Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Yep! It is Thursday yet once again! I finished the ATY Fall Challenge! So there’s progress.

I do feel as if my mind has finally cleared somewhat. Last week from Tuesday through Saturday morning had me stressed out much more than I realized. You know how once you are relieved of a ton of stress, you realize just how much stress you were under? Yeah, that was me! And grateful for the relief. Got my fingers crossed for those last two senate seats in Georgia!

Don't forget the November monthly group read discussion of Where the Crawdads Sing led by Trish!

Popsugar: 49/50
ATY: 51/52
RHC: 22/24
Reading Women: 21/26
I made a bit of progress on all but the Read Harder Challenge this week!

FINISHED:
Sulwe by Lapita Nyong’o, Vashti Harrison illustrator. A beautifully rendered picture book about a girl who is agonizing over her lack of inclusion due to the color of her skin. Not just the fact that she is “non-white” but the fact that her skin is very dark, darker than most of the people in her immediate environment. Sulwe’s trip on a shooting star depicts the indelible relationship between Day and Night and the fact that each of them could shine in their own way.
Here was my official Goodreads review posted on Sunday, November 8:
I picked up a used copy (in brand-spankin'-new condition) of this at my favorite used bookstore Saturday and literally sat in the car and read it. I love the story, relating Sulwe's experiences to those of "night" and the resolution with "day." Not only enlightening and gorgeous text, but the illustrations are incredibly amazing, IMHO! (And done in Adobe Photoshop!) This is an 'illuminating' depiction of learning to appreciate everyone's unique beauty both inside and out, but with Kamala Harris' election as Vice President of the United States now even more people of color, but especially females have a readily identifiable role model for achievement and strength in the face of adversity, prejudice, and discrimination. How apropos and appropriate that I would purchase and read this particular book on THE day that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are named as the US's next President and Vice President, respectively! A new and very very very much overdue achievement within the US. May all children be positively encouraged to appreciate and love themselves. This book is yet another step toward that admirable and necessary goal.
POPSUGAR: #3-“Sulwe was born the color of midnight.”, #6, #12, #20, #23-2019 Children's Africana Book Award Honoree, #24-I know nothing about having dark skin, #27-Pride, Envy, #32, #33-4.65, #34
ATY: #1, #9, #12, #19, #26, #39, #49, #52
RHC: #18, #24
Reading Women: NEW #4, #20, #22-Favorite publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Russell Wasden. As I was 50 pages from finishing this book, I finally Googled “amrita” and it is a Sanskrit word with two translations: (1) immortal/immortality and (2) nectar, or “the nectar that grants immortality.” It is argued that both of these refer to an elevated state of self-awareness, which, in terms of this book makes total sense to me. It is, IMO, a musing about daily life, routines as well as trauma and drama, and what it all means… A very enjoyable and thought-provoking read regarding the idea of “fate” vs. self-determinism. I will definitely read Kitchen at some point in the future and maybe others that have been translated into English.
POPSUGAR: #3-“I’m what you might call a night person.”, #6, #12, #24-I know nothing about living in Japan or having siblings, #27-Envy, #32, NEW #45, #48, #50
ATY: #12, #15, #25-Mayu was an actress and Ryuichiro was a writer, #29-underrated and lesser known, NEW #32, #33, #36-put there on a whim, #43-Death, #52
Reading Women: NEW #2, #12, NEW #14, #22-New-to-me publisher: Grove Press

All Four Stars (All Four Stars #1) by Tara Dairman is a hoot! I love Gladys and her next-door neighbor, Sandy! I had purchased this book cheaply and then realized it would fulfill a 2020 Reading Challenge November Monthly Challenge “What’s Your Sign” prompt so I picked it up and started reading. I was in the mood for another children’s book! 😊 And…I finished it! Definitely love this series!
POPSUGAR: #3-Gladys Gatsby stood at the counter with the spout of her father’s heavy blow-torch poised over the ceramic cup.”, #6, #12, #16, #20, #27-Pride, Envy, Wrath, #33-4.18, #35
ATY: #5, #9, #25-Gladys was a writer, #49, #52
Reading Women: #20, #21

CONTINUING:
Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings (Dandelion Dynasty #1) for a 2020 Reading Challenge October Buddy Read. This is quite enjoyable but I haven’t been enticed to pick it up very often. I did realize the other night as I was reading it that what I most enjoy about it is the format. Although the main theme is fighting/warring among the various territories, etc., the format is basically a series of short stories/vignettes about different characters, typically the warriors/leaders of the settlements. I am hoping to finish it yet this next weekend. I’m over halfway through so that should be doable, especially as I break up my reading time with other books.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for the campus White Racial Literacy Project book club on campus. I’m a bit disappointed in this discussion group, but only due to the fact that on this third meeting there were (1) no people of color participating (there had been 3 females and 1 male at the first two meetings), and (2) the people who were participating today appear to be at a point I was in my thinking/understanding some 15-20 years ago. I just feel as if I’m reliving my past and I admit I am impatient with this. I literally sat and read ahead in the book a bit as I partially listened. But overall, if this is where these people are, they really really really need this discussion group! Meanwhile, I’d like to reach out to the others who were not in attendance, ‘cause I bet we could have a rousing discussion at a point in which I would be gaining much more from it. It’s okay. I got a free copy of an excellent book out of it! 😊 My plan is to go ahead and read the book. I’ll login for discussion, but my attention will probably not be on it.

Strange the Dreamer by Liani Taylor to complete Popsugar #18-Book with a made-up language. (The last book for this challenge!) After the first 30 pages I am seriously hooked. This will be enjoyable, I think.

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard to complete ATY #21-Book related to Maximilian Hell, noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest born in 1720. (The last book for this challenge!)This writing style is a bit more stilted and while I don’t believe it will be a “quick read,” I’m relatively certain it will be enjoyable to me. I already love these two sisters!

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert is the book selected for the November monthly read for the Bookworm Bitches group. The first 30 pages were absolutely delightful!

Almost ready to launch back into these!
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, Learning Race, Learning Place: Shaping Racial Identities and Ideas in African American Childhoods by Erin Winkler, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, are all on hold for now. I hope to reunite with them later this month.

PLANNED:
The Wall of Storms (Dandelion Dynasty #2) by Ken Liu for a November-December Buddy Read. Once I complete the first installment… 😊

Honestly, the “continuing” reads should keep me pretty much occupied throughout November!!

Question of the Week:
Do you (like me) use the Goodreads Choice Award nominee listing as a resource for evaluating books to add to your TBR listing?

If so, how many of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nominees have you added to your TBR listing? Or how many did you already have on your TBR listing?

I admit I do evaluate the books nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards and then add those that I am genuinely interested in reading to my TBR listing. Of course, I usually already have quite a few of them on my TBR listing, so I typically don’t add that many once the nominations are announced.

There were 45 books I wanted to read from the 2019 nominations and I did manage to read 9 (20%) of those in 2020. I will be reading another 2 of them in November and December for a grand total of 11 out of 45 (24.4%) books! LOL I guess I could have managed to read none of them…so I’ll consider it a win! I do own another 9 from that listing, so hopefully I’ll read those next year. That would be another 20% for a total of 44.4% of the 2019 nominated books read in the following two years. That is a much higher percentage than I thought it would be.

I could easily imagine I might have another listing of 30-40 books from the 2020 Award nominations that I want to read. Actually, being more analytical, there are 20 categories with 15 nominees for each for a total of 300 books, minus the 10 or so listed in the Debut Novel category that are also listed in others for roughly 290 different books. When I think of it that way, I’m surprised I only wanted to read roughly 15% of them! 😊 However, this year there are 52 books listed that I would like to read, so approximately 18% of the 2020 nominated books. (Whew! I must be responding to the pressure to perform statistical calculations to try to match my fellow moderator’s example! Looking at you, Nadine! LOL) I already own 5 of the 52, so that helps!

Happy Thursday! Our governor went on tv last night and... begged people to mask up. That's his solution, while the pandemic rages across Ohio. No (enforcable) mandates, no shutdowns. Disappointment looms.

But I still have books! I've finished two this past week, and probably another one tonight:
Jonny Appleseed - A slice-of-life story about an indigenous Two-Spirit boy in Winnipeg, for Native Heritage Month. I've never read anything like this. 4 stars.
Night Doctors - 5 stars. Another of my GR groups has hopped on the P Djeli Clark train, reading a bunch of his short stories, and this one is excellent: https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fi...

Finishing today: A Dead Djinn in Cairo - another Clark short story! This gives me shades of the Divine Cities trilogy (one of my favorites), and there's a sequel short story plus plans for a sequel novel. Woohoo!

Currently reading:
The Big Over Easy - Picked this up again after first trying it in April. I'm feeling it a bit more now, but I definitely want to slap Mary.
Mongrels - My second Native Heritage Month read! I've never read Stephen Graham Jones before.
Catwoman, Volume 1: Trail of the Catwoman is still on my currently-reading, although I haven't touched it in awhile. I'm keeping it there because I do want to finish it, but... attention spans.

Upcoming:
Ring Shout
A People's History of the United States
The Burning God

QOTW: Do you (like me) use the Goodreads Choice Award nominee listing as a resource for evaluating books to add to your TBR listing? If so, how many of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nominees have you added to your TBR listing? Or how many did you already have on your TBR listing?
Ehhh... sometimes? Often a good handful of the nominees are already on my TBR, I'm just very bad at reading new books - I usually get to them a year or two (or ten) later. I don't want to go tot up how many are already on there just now -- too early and I'm lazy :P

I am half a book away from finishing Popsugar. It's on audio so it's hard to find time to power through it, but should be done this time next week.

Finished:
Followers for the social media prompt. This was enjoyable enough, but it had some pacing issues and I got a bit bored with the timeline where they were becoming "influencers". And I wish she hadn't tried to explain some of the tech things that happened because they did not make sense and explanations were not necessary for the plot.

The Year After You for a book I meant to read in 2019 and ATY (2nd part of my binary pair). I absolutely loved this! I had got this author mixed up with another Nina, but I'm so glad I did as I might not have noticed this book. It's a boarding school story, which I always enjoy for some reason, and about grief and survivors guilt, and a great romance not central to the plot.

Currently reading A Cheesemonger's History of The British Isles and listening to 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

PS: 49/50 | ATY: 49/52 | GR: 102/100

QOTW:
I tend to keep up with new release news, so there weren't many books I was unaware of, except for things I have no interest in anyway. I maybe added 4 to my wishlist. I have already read 21 nominees, have 16 on my owned TBR and a further 22 were already on my wishlist (that's a mix of will buy at some point and books I'm vaguely interested in).

I had a look back at last year's awards and I've now read 32, DNFed 2 and have 16 still on my TBR.

Two Week Check-In

And I finished the challenge with

a book with a robot or AI character

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Although, I use the answer “42” all the time, I found this book to be very meh.

no prompts

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levensellar. YA Fantasy. This could’ve been great if the protagonist had followed through on her promise in the first few chapters. But overall it was an enjoyable read.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousins. Contemporary romance. The two main characters share a birthday and there are a lot of missed chances throughout their lives to meet each other. It was adorable. I would watch the heck out of a Netflix series.

QOTW:


I do get some books off the list to add to my TBR pile but I've also read a lot of them, at least the ones in my preferred genres. Or, they are already on the TBR list.

Happy Thursday! I've been working a crazy schedule and haven't had a lot of time to read. I'm hoping to get some reading in today though.

Finished:
Legendary - I loved Caraval so much so really wanted to love this one as much, but it wasn't as good in my opinion. I preferred Scarlett's story over Tella's and found this book repetitive at times. I'm excited to read Finale to see how the series will end. 4 stars

Twenties Girl - this was such a fun story. I loved Aunt Sadie. She was such a quirky character. If you're looking for a light-hearted book that will make you laugh I would highly recommend this one. I used this for prompt #42 - a book with twenty in the title. 5 stars

Challenge Progress:
Regular Challenge - 35/40
Advanced Challenge - 9/10
Total - 44/50

Currently Reading:
After All I've Done - I haven't had much time to read this so still working on it.

Fable - I should be able to finish this one this weekend.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - I'm using this for prompt #24 - a book on a subject you know nothing about. I started it this morning and should finish it today.

QOTW - Do you use the Goodreads Choice Award nominee listing as a resource for evaluating books to add to your TBR listing? If so, how many of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nominees have you added to your TBR listing? Or how many did you already have on your TBR listing?

I normally will add nominations to my TBR that sound interesting to me. A lot of them are already on my TBR.

Lynn wrote: "Strange the Dreamer by Liani Taylor to complete Popsugar #18-Book with a made-up language. (The last book for this challenge!) After the first 30 pages I am seriously hooked. This will be enjoyable, I think...."



I love Laini Taylor! she's one of my favorite authors. I found StD had a slow start, but I ended up loving that book - if you're hooked already, you will probably love it :-)

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! Our governor went on tv last night and... begged people to mask up. That's his solution, while the pandemic rages across Ohio. No (enforcable) mandates, no shutdowns. Disappointment..."

I think our governor was on TV last night as well. I was too busy and since I have no TV at home I would have had to catch it on my computer... What I gather is he is supposedly issuing restrictions to those counties where the COVID-19 cases are worst, so those that are "red" or "orange." IDK. The US is in real mess right now due to lack of organized leadership and it is so sad to me that people are DYING as a result...

"QOTW: Do you (like me) use the Goodreads Choice Award nominee listing as a resource for evaluating books to add to your TBR listing? If so, how many of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nominees have you added to your TBR listing? Or how many did you already have on your TBR listing?
Ehhh... sometimes? Often a good handful of the nominees are already on my TBR, I'm just very bad at reading new books - I usually get to them a year or two (or ten) later. I don't want to go tot up how many are already on there just now -- too early and I'm lazy :P"

It is a bit early. And you are NOT lazy! ;)

Ellie wrote: "QOTW:
I tend to keep up with new release news, so there weren't many books I was unaware of, except for things I have no interest in anyway. I maybe added 4 to my wishlist. I have already read 21 nominees, have 16 on my owned TBR and a further 22 were already on my wishlist (that's a mix of will buy at some point and books I'm vaguely interested in).

I had a look back at last year's awards and I've now read 32, DNFed 2 and have 16 still on my TBR.."

Wow. That is impressive! I never read that many new books in the same year of their release! Way to go!

Nadine wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Strange the Dreamer by Liani Taylor to complete Popsugar #18-Book with a made-up language. (The last book for this challenge!) After the first 30 pages I am seriously hooked. This will..

I love Laini Taylor! she's one of my favorite authors. I found StD had a slow start, but I ended up loving that book - if you're hooked already, you will probably love it :-)."

Great! Thank you for letting me know. Perhaps yet another book on which we agree! YAY!!

Cold and bright in New Mexico! I'm still trying to limit my political news viewing. This is all so crazy and petty. (C'mon, Georgia. You can do it!)

Challenge Progress: 50/50 I'm looking forward to December 1 when the new challenge comes out! The ATY list came out last week, and it's been fun looking through my TBR and trying to match books with prompts.

Completed:
Fruit of the Drunken Tree: Powerful and moving. It just kept getting better and better. I've never before read anything about life in Colombia or Pablo Escobar, but now I think I'll have to find some nonfiction to help me understand. (PS19: A book set in a country starting with "C" - Colombia) ★★★★

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: I really enjoyed this retelling of "Frankenstein" from Elizabeth's point of view. It was interesting to view Victor's transformation through her eyes. (ATY49: A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win - a book with the main character's name in the title) ★★★★

Seth and I read Elephants Can't Jump!, Putting the Monkeys to Bed, and Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau. They were all really cute, but my favorite was "Madame Chapeau." I actually teared up a little.



Currently Reading:
The Constant Rabbit
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth (PS19: A book set in a country starting with "C" - Comoros)
The Wild Girl
The Binding (ATY51: A book with an "-ing" word in the title)
You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
Rebecca (ATY45: A classic book you've always meant to read)

QOTW: I added 35 books from the list of nominees to my TBR. Turns out I already own 12 of them (Thanks, Target for your "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" sales!), and my local library has 18 of the remaining 23. And, yes, I'll probably read them all.

Ellie wrote: "Currently reading A Cheesemonger's History of The British Isles ..."



ooooh that looks interesting!!! Years ago I read and loved Cheese Primer. Sounds like I need to read this new book, too. Only problem is I know I'll end up wanting all the cheese and we can't always get it in the US.

I haven't updated in a couple of weeks! My reading pace has slowed down considerably, so getting used to that. I have five books left to read for the challenge and I am reading one of them now.

Currently reading: Cinder (a book with a cyborg, robot or AI): I'm enjoying this more than I expected, I like all of the different plotlines going on and I'm sure some of them will become more entwined towards the end.

QOTW:
I usually scan through the Goodreads Choice Awards nominees to see which ones are on there that I have already read! I will however take note of ones that I've been meaning to read, and they may go up slightly on my TBR list, but it probably won't influence me that much.

Hey All!

I didn't get a chance to update last week. I had taken the first part of the week off and worked the polls last Tuesday (such a great experience, I hope to do it again the future!).

Finished:

Black Sun - I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the next book in the series. I've been trying to get more into fantasy and this and my next book I really enjoyed and make me want to read more epic fantasy.

The City of Brass - Ugggggg that ending!!! I have a few other books on deck for the month but I'd love to finish the other two books in this trilogy before the end of the year.

Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space - This was part of Nonfiction November for me and I found it really interesting and informative. The author is writing from experience and it's made me look at fairy tales in a different way.

Memorial - I finished this last night and actually read it in like three days. It was very good and very frustrating. The characters felt so much like real people and they reacted like how real people would react. I also thought that the no quotation marks would bother me but after the first chapter it really didn't. I highly recommend.

Currently Reading:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - This is also part of Nonfiction November for me. Is this a tough read? Yes. But it's so important. I've been using a lot of my nonfiction reading this year to really learn and have found my nonfiction read to be so engaging.

The Extraordinaries - This is my palate cleanser of the month. I love the poorly written fanfiction from the lead character that's included in the story. I love how unaware the lead character is. He's just a sweet cinnamon roll that needs to be protected at all costs.

QOTW:

I don't really use the Goodreads awards to build my TBR. I'm pretty good at keeping up with new releases, so the ones that I want to read tend to be on the shelf for me anyway. I do love seeing books I have read or want to read nominated though. I'm really rooting for The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Lynn wrote: "Yep! It is Thursday yet once again! I finished the ATY Fall Challenge! So there’s progress.

I do feel as if my mind has finally cleared somewhat. Last week from Tuesday through Saturday morning ha..."

Yaaay, someone else discovered Banana Yoshimoto! Of the three books I've read by her, Kitchen is definitely the best, though Lizard was good. N.P was a bit of a disappointment, and (view spoiler)[should come with an incest warning attached. (hide spoiler)]

Happy Thursday, y’all.

This week has definitely been a relief after what's felt like YEARS of election stress. I feel like there's finally a ray of hope for our country. Though now I have to put up with griping from my conservative friends and family... ah well. Small price to pay, I guess.

Books read this week:

From a Certain Point of View -- Collection of stories and vignettes that retell the original 1977 Star Wars movie from the points of view of a slew of minor, supporting characters. Naturally some of the stories were better than others, but overall this was an excellent collection.

House of Salt and Sorrows -- Horror-fantasy retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” I could have done without the romance (especially the hints at a love triangle) and a few elements towards the end felt like they came out of nowhere, but still a creative and enjoyable fairy-tale retelling.

Love at First Bite: Tales from a Veterinary Life -- I usually really enjoy books by veterinarians, but this one wasn’t quite as good as, say, James Herriot. It lacked the charm, and seemed more focused on the humans’ quirks than on the animals themselves, though there were some amusing stories in the mix.

I'm Only In It for the Parking: Life and laughter from the priority seats -- Written by Lost Voice Guy, a comedian who won “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2018. Very funny but also a rather frank look at growing up disabled, and how society still hasn’t caught up with the needs of the disabled and still marginalizes them to a frightening degree.

The Awkward Yeti Presents: How I Broke Up with My Colon: Fascinating, Bizarre, and True Health Stories -- Graphic novel, illustrated by the guy behind the “Awkward Yeti” comics. True, weird, funny medical stories, so not for the faint of heart (though the illustrations avoid being TOO gross), but absolutely hilarious as well.

Currently Reading:

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
Torch Ginger
Parable of the Sower

QOTW:

I skimmed through the nominees, but most of the ones that looked interesting were already on my TBR list.

We've had unseasonably warm weather here in NY this week!  The kids and I took the opportunity to go for an easy hike on Sunday - too bad we weren't the only ones -  I had hoped we'd be alone on the trail and not need masks, but ... no such luck.  That's happened every time we've gone to a park in the last few months - I guess everyone is trying to do outdoor stuff.


This week I DNF'ed one book and I finished 3 books, including a BIG book!  I'm still 49/50 for the Challenge.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - I am finally done!  It took me almost eleven months, but I got there!  My goal was to finish before year's end, so I'm pleased.  Can't say I loved the book, but I see why it's popular.

Afterland by Lauren Beukes - Beukes is one of my favorite authors, but this book was a big disappointment.  It's like she was just phoning it in.

Native Guard poems by Natasha Trethewey - these poems were amazing.  I've had really good luck reading Pulitzer winning poetry collections! I will definitely read more by Trethewey

And my DNF:
All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Karen White, Beatriz Williams & Lauren Willig - I usually love this author trio (and I usually love books by each of these authors) but this time, it just wasn't working for me.  I didn't care about any of the characters.  I called it quits about 3/4 of the way through.  I guess this was my week to be disappointed by favorite novelists.



QotW

Only a few.  Mostly, I keep up with new releases by reading reviews and various blogs.  But I use the Awards to catch up on new picture books, and I've noticed this year that quite a few of the nominated picture books are published by the Amazon Two Lions imprint.  As the principal in The Incredibles says: Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!



And to be honest, I don't even remember which books I added to my TBR because I saw them on the Awards list, but I checked my TBR, and I THINK I added these because of the Awards:
Think Outside the Box
I Am Every Good Thing

plus a few cookbooks & nonfiction books that I hadn't heard of (I am not a vegan, but my daughter is a vegetarian so I'm always happy to look at new recipes):
Evolving Vegan: Deliciously Diverse Recipes from North America's Best Plant-Based Eateries—for Anyone Who Loves Food
Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed (ok, THIS book isn't on the Awards list, but a new book by the same author is)
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
The End of Everything
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington

And a few picture books that I've been able to borrow and read right away:
This Book Is Gray - this is the PERFECT PICTURE BOOK!!!  heart-warming AND hysterical!!  I laughed so much!!
Bird Hugs - this book was meh
Green on Green - (maybe I saw this on the Awards list?  idk) - this was a soothing book about colors & seasons

Ashley wrote: "Hey All!

I didn't get a chance to update last week. I had taken the first part of the week off and worked the polls last Tuesday (such a great experience, I hope to do it again the future!)."

Not only did you "work the polls," but in you did that in the midst of a pandemic! Good for you!

Kenya wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Yaaay, someone else discovered Banana Yoshimoto! Of the three books I've read by her, Kitchen is definitely the best, though Lizard was good. N.P was a bit of a disappointment, and (view spoiler)"

Hmmmm...well, NP may then be at the end of my list! Thanks for the recommendations, however!

I'll do a proper check-in later, but here's a drive-by QotW.

I didn't add any books to my TBR because of the Choice Awards, but a bunch of them were already on there:

On my TBR:
Harrow the Ninth
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
The Book of Koli
The Space Between Worlds
Tender is the Flesh
These Violent Delights
The Queen of Nothing

Maybe on my TBR:
The Bone Shard Daughter
The Hollow Places
Legendborn
Chain of Gold

Need to read earlier books in the series:
The Burning God

I feel so behind haha

Kenya wrote: "I'm Only In It for the Parking: Life and laughter from the priority seats -- Written by Lost Voice Guy, a comedian who won “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2018. Very funny but also a rather frank look at growing up disabled, and how society still hasn’t caught up with the needs of the disabled and still marginalizes them to a frightening degree."

This looks like an amazing read and I don't think I'd ever heard of it. Thanks for listing it!

The Awkward Yeti Presents: How I Broke Up with My Colon: Fascinating, Bizarre, and True Health Stories -- Graphic novel, illustrated by the guy behind the “Awkward Yeti” comics. True, weird, funny medical stories, so not for the faint of heart (though the illustrations avoid being TOO gross), but absolutely hilarious as well."

You are the only other person I've ever seen refer to this other than our instrumentation engineer at work who is from Ireland. It just always makes me laugh!

Nadine wrote: "Evolving Vegan: Deliciously Diverse Recipes from North America's Best Plant-Based Eateries—for Anyone Who Loves Food
Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed (ok, THIS book isn't on the Awards list, but a new book by the same author is)"

Glad you clarified this one. As soon as I read the title I thought, "Wait a minute, I missed that one!" Then I kept reading... :) I keep thinking I'll be more creative with vegetables, etc, and then I never am... :)

"And a few picture books that I've been able to borrow and read right away:
This Book Is Gray - this is the PERFECT PICTURE BOOK!!! heart-warming AND hysterical!! I laughed so much!!"

I knew nothing about this one, so thanks for the information!

And...I just want it noted that I had the statistical analysis this time around! ;) LOL

Hi All, I finished zero books for the week. This has never happened. I started Becoming by Michelle Obama 11/4/2020 & I’m still reading it. I really like the book it’s just slow going.
QOTW: I use the Goodreads Choice Awards to learn about new books. I read the synopsis & think about them. I don’t make a reading plan based on the award. I get familiar with the books in case the titles pop up in book clubs. I usually don’t read new books during the year but this year I actually read a few that are up for awards.

Hello! It snowed again this week, but it didn't start until afternoon, so husband was home to help with the driveway clearing and I didn't have to do it alone. My eye doctor appointment is tomorrow, so fingers crossed everything's okay. National Novel Writing Month isn't going very well because of the headaches, but I made good progress Saturday-Sunday-Monday, so just need to replicate that when I don't have a headache.

Reading wise, I finished the PopSugar challenge! I knocked out the last book last night. Feeling very good about finishing Read Harder and Reading Women, and pretty good about finishing ATY and PS Fall. The three non-GR challenges are in less good shape, so we'll see what happens in December.

Finished this Week: The Battle of Midway by Craig Symonds. I had gotten this from the library back in July, and finally read it. I had previously read two other histories of that battle, plus watched the recent movie, so I wasn't expecting to be surprised. I knew what happened, after all. There's an entire chapter called The Flight to Nowhere that left me gobsmacked. I now want to read everything possible about the battle to see if this author's conclusions fit. The author was the chair of the history department at the US Naval Academy, so I don't doubt his conclusions, but just ... wow. Using for PS Fall #9, place you'll never visit.

Taking My Life Back: My Story of Faith, Determination, and Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing by Rebekah Gregory. I was disappointed by this book. There was a lot about her faith and her upbringing and little about overcoming her injuries. I was hoping for tales of physical therapy, of which there were none. (Seriously. None.) RH #21, RW #16, person with disability

The New Odyssey: The Story of the Twenty-First Century Refugee Crisis by Patrick Kingsley. I had read earlier in the year two history books about the upheaval in the Middle East in the past two decades, plus a book by a Syrian refugee who fled to Europe, so I figured this would be the natural next step. The author pulls no punches with his opinions of how poorly the European governments acted in 2015 with so many refugees arriving. The book was written in winter 2015/spring 2016 (which seems like a lifetime ago), so I want to find out what's happened since then. I also want to go back and reread Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian - My Story of Rescue, Hope, and Triumph now that I know more of the political side of what she experienced. Using for PS #42, 20 in title.

PS: 50/50, RH: 22/24, RW: 25/26, ATY: 51/52, PS Fall: 7/10

Currently Reading: Lightspeed Magazine, June 2014: Women Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue for RH#23, edition of literary magazine. It's large, but it's an anthology, so the stories are quick.

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate for RH about Climate Change, RW about the environment, and PS Fall about nature. It won't be a happy read, and I'm worried it's out of date, which is why I've been putting it off.

QOTW: Not really. A few years back, I made note of every book I voted for with the intent to read them, but I don't think I actually added them to my TBR shelf. Unless it's a favorite author or series, I don't usually read new releases, so most of the books are unknown to me. I know last year I discovered The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper through the GR Choice awards and bought it immediately, but that's the only time that's happened. I did read a couple of last year's books this year due to various challenges recommending them for prompts, so perhaps things will start to change.

Drakeryn wrote: "I'll do a proper check-in later, but here's a drive-by QotW...

I feel so behind haha"

I love your "drive-by"! And isn't that always the case with reading? No matter how many books I read, etc., I always feel behind! LOL

Lynn wrote: "And...I just want it noted that I had the statistical analysis this time around! ;) LOL ..."


Hahah yes, points go to you on this one!

Ashley wrote: "Black Sun - I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the next book in the series. I've been trying to get more into fantasy and this and my next book I really enjoyed and make me want to read more epic fantasy. ..."


I am reading this right now, and it's really good!!! I always think I don't like "high fantasy" but I'm enjoying this, the pages are FLYING by (so maybe I DO like high fantasy?). Plus, it's going to fill my last open category: a character with a vision impairment. Bonus!

Sherri wrote: "Hi All, I finished zero books for the week. This has never happened. I started Becoming by Michelle Obama 11/4/2020 & I’m still reading it. I really like the book it’s just slow going.
QOTW: I use the Goodreads Choice Awards to learn about new books. I read the synopsis & think about them. I don’t make a reading plan based on the award. I get familiar with the books in case the titles pop up in book clubs. I usually don’t read new books during the year but this year I actually read a few that are up for awards."

It's not as if Michelle Obama's book is short either! Though I loved it! And am so anxious to read his book when it's released!

It always surprises me when I realize I have read some of the books nominated! I don't read many new books either!

Melissa wrote: "Reading wise, I finished the PopSugar challenge! I knocked out the last book last night. Feeling very good about finishing Read Harder and Reading Women, and pretty good about finishing ATY and PS Fall. The three non-GR challenges are in less good shape, so we'll see what happens in December.."

Congratulations!! You are making admirable progress toward completing all those challenges!

I really appreciate your postings of nonfiction and historical reads. I plan to increase my inclusion of such books next year. I kinda slipped off the nonfiction wagon in 2020!

Hi everyone,

Had some lovely warm weather last week/weekend/early this week, it was great! Did a lot of outside walking and running, had a fire for dinner. Not such a fan of the abrupt tempt drop, was 28 this morning!

This week I finished:

Reverie - read this because it was highlighted on overdrive as the Big Library Read. Looked interesting, I liked it. Interesting story, interested in his other book coming out.

Pale Demon - felt like some re-reading, got back where i left off in the hallows re-read.

Currently reading:

Uprooted - more re-reading, picked up a physical copy of this earlier this year while supporting indie bookstores. It's such a lovely story, i wanted to own it.

QOTW:

I always look through the awards and vote if I see something I liked. I'm more likely to make note of books in books in science fiction and fantasy since those are my genres of choice, although often I'd already heard of them. The rest of the categories it'd be more like if next year I needed a book in one of those categories I might be aware of the title to consider reading it.

Hello from Columbus! Looks like I’m looking at another week off work, as I just found out a client tested positive. Sigh, more time to read I guess? I am officially finished with my popsugar reading challenge, and am now tackling finishing up the last few prompts on the read harder challenge, and finally starting to dive into the back to the classics challenge. Fingers crossed I finish them both!

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein not for a challenge, I was just finishing up some of the books I set aside for October. I was really anxious about this book, considering how things went for Elizabeth Frankenstein in Shelley’s book. But the direction the book took was satisfying and I really enjoy this niche genre of retelling classics from the perspective of women who were used as props in the stories of men.

The Best We Could Do for book riot. A bittersweet family memoir of escaping violence in Vietnam and making a new life in America.

Horrorstör for a book I meant to read in 2019. Ive had this on my tbr forever, and it surprisingly wasn’t my favorite of Grady Hendrix’s work. Still fun, and enjoyable with the right amount of anxiety and fear included, but I wanted to like this more than I actually did.

Small Spaces just a reread, I finished Dead Voices (the sequel) last month and since these are short reads I figured I’d revisit the first. Very fun middle grade scary story.

The Last Story of Mina Lee not for a challenge. A daughter starts to look into the life of her mother after her passing. It switches from a the daughters perspective to the mother’s life story so you get two stories that meet up at the end.

The Black Tulip for back to the classics. I’m gonna be honest I picked this Dumas novel because it was one of the few that wasn’t one million pages long. Still a good story, I always love a good classic novel.

Happy Thursday! Yes, I feel you there about the stress. I live in PA and couldn't be prouder of how my state pulled through this past week. Even without watching the media, I had this weight that I didn't realize was there until it was all over. Now it feels like things might (?) be ok again (or headed there anyway). Praying that we can all move on and heal (in every sense of the word). To non-USA citizens, we apologize profusely for all the drama. I swear we aren't all crazy!

Finished 45/50

I haven't finished anything yet, BUT my library books came in so my last books for the challenge are all in my possession now!!

Currently Reading

The 10th Kingdom for "book with an upside down picture on the cover". I put Words of Radiance aside to pick up this one since it's due really, really soon. I LOVED the tv miniseries growing up! I even purchased the DVD copy a few years ago, but I never got to read the book. Loving it so far! It's in 3rd person omniscient so you get to be in everyone's heads, which just adds an extra dimension to the already wonderful story!

Building Your Mate's Self-Esteem for "book with more than 20 letters in the title". It's way better than Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs so far. Much more practical and less sales-pitchy.

The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia for "book whose title caught your attention". Almost...done...

QotW

No. My tastes are very eclectic and my reading list is already long. I prefer recommendations from people I know. :)

Wow. I finishedno books this week. Started Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, Advertising: Information or Manipulation?, and Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.

QotW: I look at the Goodreads nominees/awards, but it rarely influences my reading selections.

Nadine wrote: "Only problem is I know I'll end up wanting all the cheese and we can't always get it in the US..."

That does sound like a problem. I am already mentally preparing a list of cheeses to order for the holidays.

Happy Thursday all!

Finished:
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. Finally finished this one after bingeing the last 200 pages. It was well written and funny, the ending was good too.

Currently reading:
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Almost done with this one - less than 150 pages left. I really enjoy the history of Geishas and the cultural aspect (must be the Anthropology major in me), but the story is a little slow.

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh (not for the challenge). I really enjoy Moshfegh's work. I read My Year of Rest and Relaxation earlier this year and, while her books aren't fast-paced page-turners, I enjoy her writing and the stories she concocts. I am only 20-ish pages into this one but so far I really like it.

QOTW:
I feel as though I am always a year behind the Goodreads Awards. I usually end up reading most of the nominated books the following year. This year I tried to read as many 2020 released books as I could - assuming they would be on the list and only about 4 of the 20 books I read were nominated. Oh well.

My reading time increased quite a bit after I could stop obsessively watching election news. While I’ve breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated, I’m going to stay vigilant. Just at my more normal levels of attention. I finished 3 books I’ve been reading for awhile so I feel very accomplished this week.

I had my annual eye exam this morning. The optometrist found something concerning on my images so she’s referring me to an ophthalmologist for higher resolution images and more extensive tests. She suspects the early stages of glaucoma. Eye diseases scare me. I love reading (with my eyes) so much. I hate anything that might threaten that. I’m having trouble calming down after hearing that. So, of course, today is the day I’m having my blood pressure evaluated too!

Finished
Do No Harm by Karen Miller. Only I could stumble upon two pandemic books in a row .... In this one, though, it’s not a natural plague, but bioterrorism by Goa’ulds. SG-1 accidentally makes the situation worse, but Dr. Fraiser is there to save the day. It was good, but too long and the two plotlines never quite came together.

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer. I don’t think I can review this book. It’s history we should have learned, but most of us probably didn’t. I rated it 5 stars and recommend it to everyone.

The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. Holmberg. I’m breaking up with this author. I loved The Paper Magician, but this is the third book in a row from her that I didn’t love. If you like her style, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie. Poirot takes on a cold case. Of course, he also solves it. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and all the perspectives on the crime.

Reading
Final Girls by Riley Sager

I’ll decide later tonight if I’m going to start One by One or Ninth House. Both are due back at the library soon. It may depend on which one I can renew and which one has holds.

QOTW
Not really. I did add one nominee to my TBR, but not because it was nominated. I added it because someone in this group said they were happy to see it nominated. The book was The Once and Future Witches.

Happy Thursday! I changed my working routines this week. Last week my back was fully cramped. It hurted from my butt all the way up to my head. So I decided to make a drastic change in my working routines. Twice a day I go outside for a 20 minute power walk. I’m suprised how well it’s working out so far. I have more energy and can take a moment to reflect before I go to action. And my back is getting a bit better every day, so that’s positive too.

Finished
None

Currently reading
House on Endless Waters (will finish tonight)
Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944

Qotw
No, I don’t use it.

Happy Thursday everyone! Belated Happy Veterans’ Day with big thanks to all of you and/or your loved ones who serve.

Like for so many, yep, the anxiety is finally ebbing, and I am feeling such relief. Went a couple of mellow and educational gatherings, and everyone was masked, everyone carefully physically distanced. Masks are mandatory when you leave your home here. Very glad for the accent on health here 😊

Finished:
Superheroes Are Everywhere --I just had to. Gotta celebrate! Kamala Harris drew on family and friends for examples to create a sweet uplifting kids’ book.

How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975-2002 - love me some Joy Harjo any day of the year, but great to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.

Hamlet– OK, not a comedy, and yes, a reread. But I needed to read a “book featuring ghosts" for an online book club, so this was perfect. I love how fundamental The Ghost (of Prince Hamlet’s father) is to the play, and also that Shakespeare himself played the part. Just about the most perfect play ever.

Continuing:
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption- There are so many stories of heartbreaking events, and yet Bryan Stevenson packs such compassion into his writing.

QOTW:
I seem to get to the Goodreads awards at the end of a year and enjoy reading through the nominees. I like seeing if any appear on my TBR, because I tend to source my reads from Book Page, recommendations from friends and groups I belong to, and lists my library posts, namely the “If you liked ABC, try….”

For 2020, I had 19 nominees on my TBR, and I’ve read 3 already. I almost never read new books on time – the library queue is usually long.

For 2019, I had 29 nominees on my TBR, and I’ve read 6 so far.

But for 1599, I’m killing it LOL!

Lynn wrote: "Yep! It is Thursday yet once again! I finished the ATY Fall Challenge! So there’s progress.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for the campus White Racial Literacy Project book club on campus. I’m a bit disappointed in this discussion group, but only due to the fact that on this third meeting there were (1) no people of color participating (there had been 3 females and 1 male at the first two meetings), and (2) the people who were
"

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear this! Everyone is going to be in different places as far as knowledge, development of ideas, etc. That's a given. I wonder if BIPOC folks drifted away due to format, or pattern of interactions, or non-related concerns? I'd hope the group leader(s) would check in with folks. Tbh, I've left groups like this due to little participation/ little effort and hopelessly unskilled leader(s). Not that this applies to your group, but good leadership makes a difference,

I know how much you were looking forward to this :( Glad that the book is terrific!

Lynn wrote: "Yep! It is Thursday yet once again! I finished the ATY Fall Challenge! So there’s progress.

I do feel as if my mind has finally cleared somewhat. Last week from Tuesday through Saturday morning ha..."

And congrats on finishing the ATY Challenge! That is a BIG one!

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! Our governor went on tv last night and... begged people to mask up. That's his solution, while the pandemic rages across Ohio. No (enforcable) mandates, no shutdowns. Disappointment..."

Jonny Appleseed is soooooo good!

Hi all! I'm wavering between immense relief at Kamala and Joe's victory, and sheer terror that the Trumpublicans are going to stage a coup. I think I just need a few days away from the news.

Finished

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. It was great! I used it for my bildungsroman, which only leaves me three prompts left! It's been such a joy doing this challenge and watching those little boxes get checked.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. So despite my anxiety being amped to 11, I've decided to participate in Nanowrimo this year. I finished the book I've always wanted to write earlier this year and it was roundly rejected by every agent I queried. So I'm trying to pick myself back up by writing a totally different novel. It's not easy getting back into it, but this book definitely helped me plot and find a solid direction for my new book.

Currently Reading

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan for a book I meant to read in 2019, and how like me to save the book I meant to read last year for the end of the current year lol. Only done with the first chapter but I'm into it. It's got a D&D/Skyrim feel.

The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine F. Weiss. Maybe now that the election is over this book will stop giving me anxiety and I can get into it.

QotW

I don't necessarily chose books off the Choice Awards nominees. Usually I've heard of the ones in my preferred genres before and have already added them to by TBR. That said I have seen a few that I was like, "oh my god, how have I not heard of this!" But me being me, they usually just go onto the TBR, where they will languish for the next five years.

One book that I was already hyped to read that got nominated is The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, which I have on hold at the library, so I'll get to it soon!

Happy Thursday from Oklahoma! The weather here has been up and down. We had that ice storm a couple weeks ago and it's mostly been warm and sunny since. I've been taking full advantage by walking the neighborhood while my girls ride their scooters. We all have been enjoying the exercise and change of scenery.

I don't actually have any progress to report though! I finally got all caught up with the challenge but I'm a little behind again. I need to just sit down and read. I am working through a book, Odessa Sea, for a book from a series with more than 20 books. I always enjoy Clive Cussler books even if they have become formulaic. Although this one breaks that formula just slightly.

There's a lot of talk that we might be in the Red for next week which means I'll be home for two weeks which might give me time to catch up again. So we'll see. They've been very reluctant to close schools again.

QOTW: I don't really pay much attention to the Goodreads Choice Awards. I don't really try to read many new releases so I'll browse the nominees and add some that seem interesting, but overall, I get most of my recommendations from you all!

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! Our governor went on tv last night and... begged people to mask up. That's his solution, while the pandemic rages across Ohio. No (enforcable) mandates, no shutdowns. Disappointment..."

He did announce that they would shut down businesses for at least 24 hours after a second offense of no masks. What I wanted to know was what was going to happen at a third offense, but maybe he's just super sure that won't happen.

Nadine wrote: "
plus a few cookbooks & nonfiction books that I hadn't heard of (I am not a vegan, but my daughter is a vegetarian so I'm always happy to look at new recipes):
Evolving Vegan: Deliciously Diverse Recipes from North America's Best Plant-Based Eateries—for Anyone Who Loves Food"

These cookbooks are now on my TBR. My daughter is vegan, I'm vegetarian, and trying to give up that last hurdle - cheese. I don't eat it often, but I do love it.

LovingAfro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed. We have a bunch of Eritrean and Ethiopian markets - I have to check this out.

Happy check-in! The major snow storm that came through the prairies mostly missed us so we only had to shovel once. :) Otherwise it's just the usual covid scariness to contend with, not much to do but read.

Finished Reading:

Split Tooth ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A little weird and disturbing but interesting art none the less.

The Cruel Prince The Lost Sisters The Wicked King The Queen of Nothing All ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐s or more
I love this series! There is a new book being published Nov. 24 that I can't wait for.

Laughing All the Way to the Mosque ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a memoir from the creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie. (which was a fantastic Canadian sitcom) Zarqa is hilarious and a talented writer. I wish she had other books.

The Far Side Gallery ⭐⭐
This was disappointing. A lot of the comics were the same joke over and over again.

PS 2020 50/50
PS Summer 20/20
PS Fall 8/10
PS 2016 36/40
goodreads 194/200

Currently Reading:
Don't know what's next

QOTW:
I use the goodreads choice awards to find new books a lot. This year I have not gone through the nominees yet for new books.
There are 17 nominees on the tbr/maybe lists and I've read 21.
I think I want to read Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue before the awards are done. I currently have them both from the library.

This week has been a little rough with my dog still feeling under the weather. He got an anti-nausea shot and subcutaneous fluids today (and a bunch of tests), so he's currently feeling much better and snoring in his bed. Hopefully we can figure this thing out and he'll keep feeling better! Fingers crossed!

I decided to "wild card" the prompt I didn't want to do, so now I'm 49/50 for Popsugar, and I plan to read the last book (Descent; same name as a movie but unrelated) this weekend. Almost there!
Finished this week:
Assassin's Apprentice: I really enjoyed this, and I look forward to the rest of the series. The sad animal parts were a little hard to read this week, though.
Network Effect: Murderbot did not disappoint.

Currently reading:
Devil-Devil: This is a murder mystery set in the Solomon Islands, which will check off one of my countries. The culture is a prominent part of the mystery, and I'm fascinated.
A Tale of Two Cities: listening while working my jigsaw puzzles. The narrator brings forward the funnier parts of Dickens, which are always my favorite.

QOTW: I do get ideas on what to read from the Goodreads Choice Awards. I like to look at any best-of-year lists for ideas (the NPR one is great, highly recommend).

Right... let me see. 2-week checkin today because I have been Depression.



The dog died, did I mention my dog died, it's been kind of a huge part of my life for the last fortnight and I have been feeling like crap...

Anyhoo. I've read a surprisingly large amount of books in the past couple of weeks, not sure why, maybe just that I've had a lot of time to myself now that we're not keeping 24/7 watch over Sox.

The Institute - I felt this was a good intro to King. I really admire his writing - it was always pacy, interesting and vivid throughout all 500-ish pages, even when not much was actually happening in the plot. There were literally passages describing dusty lightbulbs and I was still hooked.
Will definitely be reading more SK although will have to choose carefully - I don't think I'm ready for his full-on horror novels.

The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures - I need to reread this, I went through it too quick and I feel as if it just glanced off me. Definitely has impactful things to say, though, about mental health and queerness and the general feeling of being a square peg in a world of round holes.

The Only Good Indians - Great writing but I feel like I didn't get it. Also, far far too many dead dogs, at the very worst possible time for me personally. Stay well away from this book if you have trouble reading about violence towards, and graphic injury of, animals.

Passing
Sula
I'm trying to read 4 similar books this month - these two, plus Silver Sparrow and The Vanishing Half. They all seem to be on the theme of secrets within black communities and families, with some characters trying to run from their roots and others staying. I kind of want to do a compare-and-contrast thing, you know.
"Passing" was definitely interesting from a historical standpoint but I didn't much enjoy it as a story. I think I'd like to read some nonfic about race in 1920s New York and the Harlem Renaissance.
"Sula" was absolutely amazing. I don't need to sing the praises of Toni Morrison, she's universally lauded already. One thing I love about her is even though her books feature so many awful situations, she writes about them with such wit that it still brings a smile to my face. It's quite Scottish, really, the grim humour.

The Vanished Birds - Really beautiful sci-fi. Loved the different threads of story and perspectives - sometimes it almost felt like a series of novelettes. Could not believe it was a debut, so gorgeous. Looking forward to Jimenez's next novel... which is apparently coming out next August, now that I check his author profile! :D Oh preorders where art thou?!

Hamnet - A kid that's been dead for 500 years just broke my heart.
I liked the touch that Shakespeare was never named in the text, because it's not his story this time - it's his family's.

Shuggie Bain - uuugh... so conflicted.
It's not that this book isn't good - there's a level of skill in the writing and the atmosphere, and the Glasgow dialect being written accurately is amazing, nae "hoots mon, curse me kilt" jokery here.
On the other hand, most depressing thing I've ever read in my life and I am so sick of Scotland in contemporary literature being portrayed as dirty grimy violent impoverished hell. IT'S AWRIGHT HERE ACTUALLY. WE DO KNOW WHAT JOY IS, I SWEAR. (Also not every Scot has a substance abuse problem! Revolutionary concept!)
On the other hand it is (semi?)autobiographical so I feel bad for criticising the representation, especially considering the author must've been through hell if he experienced even a fraction of what the character does.
Like I say. Conflicted.

Temp-DNFed Axiom's End, it was decent I just wasn't in the mood, plus I was reading it in order to evaluate it for the Goodreads Choice Awards and once I decided to vote for something else, I didn't feel a need to continue. I'll go back to it at some point.

Currently reading The Forgotten Beasts of Eld - saw someone compare it to Circe and grabbed it off my TBR shelf right then and there. I'm a couple chapters in but I'm going to restart it, since I began reading it right before bed the other night and I do feel like I need to appreciate it properly while fully awake.

QOTW: Not really. Since the GR Choice Awards are, as is often brought up in critique, something of a popularity contest, by the time a book shows up as a nominee I've generally already heard of it and decided whether I'm interested or not. Sometimes I do find some books in the nonfiction categories that pique my interest though - I think there were a few of the "Science and Nature" books this year I marked as want-to-read.

---

*glances up the page*
Why do I always write a novel in these checkin posts...? Jeez, self.

Christy wrote: "This week has been a little rough with my dog still feeling under the weather. He got an anti-nausea shot and subcutaneous fluids today (and a bunch of tests), so he's currently feeling much better..."

OMG I hope your pupper will be okay. Poor fluffbaby. 😟 *sending aaaall the healing vibes*

Hello. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm a bit overtaxed the closer it gets to the end of the school year but keeping my head above water the best I can. Still at a stalemate on the challenge but we will see what happens.

37/40 Regular
8/10 Advanced

Finished

Super fun and twisty

38. A book by or about a journalist
Decent book with possibly my most hated protagonist of all time.

Currently Reading





Question of the Week:
Do you (like me) use the Goodreads Choice Award nominee listing as a resource for evaluating books to add to your TBR listing?

If so, how many of the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nominees have you added to your TBR listing? Or how many did you already have on your TBR listing?
Nah. I already have already heard of most of the nominees in the genres I read and I have added to my TBR long before the nominees come out. 60 of them are on my TBR already. lol. I have read a bunch of them as well.

Cendaquenta wrote: "Christy wrote: "This week has been a little rough with my dog still feeling under the weather. He got an anti-nausea shot and subcutaneous fluids today (and a bunch of tests), so he's currently fee..."

Thank you so much! He has a conscientious, caring vet, which puts my mind (somewhat) at ease. As your recent experience illustrates, dogs are wonderful, with the one significant drawback that their lifetimes don't match up with ours. It's totally worth it, but the elder doggo care and worry is the hard bit.