Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Another year almost done. It never seems possible for a year to be over when it is almost over! ;)

This week has not been fun! I have been sicker than in the past 10 years or so all week. Missed 2 IRL book club meetings (Including the group I facilitate! :() and haven’t been to the gym in over a week. Ugh. And now, as of Tuesday night, my husband is sick as well. At least I’m feeling good enough to oversee his care. So, as you’ll see I must match each book I’ve read with the corresponding 2022 prompts below. I just haven’t had the wherewithal to do much other than read a bit when I feel good enough to do so! I trust all of you are having a much healthier and better time of it! I’m just so glad we don’t do holiday gatherings and I don’t have the added worries of traveling, etc., at this time of year! I am sending “safe travel” energy to all those who do!!

I did manage to do a bit of planning and now have 7 books selected for Nadine’s Mini Challenge next year. I’m not a huge fan of mythology, so I may need to skip or amend that prompt… ;) (Sorry, Nadine!) I just love reading the list since each of them is so creative and fun!!

ADMIN STUFF:
If you’ve not yet read Book Lovers by Emily Henry for the December Monthly Group Read discussion, there is still time!! This could be used to fulfill 2022 prompt #1 A book published in 2022. JessicaMHR will be the "rambunctious reader" facilitating that discussion! Both that and the discussion thread for December Challenge—I finished! are in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. I am hoping to get to the discussion yet today.

Happy to announce that we will be reading Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney for the January 2023 Monthly Group Read! We are searching for a "powerfully provocative facilitator" for this month’s discussion! Is that YOU?!?

And the final selection poll for the February 2023 Monthly Group Read is HERE! (I couldn't get either computer to pull and place an image so this poll is pretty dull and boring! LOL)
Help us decide what to read to fulfill 2023 prompt #43 A book that takes place entirely in one day!

Also, another reminder that every single past 2022 Monthly Group Read discussion and “I Finished!” thread is open and available to all in the 2022 Monthly Group Reads folder HERE.

Question of the Week:
What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?
Without a doubt it is #10 An Anisfield-Wolf Award winner. Why? Several reasons. Firstly, it is a literary award linked to diversity. Secondly, it finally got me to read The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. And lastly, did I mention it is an award based upon diversity? Oh, yeah…I did! ;) Well, double it! I am planning to also read The Trees by Percival Everett next year, just because!

Popsugar: 46/50
ATY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 19/24

FINISHED:
*Thin Air (Shetland Island #6) by Ann Cleeves (5 STARS) was just as impressive as others in this series, even if not one of my overall favorites among the Shetland installments. I admit I admire the fact that Cleeves never hesitates to make some of the most innocent-seeming characters into villains!
POPSUGAR: #9, #25, #28-holiday = vacation, #38, #40-2015: prompt #10 A mystery or thriller, #46, #47
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…desolation…despair—hopeless, #5, #7, #15, #19, #23, #24, #29, #30, #33, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #43, #44, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #10 A rural setting

*Too Good To Be True (Shetland Island #6.2) by Ann Cleeves (5 STARS) was a very short installment in the series but still a good mystery!
POPSUGAR: #9, #24, #25, #26, #40-2015: prompt #10 A mystery or thriller
ATY: #1-Anna, #4-A book written by an author you might like to meet, #5, #7, #12-drinking glasses in Anna’s house, #14-3,408 ratings, #15, #19, #25-112 pages, #29, #33, #34, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41, #43, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2018: prompt #15 A one-sitting book

*Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (5 STARS) was hopeful in the end. If each of us just did “one small thing” as was done for Furlong, this world would definitely be a better place! Though I missed the book club discussion, the consensus was we would all like a sequel… All I can find published for her are two short story collections, but I would definitely read more of her writing!
POPSUGAR: #9, #13, #24, #25, #26, #28, #31-the Catholic church!, #33, #36, #40-2015: prompt #17 Recommended by a friend, #46, #47
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…desolation…despair—hopeless? Not “for long”!, #7, #11, #15, #17, #19, #24, #25-118 pages, #40-Strength, Justice, Judgment, The World, #41, #43, #44, #49
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #7 A historical fiction novel not set in WW II

*Otherworld (Last Reality #1) by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller (3 STARS) was rather disappointing. While I was drawn into the suspense of the adventurous chase, I was definitely put off by the cannibalistic details and repetitions of such. Since this was a litrpg book it was inevitable that I would compare it to Ready Player One and Ready Player Two since those are the only other litrpg books I’ve read. While I really enjoyed both of Cline’s books I just wasn’t invested enough in these characters. Then the ending really had me, until I considered the book overall and decided I really am not interested enough to read the next two books to know what happens… This was the last book I needed for the AtY challenge so decided to read it during the AtY Readathon!
POPSUGAR: #9, #25, #36, #40-2017: prompt #16 Published in 2017, #47
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…desolation…despair—hopeless, #7, #15, #19, #40-Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41, #44, NEW #45, #49
RHC: #24-2021: A book with a cover you don’t like

*The Harlem Charade by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (5 STARS) was just an all-round excellent read! It may be targeted to a much younger audience, but certainly worked for me as well!
POPSUGAR: #9, #25, #36, #40-2017: prompt #5 A book written by a person of color, #47
ATY: #1-Alexandra, #4-A book relating to Catch-22, #7, #14-1,028 ratings, #19, #40-Strength, Judgment, The World, #41, #44, #49, #50
RHC: #4, #13, #24-2016: Read a middle-grade novel

CONTINUING:
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. Made a bit more progress on this one!
Jefferson was a shopper. He loved acquiring possessions! He also believed that white males would eventually “lose the more extensive power” they had over enslaved people and felt that would be a good thing. But did not feel that white males should or would lose ultimate control over females and children… Interesting. Gordon-Reed notes that he would probably be dismayed by the changes in today’s world!
*The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
*Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico for the sister cities prompt.
*Beloved by Toni Morrison

PLANNED:
*Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink for Popsugar
*A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra for Popsugar
*The Cuckoo's CallingThe Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike #1) by Robert Galbraith for Popsugar
*Strange Sight (Essex Museum Witch Mystery #2) by Syd Moore
*The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
*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

After all the kerfuffle of the previous week we're having a super laid back Christmas, mostly jigsaw puzzles infront of the TV with much snacking. The ice has all gone now and it's just grey and dark. Looking forward to days getting longer from hereon out!

Finished:
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn. Not as good as the first but still enjoyed it, there was a lot going on and the pacing was a bit stop and start.

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk. Good supernatural detective story, with a great audiobook narration.

QOTW:
I liked a book about witches, it's a good combination of specific and lots of options.

Happy Thursday, everyone! Happy Holidays!

It’s so hard to believe that Christmas is in a couple of days. I was able to get everyone’s presents wrapped this week, but I never managed to decorate the house. I am kind of sad that I don’t have a Christmas tree this year, but I just couldn’t make myself haul the tree and decorations up from the basement when there are still so many moving boxes to unpack.

It was a pretty productive week though…

On Saturday, I finally got around to ordering a new washer and dryer. They're supposed to be delivered and installed sometime today, and I could not be more thrilled! It will be so nice to be able to do laundry at home instead of having to cart everything over to my dad’s house, and I’ll finally be able to wash all of the sheets and blankets that have been sitting in cardboard boxes in my family room for the past month!

Unfortunately, I’ve got a 12-hour delivery window, so I’m stuck at home all day. I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to read though, so I can’t complain too much.

Speaking of reading…over the weekend, I decided to start reading Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series from the very beginning. I’ve read five of the Miss Marple novels before, but the rest have been on my TBR list for years. It might seem a little crazy, given that it’s already the 22nd, but I think I’m going to try to get through the entire series before the end of the month. I currently have only seven books left to read (including a collection of short stories), so I should be able to finish the series in time.

Goodreads: 565/200
TBR Checklist: 430/1010

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~A Highland Christmas
~Calvin
~The Murder at the Vicarage
~The Body in the Library
~The Moving Finger
~A Murder Is Announced
~They Do It With Mirrors
~A Pocket Full of Rye

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None

DNFed:
I had intended to start reading The Princess Beard over the weekend. Prior to starting it, however, I learned that it is actually the third book in a series. I’ll have to wait to pick this one up until I’ve had a chance to find a copy of (and read) book two.

Currently Reading:
~4:50 from Paddington

QOTW:
I didn’t do the 2022 challenge, so I don’t really have a favorite prompt.

I am so far behind on my Christmas TTD list that I resemble a character in a movie.

I am 100% done ATY! My friends thought I was crazy attempting this challenge.

Finished:

The Remains of the Day
ATY prompt: A book that involves aging, or a character in their golden years
Popsugar prompt: none left that can work

ATY - 52/52
PS- 41/35
Series - 15/13
Clearing my TBR list: 41/40

Currently reading:
Nothing! I might start a book between Christmas and New Years when I'll have vacation time.

QOTW: I like prompts that are quirky (meaning you don't see them on every list) and medium difficult - not a prompt that only has 20 books that can fulfill it and not a complete gimme.

"A book with the name of a board game in the title" is the best example

I also liked:
A book about a "found family"
A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read
A book with a misleading title

And I liked all the advance prompts playing on 2 or double for 2022.

Made it with nine days to spare! Unlike last year, when I hadn't quite finished Les Miserables by the end of December. I'm so NOT looking forward to the repeat of the Longest Book on your TBR prompt in 2023.

I've just finished up my final prompt, reading The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, by Sam Kean, for 14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title.


In case anyone's interested, the list is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

QotW: What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?

Hard to say, but maybe 9. A book about a "found family". Quite a few had me scrambling for options, and I'm generally not a fan of prompts based on other people's Book Awards.

L Y N N wrote: "I did manage to do a bit of planning and now have 7 books selected for Nadine’s Mini Challenge next year. I’m not a huge fan of mythology, so I may need to skip or amend that prompt… ;) (Sorry, Nadine!)..."



NO need to apologize! I confess I put together that list one night just by brainstorming things related to the number 23, and I didn't put any thought into what I would actually read for them. That means I'm feeling a bit stumped on a few myself. For the Norse mythology, I might just read the first book in Rick Riordan's Asgard series, unless someone in our group finds something better!


I hope you're feeling better this week.

L Y N N wrote: "Another year almost done. It never seems possible for a year to be over when it is almost over! ;)

This week has not been fun! I have been sicker than in the past 10 years or so all week. Missed 2..."

Sorry you've been sick! It's not fun being sick around the holidays. Hope you feel better soon!

I'm so glad that Winter Solstice has finally arrived - it's been SO dark and I look forward to a little bit more light each day. 

Today is my first day of vacation!  I'm so happy!!  I plan to spend my vacation week napping, reading, eating, and tie-dying  (I've got several shirts in progress right now!).  I just spent the morning wrapping presents, so the place is looking a little bit festive now. This afternoon we go grocery shopping for holiday snacks.



This week I finished two books.

In the Study with the Wrench by Diana Peterfreund - this was just okay.  But it did fulfill my final open category for Around the Year, so I am now DONE with that challenge, also! (in the NICK of time!)

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn - I loved this book so much, it was so much fun!!  Five stars.  



QotW
An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner, because I'd never heard of this award, and there are a lot of good titles on the list. I read Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir, which I had been wanting to read for a while, so I appreciated this extra push to get to it.

Hello! It has finally stopped snowing (after like a week solid), but now the high winds and scary low temps have arrived. It's currently -8 F (-22 C) air temps, with wind chills around -20 F (-29 C). It'll get worse tomorrow. My county is not in the blizzard warning, but everything west and south of me is. My husband still has to work his home health job today and tomorrow amid all the ground blizzards. Thankfully his territory is north, which is also not in the blizzard warning area. But I'm still worried about him out on the roads.

Finished This Week:
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory. A book I bought when it came out a long time ago, but never read. Read Harder had a prompt for book that's been on your TBR the longest, so I've had this one on my coffee table most of the year to finally read. I finished Tuesday, and wow, did I dislike it. The foreshadowing is SO heavy-handed that even if you didn't already know what would happen, you'll figure it out long before it takes place. I was annoyed with the writing even before Arthur died (which took way too long). It's going in the donate bin, along with all the other Philippa Gregory books I still have. She just isn't for me anymore. Not for PS prompt.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. I marked this one down as my "character in her golden years" book for ATY 2022. When I saw everyone mentioning it for the PS 2023 prompt for taking place in a single day, I wondered if I should hold off reading until next year. But that ATY prompt was my last remaining ATY 2022 prompt, and I didn't want to have to find something else this close to the end of the year, so I read it yesterday anyway. It's a very quick read, with some heavy subject matter in a few parts. Content Warning for suicide attempt.

PS: 50/50 RH: 19/24 ATY: 52/52 GR: 180/100

Currently Reading:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Got distracted by needing to finish The Constant Princess. Need to get back to it.

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. Have started over after DNF'ing earlier this year. Need for Read Harder and 52 book club. Since it's a dense non-fiction, not sure what it'll mean for finishing other things.

Watership Down by Richard Adams. I wanted an audiobook for all the snow clearing I've been doing, and realized I hadn't reread this book in a long time. The version I found is read by Peter Capaldi.

QotW: What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?
A Book You Can Read in One Sitting. Almost half of my books read qualified for this prompt. I love prompts that can be filled without planning and that apply to a wide range of books.

I also loved that a Hugo Winner was a prompt. I chose to become a Hugo voter in 2021, and the reading for that gets daunting as the voting deadline approaches. It was very reassuring to know I was at least knocking out a PopSugar prompt at the same time.

Merry Christmas to all! If you celebrate something else or just the weekend, I hope it's great for you!

Finished:

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty (3/5, a book with a queer lead)

The worldbuilding and characters are done well. The mystery elements are hardly big surprises, and the flashbacks in the middle got a bit overdone. The profanity quotient is also medium-high.

The Badlands, Book One of Two by Susan Wright (3/5, not for a prompt but could fit 2022's duology prompt)

Not much happens here, so I would only recommend this for die-hard fans who want the background to what happens in the more impactful second book or want to spend time with the TOS and TNG crews.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (4/5, book with "Girl" in the title)

I love that Squirrel Girl is trying to fight evil and injustice more with empathy and listening than with combat skills. There are some good parts for Doom, Kraven, and Howard in this volume.

Muppets Meet the Classics: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Erik Forrest Jackson and The Brothers Grimm (3/5, could work for modern retelling of a classic)

The Phantom book was better, but this still had some nice stories and jokes included.

PopSugar 2023 progress: 4/50

Happy Thursday y'all!

Excited for Christmas this year for the first time in a long time. It used to be a stressful time of year for me, but getting out of a bad living situation has made me more eager for the holidays. Last year would have been my first Christmas outside of said situation, except I was locked in my room quarantining with Covid, haha...

Also, this coming year will be the first time I do TWO reading challenges instead of just one -- PopSugar and my library's Extreme Book Nerd challenge! Some of our prompts look really fun, heh... The challenge and its list are here if anyone wants a look: https://kunalibrary.org/books-more/ex...

Books read this week:

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes -- I’m enjoying the Sherlock Holmes stories more than I thought I would. This collection also includes “The Final Problem,” the story that would introduce Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty (view spoiler)[and where Doyle attempted to kill off Holmes. (hide spoiler)]

The Legend of Holly Claus -- the characters are either utterly perfect or, in the case of the villain, laughably evil, but overall this is an enchanting Christmas-themed fantasy.

The Christmasaurus -- cutesy, but in a good way. This book was adorable! I want a Christmasaurus stuffie or ornament now.

Garlic and the Witch Graphic Novel -- graphic novel, and a lovely sequel to Garlic and the Vampire.

DNF:

The Merciful Crow -- there were elements of this that I liked, but there were some pretty big holes in the worldbuilding and all the characters so far are jerks. Moving on…

The Lost Whale: The True Story of an Orca Named Luna -- felt more like magazine articles haphazardly slapped together than a book. The story would be a great one if I could get through the writing…

Currently Reading:

The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice
Real
Savvy

QOTW:

I liked quite a few of the prompts, but those that make you search out specific titles or covers (tiger, board game, onomatopoeia) were my favorites. They just added a fun element to finding books to match the prompts.

Finished: The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia for book less than 230 pages in Nadine's mini-challenge.

Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Graphic Novel: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws That Affect Us Today for non-fiction graphic novel in my personal challenge.

Where the Lost Ones Go for starts with a "W" in Nadine's mini-challenge. This does what good fiction does best... turns the whole book into a metaphor. The main character has lost her grandmother and so helps some ghosts figure out what they need to accomplish in order to not be lost anymore.

The Science of Being Angry The main character never figures out WHY she is so angry, but it ends in a reasonable place anyway. She has lots of love to figure it out.

Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity This was unfortunately kind of a slog for me. It was well-written, but each chapter felt similar to the last one even though they were all written by different folx.

Started: None

Continued: Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: An Introduction Hoping to finish this one today. Accessible.

Qotw: My favorite prompt was Hugo award winner because otherwise I wouldn't have read my favorite book from this year which was Light from Uncommon Stars. It just felt so fresh and interesting. I really enjoyed it and hope the author comes out with more!

Nadine in NY wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "I did manage to do a bit of planning and now have 7 books selected for Nadine’s Mini Challenge next year. I’m not a huge fan of mythology, so I may need to skip or amend that prompt..."

I'm planning to read Children of Ragnarok if you want something that has come out more recently than Riordan's.

Happy Thursday! I hope everyone's holidays are gentle and not overfull of stress. Lynn, hoping you and the husband both feel better soon!

I got all my gifts wrapped last night! We're expecting a lot of freezy-freezy this weekend in Ohio; -3F lows tomorrow and Saturday but expected to be -25F with the wind chill. My sister and her husband are driving home from Virginia Beach tomorrow too; hopefully they make it through okay. I hope anyone considering going to the Browns game either layers up and wears ski masks or just reconsiders and stays home.

I finished a bunch of books I hadn't necessarily planned on reading this week:
Pride of Baghdad - 4 stars. This graphic novel tells the story of a small pride of lions who escaped the Baghdad Zoo during the initial bombings of the Iraq War. Not overly cartoony and definitely not for kids. The artwork is excellent.

A Spindle Splintered - 5 stars, and my envy admiration of Alix Harrow continues to grow.

Bloodmarked - 4.5 stars. Originally I'd thought this was a duology, and I'm not sure if that was faulty info or the series got expanded, but either way it threw me for a loop. Loved the new characters and rising stakes, and looking forward to the next one!

Black Water Sister - 3.5 stars. I admit to zoning out, even though this audiobook was very well done. Something about the pacing and tone felt off, but I liked it well enough.

Harley Quinn, Volume 1: Hot in the City - 3.5 stars. This one has been on my TBR for y e a r s so I was glad to knock it out one afternoon. The opening story is my favorite, with all the different artists coming in to do their take on Harley. Roller derby fits her to a T as well.

Currently:
Dreaming the Eagle - Finally back to this after not touching it since September, and I forgot how dense this is! Definitely one of those books where I think I've read A TON and it's only been three pages. It's slow going but my patience is holding.

The Goblin Emperor - Another book that's lived on my TBR basically since I joined GR, and actually may have been the first GR/friend recommendation book that I added, having never heard of it before. Another slow-paced book, but the world-building is lovely and I like the characters.

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men - This one has a bit faster pacing but I'm holding off to prioritize Dreaming the Eagle, so if it takes me into January to finish I'm fine with that. This is an indie historical fantasy that draws on Irish history and mythology, and this may very well be another Perfect For Me sort of book.

QOTW: What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?
Ellie made an excellent point about Book About Witches being specific but also giving lots of options. I also really loved the twin cities pair of prompts!

Last week we surprised our parents with a visit on their 45th wedding day anniversary. Me, my sister and her kids, my brother and his wife and their 3 sons took them to the local castle. It was the weekend the castle is decorated in Christmas style with a little cozy Christmas fair on the estate. It was so nice! And so great to see my parents walking around like peacocks showing everyone their grandchildren. Fun fact: all the townspeople ended up talking to me. My mum was a little disappointed when she noticed that: ‘they are only interested in you’, she said. I explained that I was talking about my nephews and niece because my brother and sister had to run after their kids, haha. But so nice to speak to all those old familiar faces.

PS: 19/40
Total 2022: 61

Finished
Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton⭐⭐⭐
Not for PS
There’s no such thing as easy choices in international diplomacy. Hillary Clinton shares the hard choices she had to make as Secretary of State. It’s probably the version that favors her, but still. Nice to read that she actually had/ has a mission: women’s rights are human rights, human rights are women’s rights. Amen to that.

De kaasfabriek by Simone van der Vlugt⭐⭐
Not for PS
A nice story of a young lady at the turn of the 19th century founding a cheese factory turns into a war drama. The daughter takes over in the war drama. It was hard to feel any sympathy for her.

Currently reading
Lena by Monique Bronkhorst

QOTW
I didn’t read for the challenge this year, so I don’t have a favorite prompt. But: I am picking up next year’s first books at the library tomorrow. Stacking up for the holidays!

How is it almost Christmas already? There wasn't too much reading this week due to the preparations, but I'm off all next week (visiting my husband's family), so I'm hoping to get in some reading time then. But first I have to survive a cold front coming immediately after a warm front.

Finished:
One Boy, No Water - (PS A Book by a Pacific Islander) This one was underwhelming, which I chalk up to it being a trilogy, and the author needing to save some plot for the other two books. There's some interesting ideas here, but not enough to compel me to read the rest of the series.

Best Friends - I read some of the Sweet Valley Twins books when I was younger, and I always like to see how these graphic adaptations update things, but I will admit, I do not really remember anything from the actual books. Taken as its own thing, it was all right.

Dad's Girlfriend and Other Anxieties - I literally couldn't put this one down, and ended up putting my laundry off for another day in order to finish it. You really feel for the main character, so much so that I kept forgetting it wasn't written in first person. I'm glad she confronted her dad at the end, since he was being pretty unreasonable IMO.

Currently reading:
Royal Holiday
Doughnuts and Doom
Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors

QOTW:
A lot of the prompts have been fun (I had a blast looking up books for the tiger prompt), but I'm going to go with a book with cutlery on the cover, since that's what convinced me to do this challenge.

Hope you feel better soon, Lynn.

I feel like I am the only one who will be working next week. We are traveling both Saturday and Sunday, but locally. Not looking forward to the icy conditions.

Finished:
The World We Make
A Perilous Undertaking

Currently reading:
I have 5 books that I requested from the library that I can't get in digital format, for the 2023 challenge(s). They look so tempting sitting there that I have started a few of them.
A Night in the Lonesome October for pet character
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
I have to be careful with these as they're short. I could accidentally finish them before 2023.
The Winners for sports. Not worried about finishing this one before 2023, it's 670 pages.
The Tale of Genji for longest book. Started this early, since it's very long, obviously. I am surprising already at 8% and not finding it a slog. It's probably a bad translation, but I am finding it easy to read.
Troubled Blood This is so hard because this book would be perfect for 2023 prompt (view spoiler)[about divorce (hide spoiler)]. But then I wouldn't be able to read anything right now, there would always be a prompt it could work for.

QOTW:
A social-horror book, because I have never heard of it. I have enjoyed similar prompts in the past (dark academia, microhistory, etc.)
My favorite prompts rarely lead to my favorite books, though, Wonder why that is.

Good Afternoon, Lynn I'm glad you feel better & hope your husband recovers soon. I read three for the week. All seasonal books.
1. So This Is Christmas. 3 stars
2. Small Things Like These. 4 stars
3. Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. 3 stars
I was going to read seasonal books for the month but after 10 Christmas romances I'm done till next year. I'm going to start ...And Ladies of the Club for either the longest book by pages or a reread. It's 1,184 pages so I won't finish it by 1/1/2023. I love this book and it has been years since I read it.
QOTW: Favorite prompt for 2022 was #13 A book set in the 1980s. I read The Great Believers.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah from a wet dark rainy NYC! I've yet to put up a tree or decorate much and may not do much this year. Still scrambling to get critical work done before taking a 4 day weekend. I'm really hoping to get some holiday into the decor around here before Sunday. Plan is to just leave most of it up if I get it up - including the tree (it is artificial) possibly for all of next year, just to provide cheer while I work next to it from home. Or I may just wait and observe Christmas in July. I have so many ornaments, I could change over the whole tree at least 4 times over the next year.

I still have those 2 books to read for PS. Those are my Christmas weekend reads. I actually stumbled across a different book in my TBR Towers that fits palindrome so I put Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries on hold for the 2023 Challenge -- book with just words on the cover.

Finished:
The Making of a Marchioness, Part I and II by Frances Hodgson Burnett - it was wonderful! Who knew she wrote more than children's books? Turns out she was quite prolific and supported her family on stories and novels from the time she was 21 and the children's books we all know and lover were late in her career.
Migrations - Charlotte McConaghy - another superb read.

Currently Reading:
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters - to finish another challenge
Under the Whispering Door - for PS onomatopeia.
Murder Is Murder Is Murder - palindrome - and it is a word palindrome.

QOTW: Well my favorite prompt wasn't because on looking at it I said 'ooooh, I can't wait to read a book that fits this!' Quite the opposite in fact. But of the options I found after googling #BookTok, I settled on The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle sitting in one of my TBR Towers and it ended up probably being my favorite read of the entire challenge -- even with 2 more yet to read and even though I really enjoyed a lot of those I read. For favorite prompt I'd say the Twin Cities was mine as I picked Paris and found Cairo was a twin, meaning it was 2 of my favorite places in the world. I could have spent the entire year reading books for twin cities options just by going through all my favorites from my travels and matching them up. Enjoyed the books I read but knew I would when I picked them. No surprise in it.

I also loved reading Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary for prompt including another language. I don't do much planning, and this was an accidental find due to a buddy read in another group's challenge. I read it in January too and I had to laugh because I'd been dreading finding abook for that Prompt. Meanwhile, I found several books during the year that would have fit -- without planning -- including Cara Black's Aimee LeDuc series.

Oh my goodness, the holidays are here! We have a WHIRLWIND next few weeks coming up with my birthday, Christmas, then renewing our vows on Jan. 1 with friends and family coming in from out of town. I'm excited! Hopefully I can finish this last book before the new year though!

Finished 43/50

The Jesus We Missed: The Surprising Truth About the Humanity of Christ for "fave past prompt [first book you see in a bookstore]". This was good but kind of heady. A good Christmas read!

Currently Reading

The Empire of Gold for "#ownvoices SFF". Slow start to this one so far....

QotW

I liked the "book that starts with the last letter of the last book you read" because it allowed me to work in some of my TBR books. ;)

Hi all,

Bleh, busy work week leading up to Christmas, I was hoping for a nice boring one so I could sneakily do chores to get ready to host inlaws. alas. Tomorrow is a half day at least, and I have Monday off.

Hope everyone has a lovely holiday of whatever winter variety is being celebrated!

Nadine, did I miss you making up a challenge? I missed several check ins in the last month or two.

My irl book club is doing a TBR challenge together, where we all made good reads shelves of books we own and haven't read yet, committed to a number to read, and then picked books off each other shelves to fill their challenge list. So I said I want to read 20 books off my TBR next year, and the other people in the group are picking 20 of my books for me to read. 2 people still need to make their selection, but it's looking like a good list and I'm excited to get started. (I know it's books I already own, but having someone else say "hey, read this" takes the decision paralysis of paging through your kindle library trying to figure out what you feel like reading).

This week I finished:

Calculated Risks

Spelunking Through Hell I was cruising along with my InCryptid read through, then abruptly came to a screeching halt as I realize I did it, I caught up. The next book isn't out until March! Argh! Alas. Hopefully the library that had these will get it in reasonably promptly and I can fit it in among my reading.

All Systems Red - audio re-read while working

Currently reading:

Tune in Tomorrow: The Curious, Calamitous, Cockamamie Story Of Starr Weatherby And The Greatest Mythic Reality Show Ever - random book from my library's new realize shelf. I did have SOME suspicion that I would finish the InCryptid before the end of the year, and this felt like it'd fit the vibe so I wouldn't have to find a new groove to get into end of year. It's alright so far, not super far yet.

QOTW:

I didn't do the challenge this year, don't really have a favorite. I did plug in what i read at some point to see how I did, I think as of august or September I'd filled all but 10 prompts but i didn't make any kind of point to hit the last 10, no idea if I accomplished it.

Hi all! Happy Hannukah, Solstice, Christmas, and any other winter holidays! I finished my shopping yesterday and- I thought- my wrapping this morning, but then my kiddo's last gift arrived in the mail a week ahead of time! (I was going to leave a note from Santa explaining the elves were overworked and the present was going to be late) So now I have to get it wrapped before Sunday. THEN I'll really be done! Starting cookies tonight, will do more tomorrow. Kiddo is off school from now until January 3!! I hope presents keep her occupied all next week!!

Anyone traveling, be super safe! It's so bad out there across almost all of the US. Here in NY, we're expecting a 20+ temp drop tomorrow afternoon turning wet ground to an ice skating rink. And crazy cold and wind. We're hosting on Saturday, hopefully by then the ice will be managed.

I didn't finish reading anything. Haven't felt like reading much. Read a little bit in Dear Justyce for an author I read last year. I had hoped to finish by today, but... busy! Read a little more in The Assassination of the Archduke: Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance that Changed the World. Also read a little in Triangle: The Fire That Changed America. I've pretty well surrendered on getting any more of this year's tasks done (hopefully Justyce, but I make no promises), so I'm starting next year's.

QOTW: I realized that most of my reads could have worked for Social Horror. But the task I liked the most was Anisfield-Wolf award. I'd never heard of it before, but many books on there were already on my TBR and many more joined it!

Lynn, feel better, and I hope your husband does, too!

Happy check-in! Hope you feel better soon Lynn.
Merry Christmas to those celebrating and Happy holidays if that's a better fit. Most of Canada is in sever weather watches right now just like the US seems to be. It was really unpleasant to go out and about for groceries today. We're keeping our finger crossed that some family can actually catch a flight here in time for Christmas, since the first scheduled ones were cancelled.
I finally finished the challenge today! 🥳 Now I'm worried about reading books that will fit next year's challenge before it's 2023.

Finished Reading:

The Awakening as Told by the Boys ⭐⭐⭐
This just solidified which characters I like to read POVs from and which ones I don't.

Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful:Poems ⭐⭐⭐
I felt like some poetry. Nothing stood out good or bad.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon ⭐⭐⭐
The title was too entertaining to ignore this book. It was a good laugh and it was short.

Daisy Jones & The Six ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 Musician/Band)
I loved this so much. I'm really glad I got this for Christmas last year.

PS 2022 done
PS 2015 done
Goodreads 270/250

Currently Reading:

Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day

QOTW:
Published in 2022 but Anisfield-Wolf and Pacific Islander were really good too.

Two-week check-in as was dreadfully ill last week.

Finished
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie - 3 stars
My monthly Christie. This was one of my least favorite of hers. It took so long to get to the plot, which is not normally how her stories work. It was still worth reading as I liked it okay.

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold - 4 stars; #34 set in Victorian times
This was so good! I cannot believe how much work must have gone into the research of the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper. Being a poor woman in those times was horrifying (okay, being a poor woman in any time is horrifying as it makes one so vulnerable to abuse). Amazing book.

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4 stars
The only book of hers I hadn't yet read. I love everything she writes, this included.

And with that, my 2022 Popsugar Challenge is complete!!!

Goodreads: 89/90

QOTW: My favorite prompt was #30 book with the name of a board game in the title. Grew up in a family of board game lovers, and I squealed when I saw this prompt. I didn't fill it until a couple of weeks ago because I was waiting for the Perfect Book. And I found it with It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan by Tristan Donovan

Happy holidays! I'm almost done with shopping and now I just need to wrap everything. I baked christmas cutout cookies this weekend which tasted awesome. I just need to decide what dessert to bring for christmas dinner. I'm leaning toward congo bars.

Challenge progress: 48/50

Finished:

Pretty Girls (no prompt) 4 stars. I listened to the audio book and I loved it. One sister disappears 20 years ago and a family breaks apart in the aftermath. I can't believe I had never read Karin Slaughter before. She crafts an excellent story but it is pretty graphic.

Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes (no prompt) 3 stars. This was a short story prequel at the end of Pretty Girls. The perspective of the last day of the sister who disappears. It was well written but I am not sure it was entirely necessary to have her perspective. Or the author could have just made this the prologue of Pretty Girls.

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome (PS sister city 2) 2 stars. This book had very intresting information about murder in ancient Rome but I did not like the way the author wrote. A bit of a slog to get through.

Currently reading:

Six of Crows (PS duology 1)

QOTW: I liked the Hugo award winner because it got me to read The Calculating Stars which I loved. I will be reading the rest of that series.

Sheri wrote: "Nadine, did I miss you making up a challenge?..."



Yes. In the weeks leading up to the list reveal, I had brainstormed some prompts, never expecting them to lead to much, I figured I'd just set them aside when the actual list came out and forget about them. But the actual list was pretty disappointing. I can't bring myself to NOT do Popsugar, so we decided to add in a few "mini" lists through the year, perhaps one each quarter.

Happy Thursday! And happy all the holidays! Unfortunately my parents both have covid, so we're postponing our christmas for a week or two. They're doing ok, which is the most important thing, and I still have some extra days off work, which I'm very much looking forward too. AND some very good chinese restaurants are going to be open christmas day, so I'm still going to eat some amazing food

Finished:
The Not So Nice List- this was very silly fun. Like a netflix christmas movie, but one where it feels like the actors have actually had human interaction with people before.
-28. A book set during a holiday

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World- it sounded interesting but this just didn't work for me. It really lost focus at the end. I was hoping for more.
-26. A book with a misleading title (for The Ghost Map- sounds supernatural. Is not)

Currently reading:
Mem

QotW:
I really like the afterlife prompt, because there's so many ways it can be explored. And I really liked the book i read for it- Colorful

Happy Thursday.

I’m off tomorrow until Tuesday. My sister is bringing the family down so I get to see my little tiger girl and my adorable nephew. They’ll be so spoiled this year.

I haven’t received notifications for the last four days. I’ve checked my settings and contacted Goodreads to try to fix it. So I’m not ignoring anyone if I don’t answer back on threads.

I have all but 4 ps prompts planned. I’m sorta cheating on the prompts year and decade ones. I chose order of the phoenix for decade (has 70s scenes) and princess bride that was published in the 70s for them.

Thinking about it, Princess bride would fit unusually large animal prompt on ATY. Brb have to go write that down.

Anyway, I have second hand (just have to choose one), initials (same as before), just text is kicking me since nothing is sticking out that I own, and fan fiction because I moved that to friend rec. hp 5 was the rec earlier.

If anyone needs nano, fan fiction, queer lead, and song lyric, Rainbow rowell’s fan girl and Simon snow series fits them. Carry on was the fan fiction in fan girl.

I’m trying to use only books I own (physical and kindle) to get them off my tbr. Except hp. Those are rereads except 7. I have never read 7. I threw that one in family prompt. And I want to get through the last half of lunar chronicles. I’ve only read cinder and scarlet.

I haven’t been in the mood to read thinking books. Aka my last 4 prompts. I’m reading steamy instaloves

Im also doing Nadine’s mini read. I only need ancient civilization (kinda want to go to 1000 ce cuz all the books I’m looking at are after the 300 ce cut off.) and sheep, but I’m thinking that bofuri has a book with them but not sure which one it is. Pretty sure I haven’t read it though. Maybe. Could be wrong.

Reading 300+ books blends in a lot of story lines.

QOTW

I liked a lot of of the prompts because as I enjoyed filling them in with books I read. I got a thrill when I realized many were fulfilled unexpectedly.

I'm going to have to think about the QOTW. There were quite a few good ones so I can't pick a favorite at the moment.

*****

On another note, while my area is not getting the extreme cold that so much of the country is (I wish, sort of!), it's still cold here in that we don't experience this kind of cold especially nearing Christmas.

*****

In terms of books, I have not been able to sit down with one since I finished Settler Memory: The Disavowal of Indigeneity and the Politics of Race in the United States last week. This week I've been too indecisive.

I want to annotate my Twilight books but I find I don't have the patience for books over 500 pages like I used to.

******

My goal for the reading challenge is to read Indigenous authors/themes. I have a cart for my regular challenge which includes various and unrelated genres. Then I have my cart for strictly Indigenous authors/themes. I thought it would be a lot more fun in terms of challenging myself this way.

I think if I'm able to I'm going to stick with Rehearsals for Living which was written by an Indigenous author as well as an African American. This book also fits the prompt of a book with your initials. I have no idea what this book is about, it just fit 3 of my criteria: Indigenous author/theme, initials prompt, and... lol I know I had 3 I just can't think of the third right now.

Though at the same time now I'm in the mood to get through Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941–1960 .

Guess I'll see. That's one of the problems about being a mood reader, I can't sit down with just one book, at least most of the time.

Until this month...pretty much for the past 5 years (since husband died), I have been a hermit. Covid added to that also, but mostly I am happy by myself and with my books.

This past year, I began to develop some hobbies and interests that had me meeting new people and getting out more. Also Covid more or less ended for outdoor stuff.

Then this month, I started inviting others to do things with me...I person at a time. And, I have found myself enjoying it all. For someone who usually sees people once a month, I have had two dinners with others this week, gone out to see the lights with neighbors and friends twice, made small cookie and bread gifts for neighbors and friends and delivered some of them. And I am planning a NY Day cheese tasting party! And all of that was this week!!!

Finished:
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds
Reading Up a Storm
Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen
The Wisdom of Father Brown
The Devotion of Suspect X

Question of the Week:
What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?

Well, this will be short. Didn't participate in PopSugar in 2022.

Mandy wrote: "I’m trying to use only books I own (physical and kindle) to get them off my tbr. Except hp. Those are rereads except 7. I have never read 7. I threw that one in family prompt. And I want to get through the last half of lunar chronicles. I’ve only read cinder and scarlet..."



Just to throw another spanner in your planning works: the Cinder series could work for "family" also. Cinder's family becomes very important. (And, of course, the entire series involves her "found family" of Scarlett, Cress, Winter, etc)

Bea wrote: "Until this month...pretty much for the past 5 years (since husband died), I have been a hermit. Covid added to that also, but mostly I am happy by myself and with my books.

This past year, I began..."



WOW big changes for you!! I can see myself becoming a hermit after my kids move away. I hope I don't worry them too much. I don't even know who I would invite out to dinner.

Nadine in NY wrote: "WOW big changes for you!! I can see myself becoming a hermit after my kids move away. I hope I don't worry them too much. I don't even know who I would invite out to dinner."

It all started with me inviting a friend over to eat a pot of soup that I had made. I enjoyed sharing so much that then she and I planned a night to look at the lights and it snowballed from there.

Bea wrote: "Until this month...pretty much for the past 5 years (since husband died), I have been a hermit. Covid added to that also, but mostly I am happy by myself and with my books.

This past year, I began..."

Aww Bea, this is lovely to hear!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I’m trying to use only books I own (physical and kindle) to get them off my tbr. Except hp. Those are rereads except 7. I have never read 7. I threw that one in family prompt. And I w..."

Haha! I have cinder in your mini prompt of genetics. And winter as 23 tbr book because it literally was.

Happy holidays, everyone! And I hope you feel better soon, Lynn.

I'll be spending today and tomorrow cooking, so probably not a lot of reading time. This afternoon, I'm making cinnamon rolls for the morning of the 25th, and tomorrow, I'll be making the lasagna for dinner.

Finished:
A Million to One - 3 stars - I feel like the heist just wasn't complex enough to be really satisfying, and of course, since it was set on the Titanic, I knew how it had to end. Still, I liked the characters, but I wish it had been longer so they had more room to grow.

Currently reading:
The Way of Kings, which will be my longest book for the 2023 list. I'm hoping to get at least halfway through it this year. :)

QOTW:
Probably the found family prompt, because that is one of my favorite story tropes.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Bea wrote: "Until this month...pretty much for the past 5 years (since husband died), I have been a hermit. Covid added to that also, but mostly I am happy by myself and with my books.

This past y..."

I'm looking forward to my hermit years! After covid hit, I bought a shirt that said "I was social distancing before it was cool."

Jennifer W wrote: "I'm looking forward to my hermit years! After covid hit, I bought a shirt that said "I was social distancing before it was cool."..."


Covid really made it clear to me how very much I like staying home and how stressful I find it to go out. Like, I knew, but I didn't know how MUCH I felt this way.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Covid really made it clear to me how very much I like staying home and how stressful I find it to go out. Like, I knew, but I didn't know how MUCH I felt this way."

Nadine, I am a thinker and a lot of an introvert. People sap my energy and I need space and time to recuperate after lots of contact.

But, I am finding that I do need some contact now that I live alone. Now to find the balance.

I have a lot of interests that seem to best when alone (besides reading, that is). Photography, gardening, genealogy, and writing come to mind right away and those suffer when I am too busy with others.

However, I do get lonely and like going places with others. My issue was that no one reached out very often to me. This month I decided to take the plunge and ask others to join me in a meal at my home, in seeing the lights...etc. And, well, it is working for me.

I have been busy writing a lot of stories for friends for the holiday. Time consuming but fun.

I read probably the last thing I'll finish this year with all the holiday obligations. I read a decent cozy mystery, Six Cats a Slayin'by Miranda James

QOTW
I had a couple of favorites: A book you know nothing about
Because I love learning new things. This was a lot of fun for me. I read From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

I also loved An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book
because it celebrates diversity and I was able to showcase a book by a friend, Lander: Liminal Sky: Oberon Cycle Book 2 by J. Scott Coatsworth

Totally random but I honestly don't know how I ever got through the Twilight books. Now I have a hard time reading anything over 400 pages. My average is around 300.

Hello everyone!

Remember me?

Wow, what a year. I've read 17 books only, and a novella just now, with a comic collection to follow. My goal of 25 books seems out of reach, so I might lower it down to 20 and finish my current ebook and call that a win. I have barely read books this year at all. I had a few bursts of activity, mostly linked to my Game Weekenders in my thon, but that's about it. Everything else I read was fanfiction (without loving Stranger Things I still got sucked in and it became my hyperfocus), and then the last few months I wasn't even reading that because I got a Switch xD

I'm also exhausted. These last few weeks brought on many steps for change (good, but A Lot), and one of my bunnies died and the mating process for the bunny left behind has been a long one. They were together for 5 days at the shelter, and now 8 days here, and once we were on the verge of bringing the new bunbun back, but now we're finally seeing progress (we put up a camera ha) so fingers crossed!

So I think I'll count this year's challenge as a lost cause. Counting fanfic I still managed quite a few prompts, but nowhere near done. And that's okay. It has to be okay. I'm not a huge fan of the 2023 list, but some prompts I'm really excited about so I'll stretch some others to fit me better. If I manage to read, haha!

I did just decide to start counting for the 2023 list already. That one week won't make a huge difference, and it'll make me feel like I'm making progress, so count "Shortest book on TBR" done! (Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo, 43 pages)

Mostly I'd like to be able to check in again, if not weekly, at least regularly. I miss you all!

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, hope you guys had a good one.

Ugh, I know I'm not supposed to like big chain stores like BN or Amazon but Amazon is where I get all of my books for the most part.

Any time I check my store at BN, they never have the books I'm looking for except through their online store but it ends up being cheaper off Amazon because I don't have to pay for the shipping. I get that BN can only hold so many books but about 90% of the time I can't find what I need. Oh well I guess, that's just how it is.

Sorry I kind of needed to rant on that for a second.

Carmen wrote: "Hello everyone!

Remember me?

Wow, what a year. I've read 17 books only, and a novella just now, with a comic collection to follow. My goal of 25 books seems out of reach, so I might lower it dow..."



Welcome back to the check-in, Carmen! When I saw "fanfic" on next year's list, I thought of you. (Although of course the category is not "fanfic" but "started out as fanfic" and I guess it's implied that one would read a novel that started as fanfic, but if you ask me, all fanfic "started out as" fanfic.)

I'm sorry about your bunny.

Ron wrote: "Ugh, I know I'm not supposed to like big chain stores like BN or Amazon but Amazon is where I get all of my books for the most part.

Any time I check my store at BN, they never have the books I'm ..."



yeah I have that problem too. Because what I read can be kind of niche I often can't find what I want in a store. I shop in a Barnes & Noble store once a year: I take my daughters there and they each (secretly!!) choose gifts for the other one and then sneak them out to my car to hide from the other. And quite often the books I have in mind just aren't there. Like, I couldn't find any Sarah Waters. That's weird, right? How could they not have anything by her??? (I didn't ask for help, but I was in the correct section, and they didn't have any, so either they shelved it in a weird spot, or they just didn't have any on the shelves.)

In this case, our directive was: "a romance that is like Sally Rooney's" which is a tough thing to shop for, since Sally Rooney isn't exactly romance, and her writing style is quite unique. I'd already gotten her Station Eleven last year and she hasn't read it yet, so not that. And I couldn't find any Sarah Waters, so not that. I pulled a bunch of likely books and let her sister pick what looked good. We ended up getting: Band of Sisters, Just Last Night, Mad About You, and Little Beach Street Bakery.

Carmen wrote: "Hello everyone!

Remember me?

Wow, what a year. I've read 17 books only, and a novella just now, with a comic collection to follow. My goal of 25 books seems out of reach, so I might lower it dow..."

Welcome back! I've been wondering about the bunnies. Sorry you lost one, but hopefully new ones are coming! I've only read 20 books this year, too.

Back in Florida for the holidays and catching up on all things GR. Hope everyone had a wonderful and gentle holiday season and everyone is safe in this winter storm. I got out of Chicago just in time, while the temps are cooler here (40s) it completely beats negative digits.

72/80 GoodReads Challenge
50/50 PopSugar Challenge

Finished:
1.) The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny ⭐⭐⭐: A little dry for my taste in the actual mystery, but the drama with Beauvoir and Gamache had me on the edge of my seat.

2.) Greenglass House by Kate Milford ⭐⭐⭐✨: Middle grade, magical cozy mystery that was sweet and fun to figure out.



Currently Reading:
1.) Mad About You
2.) Nora Goes Off Script
3.) The Sweet Spot



QoTW: What was your favorite Popsugar prompt from the 2022 Challenge? Why was it your favorite?
I like all the ones about book in current year and choose your own adventure from a previous PS challenge (I always pick the published the year before). I like these because they are generally easy to fill and consistent. This year, I also really like the prompt about Witches, and the constellation- mostly because I enjoy books about witches and had been really wanting to read the Dog Stars, so was excited to finally fit it in this year.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Carmen wrote: "Hello everyone!

Remember me?

Wow, what a year. I've read 17 books only, and a novella just now, with a comic collection to follow. My goal of 25 books seems out of reach, so I mig..."

Awww, it's nice to know I'm still thought of! And yes, it all started off as fanfic, hahah! If I had the mental capacity I'd read Dante's Inferno, as it's the ultimate fanfiction, but I'm afraid I'll just read a long fic for that prompt xD (generally the published books that started out as fics are either not good or not my thing; I have 'Stranger Than Fanfiction', big stretch, might do it anyways)

And thankyou <3 It's the second one I've lost this year, but with him it was a conscious choice to spare him further pain and misery, so it was a lot easier to cope with. Though I do miss his cuddles!