Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday again!   One week until US Thanksgiving - it'll be different this year, of course - just my kids and my mom.  And just one and a half weeks until the new list!!   Tara has promised all of us that it will be published Dec 1st.  LOL that's unfortunate timing for me because I've got a big meeting that morning and all I'll want to do is dig into the list.


So are you all seeing the same ads on Goodreads that I see?  The one for "the shocking trilogy box set" apparently titled "Eye for Eye" is driving me NUTS because it's the same face that's on Peter Swanson's book .   I'm not sure why the ad shows that face, since it's not on any of the trilogy book covers.   



This week I finished 3 books, one for this Challenge, which means I finished the Challenge!!  I didn't expect to finish until December, but it turned out this book perfectly fit my final category.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse - this was really fantastic!!!  And lucky for me, a main character has both impaired AND enhanced vision, it was perfect!!   I wasn't expecting much from this, because I wanted more Maggie from Trail of Lightning.  I looked at the back of this book and it was full of hyperbolic praise about how amazing this book is, and I doubted it.  But I got sucked right in.  I loved this!!  

So, I loved it so  much I'm going to talk about it more than I usually do in these check-ins ... It's got four main POVs, and I loved all four characters equally, and I never got them confused.  After I finished, I went and looked at the one and two star reviews to see what people could have possibly not liked about this amazing book, and I saw comments such as: they didn't like the characters, they didn't like how the characters sometimes acted like villains, the world building was not detailed enough for them, they were confused, the writing wasn't descriptive enough, and the writing wasn't flowery enough.  (That last one made me laugh, because I often hate books because of their purple prose, so I guess it makes sense if you love purple prose you will not love the books I love.)  One reviewer who was confused was complaining about how there was a lot of sexism and also women in charge of things, and she clearly didn't pick up on the fact that some of these characters live in completely different countries with completely different cultures; perhaps her usual fantasy novels are set in just one society.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho - this was a fun little book!!  Very entertaining, and funny!  

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden- this was really disappointing, with an obvious plot set-up and clunky dialogue.  



Question of the Week
Now that we are approaching the end of 2020, and about to dig into the 2021 list ...  
Which prompt from a 2020 reading challenge surprised you the most? 
(And the surprise can be interpreted in different ways: you were surprised to like it, surprised you didn't like it, surprised someone thought to make it a prompt, surprised by the book you found, etc ...)



For me, I was surprised by how DIFFICULT it was to find a book for the "about a book club" category.  When I first saw it, I thought it was a great category!  But I had a really hard time finding a book I had not already read.  The first book I tried, I DNF'ed  (The Bromance Book Club).  The second book ended up not even being about the book club that was in the opening scene  (Never Have I Ever), and I didn't much like the book, either, but I finished it so I used it to check that box.

Happy Thursday, once again!

I'm back on track to be finishing the PS challenge! I had set aside Beloved in October -- I feel like I need more time/mental energy to devote to it, even though it's rather short. But I pulled up a list of banned books and found Saga, Vol. 1 - so here I go!

We've had our second snow here in NE Ohio and my husband still hasn't put the winter comforter on the bed... so I've been sleeping in the spare bed, wrapped up in said comforter like a happy little burrito :)

I've plowed through a handful of excellent short stories this past week:
- A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015, continuing my P Djeli Clark blitz. Absolutely stellar world-building and fantastic characters. Can't wait for the follow-up full-length novel in 2021! These are both available to read for free; their GR pages have links!
- Taste of Marrow part 2 of Sarah Gailey's feral American swamp hippos duology. I love the characterizations here and the devotion to this wild alt-history.
- Ten Excerpts From an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island available for free on Nightmare Magazine's website, and a very different short story compared to anything else I've read. It's framed as an academic bibliography, and a very brief yet chilling read.

One DNF: Kingdom of the Wicked - unfortunate because I wanted to love it, but it felt too predictable too early on.

Hopefully wrapping up The Big Over Easy today. Not sure why it's taken me so long to read - normally I would finish a book this size (and this amusing) in a week or less, rather than double that time. I'll blame Covid.

Also currently reading:
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth - Interesting once it got going. Finishing up a section on Eleanor of Aquitaine just now.
Ring Shout - There's always more P Djeli Clark!
Spider-Man Noir - 30s Spider-Man has a certain intrigue

And looking forward to picking up
The Burning God - hopefully this weekend! Edit: Picking it up from the library todayyyyy my life is going on hold until this book is DONE
The Raven Tower
A People's History of the United States

QOTW: Which prompt from a 2020 reading challenge surprised you the most?
Well, obviously I'm surprised that I couldn't hammer out a banned book during Banned Books Week, especially when I had it all planned out! Alas, books are moody and so am I. Upside-down image on the cover turned out to be difficult for me, as did anthology, but overall I had a lot of fun and read a lot of new books!

QoTW: I was surprised the medical thriller jinxed us into having a real-life medical thriller.

For the category a book set in a city that hosted the Olympics, I was determined to read a book that takes place in Athens. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find one. I ended up going non-fiction.

I don't think I've seen that ad, I have a Gifts for Book lovers ad.

I gave my nephew a set of books for his birthday and a book light for reading in bed (my mom gave me the same one for my birthday and I love it), and he was very excited. Meantime I'm still making my way through the book series my other nephew lent me, I'm on the last of the books that I have in my possession, The Last Kids on Earth: June's Wild Flight. He has the very latest that he will send me as soon as I send him this one back. :-)

I forgot to vote in the second round of the Goodreads Choice Awards, I just now noticed the final round is up. I'm going to make my way out there next to see the finalists.

This week I read:
The Grave Man by David Archer - this one was ok, it was a crime thriller but I thought it lacked tension for most of the book considering the genre.

Cold Waters by Debbie Herbert - this was fantastic, I could not put it down. I thought it was really spooky, and it kept me guessing. I was surprised at how many reviewers didn't agree with me after I finished and looked to see what others thought.

Travels in Alaska by John Muir - this was good, although slow to get through. He goes to great length to hammer out descriptions of the natural features, and there are some interesting anecdotes from his travels. In the future I may try to plan out Muir books over longer periods of time; this year I was using this for my 50 states challenge and time is running out.

QOTW: It surprised me at how difficult I found it to run across a book with a book on its cover through my normal reading. I'm going to have to go out of my way to read one just for that prompt; nothing I've read so far has fit. That and a bildungsroman are the two I still have nothing slotted for, everything else is either done or I already have a book picked out for.

I've been in a little bit of a reading slump lately, to the point where I haven't finished any books this week. It's just a thing that happens to me sometimes. I'm sure I'll come out of it soon. I only have a few books left to finish the challenge, so I know it will happen. I'm taking a little time off work around Thanksgiving, just to have a staycation, and I feel like I can get a lot of good reading done then.

I'm currently reading a bunch of nonfiction books, which is probably part of why it's so hard. I need to calm down and just finish one. I'll probably finish Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl first, which has a bird on the cover and also a map, for anyone who is looking for those. It was on the longlist for the National Book Awards and it is very readable and interesting. If you're into books about wildlife conservation and/or people running around rural Russia. I'm also readingEmpire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, which my dad gave me. It's also very interesting, particularly since I used to live in Texas and it talks about some places I know very well. Finally, I'm reading The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era. It's super interesting, being kind of about the Titanic, but more just about Edwardian society.

QOTW: Two prompts really got me this year. First, the "gold", "silver", "bronze" prompt. Why was this so hard??? I think my problem was that I had already read so many books that fit the prompt, and there were a fair amount I had tried and DNF'd. I think I started five different books before finding something I could get through. And even that book was just okay.
The other prompt that I really struggled with, and am still struggling with, is a book I meant to read in 2019. I don't think there are any. I don't have anything on my TBR list from 2019 and I don't have anything in my book pile that I got in 2019. So, I'm thinking I'll just read a book that came out in 2019 and pretend that I wanted to read it when it came out?

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl. College kids are in a car accident and keep reliving that day and it ties back to the death of one of their friends a year earlier. The blurb sounded great but honestly, I didn’t care or hate any of the characters so it was a very meh read.

Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane. Contemporary suspense. Missing girls/Missing husband. It was an enjoyable thriller.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. Contemporary mystery. 5 cheerleaders die within a couple of months of each other and five years later the sister of one starts investigating. Another one that sounded great but it dragged in places. I do think it would make an interesting series.

QOTW:

I’m going to second the book about a book club one because I had read most of the books that were rec’d and I try not to re-read for the challenge. I finally settled on The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires based on all the good reviews and I was surprised at how much I absolutely hated this book. I finished it only because I was hate reading.

Hello from Columbus! We got word that school is going remote again starting Monday, for at least through the end of the year. So, that’ll be fun to juggle, but ultimately a good thing for the community.

Troubled Blood I spent most of the week reading this, even though it was so good and painful to put down; it’s also very long and I’ve had a busy week lol. A+, I love these characters and I am never able to solve any of the mysteries in this series. I love love love a good private detective novel but these are some of my favorites. Not for a prompt, my hold finally came through.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for a back to the classics prompt. I listened to this yesterday at work since I had a large chunk of time between clients. It was interesting reading a novella that I’m so familiar with via pop culture but actually had no context for the dual person.

Happy Thursday all! It's sunny and fairly warm here in central Oklahoma because we just never know what season we're going to get. I am counting down the minutes until Thanksgiving break. We had another positive case at my school, which makes 5 in the past month. With less than 500 people in the school, that seems high. And we had a teacher who has spent the last three weeks in the hospital, some of that time in ICU due to Covid. Overall, it's been a tiring and difficult month. I'm rather frustrated with my state and school district but I suppose that's nothing new, really.

I'm really having a hard time focusing on books lately so I have no new finishes (again!). I'm hoping I can really buckle down next week and get some good reading in so I can catch back up and finish strong. I'm still working on Odessa Sea which I'm enjoying. I also started An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People which is for a work-related reading challenge I'm doing. Our district is doing diverse reading challenge for all of the librarians and I'm really enjoying it.

QOTW: I was most surprised by the "book on a topic you know nothing about." It was interesting to see how others interpreted this because it's hard to find a topic you know absolutely nothing about. I was pleasantly surprised by my book, Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past. It included some aspects I did know about space technology and archeology separately, but I had no idea you could map archeological sites with satellites. Super interesting!

Charlotte wrote: "... I was pleasantly surprised by my book, Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past. ..."


I'd never heard of that!! That definitely would have fit for something I know nothing about!!!!

Charlotte wrote: "I was pleasantly surprised by my book, Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past. It included some aspects I did know about space technology and archeology separately, but I had no idea you could map archeological sites with satellites. Super interesting!.."

That does sound interesting. When I first saw the title I was thinking archaeology in space, which would be even more interesting, but we're probably not that far yet. Maybe someday. But, arcaheology from satellites is probably saves time and digging in areas that don't need it and finding sites that otherwise wouldn't be found. Supercool.

Dani wrote: "Troubled Blood I spent most of the week reading this, even though it was so good and painful to put down; it’s also very long and I’ve had a busy week lol. A+, I love these characters and I am never able to solve any of the mysteries in this series. ..."

I'm listening to this audiobook right now!! I love Cormoran Strike and I love Robert Glenister (who reads the audiobooks), but - to my surprise - I'm having a hard time separating the artist from the art, so to speak. I'm finding myself excessively annoyed with some aspects of the writing, because I was so disgusted by the author. I'll finish it, but ... This might have to be my last Cormoran Strike book :-(

Hi all! I haven't been around much - life has had a lot going on. I had surgery to fix my sinuses, thank goodness, but recovery is taking a long time and so for a while I didn't have much energy. And helping my kids with remote/hybrid school AND one doing college applications is a lot! Finally, the past few weeks, just *gestures around at America*

But I'm starting to get back in my groove, I think! I might not finish the whole challenge, but I'll get close!

Finished

The Collapsing Empire - A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader - I liked this a lot - I already started the second book even though it doesn't fit any prompts!

Lovecraft Country - I'll shoehorn this into some prompt - I re-read it along with the HBO series and it was just as good as the first time.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - A book set in the 1920s - Great atmosphere, but as usual with Christie, I just didn't have a prayer of figuring out the mystery.

Upright Women Wanted - A book by a trans or nonbinary author - awesome idea, and the seeds of a truly great book, but it was a little thin. Instead of the characters really engaging me or the worldbuilding intriguing me, I was always very aware that this was a book trying to Make a Point. It kind of got in the way rather than letting me settle into the story. I still liked it - just wish it had more depth.

DNF

The Family Plot - this was desperately dull and I ran out of gas.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation - such an interesting premise, but it seems to be populated 100% by obnoxious jerks, and I have no interest in reading about them.

Currently reading

Silver in the Wood - oooh, now we're talking! Very atmospheric, characters I'm immediately drawn to, woodland magic, and folklore. I'm on board!

QOTW

"A book published in the 20th century" was somewhat disorienting to me, because I still default to thinking of 20th century as "Now." :D

Ashley Marie wrote: "We've had our second snow here in NE Ohio and my husband still hasn't put the winter comforter on the bed... so I've been sleeping in the spare bed, wrapped up in said comforter like a happy little burrito :)

What an adorable visual! I'm not sure why, but that made me smile. :)

- Taste of Marrow part 2 of Sarah Gailey's feral American swamp hippos duology. I love the characterizations here and the devotion to this wild alt-history.

The WHAT?? Those are not words I would have placed together in a sentence and now I'm intrigued.

Hopefully wrapping up The Big Over Easy today. Not sure why it's taken me so long to read - normally I would finish a book this size (and this amusing) in a week or less, rather than double that time. I'll blame Covid."

If it makes you feel any better, I always take forever reading Jasper Fforde's books--his writing is surprisingly complex, especially considering his content is usually comedic. (But if you're a long-time Jasper Fforde fan and this is a one-off, then it probably is the pandemic lol!)

I’ve read almost nothing this week. I’m not sure if it’s a reading slump, or if I’m just not interested in the books I’m reading right now. I didn’t finish anything this week.

I hope I don’t jinx it by mentioning it, but ... I think the weird Goodreads fonts issues have been fixed? I haven’t noticed any mismatched serif/sans serif posts or any teeny tiny fonts in the last couple days.

Reading
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Final Girls by Riley Sager

QOTW
My goal for 2020 was to fit most of the books from my physical and Kindle TBR into the challenge. I was surprised that there wasn’t any book on my TBR that didn’t fill a prompt. I managed to fit in 7 Agatha Christie books and 7 Stargate books. I’ve never been able to fit series books into the challenge like that. “A book from a series with more than 20 books” is a good example of a prompt that made that possible.

I was surprised how little I enjoyed the sci-fi prompt this year. I like plenty of stories with robots, cyborgs, and AIs, but I didn’t find one that interested me this year. I hated the book I read for the prompt.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the prompt “a book published the month of your birthday.” Initially, I rolled my eyes when I saw that one. But I really enjoyed researching which books were published in June and trying to decide between them. It was really fun to tick off that prompt in June too.

It's somehow still in the 80s in Austin this week, but I guess it's nice to not have to bundle up to go for walks?

This week I finished:
Never Look Back This had a bit too much romance focus and more fantasy elements than I was expecting, but otherwise it was excellent. I enjoyed the bachata references since I've danced to that music for years. 4 stars

This Town Sleeps While my attention drifted occasionally with this story, some parts were great and the final line of the book was excellent. 4 stars

Empire of Wild This was a pretty creative retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. A little heavy on the fantasy side for me, but still a strong story overall. 4 stars

Home Before Dark I enjoyed this, even though the writing was weak at some points. The story was engaging and I didn't see the ending coming. 3.5 stars

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love I loved this so much. It is a perfect feel-good read for 2020 - highly recommend! 5+ stars

I'm currently listening to Barn 8 and finishing up The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race in print.

QOTW: I was dreading the robot/AI prompt, but was pleasantly surprised by Cinder. I also struggled with the book club prompt (which I thought would be easy), until I found The Toni Morrison Book Club which was wonderful.

Just got back from the vets, since Scully was overdue her booster vaccinations (most the practice got covid last month, but they're all fine now). Such a long wait in the carpark, I guess word has got round they are open again, and humans aren't allowed in. She was a bit weird about it, the vet said she thinks lots of dogs don't like all the PPE. Fortunately she gave Scully treats so she soon got over whatever was worrying her.

And I finished the challenge too! Just one more for ATY then I can catch up on some of my newly bought books and some festive reads.

Finished:
21 Lessons for the 21st Century for a book with twenty in the title (well it does if you say it out loud). This was a bit disappointing, I loved Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, but I'm not such a fan of his predictions (he needs to be more critical of Big Tech) and a lot of the current day stuff was not new to me.

Burn for ATY (we didn't start the fire prompt). This was great and such a surprise, I bought it earlier in the year on the premise it was Patrick Ness and dragons, I didn't realise it was also alternate cold war multiverse theory stuff too. With dragons!

A Cheesemonger's History of The British Isles for ATY (history). This was so interesting, I am full of cheese facts as well as having a few extra nuggets of British history filled in. I even have one of the cheeses mentioned sat in my fridge now and I'm going to try more of them for my Christmas cheeseboard!

Currently reading State of Sorrow and listening to Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths.

PS: 50/50 | ATY: 51/52 | GR: 105/100

QOTW:
I was kinda looking forward to medical thriller and then I really struggled to find something that appealed. I ended up reading The Andromeda Strain which has not aged well.

Christine wrote: ""A book published in the 20th century" was somewhat disorienting to me, because I still default to thinking of 20th century as "Now." :D ..."



LOL!! you and me both!!!

I had such a pleasant surprise the other day! I never can remember whether we get only Thanksgiving Day off from work as a holiday or if it includes the next day, the Friday following. I finally looked and we get both days off! YAY!!! I cannot wait! Books beware! 😉 Four. Whole. Days!

I now have one kitty requiring a dose of antibiotic twice a day and her nose and eyes wiped with a damp warm cloth several times a day. I took her in to the Purdue Veterinary School Small Animal Emergency Clinic Sunday. Had to stay in the car and communicate with them via telephone/text throughout due to COVID-19. I think that was more upsetting than when I took my husband in to the ER last Thursday for two broken ribs! I guess I’m just more protective of the furbabies since they can’t communicate verbally with other humans. 😊 The supervising DVM did mention to me that she was “relatively certain” Sissy’s heart and lungs were fine—it was difficult to hear over her loud purring! LOL She is such a little sweetheart. Anyway, she just has an infection that should be easily treated with antibiotics, so that’s good. And my husband’s rib bones were still aligned so no taping or anything else, just a spirometer to use at home to prevent pneumonia. All in all, some of the best results we could hope for I guess. 😊

I did notice while waiting at the vet clinic that the only people allowed in to the building were those who exited somewhat later, crying. Each of the three had a dog that just lay listlessly on the table as they were wheeled in to the clinic. When I saw the first couple emerging, I started thinking positive thoughts about my own furbaby, that it was indeed just a treatable infection…just an infection that would be gone…just an infection… It always makes me think of my Smoky, the “photo” that I use for this membership. She was my first indoor furbaby and I had her with me for 21 ½ years and I still tear up/cry when I’m alone and thinking of her. She was a one-in-a-million…

Admin Stuff:
Don't forget the November Monthly Group Read discussion is ongoing! This is to fulfill prompt #22 Read a book by or about a woman in STEM: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Trish is doing a stupendous job as discussion leader and it has been interesting to read others’ reactions to this one.

If you choose to read a different book for this prompt, you can post that information here.

And just a reminder that our final monthly group read will be The Vanishing Half in December! My copy should arrive this week and I’m really anxious for this one. Lauren has graciously agreed to lead the discussion.

Popsugar: 49/50
ATY: 51/52
RHC: 22/24
Reading Women: 21/26
No progress made on these. I only finished one book this week, but seriously, as busy as I’ve been, I’m surprised to have finished one! I also made good progress on another two, so those should be finished this coming weekend. I’m becoming driven to dig in and get some of these done!

FINISHED:
I purchased and read Fortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (Stephanie Plum #27) by Janet Evanovich this weekend. For some reason, I thought the release date for this was later this month. But while shopping at Kroger it was on sale for 40% off list price. It made it’s way into my cart…so I went ahead and paid for it. 😉 I read it Sunday. It was good. Probably not a favorite in the series, but quite solid, IMO. I do appreciate it when Stephanie and Ranger are together. His description makes me think he is “delicious”! 😊 Joe is okay, but it seems like he expects Stephanie to conform to his idea of a girlfriend/future wife and there are no such limitations/expectations with Ranger! At least Stephanie is smart enough to know that! This is my one totally frivolous series and I must read the newest installment asap! Quite a satisfying self-indulgence for me.
POPSUGAR: #1, #3-“My name is Stephanie Plum and I’m a fugitive apprehension agent in Trenton, New Jersey.”, #6, #12, #20, #24-I know nothing about being a bounty hunter, #27-Greed, Envy, Wrath, #33-4.19, #42, #46, #47, #49
ATY: #9, #22, #41, #43, #45-I read Look Alive Twenty-Five in 2018, #48, #51, #52
RHC: #3, #9
Reading Women: #12, #20

CONTINUING:
Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings (Dandelion Dynasty #1) for a 2020 Reading Challenge October Buddy Read. I am finally reinvested in reading this one. I just have to be in the mood. I admit that wars, battles, and especially gross killing/torture details are not my thing. There aren’t many of those details, but I find it quite disruptive when I read them. It’s just me, I know… 😊 I should be able to finish this over the upcoming weekend… (Fingers crossed!) And there has been a new twist. There may be a woman who figures into the story quite significantly.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert is the book selected for the November monthly read for the Bookworm Bitches group. Finding this one very easy to read a bit at a time. Quite humorous. Quite enjoyable. And evidently, I am the only person reading (or at least wanting to discuss) it. Weird.

Strange the Dreamer by Liani Taylor to complete Popsugar #18-Book with a made-up language. (The last book for this challenge!) At one-third in this is very enjoyable!

The Transit of Venusby 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!) I already love these two sisters! This one I really need to read in larger chunks of time on the weekend. I’m not finding it easy to read in small bits here and there through the week.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for the campus White Racial Literacy Project book club on campus.

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. I was hoping to finish them for Nonfiction November.

And, like an idiot, I inadvertently picked up Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family the other night and read the first 20 pages. A friend gave this to me. It is definitely going to be an intriguing read for me, especially since my aunt suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. So now there’s yet another book I’m reading…

PLANNED:
The Wall of Storms (Dandelion Dynasty #2) by Ken Liu for a November-December (and now January) Buddy Read. Once I complete the first installment… I had to laugh because my reading buddy asked if we could extend this into January since she really needs to concentrate on finishing other books by year’s end. I was only too happy to indulge her! LOL😊

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas for the Read Harder Challenge prompt #2 Retelling of a classic of the canon, fairy tale, or by an author of color.

The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem and listening to Our Harlem: Seven Days of Cooking, Music and Soul at the Red Rooster on Audible for the Read Harder Challenge prompt #13 Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before. Both of these are by Marcus Samuelsson and I have listened to the first section of the Audible recording and it is fascinating!

Question of the Week
Now that we are approaching the end of 2020, and about to dig into the 2021 list ...
Which prompt from a 2020 reading challenge surprised you the most?
(And the surprise can be interpreted in different ways: you were surprised to like it, surprised you didn't like it, surprised someone thought to make it a prompt, surprised by the book you found, etc ...)
Good question, Nadine! And it gave me an idea for next week! ;)
Popsugar #2 A book written by a trans or non-binary author
I was rather surprised because I consider a person’s sexuality to be a private matter unless they specifically divulge that information. I was concerned about locating qualifying authors, etc., but the postings for each prompt really helped, plus it was selected for a monthly group read. Whew!
Popsugar #5 A book set in a city that has hosted an Olympics
I thought this one was really creative! And as I did a bit of research I could see there were many cities/books that would qualify.
Popsugar #6 A bildungsroman
Okay. That sent me right to Google. I had never seen or heard of this term before. (Perhaps I live under a rock?!?) But once I knew the meaning, I assumed it would not be difficult to find a book that qualified. And it certainly wasn’t!
Popsugar #12 A book that passes the Bechdel test
This was another Google search for me, as I had never heard this term before either! And again, there was no problem finding books that qualified.
I was really impressed with all the “20” prompts in the Popsugar challenge. There were so many and I thought most all of them were really creative.

Lauren wrote: "Empire of Wild This was a pretty creative retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. A little heavy on the fantasy side for me, but still a strong story overall...."


I'm reading this right now, and it's surprising me. It's quite different from her first book. I'm about 20% into it, and every chapter is a new surprise, each time its not the direction I expected the book to take. I anticipate this being a 5 star read unless the ending face-plants.

Nadine wrote: " (That last one made me laugh, because I often hate books because of their purple prose, so I guess it makes sense if you love purple prose you will not love the books I love.) "

So I didn't look to see who the moderator was this week before starting to read your post, and then I got to this line and went "oh, must be Nadine!" ;)

Shannon wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "We've had our second snow here in NE Ohio and my husband still hasn't put the winter comforter on the bed... so I've been sleeping in the spare bed, wrapped up in said comforte..."

Thanks Shannon! I've deeply enjoyed the first four Thursday Next books and the first (and thus far only) Shades of Gray -- somehow I feel as though I should be having a better time with Jack and Mary. Either way, I'll still read the Fourth Bear because it's just the duology, I already own it, and I hate leaving owned books unread (as long as I didn't utterly loathe the first one).

My blanket burrito is indeed the warmest, snuggiest place in the house :D

So apparently Sarah Gailey based River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow on the fact that the US government seriously considered importing hippos from Africa; then Sarah turned the idea a bit sideways and gave us cowboys for said hippos :D It's short and a lot of fun!

Nadine wrote: "Happy Thursday again! One week until US Thanksgiving - it'll be different this year, of course - just my kids and my mom. And just one and a half weeks until the new list!! Tara has promised all of us that it will be published Dec 1st. LOL that's unfortunate timing for me because I've got a big meeting that morning and all I'll want to do is dig into the list."

YAY! That is a Tuesday so I'll plan to use my time that morning to create postings related to the new Challenge! Whoo! Whoo! I can't wait!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING THE CHALLENGE! And earlier than you expected! YAY!

I rarely ever notice the ads on Goodreads, so I find your observation to be a bit unsettling. If I was the author I would wonder what that was all about!

I wasn't wild about Trail of Lightning so probably won't read another Roanhorse book, but am thrilled you so thoroughly enjoyed her newest release! And now I'll be tempted to try it... ;)

Lynn wrote: "I had such a pleasant surprise the other day! I never can remember whether we get only Thanksgiving Day off from work as a holiday or if it includes the next day, the Friday following. I finally looked and we get both days off! YAY!!! I cannot wait! Books beware! 😉 Four. Whole. Days!"

Huzzah, Lynn! Every year I make sure to take Black Friday off just to give myself a nice long weekend and not have to go back in on Friday. Sending love and healing energy to your husband and kitty <33

Posting early in day for a change!

I have 4 more books to read for annual challenge and I have them all stacked up. Ready to read. That will finish by year end.

Summer challenge: I have 9 to go...oops. Might make a nice winter virtual vacation to finish that challenge in cold snowy January/February.

Unofficial fall - I have 3, one of which I am reading. I will finish that by end of November.

Finished:

Inspector Imanishi Investigates - prompt set in Japan. Police procedural from Golden Age of Japanese Crime Writing. Fabulous.

Currently reading:

Thanksgiving
Rebecca
Grand Hotel

QOTW:

Let's see:

Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-changing Egg Farm - from Scratch which was just a casual reading choice fit social media prompt so well and easily which I thought would be one of hardest to complete.

The prompt with made up language was impossible. There seemed so few options, and none that I had NOT read or chunksters which I had no time for as I was reading Proust this year (no made up language there). I did not want to reread. But stumbled on Earth Girl and made it fit.😁

The prompt I thought would be easy but wasn't - medical thriller. I ended up reading a thriller involving horse doping Stalking Ground.

Nadine wrote: "Happy Thursday again!   One week until US Thanksgiving - it'll be different this year, of course - just my kids and my mom.  And just one and a half weeks until the new list!!   Tara has promised a..."

I also read Black Sun recently and it was so good. I have a feeling the series is going to get even better.

Hi everyone!

Things are locking down again here, which is both good and a bummer. I haven't been doing anything that's closed anyhow, but still feels stressful. Just wish everyone could collectively get their act together so we can get past this.

This week I finished:

A Darker Shade of Magic - re-read this because I never got around to the third book but I couldn't' remember enough from the first two to jump right in. I like it still. Interesting though, because I read Nocturna a bit ago, and I remember feeling like it felt a bit derivative. It was based more on Latine culture which was cool but plot wise it didn't feel very fresh. Now that I re-read this, I'm realizing the two feel VERY similar. Not enough that i think it's outright plagiarism, but enough that I think it's why I didn't think Nocturna felt original. Both had a girl thief aiding a magic prince. Magic prince let dark magic out that was trying to infest people with the darkness. Both had some of the dark magic in an artifact that both the girl and guy used to ill effect. Both princes brought a dead brother-figure back using the dark magic, to bad consequences. etc.

Low, Vol. 2: Before the Dawn Burns Us - finally got around to finishing this, think i'm just done. Too many gratuitous boobs, the writing isn't my style. The idea is really cool, would have been better in a different team.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown. - really loved this. Fun story, liked that the the characters had real issues to work through. Writing was just really fun and engaging. Didn't realize it was the second in a series, but I think it was fine. Kinda hard to say romances have spoilers, you kinda know how they're going to end or they wouldn't be romances, they'd be...something else. So I don't think references to the first book ruined reading it for me, I have it on hold now so I can go back to it.

Currently reading:

Disappearing Earth - next books & brew read. I have to say that I'm glad this is short, I'm not really feeling it at all.

Grant Morrison's 18 Days - haven't fully gotten into this, mostly read intro text. Looks really cool though

Rogue Protocol - getting back into murderbot, need a break from disappearing earth.

A Gathering of Shadows - started this on audio because i'm too impatient to wait for the ebook. We'll see how it goes it is a re-read but it's been long enough I can't remember what happens at all.

QOTW:

I found the 20s prompt to be really difficult. I'm not really interested in reading Janet Evannovich, and just nothing I was finding looked interesting. I eventually read a Salaman Rushidie book but that wasnt' very good either, but it was audio so I just let it play while I cleaned out my office closet.

I also had a much harder time than expected with the Silver/Bronze/Gold prompt. I feel like I've read so many books that would fit...turns out that's because I have and the ones I HAVEN'T read weren't really appealing. Again didn't love what I ended up with.

On a more positive, while I didn't look forward to western at all, I ended up really enjoying the book I read for it (Whiskey When We're Dry). Not enough to make me seek out westerns on my own, but it wasn't the drag I expected.

Katy wrote: "QoTW: I was surprised the medical thriller jinxed us into having a real-life medical thriller.

For the category a book set in a city that hosted the Olympics, I was determined to read a book that ..."

🤣🤣🤣🤣

A friend in another group was in some challenge where every month they read books involving compelling events or natural disasters or some such description, and each month was a different subject, ie tornado or windstorm featured in book was June, and March was....wait for it...pandemic!

Theresa wrote: "The prompt with made up language was impossible..."

That one was hard to research, the same few books kept coming up for me too. I was lucky to fill it by accident with The Constant Rabbit which had the language of "rabbity".

Finished:
-The Trial by Franz Kafka
-Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones
Currently reading:
-I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Good Morning,

Finished:

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - This is well written and very informative, I highly recommend this on audio.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States - This is also well written and very informative.

Both of my recent nonfiction book were great and also extremely frustrating. It's so frustrating that this things like this have happened in the US and are still happening. Both have given me a lot to think about.

The Extraordinaries - This was my palate cleanser this week. It was sweet and fun and funny. Please pick it up if you want something lighthearted.

Currently Reading:
Wanderers - This is a doorstopper and I've only gotten past part one but it's very interesting and I'm liking where it's going.

The Romanovs: 1613-1918 - This is my new audio book for how over long it takes me to get through this guy. It's pretty interesting so far. There's lots of poisonings and the Czars found their bride via something that sounds a lot like The Bachelor.

I also plan on starting either Clown in a Cornfield or The Vanishing Half during my lunch at work today.

QOTW:

The prompt that surprised me in a not good way was a book with "20" or "twenty" in the title. It felt too limiting and I wasn't interested in any of the books. I finally read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. It wasn't something I was interested in reading.

The prompt that surprised me in a good was a book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character. I read All Systems Red and then read all of the Murderbot books. I love the series and don't know if I would have read them if it wasn't for this prompt.

Sara wrote: "The other prompt that I really struggled with, and am still struggling with, is a book I meant to read in 2019. I don't think there are any. I don't have anything on my TBR list from 2019 and I don't have anything in my book pile that I got in 2019. So, I'm thinking I'll just read a book that came out in 2019 and pretend that I wanted to read it when it came out? "

I think this is a great plan. I always use this prompt as a freebie for anything I want to read that doesn't fit other prompts. I have a lot of books on my Goodreads TBR, but that doesn't mean I planned to read them last year. I don't really plan my reading that way, and knowing me, I'd overthink what's supposed to be a simple, straightforward prompt if I filled it any other way.

Lynn wrote: "I now have one kitty requiring a dose of antibiotic twice a day and her nose and eyes wiped with a damp warm cloth several times a day. I took her in to the Purdue Veterinary School Small Animal Emergency Clinic Sunday."

Virtual hugs for your kitty's quick recovery. It's so stressful when the furkids are sick.

Lynn,

Hope your furbaby is ok! I had to take one of mine to the hospital earlier this summer. It was so stressful, not being able to go in and comfort him! And he was in the hospital for four days, couldn't even visit. It's almost more stressful than actual people you love, since you can't even video chat or call or anything, to give love and reassurance.

Happy Thursday!
Took my pup to the vet earlier this week just to get his nails trimmed - which is an ordeal in itself because he hates anyone touching his feet. He also doesn't like the rain so taking him to the vet to get his feet touched during a rainstorm was probably not the smartest idea. Oh well.

I ended up finishing 3 books this week, which is a lot for me for one week. I had been in a reading slump in October and fell way behind in the challenge - leaving not enough time to finish. Now, I am back on track. Finishing multiple books renewed my competitiveness.

Finished:

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh. (Popsugar Fall Challenge - A book about or involving nature). I really like her writing and will probably put her at the top of my list of reading anything she writes. I really connected to this book, even though the main character is 40-ish years older than I am. A recent widower moves to a new city and lives in a cabin that was once a girl scout camp. She adopts a dog and keeps to herself (reading, hiking, no tv or phone). She finds a note in the woods and ends up creating a cast of characters based around this note. If anyone has read this I would love to chat about it. I am still not sure of the ending and it took an interesting turn.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. I am sure this book was huge hit when it came out, but I waited to long to read it and it was only ok. The history of the Geisha was very fascinating - I really enjoyed learning about their lifestyle (even though the book is marked fiction, it contains elements of a real Geisha's life). I wish I had read this when it came out, I've owned it for years and just never got around to it. I also chose it for the prompt "A book that takes place in the 20's since it was on the list for that prompt, but come to find out only the beginning 1/8 of the book takes place in the 20s. It still counts, right?

Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin (A book from a series with more than 20 books). I watched the Netflix series earlier during the first quarantine and loved it just as much as the original series. I remember reading The Babysitter's Club books when I was a kid. I had trouble with this prompt since I didn't want to start a long series, so I picked this one up and re-read it. Still holds up and doesn't disappoint. I can't wait for the next season on Netflix!

Currently Reading:

The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels (No prompt). This book really hits me in the feels - A 24 year old boy returns home to Appalachia to die in the 1980's after contracting AIDS. The book is told from the perspectives of Brian (the boy) and his younger sister Jess and his mom Sharon. The misconceptions about the virus in the 1980s is very interesting - people thought you "catch" it by sharing cups or hugging, contrary to scientific studies. His mom is busting at the seams to tell someone, anyone, that her gay son is dying of AIDS but knows she will immediately be a social outcast. Brian's struggle with the disease plus coming to terms with his boyfriend's recent death from the same virus really paints a vivid picture.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (A book with a bird on the cover). I read the original Hunger Games books so I figured I would pick this one up too. Only 30-ish pages in but it is keeping my attention so far.

QOTW:
I found most of the advanced prompts more difficult than I thought they would be. Especially "a book set in the 1920's" and "a book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement". I ended up having to convince myself that a book fits the prompt just because I chose it and read it and found that it only sort-of fits.

Me: Gotta buckle down and put the rest of my TBR on hold to finish Popsugar by year's end
Also me: Oh hey, since I'm playing Minecraft with friends, let's read a Minecraft novel

Finished reading:

Minecraft: The End (author who has written over 20 books, author with fauna in her name ("Cat"), three-word title, 4* rating on Goodreads) - This was great. Once more I'm in awe of Catherynne Valente's authorial range (a Russian folktale retelling; sci-fi horror told through film footage, interview transcripts, etc.; and now this, a Minecraft tie-in novel).

You probably don't need to have played Minecraft to understand this book, but it adds a lot to the experience. I have a friend who's exactly like Jax - loves combat and bosses, would live in the tiniest possible dirt hut if I didn't build him actual houses.


QotW: I was pleasantly surprised by the "book published in your birthday month," because after finishing a book I checked the pub date and found it was published on my actual birthday! Pretty cool.

I was also surprised by the amount of interesting options I found for the 1920s prompt. I read The Diviners, but added a bunch of other books to my TBR:
- These Violent Delights (Romeo and Juliet retelling in 1920s Shanghai)
- A Criminal Magic (gangsters and sorcerers in 1920s D.C.)
- Desdemona and the Deep (goblin/fae fantasy)
- and the rest of the Diviners series

I have been a useless garbage person this past week, so I have no reading to report on! I'm not sure if that will change--one of our students passed away a couple days ago and I offered to help our Care Team out by taking on some of the appointments they'll likely get from students who need to talk. I'm glad to be able to support, but I imagine it will be fairly draining. My heart hurts for everyone in this girl's life who are having to go through this.

Currently Reading:
Victorian Fairy Tales - "currently" is a bit of a strong word since I haven't picked it up in a week...

Up Next (because I already got them from the library):
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

The Girl in the Tower

QOTW:
I think one of the biggest surprises was how much everyone seems to be anti-Western! I didn't expect everyone to love that prompt or anything, but I guess I just didn't realize so many people hate that genre. (I'm not over here like some Western fanatic or anything, it really just didn't occur to me that people would have such strong feelings against them, if that makes sense haha!)

I was also surprised that, with so many books on my TBR, I had exactly ZERO about a book club. I guess that's not something that really appeals to me?

And like someone else said (I think Lynn)--finding the transgender or non-binary author was difficult because not everyone is going to advertise that, so I had to leave my TBR for that one as well. I loved what I read for that prompt, I just remember it being challenging to find (I had the same problem with "an author in their 20s" because, again, it's that personal information that isn't always publicly available unless they're really well known or are vocal about such things).

Ashley Marie wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "We've had our second snow here in NE Ohio and my husband still hasn't put the winter comforter on the bed... so I've been sleeping in the spare bed, wrapped up ..."

I've seen a few people who didn't like the Nursery Crimes books as much as Thursday Next, but I loved the first one! I need to go back to them (there was a gruesome scene in the second one that made me stop reading for a bit to recover and I need to pick it back up). It's been years, so it'll be interesting to see if I find them annoying the second time around haha!

Also, River of Teeth sounds absolutely fascinating! I'm not great with a lot of violence and gore, so I don't know if it's one I can handle, sadly. :(

Shannon wrote: "Nadine wrote: " (That last one made me laugh, because I often hate books because of their purple prose, so I guess it makes sense if you love purple prose you will not love the books I love.) "

So..."


LOL!!! Yes I'm the "no flowery writing" mod hahaha!

Shannon wrote: "I think one of the biggest surprises was how much everyone seems to be anti-Western! I didn't expect everyone to love that prompt or anything, but I guess I just didn't realize so many people hate that genre..."

I always feel defensive over genre prompts, even if they're not my personal go-to genres. Just because one book wasn't to someone's taste doesn't mean the whole genre is going to be the same. I don't often read westerns so I don't really know if I like the whole genre or not? Sometimes I like certain kinds of one genre but not others, or it's just some authors that make it or break it. I did end up reading a SFF western this year but I do intend on reading How Much of These Hills Is Gold at some point, which maybe I wouldn't have noticed if we didn't have the western prompt.

Happy Thursday once again!! I got slapped in the face by CHRISTMAS IS COMING and am in crazy prep mode. Ha! It doesn't feel like Christmas is so close! This year went by in a blink.

Finished 47/50

Building Your Mate's Self-Esteem for "book with 20 letters in the title". It was much better than Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs, Way more practical and not so sales-pitchy. Definitely needs an update though.

The 10th Kingdom for "book with an upside down image on the cover". I love this movie and I enjoyed the book! Very little difference between the two, though the book was written much more simply than I expected! It's like an early high school or late middle school novel.

Currently Reading

Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering for "book that takes place in Japan". This is an autobiography of a famous Japanese-American artist who explores the ideas of faith and suffering as depicted in Endo's book Silence which is about the persecution of Christians in Japan (which I read around this time last year). It's really good so far as it explores the Japanese voice and culture and what these things mean to the author and his work. It's like an autobiography meets a book commentary meets a theology course meets cultural exploration. It's absolutely intriguing.

The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia for "book whose title caught your attention". Just a month and a half left!

QotW

Ok, so I had a stack of unread books in my home that I've been trying to get through (because owning a book I haven't read is a sin imho XD). I've been working on this stack for years, trying to use the various reading challenges I've been in as a way to motivate myself to get through it by fitting them into the prompts. Except I had one book, You Want Stories? The JordanCon 2019 Anthology that just never fit anywhere. When the anthology prompt popped up in this challenge, I was very pleasantly surprised! It's as if they knew I needed a reason to get this book off my stack, lol! I actually managed to finish my stack this year too thanks to this challenge. Huzzah!! Now I can buy more books, lol!

Theresa wrote: "... The prompt with made up language was impossible. There seemed so few options. ...."


I agree, that was a weird one, and I really wonder what book they had in mind when they came up with it. I was lucky - when the list came out last year, I had JUST started a book of poetry that was written in a made up pidgin, so I just set that aside and picked it up again in Jan 2020 and finished that prompt right away. (Did not love the book, however.)

Shannon wrote: "I think one of the biggest surprises was how much everyone seems to be anti-Western! I didn't expect everyone to love that prompt or anything, but I guess I just didn't realize so many people hate that genre."

I was surprised by that too. I was really hyped for that prompt (and then the Western I read ended up being one of my less-liked books of the year...oops). I haven't read too many Westerns, but my dad loves them, so I have warm feelings toward the genre if that makes sense.

"I was also surprised that, with so many books on my TBR, I had exactly ZERO about a book club. I guess that's not something that really appeals to me?"

Yeah I've been putting off that prompt because I still can't find anything that appeals to me. For a while I had The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires penciled in, but I've seen a lot of mediocre/lukewarm reviews of that book, so I dunno.

Katy wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "I was pleasantly surprised by my book, Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past. It included some aspects I did know about space technology and archeology separately..."

There's actually quite a few National Geographic shows about using satellites to look for/at archeology. They're on Disney Plus if you have that. China from Above, Secrets of the Bible, Secrets of Ancient Cities (or something like that), etc. And PBS had a show a while ago about using satellites to look for Viking settlements in America! It really is amazing that the ground still shows evidence of old buildings and walls after 1000s of years!!

Maybe because I read a lot of fantasy and sci fi, I had no problem with the made up language prompt. Lots of options in those genres, with either fantasy made up country languages or alien languages. I counted Only Human for the prompt (alien language), but read a few others that would have worked too. The Sparrow had alien language, I think Akata Warrior would count with the Leopard People language that Sunny was learning to read. Lovecraft Country had the Language of Adam. those are just the ones I can think of that specifically had words or talked about speaking in a language that doesn't exist in our real world. I'm sure some of the other speculative ones made references to "speaking in ____" without necessarily giving words in the language.

Lynn wrote: "I had such a pleasant surprise the other day! I never can remember whether we get only Thanksgiving Day off from work as a holiday or if it includes the next day, the Friday following. I finally lo..."



Wow Lynn you are having a rough week!! Glad your husband is on the mend. I'm sure your cat will be feeling better by tomorrow - antibiotics are like miracle drugs for those things.

My vet has the same procedure now, and my dogs are NOT down with a stranger opening my car door to take them out, so I have to get out and walk next to them up to the building. And yes I always have so much sympathy for those sad folks who walk out alone. :-( It happens to all of us eventually, and it is always heartbreaking.

Drakeryn wrote: "Yeah I've been putting off that prompt because I still can't find anything that appeals to me. For a while I had The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires penciled in, but I've seen a lot of mediocre/lukewarm reviews of that book, so I dunno..."

It depends what you want out of it, it wasn't the silly book I was expecting and instead was about how housewives were perceived at the time. I was so angry at all the husbands (lots of gaslighting going on) but I felt that was the point by the time I got to the end. It also reflects some of the feeling in suburbia I got from reading about the Golden State Killer, and that's linked into what their book club reads about.

Shannon wrote: "I think one of the biggest surprises was how much everyone seems to be anti-Western! I didn't expect everyone to love that prompt or anything, but I guess I just didn't realize so many people hate that genre. ..."


I've been surprised by that, too!! I haven't read many Westerns, myself (including the one for this year's challenge, I've read maybe a half dozen total in my life) and I always wondered if it was a genre I should explore more. Had no idea it was so polarizing!! I also didn't realize that many people associate the genre with racism. Because I haven't read many, I had no idea that was a "theme" so to speak.


My condolences on your loss. You are not a garbage person, of course!

Drakeryn wrote: "Minecraft: The End ... You probably don't need to have played Minecraft to understand this book, but it adds a lot to the experience. ..."


I've got a question and you might know the answer. Last year (or maybe the year before) I got my daughter the Max Brooks Minecraft book. She's never read it because she is a big stinker who refuses to read books that I pick out, I guess. Anyway ... do you think it's got general appeal, and I should read it? I've never played Minecraft, but I've seen my kids play a lot so I have a vague familiarity with it.

Shannon wrote: "I have been a useless garbage person this past week, so I have no reading to report on! I'm not sure if that will change--one of our students passed away a couple days ago and I offered to help our..."

Oh Shannon, how tough! Peace to you and your students.

Nadine wrote: I'm listening to this audiobook right now!! I love Cormoran Strike and I love Robert Glenister (who reads the audiobooks), but - to my surprise - I'm having a hard time separating the artist from the art, so to speak. I'm finding myself excessively annoyed with some aspects of the writing, because I was so disgusted by the author. I'll finish it, but ... This might have to be my last Cormoran Strike book :-(

I am so happy to read this. Separate the art from the artist seems like something that should be attached to dead artists. Artists that can do no more damage AND are not making royalties. Rowling is alive and in the spotlight and she is making bank off of people ignoring the fact that she is toxic. Obviously it sucks to let go of characters we love but it's worth it to oppose that behavior.