Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday!  It's Leap Day!  Does anyone have any family traditions to commemorate the special day?

It's been another week of radically changing weather here in NY.  It hit 70 on Tuesday!  The bulbs I'm "forcing" in my garage have decided no forcing needed, they are warm enough and they are coming up NOW.  I found a few pots of long spindly white leaves - poor things were trying to grow & bloom in the dark.  I've never had trouble like this when forcing bulbs!  

The birds are all singing their spring songs.  It's time for me to get out there and hack away at my giant barberry that is in front of my front door - if I don't cut it back hard every spring, it's a monster with grabby hands every time someone uses the front door.  

But not today!  Because today we finally got SNOW!  It's our first snow day of the year today!!  It's VERY localized.  It's still coming down, but slowing.  They are reporting 6" at the Syracuse airport, 9" up here where I live (which is about ten minutes from the airport), and 0.1" in downtown Syracuse!  It's going to be 50F and sunny tomorrow.  We're having the whole year of seasons this week, it's like an episode of Adventure Time.

(I'm a little late posting this today because the storm knocked our power out temporarily, so I had to get everything back up running again.)




Admin stuff
Nominations are complete for the May group read, and Lynn has set up the Final poll.  Vote here:  
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

The March group read will be Call Us What We Carry: Poems, and you can join the discussion here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

We've never had a poetry collection for our group read before, I'm interested to see how this goes!

We still have an opening for discussion leader for April (and for May!) - let us know if you're interested.




This week I finished four books, all four counted towards my Popsugar challenge.

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen - I saw this on a "new books" list last year and it looked interesting, so I gave it a try this year for "BIPOC horror," and I checked off "book with a chilling atmosphere" in AtY.  It fit the bill.  This is about a young Black woman who goes back to her small Southern hometown to attend a wedding held on a former plantation, which turns out to be haunted by the slaves who once lived there.  I thought it was good while I was reading it, but it's been a few days now and I barely remember it.  For those who can't handle horror:  there WERE ghosts in this story, but it really was social horror rather than supernatural horror.  The most horrifying part of the book was a description of a slave owner punishing a run-away slave (and that WAS gut wrenching).

Run: Book One written with John Lewis - this picks up where the "March" trilogy left off, and it was fantastic, of course.  It's titled "book one" but I don't think there will be any future volumes, sadly.   I used this for "formerly incarcerated author."

Lizard in a Zoot Suit written and drawn by Marco Finnegan - this was my book set 24 years before I was born, and it worked perfectly for that category.  The date was specified on the first page, and everything!  It was fun, and a very quick read, but not as educational as I'd hoped it would be.

The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan - I just finished this last night! (technically this morning, since it was after midnight) I knew Milan had been self publishing her stuff for a while now, so I knew I would read one of her books for "by a self-published author," and I picked this book because the cover models are smoking hot. I mean, look at them!! This book was ADORABLE. If you like historical romance, add this one to your TBR. (There is SOME explicit sex, but not a lot.) I also checked off "BIPOC main character" in AtY.


Popsugar 44% 22 /50
Must Reads 50% 5 /10
AtY 40% 21 /52




Question of the Week
Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid?  (If you have kids) Did you try to pre-approve what your kids read?


I'm guessing in this group the answers from most will be "no and no" but I thought it might be a fun discussion anyway.

For me, it's no and no.  

I read so much more than either of my parents ever had, I doubt they really knew much about what I was reading.  My mom took me to the library often, and I don't remember anyone trying to redirect me when I started picking books from the "adult" section.  (I give my mom credit, she TRIED to encourage me.  She hates SFF, but when she saw I was reading a lot of SFF, she did some research and found some classics and bought them for me for xmas - we didn't own many books, but for gifts she would give me a few.  I got Asimov's Foundation series from her and Tolkien's classics.)   I was a kid in the 70s, and contrary to what many other people remember, my library definitely had a YA section in between the children's chapter books and the adult books (it wasn't CALLED "YA" but that's what it was), and I spent most of my youth there, because those were more interesting to me.  

And I never tried to screen what my kids picked out.  When they were little, I was happy to borrow any picture books that caught their eye (as well as a pile of books I chose, because even before Goodreads existed, I was obsessively looking up good books online - and once we found a picture book author we liked, I made sure to get everything by them).  They don't read as much as I do, but they seem to like what I like, and they both have been happy to just let me suggest books to them - so in a  way I WAS screening what they read just because I'd already read it myself, but that was their choice not mine.  I encourage them to branch out.  LOL I WISH they were bringing home controversial books!  That would be a fun discussion!!  

Our school libraries have never tried to restrict books, either.  I've seen MANY books featured in their displays that are also making regular appearances on "banned book" lists.  So, yay for NY State public school libraries!!

Happy Thursday!

Finished:
This Day Changes Everything by Edward Underhill - 4 stars - for a fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author (this could also work for 24 letters or takes place over 24 hours). This required a bit of suspension of disbelief but I thought it was really cute.

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson - 4 stars - for an unreliable narrator. This was incredibly engaging, with the mystery spooling out slowly across three timelines. I had a feeling where this was going halfway through but I still couldn't put it down.

I am currently at 20/50 prompts for PopSugar (18/45 and 2/5).

Currently reading:
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea - for a horror book by a BIPOC author. I'm really enjoying this so far. The main character, Laure, is a Black ballerina competing for a spot at the Paris ballet, which is already incredibly competitive. On top of the normal difficulties, the author also explores the racism and classism of the elite ballet world. Added to that is a supernatural horror element, as Laure makes a bargain with a mysterious force to give her an advantage over her competitors.

Upcoming/Planned:
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman - I got the non-audio finally, so hoping to read along with the group in March
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama - for magical realism
My Love Story by Tina Turner - for an autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
Redsight by Meredith Mooring - for a book by a blind or visually impaired author

QOTW:
I don't have kids. Hypothetically, though, I would never want to restrict their reading if I did.

The answer to the first question is actually a complex yes and no. I was mostly unrestricted in choosing books, because I was a voracious reader and neither of my parents read much, if at all.

The one exception to this freedom was one summer when I was maybe 14 or 15. On my teenage vampire Anne Rice kick, I got one of Rice's erotica novels that she had written under a pen name from the library. I guess my mother found it lying around, flipped through it, and read me the riot act. So for that summer, I was still allowed to go to the library by myself (since my parents both worked full-time, they couldn't really take me), but anything I checked out, I had to show my mom before I read it.

This wore off after a few weeks, so either she accepted my, "I had no idea what it was, I just saw her name on it," excuse on the Rice book and dismissed it as a one-off anomaly, or she got tired of having to flip through my usual fare of massive fantasy tomes and sci-fi.

(What's especially funny about this, is this was after I read my way through my Grandma's Harlequin romance collection around age 10-12.)

Happy Thursday!

Look at me checking in on a Thursday, it's a miracle!

I am exhausted. We went to the vet on Tuesday with Lucy, after calling on Saturday when she wasn't eating *again*. Vet thought it was her teeth, so we got instructions to forcefeed four times a day. Turns out, it wasn't her teeth, so now we're still forcefeeding four times a day, but alongside a bunch of other meds to try and break up whatever's in her stomach (most likely fur from her mate) so she'll feel better and will eat again. She ate veggies today and after checking in here I'm calling the vet to give the vet an update.

I also called this morning to amend our Walt Disney World dates from late September 2024 to the same dates in 2025. Seeing the countdown jump up by 365 days was painful, but at least we're still going!

Cats are doing well, though it's an exhausting journey, haha! Just ordered some more toys as they've chewed through the one we play with the most for about 80% already, hardly anything's left xD

Watched
We finished House! If I hadn't started Shameless (finished season 2 as well, am currently almost halfway into season 3) I'd be diving into fanfics now just to get my happy ending fix for both House and Wilson, haha!

I finished part 8 of my puzzle on Saturday as well, with a new speed record. So now my record is 31h21 minutes, instead of 35 hours. Only two more to go, but with Lucy needing meds and the cats and the regular bunny feeding times I haven't been able to sort the pieces of the next one yet, as it takes about 4 hours. If I have to stop every time it'll take me a full day, haha!

It led me to having to find something else to do, though, and Rollercoaster Tycoon was on sale on the Nintendo eShop so I bought that and have been having a blast with that as well! I then saw it was on sale on Steam as well so now I can play on two platforms! (Can you tell my brain is begging for distractions??) Dreamlight Valley had an update yesterday as well so I get to have fun with that, too.

Read
Unsurprisingly, still nothing. My brain is mush.

QOTW
No, and I wouldn't. My local library used to restrict children's cards to check out more than 1 adult title at a time, so I couldn't read a lot of adult stuff. It wasn't because of that, though, it was so that parents couldn't take advantage of their kids' cheaper library card (yes, we pay for our library cards, and it ain't cheap. I'd get one just to support if I could, but I can't afford it for something I'm not using due to the English section being so small). My dad was never a reader, and while mom is/was a little bit, she never would have pre-read books just to see if it was appropriate, or do research. Once I had a book about reproduction and changing bodies (still in the kids' section, but I was a bit young perhaps) and I tried to hide it from her while we were at the library, but she saw it and said nothing. So yeah, I had free reign! I borrowed her Virginia Andrews books to read, the Dawn series, when I was like 9 or 10. So yeah. xD xD

Happy Thursday, everyone!

It has been a rough week. My anxiety and OCD kind of hijacked my brain a couple days ago, and I’ve been really struggling ever since. I’ve started using a couple of meditation apps to try and lower my stress level. I’m not sure it’s really helping, but it certainly isn’t making things worse. Fortunately, I have an appointment coming up with my therapist in just a few days, which is great.

On a positive note, I was able to get my kitchen disposal replaced yesterday morning! It quit working about a week ago, and I haven't been able to use my sink because it's been backed up. It's really nice to have a working kitchen sink again!

I ended up doing a tremendous amount of reading this week. While I did continue to read my Robin Hood retellings/re-imaginings, I also decided to tackle some more of my ebook romances. This time I focused on mafia romance.

Tomorrow when March begins, I will be participating in March Mystery Madness. I’ve taken part in this particular readathon several times, and I always enjoy it. I’ve got a lot of mysteries and thrillers on my shelves (both physical and digital), so I’m going to have a fairly wide range of titles to choose from. I won’t be focusing exclusively on reading mysteries and thrillers, like I’ve done in past years, but I’m hoping to finish up a few series before the end of the month.

I’m also planning to start my next classic novel during the month of March. The next one I’ll be reading is Tales of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table, by Thomas Malory, which will take me most of the month to complete.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 91/400 (22.7% complete)
Mount TBR Challenge: 66/150 (44.0% complete)

📚Physical TBR: 39/402
📱Ebook TBR: 27/233
🎧Audiobook TBR: 0/0
TBR Checklist Total: 66/635 (10.3% complete)
Total Progress Toward 50% TBR List Completion: 66/318 (20.7% complete)

So I know I said I wasn’t going to make any more book purchases until about halfway through March, but I was actually able to get my hands on more of the xxxHolic books this week and just couldn’t resist. I was able to get omnibuses 2-6. I am still searching for a copy of omnibus 7 — preferably one that’s around $20 instead of the almost $250 books I’ve seen on Amazon and eBay. I am really excited to have an opportunity to continue this series. I absolutely love CLAMP’s artwork and stories!

I also picked up a copy of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, which I am reading for a book club I am attending next month. I actually would have preferred to get this book from the library, but all of their copies (physical, ebook, and audiobook) are currently loaned out, and the minimum wait time was 20 weeks.

I have no immediate plans to purchase any other books before March 12th, which is when my next anticipated new release comes out, but we’ll see what happens.

“New” Books Bought in 2024: 30
“New” Books Read in 2024: 24/30 (80.0% complete)

Here are the books I finished this week…

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Death Comes to Town — I have to confess that I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I was going to, which was disappointing. Although the story started out fairly strong, I found myself losing interest the farther I got into it. The author’s writing style was also not my favorite, and there were a tremendous number of typos throughout the book. Also, the final chapter of the book was basically a recap of the entire story, but from the perspective of the main character’s cat. It was a clever idea, but I already felt like I was done with the book, so I had a hard time staying invested in what turned out to be the book’s longest chapter. I do already have five other books in this series, so I will probably revisit it during March Mystery Madness, but I will not be getting any more of the books. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~Outlawed — This is the first book in the Sherwood Outlaws trilogy. I thought this was an interesting story, and it was a pretty quick read. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes references to eating disorders, as well as toxic family relationships. The main character is also dealing with guilt after being involved in an accident that seriously injured a member of her family. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~True Confections — I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy mystery! The characters were fantastic, and the story was a lot of fun. I wish I had more of this series, because I really enjoyed it. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ There are frequent references to infidelity in this book. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Tea and Sympathetic Magic — This was a really fun, romantic fantasy novella. I really liked the story and characters, and found myself laughing out loud several times. If you enjoy Regency Era stories with magic and humor, then I definitely recommend checking this book out. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Witchy Reservations — This is the first book in the Mystic Inn Mystery series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story was fantastic, and I really liked the characters. I’m definitely going to be getting the rest of this series! 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Outplayed — This is the second book in the Sherwood Outlaws series. It was a great continuation of the story. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to eating disorders, as well as torture. It also includes toxic family relationships. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Outlasted — This is the final book in the Sherwood Outlaws trilogy. I really enjoyed the story, and thought that the trilogy ended well. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to toxic family relationships, as well as abuse. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Volkov Brothers — All of the books in this trilogy were very quick reads, which was both good and bad. I really appreciated being able to complete the trilogy in just a couple of days, but the pacing of the romances in these books just felt off to me. I’m definitely more of a slow-burn romance fan, and these characters fell for each other so quickly that it just didn’t seem believable to me. The books I read included:
~Her Russian Fixer — 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Her Russian Rescuer — Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to unwanted sexual attention, and drugs (specifically drug-dealing). (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~Her Russian Mobster — Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes references to torture, rape, and human trafficking. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~The Art of Thor( The Dark World) ART OF THOR THE DARK WORL-M/TV Hardcover — This was an interesting look at the creation of the second Thor movie. I thought this was a cool book, and really enjoyed seeing the movie’s concept art. That being said, I don’t feel like this was a comprehensive look at the movie, because there were some important scenes that were left out of the book. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Road to Avengers: Endgame: The Art of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — This book was part art book and part companion guide to the Avengers: Endgame movie. This book actually focuses more on Infinity War than on Endgame itself, but provides information about the Infinity Stones, Thanos and his children, and the Avengers. I really enjoyed this book, especially the artwork, which is gorgeous. Unfortunately this book is not listed on Goodreads, so I was not able to include a link to it. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 1 — I am continuing to make steady progress on this book, and am reading around 10 pages per night. 📚
~The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — This week I finished reading All’s Well That Ends Well, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Winter’s Tale. I am currently about halfway though The Comedy of Errors. Since I am reading fewer books at a time, I have increased my reading speed from one act per day to two or three. I’m hoping to be able to sustain this pace through the rest of the book, which should allow me to complete my remaining plays before the end of April. 📚
~Her Ruthless Russian — This is the first book in the Karev Brothers trilogy. I just started it last night, and should be finishing it today. 📱
~xxxHOLiC Omnibus 2 — I am currently a little over halfway through this omnibus, and it has been fantastic so far. I will definitely finish it today. 📚

QOTW:
My parents did not try and restrict my reading when I was a kid. I was reading books from the adult section of the library by the time I was twelve, because we just did not have the selection of YA books that teens have today. I read a lot of SciFi and fantasy, mostly Star Trek books, so I don’t think my parents were ever concerned about what might be in the books I was reading.

Happy Thursday!

2024 Reading Challenges: I’ve read 83 books so far this year with an average length of 316 pages and an average rating of 3.81.
52 Book Club: 19/52 (February Mini-Challenge: 3/3)
ATY: 17/52 (Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: 18/18)
Booklist Queen: 18/52
Diverse Baseline: 6/36
Popsugar: 19/50
Robot Librarian: 23/52
ICYMI Backlist: 2/12

Recently Completed:

Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (ATY Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: Eddie S. Glaude, Jr./Booklist Queen #13 – title starts with B) ★★★★

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde: I really enjoyed this time-slip romance featuring a Leap Year curse! Too bad it didn’t have leap in the title. (52 Books February Mini-Challenge #1 – a book in your favorite genre by a Black author/Diverse Baseline #4 – written by a Black author) ★★★★

The Paris Winter: Superficial historical fiction. Unfortunately, we never really get inside any of the characters. (ATY Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: Imogen Robertson/Booklist Queen #30 – set in Paris) ★★★

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us: Books, Beer, & Banter Book Club selection. So much information! (ATY #35 – a science or science fiction book/Booklist Queen #29 – mentioned on a podcast: Science Friday – January 26, 2024) ★★★★

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (ATY #46 – related to night/Booklist Queen #33 – three books by the same author: Book 1) ★★★★

Bellies (ATY Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: A 2023 NPR Books We Love selection. Totally character driven portrait of Tom and Ming, two gay men whose relationship is torn apart when Ming decides to transition. (ATY Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: Nicola Dinan/Popsugar #39 – a book by a transgender/nonbinary author/Robot Librarian #7 – a transgender/nonbinary character) ★★★★

Above Ground: I absolutely adored these poems! The author, Clint Smith, also wrote How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Most of the poems deal with difficult subjects, but his writing is very accessible. And the poems about his family are filled with both love and humor. ★★★★★

They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency (ATY Winter Challenge – HELLO NEW BEGINNINGS: Malcolm Nance ★★★

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language: Not only informative but funny as hell! (Robot Librarian Nonfiction #5 – The 400s: 427.973) ★★★★★



Currently Reading:

Beware the Woman: A 2023 NPR Books We Love selection. (Booklist Queen #18 – a book you couldn’t put down)
Tom Lake: Another 2023 NPR Books We Love selection. (ATY #50 – posted in a Best Book of the Month thread/Booklist Queen #28 – a character who is an actor)
Bright Young Women (52 Books #28 – a yellow spine/Booklist Queen #13 – title starts with B)
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times (52 Books #27 – a neurodivergent author/Booklist Queen #3 – about mental health)
Mr. Texas: And another from the 2023 NPR Books We Love list!
The True Love Experiment: Believe it or not, it’s also a 2023 NPR Books We Love selection.
Open (52 Books #21 – written by a ghostwriter/ATY #20 – single word title)
Lunar New Year Love Story
Don't Want You Like a Best Friend (52 Books #35 – title matches song lyrics)

QOTW: I was always encouraged to read. Anything and everything… Although my parents would probably be appalled to know that I read both “Jaws” and “The Exorcist” before I’d turned twelve. And no, I’d never gatekeep what my kids (or grandkids) would read.

Happy Thursday/Leap Day.

Woah, saw the movie 'Origin' which is based off Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents and I honestly don't know what to say about the movie. I'm just floored. It made me feel emotions I did not even know I had.

I'm currently reading the book and I'm on page 188 of the paperback. Now I view it from a different perspective. At first I just saw it as facts and as a thesis, but now I'm truly seeing the tragedy and human aspect of it. Thanks to the movie adaptation I'm seeing it differently.

In interviews Ava DuVenay (the director/writer) said that people told her this book could not be turned into a movie. They were wrong! Everything about it worked.

*****

Book Info:

I think I'm finally getting out of my reading slump. I've got some exciting books for Women's History Month as well as Nature & Ecology Books Month. So I can't wait to get started.

*****

Currently Reading:

-As I mentioned above, I'm currently reading Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents . Thanks to the movie I'm taking a new approach as to how I'm reading it.

My paperback copy of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration is arriving today so I'll be starting that this week.

*****

QOTW:

Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid?

Thankfully no. I was reading The Mists of Avalon at age twelve. Add in every book that was required for school, now all of those books are banned. My parents were very open-minded when it came to my reading. I'm grateful to them for it.

It's because of my free reign when it came to the books I read that I don't believe in trigger warnings or censoring topics.

Happy Thursday!

There's supposed to be a really big storm coming today and tomorrow with high winds. The snow is supposed to be multi-feet in the California/Nevada border in the mountains. I don't think it will reach my area, but there will probably be 20 mile an hour winds here.

My director's last day is tomorrow. My colleague was hired as the new director. He has to do some schooling and he has to hire someone to replace his position.

My brother-in-law made it back from Antarctica. The babies were super excited to see him.

Popsugar:10/50
Finished:

Reading: none I'm aware of

Aty: 14/52
Finished:

Reading: none I'm aware of

Goodreads Challenge 152/400
Finished:
Life on Mars
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 1
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 2
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 3
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 4
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 5
An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess：Jishouakuyakureijou Na Konyakusya No Kansatsukiroku Vol. 6
Cavalier With the Truth：Sagishi Vol.１
Didn't You Say You Hate Me!? The Troubled Doting Marriage Life of a Strange Duke Vol. 1
From Maid to Mother：Maid Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 1
From Maid to Mother：Maid Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 2
From Maid to Mother：Maid Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 3
From Maid to Mother：Meido Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 4
From Maid to Mother：Meido Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 5
From Maid to Mother：Meido Kara Haha Ni Narimashita Vol. 6
The Princess Everyone Hates is the Beast King's Favorite ~The Poison Princess's Life is Reset and then She Finds Love~ Vol. 1
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 2
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 3
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 4
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 5
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 6
The Fake Princess and the Obsessive Prince: A Decade of Hidden Desires Behind the Ice Mask Vol.1
The Fake Princess and the Obsessive Prince: A Decade of Hidden Desires Behind the Ice Mask Vol.2
The Caged Princess and Her Passing Knight Vol.2
The General is Troubled by His Ardor
The Sadistic Nobleman's Favorite
Healer for the Shadow Hero (Manga) Vol. 1
The Unsociable Duke Adores His New Wife
Your Majesty, I Must Decline the Role of Queen!
From 'No' to Loving Co-habitation: The Cunning Doctor's Possessive Strategy
The Sniper
216 Rancher Way
Sweet Cheeks
Pretty Hostage
Too Hot to Handle
His Obsession: A Stalker Collection
Claimed: Big Alpha's Boxset
Glamorous Brides Collection
Happily Ever After Collection
The BFF Pact: Complete Collection
Seeing Double

Reading:
I Shall Survive Using Potions! Volume 2 (I Shall Survive Using Potions!
Darker by Four
Kindling
The Book of Doors

QOTW:

My mom probably did give me age appropriate books when I was really young, but she because she got me a Grimms Fairy Tale book that definitely was not sanitized when I was 8 or 9.

Cindy's stepsisters got toes and heels cut off and eyeballs plucked by doves.

I still have the book. It's one of my treasured items. It needs love and care because I read it so much that the spine has lost all the covering. It has stickers on it and writing in it from when I marked my class in 3rd grade when I took it to school.

The only person who has ever restricted my reading was the school librarian! She wouldn't let me check out a Ramona Quimby book! I was thoroughly not impressed. If memory serves (it was a loooong time ago), she said I was too young. It still gets my dander up thinking about it!

OOoooh exciting news for Sally Rooney fans today!!!!

New book out in September (looks like it's a global release date): Intermezzo



(No I am not on Tik Tok but my daughter is and she texted me immediately)

I have no idea where the last week has vanished to. I did one day's paid work, so obviously now exhausted. I'm not sure how I'm meant to go back to working full time, still hoping someone will give me a part time job, but every day seems to be a new wave of tech redundancy news. Expect everything to break for a few years while all the companies try and save money by using AI...

Only finished one book...

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew for Deaf author and ATY (pronoun in title). This was slow and creepy, lovely prose (shout out for a tiny bit of mushroom horror). Think I preferred her debut, but still good.

QOTW:
No, I read adult books from a young age (it was encouraged) and I loved Point Horror. I don't remember my parents ever telling me I couldn't read a book. I think sometimes they told me just because a book had horses on the cover didn't mean it was about horses... but they still let me plough ahead with said horses on the cover books. Hence I discovered Dick Francis. Which technically were about horses (and crime).

I don't have kids, if I did I don't think I'd be happy with them reading racist or anti-LGBT+ books, or ones written by certain toxic people, but I am not in a position where I need to decide what I'd do about it. You gotta do what's best for your kids, and I don't think there's always a clean cut answer. Depends on each book and each child.

I am so glad this week is almost over. If I (and my voice/throat) can make it through work tomorrow I will let my body relax all weekend and ask nothing of it. Just let me get through one more day of teaching tomorrow.

Book-wise things have been a bit slow. The class I taught Monday was so rowdy and full of behavior issues that I talked myself hoarse (and then instead of cancelling or substituting a board game for game night last night went ahead with the RPG campaign I'm running, so again talked myself hoarse--not a smart move) and wore myself out so much that I took a day off and spent all of Tuesday morning in bed (with a book, but still...). I eventually got one or two things accomplished that afternoon, and yesterday was a bit better, but I'm just worn out in every way possible. I seem to have either been not reading at all or, when I have the appetite for it, reading in huge chunks of time (to the detriment of my to-do list).

Anyway, enough of my complaining. I'm hopeful tomorrow will be better (as long as I have a voice), so I'm going to start focusing on that.

On a happier note, I went to the library yesterday to pick up a hold and discovered my library now has a "Save Me" shelf. It might become my new favorite place to scout for books.

Speaking of books, here's the little progress I made this past week...

Completed
The Hating Game - for PS
Diary of a Wimpy Kid - for PS
Footprints Under the Window

In Progress
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
The Personal Librarian
Dragon of the Lost Sea - for PS

PS Progress: 27/50

QOTW
The short answer is no and no (as I don't have kids). They were definitely aware of what I was reading, but I don't remember any books causing a problem. (They didn't search my bookbag or anything as I got older, just through natural observation/conversation.) If they were ever unsure about a book they would have asked to read it first or read it with me instead of outright telling me no, but I don't remember them ever doing that (and only remember them doing that with one or two TV shows). I always felt this was less to be restrictive and more to be aware of any "big topics" there might be in the book so they could address them/help me process them as needed.

Mandy wrote: "The only person who has ever restricted my reading was the school librarian! She wouldn't let me check out a Ramona Quimby book! I was thoroughly not impressed. If memory serves (it was a loooong time ago), she said I was too young. It still gets my dander up thinking about it!..."




Ugh one of THOSE librarians. I guess she was of that mindset that allowing children to read beyond their reading level would be bad for them.

(I never understood that - sure it's frustrating to get a book that's difficult, but then you just go get a different book)

Marie wrote: "On a happier note, I went to the library yesterday to pick up a hold and discovered my library now has a "Save Me" shelf. It might become my new favorite place to scout for books. ..."



That sounds interesting! what is a "save me" shelf?

Ellie wrote: "I don't have kids, if I did I don't think I'd be happy with them reading racist or anti-LGBT+ books, or ones written by certain toxic people..."


that's a good point. I'm not really sure if we have run up against that. There's JKR, of course - my older daughter read the full HP series, and she's aware enough now to see a few problematic aspects of the story.

But I think it's okay to be exposed to problematic content. My kids definitely got enough of MY world view every day to be able to compare and contrast (and who is to say MY view is the right one anyway?), and they are growing up to be more more self-aware than I ever was at their age. This generation ROCKS! I grew up with a lot of subconsciously accepted racist and sexist and homophobic ideas (mostly racist) that I had to work to discover and expunge.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Marie wrote: "On a happier note, I went to the library yesterday to pick up a hold and discovered my library now has a "Save Me" shelf. It might become my new favorite place to scout for books. ......"

The sign on the shelf says:

Save Me Shelf

We haven't been out of this library for many years!

Please check us out so we don't get taken out of circulation!

Hi all,

Didn't get a chance to check in last week. Weather's also been weird here. Tuesday was 70, and I went for a run and walks with no coat. Yesterday it dropped down into the 20's and it's still cold today, although sunny. I just want real spring to get here, I'm tired of coats and sweaters! I want skirts with no tights or leggings!

The last couple weeks have been a mix of books and comics. I've basically given up on the popsugar challenge. Nothing I feel like reading fits, it seems.

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 1 - creepy horror comic about the end of the world. Need one or two more issues to finish off the second vol.

Basilisk Vol. 2 - weird comic involving powers and revenge and such. I liked it alirght, not a favorite though.

Alien, Vol. 2: Revival - more alien, this time on a homsteader planet.

Bluebird - friend gave this to me a while ago, finally got to it. Fun space hijinks with bounty hunters and spies and such. I liked it quite a bit. good queernorm rep too.

Monstress, Vol. 6: The Vow - series is ramping up to climax, getting so good. i love the art so much too.

Monstress, Vol. 7: Devourer - so good, can't read to read the conclusion. <3

A House with Good Bones - did an indie book store haul, this was one of em. I liked it a lot, really loving T. Kingfisher's stuff. I am less keen on the asian ladybugs i keep finding, even less so than I already was.

Eat the Rich - another comic finish. Interesting in concept but pretty obvious conclusion.

Currently reading:

Before We Were Yours - got this in a white elephant book exchange a while back. Not really my usual thing, but it was selected for me on the tbr challenge so trying it out. not really far enough to have any opinions.

Once & Future, Vol. 4: Monarchies in the UK- getting caught up on this one. I'm not huge on aurthurian things. but this is an interesting modern twist.

Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop this is nominally my book about kpop. I don't care about kpop enough to read a book entirely about it, and I feel like there's enough romance books on the list already without reading one centered around kpop. So I figured its probably got at least a chapter dedicated to kpop if it's listed in the title, good enough for me. It's interesting so far, but it's my audio book and i've been having trouble concentrating so it's been a bit slow going.

QOTW:

My mom was a teacher, so she just generally encouraged reading. Didn't do a whole lot to actually supervise it. I think she trusted me to guide myself and read or not read things based on what I was comfortable with. I remember one book that had sex in it that was shelved, maybe by accident, in what passed for YA back then. I wasn't quite ready for that level back then, so i just kinda skipped that bit, returned the book and made sure to not pick up anything else by that author/series. I didn't get anyone else involved. Other stuff I remember reading that NOW maybe I question the appropriateness, but at the time didn't bother me. but I don't think it damaged me as a person to read.

Popsugar: 34/50
Robot Librarian: 27/52

I don't think I've made any progress on either of the challenges in the past week since I've deliberately been reading whatever the hell I want instead of working on the challenges.

Read: Just Shy of Ordinary I really enjoyed this one. About a homeschool kid who decides to go to public school so they can create a "new normal."

Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, And Symbolic Variation in the History of Life This was a dense, academic book with silly illustrations. It felt like I should have gotten a lot out of it. But I didn't.

Started: Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence Again, not getting a whole heck of a lot out of this.

QotW: My parents never filtered anything I read. Hypothetically, with children, I would avoid giving them graphic graphic novels like Watchmen.

Marie wrote: "The sign on the shelf says:

Save Me Shelf

We haven't been out of this library for many years!

Please check us out so we don't get taken out of circulation!..."



ohhhhh that's so clever!!! (and a great way to quickly get out of a reading rut, I'd think)


whenever I borrow a book and have to return it unread, I feel bad but I tell myself it's okay, at least I boosted its circulation rate.

Yeah, I told the librarians I thought it was a great idea and it might become my new favorite shelf. They seemed to think that was a bit strange, but just think of all the new great books you might not otherwise discover! I did choose one to check out along with my hold and were intrigued by a few others, so I plan to check the shelf each time I go.

Finished:

Crimson Climb (3/5)

It starts off a bit slow and depressing, but it gets better as Qi'ra's skills and circumstances improve. It does not explore the post-Solo time period; it is mostly set between when Han leaves Corellia and when he reunites with Qi'ra.

The Never Ending Sacrifice (4/5, reread)

McCormack is a very skilled author, and it is those writing skills that got me through what could have been a boring section set on a farm.

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 (4/5, reread)

The imagination and love of Marvel comics that are on display in this run make it a pleasure to read again.

DNF:

Fourth Wing

I gave this one chapter, and it was a total "nope" from me. The actions of the mother and the military do not make a lick of sense, and the profanity level was way too dense for me.

I seem to be in the minority of reviewers with my opinion on this book. While I will not go back to it, I am happy to read what those who loved it are getting out of it.

Currently reading:

A Death in Tokyo
A Time to Be Born
The Children of Húrin
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

Question of the Week:

I do not remember much censoring or sheltering going on from my reading growing up. I try to recommend things that are at an appropriate age level for my kids, but I am generally in favor of letting them read what appeals to them. Books are great in that you can close them at any time if they are becoming frightening or bothersome.

I finished my 25th book for the challenge this week which is just insane. I’ve never read this much, this quickly. I’ve managed to read so much from a combination of 1) short books, 2) in series/from authors that I love, 3) and prioritizing reading time on the weekends and before bed. I won’t pretend short books don’t help, but I think making deliberate choices to read instead of watch TV, or more likely, scroll social media or watch YouTube is really key. Short clips wreck attention spans. Since I’ve spent less time watching short videos and more time reading, I can see an improvement in my attention and focus again.

So far, I’ve been able to read basically whatever I want and the books have all fit a prompt. I’m starting to see the flexible prompts filling up, though, so I’m trying to work in some of the more specific prompts. Since we have several romance prompts, I decided to start there. That turned out to be a great idea. I’ve been reading a lot of similar books lately, and a fresh genre is just what I needed.

Finished
The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights (a book with an unreliable narrator). It feels like it took forever to read this collection. The stories were all good, but I wasn’t inspired to read the next one. We’ve also had two false springs already this year, which doesn’t make me want to read winter stories.

Braiding Sweetgrass (a nonfiction book about Indigenous people). Really interesting series of essays.

Bryony and Roses (a book set in the snow). Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale. This was the most unique retelling I’ve read.

Something Wilder (a second chance romance). This is my favorite Christina Lauren book so far. I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading until after midnight to finish it. I haven’t done that in a loooong time.

Reading
Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf (a book by a deaf or hard of hearing author)

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures (a memoir that explores queerness)

Love in the Time of Serial Killers (a book with an enemies to lovers plot)

The Four Million (a book by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person)

QOTW
I don’t recall my mom trying to restrict what I read, but maybe that’s mostly because she wasn’t paying attention to the books I picked. She probably assumed anything she bought me or I got from the school library was “safe.” I don’t have kids so I can’t answer the second part of the question.

Hi all! Yay!! It's finally March!! Oh. Wait. (rats!) Will this month never end??? Lol. At least I've had spring training baseball to keep me entertained.
My boyfriend has come down with some sort of cold and he's home sick for the 2nd day. While running errands, I felt a tickle showing up in my throat. Grrr... I have a busy weekend planned, so I'm hoping it's nothing. Girl Scouts on Saturday and my brother's birthday on Sunday.

Read a few more chapters in The Brothers Karamazov. Nothing is happening!! I get it, the father's a jerk, MOVE ON!
Really into Hanging Mary, but it's due back at the library in less than a week. Definitely going to have to check it right back out.

QOTW: No. My mom was one of the public librarians when I was a kid. When I started browsing the adult section at 13/14 years old, I would only check those books out with the other librarian. But A) mostly out of embarrassment and B) I wasn't foolish enough to believe she wouldn't tell my mom!
As for my own kid, I can't wait till she is aware of controversial books and wants to read them! When we go to the library, I let her pick out whatever calls to her from the picture books. I look for diverse books for her, too. We've read different races, nationalities, religions and sexualities. Mostly, she couldn't care less (she's 5), but I want to keep exposing her since we live in rural, white, often prejudiced boonies. I wonder if her library at school has self censored, I wouldn't be surprised. Both the school library and the public library have very prominently said they won't block students from checking out books and it's up to parents.

Happy Thursday all!

Still plugging away at school. I think my writing professor is expecting the next George Saunders or Anne Lamott out of our class, but given that everyone in class wants to write fantasy and sci-fi he's going to end up getting the next Brandon Sanderson instead. What is it about college creative-writing professors that makes them look suspiciously at fantasy and sci-fi?

Books read this week:

The House of Diamond -- for “bildungsroman or coming of age story.” T. Kingfisher’s first book (written under her real name of Ursula Vernon), and while it isn’t bad it’s easy to see it’s her first read. Debating whether to read the second one…

What Feasts at Night -- for “book by an author using a pen name.” Awesome follow-up to What Moves the Dead. Man, I’m reading a lot of Kingfisher lately…

Monstrilio -- for “horror book by a BIPOC author.” Disturbing but also deeply emotional book about the grief of losing a child… and the monster a woman inadvertently creates in her grief.

Counterweight -- for “book set in the future.” I have no idea what just happened here. There were some promising concepts, like the space elevator and the fact that AI runs most corporations in this world, but it feels like nothing was done with them. Instead we got one of the most convoluted mystery plots I’ve ever read.

PopSugar Challenge -- 32/45
PopSugar Advanced Challenge -- 2/5

Robot Librarian Challenge -- 18/32
Robot Librarian Advanced Challenge -- 6/10
Robot Librarian Non-Fiction Challenge -- 1/10

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge -- 22/50
Extreme Book Nerd Advanced Challenge -- 5/10
Extreme Book Nerd Non-Fiction Challenge -- 1/10

DNF:

The Girl In Between -- for “a book where a character sleeps for longer than 24 hours.” This book feels like what happens when adults try to write teenagers. I couldn’t keep going with it.

Currently reading:

Game On -- for “a book about video games”
Heaven's Wildfire -- for “a book from a genre you avoid”
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon -- for “book with the word ‘leap’ in the title”
Redsight -- for “book by a blind or visually impaired author”

QOTW: My mom didn't really restrict what I read -- heck, I was rarely supervised when I went to the library. This led to me bringing home some WEIRD books, such as books on how to butcher animals...

Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! Yay!! It's finally March!! Oh. Wait. (rats!) Will this month never end??? Lol. At least I've had spring training baseball to keep me entertained.
My boyfriend has come down with some sort o..."

ONE OF THE BEST QOTW ANSWERS! I agree wholeheartedly with this. and I'm one of those librarians that add diverse books and let kids check out what they want. I do advise them of content if i've read the book, but i won't stop them from getting it. I also live in a rural area but with a demographic of White and Hispanic and Paiute.

Hard to believe February is almost over, even if the past few days have been on the mild side, and a rainstorm washed away every last trace of snow.
The Tournament of books starts in less than a week, and this is the first year I've attempted to read all the books on the shortlist.
I still have four to go (three already in progress), but I should be able to finish them all by the time their respective matches come up.

Finished:
Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods, Vol. 2 - I liked this one a little better than the first volume, but I still don't think I'll continue this series past the third volume.
Blank - (A book by a self-published author) I plan to use this for RH's prompt Read a book by an author with an upcoming event and then attend the event, since the author has an event not too far from where I live this Monday, and I was able to read an advance copy through Amazon's First Reads program. The actual book was a quick read, though the climax felt a bit farfetched and the ending was definitely a lot of wish fulfillment. But for the most part I vibed with it, if that makes sense.
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea - (RH Historical fiction by an indigenous author) I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. The writing was very evocative, but it was intentionally difficult to parse anything specific about the characters and what was happening (for instance, it wasn't clear if one named character was a human or an animal for a while, and I was convinced a character was middle-aged until I looked them up on Wikipedia and learned they were probably a teenager or a little older). So I didn't dislike it, but I don't feel like I got very much out of it. It would be a good book to read in conversation with one about the historical events.
Cold People - (A book set in the snow) I got sucked into this one, though the science involved strained my suspension of disbelief a bit. Not the genetics stuff, but the conceit that everyone would be super healthy living in Antarctica due to being forced to eat only natural food and having to hike everywhere. But that was only a small part, and once the author got that out of his system, I thoroughly enjoyed the drama of it all.
Double Booking: The Tail of the Mummy Cat - One of the perks of being a librarian: I got an eARC of this title, which in physical form will be a flippable book, each side telling part of the story of two siblings having an adventure in Egypt. The stories are enjoyable, and the artist talks about the choices he made to help differentiate the two stories, which I liked.

Currently Reading:
Rental Person Who Does Nothing
Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible
Roaming
The Shamshine Blind
Chain-Gang All-Stars
Monstrilio

QOTW: I don't remember my parents restricting my reading, but I definitely read some books in secret knowing that my mom wouldn't approve.

Happy Thursday! The rain is back- I am not excited! Had a really nice weekend- got to see the band Otoboke Beaver with a friend, and it was such a good show! We're planning another concert night in a few months, which is great cause last year we didn't get to see each other much at all.

It's very busy at work today- so I'm quickly doing my check in during lunch. Currently at 18/50 for the challenge!

Finished:
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes- I really liked this second chance romance about musicians. It was so good, I loved the main character, and I think the side characters were really interesting. One of the characters drove me crazy, I feel like I've known too many people like her
-43 A second-chance romance

Exodus 20:3- this is about queerness and religion and monsters or maybe gods, with a touch of a fever dream feeling. I didn't love it, some of the graphic scene are a lot, but I would be interested in seeing what else the author writes
-no prompt

Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity- part memoir, part mythology, part exploration of blood quantum laws and the impact they have on people. This book covers a lot of ground and is very short- I wish there was more focus on everything, I think there was a lot of interesting things being discussed, I was just wanting more
-42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people

The Kamogawa Food Detectives- I wanted to like this more than I did. It's being compared to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but I didn't get the emotional connection. It was fine. Cute cover!
-17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list

Up Next:
All my books are due soon at the library! I have no time
Call Us What We Carry: Poems
The Jasad Heir
The Centre

QotW:
I pretty much had free reign when it came to books. The only time I can remember is when my mom told me she didn't want me reading Dean Koontz. But I was reading The Shining at the same time, and she didn't have a problem with that, so maybe she just really hated Dead Koontz specifically??

I don't have kids, but I wouldn't want to censor what they read. But I would want to know what they were reading so we could talk about it. Even if the author is saying stuff I disagree with, it's good to be able to discuss it and talk about why it's outdated or prejudice. Or even in the YA romances that were huge when I was younger where the male leads are so horrible, being able to say yes this is entertaining to read but don't actually let someone treat you this way.

And then giving warnings about books- which I even do with friends. One time my friend was going to buy a Karin Slaughter book, and I told her- "first, I own this just borrow it from me, and also there's a scene towards the end that's really graphic, just fyi. I can put a post-it so you can knows it's coming." She wasn't in a place where she wanted to read that level of violence.

My paperback copy of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration arrived today.

I do have this book in hard cover, but it was one I wanted the PB for. So glad too because it's a lot smaller, easier to carry around, and easier to annotate.

While it does not fit any of the prompts, March happens to also be Nature & Ecology Book Month so it will be one I use for it.

We had a couple of 80 degree days last week!

I did not complete any books in that time, but I will be finishing up quite a few of the currently reading ones this week:

Demon Copperhead
Around the World in 80 Days
West With Giraffes
Dear California
Braiding Sweetgrass
There, There
the Mists of Avalon (its long, it will keep showing up for a while)

I'm also in a multi-year project of reading the Annotated Arabian Nights with some friends

Next up:
The Sun Also Rises
London
Hemingway's Cats

Question of the Week
Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid?
My parents wouldn't know what a book was if it hit them on the head. My family at worst ridiculed me for reading so much, and at best thought I was weird. They had no clue what I was reading. If they only knew what kind of content was in some of the books they gave me as gifts....occasionally my mom would read something in a Readers Digest and ask me not to read it due to content and I usually read it anyway and laughed at how mild it was. The librarian didn't stop me from checking out YA or adult books either, she knew my parents were uninvolved in my reading and I spent hours there daily and never gave her trouble so she let me check out whatever
(If you have kids) Did you try to pre-approve what your kids read?
I did not pre-approve or censor my daughters books but I always asked what she was reading and was generally aware of the content and would have conversations about them and the content. In middle school the Ellen Hopkins poetry books were popular in her crowd and I read and/or discussed them along with her. They covered things like mental illness, abuse, drugs. She also read the Twilight Books in MS. Like me she is/was a voracious reader and I wasn't going to interfere with that.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!  It's Leap Day!  Does anyone have any family traditions to commemorate the special day?

It's been another week of radically changing weather here in NY.  It hit 70 on Tuesday!  The..."

I am so very jealous that you are getting a real, if very localized, blizzard! We did get snow here in Manhattan for the first time in 2 years, but it didn't even require anyone to get out the snow blowers or shovels -- a broom swept away whatever hadn'd turned to rain. *sigh*

Can't believe it is Thursday! I have so much work to do still and the Athena Film Festival sponsored by Barnard College starts tonight. Looks like I won't be taking in as many events, panels and films as I had planned.

PS 18/50 ATY 29/52

Finished: I really enjoyed every single one of these, though XOXO read a tad young for me I still liked it.
While Justice Sleeps
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder
Tokyo Ever After - PS enemies to lovers
XOXO - PS - K-Pop - what were the odds that I'd find a book that fit TWO difficult PS prompts - K-Pop and starting with an X.... As I actually have in my TBR other X books, I went with K-Pop for 2 reasons: I'm very unlikely to just happen to read or have a book in my TBR for K-Pop, and it really covers K-Pop. In fact the best part was how much I learned about the whole boy band, entertainment business and idol- and band-making - in Korea. Reminded me of my teen crush boy band The Monkees (yes, I'm old) and also the Tom Hanks movie set in the 50s I think - That Thing You Do - where he's a music producer of boy bands.

Currently Reading:
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

I have a large stack to read in March but none qualify as currently reading....

QOTW: I can only answer the first as am not a parent, but the answer to that is NO, my parents did not in any way restrict or even dictate my reading. Or for any of my siblings.

They certainly read picture books to us -- those Golden Books and later with my younger sisters Dr. Seuss. I guided my youngest sister to books like Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland - she was 11 years younger and my parents had no knowledge of books like that. I'm still reading many classics for the first time that most of you read as children and pre-teens.

I read whatever I got my hands on or was given to me and they were happy to let me. In fact, given this was the 60s and early 70s, jumping from Bobsey Twins and Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart Helen MacInnes, adult books was the only option as there was no YA or Middle Grade or Young Adult books except for series like Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and abridged editions of classics you bought through school sponsored mail order books. Our town library - a rural community had books for children but once you got past picture and chapter books, it was adult - Little Women was an Adult Book for example. Plus our library did not allow anyone under 16 to take out books from the Adult Section. Bless my mother, she would send me to the library then after finishing the banking and other errands, she come to get me and check out on her card all the books I had snuck into the adult section and piled up to read. One of the 2 librarians colluded in this.

Joanna wrote: "Hard to believe February is almost over, even if the past few days have been on the mild side, and a rainstorm washed away every last trace of snow.
The Tournament of books starts in less than a we..."




congrats on being a completist!!! I only read half of them this year and called it done (except I still am waiting for the McBride book on hold - so I guess I didn't actually "call it done" yet). If any one book stands out and gets a lot of praise during the tournament, maybe I'll pick it up.

I really enjoyed Cold People but it's getting a lot of hate in the ToB group. Sure it was ridiculous and very much a genre novel, but it was entertaining and memorable.

Which two or three were your favorites?

Erin wrote: "so maybe she just really hated Dean Koontz specifically??..."


LOL maybe she just thought his writing sucked!!! (I've actually never read a book by him - did you ever sneak one?)

I truly don’t know how another week has just zipped by. For any of my Ohio friends, how bout them February tornadoes?! There were a few touchdowns near my mom but nothing up in north end of Columbus so all I got was woken up by sirens. The kids had a two hour delay so employees who were potentially coming from worse areas could stay home. Naturally some people felt like complaining about how it was wildly inconvenient for them, sheesh.
I’ve been dealing with a lot of headaches and exhaustion this week so I think I’ve napped more than I’ve read. I also kept forgetting my airpods at home so I didn’t get to listen to any books while out of the house.

Finished:
The Silkworm and Career of Evil neither for a challenge. I’m revisiting the series before I read the latest book. I can’t state enough how much I love a good detective novel and how much I love these characters.

Currently Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible
Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
It’s not on goodreads but Rescued, a Lent devotional from Blessed is She
Peter Pan
Lethal White
The Ice Twins

QOTW:
No and kind of lol. My parents had no meaningful censorship rules in place at any point in my childhood. Like, maybe they’d make me look away if there was a explicit sex scene on the tv but otherwise they didn’t read books and they didn’t think to screen what I was watching so I ended up being exposed to really mature media when I was probably too young to process what I was consuming. I wish I had more guidance with age-appropriate materials when I was younger so I try to be discerning about what my kids read and watch.

Challenges:
Popsugar - 3/45; 1/5
Read Harder - 10/24
Classics - 2/12
European Tour - 4/10
12 Friends - 3/12
Yearly Goal - 43/150

Happy Thursday! Making it on time this week.

Finished
Runaways: The Complete Collection Volume 4 by Terry Moore Kathryn Immonen C.B. Cebulski Chris Yost Just okay. And a weird place to end, but I guess maybe they didn't realize they weren't getting more issues?

Razorblade Tears A tough read. Some of the violence turned my stomach, and I don't think of myself as that squeamish. But good enough that I will check out more by this author.

Currently Reading
Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
When No One Is Watching
Aleph

QotW
Mostly no, but I do remember getting a lecture (and the books removed) when my parents caught me with some of my mom's smutty romances. To be fair, I don't remember what age I was but it was pretty young. They didn't buy my argument that they were historical, and therefore educational.

No kids, so I don't have to make that choice.

We've been setting records here and there for hottest days in February. I pretty much detest winter, so while global warming is bad, I can't get upset over not freezing my ass off in February.

I only finished 2 books in January and I joked that to stay on track, I needed to finish 6 books in the shortest month of the year. I did manage to finish 5 and got almost half way through a 6th. So, I'm please with how February went.

Finished:
First Among Sequels
ATY prompt: A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
Popsugar prompt: A book recommended by a librarian

Series - 2/12
Nobel laureates - 1/5
Mysteries/Thrillers - 2/13

ATY - 7/45
PS - 4/30

Currently reading:
Meddling Kids - 45% done

Buddy Reads:
Mere Christianity - 35% done
This Present Darkness - 40% done

QOTW: I can't remember my parents restricting what I was reading.

I struggled with my oldest child because she could read 3 grades above her level. It was easy when she was in kindergarten and grade 1 to find appropriate grade 3-4 books. She did hit an age in grade 3-5 where the books she was ready for were YA, but a lot of them were romances (ir a love triangle within a distopia) and she wasn't ready for that and quite frankly had no interest. I had to talk to librarians and book sellers to try and find books that would challenge her but without all the weird kissing.

Marie wrote: "The sign on the shelf says:

Save Me Shelf

We haven't been out of this library for many years!

Please check us out so we don't get taken out of circulation!"

I love this idea!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erin wrote: "so maybe she just really hated Dean Koontz specifically??..."

LOL maybe she just thought his writing sucked!!! (I've actually never read a book by him - did you ever sneak one?)"

Oh I definitely read a LOT of his books after that. I don't remember most of them, but there was a time travel one and one about a really smart dog that I remember loving. I wonder if they would hold up now

Still don't know what exactly about his book she hated- I bet she wouldn't even remember now if I asked about it lol

I'm still working on that BIPOC horror which is slowing me up but I finished a couple others for the challenge and another ton of graphic novels/manga

Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco (A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author) This is book two and would make zero sense if you haven't read Silver Under Nightfall *which is far better* Chupeco is nonbinary. This book was good...ish. Way too much concentration on their pretty vampires screwing vs actual plot (and I like my books spicy so do with that as you will)

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy (A book that was turned into a musical) For a book that is 120 years old, it held up well until the last quarter when the female protagonist suddenly turns into a wimp needing rescuing and the Pimpernel's entire plan revolved around all French people being anti-semites. Yikes.

And all the sequential art stuff I read
Double Walker by Michael W. Conrad horror set in scotland. Decent but ultimately forgettable

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 1 by Shuzo Oshimi horror and all the scarier because this stuff DOES happen

Night Fever by Ed Brubaker supposedly Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde inspired. Mostly forgettable

My Neighbor Totoro 1by Hayao Miyazaki a color panel by panel representation of the fantasy movie classic

QOTW
No kids here but my friends don't police their kids books and have not objected to any of my book gifts.

My parents encouraged me to read anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was reading Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh by the time I was in fourth grade and SF/Fantasy stuff soon after. My parents were cool with it

Oh! I just realized that Exodus 20:3 works for #39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author, so I'm actually at 19/50 for the challenge!

Happy Friday! No flue this week! Maybe... I'm finally getting over it. Work is still crazy, I hope I will receive temporary support this month. Reading really is my relaxation these weeks.

PS: 4/50
FNL: 7/40
Total: 11/52

Finished
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS #2, a bildungsroman, FNL #33
A journey from Dowton Abbey to Jane Austen to a 'Kate Quinn/ Pam Jenoff - WW2-espionage-women-resistence' novel.

Days of Sand: A Graphic Novel by Aimée de Jongh⭐⭐⭐
FNL #32
My first graphic novel! It was a story of a young photographer assigned to document the Dust Bowl. Very well researched (photos and facts), but it didn’t involve me like a book can.

Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte⭐⭐⭐⭐

Currently reading
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

QOTW
I can only answer the first part (no kids). I was restricted a lot until I was 12. Then my mom finally decided to let me read whatever I wanted. Because she couldn’t stop me for I was borrowing books from my friends about ‘non-appropiate/ non-christian stuff’ anyway. Or reading them *in* the library. I immediately stopped reading them after I was allowed to read them, because the only reason I read them was that I wasn’t allowed to. I didn’t even liked them.

Happy March everyone! Crazy that we're all ready at the start of month 3.

Time to pull out those March TBR's (or mood reads).

I've started two of my books:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

This book fits the prompt 'about a writer'. Even though it's a factual thesis book, the author adds in some personal narrative.

I'm on page 110 and it is so good. I can already anticipate this being a 5-star read and one of my favorite books of all time. More so now having seen the movie. It really makes the book come to life, more tragic, and with more humanity rather than just the factual information. The movie helps to put people truly behind the story and thesis.

The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration

Nadine in NY wrote: " I grew up with a lot of subconsciously accepted racist and sexist and homophobic ideas (mostly racist) that I had to work to discover and expunge."

Same here. I grew up in a small town in the hills of VA. When I became an adult and moved to the west and then the north, I found people with different ideas about race and history. And, then began to see how what was normal and common in my young years was really racist, sexist and homophobic in sheep's clothing. Still working on expunging some of those reactions.

Marie wrote: "Yeah, I told the librarians I thought it was a great idea and it might become my new favorite shelf. They seemed to think that was a bit strange, but just think of all the new great books you might..."

Marie, I would also check it out every time~

Happy Friday, y’all.

Still working on big Scotland trip stuff. Buying stuff…mostly from Amazon. Ear plugs, noise cancelling headphones, compression stockings, etc.

Oh, and my 17 day tour…reached out to the company to see if all accommodations are made (they do that only if you ask, and I had only paid for one stay thus far). Turns out that all the rest are paid upon arrival and most take credit cards. I did get a list from them…and found that a few require payment in cash. Now I have to get enough pounds to pay for those stays. Glad I asked.

Did I tell you that I dropped out of one of my groups because my participation had fallen off in their seasonal challenges? Well, I realized that one of their side ongoing challenges that I was doing…well, now I cannot manage to monitor my progress in it. Might have to re-join.

Today, I am heading to VA to visit my sister. I will be gone a week and probably will not get much read during that time. I did put on a push to finish some books that did not have a renewal and would be due before I got back. Got all but one done. It is due the day I get back, so it will probably be a day late.

Finished
The Disappearance at Pere-Lachaise – PAS, ATY #10. 3*. Rating due to French names of people and places. It made it a bit hard for me to remember who was who and where was what happened. Still I enjoyed the read.

The Last Chance Olive Ranch – ALCM, ATY #9. 4*. This is a series that I read in occasionally. It was divided into alternating chapters between the two main protagonists. Toward the end, I was tempted (but did not give in) to read the last few chapters for each all together rather than switching back and forth. Both storylines were exciting.

The Earth Hums in B Flat – PAS, PS #31 (Title = complete sentence). 3*. An interesting book about a young girl and her quest to find out things. Unfortunately, some of the things she was finding out were adult secrets. I did like the ending, but the characters never really got me engaged.

Gone Fishin' – ALCM, PAS. 3*. I have read several of Walter Mosley’s series and expected this one to be a continuation. My fault. I should have read the blurb inside the cover. It was a look at the younger version of the characters. Interesting, but not engaging as the actions and thoughts were too far out of my history.

Death on Demand – ALCM. 4*. I enjoyed this book and the interactions among the characters. It is, admittedly, a story of a bookseller who is the prime suspect in a murder and who investigates it herself. Still there were twists and turns that kept the story moving and that were a bit different from the usual (she would assume one character’s action meant x when later it was found to be y).

Tears of the Silenced: An Amish True Crime Memoir of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Brutal Betrayal, and Ultimate Survival – Audiobook. No challenges. 5*. Oh, my! What a traumatic childhood and yet an amazing outcome. I really felt that this book deserved my seldom give 5* for courage and determination and achievement. Warning…lots of abuse made up most of the book but was the reason for her achievement in escaping and being who she is.

Death In a White Tie – PAS. 4*. Typical English upper crust story with Scotland yard. Fun.

Currently Reading:
The Last Camel Died at Noon – PAS. 49%.

The Invitation – PAS. 11%. Second time starting this one. Might even finish it now. Meditations.

Just Starting:
The Secret, Book & Scone Society – ALCM, PAS. 6%

On Deck:
Staying Well With Guided Imagery: How to Harness the Power of Your Imagination for Health and Healing – PAS
Scones & Bones – ALCM, PAS
Exile – PAS, ATY #12
The Allingham Case-Book - PAS


PS 6/50
ATY 10/52
GR 42/200

QotW: Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid?

My memories of young childhood are fuzzy due to medication I took for seizures, but I am not aware of any censorship from them or librarians.

I do remember my father reading the newspaper funnies to me while I sat on his lap. And, I was a frequent user of the library (10 miles away) that mom would take me to as well as the bookmobile that made rounds down our road.

Mostly I remember reading westerns and horse stories, but I must have read some books about WWII because I remember being appalled at the idea that body parts of Jews were made into other items. (As an adult, I read a historical book that was about that same topic.) I can remember wanting to talk with my dad about it but he would never do so.

As a child, I did not consider either of my parents as readers. Both were too busy and, except for the newspaper, I never saw them sitting and reading. As an adult, my mother did read and preferred biographies and autobiographies.

I read voraciously...anything and everything I could get my hands on. In fact, I can remember my mother asked me to dust a room with twin beds. She found me sitting between the beds with one arm dusting a circle on the nightstand and the other holding the book!

Happy Friday/Happy March!!

I haven't posted in a few weeks so here's all I finished:
The Reformatory PS#40 A Horror book by a Black author. I'm a huge fan of the author's work and she weaves in a ghost story with a real life that's even scarier.

RecitatifPS#30 A book with a one-word title that you had to look up in the dictionary. Toni Morrison is another author that can do no wrong in my eyes. This is her only short story but is an amazing experiment on race and identity.

DNF:
Invisible Son I'm not sure if it's because it's YA but it's not sparking my interest at all.

Currently Reading: The Maid I'm about 85% finished so I'll have it completed by today.

QotW: Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid?
No my parents were happy that I was reading and they encouraged my library trips. I also never restricted what my sons read.

Happy check-in! We too have had weather whiplash this past week. -30 to plus 5 C and now to a snow storm.

@Marie that Save Me Shelf sounds awesome! For the Freedom to Read week my library had various banned books wrapped and a bit of basic info written on them and you could guess what books they were.

Finished Reading:

Powerless ⭐⭐ (ATY single word title)
Wow Hunger Games + Red Queen but not as well written as either. Continuity errors, and I usually don't get to hung up on them. This author liked to write similes in threes and it was very annoying. BookTok recommend fail.

Sparrow Hill Road ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY on the TBR for over a year)
Well this has been on the tbr for many years so I was happy to finally read this. Unfortunately the McGuire didn't use chapters and every time it got interesting she would switch to a different time line. Then there were many sections that did not further the plot and were unnecessary. I always struggle with her books because she focuses on the things I don't care about and thus I don't connect to the characters as well. She has great ideas so it frustrates me a bit.

A Business Proposal, Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
K drama fun.

Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Don't know where the series will go now.

PS 16/50
ATY 14/52
Goodreads 48/150

Currently Reading:
One Piece, Volume 1: Romance Dawn

QOTW:
My parents didn't restrict what I read as a child because I didn't read then. If I picked up a book they were happy I was reading. I remember running around the library a lot!
I don't have kids but I would not want to restrict their reading, but movies and tv I might because those can cause nightmares.

I finished Twilight of Avalon. A couple of years ago for the challenge, I read another retelling of Tristan and Isolde. I'm not really familiar with the original story, so don't know which is more faithful, but this was a much, much better book than The White Raven.

I read Cliff Walk. It was pretty good.

I've started The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I saw the movie a few years ago.

QOTW: I don't have kids, but my parents didnt' restrict what I read. The only exception was when my sister and I found my grandfather's playboys under the bed. I don't know how old I was, but it's a pretty early memory. Probably like 6 or 7. So, understandable.

Happy Friday everyone.

I spent the morning weedwacking and then pressure washing so I'm sore and exhausted. Which is why I am sitting on my butt catching up with all of you while listening to an audiobook.

I had the desire to work on a puzzle this past week and I finished it yesterday. It was only 1000 pieces so only took a few days. I then started a 2000 piece one. I only managed to sort the edges out so far though, I've been busy.

I didn't feel like I had a slow week reading but, I only finished two books! I think it's because I'm reading like 3 other ones as well. So I'm like 'But, I've been reading?!' LOL!

2024 Challenges:
Popsugar: 16/50
ATY: 26/52
Robot Librarian: 24/52
A to Z: 16/26
Physical TBR: 0/92
Kindle TBR: 1/111

Goodreads: 30/50

Book Clubs:
PS Monthly: 21/50
Reese: 28/91
Oprah: 11/100
Jenna: 7/62
OSS: 6/39

Finished:
2 finished, 2 Completed Popsugar

Evvie Drake Starts Over
PS#27, RL#52 (Romance w/ characters over 30), AtoZ
Decent love story. Not mushy in the least and nothing explicit. More of a connection of these characters by the chance of their situation and they became friends and then more.

Chain-Gang All-Stars
PS#19, ATY#14, RS#44 (parody/satire), AtoZ
Wow this took me all month to read. I had to put it down about halfway to finish some other books that I couldn't renew. And I had a bit of a struggle picking it back up again.
Still not entirely sure where I am with this. I didn’t dislike it but, am still not sure if I really liked the way he decided to portray this story. There were a lot of chapters and characters you only met once. But I can tell you I did not like the ending. Not in what happened but just how he wrote it.

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Currently Reading
The Quarter Storm
XOXO
The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You: Stories
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

On the Backburner
Libby
My Name is Barbra

Physical Library Rentals
Back of Beyond
Seoulmates
Shady Hollow

Magazines: (1/148)
Read since last check-in: 0

Question of the Week:
My parents did not. My mom was an avid reader as well and believed in the power and knowledge you get from reading. I remember getting in to the Goosebumps books and ending up with an entire collection of them. I don't remember when I started reading adult books but I do remember loving going to the library and that I liked the Berenstein bears books.

Both my grandmothers also gently encouraged our reading without being pushy and so I have been to many different libraries across my state. My grandparents lived on a different island but on different sides of that island, LOL. In fact one of my grandmothers moved to Vegas when I was around 10 and worked at the library until she retired.

I try not do this with my nephew (whom I read to every night) although I did recently decide that I would not read Big Nate to him after reading the synopsis. He has enough problems at school focusing and not getting in trouble I didn't think reading a book about a kid who gets in trouble a lot was a wise choice so, I returned it without reading to him. I will however, seek out books that promote kindness and focus on inclusion and represent him. Just books that help him be a better more understanding and empathetic human. As an example...Right now I have a book called More than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean that tells how there a many ways in which people can communicate. He's in special ed and has all kinds of classmates and I like to think this kind of book can help him understand some of his classmates.

This week has kicked my butt, so I'm glad the weekend has finally started! I'll chalk it up to the Leap Day 🙃 Just one book finished since the last check-in. It worked for an open prompt, so I'm at 4/45 and 1/5 for this challenge, and 12/100 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Finished:
* Eternal written by Lisa Scottoline and narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Eduardo Ballerini, which was excellent.

Currently Reading:
* The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, which is a Giveaways win. It's pretty heavy, so it's been taking me longer to read than normal;
* The Spanish Diplomat's Secret by Nev March, which is one of my NetGalley backlist titles. Captain Jim has not made much headway on this case yet -- here's hoping he catches a break before they reach shore;
* Trust written by Hernan Diaz and narrated by Eduardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò, and Orlagh Cassidy. This is one of my book club's picks for March. I started with the ebook and switched to the audiobook version because I was having trouble getting into the story and am now really enjoying it. I'm very curious to see where this is going to wind up. I'm really trying to avoid reading any reviews because I don't want to ruin whatever's going to come in the final part of the book -- all I know is it is supposed to make you completely rethink the entire thing and I cannot wait to experience it; and,
* Much Ado about Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin, which is just a nice bit of escapism. Ah!

QotW:
Did your parents try to restrict what you read as a kid? (If you have kids) Did you try to pre-approve what your kids read? My Mom would sometimes ask our local librarian about certain titles to see if it might be better to wait until I was a little older to read them, but I was never told I couldn't read something. It just might have been a case where I delayed reading it until I was better equipped to handle more mature content or something that might have scared me.

Woah, I just read about a man named (view spoiler)[Al Bright (hide spoiler)] in the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

It was only 1 page, plus an extra paragraph in the book, but wow, Ava Duvernay (view spoiler)[did an excellent job capturing that one moment seem larger than it was in the book, just come to life. (hide spoiler)] in the movie 'Origin' for which the movie is based off the book.

There was a lot I liked about the film, but there were 3 things that stood out most to me in the film:

(view spoiler)[1. The burning of the books by the Nz
2. Trayvon Martin
3. Al Bright (hide spoiler)]

I can't wait until the movie comes out on streams or blue ray because it's my all-time favorite movie now.

JessicaMHR wrote: "I didn't feel like I had a slow week reading but, I only finished two books! I think it's because I'm reading like 3 other ones as well. So I'm like 'But, I've been reading?!' LOL!..."



LOL that happens to me a lot!!


I try not do this with my nephew (whom I read to every night) although I did recently decide that I would not read Big Nate to him after reading the synopsis. He has enough problems at school focusing and not getting in trouble I didn't think reading a book about a kid who gets in trouble a lot was a wise choice

That reminds me, I DID censor a picture book once. It was Russell the Sheep I owned it and had read it to my kids a few times, but then my mom pointed out that one part of the story shows Russell getting into the trunk of an old junk car, and that's exactly the sort of thing that a child should NEVER do, because they could get trapped in there. At first I brushed off her concern, but finally I decided she might be right and why take the risk, so I set that book aside in my closet where my kids wouldn't get to it.

And there was another picture book that I owned that my daughter said gave her nightmares, so at her request I stopped reading it. That was The Rainbow Goblins, so that book joined Russell in my closet.