Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Hi all! I'm continuing with the Tournament of Books short list and this week I finished:

The Italian Teacher - I really liked this one especially how it portrayed the life of an artist. I ended up using it for a book you think should become a movie and now I really hope this is going to happen.

Call Me Zebra - This one was a challenge. I hated the main character but was intrigued enough with the story and to see how she would handle her grief that I powered through. I can't say I loved it but I'm glad I finished.

So Lucky - I really am going to need a fun and frivolous read after so much darkness but I thought this was excellent. It's about a very active woman who is diagnosed with MS. There is a lot of anger and palpable fear but I thought it was also relatable and while not perfect, a great read.

Currently reading:

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders - I am determined to finish this book this week! Even though I started it in 2018, I had over 300 pages left at the New Year so I am definitely counting it towards 2019 numbers and prompts!

The Parking Lot Attendant

QOTW:
I've met several but only one that I know fairly well. Unfortunately, she writes romance/erotic novels and I have very little interest in her novels.

The bleakest of reports. Haven't finished any book yet for the challenge. I've been reading a chunkster, plus a slim book that despite its pages is an utterly wretchedly long read. I've taken to read a Famous Five book, and I'm going to complete it today or tomorrow.

QOTW : No.

Ellie wrote: "Fannie wrote: "Le Tour du monde en 80 jours for the nostalgia prompt. I used to watch a cartoon based on that book when I was young and it was one of my favorite. Maybe there was an English version..."

Oh! It's the same song. I loved that song.

Carolyn wrote: "I've been thinking of reading The Martian for my book set in space. Do you like it?"

I do like it! I haven't seen the movie, but I can totally picture Matt Damon playing the main character. There is A LOT of science in it, but it is also very funny in parts.

Sara wrote: "Hello everyone and welcome to another weekly check-in! We are back in our regular weekly routines now so my days of lying about reading while on vacation are over. Ah well, I’m off to a good start ..."

3/50

Finished:
Tempests and Slaughter - Tamora Peirce (PS #4)
Song of the Current - Sarah Tolscar (no prompt, just for fun, maybe PS #27 or 31)
The Witch of Willow Hall - Hester Fox (no prompt, just for fun)

Currently reading:
Becoming - Michelle Obama (PS #9 or 21, Non-Fiction)
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (PS 24 or 39, haven't decided)
Bridge of Clay - Markus Zusak (PS 31)

QOTW: nope, none!

Good morning from a suddenly freezing Columbus! Tuesday was in the 50s, yesterday and today are in the 20s with wind and snow. Ah, the lovely Midwest.

Wildwood for a book written by a musician. Thank you to who ever suggested this in the prompt thread! I never would have realized Colin Meloy is in the Decemberists otherwise. I got this a few years ago for my daughter for Easter, for no reason other than I loved the cover and illustrations. I’m so glad I read this! 12 year old Prue is living in Portland with her baby brother Mac and her parents. While out with Mac one day, a murder of crows swoops in and carried Mac into the Impassable Wilderness. A wooded area in Portland that the city doesn’t seem to acknowledge. Wanting to save her brother, Prue and a friend from school go into the woods. There they find adventure, danger, talking animals, and magic. I really, really loved this book and can’t wait to read the second.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for the favorite prompt from a previous year (2016, murder mystery). I wanted to join in this year for the monthly reads so I decided to give this a go. This book was weird. Really weird. And stressful. And confusing. But ultimately it comes together so if you pick it up, try not to over think those first few chapters because it all does start to make sense. I like this author’s style, I’m excited to see what he comes up with next.

I usually read more than two books in a week but I guess I was being slow. Next week will probably be slow as well, as I’m tackling one long book and an average length book that is coming across as very literary and will need more time and attention paid to it.

4/40; 0/10 with 4 books read this year.

QOTW: I’m mutual friends with several on Instagram and we have ongoing conversations. A few I’ve met up with irl but I feels weird to name drop. I just love the age of social media where people who were once so inaccessible that they were practically otherworldly are now so easy to connect with.

Tracy wrote: "
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret for a book that makes you nostalgic. It worked!! This brought back so many memories for me. Its a book that I read over and over in my pre teen years and loved. Still loved it :-)"

I read this book approximately eleventy billion times when I was a kid. I loved it.

A few books this week but it was a very just okay reading week.

Book with multiple POVs:

Girls Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke. This would obviously work for 2 female authors as well. I didn’t love it. It was an okay read. For the most part, multiple POVs books annoy me and generally are not my cup of tea.

Other books that don’t fit prompts:

Just My Type: a Book about Fonts by Simon Garfield. Non-fiction about the history of fonts. Also an okay read.

The Widow by Fiona Barton. It’s about a recent widow whose husband had been accused of a horrific crime. Also, just an okay read. It went back and forth in time and that annoys me too because I feel like that and multiple POVs are common right now and it’s hard to do it right.

Smashed through a few short books this week, to get them out of the way for next week's planned doorstopper. I read:

Confusion by Stefan Zweig for a book set on a college or university campus.

The Order of the Day by Éric Vuillard for a novel based on a true story.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han for a book with "love" in the title.

Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure by Ryan North for a choose-your-own-adventure book. This was tons of fun, I highly recommend it!

I don't know the exact regular vs. advanced breakdown as I didn't differentiate when I wrote all the prompts down, but I'm now at 6/50 read.

QOTW: I know four authors. A few friends from school have published books already and I have an aunt who does historical romance. I agree with Dani that it does feel weird to name-drop them though!

Nadine wrote: "Mike wrote: "Still working on The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, so still at 0/53.

QOTW: I asked because I know several, and I was wondering how common it was to know someone who'...

my goodness there must be something in the water where you live!! that's a lot of authors! do you feel extra pressure to read all their books?"

Nope, not in the least. I'm afraid that I will hate them! Teja did invite me to check out her book, so I will do that.

As for the water, Tricia and Teja are both from my hometown (Evansville, IN), but Tasha is from South Bend, Kurt is from West Virginia, and Andrew is from England!

Oh boy, I can't believe it's Thursday already! It started snowing yesterday and continued today, so I guess wintertime is fully setting in. I've been in a bit of reading slump since around after Thanksgiving, so the cold weather is clearly making me just want to snuggle up and watch TV instead of reading, whoops!

I finished 2 picture books this week, both by Kate Beaton, who I really love. They were King Baby and The Princess and the Pony. Both are very cute, and I wish I had a child in my life to buy books for!

Currently, I'm reading The Proposal, The Poetry of John Keats, Children of Blood and Bone, A History of the World in 6 Glasses. Most of these were carry overs from last year that I put down not because of my enjoyment levels, but more my lack of motivation.

QOTW: I know a few people who have published books, so yes! A friend published a children's story, and a family friend wrote a local history book in this series about Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Also, my dad's cousin's wife is a romance author (although i don't really know her since they live on the other side of the country I believe!)

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's January 10th already! This year seems to be going just as quickly as the last. Anyway, I finally finished my first book for the challenge last night.

Finished:
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for the monthly read and puzzle/game prompt. I really loved this book! It's very complicated and I was so confused to start with, but I'm glad I kept going because it was definitely worth it!

1/40

Currently reading:
I Am Number Four for a book about someone with a superpower. It's been on my shelf for about 8 years so I'm probably not the target audience for it anymore, but I'm glad to finally get it off my TBR!

QOTW
A family friend has written a couple of plays and has also published a few collections of ghost stories local to where we live in the UK.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Finished:

The Red Address Book - I'm using this for #23 a book set in Scandinavia. This was a very cute story about a 96 year old who is writing the story of her life for her grand-niece. It just released this week, and I would definitely recommend it for historical-fiction/fiction lovers.

Challenge Progress:

Regular challenge -- 2/40
Advanced challenge -- 0/10

Currently Reading:

The Woman in Cabin 10 - I'm not sure if I'll be using this for the challenge or not. I have had it for a while from Book of the Month and wanted to get caught up on those books. It'll probably end up as a favorite from a past challenge, but we shall see.

Unmarriageable - I'm using this as a retelling of a classic. I'm about 80% done with this book and surprisingly really like it. It's a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but set in Pakistan.

Me Before You - I'm listening to this on CD on my commute. I'm not sure if it'll be used for a prompt or not though.

QOTW:

I don’t think I know any authors personally.

Hi everyone! This week seemed to fly by. No snow to report here in AZ, but we've definitely had a weird winter - much colder and rainier than normal.

This week I finished 2 books, and am sitting at 4/50 for the challenge.

Finished:

The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country for a book set in Scandinavia. I loved this - it was cute and humorous at times, but also contained enough history and fact that I was intrigued. Now I want to go live in Denmark for just a little while too :)

Another Brooklyn for the own voices prompt. I had so many on my TBR to pick from for this, but went with this one as it's been on my list for awhile, and I do love Jacqueline Woodson. I love her books purely for the poetry-like narrative prose, and this one didn't disappoint.

Currently reading:
When Katie Met Cassidy
City of Dark Magic on audio
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Not sure if I'm going to finish this one yet or not. I'm five chapters in and I'm intrigued, but it's definitely a bit of a mental investment. Usually I love that, but am in a place where I need some lighter reads at the moment.

I also just downloaded Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and The Wonder to my Kindle to see if either of those spark my interest. I have no idea what I'll end up committing to reading though.

I've also just added 3 new books to my TBR, thanks to this week's check-in. I always find so many great new reads through the check-ins! Although, that means that my TBR, as much as I try to reduce it throughout the challenge, probably winds up longer at the end of the challenge than it was at the beginning. Oh well, it's a problem I don't mind having. Just means more choices :)

QOTW: Nope. I know a few aspiring writers, and my spouse is working on a full-length novel, but no published authors.

Just Finished:
The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine. This is my "book by two female authors." It was ok; I have read better psychological thrillers.

Currently reading:
The Library Book by Susan Orlean. I started it in 2018 so I guess you could say I "meant to read it in 2018!"

QOTW:
Yes, I am friends with an author. One of my high school classmates has published a series of romance books.
Wendy L Wilson
Take My Breath Away

1/50 completed

Finished: Jodi Picoult's A Spark of Light (a book that takes place in one day) This would be a good book for the advanced category - a book with unusual chapter headings. She tells the story hour by hour BACKWARDS. That was difficult for me to get into, but I did it! She takes on the subject of abortion - very timely, I think.

Currently reading: Quiet, by Susan Cain (a book I meant to read in 2018) I was feeling like reading nonfiction for a change.

QOTW:
Angela Quarles, Lee Ann Ward, and Carrie Dalby are all members of my writer's guild!

Nadine wrote: "GAHHHH what is with this new trend of just skipping the quotation marks?? why, authors? WHY??? I've read three books in the last two months that do this. Are new young authors just too hip for standard punctuation? Am I now an old curmudgeon?"

I am 24 and it seriously ticks me off. The book I read recently with that same issue wasn't written by some young guy as far as I know, so to me it's just a literary 'look at me being special and talented and I don't need punctuation' thing haha!

Well, I thought I'd done quite well this week, until I saw some of the other lists! That said, I have checked off four more prompts.

I actually had two rare five-star books this week.

One was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which had me hooked from start to finish (albeit I'm charging it to prompt 25., Debut Novel, rather than the puzzle one, where I'm planning on A Deadly Row). Complicated, but it worked for me.

The other was very different: The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa for 32. (Author from Asia). It's the story of a Japanese man and his cat, and the friends he visits trying to find a home for Nana after he learns he can't look after him any more. I have to admit, the last third of the book had me in tears.

The other two were:

Blood, Sweets and Tears, for 22. (sweet in the title) - an entertaining paranormal cozy mystery focused on chocolate, which was a quick read

Emma, which is one of the Austen Project books, for 15. (retellings). Not bad, but I just don't really like the title character. It's not the author's fault - I liked Jane Austen's original Emma even less! But it was decently written, with the author's gentle humour. If anyone else is looking at the Austen Project for this prompt, the one I'd recommend is Val McDermid's version of Northanger Abbey.

Currently completed: 5 basic, 0 advanced

Next up, My Brilliant Friend. Again. I don't know why, but I don't ever seem to get started with this one. Others come along and get in its way.

After that, I might read a couple of non-PS books, then come back to it.

QOTW: Do any of you know an author personally?

Several of my gaming friends are authors, some published, some aspiring, although most of them are in the US! Over here in the UK, I've known Genevieve Cogman, author of the Invisible Library series, for quite a while.

I've also exchanged emails with a few, who for the most part, always seem pleased to answer.

Not "know" exactly, but I went to a book signing in 2017 for a friend of a friend, called Fonda Lee, and was chuffed to see that the book she signed on that occasion, Jade City, shared the 2018 World Fantasy Award.

Trish wrote: "The other was very different: The Travelling Cat Chronicles, by Hiro Arikawa for 32. (Author from Asia). It's the story of a Japanese man and his cat, and the friends he visits trying to find a home for Nana after he learns he can't look after him any more. I have to admit, the last third of the book had me in tears."

I got this book from my best friend a few weeks ago, and I immediately slotted it into that same prompt! So excited to read this, but now also making sure to get some tissues ready- I had no real idea what it was about so at least I'll be a bit more prepared now heh

So this is my first PopSugar Challenge and I am currently 0/50. It's clearly going very well. Haha. I did decide not to put too much pressure on myself though. Takes the joy out of reading. I also want to see just how many prompts each book will fit in so I made a cute little excel sheet for it cause I'm a nerd.

Anywho,

Finished Books:

None 😶... But in my defense I started my books on the 4th and 5th... I'm a tad behind.

Currently Reading:

Drums of Autumn Which is taking me a while because its close to 900 pages and I don't always have a ton of time to read. Yesterday I think it was only 20 pages that I was able to fit in.

The Song of Achilles Gym Read! I'm thinking I'll finish this one in the next couple days. I'm about half way through and it's pretty amazing so far!

QOTD

I don't know any authors personally but the question did make me think of something fun.

Diana Gabaldon is from Flagstaff, AZ.... As am I. And I attended Northern Arizona University where one of the dorms happens to be named after her: Gabaldon Hall! And that's where I lived my Sophomore year. So I don't know her but at least were from the same place and I lived in her building. Haha. And I'm currently reading her books so needed to tell the story. 😃

Hi! Just finished My Plain Jane, a book with two (actually three) female authors. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially catching so many Harry Potter, Hamilton and Princess Bride references.

Reading Akata Witch now, which fits several prompts so I’m not sure yet where I will categorize it.

Hi everyone!
I finished A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets by James Bowen for the "book written by a musician" prompt, Neverwhere by Neil Gaimanfor "reread of a favourite" prompt and one czech book written in local dialect for my czech reading challenge.
Currently I'm reading The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency: Death in Sunset Groveby Minna Lindgren for "amateur detective" prompt.
QOTW: No authors in my aquintance, sadly. But my uncle is a translator, mainly from german.

Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday, all!

Saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" this past weekend. Good movie. Now makes me want to binge-listen to Queen and/or find a memoir on Freddie Mercury to read...

Finished four books this ..."

DO IT! I listened to Queen non-stop for about a week after I watched it

Hello from snowy and freezing Cleveland! I think the weather knew I didn’t have an audiobook ready for my commute this morning, so that’s why it took twice as long.

This week I read Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom for an author with the same first and last initial. This should’ve been right up my alley - I love when someone explores a niche area of interest and Blu-ray the line between straight nonfiction and memoir, but this disappointed me. The writing was very weak (If I had to read “So this is what happened.” one more time....) and the author never really explained why she took on this project and didn’t really seem to care? There was a whole chapter devoted to her making a taxidermy squirrel, and by the end I still didn’t really understand the process. I gave it 3* because I did learn quite a bit of interesting history!

QOTW: I went to college with Leah Thomas, and I keep meaning to check out her books. I believe her debut, Because You'll Never Meet Me, won a prize.

Hello fellow book-lovers,

I have finished a few (short) books this week and started some as well…
Finished:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, for book I saw someone reading in a movie, and for now I am double dipping it for inspired by folklore (since it mentions superstitions and beliefs of us muggles quite a bit),

Hand aufs Herz for the prompt by two female authors. This is a lovely graphic novel telling the stories of women in Morocco and of their experiences with love and sexuality. Sadly though, so far it has only been translated to German (from the original French), I think.
Another beautiful graphic novel (only in German) Eine Hand voller Sterne: Graphic Novel about the youth of the author in Syria, which I am using for a book with a zodiac sign of astrology term in the title

Can You Survive a Zombie Apocalypse? (thank you for the recommendation, Nadine) for the choose-your-own-Adventure prompt. I actually managed to stay alive for the first attempt! This was quick and easy fun, but definitely not my genre in general, so I am happy to be done with it.

Plus I finished a re-read of Macbeth, listened to an audio-version, actually, which added to my experience of it. I am currrently teaching it in my AP English class, so I needed to re-read it fast and the audio-version was quick and different and I could cook and do other chores while listening to it. Might use it for a re-read of a favourite book since it is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and I ususallly don't do many re-reads.

Currently reading:
I am juggling quite a few reads right now:

Macbeth which is one of the Hogarth Shakespeare retellings. This is a little slow, since it is so dark and I don't always want to read it in bed before going to sleep. But since I am teaching Macbeth right now it is interesting (so far) to see the adaptation.
For a lighter bed-time read I have started The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
Then I am also reading Die fünf Sprachen der Liebe which is The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts. I think someone here commented on it last year which made me put it on my TBR. It is interesting and I find that I can easily overlook and not get annoyed by the more old-fashioned stereotypical ideas of marriage and also the religious undertone, because generally I find this interesting and rewarding (and I do think it can be helpful for all kinds of relationships, not only for love-relationships)
Listening to a volume of (slam-)poetry Keine Ahnung, ob das Liebe ist, which touches my inner feelings.


QOTW:
First I thought I didn't know any, but then I remembered that one of my college roommates has written a children's book (not on goodreads, sadly), and a colleague has written a crime novel, and a friend of my parents' has published several volumes of poetry.

Hello everyone! It is so cold here at the moment (I'm really hoping for snow!).

This week I finished The Fifth Season (in fact I finished it on the train ride home just before I got to my station - perfect timing!). I'll admit, I was expecting more from all of the glowing reviews. Don't get me wrong, the writing is great and the story's engrossing but I felt like there was something missing (or maybe I was missing something). I don't know what. Maybe because I figured out a lot of the twists early on? Oh gosh, I'm making it sound awful and it's really not! I'll definitely read more N.K. Jemisin in the future.

QOTW: I participate in NaNoWriMo every year so I have a lot or writer friends but I am not sure how many have been published. The majority are novices like me but I know there are a few actively writing for publications

I finished two more books this week. One for the challenge and one that I could fit in to a couple categories but I already have something else slated so we'll see closer to the end of the year.
I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This was actually a re-read for me which is why I don't want to count it for the challenge just yet. I had to read it for class and it's still just as funny and thought-provoking as before.
For the challenge (and for school), I read Bone Gap for the prompt "based on mythology, legend, or folklore. It's a subtle retelling of the Persephone myth and I thought this book was fantastic. I recommended it to everyone I know, I thought it was that good. The characters are so vivid and sympathetic.

QOTW: I do know a couple of authors, actually. I went to high school with Alyson Reynolds, who is a romance writer. I haven't read any of her books though since it's not my preferred genre but she has pretty good ratings on Goodreads. I also know Rilla Askew who wrote Fire in Beulah which is one of my favorite books. She was my thesis advisor when I was getting my MA. It's been seven years so I doubt she remembers me though!

I completed four books this week - The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, King Lear, Dunbar (a modern retelling of Lear) and Gone Girl. Evelyn Hardcastle was definitley my favourite - action packed, great descriptive writing, unique and a real page turner. Can't think of any authors that I know personally but last year when I was looking for a book for Popsugar's 'a book by an author with the same first or last name as you' I discovered my library has works by two authors with my name (first and last). And then I realised that one of them was me ! I wouldn't consider myself an author but one chapter of my thesis we published as a ...booklet I guess you'd call it and a couple of monographs I wrote were published by my then employer - surprised I was named as an author since those things normally weren't accredited.

Nadine wrote: "GAHHHH what is with this new trend of just skipping the quotation marks?? why, authors? WHY??? I've read three books in the last two months that do this. Are new young authors just too hip for standard punctuation? Am I now an old curmudgeon?"

If wanting quotation marks makes us old curmudgeons, I'll be an old curmudgeon with you!

Hmm... I did start both audiobooks 4 days before the new year... and they do count as read for this year, so.... Okay, fine, I'm going for it!

It has been pretty cold here (relatively speaking for California anyway) and I've been a bit under the weather, so good for encouraging me to stay curled up on the couch! That said, I haven't done so well at checking off items for Popsugar, so I'm still at 1/50.

This week I finished The Dark Tower to finish off the seven book series. I really enjoyed the series as a whole (read and/or reread over the past few years). I went through the books with a mix of physical books (my grandmother gave me nice illustrated editions many, many years ago of the early books), ebooks and audiobooks and it felt like quite the journey!

I picked up The Age of Miracles after hearing about another book the author has coming out. I had mixed feelings about this one. It kept me interested enough to keep reading to see where it was heading, but I didn't love it.

My last book of the week was In the Country which is a book of short stories I've been slowly making my way through over the past few weeks interspersed with other reading. I really enjoyed this one and I don't think I've read anything from an author from the Philippines before.

Currently I'm reading Us Against You for my Popsugar Scandanavian pick. My hold on The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle also came up at the library, so I'm hoping to pick that up and dive in this weekend.

QOTW: I don't have any personal connections to any authors.

Hi all!

This is my first time really participating in the challenge, and this group, so I am really looking forward to the year. I think these weekly check-ins will be motivating.

Finished:

The Last Mrs. Parrish - It was ok, not my favorite but not terrible either. I will use this for prompt #21 - a book by two female authors.

Challenge Progress:

Regular -- 1/40
Advanced -- 0/10

Currently Reading:

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Just got this from the library, will try it for the January group read and puzzle prompt.

QOTW: I don't know any authors personally.

Good afternoon all! I'm able to check in early this week because my husband had a root canal this morning and I'm home taking care of him. He actually feels fine and doesn't need me, but by the time I picked him up, grabbed meds, and bought him lunch I didn't much feel like going back to work... so I may have exaggerated the situation to my boss ;) Now I can curl up with A Dance with Dragons until it's time for Brooklyn 99 trivia this evening! Ha!

Finished:
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - My first read of the year, and I had to use the "favorite past Popsugar prompt" already. Oh well. It's a compilation of short horror stories that mostly take place in the same area. I think it must be very Lovecraftian, although I've never read Lovecraft--more cosmic horror than ghostly. I did enjoy it but I prefer the "things that go bump in the night" sort of thing. The author does have one full-length novel, though, which I may try in the future.

Currently reading:
A Dance with Dragons - For the "mythical/extinct animal" prompt. I'm about 2/3 of the way through now! This makes me want to go back and read the whole series again. I've gone ahead and slotted The Winds of Winter into my plan for this year, despite not knowing the release date. I'm trying to speak it into existence! (Yes, yes, I am a sweet summer child.) I do a daily Google search for George R.R. Martin, it's very bad, it's gotten to the point where my household is on a first-name basis with "George". "What are you doing on your phone, honey?" "Oh, just checking on George."

Night Film - I've been listening to the audiobook at my job when I'm doing my busy work. Haven't decided whether to count it towards the challenge yet as it's a re-read, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

QOTW:
My former youth pastor and family friend recently wrote a book about ministry. I'm proud of him, but haven't read it because I'm not religious.

Another good reading week. The pace I'm on is bonkers no way I'm keeping up with it. :). But hey, good to get some books front loaded.

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road by Willie Nelson for book by a musician because that title.. how could I not? I'm not a huge music person in general and less of a country person but this was charming and rambing and weird in the way you'd expect Willie Nelson to be. I started off with the auido book but this one you should definantly read. Woody rambles off into journal type entries and song lyrics and posts lots of pictures and art so you get lost listening but is really easy to keep track of reading. Also lots of interviews with his family. It was a fun very quick read.

The Innocence of Father Brown I picked this one because it was on the new accuisitions page of my library overdrive and I find the show charming in an easy kind of way and one of the Around the Year topics is book related to a TV show you like. And so hey. There were some stories that really were charming but there were also some stories that were very much a product of the different social acceptabilities of their time that felt very, very out of place in 2019. Father Brown the television show is set in the 50s (well after these stories were published) and he is very much non judgemental and accepting more than is likely for a 50s era Catholic Priest. So this was a real change. I am not sorry I read it, but I can't see myself seeking out others.

3) The Chilbury Ladies' Choir epistolary, mulitple perspectives, historical fiction. I picked it because it was avaliable now and I'm out of hold spots at two different libraries. I wanted to like it more than I did. I like epistolary novels. I like WWII home front novels. I like women centric novels. But this one just didn't quite work for me. It started out so promisingly with a bit of intrigue but in the end I found it came together two easily and it left me disatisfied. Don't listen to me, though. Most people seem to have loved it!

4) Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson another epistolary! This one, however, I did love!!!! OMG. A woman in late middle age facing the death of a friend looks at her life and wonders if it is the life she really wanted or just the life that happened to her and if it is too late to change. She writes to a man who works at a museum in Denmark (who once dedicated a book to her) and that man has passed away but one of his collegues answers the letter and they develop a frienship through these back and forth letters. I loved the way their familiarity grew over time and I really just enjoyed these quiet, lovely, introspective people. It took a turn that I would have preferred it missing but in general I loved, loved, loved this. Plus it is the author's debut work at age 70 so I think the moral of the book is that you can in fact become the person you want to be when you grow up at any age. Which is always nice to know.

5) The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley which I have had for a while as a netgalley proof and needed to read and review! This is book 10 of a mystery series I genuinely adore and this was a sold entry in the lineup after a couple of books I was less thrilled with. I hope it isn't the end but if you like mysteries and historical fiction (set in an English country town in the early 50s) and precocious children detectives who are obsessed with poisons and chemistry? This is your series. Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

Currently reading: I have just, just, just started the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle! No idea where it slots in but excited by what I've gotten through so far!

I have never been close with any authors personally I have known some very casually.

An online friend wrote Paula Graves several Harlequin novels and when her first came out we were so, so, so excited for her. Romance wasn't my favorite but I ran right out to buy it and talked somebody else in the store to buy it as well. She wrote several more and was a brilliant beautiful writer who unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago.

I never met Eric L. Harry but I wrote him an email in the very early days of email and websites when his actual email address was on his website. We exchanged several emails over the course of a few months. I was in high schoool, maybe... and so it felt very big that a publsihed author was taking time to write to me. But when he started pressing how much more like his first book his third book would be, I lost interest. His first book Arc Light was the only one that got real acclaim but it was his second book that really, really, really got me thinking. It is out of print but I still think about some of the themes of that book today. He'd quit writing the last I looked but it seems like he's back at it. Good for him!

And I was little the author William Diehl probably best known for a Primal Fear was a regular at the bar my aunt and uncle owned in St. Simmon's Island Ga. They'd bring me in with them in the mornings sweep up, count their money, go to the bank. Then my aunt and I would go off on some adventure and we'd drop back by the bar in the afternoon before things got hopping. I met him a few times. We once had a conversation about black eyed peas where I (I was very young) called them black eyes and peas and my aunt thought that was so funny because... YEAH... so a few years later when I was still young but less so and Primal Fear was in the theaters and so his name was everywhere my aunt was like, "And you told him about your black eyes and peas!" but I do remember him. He was nice and engaged with a little kid in a friendly way which wasn't usual for people in the bar before normal drinking hours.

Hi everyone! Second week of the challenge and I’m just finishing the first book. Snow is headed this way so maybe Saturday I can read most of the day.
Today I finished Survivor in Death (#20 in Jd Robb’s In Death series). I am using it for the challenge “a book told from multiple character POVs” because most of the story is told from one POV but each book slips into various other characters minds and thoughts for short periods throughout the book.

Question of the week. The only author I know personally is my husband’s friend who is a historian and wrote a very dry history book about the Civil War I think. I can’t remember the book name or know where my husband put our copy. More interestingly I once read a book in computer file form for an author in exchange for giving feedback, editing issues etc she sent me a copy of the book and gave credit in the acknowledgements to all that gave their input. The book is called Secret Speakers and the search for Selador’s Gate by K.S.R Kingworth. I don’t know her personally but seeing my name in an acknowledgments section was fun.

Bree wrote: "I agree with Dani that it does feel weird to name-drop them though!"

I look at it as promoting the books of my author friends! I don't list their names to brag so much as hoping I can introduce their books to more readers :) But I can understand wanting to avoid name-dropping.

I'm off to a good start this year! Trying to stay on momentum from the new year.

I'm 6/50 for the challenge. This week's reads:

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene - I'm rereading the Nancy Drew series this year, inspired by a challenge that I'm doing, and I used this one for the amateur detective prompt

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene

The Secret of the Knight's Sword by Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon - this was my pick for a choose-your-own adventures book, although I'm so excited about the prompt that I have several more I'm planning to read this year

The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene - I still really enjoy these books

Identity Thief by Rachel Rosenthal - I found the "This Can't Be Happening" series of short reads in the Prime lending library, and I used this one for an author whose first and last names start with the same letter

The Third Man by Mani Sheriar - another in the "This Can't Be Happening" series , it was a very powerful story

Black Sheep by Rory Scholl - my least favorite of the "This Can't Be Happening" series, but I used it for the prompt "piece of clothing or accessory on the cover"

Two Henrys by Kevin Allison - another in the "This Can't Be Happening" series, used for the two word title prompt

So I have 9 books in on day 10 of the year!

QOTW: I don't think I know any authors personally.

Kelsey wrote: "Diana Gabaldon is from Flagstaff, AZ.... As am I. And I attended Northern Arizona University where one of the dorms happens to be named after her: Gabaldon Hall! And that's where I lived my Sophomore year. So I don't know her but at least were from the same place and I lived in her building. Haha. And I'm currently reading her books so needed to tell the story."

That's awesome! I lived in a dorm my freshman year that was named after Mary Ingles (not Little House on the Prairie) who's story is the basis for Follow the River. She was taken captive by the Shawnee, escaped and traveled something like 1,000 miles to get back home again. True story.

I have to say now I want stay in Gabaldon Hall! Sounds so majestic!

This week I have finished Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading which brought back so many memories of books that I read as a kid that I had forgotten about. It was so nice to read about someone who has the same passion about reading as I do!

At the moment I am reading a book written by musician Brian May. There aren't really any celebrities that I am interested in enough to read a book about or written by them, but I have always been a huge Queen fan and thought I would give Bang!: The Complete History of the Universe, I was never any good nor interested in physics/astronomy and so some things in this book are going right over my head. I am currently 55% of the way through and hoping to get it finished tonight.

Question of the Week
There is a guy who works in the same place as me. He's not a 'well known' author and trying to get his name out there; however I think a lot of his books are erotica which is just not my thing, so I've never read anything that he's done.

I finished Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song for #3 prompt.

I am current reading Eragon for prompt #27 and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 for #2

I am hoping to finish those two books by the end of the week

QOTW: I don'nt know any authors personally. I've met some authors at yallwest years ago but thats about it

Greetings from NYC! Taking time to post but not read...I'm quite busy with work and I have theater tonight meaning I have to leave early - seeing Sam Shephards 'True West'.

Finished

Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia - absolutely fabulous 5 star read! Not only tells about an amazing woman but also is a great primer of the modern Middle East. I used for PS character with a superpower (if anyone has ever had a superpower, it's Gertrude Bell!) and ATY ##44 related to a movie (Lawrence of Arabia, of course).

A Fine Passion - I just needed a day to retreat back into a favorite regency romance -- and this one has spoken to me since I first read the passage where Jack first refers to Lady Clarice as 'Boadicea' through his incredibly romantic proposal at the end, and all the skulduggery threatening lives and reputations in between. Then I realized it fit PS re-read of a fave and ATY #9 - book from one of top grossing genres (romance) - SCORE!

I'm at 3/52 for PS - all regular no advanced.

Currently Reading

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - soon due back at library - originally added to my NYPL ebook waitlist because it looked like fun (I like action/adventure and romps) and because it was getting good reviews here - enjoying it but not loving it. I was despairing fitting it into PS 2019 and then hit the part where the puzzle box was introduced - so it is going to be my book involving a puzzle or game for PS and for ATY my book over 500 pages.

I've had to put aside temporarily a couple of books I had started because I forgot to reschedule a bunch of NYPL ebook suspended holds before they all downloaded last week, meaning both Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and One Day in December are getting no attention right now.

QOTW - well, in fact I do know now and in the past knew quite a number of authors, both as a result of my law practice in NYC and befriending through friends who owned bookstores or worked in publishing, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sue Grafton, and Arturo Pérez-Reverte. In fact just this week while I was meeting with a long time client I remembered to ask her to autographed her book for me: Lili Anolik - debut novel was Dark Rooms, and her new book published just this week is Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A.

Edward B. Hanna - The Whitechapel Horrors - a really serious Sherlockian, very professorial and academic personality.

Nicole Valentine - her first book - A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity - YA - is being published later this year. I've known Nicole for a very long time - we share a passion for needlework.

Marissa Piesman - not writing these days, but she co-wrote Yuppie Handbook: The State-Of-The Art Manual for Young Urban Professionals and a delightful OOP cozy mystery series set in NYC real estate world featuring Nina Fischman.

I'll stop there :-)

All the posts mentioning people they went to school with made me remember I went to law school with (and might have gone out drinking with from time to time), Andrew Pyper who writes supernatural and horror books (for eg. The Demonologist, Lost Girls). I remember when he told people he was thinking of writing and then decided not to practice law and do it for real ... I think he's been relatively successful at it and I've read a few and enjoyed them, although it's not really my genre.

@audiobooks: I am like others here: I listen to audiobooks when I ride my bike to and from work, it´s not the same part of the brain being activated. It´s absolute bliss to do jigsaw puzzles and other craft/creative things, while listening to audiobooks. I don´t do dishes etc well while listening to audiobooks, but I believe that´s also because a lot of things are going on at my house at most times with two adults, two teenagers, a 9-year old, friends and family coming and going, it seems in an endless flow.

@snow. I am wondering, all these snow days. What does it take for the schools to close? I remember only one time in my entire time at school we had that happen, but that was mainly because it was a really cold winter and the heater broke. I live in a big city, so of course that matters, but still... I think it takes a lot of snow for schools and workplaces to close down in Denmark.

Trish wrote: "Well, I thought I'd done quite well this week, until I saw some of the other lists! That said, I have checked off four more prompts.

I actually had two rare five-star books this week.

One was [b..."

I'm the same - I've had [book:My Brilliant Friend|13586707] out from the library a gazillion times, and even had a borrowed copy on my bookshelf for about a year and yet I never seem to be able to bring myself to read it and I don't know why. Now it's just become some kind of weird block and I feel like I will never end up reading it.

4/50

I only read 1 book this week. Hopefully I'll get more reading done this weekend with the snowstorm we're supposed to get.

Completed Prompts:

Convenience Store Woman I read this for the prompt a book by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America. It was a nice easy read.


On my nightstand:


The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - I am having trouble getting into this book. I thought the beginning was very slow, got into it for a bit, but am finding myself not wanting to pick it back up. I do want to finish it so I can see what other people thought for the monthly book challenge.

My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel - Another one I'm having a hard time getting into.

Coming Home - My reread book, which I am loving again.

QOTW:
Well, I went to high school with Cathleen Davitt Bell. Does that count? Also, my mom was the author of The Needle Arts of Greece: Design and Techniques.

Carolyn wrote: "This is my first Pop Sugar Challenge, and I am already having a ton of fun reading/researching books to fill the prompts.

I started with:
The Other Woman - A book with an item of ..."

America's First Daughter was by far my favorite book that I read last year!

Hi all,

I'm at 2/50 for the year so far.

Books Finished:

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness-A book becoming a movie in 2019. I didn't love love it, but it did make me want to read the next books in the series, if only to see what happens.

Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking by Linda Civitello-Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge (2017's prompt "A book about Food") I enjoyed this one. It gets into the details of leavening bread and cakes before the invention of baking powder, the development of different kinds of baking powders, the major companies that developed them, and the advertising wars that went on in the 1800s through now, and how the laws (or lack thereof) regarding food purity and label claims affected things. She definitely did her research regarding the facts. What I didn't love is that some of the analysis of the larger social aspects felt a little surface--but maybe that wasn't the intent of the book.

Currently Reading

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy-A book revolving around a puzzle or game, also for the January reading challenge.

Question of the Week:

I don't know any authors on a personal/friends level, but I've met and/or interviewed several authors of knitting books at knitting shows and on my podcast.

This was not my most successful reading week. I was able to finish three books, but only one was for a prompt. The other two were Amanda Quick novels (which feels like a guilty pleasure because she is the only romance novelist I read). I also read Heart's Blood for a past Pop Sugar prompt (retelling of a fairy tale).

I am currently reading The Land: Founding for my LitRPG book. This is killing me slowly. To be fair it is not a bad book, actually well written- if you enjoy LitRPG, which I don't. I knew this would be my hardest prompt this year and decided to get it over with. I can only handle two chapters a day- so this might take me a while. I am also reading Dancing at the Rascal Fair for a past Pop Sugar prompt (a book your mom loves). It hasn't really sucked me in yet, but I am still in the early chapters of the book.

QOTW: No authors for me.

I met Greg Gutfeld at the book signing of his The Gutfeld Monologues: Classic Rants from the Five in Ft. Worth, Texas

Johanna wrote: "Also, my mom was the author of The Needle Arts of Greece: Design and Techniques.
..."

Ummm, I am pretty sure that I own a copy of that! *fanning self* - major fan moment here. Needlework is another passion of mine!

If we’re counting signings, I met Joanne Harris as well! She is so kind and lovely, and we spent some time gushing over Loki and how he deserves more love then he gets 😅

I agree with everything said before on audiobooks. I only discovered in October I could actually listen to them as when I had tried before while reading along, it was a disaster. I listen most often while doing jigsaw puzzles on my laptop, or when in bed just before bed. I’ve fallen asleep twice already, which was a surprise! Butyeah, doing something definitely helps with the focusing.

Snow. I want snow. We haven’t had snow yet. Just a bit of rain here and there, and wind sometimes. It’s warmer than it should be and I feel cheated. OH WE DID HAVE SNOW. For like 2 hours and then it was all gone and melted. Sigh. There’s still hope right? We had Easter in the snow once, so fingers crossed!