Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Hello from Chicago-ish,

cold but sunny! Yay. Lots of critters waking up and showing up on or near our yard so Luna's been busy chasing and barking.

I'm 20/50 for the Pop Sugar challenge...my daughter tells me I need to step it up. I lack strategy--I gobble up books that don't fit any prompt.

Challenge Books (2):

Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir by Amy Tan for the Ancestry prompt. I'm 50% Chinese so this was a good fit, although to be fair I believe I need to read a book about Scotland to round out the other half of me. I identified with the crazy and the tragedy of Tan's mom's personal history: my dad's life before migrating was also mysterious and tragic with childhood ghosts that haunt him and shape his personality to this day. I wish the book rambled less--others may be interested in the parts I skimmed. But within this mish-mash there are sections that soar.

In Cold Blood for the True Crime prompt. So hard to read, so hard to rate. I did not like this book. Yet, I was captivated by the writing, by the research, by the horror of this story. And now, I startle awake at night when Luna barks at a fat squirrel or a raccoon crossing the yard Maybe she can learn different barks for different kinds of intruders....?

Non-Challenge Books (1)

Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris; yes, the same author of all those southern vampire novels. I unashamedly devour her books, but this is the first one I've read without the supernatural touch. It was an interesting and fun read.

Reading:

*X by Susan Grafton (Kinsey's one of my favorite book characters)
*Les Miserable by Hugo (not giving up!)
*Lamplighter by DM Cornish (reading out loud to Luna and any other kid who happens to be around)
*Travels with Charley by Steinbeck (Charley's a standard poodle!)

QOTW
Only on Instagram and there I follow Leigh Bardugo and Rainbow Rowell. RR does not post often but LB does and it's cool to see the lovely locations where she writes

three books this week, all for the challenge

Dr. Anarchy's Rules For World Domination: for "Book about a villain or anti-hero" it was a HOOT. Highly recoomend

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone for "book about mental health" - this was a rough one emotionally for me

Into the Drowning Deep for "book takes place at sea" - another one that I loved.

QOTW

I follow several authors on social media: Julia Quinn, George RR Martin, Jenny Lawson, Mira Grant, Will Wheaton, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Marissa Meyer

Hello!

This week was a little better for reading than the previous two weeks.

Finished:
#25 A book set at sea
Salt to the Sea
It was okay. Good story, but surprisingly, it didn't make me feel very much.

#24 A book with a weather element in the title
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Good but VERY sad.

Currently Reading:

#30 A book with characters who are twins
The Secret History

#35 A past Goodreads Choice Award winner
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

QOTW:
I follow a few authors on Goodreads and Facebook like:
Laurie Halse Anderson
Bohjalian, Chris
Kingsolver Barbara
Kate Morton
Ann Patchett

Sara wrote: "Mike wrote: "It's been so long since I updated, I'm not sure where I left off. So far I am 24/52 for the overall challenge, and that includes all 10 for the advanced challenge!"

Woohoo Mike! I know you say often that you consider yourself a slow(ish) reader. That's fantastic progress for so early in the year!"

Thanks, Sara. I may have to rethink my self-assessment. I believe that I'm still slow, but faster than I used to be due to goals set because of the challenge, as well as lots of practice over the last 2+ years.

It helps that I don't choose overly-long books either.

Hi All!

I cannot believe it's Thursday again. I swear that I wasn't busy last week but apparently I was as I finished 0 books! This is a first for me since I started this challenge.

I'm currently reading Since We Fell for a book that a stranger was reading and it's just got to the action part of the book. It took 150+ pages before it actually got to the whole premise that was promised in the description of the book. The whole portion before that felt like a memior. I'm not a fan of memoirs so I think this slowed me down. I should have finished this book in a day and it's been basically a whole week since I started.

I have 3 books on deck: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Heat Wave, and Career of Evil.

I don't normally read more than one book at a time but might start reading the others and going back to Since we fell.

QOTW:

Yes! I follow Neil Gaiman on Goodreads and Twitter and JK Rowling on Twitter. I don't follow too many others but really like how active those 2 are.

Hi all! Pretty good reading week, but I'm super looking forward to traveling for work, plus a couple days spent away from home just for a break, next week. I'm going to pack so many books!

Finished

Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft #2 A book with two authors - first I got this from Audible, thinking, "An audiobook of a comic? That ought to be interesting!" It is, but I found it didn't quite work, for all the reasons you'd imagine. I'm finding it better to read the volume, so I can understand what's happening and appreciate the beautiful art, then listen to those chapters and enjoy the vocal performances. There are some great actors involved, so worth checking out, just doesn't tell the story as well as the comic.

Maplecroft - A book based on a real person (Lizzie Borden). Oh Maplecroft, I wanted to love you! I DID love you, for about 2/3 of your duration. Lovecraftian monsters, Lizzie Borden killing stuff with an axe, feminism, sisterhood, gross slime monsters from the deep. It was a lot of fun. It's too bad that the book sort of goes off its crumpet towards the end, with a dumb scientific solution and tons of continuity errors. What happened?

(I still might check out the next one - the good parts were good enough to lure me back.)

That puts me at 23/50 for week 17 - not too shabby!

Currently Reading

Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction for Already seen the movie

(I signed up for ComiXology's unlimited service - you can try it 30 days for free, so expect to see a lot of prompts filled by comics!)

Hi all. Last week's sunshine is well and truly over, just wet and miserable weather this week.

This week I finished Suffragette: My Own Story. I can't believe all of the things I didn't know about the suffragettes and the way they were treated by the government was appalling. I wish they'd covered more of this kind of stuff in school.

Currently reading: La Belle Sauvage. I am loving this book but now I want to re-read His Dark Materials and my big pile of unread books is judging me.

QOTW: I only really use Instagram these days. I think I follow V.E. Schwab, Marissa Meyer and maybe a few others. Oh and Tom Fletcher but that's because of his music rather than writing

Happy long weekend :-) (at least for us in Denmark)

I haven't updated in 3 weeks as I have been busy studying for an exam. Which is 10 years since I last did that. My new job requires a 9 week education and today I finished the midway test. So happy that is over and I am now off for 3 days. I am mainly going to sleep and read.

This also means that I haven't read that much, at least for this challenge, after reading so much for work I couldn't put anything else in my head so it has mainly been soft and easy reads and not for this challenge.

I am currently at 30/52 and am reading:

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World accidentally reserved the wrong one from the library but its an easy read of short stories. not the best though.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Stalking Jack the Ripper - just started.

So I have plenty of reading material for the weekend...

QOTW: I am only on Instagram but hadn't thought of following some of my fav authors. Might look some of them up though.

Hi everyone! It's been a crazy week here. I've been mostly busy with a massive paper for my library degree that I'm behind on, so not much reading time. Then yesterday our indoor cat disappeared, so we've been tearing our house apart trying to find him for the past two days. It seems he's been spotted in our neighbor's yard, though, but no luck catching him yet.

So, only one finish for me this week, bringing me to 31/50.

Under the Udala Trees. I used this for a book that had an author of a different ethnicity, but it easily fits the LGBT prompt as well. I loved this. Not only was the storytelling and writing superb, but I expected a sad ending as is usually the case with stories like these. I was pleasantly surprised, though. This is one I'd like to own, as I'll probably re-read it a few times.

Currently reading:

I have no idea. I've tried to listen to Neuromancer on audio for the heist prompt, and have gotten exactly 15 minutes in. I'm having difficulty tolerating the narration, though. Hoping that as the story gets going, it will get better, but I might not continue. Not sure yet.

Otherwise, I probably won't have time to pick up another physical book until this weekend, and I haven't decided which one to start next.

QOTW: I follow quite a few on Goodreads, but the only one who is really active here on GR is Gail Carriger. On fb and twitter, I follow Stephen King, JK Rowling, and now Jenny Lawson as well. While I do follow authors I enjoy reading, much of the reason I follow those particular authors is also for the entertainment factor. I enjoy following authors who are witty, funny, or otherwise interesting on social media. I will also follow authors whose events I want to be kept abreast of too though. So I pick and choose that way.

Hello everyone. I’m on 20/50

Since last update I finished Money for Nothing by PG Wodehouse for a book with song lyrics in the title, and All For Love by Dan Jacobson which I actually started as my book for the song lyric prompt but it’s about various real people and real events concerning Princess Louise of Belgium and her lowly soldier lover who she ‘gave up everything for’. Despite the soppy title this is less of a love story and more a story of greed, ambition, madness and ruin. Only really got interesting in the last third though.

Currently listening to The Heist which I’m not loving I’ve gotta say.

QOTW: I follow a few authors, no real rhyme or reason to why these ones and not others to be honest! Stephen FryMarian Keyes Mhairi McFarlaneJonathan Harvey Roxanne Gay are a few I can think of - a mixed bag!

Hello everyone!

I love that it's finally starting to get sunny and nice out, just wish we could get past this section of temperatures in between a coat and a jacket.

I finished House of Leaves which I really loved. There's just so much going there...all the ways the formatting of the book and the arrangement of the words relates to the story itself...so smart. I was initially worried that it would be super scary since people often talk about needing to read this book with the lights on and such. It really wasn't scary at all. Maybe if you're naturally scared of the dark? For me, it was barely creepy. But that probably increased my enjoyment because I'm not generally into scary books.

Started City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris which is very promising so far.

QOTW: Not really. I follow John Green and Hank Green on twitter/insta, but more for who they are generally rather than their status as authors. I used to follow Rowling, but she just posts too much promo stuff and I felt a little swamped by it all. FB I just use as a way to share pictures with older relatives.

Good evening from Copenhagen, Denmark, and happy almost weekend. We have a holiday tomorrow, so the weekend has started for me already!

Finished:

Wonder that I´ll use for "recommended by someone else doing the PS challenge" or "previous award winner" (I think I saw it had won one) EDIT: I checked and it didn´t win, it was just nominated in ´12.
I really enjoyed this book, like I thought I would.

Cocky Heart Surgeon: Caden Cocker a romance novel, just because.

And a couple of picture books:

They All Saw a Cat for "recommended by someone else doing the PS challenge" (picture book edition of my challenge - I´m doing a "normal" one and a picture book one). Thanks for this recommendation, I really liked it.

And an abridged and rewritten version of The Ugly Duckling (in Danish) by H.C. Andersen for review. I normally wouldn´t mention this here, because of the rant about to come. But ahmmm all the talk of abridged versions. So. Someone decided it was a good idea to shorten the fairy tale and take away all "unnecessary" parts, which basically meant all the really great metaphorical and beautiful, poetic language. So what´s left is more or less like a summary of the story... I guess you could say I´m not a fan. I really love his fairy tales, and since they are written in Danish and have iconic status, where you can more or less recite them word by word, it becomes painfully clear when the rewriting subtracts in stead of adds value to the story. Urghh. (I don´t even want to know about translations). I get why you have to rewrite some things sometimes, especially classics, where the language and grammar has changed so much that it´s necessary for young readers to be able to read it. As a children´s librarian I see a lot of this, and let´s just say that not all rewriting and abridging is done with the essence of the story and writing intact. And it´s kind of a jungle to figure it out sometimes.
Rant over.

Currently reading:
Just started Styrke a new book for a review (children´s/ YA sci-fi). I really like this author´s writing, and she also happens to be the big sister of a friend of mine (which is not going to get her a better review, but I´m happy to say I like it).

Listening to The Underground Railroad that I´m enjoying for many different reasons.

Just started reading Harry Potter og Hemmelighedernes Kammer (Chamber of secrets in Danish with Jim Kay´s ill.) with my youngest son (9). Obviously enjoying this.


QOTW:
I don´t really follow authors much on social media. I follow a few on FB but those are authors I have met, mostly work related for children´s book events. But then "work related" is not very precise, because the lines between work and private life gets blurred here.
I follow a couple of bloggers writing about children´s and YA books. And I tend to just check out some authors websites once in a while, and I get news letters from publishers. So it´s more as a way of following "what´s new", than a desire to know more about the author´s lives in general.

Julie wrote: "Hi everyone! It's been a crazy week here. I've been mostly busy with a massive paper for my library degree that I'm behind on, so not much reading time. Then yesterday our indoor cat disappeared, s..."

I hope you get your kitty back soon! Sending good vibes <3

Jackie wrote: "Hello everyone!

I love that it's finally starting to get sunny and nice out, just wish we could get past this section of temperatures in between a coat and a jacket.

I finished [book:House of Le..."

I am so glad you loved House of Leaves! Gives me hope I'll love it too, once I get my hands on a proper copy (I refuse to read a translated version of this).

Good evening from the South of the Netherlands! We've had some lower temperatures (thank Chuck) and some rain here and there. I've been quite busy this past week (I went to see Infinity War -ASGDKSJGFAJSKFHBHSJDF, worked, visited a friend, went to Music Show Scotland..) and today I've been gathering and pricing things, mostly books, to sell. Tomorrow is King's Day here, so market, here we come!

I almost forgot to check in at all, and I really want to go up and sleep, but my hair's not dry yet, and I should also still take a photo for the bookstagram challenge from Beat the Backlist. *sigh* Wish me luck haha!

SO. All in all, and after all, I think I've had quite the productive week. I finished 4 books, one of which was a picture book (are y'all proud of me? This was my first one as an adult!).

Read
Alfenmark (non challenge) - I finished this trilogy, and while I still have loads of questions, I ended up really enjoying this series. Will definitely be checking out the other series in this universe.

First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and Prejudice (non challenge, could work for published in 2018) - No. Just no. This was terrible. Absolutely terrible. How this can be called contemporary I don't know. I read this book for review, and I have to hurry up in writing the review for it, but I already know it will be incredibly negative. It has honestly crushed my excitement for reading Pride & Prejudice this year. At least I finished it. As soon as I write that review I want to banish this from my memory, and therefore will refuse to have this book end up on my list for the challenge.

Een eiland in de regen (An Island in the Rain, non challenge, perhaps weather element?A song title? Picture book.) - I saw this at work, and the art drew me in, and the title is (spelled differently) also a song I love, so I decided to just go with it, even if it was a picture book. I loved it so much! It's about being different, and how conforming to the 'norm' isn't always a good thing, and to just be/stay yourself. Very important book for the young ones!

Het ongelukproject (What to Say Next - non challenge, already filled death/grief, and mental health, though autism isn't an illness) - I loved this. I would have read this in one evening if I didn't have work the next day haha! It's light to read, but handles heavy topics. I related to David so much, and he gave us these beautiful lines:
“How's things, buddy?" Trey asks after we run through a few finger-warming exercises. I realize this is what people call small talk. I also realize the world would be a better place without it.” (Honestly, this is so me haha!)
and
“There’s something quiet about you. For example, if you were a radiowave, you’d have your very own wavelength. That’s isolating, I think, because I don’t think everyone can hear you.”
That last one still takes my breath way. I'm not sure if it's how it's written in the original book, but this is my translation of the Dutch line. Anyways, would definitely recommend this!

Currently reading
Uncommon Type: Some Stories (fave previous prompt: written by a celebrity) - This is my first ever short stories book! I am reading only one story at a time, so it's slow going, but that's alright. I need to make sure my brain keeps the stories separate. I've read 4 stories so far, two I liked/loved, two not so much. I have plenty left to go, though, so who knows what my overall rating will be!

I've also been playing Pokémon Go again, and walking again because of it, so yay! I'm also starting an extra shift next week, and going to a new dentist for the first time (after a long time without any visits), so wish me luck!

QOTW
I follow some authors, though the only ones I'm truly aware of are Patrick Ness and Bradley Beaulieu. The former is very open about his anxiety and mental health, and the negative sides of writing, so that's very interesting to read, and gives me hope I can still accomplish things. I follow him on Twitter btw, and also love his updates for about the movie adaption of Chaos Walking that's coming up next year! The only things I've seen from Bradley were food/cooking related (on Instagram) and I've enjoyed that as well. It seemed so random haha! Of course I also follow authors like JK Rowling and such, but I've got Patrick on notification. I'm on social media plenty, but at the same time not at all, because I never go scrolling on my dash(es). Oops.

Not my best week. I had jury duty but was unable to go. I get panic attacks and I have a doctor's note excusing me from jury duty as it has been the source of some pretty big panic attacks in the past. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I get the notice and think I'm going to do it this time. I'm not going to let anxiety win. After two weeks of anxiety driven stress the day finally comes and I just can't get in the car to go. I want to do it for my country but it becomes too overwhelming. My husband gets to say I told you so. He doesn't understand why I put myself through this but he also doesn't understand what it's like when anxiety wins. :( The silver lining is that my house has had a good scrub down since I do my best house cleaning when I'm stressed.

I have started my 13th book of the year. Caroline: Little House, Revisited. I am about half way through and I am loving it. I am a Little House lover. I watched the show every night at 5pm while I waited for my parents to get home from work. I can remember being allowed to stay up a little later when they would have the occasional prime time movie. As I grew up I never lost my love for Little House. I still think it is the best tv show ever. I own all of the DVDS and have seen every episode so many times I can tell you the plot just by the episode title. Strangely enough, I can't remember ever owning or reading the books. This book is already going to get a 5 star rating from me. It fits the prompt novel based on a real person.

I am still reading for my youth committee, so once again I have a few chapter books to report. I did get a couple of books in for me this week though.
I read:
The Sky at Our Feet- a story about a boy who discovers that his mom is in America illegally (her visa had lapsed) and he sees her get taken away. He goes to NYC to find his "auntie" for help and has all sorts of adventures along the way. I think kiddos will like this book. I spent the whole book stressed for the boy and thinking "just tell an adult you are looking for your auntie." I am reading for kiddos though, so I would recommend it to them.
Pashmina- a graphic novel about a girl who wants to go see where her mom came from (India). I didn't think the art work was great and the story was a little choppy.
Joplin, Wishing- a girl wishes for a friend and the girl on the delft platter that is on the wall becomes human. The whole book is about getting the girl from the platter back home (magic is needed). I liked that the adults actually helped in this book. I would recommend it to young readers.
The Art of the Swap- I am absolutely the wrong audience for this book. I am not into the whole time travel thing and this was all about two girls switching places- one from 1905 and one from now. It was not my favorite book.
For me I read:
Nineteen Minutes- my daughter was reading this for a class and asked me to read with her so she would have someone to discuss the book with. You don't often get to read books "together" when your kiddos are seniors in high school, so I jumped at the chance. I really enjoyed talking with her about this book.
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt- I lived in Savannah, so it was fun to go back there in this book. I will say it was a bit of a challenge for me because of the mother's mental health but I am glad I read it.

QOTW: I don't really spend time on social media.

Happy Reading!

Hi everyone!

So glad it's properly spring here in Michigan! Been enjoying the nice weather a lot.

This week I finished:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which counts as my book recommended by someone else doing the challenge, as well as ATY's book with A T & Y in the title. I was a little disappointed, I expected to love it and I just thought it was ok. It was almost 700 pages, but usually long books don't daunt me that much unless I check out too many at once. But this one felt SO LONG. And after finishing, I'm kind of of the opinion that a good 200+ pages could be cut out of the middle and the book would have been stronger for it. I didn't love the writing style either. Sometimes it felt like normal third person, inside the head of whoever was being focused on. but then it'd pull back and say "not much is known of such and such a time" as though the book was a documentary being written by someone who researched the characters. It also jumped around a lot and it often took a few pages to realize that something was a flashback, or it jumped ahead two years in time or whatever.

A Study in Scarlet Women - audio book, for Read Harder's mystery by a person of color or lgbt author. I really liked this, i'll try to find the next book. While the bones of the story was familiar from Sherlock Holmes, there was enough deviation to not feel boring. I also liked the gender flipped narrative and the look through the eyes of women who just don't fit into the normal restrictive society of the time. It might be able to count as a book about feminism, i'll see if I end up finding something i like better or not.

Descender, Vol. 5: Rise of the Robots - Went to a comic shop in Detroit and splurged a bit. I love the descender comics, the water color style is so beautiful. This one also had a fold out four page spread that was gorgeous.

Currently Reading:

The Red Tent - this will count for my bestseller from the year I graduated high school. I'm liking it more than I expected. I don't think it'll be a lifelong favorite, but it's interesting seeing a familiar story, (Joseph and his amazing technicolor dream coat) from the perspective of the mostly unmentioned sister. Also since at that time Judaism was not that widespread and Christianity wouldn't come for a long time, there's a lot of references to Sumerian mythology that I'm familiar with from other sources.

I'm at 29/50 now, 30 once I finish up Red Tent.

QOTW:

I follow a few, Patrick Rothfuss, Gaiman, Cherie Priest, Kim Harrison, a few others. I like seeing posts, but a lot of them, being writers, like posting their blog posts and I don't always have the attention span to read a whole post. I do like finding out about new books or series sooner than i might just stumbling on them in a book store.

Diane wrote: "Not my best week. I had jury duty but was unable to go. I get panic attacks and I have a doctor's note excusing me from jury duty as it has been the source of some pretty big panic attacks in the p..."



Panic attacks are no picnic. Sending you good vibes....

Last week I was worried about being behind in my graphic novel reading. A few DNF books this week and I ended up reading 5 graphic novels.

FINISHED:
Kitchen – (#11: pseudonym) This could also be used for #10: death or grief – I enjoyed these two short stories. For being about people dealing with grief, they had a lovely sense of warmth to them. Plus, I loved the way she talked about food.

The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media – (#108: a microhistory) – I like Brooke Gladstone a lot and she talks very thoughtfully about the media. (I wonder if she would have any updates after the last few years.) The comic is very dense and I probably would have benefitted by reading smaller chunks and letting me brain process all the information. Though I thought the illustrations where helpful.

Fresh Romance, Vol. 2 – (for Read Harder romance novel by/about a person of color) – Until I read volume 1 of Fresh Romance last year, I would have told you that I didn’t like “romance” comics. Turns out I do like the female lead, LGBT friendly, interracial dating comics. I hope there is a volume 3!

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World – (#32: Celebrity book club) - I had to stretch things a little here as Emma Watson’s book club has this in their Good Reads list, but I don’t know if they have actually read it. I couldn’t get my hands on a copy in time for Women’s History Month, but it was still a great read. I dig Penelope Bagieu’s illustrations!

The Last Unicorn – (#1: a book made into a movie you have already seen) – Again a slightly creative answer as the movie and the comic both use the book as source material. The illustrations were beautiful, but it might have helped to have read the novel. The story gets a little mushy in the middle.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe – (#26: an animal in the title) – It is yet another week of comics with footnotes. I love Squirrel Girl! I don’t know what she would be like in other hands, but I love how Ryan North writes and Erica Henderson illustrates.

DNF
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps – I got off to a shaky start because I had two pages stuck together when I started reading. It’s a novella and I got about 1/3 of the way through, but just wasn’t enjoying it. I don’t know if it was too much war talk for me, or if it took to long to get to the magic and the gay romance. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t feel like reading it.

The Map of Time – I so wanted to like this. An alternative history of Victorian England with time travel and cameos from the likes of H.G. Wells and Dracula. Sounds like my wheelhouse. The first 42 pages were full of womanizing and the rich guy who could break through the prostitute’s hard exterior with a perfect night of love making. No thanks! Instead I am going to try The Eyre Affair for time travel and literary cameos.

CURRENTLY READING
A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons – I’m loving it. Only slow going because it is on audio book and I can only sneak in one chapter a night.

Children of Blood and Bone – So refreshing after the two DNFs. I am not sure it will live up to all the super high recommendations, but I fell right into the world and I’m enjoying it so far.

18/42 for books, 14/42 for graphic novels, 7/10 for extended

QotW
I will start by saying that I don’t always stay up to date on social media. I follow Seanan McGuire and Mary Robinette Kowal on Twitter. Both talk some about the craft of writing or the world of publishing in their tweets. I also follow Jenny Lawson, Neil Gaiman, Roxanne Gay, Patton Oswalt, and W. Kamau Bell.

Seanan wrote this great thread on Twitter about her fan fiction roots that my friend liked so much that she decided to read some of Seanan’s work. Additionally I support Seanan through Patreon, which has a social media aspect. That gets me exclusive content, as well as more personal missives about how she is using the contributions.

Good morning from the centre of New South Wales. Bright and sunny out here. And still rather warm. It’s supposed to be autumn. The autumn temps here are the same as the summer ones up on the mountains where the farm is.

Hubby and I went to the next big town last Saturday to buy two new bookcases for all of my books. He built them on Sunday and now all of my books are where they should be and not piled up on the floor in the corner.

It’s been an interesting week with Doctors appointments and scans and ultrasounds to check on lung clots. Which meant another 240km round trip on Monday after the one on Saturday (which was after the 550km trip on Friday to come home). They couldn’t find any thankfully but I still have the intense pain so we’ll see what happens. I probably should stop travelling for a while.

Only finished one book this week.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. (Paperback) It was an easy read and I am looking forwards to book 2.

Currently reading
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (iPad) I actually got around to reading a couple more chapters of this. Slowly getting there.

Dear Fahrenheit 451 (iPad) You’re not beating me....I read another couple of letters this week. I’ll get there by the end of the year.

DNF
Magnus Chase 1 (audiobook) the guy reading this is really boring so I stopped it. I’ll get back to it at a later date. I have it on my iPad.

QOTW

Do I follow authors on social media? Yes a few. I follow Neil Gaiman and Gill Sims (Funny Scottish “Mummy” blogger with a gorgeous border terrier called Judgy Dog who is about to release her second book and the page is Peter and Jane) on Facebook and Alice Hoffman on Instagram. I don’t have Twitter.

Julie wrote: "Hi everyone! It's been a crazy week here. I've been mostly busy with a massive paper for my library degree that I'm behind on, so not much reading time. Then yesterday our indoor cat disappeared, s..."

I hope your cat comes home soon! I am having sympathetic panic imagining if my kittens got out of the house.

I only finished 2 books this week. I think I'm going into a reading slump. I've been really nitpicky when it comes to the books I'm reading. Both of the books I read were great books, pretty sure I gave them both 4 stars, and one was easily a 5 star book but towards the end there was a scene that really put me off. Same with the second. It didn't really take away from the story or the message, it was just stupid things the characters said. Idk.

1. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - Counted this as a book by an author of a different ethnicity. I really enjoyed it.
2. Have You Seen Her? by Karen Rose - This was the first book I've read by her. I have a few more of her books on my shelf, Idk if I'll read them. The story was good, but there was a certain scene that really just ewww haha.

QOTW:
No. I don't really use social media all that much.

Good Evening from the Twin Cities, MN where Spring has finally decided to arrive!

This is going to be a two week check in for me as I am fairly certain I read all the posts from last week but then failed to actually check in myself!

Out of the four books I've been reading the past few weeks I completed one which qualifies for the microhistory prompt of this challenge and was Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay. This book was amongst my first forays in to this category and it definitely will not be my last. I give this book 5 glowing stars and was completely captivated by the author's travels throughout the globe to track down the origins of the colors discussed in the book!

QOTW:
I do not follow any authors on social media and in fact have found myself spending less time on there this year now that I am reading more!

I feel like I haven't been reading quick as quickly this year which is actually rather nice since I finished the challenge quite early last time!

I finished two books this week.

The Time Traveler's Wife for the "time travel" prompt. I didn't like one. The premise was interesting but I felt very detached from the characters. Oh, and the sex scenes were very awkward imho.

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 for the "ancestry" prompt. I am a descendant of William Brewster's so it was fun to see his cameo in this book. I loved the Dear America series as a child and this one held up pretty well for my reread.

QOTW- I don't really use social media that much so I don't follow any authors.

I guess this week flew by because I didn’t even realize it was Thursday, whoops!

Dexter By Design and Dexter Is Delicious not for a prompt but they do work as anti-hero reads. I’m just finishing up the series since there aren’t any holds on overdrive. They’re okay. Engaging and tense, but nothing mind blowing.

Speaking from Among the Bones and The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. Also not for a prompt, just finishing this series since they’re also available on overdrive. I still love these books and I like how each book is answering questions you had from before, not just adding new material. My daughter really enjoys listening to these as well!

Circe a book I got from book of the month, and I am using it as my 2018 prompt. I love love love ancient mythology so this book was just up my alley. Very well written, I was sad when it ended because I could have easily read a ton more about Circe.

The Girl in the Tower a sequel to The Bear and the Nightingale, not for a prompt I just finally got the book and wanted to read it. I liked it as much as the first, they’re both magical and and hard to put down.

So I’m at 31/40; 0/10 with 69 books read this year.

QOTW: I follow pretty much every author I’ve read on instagram. I have a few who I engage with and are friends with on Facebook. It makes me really love social media. Before authors and actors seemed so other and unattainable, but now you can so easily engage with artists you admire and it’s really cool. What a time to be alive lol

Morning from Humpty Doo (not kidding it is where I spend most of my time).
This week we are back at school so I am pretty flat out writing courses and assessment tasks as well as unpacking and moving 12m3 of dirt and 2m3 of rocks and wielding a crowbar at the random patches of concrete that are scattered through my new back yard. I suspect I will be pretty busy for at least the next few weeks.

I only completed one book:
A book by an author with the same first or last name as you The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In progress is a reread of The Vision Dean Koontz which I haven't read for about 20 years and was the book at the top of the box I opened. Apparently it was published in the decade I was born but I wasn't planning to use it for the challenge.
Also the same brain book I have been working through all year is in a box somewhere.

QOTW
Nope! Don't do much social media there is plenty of other stuff to do and I don't want to know about authors' private lives I just want to enjoy their writing. The few I have found out about sometimes stops me reading them because they seem like horrid people.

Diane wrote: "Not my best week. I had jury duty but was unable to go. I get panic attacks and I have a doctor's note excusing me from jury duty as it has been the source of some pretty big panic attacks in the p..."

Diane - admirable as it is for you to want to do jury duty, believe me it is far more important for you to exercise your citizenship by voting at every election than it is to serve on a jury. I am a lawyer, even I have never served. I have been called, spent days sitting in a room with hundreds of others, reading, only to be dismissed without my name ever being called for a possible trial. Many many citizens never get called for jury duty. And even if you did serve, the chances that you would be picked for a jury are very slim. I encourage you to get excused as soon as you get the notice and don't sweat it.

But do vote!

I missed last week's check in, but I didn't have much to report anyway. I've gotten into learning to quilt recently, which is not helpful in getting any reading done. lol

Complete:
Paper Girls, Vol. 1 - 36. A book set in the decade you were born (1980s)
Another great graphic novel series I'm excited to read more of. This one was great! I previously counted Bog Child for this prompt, but moved it over to fill a Book Riot prompt instead.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones - 30. A book with characters who are twins
I think I liked the first book a little bit more, but still loved this one.

Binti - Read for Book Riot
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening - Read for Book Riot

DNF Ghost in the Shell Just couldn't get into it.

Progress
Regular: 22/42
Advanced: 3/10

So close to half way!

Currently Reading:
Obsidio
Outlander
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

QOTW:
I follow JK Rowling and Neil Gaiman on twitter, but I'm not overly active there.

Thursday again! I nearly forgot. I've changed to a new store this week, but it's BRAND new and not even open yet. I'm so sore from receiving three trucks worth of boxes and working some extra-long days.

I read some books but I've hit a patch where I'm not really ticking off many prompts lately. This is why I like to tackle of bunch at the beginning of the year.

I'm at 29/50

Read:
Raisins and Almonds - The 9th Phryne Fisher book. 11 more to go but I used quite enough audible credits for this month, thankyouverymuch.

Henry Huggins - I finally finished the last couple of stories from my local author book adventure!

The Snoopy Treasures - I saw this on sale and couldn't resist. Throughout this book about Snoopy there are envelopes with goodies inside! There is a paper baseball pennant, a copy of a letter Ronald Reagan sent Schulz, a bumper sticker, a re-creation of a Coke promotional Red Baron paper airplane from the '70's, and more!

Fierce Kingdom - OK I know one of you must have mentioned this book, because it was on my TBR. Thanks! I liked it, although there were a couple of times I wanted to yell at the protagonist. haha I read this one as fast as my rapidly changing schedule would allow.

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World - An Englishman talking about cement, chocolate and glass? Yes please.


Currently Reading:
Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse - A bit at a time.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder - Just starting this one tonight!

My new commute is so much shorter it's throwing off my reading, but I did finally crack open and get a few pages of Time Traveling with a Hamster today!

Side note for Carmen:
I had this with me a few days ago in a coffee place. I had planned to finish Fierce Kingdom and start this before I went home, but some lady started talking to me. It was waiting patiently on the table between my chair and another. The man in that chair stopped reading and this happened:

Him: Time Traveling with a Hamster? Is it any good?

Me: I don't know yet, but a friend raved about it so I had to pick it up.

Him: Oh!

Me: Besides, how can you not want to read a book called Time Traveling with a Hamster?

Him: I know! I think I need to look for it.


QOTW:
I do follow some authors. My favorite is probably Neil Gaiman. He's fun. Let me check to see who else...
J.K. Rowling, Torben Kuhlmann, Peter Clines, Angie Thomas, Erik Larson, Adam Christopher, Lane Smith, Brian Selznick

Some aren't even alive...
P.G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Richard Castle

Plus lots of people who are mostly famous for other things but have also written books...
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Eddie Izzard, Trevor Noah, Barack Obama, Brian Cox, Stephen Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Hawking, Guillermo del Toro, Felicia Day, Patrisse Cullors, etc., etc.

More than authors I follow everyone else: Publishers, book stores, book festivals, book events, book holidays, book websites, libraries, friends of libraries (in states where I do not live), several departments of the ALA, The Library of Congress, branches of Sherlock Holmes Societies, audiobook narrators, bookstagramers, booktubers... It's a little insane.

What an eventful week! All good!

Started off on a 3 day stitching retreat to Ipswich MA with my stitching group. Gorgeous weather and a fun relaxing time. Then on Tuesday I attended a really good technology panel discussion on security and privacy at Microsoft NYC headquarters (organized jointly by Barnard and Columbia). But today was the best!

First up today was a forum on entrepreneurship at Barnard College, where I got to spend quality time with the inventor of the Pink Pussy Hat, and author of DIY Rules for a WTF World: How to Speak Up, Get Creative, and Change the World, Krista Suh, who is also the daughter of a friend of mine! Got a selfie and a personal message and autograph on my book and a gift copy for a friend's daughter too. I recommend her book for the feminism prompt - it is fun, interesting, and filled with truths.

Then while catching up on Facebook, I read a linked article about knitting things from patterns created by AI: http://aiweirdness.com/post/173096796.... Why is this relevant to this post? One of the knitters in the article makes a reference to Snow Crash, which I only understood because I read it as my 2017 new-to-me subgenre, cyberpunk!

My day ended at the theater...I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Part 1! Magical! #keepthesecrets.

Which transitions nicely into my week's reading. Finished:
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2 - loved it! Read because I am seeing the show this week. I have slotted it in as my book set at Halloween, but reserve right to move to different slot like next in series or gift book. For the record, as this is the actual play, and not a book that was turned into a stage play or musical, I do not consider this as filling that prompt at all.

This brings me to the halfway mark! 25/50 - 3/10 & 22/40. Happy Dance!

ALso finished over the weekend 2 recent Robyn Carr contemporary novels:
The Family Gathering and The Summer That Made Us. Liked them both although they don't fit any prompt.

Currently reading: Maurice - as my LGBTQ book. A classic writ by E.M.Forster and made into a gorgeous movie by Merchant Ivory.

QOTW: Not really. I am only on FB and GR and don't follow anyone because they are an author.

Eujean2 wrote: "I hope your cat comes home soon! I am having sympathetic panic imagining if my kittens got out of the house"

Carmen wrote: "I hope you get your kitty back soon! Sending good vibes <3"

Thank you Eujean and Carmen!

Humpty Doo eh Jen?

Luna wrote: "Diane wrote: "Not my best week. I had jury duty but was unable to go. I get panic attacks and I have a doctor's note excusing me from jury duty as it has been the source of some pretty big panic at..."

Thanks Luna. I have overcome a lot dealing with them but this task is still a work in progress. I refuse to let them run my life.

Theresa wrote: "Diane wrote: "Not my best week. I had jury duty but was unable to go. I get panic attacks and I have a doctor's note excusing me from jury duty as it has been the source of some pretty big panic at..."

Thanks Theresa. I had to laugh because I always saw it as sitting in a room, reading the day away, and then being dismissed . I never really got passed that to wonder how I would handle actually being picked. You also sounded like my husband. The minute he sees it in the mail he tells me to call the doctor. All of my friends wish they had the doctor note and think I'm weird that I want to go. I think I just don't like letting something have that power over me.

@poshenny, that is amazing! I am so scared you'll be disappointed and that now I'm indirectly dragging a random man into it as well haha! But I love it haha! (Hope you enjoy it; or at least don't hate it xD)

@theresa, ohman I love the film Maurice! I haven't read the book yet, but my best friend is sending it to me as soon as she can soooo :D. That swoop at the end of the movie.. And just Rupert Graves' hair alone.. *swoons*

Has anyone ready any Liane Moriarty books? I'm currently reading Truly Madly Guilty which is the second of hers that I've read. I read Big Little Lies earlier this year and liked, not loved, it. I'm struggling a little more with TMG and I think I finally figured out why. As much as I love suspense and mystery novels I hate being in the dark when all of the characters know what's going on. It feels like faux suspense for me. You know everything's going to be resolved and it's all going to come together where as in books where the characters are just as in the dark as the reader I'm always doubting that it will all work out (even though it always does).

Has anyone else noticed this or can relate?

@Carmen - the movie of Maurice is gorgeous! Saw the restored print in a REAL THEATER recently and oh my oh my! The way opening and closing and looking through windows is used....genius! Definitely Hugh Grant's most impressive- and serious- performance.
Frankly, the movie keeps interfering with reading the book. Obviously the movie is very true to the book but there are differences. It's not long - but it took a bit to get into the language. Some of that may be the result of my very busy week, only being able to read in bits.

Taylor wrote: "Has anyone ready any Liane Moriarty books? I'm currently reading Truly Madly Guilty which is the second of hers that I've read. I read [book:Big Little Lies|19486412..."

Taylor, I can totally relate to that. I enjoyed the books I've read of hers but find her presentation a bit gimmicky. The way she kept on saying "what happened at the barbecue...", I just got tired of it. I'm taking a break from her books.

@Diane I can be prone to anxiety as well, and can relate to not wanting to let it dictate what I can and can't do :).

Hi everyone! I’ve been away from home since 5 minutes after checking in last week and just got home this afternoon. I had a great time at the coast over the weekend despite the less-than-stellar weather and exhausted myself at a trade show this week. It is good to be home and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight.

I finished 3 books this week, none of them for Popsugar, so I’m still at 25/52 for this challenge. I do have a few in process for this challenge, though, so next week will be better.

Books I finished:
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish. This wasn’t as funny as other memoirs I’ve read recently, but she was brutally honest. I’m impressed by how open she was willing to be as well as by her determination.

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. I remember watching the Matt Damon movie years ago, and I think I am going to rewatch it sometime soon. The book was originally published back in 1955, so the movie made a few changes for the times, making parts of the book a surprise. I enjoyed it and didn't realize it is the first of a series. Maybe someday I'll revisit it and see what else Tom Ripley has been up to.

The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth. This book had a definite Big Little Lies vibe, although since it has been several years since I’ve read that one (and haven’t watched the HBO show yet) I don’t remember details. This was told in multiple POV, all women living on the same street in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Lots of secrets and repercussions from either holding or revealing the secrets. It was a quick read, done in 2 sittings on a couple of flights. If you like Liane Moriarty, you will probably like this.

I am currently reading:
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller for a book that involves a library or bookstore (39).
Tracks: One Woman's Journey Across 1,700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson for another challenge.
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth for another challenge.

QOTW: I do follow a few authors on Twitter (Jen Lancaster, Samantha Irbyand Roxane Gay for example), but I am terrible about actually checking my Twitter feed!

Productive week, but to be fair, most of the books I read were quite short and unfortunately nothing toward this challenge. I finished 4 books:

- Big Mushy Happy Lump, for my comic written and illustrated by the same person for BookRiot
- Crosstalk, for my science or science fiction book for the Goodreads ATY challenge
- Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life, for my book about books or reading for Modern Mrs. Darcy 2017
- Cyrano de Bergerac, for my book of poetry, play or essay collection for Modern Mrs. Darcy 2017

QOTW:
The main ones I follow are Jodi Picoult to get updates, and J.K. Rowling because her posts are so witty and hilarious. I follow quite a few authors on Goodreads, but too many to list.

Rachel wrote: "Productive week, but to be fair, most of the books I read were quite short and unfortunately nothing toward this challenge. I finished 4 books:

- Big Mushy Happy Lump, for my comic..."

How did you like Crosstalk?

Taylor wrote: "Has anyone ready any Liane Moriarty books? I'm currently reading Truly Madly Guilty which is the second of hers that I've read. I read [book:Big Little Lies|19486412..."

I loved four of her books, liked one okay, and really didn't like Truly Madly Deeply for the reasons you mentioned. I don't mind the gimmicks as long as they are interesting. TMD just irritated me. I hope it is not a sign that she's lost her mojo.

Looking forward to a warm spring weekend. I only finished one book this week as it is the NBA playoffs and I have to cheer on my beloved Utah Jazz (who will hopefully finish the series against Oklahoma City tonight).

#34 (book published in 2018) - Still Me by Jojo Moyes. This is the third book in the series, and while it won't be possible for any of the sequels to be as good as the first one, Me Before You, I enjoyed continuing her journey.

22/42 regular
3/10 advanced
2 non-prompts


QOTW:
Do you follow any authors on social media?

The only author I follow on Facebook is Elizabeth Gilbert. Her book Eat, Pray, Love was life-changing for me as it helped give me the courage to make some huge decisions. She writes inspiring posts, but not too many, as I don't like to follow a lot of people. I don't follow any authors on any other form of social media.

Well, it has been a busy week! (And will continue to be!) I'm currently in London on a week's holiday - travelled down on Wednesday, visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour on Thursday (which was fabulous!), and today had a relatively quiet time ambling around Marylebone High Street. Visited the absolutely delightful Daunt Books. Was mistaken for staff twice and at one point was walking around with so many books stacked in my arms that an actual staff member asked if I needed help with them. Ended up with a book haul 12 strong from Daunt and the Oxfam down the street. :D

Tomorrow I'm going to see the West End version of Hamilton, and the day after that, Matilda the Musical!

Books finished this week:

The Winter's Tale - Pretty fun. Nice first taste of proper Shakespeare, though it's obviously not his best work even without having read the others for comparison.

Alexander Hamilton - fulfilled Popsugar prompt #13, "a book that is also a stage play or musical". At very long last I finished this monster of a tome, just in time for the trip. It was a slog, but fascinating. Gave me a lot of perspective on just how much the musical had to leave out - it's really more a fictionalized cliffnotes than anything.

Literary London - This was fun. Nice little snippets of book-related history from the city's past, with advice on where to visit if you're interested in that sort of thing. Turns out the area I'm staying in was the stomping grounds of the Bloomsbury Group - the Woolfs lived in the next street at one point.

Not currently reading anything as I only just finished Literary London a couple of hours ago and haven't picked a new one to start yet.

QOTW: Yeah, I follow Corinne Duyvis's Tumblr. (I say follow, I don't have an account, just visit it often.)

I loved Matilda when we saw it in London a couple of years ago Cendaquenta. So much fun 😃

I know where you’re coming from with Jury Duty Diane. I was called up and I changed my address to the place 600km away where my Hubby was working so I could get out of it. There’s no court house that has juries within the 100km limit for that town so I decided that I was safe out there. Bit annoying because that also changed my electorate for voting. I’ve changed to the new town where he’s working now. It would have been so much easier if I could have just left it as the farm because I still sort of live there but at least this way I don’t get jury duty. Every other time I’ve been called I got out of it because I had the children to look after.

It's been a super-busy week. I'm prepping for an international move, and since it's T-6 weeks to finishing the school year and shipping my stuff, I've been sorting through my extensive book collection - what to pack in suitcase so I have access to them when I arrive and also want to have shipped but won't see for 10ish weeks. Priority are PopSugar Reading Challenge books, of course. :)

I was only able to finish one book this week, mostly because I was listening to it on Audible.

Into the Water - I have to say, my reading buddies are divided on whether they liked this one more or less than Girl on a Train. I happened to like it more. I liked the individual narrators. It had a Midsomer Murders/Crucible/Scarlet Letter theme to it in some ways. The background of the small village, the mystery of the "drowning pool" and the eccentric cast of characters pushed the plot forward for me. It moved faster than The Woman in the Window that I listened to for another prompt, and I had more interest in it than Girl on a Train.

I'm currently listening to The Distant Hours right now on Audible. This is for the prompt of twins in the book. It is intriguing so far - I've listened to an hour and a half out of nearly 23 hours, so I have along way to go. With a 15ish hour flight coming up, I'll certainly finish it eventually.

I *hope* to get to Sheltering Rain, Animal Farm, and maybe The Keeper of Lost Things by next weekend.

QotW: Do you follow any authors on social media?

I don't often go on Twitter, but I follow a few authors and podcasters there. I think I've liked some writers' pages on Facebook.

Theresa wrote: "Currently reading: Maurice - as my LGBTQ book. A classic writ by E.M.Forster and made into a gorgeous movie by Merchant Ivory."

Carmen wrote: "ohman I love the film Maurice! I haven't read the book yet, but my best friend is sending it to me as soon as she can soooo :D. That swoop at the end of the movie.. And just Rupert Graves' hair alone.. *swoons*"

Theresa wrote: "the movie of Maurice is gorgeous! Saw the restored print in a REAL THEATER recently and oh my oh my! The way opening and closing and looking through windows is used....genius! Definitely Hugh Grant's most impressive- and serious- performance."

Oh! I saw Maurice a few years ago in a real theatre, and James Ivory was there to talk about it! I love getting the chance to see an older movie on the big screen. I'm glad it's a thing now.

Whoever in this group wrote that they listen to audiobooks in the morning, I want to thank them. I have been doing that and I am enjoying it so much! I am the first one up in the morning and try to be quiet. Listening to an audiobook is a perfect thing to do during that time.
This week I finished And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie on audiobook. I am using this book for the prompt in the advanced challenge, recommended by someone doing popsugar challenge. It's on the list somewhere. I love reading her stuff! So clever and entertaining.

I am still working on And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini and will start reading/listening to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.