!

This week I finished American Elsewhere, The History Worker, and The Wrong Heaven, the latter of which I especially enjoyed. Great collection of short stories.

This week I finished Renegades by Marissa Meyer (loved it! Excited for sequel to be available on Libby!) and Some Luck by Jane Smiley (very different from what I usually read - it was dull at times and I won't be reading the sequels, but made it through and appreciated it overall).

Jen wrote: "I just finished Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. It took a bit for me to get into it but once I did it was a lovely, engaging tale!"

That looks good, I'll check it out!

Just finished The Bird King, which has nothing to do with Rockstars at all, so off to the library to return the books I forgot to renew while I was away and to find a book that fits that bill. Just realized you are not open on Sundays now!

Just started Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist . Hoping to get caught up. BTW, I can't seem to convince the group shelf that I am "currently reading" this book, instead of having read it.

Hello!! Between 7/1 and 7/6 I read:

The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
Sunshine on Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith
Peril at End House - Agatha Christie
4:50 From Paddington - Agatha Christie
Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers - Alexander McCall Smith
The Bertie Project - Alexander McCall Smith
A Time of Love and Tartan - Alexander McCall Smith
Closed Casket - Agatha Christie/Sophie Hannah

I had this entire week off work so had tons of amazing reading time :)

This week I finned reading:
The Dark Dark by Samantha HUnt
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar
Agents of Dreamland by Caitlin R Kiernan

This weekend I finished The sun is also a star by Nicola Yoon. It was supposed to be for star crossed lovers but life is funny.

Abi wrote: "This week I finished:

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Love the title! Will have to look for this.

Susan, it’s a memoir by two women who do a true crime podcast. It’s worth it even if you don’t listen to the podcast, but there are some podcast callbacks that might be annoying.

Hi,
I did manage to find and read a Rockstar romance from my books. Stinger by Mia Sheridan was a fun read with lots of angst between characters. Half Empty: First Wives Series by Catherine Bybee was an interesting novel of intrigue. I hoped I might have read more, but I am working on it.

Today I finished Maeve in America: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else by the hilarious Maeve Higgins, who I previously knew only from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Very funny, plus some more serious political stuff that I didn't expect, but appreciated.

Jen wrote: "Today I finished Maeve in America: Essays by a Girl from Somewhere Else by the hilarious Maeve Higgins, who I previously knew only from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Very funny, plus som..."
Saw her speak at the UAlbany Book Fest this fall, and she was great. Got me interested in her book, but haven't had a chance to read it yet. Thanks for the review.

Spent day recuperating from travel and reading Faithful by Alice Hoffman. It was just the book I needed right now. Shortish and with a somewhat complicated story, but ultimately upbeat.

Now off the figure out which Rockstar book I will read!

This morning I finished "Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere" by Julie T.Lamana. I had read this book for my classroom so I could recommend it to students. I really couldn't put it down..it was so good!

I have added all of the books above! Great job, everyone!

@Abi - you have a Level 2 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Alicia aabdul - you have Level 2 and Level 3 prizes to pick up at
your local APL branch

@Jen irisira - you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Diana - you have Level 1 and Level 2 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Jen jenb - you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@SusanDE - you have Level 1 and Level 2 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Mirkat - you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Alicia P - you have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch, and you are only 4 books away from getting the reach 20 books read prize!

@Emily slushies - you have Level 1 and Level 2 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Mayra - you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

@Paul - you have Level 1 and Level 2 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Emily Shoop - you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your local APL branch

Finished Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist today! My review is here.

Good morning!

I finished The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne as my Rockstar book.

I also finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara and Brother by David Chariandy.

Forgive me if this next bit is repetitive (I couldn't tell whether I already posted this or not).

I read The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill for the star-cross lovers theme.

I also finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone!
I just finished reading The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham. On to the next one!

Alicia

I have added @ Alicia and @ Rich's books

I finally finished my first book. (Sigh...so sad) Lost and Wanted by Nell Freudenberger -which is now currently overdue to be be returned to library. Good read, although a few of the scientific bits went way over my head.

Kathy wrote: "I finally finished my first book. (Sigh...so sad) Lost and Wanted by Nell Freudenberger -which is now currently overdue to be be returned to library. Good read, although a few of the scientific bit..."

I have added your book!

Kate wrote: "Hi all, and welcome to Theme Week 2 of the Albany Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

This week's theme is Rockstars. Remember to comment with any books you have finished this week! We will k..."

FINALLY finished my book for this theme, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane. Thought reading this would make me more sympathetic to him, but instead I had to keep reminding myself that this guy is 40 years old! At least it gave me something to talk to my rap-loving teen son about. And, for better or worse, I now know what lean is.

Susan wrote: "Kate wrote: "Hi all, and welcome to Theme Week 2 of the Albany Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

This week's theme is Rockstars. Remember to comment with any books you have finished this we..."

I have added your book.