Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

This should be the last week I need to apologize for my lack of participation. My good friend has finally been released from the hospital into a rehab facility as of this morning. (Her son is to be there.) And I’m taking the morning and first part of the afternoon off!

It is unbelievable how difficult it can be to get most medical professionals to listen to the one person who knows the patient best and identifies their abilities or lack thereof, especially if that involves challenges with short-term/long-term memory. I finally started talking about that with every nurse, aide, doctor, NP, whomever. Then I caught one of them elsewhere in the hospital when I was going to the cafeteria and bent his ear… I don’t know if my friend will recover to the point of being able to live alone again or not. However, without this procedure she for sure would not have lived much longer given the severity of the aortic valve’s deterioration (much worse than the echocardiogram imaging had indicated).

So this is definitely one of those scenarios where you could infinitely consider the pros and cons. I hope for her sake she makes a full recovery over time, but time is the only thing that will determine that. All I know is I have provided just as much energy and care to her as I could, so my soul and spirit are fulfilled in that regard. Now I can only continue to project positive energy for full recovery and provide emotional support.

As soon as I have confirmation of her room number today I’ll head into town and deliver flowers, balloons, etc. Something to cheer her up!

I can only offer thanks to you-all for your patience with me during this extremely stressful and demanding time. It’s good to return to my usual morning retirement routine of tea, meditation, meal-replacement shake, and the Popsugar group!! LOL

ADMIN STUFF:
We have a nomination poll for the October Monthly Group Read HERE! Please vote or write-in a book you wish to be considered to fulfill prompt #16 A book about witches in honor of “Spooktober”/Halloween! Note: this is the NOMINATION poll and Nadine will have the final selection poll next week! (I am having trouble with my laptop and Word so I couldn’t include an image! Ugh. I sense I'm going to need a replacement laptop sooner rather than later... Double UGH!)

We still need a "marvelous manager" to lead the August discussion of The Dog Stars and a “savvy superstar” to lead the September Monthly Group Read discussion of Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer! It just struck me that we will be reading Cemetary Boys and then a book about witches back-to-back in September and October! Hmmmm… LOL

Our discussion of Beloved is ongoing. I have been indisposed, but this is my top priority today and tomorrow so we can finish by month’s end. You can find that discussion here. And the place to post any book you’ve read to complete prompt #10 An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner is here. This is in honor of the United States' most recently added holiday--Juneteenth on June 19, 2022! (aka African American Freedom Day or Emancipation Day) This award "recognizes books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity."

The comprehensive listing of Monthly Group Reads for 2022 is here.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be?
I love this question and knew immediately who that one person would be. It would be my husband. I am particularly sensitive to voices and his big deep bass voice has always been so enjoyable to me. Plus he has a way of conveying sarcasm and humor through his voice that is amazing, IMO, and I would hope that anyone narrating my life would not only recognize opportunities to use both of those, but could adequately convey both using only their voice.

FINISHED:
Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson was an excellent YA read. 5 STARS And enabled a good discussion at the book club meeting. It has a good portion of teenage angst but also a fulfilling ending and deals with some traumatic stuff as well. A much deeper and more intense read than her debut, You Should See Me In a Crown. Johnson is now one of my favorite authors.
POPSUGAR: #5, #9, #18, #19-summer, #21, #25, #29, #36, #37, #40-2017: prompt #5 A book written by a person of color, #46-Imani was Olivia’s best friend, but she also loved her romantically, #48-Olivia and Toni
ATY: #1-Amani and Toni, #2-Read her debut novel in 2021 (You Should See Me In a Crown), #4-A book written by an author younger than you, #13-Imani was a STEM student working in research labs, #23, #40-Strength, The Sun, Judgment, The World, #43
RHC: #4, #24-2017: 20. Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel

CONTINUING:
Beloved by Toni Morrison

PLANNED:
June Buddy Reads:
*I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
*When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe
*Double Cross (Alex Cross #13) by James Patterson
*Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
*The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
*Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
*Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
*Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Happy Thursday! No worries Lynn, it's just as well for me -- not much to report today. I'm feeling rather swamped, doing my best to finish several current reads but it's gotten to the point where it feels like everything I'm reading has been sitting around for FOREVER. Ugh.

I finished Catwoman, Volume 6: Keeper of the Castle this morning. 5 stars, Genevieve Valentine's writing is spectacular. She really gets the character, and the internal monologue is fantastic. I also deeply appreciated the various historical references throughout.

Currently:
The Silmarillion - I've made more progress, and hoping I can finish this weekend! It's been a wonderful journey through the annals of Middle Earth.
Persuasion - Also hoping to finish sooner rather than later. I started the audiobook and then found it just as pleasing to read my hardcover, so now I'm tossing between the two.
Wrath Goddess Sing - I'm not bored but it's not as fast-moving as I would like. Hoping my interest holds.
Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887 - I've clearly been distracted from finishing this and should make it a priority because there's not much left. C'mon weekend!

Upcoming:
Fever Dream
Perhaps A Plain-Dealing Villain, I'm in the mood for something quick
And still needing to clear space for Base Notes

If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be? I was thinking about this when I switched the Siri voice on my phone the other day. I love Emma Thompson, and I'm sure she would inject her narration with much wit and cleverness.

Good Morning, Lynn you are a great friend. I read 2 books & listened to 1 audio book for the week.
1. Wow, No Thank You.: Essays, PS advanced prompt #43 A book with a palindromic title. 4 stars. I finished the advanced prompts.
2. A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020. An audio book. 2 stars. Not used for this challenge. I was disappointed in the book. My taste in his humor had definitely changed. My husband & I have a 7 hour drive round trip to visit my mother. He liked David Sedaris so chose that book. It's a long book so I ended up listening by myself to finish it.
3. Home. Not for this challenge. 4 stars. It took me a moment to remember what happened in Gilead but once I did I liked the book.
QOTW: Matthew McConaughey to narrate my life.

Regardless of where life or time is taking us, I certainly appreciate these threads. Took me long enough to start participating in them but I'm really glad I have been. I've enjoyed these conversations.

*****

Things for me were strenuous for a while. I've had to self-quarantine for the past week. Went to an outdoor event so naturally, people were not wearing masks or social distancing, crowds everywhere. You know how it is these days. I didn't want to take the chance of getting sick but my days are up and I haven't so far so that's good.

That said, my dad, unfortunately, came down with it. He has a job elsewhere so he got it out there. That's 5 family members now that have come down with Covid.

*****

Finished:

David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music
Parkland Speaks: Survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share Their Stories
Sáanii Dahataal/The Women Are Singing: Poems and Stories

- I am so proud of the reading I was able to get done. The only book that impressed me was 'Parkland Speaks'. The other's I just did not connect with well. And the 'David Bowie' book was jumping all over the place in terms of direction and time periods so it was hard to follow.

*****

Currently:

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World

Only 4 more chapters to go here. Taking a while though because I'm annotating the heck out of it.

****

Upcoming:

TBD as I'm a mood reader so I never know what book will be on my radar next.

*****

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be?

It's hard to pick one but these would be my top 3:

1.) Stana Katic ('Castle')- she has a kind of gentleness and just an ease in the characters she portrays.

2.) Hilarie Burton ('One Tree Hill')- I've loved Hil since her OTH days and now listening to the podcast 'Drama Queens' and her narration of her book 'The Rural Diaries', I can see her giving the respect and softness that my story requires.

3.) Chyler Leigh ('Greys Anatomy'/'Supergirl')- Having met Chyler, she's such a down-to-earth person. The delicacy which she narrates podcast episodes on Create Change, the way she writes and the time she takes with her on-screen characters, I think would really work when it comes to mine.

I finished Murder at Five Finger Light as my book that takes place my favorite season. Dead body didn't show up until halfway throughout the book. And at the end someon asks "are you sure X is the killer?" "Obviously, who else would have done it? " Really? Is this how we're solving crimes now?

I also read The Divide as my book with a reflection on the cover. I really liked it.

I'm also reading Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers because they handed copies out at church. Not too bad.

QOTW: I'm not sure I understand te question. Like I get to hear someone saying what's going on like on the Wonder Years or How I met Your Mother? I don't know that I want that at all. LOL. Maybe James Earl Jones. Add a bit of gravitas to everything.

It's starting to get really warm here. It's supposed to hit the 90s next week. I'm not fond of hot weather, so not looking forward to it at all.

Since the last check-in, I've finished:
A Mirror Mended, 4.5 stars, for a book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title. This was really good, with some fun and witty writing.

Dogsbody, 4 stars, for a book with a constellation on the cover or in the title. I love Diana Wynne Jones's stories. This was dark at times and a little hard to read due to some of the subject matter, but the ending was bittersweet and overall I enjoyed it.

Comics/manga: Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 19, The King's Beast, Vol. 6

I'm currently at 39/50 (32/40 and 7/10) for the overall challenge.

Currently reading:
I am just starting Sing, Unburied, Sing as the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner.

QOTW:
The only name I can think of is Jennifer Hale.

Lynn wrote: "This should be the last week I need to apologize for my lack of participation. My good friend has finally been released from the hospital into a rehab facility as of this morning. (Her son is to be..."



I'm glad she's through her life-saving surgery and recovering. You've done so much for her! She couldn't ask for a better friend!! Did the procedure cause short-term memory problems?

Ron wrote: "Regardless of where life or time is taking us, I certainly appreciate these threads. Took me long enough to start participating in them but I'm really glad I have been. I've enjoyed these conversat..."



We are glad to have you!! These Thursday "check-ins" are often the highlight of my entire week!!

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! No worries Lynn, it's just as well for me -- not much to report today. I'm feeling rather swamped, doing my best to finish several current reads but it's gotten to the point where it feels like everything I'm reading has been sitting around for FOREVER. Ugh."
That can be really frustrating!

"I finished Catwoman, Volume 6: Keeper of the Castle this morning. 5 stars, Genevieve Valentine's writing is spectacular. She really gets the character, and the internal monologue is fantastic. I also deeply appreciated the various historical references throughout."
Wow. Your description makes me think even I might appreciate this! :)

"Currently:
The Silmarillion
Persuasion
Wrath Goddess Sing
Dismembering Lahui: A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887...C'mon weekend!"
LOL Yay for weekends! You are persevering and I'm sure you'll finish soon!

"Perhaps A Plain-Dealing Villain, I'm in the mood for something quick"
Understandable!

"If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be? I was thinking about this when I switched the Siri voice on my phone the other day. I love Emma Thompson, and I'm sure she would inject her narration with much wit and cleverness.."
Cool!

Hello! I am checking in from the bookstore! How fun!

I have still not read a thing. Soon? Yes.

QOTW:
If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be?

I'd be happy with Gaiman but I have a feeling there's someone else and I just can't remember at the moment.

Happy Thursday!  It's summer, but you wouldn't know it from the nights in the THIRTIES (Fahrenheit) this past weekend.  Brrrr.  It felt like September.   Yesterday it was back up to the 80s.  Today it doesn't know what it wants to be - it's grey, neither hot nor cold, and humid.



This week I finished 5 books, 3 for this Challenge, so I am now 37/50.

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth- this was a sweet little YA Sapphic coming-of-age novel.  It is NOT a "romance," despite what the title and most of the plot implies, because there is no HEA/HFN ending. Other than the ending, I enjoyed this a lot.

Names: Poems by Marilyn Hacker - I have never felt LESS connected to a book of poetry.  

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe - a quick read with wonderful art.  I checked off "ace spectrum" with this book. I recommend this to any graphic novel lovers who are still looking for a book about gender identity or ace spectrum.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel - this was my bookclub's choice for July, and I was not excited about it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite engaging.  This is about forging documents for people to go under fake names during WWII, so I checked off "leading a double life" with this one.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg - I just finished this today at lunchtime! This is a powerful classic, so I'm glad I read it, but it is slow and relentlessly depressing, so I can't say I enjoyed reading it. I checked off "gender identity" with this book.




Now I have to decide which e-book will be my next lunchtime read. I've got both The Guncle & Last Night at the Telegraph Club borrowed from the library right now. I read the first chapter of Guncle, and liked it, but Telegraph Club is due back sooner, so I should probably read that first.






QotW

I love this question!!!


I would like William H Macy to narrate my life, because he did such a great job narrating the Curious George show on PBS.

Finished: Dealing with Dragons for library challenge prompt read-alike with favorite author (Phillip Pullman). I didn't really think it was all that much like Pullman except that the character has sass, but it was a fun read.

Started: Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid for library challenge prompt Pulitzer Prize non-fiction. This is a book I had read partway through before and then given up. It's really cool, but quite a challenge with all the logic symbolism.

Qotw: The first thought that comes to mind is the guy who takes my pizza order. He has such a sonorous voice, he should be in radio or podcast land, not fast food!

I survived camping, first day was so hot it was struggle to do anything, next day was a foggy walk on Dartmoor followed by evening thunderstorms... so we found out our tent is in need of re-waterproofing! It didn't help that our dog is scared of thunder, she did good though.

I had to grapple with my doctor's online consultation forms today to try and request a thyroid test as I think it's overactive again and OMG why was there no option to say no I am not having a heart attack, stop telling me my symptoms need immediate medical assistance. I had to fake some of the multiple choice answers to get to the end to request my test. If they want more people to use this instead of phoning up, they need to make an option for those asking for help with an existing condition. I like to think I wouldn't be sat filling out a form for ten minutes if I was having a heart attack...

Finished:
The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne for ATY (related to a tarot card - the tower). I loved this reworking of the story of Rapunzel from the witch's POV. I thought the framing device didn't quite work as it was positioning it as a historical source of the story but it was originally Italian (and the herb in it makes much more sense). Anyway I loved it pulling in the middle age midwife aspects.

Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood for first of the twin cities (it's set in New York, since we're half way through the year I'm giving up on a more interesting pairing and will probably just find something set in London). Not as good as her others, the romance felt really rushed, the whole thing is over one date and one hour stuck in a broken lift.

PS: 26/50 | ATY: 29/52 | GR: 56/100

Still currently listening to Coward: Why We Get Anxious & What We Can Do About It and reading My Heart Is a Chainsaw.

QOTW:
I don't know, someone with a nice UK regional accent. I can't think of anyone right now.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!  It's summer, but you wouldn't know it from the nights in the THIRTIES (Fahrenheit) this past weekend.  Brrrr.  It felt like September.   Yesterday it was back up to the 80s.  Today..."

This sounds amazing just now; we're coming off a fairly big heat wave here in Ohio where it's been quite humid and temps in the 90s this past week. A bit cooler today thankfully, but supposed to go right back up next week.

@Lynn: good to see you checkin’ in here. And I really admire what you do for your friend. She’s a lucky lady to have a friend like you!

We go from sticky hot to rain and thunder to comfortable summer days to hot to sticky hot. Repeat. Right now we’re having a thunderstorm.

My dad got a stent on Monday. His vein was clogged on 3 points. It’s my early birthday present, don’t need any other presents. It’s enough to see my father healthy and full of energy again.

PS: 14/40
Total 22: 27

Finished
Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not for PS
I just love this Cazalet family soap opera.

Currently reading
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Made some good progress last weekend, thanks to the weather that made me sit down and do nothing (a.k.a. reading).
The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild

QOTW
Annejet van der Zijl. No doubts about that. She tells untold stories with so much love, I would really trust her in telling mine. And then Judy Dench recording the audio book. Because she’s also the voice of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth and I just love that ride.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!  It's summer, but you wouldn't know it from the nights in the THIRTIES (Fahrenheit) this past weekend.  Brrrr.  It felt like September.   Yesterday it was back ..."




I usually get Ohio & Indiana's weather the next day, but I guess we were in a cold little bubble this weekend. Looks like it might be 90 again tomorrow though - good thing I've got a/c!

Ellie wrote: "I survived camping, first day was so hot it was struggle to do anything, next day was a foggy walk on Dartmoor followed by evening thunderstorms... so we found out our tent is in need of re-waterpr..."


Once I went tent camping in the Adirondacks and it POURED rain that night, and it turned out our campsite was at the base of a hill so our tent was in the midst of a serious deluge. EVERYTHING was soaked. The only dry spot in that tent was the center of my sleeping bag, because I was on a sleep mat that had a waterproof bottom. Both dogs ended up huddled with me on my spot. I think one of them was even inside my sleeping bag with me (and they were not small dogs! They were both about 40 lb) I remember WRINGING the water out the next day.

Spent the week traveling home to my parents for my birthday and I'll be here a few weeks. I finished very little and nothing for the challenge.

I did listen to this on the drive Murder at the Opera by Margaret Truman. Fairly disappointing mystery and seriously not everyone listens to opera and instantly falls in love with it. Just no.

I also read Riot Most Uncouth: A Lord Byron Mystery by Daniel Friedman I found this in a library sale and should have left it there. I don't know why I keep getting sucked into what is basically real-person fanfic done professionally. If you want to see Lord Byron drinking and screwing and demeaning women while pretending to solve mysteries, go for it

QOTW Hmm good question maybe Helena Bonham Carter or Bellamy Young, they'd be good at it

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Over the weekend I did the first of what will likely be several bookshelf/TBR purges in anticipation of a future move. The process took me a couple of hours, and I ended up removing around 200 books from my shelves…85 of which were books from my TBR Checklist that I am no longer interested in reading.

In other news, I have also been continuing my reading for the SciFi Summer Readathon. My original plan for week four of the readathon was to read some of the YA SciFi trilogies that I hadn’t gotten around to reading yet. However, I ended up DNFing both of the trilogies that I started, and dove back into the Firefly ‘verse instead.

The last day of SciFi Summer is next Thursday, and I’ll be interested to see how many books I can complete before the end of the readathon. I feel like I’ve done really well so far.

Goodreads: 307/200
TBR Checklist: 263/1055
TBR Checklist (SciFi only): 33/76

Finished Reading:
~Winter
~Stars Above
~Fairest
~Doctor Who: Rose
~Aliens vs. Predators - AVP: ULTIMATE PREY
~The Ghost Machine
~The Body Under the Piano

DNFed:
~The 5th Wave
~Leviathan

Currently Reading:
~Generations
~The Counselors

QOTW:
This is such an awesome question! I would want Samuel L. Jackson to narrate my life.

Cornerofmadness wrote: "... I found this in a library sale and should have left it there. ..."



LOL!

Good morning!

Second week down for SRP. 4 to go. I can't wait until they are over. Not to say it isn't fun, but dealing with all the planning, kids, video making on top of trying to do my regular work is stressful.

I'm looking forward to my vacation in August. One full week of reading whenever I want. Heavenly.

Momma chukar is diligently sitting on her eggs. She so pretty with her carmine rimmed eyes and blue-grey feathers. She even has little tuffs of brown feathers on either side of her head. I talk to her and keep my dogs away from the nest as best as I can.

we also have another bird nesting behind my back porch light. We don't use it during the spring/summer months because it draws in moths and other nasty creatures too close to the back door.

Anyway, I've been slacking on my reading again. Other things to do. And I've been a bit tired with my chihuahua's penchant for waking me up before my alarm clock. So i'm falling asleep before I can get more than 2 pages read.

Finished:

Aria: The Masterpiece (volume 5)
Aria: The Masterpiece, Volume 6

Reading:

Aria: The Masterpiece, Volume 7
The Luminaries Haven't touched it since the internet went out last week.
The Bride Goes Rogue

Planning:

Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria
Strike the Zither

QOTW:

Dude, the only person I would want to narrate my life is Morgan Freeman. He has a wonderful voice. Or Benedict Cumberbatch. Would love to listen to him narrate my life too.

Hello! I took the week off because my husband is off as well, and instead of the relaxing time I imagined, I've been doing all of his projects with him. Tuesday we rearranged the basement living room, yesterday was yard work and today is more yard work. It's been hot and humid all week (we were hotter on Monday than most of the country) and this is not what I had in mind. We just finished lunch so I ran away to post this. As soon as I'm done, I have to finish staining the deck stairs.

Finished This Week:
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I ended up needing to reread book one in the series after all. There were too many things I just didn't remember, and that was made obvious by the prologue of book three. I did quite enjoy my reread. Not for prompt.

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. Once I reread book one, I was able to read book three with ease. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first, and the lack of a plot grated on me. I also wanted better for Sawyer. Debating using for #31, Man-Made Disaster, since the wreck of one of the homesteader ships is a key point of the story.

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer. Book two in this series is nominated for a Hugo, so I picked up both. The first book is about a teenager who's on the run with her mother from her abusive father, and the only friends she's able to make are those online in a chatroom focused on cat pictures. Book one is about hiding from her her father, and the help from her online friends. Except one of those friends is a sentient A.I. who knows everything about everyone on the internet. Using for #26, Misleading Title, because I didn't think it was catfishing.

Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer. Set a few months after book one, the MC is starting at another new school, this time in Minneapolis. She and a new friend from school join this new app that has them doing all sorts of things that grow increasingly troublesome. One time, a large group of people with the app build a snow mermaid in a stranger's yard, which seems like innocent fun, except there was also a sinister warning left in the snow for the homeowner. It was written by an author in the Twin Cities during the protests after George Floyd's murder, which is apparent in the text, as she set in Uptown Minneapolis (where he died). Using for PS #33, Social Horror, because it's about everyone doing what an app tells them without questioning the motivations of the technology, or the motivations of the developers. Plus how much the internet knows about you. Book one talks about how hard it is to hack a car, but how easy it is to hack a refrigerator, and how you don't worry about a smart fridge until all your food spoils.

PS: 31/50 RH: 7/24 ATY: 35/52 GR: 84/100

Currently Reading:
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Still very early. Part of my Hugo reading.

Mossflower by Brian Jacques. Decided to keep listening to the audiobook. They're pronouncing Salamandastron different than I expected(sal-a-man-DAS-tron instead of sal-a-man-da-STRON). Need to see how that fits with Gonff's song.

QotW: If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be? Morgan Reese Fairhead! She played Eurydice in the Young Hercules tv show back in 98-99, and an Amazon in four episodes of Xena in seasons 5 and 6. I don't think she's acting anymore. But definitely her.

Happy rainy Thursday! My daughter has been in summer camp. You'd think this means I'd get more reading done, but I've been doing everything BUT. And now I'm behind. Drat!

Currently Reading

A Prayer for Owen Meany for "book with a character on the ace spectrum". I'm NEARLY finished with this book and still can't decide if I like it or not!

QotW

Tom Hiddelston. I need that British accent plus the snark. XD

Hi everyone. I started my new job this week. I think they're trying to break me in gently but I'm used to being way busier so I'm finding it a bit slow at the moment. It should pick up over the summer though

This week I finished Jaws. I love the film. I have seen it so many times. I think this is one of those instances that the film was better than the book.

Currently reading: Payback's a Witch. I'm about half way through but my interest is waning. Not sure if I should keep going. The main character is really grating on me.

QOTW: I'd either want the sassy muses from Disney's Hercules or Ron Howard a la Arrested Development.

Happy Thursday.

I am exhausted -- summer programs at the library have been BUSY this year. And given that we ran much more streamlined programs in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, none of us are used to how crazy it is. Thank goodness Thursday is my Friday...

Books read this week:

Appaloosa Summer -- fairly light and fluffy despite dealing with themes of grief and loss. Also, is it true that there’s a stigma against Appaloosas in horse shows? This book states that there’s such a thing but never elaborates…

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident -- the chilling true story of the Dylatov Pass incident, where nine hikers died in mysterious circumstances in the 1950s. Haunting and well-researched.

The Tiger -- the true story of the hunt for a man-eating tiger in Siberia. The narrative wanders quite a bit, but it was still chilling.

Hark! A Vagrant -- comic collection, not for the challenge. I admit some of these comics went right over my head, as there are classic books I haven’t read and historical stories I’m only vaguely familiar with, but for the most part these were quirky and fun.

Currently Reading:

Indistinguishable from Magic
The Disasters
A Little Princess
Eat Your Heart Out
The Night Listener

QOTW:

Peter Cullen, aka the voice of Optimus Prime in the original Transformers cartoon. Yes, I"m a nerd, but he has SUCH a fantastic and warm voice.

Hi all! Pleasant day here in NY, though like Nadine mentioned, it got chilly for a few days (ngl, I debated turning on the heat, but settled for an extra blanket on the couch). And then it's hot again and I wonder if I've ever been cold. I'm feeling blah, got a nagging headache, and my introvert self is about ready to crawl out of my skin. The sitter is out of town this week, so I've probably had about 2 hours to myself since Friday. I guess I'm not used to being this stimulated, even by my own kid! I'm also not used to having to come up with this many activities for an energetic youngster! I get a bit of a "break" tomorrow with a doctor's appointment, so yay?

I finished reading Mexican Whiteboy for a book by a Latinx author. I didn't care for it. Nothing really happens, and even when stuff does happen, it's not explained well or dealt with. This makes the second book in a row that was a dud.

Also wanted to mention Shhh! I'm Reading!, a picture book I read with my daughter. I don't think she gets the point of wanting to be left alone to read, but *I* thought it was cute! ;)

Continuing on with Burnt Shadows, which is off to a promising start, and Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher, so at least I think those are going to be better reads.
I just barely started listening to Kindred for the own voices SFF, not far enough into it to say how it is, but I've wanted to listen to it for years now.

QOTW: I love this question! Except there's too many to pick. It'd depend on my mood. Like, Serious Jen is totally down with the Morgan Freeman/ James Earl Jones idea. Angry Jen likes Samuel L Jackson. Intellectual Jen wants David Attenborough. Thoughtful Jen picks Judy Dench. Sad or moody Jen wants Maggie Smith (she seems comforting). Etc, etc.

Lynn, no need to apologize for putting friends first! As someone with health issues (though thankfully less severe than your friend's), it means the world to have help.

I love Thursday! I awake in that day early. Also, it's a Filipino Heritage Month-long celebration that happens every June. Also, I attend Nature Photography from our local which I enjoyed so much. Anyway, my family was thinking we could go on a vacation to Davao(which is in our country). I've always wanted to go in there and it was also a beautiful place there. After a 5-days vacation in Davao, our next is in Malapatan(which is found too in our country). Also, I search the hotels in Davao and it was so beautiful and they were fabulous. I found the "Avida Davao by Lemonique House" and they offer free wi-fi and accommodation is fitted with air conditioning, a fully equipped kitchenette, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom with bidet, slippers and a hairdryer. A microwave and fridge are also offered, as well as a kettle. They have a Budget Triple room Classic, Deluxe, Economy, Family, standard room, and many more!

Anyway, I have already nominated a book for August.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
If you could select one person to narrate your life, who would it be?
- I think my mother. She's my favorite mother and sometimes even when she is mad at me, she still cares and loves me.

I have been sick this entire month with pneumonia, and today is the first day I feel that I've finally recovered. Lovely!

Finished
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen - 4 stars (really 3.5), PS #44 Duology #1
It has taken me a couple of months to finish this book. I started on audio, then print, then back to audio. It was fascinating in many ways. The protagonist is a secret Communist sympathizer/spy embedded with the South Korean military during the Korean War and afterwards. Some of it is pretty hard to listen to, though. I'm still not sure if I liked it or not, but there was a lot to think about. I'll check out the sequel soon, but not right away.

They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie - 4 stars
My monthly Christie. It was a delight to read after my previous book. It was different than many of her usual mysteries, no famous detectives in sight. Just a girl who follows a boy to Baghdad and has to use her wits to survive.

Goodreads: 43/100
Popsugar: 19/40, 5/10

QOTW: Julie Andrews. I've loved her my whole life. Just watched the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award show for her last week.

Morgan Freeman lol

Happy check-in! Managed to find a few books at the library sale so the collection grew this week. :) Had some covid scares this week mainly because my grandmother caught it. She seems to be doing okay so there's that.
@Lynn hopefully your friend's memory will improve when they're less tired and some of the drugs are out of their system.

Finished Reading:

Gender Queer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 gender identity)
This was a good non-fiction/memoir graphic novel. I liked the artwork and I learned something so that's always good.

For I Have Sinned ⭐⭐
A short story from the Charlie Davidson series. It was interesting to read from a ghosts perspective for once but it was kind of boring.

The Love Hypothesis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just felt like a re-read, and it's still enjoyable.

The Gilded Cage ⭐ The Blood Traitor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This ya fantasy series was fun and I got too invested. I got very mad at the 75% mark in book two hence the one star rating. It'll be bumped up later.

Goldilocks: Wanted Dead or Alive ⭐⭐⭐
An origin story about Goldilocks from Colfer's middle grade book series I think. A random pick from the library with good artwork but the story wasn't anything special to me.

PS 2022 45/50
PS 2015 39/50
Goodreads 151/250

Currently Reading:
Glass Beads short stories about four characters through their lives
Heroic Hearts fantasy short stories

QOTW:
Hmm no idea.

I'm behind in my yearly reading, but this is the first of 3 long weekends for me, so I am confident, I'll catch up.

I can't believe I got a copy of The Paris Apartment. I need to read a 2022 book for the summer challenge. I thought I'd reserve it on Friday and maybe I'd end up with it later this summer. But it was actually available.

Finished:

Charmed & Ready
ATY prompt: The next book in a series
Popsugar prompt: A book about witches

ATY - 25/52
PS- 22/35
Series -10/13
Clearing my TBR list: 19/40

Currently reading:

How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe  - 75% done

The Paris Apartment - About 40% done

The House in the Cerulean Sea - just started

Reading with my kids:

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - 1.5 chapters left

At Home in Mitford - 4/24 chapters

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - up next to read - 0/37 chapters

QOTW: I'd say Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones, but my life isn't exciting enough to really deserve either of them.

Happy Thursday. Summer is here, and I'm loving the sun. The weeds, not so much. 😉 No matter how many I pull, they never seem to go away.🤷‍♀️

Stats:
Popsugar: 35/50
ATY: 59/75
ATY Reread: 21/52

Books I Finished:

The Friendship Pact ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY: A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover. (A dog)
A new Jill Shalvis and I laughed my way through. It was a little light on the secondary story but I still enjoyed it.

Neon Gods ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: PS: A #BookTok recommendation.
I don't normally go for full erotica, preferring romcoms where the focus is on the comedy and banter, but this was pretty good. And I am a sucker for Greek mythology.

The Glass Magician ⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY Tarot: The Magician
This was fine. Nothing terrible, but barely anything happened. Not really worth the time, and pretty forgettable.

This Is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something--Anything--Like Your Life Depends on It ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: PS: A book about gender identity.
Okay, so it's a bit of a stretch for the prompt. But the book is about identity, gender and fandoms. Basically, the title caught my eye and made me laugh. And for the record, the appendix in this IS about Benedict Cumberbath.😉

Silver Borne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY Reread: A book related to glass. (Window on cover)
Continuing my reread of the series.

The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 5 ⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY: A book related to glass. (Graphic novelisation of City of Glass)
I have a love hate relationship with the original series, but I can handle it a bit better in graphic novel form.

Books I made progress on:

The Hating Game

QotW

Ewan McGregor maybe? He keeps popping up in ads as of late and I have loved his voice ever since Moulin Rouge.

I am late late late! It is either super late Thursday or in the earliest hours of Friday from whatever you perspective is. Incredibly busy with work, long long hours. Another week of this and then it eases off.

I thought I might finish the last 60 or so pages of my current read this evening to report it. 😅😅😅😅 That did NOT happen!

Finished:

The Unfinished Clue - prompt board game in title. I was in penultimate chapter, waiting on the big reveal when I went DUH! 'CLUE' is a board game, one of my favorites, and it is word in title! Excellent classic puzzle mystery btw - I guessed the how and why but totally picked wrong character as murderer. The dialogue and characters a tad too cartoony, but really good plot.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - the author's ability to write this historical story without any insertion of 21st Century judgement was remarkable.

Currently reading:

Gideon the Ninth - 'buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.' Love this!

QOTW: i have never ever thought about if. Sean Bean maybe.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Ron wrote: "Regardless of where life or time is taking us, I certainly appreciate these threads. Took me long enough to start participating in them but I'm really glad I have been. I've enjoyed the..."

In the few I've participated in, I'm coming to find that too. I love being able to interact in such a casual way with people about books.

I continue to be impressed with everyone's reading choices. So much fiction. I don't know how you all do it. I've read articles as to why people read fiction and they make sense, still, personally just not my genre. I have fiction books but they are a.) for show and b.) to challenge myself should I get the courage to read them.

It's also so fun seeing where we get our reads from since we all seem to have different tastes.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Once I went tent camping in the Adirondacks and it POURED rain that night, and it turned out our campsite was at the base of a hill so our tent was in the midst of a serious deluge. EVERYTHING was soaked...."

I'm very glad we picked a spot at the top of a hill! Scully was kinda damp by morning but she's a Labrador so fairly waterproof. Cause we were on a slope we all kept drifting to one end of the tent...which was the drippier end. Ah well, it's good to get out into nature.

Morning update: I finished the Silmarillion this morning! It took me nearly six months, as it wasn't my primary book, and I'm already looking forward to an eventual reread! I may be as proud of this as I was when I finished Les Miserables, and that took me every bit of two years to get through.

I smell a LOTR rewatch coming up...

Mandy wrote: "Momma chukar is diligently sitting on her eggs. She so pretty with her carmine rimmed eyes and blue-grey feathers. She even has little tuffs of brown feathers on either side of her head. I talk to her and keep my dogs away from the nest as best as I can...."



I had to look up what a "chukar" is. I'm still not sure if this a wild or domestic bird - wild? I think? is it "chucker" or "choo-car" or something else?

Melissa wrote: "Hello! I took the week off because my husband is off as well, and instead of the relaxing time I imagined, I've been doing all of his projects with him. Tuesday we rearranged the basement living ro..."



My ideal vacation is doing NOTHING. Napping, snacking, reading, and a glass of wine before dinner. But "vacations" that are full of DOING things do feel like longer, fuller, more satisfying vacations when they are over, and you'll be so happy that you got all that done. You'll also feel like you need another vacation to recover from your vacation, so I hope you get to just relax this weekend before going back to work!!

Nadine wrote: My ideal vacation is doing NOTHING. Napping, snacking, reading, and a glass of wine before dinner.

That does sound nice.

Minus the wine, that's currently my life.

I haven't worked since I got furloughed at the start of Covid. Jobs are hard to come by in a population of over 900,000+ people. My parents are helping out but the guilt is always there as hard as I try.

But right now my parents want me to work on getting my master's so that's an upside I suppose and I do too.

In the meantime I basically just do nothing. Certainly don't take it for granted though to be sure. It's just the way my life is at the moment. I try to make the best of it though and that includes plenty of reading. Though even that part is hard since I'm a mood reader and can't stick to one book.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Morning update: I finished the Silmarillion this morning! It took me nearly six months, as it wasn't my primary book, and I'm already looking forward to an eventual reread! I may be as proud of thi..."

Congratulations on finishing! The Silmarillion is such an incredible read, and I'm so glad that you're interested in revisiting it in the future. I feel like I've gotten something new from it each time I've read it.

Your comment about Les Misérables reminds me of my experience with Shōgun, by James Clavell. It took me two years to get through that book, and I felt like I'd really accomplished something when I finally finished the last page.

A rewatch of The Lord of the Rings definitely sounds like a great idea! I've been thinking about taking a couple of nights to do that myself.

K.L. wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "Morning update: I finished the Silmarillion this morning! It took me nearly six months, as it wasn't my primary book, and I'm already looking forward to an eventual reread! I m..."

Thank you! So many good stories in Silm that I'm excited to revisit later. My most recent read of the LOTR trilogy was in 2020, so I'm content to wait awhile to revisit Middle Earth. Although I do have a copy of The Book of Lost Tales, Part One...

Isn't it a great feeling, getting through something massive like that? Silm definitely isn't huge pagecount-wise, but it still feels like a great undertaking.

I'll probably wait til autumn to rewatch the films. Excited to see what other references the films made that I haven't noticed til now!

A rewatch of The Lord of the Rings definitely sounds like a great idea! I've been thinking about taking a couple of nights to do that myself.

I've been thinking the same. Either that or read the books. It's been ages since I read them.

Ron wrote: "Nadine wrote: My ideal vacation is doing NOTHING. Napping, snacking, reading, and a glass of wine before dinner.

That does sound nice.

Minus the wine, that's currently my life.

I haven't worked..."



I'm sorry. When I got my Masters back in 1991, NO ONE was hiring. It was right on the heels of a massive petroleum & aerospace lay-off, and those were the fields I had a degree for! And I really wanted to stay in California, but nope ... I probably should have stayed in school and gotten a PhD, but I was looking for a job instead. So I went back to NJ and I lived with my parents for several months, and those were depressing months. I had MORALS and wouldn't work for a company that made weapons, and my parents and I argued about that. They wanted me to get ANY job. I wanted to get a job that was not connected to weapons. As it turned out, I finally got a job with a large corporation that had other divisions that supplied equipment to the military, but at least it wasn't weapons. Long story short, that's how I ended up living here in NY state. I moved here for that job, and I never left.

Getting to do nothing because you're on vacation (or retired!) is a different thing than getting to do nothing because you can't find a job. If you're out of work anyway and your parents are helping you, might as well go back to school!!

Best wishes.

Ashley Marie,

Congratulations on finishing the Silmarillion. I'm not sure if I've recommended this before in this group, but if so, I'll do it again. The Prancing Pony Podcast covered the Silmarillion very early on in their show. It was something like 60-70 episodes, so it was quite thorough. They pull in material from the references like The History of Middle-Earth and the Reader's Companion where appropriate, too.

Question of the Week:

As a Star Wars fan, James Earl Jones is a pretty obvious choice. Keith Urban, Viggo Mortenson or Judi Dench would also be cool. I love Sarah's idea of the Muses from Hercules.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Mandy wrote: "Momma chukar is diligently sitting on her eggs. She so pretty with her carmine rimmed eyes and blue-grey feathers. She even has little tuffs of brown feathers on either side of her he..."

i'm pretty sure it's pronounced chuck-er. in nevada it is anyway. here's a link to a good picture.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/C...#

there is a guy who raises them for hunting season. not my jam. I only shot animals with my camera. she probably escaped the hunt.

i had a heck of a time identifying her. they are a species that was introduced from Eurasia a long time ago.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Morning update: I finished the Silmarillion this morning! It took me nearly six months, as it wasn't my primary book, and I'm already looking forward to an eventual reread! I may be as proud of thi..."

The Silmarillion was the only fiction book I ever had to take notes on while I read it. I'm probably due for a re-read in the next couple of years.

Ron, if you don't mind me asking, where do you live and what would you study? I'm just being nosy, so you don't have to answer!

I'm currently doing nothing because of health issues. But doing nothing with health issues AND a 4 year old in the house is a LOT busier than I would have imagined!! I had all these grand dreams of writing a novel or maybe going back to school myself... HA!

Funny the curves life throws our way...

Jennifer W wrote: Ron, if you don't mind me asking, where do you live and what would you study? I'm just being nosy, so you don't have to answer!

I live in Texas (UNFORTUNATELY). But my city makes it hard to find jobs. If I could move elsewhere or do something different then I wouldn't mind.

I just can't do call centers. Wasted 3 years of my life at one. My fam. says it was a good thing though because it got me to talking to people which I rarely did, hardly ever and it got me other skills to use.

I have a degree in English but I was not able to find a job to use it for. So now and then I would work on my GPA (as it was a 2.4 when I graduated due to my bad math and science scores which I could not get out of.)

Now I want to get my masters in Education-English.