Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday! I forgot today is Thursday since Monday was a federal holiday here - oops!

I still have not turned the heat on! And I'm glad, because Tuesday was hot and humid, ugh! I was glad my house had captured all that autumn coolness from the week before (I was seriously uncomfortably cold on Sunday but at this point we are going as long as we can with no heat just because we are.) Now it is cool again. The leaves are falling, a leaf every few seconds.




***** Admin stuff *****
The September group read (a book told in letters) was: The Correspondent. You can join the discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The October group read (overweight character) is: The House in the Cerulean Sea. You can join the discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The November group read (debt) will be: Spinning Silver

The December group read (horses) will be: Horse




Let us know if you'd like to lead any discussions!







This week I finished 3 books, none for this Challenge, so I remain 47/50:

Mortal Things by Marie Lu- got this from NetGalley, it comes out at the end of October. I have loved some books from Lu, but not so much with others. This one was a miss for me. The ending is very open so I assume this is the start of a series.

Trad Wife by Sarah Langan - I got this one from NetGalley also. I had never read a book by Langan, although she's been on my TBR, so I was excited to get this one. Unfortunately, since I read it just a few months after Yesteryear, I couldn't help comparing the two, and this one did not compare well in my eyes. It's not really a book about tradwife lifestyle, it's a horror novel about demonic possession. Go into it expecting demonic possession, you're all set. Go into it expecting a snarky novel about tradwives, you may be disappointed.

Mestra by Madeline Miller- this little book was a tiny hardcover from my library - I love how Miller's publisher releases these short stories as cute little novelettes! (Because I love short books!!) This one was perfect, as all of Miller's books are.




Popsugar 94% 47 /50
Must Reads 0% 0 /1
2026 pub 140% 70 /50

NetGalley ratio 92%







Question of the Week
This week's question was suggested by Lynn


Have you ever read a scene in a book that mirrored your real life experience?


I definitely have! But ... I can't think of any examples right now! Most often it's something simple, like starting a book on the precise date that the book starts, or being in the location that the protagonist is in.

Happy Thursday! I turned on the heat. We've got highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. We're fine during the day, but it gets cold in the house at night!

Eli (9) got glasses two weeks ago. He loves them! And, astonishingly, we're already seeing improvement in his school work. He says that school is a lot easier now that he has glasses. I wonder what he was seeing before - no wonder he was easily distracted in class.

Reading Challenges:

🏆 52 Book Club: 52/52
52 Books October Mini-Challenge: 2/3
52 Books Read It, Watch It: 10/12
🏆 ATY: 52/52
🏆 ATY Fall Challenge: 15/15
🏆 Booklist Queen: 52/52
🏆 Popsugar: 50/50
Goodreads Fall Bookmarks: 7/11
52 Books Mystery Challenge: 40/50

My Ever-Growing TBR: 107/320 – 33.4% (My goal is 33.3%.)

Recently Completed:

🐈‍⬛ Seasons of Glass and Iron ★★★
🐈‍⬛ The Whisper Man (RIWI #10 – related to the word nemesis/Mystery #13 – antagonist toys with the detective) ★★★★
🐈‍⬛ Blessed Are the Bank Robbers: The True Adventures of an Evangelical Outlaw ★★★
🐈‍⬛ The God of the Woods: BOTM Selection. Books and Brews Book Club. (GR Fall Bookmarks #6 – Decade of Reads) ★★★★★
🐈‍⬛ Smitten with Strudel, Smitten with Travel, #3: So dumb. So, so dumb. (52 Books October #1 – set in Germany) ★★
🐈‍⬛ Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith ★★★★
🐈‍⬛ A Tender Age ★★★★
🐈‍⬛ Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep ★★★
🐈‍⬛ The Unhaunting ★★★★
🐈‍⬛ Fall I Want, Cozy Creek Collection, #1 ★★★
🐈‍⬛ An Unexpected Life: A Memoir: Gloria Steinem’s memoir. ★★★★



QOTW: Oh, I know I have. I also can't think of any particular examples. I'll come back if I think of something.

Happy Thursday, everyone! I read three books this past week, and sadly they were mostly disappointing.

2025 Reading Challenges
PopSugar- 47/50
ATY- 52/52; Winter- 14/14; 24/24; Spring- 16/16; Summer- 7500/5000; Fall- 15/15 COMPLETED
52 Book Club- 50/52; Beach Reads- 24/24; Monthly Mini-Challenges- 17/18
HRCYED 3.0- 89/150; Side Qwests- 4/12
Asian Read-a-Thon- 5/5 COMPLETED
New York Times Summer Bucket List- 10/10 COMPLETED
Read Good- 13/13 COMPLETED
Buzzword- 12/12; Cover- 12/12 COMPLETED
GR Bookmarks- Winter- 12/12; Spring- 12/12; Summer- 11/11; Winter- 4/12
BOTM- 15/15; Omnivoreader- 6/6; Long Hauler- 4/4; Debut Darling- 6/5

1001 Books- 15/20
TBR- 46/50

Finished
The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief- read this for my library's book club and because the author is supposed to come to our main branch next month. I went in with the expectation that this was true crime and I would find out who the jewel thief was and why they did it. I was disappointed in that regard since this book offers no definitive closure, but I did find the descriptions of 1950s Dallas and its strong ties to mobsters, oilmen, and other rich, powerful people informative. ☆☆☆
ATY Fall #1- a book with an orange or yellow cover

The Scoop- I added this to my TBR a couple months ago because it was described as a satire, but I didn't find anything satirical about this book. After losing her job at a respectable magazine, an aspiring journalist works for a tabloid where her morals are tested. The protagonist does some pretty terrible stuff on her way to the top, and her justifications just rang hollow. Meh, it was fine but nothing noteworthy. ☆☆ 3/4
TBR #46

Zone One- I tried reading the physical book, but I kept falling asleep every ten pages. I have to turn this book back into the library by the end of this week, so I tried the audiobook just to get through it, but even then I kept zoning out. The book is well-written, but it was hard to stay engaged with the removed third-person narration and the flashbacks. ☆☆ 3/4
PS #4- a book that starts with the letter "Z"
HRCYED 3.0- numerical titles #3; backlist author #5; sideqwest #4

Currently Reading
Mythology
Into the Blue

QOTW
Yes, in fact I have two books I read this year that come to mind. I read Superfan, which takes place at my alma mater, so I recognized the references to the buildings and dormitories.

The other was Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys where the author recounts her experiences visiting famous cemeteries around the world. One of those was the Recoleta cemetery where Evita Peron is buried. When I studied abroad, I visited this same cemetery specifically to visit Evita's grave, which is just as she described it in the book!

Morning all! We've had a very social week, get-togethers with friends and family, and we have more going on today and tomorrow. Heading for a massive collapse on the weekend, I suspect!

Getting tied up in knots in the logistics of getting our niece moved Out of state moves are a pain in the tuchus!

116 books, alk my challenges finished. Having a lot of fun with the voting process for the Around the Year challenge.

Finished:

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope. Included a couple of authors I was familiar with, NK Jemisin and T. Kingfisher. It's hopeful SF, but not all sweetness and light - it's about the struggle for a better future.

Currently reading:

Dragon Harvest, book 6 in Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd spy series. I like the way he gives us the feel of Europe during the rise of the Nazis. But it's truly amazing how everyone takes Lanny at his word and lets him get away with anything. I am enjoying Lanny falling in love. These books are always ridiculously long, like 1000 pages.

QOTW: I recently read Father Material by Alexis Hall. A same-sex couple starts parenting a teenager, and one of them's too strict and one's too permissive? Was someone spying on my life?

For no good reason, here are my uninformed guesses about the 2027 challenge:

Sheep or goat in the title or cover (for Chinese astrology)

At least 2 books about specific sports

One book about music

One book about women in a specific occupation

Because 27 is 3x3x3, we'll get a trilogy, a book with 3 authors, and a book with "3" in the title.

At least 3 ludicrously niche prompts that will have us pulling our hair out. (Kenya described it as something like "a book about an 11-fingered man born in 1984 in a town that starts with R.")

Laura Z wrote: "Happy Thursday! I turned on the heat. We've got highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. We're fine during the day, but it gets cold in the house at night!

Eli (9) got glasses two weeks ago. He loves them! And, astonishingly, we're already seeing improvement in his school work. He says that school is a lot easier now that he has glasses. I wonder what he was seeing before - no wonder he was easily distracted in class...."


I remember I felt so guilty when my kid first got glasses - like, how did I not notice she was struggling?



Glad to see someone else reading Chang-rae Lee. I discovered him by accident a few years ago and I keep waiting for the rest of the world to catch up and realize how amazing he is.

Andrea wrote: "Zone One- I tried reading the physical book, but I kept falling asleep every ten pages. I have to turn this book back into the library by the end of this week, so I tried the audiobook just to get through it, but even then I kept zoning out. The book is well-written, but it was hard to stay engaged with the removed third-person narration and the flashbacks. ☆☆ 3/4..."


That was a weird book. It was the first book I'd read by Whitehead, so I had no expectations, which helped! And I really like zombie books (no doubt that's why I picked it up) so that helped too.

Laura Ruth wrote: "Getting tied up in knots in the logistics of getting our niece moved Out of state moves are a pain in the tuchus!..."



LOL that's such an old-fashioned word! I haven't heard that since my great-aunts were alive.

Laura Ruth wrote: "For no good reason, here are my uninformed guesses about the 2027 challenge:

Sheep or goat in the title or cover (for Chinese astrology)

At least 2 books about specific sports

One book about mus..."


I've been thinking about this too!! I agree, there will be sheep/goats, and music.

And something I hate related to "27." Maybe "a book with a page count that has a 7 in it." I would hate that.

And there is always something insanely specific, that you can't possibly know until you read the book, like: "a book where a woman wears a raincoat."

And a book about a niche health/beauty topic. Maybe next year will be: "a character who uses Korean skin care products."

And a sport. This year hockey romances were all the rage, so I predict: "a sport played on ice."

Something slightly controversial, like: "a book with a child in a beauty pageant."

And something vaguely offensive. Maybe: "a book with a fat friend."

And something that will force me to read a book I really have NO interest in. Perhaps: "a book you relative loves that you've never wanted to read."

Oh! And something about marriage and parenting. Perhaps "a book with a newly married couple" and "a book with a character who is a stepparent or stepchild."


To be clear, just in case PopSugar is watching: I do not want any of these topics!! (Well, I'd be happy with sheep & goats. But not the rest of these!!!)

Nadine in NY wrote: "Laura Ruth wrote: "For no good reason, here are my uninformed guesses about the 2027 challenge:

Sheep or goat in the title or cover (for Chinese astrology)

At least 2 books about specific sports
..."

A book with 27 chapters about a 27 year old character!

Actually I'm kind of hoping they do the state thing again, because the 27th state is Florida, and who doesn't love a good " Florida Man" story?

Powells Summer Reading: 16/25
Personal Curriculum: 7/17
52: 48/52

Finished: Mending Life: A Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts Definitely a good book to keep for reference. Has such clear illustrations for different stitches.
Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism I really like Yanis and found his argument persuasive.
The Wild Zone I didn't rush out and buy this right away like I usually do with Riordan. But I did put it on hold at the library. It hasn't been requested back yet. Maybe Riordan is no longer as popular as he used to be?
Repair: The Impulse to Restore in a Fragile World This one was sweet but only a few parts were super memorable. I liked that it included repairing relationships.
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex A re-read. Didn't get a whole lot of it except from what you already get by reading the title!

Started:How We Give Now: A Philanthropic Guide for the Rest of Us Good so far.

QotW: This seems strange, but I can't think of an example of this. Except maybe really abstract like: these two people are having a disagreement. What can I do to resolve it?

After today, NYC will have at least a week of seasonal temps finally, and maybe trees will really start changing. The ones outside my apartment windows and my view over to Central Park shows green, green, green still. We are always warmer longer than upstate NY.

Monday in NYC wasn't a mandatory holiday, so unless you are with a union or a bank or federal, state, county or city government, everyone was working, especially lawyers and law firms. Even law firms representing only banks, which are closed, are open. I started my day with a contract negotiation on zoom at 10 AM. But I did close up early as a nod to the day.

PS - 46/50 - inching closer.

Finished:
Five French Hens - Prompt - Bachelorette Trip - this was a delight - UK author writes books featuring older women, contemporary fiction and I am sure that PS never dreamed of a book featuring a group of 70-something friends from aqua aerobics, who decide to head to Paris for several days as a Hen Party celebrating the upcoming wedding of one of the group, leaving their troubles, loneliness, challenges, behind. Paris setting was fab - has me wanting to hop a plane right now.
Danger on the SS Orient - prompt - book club - 2nd in the Agatha Christie Book Club series set in Sydney, AU - book club has opportunity to join a short cruise from Sydney to Wellington, NZ aboard the SS Orient - a recreation of a 1930s cruise ship that plied the waves between Sydney and London. There's jewels missing, murder, and more. Definitely cozy.

Currently Reading:
Hemlock & Silver
The Essex Serpent
The Fated Sky

QOTW: Oh this happens quite often for me. Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen repeatedly echoed my years growing up on a dairy farm, down to the MC brother having the same name as my brother, and both I and my brother left home and didn't really return except for visits when we went to urban colleges. It was eerily similar - especially as though I know the author personally through alumnae events at Barnard College, I'd never told her my background prior to Barnard. Of course, our farm did not have any of the 'events' in the book, or history, or imminent flooding. But as a farm, familiar.

It happens frequently with books in settings I know well when those settings are well-wrought: Paris, New York, travels in Turkey, Greece, and Egypt among others.

Happy Thursday!

Finished:
Espíritu by Aiden Thomas - 4.5 stars - not for a prompt. I kept going back and forth on the travel ghost story prompt, because while one character does travel to the area, and there are ghosts there, it didn't really feel like it fit the spirit (no pun intended). This was a great follow up from Cemetery Boys, though. I enjoyed getting to go back to that world and the conclusion felt satisfying.

I am currently at 44/50 for the Popsugar reading challenge (34/40 and 10/10).

Currently reading:
The Guest List by Lucy Foley - for bachelorette trip. The bachelorette trip/hen do doesn't happen on the page, but it's referenced, so I'm counting it. It's a quick read but I'm at 70% and the identity of the victim hasn't even been revealed, much less the killer.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner - for a book that makes you want to travel to Italy

QOTW:
I definitely have. Mostly it comes in the form of a character goes somewhere and has the same experiences as me, or a place is described perfectly from my own experience.

Happy Thursday all!

This week the library was closed for Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day, so we've been spending the rest of the week playing catch-up. So looking forward to the weekend...

Also it's FINALLY getting colder. Was worried we'd stay freakishly warm all October.

Books read this week:

The Medieval Horse -- read this for research for a book I’m writing. Informative, and I learned that some of the things I’ve assumed about medieval horsemanship were a myth.

The Cleaner, the Cat and the Space Station -- interesting cozy sci-fi, but I think there were too many ideas and POV characters being thrown around. And it left quite a bit unresolved in the end.

The Unknown -- Riley Sager is a guilty pleasure author for me… but I was disappointed in his latest one. It felt rather repetitive, with its dual timelines mirroring each other, and (view spoiler)[the ending felt like a slap in the face to people with legitimate mental illness. (hide spoiler)]

Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, Vol. 1

Currently reading:

Better with Butter
Challenger Deep
Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds
To You Shall All Flesh Come

QOTW:

It's happened before... but the most recent one wasn't exactly from my real life, but from a fanfic.

I've been working on a fanfic recently involving a character named Jordan (she's not from the source material but an original character), and she's queer, a survivor of a polygamous cult, and is nicknamed "JoJo" by her friends. Well, I started reading the book The 19th Wife while still writing this fic... and its main character is named Jordan, is queer, is a survivor of a polygamous cult, and is nicknamed "JoJo." The genders are swapped (the book JoJo is a boy), but the similarities were so strong I had to stop reading.

52 Book Club has released their four preview prompts in a YouTube video, and I have something available for all of them (city or country in the title being the easiest).

Finished:

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek-The First 25 Years (4 out of 5 stars)

N or M? (3 out of 5 stars)

The Music of James Bond (4 out of 5 stars)

The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One (3 out of 5 stars)

The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy (3.5 out of 5 stars)

ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD (3.5 out of 5 stars)

DNF:

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth (imagine not finishing a book of unfinished tales!)

What I read while skimming was fine, but I have decided to listen to the Prancing Pony Podcast episodes about these and dig in later if something sounds amazing.

Currently Reading:

The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing

Question of the Week:

I recognized some of the travel involved in Boston in The Accidental Time Machine's present day chapters. I'm sure I've had other connections and synchronicity, but none are springing to mind.

Laura Ruth wrote: "Actually I'm kind of hoping they do the state thing again, because the 27th state is Florida, and who doesn't love a good " Florida Man" story..."




Yes I'd like to see "Florida" - it would give me a push to read the final Southern Reach novel, Absolution

Happy Thursday! It got warm again. I'm not a fan. Come back, fall weather!!

Finished 42/50

The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature for "book with fruit on the cover". This was a beast. Very, very heady and niche!

Currently Reading

Renewing You: A Priest, a Psychologist, and a Plan for "book by real-life spouses (1)". Really good so far!

The Grace of Incorruption: The Selected Essays of Donald Sheehan on Orthodox Faith and Poetics for "book by real-life spouses (2)". Ok so it only lists his name, but his wife edited and compiled these after his death and wrote the introduction and footnotes, so I think it counts.

QotW

So, one of the characters in the The City of Brass series (the prince, I forget his name) is exactly like me in temperment, thought process, and speech. Like, if you put me in his shoes, I would do everything he did exactly as he did it for the exact same reasons. It was really, really weir to read! Like, I've related to characters before, but never had one exactly match me, flaws and all! It was truly wild, a bit humbling.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Glad to see someone else reading Chang-rae Lee. I discovered him by accident a few years ago and I keep waiting for the rest of the world to catch up and realize how amazing he is."

I really enjoyed A Tender Age - I'm definitely going to have to check out his backlist!

Nadine in NY wrote: "I remember I felt so guilty when my kid first got glasses - like, how did I not notice she was struggling?"

The guilt is real. Now I'm looking at Seth and thinking he needs glasses too. He peers so close to his computer screen. But how's that going to work? He can read an eye chart, but with his limited verbal ability choosing lenses would be an impossible task!

I just visited popsugar.com to see if I could figure out what impossible prompts they might come up with this year. The main page has articles on...

Chemo hobbies
Rucking retreats
Every group has a "Nav" friend
A "Relaxorette" trip

Hi all! Nadine, you are a trooper, I've had the heat on for weeks. But I did turn it off and open windows and run fans the other day when it was 80. It's 54 now, and the furnace just kicked on!
Our leaves are not as spectacular as I would have expected. With the miniscule remnants of the hurricane that made it up here, leaves that had changed were mostly blown down, but I still have quite a few very green trees around. I've got some pretty orange trees, but I haven't yet seen hardly any vibrant reds.

We took kiddo to a Halloween store the other day and she picked out her costume- she's going to be an old granny! And she has it down. She's so funny! This weekend is Girl Scouts' Halloween party and the town Halloween party, so we'll be busy.

Didn't finish anything this week, but made progress in Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned and If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans. Really loving both of them.

QOTW: I know it's happened more than I'm remembering now, but 2 examples that come to mind are Turn Left At The Trojan Horse: A Would-Be Hero's American Odyssey, which was the author on a road trip to Ithaca, NY, where I live. The other was Ticket to Ride - Lost and Found in America where the author travels to Maine, where I went to college.
I'd say the weirdest one wasn't what was written, but how it was written. The first book I ever read by Ken Follet I was struck by how incredibly similar his writing style is to mine.

I have no idea what any of that means and in some cases, wouldn't like to hazard a guess.

Happy Thursday! It's not quite 90 here today but there's a wonderful breeze and we haven't had to put the air on (yet) and if we do, it'll only be a few hours so that's a win.

PopSugar 50/50
AtY 44/52
Curiosity Killed the Bookworm: 23/25
Rocky Horror Challenge 12/12

Finished:
Das Erbe von Winterfell by George RR Martin 2nd part of Game of Thrones; for AtY, a location in the title
The House in the Cerulean Sea for our monthly read. This is a library book, so it takes preference and the others are all ignored.

Currently Reading
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy Not hackers like the ones trying to break into your computer, this is more a history of computing. And yes, it is quite dull . . . no, I take that back. Parts are hilarious.
Summer of Blood: England's First Revolution by Dan Jones About the Peasants’ Revolt, 1381
The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich
A Pox on Fools: The True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics Who Convinced Us to Reject Vaccines by Thomas Levenson
Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Audiobook, from Libby, but I noticed that I bought this from Amazon in 2002. I sure don’t remember it, maybe it was a gift.


QOTW
There have been several, but I won't bore you with specifics 😊 In fact, there are some I can't even read because . . . I just can't.

Laura Z wrote: "Chemo hobbies
Rucking retreats
Every group has a "Nav" friend
A "Relaxorette" trip ..."




I do not know what any of that means, so for SURE at least one of those things will show up on next year's list!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Laura Z wrote: "Chemo hobbies
Rucking retreats
Every group has a "Nav" friend
A "Relaxorette" trip ..."




I do not know what any of that means, so for SURE at least one of those things will show ..."

I'm afraid you're right. There will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the discussion threads.

Happy Thursday!

I had great plans to work on reading over the Thanksgiving weekend, but I don't feel like I did. It doesn't help that one book I'm reading is almost 500 pages and the other two are about 600. The higher the page count, the harder it is to make progress.

I finally got back into my PS movies. I actually watched about 2/3 of another movie, but didn't get it done.

Series - 8/12
Number 1s - 8/10
Nobel laureates - 3/5
Rocky Horror challenge: 14/12
Summer Reading challenge - 5400/5000 points - Completed!

PS - 33/30 - Completed!
ATY - 42/45
PS movies - 34/50

Currently reading:
We Love You, Bunny - 80%
Solomon Gursky Was Here - 30%
The Dying of the Light - 15%

PopSugar movies
Two movies written or acted in by real-life partners or spouses - The Crucible (Arthur Miller)

QOTW: I must have, but other than one kids book set in Ottawa, I can't think of any.

It was another pop culture con weekend so I didn't get a lot of reading done. But I am now 49/50 for the challenge. I have the last one but right now I'm doing a spooky season reading challenge so it'll have to wait

Where the Drowned Girls Go By Seanan McGuire for ps 6 A book with an overweight main character whose story isn't about losing weight It's one of the Wayward Children novellas. If you haven't read at least a few of these it might be a rough go. Honestly I found Cora to be abrasive and unlikeable.

I think I forgot to post last week. Here's a few others I've read

Cosmos, Vol. 1 by Ryuhei Tamura this was a weird manga

The Halls of the Dead by S. M. Hallow This is a very odd book and I'm not sure I'd rec it for everyone

Where There's Smoke by Rachel Louise Adams a fairly graphic forensic mystery (also deals with the aftermath of sexual assault)

Nowhere by Allison Gunn I had originally picked up this for the sexless marriage prompt. I don't know why I decided it wouldn't fit and picked up something else. As a horror it works well but it would have fit the prompt perfectly. However the adults in this were the worst people. I hated everyone.

QOTW hmmm maybe? But I can't remember. I suppose in the non fiction side of things, the paranormal investigation scenes do reflect me

Laura Ruth wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Laura Z wrote: "Chemo hobbies
Rucking retreats
Every group has a "Nav" friend
A "Relaxorette" trip ..."


I do not know what any of that means, so for SURE at least one of th..."

Dibs on profanity!! ;)

Brandon wrote: "52 Book Club has released their four preview prompts in a YouTube video, and I have something available for all of them (city or country in the title being the easiest!..."

I'm having trouble finding the video. Would you mind posting the prompts here?

Doni wrote: "Brandon wrote: "52 Book Club has released their four preview prompts in a YouTube video, and I have something available for all of them (city or country in the title being the easiest!..."

I'm hav..."

Color in the title
Published when you were 20
City or country in the title
Title no more than 10 letters

This was a weird week for me, but only a few more hours until the weekend officially kicks in and this one will be in the books. Phew! 😮‍💨 I finished three books since the last check-in...two of which worked for this challenge (and I cannot believe I couldn't figure out a prompt for the third one...for any of the challenges I'm doing!). I'm now at 20/40 and 5/10 for this challenge (meeting my goal of completing 25 of the 50 prompts! 🥳) and 57/75 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Finished:
* The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky and narrated by Noah Galvin, which was my Banned Books Week read. I used it for the advanced prompt "a book told entirely through letters";
* I Am Mine: Words + Music, Vol. 24 written, narrated, and sung by Eddie Vedder, which I used for the advanced prompt "a book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist;" and,
* The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, which I will discuss with both of my book clubs this weekend (and could not figure out an empty prompt that fit for any of my reading challenges).

Currently Reading:
* The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries edited by Michael Sims;
* A Gargoyle's Guide to Murder written by Gigi Pandian and narrated by Julia Motyka;
* King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby; and,
* Your Perfect Year written by Charlotte Lucas and translated by Alison Layland.

QotW:
This week's question was suggested by Lynn

Have you ever read a scene in a book that mirrored your real life experience? Yes! A somewhat recent example that immediately jumped into my mind is Real Life and Other Fictions by Susan Coll. I decided to listen to the audiobook version on a drive to see my parents on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which involves driving across the Bay Bridge. The opening scene of the book involved the female protagonist around my age driving across the same span of the Bay Bridge to see her parents (though I think they were in Delaware). I ended up switching to music because in the book, there was a bad accident on the bridge...and there had been a bad accident on the bridge the night before. And the similarities were too much at that point - it was the first (and so far only) time that I've been weirded out driving across the bridge! I did listen to the book on the way home since the similarities ended 🙃

Laura Z wrote: "Happy Thursday! I turned on the heat. We've got highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. We're fine during the day, but it gets cold in the house at night!

Eli (9) got glasses two weeks ago. He love..."

I know how he feels. I first got glasses in 4th grade and I needed them before but as distance was the problem but I was able to compensate so my grades were not really affected. Until 4th grade, the nun teaching the class assigned seating in such a way that instead of being near the front as the year before, i was in the back and could not always read the chalkboard. When pop quiz questions were written there, I could not read them meaning I had to leave my desk, walk to front until I could read it, then go back to my seat. The nun was not happy! But she figured it out, called my parents, and I soon got glasses. I had not fully understood how serious poor vision was. This was earli 1960s, and kids did not get regular eye exams.

Laura Z wrote: "I just visited popsugar.com to see if I could figure out what impossible prompts they might come up with this year. The main page has articles on...

Chemo hobbies
Rucking retreats
Every group has ..."

Hilarious.

Around The Year (ATY), which has its members create the prompts for its annual challenge, has been discussing, creating, polling and voting on thhe prempts FOR MONTHS. It drives me nuts and why I lurk rather than actively participate in the group. Around about Poll 12 to vote in a shorf list of possible prompts (top voted 2 or 3 make it to list at this point), I started voting every poll. This week is Poll 18 and there is a hint it is the last one. Over half the prompts I voted AGAINST made it onto the list - and these are people who will be reading for the challenge! I am likely skipping ATY 2027, staying loyal to PS.

Life update: We have finally exchanged contracts on our house sale/purchase, which also means we have a confirmed moving date! We will be leaving London on the 29th of this month. I have a long list of things we need to do before then and am working my way down it. I also have a call scheduled on Monday with my mum's German lawyer, which I am not looking forward to because it's a difficult sort of conversation to have in German, but hey ho.

Reading update: I finished four books this week:
The Warrior's Path - next in series, no prompt. Good pacing and some gorgeous prose, but it needed more editing. 3.25*
Fearful Symmetry - Odd Formats: another story interwoven with the main one. This is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine flip book, so the two stories aren't exactly interwoven, but I definitely think it's in the spirit of the challenge. One story follows Major (now Captain) Kira and the other a Cardassian woman who looks very like her. I seem to be in the minority in preferring the former to the latter. 3.5*.
Unfit to Print - audiobook, no prompt. I always enjoy K J Charles's books, and this was no exception. 4.25*.
Stille blutet - Odd Formats: told partially through a blog or podcast. I stretched the prompt a little because I'd already DNF'd several options for it; the gimmick is that each of the murder victims has left a social media post announcing their own death in advance, and we do get the text of each announcement, but the story isn't told through the posts apart from that. It's an excellent thriller, and I will definitely read the next in the series. 4.25*.

The books I DNF'd were:
House of Margins - suddenly became way too confusing for my liking
No One Is Talking About This - written in a fragmentary style that I wasn't vibing with at all
The Pyramid of Needs - too much fatphobia for me as an ED survivor

Stats:
Odd Formats: 2 this week, 6/11 total
Anti-Capitalist Inspiration: 0 this week, 23/30 total
Spanish Titles ABC: 0 this week, 3/26 total
French TBR: 0 this week, 2/50 total
Reading About Writing: 0 this week, 4/40 total

All books finished this year: 4 this week, 138 total
DNF or paused this year: 3 this week, 32 total

Challenges completed this year: 5
Challenges in progress (end date in 2026): 0
Challenges in progress (no end date): 5

Currently reading:
Scheiß auf Selflove, gib mir Klassenkampf. Eine neue Kapitalismuskritik - audiobook, no prompt. An idiomatic translation of the title would be "To Hell with Self-Love, Give Me Class Struggle: A New Critique of Capitalism". It's about how mass media and the wellness industry encourage us to individualise our problems rather than attributing them to systematic flaws. It's very interesting so far.
The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World - Anti-Capitalist Challenge: non-fiction about violence. I'm filling in some gaps in my knowledge of cold war history.

QOTW: Oh, definitely. Just from this year's reading, the MC in Leo Rising: Queer Spaces, Sexuality, and Fame reminded me almost painfully of myself, and I grinned in recognition a lot when reading about the activists in Fallout.

Sasha,

You are not alone in preferring Kira's story to that of Iliana Ghemor's. Side B is full of brutal assault and a prison break, not exactly what I am tuning in to Star Trek for.

Good morning, everyone! Happy Friday!

I had a chance to spend the day with my dad yesterday, which is why this week’s update is a day late. I was going to post last night, but got distracted watching the cricket matches on Prime Video. I still have no idea what was going on, but I'm 100% here for it.

I did a tremendous amount of reading this week! I am continuing my reading for both FrightFall and my Final FMC TBR game, and I feel like I’m making really good progress on both. I’ve also had a chance to read a pretty good mix of titles from both my TBR and New Books lists.

Speaking of reading, the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon is taking place this weekend, beginning on Saturday at 8 AM (EST). I’m really looking forward to participating in this readathon once again, and I’m excited to see how many more titles I can cross off my lists.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 236/250
Mount TBR Challenge: 137/150

📚Physical TBR: 129/462
📱Ebook TBR: 7/161
🎧Audiobook TBR: 1/1
TBR Checklist Total: 127/624 (21% complete)

TBR Books DNFed in 2026: 6
TBR Books Soft DNFed in 2026: 3

This week I was able to pick up a copy of With Hearts of Flame, by Briar Boleyn. I also ordered/preordered several books online, including: As You Wake, Break the Shell, by Becky Chambers; Love, Politics, and Other Acts of War, by M.H. Foster; Daughter of the Tempest, by Braidee Otto; and Fae and Fare, by pirateaba.

“New” Books Bought in 2026: 145
“New” Books Read in 2026: 99
“New” Books DNFed in 2026: 0
“New” Books Checklist Total: 99/145 (68% complete)

Here are the books I finished this week…

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~She's a Doll — I picked up a copy of this book because I enjoyed the author’s debut novel, Monsters and Mainframes. I’m so glad that I did, because this book was fabulous! The main character is the embodiment of female rage, and the fact that she’s spending her afterlife in the body of a doll makes seeking revenge super complicated. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to the death of a pet, as well as references to rape. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Bad Moon Over London: A Gripping Mystery Thriller Series, Hunter & Higashi Book 3 — This is the third book in the Hunter and Higashi Mystery series. I thought this was a good mystery, but I was less than impressed with the editing. In addition to the occasional typo, I came across a tremendous number of sentences that were incomplete (missing words). I decided to use this book for the “detective” prompt for my Final FMC game. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to rape and suicide. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Doctor Sleep — This is the second book in The Shining duology. Despite a pretty depressing beginning, this was an excellent sequel to King’s original novel. Danny’s journey as a character was really compelling, and I enjoyed having a chance to follow Abra and Rose’s stories as well. This actually turned out to be one of my favorite books that King has written. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes depictions of alcoholism and drug abuse, as well as references to child abuse (including molestation and rape). (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Henchperson's Guide to Unionizing — This was such a fun read! I thought the premise was really clever, and loved the characters (especially Grim). Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes depictions of toxic work environments, as well as references to (and scenes involving) verbal and physical abuse. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~House Haunters — I thought this was a really good story, with great characters. If you like your HGTV on the spooky side, then you’ll probably really enjoy this book. Also, the MMC’s corgi is named Fish Stick, which is beyond cute. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to bullying. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~Men, Women, and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film — I thought this was an interesting look at gender in horror movies. However, since the book was published in 1992, the focus was on films that aren’t really considered “modern” horror anymore. I thought the author was very knowledgeable about her subject, so I really wish that I could have seen her thoughts about the horror films of the last few decades. It would be interesting to see how gender rolls in horror have changed over the last 30+ years. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes detailed discussions of movies that focus on rape and incest. It also includes references to harm done to animals. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Necessary Death: What Horror Movies Teach Us About Navigating the Human Experience — This book was an interesting, accessible read that was basically pop psychology meets horror. Each chapter focused on a character from a different horror movie and was divided into two sections. The first focused on the psychology of the movie, while the second read more like a self-help book. While I didn’t always agree with the authors’ observations and conclusions, I did like that they also included examples from their own life experiences…including how the horror movie under discussion affected them. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to drug abuse and alcoholism, as well as suicide and self-harm. There is also an entire chapter that focuses on toxic relationships. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Lore Olympus: Volume Eleven — This was a fantastic conclusion to the Lore Olympus series! I thoroughly enjoyed this series as a whole, and thought both the artwork and story were wonderful. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This series does deal with issues such as rape, as well as toxic/manipulative relationships. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~The Eye of the Bedlam Bride — This is the sixth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. While this book is a re-read for me, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to listen to the audiobook. As always, I am thoroughly enjoying Jeff Hays’s narration. I currently have just over 10.5 hours remaining. 🎧
~War Storm — This is the fourth book in the Red Queen series. Even though my main focus is on reading spooky books right now, I am continuing to read a couple chapters of this book each night. If I am able to maintain my current reading pace, I should be able to finish both this book and the final book in the series (a collection of novellas) before the end of the month. 📚
~The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales — While I have read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow before, this is my first time reading the other stories in this collection. I am reading 12 pages of this book each day, and plan to stretch my reading over most of the month of October. I'm still not loving this book, but I am determined to finish it before the end of the month. 📚
~All Hallows Eve — This collection of Halloween short stories has been very good so far. I’ve been reading one story per night, so I should finish the book on Sunday. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to animal harm/death, grief, and suicide. Some stories also include graphic violence. (hide spoiler)] 📚
~Circe — I’m currently about 80 pages into this book, and I just don’t know how I feel about it yet. I’m hoping it will pick up soon, otherwise I may be looking at a DNF. 📚
~The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar — I’m currently about 40% of the way through this book, and it has been fabulous so far. I will either be finishing it today or tomorrow. 📚

QOTW:
Most of the books I read are fantasy or SciFi, so there’s not a lot in them that would mirror my real life experience. That being said, I did try to read Turtles All the Way Down when it came out, and had to DNF because the main character’s OCD spiral at the beginning of the book triggered an anxiety attack.