Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Somehow I slept through my alarm today so I got up late and I'm out of sorts.

It's getting cold outside!   I hope everyone in the Northern Hemi is staying warm.  Walking the dogs has been tough, it's too cold for my Bahama babies. I thought I could get out there early today before the snow started again, but I already see snowflakes falling ...



Admin stuff
The January group read discussion of Chain-Gang All-Stars is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...-

Our February group read will be  Lucky Leap Day

And the polls have closed for the March selection!  Our March group read of poetry will be  Call Us What We Carry: Poems, by our most recent USA Presidential Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.  She was so inspiring when she read the title poem during our last US Presidential Inauguration.

We do not currently have any volunteers to lead any of our group reads discussions - let us know if you're interested!!

And, finally ...
The nomination poll for the April group read is open!  This poll will remain open for two weeks, and the top nominees will go into the final poll.  Nominate a book for APRIL (neurodivergent main character) here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...




This week I finished 3 books (DNFed 1),   2 for this Challenge.

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah - this was on my list of ten books I needed to read this year.  I had forgotten that this was a collection of short stories!!  Some were good, most were just decent.  Each story was kind of the same story told over again, and it felt very same same after a while.    I used this for "(more than) 24 letters in the title" in Popsugar and "more than 6 words in the title" for AtY.

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird - this was recommended by a librarian, and I REALLY did not like it.  The protagonist is based on a real person, the only woman known to enlist and serve with the "Buffalo Soldiers" in the US after the Civil War, so that sounds interesting, right?  Except the author ignored most of the known facts about this woman's life, invented all her own, inserted a romance, and shovelled on the pathos like there was no tomorrow. Some readers will probably love this one, though. (It obviously came highly recommended!)   Plus, it felt very awkward to be reading a book about a Black woman dealing with slavery & racism, written by a white author.  I prefer to stick with "own voices."  Anyway, I checked off "recommended by a librarian" with this one.  This is the second time I sought out one of my local librarians to recommend a book for a challenge category, and both times I disliked the book.   But I had a lot of fun talking to the librarian and getting the recommendation!

Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly - this was on my list of ten books I needed to read this year - I bought this book back when it was first published, because my library did not have a copy at the time, and then it sat on my computer desk waiting ... and waiting for me to read it.  It survived not one but TWO beverage spills.  It is all wavy and wobbly now.  And it was WONDERFUL!!  I really loved this one!  Fennelly is so clever, she really has a way with words.  I read this slowly, just a few "micro memoirs" at a time, so I could take my time and savor each one.   I used this for "secondary colors on the cover" in AtY (both green and purple - and the author photo shows an orangey dress so it's got all three!) Fennelly has not published a new collection of poems in years, so I feel like one must be coming soon, and I am excited (and in the meantime I guess I can hunt down her earlier book that my library did not have).


And I DNFed one book:
Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali - this cover is SO charming, I don't even know why, I think I like the blue background, and I like the way the people are sitting and chatting, so I really wanted to read this when it first came out, but I never got around to it so I added it to my list of books I must read in 2024.  I thought it would be a fun YA romance featuring Muslim teens.  It was NOT fun.  It was so annoyingly earnest, and the protagonist got on my nerves.  For example, she's at a party with her aunt in Doha, Qatar; she has JUST met all of the people, she knew no one beforehand, and she immediately starts criticizing one of the other teens there for cultural appropriation for wearing an Native American costume in a photo they shared.  She's not wrong, but this person she was criticizing was a complete stranger.  Who made her Miss Perfect?  Furthermore, none of this had anything to do with the plot, so the author just threw that in there since she, also, wanted to get her jabs in.  It was exhausting.  I forced myself to get through at least 20% of the book, and I did, and then I quit.  



Popsugar 12% 6 /50
Must Reads 30% 3 /10
AtY 15% 8 /52





Question of the Week
Do you ever judge books by their covers?


Yes, all the time! I am 100% susceptible to cover art. If it's a pretty cover, I NEED to read that book. If it's an ugly cover, I will avoid that book.

I'm a library user, I put all my books on hold online, and at least a third of my books are audio books or ebooks, so it's not like I'm sitting here staring at the actual book cover or browsing shelves to find all my books, I'm mostly influenced by the art I see online.

My older daughter and I do like to look at the library's "New" shelves together, and we will comment on the covers we find most appealing, and we hardly ever agree!!  So I do know this is very much "eye of the beholder."

Happy Thursday, everyone!

The flooring installation continues this week. Everything was supposed to be finished yesterday, but the installers still have a couple hours worth of work to do today. I’m really hoping that they will, in fact, finish today. We’re currently a week past their original finishing date estimate, and I am so ready to have my house put back together. My anxiety has been through the roof during this entire project, so I need it to be done.

I was able to do a tremendous amount of reading this week though, and actually finished one of my classics ahead of schedule.

I do anticipate that my reading pace will slow down considerably over the next few weeks, especially since I do have a house to clean and reorganize, but I am really pleased with the amount of progress I’ve been able to make on both of my reading goals so far this year.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 38/400 (9.5% complete)
Mount TBR Challenge: 26/150 (17.3% complete)

📚Physical TBR: 16/402
📱Ebook TBR: 10/233
🎧Audiobook TBR: 0/0
TBR Checklist Total: 26/635 (4.0% complete)
Total Progress Toward 50% TBR List Completion: 26/318 (8.1% complete)

While I was not planning to buy any new books this week, that plan changed when my dad suggested a trip to Barnes & Noble. I picked up several books while I was there, including the next four titles in Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series: The Mortal Word, The Secret Chapter, The Dark Archive, and The Untold Story. I also got XXXHolic, Omnibus 1, by CLAMP.

I’m really exited to have a chance to read all of these books!

I am going to be taking a break from buying more books until February 6th, which is when my next anticipated new release comes out. I don’t know if I’ll be completely caught up on my “New Books” list by that date, but I should be pretty close.

“New” Books Bought in 2024: 17
“New” Books Read in 2024: 11/17 (64.7% complete)

Here are the books I finished this week…

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~The Lost Plot — I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth book in the Invisible Library series! The story was fantastic, and I loved the characters! I’m so happy that I was able to find the next four books at Barnes & Noble this week, because I’ve really had fun reading this series! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Nikolai 2 — This is the sixth book Roxie Rivera’s Her Russian Protector series. I thought this was a really good story, and enjoyed revisiting Vivian and Nikolai’s relationship. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to drug abuse and rape. There is also a dog that is killed (not by any of the main characters). (hide spoiler)]📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Personal Librarian — Historical fiction is not a genre that I typically read, so I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book. As it turns out, I really enjoyed it! It was an incredible story! Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ Because of the setting, racism and racial discrimination are prevalent, which is a constant concern for the main character, who is passing as white. The book also includes an abortion, examples of antisemitism, and a veiled reference to rape. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Firefly, Life Signs — Although this was not my favorite of the Firefly novels, I did enjoy it. The author has a really good grasp of the characters and universe, which made the book fun to read. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book focuses on an attempt to find a miracle cure for a main character who is dying of cancer. It also includes multiple animal deaths. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Kostya — I enjoyed the seventh book in the Her Russian Protector series. The story and characters were great, and I really enjoyed the references the author made to Doctor Strange and the MCU. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to abuse, rape, abortion, and human trafficking. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Alexei — This is the eighth book in the Her Russian Protector series. I really enjoyed this story, and liked the characters. The author’s reference to A Game of Thrones was a lot of fun. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes sexual assault, and references to child abuse, rape, and dog fighting. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Ryker — This is the fourth book in the Cold Fury Hockey series. I really enjoyed this story, and thought Ryker and Gray were a cute couple. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes a significant amount of misogyny and male chauvinism coming from a few minor characters, an attempted rape, and several references to rape. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Hawke — This is the fifth book in the Cold Fury Hockey series. I have to confess that I was less impressed with this book than I have been with the previous ones. This was a second-chance romance, which is not one of my favorite tropes to begin with, but my main issue with the book was Hawke himself. I just did not like him, and felt that some of his actions were highly questionable. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes scenes involving sexual pressure/molestation. Hawke seems to have some issues respecting Vale’s wishes. Vale’s father has brain cancer (a glioblastoma), and there are a lot of references to his illness and treatment. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Max — This is the sixth book in the Cold Fury Hockey series. I throughly enjoyed this story, and I think it may end up being my favorite of the series. Max is such a sweetheart, and his relationship with Jules is super cute. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Emma — I had a wonderful time reading this book! I already loved the story and characters from watching the movie adaption, and loved the book even more. I highly recommend reading it for yourself! 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Roman — This is the seventh book in the Cold Fury Hockey series. I thought this was a really good story, and liked how we followed more than one new romance. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~What the River Knows — I decided to purchase this book because I’d heard it described as a combination of The Mummy and Death on the Nile. To be honest, I feel like that description was a bit of a stretch. There is one character who will definitely remind you of someone from The Mummy, but this book is very different from those two titles, and that’s not a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters and story were very interesting, and there was a ton of mystery and intrigue. I loved the way the author blended historical fiction and mystery with magical realism, and thought the descriptions of the setting were phenomenal. Waiting for the sequel is going to be very hard for me. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~Waypoints: My Scottish Journey — I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sam Heughan did a great job of striking a balance between memoir and travel diary, and blending humor with introspection, while also relating some history of the part of Scotland in which he was hiking. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Marvel Comics #1: 80th Anniversary Edition — This collection of Marvel comics includes: Marvel Comics #1 in its entirety, along with Saga of the Original Human Torch #1, Marvels #0, the 70th Anniversary Edition of Marvel Comics #1, and some bonus materials. As a geek, I thought it was a really cool collectors item. Unfortunately, from the perspective of a reader, it’s a really repetitive book. I’m glad to have it in my comic book collection though, especially since a vintage copy of Marvel Comics #1 has been known to cost as much as $82,000 (mint condition). 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir — This comic book was a great look at both the life of Stan Lee and the history of Marvel Comics. It was a very quick read, and one I really enjoyed. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 1 — I am continuing to make really good progress on this book. I’m not planning to finish it until sometime around the end of April, so I don’t feel like I’m racing through it. I’m currently reading around 10-15 pages each night, which is basically 2-3 nights worth of Scheherazade’s stories at a time. 📚
~Essential Doctor Strange, Vol. 3 — This is the third collection of Doctor Strange comic books. I’ve really been enjoying it so far, and I’m currently about a quarter of the way through the book. 📚
~Mislaid in Parts Half-Known — This is the ninth book in the Wayward Children series. I just started this book rather late last night, so I’m only a couple chapters into it, but it has been really good so far. 📚
~XXXHolic, Omnibus 1 — I’m a huge fan of the xxxHolic anime adaptation, so when I found a copy of the first manga omnibus at Barnes & Noble, I knew I had to get it. I’m currently about one-third of the way through this book, and I’m loving it so far. The art is gorgeous! 📚

QOTW:
I am a sucker for really good cover art, but I usually focus more on plot summaries when choosing the books I want to read.

Finished:

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (4/5, a book written by someone who was incarcerated)

I first heard of this play because Mary Jane Watson was performing in it in Spider-Man 2 (2004). The Picture of Dorian Gray proved to me that Wilde could write extremely well, but it still took until this prompt for me to investigate more of his work. There is a lot of wit and playfulness with the English language, and it reads very briskly. I would think most readers would like this play.

DNF:

Star Wars: Visions - Ronin

I got this on a deep discount, and it still was not worthwhile enough to finish. I made it about 20% of the way through, and it felt like a slog the whole time. The writing, characters, and stakes were just not there, and there was a lack of clarity in general.

Question of the Week:

The cover is the first impression, and that is important in anything. The writing is the most important thing, but an attractive cover makes getting to the writing easier.

Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishes over the past week <3 we're all glad she went quickly, and the hospice center and funeral home personnel have been a big help through everything.

My immediate family also finally had our Christmas gift exchange over the weekend (we'd been waiting til my sister was home), and I received a nice little stack of books, plenty of tea, and a few more bookstore gift cards :D excited to put everything to use!

Finished this week:
Water for Elephants - 2.5 stars. Very little about this book was likeable, although the ending was sweet. I'm going to rewatch the movie again (because apparently I saw it years ago) but overall glad to unload it from my shelf. Written during NaNoWriMo

PS 4/50
ATY 4/52
Mount TBR 1/48

Currently:
Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman
The Ninth Rain
If We Were Villains
Age of Myth

QOTW: Do you ever judge books by their covers?
Absolutely. It's the main reason I didn't read the HP books for so long; I was not a fan of Mary GrandPre's angular artwork! On the other hand, all of the covers for Alix E Harrow's books have screamed READ ME, bahahaha!

It's flipping freezing! I know loads of people have it much worse, but we've had such mild winters, this cold snap has come as a bit of a shock! There was a burst water pipe across the road from us, but fortunately they managed to fix that before our entire road turned into an ice rink. I was a bit worried that I'd wake up to find a car in our front garden.

Finished:
Orbital by Samantha Harvey for takes place over 24 hours. Lovely little novella following a day on the ISS orbiting Earth (which it does 16 times in 24 hours). Loved the descriptions of Earth from above and I felt it was very well researched.

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto for ATY (crime other than murder). The last Aunties book and it's probably for the best. It was fun and quick but, I dunno, the kidnappings just seemed silly and the baddies completely unbelievable as either cut-throat busniess people or gangsters, whatever they really were.

Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam for ATY (most beautiful cities). I don't know why you would choose to tell a story about the spiritualist movement from the POV of someone who flat out doesn't want to engage with it. It's not even like she was hurt by it, she's just constantly worried about what people will think, because her husband is into it. Husband wasn't interesting either and nothing really happens.

Currently reading Sunbringer.

PS: 4/50 | ATY: 4/52 | GR: 7/100

QOTW:
Yes, all the time. I am a sucker for good cover design. They are supposed to sell a book to us, set the tone, hint at content. If what a cover hints at is "I couldn't be bothered" it doesn't give me high hopes for other aspects. Sometimes a cover can be misleading of course, and it seems even more annoying when a beautiful cover contains a dud story!

Happy Thursday! It’s still horribly cold here in Washington State, but we may climb above freezing this weekend. It’s going to feel balmy!

2024 Reading Challenges: I’ve read 27 books so far this year with an average length of 296 pages.
52 Book Club: 8/52
ATY: 6/52 (Winter Challenge - 7/14)
Booklist Queen: 7/52
Diverse Baseline: 1/36
Popsugar: 8/50
Robot Librarian: 8/52
ICYMI Backlist: 0/12

Recently Completed:
Bea Wolf: It’s a graphic novel Beowulf… with children… And it’s amazing! (Robot Librarian #21 – a graphic novel) ★★★★★
The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food―Featuring More Than 100 Historical Recipes: The audiobook would have benefited from a professional narrator instead of utilizing the author. (Booklist Queen #36 – a quick read/Robot Librarian Nonfiction #7 – the 600s) ★★★
Chasing the Boogeyman (52 Books #47 – self-insert by the author/ATY #15 – author’s name includes J, Q, Z, or X) ★★★★
Time Is a Mother (Diverse Baseline #1 – poetry by a BIPOC author) ★★★★
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (Booklist Queen #4 – a five-star read/Robot Librarian #20 – about religion/spirituality) ★★★★★
Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater (Robot Librarian Nonfiction #2 – the 100s) ★★★★
My Year of Rest and Relaxation: I'm happy to be done with this prompt. (ATY – DREAMING OF SNOW/Popsugar #46 – character sleeps more than 24 hours) ★★★
Cover Story (52 Books #45 – chapter headings include dates/Robot Librarian The Harder Stuff #3 – written in epistolary format) ★★★★
One Hot Summer: Dickens, Darwin, Disraeli, and the Great Stink of 1858 (52 Books #2 – a smelly book/ATY – DREAMING OF SNOW/Robot Librarian Nonfiction #10 – the 900s) ★★★★
Lunar Love (52 Books #12 – a title that starts with L/Popsugar #32 – enemies-to-lovers plot) ★★★★



Currently Reading:
Blood Memory: The Tragic Decline and Improbable Resurrection of the American Buffalo (Robot Librarian Nonfiction #6 – the 500s)
The Writing Retreat (52 Books #1 – a locked-room mystery/ATY – DREAMING OF SNOW)
Violeta (Diverse Baseline #2 – a Latinx author/Robot Librarian #11 – an author from Central or South America)
Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (Robot Librarian Nonfiction #3 – the 200s)
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega (ATY – DREAMING OF SNOW/Diverse Baseline #3 – by a BIPOC author featuring a fat main character)
The Seed Keeper (52 Books #46 – featuring an indigenous culture)
The World We Found (52 Books #29 – published in a Year of the Dragon/ICYMI #1 – published in 2012)
30 Things I Love About Myself (ATY #32 – a number in the title)

QOTW: Oh, I absolutely judge a book by its cover! If a book has a watery pastel cover, I probably won't even pick it up. It would have to have a really compelling title. I tend to avoid books that show a woman (or two) looking away into the distance... you know the ones.

Good morning - our "arctic blast" is mild in comparison (no snow, 40s at night and 50s in the day) but my house is so cold!! As a result, I woke up this morning but did not get out of bed very quickly and got a late start to my day, work, etc. so I am also out of sorts.

I finished one book this past week:
Leap by Z. Egloff - used for #1 - leap in the title. It was much better than I expected it to be, very well written.

Out of the hundreds of TBR books on my bookshelves and in my kindle app I didn't have a single one with the word leap in it (annoying) so I got on the library app to borrow an e-book. My first attempt was a DNF - I don't DNF so it was pretty bad (it was Lily's Leap). My second was Leap and I'm so glad that I tried again because I really enjoyed this book.

QOTW: Covers don't really discourage me from reading a book, although a great cover can increase my excitement for a book.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."


I am sorry for your loss.


Water for Elephants - 2.5 stars. Very little about this book was likeable, although the ending was sweet. I'm going to rewatch the movie again (because apparently I saw it years ago)

I recently watched that movie for the first time and it was ... not great. The book was so much better! If you didn't like the book, I can't imagine you'll like the movie!


It's the main reason I didn't read the HP books for so long; I was not a fan of Mary GrandPre's angular artwork!

I never liked the Harry Potter covers either! They are so chaotic. I always wondered why Scholastic chose that style.

I’ve discovered that I really like reading short stories before bed so I went on the hunt for collections to add to my TBR. I’ve found a couple I’m excited to get to. I’m trying to get back into the habit of reading before bed. Short stories are long enough to help me relax, but not so long I worry about staying up too late because I can’t put them down.

I didn’t intend to read any of the advanced prompts this early in the year. I wanted to save them for later, but I can’t imagine I’ll stumble upon another book where a character sleeps for more than 24 hours. (Watch me prove myself wrong ...)

Finished
Beneath the Sugar Sky (a book set in the future). I don’t totally understand how this was set in the future, but Confection is a Nonsense world so I’ll just take the characters at their word that it’s the future.

Thornhedge by T Kingfisher (a book where a character sleeps for more than 24 hours). I enjoyed this novella a lot. It combines the story of Sleeping Beauty with Faerie legend in a really interesting way. The “princess” is a changeling and the fairy who “cursed” her is keeping her asleep to protect the world.

Points of Origin (a book with a one word title that you had to look up in the dictionary). One of the short stories is titled “Coterminous”. I liked all of these stories and loved some of them. I would definitely recommend this for Stargate fans.

Reading
Resistance: A Songwriter's Story of Hope, Change, and Courage (an autobiography by a woman in rock n roll). Written by Tori Amos.

The Cutting Season (a horror novel by a BIPOC author). I’m getting social horror vibes from the beginning of this book. We’ll see how well it fits.

The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights (a book set in the snow). I’m assuming there will be snow in at least one of these stories.

A Murder Is Announced (a book with a title that is a full sentence).

QOTW
Oh, all the time! The cover is one of the first clues about the content of the book. I will sometimes read a book with a cover I think is ugly, and that’s usually because it’s for a challenge prompt. I’m more likely to love a cover, read the summary, and decide not to read the pretty book because it doesn’t actually sound interesting.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."

I'm sorry for your loss, Ashley. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Laura wrote: "I tend to avoid books that show a woman (or two) looking away into the distance... you know the ones...."


Yeah that cover style tends to say "this book will not appeal to Nadine!" I've read several of them - they are impossible to avoid, especially when one is a book club member - and ... nah. Not for me.

Ellie wrote: "Orbital by Samantha Harvey for takes place over 24 hours. Lovely little novella following a day on the ISS orbiting Earth (which it does 16 times in 24 hours). Loved the descriptions of Earth from above and I felt it was very well researched."

Thank you for that explanation, Ellie. I didn't realize ISS orbited Earth 16 times in 24 hours. I learned something today! This sounds great, and I'll probably read it for this prompt.

Laura wrote: "I tend to avoid books that show a woman (or two) looking away into the distance... you know the ones...."

Ah yes, the wartime women genre! I generally take a pass on those too.

Hello from a freezing Columbus! The weather has been unendurable lately and I’ve been consoling myself with making plans for summer vacation. There’s something about looking at menus of ocean front restaurants that brings me joy lol.

Finished:
What Moves the Dead a reread of because I’m reading the What Feasts at Night for a prompt. And this actually ended up working for a read harder prompt so I went ahead and counted it there. I initially read this in 2020, liked it then and like it still. Creepy mushrooms and Edgar Allan Poe? What’s not to like? I find I really enjoy this author and intent to read as much of her work as I can.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing not for a prompt but I put the audiobook on hold shortly after Matthew Perry passed. Friends was a comfort show to me as a middle and high schooler, and still remains something I turn to when I want something safe and familiar. I think I was too young to pay attention to any headlines about his struggles with addiction, so listening to him talk about how these really low moments in his life coincided with such beloved memories of the show was really sad. He talks so much about how thankful he is to be alive, it was a real gut punch. I loved listening to it but I’d probably suggest holding off if his death was as jarring for you as it was for me.

What You Want To See for read harder prompt. It’s (understandably) been a while since Lepionka released a new book so I’m revisiting the series. I guess me memory is shot because I genuinely couldn’t remember how this mystery ended, so it really was like reading it for the first time all over again. If you love private detective novels, I cannot recommend this enough. I extra love it because the author is from Columbus and the novel is set here too, but even if it weren’t local I’d still rate this series as one of the best mysteries I’ve ever read.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments for a book riot prompt. A prompt I wasn’t thrilled by so unsurprisingly I wasn’t crazy about this book. Thankfully this was short and to the point but I still found it rather boring.

The Kiss Quotient also a read harder prompt. This one was fun and cute, a little spicer than I like and with some themes that make me uncomfy but overall I enjoyed reading this and will likely read the second book.

Dead Astronauts this is the follow up to Borne, not a sequel but it takes place in the same universe with some reoccurring characters. I did not like it nearly as much as VanderMeer’s other work. The timeline was weird and the narrative wasn’t as straightforward as it has been in his other books. This reminded me of the kind of scifi I *dont* enjoy lol. I’m sure if you’re into the genre this would be great but it wasn’t for me.

Currently Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible
Wintersong

QOTW:
Honestly yeah lol. Almost all of the books I read are decided about whether or not I like the cover. Sometimes I will read a book with an ugly cover if it comes highly recommended, but I think being an artist makes me value a good cover.

Challenges:
Popsugar - 1/45; 0/5
Read Harder - 4/24
T+I Classics - 0/12
European Tour - 2/10
12 Friends - 0/12
Yearly Goal - 10/150

Dani wrote: "What You Want To See for read harder prompt. It’s (understandably) been a while since Lepionka released a new book so I’m revisiting the series...."


Why "understandably"? What's going on with her? I LOVED her books and I've been sad that she hasn't published in a while. Is she ill?

Nadine in NY wrote: "Dani wrote: "What You Want To See for read harder prompt. It’s (understandably) been a while since Lepionka released a new book so I’m revisiting the series...."

Why "understandably"? What's goin..."

A quick Google search turned up that she is chronically ill, although I'm unsure of the condition.

Okay my online reading buddies, I can now say with 100% certainty that some of you were right about me months ago. Some of you called me out on being autistic (which I now greatly appreciate). Turns out, to quote Anakin Skywalker, "you were right, you were right about me." I took an assessment last week for it with a psychologist and I got my results yesterday. Turns out that I am autistic. Level 1, but still on the spectrum.

Now I have to find a way to live with this new normal. I'm still me, that much is clear, but now I just have a better understanding as to what that means.

*****

So moving on book-wise I'm still working on 3 books for the PS Challenge, but I have finished one at least. While I have a bunch of books for my TBR because I'm doing a lot of challenges this year, I am hoping to squeeze in one for this month and then more next month.

*****

Finished:

Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars

*****

Currently Reading:

The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet

The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the US Government Over Climate Change

*****

Question of the Week
Do you ever judge books by their covers?

It all depends. There will be times I do, but about 95% of the time or so I won't. I do judge a book by its title instead.

*****

Challenges:

PS- 2/50
Diverse Baseline- 2/36
Diverse Reading Challenge- 2/30
Diversify Your Reading 2024- 3/40
Booklist Queen- 4/52
52 Book Club- 3/52

PS: 22/50
Robot: 20/52
Educator: 15/26

Read: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher for prompt title with exactly 24 letters. I was surprised I didn't enjoy this more. It was a distillation of thought experiments from many different sources. It was an easy read and I feel like I didn't get as much out of it as I would have if it had been more of a struggle. *shrug*

A Velocity of Being: Letters to A Young Reader for prompt recommended by a bookseller. This was a fun collection of letters and accompanying illustrations by famous people. I love everything Maria Popova touches.

Write Back Soon!: Adventures in Letter Writing This didn't inspire me as much as I was hoping, but it was still a fun read.

Games: Agency As Art for prompt book about video games. This was about the philosophy of games more broadly than just video games (included a lot of tabletop games too). It made me want to play some of the games it mentioned that I hadn't heard of before.

From Option to Opening: A Guide to Producing Plays Off Broadway Pretty helpful.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath for prompt about a dragon. The main character was native and I loved how she wouldn't take crap from anyone! She wasn't rude, she just insisted on standing up for herself.

Practicing New Worlds: Abolition and Emergent Strategies for prompt formerly incarcerated person. I feel like I need to re-read this one already!

Started: Fellow Creatures: Our Obligations to the Other Animals So good! So well-written.

QotW: I more judge a book by its title than its cover. Although I definitely dismiss a book based on its cover often. All of the new romantasy books looked like books I wouldn't enjoy. The cover of Fellow Creatures is beautiful!

Laura wrote: "Oh, I absolutely judge a book by its cover! If a book has a watery pastel cover, I probably won't even pick it up. It would have to have a really compelling title. I tend to avoid books that show a woman (or two) looking away into the distance... you know the ones...."

LOL! I love that you included pictures of said women looking into the distance. I hadn't previously thought of this as a category, but now I totally know what you mean!

Hi all,

It's been so cold this week! You know it's cold when you look at the temp and go "ah, 25 degrees (F) , finally back to something reasonable!" I have a mini split that heats our bedroom/garage/master bath/closet and it doesn't function optimally at under 20 degrees or so. It's been a cold week! I have enough blankets on the bed I've been sleeping fine, but it makes it so hard to get out of bed when as soon as you stick a hand out of the cocoon you can feel the chill of an improperly heated bedroom. One morning i woke up and it was only 56 degrees in the bedroom, because it was below zero out.

Had to take a cat to the vet this morning, she's been having some bladder issues. Poor girl, we're getting her sorted out.

This week I finished:

Highfire - My book about dragons. Technically only one dragon, singular, but i'm counting it. I liked it, wasn't what I expected. Bayou swamp dragon hiding out, trying to avoid humans with cell phones and high powered weapons. Ends up forming a friendship with a kid anyhow, and gets dragged into conflict with the local underground.

When Sorrows Come - I loved this one, probably my favorite Toby book yet. So I'm pausing a bit on my catch up spree to wallow in "woo! the wedding finally happened!" because i know the next book is when things get real dire. (just reading the back made me go "hey no, give them a break"). Doesn't work for any prompts

I can't remember if i posted Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales last week or not. Was my book with leap in the title. Cute kid's book with fairy tale retellings written around animals.

Currently reading:

The Brothers Hawthorne - have had this on hold for months now, finally got it! I just really like this series, it's very knives out but YA. Just general fun.

The Chronology of Water - heard about this because Kristen Stewart is trying to direct a movie of it and is having trouble securing money for it. Thought i'd check the book out. It'll either work for the women sports/athlete prompt or queer memoir. I'll decide when i'm done for sure, but i'm slightly leaning more towards queer memoir since at the moment swimming seems to just be a side note in the story and more focus is on relationships and such. But i'm still early on.

QOTW:

I'm definitely attracted to pretty covers or stand out ones, especially when i'm just wandering through a book store, or looking at the new releases shelf at the library. Those covers will make me more likely to pick up a book that's unfamiliar, especially if it's an unfamiliar author. But since I do a lot of kindle reading/audio books, i'm less deterred by a bad cover. I don't really have to look at it, so if I've heard the book is good, I'll just kinda ignore the cover, keep my kindle cover closed etc. However i'm probably less likely to take a chance on an unknown book that I haven't heard anyone i know talk about, that has an ugly cover. It'd have to sound particularly enticing by the blurb or something.

I didn't read at all the last 2 days because I was sick.

I finished Perfect Murder, Perfect Town : The Uncensored Story of the JonBenet Murder and the Grand Jury's Search for the Final Truth.

I've just started Suite Française. Kind of weird so far.

QOTW: Not really. I usually pick books based on titles, author or description. There have been a couple of times I've seen a really pretty cover and checked it out, but it's not usually much of a consideration.

Hi all! Chilly week here in NY, but I heard it's supposed to be above 40 and rainy next week. I'd rather have winter be winter, but I don't get a vote.
Not much going on around here. Doctor's appointments and lawyers and fatigue, whomp whomp. I tried a new med last week for the fatigue and for 6 hours, I felt like a real human! I was up, I could do things, I could focus, I could cook dinner! And then at 9pm, I turned back into a pumpkin (or a slug. a pumpkin slug?). I was eager to take the next dose the next day, but no energized Jen ever after. :( My doctor said at our next appointment in 2 weeks, she'll try a different med.

So I still haven't read much. A couple of chapters in The Brothers Karamazov, nothing really happening yet. I read a chapter in Night over Water in an attempt to make myself finish it from last summer! And I picked up my hold (from last October for a book published in the second half of 2023!!) of Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow, but I haven't had the energy to even finish the prologue. I will say that I didn't expect it to have her snarkiness. I don't know why, but I'm glad it does! I'm going to have to really pick up the pace, though because it has a zillion holds at the library so I can't renew and who knows when I could get it again.

QOTW: Sometimes. When I was at the library picking up Prequel, I saw a new book with a gorgeous cover of a silhouetted white stag on a navy blue background. I don't recall the title or the author or even what type/genre of book it might have been. I wanted to go see what it was about, but I knew I had enough books at home to read. I'm still kicking myself! Like others have said, a pretty or interesting cover might make me look into a book that I might not otherwise have thought about. A less appealing cover might make me postpone looking into a book that otherwise sounds like I would like it.
I also don't get irritated when a book doesn't match its cover. Like if the main character is repeatedly referenced as being a red head but is blonde on the cover. I find it funny. Like, Haha, you fail!

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."

I'm sorry for your loss.

Completely exhausted after 2 weeks full of activities and settling into my new role at work. Luckily it's the weekend now, so time to get some rest. The reading wasn't much either, but I managed to finish 1 book.

PS: 2/50
FNL: 1/40
Total: 2/52

Finished
Een stad, het meisje en de duivel by Svealena Kutschke ⭐
PS #27, a book where someone dies in the first chapter
This was definitely not what I expected. I expected a ‘family epos’ and this was, well, a special version with lots of magical elements, artistic descriptions of boring events and on top of it a drugs hallucination. Couldn’t make much sense of it, not my cup of tea.

Currently reading
The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin by Steven Lee Myers
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

QOTW
Always. I don’t pick up ugly covers because, well, they’re ugly. So I won’t read the back cover and will never know whether it’s okay or not.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."

So sorry for your loss.

Ron wrote: "Okay my online reading buddies, I can now say with 100% certainty that some of you were right about me months ago. Some of you called me out on being autistic (which I now greatly appreciate). Turn..."

Are you relieved or disappointed or something else? The past few years, I keep getting diagnosed with medical ailments, which is all fine and good, but I keep wondering "well, now what?" They can call it whatever they like, but if it doesn't change how I *function* then it doesn't matter a wit to me.

Sheri wrote: "Hi all,

It's been so cold this week! You know it's cold when you look at the temp and go "ah, 25 degrees (F) , finally back to something reasonable!""

I had the same thought this morning! Saw 20F+ on the outdoor thermometer and rejoiced :D no more of this single-digits crap, please! Although it looks like we're in for a good dumping of snow with this Winter Storm Indigo in the next few days.

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."

I'm so sorry for your loss, Ashley Marie.

Happy Thursday! It's been snowy and icy here, so good weather to stay home and curl up with a book or video games. :)

Finished:
Babel by R.F. Kuang - 4 stars - for a one-word title. Just a beautiful story about the power of words and language and commentary on colonialism.

I am currently at 3/50 prompts filled for PopSugar (3/45 and 0/5).

Currently reading:
Herc - for a book with at least 3 POVs. This is a kind of an irreverent, modernized retelling of the story of Heracles. I love Greek mythology, although he's never been my favorite character. I do appreciate that the author really did her research.

Upcoming/Planned:
Most Ardently - for an LGBTQ+ romance novel
So Let Them Burn - for a book that features dragons

QOTW:
It's easier not to when I read eBooks, so I don't have to look at the cover, but I definitely still do. I am a sucker for a beautiful cover, and even better, when the author has artwork done of their characters.

Sheri wrote: "Hi all,

It's been so cold this week! You know it's cold when you look at the temp and go "ah, 25 degrees (F) , finally back to something reasonable!" I have a mini split that heats our bedroom/ga..."




LOL so true!!! Yesterday when I walked the dogs, it was 18F. Today it was 26F - and WOW the difference that eight degrees made!! It felt like SPRING out there! I feel like I'll need shorts & flip flops if it gets over 32 hahaha

It's been pretty wintery around here, with snow and ice this past Tuesday and temperatures cold enough to ensure it sticks around. I have the last of my Learn to Crochet sessions tonight, so I'm hoping the cold temperatures don't deter anyone from coming.

Finished:
The Auburn Conference - (A book about a writer/author) I didn't dislike it, but I might have enjoyed it more if I knew more about the authors involved. Plus, I listened to the audiobook and just really did not like the narrator's Mark Twain impression.
Huda F Cares? - This one didn't hit me was much as its predecessor did, though I can't quite put my finger on why.

Currently Reading:
Blackouts
The Bee Sting
The Librarianist
The Fox & Little Tanuki, Volume 4
Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths

QOTW: Of course! The cover's job is to tell the potential reader what kind of book it will be. Granted, some covers do a better job of this than others, so I'm glad to have reading challenges like this to make me read books I wouldn't have otherwise.

Jennifer W wrote:

Are you relieved or disappointed or something else? The past few years, I keep getting diagnosed with medical ailments, which is all fine and good, but I keep wondering "well, now what?" They can call it whatever they like, but if it doesn't change how I *function* then it doesn't matter a wit to me.

Honestly I'm relieved. It describes everything that's been going on with me and it makes my struggles validated somehow. I mean it's going to take a while to sink in, but at least now I understand why I am the way I am. It doesn't change me or define me, but at least I have an answer which is what I've been searching for nearly my entire life.

It's been so insanely busy and I've been so tired in the evenings that I haven't been reading much.

Currently Reading
The Framed Women of Ardemore House: little slow to start but picking up now.

QOTW
Yes of course! I don't see how you couldn't. The cover design conveys a lot about the tone and style of the book that a plot summary just can't capture. There's thousands upon thousands of books in any given store; you can't look up thoughtful reviews of each one. Sometimes you just gotta trust your instincts and grab a book that looks like your type of thing.

Completed
Bridge to Terabithia - for this challenge, 4 stars
The Woman in Black - for this challenge, 3 stars
War of 1812: A History From Beginning to End - not for a challenge, a very nicely written concise history of the war (an easy one-day read)
The Land That Time Forgot - not for a challenge
The Maltese Falcon - for this challenge, 2 stars - I have not seen the movie but think this is a case where the movie may be better than the book
Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales - for this challenge, retellings of classic fairy tales by Gregory Maguire
Cloud Atlas - for this challenge, 3 stars - I was having a hard time getting into this book until I started reading it "out of order"

Currently Reading
Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse
Hana Khan Carries On

QOTW
Yes, I do judge books by their covers. A nice cover may entice me to pick up a book without knowing anything else about it or try a book that I was going to pass on. On the other hand, I usually don't let a bland cover turn me off a book I was otherwise going to read.

Edited to add my challenge progress: 13/50

Ron wrote: "Jennifer W wrote:

Are you relieved or disappointed or something else? The past few years, I keep getting diagnosed with medical ailments, which is all fine and good, but I keep wondering "well, no..."

That's good, I'm glad. Hopefully this opens doors for you. :)

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday!
It's been quite a week here. Grandma passed on Friday morning, and her memorial service will be this weekend. I'm doing well, all things considered. Thank you all for the well-wishe..."

My condolences for your loss. Sending many hugs.

Ellie wrote: "It's flipping freezing! I know loads of people have it much worse, but we've had such mild winters, this cold snap has come as a bit of a shock! There was a burst water pipe across the road from us..."

Orbital is on my list too! It looked like a good choice for the 24-hour prompt.

Happy Thursday, all!

We had a deep cold snap this week, as well as several inches of snow. It was bad enough that my first in-person class this week was cancelled due to weather. Now I have an extra week to stress about it, haha...

First week of classes and I already feel like school is kicking my butt. Hopefully once I get into a groove of things, it won't be so bad. And hopefully I get to write something fun for my creative writing classes this semester.

Books read this week:

Crying in H Mart -- for “a memoir by a woman in rock ‘n’ roll.” I feel bad not liking this book, but… I didn’t like this book. Did everyone else, including the author, miss how abusive the author’s mom is? I get that grief is complex, but still…

My Side of the Mountain -- for “a book that takes place 24 years before you were born.” I never read this as a kid (though I watched a film version once), and it’s a fun escapist book for any kid who’s wanted to run away from home and/or live in the woods.

The Mirage -- for “a book where someone dies in the first chapter.” An alternate history where the United States of Arabia are a world power while America is made up of smaller warring nations, this was a weird but fascinating read.

Deaf Republic -- for “a book by an author who’s deaf or hard of hearing.” A collection of poems that tell a difficult but powerful narrative about standing by and doing nothing when terrible things happen.

PopSugar Challenge -- 9/45
PopSugar Advanced Challenge -- 0/5

Robot Librarian Challenge -- 5/32
Robot Librarian Advanced Challenge -- 3/10
Robot Librarian Non-Fiction Challenge -- 0/10

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge -- 5/50
Extreme Book Nerd Advanced Challenge -- 1/10
Extreme Book Nerd Non-Fiction Challenge -- 0/10

DNF:

The Silent Patient -- I got bored halfway through and looked up spoilers online. The twist was so awful I gave up halfway through.


Currently reading:

Dragon Champion -- for “a book featuring dragons”
I'll Be the One -- for “a book about K-Pop”
The Thief Lord -- for “a book published 24 years ago”
Autonomous -- for “fiction book by a trans or non-binary author”

QOTW: I try not to judge too hard by covers, but ugly or bland cover art will make me side-eye a book before I pick it up, just as a pretty cover will draw me in. At least we're long past the days of throwing a gratuitous nearly-naked woman on the cover of every fantasy and sci-fi novel...

Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! Chilly week here in NY, but I heard it's supposed to be above 40 and rainy next week. I'd rather have winter be winter, but I don't get a vote.
Not much going on around here. Doctor's appo..."




yeah I hate the winter thaw, because the yard gets muddy and my dogs come in all muddy. My ideal winter would be: persistent 6" snow cover on the yard, clear dry roads, snow no more than once a week, plenty of sun, temp highs of about 25 during the day and 20 at night.

Joanna wrote: "It's been pretty wintery around here, with snow and ice this past Tuesday and temperatures cold enough to ensure it sticks around. I have the last of my Learn to Crochet sessions tonight, so I'm ho..."



I can see from your books that you are a fellow Tournament follower! I'm currently reading The Librarianist & Boys Weekend. I've got The Auburn Conference on hold. I never mange to read all the books in the tournament, but this year I am REALLY not going to be reading many of them. I won't be reading The Bee Sting, it does not sound like my kind of book. I'm just more focused on other stuff this year.

I'm checking in on a Thursday! WOOHOO!

Honestly this is probably mostly due to the fact that the weather has made it so I haven't worked in a week. I haven't even really looked outside, I think it's mostly ice. Nice to get a break but not good for the paycheck when I'm trying to save for the tour I will certainly need to leave the state to see.

Good timing I guess, because it's been a CRAZY week in my KPOP fandom. My group has always been on the outskirts of the KPOP machine so they and the fans have always had to swim upstream really hard, and the higher we get, the more bears there are trying to bite us. The past few days have been so good that we've all been stunned and looking around for the hidden camera pranking us. Not that we don't think they deserve these things, it's just new.

First, my dudes will be the first KPOP boy group to perform at Coachella! Wow. Then today I woke up to learn that I've been nominated for an award! Both the group's song AND the fans have been nominated for music awards in the States. There are plenty of fandoms way bigger than us, but we've been nominated for best fan army! The ceremony is about a week and a half before Coachella, so I hope the guys get to go and meet some of the western artists that they love! I can't wait for them to wake up and see that we were both nominated. I bet they'll be so cute.

Before all that happened, I was blazing through books!

Finished:
Bookshops & Bonedust - Prequel to Legends & Lattes, with a bit more action. Good series for fantasy newbies.

System Collapse - Oh Murderbot, how I've missed you.

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England - The first Sanderson title to look interesting to me, so I tried it. It was fun.

The Postscript Murders - A popular author at work so I gave it a shot. Yes, good. I got the first book from the library the other day.

My Roommate Is a Vampire - I heard it was good so I went outside my comfort zone to give it a shot. Ridiculously uneven characters and the ending made me roll my eyes so hard I nearly hurt myself.


Currently Reading:
Thieves' Gambit - So far, so good.


QOTW:
I am the queen of judging books by their covers. Partly for aesthetics, partly because covers give you a clue of what's inside and who they are trying to attract.


OK back to fandomland because everyone is still looking at each other like we were just nominated for an Oscar with that movie we made on our iPhone and it's very cute.

I am 15/50.

This week I finished:

The Housemaid's Secret: Not for the challenge: I didn't think this was as good as the first one, but it came together at the end for me.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI: nonfiction about Indigenous people: This really hooked me in the second half and I think will probably seek out the movie now.

Foster: A bildungsroman book: I read this for my fiction to film book club, but it worked for this prompt too. I thought it was very sad, but also sweet. I enjoyed the brevity of the writing.

A Caribbean Mystery: A book set 24 years before you were born: I'm a sucker for an Agatha Christie and this one was what I've come to expect. It was basically like reading an episode of Murder, She Wrote.

North of Nowhere: Recommended by a bookseller: This had the action that I look for in this type of book, but I thought it drug on a little bit. It could've been about 50 pages shorter, but I still enjoyed it.

Keep Your Friends Close: Not for the challenge: I thought this one was decent. It kept my interest and was a very fast read for me, but it wasn't special.

Happy Place: second-chance romance: I think my expectations going into this one must've been too high. I feel certain this book was good. I know I laughed at times and the characters stood apart from each other, but I thought it was lacking something. I also rolled my eyes at many things towards the end of the book.

The Lies You Wrote: Not for the challenge: This one surprised me. I read another book by this author that I did not enjoy, but this one kept me on my toes. When the twists started, my brain hadn't even considered the possibility of that.

Currently reading:

I'm having trouble picking my next read.

QOTW:
Always.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Joanna wrote: "It's been pretty wintery around here, with snow and ice this past Tuesday and temperatures cold enough to ensure it sticks around. I have the last of my Learn to Crochet sessions ton..."

I loved The Bee Sting, if that matters to you. But our tastes rarely align.

For those reading along to Tournament of Books like Nadine and Joanna: Are you planning to read Brainwyrms? I did not link to the picture out of kindness to everyone else who doesn't already know about it. It's relevant to this week's QOTW.

Nadine in NY wrote: "I can see from your books that you are a fellow Tournament follower! I'm currently reading The Librarianist & Boys Weekend. I've got The Auburn Conference on hold. I never mange to read all the books in the tournament, but this year I am REALLY not going to be reading many of them. I won't be reading The Bee Sting, it does not sound like my kind of book. I'm just more focused on other stuff this year"

This is the first year I've been on the ball enough to start reading before the Tournament (and last year was the first year I read any of the books before it was over), so I'm going to do my best to read as many as I can. But we'll see how things shake out. I am trying to read in bracket order to maximize the time (not that this kept me from reading What You Are Looking For Is in the Library first ^_~).

Milena wrote: "For those reading along to Tournament of Books like Nadine and Joanna: Are you planning to read Brainwyrms?"

I plan to read it, and to use it for the Genre You Usually Avoid prompt.

Waiting for friends to arrive for dinner at The Landmark Tavern and realize I did not post yet today!

PS 6/50. ATY 7/52

Finished:

The Mask of Mirrors PS character sleeps for over 24 hours - and it is a great read.
The Thirteenth Tale PS about a writer
Death on the Nile no prompt but still great. NOTE: written in 1937, many of the locations and settings are now under Lake Nasser or were moved to save them when Aswan High Dam built in 1960s.

Currently reading:
The Hound of the Baskervilles
A Conspiracy in Belgravia

QOTW: I am regularly seduced by covers. Occasionally turned off.

Ashley Marie, my condolences for the passing of your grandmother.

Katy wrote: "I've just started Suite Française. Kind of weird so far."

I started that one in 2023 and found that I wasn't in the mood for another war book. It is on my list for this year in one of my challenges.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Sheri wrote: "Hi all,

It's been so cold this week! You know it's cold when you look at the temp and go "ah, 25 degrees (F) , finally back to something reasonable!" I have a mini split that heats ..."

It isn't as cold here in SC although temps in the 20s have us running for winter clothing or so I thought as I was in Panera all bundled up (getting ready to leave) and found myself behind a young woman with short shorts on and flip flops! Yikes. Just looking at her made me feel even colder and older!

Wow! I can't believe that I have gotten to the end of the current list of posts!