EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi everyone!

Had a nice weekend hanging out with a friend I don't get to see much, but still got some good reading done.

I finished:

The Red Threads of Fortune which is the continuation of The Black Tides of Heaven, it was really great. I ended up marking them both down for the Asian author popsugar prompt, as well as a nonbianary author for the nonbianary/trans author prompt in Read Harder. I haven't decided if I'll use them for ATY's far east author/ setting yet, I feel like I'm going to read more Asian authors and don't know if I want to triple dip so early.

All the Light We Cannot See - I tried a new thing this week, going to a Books & Brew which is a book club that meets in a brewery. This was the book for it, and I actually managed to get a copy in time to finish it about one hour before the event started. I ended up having a lot of fun at the even and liking the book a lot more than I expected. I've been reading a lot of WW2 fiction since i started doing reading challenges, wasn't really looking forward to yet another one. I really liked it though, there was almost a kind of magical realism to it, centered around this diamond that was rumored to be cursed. The main protagonists were a young blind French girl during the occupation of France, and a young brilliant boy who went to an elite Nazi school. I really appreciated the different views, both from a person who's differently abled and a Nazi presented as a very human character. The book in NO way excused anything about the Nazis, but presented a view of a young kid whose choices in life were to go into the coal mines and probably die of a terrible accident, or go into the military where he could pursue his technological dreams, even if it meant being surrounded by increasingly uncomfortable viewpoints and occurrences. The kid often knew things weren't really right, but also saw what happened to those who rebelled and he just wanted to survive. Also the sections from the point of view of the blind girl were beautifully described, really giving the feel of how someone without sight would navigate the world and life in general. All in all a lovely book.

I am counting it for Popsugar's book with unusual chapters, it was broken into various parts, and each part into different viewpoints with title names. Also ATY's book with an author that has A, T, and Y in their name.

Saga, Vol. 2 - Finally got around to reading this. I bought a physical copy of it a couple years ago, read the first issue of it, and it disappeared. I've searched EVERYWHERE and I cannot for the life of me figure out where it got to. So I finally sucked it up and borrowed it off hoopla just so I could move on in the series. I enjoyed it a lot, will have to start moving forward again.


Currently reading:

Into the Drowning Deep - This will be my popsugar book featuring an extinct or imaginary character, involving mermaids. I'll also probably count it for ATY's book with a monstrous creature, seeing as in this novel the mermaids are apex predators of the deep. I love Seanan McGuire in general, and how she writes such a diverse cast of characters without feeling forced. I'm not too far yet, about a quarter, but enjoying it a lot so far.

Dead Beat - still plugging away at the audiobook, been watching bake off with my husband, I got him hooked on accident. So less audio book time while i stitch.

QOTW:

I know we're all book readers here, it's the nature of good reads after all. (Even those of us trying to read more!) But what else do you read?

I'm a big fan of comic books, which I do put into good reads when they come into trades. I also really love web comics and follow a number, such as Something Positive, Questionable Content, Sinfest, Gunnerkrig Court, Dumbing of Age. Used to follow Girls with Slingshots but that ended a couple years ago, still follow Danielle Corsetto on Patreon though. I used to read a lot of Cracked, but it seemed like most my favorite writers left or at least don't write as often, and I never got into the newer crowd as much.

Hello All,

I've gotten a good start to the first full week of reading in 2019 thanks listening to audiobooks while working on stripping, fixing, refinishing, and rehanging a 100+ year old door with umpteen layers of paint on it in our house. It's a crap job, but it's been made much more enjoyable by listening to Ahsoka. (Fun fact, we almost named Mjølnir "Ahsoka" because of her facial markings, but went with Mjølnir instead due to all the headbutting). This was a light, quick listen thanks to some good narration and the fact that it connected to lots of other elements of the Star Wars 'verse that I knew about.

I've since moved on to listening to Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age and I'm LOVING this book. Between my background in the arts, the fact that one of my areas of study is social media, and my work in eLearning, this book is really checking all my boxes with bonus points for being ready by Will Wheaton with intro by Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. The author uses his considerable knowledge of digital copyright laws and experience as a writer and techie to craft an informative but still highly entertaining book. I've lol'ed several times even when shaking my head at his descriptions of how corporations have struggled to make the transition to a digital economy, open source material, and creative commons. I'm about 50% through it and look forward to hearing the rest.

For physical books, last week I finished Us Against You, and I really didn't like it, so that was a big turn around from Beartown, which I basically have told everyone I know to read. Us Against You was just such a downer in terms of very little good happening to any of the characters, but I also didn't like the way the writing style changed between the two books. Us Against You honestly read to me like a first novel where the author hasn't quite got a grasp on how to use foreshadowing. There was a lot of "but we said this now, but we didn't know that in 10 days, X would happen." Like, a lot of it, to the point where it was repetitive, distracting, and just plain annoying. I was really surprised at the weakness of the writing given that he's an established author and this isn't an issue in the other two books of his I've read. Oh well. You can't win 'em all.

I've now moved on to reading Station Eleven and am about 60% through it. This one has been a slow burn for me, but the farther into it I get, them more I really like it. The author weaves several storylines from the present and past together, and I find I can't put the book down because I have all these ideas about how the characters were or will be connected and I just want to find out! The basic premise is a dystopian world where most of the population has been wiped out because of a flu. 20 years on, humans are finding ways to live with no tech, power, or communication tech, so it's also a good commentary on technology, community, relationships, and human nature. I'm really looking forward to finding out how it ends.

QOTW: I read a few blogs, mostly on home design (such as Young House Love) and magazines, but other than that, I don't tend to read too much. Unless you count what I do for work, in which case, I read a lot of scholarly articles on eLearning and music education.

I'm still working on Uprooted which I am really enjoying a lot. It's a fantasy, kind of a fairy-tale story. I also got In Other Lands back from the library. I was enjoying this one but I had to pause my reading in December because my library loan expired, so that's queued up next.

QOTW: I read a lot of manga, and some other comics, a couple of web comics. I also read a few blogs, mostly cooking blogs when they post recipes that interest me. I also spend a lot of time reading my own writing, and I also beta-read for my partner.

Hello, I am Jennifer from Texas. Just finished Louise Penny's Kingdom of the Blind, and am now reading Brad Meltzer's The First Conspiracy. I read mostly police procedural sort of mysteries as I find them more believable, than the cozy mystery where the same librarian/real estate agent/ baker stumble over bodies and solve the mystery.

QOTW: I don't read much other than books. I find some blogs interesting but do not read on a regular basis.

I just started Libriomancer; husbot's friend recommended it because I have enjoyed Scalzi. I checked and several FoE are also fans so giving it a try. It's set in Michigan where I live so that is fun. So far liking it, and was highly amused at the naming convention for the magical beings.

For other reading, I use feedly to catch news, as my city was one of the first to end daily newspapers (because we were so high tech we could go digital). For blogs, I read Epbot, Wil Wheaton, theBloggess, and John Scalzi regularly.

Happy week two! I finished The Reluctant Queen , and just started Rosemary and Rue . And, still working my way through A Fire Upon the Deep...

Hello!

This week I finished the audiobook The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. I am hoping to start listening to its sequel or the sequel for Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. I don't have one immediately queued up so we'll see.

I am making steady progress through Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup. It remains just as riveting and thrilling as it was at the beginning. Sometimes hard to believe ti is non-fiction. Working in tech, there were actual names I am acquainted with! That was weird to read them. Thankfully the name I know was a "good guy". Management was rotten to the core from day one. I've been recommending this to everyone I know. My husband read the series of articles in the WSJ, but I did not. This book gives a lot more background and detail. We've been having very interesting dinner conversation. I will finish it this week (due at the library on Thurs and no more renewals and I have a business trip so I'll have time).

QOTW: I subscribe to a couple blogs, "Now I Know" (random interesting (short) story, on weekdays), Of Dollars and Data (once/week), and The Morning Paper (Computer Science research). I read a bunch of magazines and my favorite is Discover Magazine ("Science for the Curious"). We subscribe to the WSJ and a very local paper. I read Epbot and CW on a regular basis.

I’m still slowly working on “Alexander Hamilton.” Loving it, but reading time has been limited this week. I’m up to the beginning of his time as treasury secretary. Reading this makes me want to add more of Chernow’s books to my TBR list, but I have so many already!

QOTW
I read a lot of advice columns and blogs. I’ve tried to get into graphic novels and comics because I have a lot of admiration for creators of that kind of art, but it’s just never worked for me. Right now my blog rabbit hole is crocheting because I just started learning this week.

This week I finally finished Magician. I really enjoyed it, but it took me forever to finish for some reason. A very epic-y fantasy epic, so I think I'll take a break before the next book in the series.

I've started on Mr. Standfast as my next serial book, so far so good. I think The 39 Steps is still my favourite though. And my new audiobook is The Gone-Away World. I really enjoyed Angelmaker, so I'm hoping this one is good as well.

QOTW - I read a few webcomics (xkcd, Questionable Content, Gunnerkrigg Court) and blogs (cakewrecks and epbot of course, as well as the Bloggess and sometimes Neatorama). And, at the moment, I'm getting rather distracted by Harry Potter fanfic...

Stephanie wrote: "Hello All,

I've gotten a good start to the first full week of reading in 2019 thanks listening to audiobooks while working on stripping, fixing, refinishing, and rehanging a 100+ year old door wit..."

I read Station Eleven a couple years ago and really enjoyed it! By the time I finished, I wanted to read it again. I'm glad to hear it's starting to grip you.

This week I made some progress reading The Flight Attendant. It's fairly lackluster. A flight attendant blacks out from alcohol and wakes up next to a dead guy. The revelations we learn by page 50 are the same revelations we know on page 250. I think this book would do really well as a movie - some of the flashback scenes and details that they describe would be better on screen than a lot of text. I'll finish it, but only in hopes that at some point it becomes more interesting.

Based on Susan's recommendation, my next physical book will be Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. I'm looking forward to it.

For audiobooks, I finished The Pharaoh Key and I'm glad I'm done with that series. I liked the way it ended, but the series became dull and repetitive. By this fifth book, there were hardly any surprises or new character traits. Also, there were quite a few things throughout that bothered me - the way they described a sinking ship, some of the fight scenes, etc. Yup. Glad it's over.

I'm almost done listening to Cress. Three books in and I am still loving this series. I like the way she intertwines the characters, yet gives each character a distinct storyline. It's becoming a richer story as it goes on. Next up will be Winter to finish out the series.

QOTW: I don't read a whole lot outside of books. Other than a weekly local newspaper and Epbot, it's hit and miss. News articles here and there. When I'm not reading, I'm usually crafting.

Sara wrote: "Based on Susan's recommendation, my next physical book will be Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are. I'm looking forward to it." I also put this in my TBR list thanks to Susan's review. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it, too, Sara.

I finished Station Eleven yesterday, Sara. Stay tuned for my update on it in the coming check in. Spoiler alert: I LOVED IT!

I finished Red Rising, which I had started last week, and will definitely be reading the rest of the series - it’s action-packed!

I also read The Bone Season, which was amazing and I can’t wait to continue with that series, too.

I’m currently finishing up The Small Rain, which has not at all been what I expected, but is fascinating.

QOTW: I read all kinds of articles, and try to read my local newspaper as often as possible. I also read way too much fan fiction. :)

Stephanie and Sara I hope you like Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are! I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts and comments on it (even if you feel differently about it than I do).

Sara wrote: "This week I made some progress reading The Flight Attendant. It's fairly lackluster. A flight attendant blacks out from alcohol and wakes up next to a dead guy. The revelations we l..."

She also has a book "Fairest" that is Levana's backstory. I think it was published before Winter. I just reread the main four, and sortof wished I read it before Winter. She also wrote a book called Heartless that is the Queen of Hearts backstory. It was well done but tone is different.

Kathy wrote: "Sara wrote: "This week I made some progress reading The Flight Attendant. It's fairly lackluster. A flight attendant blacks out from alcohol and wakes up next to a dead guy. The rev..."

Thank you for mentioning Fairest! I didn't realize there was a bridge book. And now that I looked for it, there's also a collection of short stories called Stars Above in the same universe.

This year I decided to tackle some of the big books on my virtual shelf and stop feeling intimidated by them.
I started off with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

I averaged a book every 3 day last year so it is strange to be a couple of weeks in to the new year and not having finished a book yet but I’m most of the way through it now and still very much enjoying it!

QOTW: I read by audiobook almost exclusively, exception being graphic novels & comics which I love. Which reminds me, and I have the first 3 volumes of Monstress out from the library at the moment that I need to read!
I read them in both paper and digital form (I LOVE the guided reading thing on ComiXology, it helps me appreciate each panel properly).
The problem with being an audio reader is that I am much more limited in what is available to me to read.

Daisy, glad you liked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, I found that door stopper to be a chore! However there was a miniseries, I think by BBC that was actually quite good. It fixed most the complaints I had with it. It at least used to be on Netflix in the US.

Also Monstess is so good! Beautiful and well written.

Hello!
I'm new to the group
This week I've been reading How to Stop Time. This was a book club book where the book club meet is 22nd Jan so I'm ahead of schedule.

I joined about 3 book groups last year with the intention of reading different things, but they were all a bit same-y and didn't diversify my reading or improve it. It more made me feel stressed about reading and that it was just another thing on my todo list rather than something to be enjoyed. So last night was a bit of a 'just get some books of my to do list' and then hopefully I can get some space to enjoy reading again.

Also read Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song as I borrowed it from a friend in advance of us going to see Waitress in a few weeks. I've had it ages and felt guilty. Fortunately, it was pretty short, even with little breaks every chapter to listen to the relelvant song.

And I started The Christmasaurus which was a Christmas Eve present from a friend. Am sure lots of people have seen on facebook or were already aware that book giving on Christmas Eve is an Icelandic tradition known as Jolabokaflod so a friend and I decided to give it a go. This looks a pretty short read too.

Then I can start The Left Hand of Darkness and Becoming