Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2024 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 52: 12/20 - 12/26
THE JANUARY 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ IS Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper! I've read that book, and it is REALLY good.Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why
that one? :) Or, if you will just read whatever book strikes your fancy at the time, what might that
be? I have several books on order from my library, because they are first on my TBR list.
The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World
Motherland
NYPD Puzzle
The Bird Skinner
The Wind Is Not a River
Happy Thursday! I hope everyone’s having a wonderful holiday season. I love having kids in the house for Christmas! Eli (7) is super excited about the kinetic sand and his Stanley work bench. He really likes going to Lowes each month for “Kid’s DIY,” and this will give him an opportunity to do more projects at home. Ewan (2) is pretty much ignoring everything except for a small plush banana… Kids are weird.2024 Reading Challenges:
52 Book Club: 52/52
ATY: 52/52
Booklist Queen: 52/52
Diverse Baseline: 36/36
Popsugar: 50/50
Robot Librarian: 52/52
ICYMI Backlist: 12/12
Recently Completed: Almost time to start some new prompts!
What Does It Feel Like?, Sophie Kinsella ★★★★
The Flight Girls, Noelle Salazar ★★★★
End of Story, A. J. Finn ★★
Inheritance (The Lost Bride Trilogy, #1), Nora Roberts ★★★★
Mother-Daughter Murder Night, Nina Simon ★★★★
Ready or Not, Cara Bastone ★★★★
My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies, #2), Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows ★★★
Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future, Gloria Dickie ★★★★
Matchless, Gregory Maguire ★★★
Currently Reading: Some of these might get assigned to 2025 prompts since I may not finish them until January.
Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap
Grimm Curiosities
Cahokia Jazz: 2024 NPR Books We Love.
Lovely One: A Memoir: Reasonable Doubt Book Club.
The Trolls of Wall Street: How the Outcasts and Insurgents Are Hacking the Markets
Read Between the Lines
The Fortune Seller
Business or Pleasure
Our Infinite Fates: Goodreads Giveaway. I will finish this before the end of the year.
QOTW: I've scheduled Audacity by Melanie Crowder to start on January 1. It's a novel in verse about Clara Lemlich and the fight for labor rights in Manhattan's Lower East Side following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I don't know if it will count for any prompts.
Mod
Sounds perfect for an overlooked woman in history!!!
Mod
We are in the home stretch of 2024, it's time for me to summarize what I read this year and finalize what my reading goals will be next year. I am excited to start the 2025 challenge, and I'm also worried I'm not going to complete my final 2024 challenge in time. Looks like my January will be a mix of finishing up the old and also starting the new.
****** The poll has closed on how you all use the tracker, the people have spoken, and I've reset the 2025 tracker to start on January 1st. ******
This week I finished three books.
Soulless by Gail Carriger - this was a re-read because it's been a long time since I read this, and I thought I should refresh my memory before reading the rest of this series. Good thing, since I forgot most of this book! I enjoyed it even more this time (I think the first time I read it, I wasn't prepared for how silly it was going to be).
My Inconvenient Duke by Loretta Chase - this was a NetGalley read, and I really enjoyed it. Chase is a very reliable historical romance author, I have liked everything I've read by her.
Mockingbird, Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda written by Chelsea Cain- every Christmas I spend the afternoon in bed reading comic books, and this was my choice this year. It was great, but it wasn't long enough. I think Marvel cancelled this series while Cain was still in the middle of it.
Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 80% 8 /10
AtY 100% 52 /52
2024 pub 130% 65 /50
NetGalley ratio 68%
It's not looking good for me to finish my "must reads" list in time!! I'm half way through one of the books, so I'll probably finish the year at 90% complete on that one. IF I set aside the NetGalley book I'm reading and focus HARD on my "must read" reading, I MIGHT finish both books and skate across the finish line just in time.
QotW
LOL I am very excited to start the 2025 challenge, and I made myself a stupid-long list of all the books I want to read first. Only ONE book can truly be first, however! It might be one of the four books I started this month and then set aside as soon as I realized they fit a 2025 category, or it might be the Christmas-themed mystery I will read as one of the two "same title" books, or it might be the manga I am very excited to read for a 2024 category (K-Pop!), or it might be the NetGalley book that fits non-traditional education, or maybe the book I've already borrowed from the library for "road trip"
Happy Thursday. Happy Boxing Day.I finished my PS challenge. I said I'd read 30 books, but I finished 35. It's a nice round number. Freida McFadden has self-published a lot of books. Not the one I read, but the prompt was self-published author and not book.
I enjoyed Frieda McFadden and I'm currently reading Linwood Barclay. Both has written way too many books for me to read all their backlist, but if I ever find a book by either that I want to read, I wouldn't hesitate to read them again.
Once I finish my yearly challenges (PS, ATY, and personal ones), I allow myself to read anything I want over the holidays without worrying about whether they fit prompts. Thus I am working on:
1) rich guy trying to track down his sperm donation children before hitmen kill them all
2) four 53 year old friends coping with widowhood, divorce, empty nests, and perimenopause, while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives
3) cast members at Disneyworld are on strike and the teenage strikebreakers are having adventures while trying to cope with being at the happiest place on earth.
All these books are bizarre in their own way and I love it. I want them all done by next Tuesday as I like starting off the year on a clean reading slate with brand new books.
Finished:
The Housemaid
ATY prompt: none
Popsugar prompt: A book by a self-published author
Series - 12/12 - Finished!
Nobel laureates - 6/5 - Finished!
Mysteries/Thrillers - 13/13 - Finished!
ATY - 52/45 - finished!
PS - 35/30 - finished!
Summer - 12/12 - Finished!
Currently reading:
Find You First -70%
As Young As We Feel - 90%
Dream Factory -35%
Buddy Reads:
none at present
QOTW: I schedule reading by months, so it will depend on which books come in to the library first. It won't be my series book of the month because that sucker is about 800 pages.
Laura Z wrote: "Happy Thursday! I hope everyone’s having a wonderful holiday season. I love having kids in the house for Christmas! Eli (7) is super excited about the kinetic sand and his Stanley work bench. He re..."That was such a tragic fire, it could make for an interesting read
The last book of the year was a non fiction arc The Vanishing at Smokestack Hollow: A Missing Family, a Desperate Plan, an Unsolved Mystery by Jake Anderson. It was a case I've seen on ID Discovery. It's not a bad book, interesting a tad repetitive but since it is still an unsolved mystery you don't have much closer by the endQOTW a couple books, Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson which I'm currently reading but as far as I can tell it can't be hammered into any prompt
The Lost House by Melissa Larsen another arc I'm already working on (I'm not sure it fits anything either)
Once Upon a Seaside Murder which could be for books on the cover or changes careers IF I can get through it. I had gotten it from mystery guild's black friday sale and planned to give it to mom (she's a mystery buff) once I'm done but man I'm not sure I can hang with the protagonist just on the basis of the first couple paragraphs
and The Smoke in His Voice by J.V. Silver for the one about music being a central part of the story
Happy Thursday! I hope everyone had a happy Christmas, if you celebrate.Finished:
That Ain’t Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire - 4 stars - no prompt. The continuing adventures of Annie. A good conclusion to her arc of the story.
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 10 by Natsu Hyuuga - 4 stars - no prompt. The continuing adventures of Maomao.
Comics/manga:
My Happy Marriage Art Book
The King's Beast, Vol. 14
Chihayafuru, Vol. 18
Chihayafuru, Vol. 19
Chihayafuru, Vol. 20
Currently reading:
Rough Around the Hedges by Lish McBride - once I realized I wanted to save my intended fluffy holiday week romance for a 2025 prompt, I switched to this one.
Upcoming/Planned:
The library gave me a bunch of books all at once, so I'm hoping I can get to them all in January.
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis
Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan
QOTW:
My first read of 2025 will probably be The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. Why? Because I had been planning to use it for some light, holiday-week reading, so I already have it checked out. It's due back to the library on January 3, and once I realized it fit the "luxury resort" prompt, I decided to save it for that! So I'll probably start it on the 31st.
Happy Thursday and Boxing Day, y’all.I have spent the past week existing, watching Christmas movies of which a lot are horrible in acting and weak writing. I have seen a few good ones, though, so I keep searching.
My reading goals centered around trying to finish up my yearly ALCM challenges as I plan to discontinue my membership in that group. I have 3 books to go, but I doubt that I will finish all of them prior to the new year.
I have reached my end of PS 2024. I will finish it sometime in the new year, maybe. Just not trying to do so this month.
ATY will be complete! I am finishing the audiobook and have a short mystery to read before NEW YEAR’S DAY.
Finished:
Throne of Glass – PAS, ATY season. 4* Of course, I will need to continue this series if only to find out if Chaol will admit his love for Celaena, whether she will survive as the chosen assassin of the evil king, and what happens next!
Lessons in Chemistry – ATY #50, PAS. 4*. For most of this book, I expected to give it 3* as chick-lit usually hits that rating for me. BUT, by the end, I was definitely on-board with this story. Overall, it turned out to be a better story than I expected.
The Christmas Garden Affair – ALCM, ATY winter. 3*. A quick cozy mystery.
Quaker Testimony – ALCM. 3*. I enjoyed this murder mystery in the Quaker world if only because I one protested war taxes also.
The Consequences of Fear – ALCM. 4*. Continued series. By the end of this one, Maisie has gotten married…but now the US will be getting into WW II. What will happen with her marriage to the American? Must read the next book to find out!
Currently Reading:
The Women – ATY #51. Audible. 61%. Women in Viet Nam.
Just Starting:
God Is in the Small Stuff and It All Matters: Stop Worrying and Invite God into the Details of Your Life – 8%
Unraveled Sleeve – ATY #52. 2%
On Deck:
Kate: The Journal of A Confederate Nurse – PAS.
The Pony Wife – PAS
Moving Target – PAS
High Noon – ATY winter
Twisted Tea Christmas – ATY winter
Unnatural Acts – ALCM, PAS
Palindrome – PAS
PS 40/50
ATY 50/52
GR 216/200
QotW:
I think that I will tackle a book I own: Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All or one of the Shaman books (Shaman or Shaman)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!Finished:
Plagues of Night (4/5, reread)
Question of the Week:
I have Mars home from the library. That will be the next book I start fresh, whether that is before or after the 1st. Current reads include Rock Concert: An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There and Way Station (that one a reread for a book club).
Mod
I"ve probably asked this before, but ... what is ALCM
Happy Holidays to all!NYC had a White Christmas for the first time in 15 YEARS! Barely but ground covered in parks and non-pavement areas. What used to be normal is now rare. Yes, global warming is alive and well.
I have finished nothing this past week! Barely read! Thank goodness PS and ATY 2024 are both done!
Currently reading - just a chapter or two each:
The Lost Summers of Newport
Ordeal by Innocence
The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side
QOTW: starting over New Years, Labyrinth's Heart - my IRL Feminerdy Book Club read to be discussed at meeting on 2nd Sunday Jan.
I got one book for Christmas, which is exactly what I expected. I gave two books as gifts - one to my best friend and one to my mom. I also got my mom tickets to see a stage play of Murder on the Orient Express in January, which is bookish enough to warrant a mention.I started the challenge on Christmas Eve, when I read the book I got in my stocking. It was hard to decide which prompts worked for these books. They each fit a few prompts, so I picked the ones I imagine will be hardest for me.
Finished
League of Dragons. This was such a great ending to the Temeraire series. I put these books off for so long, but I loved them so much.
Catching Teller Crow (a book that features an unlikely friendship). The book was quite sad and had a lot of traumatic elements. The writing was excellent with some interesting storytelling styles. It's an own voices Aboriginal book and under 200 pages.
Christmas in Absaroka County (a book about a road trip). Somehow I missed that these were four separate short stories. I thought this was a novella with chapters. I was very confused by the random time jumps. When I finally figured it out, I enjoyed them a lot.
Evergreen Chase (a book that is considered healing fiction). This was a wonderfully cozy book to read on Christmas before going to bed. I loved it.
Sleeping Murder (a book about a married couple that don’t live together). I’ve now read all of the Miss Marple mysteries. This was a good book to end with because the mystery is satisfying, but it doesn’t feel like a conclusion like Curtain did for Poirot. Although it was published last, a lot of people think it’s better to end the series with Nemesis. I agree.
Reading
Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology
As The Crow Flies
QOTW
I don’t have a specific book in mind to read first in 2025. I just finished two series, and I’m likely to finish a third this week. Those were my reading priorities for months. I haven’t really decided what comes after I finish this last one.
5 days left until the start of January. Insane! Hope those of you who celebrated Christmas had a good one. Family members couldn't come so we're celebrating Christmas 3 times this week.
Celebrated yesterday with my immediate family, and later with my 88 year old grandmother in the evening, then celebrating when my sister's spouse returns, the celebrating when my aunt/uncle and such arrive.
*****
Book News:
Looks like I won't be reading anything to end off the year/month which is fine. I did end on a good note with 5 books read (7 total, but 2 were DNF's but not by choice, technically.)
Finished:
Station Eleven - First read this in 2021 after I saw the series adaptation. Still holds up as my favorite literary/dystopian fiction of all time. I annotated it for the first time and that experience was incredible! So many details I missed out the first time around. This is one of the reasons I love annotating. There's a lot to comprehend and take in.
Sincerely, Your Autistic Child - Excellent book. A lot I could relate to.
Encounter in the Desert- Fascinating.
Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism- This was good and I found myself feeling validated. She mentions how some people with autism have a hard time using stairs. I was in tears with that moment. I've struggled with stairs my whole life. Two years ago I had a bad trip on them. Enough to leave a couple of bruises. I see people go up and down them with such ease, run up and down and I'm always jealous. I can't even use an escalator without them being distorted in my mind that I have to count them 3 times before I can get on (which can be annoying if there are people behind me and then I have to either let them on or count again if I get thrown off my process). This isn't the first time I've read a book about autism that mentions troubles with stairs, but it's always a relief to hear it. I know now it's not just me. My perception of stairs is just wired differently because of my autism.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone- Always wanted to read this series but never got around to it. Finally read the first book. Only a 3 star rating for me. It was funny and interesting, but not enough to fully keep me engaged. Maybe had I read it when I was younger instead of in my 30s then it would have been a different experience.
DNF
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America - Really wanted to finish this one. The font is just so small so there's a lot of information and it's so packed with detail that it was hard to work on it.
Christendom: The Triumph of a Religion- DNF because I consider this more of a reference book. It's over 700 pages and goes through the entire of Christianity so it's hard to finish.
****
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why
that one? :) Or, if you will just read whatever book strikes your fancy at the time, what might that
be?
Tough question. I have 3 books that I consider PRIORITY reads for the start of 2025. Then the rest I'll be picking from a TBR jar. I do have the order though.
1. The Day After Tomorrow - So many books in this world and I had no idea this was one of them. It's based on the screenplay that was written for the movie (I did order the actual nonfiction book for which the movie is based on called The Coming Global Superstorm ). I love The Day After Tomorrow movie. It's my all-time favorite natural disaster film. Real excited to get to the book.
2. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - A group I'm in is doing this as a buddy read. I kept seeing it every time I passed by the history section at BN this year and every single time I contemplated it. The buddy read gives me a good excuse to finally just go for it.
3. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - I could not stand the movie, I'm not ashamed to admit that. I thought it was going to be a regular movie, didn't know it was going to be based off the musical adaptation. I love the concept and storyline, don't get me wrong. I love the trope of destiny. Is a person destined to become a certain way or do circumstances conspire against them to make them that way? So I really appreciated Elphaba's storyline. All of that said, even though I wasn't a fan of the movie, I'm hoping I'll gain a different perspective with the book (and the upside is that there's no musical part attached so I can't hear the singing in my head).
Happy Thursday! Hope you had a nice Christmas is you were celebrating! Got to see my family, and it was a pretty relaxing time. I took today off, and it was supposed to be relaxing, but then my landlord scheduled maintenance work at 9:30am. Which, not great- and then they didn't show up!At 11:30 they finally called to say they'd be here at 2. And then, just now, one of the plugs they were "fixing" started sparking and they just left to go get a new plug... and they haven't put the blinds back after working on the windowsill, so every person walking by is getting a nice view into my apartment... Fingers crossed they fix everything before too long, and no more sparking!!!
But while waiting for all this maintenance to get done, I finished the challenge!!
Finished:
Tic-Tac-Mistletoe- a very cheesy hallmark style christmas romance I picked up on a rec. Nothing memorable, but kept me company on the last of my holiday errands
-no prompt
Christmas with the Horned God- thought this was going to be one of those "time I got drunk and saved a demon" style books, but it was less silly and more unnerving. Reviews keep calling this cozy, but no?? It actually has some pretty strong creepy vibes, and some horror elements.
-no prompt
The Picture of Dorian Gray- I finished!! Not my favorite classic, but some interesting elements.
-36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
QotW:
I don't have anything specifically planned- I do have I Think They Love You from Netgalley that I need to read asap, since it's releasing soon. Also have to finally read Fourth Wing, or my friend who gave it to me last year might riot. And from the library, I have The Pairing and The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 that are due soon
So many options!
Hi all! Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a happy start to Hannukah if you celebrate either of those. The weather last weekend complicated my Christmas plans with family, so my mom is now coming over this weekend. I'm beat from it all. Though it did mean a white Christmas (about 4 inches on the ground after some of it melted). It's been a couple of years since we've had snow on the ground.Anyone got anything fun planned for New Year's Eve? I get my infusion that morning and it always turns me into a slug/zombie, so good thing I don't do anything special for it.
The only thing I read this week was the prologue from The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever, which I got yesterday from my dad.
QOTW: I'll probably keep on with the 98 Yankees as my most anticipated book of 2025. After Christmas, I immediately start yearning for spring training! But I am going to the library tomorrow, so who knows what I'll come back with!!
Happy Holidays, readers! Whichever holidays you happen to celebrate!I've spent the past week at my sister's house, celebrating Christmas with her family. We've had a fun time playing games, munching treats, and hanging out. Also my niece volunteered to babysit her classroom's pet snake over the Christmas break, and since reptiles have always fascinated me it was fun getting to hold and watch it. Its name is Bubbles. No, I don't know why.
Excited to start the challenge! Just need to finish my books for the year...
Books read this week:
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil -- don’t be fooled by the title, this isn’t a horror book. It’s a collection of somewhat interconnected short stories mostly revolving around immigrants and the Trump administration. The Devil IS a character, but he barely factors into the whole thing.
Down The Path -- post-apocalyptic book that reminded me somewhat of The Road, only FAR less bleak and more optimistic. I just wish it hadn’t been so full of typos…
The Rust Maidens -- a bleak and haunting urban fantasy about a mysterious rust illness afflicting five teenage girls… and the girl who tries to save them.
DNF:
American Rapture -- I loved Maeve Fly, but this one was disturbing in a way I didn’t particularly enjoy. Too many religious abuse and SA triggers for my taste.
Currently reading:
Raise the Stakes
The Bloodless Princes
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye: Five Fairy Stories
Lives of the Monster Dogs
QOTW:
What I have lined up to read first is subject to change, but so far the list is as follows:
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vol. 1 -- for "book with a left-handed character"
The Eye of Argon -- for "book with a less-than-three-star rating on Goodreads" (might as well get the worst out of the way first, right?)
The Art of Trapeze: One Woman's Journey of Soaring, Surrendering, and Awakening -- for "adult character going through a career change"
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon -- for "a book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma"
This is the first time in a long time that I lost track of it being Thursday. We're celebrating Christmas four times this week, so that's why!December Purchased TBR: 1/5
December Library TBR: 4/8
Library Challenge: 24/30
November Nonfiction: 16/22
PS 2025: 13/50
Finished: ( Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto ) by: Taiaiake Alfred May-2009
Into the Uncut Grass
The Mailbox I loved this one. Maybe it was just the right timing but I loved the characterization and didn't know where the plot was going so it kept me guessing. Used for prompt unlikely friendship. Could also be used for chosen family.
Started: The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently
Kindness Will Save the World: Stories of Compassion and Connection
QotW: On New Year's Eve, I'm planning to read DIY Solo Retreats: A Handbook for Creating Your Space, Setting an Intention, and Getting the Self-Care You Deserve which might carry over till the next day.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Bea wrote: "My reading goals centered around trying to finish up my yearly ALCM challenges as I plan to discontinue my membership in that group. I have 3 books to go, but I doubt that I will finish..."Aussie Lovers of Crime/Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Ron wrote: "3. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - I could not stand the movie, I'm not ashamed to admit that."Gosh, I thought that I was the only one who did not like this movie! I loved the clothes and supporting scenery, but I was really disappointed in the shallowness of some of the main characters.
BUT, I do plan to read the book this coming year. I suspect that I might like it better. Here's hoping.
I finished this challenge this week with:Just Kids: woman in rock n roll
Evvie Drake Starts Over: NaNoWriMo
Girlhood: memoir exploring queerness
The Viscount Who Loved Me: published 2000
QOTW:
I am starting off with Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I am starting wth this one because I chose it for my book club that meets in January 12. Along with it I will kick off these book club reads for January: How To Read A Book, The Whisper Sister, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. For non-book club picks, I am starting Ducks, Newburyport because its huge and I want to finish a little at a time, and The Bookshop: A History of the Bookstore because I just want to read it
L Y N N wrote: "I adore this world and these characters! So much so that I wish a new book in the series could be released every few months!! LOL 😁😃 Yes, I know that's impossible! But a girl can dream..."I will dream with you!!
Happy Friday!Couldn't check in yesterday due to visiting family for Second Christmas Day (yes, this is an official thing here! We get two Christmas Days!) but here I am!
Sadly the stress of the past few weeks has killed my immunesystem and I am currently dealing with yet another cold. The last one was three weeks ago. It's day 2 of the proper cold and I'm already done. My hands are still an absolute disaster as well, my joints are constantly killing me and reminding me that no, my fibromyalgia is not imposter syndrome. I might have to start looking into some kind of compression gloves, because this is quite literally hell.
It all started after seeing Wicked and having to speedwalk to it to not be TOO late, but given that's been a week, it must be a coincidence, or just the final drop in the bucket, haha!
As for Wicked, I've seen the musical twice (once here in the NL, once on the West End) and it never left a real impression. It didn't leave me desperate for the soundtrack. The movie still doesn't, I even think they ruined Defying Gravity with their choices, haha! It was stunning to look at, however, and the casting was perfect. Will be watching part 2, but it's not a movie I'm desperate to rewatch any time soon.
The Paddington movies we saw this past week, however, are instant favorites, and we can't wait for the new one next month!
Read
Nothing, I'm afraid! Except for a few fics of a new ship I fell into. I don't watch the show. I saw half an episode. I had to google their names. There are only 17 fics. Life is cruel xD
Currently Reading
Also nothing, but hoping to read The Miracle on Ebenezer Street before the year is out!
QOTW
It's mostly a 'whatever takes my fancy', as planning tends to kill my reading motivation, but some books I hope to/plan to read next year are: I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest with You, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (I've been meaning to for ages, might as well :P, especially as I really want to dive into the political side of the story), and All Creatures Great and Small (no relation to the show I don't watch I promise *coughs*)
Happy Friday! I kind of forgot yesterday was a Thursday. My partner always goes to his dad's on Boxing Day and I get a day to catch up on all the stuff I want to watch that he isn't interested in, while eating leftovers.Finished:
Adam & Evie's Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen for bucket list destination (I don't have a bucket list but I wouldn't say no to a tour of Vietnam). It started off cute and I loved all the tour stops, but the audiobook narrators sounded so disinterested, and it put me off a bit and I got bored before the HEA.
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis. A little clunky at the start but once it found its footing it was loads of fun. I loved the goblins.
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood. Cute festive novella about a childhood crush that goes unrequited for years. Although this wasn't YA, the parts from the past reminded me how much I liked her only YA book and now I want her to do another one.
Currently reading The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon and listening to The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck.
QOTW:
I don't have anything planned, depends on what I'm in the mood for when I finish my current read. Maybe Iron Flame if I can get a head start as it looks pretty chunky. Otherwise I like to get something short in so my tracker isn't immediately behind!
Ron wrote: "All of that said, even though I wasn't a fan of the movie, I'm hoping I'll gain a different perspective with the book."You'll probably appreciate it, but a head's up that the book and musical are very different from each other.
Bea wrote:Gosh, I thought that I was the only one who did not like this movie! I loved the clothes and supporting scenery, but I was really disappointed in the shallowness of some of the main characters.
BUT, I do plan to read the book this coming year. I suspect that I might like it better. Here's hoping.
-Yeah I was not a fan of the shallowness either. Total turn off. Like Galinda- so fake I just...UGH!
*****
Carmen wrote:
You'll probably appreciate it, but a head's up that the book and musical are very different from each other
-Thanks, that's what I've been hearing.
At least I'm keeping somewhat of an open mind. I may not have been able to stand the movie, but at least I'm trying to have a different take on the book. Again, I loved the concept of destiny, that's one of my favorite tropes so I really felt more toward Elphaba. Just really hoping the book turns out to be better even though I'm not a big fiction reader.
*****
Speaking of fiction: I was going over my list of books for the PS 2025 Challenge and I can breathe such a huge sigh of relief. This year (2024) there was hardly any leeway to fit in nonfiction books for the prompts, so much was geared toward fiction so that was a major disappointment as a nonfiction reader.
2025 has more room to play with. I'm skipping three prompts, but overall I got a great range of books. Looking over them I have 32 nonfiction books and 14 fiction which is excellent! (one book I'm double-dipping). I'm excited that I have way more nonfiction books so I'm actually going to have fun with the 2025 challenge.
Happy Friday, everyone!It’s so hard to believe that we’re almost at the end of the year! Where did the time go?
I had a great time celebrating Christmas this week with my dad. We opted for a low-key holiday, which was exactly what I needed. I got some new books as gifts, and I am very excited about them. My dad got me a couple of graphic novels, and a few nonfiction books that have been on my wishlist for a while.
Surprisingly, I really haven’t done much reading this week. I was able to finish my final holiday-centric Sherlock Holmes book on Christmas Eve, and haven’t done much reading since. I basically spent all of Boxing Day in front of the television, finishing the last season of Almost Paradise (on Prime Video) and starting Death in Paradise (on BritBox). I am officially obsessed with both shows.
Here are the books I finished this week…
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~More Holmes for the Holidays — This is a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories set around Christmastime. I really enjoyed the majority of the stories, and was able to finish the entire book in a couple of days. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None
Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None
DNFed:
None
Currently Reading:
~The Guncle Abroad — I’m only about 50 pages into this book, but it has been really good so far. I’m planning to continue it this afternoon. 📚
QOTW:
Assuming that I finish my current read in the next few days, I think my first read of 2025 will probably be one of the nonfiction books I received for Christmas. I got copies of The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de Medici, by Elizabeth Lev; The Earl and the Pharaoh, by the Countess of Carnarvon; and Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Desperadoes Who Plotted Hitler’s Downfall, Giving Birth to Modern-day Black Ops, by Damian Lewis.
The problem is going to be choosing which one to start with, because all three sound amazing.
Mod
I got two books for xmas, which was a surprise to me! There's Someone Inside Your House & (the sequel?) The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins. These weren't even on my TBR.
Hi all! Happy Holidays! It's thankfully slow at work. Currently reading:
The Christmas Guest: I was hoping to get to read this on Christmas Eve but I had too many things left to do so I'm reading it now
QOTW
I get slightly superstitious about my first book of a new year; I feel like it sets the tone. So I've gone through and picked a book that will fit at least one prompt from all my reading challenges to start off (and that's available via my library): Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew
Happy Friday! Our Christmas holidays were nice and chill at home, the way we like them. And there's still leftovers! Hopefully I'll take care of those tonight lol. Husband got a new anti-gravity chair for the yard and I got a comfy onesie!!Things are already shaping up for me with theatre in the new year: (view spoiler) <-- much yappery
Finished this week:
Rust in the Root - 3.5 stars. I loved the premise but I was wholly distracted by the bajillion adverbs on dialogue tags - “said happily”, “said knowingly”, and so on, every time. But the characters and magic system were fantastic.
Paladin's Faith - 4.75 stars. Ugh this series is fantastic. I loved getting to know Shane and Marguerite.
Singing the Comic-Con Blues - 3 stars. Another short! Cute, but I thought it ended too abruptly. Love the sibling banter between Annie and Verity.
PS 47/50
ATY 50/52
Mount TBR 33/48
Currently:
Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
Robin
QOTW: Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why that one? :) Or, if you will just read whatever book strikes your fancy at the time, what might that be?
I have a list for January and it seems to be coalescing into… starting with Rosemary and Rue on my Kindle, and Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting on audio for my IRL book club, before our meetup in the middle of the month. The first of technically many rereads of Romeo and Juliet is set for 1/7. And it looks like Blood in the Water will roll over into January as well.
QOTW: I'm reading Crime and Punishment first. It's for the classic I haven't read yet. I figure that will be my longest read, so I'm starting it early to get a bit of a head start. Yep. I'm a bit fat cheater head.
Katy wrote: "QOTW: I'm reading Crime and Punishment first. It's for the classic I haven't read yet. I figure that will be my longest read, so I'm starting it early to get a bit of a head start. Yep. I'm a bit f..."I got my January series book and it's 860 pages. I may start it this weekend as I'm not sure I can finish it in January even with cheating.
Wahoo I got a book for Christmas! My sister knows me well. We did wish lists this year and I added 3 books to it. She picked the one that was secretly my #1 pick so that's awesome! This helps to fill the "book you got for free" prompt.
Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
The notifications are still not working, come on Goodreads work with me!
Mod
the year that one of the categories was to read a book over 600 pages, I started in December. (And I will RIOT if we get that category again.)
Happy last check-in of the year! I hope you all have been enjoying time with family and friends.I've made peace with my last couple of extra goals not being met by the end of the year. Now I'm just reading whatever calls to me.
Finished Reading:
The Games Gods Play ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Greek mythology following a woman cursed by Zeus. Chosen one for a Hunger Games situation. The duology ender is published next year.
Mr. Villain's Day Off 05 ⭐⭐⭐
Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong & Wreck the Halls: Cake Wrecks Gets "Festive" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Re-reads to cheer up.
Portrait of a Scotsman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A good series to read for prompts next year. This book's main character is left-handed. Book one or two deals with a politician.
Monstress, Volume 9: The Possessed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow the Goodreads search engine cannot find this book for the link easily. This series is still so good.
QOTW:
I don't really have anything picked this year. Onyx Storm isn't published until the 22nd so everything else is killing time.
I just got back from driving down to Florida to spend Christmas with my family and friends. I cannot believe it has been 2 years since I've been to my home state. It was a good trip, but I am truly and utterly overstimulated and exhausted. It's a couch rotting day to catch up on all things GoodReads and tv today. Thankfully, Charlotte weather is misty and cold - which is the perfect day to do said activities. ;)I've got two books left to finish the challenge- one I will finish today, and then I'll start the last one! (I can do this, I can do this)
Challenges:
84/75 GoodReads Challenge
48/50 PopSugar Challenge
Finished:
1.) XOXO by Axie Oh (#50- Starts with "X") ⭐⭐⭐: This was cute, but too long and a tad too convenient for me.
2.) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (#37 - Nanowrimo) ⭐⭐⭐💫: This was delightful on audio, just a tad too long and windy for me to really love it.
3.) A Home for the Holidays by Taylor Hahn (No prompt) ⭐⭐⭐: This was just ok - a woman loses her mom and reconsiders how her life may have actually been vs. her perception.
Currently Reading:
1.) Angel Falls
2.) Is She Really Going Out with Him?
QoTW: Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why that one?
Nope, I'm just focused on finishing this challenge. I have a nightstand of books I had hoped to finish in 2024, so I guess I'll start there.
Britany wrote:2.) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (#37 - Nanowrimo) ⭐⭐⭐💫: This was delightful on audio, just a tad too long and windy for me to really love it.
Nice, I love this book! I haven't listened to it on audio but it's one of my favorites. My problem with it is that because I can relate so much to it I have to stop reading it because it's like I literally get mad at myself. LOL. Seriously, this character is literally me! I got my degree in English, I have severe anxiety, and I write fan fiction.
How cool Ron! Have you read all the other books by Rowell in this universe?
Britany wrote: "How cool Ron! Have you read all the other books by Rowell in this universe?"No. I have the Simon Snow trilogy but have yet to read them.
Anyone else TOTALLY lost on what day it is?? Kiddo has been out of school for a month and a half (it seems), boyfriend works a day or two has some off, goes back to work, comes home early... I'm totally confused!! Plus, I went from 6 inches of snow a week and a half ago to upper 50s yesterday and had a window open for a bit.
Mod
It's been a struggle!!! Multiple times each day, I ask one of my kids some variation on: "wait, is today Sunday or Monday?"
TODAY my new dishwasher arrives!! I have been without a dishwasher for a long time now (I think the old one died last January - I'll have to check with my kids, it might be even longer). Yesterday we yanked out the old one and it's sitting in my garage now waiting to be picked up, which means my car is sitting in my driveway, which means I keep seeing a car in my driveway through the front window which is next to the computer desk, and I keep thinking "oh! who's here???" before realizing YET AGAIN that it is just MY CAR.
Right now my kitchen is in flux and I only have half a sink and the line that normally runs to the dishwasher is leaking because we can't get that valve all the way closed, and I'm very much looking forward to having that all put to rights.
Mod
I forgot to reply to this!! You've got it! thank you for volunteering :-)
Phew! December has flown by (at least that's how it seems to me!). I finished up several short books, plus a couple of longer reads, and decided to slate one of them into an empty prompt. That means I officially finished more than half of this year's challenge, which is one more than I was aiming for 🙃 I'll end the year at 23/45 and 3/5 for this challenge. My overall total is currently at 109 for the year, but I am hoping to finish up one of the books that I have in progress before the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night for a nice even 110 🥳 Finished:
* The Answer Is No written by Fredrik Backman and translated by Elizabeth DeNoma, which was an Amazon FirstReads pick. I enjoyed it so much!
* There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job written by Kikuko Tsumura, translated by Polly Barton, and narrated by Cindy Kay, which I picked up on a whim via an Audible 2-for-1 sale and am so glad I did -- it was a fun, quirky listen;
* Mrs. Claus Has Menopause: A Humorous Christmas Book for Women of a Certain Age written by Bobbie Hinman and illustrated by Luis Peres, which was a Christmas gift from a dear friend. HILARIOUS!;
* A Charlie Brown Christmas: Deluxe Edition written by Charles M. Schulz, adapted by Maggie Testa, and illustrated by Vicki Scott, which was another Christmas gift (from my best friend -- I'd recorded myself reading this for my goddaughter (aka her daughter) when she was a toddler). This was my fave Christmas special growing up, so I loved reading this very familiar-to-me-story. I used this for "a book set in the snow"; and,
* Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer, which was one of my book clubs' picks for January. A fast and enjoyable read.
Currently Reading:
* The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries edited by Michael Sims; and,
* Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson, which I hope to finish before midnight tomorrow to make it my last read for 2024.
QotW:
Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why that one? :) Or, if you will just read whatever book strikes your fancy at the time, what might that be? Nope! I've been so focused on trying to finish up my end-of-the-year reads that I haven't thought about what I want to crack open first to start off 2025. I'll continue working on the book of short stories but will wait and see what I'm in the mood for in terms of a fresh book to kick off the New Year 🎊
I'm reading my last book now and determined to finish tonight just in the nick of time to complete the 2024 challenge.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Charlie Brown Christmas (other topics)The Answer Is No (other topics)
Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever (other topics)
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret (other topics)
There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Benjamin Stevenson (other topics)Elizabeth DeNoma (other topics)
Polly Barton (other topics)
Fredrik Backman (other topics)
Cindy Kay (other topics)
More...
Well, folks! This is it! Next Thursday will put us into a new year. The older I get the more I concentrate on each and every day. I note the “special” days/”holidays” but each day is truly a gift and I do my best to make the most of it. Every. Single. Day. None of us knows if we will get another one, so why not make this one “special”? 😊 My first thought with the beginning of 2025 is how to survive and thrive during “four more years” and then I concentrate on me and what I want to do with this day… How can I make myself happy and perhaps brighten up someone else’s world as I progress through the day? Because any little way I can influence another’s life in a positive aspect is ever so valuable to me!
Gratitude is my overall emotion to start each day. Listing the people and things for which I am grateful in my life seems to get my day started on a positive note and helps me overlook negative aspects that may be present or appear later…
I get to spend some time with a former coworker from Borders this afternoon and I’m delighted to visit with him again! He is one of my absolute favorite people!
Help for planning 2025 reads is below!!
Barack Obama’s favorite books, movies, and music of 2024:
https://barackobama.medium.com/here-a...
Here is a listing of 2024 favorite reads from Maria Popova’s Marginalia newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/themarginalian/boo... Quite an interesting list that includes quite a few nonfiction books.
And some more favorite 2024 reads, from Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter’s BAD ON PAPER podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Bookperk:
https://link.harpercollins.com/view/5...
You know me! I love lists of books!!
ADMIN STUFF:
THE DECEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ IS The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #36 A Book Written By an Incarcerated Or Formerly Incarcerated Person
National Mudd Day is December 20! What is National Mudd Day, you may ask? It references a fascinating bit of history I doubt many of us know. Dr. Samuel Mudd was a doctor who helped John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirator David Herold immediately following Lincoln’s assassination on the night of April 14, 1865. Mudd performed surgery on Booth and allowed them to spend the night. He didn’t report the men’s visit for another 24 hours, though it was assumed he would have heard of the assassination well before that time. Mudd was arrested 12 days later and eventually convicted to a life sentence by a military commission for the crime of aiding and conspiring in a murder, missing the death penalty by only one vote!
Dubhease is the "End-of-Year Innovator" who has graciously volunteered to lead this discussion! YAY Dubhease! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
THE JANUARY 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ IS Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper!
This book could be used to fulfill prompt #43 A book that includes a nonverbal character!
National Dress Up Your Pet Day is January 14, 2025
Surely there is a member out there whose New Year's resolution list includes facilitating the first 2025 Monthly Group Read discussion!?! Message either Nadine or Lynn to volunteer!
THE FEBRUARY 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ NOMINATION POLL IS
HERE!
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO TIME LIMITATIONS, this nomination poll will only be available through New Year’s Eve Day NEXT Tuesday, December 31! We’ll return to keeping polls live for two weeks once we have a February selection finalized! (We just need to hurry these first two month selections along so members can have an opportunity to obtain the book if they wish to participate.)
THE LISTING OF 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!
The comprehensive listing of 2024 Monthly Group Reads resides HERE for your perusal and reference throughout 2024!
***
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Do you have one specific book that you plan to read FIRST in 2025? If so, which one? And why that one? :) Or, if you will just read whatever book strikes your fancy at the time, what might that be?
Provided I finish the 2024 challenge by January 1, the first book I plan to read in 2025 is Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #2) by T.J. Klune. And there are about 20-30 more I could list! But I’ll concentrate on this ONE! I adore this world and these characters! So much so that I wish a new book in the series could be released every few months!! LOL 😁😃 Yes, I know that's impossible! But a girl can dream...
2024 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 46/50
Around the Year (AtY): 52/52 DONE!
Read Harder: 19/24
52 Book Club: 47/52
FINISHED:
*XAIPE by E.E. Cummings ⭐⭐ was…uhm…poetry? Honestly, if not for the Popsugar prompt I needed to fulfill I would not have fit this in at the last minute this year. But I definitely will steer away from Cummings’ poetry in the future. I’m only documenting for that one Popsugar prompt since I didn’t “get” enough from this collection to even know how it might fulfill other prompts! Ugh…
POPSUGAR: #11, NEW #30, #48, #50
ATY: #3-A book related to X marks the spot, #9-286 ratings, #11, #20, #26, #45
RHC: #24-2015: prompt #17 A collection of poetry
52 Book Club: #4, #24, #30, #51-This is some “wild” poetry!
*Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was just as gorgeous and beautifully written as the first time I read it!
POPSUGAR: #2, #24
ATY: #3-A book related to “civil rights” or “human rights,” #14, #17, #20, #22, #24, #29, #33, #36, #44, #46, #48
RHC: NEW #11, #24-2020: prompt #18 Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community
52 Book Club: #9, #26-Fiction, Picture Book, Fantasy, Juvenile, Diversity, #30, #31, #32, #43
Documenting these later so we can get started on this final 2024 weekly check-in!
*The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (#36)
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:
52 Book Club:
*Shift (Wool #2) by Hugh Howey (#46)
POPSUGAR:
ATY:
RHC:
52 Book Club:
CONTINUING:
*The Trees by Percival Everett (#40)
*Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (#42)
*Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
*The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
*Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking has me thinking so very much that I have delayed reviewing it until I can finalize my thoughts…
*The Birthing House by Kathy Taylor
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer
PLANNED:
*21st Birthday (Women’s Murder Club #21) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*22 Seconds (Women’s Murder Club #22) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*23rd Midnight (Women’s Murder Club #23) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*23 1/2 Lies (Women’s Murder Club #23.5) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*The 24th Hour (Women’s Murder Club #24) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*Fear No Evil (Alex Cross #29) by James Patterson
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin