Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday!   The air has cleared. We've been some much-needed rain now, and that rain seems to extend up into southern & mid Quebec (if not farther) so hopefully that's  helping extinguish the forest fires in Ontario & Quebec.

Spring is coming to a close here in NY, the irises are done blooming, the peonies are glorious right now, and all the mid-summer flowers are getting ready for the show.




Admin stuff
The October nomination poll for a banned book is open here:   https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2....
This poll is open for one week.  Will we get better feedback if we set it to run for two weeks instead? I think I can still edit it to change the dates.

The June group read and discussion of Red White and Royal Blue is happening here:  https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...




This week I finished 4 books, 2 for this Challenge, so I am now 32/50:
Confidence by Denise Mina- this is sort of a second book in a series, and I loved the first book so I was excited to read this, but I found it a bit confusing, and my attention wandered because I couldn't keep all the characters straight.

The Hidden Blade by Sherry Thomas - this is billed as a "prequel" to another book, but it is also shelved as "historical romance" so I expected both.  Turns out it is NOT  a romance, and it is very much a prequel, it sets up a plot but does not resolve any open issues.  I enjoyed it despite this, and I checked off "historical fiction."

That Was Now, This Is Then: Poems by Vijay Seshadri- the author has won a Pulitzer for another volume, so I had high hopes for this, but it was not to be, I did not care for this collection.

The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe - I started this re-read last year, moving slowly and taking notes, but then set it aside in favor of new and shiny things. I recently got back to it, and it was wonderful.  It was actually even better than I remembered!  It's not strictly true that I wish I were reading this for the first time again, because if I were I would not have benefit of knowledge of what is coming in the story, which enriches the events I read about (many events in this story are not obviously meaningful until you learn more details later in the series).  BUT I don't know any other book that fits that category, so I checked off "wish I could read for the first time again" with this re-read.


Popsugar: 32/50  
Winter mini-challenge:  5/10   
AtY: 29/52   
2023 must-reads: 6/12 



It's been a sad week in the literary world.  BothJulie Garwood and Cormac McCarthy have died.  It always startles me when authors die.  Somehow I expect them to live forever. 

Question of the Week
Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author?

Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy?



I never have!  I think about it, but I have so many other books I want to or need to read at any given time, I have never managed to fit in an extra for that reason.

As for part 2: I've got nothing. I've never read McCarthy, and I've only read a few books by Garwood, none of them favorites.

I read The Guest List as my book on a celeb book club list. Soooo good. Say whatever else you want abour Reese witherspoon, girl has good taste in books.

I read Lamontane as my book published the year I was born. Typical 1960s/70s gothic book. Nothing to write home about, but an enjoyable read.

I have started Prairie Moon as a previous favorite, a book that takes place somewhere you want to go-Texas. Not really my kind of book. I got it from my mom a few years back. Only about 50 pages in. It's not terrible.

QOTW: 1. No.
2. I've never read Julie Garwood. The only Cormac MacCarthy book I've read is All the Pretty Horses and I wasn't a fan. I'm not big on the minimalist style of writing or whatever it's called.

On a completely separate note, I was sleeping this morning and I'm awakened by a scratching sound. I figure my cat is just being annoying. I look at the time. It's 3:19. I soon realize that the scratching is coming from the window about a foot away from my bed and I don't see her. I figure it's a bug and close the window. I think it sounds loud for a bug and look over and see a bat. I jump out of bed and grab my glasses. It's 4:30. There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour. I then go outside and try to pop the screen out. I fall backwards off my step stool and land in a puddle of water. I get frustrated and go inside. I text my BIL who lives at least 800 miles away and ask him what to do. Mostly because I don't know anybody else who will be up at 4:30 in the morning. He doesn't respond. I pray and ask for calm and then go out to try the screen again. I get it up about a half an inch and the bat drops down and I sream and jump back and the screen falls back in place. I then try again and end up basically just punching it in and the bat flies past me. I was shaking I had so much adrenaline pumping.

Anyway, when I jumped out of bed, said cat appeared and said "breakfast?" What am I paying her for?

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Last week I finally had the chance to watch the new Super Mario Bros. movie, and I absolutely loved it! It was such a fun movie, and it really did a great job of celebrating the video games. There were a couple of characters that I would like to see more of though, so hopefully we’ll get a sequel sooner rather than later.

I also had a chance to go and see Kiki’s Delivery Service at my local movie theater on Monday evening. I’ve seen it quite a few times and loved it (and I loved the original novel as well), so it was wonderful to see it on the big screen!

In other news, I’ve just finished the second week of the SciFi Summer Readathon! I’m feeling really good about what I was able to accomplish this week, reading-wise. I’ve made a sizable dent in my pile of unread Doctor Who novels, which is really exciting.

Since I still have quite a few unread Doctor Who books on my shelves, I think I’m going to attempt to get caught up on the series before the end of the readathon. I don’t know if I will manage to finish all of the books, but I’m definitely going to give it a try.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 512/400 (Challenge Complete!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 150/150 (Challenge Complete!)

📚Physical TBR: 223/634
📱Ebook TBR: 7/236
🎧Audiobook TBR: 11/13
TBR Checklist Total: 241/883 (27.2% complete)

I had planned to pick up just a couple of new releases this week, including Lore Olympus: Volume Four, by Rachel Smythe; as well as Yakuza Lover, Vol. 9, by Nozomi Mino. However, browsing the bookstore’s (and Target’s) shelves proved to be my downfall yet again, as I found several other books that I just couldn’t resist. I ended up getting a copy of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: The Druid's Call, by E.K. Johnston; the Sue& Tai-chan manga series, by Kanomi Kanata; and the first five volumes of Otaku Elf, by Akihiko Higuchi.

I’m really looking forward to reading all of these books once the SciFi Summer Readathon has ended. I think I may take the first couple weeks of July to focus exclusively on reading titles from my “New Books” list, which should at least give me enough time to get caught up on my new manga and graphic novels.

“New” Books Bought in 2023: 311
“New” Books Read in 2023: 264/311 (84.8% complete)

Here are the books I finished this week…

Finished Reading (Fiction):
This week I continued reading my collection of Doctor Who novels. I’ve been enjoying this series tremendously! The books have all been fun reads, and the authors have done a great job with characterization and pacing. The books I read this week include…
~Doctor Who: Martha in the Mirror — This book features the 10th Doctor and Martha. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: Snowglobe 7 — This book features the 10th Doctor and Martha. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: The Many Hands — This book features the 10th Doctor and Martha. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: The Story of Martha — This book features the 10th Doctor and Martha. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: Ghosts of India — This book features the 10th Doctor and Donna. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: Shining Darkness — This book features the 10th Doctor and Donna. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: The Doctor Trap — This book features the 10th Doctor and Donna. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: Beautiful Chaos — This book features the 10th Doctor and Donna. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Who: The Eyeless — This book features the 10th Doctor on his own. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None

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

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters — I am currently about 25 pages away from the end of this book, and plan to finish it tomorrow. It’s been an interesting read. 📚
~Doctor Who: The Slitheen Excursion — I’ve read about one-third of this book, and I’m really enjoying it so far. 📚

QOTW:
While quite a few of the authors I love actually died decades (or over a century) before I was born, I don’t usually make a point of reading books by recently deceased authors.

I haven’t read anything by Garwood or McCarthy, so I can’t make any recommendations.

Katy wrote: "There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour..."

We had a bat get into our college dorm when I was a first year student, and the chaos that ensued was unbelievable. The way those animals move is so erratic that it's terrifying to encounter one...especially when you're not expecting it!

My cat is very much the same when it comes to earning his keep. He does a pretty good job of drawing my attention to unwelcome insect visitors, but rarely takes care of the problem himself.

K.L. wrote: "Katy wrote: "There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour..."

We had a bat get into our college dorm when I was a first year student, and the chaos that ensued was unbelievable. The way th..."

I had a bat visitor about 11 or 12 years ago, and that cat chased it around in circles. So, actually doing nothing was more helpful as the bat didn't feel the need to fly around like a crazy person in fear of its life. But, I still feel betrayed somehow. She didn't even tell me anything was amiss.

Katy wrote: "K.L. wrote: "Katy wrote: "There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour..."

We had a bat get into our college dorm when I was a first year student, and the chaos that ensued was unbelievabl..."

I love bats! I think they're cute! Though they can be cute outside and not at the 3am hour!! (also, they can carry rabies)
We had one get into our apartment years ago and we had 3 cats. They were all acting bonkers and that's when we realized there was a bat in the house. The cats were trying to chase it, so we shut them all in a bedroom and then proceeded to try to herd the bat out the door with blankets in the air. After tired arms, we just left the door propped open and the bat eventually found its way out without our assistance. Epilogue: the cats were visibly bummed when they came out of the bedroom and their new "toy" was gone.

Recently I was on the toilet in the bathroom, and saw a spider. Half a heart attack (phobia doesn't mean it doesn't mean shit if it's big or small asjdhf the surprise is enough) BUT, NOT TO FEAR! I am hardly ever alone in the bathroom because Thor is very diligent about going in with me!

Of course he was on the other end of the room so I picked him up and put him next to the spider, which was on the left.

Thor kept looking right and walking away, so I kept putting him back, and even physically moved his head to the left.

Could tell the second he saw it, and I knew I was safe.

Until the spider walked away and was in the shade of his own head. Thor chased well but little spider was fast, so in a perfect bout of teamwork, I actually stepped on the spider.

Mission accomplished!

Downside is that of course Thor could no longer find the spider so he was confused. I shook it off my slipper so he could eat it and he would be settled.

It's been 3 weeks and he still checks that same corner every time just in case akjhsdlfsg

Zira is a phenomenal hunter. If she's spotted something, not to worry, she'll get it, even if she has to lie in wait half an hour for it to reappear.

Crowley on the other hand will look at a fly flying over his head wondering what is happening.

Happy Thursday! It is beautiful here this morning, breezy and cool.

Finished:
Yellowface
The Love Match for book about a love triangle. It barely fit, but who cares? Not a fan of this prompt.

Currently reading:
Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia
The Crystal Cave
The Tale of Genji
Happy Place on audio

QOTW:
I do like to make a point of reading a book by a recently deceased author. I think it would make a good challenge category too (recently can be like the last 10 years).
I don't know if I have ever even heard of Julie Garwood (purposely not looking her up). I have only read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's different from other dystopias. Its' minimalist style is exactly what I liked about it. Now interested in reading the Border trilogy.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I went and saw the new Transformers movie in theaters this weekend. In my mind, it's not as good as Bumblebee, but still pretty decent and quite a bit better than most of the Michael-Bay-directed Transformers films. It's nice to be able to follow the action without a lot of weird editing gimmicks, and to have female characters who aren't just there for the sex appeal.

Books read this week:

Ember and the Ice Dragons -- cute story about kids trying to save dragons in Antarctica, with a bit of a steampunk/magic-punk flavor.

Left for Dead: A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “non-fiction book from the 900s of the Dewey Decimal System.” The tragic story of the USS Indianapolis… and how an eleven-year-old boy brought recognition to the survivors and sought to exonerate the captain who had been made a scapegoat.

The Puma Years -- for the Extreme Book Nerd prompt “book written by an author from, or set in, South America.” The author relates her experiences working at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia. Comes across as a bit white-savior-ish at times, but still an emotional read.

Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun -- I couldn’t sit through the movie (I have a very low tolerance for blood and gore), so I made up for it by reading the book. This was a dark but lovely fairy tale that weaves together elements of historical fiction (the Spanish Revolution) with underworld-flavored fantasy.

Currently Reading:

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute
The Darkdeep
The Fated Sky
Dear Mothman (one of my Pride Month reads)

QOTW:

1. I generally don't prioritize reads if I've heard the author recently passed. If I'm not doing a reading challenge, I either read the oldest stuff on my TBR list or pick something off said list at random. (The exception is if I want to read something specific to a holiday or other occasion, such as reading LGBTQ books for Pride Month.)

2. I'm really not interested in reading anything by Julie Garwood. The only Cormac McCarthy book I've read is The Road, and boy was that a slog. Probably won't read another by him.

Happy Thursday!

What a week it's been. We closed Baskerville on Saturday night and had a good time out at post-show dinner. Now I have a few weeks off to do some regular stuff (mini-vacation, concert, etc) before my next show starts rehearsal on 1 July (Twelfth Night)!

Not sure if it's because of the weather or the stress of the show finally making itself fully known, but Monday and Tuesday were spent with a migraine (of which I've only ever had one before, several months back, and it only lasted an hour or so). So this was bizarre and awful and no thank you please, I would like a refund on life if this continues. Yesterday and today have been better, but it's like I can still feel the headache lurking around the edges? Very odd.

Finished this week:
Detonation Boulevard - 4.5 stars, an excellent middle book! More please!

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 8: Old Is the New New - 4 stars. I'm notoriously Not a Fan of oneshot collections, but I enjoyed this. The Funnies section was especially entertaining.

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 9: Okay - 4 stars, finished this afternoon. This series was certainly... something. Gorgeous, gorgeous artwork with fantastic coloring. Cryptic dialogue all the way through. The ending was lovely.

PS 26/50
ATY 30/52
Mount TBR 23/60

Currently:
The Name of the Rose
Untethered Sky
Jade City reread

QOTW: Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author?
Not necessarily - I didn't run out and read Go Set a Watchman when Harper Lee passed, for example. A recently-deceased author's work certainly jumps to the forefront of my mind, particularly if it's something I own and still haven't read, but whether I actually follow through and read it ASAP is very up in the air.

Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy?
The Road was excellent. Bleak as all hell, but excellent.
I own a copy of All the Pretty Horses and tossed that on my summer reading stack; we'll see if it happens or not!

Happy Heatwave!

Send help. Send rain. Send something.

Mickey is doing pretty good! We stopped the forcefeed and he seems to be keeping his weight up pretty okay so far so fingers crossed! His droppings are starting to suffer from the dried pea flakes, though, so we're trying to lower those as well. He eats his veggies really well, and his pellets so-so. Which is better than not at all of course! Poor thing is having a hard time in the shed, though. No fresh air than what comes through the window way above him. The fan only makes a minor impact and he refuses to nap on the cooling plate, haha!

All the other bunnies luckily keep calm enough during the heat so I'm not too worried about them. I dread the 40C days that are sure to come.

This weekend is Disney Pride in DLP and I am super excited! The programme isn't super exciting but I'll just be chilling trying to meet characters and riding my fave ride (Tower of Terror), and buying the tshirt asjhksd I already found my ace flag today, so I'm all good to go!

I also bought COLORED PANTS. Like. bright pink and light blue. Also dark blue which for me is already huge. They're cotton and light and can roll up to under the knee so perfect for this weather!

It also means I can wear my pink pants and blue/purple DLP shirt and rep bi colors that way!

Read
Heart of Darkness
I did it! I finished it! Not my thing, sadly. But glad I read it.

SO MANY Ted Lasso fics, too. Wrote two, and they are doing SO WELL. About to write another one which I don't expect anything of but it's in my brain and I got the urge to write so let's gooooo.

QOTW
1) Not really, though I do agree it feels weird. I think it's because their work lives on, so you don't think about the fact there's a mortal person behind them. It feels like that to me with actors as well, especially when they were still active when they pass. I do watch a movie if I was a fan, but that's a smaller commitment than reading a book, haha!

2) Haven't read anything by either of them, so no.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!   The air has cleared. We've been some much-needed rain now, and that rain seems to extend up into southern & mid Quebec (if not farther) so hopefully that's  helping extinguish the..."

Is Confidence a follow up to Conviction? I liked Conviction a lot also. Now that I look at them, the covers have a similar style.

Katy wrote: "On a completely separate note, I was sleeping this morning and I'm awakened by a scratching sound. I figure my cat is just being annoying. I look at the time. It's 3:19. I soon realize that the scratching..."

Oh gosh, Katie, what a morning! I'm glad you were able to let it out, but I'm with you, noooo thank you on being that close!

When we lived in our apartment several years back, we had an upper-level space with a rear balcony and used to leave the back door open all the time for fresh air. One summer evening, the cat comes trucking through the kitchen with something in her mouth that keeps squeaking; we assume she's caught a bird (she does that routinely). She goes back and forth for a minute then lets it go, and a bat goes skimming through the apartment, just above floor level.

She cornered it in the back bedroom and I have a memorable photo of it hissing at her, haha! We eventually got it shooed back outside and all was well again. I still think I would love to rewind time and see how she caught it in the first place!

Had a lovely few days camping in West Sussex. The campsite was super basic but we could walk all the way into Chichester along the canal. I have never seen so many baby coots in my life, plus the swans, moorhens and ducks all had babies. On the subject of bats, we had them flying round our pitch each night. Was nice to be surrounded by nature, but I sure appreciated modern plumbing when I got back!

I got my leaving date for work, so I only have three full days to do next week. Which ties in nicely to new Planet Zoo DLC. So I'll reward myself with some gaming for doing job hunting. I am already fed up of LinkedIn!

Finished:
The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson for a book with a map and ATY (UNESCO city of literature). The ending threw something in that didn't seem like it was foreshadowed at all so it was a bit jarring but up until then I loved it.

The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow + Liz Lawson which I'm going to use for the Hollywood prompt, because there seemed enough connections even if only one bit was actually in Hollywood itself. Just an easygoing YA mystery series, this one had fun with the old secret passages in mansion trope. I like that it picked up the historical mystery that was alluded to in book one.

QOTW:
If it's an author I like, I'm the opposite and start saving their books because I know there will be no more. I still have one Discworld book to read (his second last I think). I am not running out to read any more McCarthy, that's for sure.

I've only read The Road but it was so, so bleak, I'm not sure I would recommend it.

That's 2 for and 2 against The Road, in case anyone is counting. I love seeing differences in people's tastes.

Katy wrote: "On a completely separate note, I was sleeping this morning and I'm awakened by a scratching sound. I figure my cat is just being annoying. I look at the time. It's 3:19. I soon realize that the scratching is coming from the window about a foot away from my bed and I don't see her. I figure it's a bug and close the window. I think it sounds loud for a bug and look over and see a bat. I jump out of bed and grab my glasses. It's 4:30. There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour. ..."



OMG that is NOT a good way to wake up!!!!

Milena wrote: "Is Confidence a follow up to Conviction? I liked Conviction a lot also. Now that I look at them, the covers have a similar style.."



Yes!! It's Anna and Finn investigating another true crime story. There's a bit about true crime podcasts, but mostly it's Anna & Finn travelling through Europe with a questionable guy who may or may not be an art thief and/or a hardened criminal.

It was good, but I got confused because there are SO MANY characters.

K.L. wrote: "I also had a chance to go and see Kiki’s Delivery Service at my local movie theater on Monday evening. ..."


My daughters & I just went to see that last night!!! We own the DVD so we're familiar w/ the English language version, but the only English language showing was on Sunday and we had other plans so we attended the Japanese language version instead. I kind of like Jiji's voice better in Japanese, he's more like a kid - I always wondered why they made him a cranky old man in English. (No disrespect to Phil Hartman, he's great.) I think we've seen it in Japanese once before, but we never noticed that some of the radio broadcasts Kiki listens to late at night are in English!!!

Carmen wrote: "... though I do agree it feels weird. I think it's because their work lives on, so you don't think about the fact there's a mortal person behind them. ..."




YES!! I think that's it, exactly!

Ellie wrote: "If it's an author I like, I'm the opposite and start saving their books because I know there will be no more...."


That's what I've been doing with Ariana Franklin (which is a pen name for Diana Norman). I read her first book, LOVED IT ,and then found out she'd died. So I have never read another thing by her. I really should.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Finished:
Translation State by Ann Leckie - 4.25 stars - not for a prompt. I'm always surprised at just how weird and fascinating and engrossing Leckie's books are. She has a way of writing the alien in a relatable, familiar way.

Comics & manga:
WITCH WATCH, Vol. 5: Summer Demon
Honey and Clover, Vol. 3

Currently reading:
The Grimoire of Grave Fates (anthology) - book your best friend would like. Unless something drastic happens in the last few chapters, this is currently shaping up to be a solid 3 star, which is a shame because I love the concept of this but found the execution lacking. A much-disliked teacher is murdered at a magic school, very reminiscent of the world of he-who-will-not-be-named. Each chapter is written by a different YA author, from the POV of a student from the school who is somewhere on the periphery of events as we try to figure out whodunnit. I like a lot of these authors on their own, but I think I would have enjoyed the book more if there had been less authors in the anthology. Some of the chapters seemingly had nothing or very little to do with solving the mystery, most didn't have any kind of internal plot of their own, and with a few exceptions, I found the characters largely forgettable because there were just too many of them. I do hope the editors continue with this concept as a shared world, though; I think with focused stories and less POV switches, this has the potential to be a great setting.

Upcoming/Planned:
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - for a book becoming a show or movie in 2023.
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin - for a book that takes place in the decade I was born.

QOTW:
Unless it's a favorite author, I don't especially go out of my way to read their work when an author passes away. I don't really have any knowledge or interest in either McCarthy or Garwood, so nothing to recommend.

Katy wrote: "On a completely separate note, I was sleeping this morning and I'm awakened by a scratching sound. I figure my cat is just being annoying. I look at the time. It's 3:19. I soon realize that the scratching is coming from the window about a foot away from my bed and I don't see her. I figure it's a bug and close the window. I think it sounds loud for a bug and look over and see a bat. I jump out of bed and grab my glasses. It's 4:30. There was a bat a foot away from me for like an hour. I then go outside and try to pop the screen out. I fall backwards off my step stool and land in a puddle of water. I get frustrated and go inside. I text my BIL who lives at least 800 miles away and ask him what to do. Mostly because I don't know anybody else who will be up at 4:30 in the morning. He doesn't respond. I pray and ask for calm and then go out to try the screen again. I get it up about a half an inch and the bat drops down and I sream and jump back and the screen falls back in place. I then try again and end up basically just punching it in and the bat flies past me. I was shaking I had so much adrenaline pumping.

Anyway, when I jumped out of bed, said cat appeared and said "breakfast?" What am I paying her for?"

Oh, my! I laughed and screamed and was right there with you. What a description!

Nadine in NY wrote: "That's what I've been doing with Ariana Franklin (wh..."

I loved Ariana Franklin and was so distressed when I learned that she had died. However, I recently read the last book that she had started writing at the time of her death...it was finished by her daughter. LOVED it!

Gee, it’s Thursday! I woke up today convinced that it was Wednesday and that I had another day to write up this post. Nope...wrong.

Well, by Sunday, I ended quarantine for Covid and felt really well. The fatigue was gone and other symptoms were next to non-existent. So…I made the decision to run errands and see friends. That situation lasted about 48 hours. By Tuesday, I had a massive cold (upper respiratory symptoms: sneezing, blowing nose, cough). Today, (knock on wood), no nothing. Tentatively I am hoping I will be well. Gee, but I would like to keep feeling good!

I did get in a lot of napping and reading. In fact, that is about all I have done other than the quick errands.

Finished:
Confessions of a Bookseller – RwS. Diary format. 4*. I found this a bit repetitive in the beginning with the sense that I have read this book, but no…it is a book #2.

The Drowning Pool – PAS, old challenge. 4*. This is an old style noir detective story that kept me wondering how it would resolve…and whether Archer would survive. (He had to as he had more books to feature in.)

The Rabbi's Cat – GN. 5* I can see why this author is considered highly in France. Although I did not like the rabbi’s fall from grace in Paris, the story was compelling.

Jane, the Fox & Me – GN. 5* LOVED this one. I even recommended it to my friend (a retired school teacher). It is the story of an outcast girl who reads…currently reading Jane Eyre…and goes to mandatory camp where she meets a friend ~ her first.

Born in Fire – 4* I am a Nora Roberts fan…mostly of her paranormal series. Still, although this had none of that, it was a winner for me. I will gladly seek out the next two in the series. Strong conflicted women. Ireland. Need I say more?

The Filigree Ball – RwS. 4* Wow! Murder inherited?! And the narrator, investigator, is just a lowly policeman who pursues the truth. Thoroughly enjoyed this old story.

Trail of Lightning - PAS, old challenges, PS #41. 4* Post apocalyptic. Native American lives. Paranormal. Boy, did this book trick buttons for me in a good way. A strong woman who is confronted with her demons. A man she comes to love. Can’t wait for the next installment.

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit - PAS, old challenge. 4* This book is a non-fiction/memoir of a man who disappeared into the woods for over two decades. I was fascinated and yet rebuffed. I have always wondered if I could live in a cabin on my own. This book made me realize that I would probably need people contact a bit more than he had.

The Ancient Magus' Bride: Wizard’s Blue, Vol. 1 – Manga. 4* By mistake, I read vol. 4 first. So this is my effort in catching up on the back story.

The Ancient Magus' Bride: Wizard's Blue, Vol. 2 – Manga. 4* I am enjoying this story. Still catching up on the back story. One more volume to go.

This One Summer – GN. 3* Although I enjoyed this book, the mother was a frustrating character to me until the end when her difficulty was revealed.

The Ancient Magus' Bride: Wizard's Blue, Vol. 3 – Manga. 4* Caught up on back story. Really liking this series.

I'm Not Scared - PAS, old challenge. 3* This read more like fiction than a mystery. Still it was a good story…enough that I kept going even though any moment I expected it to be horror.

Currently Reading:
Dreams and Shadows –Kindle. 13%. Weird book. On hold.

The Beginner's Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera – PS #2. 8%. On hold.

The Lake House Secret – Kindle. ATY #23. 17%

The Sandcastle Girls - ATY #22, old challenge. 1%

Book of Night – PS #27. 68%

A Nail Through the Heart – ebook. 3%

The Haunted Hotel – PS #28. 3%

On deck:

In Dublin's Fair City
As the Crow Flies - GN
They Called Us Enemy - GN
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic – GN
Fire Touched - PS #5

PS 18/50 and 6/10 for Nadine’s Challenge
ATY 21/52 and 11/12 for Q1 Challenge, 4/12 for Q2 Challenge, 2/12 for Summer Challenge
GR 128/200
RwS starting a new season: 8/30

QotW:
Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author?

Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy?

Part 1: No.
Part 2: I have never read any books by Julie Garwood and probably will not as her main genre seems to be romance. Cormac McCarthy I have read two books - The Road and The Counselor: A Screenplay. Both only got 3* from me.

I’m now a member of the local inline skate club!! It turns out there is one and they have a fabulous track only 10 mins from my home. Actually they have 3 tracks: a small 200 meter round, a 400 meter round and a big 750 meter round. So no other (oncoming) traffic, tree roots or other obstacles in your way. The fee is ridiculously low: for only 35 euros you can skate from March till October 2 nights a week (weather permitting). Last Friday I took a lesson to get tips how I can skate better. It was hot (as in: 30 degrees Celsius which I consider way too hot), so I came home looking like a tomato, but I had so much fun. Tomorrow is my next and last lesson. I just love to try to perform my technique as well as possible. I forget everything and it clears my head. Same with pilates btw.

PS: 26/50
Total 2023: 30

Finished
De regen kwam van binnen by Dennis Biesma⭐⭐
PS #4, a book by a first-time author
Autobiography of a man who grew up in the Jehova’s Witness and how he got out of it.

Ons Werk is Stuk by Martijn Aslander ⭐⭐⭐
Not for PS
Translation: our work is broken. Why are we overwhelmed with information and how you can manage it thanks to digital revolution. And why in so many company’s nobody gives a sh. Very interesting read. And a shout out to all the bullet journalists: we are doing pretty fine, despite we use good old paper. Reflection is key and that’s what bullet journaling is all about.

Currently reading
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

QOTW
On both questions: no. I’ve never read anything by Julie Garwood or Cormac McCarthy.

I like the nominations for the October book club. Hopefully, I'll be able to participate this time!

Personal Challenge: 44/50
Nadine's mini-challenge: 10/10
Mount TBR: 30/31
Summer Reading Challenge: 13/25

Finished: A Philosophy of Madness: The Experience of Psychotic Thinking Ok, how do you guys make your pretty stars? At any rate, this is a 5-star book. So good!

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater read for prompt book turned into a musical. Apparently, having no script for the Tony's means that the host doesn't actually host!

Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America Persuasive and disheartening

Started: I'd really like to read a book about spirituality and mental illness, but I'm having trouble finding anything good. If anyone has suggestions, send them my way!

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto So far, I'm not very impressed.

QotW: No, I don't usually do this. I might for an author I really connected with, but neither McCarthy nor Garwood ring that bell.

Hi all,

My cat is finally done with radiation! He'll have a re-check in another month were we'll see how he's doing and figure out if we need to take any more steps. Unfortunately he's got some gut issues from the radiation, so he's not a super happy camper, but we have some stuff to hopefully help settle things down.

This week I finished:

What Moves the Dead - did the audio book for this, I liked the narrator. I have done quite a bit of Poe but I'm not actually familiar with the House of Usher, so now I feel like I need to read the original.

A Day of Fallen Night - finished this today, woo! This was my longest book on my tbr. Which I fudged a little, since this came out this year. But hey, as soon as I found out about it, it instantly went on my tbr and I wanted to read it. and it was 880 pages, so it's not like I'm skimping on page count.

Currently reading:

The Duke Who Didn't - some nice fluff as a break after a huge epic fantasy. This'll be my read harder book from an independent publisher by a BIPOC.

Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times - my library's doing a summer reading challenge and a genre genius challenge, both with a bunch of nonfiction prompts. So trying to get some of that done early so i' not just left with a pile of nonfiction at the end, haha. It's interesting so far!

QOTW:

I don't know who Julie Garwood is, don't really plan to look her up just because she passed. Like many others I read The Road a while ago, I wasn't a fan so I don't really plan to read more by him in general.

If an author I really love passes, I might do a re-read of one or some of their books as a tribute.

Happy check-in! Today is a smoke day again but it's not a bad one just a bit annoying. I love the wind but this year more than ever it means potential smoke days. While other countries are sending firefighter help there are still many fires the country over.
I managed to read two out of the three new releases, published Tuesday, that I was waiting on. So far two five star reads. Anyone else struggle to read when you are waiting on specific books to be published?

Finished Reading:

The Cruelest Mercy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread of book two in a ya fantasy series. I read the final book earlier this year and it was good to go back and see the hints to the end of the story.

The Third Person ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS longest on tbr)
Listening to CBC radio on the highway Emma Grove was interviewed about her graphic memoir and I had to add it to the tbr. This was about her going to a therapist to get a referral to an endocrinologist to transition. The therapist is supposed to check for dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D. formally multiple personalities) but Emma ended up with therapist unequipped to deal with someone who actually had D.I.D.

Magic Claims ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So impatient for this one. Next KD world book, so good. The epilogue was awesome too.

Love, Theoretically ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY disability)
Hazelwood's books are very samey but still entertaining.

PS 39/50
ATY 41/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 133/200

Currently Reading:

The Foxglove King

QOTW:
1. I've never made it a point to read a book by an author because they are recently deceased. I might become aware of them and add a book to the tbr but Rachel Caine passed away and I still haven't caught up on series of her's I've started.
2. Well I hadn't heard of McCarthy so no. I have heard of Garwood but all I've paid attention to her was that her books aren't SFF so I haven't picked them up.

Happy Thursday afternoon!

I'm alone at work right now so I'm taking the time to do this while the boss is gone. hee hee!

Summer Reading Program started this Monday. I was actually shocked that I only had 6 kids!!! I was prepared for way more to show up, but it didn't happen. I'm scared for Tuesday. I think that it might happen then. sigh.

Other than that, I haven't been doing much except reading and watching tv.

You should have seen Tuesday afternoon! HOLY CRAP! The downpour was so torrential that it caused visibility issues and started to create a mist bank. The thunder was so loud that it rattled the roof of the library. It was awesome! It only lasted about 15 minutes, but those 15 minutes were utterly fantastic.

The weirdest part was when I went home the ground in the backyard was bone dry. I know it was pouring rain there too because my mom said it was a sheet of rain there. It was freakin' strange.

Popsugar:10/50

Finished:
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Touya has made an ally of a powerful a fairy named Leen. She wants to explore ruins said to be found in Yae’s home country of Eashen, which is eerily like 1600s Japan. Leen teaches him a new spell that makes his [Gate] ability more powerful. This book is where the first season of the anime ends. I like this book because the overall arc of the story starts to emerge with the introduction of two new mysterious characters with links to the far past. As well as the threat of world destruction.

Reading:
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 4 ps 2

Aty:10/52
Finished:None

Reading: None

Goodreads Challenge 354/400

Finished:
Mirrorverse: Pure of Heart
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 2
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 3
The Drab Princess, the Black Cat, and the Satisfying Break-up Vol. 2
The Spanish Billionaire's Pregnant Wife
Best Friend's Secret Baby
The Rockstar
The Cowboy
The CEO
The Architect
The Prodigy
The Prince

Reading:
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 4


Nadine's Mini Challenge 7/10
Finished:None

Reading: None

Mount TBR:
31/150 Ebook
22/150 Physical

QOTW:

Part 1: Not really. If I enjoy their books, I will read their books, but I won't go out of my way to read a deceased author.

Part 2: I've never read a Cormac McCarthy book. None of his books' blurbs sound sound interesting to me. My colleague read a couple recently and his comments about the books have solidified my thoughts that I would not enjoy them.

Julie Garwood I have read. I really liked most of her historical ones. I have them in paperback. I even have her YA book A Girl Named Summer

She is a nostalgia read for me. I would definitely reread them.

Greetings from NYC! As my work becomes more stressful and time consuming as a result of critical stages being reached in 2 - count 'em TWO - long-term complex matters, my reading time and ability to handle reading anything diminishes nearly to nothing. The work is actually good, significant and even career-making cases ongoing since 2019, but it's exhausting and stressful right now, highly detail oriented too. I just find myself on my sofa, watching favorite old movies or food competitions, doing old New Yorker crossword puzzles and virtual games of solitaire and Caracasssone - easy levels. I'm also sleeping badly .... it's irritating that my reading has been so affected but in truth, it's all fine because this is exciting interesting work.

Thus I've not finished a single book in over a week. Not even the one for my IRL Feminerdy Book Club. Turns out not only was I not the only one who was far from finishing, but I'm the only one who showed up for the discussion even though I was not finished! We'd moved it to zoom too. We all agreed it was not to be (2 of the regulars were traveling, one was sick, one hadn't started the book, and one is MIA) and we simply rescheduled for our July meeting. I really hope to have Nona the Ninth read by then....

And given that I'm going to remain really stressed and busy with work for several more weeks, I ruthlessly went through my 'currently reading' and parked some to the side for later, moving up the only books I'm interested in reading right now -- mystery and romance genres. I don't need more stress, just undemanding.

Current status: PS - 35/50 ATY - 45/52

Currently reading: A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder - excellent - on last 80 pages - maybe finish tonight? More likely tomorrow.

QOTW: I actually don't read books by an author who has recently died, unless already in the pile being read. It's sort of the same reason I don't read for the 'special' months like Women's History. I read very diversely anyway, have several challenges each year to complete, and read what suits my mood and available time.

Cormac McCarthy - I tried one of his books years and years ago and disliked it for a host of reasons. 'Don't even remember what it was - probably All the Pretty Horses. I have thought I need to give him another try -- I'm at a different stage in my life and in fact have really enjoyed the more modern darker Westerns I've read in recent years - like In the Distance. Not every book fits you at the time you are reading it.

Julie Garwood - I'm absolutely sure I read some of her books because I do so love romance and she's without a doubt one of the longtime Grand Dames of the romance genres. checking GR where I only started charting my reading in late 2018, I have read 2 in her Buchanon - Renard series last year - I gave Wired 4 stars and Heartbreaker 3 stars in 2022. Clearly I liked them. Might just hunt out the next in that series to read this year.

I'm eeking out a few seconds for this. It's been an insanely busy week ending in the steampunk convention this weekend.

I read I'm in Love with Mothman by Paige Lavoie for the prompt A book about a forbidden romance. I lived next to Point Pleasant so I'm all about the Mothman. It's a silly forbidden romance between a former influencer and her monster. That said it was SO obvious the author has never seen this area.

And for the prompt A book with alliteration in the title I read Willows Weep by Dave Spinks which was the original selection for this prompt off my bookshelves (meanwhile I'd read like 5 other ones from the library that could have counted) This is a non fiction paranormal investigation book which was okay but nothing spectacular.

QOTW Honestly not really. Maybe I've done it once or twice but I don't really hunt down books by authors who've passed (nor do I do it with actors/singers either). I don't have any recs I've never read a thing by either of those authors.

June is half over. I did not finish a book this week. I am almost done one of my June books, half done the longest one, and started a third one. This summer competition to read four books a month might be more than I can handle.

Series - 7/15
Series Completed: - Lying Games, Bronwyn the Witch, Divergent

Nobel laureates - 2/7
Random books - 3/7

ATY - 21/40
PS - 20/30
Nadine's 23 challenge - 10/10 -Completed!
Summer challenge: 0/12
Around the year in 52 movies - 24/52

23. A movie with a body of water in the title - Ocean Waves

Currently reading:

Beloved - 85% done
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest- 50%
done
Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda -5% done

Buddy Reads:
God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God - 8/15 chapters
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 11/37 chapters
A Light in the Window - 1/21 chapters

QOTW: Not really. It might make me look at their books, but if I don't want to read them then their death isn't going to change my mind.

Goodness I've been a mess checking in this year! Last week we were on vacation and that was definitely needed. So good to be camping again!

Finished 21/50

The Fires of Heaven for "book becoming a movie/tv show in 2023". Wheel of Time season 2 comes out Sept. 1st!! I'm so excited!! Love being back in Randland.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood for "book set in the decade you were born". Since it's an autobiography and he was born i the same decade, I figure it counts, lol. Also this book is FANTASTIC. Highly recommend!!

Currently Reading

No Gods, No Monsters for "book with a queer lead". I don't actually know that this fits this prompt. That's just what a friend told me, so I'm going on faith here that it'll work, lol.

QotW

Not particularly unless I know the author in question. I recently bought Mira Furlan's autobiography that she finished just before she died because I adore her. But that's about the only one I can think of. Otherwise I don't recognize the names of the authors you mentioned, so no. May their memory be eternal.

I didn't finish reading anything this week. Other than spending a lot for some plumbing work, it has been a rather unremarkable week.

Currently Reading
In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain

Next Up
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Stonewall Reader by New York Public Library

QOTW:
1. The last time I remember doing so was reading The Princess Diarist shortly after Carrie Fisher died. I've been meaning to read another David McCullough book (he died a year or two ago) but haven't gotten to it yet.

2. Until this moment, I had never heard of Julie Garwood (not a romance reader). I loved The Road by Cormac McCarthy and highly recommend for anyone that likes dystopian novels. I also read All the Pretty Horses but I didn't care for it (or the movie either). So I haven't tried any others.

Katy wrote: "Anyway, when I jumped out of bed, said cat appeared and said "breakfast?" What am I paying her for?"

That was an awesome story with an even better ending. Still chuckling.

Happy Thursday! Missed last week's check-in, but didn't really get any reading done that week anyways. This last week I got to meet up with my family for dinner- with one aunt and uncle I haven't seen since Thanksgiving and another aunt and uncle I haven't seen in 2 years. And one of my closest friends had her baby shower, which was so nice. She's due in a month, which is wild! So some fun things mixed in with the job search!

Finished:
Fly with Me- very cute queer romcom that also dealt with some more serious, heavy issues. I really enjoyed this one
-32 A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 (this was an arc, officially released in september)

Orange, Vol. 1- a manga about a teen getting letters from the future about saving a friend from an early death. It's sweet
-no prompt (maybe love triangle? but I don't think I'll use it for that)

Spy x Family, Vol. 7- not my favorite of the series, but still very fun!
-no prompt

Currently reading:
Flowerheart- a cozy ya fantasy. Very cozy and pleasant

QotW:
Not usually, but if they'd already been on my tbr, it might make me prioritize their book.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Not sure if it's because of the weather or the stress of the show finally making itself fully known, but Monday and Tuesday were spent with a migraine (of which I've only ever had one before, several months back, and it only lasted an hour or so). So this was bizarre and awful and no thank you please, I would like a refund on life if this continues. Yesterday and today have been better, but it's like I can still feel the headache lurking around the edges? Very odd."

Sorry you have started getting these. I don't get a lot of migraines anymore (yay menopause), but this would be my timeline:

Day 1, Hour 1: Eyes start feeling odd, weird prisms appear. Start taking medication.
Hour 2: Cannot bear light or sound. Find a dark room immediately.
Hour 3: I want to throw up. I cannot throw up.
Hour 4: My head hurts so bad I'm afraid I will die.
Hour 5: I want to die.
Hour 6: Hopefully I am asleep by now and will not wake up until tomorrow.
Day 2: On the assumption the migraine is gone (not always a guarantee), a migraine hangover from hell. My body doesn't feel normal. I need caffeine and more meds stat.
Day 3: Almost normal, just a residual tiredness.

Erin wrote: "And one of my closest friends had her baby shower, which was so nice."

Oh, maybe y'all can help me. I am an old woman, never had my own kids, only once was invited to a baby shower...and NOW I am invited to one! A suggestion which fits my own inclination is to bring baby books...but what? Can any of you, who are more experienced than I, suggest some good baby books? Please?

Yikes, so much to catch up on! I'll start going through people's posts after I do my initial one.

Things have been kind of slow lately. Temps are finally in the 100s (F). Got to 101 or 102 yesterday (OUCH!). Anything above 60 and I fry so I don't like the heat.

-Let's see, oh I got diagnosed with PTSD this week so that's fun (note: sarcasm).

-Yesterday I went to my mom's work to help her move things around. She still had another week so I decided to be useful and get out of the house to do something different.

*****

Book news on my end. I mainly just finished one book and spent/bought so much more. I must have gone to the bookstore like 4 times last week! I've made a deal with my therapist though. To choose a random day next week and only buy one book. That's going to be painful!

So here's what I had going on:

Finished:

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

*****

Bought: (yeah, I went quite overboard. My therapist says that it's a symptom of my bipolar disorder so technically it's not my fault even though I have to find ways to stop).

The Templars: The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors

Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands

Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

Cities of the Plain

The Crossing

All the Pretty Horses

We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power

Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World

Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion, AD 300-1300

Guardians of the Valley: John Muir and the Friendship that Saved Yosemite

Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

American Comics: A History

Unlikeable Female Characters: The Women Pop Culture Wants You to Hate

*****

Then to make matters worse, I've got a few more books arriving within the next week or so.

*****

Question of the Week

Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author?

Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy?

1. I do actually. If it's an author I'm really curious about I will anyways. When Mary Oliver died, I immediately went back to her books. I read her before her passing, but hers was hard to believe so I went back to some of my favorites.

And now with Cormac McCarthy, while I have not read his work I have always wanted to. Just never had the time because I was always reading other material. His death though, prompted me to pick up his books.

When I went to BN this week, they even had an endcap dedicated to him with so many of his books. I found the first of his Border Trilogy there. It was then in the general fiction section though that I found books 2 and 3. It's my goal to read those books come July (I can't this month since I'm dedicating this month as strictly nonfiction.)

Doni wrote: Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America Persuasive and disheartening

This sounds interesting. Too bad the publishing date is 2010. When it comes to nonfiction, I prefer books to be published within the past 5 years.

Let me know though if this book is still relevant to today and I might give it a try.

Bea wrote: "Oh, maybe y'all can help me. I am an old woman, never had my own kids, only once was invited to a baby shower...and NOW I am invited to one! A suggestion which fits my own inclination is to bring baby books...but what? Can any of you, who are more experienced than I, suggest some good baby books? Please?"

I haven't been to a whole lot of baby showers, but for the last one I went to, I actually bought the family a copy of The World of Winnie-the-Pooh along with a Tigger stuffed animal. My thought process was that since they would be getting so many items for newborns, it would be nice for them to also get some things their child could grow into.

Excellent, on another group I'm in someone wants to do a buddy read of Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World so I'm looking forward to discussing it with someone.

*****

I was also reminded of this book:

Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America

which is a book about LGBTQIA2S+ in Native American culture. I'll start that one too.

Bea wrote: "Oh, maybe y'all can help me. I am an old woman, never had my own kids, only once was invited to a baby shower...and NOW I am invited to one! A suggestion which fits my own inclination is to bring baby books...but what? Can any of you, who are more experienced than I, suggest some good baby books? Please?..."

I love Sandra Boynton's board books!! I even bought one for my daughter's 5th birthday a couple months ago, they're still cute! Snuggle Puppy! was the one I just got (she's got it memorized, so we read it to each other). I'm also fond of Moo, Baa, La La La!, but I haven't read one I haven't liked.

Now... depending on your (and the mama to be's) sensibilities, I would also recommend The Shit No One Tells You and Go the Fuck to Sleep. They both made me laugh, but they're obviously not for everyone!!

I was FINALLY able to pick up Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 from the library yesterday afternoon - this book dropped last week and it's been stuck In Processing since then. Normally books are only In Processing for 2-3 days so waiting a week+ was absolutely killer. I can't wait to see how everything leads to the albums that dropped when I was in high school 2003-2007, such an awesome time for music.

And yes, I realize I sound like my parents ("1977 was THE BEST").

Bea wrote: "Erin wrote: "And one of my closest friends had her baby shower, which was so nice."

Oh, maybe y'all can help me. I am an old woman, never had my own kids, only once was invited to a baby shower......"

Oh! My friends just had a shower recently and I bought them a stack of books - the BabyLit series by Jennifer Adams is great and has classic stories but for little ones! So Frankenstein is used to teach about body parts, Dracula is for counting, there's an alphabet book, and so on. She also has a few books with Edgar the raven which are adorable.

I also love giving copies of the B&N leatherbound edition of The Complete Peter Rabbit!

one of the librarians in my book club is having a baby so this week's book club was both a meeting and a surprise shower for her. So we all bought her baby books. I went with a Sandra Boynton book, because several of my mom friends sang her praises. It was happily received! I did Dino Dance myself because it was cute, dinosaurs, and my friends with a 3 year old say it's one of her most demanded books at bedtime. In fact ALL the most heavily demanded books were Boynton books, so that seemed like a safe bet to me. (plus a tiny polar bear bathrobe from her registry because it was adorable and we both love polar bears. The nursery is going to be snow/cold animal themed)

Bea wrote: "... Oh, maybe y'all can help me. I am an old woman, never had my own kids, only once was invited to a baby shower...and NOW I am invited to one! A suggestion which fits my own inclination is to bring baby books...but what? Can any of you, who are more experienced than I, suggest some good baby books? Please? ......"



My kids are older so I'm not hip to the latest, but yes to board books!!! Our favorites were anything Boynton (Moo, Baa, La La La!, The Going To Bed Book, & But Not the Hippopotamus were our favorites), also DK had a great Baby Faces board book that showed different emotions (babies LOVE looking at big photos of baby faces), and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? & The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Yummy Yucky, That's Not My Puppy..., and Big Red Barn.

If you want to get something else too, new parents can never have too many burp rags and those Sassy rings are fantastic - they are toys on their own, teething rings, AND they can hold other stuff!!

like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Ring-Lin...



Things that lots of people gave us that we hardly ever used: stuffed animals, cute outfits, baby blankets. So not those things!!

Well this will be fun, in another group I'm on here at GR, someone wants to do a buddy read at the end of the month with the book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail .

It's been years since I've read it, probably around the time the movie came out. I can't remember if I read the book first or saw the movie first. Doesn't matter. Still, I remember liking it so much.

I did order another copy since my other one is older and highlighted differently and tabbed differently as well. At least with a new copy, now that years have past, I may have a different perspective on what I highlight and tab.

Happy Friday! I was sick yesterday and couldn't log in...as a matter a fact I left work early. I started back taking Metformin and it's been rough to stay the least.
I didn't finish anything this week. I've fallen into another reading slump.

I started Marriage of a Thousand Lies for a forbidden romance and it has LGBTQ characters. I'm listening to it and I think it should've been read by a Sri-Lankan reader imo.


Question of the Week

Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author?

Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy?
1. I only would do that if it was an author that I like and was familiar with.
2. No to both of them. I wasn't familiar with Julie Garwood and I tried to finish The Road by Cormac McCarrthy but couldn't get through it, not because of the story but because the book was boring.

Hi Everyone, I read 3 for the week.
1. The Outsiders. 4 stars. PS # 40 A book by an author with the same initials as you. I liked the book okay but didn't like the prompt. I had a hard time finding an author with SH as initials that I wanted to read. I didn't want to read The Outsiders but my creative juices weren't flowing & I couldn't come up with a twist. I ended up reading a book I wasn't interested in just to fill the prompt. I don't like doing that.
2. Light to the Hills. 4 stars. I got the eBook free from Amazon last year. This book is similar to The Giver of Stars. So if you're looking for a book like The Giver of Stars here you go. Not for this challenge.
3. Warrior Girl Unearthed. 4 stars. Not for this challenge. The book grew on me so by the finished I was liking it. I had trouble with the protagonist. She was predictable. There are a few characters in this book from The Firekeeper’s Daughter.
QOTW: Part 1: Do you make it a point to read a book by a recently deceased author? No I don't. Sometime the author is on my TBR list but I don't hurry on reading them.
Part 2: Do you especially recommend any book by Julie Garwood and/or Cormac McCarthy? I have read both. I read Julie Garwood a long time ago & can't remember the title. This was before I tracked my reads. I read The Road & enjoyed it.