Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2022 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 32: 8/4 - 8/11
Yae, another week.So things have been going good. Weatherwise, despite the heat, we've been getting a lot of dark clouds and rainstorms which has been great. Definitely need it due to all of these heat advisories and fire dangers.
I've been working on getting ready for school. Going to start community college in the fall since my endgame is going into teaching.
*****
As for this past week, I was very productive in my reading.
Mental Illness Is an Asshole - And Other Observations - This one was really fun. 4 star rating. I loved all of the help and observations the author made about bipolar disorder. Much of it I could relate to.
From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy - The book I didn't know I needed. 4-star. I loved it, pun intended. Though the author used movies I don't watch, it was still a great read. He did mention movies that I have seen. The essays were my favorite parts, especially on J.Lo and Katherine Heigl.
Finding Your Bipolar Muse: How to Master Depressive Droughts and Manic Floods and Access Your Creative Power - 3.5. It was good but after page 170 it got to finances, business, and selling creativity so that was pretty boring.
*****
Like much of the world, I want to read I'm Glad My Mom Died. I went to 3 places yesterday and it was sold out. Amazon too also ran out. Managed to order it through BN but it won't arrive till next week.
*****
QOTW:
If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
Wow that's kind of a tough question. Much of my books, as you all know, are nonfiction. Many don't really have a set location as a result. And with what fiction I do read, the locations don't really hold particular interest, at least not ones that I would actually want to vacation to.
I suppose though, and this may sound cliche in a lot of circles, it would be in the Pacific Northwest via Twilight . I've always loved that area. Maybe it's because I grew up in the southwest and I hate the dryness and the heat. I just think it's so beautiful up there so that would be my ideal location.
They're close to declaring a drought in the UK now. We haven't had proper rain for months. This week is technically another heat wave, they've cancelled all the dog stuff at the agricultural show at the weekend because it's just too hot.I saw that Death Valley of all places is hogging all the rain.
I haven't finished any books this week. Two Point Campus came out and I finally got my Steam Deck, plus we went out and did things at the weekend now we've recovered from covid.
QOTW:
This is technically not a book setting but the Bennett's house from the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is for sale and I was thinking it'd be cool if someone bought it to do Pride and Prejudice holidays. I'd just love to sit in their parlour reading.
If anyone's got a spare £6 million:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/propertie...
I finished A Long Petal of the Sea as my book by a Latina author. I pretty much liked it. I don't think I was in the righ tmood for that particular book. Beautifully written, though.I read Cages: A Tale of Insurrection as my book published in 2022. Loved it.
Just started If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion as my book with cutlery on the cover. It's a murder mystery, but it also has ghosts. And not of the people being murdered. Apparently a part of a series. Seems OK so far, but don't know about this ghost thing.
QOTW: Seriously? I can't answer this question. Any book setting that doesn't take place in the desert or where there's a war going on, and I'm there. If Bread Could Rise to the Occasion takes place in a little teeny town in Missouri. I'm there. I'm very easy to please with vacations. I'll go anywerhe (except the aforementioned deserts and wars).
Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!! I’m in my last few days of vacation. This vacation has been all about HEAT and HUMIDITY. Even when I walk the dogs before dawn, I come back hot and sweaty. But right now it’s pou..."
Happy Thursday! I'm going to have a vacation this Saturday and I am so excited about that. I have a busy week like Cake Baking tutorials & Decoration, Paper Folding, Indoor Games, and Tree Planting. I watched 3 movies this week which are Bridge from Cavite, Saving Hannah from Australia West, and until dusk from Capiz. I enjoyed my week so far and it was great!
I'm Currently Reading:
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
The Witch Boy
And I'm planning to read Thea Stilton and the Mountain of Fire and Lost in London. And also I remembered to read a book about the author who gave me her book this month:)
Question of the Week
If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
- In Eleanor Oliphant, I currently reading is I guess Scotland. In the Remarkable Journey is Florida. In the Thea Stilton is Australia. The Lost in London is London in Europe:)
Happy Thursday and Happy Reading Everyone:D
Happy Thursday!It's been a quiet week on my end, and temperatures have finally cooled off a bit - makes me anticipate autumn all the more. My favorite season, thanks to birthday and Halloween. I'm feeling the pull toward writing again, which I'm pleased about because I haven't felt that way in quite a few months. Consuming so many good stories has me feeling inspired! And I finished a good number of books this week:
A Plain-Dealing Villain - Lockdown, A Daniel Faust Story by Craig Schaefer - The Killing Floor Blues - 5 stars across the board here. I would love to get caught up on Schaefer's work before the end of the year, but there's a spinoff series and then a full multiverse trilogy in the midst of the Faust books, so it's an ambitious plan to say the least. I'm trying my best to hold off on blitzing all of it so one of my friends can keep up, but I'm not sure it's working!
Clap When You Land - 3 stars. I've never read anything like this, and it's one of the reasons I adore Elizabeth Acevedo. Book with an onomatopoeia in the title
Ash - 2.5 stars. I liked it, but not quite what I was expecting.
Out of the Easy - DNF. This has been on my shelf for YEARS, and I've loved all of Ruta's other books. This one just moved too slowly, with bonus slut-shaming.
PS 39/50
Moving along fairly well!
Currently:
Women in the Picture: What Culture Does with Female Bodies - I've been distracted by Daniel Faust books, so I'm hoping to finish this up soon! It's a quick read, which is nice.
Dreaming the Eagle - Missing this world. Coming back as soon as I've wrapped Women in the Picture.
The Kindly Ones - I tore through the Sandman tv show in three days, so I'm all sorts of ready to finish this!
Neverwhere - My audio choice after DNFing Out of the Easy yesterday.
QOTW: If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
So many. The Shire or Rivendell are probably near the top of my list, their idyllic qualities are legion (and I imagine temperatures are milder/less humid than here)! I'm also quickly becoming enamored with the idea of stopping into the Tiger's Garden for a drink, were I ever inclined to vacation in Vegas.
Ellie wrote: "They're close to declaring a drought in the UK now. We haven't had proper rain for months. This week is technically another heat wave, they've cancelled all the dog stuff at the agricultural show a..."I hope you guys get some rain soon. Where I live we have drought years more often than not, so I know how much a drought declaration sucks. :(
Happy Thursday.Still gearing up for school -- it starts August 22nd. Still nervous, but I'm a little more hopeful that things will work out well. Will probably go shopping for a new computer this weekend so I'm better prepared (all my classes are online).
Books read this week:
Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows -- it was fun learning about the various myths of Hispanic/Latino cultures throughout the years… but the story and writing felt pretty weak.
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman -- a surprisingly good middle-grade book about a group of kids becoming friends at a national Scrabble tournament. I ended up learning a lot more about Scrabble than I ever thought possible, hehe…
Sea of Rust -- post-apocalyptic robot novel! Mostly mindless fun, though it has a few interesting philisophical questions along the way.
How High We Go in the Dark -- a surreal yet lovely collection of science fiction vignettes, centered around a strange plague and how humanity copes and evolves as a result.
DNF:
The Mall of Cthulhu -- fun premise, but the characters were just hard to like, and the writing style was trying way too hard to be snarky and funny.
Currently Reading:
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Big Over Easy
The Last House on Needless Street
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
QOTW:
"Anywhere but here" is a tempting answer, haha... I'm more drawn to fantastic places than I am to real-world locations (such as Pern from the Dragonriders of Pern books and the planets of the Wayfarers series), though reading anything set in other cities makes me want to pay a visit...
Happy Thursday!I’ve been home on vacation since Friday the 5th. Heavenly! I’ve been reading and watching things. Watched most of Sandman on Netflix, Queen of Attack 1, part of Queen of Attack 2, and started Love between Fairy and Devil on Viki.
Queen 1 is about a historical drama addict that gets sucked into a drama. She’s married to a crown prince who hates her. She ends up being assassinated 12times because she’s a side character. She changes her fate and she and the prince fall in love. Then more crap hits the fan and sigh. The drama.
Queen 2 is the same girl getting sucked into another drama to save her boyfriend. Of course she gets assassinated by him within the first 5 minutes. She’s an empress who is a despot that forced a general (her boyfriend) to serve her. So now she has to figure out how to change this fate to get them out.
Fairy and devil is awesome. She’s an unnamed orchid fairy only 1000 years old. She has a crush on the war god (he’s got it bad too but his brother -supreme lord of heavens- is forcing him to marry someone else . . . When they find her).
She finds out that the war god was going to die and changes his fate (bad idea for absolute fate) and ends up being locked up in a prison holding the primordial spirit of an evil immortal.
Somehow, she releases him (after hilarious moments of body swapping) and puts an unintended spell on him where if she gets injured he does, if she is sad/happy/hungry he is, if she gives him a command he has to follow it. So now he has to protect her or he could die.
I’ve also been trying to go through books.
Packed up three boxes of books to get rid of them. A lot of them were weeded books I wanted at the time, but now I can let them go. I admit I have a tendency to hoard books like a book dragon, but I’m learning the fine art of letting go.
Finished:
Inuyasha. VizBig Edition, Volume 3: New Allies, New Enemies
The Royal Tutor, Vol. 10
The Royal Tutor, Vol. 11
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 01
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 02
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 03
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 04
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 05
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 06
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 07
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 08
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 09
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 10
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 11
Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden, Vol. 12
Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, Vol. 1
Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 10: Monster
Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 11: Maiden
Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 13: Ten'nyo
Ceres: Celestial Legend, Vol. 14: Hagoromo
The History of the West Wing
A Rip Through Time
Reading:
Steins;Gate 0 Volume 1
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4: Includes Vols. 10, 11 & 12
The Beast Player
Lightning and Romance, Vol. 1
Lightning and Romance, Vol. 2
Planning:
Steins;Gate 0 Volume 2
Steins;Gate 0 Volume 3
Cemetery Boys
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 5: Includes Vols. 13, 14 & 15
QOTW: where wouldn’t I go! Well, as long as I had powers to protect myself because some of the those places have slavers!
Happy Thursday, everyone!I got to celebrate my birthday this week, and I had a really nice, relaxing day! I actually decided to do a tiny bit of online book shopping as a birthday present to myself…which then turned into an absolutely massive book haul.
I’m most excited about the fact that I finally managed to complete my collection of FoxTrot comics, but I also bought quite a few Doctor Who titles that I’m looking forward to reading.
So, my TBR Checklist is somewhat out of control once again. But at least I can guarantee that I will be reading these new books as soon as they arrive in the mail. ^_^
Goodreads: 384/200
TBR Checklist: 328/1058
Finished Reading:
~Impressionist Cats
~My Neighbor Totoro
~Death On The Nile
~Fairy Tail, Vol. 42
~Groot
~Fairy Tail, Vol. 43
~Fairy Tail, Vol. 44
~Fairy Tail, Vol. 45
~Fairy Tail, Vol. 46
~Call Us What We Carry
Currently Reading:
~Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy
~The Big Book of Serial Killers
~Rocket Raccoon & Groot: The Complete Collection
~The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock
QOTW:
I’m a massive fan of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, so I would definitely enjoy vacationing (or living full-time) in the Shire or Rivendell. I would also enjoy vacationing at Pemberley (Pride and Prejudice), or in Scotland (Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other).
Ron wrote: "Like much of the world, I want to read I'm Glad My Mom Died. I went to 3 places yesterday and it was sold out. Amazon too also ran out. Managed to order it through BN but it won't arrive till next week."I'm looking forward to this book as well -- I requested the audiobook through Libby, and it looks like it will take a few months to arrive but it'll be well worth it to hear Jennette read her story.
Good Morning All, the weather is hot with afternoon showers. I read 3 books for the week. None for this challenge.1. Pope Joan. 3 stars. A book that has been on my Kindle queue since May 2017. I'm slowly working in the queue but a lot of the time I don't feel like reading what I own.
2. Borders. 4 stars
3. Romancing Mister Bridgerton. 3 stars
QOTW: I enjoyed the Wizarding World at Universal in Orlando, Fl. I would like to go back. I also want to do the Band of Brothers Tour based on Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
K.L. wrote: "Happy Thursday, everyone!I got to celebrate my birthday this week, and I had a really nice, relaxing day! I actually decided to do a tiny bit of online book shopping as a birthday present to myse..."
Happy Birthday! 🎉🎁🎂🎈🎊
I know how you feel about that tbr. But I did put a definite minuscule, pinprick-sized dent in it this week. All of fushigi was on my owned tbr. Inuyasha and Steins;Gate are too.
Ashley Marie wrote: I'm looking forward to this book as well -- I requested the audiobook through Libby, and it looks like it will take a few months to arrive but it'll be well worth it to hear Jennette read her storyOh nice. I've heard it's supposed to be real emotional since she narrates it herself.
Amazon sold out and now they have it listed for delivery mid-Sept to Oct. I couldn't wait that long so I managed to order it from BN as the one in my city gets more copies next week or so.
A friend told me about it before I heard about it on socials which is cool. Really looking forward to reading it.
Hi all! Still sniffling etc over here with covid. Blah... I got an injection of antibodies on Monday, I haven't noticed an improvement. The worst of it really is that no one dares babysit my kid, and I don't have the energy to play with her, so she's watching lots of TV, unfortunately. Haven't finished anything this week, but made a little bit of progress in Burnt Shadows and The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.
QOTW: My brain is mush, but I feel like I remember being impressed with Penang in The Gift of Rain.
Hello! The Hugo voting deadline is tonight, and I did not get everything read that I wanted to. (Plus I still have all the short stories and novelettes and artists to review this evening.) I got a LOT more read than last year, but I still ran out of time. I think I need to read more new releases BEFORE they're Hugo nominees. It will definitely be nice to get back to reading books for the challenge and my own whims, as there are new releases in my favorite series coming out soon. It was also nice to return my stack of Hugo books to the library yesterday and check out something for Read Harder.Finished This Week:
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo. I wanted something short to break up all the SF/F last week, and found this book of poetry by a former Poet Laureate. It's about the Trail of Tears and the experience of the Native people who were removed from their lands, and the generations after. Heavy subject matter, but it's poetry, so it's fast. Using for Read Harder's Entire Poetry Collection.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Hugo Nominee for Best Novel. All of my friends who said this was a really good book were right. I believed the characterization and the plot kept me guessing. I still think The Martian is my favorite of his, but this is certainly up there along with it. Using for ATY #34, Teacher in an Important Role.
Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe. Hugo Nominee for Best Graphic Story or Comic. I guess it's a webtoon? I know the mythology of the Greek gods, but it was weird to see them as 20 something socialites with phones and shopping. The sexual assault, well, that was expected. Art-wise, I wish there had been more explanation of who everyone was. I still don't know which of them is Zeus, and I think that other guy was Poseidon. And it was very dark. Using for ATY #30, Related to Mythology.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. Hugo Nominee for Best New Writer and the Lodestar Award for Best YA Book (not a Hugo). Marketed as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale, and it absolutely is that. I enjoyed the story until I read a review mentioning how we are given zero motivation for why the MC is the way she is or why everyone seems to love her. Once I had her Mary Sue-ness pointed out, I couldn't unsee it. And then the ending went a completely different way from what I expected (except the part that was supposed to be a surprise, but I know how foreshadowing works). I'm not sure how I feel about it now. Not for prompt.
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell. Hugo nominee for Best New Writer. Most of the reviews for this one are debating if it's Science Fiction with Romance, or Romance with Science Fiction, and then complaining that they felt it was more one than the other, and they were expecting the other. I enjoyed it, and that was a surprise. Some of the worldbuilding could have used some deeper explanation, like how long a week was, because if there's only three weeks to the treaty signing, and then ten days pass, and it's three days to travel to where the signing ceremony will be, why are you taking a three day trip to this other place? Aren't you rapidly running out of days? Not for PS Prompt.
PS: 40/50 RH: 11/24 ATY: 47/52 GR: 115/100
Currently Reading:
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine. Almost halfway. Need to finish tonight, and I'm probably not going to make it.
Stormsong by C.L. Polk. Haven't quite decided to DNF yet, but I'm leaning that way.
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. Need to get back to it now that Hugo time is over.
QoTW: If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
I've been thinking about this all morning but hadn't caught that you specified Vacation, not Live. If I don't have to live there, and could leave, that changes my answer. (I was mostly thinking about all the fantastical settings I've read and my chances of being a peasant and dying in them were very high.)
I agree with the others who have said Rivendell. If there was a way to be a mouse or otter, I think visiting Redwall Abbey would be pretty cool. The towns in the forest of A Psalm for the Wild-Built sounded neat and I could see spending a vacation there in their tree hut things.
Finished:Q-Squared by Peter David (reread for the umpteenth time, 4/5)
I've got a few quibbles that take it from a 5 to a 4, but if you want an ambitious story that celebrates Q and all of the TNG crew, then you should definitely check this one out.
Question of the Week:
A few ideas include Lothlorien, Booster Terrik's Star Destroyer, and the Maje-Imperator's palace from Hidden Empire.
The endless energy sapping 90+F heat and off the charts humidity has ended! Still hot and humidity but better. I also head off on vacation for a few days - a small island off the coast of Maine. No internet and almost no cell service. I plan to sleep, read, stitch, do jigsaw puzzles. I'm 43/50!
Finished:
An Artist of the Floating World - beautiful! short but so complete that you swear you read a book twice as long.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway - SO GOOD! Gothic house, surprise heir, dark family secrets yet Ware makes it fresh. Best interweaving of tarot ever.
Easy Innocence - first in the P.I. Georgia Davis series and terrific - set in Chicago
Grey Mask - from 1928 and the Golden Age of Detective Mysteries - introduces Miss Silver and is great fun, clever puzzle
Troublemaker by Linda Howard - first of a duology -- romantic suspense thriller mystery -- Tricks, a golden retriever diva, totally steals the story. Really really enjoyed.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - the very first Poirot from 1918 - I last read this as a teen.
Currently reading:
The Woman Left Behind - part 2 of duology
The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers - seems appropriate for a vacation in Maine
Klara and the Sun
Murder Off the Beaten Path
Paris by the Book
Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
QOTW: I have a whole list! Or two! The most recent additions:
Cambridge, England -- setting was the strong point of Chapter and Curse - came alive!
Snowdonia National Park in Wales - setting for the Constable Evans series by Rhys Bowen
Happy Valley in Kenya -- Circling the Sun and Chasing Cheetahs: The Race to Save Africa's Fastest Cat
Most of all - I want to take a canal trip on a narrowboat along the UK canal system -- The Narrowboat Summer
Work's been kind of slow for me. Not too much going on. It was hot earlier in the week, but right now it's just about perfect temperatures for me.Last Friday, I got to see the Hamilton tour again, so that was exciting.
Finished:
Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories - Not for a prompt. An excellent collection of essays on fiction writing and being creative even when life is difficult. I made so many highlights on my Kindle.
Comics/manga:
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 2
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 3
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil A Rún, Volume 4
I am currently at 46/50 for Popsugar (37/40 and 9/10). I think I'm going to finish sometime in September this year.
Currently reading:
The Bear and the Nightingale - a reread for a book that takes place during your favorite season (winter). I loved this book the first time I read it, but I never got around to the sequels at the time, so I wanted to refresh my memory before reading them. I'm planning to read the rest of the series to fill other prompts, too.
QOTW: I don't know. Leaving aside real-place settings (and dystopian ones for obvious reasons) - I've always been attracted to fantasy settings. I used to love going to the Renn Faire, although we haven't been back since Covid.
When I was younger, I used to dream of visiting Lackey's Valdemar. Of more recent reads, maybe the city from Legends & Lattes where Viv sets up her shop -- or, going sci-fi a moment, maybe Becky Chambers' ship, the Wayfarer.
Jen wrote: "Work's been kind of slow for me. Not too much going on. It was hot earlier in the week, but right now it's just about perfect temperatures for me.Last Friday, I got to see the Hamilton tour again..."
Ah! Thanks for the reminder to get back to Girl from the Other Side, Jen! I read v1 earlier this year and enjoyed it.
I saw Nadine's post before I went to sleep! Some nights are like that.Finished: The Politicization of the Supreme Court This had a lot of helpful information.
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy I enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as the first in the series, just because I knew more what to expect.
Kiki Kallira Conquers a Curse Ditto.
Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped You have to get past the author's hubris to get anything out of this one.
Parecomic: Michael Albert and the Story of Participatory Economics Wasn't really suitable as a graphic novel.
Started: Decision: How the Supreme Court Decides Cases This is too much of a deep dive into the subject matter for me.
Witchlings Meh.
Qotw: I like the question. But I don't have a good answer. I was considering Fantastica from The Neverending Story, but I wouldn't be willing to trade wishes for memories, so it would be hard for me to navigate that world.
Ashley Marie wrote: "Ah! Thanks for the reminder to get back to Girl from the Other Side, Jen! I read v1 earlier this year and enjoyed it."There's supposed to be an anime version coming out, so I wanted to read it first. I'm really enjoying it so far.
Ooooh will definitely keep my eyes peeled for that too!And I saw something about a pair of Fullmetal Alchemist live-action sequels coming this year as well. Yayayayyyy!
Happy Thursday! I've got a big family wedding and a feast day coming up this weekend. Tons to do! But happy things, which is a nice change of pace. :) But it means I'm way behind in my reading schedule.Currently Reading
Dune for "Hugo award winner". I'm SO CLOSE to finishing this. It's pretty good!
QotW
I want to vacation in the lap of luxury described in Crazy Rich Asians. Ha!
Covid is paying a visit to our house: my boyfriend has it. It’s like a normal cold, but he does cough like I do with my bronchitis. So he’s experiencing my colds right now and finally understands why I cancel all my meetings when I'm having a cold. I’m still negative and no symptoms, surprisingly, I’m Miss Cold normally and pick-up every cold that’s passing.On weather: we’re having temperatures over 30 Celsius, which is very hot over here. I so love the a/c in our bedroom.
PS: 16/40
Total 2022: 35 (really, I’m on my way to 50+ books this year!)
Finished
All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not for PS
Sniff… I finished the series and now I’m a bit sad to say farewell to the Cazalets. This last book wasn’t the best. It almost seems like it’s a scratch version with main story lines the writer had to finish. And there’s so much more to tell… (view spoiler) So many questions left, so little answers. Well, at least I can make up my own answers.
Currently reading
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End
QOTW
Just vacation? That little town of The House at the Edge of Night. I’d love to sit at the cafe draped with bougainvillea watching the stars…. and read of course. There are probably more places I’d would love to vacation, but this one comes to mind right now. Plus I can’t think of bookish location in the Swiss mountains where we’re heading next week.
Jen wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "Ah! Thanks for the reminder to get back to Girl from the Other Side, Jen! I read v1 earlier this year and enjoyed it."There's supposed to be an anime version coming out, so I..."
It’s on Crunchyroll right now. Watched a part of the first episode. It’s almost old school where there are layers of cels atop one another to get depth. It’s interesting.
Ashley Marie wrote: "Ooooh will definitely keep my eyes peeled for that too!And I saw something about a pair of Fullmetal Alchemist live-action sequels coming this year as well. Yayayayyyy!"
I can’t wait for them. I think they are coming next week or this week on Netflix
Brandon wrote: "Finished:Q-Squared by Peter David (reread for the umpteenth time, 4/5)
I've got a few quibbles that take it from a 5 to a 4, but if you want an ambitious story that ..."
Q is my favorite character on stng. I have most of the st books featuring him.
I spent most of the second week of my two week vacation being sick, either with covid or the 'flu (I never tested myself). I lost reading time and didn't get to have much fun. I'm not as far along in the 3 books I was going to read as I would have thought.Finished:
Home Before Dark
ATY prompt: A book with a time-related word in the title
Popsugar prompt: A book with two POVs
(summer prompt: A book with a twist)
ATY - 33/52
PS- 28/35
Series -10/13
Clearing my TBR list: 26/40
Currently reading:
The Halloween Tree - almost 65% done
The Summer Tree - about 55% done
Reading with my kids:
At Home in Mitford - 17/24 chapters
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 25/37 chapters
QOTW: Just the location? Or in the book? I'd love to see Dublin, but without a crime-fighting skeleton. I'd like the island in The House in the Cerulean Sea, but without the anti-Christ or the island in And Then There Were None without the serial killer.
Happy Check-In!I've had a great week despite worrying about covid. So onto the BOTM pick The Dog Stars about a post apocalypitic/post coughing pandemic world and survival. Yep great timing, oh well. I'll be posting new questions shortly.
Finished Reading:
The Case of a Cup of Joe The Case of the King of Clubs ⭐⭐⭐
I've enjoyed this series although it would have been nice for it to have a intentional ending.
Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Her sense of humour is great in these comics. This was her first book and now to wait for her new book next year.
Demons ⭐⭐⭐ High Fantasies ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Colossal Magic Nothing ⭐⭐⭐
Well sometimes these are great adventure stories or origin stories following the great characters. These are the times the collections are really good. However, when they jump around in the timeline I get confused especially when there are new artists to figure out who is who.
PS 2022 45/50
PS 2015 43/50
Goodreads 185/250
Currently Reading:
The Dog Stars
Politically Correct Holiday Stories: For an Enlightened Yuletide Season
QOTW:
The first thing that jumped into my head was Northern Spain from The Spanish Love Deception. I read this earlier this year and for some reason it stuck. I really like other people's answers of Rivendell and the Crazy Rich Asians vacation.
Mandy wrote: "Happy Birthday! 🎉🎁🎂🎈🎊I know how you feel about that tbr. But I did put a definite minuscule, pinprick-sized dent in it this week. All of fushigi was on my owned tbr. Inuyasha and Steins;Gate are too."
Thanks, Mandy!
It looks like you read a lot of great stuff this week! I loved the Fushigi Yûgi and Inuyasha series, and really enjoyed the Ceres anime. I'd like to read the manga at some point, but I think I'm going to have to put it on hold until I get caught up on the other series on my shelves.
Q is my favorite character on stng. I have most of the st books featuring him.
I love Q so much! He's such an interesting character! I really enjoyed the Q-Continuum trilogy, but I also really liked Q-in-Law.
Checking in on time this week! I have made a mental-health decision to work less and read more this week and I am happy to say I finished two books!
Finished:
Once There Were Wolves. This was a beautiful book and I wished I sat down and read it in one sitting but it took me almost a month to finish.
Ask Again, Yes. A really good family saga that spans over 30 years. It moves along pretty fast.
Currently Reading:
Detransition, Baby. Still waiting for my copy to re-up at the library.
The It Girl. Another book by Ruth Ware. I have loved all of her books. I just really hope I haven't guessed "who dunnit" after 30 pages...
QOTW:
I am torn between The House in the Cerulean Sea and the cabins from The Hunting Party which are remote so I can curl up and read and use the "no reception" excuse for not responding to anyone.
Did a little reading before the beginning of the semester insanity.For the prompt A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship I read The Eidlerland Incident by Geoffrey Mandragora. ships and submarines, close enough as far as I was concerned.
For the prompt A book about the afterlife i read In the Night Room by Peter Straub. It had a complex afterlife set up in the first half then got very creepy in a bad sexual way in the second half, do not recommend
QOTW I decided to limit this question to books read this year and of course I read a lot of SFF so that's an issue.
I would love to go back to Wales as I've not seen the area in On Deadly Tides by Elizabeth J. Duncan Also I'd like to see Scotland such as in Bravely by Maggie Steifvater. Granted this is both historical and fantastical in setting but hey Scottish castles are possible
I haven't been able to read everyone's posts the last few weeks, so I hope no one has been having interesting discussions without me. hahaFinished
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.: Special Edition by Judy Blume - 4 stars
I've been meaning to read this book for decades, and really wish I had read it when I was 12 (although I suspect it would have been banned in my neck of the woods). It was interesting reading as a 62yo woman, however. It was fun remembering the things that worried 12yo girls. And I had completely forgotten our chest muscle exercises to "We must, we must, we must increase our bust." Delightful!
History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera - 3 stars; PS #6 Latinx author
I've really enjoyed his other books, but this one was just okay. I was glad when it was over.
Goodreads: 51/100
PopSugar: 23/40, 6/10
QOTW:
I always think of The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. An Italian villa by the sea with lots of beautiful gardens, and a few strangers who become friends sounds like a delightful way to spend April. Since the book was written in 1922, I would like a few more modern features though.
Happy Thursday. Stats:
PS: 41/50
ATY: 69/75
ATY Reread: 29/52
Books I finished:
Twenty-One Ways to Die in Saskatchewan ⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: PS: Misleading title.
This is a collection of poetry and short stories all set in/about Saskatchewan. A couple of them are good, but the whole thing is uneven and I wasn't going to give it a positive rating, but then it ended strong. I had picked it up because the title caught my eye, but I was expecting more dark humour and there wasn't any really.
Under the Whispering Door ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY Reread: Goodreads Choice Nominee
I wasn't planning to reread this, but it called to me when I was in the library. I loved it just as much as the first time I read it.
The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Left her Mini) ⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: ATY: A book related to a tarot card (Justice)
I think I might have liked this because I liked the tv show. the artwork wasn't great and if I hadn't already been familiar with the character, I might have DNF'd it.
Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: None
It was just fun and funny.
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: PS: Set in your favorite season (Halloween)
A middle grade continuation of the story. I am such a big fan I knew I had to read it. And it feels just like the original.
Stuck with You ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Prompt: None
So I've now read all 3 in the STEMinist novella trilogy. I still say the third is my favorite. This one is too much instalove for my taste, but the soccer love makes up for it.
Books I made progress on:
Carnival
The Hating Game
QotW
I want to go to the Gertrude Hunt - The Inn from Ilona Andrews's Innkeeper series. A magic inn that can reshape itself to be exactly what you want with an amazing chef - pretty perfect if you ask me.
At this point I'm no longer going to compete with myself as to how many books I read each week. It was fun and everything but my reading goal for the year was 25 and I'm at a little over 50 at this point so I'm good. Anything after 25, and now 50 is just extra.Plus, I tend to annotate my books so that takes up a lot of time. It also takes time since many of the ones I read are history related and those I don't read linearly. I jump from book to book since they're usually so long. Add in the fact that I'm a mood reader and it's difficult to sit still with just one book cover to cover.
Currently though I am working through Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. This is one I've read before but I'm annotating this time around.
Hi everyone. Currently melting in yet another heatwave. My fan is my best friend right now.This week I finished Blood of Tyrants. I'm kind of on the fence with this one. I love Laurence and Temeraire's bond but everything seemed extra contrived in this. It's especially convenient that (view spoiler) and then the whole Napoleon section bored me. I'll read the final one still but probably not straight away.
Currently reading: The Whitby Witches which is really creepy for a kids book. I would have loved it when I was younger. It is a little dated though. I don't know many people these days who would let an eight year old and an eleven year old they've just met explore their new town alone on their first day and not even give them a curfew. How times change!
Also reading Winter's Orbit. I just started this one but I almost missed my bus stop because I was so engrossed; which is a good sign.
QOTW: I'm so hot right now i feel like saying the Antarctic base from Away with the Penguins but I'd probably get cabin fever pretty quickly. Maybe go on an under the sea cruise on the Nautilus or the deserted Thai island from The Beach (just minus the drug dealers)
Mod
Theresa wrote: "Troublemaker by Linda Howard - first of a duology -- romantic suspense thriller mystery -- Tricks, a golden retriever diva, totally steals the story. Really really enjoyed."I read a lot of Linda Howard in the 90s and early 00s, but I haven't read anything by her for a while. Looks like my library has this one, so I'll have to get it.
It is so hot here. Like walk outside and you are already dripping with sweat hot and humid. My husband was like this should be the last month, right, and I'm like it will be like this until October... he has selective temperature memory I guess lol.I finished a couple of books this week:
Flesh Worn Stone by John A. Burks Jr. - I have no idea why this was on my kindle, I could not have known the content and still purposely bought it, it is so graphic. Warning - rape, cannibalism, extreme violence, and more. I almost didn't finish. Used for social horror prompt.
The Heavenstone Secrets by V. C. Andrews - standard V.C. Andrews plot/story, but poorly executed (moreso than other efforts in this line). Used for an author I read last year prompt. Set in Kentucky, used for my 50 states challenge.
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine - completely engrossing thriller, I could not put this down. Ex-wife of a serial killer and her two children on the run, trying to build a new life, but running into events too coincidental to be coincidence. Set in Tennessee, used for my 50 states challenge.
QOTW: Having read so many novels about the Tudors and English royalty, I'd really like to visit England. Also, if fantasy worlds count, Narnia.
Tania wrote: "It is so hot here. Like walk outside and you are already dripping with sweat hot and humid. My husband was like this should be the last month, right, and I'm like it will be like this until October..."stillhouse lake sounds really good
Challenge Progress: PS 30/50Finished:
The Space Between Worlds (PS book with a parallel reality) 4 stars. I really liked chemistry of the main couple. I also thought it was an interesting detail that the only people who could survive to travel to multiple worlds are people who were dead in multiple worlds. In other words, people who don't generally live safe lives. It made for an interesting backstory to the main character.
The Song of Achilles (PS #BookTok book) 3 stars. I did love the relationship with Achilles and Patroclus. The author's writing style was also excellent and very readable. It's just sometimes hard to read the Greek myth stuff with its not good treatment of women and the extreme cruelty of their gods.
Coming Up:
Year of the Reaper (PS pacific islander author)
The Romantic Agenda (PS book with ace character)
QOTW:
If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
I'm gonna choose my favorite book from childhood. I always wanted to go to the Kingdom of Wisdom and taste the letters in the Word market from The Phantom Tollbooth
Felicia,There are some great places to visit in The Phantom Tollbooth. Great choice! I think Subtraction Stew would be amazing to have on hand if you eat too much (like at Thanksgiving or at a buffet).
Melissa wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Troublemaker by Linda Howard - first of a duology -- romantic suspense thriller mystery -- Tricks, a golden retriever diva, totally steals the story. Really really enjoyed."I read..."
I just finished the sequel and it is almost as good. Great strong central woman.
Welcome to the busiest time of the year for me, have three large projects all joining within the same 5 business day window, which is outrageous. 2 of 3 are onboard and the last one kicks off Tuesday, so happy to move into the working part of the project, because it feels like it has been a lot of hurry up and wait...Finished Reading:
1.) Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (#13- 1980s) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Wow- didn't think (at all) I would love this as much as I did. I stayed up until 1am finishing this, I laughed, I cried and ended this completely in love with these characters-- and FWIW, I'm not a tennis or big sports fan at all.
2.) Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (#43- Palindrome) ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Loved the mixed media and voice behind these women. Enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would.
Currently Reading:
1.) Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say
2.) The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream
QoTW: If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
So many places...
Hogwarts
Three Pines (Louise Penny - Armand Gamache)
One Italian Summer - Positano
Ashley Marie wrote: "Out of the Easy - DNF. This has been on my shelf for YEARS, and I've loved all of Ruta's other books. This one just moved too slowly, with bonus slut-shaming."Oh no! I have a signed copy of this on my actual shelves that I've been meaning to get to. I love her stuff, so figured I would love this one too.
K.L. wrote: "I got to celebrate my birthday this week, and I had a really nice, relaxing day! "Happy Birthday KL- sounds like a perfect day!
Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! Still sniffling etc over here with covid. Blah... I got an injection of antibodies on Monday, I haven't noticed an improvement. The worst of it really is that no one dares babysit my kid, a..."Hope you round a corner to get better soon Jennifer!
Theresa wrote: "The endless energy sapping 90+F heat and off the charts humidity has ended! Still hot and humidity but better. I also head off on vacation for a few days - a small island off the coast of Maine. No..."Wow Theresa- that vacation sounds so peaceful!! Enjoy. :)
Mod
I use Amazon just as little as possible with the one main exception being GOODREADS! Come on. Pay attention, Bezos and all your minions! Okay. Done. Whew! Feelin’ a bit less tense now! LOL Thank you for 'listening'/reading!
Our weather has been wonderful lately. Highs in the high 70s-low 80s and occasional rain. I am grateful not to deal with high temperatures and high humidity.
Murderbot: An Autistic-Coded Robot Done Right: https://www.tor.com/2022/06/21/murder...
I do not remember how/when I discovered this article regarding Murderbot and Autism, but it was quite enlightening to me. I am fortunate in that I have never been diagnosed as “neurodivergent,” but I also refuse to consider a concept such as “normal” to be valid when applied to humans. It just doesn’t exist, IMO, and, also IMO, humanity would be so much better off if we simply abandoned the whole concept. That doesn’t mean there are not acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, but those are truly rather few and far between, IMO. As I have aged, I have even more regard for the “Golden Rule” (Treat others as you wish to be treated.) and the whole concept of mutual respect. Honestly, if each individual operated from this foundation, I believe the world would be a much better place to live!
ADMIN STUFF:
The November Monthly Group Read will be The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune as determined by the voting over this past week. This will satisfy prompt #9 A book about a “found family” as was decided by a group poll! I read this last year and adored it! Personally, I consider it to be one of the best examples of a “found family.” (Though having just finished Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler, that is another excellent example.) As I skimmed some of the GR reviews I noted there is now some controversy from some readers, but I simply read it as I felt it was intended, a feel-good fantasy. I will most likely give this a reread in November and I am anxious to read his latest release, Under the Whispering Door as well as The Extraordinaries. *sigh* So many books and so little time… First-world dilemmas.
Nadine will post a December nomination poll to begin next week and then we will have a final selection poll for December’s Monthly Group Read the following week. Then we’ll be done until we have a new list of prompts for 2023!
Erica is the "marvelous manager" leading the August discussion of The Dog Stars by Peter Heller which can be found HERE. The August "I Finished!" thread is HERE! This book can be used to fulfill prompt #35 A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title. The theme was selected for August to coincide with the Perseid Meteor Shower which is typically from mid-July to around mid-August. It is expected to peak August 11-12 in 2022!
We currently have THREE Monthly Group Reads still needing discussion leaders:
1) September: a “savvy superstar” to lead the discussion of Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
2) October: a “knowledgeable navigator” to lead the discussion of The Ex Hex (The Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling
3) November: an “official organizer” to lead the discussion of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
The comprehensive listing of Monthly Group Reads for 2022 is HERE.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
What a great question!
I think I must cheat though. I have always dreamed of visiting Hawaii, as well as millions of other places, but I still have Hawaii at the top of my list after reading the descriptions in The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren! Tropical locations have always fascinated me…
Though I am STILL not caught up with documenting books, my challenge totals are:
Popsugar: 41/50
ATY: 50/52
RHC: 15/24
FINISHED:
*Cross Country (Alex Cross #14) by James Patterson (4 STARS) was okay. The treatment of Cross in Africa was probably more realistic than not and I admire Patterson for tackling that. There wasn’t much character development… I’m still continuing with the series though!
POPSUGAR: #25, #29, #40-2016: prompt #14 A book you can finish reading in one day, #46-Millard
ATY: #1, #2, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): It seemed Alex had no chance to succeed, #6-the sun, #7, #31-2008, #36-the “Tiger”, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41-the lack thereof, #44, #49, #50
*White Nights (Shetland #2) by Ann Cleeves (5 STARS) was excellent. The mystery was well plotted, but I particularly appreciated the relationship building between Jimmy and Fran. Very well done and I am anxious to continue the series!
POPSUGAR: #19, #25, #38, #40-2016: prompt #8 A book set in Europe, #46
ATY: #1-Aggie, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…despair…decay…, #7, #15, #29, #31-2008, #33, #40-The Lovers, Strength, The Hanged Man, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #43, #44, #49
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #3 Read a mystery where the victim is not a woman
*Hidden Depths (Vera Stanhope #3) by Ann Cleeves (5 STARS) was another great installment and Vera is very present in this book, IMO! And that’s a good thing. I can relate to her reticence regarding her physical appearance, build, etc. It is tough not to be thin, fit, and beautiful in this world! And kudoes to Cleeves for this confident, humorous, and compassionate character!
POPSUGAR: #25, #40-2015: prompt #49 A book based on or turned into a TV show, #46
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…despair…decay…, #5, #7, #15, #29, #31-2007, #32, #33, #34, #35, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #44, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #3 Read a mystery where the victim is not a woman
*When Will There Be Good News? (Jackson Brodie #3) by Kate Atkinson (5 STARS) was an absolutely amazing read! Seriously! Not only is Atkinson supreme in her ability to interweave characters’ lives, but she also surprises in other ways. In an interview she stated that she feels she writes fiction, not necessarily mysteries or “crime fiction.” I guess there is much more emphasis on such classifications in the US than in the UK. I just found that interesting.
POPSUGAR: #9, #25, #36, #40-2017: prompt #14 A book involving travel, #46-Tessa
ATY: #3, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…despair…decay…, #7, #13-Dr. H, #31-2008, #33, #34-Mrs. M, #36-Sadie and Jackson!, #40-Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, The Fool, #41, #44, #46, #49, #50, #52
CONTINUING:
*Beloved by Toni Morrison
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed is even more fascinating and revealing than I imagined it might be… (Please allow me to apologize now for such a long posting about this one!) I have owned this book for several years and keep meaning to read it, so decided it will be my Anisfield-Wolf Award winner. (Even if it is a brick at 796 pages!) I had no idea Virginia was in a deep depression and nearly every single landowner owed overwhelming debt to English merchants ‘back home’ just prior to the Revolutionary War. And Thomas Jefferson’s father was one of the few who was able to bequeath only assets to his children with no debts to encumber them. Elizabeth Hemings came to TJ by way of his wife, Martha, since his father-in-law, John Wayles, bequeathed slaves to his daughter. Wayles had fathered multiple children with Elizabeth, so this lifestyle was rather literally ‘passed down’ to Jefferson. It was a very common and accepted practice for white males to father children with slaves, hence why Virginia law granted inherited social position from the mother, not the father, as was common in England… So if your mother was a slave, you were a slave, regardless of heritage, skin color, etc. Ah, yes…patriarchy and white supremacy were (and I would argue still IS) “the law”…
Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico was quite difficult to purchase. I ended up buying an ebook from Google Books as any print copies I located were $75 and up! It was originally published in 1958. The premise of this book is fascinating to me and the time in which it was written. It is obvious I really really want to read it since I purposefully never select ebooks unless forced to do so.
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia Butler is not anything I expected…rather brutal and yet, quite compelling. I rather assume I will read the sequel. (I am posting very late this week, so my comments will wait for next Thursday!)
Chirp by Kate Messner appears to be an excellent juvenile/YA mystery read!
PLANNED:
August Buddy/Group Reads:
Last Call at the Nightingale (Nightingale Mysteries #1) by Katharine Schellman
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
*Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
*Alex Cross's Trial (Alex Cross #15) by James Patterson
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
SFB Book Club:
*A Study in Honor (The Janet Watson Chronicles #1) by Claire O'Dell
STILL PLANNING THESE BELOW AS WELL!
*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
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
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I’m in my last few days of vacation. This vacation has been all about HEAT and HUMIDITY. Even when I walk the dogs before dawn, I come back hot and sweaty. But right now it’s pouring rain and thundering, so I’m sipping my coffee and postponing our morning walk, which means I’ve got time to check in early!
Admin stuff
August group read of The Dog Stars is on-going!
We still need discussion leads for September & October & November.
November group read (for “found family”) will be: The House in the Cerulean Sea!
This week I did not read nearly as much as I’d hoped. I finished two books, not for this challenge.
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James - this was a fun beach read, but not amazing.
Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo - the true story of shark attacks in NJ in 1916, which was super fun Beach reading on the Jersey Shore (but the actual true story could easily be told in a magazine article, so this book was full of filler)
Question of the Week
If you could vacation in any bookish location you’ve read about, which would you choose?
So, I wasnt really a fan of the book Call Me By Your Name, but I loved the setting!!! I would love to vacation in house in a little Italian town by the sea, such as in Call Me By Your Name and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Bonus if there’s a cook who makes me soft-boiled eggs and fresh squeezed juice every morning!