Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Wow. It is Thursday again! 😊 POPSUGAR “sharing time”!

**IMPORTANT ADMIN ANNOUNCEMENT!**
(I kinda like doing that. LOL) The December Monthly Group Read discussion of The Vanishing Half, the 2020 Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction winner, is underway! Lauren posted an interview with the author that was recorded in November and is fascinating! This book includes a trans character whose life changes are juxtaposed with one of the sisters. It has been termed a “cultural phenomenon” by the Washington Post. I was vaguely interested in it before, but anxious to read it after watching the interview. I did read the first 22 pages and am convinced this will be a book I really like, if not love! And, you could fulfill prompt #12 of the 2021 POPSUGAR challenge by reading Such a Fun Age since it is upfront and easily visible on Brit Bennett’s bookshelf!

*POLL RESULTS!*
I neglected to include this initially!
Our monthly group read for January 2021 is Dear Edward! Please message either Nadine or myself if you would like to lead that discussion!

The April monthly prompt is #28 A magical realism book.
The September monthly prompt is #11 A book about forgetting.
***
Well, my life certainly took a severe detour from the “sameness” (you’ll see why that word is on my mind in the QoTW!) of everyday life last Thursday. My car is basically fried. Engine. Mechanic couldn’t get to it until this week. Getting the car towed and me home took from 5:30-9PM Thursday night. I. Was. Exhausted. We don't have a second vehicle right now. I work 40 miles from where I live. All my good friends and two of my three sons live an additional 35-45 minutes in the opposite direction from my home/work. Yeah. I trust this makes your life feel much easier and simpler… You are welcome!

Then I got sick with a cold on Sunday and was off work both Monday and Tuesday.

But! But! I just passed my ultimate dream number of 130 books read for the year. I am at 131!! Whoo! Whoo! Of course, now I’m wondering if I can make it to 140! Well, perhaps not…but 135 sounds realistic! Doesn’t it?!?

POPSUGAR: 50/50 DONE!
ATY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 23/24
Reading Women: 21/26
Creeping up on those last two!

And…all these new 2021 challenges have now been announced! I allow myself once or twice a day to fill in a few of the prompts with books that fit and so far, all the books I have discovered to fulfill a prompt sit among those I already own! YAY!!

FINISHED:
Sherry Thomas’s A Study in Scarlet Women ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Lady Sherlock #1) was absolutely amazing! For the Read Harder Challenge prompt #2 Retelling of a classic of the canon, fairy tale, or by an author of color. This is a retelling of the Holmes canon and Thomas is an author of color, so bonus! Loved her writing. This would be perfect for the 2021 start/do-over prompt. There were quite a few plot lines to follow and all of them resolved by book’s end, but it almost seemed just a teensy weensy bit convoluted, though not enough to deter my satisfaction at all. I adore the fact that Charlotte is also vulnerable to a certain degree.
POPSUGAR: #3-“Had anyone told the Honorable Harrington Sackville that the investigation into his death would make the name Sherlock Holmes known throughout the land, Mr. Sackville would have scoffed.”, #5-London, #6, #12, #20, #24-I know nothing about being a private investigator, #27-Pride, Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth, Wrath, #32, #46, #50
ATY: #4-Pretty sure I would not have wanted to live in Victorian England, especially London with all the air pollution, etc., #5, #9, #15, #27- historical fiction, #15-Romance, #41, #43, #52
RHC: NEW #2, #3, #7
Reading Women: #12, #22-New-to-me publisher: Berkley Books

Charlotte Holmes and the Locked Box ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Lady Sherlock #1.5) is a free short story of 6 pages by Sherry Thomas that is available via a link in the Goodreads listing. This story depicts Charlotte’s sense of compassion.
POPSUGAR: #3-“Madame Gascoigne will be making sablé biscuits for our afternoon tea,” said Mrs. John Watson to her young friend, Miss Charlotte Holmes.”#5-London, #6, #12, #24-I know nothing about being a private investigator, #46, #47, #50
ATY: #4-Pretty sure I would not want to live in Victorian England, especially in London with the air pollution, etc., #9, #11-2017, #18, #27-historical fiction, #41, #43, #52
Reading Women: #12, #18

The Giver ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (The Giver #1) by Lois Lowry was amazing! I was reminded of Brave New World and it was rather reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 to some degree. I’m just so disappointed that I don’t have the second installment! Perfect for the 2021 start/do-over prompt.
POPSUGAR: #3-“It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.”, #6, #12, #20, #33-4.13, #40, #43-Jonas has lighter eyes, #46, #48
ATY: #4-No way would I want to live in Jonas’s or The Giver’s world, #5, #8, #9, #11-1993, #18, #19, #22, #33, #34-Young Adult, #43-Death, War, Famine, #47, #49, #52

I realized this coming Sunday is my face-to-face-now-returned-to-virtual book club meeting at my favorite used bookstore, so read In a Holidaze ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ by Christina Lauren. Another perfect fit for the 2021 start/do-over prompt. I loved The Unhoneymooners and was just as enthralled by this book thought it wasn't as complex as TU, it was enjoyable! Quite a bit of humor and good quality family and relationship maneuverings. Oh, andthe repetitive time travel loop! Did I mention the time travel?!? 😊 Again with that “sameness” theme! (Check out the QotW below…)
POPSUGAR: #1, #3-“Call me harlot.”, #6, #12, #20, #22-Maelyn is a computer graphic designer, #26, #27-Pride, Envy, #35, #46, #50
ATY: #9, #12, #16, #18, #25, #33, #34-LGBTQ+, Romance, #48, #49, #52
RHC: #10
Reading Women: #10, #12, #22-New-to-me publisher: Gallery Books

CONTINUING:
Since I was sick I did not finish Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence by Monday. I am about 60% through it and love the writing, even if the theme can be a bit confounding at times. I hope that will work itself out...

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett will be an amazing read for me, I’m pretty sure! And I can’t wait to discuss it with others who are reading it this month as well!

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. Marcus Samuelsson did both of these and I am making them a priority for this week. To complete the 2020 Read Harder Challenge for me!

I have read the first three essays in Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World by Zahra Hankir (editor), Christane Amanpour (foreword), and they are heartbreaking and unbelievable...

I did read the first 10 pages or so in The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith for the Bookworm Bitches’ Literary Scavenger Hunt challenge prompt #25 Read a book published the year you were born. (This is one year off, but I really wanted to read it…) I wonder if it might not be a bit too noirish for me…

The good news about all these nonfiction reads is that if I go into 2021 with them, they will fit 2021 reading challenge prompts!
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for the campus White Racial Literacy Project book club on campus. I missed the discussion Tuesday morning since I was sick.

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, but...

Yet another nonfiction read--Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker. Amazing!

PLANNED:
Home (Binti #2) by Nnedi Okorafor for the Reading Women prompt #7 Read a book featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism. And then I'll read The Night Masquerade in 2021 for the POPSUGAR Afrofuturism prompt!

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie for the Reading Women prompt #5 Read a book that won the Stella Prize or Women’s Prize for Fiction. I am hoping to really enjoy this!

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride or A Cat of a Different Color (Alice Nestleton Mystery #2) by Lydia Adamson for the 2020 Reading Challenge Color Challenge prompt #17 Read a book with the word “color” in the title. I really want to read the first one, but I’m pretty sure the second one will be a faster read…decisions, decisions!

Question of the Week:
Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?

I hope I am not the only person this has ever happened to. I wanted to share, so I turned it into a QotW. I have had this occur at least 3-4 times over the past several years, since I started really concentrating on reading challenges and allowing myself to read 4-5 books at a time. You must understand—I rarely ever research books very thoroughly. I want to discover my own reaction to a book without someone else’s thoughts influencing me.

So last Friday evening I picked up The Giver and figured I could read it in an evening or start it and finish it the next morning. I knew virtually nothing about it other than it was SFF. (It fits another group’s December monthly challenge prompt and I have been dying to read it ever since I obtained a really cheap copy at my favorite used bookstore’s clearance sale.) I also began reading The Age of Innocence.

On Saturday I finished The Giver and immediately returned to The Age of Innocence, starting at page 49, and on page 54, I encountered the phrase that Newland mutters after trying to convince May to elope: “Sameness—sameness!” It so shocking! Two completely different books written in different eras, different genres, etc. Bizarre! My jaw dropped and I paused…I felt as if I should be hearing “The Twilight Zone” theme song! Do do do do, do do do do… 😉 This theme is depicted a bit differently in each book, but…

Then the main character from In a Holidaze was stuck in a time-travel repeating loop—SAMENESS yet once again! Do do do do, do do do do…

Really hoping I’m not alone in this! But if I am, I'll just assume I really am a "weirdo" as my children have always said!! ;)

Hi all
So, since last thursday half my country (Denmark) went into lockdown again, after a relatively, under the circumstances, normal autumn. This means that the library I work at is shut down, and I'm working from home, trying to make plan C's to our plan B's (I'm a children's libarian and we do activities for schools among other things - and they really need things to keep going in some capacity). My youngest (11) is also sent home from school, and after half an hour of being back to remote learning, he announced vehemently: "I HATE remote learning". Christmas and new year's plans that were already severely altered are now up in the air. Story of these times. Still, I'm grateful to live in a country that is so efficient in dealing with this, with free healthcare and whatnot. Though there is still a share of conspiracy theorists who would disagree with me - another lesson of 2020 - don't spend too much time on social media if you want to keep your sanity.

Currently reading:
The Rage of Dragons
Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Next up:
Holy Sister

This year has been the year of series and fantasy, which is exactly what I've needed.

QOTW:
I seem to find these connections all the time. A couple of months ago I came across the philosophic question: If a tree falls in the forest, and there’s nobody around to hear, does it make a sound? in one of the Discworld books (Small Gods I think). They spend a long time discussing this. Then I came across it in a completely different book just a week later (Cyklen uden bremser, not translated).
In The Rage of Dragons that I'm currently reading, giant sea serpents are suddenly mentioned, and I've just read The Mad Ship, where sea serpents have a prominent role. Lots of these little connections to discover. It's like when you're pregnant suddenly everyone is pregnant, you notice something and then it's everywhere.

Winter feels like it has just arrived, had lots of foggy cold mornings and our little water feature froze up. Although the ground in woods is now like a creme brulee, crispy on top and squishy when you break through.

Got a Christmas tree this week, apparently everyone rushed out and got them early because it was one of the few things you could do in lockdown. We think ours might be the top of a bigger tree as it has a big trunk and looks suspiciously like someone's hacked off a few branches to make it look normal. Well at least it looks nice now it's covered in stuff!

Finished:
Leave the World Behind which was a great idea but I didn't really get on with his writing style. He's good at building the tension later on but there was a lot of unnecessary sentences and weird word choice to get there.

Legendborn which I absolutely loved. It was a bit of a random read, I'd seen it in the GR Choice awards and then it popped up as a kindle deal, so gave it a go and I've been stuck to it the last three evenings. A different take on Arthurian legend, interwoven with a story about generational harm. You could potentially use it for dark academia next year.

Finally got to the end of the audiobook of Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths which I've been listening to in tiny chunks, but I really like how accessible Natalie Haynes makes the myths, and she does a good job to centre the women who are often so maligned in the many versions of their myths. Bonus points for arguing that Buffy is a modern day Amazonian.

QOTW:
Yes, all the time, but now I can't think of any examples! A few weeks ago I did read one book with a character called Sorrow and then another later which mentioned that the character name of Delores meant Sorrow, which was a weird coincidence. Sometimes there'll be a historical figure that keeps popping up book after book or a book I've read recently will get mentioned in one I'm reading.

Happy Thursday! I can't believe we're only two weeks away from Christmas -- where did the time go? I still have a handful of things I need to pick up from the grocery store, but otherwise I'm all set for the holiday (and further lockdown status, should it ever come about). I'm planning a distanced Christmas with my family - dropping off their gifts the week prior and possibly Skyping with everyone. If they want to get together with their masks on and sit six feet apart that's up to them.

I received a gorgeous paperback copy of The Huntress from my GR Secret Santa group; one of my favorite books, and now I own it! So exciting.

I've spent the past week alternately reading The Burning God and tearing through SAGA -- I've finished Vols 2-7 since last Saturday. Two more volumes and I'll be caught up! And then... the wait begins :D

Besides Burning God, I'm also listening to A People's History of the United States. The audiobook is 34 hours long, so I fully expect it to take a good chunk of December.

Planned:
Deathless
Deception
Johannes Cabal the Detective

QOTW: Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?
I remember earlier this year I was listening to the audio of Wuthering Heights and picked up Silent in the Grave on a whim. The MC mentioned Wuthering Heights as one of her favorite books and I cackled because I KNEW THAT BOOK!! I was LISTENING TO IT! Probably not the kind of example you had in mind, but it's the best I've got for now lol

Lynn wrote: "I just listened to it yesterday in preparation to begin the book. It includes a “trans character” whose life changes are juxtaposed with one of the sisters."

Lynn, pure curiosity on my part: why is "trans character" in quotes?

Wow…it has been quite a week.

Some of you know that my mum was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer, and she has undergone two surgeries and a few different cancer treatments since that diagnosis. Her most recent treatment has stopped working, however, and she’s experiencing a lot of problems as a result of swelling caused by the tumor. Mum was admitted to the hospital yesterday, since her doctor is concerned about the progression of her symptoms. She is currently scheduled for a third surgery next Thursday, but there is a possibility that she may need to undergo surgery sooner.

The whole situation has me extremely anxious, especially because the hospital currently has a “no visitors” policy in place. I am dealing with things by staying as busy as possible, so I’ve ended up doing a tremendous amount of baking, reading, and writing this week.

If you would be willing, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my mum (and our family) in your thoughts and prayers this week. Thanks!

POPSUGAR: 50/50
Goodreads: 222/150

Finished Reading:
Letters From Father Christmas, Centenary Edition -- If you’d like to read my thoughts about this book, you can find them at https://theunapologeticbookworm.com/2....
Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Yuletide Yahoos, Ho-Ho-Humblebraggers, and Other Seasonal Scourges
Sword of Destiny -- If you’d like to read my thoughts about this book, you can find them at https://theunapologeticbookworm.com/2....

Currently Reading:
Get a Clue

QOTW:
While I can’t think of a specific example, this has definitely happened to me several times.

Now that the new list of prompts has come out and I’ve done some planning, my desire to read has kicked back in. I finished a book! I’m making progress on another book! But I’m a little stressed out by my library holds. I’m allowed to have ten ebook holds. Six (!!!) of them became available this week. And they’re all for 2021 prompts. So now I have to decide if I want to play the Deliver Later game or the Keep Airplane Mode On As Long As Possible game.

Finished
Final Girls by Riley Sager. I expected to love it, but I didn’t. The characters annoyed me and the story bored me, but not quite enough to DNF. I ended up giving it two stars.

Reading
The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

QOTW
Yes! This happens to me all the time. Earlier this year, when InterLibrary Loan was still a thing, I put in requests for a couple of books I wanted to read. Empire of Wild arrived when I was reading The Wild Girl. And Wild at Heart was published while I was reading Empire of Wild. I was a little embarrassed to post my update that week because I thought you’d all notice I had a theme going on.

K.L. wrote: "If you would be willing, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my mum (and our family) in your thoughts and prayers this week. Thanks!"

Absolutely. I'm so sorry for the difficult times your family is going through. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

K.L. wrote: "Wow…it has been quite a week.

Some of you know that my mum was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer, and she has undergone two surgeries and a few different cancer treatments since that diagno..."

I'm so sorry to hear this news. I'll keep a candle lit for her and your family.

Lynn wrote: "Wow. It is Thursday yet once again! 😊 POPSUGAR “sharing time”!

**IMPORTANT ADMIN ANNOUNCEMENT!**
(I kinda like doing that. LOL)
The December monthly group discussion of [book:The Vanishing Half|5..."

Lynn! I'm sorry to hear about your transportation travails! I hope that you are ok, and that this didn't happen in traffic or on the road. Urgh, with the time, money, frustration and coordination requirements, I wish they would just let you work remotely -- even just till your car is repaired!

Happy Thursday! I haven't been feeling well so didn't get a ton of reading done this week. I did finish two books though.

Finished:
Still Alice - I read this for a Facebook group annual challenge. I thought this book was done really well. It's definitely one you need the tissues while reading. This is the second book I've read by Lisa Genova (who lives in the same town as me), and I look forward to reading more by her. 5 stars

This Time Next Year - this was a cute story. A bit predictable, but definitely enjoyable. 4 stars

Challenge Progress:
Regular Challenge - 39/40
Advanced Challenge - 9/10
Total - 48/50

Currently Reading:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - I've put this on hold, but hope to get back into it this weekend.

Recursion - I'm using this for prompt #23 - a book that won an award in 2019. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction. This isn't my normal genre, but I'm really enjoying this book.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase - I admin a YA book group on Facebook, and we're reading this for our December discussion. I hadn't heard of it before we voted on it, but I'm loving it. It's a retelling of A Christmas Carol, but in a unique way.

QOTW - Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?

I know this has happened, but no examples are coming to mind. If they do I'll come back and update.

Good Morning. I finished 3 for the week.
The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
News of The World by Paulette Jules. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Lone Star Christmas (Christmas #1) by William W.Johnstone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
QOTW. My first thought was no. I couldn’t think of an example where 2 totally different books had something similar in them. Then when I was listing what I read for the week I saw it. So now my answer is yes. News of The Workd & A Lone Star Christmas are both set in the late 1800’s in Texas. Both books main characters roam the state of Texas. There are Native Americans in both books. Both books involve returning something.
I just started In A Holidaze by Christopher an Lauren.

Happy Thursday everyone!

My partner and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on Monday! He and I planned to visit the Hebrides, but plans hav obviously changed. Par for 2020, we look forward to doing something more special in the new year. We hope.

It’s been a busy week here. Clients and neighbors are pretty much frightened af, as there is no definite news about COVID relief funding or extending unemployment benefits. Our two closest food banks are under strain, and our Warming Center does not open till January 1st. It’s been a real challenge to coordinate food delivery and allotment, as well as temporary shelter to our neighbors in need. I’m also back to phone banking, now for voters in Georgia.

Finished:
Love Medicine Louise Erdrich never fails me. Gorgeous writing and dead-on description. When I need emotional sustenance and reason for hope, she is one of my favorite authors.

How to They/Them: A Visual Guide to Nonbinary Pronouns and the World of Gender Fluidity. I don’t remember putting this on hold, but it came through, and I’m glad I received it. Warm friendly writing from a very enjoyable trans author whom I hope to hear more from.

QOTW:
Yes, this happens often! And … I can’t think of examples right now. I'll remember when I'm on a call, and I'll check back in lol.

You know what happens even more often for me? Time congruence! I’ll start reading a novel, in say the last week of May, and a chapter or so in, I’ll find out the date in the character’s life is May 27th. Occasionally, I’ll jump because the actual current date will jump off the page at me. If I start a novel today, it would not surprise me if the character looks at her watch and sees that it is 9:25 am on December 10th.

Well, I'm still totally distracted from reading by the holidays and planning books for all the new prompts. And I'm still stressing out over the TBR prompts, so I've decided to make a new TBR comprised of 2020 NYT Notable Books, 2020 Goodreads Award Nominees, and books I've won on the GR website (seven in the last month!). There's easily 100 books there, but that's still more manageable than looking at the 800+ books on my Kindle and the 400+ books on my shelves.

Challenge Progress: 50/50 I've got two more prompts to fulfill in the ATY challenge, but that'll be a breeze. I'm reading one now, and the other's set to go.

Completed: Lots of audiobooks! I can do that while I cross-stitch and while I walk.

Secret Santa: Fun homage to '80s horror.

Yes Please (Audiobook): I love celebrity audiobooks, and Amy Poehler does not disappoint! I really enjoyed her special guests, especially Michael Shur and Seth Meyers.

Where the Crawdads Sing: This is my second time through, and it's still just a 3-star read for me. The descriptions of the marsh are the very best parts, but the plot and the trial are mediocre... and the poetry is atrocious. At least I wasn't subjected to the audibook narrator's high, breathy (and completely inappropriate) voice this time.

Evil Eye (Audiobook): Fun and creepy. I loved the way the story was told through voicemails.

The Formidable Earl (Goodreads Giveaway): Quite entertaining. Even though this is the sixth in a series, it can be read as a standalone. The chemistry between Simon and Ida is steamy, but I appreciated that they didn't immediately fall into bed.

Agent 355 (Audiobook): Mostly enjoyable listen. I've always been interested in the Culper Ring and in espionage done by women, but I wish there'd been a little more espionage and a little less romance.

Clap When You Land (Audiobook): I initially started the Kindle version, but the novel-in-verse format doesn't work well for me as a reader, so I switched to the audiobook... It was great! I was thoroughly immersed in the story and highly recommend audiobooks from Elizabeth Acevedo.

Over the last two weeks Seth and I read Pirasaurs!, Monster Needs a Party, Baking Day at Grandma's, Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too, Hide and Sheep, Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Seaside Shenanigans, Monster Needs Your Vote, and The Good Egg.



Currently Reading:
The Once and Future Witches
The Renegade Queen (Goodreads Giveaway)
Seduction on a Snowy Night (Goodreads Giveaway)
Horrid - I'm loving this, and it has a gorgeous cover!
Trust: America's Best Chance



QOTW: That just happened this week! I started reading "Renegade Queen," a novel about Victoria Woodhull, and then she and her sister made a brief appearance in "The Once and Future Witches." Weird.

Very sorry to hear what you're going through, K.L. I'll keep you both in my thoughts. <3

Thanks for the reminder on our monthly discussion of The Vanishing Half, Lynn! I'm enjoying the story as I slowly make my way through it this month.

This week I finished:

The Knockout Queen I had low expectations for this book but it blew me away. I love the way the author handled themes of morality, violence, punishment, and friendship. 5 stars

Take Me Apart This was pretty interesting, slow burning with touches of suspense/mystery but it was light on that part. 3 stars

Barcelona Days Meh, there were a few tiny fun details in the story, but other than that the premise and characters were pretty annoying. 2 stars

Long Bright River This book just wasn't a great match for me, but I can see how others would like it. 2.5 stars

I'm currently reading The Vanishing Half in print for our monthly discussion, and just started listening to Must I Go.

QOTW: I know this happened sometime this year, but I can't remember which books they were...

Ashley Marie wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I just listened to it yesterday in preparation to begin the book. It includes a “trans character” whose life changes are juxtaposed with one of the sisters."

Lynn, pure curiosity on m..."

Simply because it was a quote from Bennett's interview...

UPDATE: However, after you pointed it out, I dropped the quotes since they really served no purpose to anyone but me... I certainly wouldn't want it to be misunderstood. So thanks for asking! :)

K.L. wrote: "Wow…it has been quite a week.

Some of you know that my mum was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer, and she has undergone two surgeries and a few different cancer treatments since that diagno..."

Good luck to your mother... that sounds scary. I wish your family all the best!

K.L. wrote: "If you would be willing, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my mum (and our family) in your thoughts and prayers this week. Thanks!"

I'm so sorry to hear about this--I do remember that from last summer. I'll put y'all on my prayer list! Anything added on top of COVID just seems so wrong.

Heather wrote: "Absolutely. I'm so sorry for the difficult times your family is going through. I'll keep you in my thoughts."

Lilith wrote: "I'm so sorry to hear this news. I'll keep a candle lit for her and your family."

Lauren wrote: "Very sorry to hear what you're going through, K.L. I'll keep you both in my thoughts. <3"

Thank you all so much! Not long after I posted my update, I got a call from my dad, letting me know that they were able to move up my mum's surgery to this morning. Her surgery started about an hour ago, so it may be a while until I get an update on how she's doing.

Happy Thursday, y’all.

So the CD-ROM drive on my computer died last night. Fun times. *sarcasm* Looks like I need to take it in and see if it's a fixable issue. I sure hope it is...

Otherwise just trying to survive a crazy holiday season complicated by the virus. Hang in there, y'all.

Books read this week:

My Dark Vanessa -- Holy FREAK this was an uncomfortable read! Powerful, yes, but it made me squirm throughout. I need to read something cute and fluffy now…

The Librarian: A First Contact Story -- A surprisingly sweet science fiction story about an alien visitor and the human woman he loves.

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog -- A surprisingly rich and vibrant historical fantasy set in thirteenth-century France. Yes, it’s technically a YA/kid’s novel, but still a good and insightful read (if you don’t mind a few poop and fart jokes along the way…).

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories -- A powerful collection of short speculative-fiction stories, most with the theme of remembering and memorializing the past and our roots.

WolfWalkers: The Graphic Novel -- Graphic novel adaptation of the film. This is absolutely gorgeous, and makes me want to see the film even more. If you loved “Secret of Kells” or “Song of the Sea,” check this one out!

Currently Reading:

Lock & Key
Kringle

QOTW:

I'm sure it's happened, but heck if I can remember. XD The past couple of PopSugar challenges I have managed to end up reading two vampire novels within the space of a few weeks -- A Discovery of Witches and Fevre Dream in 2019, and Blood Oath and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires this year. Which is notable because I'm NOT a huge fan of vampires.

Finished:

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn (reread)

The concept and characters for the book are very good. What brings it down for me is that there is just a bit too much going on during the fourth day of the festival, and nothing has the impact that it should. 3/5

Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

The interactions between characters are frequently delightful, and Hastings has a soft spot for the victim's dog, which is fun. There is higher than average racism in the book, even on Christie's scale, so know that going in. The mystery's resolution is pretty average. My rating is somewhere between 3 and 4, but going by whole stars, it has to be a 3/5.

Currently reading:

Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits by A.L. Herbert

This is the 4th book in a cozy mystery series that I enjoy very much. The premise is that the restaurant owner protagonist has been selected as a guest judge for an episode of what is basically Master Chef or any other cooking challenge reality TV show. When one of the people involved is murdered, the owner will have to use what they know to help solve the case.

A Contest of Principles by Greg Cox

The Enterprise is assigned to help oversee a fair, impartial election on a planet that is just coming out of a military regime. Even in the very start of the book, there are some definite parallels to the latest US presidential election. Here's hoping for a happy ending.

Question of the Week:

I have probably run into this, but nothing is coming to mind now.

K.L. wrote: "Wow…it has been quite a week.

Some of you know that my mum was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer, and she has undergone two surgeries and a few different cancer treatments since that diagno..."


I am so sorry, that's stressful in regular times, and unimaginably stressful now. Best wishes to your mom.

Heather wrote: " But I’m a little stressed out by my library holds. I’m allowed to have ten ebook holds. Six (!!!) of them became available this week. And they’re all for 2021 prompts. So now I have to decide if I want to play the Deliver Later game or the Keep Airplane Mode On As Long As Possible game...."


THIS HAS JUST HAPPENED TO ME TOO!!! All of a sudden, FOUR ebooks came in. (And some of them had been showing a wait time of weeks yet - and now they are suddenly available!) And I dont' know what to do! I could have some delivered later, or I could download all of them NOW and put my tablet back in Airplane mode :-)

I haven't finished anything this week. I have 30 items checked out from the library, but the ones I was excited to read fit next year's prompts, and the ones left for this year's prompts are not exciting. I also know that ten books will knock out all of my remaining 2020 prompts, and four books will finish off five challenges, so I feel guilty for wanting to read anything that isn't those. Plus I still don't have my tree up, so I feel guilty for reading in the evening instead of decorating. It's been a frustrating week.

Currently Reading: This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein. It's been informative, but reading it is so depressing. Especially since it's from 2014, and I know the world hasn't acted.

Scapegoats: A Defense of Kimmel and Short at Pearl Harbor - I used this book for a term paper I wrote in college more than 20 years ago, but never actually read cover to cover. Monday was the 79th anniversary of the attack, so trying again now. The author served in the US Navy during WW2, but wasn't at Pearl (near as I can tell), so I'm hoping it'll be interesting to have that perspective instead of someone defending their own actions (like in Admiral Kimmel's Story and And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway--Breaking the Secrets).

A Plague of Giants - still chugging through the audiobook. It's due back in five days, and I'm not even halfway. There is not a line behind me though, so I should be able to get it again. Just need to find times I can listen.

Ready Player Two / Know My Name / The Beekeeper of Aleppo - all ebooks from the library with long waiting lists and actual due dates, so I can't sit on them forever like I'm doing with the physical library books. I also need to have these read by 12/17 for my in-person-but-actually-virtual book club. I keep trying to get them on my husband's kindle instead of mine because mine's a Fire tablet and his is a paperwhite, but I can't get it to work and keep giving up and not reading them at all.

QOTW: The closest I can think of is how many books about Syria or the Middle East I read this year, mostly not by design. I heard about Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East before it came out end of January and put it on hold at the library. I ended up reading it in August. In early March, right before everything shut down, I got And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East from the library because I'd heard an interview with the author. I read it in June. Those two gave me the background for everything that's happened in the region.

When Read Harder said to read a book about a refugee, I found Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian - My Story of Rescue, Hope, and Triumph, about a Syrian refugee's journey getting out. I remembered her from the Rio Olympics. In that book, she gets a copy of I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, which I had read a few weeks earlier (about Pakistan, but there's general history of the region given). And then when I needed a book with a 20 in the title, I found The New Odyssey: The Story of the Twenty-First Century Refugee Crisis, covering the Syrian refugee crisis more generally and globally than Butterfly, which had been just one person's tale.

I'm reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo for book club next week, as picked by someone else in the group, which is fiction about Syrian refugees. And then last week, when looking for a book for an ATY prompt, the first one I looked at was City of Jasmine, which is also about Syrian refugees. Pretty sure the world is telling me something.

Happy Thursday! I forgot to say this earlier, but thanks to the mods for spending a whole day putting up all the 2021 topics (at a rate of three topics per hour THANKS GOODREADS).

Finished reading: (40/50 unique books read; 47/50 prompts covered)

The Poppy War (author in her 20s, WOC author, recommended by my favorite blogger, meant to read in 2019) - This was really good! Chinese-centric fantasy with a great cast. It was a tad predictable at times but it seems to be coming out of that shell and I'm excited for the next two books.

Thirteen Reasons Why (passes Bechdel test) - I got this for next year's prompt "a book everyone has read but you," and then I thought I'd check out the first couple chapters, and then I read the whole thing. Oops.

Despite being a pageturner, it is not a good book. I was curious to find her ~reasons~ but they turned out underwhelming (which I'm sure is realistic/intended! just not what I'm looking for in fiction!). Also I gotta echo what a lot of people have said about the book glorifying suicide into a revenge fantasy.


Upcoming: I usually don't plan out my reading in advance, but I have three more prompts to fill, so here's what I've got on deck:
The Grand Dark - upside-down cover image
Redemption Ark - pun in title
These Violent Delights (China) OR Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Czech Republic) - country starting with C


QotW: Last year I managed to read two books with a character named "Tracker" (Black Leopard, Red Wolf and The Last One).

Also, not strictly a book thing, but while I was reading The Poppy War I happened to be listening to Epica's new single (Epica - Freedom - The Wolves Within) and the music video fits the book perfectly.

Normally things slow down for us at work about now, but thanks to the added complications students are facing, it hasn't really. I am so ready for winter break! But my heart hurts for so many of our students who are struggling.

Finished:
The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building: A book with a made up language. A good review of basic linguistics concepts. The really interesting section (to me) was about writing systems (mostly because I've learned about speaking/signing before).

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club: A book that takes place in the 1920s. It's weird--I got so sucked in to this story and cared a lot about what happened, but I'd still only call it a 3-star read. I think the writer needed a way better editor; there were a lot of tense shifts in the middle of sentences and just some very weird constructions.

Up Next (I haven't had a chance to start my next book):
The Great Passage: A book that takes place in Japan

QOTW:
As a couple of others have said, I know this has happened but I can't think of specifics right now. If I do, I'll update!

A weird serendipitous book thing that I had happen, though, was in high school. I discovered the book Greensleeves in my high school's library as part of a sale. I had an obsession with the Tudors, so I picked it up (it has nothing to do with the Tudors, but I was thinking of the song). The main character's name is Shannon Lee -- that's my first and middle name. Then I looked at the last time it had been checked out...the last due date on the card was THE DAY I WAS BORN. Not just my birthday, it was the year and everything! Gosh, that was bizarre.

Obviously, I bought it. I loved the book and now I have no idea where that copy went, which really upsets me. My best friend hunted down another copy, so I have the book, but I'm sad that I lost that one with my birthdate in it. :(

Wow Thursday really snuck up on me this week!!   There's xmas planning, and school stuff for my kids, and the new list, and the usual year-end crunch at work because (a) management wants to be able to tell upper-management that YES we did The Thing in THIS year, but (b) a lot of senior employees take almost the entire month of December off for vacation, and (c) the factory is effectively shut down in December between inventory and winter holiday.


Let's see ... this week I finished 3 books!  

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook - this was ... okay?  I feel like this author is probably a really strong short story writer, but she flailed about when she tried to expand this into a full length book.  It's worth a read if you like literary dystopians, because it's certainly different, but a lot of it didn't really make sense, and the characters were all very unlikeable. (this would be perfect for "takes place outdoors" and "three generations" by the way!  Not that my lukewarm mini-review is going to entice anyone to read it ...)

The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood - I love Greenwood, but I really put off reading this because all the reviews complaining about Middle English scared me off.  I was silly to wait, because I LOVED this book just like I loved her other three books.  (This would work for "three generations" next year.)

Books of Magic Vol. 1: Moveable Type written by Kat Howard - meh.  My time would have been better spent re-reading the original Books of Magic graphic novels. I recommend this only to people who are completely new to Tim Hunter. Although, if you're completely new to the story, maybe it will be really confusing with all the Dreaming characters thrown in there. So I guess I recommend this to no one!



QotW  

YES this has definitely happened to me!  But of course right now I can't think of any actual examples.  

Sometimes when I start a book, I'm quite startled to find that the story opens on the same date that I started reading!  That always gives me a shiver :-)

Hello, hello!

I don't feel like getting too personal right now so I'm going to skip life updates and go straight to reading updates!

This past week, I finished: LaGuardia, Through the White Wood, Redshirts, and also read Ember and the Ice Dragons.

I am currently reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pages I Never Wrote, and Here the Whole Time. I wasn't expecting to actually start the last two, but my curiosity led to reading the first paragraph to the first chapter and now I'm invested lol.

Good news is that I'm at 49/50 on my Popsugar Challenge! All I'm missing is "a book with a great first line" so I'm looking at the books I've read this year to see if any of those would qualify. I might end up using Here the Whole Time for that prompt which would mean I'd be DONE with this challenge!

As for my Goodreads challenge, I'm at 87/100 so unless I end up reading some comics or manga, that one will be a lot tougher to finish.

QOTW: Not particularly...I think I read a wide variety of books so that I don't run into that problem. I also tend to plan my books out so that if I read two fantasy novels back to back (for example), I'll make sure their summaries are different enough so that I don't feel like I'm reading the same book again.

Oh yes, I just remembered another one, re character names and qotw. In the spring I read Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence, and there is a character named Sister Kettle. Then a month later I'm reading Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb (third in a series), and there is a character named Kettle. Such a unique name, one has to wonder if Mark Lawrence was paying hommage to Robin Hobb. Anyways I spent a half chapter trying to figure out why the name was familiar and wondering if she was a character who had been introduced earlier in the series, before I remembered the real connection :P

Hi everyone,

Been a pretty busy week at work so far, trying to squeeze in a quick update.

This week I finished:

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman- Finally finished this! I liked it, no idea why it took so long to finish. Fun takes on classic horror/sci fi from a female perspective.

Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998) #49 - this was a special issue and long so i went ahead and added it. Didn't love it.

Exorsisters, Vol. 2 - been sitting with this on currently reading for a while, waiting for the last issue in it come in. I like the storyline, wondering if it's continuing going on. Ending felt like there was room to grow, but also like it could be done. Guess it depends on how the industry as a whole is goin.

The Fire Rose - re-read because I just needed a break/comfort read.

In an Absent Dream - Tor gave away the wayward children books last week or so, taking it as an opportunity to catch up on the series. I liked this one, although i always have trouble with prequels. Because I know what's going to happen, it's hard to just relax and enjoy it. I sit there mentally screaming "DON'T DO THAT, THAT WILL END BADLY"

Currently reading:

Come Tumbling Down - i really like Jack, glad to get back into that storyline.

A Gathering of Shadows - finally had some time to get into this more. I have this marked as read and gave it a good rating, but I honestly don't remember much of it at all. I'm still liking it so not sure why! Maybe i just read it at a stressful time last time so it didn't sink in or something.

QOTW:

I don't know if it's exactly what you're asking, but I do find I inadvertently get connections when I read! November's book for my books & brew was Life After Life, and then shortly after that I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. A character mentioned searching a bookstore for a WW1/2 book with a rose on the cover and I was thinking "That sounds like Life after Life' and sure enough, it was! Also last year we read Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11 in my book club, and I'd happened to be reading The Calculating Stars just before or after it, so was interesting to see an alternate history take on the same time period.

Kenya wrote: "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories -- A powerful collection of short speculative-fiction stories, most with the theme of remembering and memorializing the past and our roots...."


would this be a good choice for next year's "forgetting" category?

Johanne wrote: "another lesson of 2020 - don't spend too much time on social media if you want to keep your sanity."

Regarding COVID-19, the US just keeps setting records...the wrong KIND of records, of course! Mainly for deaths. Hospital systems are overwhelmed. Our governor just canceled any "elective" surgeries and my supervisor is schedule to get pins, etc. surgically implanted on December 16th for her broken arm. That is the date this new mandate is to take effect. I sure hope her surgery goes as scheduled, for her sake!

I agree about social media, except for Goodreads, of course! :)

"QOTW:
I seem to find these connections all the time."

Whew! I was worried this wouldn't be true of anyone else... It seems strange sometimes... Like the Universe is aligning to give me a message... Oh, yes, the pregnancy thing, or even a different colored car and every other car you encounter seems to also be that color... Weird.

Drakeryn wrote: "Happy Thursday! I forgot to say this earlier, but thanks to the mods for spending a whole day putting up all the 2021 topics (at a rate of three topics per hour THANKS GOODREADS).

Finished reading..."


LOL how annoying was that, right??!? Now I know in advance, I can create fake posts prior to release of the new list and just go in and edit them all on the Day Of.

Happy Thursday all.
K.L - your family is in my thoughts!

I am so close to being done with my first reading challenge!

ATY: 50/52
Popsugar: 49/50

Finished:

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (book with a bird on the cover). Finally finished this book and wow. I am not sure if this is going to be a series but I didn't love this book the way I loved the original Hunger Games trilogy. The first half was good - I liked the description of how the games used to be pre-Katniss. But the second half was a slow means to an end. I am glad I read it (and truthfully would read the next book if it becomes a series) but definitely not as good as the original Hunger Games.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (A book written by an author in their 20s). This was a difficult category for me as most authors aren't up front about their ages (which is why I am not looking forward to the Zodiac category for 2021) but I digress. I have been wanting to read Kaur for a while and found the end of the challenge a good time for that since I needed to catch up. This was a powerful read - her writing is beautiful and sad at the same time. Highly recommend.

Currently Reading:

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (no PS prompt, ATY: A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards). I can see why this book is highly praised - it starts out with the trial and as witnesses are making their statements it tells a much more involved story. Told from multiple POV, I can tell this is going to be one of my favorite books this year.

Waiting for Audiobook from Library...

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. Using this book as "book with a made-up language" even though I have heard that this book doesn't technically have a language that is made up but I am using it as my "pass" for this year since I haven't found anything better.

QOTW:
I feel like this has happened multiple times but just like everyone else, I can't recall any specific examples. I know that in most cases a word or a phrase will be in one book so I will look it up and then see it again in the next book and remember what it was.

My main success this week is I've finished An Anonymous Girl, thereby finishing my last prompt for the 2020 challenge (medical thriller)! I thought it was good, but not as striking as The Wife Between Us, and I wasn't quite convinced that Dr Shields would have done what she did at the end - it seemed out of character.

I've also got caught up on my ATY challenge, and now just have three prompts left there, too. I hope to read the three books for these this week:

Mort for 43. related to one of the Four Horsemen
The Final Days for 46. We didn't start the fire (Watergate), which has been on my TBR since I read All the President's Men.
and Gilbert White - kind of an outlier from my normal reading, but he was one of the first naturalists to think of ecology as a whole - for 42. Coveted literary prizes (Costa biography)

And then I need to start thinking about books for the 2021 PS challenge!


Question of the Week: Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?

I can't think of any specific examples that were close together. I've definitely read books a few months - or sometimes even years - later which reminded me of something I'd read before. The most recent was Where the Crawdads Sing, and how it seemed to call back to A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There

I do read a lot of cozy mysteries and they have a habit of following a similar pattern, so maybe I just don't notice.

I've also spotted trends in a year's Hugo nominations, as I read them within a short period of time (usually six weeks to two months), so the similarities are much more obvious.

Nadine wrote: "Kenya wrote: "The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories -- A powerful collection of short speculative-fiction stories, most with the theme of remembering and memorializing the past and our roots...."

would this be a good choice for next year's "forgetting" category?

That depends on how you interpret "forgetting," I suppose. I didn't even think about it because I interpreted the prompt literally (amnesia and such), but there are strong themes about remembering the past and not forgetting about one's culture or the tragedies of the past.

The last story in particular was a brutal but powerful one about an incident between Japan and China during WWII that remains controversial but unaddressed by any world government to this day, and for sure fits this prompt. (Not naming the tragedy because Googling it is a surefire way to ruin your entire day...)

Ellie wrote: "Got a Christmas tree this week, apparently everyone rushed out and got them early because it was one of the few things you could do in lockdown. We think ours might be the top of a bigger tree as it has a big trunk and looks suspiciously like someone's hacked off a few branches to make it look normal. Well at least it looks nice now it's covered in stuff!"

Decorations can hide alot! :) Glad it turned out well for you!

"Legendborn which I absolutely loved. It was a bit of a random read, I'd seen it in the GR Choice awards and then it popped up as a kindle deal, so gave it a go and I've been stuck to it the last three evenings. A different take on Arthurian legend, interwoven with a story about generational harm. You could potentially use it for dark academia next year."

This looks good!

"Bonus points for arguing that Buffy is a modern day Amazonian."

This made me laugh! Got to remember to share it with my husband who loves that show!

"QOTW:
Yes, all the time, but now I can't think of any examples!"

Whew! Thank you for making me feel better about this! ;)

Happy Thursday! I've got almost all of my 2021 prompts filled and am so looking forward to the new reading year!

Finished 48/50

Currently Reading

Words of Radiance for "book with a character in their 20s". I'm just slightly over halfway through this beast. I really really hope to finish it in time!

Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind (not for challenge). Almost done! I should finish by the end of the week!

The Idiot (not for challenge). My book club meets TODAY to discuss part one of this book which was a RIOT. Prince Myshkin is also in his 20s, so if this club decides to try to finish the book before the new year, I could make this work!

The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia for "book whose title caught your attention". I'm starting to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel here...

QotW

This literally just happened to me! I was reading Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering which explores art and Japanese culture, and the author talked repeatedly about how hiddenness and ambiguity make up Japanese thought mainly for self-preservation, yet it also creates beauty in its own unique way. Then at the same time I received Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind where the author began it by talking about the hiddenness and ambiguity embraced in Eastern Orthodox thought and how those things affect that culture and way of looking at life and God. It was a really striking parallel from two very different books and made me stop to think about how, in our Western society, we don't prize these attributes as much and how that affects our art and the way we think and interact with each other. It was pretty deep. XD

Finished:The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, Part Two

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey

Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records: How to Run Your Nonprofit Corporation So You Don't Run Into Trouble With CDROM

Summer I'm going to use this for the prompt, book about forgetting.

Started: Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again: Writers from Around the World on the Covid-19 Pandemic

Qotw: I love this question! I can't think of any instance immediately, so I'll have to think on it more.

Ashley Marie wrote: "QOTW: Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?
I remember earlier this year I was listening to the audio of Wuthering Heights and picked up Silent in the Grave on a whim. The MC mentioned Wuthering Heights as one of her favorite books and I cackled because I KNEW THAT BOOK!! I was LISTENING TO IT! Probably not the kind of example you had in mind, but it's the best I've got for now lol"

No specific type of example required! That's so cool! :)

K.L. wrote: "If you would be willing, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my mum (and our family) in your thoughts and prayers this week. Thanks!"

Of course! Could you share your mother's first name? I always like to make my intentions more targeted. Anything to try to help. I am so very sorry.

"QOTW:
While I can’t think of a specific example, this has definitely happened to me several times."

Thank you! It is quite a relief to realize I am not alone in this! LOL

Heather wrote: "I’m allowed to have ten ebook holds. Six (!!!) of them became available this week. And they’re all for 2021 prompts. So now I have to decide if I want to play the Deliver Later game or the Keep Airplane Mode On As Long As Possible game."

You-all crack me up with the library hold games! :)

"QOTW
Yes! This happens to me all the time. Earlier this year, when InterLibrary Loan was still a thing, I put in requests for a couple of books I wanted to read. Empire of Wild arrived when I was reading The Wild Girl. And Wild at Heart was published while I was reading Empire of Wild. I was a little embarrassed to post my update that week because I thought you’d all notice I had a theme going on.."

Oh, my, I totally missed that in your weekly check-in! How funny! Did you believe you were living on the "wild" side that week? LOL

Hi everyone. I haven't checked in for a little while, firstly because I was busy with Nanowrimo and then I just hadn't finished anything. If I speed up I might still manage to finish the challenge before the end of the year.

This week I finished a re-read of The Lies of Locke Lamora. I still cried (view spoiler)[when the Sanzas were killed (hide spoiler)]

Currently reading: Rogue Protocol. I really like Miki so far.

QOTW: Last year I seemed to accidentally read a lot of books with girls who wouldn't or couldn't speak and were otherwise unrelated:
Kilmeny of the Orchard
The House of the Spirits
The Winter Witch
The Supernatural Enhancements
Part of Your World

K.L. wrote: ”If you would be willing, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my mum (and our family) in your thoughts and prayers this week. Thanks!”

So sorry to read. I hope surgery went ok. I'll keep her and you(r family) in my prayers.

Started my last book for the challenge! I’d loved to read it on paper, but the library is doing such an awful job lately that I decided to ask for an e-book instead which is immediately available. Waiting times for books which are ‘available’ are up to 3 or 4 weeks. It has nothing to do with quarantining books, Dutch libraries don’t do that. So I think I’m going to order my January books this weekend.

Finished
Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944 - I grew up just a few kilometers east of Arnhem. At school we learned a lot about operation Market Garden. And the wounds of that battle were still visible back in the 1980s: ugly buildings at the river side and almost nowhere big trees. My town wasn’t hurt, but had to influx refugees after the battle. And there was a SS training center in the next town. Another landmark is the lane between my town and the next. On ‘our’ side the trees were big and touched each other above the street. On the ‘other’ side the trees were smaller and couldn’t reach each other. Reason? The German forces knocked down the trees at the side of the training center to prevent the allied forces rolling in. Didn’t help. Only 5 years ago, the trees touched each other along the whole lane again. The book isn’t about this, but I like to share this to show what impact the war still has in the Arnhem region. Veterans are celebrated each year, even though they lost the battle. They are heroes for ever to us.

The Silence of the White City - I hate thrillers. But I love Spanish thrillers. I have no idea what makes the difference, but this is another Spanish thriller and I liked it.

Currently reading
A Christmas Carol

Qotw
No. I only tend to mess up plots myself. Thinking the plot from another book is in this book.

Sarah wrote: "This week I finished a re-read of The Lies of Locke Lamora. I still cried [spoilers removed]"

Oh nooooo. (view spoiler)[The Sanzas and Bug were my favorites in that book! (hide spoiler)]

Lilith wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Lynn! I'm sorry to hear about your transportation travails! I hope that you are ok, and that this didn't happen in traffic or on the road. Urgh, with the time, money, frustration and coordination requirements, I wish they would just let you work remotely -- even just till your car is repaired."

I have survived far worse vehicular mishaps! Working a "front desk" position requires I'm here unless campus is shut down. Hence the search for a new full-time remote position!

Samantha wrote: "Still Alice - I read this for a Facebook group annual challenge. I thought this book was done really well. It's definitely one you need the tissues while reading. This is the second book I've read by Lisa Genova (who lives in the same town as me), and I look forward to reading more by her. 5 stars"

I probably already said this, but she is one of my all-time favorite authors!

"The Afterlife of Holly Chase - I admin a YA book group on Facebook, and we're reading this for our December discussion. I hadn't heard of it before we voted on it, but I'm loving it. It's a retelling of A Christmas Carol, but in a unique way."

Wow. This really captured my interest!

"QOTW - Have you ever read two books back-to-back or at least relatively close together that appeared not to be connected to each other in any way and were surprised to discover a similar theme or plot or writing style or…?

I know this has happened, but no examples are coming to mind. If they do I'll come back and update."

Good enough! Just thrilled it's not just me! :)

Sherri wrote: "QOTW. My first thought was no. I couldn’t think of an example where 2 totally different books had something similar in them. Then when I was listing what I read for the week I saw it. So now my answer is yes. News of The Workd & A Lone Star Christmas are both set in the late 1800’s in Texas. Both books main characters roam the state of Texas. There are Native Americans in both books. Both books involve returning something."

Oh, my gosh! That is bizarre! :)

"I just started In A Holidaze by Christopher an Lauren."

I hope you enjoy it as well!

Hi everyone, I have been working allll the hours (December in consulting!) but still managed to fit in a little bit of jigsaw puzzling while listening to audiobooks. My partner had the flu last weekend; we think it was just regular flu but he can't get a test, so we're on full quarantine for two weeks just in case. After we decided that the news was announced that we're likely to go back into lockdown anyway, so it's time to get cozy at home! (And make sure we have toilet paper because we all know that's going to be a thing again for some reason.)
Anyhoo, the past two weeks I finished:
The Secret Commonwealth
Foundation: This book was hilarious because it's supposed to be in the future but all the dialogue is 10000% 1950s, and it's like women don't even exist for most of it. Then finally one (1) female character is introduced, and she's a petulant aristocrat in an unhappy marriage. Quelle surprise. Anyway, I did really enjoy the plot structure, and it's a great insight into how science fiction got the reputation for being Dudes Rock Year 2525.

Currently reading:
Sense and Sensibility Audible Edition : Rosamund Pike is reading me Sense and Sensibility while I do a puzzle of National Parks posters. Soooooothing (though come on, Marianne is such a jerk).
Next Year in Havana: I just started it, but it seems fun. I would like to go to Cuba
Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born: Dang, y'all. We as a species have made some BONKERS decisions about giving birth.