Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Greetings from icy West Michigan where the schools are closed for the second day of the week. (Read: I'm losing my mind.) Not a great time to be working from home. ;-)

I haven't had much time or the attention span to read this week. I did manage to finish one book #GIRLBOSS for "career advice." It was not time well spent. C'est la vie. That brings me to 2/40 and I remain uncommitted to the advanced challenge.

I have two other books in progress including Etiquette & Espionage, which I will use for either steampunk, first in series you've never read, subgenre you don't usually read to name a few. I needed something light to read.

While I haven't been reading, I have been watching season 2 of the Outlander series. My library has DVDs so that's been great. I didn't even have to pay for the rental and I have it for 3 weeks. I've finished 10/12 episodes.

I received an email from Tara at Popsugar yesterday. She's posted a new article on the site with lots of book recommendations she culled from our members. You can check it out here.

We've closed the February nomination thread. Sara is tabulating votes and will get the poll out in the coming days. I still have 54 people ahead of me for a copy of The Underground Railroad so I see a book purchase in my future since that's my pick for that category (though it would work for a few others).

Question of the week:
I'm running out of ideas for questions here folks. Hoping we have enough new members that you won't notice if I sneak in a repeat now and then. If you have a suggestion for a question of the week, PM me! (This one is new.)

Has a book ever made you angry? If so, why? Which book?
My IRL book club read Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead a few years ago when it was first released. I remember telling the friend who selected it, "this book is really pi$$ing me off!" (Sorry for the curse, friends.)

It really made me take a hard look at my own actions in the workplace and see where I need to make changes. Now, I buy it for all my departing interns and other young women who are starting their careers.

Can't wait to hear from you. (And hey Fannie, this is a super early post! What can happen when I work from home.)

Its 60 degrees in Pittsburgh - which we just came out of below freezing tempatures - so this is an odd weather week for us.

Slow reading week for me too. I was all ready for the challenge in December and now I'm like in limbo. A lot of my books must be popular too because I am on the wait list for many. And I know they will all arrive at the same time. #bookreaderproblems

I finished the group read The Winter People. And I read Saga, Volume 2.

I'm about 41% in to Envy.

QOTW I'd say a lot of third and final books in series has made me mad. Like Allegiant and The Last Star. I'm not an author, but its almost like they just give up on book three. These books had such great promise. Disclaimer - sorry if these are your favorite books - they just weren't my cup of tea!

Good morning from balmy 60F Virginia (well, that's the high for today)! To be fair, we had 20 degree weather over the weekend with snow and two days of no school :) We also live in the south where a single snowflake has to capability to shut everything down.

I am hoping to have a poll up by the weekend for February's group read. There were a lot of nominations so it will take a little time to put everything together! I will send out a message with a link as soon as the poll is created!

I have been chugging away at some large books, but in between I managed to squeeze in a couple of quick reads:

Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love - this is NOT the story from the movie but rather the inspiration behind the creation of that movie. The secretaries of Juliet are a real thing, and they have been responding to letters written to Juliet and sent to Verona for nearly 100 years! This book was not as interesting as I had hoped, but it was still fun to read. Some of the requests written to Juliet are hilarous. I was also pleased to see it had a red spine so that's the category I put it in.

The Trumpet of the Swan - read this in one day while we were snowed in over the weekend. This is my book from my childhood.

The Lion, the Mouse, and the Dawn Treader: Spiritual Lessons from C.S. Lewis's Narnia - I started this book last year, but had put it down. I don't know how many of the spiritual lessons highlighted in the book were C.S. Lewis's actual intentions and how many are assumptions by Carl McColman, but it was interesting to spend a little time considering the parallels between the Narnia series and Christianity. This is my book bought at a used book sale (library sale a few years ago).

Still working on Washington: A Life (300 pages away from finishing!) and Anna Karenina. Also, I started listening to the audio of Voyager for the book that always makes me smile. It isn't my favorite of the Outlander series, but anything from that world makes me smile :)

Speaking of Outlander, Juanita, I hope you are enjoying season 2! Part of the reason I decided to listen to Voyager again was in preparation for season 3 coming out this spring! The show veers off from the book some, but that's to be expected (if a little irritating at times). Overall I think they have done a pretty nice job.

Question of the Week: The closest thing I can think of was either Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice which I was just disgusted by or The Handmaid's Tale which was a good read, but the ending was like running into a brick wall at full speed. Not fun.

Megan wrote: " I'd say a lot of third and final books in series has made me mad..."

It seems like publishers are pushing so many authors (and YA authors in particular) to make everything into a trilogy. Sometimes it works, but very often the story gets stretched out too far. We need an official, catchy name (like "trilogy") for a stand-alone book or a series of 2 books so that people will see it's ok for a book to not be a long series! Maybe these exist already?

Another super reading week for me - working part time and no kids help, I guess *LOL* I have managed to finish 4 more books - 2 regular, and 2 audiobooks:

A book recommended by a librarian - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ⭐️⭐️
An audiobook - Persuasion ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A book you've read before that never fails to make you smile - Nattens kys⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A book from a nonhuman perspective - Watership Down ⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTW: Pillars of the earth - that really annoyed me! Every time something good happened, it was ruined... Over and over and over again... It took me a full year to finish it, and that was only due to my stubbornness, hahaha...

Good morning from Joplin, MO! I'm currently snuggling up on the couch with a cup of coffee waiting for the freezing rain and all that junk to start. This is my first time doing the challenge and my first update post so bear with me because I have no clue what I'm doing. :)

I've been happy with my progress this week so far. I forgot about the group thread last week but managed to read almost two books. I was able to knock off my book of letters by reading The Perks Of Being A Wallflower,

This week I finished After You which I used for a book by an author from a country you've never visited and I was kind of disappointed with it. I just wanted so much more for Louisa. I read Jurassic Park the last two days for my book set in the wilderness. Fantastic read! I kind of want to read it again but can't spare the time right now.

Today I will probably start reading Eat, Pray, Love to fill my book involving travel quota. I should have plenty of time to get this one done this week since we are probably going to be snowed in all weekend.

As for coming up with a book that makes me angry, I was stumped for a few minutes trying to think about when I was angry with a book. The most recent book I've been angry with was a marriage book called Strengths Based Marriage: Build a Stronger Relationship by Understanding Each Other's Gifts. It sounded like it would be a good book to read with the Husband. I got it home and there's a personality quiz of sorts that you're both supposed to take to find out what your strengths are so you can grow your marriage. I went to the link in the book and it was $15 per person for your top 5 strengths, $74 per person for strengths 6-34, and $89 for all 34 of your strengths. I was so mad!!!! It just seems like they're trying to rip people off because you really cant do anything with the book unless you have the test results. I mean I love my husband very much, but we both agreed that we could probably read a different marriage book together and still feel more connected without having to shell out that much money for a 200 page book. Annoying!!

This week I've finished The Big Picture by Sean Carroll for my difficult topic prompt and Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire for my book with a mystical creature. I'm nearly through with The Sellout by Paul Beatty for my book by a person of color. I started Booklife:Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st- century writer for the Career book.

I really like the Question of The Week. This is an area where Goodreads really shines because my memory is so bad. I will look at my read list and come back and when I have jogged my memory... Ok I'm back.

Norman Mailer's The Castle in the Forest comes to mind. It was his last book. It was about Hitler's imagined childhood told from the viewpoint of his guiding Demon. It was long, I knew very quickly I wasn't liking it but feel compelled to finish books and it was about Hitler. The book got lots of praise but I was thinking the whole time- "No way would I want this to be my swan song ". But I guess you never get to decide what that is do you. You get the feeling he is going out of his way to besmirch Hitler's childhood to make sure there is no part of his life when he was just not horrible and unredeemable. But it's Hitler- unless you are a neoNazi you don't need to be convinced he's a bad guy. So ultimately I hated it for feeling like I wasted all the time spent reading it. But that's my fault- not Mailer's. Can't - stop- reading. Many more non-fiction titles have made me angry -always having to do with greed, short-sightedness and selfishness. So all of Matt Taibbi's do that but I always love the read. The Great Derangement, Griftopia, The Great Divide. His stuff is terrific but definitely makes me mad.

Hello all from Meriden, KS! We are currently stocking up and preparing for a major winter ice storm this weekend. I'm making sure my devices are fully charged, multiple books ready, and many candles available to read by!

I was able to finish 1 book this week putting me at 1/40 for the regular list, and I'm also 1/12 for the advanced list.

This week I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2. I finished this in about a day, and picked it up because I needed a break from the rambling 800 pages that is Winter. I really wasn't that excited to read this book because I didn't want it to ruin anything for me! The first 7 Harry Potter books are perfection to me and were such a big a part of my life growing up. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I gave it 3 stars, because I can't say that I loved it, but I didn't hate it either. I don't really love reading plays, but that made it go so much quicker.

I'm still about 40% of the way through Winter, and I'm enjoying it, I just really don't like exhaustively long books. That being said, guess what I have on my bedside table to read next? The Pillars of the Earth and Sarum: The Novel of England....you know a couple of the longest books ever!! But I love any books about history, and I really want to get through them. So we'll see!

QOTW; I honestly can't think of any books right now that I've been mad at! I'll think about it and come back to this!

Hi

I am 50% through the lock and key which I found for free on audiobooks, so that will cover the audio book prompt. This was my first audio book so chose a light and quick book and have to say I am enjoying it as I have been doing my needlework whilst 'reading' lol . May look for other titles for other parts of the challenge

I have also started to read out of the shadows for the espionage prompt. Hopefully both of these will be finished over the weekend

Qotw- naruto has made me cross unable to follow the thread at all. Had chosen it for genre never read but have had to give up!! Dont think anime is for me!!

I managed to finish two books this week that were left over from last week. Thunder on the Plains (A book you got from a used book sale) and American Gods(A book based on mythology).

Thunder on the Plains I read because I had fond memories of another book by the same author, but after this one, I have to wonder if my standards were just lower back then or if her writing backslid for this particular book... I've decided not to revisit the other book I enjoyed so that I can preserve the fond memories... It was my very first "grown-up" book!

American Gods I listened to on audio and while it was awesome and I really enjoyed the story... the sex scenes got a little awkward when the old guy narrating the book got really into it; doing the whole heavy breathing and panting bit... My previous experiences with Neil Gaiman did not prepare me for sex scenes!

QOTW
Two instances, in different ways. The Handmaid's Tale made me really angry because of the subject matter. Gone Girl made me really angry because I didn't like what was done with it. I can't even really explain why I was so upset... maybe because everyone else was raving about it? Because I had too high expectations and expected more? Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hi everyone! This week I finished Secrets of Nanreath Hall for "book set in two different time periods" and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for "book with character's name in the title". These books were both so so so good and Simon vs became one of my instant favorites :)

QOTW: I can't think of a book that has ever actually made me angry. I can remember, though, that Monstrous Beauty was so disappointing I never even want to look at that book again in my life. Lol

You know how I like early post Juanita. :)

Nothing to report here. I will finish Fall of Giants today though. So I am still at 0/40, but I will choose a shorter book for the next prompt.

It's raining here today. Raining in January... in Montréal.

I will come back with an answer for the QOTW.

Since everyone is mentioning their weather this week, I feel compelled to brag that here in Dallas, TX yesterday was 70 degrees. So I took my son to the playground and sat on a bench and read.

This week was much more productive for me than week 1. I read:
March: Book Two- a book with pictures
Winter - a book that is more than 800 pages
The Winter People - a book with one of the four seasons in the title

QOTW: Back in October I picked up Frankenstein. I am definitely a fan of horror and thrillers (Stephen King is my favorite author). Frankenstein had been described to me as "the first horror novel. I was excited to read it, because it is classic literature but would also give me a peak into the inspiration and history of some many thriller's that I love. I hated it! I had to force myself to finish it. It took me almost 4 weeks! Reading that book made me fall asleep every time. I just don't think I could connect with the narrator. I ended up borrowing this graphic novel from the library to get through the ending.

This was a huge disappointment. At the time I ranted to whoever would listen. I really wanted to love this book. Maybe I'll give it another try after a year or two.

Hello! I'm also in Virginia where it's warm and I'm hoping to get outside and enjoy it before the cold weather comes back.

Today I plan on finishing Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (book about an interesting woman) so I can return it to the library and pick up the book I have on hold, Hollow City (haven't decided on a category for it yet).

I also read Bunnicula (book from an animal's point-of-view) to my daughter and I asked my mom to send my Griffin and Sabine book (book of letters) so I can read that to her.

I'll have to think about a book that's made me angry. I know there are some but none are coming to mind right now.

Stephanie

Kelly wrote: "Reading that book made me fall asleep every time. I just don't think I could connect with the narrator. "

Same here, Kelly!

I'm trying to get through a list of "100 books to read in a lifetime" and Frankenstein is on that list. I downloaded the book and kept falling asleep. Finally, I got the audio book from Audible and listened to it while on a long drive.

I just went through my "read" bookshelf and remembered how angry Tess of the D'Ubervilles made me because of the way Tess is treated. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it but it really made me want to punch all the men in the book for their unfair treatment of women.

Good one Stéphanie. I guess I could go in that path also and choose The Handmaid's Tale. What made me angry was not only the way women was treated, but also that it was believable. Removing all the power to women was slow and they accepted it bit by bit. Scary.

I have finished books 6, 7, and 8 for this year, and all have managed to count towards the challenge.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story works for 47 A book with an eccentric character. It can also work for 4, 12, and 46 (non-fiction novel, true crime).

Gutshot Straight was 23 A book with a red spine.

The Balkan Escape was 12 A bestseller from a genre you don’t normally read

QOTW: I have read many books that made me angry, especially romance novels. I'm pretty opinionated on how I think a romance novel should play out: there needs to be some connection besides the fact that both people are pretty, sex should always be consensual, and they should not get married or engaged at the end of it if they have only known each other a couple of days/weeks. Also, you don't have to make a character "broken" in order to make them interesting. Let them be two functional adults who happen to meet, and give it a good plot as well!

Fannie wrote: "Good one Stéphanie. I guess I could go in that path also and choose The Handmaid's Tale. What made me angry was not only the way women was treated, but also that it was believable. Rem..."

When I read Handmaid's Tale I think I was a little too young to realize my anger, but it definitely made me uncomfortable and it's probably what set me on my feminist ways. I'm sure I'd be angry if I read it now!

Thanks to a snowy weekend I was able to plow through the better part of three books in the past week.

19. A book about food - The $64 Dollar Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden (Thanks for the inspiration from another group member!)
33. A book set in two different time periods - The Winter People (I already have a book slated for the season prompt but wanted to read along.)
39. First in a series you haven’t read before - The Giver

Currently, I’m working on Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier for #24 - a book set in the wilderness.

QOTW: Off the top of my head, I remember The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine making me mad when I read it last summer. In hindsight, it’s all so clear how the banking collapse happened. After reading this account it should have been pretty clear to everyone at the time too. The most troubling part for me is that, by and large, the orchestrators of the mess came out unscathed but 1000s of average people lost their homes and life savings as a result. Right after reading this book I read Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church which also made me pretty mad for obvious thematic reasons. I guess I was in a bit of a mood picking these two up back to back.

Mie wrote: "Pillars of the earth - that really annoyed me! Every time something good happened, it was ruined... Over and over and over again..."

That's a great way of putting it! It was one of the first books I bought when I got my kindle 8 years ago. I never finished it. And your description exactly fits what I remember disliking about it.

Greetings from central Oklahoma. We had snow last weekend, 70 degree weather yesterday, and are now gearing up for an ice storm. Just another lovely week on the American plains. I haven't finished any books yet this week. I'm working on Voyager right now for my book set in two time periods then I have a bunch of YA books lined up to read next.

QOTW: I had no trouble at all coming up with books that made me angry. The first is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I read this in HS in Sr English and I hated the ending. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I remember writing a very scathing paper on it and then later wrote a short story where the main character ripped it apart too. I also threw Allegiant across the room when I finished it. That book was so poorly written and then the ending. I really hope they leave the movies as they are right now and don't finish out the story. The plot is so weak and it felt like Roth was just going down a YA checklist. So infuriating.

It's my first weekly checkins as I've join the group at the end of the first week!

This week I've read/finished

6. A book with one of the four seasons in the title: The Winter People

24. A book set in the wilderness: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

26. A book by an author from a country you've never visited:Petit Pays by Gaël Faye

30. A book with pictures: Le Tour du monde en 80 jours by Jules Verne

So, intense week considering the baby and the master thesis to write, but I'm glad I did it. I really enjoyed all of them for different reasons. I'm also happy with the languages, 2 in English, 2 in French. I hope to add a German one in the next 2 months!

The next one I want to read is The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Hopefully non-fiction will give me more chance to put the book down and get more work done!

QOTW: Lolita really made me angry! Les Bienveillantes too! The last one was worst because more I read more I hated the narrator, and the book was long, so by the last sentences I really hated him!

This week I listened to Abaddon's Gate by James SA Cory, filling in the audiobook slot. It is the third book in a sci-fi YA series. I also read The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater (a book with an eccentric character) which is the final book of a 4 part series. The whole series was exceptional, and I gladly recommend it to lovers of urban fantasy and mythology. I also highly recommend The Scorpio Races which is a stand alone book by the same author.

I am currently reading The Immortal Circus: Act One by AR Kahler and listening to Personal Effects by EM Kokie. On deck are Small Great Things by Jodi Piccoult and Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear.

***
QOTW
The Three-Body Problem made me angry when it ended. The beginning was very long, drawn out, and historical (which is not bad but also not my thing) I persevered and the book turned interesting … but then the ending was horrible which ruined it all over again! That being said, I find myself STILL thinking about this book, even though I read it 2 years ago which just proves that high emotions (positive or negative) are connected to our memories.

Good morning, everyone, from the gray skies of Kansas!

I finished 6 books for 3 different challenges this week, which I totally did not realize until this moment! I'm now at 3/40 for Popsugar, 4/52 for Around the Year, and 1/24 for Read Harder.

- For Popsugar's "book by a person of color," I read Juliet Takes a Breath. I basically agree with the great and good Roxane Gay's review of this book: this book is important and necessary and Juliet is SUCH a great character - more queer POC in fiction! - but it definitely needed an edit to tone down the overly academic language in some parts. Definitely recommended!
- For Read Harder's "book about books," I read The Uncommon Reader. Really liked this one - it had an edge of sadness that I found really worked well for a book that imagines the Queen becoming a late-in-life reader. Highly recommended!
- For Around the Year's "a mystery," I read Lady Cop Makes Trouble. Not as good as Girl Waits with Gun, but still a fun read, and I liked that it made the character of the Sheriff a little less perfect.
- For Around the Year's "a book with a strong female character," I read The Dare and the Doctor. Quite enjoyable! I like a friends-to-lovers story, and they're relatively rare in romance.
- For Around the Year's "a book with illustrations," I read King Baby. DELIGHTFUL. If you have 10 minutes, use it to laugh at this perfect picture book!
- For Around the Year's "a book with an unreliable narrator," I read Turn of Mind. This is a mystery/family drama/thriller told from the point of view of a retired surgeon with rapidly progressing Alzheimer's, and it is FANTASTIC, though obviously not a book everyone would be able to read.

I also DNF'd two books that just weren't working for me (getting my first DNFs of the year out of the way nice and early!).

- The Bookshop on the Corner - I was planning on using this one for Read Harder's "book about books," but I didn't care for/about the leads, and in a romance, you need to!
- Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love - Was using this one as Popsugar's "audiobook." The performance was really nice, but the book itself was much more of a food memoir than the science read I was hoping for.

Currently reading:

- Nutshell - This is my replacement audiobook, a modern-day retelling of Hamlet where Hamlet is still in-utero. FANTASTIC performance, and it's quite short (always a plus for me, when it comes to audiobooks).
- The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective - Working on this one for Popsugar's "a book you bought on a trip." Very good!

QOTW: There are too many to count!

Oh my goodness I didn't even realize that today is Thursday!!

This week I was home sick for a few days with a cold, plus we had a delayed school opening yesterday AND my work computer is "in the shop" so I got a lot of reading done (and also lost track of the days). woohoo week 2!! We've certainly got a lot more activity in this group this year!!!

This week I finished:

Empire of Storms (no challenge category) - this is book #5 (well, #6 if you count the prequel book) in the Throne of Glass series, and I gave it 1 star. At this point, I'm only reading them because I've come this far I might as well finish the series. A glance at the GR avg rating of 4.6 will show that I'm in the minority here, but still, I hope there's only one more book in this series, because I don't know how much more I can take of this dreck. This wasn't for the Challenge.

The Minority Report - a short story, really - I really liked the movie, so I finally gave in to curiosity and read the short story, which is quite different from the movie! Different plot twists, different ending, the whole shebang. This didn't fill any Challenge categories, but it was one of the 41 Books I MUST Read in 2017 (my personal challenge this year).

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl - #2 in the Zita graphic novel series - I love this series! 5 stars and perfect for the tween in your life!! This didn't fill any Challenge categories, but it was one of the 41 Books I MUST Read in 2017.

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer - read for "book with pictures" category - this was charming, but maybe not quite as "thrilling" as I'd hoped. It's a collected webcomic, and it's a little random in spots. Great art though!

Born a Crime - 5 stars! I'd had this on hold at the library for a while, and when it came in, I read it! I think I'll use this for "author from a country you haven't visited."

Akata Witch - 2 stars. I was expecting a YA book with more "grown up cross over appeal" - but this is really more of a magical children's book. Although I was disappointed, I still highly recommend this book. I'm not sure which category I'll check off, maybe "author of color" if the monthly read is a book I've read already.

Hi from Chicago. We had severe winds on Tuesday, rain all day yesterday, and snow today. So typical January for us haha.

I forgot to check in last week so this represents two weeks' worth of reading. I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2 and liked it. A good addition to the series. Has anybody read the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay? I've heard mixed reviews on it.

I also read The Haunted Bookshop which was dreadfully boring and irritatingly pretentious; I won't be reading anything else by that author. I checked off Crooked House and N or M? by Agatha Christie. I'm a huge Christie fan and Crooked House was great. N or M? on the other hand was not good. I didn't like Tommy or Tuppence and I felt like the plot was pretty obvious. Oh well, at least I can cross off "espionage thriller".

I'm continuing to work my way through the unabridged french version of Les Miserables. I won't link to it because I could not possibly recommend anyone else suffer through it. It's not good, it's not interesting, and the only thing keeping me going is my own stubborn refusal to admit defeat.

QOTW: Many books have made me angry over the years, but when Charlotte mentioned The Awakening I immediately went, "Oh yeah I hated that book in high school!" However, unlike Charlotte, I hated *everything* about that book, except the ending. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the book doesn't end with a happily ever after (Chopin isn't that kind of writer), and I hated the main character so much that by the end of the book I was willing to personally torture her as payback for being forced to read it. If I recall, no one in my lit class liked it, and our teacher was disappointed because it was one of her favorites.

I finished Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare for book by an author from a place I've never visited (Albania).

I'm continuing with Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North by Stuart Maconie for book with a subtitle. I will plough through and finish this, but can't say it is something I am thoroughly enjoying. There are moments that has stellar writing, that take me back to places I've visited in the North of England that are just so brilliant I think "this can't get any better"....and then there is the other 98%. *sigh*

I'm continuing The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 by Paul Johnson for 800+ page book. I'm 100 pages in, so on track of my goal for 100 pages a month to finish in October.

I also started Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk, which was really only because it is a Newbery contender and I try to read the contenders. If I continue with it, I think it will turn out to be an unreliable narrator. Right now, it just makes me angry (ironic, huh?) and I'm not sure I'll read past chapter 5.

QOTW: See above. ;) One of the main characters is a little too sociopathic for me to enjoy in children's lit. I do tend to get involved with books, so I can be angry, elated, devastated and fearful at about any moment. The only other book I can really think that made me totally angry, I've managed to put the name out of my memory even though I've tried to bring it back. Set in Wicklow, Ireland during and after the war it was fast on its way to being one of my all-time favourite books. Then the last page happened, and that one page ruined the entire experience. Still makes me angry to think how much I enjoyed the reading experience to have it ruined.

Melanie wrote: "...The Three-Body Problem made me angry when it ended. ..."

That was the first book in a trilogy, so the ending wasn't really The Ending. Not sure if that helps or not. I'm reading the second book now and it seems to be very similar to the first, so if you didn't like that one you probably won't like the rest!

Hi all, from Vancouver,
I am wimpy and from the West Coast! It is -5C today. For the rest of you that is 23 degrees! (this is extremely cold by Vancouver standards).

Last week, I absolutely kicked butt, and read 6 books. So I am 6/40 in the challenge! Wooooo!
However, I am back at work this week, swamped with emails. But I am still reading. Working my way through #40 - Book you bought on a trip. I am reading The Rescue. I know some of you really dislike Nicholas Sparks, but I'm enjoying this so far. And hey, it's pretty light reading!

I also have a book on hold at the library, just waiting for it to come in, for the steampunk prompt.

QoTW: Not really, I try not to get mad. I disliked The World Without Us, I stopped reading after awhile. I did not like what he said about condo apartment buildings......basically, we are all going to die if there is a natural disaster!

And also the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, drove me insane. I loved books one and two. Mockingjay was written too fast, was confusing, I had to re-read portions! Also I felt like she wrote it because she had to. And the ending, that was terrible. I think we needed about another 30 pages for the ending of the series (at least 30 pages).

Good morning from New Jersey!

I jumped into this challenge late so I only got a chance to read one book this week. I read Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (a book with the main character of a different ethnicity than you). I thoroughly enjoyed as I do most of her novels.

I also finally got the chance to start reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (a book by an author from a country you've never visited). I had to read The Kite Runner in high school and absolutely loved it, so I've been meaning to read his other books ever since.

QOTW: probably Mockingjay. I got through middle school by counting down the days until it released and to this day I don't think I've ever been more disappointed or angry at a book

Hello from Oregon, near Salem, where the mere thought of snow will close down everything! School was canceled yesterday which ruined my reading time because then I have to take care of everyone at home- but I say that lovingly.

Not a great reading week, but I finished The Winter People for the group read and prompt "a book with one of the four seasons in the title" but I might count it for a book set in two different time periods.

Started and it has already been slow going, not because I dislike it but because it is challenging- long words, epic, and not enough time to read it- Angle of Repose "a book recommended by a librarian. It could also work for "a book by or about a person who has a disability".

Since I have children I do tend to count the books I read to them if they fit into a category. We have been reading the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, No Talking and Daisy's Big Night. All three fit "A book with pictures" and one fits "A book that you've read before that never fails to make you smile." (Harry Potter- of course!)

QOTW- There are probably too many books that make me angry. As a person who loves to read- I don't know why I am so picky. His Dark Materials made me pretty mad- the Subtle Knife wasn't so bad but the last one was torture. And so many people love those books too, so that makes it hard to find someone else who dislikes them too. Riley’s Fire and My Name Is Lucy Barton were two books that didn't seem to have a plot- they had high raves and they were big duds to me. Even though I loved this book just because I love books set during WW II Dream When You're Feeling Blue the ending just about made me throw the book at the wall. I will stop now before I get too angry and stop reading altogether- JK-like that is going to happen!

Me and Erica both had issues with Mockingjay!!!!!

QOTW I had to think a bit. Like some others say, I've been DEEPLY disappointed by some trilogy-finishers. Just as I prefer to believe that the Star Wars episodes I through III didn't happen (Anakin Who?), I also like to think that Mockingjay and Allegiant didn't happen. (I've told my daughter to not even read Allegiant, just treat it as an open-ended duology.). But that's more disappointed than angry.

And books like The Handmaids Tale inspire more of a "sing it, sister!" reaction from me. I'm angry at those real life problems, and it's just empowering to see it handled in fiction.

But badly written books, especially badly written romances with sexist nonsense and a controlling jerk masquerading as the romantic hero, make me angry. And then I rant about it in my Goodreads review, and those are the reviews that get the most "likes" for me! So I think I'm not the only one who gets angry :-)

Hello, from Kansas City! I had no idea we were on for inclimate weather this weekend until reading some of your posts! Unfortunately, I'll be at work rather than cozied up with a good book. Thankfully, I had a pretty good week and was able to knock out four books and start a fifth, putting me at 6/52. This week I read:

The Winter People -used as my book with one of the four seasons in the title. It could definitely be used for several other prompts if anyone is wanting to read it with the group. For me, it was good but not great- a pretty quick read.

The Woman in Cabin 10 - this one I used to satisfy the book involving travel prompt, however it could also be used for the unreliable narrator prompt as well as the 2016 bestseller. This book was just ok for me. It was like an incredibly predictable cross between The Girl on the Train and Murder on the Orient Express narrated by Nancy Drew, if Nancy Drew was a whiny, neurotic millennial. Yet, I'm a sucker for a whodunnit so it was a pretty quick read.

Fortunately, the Milk- I read this with my niece and used it to fulfill the book with pictures category. It was super clever and cute. I definitely recommend it to anyone with kids or anyone who just likes Neil Gaiman.

The Chemist- this one I used as my espionage thriller. I decided to give this one a chance (the plot sounded intriguing) despite the fact that I hated Twilight. Honestly, the tepid romantic subplot was somehow an even worse love story than Twilight; it took what could have been a good read, and made it just ok. Admittedly, the first half of the book was also incredibly slow, and as one might expect the writing left much to be desired. However, I actually enjoyed the action in the second half of the book, (there were a couple of parts I especially enjoyed from my perspective as a trauma nurse) and there were actually a couple of twists I didn't see coming. Many/most of the plot devices require a suspension of disbelief, but I imagine that is par for he course with espionage thrillers (not a genre I normally read).

I am about 20% into The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared which will be my book with a red spine.

QotW: Not to get too political, but there were some
Ideas expressed in American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History that made me a little bit angry.

Jackie wrote: "Has anybody read the screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay? I've heard mixed reviews on it."

I received it for Christmas but I haven't read it yet - I'm assuming it will be a very quick read so I might pick it up soon. I loved the movie, so I don't know how I could dislike the screenplay of it ;)
Although I do think that everyone should see the movie first - like Cursed Child, I don't think you can fully judge the story when it's meant to be seen.

No progress to report this week - I'm working on a few but I need to get my butt to the library. Unfortunately not many of my picks this year are available in e-book form.

QOTW: I'm going to reference my GR list for this, but the first that comes to mind is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I still loved the story but Umbridge, Harry, and Ron pissed me off soooo much this last re-read of it. It was almost hard to get through.

Pretty much all of Gillian Flynn's works. Specifically Gone Girl, but I have read all of them and every one of them has left me feeling let down. I feel like they build up to something that just isn't there.

And of course, Me Before You, but in a different way. The writing and story were perfect, but I was upset/angry over Will's choices for days after reading it.

Also Juanita, I wouldn't worry about repeats! I doubt I would notice any ;)

One book read for the challenge:


✅3. A book with a family member term in the title: Panait Istrati, Oncle Anghel , Gallimard, 1993 (1st ed. 1924).


A narrative of rural Romania, with its epic drunkards and its heroic outlaws. Made of several more or less unrelated parts, with a character narrating his story and thus taking over the narrator's function. By the way, this would also be a perfect fit for the "story within a story" prompt; if need be, I might do a switch later in the year!

Current standing: 2/40 regular; 1/12 advanced. Now started on three different books, two of them barely.

OH, and it is 24 in Mill Creek, WA (close to Seattle).. normal as of late but colder than we're used to!

Oh I thought of a specific book that made me angry!! Not a romance, but it still felt cloyingly sexist and I hated this book so much and - infuriatingly - everyone else seemed to love it: Gold Fame Citrus. I think I hate that book more than any other book I've ever read. The author definitely succeeded in getting a strong reaction from me! Which means she's probably an author I should read again.

I wouldn't notice any repeats! It's been over a year I think you're good :)
I finished Just Like Other Daughters which I have tentatively placed into a book about someone with a disability but it fits others as well (set in 2 time periods, maaybe story in a story but would be a bit of a stretch and book about a difficult topic). I also am working on a couple others so I am at 2 finished. I have decided to aim for 50 books but if I don't finish a couple they'll probably be from the advanced (I'm looking at you 800 pages!!)

QOTW:
Twilight. I know I know people love it blah blah blah but I think it gives a very dangerous romanticized ideal of a relationship that is not only ridiculously inappropriate but fits much of the criteria for abuse. And yes I am definitely over thinking it! I also got angry about After Birth because the main characters are so judgemental and rigid about their ideas about babies. I read it when I was struggling and failing nursing my first (no supply, bad latch) so her comments about how a good mother or a real woman wouldn't give her baby formula really hit a nerve (I'm paraphrasing more of the impression than what she actually said, it's been a couple years since I read it)

Oh I just remembered THE book that made me the most angry: La preuve ( I think the translation is: (The Book of Lies - Twins Trilogy #2).

I loved the first one very much and I like not having answers, it doesn't bother me, but that second book (of a trilogy) crushed my expectations. I liked the previous ending.

Juanita wrote: "Greetings from icy West Michigan where the schools are closed for the second day of the week. (Read: I'm losing my mind.) Not a great time to be working from home. ;-)

I haven't had much time or t..."

Good to know about #Girlboss. Had that on mine TBR, but we'll just delete that now.

Good morning from Okotoks, Alberta. We've been under a deep freeze (-30 C) for the past few weeks so I'm looking forward to the Chinook that's coming today.

I finished 4 books this past week:

Alice in Wonderland I read this book to my 4-year old daughter. I haven't found a prompt to fill this one with yet. Although it did fill (Magical Realism from Around the Year challenge.
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person Filled potentially 3 categories for me (I'll shuffle them around as I go through the year to try for a book a category) (Book by a person of colour, Book with a subtitle, Book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you) It also filled the person of colour prompt for AtY
Marked filled Book with Multiple Authors, First book in a series you've never read before, and Book you got from a used book sale. Also filled the One Word Title for AtY
Just finished The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo not sure where I can use that for a prompt yet (literally just finished it minutes ago)

For a book that made me mad; the only one I can think of is the very first book that I DNF'ed. American Gods I absolutely hated it and couldn't finish it

I forgot to check in last week, so here it is for two weeks!

The first week, I finished The Princess Diarist (had to start my year off with some Carrie Fisher) and The Man in the Brown Suit. That Agatha was slightly different format than her others and I loved it! The Princess Diarist was my only reading challenge book, and I read it for a book about someone I admire. She was pretty groundbreaking, being the only major female character in those movies. Changed her life forever, and I don't think I could deal with that!

This week I finished Swimming Lessons. It was another not for this challenge...I'm doing the BookRiot Read Harder too, and it was a book about books. It was amazing! I got it for BOTM and just tore through it in less than 24 hours.

I've got three books working right now. I've started Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which I will count for Popsugar but I'm not sure where yet...possibly genre I've never heard of. It's soooo long it's going to take forever. I'm reading The Woman in Cabin 10 for takes place in a hotel (cruise ship is a loose interpretation!) and then I'm reading Lab Girl for book about an interesting woman.

I've also decided to start a book blog, so that's taking some time to get it stood up! I figured I read so much, might as well make some use of it.

QOTW:
The Uncertain Places made me so mad when I read it, because the writing was soooo not good. I get really picky about that, and it was just too obvious and not well constructed. If it hadn't been decently short, I wouldn't have finished.

I had a pretty good reading week, despite having a stomach bug Tuesday.

I read for 12. A bestseller from a genre you don't normally read: Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea I needed to read this for one of my book clubs and it may be the worst book I've ever read. Ever. Not funny and instead she seemed just to be trying to hard. I don't understand insulting people as humor.

29. A book with an unreliable narrator: I Let You Go Amazing book. 5 stars and highly recommended for fans of Gone Girl and the like.

33. A book set in two different time periods The Hundred-Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey This is one of the best books I've ever read and highly recommend it, especially with the political climate we're in now. It's about the Armenian genocide during WWI.

39. The first book in a series you haven't read before Halfway to the Grave Read for A Million More Miles book of the month and surprising i loved it. Paranormal romance. Put the second book in the series on hold right away.

I also finished First Grave on the Right which was an audiobook and doesn't really fit anywhere, since I have another book I want to remember to do as an audiobook. I thought it was really good and am now listening to the second in the series.

Question: A lot of non-fiction makes me angry in the "how could people do something like this?" I also agree with The Awakening - the ending really made me mad.

Hi, all! We had a snowy weekend, so during the periods when I wasn't outside playing with my son, I got some good reading in. I started and finished Killer Christmas by Harper Lin, for prompt 39 the first book in a series you haven't read before. I followed it up with New Year's Slay, also by Harper Lin, and the sequel to the first one, for prompt 38 - a book set around a holiday other than Christmas. I have to admit, these were both extremely quick reads, and were both read from start to finish on Friday.

I also am still listening to my audiobook, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, narrated by Wil Wheaton. On Saturday or Sunday, I started my book for prompt 40 - a book you bought on a trip, No Man's Land by David Baldacci, and am about 60-65% of the way through it. I actually bought it specifically for this prompt, because I was on a quick getaway in December & knew I needed a book bought on a trip, so ran to a bookstore and grabbed a decently-priced book that looked interesting. It's working out pretty well so far.

QOTW: I did not care for Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn AT ALL, and was so mad at the resolution to it. I just thought it was stupid, honestly, and I hated that I wasted my time reading it. I will not read anything else by her, and anytime I see "if you loved Gone Girl, try this," I just keep on going. I will never read anything that is compared favorably with that terrible book.

I also have to second (or third or fourth) some of the previous answers on this question. I was extremely disappointed in the endings of both Allegiant by Veronica Roth and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, and thought both authors could have ended the series in a better way. I did really enjoy the earlier books in both series, though.

Christophe wrote: "A narrative of rural Romania, with its epic drunkards and its heroic outlaws. Made of several more or less unrelated parts, with a character narrating his story and thus taking over the narrator's function..."

Love your description of the book :)

So Im greeting you from Sweden since I live here. Cold but no snow, but it comes and goes daily. I´ve spent this week in bed being sick with the flue and have therefore not been able to read alot. I´ve mostly been throwing up or been sleeping. Anyhow.

Atleast I managed to read a book with pictures this week and I chose Singers melodi written by the swedish actress Vanna Rosenberg. The title can be translated to "The melody of Singer". Singer is the name of a seal that lives at a circus. He has a few memories from back when he was young and were living in the great ocean. When Singer has spent most of his life at the circus he gets homesick and wants to go back to the ocean where he can swim, meet others of his kind and, well, mainly do whatever seals does. He escaped the circus and heads towards the ocean that he can smell from far away. His human friend at the circus then goes to find Singer, and the reader gets to follow the human friend as he is looking for Singer whilst reflecting about why the seal ran away. A lot of things happen that I cannot afford to write down here.

I really enjoyed the book, not only because of the really amazing illustrations, but also because of the topic of the book. Keeping animals at circuses and zoo´s and such forth is wrong (because of a million reasons), and therefore this book really brings up a relevant and important topic for children that recognizes to learn that animals have feelings as well as humans and does not like living in a habitat not set for their needs and behaviours. Since I am all about animal rights this just hit the right spot!

I haven't made too much progress this week, despite being rained in all weekend long - still working my way through (and still really enjoying) We Were Liars for my Unreliable Narrator category.

I'm travelling next week so I'm hoping that time at airports/on a plane will translate to some good reading time.

QOTW: I was pretty mad at 11.22.63. I loved the book so much all the way through, and then the last few chapters and ending were just... disappointing and not at all what I expected. It sort of felt like the ending of one book stitched onto another and it really ruined my overall enjoyment of what had been a great read.

I love seeing what everyone is reading!

I finished Wishful Drinking for the audiobook prompt, Binti for the title of the book being a character's name, and Sister Sable for another challenge.

I enjoyed Wishful Drinking and Binti but they weren't fabulous. Sister Sable is the one that made me mad!! There were 2 different plots going on and I hated one plot and wanted to know what happened in the other so I had to keep reading through the long boring parts to get to the parts I wanted! It was so frustrating I wanted to throw the book away!

I'm in the process of reading We Were Liars for the unreliable prompt and Elon Musk: Inventing the Future for another challenge.