Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2022 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 52: 12/22 - 12/29
Happy New Year soon! I'm poised to finish the General list today, but I'm not going to finish the Advanced. Oh well. Still a win in my book! One of my friends is going to join me for the 2023 challenge, so I'm looking forward to that!Currently Reading
The Empire of Gold for "#ownvoices SFF". I do really enjoy the setting and lore behind this series. Should finish today.
QotW
Rhythm of War
The Shadow Rising
House Divided
Welcoming Gifts: Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life
These were definitely the best of what I read this year!!
Finished:The Badlands, Book Two of Two (3/5, better than the first volume)
Fate of the Jedi: Conviction (3/5, reread)
The Summer of Broken Rules (3/5, book about a vacation)
This was an average romance reading experience. It is insta-love and closed door, and the characters are likable enough. The title is definitely misleading (unless the rules refer to the unwritten rules of human interaction). Other challenge prompts it can work for are a book set on an island (Martha's Vineyard) and a book with a pet character (the dog Loki).
PopSugar 2023 progress: 5/50
Question of the Week:
A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament
Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual History
The Candymakers (reread)
Federation (reread)
Not surprisingly I finished nothing in this past week so I'm poised to start on the books for next year (boy I have like 3 on my list that are 500 pages plus, wish me luck. The older I get the less patience I have for very long reads)QOTW
Here are my top reads
The Cabinets of Barnaby MayneThe Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
Murder in Old BombayMurder in Old Bombay by Nev March
When Blood LiesWhen Blood Lies by C.S. Harris
Lavender HouseLavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen
Mexican GothicMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Shotgun ArcanaThe Shotgun Arcana by R.S. Belcher
Silver Under NightfallSilver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
Ballad & DaggerBallad & Dagger by Daniel José Older
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good DeathFrom Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
Happy last week of 2022. I'm one of those who have started reading for 2023. I'm currently reading ...And Ladies of the Club for advanced prompt #49 the longest book by pages on your TBR list. I'm listening to The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family. Not sure which prompt I'll use it for yet. I started it for a different challenge. QOTW: My favorite reads for 2022.
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
The Tenth Muse
The Trees
Writers & Lovers
Killers of a Certain Age
Search
There are many more but these are my favorites.
It's that time of year where time loses all meaning and it took me checking out this group to notice it was Thursday already. It's been wet and windy weather here but settled down a bit today so we went a walk at the coast, only to have our faces sandblasted. Grateful we haven't seen any of the extreme weather that North America has, hope everyone is OK.Finished:
The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Isbai for review. This was very slow paced and light on the magic. It's the first half of a duology and it doesn't really resolve anything so I was a bit annoyed that I dragged myself through the slow bits to not get any sort of ending. Lots about women's suffrage in a fantasy setting based on Egypt, so of you're into that it might be more rewarding. I was just in the mood for magic...
Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson. This had such tenuous reason for Stevie to be involved. It felt like two books, one where a bunch of American teens go to London and do teenage stuff with a bit of relationship angst, and the other an Agatha Christie inspired country house mystery with a big group of posh people. Not sure if I'll be continuing with this series.
QOTW:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne
Tie-dyeing sounds like fun Nadine. I've never done it, though my kids have a ton of times at camp.I actually had to ask my kids last night at 12:30 if today was Thursday. 2022 has been stressful, so the fact that I'm so into vacation mode that I don't know what day it is - it's a good sign.
I finished a 53rd book. Since I am 100% done ATY and there are no more PS prompts that fit, it was just a book for me.
Finished:
The Cousins
ATY - 52/52
PS- 41/35
Series - 15/13
Clearing my TBR list: 42/40
Currently reading:
A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories - 25% done
QOTW:
The Night Circus - hands down the best
The House in the Cerulean Sea
The Paris Apartment
Witch Princess
Home Before Dark
Hench
Finished: Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: An IntroductionInspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother I've been meaning to read this one for probably 25 years now! It was all right. I loved Wrinkle in Time as a kid, so I wanted to know more about the author.
Musical Tables: Poems I don't usually like really short anything, but Collins is pretty much the only poet who I will sit down and read his works cover to cover in one session. Clever man!
Started: The Book of Three Re-read. The characters are more likable than I remember them being. Even Eilonwy with her diminutive, "for an assistant pig-keeper!"
Understanding by Design I WILL finish this by the end of Xmas break!
Why Think?: Philosophical Play from 3-11 Xmas present. Yay!
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times for the days when I don't feel like I can be productive...
Collage Your Life: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Creative Self-Expression and Visual Storytelling This is a beautiful book!
Qotw: These are the books that had the biggest impact on me this past year:
10. Chores Without Wars: Turning Housework into Teamwork
9. The End of October
8. Plato Was Wrong!: Footnotes on Doing Philosophy with Young People
7. The Night Circus
6. Philosophical Inquiry: Combining the Tools of Philosophy with Inquiry-based Teaching and Learning
5. Both Can Be True
4. A Psalm for the Wild-Built
3. Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present
2. Philosophy in Children's Literature
1. Light from Uncommon Stars
Mod
We share two favorites!!! that means I need to add the rest of your favorites to my TBR!!
Last check-in of the year! This year I read a record high 62 books. And I’ve got 2 days left, so maybe… no, I won't manage that.Excited to start a new reading year. With a challenge. After a pause this year, I’m totally ready to be surprised, overwhelmed and underwhelmed by challenge reads.
Everyone a ‘gooie roetsj’ (a good slide, it’s a saying over here) into the new year!
PS: 19/40
Total 2022: 62
Finished
Lena by Monique Bronkhorst⭐⭐
Lena was so much in my allergy zone. It was well written, but oh, this woman was so annoying I don’t even know where to start. So I won’t.
Currently reading
The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting
QOTW
I didn’t read for the challenge this year. These were my 2 favorites:
Het landschap, de mensen. Nederland 1850-1940 by Auke van der Woud
Sometimes you understand an actual problem better if you look back. This book tells about the changing nature and landscape of the Netherlands from 1850 to 1940. Now we try to change things in just 5 years. My guess: we won't succeed.
Die Katze und der General by Nino Haratischwili
I like the dark and fat books of Nino Haratischwili. Looking forward to read her latest book next year!
Happy new year! Here's hoping 2023 is a good year. :)I have no new finishes to report. I'm still working through The Way of Kings, which will be my longest book for the 2023 list. I'm hoping to get at least halfway through it by the end of this year. :)
QOTW:
My top reads for this year:
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders
The Bear and the Nightingale
The Girl in the Tower
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope that everyone who celebrated Christmas this past weekend had a great holiday! Like so many places this week, my town did get hit by the recent winter storm. We only got about three inches of snow, but the combination of snow, ice, and high winds sent our county into a Level 3 Snow Emergency. Fortunately we did not lose power (apart from a 10 second outage that forced me to reset all of the clocks), and the emergency level dropped just in time for my dad and I to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together.
I did get a few books for Christmas that I’m really excited about. In addition to the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (which I was starting to think was never going to come out), my dad got me The Ghost and the Stolen Tears, by Cleo Coyle, and This Much is True, by Miriam Margolyes.
I also did a bit of after-Christmas book shopping this week, and I think it’s safe to say that I went a little overboard on the book buying. In my defense, this buying spree took place at one of my favorite bookstores, which is about a 90 minute drive from where I live, so it’s not something that will be repeated anytime soon.
As far as this week’s reading is concerned, the weather was the perfect excuse to spend the majority of the week curled up with a good book. I ended up reading a total of seven books, and actually managed to finish reading the Miss Marple series a couple days ahead of schedule!
Goodreads: 572/200
TBR Checklist: 436/1019
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~4:50 from Paddington
~The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
~A Caribbean Mystery
~At Bertram's Hotel
~Nemesis
~Sleeping Murder
~Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None
DNFed:
None
Currently Reading:
While I would normally have started a new book immediately after finishing the Miss Marple series, I’m currently having a hard time deciding what to read. I’ve got a ton of options, and I’m just not sure what I’m in the mood for right now. I might wait until the first of the year to get started on something new.
QOTW:
I read a lot of amazing books this year! Here are some of my favorites…
Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels:
~The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
~Fairy Tail (volumes 1-63)
Fiction:
~Fantasy: The Lady of the Lake
~Fiction (general): Calvin
~Horror: Dead Silence
~Mystery: 4:50 from Paddington
~Romance: It Happened One Summer
~SciFi: The Kaiju Preservation Society
~Thriller: Home Before Dark
Nonfiction:
~Biography: Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy
~History: The Princes in the Tower
~Memoir: You're Never Weird on the Internet
~True Crime: Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History
Good Thursday Morning!!It's snowing. 😒 My dogs will so not be happy. I don't want to shovel paths for the belly skimmers. sigh.
Anyway, I can't believe it's the final check in. time flies.
I have most of 2023 ps challenge done. I've made the executive decision of using books I own for the challenge! 😱 It's a novel concept (🤣 i'm punny). I mean using my own books for the challenge. Well, I'll be using some of the library's copies because some of the books are buried in a stack of boxes that would be difficult to get to. cough cough. I will make note of those that i wish to rehome and find them later.
i officially read 343 books as of today in both physical and kindle versions. I don't think I will make my goal of 400, but meh. It is what it is.
Mom and I had so much fun with baby time. my one month old niece is so darn cute. Stubborn and hangry and reminds me of my sister when she was that age. I guess little tiger is her mini-me. Heaven help her. My nephew had four Christmases. Their house, our house, other grandma's house, and grandpa's house. it was crazy. Of course, I got both babies books. I found 3 train golden books, a Ghostbuster golden book, and Jurassic Park one for the boy and gave my niece got a kitten counting, golden book of Nightmare before christmas, and a collection of golden books.
QOTW:
My favorite books of this year out of 343:
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 1 This series is light, lol funny, and plain silly. Recommended for anyone that needs a light read. I began the year and ended the year with the first book. Gamer's will twitch and groan in agony over the brokenness of Maple's character and the illogic of how noob players think.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Heart of the Sun Warrior A wonderful duology. It's mythological, actiony, and has a strong woman character. Recommended for those that like Chinese Xianxia dramas and fantasy.
A Rip Through Time Love!! A great book. I needed to pick it up every time I even had one second to read. The compulsion to binge this book was so real. It was like jonesing for a hit, and once i had it in my hands, I didn't want to put it down. Recommended to anyone who will listen.
Margaret Rogerson New author for me. She was on a Listopia for ATY, i believe. Enjoyed her books immensely. I have An Enchantment of Ravens on ps 2023 as a book I meant to read.
The Kaiju Preservation Society I died laughing. It was a fast and ott book. Sci-fi for the those that are hesitant to dip toes into the genre.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea ate this book in 5 hours. Devoured it. It was one of the first books I read las January. Loved it so much I bought my own copy.
Honorable mentions:
Scarlett St. Clair Hade x Persephone. Hated her vampire romance. Love this series.
Holly Jackson Good Girl's Guide to Murder good stuff.
The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 1 and the manga series The snark is real with this one.
Linda Šejić Love her graphic novels. NEED Punderworld 2, Darn it!
I might actually finish the challenge...just under the wire. I have two books I am finishing up on Saturday just in time to dive in the 2023 challenge on Sunday. It was a close call this year as I was sure I wasn't going to finish. Thank goodness for short books. I realized some of the mistakes I had made this year was reading a lot of books that were over 500 pages (one book was over 1,000 pages!) It really slowed down my progress. This year I am going to keep them between 300-400 pages, hopefully.
QOTW:
I found myself genre-hopping to genres I don't typically read, like Science Fiction. I read two books in that genre this year and they did not disappoint.
1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - I still tout this book as one of my all-time favorites.
2. Upgrade by Blake Crouch - very good and flowed very easily.
Happy year end and New Year to all! My big news is that I finished PS 2022 on Christmas Day! I thought I had one more to read but while reviewing my year's reading and closing out other challenges, making sure I had reported and logged everything, I realized I already had read an onomatopoeia book MONTHS AGO -- it had PURR in the title. A lovely Christmas present because it meant I could just read books with Christmas settings this week.
How did I miss it? Well work distracted me a lot. And I read a lot -- 187 books so far and I expect to make it to 190 read by Jan. 1. It's easy to overlook one of the frivolous or comfort reads. Plus this has been the Year of the 'DUH' moment with so many reads that I don't notice fit a prompt somewhere until long after reading it. I blame work.
Finished:
Murder Is Murder Is Murder - my palindromic title read and the last book I needed to finish. Would work in 2023, especially for queer lead - at center is Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas but just about every other character is a gay man. Author Samuel M. Steward wrote this for a gay male audience I believe - as he was at the time a noted gay male porn writer (and a tattoo artist to the Hells Angels -- read up on him - quite a character and actually important if overlooked figure in the gay community of mid-20th Century). It was an experience reading this --- my eyes rolled a lot at the double entendres for example. Wasn't quite what I expected. It was suggested by a friend who read it in the 1980s when it was published -- it was given to her by a mutual gay friend. She failed to alert me to what I call the elements that indicated I as a straight woman was not the target audience. Mystery plot pretty weak, I wasn't the audience for it, but the characters of Gertrude and Alice were wonderful -- and I suspect true as author spent summers with them in south of France where the book is set in 1937 and 1939. He even wrote himself into the book as the character Johnny Jump-Up. It was a funny experience reading this book and quite an end to the challenge!
Boxcar Christmas - totally charming Christmas story of a vet suffering PTSD renting a place from another vet with PTSD and their taking on a stray mother and her puppies at Christmas while dealing with various personal and family issues.
Currently reading:
Christmas at Little Beach Bakery
Starting this week:
Empire of Gold - my Feminerdy Book Club January read
Improbable Patriot - bio of Beaumarchais
The Little Christmas House
Mistletoe Matchmaker
QOTW:
The Martian - Weir - prompt man-made disaster - because of course being abandoned on Mars was that if nothing else. Great adventure full of humor and it made a great movie as well.
The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune - I used it for gender identity - such a magical special book
Madame Bovary - Flaubert, trans. Lydia Davis - like reading the original french- superb
Love, Death & Rare Books - Hellenga - title says it all and its his final book - a beauty and an homage to books and reading
Narrowboat Summer - Youngson - a magical surprise -- prompt was cruise
An Artist of the Floating World - Ishiguro - Japan just after WWII
The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Turton - Prompt #BookTok - this was WONDERFUL! Such an original and enthralling mystery.
In the Distance - Diaz - prompt was mirror image - modern western showing the real old west -- haunting and compelling and beautiful
The Lincoln Highway - Towles - Love this writer and he keeps delivering masterpieces -- while a roadtrip adventure, it also is a coming of age post juvie jail and the choices needing to be made
Migrations - McConaghy - finished early last week - near future extinction story with a redemption and hope at the end.
I actually have 7 more I ranked at the top of my reading this year, including another Ishiguro.
My least favorite, is a 3 way tie:
Behind the Mask by A.M. Barnard a/k/a Louisa May Alcott - awful just awful writing and all
The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman - what was Hoffman thinking????
The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - though I rated it less harshly than the first 2 on this list, the farther I get from reading it, the more I disdain it and find it makes me angry for being so derivative and inadequate.
Mandy,I'm glad to hear a positive report on A Rip Through Time, as that is my SF/F book club's February pick this year.
Happy Thursday!Hope everyone had a good winter holiday. My family spent Christmas being phenomenally lazy -- we even took naps after opening presents on Christmas Day. Also watched Glass Onion and the new Willow mini-series. Just a chill holiday.
I'm already champing at the bit for the challenge to start... I have all my starting books lined up and ready to go!
Books read this week:
The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice -- a loose gender-flipped retelling of Pinocchio. Strange but lovely.
Real -- holy crap, this was a good book! A heartwrenching but hopeful book about a nonverbal girl and her fight to be heard.
Christmas Every Day -- a short story about a little girl who wishes it could be Christmas every day… and to be careful what you wish for. Cute Christmas tale.
DNF:
Savvy -- just underwhelming, especially for a Newbury Honor book
Currently Reading:
Lemons
Anne of West Philly
QOTW:
Man, this is a hard one... my ten faves (in no particular order) would have to be the following:
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
In the Wild Light
What Moves the Dead
When Women Were Dragons
Sea of Tranquility
The Golem and the Jinni
Under the Whispering Door
Radio Silence
Light from Uncommon Stars
Happy last check-in of the year! Where did 2022 go?This Christmas was really great and I got to have lots of family gatherings. Nothing like being cramped in a house all together happy and loud.
We had a freezing rain storm but fortunately family was all home by then and not on highways.
Finished Reading:
Pippin The Christmas Pig ⭐
This picture book was rather awful and I was forced to listen to it at a Christmas Eve church service.
Saga, Volume 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I got this for Christmas and tore through it. How can it still be so good?
The Woman in Cabin 10 ⭐⭐⭐
A quick mystery/thriller read that described the luxury cruise ship setting to be quite creepy.
Chobits, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Had no idea going into this manga and I'm hooked on the story.
PS 2022 50/50
PS 2015 50/50
Goodreads 274/250
Currently Reading:
House of Hunger
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day
QOTW:
Well limiting to ten will be hard... I had 15 or so rereads so will go with new to me books.
Book Love
Spy X Family series
Kingdom of the Wicked series
The Poet X and other Elizabeth Acevedo
Saga, Volume 10
Red, White and Whole
House of Sky and Breath
Ruby Fever
Sailor Moon series
Daisy Jones and the Six
Brandon wrote: "Mandy,I'm glad to hear a positive report on A Rip Through Time, as that is my SF/F book club's February pick this year."
It was fabulous! if you like murder/mystery and/or historical. it will be your jam.
as an added bonus, it fits the prompt of historical fiction for ps. the second book, The Poisoner's Ring fits the spring 2023 prompt.
Kenya wrote: "Real -- holy crap, this was a good book! A heartwrenching but hopeful book about a nonverbal girl and her fight to be heard...."I loved Real too! It was funny because I compared it to another book as being more uplifting with less cruelty from other characters, but when I re-read it, I had forgotten about the abusive teacher the main character had to deal with in the beginning. Somehow, being able to overcome that adversity in the condition she was in WAS uplifting.
Hello! I've been off work all week, but haven't accomplished many of the things I planned. The temperature is back to around freezing, which has meant some of the side streets that never really got cleared after all the snow of the weekend are finally melting, except we're supposed to get freezing rain/more snow tonight and tomorrow. I have finished three of my six challenges, and will probably finish the fourth. I probably won't finish the final two by the end of the year, but may be able to finish them in early January.
Finished This Week:
Carrie by Stephen King. I'd only ever read one book by Stephen King, a fantasy he wrote for his daughter, and I thought I'd give Carrie a try. Despite knowing a lot about the plot through the book's place in pop culture, I was surprised at a few parts. The writing style was also interesting, with the linear storyline regularly interrupted by news reports and interviews and articles. It really built the tension because you knew stuff was about to go down, but you didn't know how. Not for PS prompt, and I think I'll be reading more Stephen King in the future. But not IT.
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. This was a slog, which really surprised me. I REALLY wanted to love this book, and I'm really disappointed I didn't. The beginning was great, as it told the history of Charles and Caroline and their families, how they came to live where they did, how they met and married, and then their travels with Laura, Mary, Carrie and Grace. Where the book fell apart for me was how much of Laura's daughter Rose's life was told. I did not care about Rose, her disregard for ethics in writing, her fascination with Albania, or her increasing tendency toward anti-Semitism. I would have been much happier reading a biography of Laura that mentioned she had a daughter, and the relationship with her was complicated. I did not need chapters upon chapters of Rose's trouble with money and suicidal thoughts. Not for PS prompt.
Currently Reading:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Still chugging along.
Watership Down by Richard Adams. Made it to Cowslip's warren in the audiobook. I was able to renew the library copy for another three weeks, so I should be able to finish. There's still like eleven hours to go.
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Giving the play a chance. The edition I got from my library had 97 pages of "introduction" and each page of text of the play is half-full of footnotes. I'm ignoring all of that and reading just the play. I think I'll enjoy it more.
QotW: What were your favorite reads of 2022 (whether or not they were Challenge reads)?
Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders. One of the best books on writing I've read in a long time.
L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente. A novelette, but an amazing Orpheus and Eurydice retelling.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark. Such rich worldbuilding that still tells a great mystery.
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews. A wholly satisfying end to Catalina's trilogy.
Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen. A novel about what happens when a time-traveler really does get stuck in the past.
Hi all! Warm day here. Kiddo had to go into town for her second covid shot (and she's such a trooper!), so we made a day of it, which means I'm completely whooped. We went to the library, which was only open today and yesterday since last Thursday, so I was jonesing. Won't be open again until the 3rd, which stinks because I have a doctor's appointment on the 2nd and was going to go by myself and actually browse but.... Guess I'll just have to read one of the 20 other library books I already have at home (sheesh, how do they expect me to survive??). Also, my introvert brain is desperate for some alone time. Kiddo home from school all week has turned me into an overstimulated zombie.
I didn't finish anything, but the kiddo has been hogging the TV, so I have managed to sneak in some reading rather than watching TV. Read a few chapters in City of Veils. I didn't realize when I picked it up that it was book 2 of a series, and there's been a lot of wistful thinking about "what could have been" between 2 characters that means nothing to me and I could care less... Also, for a murder mystery, the murder isn't what has me hooked, it's the disappearance of a secondary character that I want to solve. I imagine they'll be linked, but we're no where near that yet.
I picked up The Song of the Jade Lily which is my 3rd attempt at reading this book. It's definitely not the book, it's library due dates!
QOTW: My favorite book of the year has been The Final Revival of Opal & Nev! I listened to it and it was amazing! I also really loved Burnt Shadows, but it wrapped up too quickly and left too many unanswered questions.
I started the 2023 challenge on Christmas Eve, as usual for me. My mom gave me a great book that I finished reading in just a few hours. I’m kind of sorry to say that I’m glad Christmas is over, and I’ll be glad when New Years is over too. I just wasn’t in a holiday mood at all this year, sadly. Finished
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (a book about divorce). I love everything by this author. This wasn’t my favorite of hers, but it was still really good. I’m stretching this prompt because I don’t love it. The book is about a mystery and ghosts, but two characters have gone through divorces and are healing from that.
Reading
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (a book that is becoming a movie or tv show in 2023)
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (longest book on your tbr)
QOTW
My top 5 reads from this year, in the order that I read them because I couldn't possibly rank them.
Leviathan Falls by James SA Corey
The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
Happy last check-in of the year. once again, I'm posting for multiple weeks - Christmas was fun, but kind of stressful (I found out the day before I had 3 extra people for dinner, so I spent a day having panic attacks and trying to make sure there would be enough food, and in the end, I'm still eating leftovers 🙄) So now I have a cold.... Fun.Stats:
PS: DONE
ATY: DONE
ATY Reread: 51/52 *I decided to cheat and use new reads for this too, so I'm almost done.
Books I've finished:
Love on the Brain - Not as good as The Love Hypothesis.
The Night Eaters, Vol. 1: She Eats the Night - I didn't love this, but it has a lot of promise for a good series.
Before Your Memory Fades
Well Traveled
Canadian Pie
The Stone Collection - Very uneven story collection.
The Night Tiger - And with this, I finished Popsugar. I was ready for it to be over long before it finished.
Sweep of the Heart - I didn't read along when it was originally posted, so it was all new. I loved it.
Head Over Heels
The Heartstopper Yearbook
Rereads:
Book Lovers
Sweep with Me
Winter's Orbit
The Brightest Fell
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Books I made progress on:
A Christmas Carol
Mad About You
QotW
Okay, so this is more than 10, but I left a bunch of books I really loved off the list, so forgive me.
Long Way Down
The Poet X/Clap When You Land
A Deadly Education series
Be the Serpent
Sweep of the Heart
The Absolute Sandman series
Cemetery Boys
Monstress, Vol. 7: Devourer
Book Lovers
Mr. Perfect on Paper
Winter's Orbit
Kendra wrote: "Happy last check-in of the year. once again, I'm posting for multiple weeks - Christmas was fun, but kind of stressful (I found out the day before I had 3 extra people for dinner, so I spent a day ..."Cemetery Boys was so good and I've loved Sandman for decades. Still one of my favorite comics
Happy Thursday!! I definitely looking forward to this year being over, but still can't believe its about to be 2023! Still have two books I need to finish to complete the challenge, so... probably not going to happen, but it's still an improvement over last year. So yay!Finished:
Mem- this was an interesting concept, but it didn't really grab me
-43. A book with a palindromic title
Taste: My Life through Food- this a charming memoir where Stanley Tucci talks about his life through food. Read this for the book with a recipe in it after realizing I couldn't handle the sad of Crying in H Mart right now.
This would be a great option for the celebrity memoir prompt next year.
-23. A book with a recipe in it
Currently reading:
Our Dark Duet
Berkeley Noir
QotW:
I actually read a lot of books this year that I really loved- I had way better luck this year than last year. These are some of the best ones, it's hard to pick for sure
Convenience Store Woman and Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
- I loved both of these so much. I need to pick up her book Earthling next year
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America by Cody Keenan
Colorful by Eto Mori
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa -made me cry like crazy
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
I hope everyone is having a good holiday season! I'm looking forward to a new year and a new challenge.Finished
Footprints Under the Window by Franklin W. Dixon (or whomever it really was)
I needed one more book to finish my Goodreads challenge. I have four very old Hardy Boy books from the 1930s that I read over and over when I was a kid (they were my grandmother's). I've been meaning to re-read them for ages.
This one had some interesting racial overtones as there were many Chinese characters. It wasn't mean spirited, but there was terminology that wouldn't be acceptable these days. I learned yesterday that some of these books, especially the "racial" ones were rewritten in the 1960s, so later versions are different than my versions. If I was so inclined, I'd find a later version and compare. But I'm entirely too lazy for that. Anyway, while I didn't remember the plot, much of it was familiar as I read along. I've started another one now. Wonder how much these books would be worth if I wanted to sell them?
Goodreads: 90/90
Popsugar: 50/50
QOTW:
Favorites in order read:
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
20 Minutes Until It's Over by Daniel Hurst
They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie
In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
That was hard to narrow down as I've read a lot of really good books this year. There are several on my Read shelf that are glaring at me for excluding them right now.
Melissa wrote: "Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser. This was a slog, which really surprised me. I REALLY wanted to love this book, and I'm really disappointed I didn't. "Well said! Although I have to admit that Rose's life was kind of an eyeopener to me that you could live inside your bubble in the early 20th century... But that was not why I read this book: I wanted to learn about the real Laura.
Hello! Wow, but the week flew by on wings!Tie-breaker: Didn't vote last week but decided to give it a go this week. Wouldn't you know that my choice is not leading. Oh, well.
Added another comment to the Book Lovers discussion.
Rock Paper Scissors is available at my local library and I have put it on hold. However, I am drowning in library books right now! I have twelve waiting to be read and four in progress!
The only reason I put Rock Paper Scissors on hold to read is that it is relatively short, and it is by Emily Henry, whose Book Lovers I enjoyed this month.
I was busy this week with planning my NY Day party (cheese-tasting) and cleaning up around the house/yard. I do hope it slows up a bit after the party, but I kinda doubt it with the list of hopes I made for my NY Goals.
My short story also suffered for lack of attention due to all the busyness of the week. I really need the time and space to get back to it.
Currently Reading:
Family History 101: A Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Ancestors - Going slow as much to learn and try in each chapter.
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Loving this one. A fun read with an octopus as a character.
The Dressmaker's Gift - Kindle. Sitting beside bed...getting ignored due to all the library books on top.
Strangers on a Train - might end up DNRing this one. I will give it one more try this week and then decide.
A Court of Silver Flames - LOVING this one. It is candy to my soul...eating it up but don't want it to end just now.
Finished:
A Sense Of Place. This was an owned book that has set on my shelf for many years. It is a series that I started but haven't continued although I really enjoy the characters and struggle. I was glad to get to this book and reacquaint myself with that world.
News of the World Another book that I have been avoiding. This one, I think, because of the title. Well, it was a wonderful tale of an elderly man traveling the west with a young reclaimed stolen child...and all the difficulties he had in taking her home. Loved both of the main characters for how human they felt and for the well told story of the difficulties stolen children face upon their return to lost families.
Nine Perfect Strangers. I listened to the audiobook of this story only or mostly in my car while running errands. It took a long time to get through it...and there were moments when I did not like what was happening and was not sure I wanted to continue but I did...and ended up enjoying the adventure.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. How funny! I found that I had started doing this type of cleaning earlier this year. I did run out of steam and so have not completed the first pass through my house. And I love that the author describes her age as between 80 and 100!
Letter from Peking. It has been awhile since I last read anything by Pearl S. Buck, although she is a writer that I like. This was short and engaging and dealt with the difficulty of a love across cultures. Very good.
Question of the week: Add to the listopia the best books of 2022.
I may not have time this week to do this. I have never added a book to a listopia, but I will review my reads and consider doing it.
I do know that my TBR will grow from this question as I have already added 4 of Nadine's!
Now...since I have only read Nadine's post prior to writing this one, I need to get more coffee, settle in, and scroll up so reading can begin!
Jennifer W wrote: "I also really loved Burnt Shadows, but it wrapped up too quickly and left too many unanswered questions."I read that book years ago, and I have not forgotten it! Such an impact it had on me. One of my rare 5*.
Well, either GR or my laptop is not cooperating as when I click on (new page) the want to read button, it takes me out of the book back to my recent updates page. Guess my TBR will need to wait a bit before growing!
OK, I have decided not to add my top reads to the Listopia, since I did not participate in this group for the 2022 challenge. However, here are my 5* books for 2022. (Note: I rarely give 5*.)Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
XVI by Julia Karr
With a Hammer for My Heart by George Ella Lyon
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Hi all, Happy liminal spacemas. I totally forgot yesterday was Thursday, even though I still have to work this week except Monday. Today's a half day at least. Don't have much to do, so just kind of floating through the week.
I'm doing a TBR challenge with my in-person book club, I think I mentioned it last week. Everyone has picked my books, so my list is finalized! Although a hold came in for my library, so of course my first book of the year will have to be that, instead of my list, haha. (at this point, I just finished a book so I'll probably be reading comics until the new year because I like to start the year fresh with a new book.)
This week I finished:
Tune in Tomorrow: The Curious, Calamitous, Cockamamie Story Of Starr Weatherby And The Greatest Mythic Reality Show Ever - this was fun. I had picked it up randomly from the library new releases shelf. Urban fantasy with a human "reality" show being done for the fae who don't realize it's actually scripted, full of plotting and back stabbing.
Artificial Condition - been doing another murderbot listen, even though i apparently already did that this year. haha. Well they're good audio books, and hoopla has them with no wait, and they're short.
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
The Reading List - This is my January books & brew. Ugh it was so good. I was crying for the last quarter or so. Reminded me a lot of Backman, A Man Called Ove and Britt Marie Was Here. The whole people who seem prickly and rude at first but really are just lonely and don't know how to connect, and eventually learn to open up and form community and relationships. Just really sweet and heartwarming and of course heartbreaking in parts.
Currently reading:
Network Effect - audio re-read
Probably will do some comics too, literally just finished the reading list.
QOTW:
Such a hard one!
I'll have to go with:
Legends & Lattes - I picked it up off a facebook ad for like 2 dollars before it really blew up and was everywhere. I thought it looked cute, expected not much from it. Was shocked at how much I adored it, and was pleasantly surprised how much it blew up and how everyone seemed to love it. So thrilled for the author!
How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question - this surprised me, I had picked it up mostly on a whim because I really liked the good place. But I thought the author did a really good job at distilling all the moral philosophy research he had done for the show down into applicable advice for regular non-moral philosopher people to use in their daily lives to help them wrestle with the kinds of issues everyone comes across. Like I know we've all had issues like how or when do you separate the art from the artist, or what do you do when a creator of something you love or an actor/artist you love does something terrible but you love their art/work/music. The book gives strategies based on a whole bunch of different moral philosophy schools of thought how to figure out how to approach the issue. Not in a way that comes to a difinitive "this is the right answer", but just how to approach it to find an answer that YOU can live with, that works for you.
The Kaiju Preservation Society - This was a good year for cozy sci fi/fantasy. Just fun, clever, really good.
Light from Uncommon Stars - I adored this book so much, it was beautiful. I really would love it if the author wrote another in the world.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - this was charming and wonderful and lovely, gave me big House on the Cerulean Sea vibes. Loved it so much.
The Reading List - Lovely and heartwarming and heart breaking all at once.
Bea wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "I also really loved Burnt Shadows, but it wrapped up too quickly and left too many unanswered questions."I read that book years ago, and I have not forgotten it! Such an impact..."
It definitely was headed towards 5 stars for me. If it had been 100 pages longer and resolved some of the storylines a little better, it probably would have been the best book of the year. I'm going to try to read another book by her next year.
Also, it's interesting to me that both books I mentioned are more character-driven stories when I usually prefer a lot of plot.
Cornerofmadness wrote: "Cemetery Boys was so good and I've loved Sandman for decades. Still one of my favorite comics."I hadn't read any of them until this year and then the made into a movie/tv show prompt got me to read the first and I was hooked.
I'm glad to see the show bringing in new readers. I started with the first issue way back when.
I'm back in Chicago! Somehow my good karma jar this year came through. I flew Southwest round trip to Florida for Christmas with my family and made it back (one of only 4 flights out of TPA Wed night) with no delays and no cancellations. I have no idea how this happened, but the universe was certainly on my side. 6 days with my family was quite enough time for me, it's just TOO much and I am so glad to be back home. I already start traveling for work again Tuesday (which I'm not thrilled about), and I adjusted my GR goal down to 75 from 80. Looking forward to a quiet NYE reading and watching the ball drop. Happy New Year everyone! I really enjoy this group so much and especially appreciate all the work Nadine & Lynn do to keep it going. THANK YOU ladies! 💕🎇75/75 GoodReads Challenge
50/50 PopSugar Challenge
Finished:
1.) Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨: This was perfect!! It lived up to the hype and was a wonderful palate cleanser for the end of the year. Adored Bernie & Arthur so much.
2.) Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane ⭐⭐: This started out so strong, but jumped the shark and had WAY too many threads going on that I lost interest in the point.
3.) The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel ⭐⭐⭐⭐: I adored this character study filled with REAL, quirky people. About 50 pages too long, but simply adored this chaotic family. Out 1/31
Currently Reading:
1.) The Night Travelers
QoTW: What were your favorite reads of 2022?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
Falling by TJ Newman
It's been a week, all right! My husband and I were primed and ready to fly out to visit his side of the family on Christmas Eve, but due to the weather, our connecting airport was completely closed and our flight was cancelled. And with it being the holidays, the soonest they could reschedule our flight was Tuesday! Bright and early Tuesday at least, but still. So we had a quiet Christmas at home, and zoomed with the other members of my family who weren't able, for one reason or another, to gather with anyone else ("the Christmas orphans," as my sister put it). Fortunately, our Tuesday flight didn't have any mishaps, and we've had a delightful time visiting with everyone. We fly back tomorrow afternoon, and as long as everything goes as planned, we'll be back home just in time to ring in the new year!
I managed to finish the PS challenge this week (my last book was Christmas themed, so it was always going to be cutting it close), and almost finished RH (one prompt short!), but considering this was the first time I did that one seriously, that's not too shabby.
Finished:
Doughnuts and Doom - A colleague of mine saw I was checking this out and perused it first. He wasn't impressed with the pacing, but I thought it was all right. A cute story about magic and music. My only quibble is that the description made it seem like the doom part was going to be more world shattering than it actually was.
Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock Omnibus - Still rewatching the original series. I liked seeing all the different artists' takes on the characters.
Royal Holiday - (PS - A Romance by a BIPOC Author, RH - A romance where at least one of the protagonists is over 40) I'm not big into romances, but this one was okay. It was more about the setting, really, and since the characters were older, it wasn't as physical as other romance novels I've read. And it definitely delivered as a Christmas read.
Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors - (RH A book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes) This book is perfect for reading in small chunks, which is how I read it, anyway.
Currently Reading:
The Cost of Knowing
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
QOTW: I read a lot of good books this year, but here are my top ten, in the order I read them:
The Last Human
Several People Are Typing
The Kaiju Preservation Society
Malibu Rising
Cyclopedia Exotica
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Trust
True Biz
My Best Friend's Exorcism
Mod
I hate to end the year where I seemingly began it. Complaining about Goodreads..but…I feel the need to do so. Now they have switched me back to the old format. WTH!?! I mean, REALLY?!? And books that I’ve read and did appear on my “read” shelf are now appearing as “want to read” or “currently reading” when I look at each book’s page. And I’m still getting certain books switched to a “Kindle” eformat and then I’m unable to remove that version from my listing of books. It is SO FRUSTRATING!! I have found that sometimes if I just ignore these anomalies, the next time I look, the books have reverted to the proper designation, etc. Oh, well…something to learn to be more accepting of in the new year, I guess!
And…now we at least have water and a working toilet in our household. Our pipes froze the first night of our “deep freeze” storm front here in the Midwestern US. I left a stream running in each faucet, but that didn’t matter. I’ve never had pipes freeze before, so I guess I’ve always been lucky! And…there was no damage to the pipes! YAY!! (Though I admit I am frustrated at the fact that our furnace guy was the last one to be under our house and evidently left the hatch halfway open, exposing the main water line to this cold air…so I’ve made a note to remind him to close that if he ever has to get back under there again!) And, the plumber was so grateful that he didn’t really have to do anything here, he only charged us half price for the visit. That was exactly one week ago—wind chill was 38 degrees below zero and today it is mid-50s with rain. Weather! Definitely inconsistent!
As I sit here on the morning of the very last day of 2022, I am a bit nostalgic, a bit frustrated (with myself), and yet hopeful overall! Nostalgic for all the amazing reading I’ve had the opportunity to complete this year. Counting the two books I am reading today and will most likely finish tomorrow or the day after, I will have read 171 books in 2022! I was hoping to get to at least 150, so have overshot that goal! And…I was still working full-time the first 3 months of 2022, so perhaps, just perhaps, I will actually attain my ultimate goal of 200 books read in one year in 2023! My fingers are crossed… My frustration erupts from several sources: my end-of-year reading strategy was really bad! I could have finished Popsugar if I had been paying attention! As it is, I am currently reading Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital and Laurie Frankel’s most recent release, One Two Three. I was fortunate enough to purchase a used copy of OTT yesterday at my favorite used bookstore! But that leads to another frustration…with myself! I was so proud of the 15 books I had boxed up to deliver to the bookstore! And then, I ended up purchasing another 15 books total by the time I arrived home last evening. In fairness, one of those was a freebie ARC from the bookstore (any time you make a purchase you can select from a variety of ARCs on display). I only paid full price for 2 of those books. That’s good. That’s great! But…I still have just as many books in my house as I did when I left with that box of books yesterday! Ah, well. Some obsessions know no bounds! One of the most intense books I’ve read was one I just finished, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. So many reviewers mentioned how uplifting and hopeful it was…but I mainly felt bereft upon finishing it. Now, in the past couple of days I have managed to form a more positive reaction to it overall…and I realize life is like that. We tend to absorb experiences and then recalibrate. For so many reasons, I am hopeful. For myself. For my family. For my friends. For my acquaintances. For the country where I live. For the world. I hold out hope that critical mass is just around the corner for world peace. (If I’m going to aim…I’m going to aim HIGH! LOL)
ADMIN STUFF:
If you’ve not yet read Book Lovers by Emily Henry for the December Monthly Group Read discussion, there is still time!! (Yes, this sentence is a repeat from last week’s posting! LOL ‘Cause you still have today!) This could be used to fulfill 2022 prompt #1 A book published in 2022. JessicaMHR is the "rambunctious reader" facilitating that discussion! Both that and the discussion thread for December Challenge—I finished! These are in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. And will be moved to the 2022 Monthly Group Reads folder in a few days.
Thank you to all who have participated in Monthly Group Reads! Whether you’ve helped select books or read the books or participated in discussions—and ESPECIALLY if you have facilitated discussion—THANK YOU! We hope participation will continue into 2023!
Happy to announce that we will be reading Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney for the January 2023 Monthly Group Read! Teri is the "powerfully provocative facilitator" for this month’s discussion! Thank you, Teri!
And Nadine was kept busy creating polls since the final selection poll for the February 2023 Monthly Group Read ended in a 3-way tie! HERE is the tie-breaker poll!
Help us decide what to read to fulfill 2023 prompt #43 A book that takes place entirely in one day! HELP US FINALLY SELECT THAT ONE BOOK!
She also created the nomination poll for the March 2023 Monthly Group Read which could be used to fulfill prompt #7 A book with “Girl” in the title. If you do not see a book you want to vote for and wish to write-in a nomination, please be sure to check the listing of INELIGIBLE books HERE FIRST! Otherwise, that poll is HERE. HAPPY NOMINATING!
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.
Popsugar: 48/50
If I had been a bit more strategic, I would have read A Constellation of Vital Phenomena rather than starting The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family and I probably would have finished Popsugar before the end of 2022. But you know what they say about hindsight…always 20/20! :)
ATY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 19/24
My Question of the Week response and FINISHED books listing is getting its own separate posting!
CONTINUING:
*Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink is an unbelievable recounting of just how unprepared everyone was and the lack of foresight for even communication!
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel is already amazing after just 30 pages! I adored This Is How It Always Is and really wanted to read this one! How fortunate that my favorite used bookstore had a “greatly-reduced-in-price” copy available yesterday!
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed.
*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:
*The Cuckoo's CallingThe Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike #1) by Robert Galbraith
*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
2 week check in. I finished Comfort & Joy. Ikind of liked it, but it was kind of weird.I read Dachshund Through the Snow. I think I'm about halway through. Reading it on plane and in airports, so a little fuzzy, but I can't wait to see how it turns out.
QOTW: I'll just pick 2.
Fave fiction Where the Crawdads Sing.
Fave nonfiction The Tiger
With a few hours to go, I managed to finish the challenge! hope you're all having a great and safe new years!
Erin wrote: "With a few hours to go, I managed to finish the challenge! hope you're all having a great and safe new years!"congrats
Finished my last book for the challenge! PS 2022: 50/50
Finished:
The Perfect Marriage (no prompt) 1 star. Husband's mistress is murdered and wife is the husband's defense lawyer for the crime. It was such bad writing but at least it was a quick read.
Clap Back (no prompt) 3 stars. Amazon short story. It had a cool concept but I wish it had gone on a little longer.
Six of Crows (PS duology 1) 4 stars. A heist story with a "found family". This was great. It was a YA book that made the teenagers have more mature problems which made them much less annoying than most YA books. It was a high fantasy with just the right amount of world building to make it interesting but not too much worldbuilding to make it too confusing. I definitely recommend it.
Crooked Kingdom (PS duology 2) 5 stars. The second book in this duology. I liked this one a little more than the first because you get to dig a little deeper into the characters in this book. I will definitely be reading more Leigh Bardugo in the future.
Upcoming:
This Time Tomorrow
Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
QOTW:
My top reads in no particular order
The Calculating Stars
The Martian
Iron Widow
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Carrie Soto Is Back
The Trees
The House in the Cerulean Sea
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Crooked Kingdom
Happy 2023 to everyone! Hope that everyone enjoyed the solstice holidays, and wishing everyone a happy, healthy rewarding new year!I've been terribly absent, due to work, work and more work, and continuing health stuff. I've been way too exhausted to write when I get home, but I have peeked in here and there when possible. I finished the PopSugar challenge back in September, and it was a great reading year!
I'm participating in a local IRL challenge with my commonwealth library: Winter Reading Challenge, so my book choices will be focused on that.
At the moment, I am devouring A Good Marriage, because my best friend recommended it. We recommend books to each other all the time and do thoroughly unofficial buddy reads. First prompt the year then will be: Book recommended by your best friend (unless it works for book about divorce. A lot of marriage crumbling and faltering, but she won't tell me what happens!)
QOTW:
so hard to pick...so, in no particular order:
Eight Kinky Nights
Really, everything by Xan West - I'm devastated that they are no longer writing and living in this mortal coil....
The Kingdom of Women: Life, Love and Death in China's Hidden Mountains
Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy
Iep Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter
The Hidden Life of Ice - Dispatches from a Disappearing World
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Nedí Nezų
Rosemary's Baby and everything by Ira Levin
Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top
Erin wrote: "With a few hours to go, I managed to finish the challenge! hope you're all having a great and safe new years!"Way to go Erin!
Wow I think this is my latest check-in ever. Whoops! I blame the holidays.Finishing the year out:
Dreaming the Eagle - I DNF'd this one after sitting on it for months. Leaving the bookmark in because I'm optimistic, but for now it's just too slow.
The Goblin Emperor - 2.5 stars. An excellent book if you're looking for a fantasy of manners and looooads of court intrigue, but I needed a tad more action.
Mr. Death - 5 stars. Another Alix Harrow short story and it didn't disappoint. Glad to close my year with this.
What were your favorite reads of 2022 (whether or not they were Challenge reads)?
BABEL, OR THE NECESSITY OF VIOLENCE by RF Kuang
THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES by Alix E Harrow (truthfully every Alix Harrow thing I read this year was amazing)
Mod
I recently removed this one from my TBR, and you are confirming my decision!! I have little patience with these "mannerpunk" type books.
Mod
FINISHED:
*The Gypsy Game (Game #2) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (10 STARS) was an absolutely excellent read! I particularly appreciated these characters’ compassion regarding a culture that experienced so much oppression and genocide throughout history—so much so that they felt they couldn’t play a “game” involving these people. And then Snyder’s approach to homelessness was so real, IMO! I plan to read more of this author’s 43 published works!
POPSUGAR: #9, #24, #25, #31-the oppression/genocide of “gypsies”!, #40-2017: prompt #51 A book about a difficult topic: oppression/genocide & homelessness, #47
ATY: #1-April/”February”, #4-A book with nomads, #7, #14-1,509 ratings, #19, #31-1997, #33, #36-“Bear”!, #40-The Chariot, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41, #44, #45, #46-Bear, #49
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #9 Read the LAST book in a series
*A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra (10 STARS) left me literally breathless at the end… Yes, it is uplifting, but it is also a detailed treatise of the uselessness of war and occupation. A few people survive and end up thriving, but the majority simply end up dying… Bereft. With a slight glimmer of hopefulness. That is how I can best describe my feelings about it. Masterful writing and pacing. A stunning debut. Definitely deserving of all the accolades it has received. It is a powerful read. I want to read more of Marra’s writing and am hoping for more positive themes…
POPSUGAR: #9, NEW #10, #25, #31-war, #33, NEW #35, #36, #40-2017: prompt #51 A book about a difficult topic—war, torture, etc., #46, #47
ATY: #1-Akhmed, #3, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): …passion…desolation…despair—hopelessness, #7-terrorism, #11, #13-Sonja, Havaa, #15, #19, #36-Khassan’s dogs, #40-The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, Justice, Judgment, The World, #41, #44, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2021: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read
*Galatea by Madeline Miller (5 STARS). While we all know I am no student of mythology for its own sake, I love Miller’s writing and her adaptations. Reading her notes at the end was a must for me and made this short story all the more pertinent and powerful.
POPSUGAR: #1, #24, #25, #36, #40-2016: prompt #30 A book with a blue cover
ATY: #4-A book whose author is younger than you, #7, #15, #25-64 pages, #29, #30, #40-Strength, Justice, Death, Judgement, The World, #41-drugged tea, #44, #46, #49, #51
RHC: #24-2016: A book with less than 100 pages
That leaves 2 books I am finishing to complete Popsugar and then on to 2023!!
Mod
Question of the Week:
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)
Ugh. While I love to recall my favorites, it is also such a task for me to pull out a halfway manageable list! But I feel as if I have had such an incredible year of wonderfully stupendous reads, that I really want to summarize it…in detail! Here goes…I am listing in chronological order and have designated some categories…
NEW-TO-ME SERIES THAT I WILL DEFINITELY CONTINUE
1) I started 2022 with Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford & Sloane series and never looked back! I absolutely love that series! One of my all-time favorites and will definitely be on board for future installments! I plan to venture into more of her books in 2023, but assume they may be a bit too “romancy” for me…
2) Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan series was a new discovery for me this year. At least in books. I remember watching adaptations on TV when I was young and was curious how the books would hold up. I was very pleasantly surprised that what I considered to be the intense stereotypical representation on TV was NOT what I felt reading The House Without a Key. And I own the second in the series, The Chinese Parrot, and I intend to read it in 2023 and continue on from there. There are only 6 books in the series!
3) The Lionboy trilogy by Zizou Corder was such an enjoyable read for me! I think younger readers would be enthralled by it. At least I was! Fantastical adventures!!
4) Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series is so “out there” and yet realistic to relationships in so many ways… One of my faves! I read through all of them in 2022!
5) Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan series is my newest superbly entertaining and humorous just all-round FUN series!! Humorous yet compassionate characters and interrelationships!
6) Bette Green’s Beth Lambert trilogy is humorous, poignant, and entertaining! I plan to finish it in 2023 and then continue on with Greene’s backlist!
7) Margery Sharp’s Rescuers series is adorable and entertaining, yet Miss Bianca is always serious about her rescues!
8) Ann Cleeves’ Shetland Island and Vera Stanhope series are so very well done! Well-paced mysteries with interconnected characters and I am fascinated with both Vera and Jimmy and getting to know them and their colleagues better with each installment!
9) I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. It has been 50 years since I last read Asimov’s writing and I plan to continue this series!
10) Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series is so very well plotted. Atkinson’s interconnected characters and plot points are extraordinary! I plan to read more of her writing!
11) Last Call at the Nightingale (Nightingale Mysteries #1) by Katharine Schellman was an excellent historical fiction read as well as a well-plotted mystery!
12) Strange Magic (Essex Witch Museum Mystery #1) by Syd Moore was so enjoyable that I now own the second installment, Strange Sight, and plan to read it in 2023!
13) Dumplin' (Dumplin’ #1) by Julie Murphy was a stupendous book! (MUCH better than the movie, IMO!) I now own the second installment, Puddin' and will continue reading this series and Murphy’s writing!
14) Agatha's First Case (Agatha Raisin #0.5) by M.C. Beaton was a solid short story. I was impressed enough that I will plan to continue with the Agatha Raisin series!
15) Susan Wittig Albert’s Darling Dahlia series is a must-read for me. I own the 2nd and 3rd installments for 2023! I also love and am reading her China Bayles series!
16) Dusti Bowling’s series Life of a Cactus series is delightfully diverse, humorous, and poignant! Quite unique and lovely
17) Tor commissioned Becky Chambers to write a “two-book novella series within the emerging solarpunk genre” and I’ve read both Monk & Robot novellas, A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy are just as wonderful as her Wayfarers series, loved them both! Which reminds me that I still need to read the 4th book in that series, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within!
18) Snowspelled (Harwood Spellbook #1) by Stephanie Burgis was a shockingly good read! It was a book club selection and I expected pure fluff, but received a truly interesting and complex story! I will be reading more of this series/author!
NEW-TO-ME AUTHORS
1) Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day was superb! I enjoyed The Buried Giant and cannot wait to read Klara and the Sun. Another author whose backlist I intend to read…
2) *Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series is definitely off-the-wall and yet compelling. I believe Atkinsons can interweave characters better than any other writer! I plan to read Shrines of Gaiety and delve into her backlist.
3) Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier was one of my very best reads of the year. This one has it all! I was impressed enough to investigate more of her books…
4) Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, illustrated by Nicholas Gannon was an absolutely delightful read. The target audience is juveniles, but I enjoyed so very much!
5) Chirp by Kate Messner was an unbelievably great read! It covered so much territory and so very well! Highly recommend for all ages!
6) Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower was awesome and kinda scary (‘Cause I could imagine the US turning into this place!)! I plan to read Parable of the Talents and Kindred in 2023.
7) I was so impressed with Rebecca Serle’s One Italian Summer that I now own another book of hers!
8) Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico was a simple and enjoyable read. I am finishing the second installment in this duology now!
9) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston was amazing! I will definitely plan to read more of her writing! It is extraordinary to read how Alice Walker was responsible for putting this book back into the reading public! Now one of the most-often used books in educational curricula across the US.
10) Though I had grave reservations about reading The Ghost Bride, I really ended up enjoying it. Quite the ride! (It just didn’t sound like a book I would enjoy…) And The Night Tiger was also a good solid read. Definitely on board to read whatever Yangsze Choo writes in the future!
11) The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George was phenomenal! I loved these characters and their stories! So much so, that I now own a copy of The Little French Bistro and plan to read it in 2023!
12) Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan was so good! Sometimes large things are possible, as well as small things… Adored the writing and plan to read more of it!
ONGOING FAVORITE SERIES
1) The Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith
2) The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley
3) Going Rogue (Stephanie Plum #29) by Janet Evanovich was finally much more like the earlier series installments! I refuse to give up on this series! I think it is paying off!
4) The Gypsy Game (Game #2) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder was intense and so very well written! This series is only a duology, but I will be reading more of her writing!
NONFICTION
1) I discovered Walter Lord’s nonfiction historical books (From someone here, as I recall!) and will definitely be reading more of his writing! I’ve read 2 of his books thus far: A Night to Remember and Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. Such an up close and personal depiction of historical events!
2) The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson was a phenomenal read! Even if you don’t know anything about chemistry, biochemistry, etc., this is well-written and takes you through the basic information necessary to understand some of the more complex current developments and where this technology may take the human race in the future. Well worth the time to read it!
3) Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker was so very well done! My aunt suffered from paranoid schizophrenia most of her adult life and this book was very good at depicting the wide range of symptoms, possible treatments, and seemingly random affliction even within one family. Mind-blowing…and made me feel so very fortunate that my aunt never missed a medication dosage nor a psychiatric appointment. Very unusual… We were blessed and basically ignorant at just how lucky our family and she was, given her affliction.
CATS!!
I’m on a run with these and have 2 more planned for 2023: The Cat Who Saved Books and I Am a Cat which is a trilogy. It seems several of these are written by Japanese male authors.
1) The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland was so sweet! The feline was much more gracious to the second household than the original owners were to this couple! But with new digs come new ‘critters’!
2) The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatesworth, illustrated by Raoul Vitale was a beautifully rendered Japanese fable. So sweet! So poignant!
4) Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, illustrated by Axel Scheffler was absolutely adorable! I love Eliot’s sense of humor!
5) The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel was such a heartwarming and poignant read! So very well done! I shed tears! Though for a rather unexpected reason…
And continued...
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
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I've been very busy tie-dyeing this vacation - I just spent the last hour browsing photos in various Facebook groups, which is why I'm late getting here!!! Ice dyeing is my current passion because you get to skip the tedious process of mixing the liquid dyes (although I've been doing some liquid dyeing too) I've got more blank shirts arriving tomorrow!!! I wonder if my kids would wear tie-dyed leggings too ...
Admin stuff
Our February group read "final" poll was not so final LOL, it resulted in a three-way tie, so I set up A TIE BREAKER POLL
I also set up the nomination poll for our March group read for "girl in the title." Vote for or write in your favorite HERE (keeping in mind that all group reads of the last two years are disqualified).
Our December group read of Book Lovers discussion is HERE (I'm planning to start this book next week for my book club, and I found some 2023 categories it will fit, too!)
Our January group read will be Rock Paper Scissors! I know I found several 2023 categories for that one, too. The group discussion, when it starts, will be HERE.
We currently do not have a discussion leader for this month!! LOL You all are facing down mass anarchy in the group read if no one steps up!!TERI will lead the January discussion!Finally, for today's QotW, view and add to our Listopia collecting our favorite reads of 2022:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
This week I read 3 books (wow my tie-dyeing hobby has really gotten in the way of my reading time this week!! I need to incorporate audiobooks into my tie-dye time.)
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson - from the Tournament of Books short list - at least this was short. I finished it barely a week ago and already I've forgotten most of it.
Buffy '97 written by Jeremy Lambert - this graphic novel was a fun xmas present, and I read it immediately, but ultimately it was not very good.
Chew, Vol. 10: Blood Puddin' written by John Layman & art by Rob Guillory - this is such a crazy comic book. Looks like volume 11 (which I just started last night) will be sad - oh noooo! why can't Tony have some happiness for once?? Only two more volumes left and then I have no more new Chew! what'll I do? I could try Chu but I'm afraid it won't be as good.
Question of the Week
What were your favorite reads of 2022 (whether or not they were Challenge reads)?
(try to keep it to ten or less just so we don't overwhelm each other)
For the last two years, I've tracked my favorite read of each month, quarter, half, and year. It's a fun way to keep track of the stand-out books.
My favorite read of this year is:
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - this was just exquisite.
Some of my other favorites are:
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich - I loved Tookie - great audiobook, too, read by Erdrich
The Trees by Percival Everett - this book was crazy
American War by Omar El Akkad - not what I expected, in a good way - this was a lot more of a dystopian romp than I anticipated
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel - I just love her writing, and I am slowly working to read through her backlist while also keeping up with her new books.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata - this was majorly YIKES, with some deeply disturbing parts, but I really cared about the characters and I ended up loving this with all its weirdness. But only read this if you can handle reading about abuse - that chapter was hard and I was not prepared, because Murata's previous book didn't have anything like that.
Shutter by Ramona Emerson - excellent murder mystery with a Navajo protagonist who is a forensic photographer.
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn So Much Fun!!! I guess I really like Raybourn's writing so WHY am I sleeping on Veronica Speedwell? I will DEFINITELY start that series in 2023.
As in past years, I'm setting up a LISTOPIA to collect all of our favorite reads. (And this year's list has links to our past years' lists, too.) Please go add your books to our list after you post about them here!!