Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2023 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 43: 10/19 - 10/26
I haven't checked in for awhile, but I wanted to stop by to see how everyone's doing. I am just now starting to get impatient for next year's list to come out. I joined the board of trustees at my local library and also joined my first ever book club. I didn't know what to expect and assumed I might not like it, but we discussed Under the Whispering Door last night and I was pretty pleased with how it went. Full disclosure: I attempted to read the last two months' books and they just weren't for me, but I'm hoping the upcoming challenge for next year will get me back into the mood to read things I normally wouldn't. Then I can use book club's books for a prompt, even if it isn't something I necessarily want to read.QOTW:
I'm not really a seasonal reader either, but I sometimes like to read holiday specific books, so I have read some books that put me in a spooky mood for Halloween and I have some lined up for around Christmas too.
Yay, I finished Popsugar! I only did 40 prompts this year though (and I swapped out the regulars I didn't like with advanced ones I did) but it's more than I thought I'd do when I first saw the list. Fingers crossed for the 2024 list.I hope no one's got caught up in any of the floods. Most of Storm Babet missed us but we've still had overflowing streams up in the woods (which my dog loves). So I've mostly been hidden indoors playing games. I tried Cities Skylines 2, but I had some issues with the graphics so I'm gonna wait until they do the first patch before I play properly.
Finished:
Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad for celebrity memoir, which might be a bit of a stretch but he's internet famous and at one point he calls himself a Z-list celebrity so that's good enough for me A lot of this had been covered on his videos already but it was a fun and quick read about life as a foreigner in Japan.
Alias Emma by Ava Glass for ATY (tinker, tailor, soldier or spy). This was fun! I don't often read spy thrillers and I am not sure London really has that joined up of a CCTV network, but realism aside it was entertaining.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan for ATY (W question word in title). I am not the biggest fan of military history and it was light on the fantasy side, so I think this was more of the book not being the right fit for me. I liked parts of it, but I don't have much of an appetite for reading about war right now.
Currently reading Light from Uncommon Stars and listening to Starter Villain.
PS: 40/40 | ATY: 49/52 | GR: 85/100
QOTW:
I used to read some horror in October but I've started reading horror more frequently now so it's not really an autumn thing. Sometimes I'll pick up something cosy, but mostly I'm just flailing around trying to finish challenges!
Nadine in NY wrote: "I'm not-so-secretly hoping that the 2024 list has a few categories I hate LOL!! Because I love complaining about them and then hunting down a good book anyway. All I ask is: no repeats of old categories I hated. I want NEW things to hate...."LOL, but I know what you mean. It's not fun hating on the same things year after year.
Nadine in NY wrote: I'm not-so-secretly hoping that the 2024 list has a few categories I hate LOL!! Because I love complaining about them and then hunting down a good book anyway. All I ask is: no repeats of old categories I hated. I want NEW things to hate.THIS IS SUCH A MOOD HAHAH!
I was originally not gonna check in until I finished my current read, but I fear it either won't happen today, or it'll be so late I get overwhelmed by all the replies before me soooo. HELLO!Many many rains this past week, and while annoying, I am also glad fall weather is finally happening. Temperatures are still up though, so I do feel for nature.
Saw Fall Out Boy in concert on Tuesday and it was amazing! Sadly my body was not having a good day. Even though we showed up 90 minutes after doors opening (which is weird for me) my legs were still killing me in no time at all. I hate doing disability math, but sadly it's more and more needed. I just wish it wasn't so unpredictable!
Either way, I can't believe it's already been 9,5 years since my first concert of theirs, and my fourth one!
BUT BUT BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS. I READ BOOKS.
Read
The Chalice of the Gods for published in 2nd half of 2023. Not gonna lie, reading this within a month of release, I am proud of myself. And I loved it!! Bring on the next one! (sorry Daughter of the Deep. I promise I had similar plans for you. I'll get to you one day.)
The Umbrella Mouse not for the challenge (all prompts that fit I already filled, and I am not yet feeling up to seeing if I can switch stuff around). A middle grade book about a mouse who lost her parents during the bombing of London and is now on a mission to go to the place they were supposed to go to after the war. Honestly, this was a lot darker than I expected it to be. I know WWII is a tough and dark subject, but usually in middle grade I find it to be 'palatable' so to speak. This surprised me in terms of how graphic it was, and how few bits light there are to be found. It's been teaching me things I didn't know about yet, though, so that's been great!
Currently Reading
Umbrella Mouse To The Rescue
Currently halfway through this (then I had to leave for the concert haha!) and am very curious to see how her story ends!
The Three Musketeers
I read one more chapter, I'm allowed to post it again asjkdhfds
QOTW
Nope. I read A Christmas Carol in July a few years ago, cuz that's when I felt like reading it. There is no way of knowing when I'll read something, and the weather outside doesn't impact my enjoyment of a book, personally.
Happy Thursday!Our weather went from cooler-but-still-beautiful to wet and dreary really fast. Welcome to Idaho -- if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes...
Had evaluations at work this week. I always stress about them, but they're never as nerve-wracking as I expect them to be. I also got a raise, which means more book-money -- I mean more money for bills, yeah...
Also for whatever reason I DNFed a LOT of books this week. Either I hit some duds or my mind has just been in a different headspace than normal...
Books read this week:
Fourth Wing -- had to read it to see if it lived up to the hype. It’s not the greatest book I’ve ever read, but it was still a really good read! Can’t wait for the sequel!
Time Travelling with a Hamster -- cute middle-grade time-travel read. Bonus points for having an Indian main character.
Pumpkinheads -- graphic novel, and my comfort fall read this year. One of my favorite fall/Halloween books, and just cozy and cute.
Keeping Secrets -- I seem to be hitting my horse-girl stage later in life than normal, haha… Predictable but good read about a teenage girl working at a riding school.
DNF:
Camp Sylvania -- not a BAD book at all! But I’ve been subjected to some of the same childhood fat-shaming talk as the MC and it’s just a little too tender right now for me to keep going. Also kind of feels like it’s copying the movie “Heavyweights” almost beat-for-beat.
A Kind of Spark -- again, not a bad book, but not in the right headspace to read about constant abuse and ableism towards an autistic child.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries -- couldn’t get into it. The writing style didn’t help.
Helm -- why do so many science fiction authors, especially those considered “classics,” have such issues getting me to care about their characters? Give your characters some personality!
Currently Reading:
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Maeve Fly
Edgewood
The Twisted Tree
QOTW:
I usually try for at least one spooky read around Halloween -- this year I've managed two, with The Twisted Tree and Maeve Fly (though it can be argued that the last one isn't truly a horror book, just a book about a psychopath). This year I was randomly in the mood for a fluffy comfort read, so picked up and read Pumpkinheads too. Now I want frito pie, haha...
34/40 Popsugar+4 100 books to read in a lifetime challenge
47/52 Books read for the year
Since the last check-in, I finished Watership Down by Richard Adams for "a book with a rabbit on the cover" obvs. This book was a two-fer as it is also on the 100 Books to read in a lifetime challenge that I have been working on for many years. I chip away reading a few books every year. As of today, there are 31 books remaining of the 100.
Back to Watership Down -- I was not interested in reading it but I got the audiobook from my library. It was so well done! The narrator was great. Apparently it started as a story Adams told his daughters on a long car drive and they encouraged him to publish it. So it does well as a read aloud book.
I also read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. This has been on my TBR for years. I haven't seen the movie but likely will now. Very impressed with how the author told the story. It's geared toward young readers (I finished it in two days.) I've read many WWII stories and this one managed to be unique, powerful, realistic and, as a parent, I believe it captured the voice of its 9-year-old protagonist perfectly. It made me think of the movie Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.
QotW
Occasionally I will read a Christmas time romance. I do usually indulge in a few summer beach reads but it's not a habit.
I too have tried to expand my reading interests to include more BIPoC writers / themes. I have a friend with a Little Free Diversity Library and we send each other recommendations pretty regularly. She recommended Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González and that got me out of a reading rut.
Happy Thursday, everyone!In comparison to last week (when I had something scheduled nearly every day), this week my appointment and social calendars have been empty. I’d love to claim that the extra free time has enabled me to be super productive, but that would be a lie. I’ve gotten next to nothing accomplished this week, apart from a few loads of laundry.
Oh well. There’s always the weekend.
My yearly Halloween Horror Movie-thon continued this week with the following movies: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Hocus Pocus, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Ready or Not, Beetlejuice, and The Mummy (1932).
As far as reading is concerned, it has been a great week! Most of this week’s reading time has been focused on mysteries and paranormal romance, but I’ve also had a chance to read some nonfiction as well.
This week I also managed to accomplish my TBR goal for the month of October, which was to reach 95% completion of this year’s TBR goal. If all goes to plan, I should be able to meet my goal of 40% TBR completion by the end of next month.
I did participate in the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon on Saturday. But while I had originally planned to read for 12 hours, I was only able to read for 2. At least I had a chance to participate for a little while.
I am also continuing to participate in the FrightFall Readathon, which is currently in its fourth week.
Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…
Goodreads Challenge: 750/400 (Challenge Complete!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 150/150 (Challenge Complete!)
📚Physical TBR: 304/634
📱Ebook TBR: 22/236
🎧Audiobook TBR: 12/13
TBR Checklist Total: 338/883 (38.2% complete)
I wasn’t planning to buy any new books this week…and then I came across one that I really wanted to read. It was My Roommate Is a Vampire, by Jenna Levine. I’m so glad that I decided to get it!
I may be jinxing myself by saying this, but I am not planning to purchase any more books until November 7th. We’ll see what actually happens.
“New” Books Bought in 2023: 423
“New” Books Read in 2023: 402/423 (95.0% complete)
Here are the books I finished this week…
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Under a Vampire Moon — This is the 16th book in the Argeneau series. It was a little odd to be reading about a sunny Caribbean vacation in the middle of fall, but I really enjoyed getting back into this series. I loved the characters and thought the story was a lot of fun. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Honjin Murders — This was a really interesting locked room mystery! I’m definitely interested in reading more books by this author! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Secret Adversary — This is the first book in Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and had a really hard time putting it down. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Partners in Crime — I really enjoyed the second book in the Tommy and Tuppence series! It was a great collection of short, connected mysteries. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~My Roommate Is a Vampire — This was a super cute paranormal romance! I really liked the story and characters. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places — I really enjoyed this collection of short essays, and did a lot of laughing while I was reading. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind — This book is part of the Pop Culture and Philosophy series. It took a long time, but I finally finished! While some of the essays were interesting, I just didn’t enjoy this book very much. I think I’ll be taking a break from the philosophy books for a while. 📚: ⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Hollow — I finally managed to get this graphic novel from my local library! I really enjoyed the story, and thought the artwork was great. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None
DNFed:
~The Lady is a Vamp — This is the 17th book in the Argeneau series. I really debated about whether or not to DNF this book, but just couldn’t handle the subject matter. One of the main characters has a 5-year-old daughter who (view spoiler) I will not be counting this book toward my TBR total. 📚
Currently Reading:
~The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie — I am currently about halfway through this book, and I’m really enjoying it. I hope to have a chance to finish this one before the end of the week. 📚
~The House Across the Lake — This is one of the few Riley Sager books that I have not read before. I’m currently about a third of the way through it, and I have to say that it’s kind of my least favorite of Sager’s books at the moment. 📚
~N or M? — This is the third book in the Tommy and Tuppence series. I am loving this book, and will probably finish it later today. 📚
QOTW:
I’ve been participating in the FrightFall Readathon for the past couple of years, so I do tend to read more spooky books during the month of October than any other month of the year. I don’t really go out of my way to find books that take place during the fall season though.
Happy Thursday.I finished Alex Trebek's autobiography and really enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of autobiographies, and the ones I've read in the last several years have all been real overcoming stories - Ethel Rosenberg's kids writing about their parents executions when they were 4 and 7 and how it affected their lives, Moira Greyland writing about all the abuse she suffered at the hands of her two famous parents, Leah Remini and her abuse by a certain group. It was nice to actual read about someone who mostly had a great life including working on a show he loved for 36 years. It was a thematic book rather than strictly chronological, but it worked. The headings were like a Jeopardy board.
I finally got back into my movie challenge after giving up on Girl on the Train. The NPR category doesn't work for movies. I loved Girl on the Train as a book. But in the book, you empathize with Rachel because she's the protagonist. In the movie, viewed objectively, she's cringy. Plus, movies of thrillers are boring if you've read the book. You know everything that's going to happen and it ruins the thriller aspect.
We Have a Ghost and Freaky were both fun in their own way.
I finished my 7 book random challenge.
Finished:
The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life
ATY prompt: A book related to the arts
Popsugar prompt: A celebrity memoir
Series - 14/15
Series Completed: - Lying Games, Bronwyn the Witch, Divergent, Millenium, Heather Wells, Mortal Instruments
Nobel laureates - 6/7
Random books - 7/7 - I finished my goal!
ATY - 42/40
PS - 36/30
Nadine's 23 challenge - 10/10 -Completed!
Summer challenge: 12/12 - Completed!
Around the year in 52 movies - 44/52
41. A movie made from the NPR “Books We Love” lists - Started watching "The Girl on the Train", but gave up
42. A movie related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter - We have a Ghost
43. A movie that involves a murder- Freaky
Currently reading:
The Final Girl Support Group - 60% done
Buddy Reads:
The Horse and His Boy - 2/15 chapters
QOTW: I tend to read at least one spooky book in October. Plus often ATY puts prompts so that if you do them in order, you get some creepy prompts in October. PS tends to have at least one prompt that could go that way too.
I finished The Death of Mrs. Westaway I more or less loved it, but was hoping for a bit more of a happy ending.I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Thirteenth Tale. I'm loving it, but it's seriously weird.
QOTW: I usually try to read a somewhat spooky book. Doesn't have to be a ghost story or scary. Could just be something gothic-y, or even just a bit dark to go with the new dark days:(
Happy Thursday!Finished
Dreamsongs, Volume II Made it through. Ended strong with the last few stories being some of my favorites.
The Bear and the Nightingale Enjoyed overall - again, it got stronger towards the end when stuff actually began to happen, but I'm not sure that I'll continue the series. For those that have read, is book 2 similar to this or does it go in a different direction?
PageboyLike a lot of commenters, I thought this could have used a little editing. The chronology was confusing, and sometimes a chapter would start on one story, but then go off in a totally different direction - I think it was meant to be a conversational style, but it often felt like things were getting derailed. I really feel for Elliot, it seems like he experienced some real trauma, and was just so constantly miserable, and I hope he's been able to put a lot of that behind him since his transition.
In Progress
The Mysterious Flame Of Queen Loana This has now become my slogging through it book. As I said before, the story around the listing of all his saved childhood items is interesting, but there's just so much listing! However, I figured out I can use this for ATY's continental European author, so I will keep going. Just slowly.
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race I can really see why people think Isaacson is a great biographer - he writes in an interesting and engaging way, and makes what could be a very technical topic accessible.
Perdition Started this intending it to be my fun on-the-side, book-on-the-go read, but man, it's pretty grim.
Pride and Prejudice Love and adore! Rereading for my PS book you wish you could read for the first time and ATY connected to pride. I wasn't sure what to use for this PS prompt, then I saw a fun little video, originally from TikTok I think about imaging people reading it when it first came out. So it was two women in approximation of era appropriate clothing and the one was reading out loud to the other who was reacting ("Oh Lizzy! He said WHAT? Girl, what will you do?") and it was fun, and did make me think about how I'd react if I could read it, not knowing what was coming. And I am trying to keep that in mind as I read, but it's so hard since I know it so well!
QotW
Not really seasonally influenced, but this time of year tends to be when my push gets back on to finish the challenge. Usually I start strong, but around early summer my eyes wander, and I start reading books that don't meet the brief. But now we're close enough to the end of the year that I know I have to read prompt books to make it, so those come back to priority. I think this weekend I'm going to make a final plan for outstanding prompts, and gather the books I own into a stack that will be my main source of reads until I complete PS and ATY.
The furnace came on for the first time yesterday, and all seemed well... until this morning. 66 degrees with the thermostat set for 70. I called, but the soonest a technician can get here is 6 p.m. This is so frustrating. We had a whole new system put in last April.Challenge Progress:
52 Book Club: 52/52 (October Mini Challenge: 3/3)
ATY: 52/52 (Fall Challenge: 11/15)
Popsugar: 50/50 (Nadine's Mini Challenge: 10/10)
Completed:
The Children on the Hill ★★★★
I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan: Katie Porter is a gem! ★★★★★
Happily: A Personal History-with Fairy Tales ★★★
Ghosts of the Orphanage: A Story of Mysterious Deaths, a Conspiracy of Silence, and a Search for Justice: Oof! All the content warnings, but so impactful. ★★★★★
The Vaster Wilds ★★★★
Night: We never discussed the Holocaust in high school. We barely addressed WWII in history classes, and I'm sure it would have been too controversial for our English classes. (PS 7 - a book you should have read in high school) ★★★★
Gallant (ATY Fall Challenge - a book that features a found family) ★★★★
Lore Olympus: Volume Four ★★★★
Boneshaker (52 BC October Mini Challenge - a steampunk book) ★★★
Currently Reading:
Starling House (ATY Fall Challenge - a fantasy book)
You Are Here (ATY Fall Challenge - a book with a tree on the cover)
Emma (ATY Fall Challenge - a book you'd read in English 101)
Emma (Manga version)
Just Another Missing Person
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt: A Memoir
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club (ATY Fall Challenge - a book that features family relationships)
Reputation
QOTW: I'm not much of a seasonal reader. I'll admit to picking up a Christmas-related book each December, but I read horror all year long. Challenges seem to drive most of my reading, so many of my seasonal choices are related to mini-challenges.
I participated in the Dewey Readathon, so got a bunch of reads knocked off my list! The strange part is, retroactively, I realized that I didn't particularly enjoy any of them.Harold Supposed to be a stream-of-conscious by a stand-up comedian. He spent way too much time talking explicitly about how interesting he was. I didn't believe him.
Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias Biased is much better!
The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone The writer is an executive director of a homeless shelter and wrote authoritatively. What I appreciated most about the book is the recognition that the homeless population can be challenging to deal with and gave some tools for handling difficult situations.
Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum Have to admit, I didn't really follow this.
Animal Liberation Alarmist and provocative, this made me not only want to eat vegan, but also buy products that are cruelty-free. The descriptions of animal "research" were horrendous.
The Fragile Threads of Power I read this because I simply adored The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Can't say that this hit the mark as much.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making Re-read. Enjoyed.
Started: Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility Re-read. Nussbaum argues that we have to value animals for their distinctive selves and not for how similar they are to humans. She also argues that animals count as individuals and not just species. I don't know exactly what bugs me about this book, but something does.
QotW: I often re-read The Halloween Tree around this time of year. That's the only thing I can think of.
Happy Thursday!Finished:
Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire - continuing my catch-up (re)read of this series.
Comics & manga:
The Apothecary Diaries 09
Akane-banashi, Vol. 2
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 14 (Volume 14)
Horimiya, Vol. 2
Currently reading:
The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth - I just started this but it's funny so far. Disability rep for fibromyalgia, which I haven't seen very often.
Upcoming/Planned:
Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire
QOTW:
I don't usually read anything special for autumn. I read Starling House as my creepy book for October, I guess, but then I don't really read a lot of horror. Sometimes I read a holiday book or a summer beach read at the appropriate time, but I usually just read things whenever I'm in the mood for it.
Mod
Yeah I hear that! I've got my two mini challenges waiting to be finished - I need two books for each of them. So even though I've got a stack of exciting 2023 publications from the library (including Colson Whitehead's newest! I really want to read it!!) I set those aside and picked up The Cloud Roads because I want to finish my short "must read in 2023" list. I'm still in the first chapter, it's pretty good so far.
Mod
I am blessed with an ex-husband who knows a bit about furnaces. If you have a gas furnace, it might just need the temperature sensor cleaned off - the sensor is (necessarily) placed where lots of air flow goes over it, and it get a bit cruddy from humidity. It's a quick fix, just clean it off with some steel wool or sandpaper.
I mean, *I'm* not brave enough to reach into my gas furnace without knowing what I'm doing, so I'm not suggesting you try it, but ... just throwing it out there as info.
Boneshaker (52 BC October Mini Challenge - a steampunk book)
I'm so glad to see Cherie Priest getting some love! - she's so underrated and I don't understand why.
Hi all, Weird weather this week. I think Monday there was frost on the roofs, now it's a high of 70 and was sunny earlier this week. Been having a long week, looking forward to this weekend where there'll be halloween fun.
This week I finished:
These Violent Delights - Romeo And Juliet sort of retelling for my genre genius challenge. it was alright. This was one of those that I'm not certain the retelling part really HELPED the story the author wanted to tell. It kind of felt like those bits of the story were being shoved in just be like "see, i'm still doing the retelling part". Also I was kind of annoyed where the book ended. I don't like cliffhangers at the best of times, I like them least when it has a very "now go get the second book" feel like the book really should have just been one longer book. Torn between wanting to get the second just to have finished the story, and not being all that invested.
Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants - Scientific nonfiction for the genre genius challenge. I liked this pretty well, although sometimes it got a little overly preachy.
Currently reading:
A Head Full of Ghosts - my next books and brews pick . I like it ok so far, although I always get kind of dubious when mental illness gets mixed in with horror. It gets so demonized already without trying to mix in actual demon and possession scenarios. So far it's kind of unclear how much is what. We'll see how it ends before i make a final judgement. It's at least written well in a way that reads easy.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette - I needed another book to movie adaption, and I know this was a big buzzy book a bit back. I do like Cate Blanchette a lot, so I'd considered trying the movie. Figured i might as well check out the audio book to check the prompt off.
QOTW:
I don't always make a point of seasonal reading, partially due to holds lists and such. But I do sometimes like a good mood setting book. My main one is that The Night Circus always feels like a good autumn book, so that's when I tend to do my yearly re-read. It was on last week's check in, in fact. I've also been gravitating to some more witchy stuff, even if I do tend to read that all year. In winter a lot of times i'll also gravitate to more cozy picks too. During holidays pre-january I'll go for easy stuff, like series binges or graphic novel binges. Once the holidays are over and the new reading challenge starts i'm usually refreshed enough to dive into some more challenging stuff.
Will the days stop going by fast, that would be great. Thanks. Another Thursday. Feels like this thread was just put up yesterday (ie even though it was a week ago). Crazy.*****
So far so good on my end. Went to a concert this past weekend which was great. Had a fun time there and with my fam so it was a really good experience.
*****
I haven't done any reading, but I did have book mail/book hauls when I came back. 8 books, so I've been going through them. I have a wide variety of nonfiction genres: memoir/biography, pop culture, activism. Just a few here and there.
These are all of the books I got this past weekend while I was away:
Anarcho-Indigenism: Conversations on Land and Freedom
Native Apparitions: Critical Perspectives on Hollywood’s Indians
Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native Americans in Film
Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer's Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th
The Woman in Me
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
The Snyderverse Saga: The Culture-Shattering Phenomena Behind Zack Snyder’s DC Film Universe
You Are What You Watch
*****
Even though I'm saving some of those for NFN, I've started one of them because it's such an interesting topic.
*****
QOTW: Do you read anything special for autumn?
Not particularly. Though for the past 3/4 seasons I've been doing fall reads for Nonfiction November. This is the first season I've gone all out though in terms of choosing my books 3 weeks in advance. Being a mood reader I give myself a big selection (17 so far). Then I've narrowed it down to my top 5.
Happy Thursday! I'm cold. LIke my fingers are icy cold. I'm in heaven. It rained yesterday and last night and there's a cold front coming in. It's been a bouncing ball between the a-con and the heater for the last couple of weeks. As a friend posted to facebook:
Welcome to Nevada
Winter is at 6 am
Spring starts at 10 am
Summer is at 2 pm
And Fall starts around 4:30ish
Dress accordingly.
This is a highly accurate statement. These have been my days.
Work is going well. No complaints there.
I got an adorable video of my baby niece (omg! she's a year old next month!!!) holding on to the tv stand and bouncing bottom to Ghostbusters theme song and giggling! It was soooooo cuuuuute!
Popsugar: 30/50
Finished: None
Reading: None that I’m aware of
Aty:39/52
Finished:
Reading: None that I’m aware of
Goodreads Challenge 575/400
Finished:
Pig the Tourist
The Infinity Particle
Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 1
Daughter of the Emperor, Vol. 1
Daughter of the Emperor, Vol. 2
Daughter of the Emperor, Vol. 3
Daughter of the Emperor, Vol. 4
Wyoming Proud
Protector
Crushing on My Best Friend's Dad
His Obsession
Loving Her Older Man
Desiring My Older Neighbor
Naughty Boss
Reading:
Rising from Ashes: My Dear Emperor, You’re Putty in My Hands! Vol.1
Gabriel's Redemption
Fourth Wing
QOTW:
I don't read anything special at any time of the year. I tried planning last year. Nope. It fell apart very quickly. I'm just not a planner. I'm very much a mood reader that sometimes want's to reread things.
Happy Thursday!! My week was down and up and sky high and today is a bit down again. The downs are probably the result of all the viruses in the air right now. Everyone seems to sniffle, cough or ‘just-don’t-feel-that-well’. And since my lungs still are a bit hypersensitive, my immune system goes full throttle for every tiny bit of virus. Anyways, I still had a pretty good week, lots of activities, so maybe I just need to have a quiet weekend. I’ve filled in another prompt for Popsugar, so I have 2 prompts left. I’m doing Popsugar ‘Ellie-style’ so I pick 40 out of 50 prompts.
PS: 38/50 (goal: 40/50)
Total 2023: 57/52
Finished
Jane Austen, onder vier ogen by Anke Werker⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS #45, a book that started out as fanfiction
This book started out as a small, personal project. Werker learned that it’s nice to share your work, dreams and passions with others. Glad she did it, this is a nice book. The ‘diary of Jane’ sounds very Jane. Nice read for Austen fans.
Currently reading
Sira by María Dueñas
QOTW
Nope, I’m not a seasonal reader.
Mod
And I already started some Popsugar 2024 work. Anyone notice it? 😊 Wow. December 1st for the 2024 listing! That’s great! You know, I would strongly suggest to whoever is creating this challenge to simply search online for other challenges. There are so many out there and so many great ideas that would NOT repeat past Popsugar prompts… Just an idea! LOL 😊
The Book Author event I attended last Thursday was very enjoyable (https://carmelclaylibrary.org/guilded...). That is the good news! I attend these events to (1) obtain the books and familiarize myself with them to read in the immediate future, (2) meet and speak with the authors, (3) listen to the author’s presentations, which are generally all amazingly entertaining and informative! As a former classroom teacher, I abhor disrespectful people who refuse to stop talking when a speaker is addressing the crowd. Unbelievable!! Fortunately, they typically did shut up and listen when each of the authors was speaking. Thank goodness, ‘cause it took all my self-control not to just yell out, “SHUT UP!”
Then a woman sitting not 4 feet from me at the next table evidently refused to turn off her cell phone or at least silence it. (Though perhaps she didn’t know how to do either of those things…) Whatever the reason, she was obviously clueless. The first time it rang it took her at least 30 seconds (which felt like an hour) to open her purse (measuring only about 6” x 6”) which was so small she struggled to be able to finally pull her cell phone out of it and finally silence it. Then it rang twice more. The third time I finally softly said, “Turn it off!” to her. I don’t think she did, but it didn’t ring again. Either she didn’t hear me, or was ignoring me, which was probably a good thing. I’m sure I had my “very-disappointed-in-you teacher face” on by that time. I certainly had a lecture on the tip of my tongue regarding respectful listening and the fact that all cell phones should be silenced or turned off during such an event. Unfortunately, all this occurred during an author’s presentation! Beyond annoying…
Here are the books that were offered for sale:
One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris
A debut novel involving a very traumatic event and the aftermath for the victim. She read a brief excerpt and the whole audience reacted to it. That reaction rather shocked Terah! It was fun to see her reaction to our reaction! She is Deputy Director of her regional library in Alabama and overall, just a wonderful human being with whom I believe I would like to be friends!
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
The author feels this book is his “prayer for peace.” This book was partially inspired by Mark Chagall’s life and works. He felt this was the first time he had actually “let loose” while writing and included much more lyrical language with his past publications. The result pleased him and he plans to “let loose” even more in the future! His writing has mainly consisted of nonfiction journalism for more than 20 years, so I guess it may be understandable that he has had to work at letting loose to write fiction!
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
A romance, but hopefully with enough characterization to please me! 😊 Her first novel for adults was Norah Goes Off Script (which I have not yet read) and this is her second one. Roughly based on the 1941 movie Philadelphia Story. A woman returns home with her fiancée in tow to discover her ex-husband is the next-door neighbor. Wow...what an interesting premise!
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
She is fascinated by the complex and complicated relations between mothers and daughters and the fact that just because you are biologically linked, that does not necessarily mean you like each other or find it easy to get along… (Sounds perfect for me!) She and I had a bit of discussion about our own relationships with our own mothers. I’m certain we could have talked longer but there was another attendee waiting to speak with her… How annoying! LOL 😉
The President’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood
I honestly had no idea about Woodrow Wilson’s wife and his relationship with her. He was quite the romantic! Wood was fascinated by their long-term romance and Edith’s virtually running the country behind the scenes, especially once Wilson’s health failed. Which was another thing about him I did not know. I ended up realizing I know virtually nothing about Wilson or his wife! That should be quite an informative read for me!
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
Simon has had quite a few careers in her life, but never dreamed of writing a novel! Until her mother became ill. Simon moved in with her to care for her throughout cancer treatment in the wake of brain surgery to remove tumors and they began reading mysteries they had always enjoyed together… Then finally she felt they both needed a further distraction from everyday life and she suggested they start writing their own murder mystery…and eventually this book was born!! (Her mother has since recovered her good health and is doing well now!)
Ellie Mae Dreams Big! by Kristina McMorris, illustrated by Amanda Yoshido
Neither the author nor illustrator participated in the event, though McMorris was one of last year’s authors and she and her sister just published this adorable picture book. Ellie Mae must decide “what she wants to be” when she grows up! How can she ever decide? There are so many possibilities…
Such interesting back stories!
ADMIN STUFF:
The October Monthly Group Read discussion for The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman is posted in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #18 A book that’s been banned or challenged in 2022. Banned Books Week is October 1-7, 2023! Website: https://bannedbooksweek.org/#:~:text=... Still waiting for my copy to arrive! Jennifer is the "official organizer" who graciously volunteered to lead this discussion! THANK YOU, JENNIFER! 👏👏👏👏 I am hopeful my copy will arrive early next week…
The November Monthly Group Read will be The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern! (I and the IRL book club I facilitate LOVED this book so much!) This book could be used to fulfill prompt #41 A book written during NaNoWriMo! We are now searching for a “marvelous manager” to lead this discussion! Please message either myself or Nadine to volunteer! I’ll move this one to the Current Monthly Read folder this weekend. I cannot believe October is just about over!!
The December Monthly Group Read will be Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #32 A book published in the last half of 2023. I’m certain there is a “cool captain” out there amongst you-all who is just dying to facilitate this discussion! Please message either myself or Nadine to volunteer!
Just a reminder that the comprehensive listing of 2023 Monthly Group Reads can be found HERE
Question of the Week:
Do you read anything special for autumn?
Not necessarily. I rarely select a book to read based upon the season or weather. And I do NOT do horror! I feel as if many readers tend to select ‘scarier’ books for autumn…due to Halloween I suppose.
But for those who do, I would highly recommend SuperSummary’ Cemetery Boys. I inhaled this book and am anxious for further installments! Interestingly, I was hesitant to read it, but felt the diversity of characters made it worthwhile to give it a try, and I am so glad I did! It just worked well for me!
Another book/series that was a pleasant surprise for me that I assume seasonal readers might consider appropriate for autumn was Strange Magic (Essex Witch Museum Mystery #1) by Syd Moore. I have no idea why I purchased this one, but can guess that someone here had listed it and I felt it worthwhile to give it a try. I think I was also attracted to an “Essex Witch Museum,” which I figured had to be interesting… 😊 I now own the second in the series, Strange Sight, which I plan to read within the next few weeks.
Popsugar: 44/50
Nadine’s Q1 Mini-Challenge: 7/10
AtY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 13/24
Continued...
Mod
FINISHED:
I finished the Mrs. Pollifax series and found it quite delightful! I particularly appreciated the varied settings in other countries. Gilman’s descriptive language made me feel as if I gained some valuable knowledge about these cultures and the geographical aspects of each country.
*Mrs. Pollifax Pursued (Mrs. Pollifax #11) by Dorothy Gilman
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ may well be my favorite book in this series. It was excellently plotted, as well as my appreciation for the overall theme and story arc. Definitely a favorite, if not THE favorite for this series…
POPSUGAR: #16, #19-2020: prompt #33 A book with at least a 4-star rating on Goodreads, #28, #36, #39, #50
ATY: #1-Ubangiba/Africa, #3-A book set during a revolution or uprising (coup), #4, #5, #10-Scary, #14, #24, #33, #34, #37, #43, #45
RHC: #23, #24-2015: A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 (72)
*Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer (Mrs. Pollifax #12) by Dorothy Gilman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐was a sequel to installment #11. Also very well done. Gilman is topnotch at intricate plotting. I admit my strongest suspicions were confirmed, which is highly unusual for me, but it certainly did not in any way diminish my enjoyment. I particularly enjoyed the “new” character of Moses!
POPSUGAR: #5, #16, #19-2021: prompt #36 A book with less than 1,000 reviews on Goodreads or Amazon (209 on GR), #28, #36, #39
ATY: #1-Ubangiba/Africa, #3-A cultural book that depicts a place or time and its culture, #5, #10-Scary, #14, #18, #24, #28, #33, #37, #43, #45, #52
RHC: #3, #23, #24-2016: Read a horror or mystery/thriller book
*Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist (Mrs. Pollifax #13) by Dorothy Gilman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was certainly ironic! Poor Mrs. P just seems to attract devious con artists!! She and Farrell certainly make a good team!
POPSUGAR: #16, #19-2015: prompt #13 Set in a different country (Jordan), #28, #36, #39
ATY: #3-A book featuring The Widow, The Wallflower, or The Woman Scorned (widow), #5, #10, #14, #24, #33, #37, #43, #45
RHC: #23, #24-2016: Read a book that is set in the Middle East
*Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled (Mrs. Pollifax #14) by Dorothy Gilman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ is definitely one of my absolute favorite endings for this series! Love the insights of Mrs. P and Joe toward Amanda! Sorry to see the series end, but I’ll read some of her stand-alone mysteries!
POPSUGAR: #16, #19-2015: prompt #13 Set in a different country (Syria), #28, #36, #39
ATY: #3-A book with a secret passage, #5, #10-Scary, #14, #18-the dig and archeologists, #22, #24, #33, #37, #38-moon, #43, #45
RHC: #23, #24-2020: prompt #9 Read the last book in a series
CONTINUING:
*The 9th Judgment (Women’s Murder Club #9) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
* The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
PLANNED:
*10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club #9) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum #30) by Janet Evanovich scheduled to release October 31. I refuse to give up on this series! The last couple of books have been more humorous again and I am being loyal to the end!
Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree for our December Monthly Group Read scheduled to release November 7. I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS ONE!
System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells scheduled to release November 14. ANOTHER ONE I AM SO ANXIOUS TO READ! I binge-read through the whole series with the release of installment 6, so don’t plan to do that this time around… But who knows! 😋
*Strange Sight (Essex Witch Museum Mystery #2) by Syd Moore
Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaqfor an IRL book club
*To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose for an IRL book club
Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour for an IRL book club
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey for an IRL book club
Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!!! We had a cold wet dreary week, but now it's heating up to almost 80 again. Weird. But according to Theresa's definition, I cannot call this a "second summer" since we have no..."
Dang right you can't!
😂
Mod
She is fascinated by the complex and complicated relations between mothers and daughters and the fact that just because you are biologically linked, that does not necessarily mean you like each other or find it easy to get along… ..."
I've got this one on my TBR. I don't usually like the whole "mother-daughter relationship book" but this one looked like it might be edgier than the usual, so I added it.
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
Simon has had quite a few careers in her life, but never dreamed of writing a novel! Until her mother became ill.
And, speaking of edgy, this looks fun!!!
Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
A romance, but hopefully with enough characterization to please me!
And this one was already on my TBR, because I always love the idea of a second-chance romance. (I don't often love the book in actuality, but I am so drawn to the trope.)
Happy Thursday!It's been a busy week here. We got back from West Virginia on Saturday evening (and I got to drive the whole way home - had SO much fun on the twisty-turny roads before we hit the interstate!) and every day since has been full of work. I managed to squeeze in the first half of the Fellowship of the Ring film to kick off our annual rewatch on Tuesday (October the 24th, albeit roughly 8hrs late to Rivendell) and it's been a decent reading week too.
Finished:
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - 5 stars, and probably my favorite audio of the year. Definitely listen to this one if you can! Both narrators knock it out of the park and Chakraborty's storytelling prowess shines.
Currently:
Discount Armageddon - continuing to have a lot of fun with this one
Walking Practice - in a word, bizarre, but I'm all in!
Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? - getting through a few poems a day, Darwish can be both abstract and heavy
PS 41/50
ATY 48/50
Mount TBR 44/60
I'm contemplating starting a Fullmetal Alchemist reread just to knock out my Mount TBR goal 😅
QOTW: Do you read anything special for autumn?
Not really. I tend to be more in the mood for dark academia and horror in the autumn, although like Nadine I'll read those genres throughout the year as well. I do like to spend Halloween itself with the audio of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde or the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and maybe a few Poe stories for good measure.
Mod
We had a cold wet dreary week, but now it's heating up to almost 80 again. Weird. But according to Theresa's definition, I cannot call this a "second summer" since we have not yet had a frost. 😉"
We have also had some highs in the 70s this week, though it doesn't feel nearly as hot as those temperatures did 1-2 months ago! 😊
"Our high school marching band finals are this Sunday, so we've been very busy. And, even though I don't go anywhere except the library and the grocery store and band shows and shuttling my daughter to and from practice, I somehow managed to catch a cold."
Oh, my! I am soooo jealous of your daughter! I so enjoyed band, especially marching band!
"Admin stuff
October group read of Maus is finishing up & November's group read starts next week, and will be Night Circus."
Everyone in the book club I facilitate loved this book when we read it over 4 years ago. IMO, it provides much fodder for discussion. I trust that one of you brave and talented souls will volunteer to lead a discussion of it! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
"We've been promised the 2024 list with drop on Dec 1st so in late November Lynn & I will do the same thing we did last year: start creating a bunch of placeholder posts that we can quickly fill in on the 1st (since GR in its infinite wisdom limits the number of new posts any one person can create)."
Ah, yes! Wonderful Goodreads!! Speaking of which, is anyone else experiencing difficulty with book reviews disappearing? Talk about frustrating!
"And, finally (thanks to Erica for the heads up), GR has informed us that in November the option to login through Facebook will be gone. So if you still do that, it's time to set up your GR account to log in with an email! https://help.goodreads.com/s/article/..."
That's great information! Fortunately, I never did it that way...
"I'm not-so-secretly hoping that the 2024 list has a few categories I hate LOL!! Because I love complaining about them and then hunting down a good book anyway. All I ask is: no repeats of old categories I hated. I want NEW things to hate."
You make me shake my head and laugh, Nadine!! I'm putting positive energy out there for new and improved prompts for 2024. I swear, you could create a wonderful challenge just using AtY prompt suggestions that were not selected! 🤣
"Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy - I was really looking forward to this book, it sounded right up my alley, and it was on my list of books I need to read in 2023. Wow was I surprised to find that I HATED this book!!! I've put this author on my no-fly-list. Never again."
It is on my TBR listing and now you've got me imagining I might really enjoy it! LOL
"Lone Women by Victor LaValle- I was equally surprised to discover how much I LOVED this book."
That one is now on my "DO NOT READ" shelf since it is HORROR. So I'm glad you mentioned it. And I am glad you LOVED it! YAY!
"Question of the Week
Do you read anything special for autumn?
I'm not really a seasonal reader, so my answer is basically: no. (So why am I asking this? hahaha! Because I think some of you are seasonal readers, and I love hearing about it!)
I read a handful of horror books throughout the year, but I don't pick any out especially for October, but I usually end up reading one or two in October anyway (eg: Lone Women). I do read special books for the cultural appreciation months - we just finished Hispanic Heritage Month and now we are heading into Native American Heritage Month in November. (And, oddly, most of the books I have lined up by Native authors are horror. I'm not sure why that is.)"
Uhm...because you enjoy horror? LOL
NYC is still way too warm for my liking, even with 7 weekends in a row with rain. Even the temp drop promised next week is warmer than usual. I remember needing to wear my winter coat when trick or treating as a kid (in the Dark Ages) but also some significant snow and cold on Halloween into the 2000s. I like winter, snow and COLD! This is killing me.
PS - I'm holding at 42/50. GR likes reminding me I only am 2 ahead at this point. For a long time I was like 15 books ahead of schedule for completing this challenge by end of year. I have as of this weekend finished 2 other year long challenges, so time has freed up (though I use 1 book for multiple challenges when possible). There is only one prompt that I'm likely going to have to adjust slightly in order to finish - and it will have me reshuffling a bit my list, moving one book and adding another that I read this year but didn't use for a prompt. It's not a prompt I hate or that I'm having trouble finding or reading a book, it's just time.
Finished:
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
The Time in Between
Currently reading:
Hallowe'en Party
A Free Man of Color
Horrorstör
The Ex Hex
Getting my seasonal reads in a bit late!
QOTW:
I do tend to read a couple of fall holiday related reads - cozy mysteries mostly - set at Halloween or Thanksgiving. I'm not committed about it - miss some years. This year I happen to have 3 spooky month/Halloween appropriate books in the line up for the next few days - one is partly read, the others hopefully fit into my weekend reading. Not sure there will be a Thanksgiving read this year - probably not. BUT I am a big Christmas reader -- and I have been known to start those in November.
Mod
So glad you stopped by!
"I joined the board of trustees at my local library"
I am sending positive energy in hopes this will prove to be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience for you!
"and also joined my first ever book club. I didn't know what to expect and assumed I might not like it, but we discussed Under the Whispering Door last night and I was pretty pleased with how it went. Full disclosure: I attempted to read the last two months' books and they just weren't for me, but I'm hoping the upcoming challenge for next year will get me back into the mood to read things I normally wouldn't. Then I can use book club's books for a prompt, even if it isn't something I necessarily want to read"
Happy IRL book clubbing!! IMO, you would have to almost brain dead not to find much to discuss from Under the Whispering Door! But then I love Klune's books! And I have been very pleasantly surprised at how often a book club book will fulfill multiple prompts for reading challenges!
"QOTW:
I'm not really a seasonal reader either, but I sometimes like to read holiday specific books, so I have read some books that put me in a spooky mood for Halloween and I have some lined up for around Christmas too."
Cool!
Hi all! Loving the nice weather, but supposed to be a yucky weekend (AGAIN!). Me and the kiddo went and got 2 huge pumpkins from the Amish yesterday and we're going to have to carve them tonight or tomorrow before it gets gross out. I can't find the carving kit that I KNOW I have around here somewhere... I haven't finished reading anything, but I have been reading lots of things! And they're all good! I want to read them all (plus the other 2 dozen books I have out from the library...)!
The Complete Maus Almost done! I still love this book!
Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles I put this down for well over a month (or 2?), and it isn't easy to pick back up, but fortunately I wasn't too far into it. A list of all the people in the front would have been helpful... I might cheat and use this for a book set in Hollywood as the author was mentioning the Hollywoodland sign going up and the dams and reservoirs being built around it... I dunno, probably too much of a stretch.
Hanging Mary Surprisingly light and fun so far. I'm curious to see how the author makes all the Confederate characters sympathetic as the book goes on.
Rook Boy, this jumped off without a line of preamble! Not very far into it, I'm listening to the audiobook, since my copy of The Bonfire of the Vanities expired. Which I took out from the library and the hardcover version is a brick! I might have to register it as a deadly weapon... I haven't started reading it yet- I need to take time to limber up first!
QOTW: I like to *think* I'll do seasonal reading (and cultural appreciation months), but I'm always so behind in everything else, that I don't get to it! Last year I started a reread of The Historian for October and probably got like 50 pages into it before everything else took over. I was thinking I would like to try again this October, but somehow it is the 26th already....
Christmas books are funny. Most seem like they would be too syrupy sweet for me, but even when I do find one that sounds good, I never get to it. At Christmastime, I'm so busy and Christmas-ed out. At any other time, I'm not in the mood to read a Christmas book!
Mod
It is on my TBR listing and now you've got me imagining I might really enjoy it! LOL
"Lone Women by Victor LaValle- I was equally surprised to discover how much I LOVED this book."
That one is now on my "DO NOT READ" shelf since it is HORROR. So I'm glad you mentioned it. And I am glad you LOVED it! YAY!..."
LOL I thought of you as I was hating on Migrations - yes, you might like it.
Don't discount Lone Women. It's not full-on horror, it's more of a historical Western with some weird paranormal aspects. The main character is never scared of or in danger from the mysterious creature, the only danger she faces is from other people in town (as in any Western!). A lot of the lower reviews are complaining that it's not scary enough or dark enough for them. I think it's being marketed as "horror" and that's misleading people.
Kenya wrote: Time Travelling with a Hamster -- cute middle-grade time-travel read. Bonus points for having an Indian main character."This is one of my alltime favorite books! I lent it out to my godniece but Life is Not Great for that family so I haven't seen it in a few years. Really hope to get it back someday so I can reread!
Jen wrote: "Currently reading:The Undetectables by Courtney Smyth - I just started this but it's funny so far. Disability rep for fibromyalgia, which I haven't seen very often."
Me: oohh fibro rep *clicks*
book: be gay. solve crimes. take naps.
Me: SOOOOOLDDDD
Dubhease wrote: "Happy Thursday.I finished Alex Trebek's autobiography and really enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of autobiographies, and the ones I've read in the last several years have all been real overcoming ..."
Do you remember the title of Rosenberg book? I did a project on them in high school and find them interesting.
Mod
YAY YOU! No matter the number of prompts, you completed the challenge you set for yourself!! 👏👏👏👏
"I hope no one's got caught up in any of the floods. Most of Storm Babet missed us but we've still had overflowing streams up in the woods (which my dog loves). So I've mostly been hidden indoors playing games"
Sounds fun!
"Finished:
Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad for celebrity memoir, which might be a bit of a stretch but he's internet famous and at one point he calls himself a Z-list celebrity so that's good enough for me A lot of this had been covered on his videos already but it was a fun and quick read about life as a foreigner in Japan."
Wow! That looks so interesting!
"Alias Emma by Ava Glass for ATY (tinker, tailor, soldier or spy). This was fun! I don't often read spy thrillers and I am not sure London really has that joined up of a CCTV network, but realism aside it was entertaining."
Ooohhh...another one on my TBR listing!
"She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan for ATY (W question word in title). I am not the biggest fan of military history and it was light on the fantasy side, so I think this was more of the book not being the right fit for me. I liked parts of it, but I don't have much of an appetite for reading about war right now."
Yeah, too much like real life... 😢
Currently reading Light from Uncommon Stars and listening to Starter Villain"
Both of those look good to me!
"QOTW:
I used to read some horror in October but I've started reading horror more frequently now so it's not really an autumn thing. Sometimes I'll pick up something cosy, but mostly I'm just flailing around trying to finish challenges!"
I am flailing right alongside you! LOL
Mod
I was planning to wait until I finished my current read as well!
"Many many rains this past week, and while annoying, I am also glad fall weather is finally happening. Temperatures are still up though, so I do feel for nature."
Agreed. Poor nature!
"Saw Fall Out Boy in concert on Tuesday and it was amazing! Sadly my body was not having a good day. Even though we showed up 90 minutes after doors opening (which is weird for me) my legs were still killing me in no time at all. I hate doing disability math, but sadly it's more and more needed. I just wish it wasn't so unpredictable!"
Ugh. It is no fun when you're in pain...no matter what you're doing!
"Either way, I can't believe it's already been 9,5 years since my first concert of theirs, and my fourth one!"
Wow!
"BUT BUT BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS. I READ BOOKS."
Whoo! Whoo!
"The Umbrella Mouse not for the challenge (all prompts that fit I already filled, and I am not yet feeling up to seeing if I can switch stuff around). A middle grade book about a mouse who lost her parents during the bombing of London and is now on a mission to go to the place they were supposed to go to after the war. Honestly, this was a lot darker than I expected it to be. I know WWII is a tough and dark subject, but usually in middle grade I find it to be 'palatable' so to speak. This surprised me in terms of how graphic it was, and how few bits light there are to be found. It's been teaching me things I didn't know about yet, though, so that's been great!"
Looks like it might be too gruesome for me!
"The Three Musketeers
I read one more chapter, I'm allowed to post it again asjkdhfds"
LOL
"QOTW
Nope. I read A Christmas Carol in July a few years ago, cuz that's when I felt like reading it. There is no way of knowing when I'll read something, and the weather outside doesn't impact my enjoyment of a book, personally."
Agreed. 😊
Nadine in NY wrote: "L Y N N wrote: ""Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy - I was really looking forward to this book, it sounded right up my alley, and it was on my list of books I need to read in 2023. Wow was I surpri..."I LOVED Migrations! One of my top reads that year and author is now a go-to. I was not really expecting to love it and yet I did.
Sometimes I don't understand Nadine's likes and dislikes 😁😉🙄😘
Nadine in NY wrote: " All I ask is: no repeats of old categories I hated. I want NEW things to hate.."There aren't words for how much I agree with this. I'm very much okay with having to fill prompts I don't prefer, but no more steampunk!!!
Happy Thursday! It's warm here too. I really need it to pick a temp and stay there! Lol. Finished 41/50
The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society for "book by an author with the same initials as you". This was really good. A lot better than I thought it'd be and very easy to read!
The Sunlit Man for "book you bought from an independent bookstore". Loved this!! If you're a Stormlight, you have to read this book as it's pretty important to that series! It's been so fun being part of the Year of Sanderson. And these books are gorgeous!
Currently Reading
My Ex-Wife Said Go to Hell for " a book about divorce". This looks SO DUMB. But the ratings are high? Maybe it'll shock me, but I don't have high hopes...
QotW
Nope. I just follow these prompts and if they line up with something seasonal, it's by pure accident!
L Y N N wrote: "Looks like it might be too gruesome for me!"It's not gruesome, per se. It's just a lot bleaker and depressing than I expected for a colorful cover Middle Grade, haha! The adventures she goes on while joining the resistance are pretty cool, but it is very much set during war time. It feels like the enemy is on your heels constantly. I read 56 more pages of the sequel today so fingers crossed for finishing it tomorrow!
Funny story I forgot to tell y'all:It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm half awake as I shift. All of a sudden Ziggy's growling. This is the first time I've heard him growl in bed.
He usually whimper barks in his sleep and shakes the bed hard enough to wake him up. He's a extremely active dreamer. It's so powerful I thought he was having an epileptic fit or something the first time he did it.
Anyway, so I am now wide awake. He's still growling as I sit up in bed. He's staring at my bedroom door with his ears perked.
I literally cannot see anything because i'm blind without my glasses. so all i see is the blobs of normal shadows. He's still growling even as i'm petting him to calm down.
That's when I got up and started my day.
(I did do a thorough search of the house afterward)
The weird thing was Reba was under the covers and she did not react to anything.
So I say something of the incorporeal was hanging out at my doorway.
Now if you want some more spookable stories, I got some.
Where has this week gone?! I guess it flew by while I was busy reading! 🤣 I finished three books and a short story (two worked for open prompts), and started three new books. I'm at 36/40 and 7/10 for this challenge, and have read 95 books overall so far this year.Finished:
* Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume, which I used for "a book you read more than 10 years ago";
* The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, which I used for the advanced prompt "a book written during NaNoWriMo";
* The Rise: A Short Story by Ian Rankin, which was one of my Amazon FirstReads picks for October; and,
* Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich, which my Mom won via a GR Giveaways and shared with me after she finished it.
Currently Reading:
* The Buenos Aires Quintet by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, which isn't actually being read. Still;
* The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna and narrated by Samara MacLaren;
* The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino and translated by Giles Murray, which is a NetGalley copy from the publisher; and,
* When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton, which is one of my book clubs' picks for November.
QotW:
Do you read anything special for autumn? I typically don't match my reading to the seasons or monthly themes, but this year I did pick a couple of titles specifically for October. I read Hallowe'en Party at the beginning of the month and have been saving The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches for this month since I thought it would be a fun spooky season read. I just started it this week and am enjoying it quite a bit so far.
Mod
LOL that's okay, sometimes even I don't understand my own likes and dislikes!! But this time, I found a bunch of other reviews of Migrations that said exactly what I was feeling, so I'm not alone here!!
Mod
It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm half awake as I shift. All of a sudden Ziggy's growling. This is the first time I've heard him growl in bed.
He usually whimp..."
Soooo THAT is freaky!
Happy check-in! I wasn't feeling well most of this week, so not a lot of reading happened. Just a lot of sleeping. But I'm feeling better and finally getting some reading in! This weekend the local library is having a mini-comic con, which sounds like it should be really fun! There are a couple of talks I"m thinking of going to, but I'm mainly excited for the artist alley. I'm hoping to find some fun prints, or gift ideas!
Finished:
Black Paradox- horror graphic novel. Very creepy, but a little too gross for me
-no prompt
Currently reading:
From Bad to Cursed- this series is so fun, a witchy romance, enemies to lovers trying to solve the mystery of a curse
QotW:
I always make a list of books, movie and tv shows I want to get to during the halloween season, but after that I don't really have plans. Other than get to the last few popsugar prompts. I think I still have about 10 to get to- I really fell off the last few months!
Jennifer W wrote: "Do you remember the title of Rosenberg book? I did a project on them in high school and find them interesting.."It was We Are Your Sons: The Legacy of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
It is out of print. I read it by creating an account at Internet Achieve. People upload scanned copies of books. It won't have anything modern because of copyright, but it's a treasure trove for older or out of print books that you just can't find other places.
Still very slow going with the reading (mostly because I have my own writing deadlines)I did manage to read something for the challenge. For the prompt A book about divorce I read A Midlife Mountain Murder by Julie Ecker It's divorce adjacent, the protagonist has started a new life post divorce in Alaska and it was a fun cozy mystery.
I also finished Half Bad by Sally Green because a friend gave me book 2 in the series. this was a bit of a mess of tropes we've all seen before a few too many times (and straight up child abuse, it's literally the whole plot)
QOTW I'm not much of a seasonal reader but I did read Haunted Hocking Hills by Jannette Quackenbush
(ha, just realized I know both Jannette and Julie)
Mod
I LOVED Migrations! One of my top reads that year and author is now a go-to. I was not really expecting to love it and yet I did.
Sometimes I don't understand Nadine's likes and dislikes 😁😉🙄😘"
That settles it. I should definitely love Migrations since you and I seem to like the same books much of the time! LOL
Mod
It was [book:We Are Your Sons: The Legacy of Ethel and Julius Ro..."
There is a copy available on Better World Books for $5.44. https://www.betterworldbooks.com/prod...
Happy check-in! The first proper snow showed up and that meant shoveling and getting the winter coat and boots out. My coat lasted a whole 48 hours before I spilled coffee on it, despite telling myself that this year I would not do that. 🤦♀️🤣 Anyway I make sure my winter coat is warm and washable.I spent this week a bit sluggish due to the flu/covid shot combo.
@Nadine I too would like some new prompts to complain about, while completing.
Finished Reading:
Luckiest Girl Alive ⭐⭐⭐
The movie was better for this thriller.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is told from the perspective of a nine year old but it's a story for all ages. Upsetting but clever. There was an interview with the author at the end of the book that was really interesting.
Huda F Cares? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This graphic novel was about summer vacation with forced sister bonding. The mc has four sisters. So funny.
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I watched the HBO documentary/mini series that focused more on the author and it was good. The book focused more on the people and neighbourhoods that were terrorized. The writing was really good despite some parts being pieced together by others after the author died. It's bitter sweet that the author didn't live to see them arrest the creep.
A Golfer's Night Before Christmas, ⭐⭐
Santa goes golfing and throws out his back. The last line didn't rhyme when everything else worked.
Shi-shi-etko ⭐⭐
A children's book following a little girl a few days before she goes to residential school. This was an interesting idea but the artwork and poetry/writing were boring.
If I Ran the Zoo ⭐
It was a good choice to stop publishing this book. Also this Dr. Suess book was so long, every page seemed to be the same idea leaving it boring.
PS 49/50
ATY 52/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 228/250
Currently Reading:
Dead But Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackhouse
Curse the Dawn
QOTW:
I don't pick books for seasons I'm a mood reader. I do look through the seasonal shelves that the library puts together so I end up reading some seasonal things.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
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We had a cold wet dreary week, but now it's heating up to almost 80 again. Weird. But according to Theresa's definition, I cannot call this a "second summer" since we have not yet had a frost. 😉
Our high school marching band finals are this Sunday, so we've been very busy. And, even though I don't go anywhere except the library and the grocery store and band shows and shuttling my daughter to and from practice, I somehow managed to catch a cold.
Admin stuff
October group read of Maus is finishing up & November's group read starts next week, and will be Night Circus.
We've been promised the 2024 list with drop on Dec 1st so in late November Lynn & I will do the same thing we did last year: start creating a bunch of placeholder posts that we can quickly fill in on the 1st (since GR in its infinite wisdom limits the number of new posts any one person can create).
And, finally (thanks to Erica for the heads up), GR has informed us that in November the option to login through Facebook will be gone. So if you still do that, it's time to set up your GR account to log in with an email! https://help.goodreads.com/s/article/...
I'm not-so-secretly hoping that the 2024 list has a few categories I hate LOL!! Because I love complaining about them and then hunting down a good book anyway. All I ask is: no repeats of old categories I hated. I want NEW things to hate.
This week I finished 3 books.
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy - I was really looking forward to this book, it sounded right up my alley, and it was on my list of books I need to read in 2023. Wow was I surprised to find that I HATED this book!!! I've put this author on my no-fly-list. Never again.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle- I was equally surprised to discover how much I LOVED this book. I don't even know why I borrowed it from my library, because I've been rather "meh" about this author in the past, but I guess people were praising it so I decided to give it a try. I was sucked right into it. It was the perfect blend of weird and paranormal and slightly dark. LaValle says in his author's note that he wrote this after he first learned that single Black women were able to homestead out in Montana and claim the land for themselves - he'd never heard about this before (and I certainly hadn't either). Five stars from me!
Ariadne- my previous "ancient civilization" book for the winter challenge was a fail, so I picked this one up instead, and I really enjoyed it. It's funny how you can know the story but still enjoy the retelling (and I didn't know how she was going to end it, since the myths don't generally bother telling us what happened to Ariadne).
Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 83% 10 /12
Nay's Winter 80% 8 /10
AtY 100% 52 /52
Question of the Week
Do you read anything special for autumn?
I'm not really a seasonal reader, so my answer is basically: no. (So why am I asking this? hahaha! Because I think some of you are seasonal readers, and I love hearing about it!)
I read a handful of horror books throughout the year, but I don't pick any out especially for October, but I usually end up reading one or two in October anyway (eg: Lone Women). I do read special books for the cultural appreciation months - we just finished Hispanic Heritage Month and now we are heading into Native American Heritage Month in November. (And, oddly, most of the books I have lined up by Native authors are horror. I'm not sure why that is.)