Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Weekly Checkins
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Week 21: 5/16 - 5/23
Completed
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig This reads very much like a time travel book. Guy has an incredibly long life, meets lots of famous people has to come to terms with really long life. Time travel is my secret jam so I enjoyed it. 
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara Wait, why did nobody tell me about this before? Okay, like everybody I knew read this book over the last year or so but... 
Last Wool and Testament by Molly MacRae Read this for amateur detective but found it to be a ghost story... and I am less likely to stumble upon another ghost story than I am another amateur detective. BONUS!!!
QOTW
I think trigger warnings are good for people who have had trauma. I think they are bad for people who aren't sensitive to trauma and want to go into a book unspoiled and take the full ride, so...
I wish there was a way to do trigger warnings hidden under the spoiler tags of real life, meaning I could chose to look if I was worried and chose not to if I wasn't. I don't know how you'd do that, though.
The concept of trigger warnings didn't exist when I was in high school but we certainly read books that had trauma. If I remember correctly there is sexual assault in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and The Bluest Eye... I just though googled trigger warnings for both thee books to make sure I remembered correctly and as it turns out there are web pages which will give you trigger warnings for books. So maybe that's a way to handle the trigger warnings for people who want them, tell students to look up the trigger warnings on either an independent website or on the class web page...
It’s been another ridiculously productive week reading wise with 10 books completed. Angie Thomas’s On the Come Up was excellent . Bri was such a strong character and her reaction to poverty and racism was raw and powerful. Just be warned that if you listen on audio you are likely to have a rap bumping around in your head for days afterwards!Park Avenue Summer was a fun read. New York City and the magazines industry were vividly and vibrantly portrayed. Alice’s story of trying to establish herself in the city, earn a living while still pursuing her dream was very relatable while I was intrigued by Helen Gurley Brown and her efforts to remake Cosmo.
The Forgiving Kind had me on the edge of my seat, afraid for what might happen next. Let’s just say Mr Fowler is a real piece of work, trigger warnings abound, and I wanted to cheer at the ending- despite the illegality involved.
Little Broken Things is another one that had me on the edge of my seat. There is a mystery involving a small girl. Exactly who is she and why is she placed in Quinn’s care? When it becomes clear what is at stake I was just hoping she could be kept safe.
It took me a while to get into Saving Meghan. Something about the writing style didn’t capture my attention. But I was more invested in the second half trying to figure out whether or not Meghan was actually sick and who could be trusted. The ending was surprising without being unbelievable.
It also took me a while to get into Love and Other Consolation Prizes as well - possibly the split timeline may have been an issue since initially the present felt like it was intruding on the past which was the more interesting. After a while it came together and I enjoyed this story of true love and overcoming tough beginnings.
Southern Lady Code was laugh out loud funny in places. In others it was wry, self-deprecating, poignant and occasionally made me go WTF. Most of the essays were small meaning it was perfect to dip in and out of.
I revisited Baby Island which I can clearly remember reading in the school library when I was 11. it has definitely dated and I can see some problems. But I can also see why 11 year old me liked Mary. She was brave, capable and competent.
The The Unhoneymooners had a fairly trite and predictable underlying plot. Boy and girl don’t like each other but circumstance force them together and romantic sparks fly. But it was a fun read and I enjoyed the snarky spark between Ethan and Olive, Olive’s family were great and so was the cover.
Limelight had a pretty improbable beginning. I mean how likely is it that an average person could just walk into the apartment of a teen music star, let alone become their PA? Despite that it was a fun read, I was rooting for all the characters and I love a story set in New York City.
It's a lovely 74 degree morning in Georgia, but it will be sweltering soon. I used to read in my car during my lunch breaks but I have to find a place to read, like a coffee shop or stay at my desk. The problem with going to the cafe on campus is people wanting to sit down and gab. Finished:
41. Solar by Ian McEwan - This was the longest seven days of my life reading this thing. You can see my review on my profile but it's not great.
1. The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell - This book was written in the 2000s and it did not age well at all. But rumor has it, that it's going to be movie with Blake Lively and Jude Law.
30. Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd - This book, I just stumbled upon in one of those neighborhood little libraries. It was actually pretty good. A little mystery goes a long way with this one.
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - This was an interesting read. I mean it was okay. I think it's good I can say I read it because it's a classic, but It was just okay.
Currently Reading:
Ready Player One for prompt 39 or 46 - So far, it's taken me SEVEN chapters to get to any actual action.
Lair of Dreams for prompt 4. It's incredible. Just read it...seriously.
QOTW:
I didn't really read any books in school that should have had trigger warnings, but I know a couple of people who had to read Lord of the Flies and would have liked very much to know what they were in for.
The concept of trigger warnings is good but I wouldn't want to spoil my reading experience.
What is going to trigger me and what is going to trigger someone else will be different. What will trigger someone else will just ruin a plot point for me and vice versa. Does that make sense?
I finished Between the Acts as my book that takes place in a day. I feel like this is wrong to say, but I didn't really like it. I liked some of the play parts, but overall it was just boringI'm reading Bleeding Kansasas my book about a family. Really good so far.
QOTW: not that I can recall. I suppose Red Badge of Courage could be very triggering to someone who has been in a war, but most HS students haven't. Then again, if their dad died in a war, it would still be disturbing, but it's pretty obvious what the book is about from the back of the book, so probably no additional warnings necessary.
Our English teacher did warn us that there was a lot of swearing in Catcher in the Rye and told us if that bothered us he would let us read something else instead. I don't think anyone did.
Lots of finishing off of books this week. This weekend is yet another bank holiday (why do they bunch them all up in spring?) so I hope to curl up and read with a bit more purpose.Listened to A Thousand Ships for retelling of a classic, although after reading the author's note, I realise it is many classics, not just Homer's. This weaves together stories of the female characters who were just as pivotal as the men who were named heroes. I absolutely loved the story of how the war started, I'm not sure if it was taken from anywhere, but so often it's all just "fighting over Helen". Would recommend to mythology nerds (it's written by a classicist) although I'm not sure how suitable it would be for someone not familiar with the basics of The Iliad.
Finished reading Girls of Paper and Fire for review. This one ties in with the QOTW as it did have a trigger warning at the start, written by the author, contain some information for those who felt affected by the contents. I thought it might be more graphic than it was, but the worst happens off-page. It's an Asian inspired fantasy, about a girl who is captured and forced to become one of the king's concubines. I liked elements of it but it didn't really suck me in.
I just finished listening to The Cheerleaders for ATY (set in a school) this morning. This is a decent YA mystery, not too taxing or horrific.
I am so close to finishing the mess that is Across the Void: A Novel, it's just descending into nonsense. I'm using it for set in space but I wouldn't recommend it (and I like space stories). I do wonder if the screenwriter works on those dreadful daytime soaps, as that's about the quality of this plot. (view spoiler)
After that I plan to start Aurora Rising and Jamaica Inn.
PS: 26/52 | ATY: 29/52 | GR: 58/100
QOTW:
I was probably oblivious in school but I can't recall anything. As I get older I'm more likely to avoid books with child abuse or rape (particularly if the book isn't dealing with it in a careful manner) but I don't think teenage me would have given it much thought.
I don't like knowing too much about the plot, but on the other hand, I'm not a fan of books using things like rape as a surprise anyway. I don't think trigger warnings should be too detailed though, just something along the lines of what they do for film/TV.
Ah, home! It's a long drive from Santa Fe to Saint Louis, so most of my "reading" this week was in the form of audiobooks. Challenge Progress: 33/50
Completed:
Little Pretty Things: Thoroughly engaging. I enjoyed the depiction of Juliet Townsend as a flawed central character and Rader-Day's depiction of high school girls and life in a small town felt on point to me. It reminded me of some of Megan Abbott's work. And although I guessed who the murderer was fairly early on it didn't lessen my enjoyment of this book. (#44 read a book during the season which it's set)
The Mystery of Alice: Fun audiobook... But I had a quibble with the characters' ages. They don't act like 13-year-olds. At all. It would have been much more believable if the Nobility had been portrayed as high school juniors and seniors with Alice and Emily as impressionable freshmen.
The Bride Test: I'm a sucker for novels that feature characters with autism (my 26-year-old son has severe autism), and I love that Helen Hoang features people on the spectrum as romantic leads! The Bride Test proves that Hoang is not a one hit wonder, and I look forward to reading many, many more of her cute, sexy, ASD romances. (#35 a book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter)
The Darkwater Bride: Audiobook with a talented cast and atmospheric sound effects, but it was sometimes difficult to hear voices over the effects. Great premise, but the author's "men are bad" screed grew tiresome after a while. No men are good??? I expected more of a spooky story and got something quite different. It was, however, an enjoyable listen for a long car trip.
Currently Reading: The Priory of the Orange Tree (#27 a book featuring an imaginary or extinct creature), Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline, and There's a Word for That.
QOTW: Nothing I was assigned to read in high school needed a trigger warning. My conservative hometown in Missouri's bootheel would never want to disturb our safe, little cocoons with anything that might be controversial.
Hi allI didn´t finish any books this week (I did finish TV-series: Game of Thrones and Umbrella Academy...)
Currently reading:
4 3 2 1 (audio)
Krigen i dagslyset - del 1/ Krigen i dagslyset - del 2 (The Daylight War)
QOTW
Trigger warnings is a fairly new concept to me, and I don´t remember reading anything in school I feel I should have been prepared for differently. The Danish/Scandinavian children´s and youth literature of the time (and now as well) was pretty harsh and we were used to talking about how we interpreted books.
I am not a fan of generic trigger warnings: They spoil the work, and what triggers someone is very individual - so I think it´s the responsibility of the teacher, parent and librarians to talk to the kids before choosing a book, and if it´s an assignment: talk about it properly in class and individually. If there are kids in class who are refugees for example, and you are reading about war, I would talk to those kids beforehand.
Hello All,I finished 1 book for the week. I am using it for a reread & a book set on a college or university campus. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I read it in 2011 & couldn’t remember much of it. I started watching the series but stopped watching long enough to read the book. This leads into QOTW about trigger warnings. This is why I love challenges. I have learned a few new expressions regarding books like AOC,Neurodiverse,POVs (I always thought this was post op vomiting),”Cli-fi”,LitRPG & now trigger warnings. I think it is probably a good idea
to give readers some kind of warning. I have always warned people by word of mouth. I will say,this is a hard read,there are terrible things in there,nothing good comes out of this or my favorite this is not the feel good book of the year. I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone but I don’t want anyone traumatized. If we put trigger warnings on books Discovery of Witches will have one.
I feel like the upcoming long weekend is a balm for my soul - life has just been really busy, and I’m looking forward to unwinding a bit (and reading a lot!).Finished
The Autopsy and Other Tales -A book that takes place in a single day - (I actually just read the title story, but it doesn't have a GR entry.) A short story/novella about a doctor investigating a mining accident. Things get weirder as he performs his examinations. I’ll say no more, except the main character is an incredibly well-drawn hero and this really worked for me on multiple levels - disturbing, intriguing, scary, and sad.
Demiurge: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales of Michael Shea-A book you meant to read in 2018 - Recommended by Patton Oswalt! And he was right, Shea is a treasure. Don’t get me wrong, there were some real clunkers in this collection, but when Shea is firing on all cylinders, he’s sublime. Check out “Copping Squid” if you want to see him at his best. Who else could have translated Lovecraft to the seedy side of modern San Francisco?
Sanditon -A book published posthumously - With this, I’m one step closer to never reading a new story by Jane Austen. I’m now saving The Watsons for a special occasion - I’ll have to have some mourning ceremony when I read it. But, this was fun. I would have loved to see what Austen could do with a couple new ideas I haven’t seen in her other books - a plot driven by a plan to make a town into a fashionable seaside resort, and an important character who was both mixed race and wildly rich. Ah well. I probably need to read one of the completions just to see what can be made of it all.
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life -A book about a hobby - the fluffiest of fluffy reads, which suited my tastes at the time well. Short but entertaining, and fun to listen to Bogel reading of course.
Currently Reading
Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One - A book with a plant in the title or on the cover - I’m fully concentrating on this guy now. Being able to read a Kindle copy as well as listen is helping me piece together the timeline better - got confused because he’s writing about writing about stuff that happened, and his journal is a key part of the plot.
QOTW
I personally like trigger warnings (despite disliking the term - people aren’t guns or crossbows or something - they’re thinking, nuanced beings who deserve a heads up about content that might cause them distress. But this is nit-picking, I acknowledge).
When I was doing chemo, it seemed like every damn TV show I would watch to distract myself and have some escapism wound up having a Cancer Plot and it was rough. So I personally grok the need for warnings.
As for a book from school - HOLY SHIT, A Day No Pigs Would Die. There was so much detailed animal slaughter and such that I never even registered that it has some incredibly weird religious and sexist content as well, but looking at the GR reviews, I see plenty of other people were traumatized by the same stuff as me. The term “pig rape” recurs again and again in the reviews. And this wasn't high school - this was assigned in 6th grade, if my memory serves. Yikes.
Hi all. Weather has finally turned to spring here (at least for a couple of days). I am still at 54/56 for this years challenge- waiting for summer and fall to finish my last 2 books. But while I’m waiting I’ve been knocking out ATY prompts and Popsugar 2015 prompts (26/50). This week I’ve finished only a couple of books:
Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy for ATY, Book Riot and Ps15. This was cute but I probably won’t read more- not really my thing.
The Murmur of Bees for ATY, Book Riot and PS15. This was very good. And not really something I would have read without a challenge. One of the things that happened while reading this book was that a friend asked for historical fiction recommendations. That is not a genre I typically read or enjoy. But, because of these challenges I was able to give her 3 recommendations of books I would never have read without prompting but thoroughly enjoyed! Success!
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing for ATY and PS15. This is the third book I’ve read for the challenges that started out with a bang and I thought I was going to enjoy. But in all 3 the frantic energy of the narrator just never gave up and became exhausting. It was enjoyable but just a little too much for me.
I am currently reading:
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam for the Nonfiction growth challenge prompt of: read a book about a philosophy that is not your own. I’m really enjoying it.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone for ATY and PS15. It’s good but not as good as the first book of hers I read. But since the first book of hers that I read was,at the time, her most recent release, that would make sense.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft for the Nonfiction growth challenge (almost done with that challenge).
QOTW-
Trigger warnings didn’t exist when I was in high school and I don’t know that I read anything for school that would have needed one. I read more that might have one today on my own.
39/50Finished:
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis for a book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature.
Myths of the Norsemen: Retold from the Old Norse Poems and Tales by Roger Lancelyn Green for a book inspired by myth/legend/folklore.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier. Not for the challenge.
Currently reading:
The Wife Between Us
The Wishing Spell
QOTW:
Nothing I read in high school needed trigger warnings.
Hello everyone,Not a huge quantity of reading done this week again. Life has been busy seeing friends here before I go off to UK and planning catching up with lovely friends in UK who I have not seen in years (9 years ago was my last trip over). Time just flies and as I get older and more friends develop health issues I am more aware of the need to spend precious time with those I love while I can. Can't wait to do just that.
Finished:
A Spot of Bother which didn't fit any of my challenges at all but is by Mark Haddon who wrote The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which is one of my all time favourite books so I wanted to read something else by him. Not a happy bunny. It was OK but nothing by comparison.
The Dreamers which I enjoyed more and thought was pretty unique. It would have fitted multiple perspectives but I already have that prompt covered. It was for my Trim the TBR #24 but won't fit PS for any of the prompts I have left.
Currently reading:
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch not far in on either and have started a whole heap of other books too but have decided to try and finish these before the rest.
For my IRL book club I also have to find and read a Mills and Boon book by next Thursday which is not my ideal reading. Will try to find a really short one. I could always not do it but that would be the first time I have not done the monthly book since joining and it feels like not doing my homework. (I was horrid at school but always did my work.)
QOTW
Thanks for picking my question! It came up because of a book the year 11s were reading at school which had some very detailed rape scenes which upset the girls. I am having a brain fart and can't remember the title right now but wondered how others felt about these type of situations and how parents would feel since I am not one. I appreciate everyone's opinions here and wonder if history has made me overreact.
Good morning all! Reading has still been super slow for me this week. It's frustrating when all the books I want to read are piling up (even more than usual), but I can't make the time to finish the ones I'm reading!Finished:
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle. I loved this book. I had heard of Homeboy Bakery several years back, but the full story of Father Boyle's years working with gang members and former gang members in Los Angeles was uplifting, inspiring, heartbreaking and heartwarming. There would be times when I'd find myself laughing at someone's antics and then literally moments later feeling such sorrow for the way life sometimes goes. This was great on audio. Boyle does a wonderful job narrating the story and puts great inflection and tone into the voices of his homies. Highly recommend!
Currently reading:
A Game of Thrones - I'm still working my way through this. I am really enjoying it, but life has not given me a lot of reading time lately. I'm hopeful this long weekend will.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely - loving this one as well. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it just has a different feel to it than others I've read. Fresher maybe?
QOTW
Trigger warnings are so important for people who have experienced certain traumas, but like Brandy said, for those who really don't need the warning it could take a way a little of the experience. Personally I'd rather sacrifice a bit of the experience than risk blindsiding someone who is recovering from a trauma.
Happy Thursday! 32/50Completed:
16.) As a birthday present, I received Where the Crawdads Sing. I’m using that for a question. It could be, depending on the tone. People have been raving about this book, and, honestly, rightly so. Best read of 2019 thus far.
25.) My debut novel is Ruta Sepetys Between Shades of Gray. This was a total unicorn – an excellent YA novel. Also a book that should be encouraged for students.
I read Mariah Stewart’s The Sugarhouse Blues for a color in the title challenge. It’s the second in a trilogy and, well, Gray and Crawdads were AMAZING and I probably missed a lot by not reading the first book. Hoopla to the rescue when I didn’t have time to get to the library on Saturday.
14.) For a couple years, people have told me, that I’d probably enjoy Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn. It’s a quirky and eloquent epistolary about losing letters from the alphabet – (Q is the second one to got) and I predominantly enjoyed it. Near the end, the gag had run its course. I understand it was one of the books in Gilmore Girls, but I never watched that program.
In Progress:
I’ve also started Linda Castillo’s Down a Dark Road, the ninth in the Kate Burkholder series. This one is just for fun.
3.) Just started my book by a musician – The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–45 by Wladyslaw Szpilman, an autobiography set in WWII.
QOTW Trigger books
Like many of you, trigger warnings weren’t around in my youth. I remember my whole school watching Old Yeller in grade school. There were a lot of tears that year and the next year we watched the Apple Dumpling Gang.
I had to read The Color Purple the summer before my freshman year. I was horrified by it. I had read plenty of classics through college but nothing with rape. It seemed a horrible choice for a Catholic college.
Last year I started to read something for this challenge that was labelled as YA that had a gay child rape in it. That book went back to the library immediately. I wish I had followed up with the suggestion to remove it from YA. It was beyond terrible.
This week feels like it's going very slow. I suppose because we have the holiday weekend coming up at the end. I'm so glad it's finally Thursday, which is what I thought it was all day yesterday. And I cannot wait for this weekend. The pool is opening, I'm going to sit by it and listen to podcasts and read books. It's going to be amazing.This week I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone which I re-read along with a podcast and am using for my book with over a million ratings on goodreads. I knew I would have to do a re-read for that because I've read almost everything on the list and the ones I haven't read are unread for a reason. I always love some Harry Potter, and the first book really is a delight.
I also finished The Song of Achilles for my retelling of a classic. It was so wonderful and it made me cry at the end, which is one of my favorite things. How did I not know about this book before!!
I am currently reading The Stockholm Octavo, which I had briefly put aside to finish my library books before they are due back. I am also still doing the Harry Potter read along and am about halfway through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
QOTW: I remember getting a warning about the language in Huck Finn. But that's it. Honestly the only thing that I remember from high school English that made me uncomfortable was when we were reading The Crucible aloud. I was reading Abigail and Sunil Yapa, who sat next to me, was reading John Proctor. We were reading a part of the play where they meet in the woods and talk about how they had sex and the principal was visiting our class that day, sitting right behind me. It was super embarrassing. And now when I see Sunil online or, sometimes on TV, that's what I think about. How was that an appropriate thing to have us do, Ms. Riley!!
Anyway, I think trigger warnings are a good idea, but I don't want spoilers right when I'm going into reading the book. It would work for me if they were just on the inside jacket.
Hi everyone. Quick update from me as I am still on holiday (so lots of reading time)I've finished Meddling Kids (very funny), Mirror Mirror (a good addition to the series), Off To Be The Wizard (Confused this with another book so not what I was expecting at all) and The Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue (which I loved).
Currently reading: Ivanhoe, which I found out in the first line is set pretty much where I live. I never knew this before!
QOTW The closest we had to trigger warnings was my brother warning me I might cry at the end of Of Mice And Men. That was about as traumatic as our reading got
I cant believe its been 3 weeks since I've posted. Too much going on I guess. I've still been doing lot of resting, and watching tv. So Stressed out right now :/I've only finished 2 books since my last post and that was probably 2 weeks ago : You and My Sister, the Serial Killer. I also got most of the way through The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating but I think my loan expired and I need to check it back out on overdrive to finish it. And about 100 pages of The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh. I have no motivation at the moment and I'm 11 books behind on my GRs goal.
QOTW: Cant really think of any books from school that should have had a trigger warning.
Tracy wrote: "I cant believe its been 3 weeks since I've posted. Too much going on I guess. I've still been doing lot of resting, and watching tv. So Stressed out right now :/I've only finished 2 books since m..."
I really hope you feel better soon.
A bit of disappointing news this week – our library was trying to get a levee passed that would enable us to take out a loan to expand the building. Our town is growing and so is our collection, and we desperately need the space. But the levee got voted down… everyone WANTS a bigger library, but they don’t want to pay the extra taxes for it. *sigh*Maybe next year…
Books read this week:
One Word Kill – made our library buy this one. I was looking forward to it SO much, but it felt kind of slapped together in my opinion. The character development was the best part of the book, while the time travel aspect felt tacked on.
Mayhem in Myrtle Beach – fairly plotless but cute. Makes for a decent comfort read, at least.
Kellie's Diary #1 – short but intriguing read about a young girl trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. I haven’t read a zombie novel from a child’s POV before, so this was interesting. The “graphic novel” version is just the book written in a child’s handwriting, but is surprisingly effective.
Jam – a rather goofy take on the apocalypse. This one’s not quite as good as the author’s first novel (Mogworld), but it was still very funny.
DNF:
Brew – I just have not had good luck with books by David Estes. This is the second book of his I’ve given up on partway through. The concept is GREAT (an apocalypse caused by witches and wizards) but the execution is blah.
Currently Reading:
The Second Jungle Book
More Ketchup Than Salsa
QOTW:
The closest I can think of is perhaps a (view spoiler) for Fahrenheit 451, though I don’t remember anyone in my high school being bothered by it. MAYBE a warning for (view spoiler) in Tess of D'Ubervilles, but it’s referenced vaguely enough in the text that a lot of kids in my class didn’t even catch it until the teacher pointed it out.
Hey all,So I only finished one actual book this week A Question of Holmes which is the last of the Charlotte Holmes series and honestly it was rather refreshing when compared to the other books. Far less dramatic and stressful (this is a personal feeling of course) and enough Leander to make me happy. The mystery was alright, nothing to really write home about. I thought that could have been a bit more interesting considering this is the final book of the series. It kind of read more like a second book rather than a final one. Still I was happy enough how it ended.
Despite only finishing one book I did spend a good part of the week reading although they were not physical books. I fell down the hole that is webtoons.com and binged through several of the comics. It looks like most are listed on Goodreads and I'm tempted to mark them as currently reading or read but all of the ones I read are unfinished and most are likely to go on for a really long time with weekly updates. Having 7+ comics on my currently reading for an undetermined time would probably bug me. Still, I probably put in a good 20+ hours reading comics so I do feel like it's worthy of noting on GR.
QOTW: I can't think of any that we read for assigned reading which had scenes which would warrant trigger warnings. I don't think I'm necessarily educated enough in what and how much/long a scene is to warrant a warning, I suppose it's all personal really. Technically, in The Outsiders, (view spoiler)
I do think that there should be systems in place so that people can avoid reading scenes which could cause them further trauma. I would never want someone to be blindsided by a scene/situation and do think that having something handily available for them to immediately know that a book has something they should avoid is good. Of course, I also think that it should be done in such a way that plot points can be avoided for those of us who don't need the warnings. A system of icons perhaps on the back flap of books? This may be something that already exists but I think companies like Goodreads or publishers should have metadata for books which list the triggers in them which you can exclude from seeing or at the very least be give a notification along the lines of 'this book has been noted to have content which you have flagged to avoid' or something.
I do wish that people who review books on GR that list the trigger warnings at the top of their review would at least put spoiler tags on the actual triggers listed. That would be a very easy step which makes the triggers available for those that need them but also not spoil the content of the book quite so much to the rest of us.
Hi allMissed last week's check in so this is a double one for me. I finished:
Consider Phlebas for the book with a 2 word title prompt. This is the first of the Culture books which I've been meaning to read for a while and finally got around to. It was basically a space opera, but I liked it.
A Keeper, not for the challenge. I love Graham Norton's show and I had heard such good things about his books so I was excited to read this. But I found it just ok.
Wildcard for the 2 books with the same title prompt. I stumbled on this book after googling the title to try to match Wildcard which I read earlier in the year. It's a medical thriller about an Ebola type outbreak, and kept me intrigued enough to want to keep on reading. Turns out it's the third book in a series but while I enjoyed it, I don't think I'll be rushing out to read the rest of them just yet. I have too many series that I've started and not yet finished to catch up on...
Convenience Store Woman for the book by an author from Asia prompt. This was an extremely quick read. And while I liked the overall message of the book, the book did not live up to its hype for me.
Crazy Rich Asians for the book that includes a wedding. I know I jumped the gun a bit as it is next month's group book, but I was in the mood for something light. It was exactly what I expected. And I think that the movie was actually done really well - the changes they made worked better in that medium.
That takes me to 42/55 for PS.
QOTW
Can't remember any books at high school needing trigger warnings.
I read four books this week, which is better than last week but still below my average. I am reading Grant (a chapter a day) so I think that is slowing me down a little.This week I read:
My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton- I felt like this book was longer then it needed to be. I would say I felt it in the middle of the book more than at the end.
Let the Dead Keep Their Secrets- a gilded age mystery that I enjoyed, but now I'll have to wait on publication if I want to continue the series.
The Next Great Paulie Fink- a middle grade reader that was good.
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle- which I enjoyed and thought was very clever. The twist at the end didn't surprise me, but I liked the premise.
QOTW: I don't really remember what we read in high school. I was always in the class that read an alternate book because there weren't enough copies of whatever was deemed curriculum. For Steinbeck everyone else got Of Mice and Men and my one class got The Pearl. I am with Sara though, I'd rather loose some of the experience than surprise someone recovering from trauma.
Lisa wrote: "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing for ATY and PS15."
Can I ask which ATY prompt you used this one for? I have a copy from the library and was trying to figure out if I could use it for one of the challenges (haven't read it yet).
I came down with a pretty bad cold yesterday, so most likely I'll be low energy for several days and have a chance to get quite a bit of reading in. Though, I finally got interested in watching Deep Space Nine last night, so my time may be somewhat split. :-)Finished Reading:
A Morbid Taste for Bones I read this for set in a monastery, though as it turns out, most of it wasn't. On the other hand, the Wales countryside setting was probably the best part of the book...
Lose the Weight You Hate While the writing style is a bit irritating, the I'm a big fan of the eating system already. It's like all the benefits of low carb without being as strict and hard on my body.
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life Highly recommend this for Christians to read, and others who are interested in finding meaning in routines and the small moments of life may also find it interesting.
Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery Didn't enjoy the writing style a whole lot, for some inexplicable reason, but it was worth it to get some of the 'every day life on a space station' stuff.
Boxers & Saints Someone else on the group mentioned feeling like this was basically just Christian propaganda, so these books were very different from what I was expecting. As a Christian, they didn't even seem to me to be written from a Christian perspective. I enjoyed the history and getting two different sides of that time period, but I found the way the story was told very weird.
Currently Reading:
Quantum Physics: Beginner's Guide to the Most Amazing Physics Theories This ones going to have to go on hold again until I'm feeling better--my brain is focused enough to follow even beginner quantum physics right now.
Les Misérables Finally got past the long description of the Battle of Waterloo, and need to make this more of a priority if I'm going to get back on track to finish it by the end of the year.
Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet: Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things Using this for bitter/sweet/etc in title. It's like a memoir of her life as a Christian, with a focus on how the hard parts were things God used for good, and I'm really appreciating it so far. It's my Sunday afternoon read, so it may take me a few weeks to get through it.
Hero Because I enjoyed my LitRPG read enough to want to read the sequels.
QOTW:
On the general concept of trigger warnings, I think the phrase has become so popular and used in so many different ways that it's not always a helpful way to communicate the concept anymore, but I do appreciate having a general idea of what kind of content I'm getting into before I read a book, and think that's even more important for people who've dealt with certain kinds of trauma. Personally, I wish I could be warned ahead of time if a book is going to bring up infertility, as in a general sense it definitely 'triggers' unpleasant emotions for me. I won't necessarily avoid books that have it as part of the story, but it would be nice not to be blind sided by it in a book that's supposed to be a fun light read.
As for the main question, being home schooled I had very little assigned reading and mostly just a whole house full of books to choose from and a family culture that strongly encouraged reading for fun. I did occasionally stumble on some kind of upsetting content, but nothing really graphic I can think of. When I was a little younger I was *really* upset by sad content like in Little Women and Old Yeller, but for some reason I loved prison camp stories like The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom. Can't really explain that one...
It’s been about a month since I did a check-in. School was crazy this last month but I’m not on summer break and plan to read and clear off my tbr shelf before I buy any new books. Book with a million ratings:
I’m going with Romeo and Juliet because I’ve read everything else and I listened to freshmen read this so I deserve to use it.
Debut Novel:
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. Giant robot statues appear suddenly around the world. I’d watch it if it were a series on Netflix. I enjoyed it.
Published in 2019:
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Suspense novel about a woman who killed her husband and her psychologist in the mental institution. 2.5 stars mainly because I’m really tired of thrillers and their twists.
Takes Place in a Day:
Long Way DownJason Reynolds. YA book in verse. Takes place on an elevator ride down to the Lobby and it was beautiful and sad.
Books that don’t tick off prompts:
Sing Unburied Sing by Jessmyn Ward. Lovely and sad. Complex. Contemplating adding it to my AP Lit class.
Golden State by Ben H. Winters. Dystopian future where lying is illegal. I really got into this about ¾ of the way through and then it kind of ended so overall it was disappointing.
The Dinosaur Artist: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth’s Ultimate Trophy by Paige Williams. Non-fiction about fossil hunters, one in particular who uses not so kosher means to obtain his fossils. This was a bit dry and took me a bit to get through.
My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. Absolutely delightful YA romance. Indian-American leads and lots of Bollywood film recommendations.
Puddin by Julie Murphy. YA romance/coming of age novel. Didn’t love it as much as I loved Dumplin but it was still a delight.
QOTW:
I can’t think one from high school. The Bluest Eye from college though should. My AP kids do a novel of choice project from the list of books that have appeared on question 3 of the exam and I made a short summary with trigger warnings on the list.
You guys! I read two books this week! It's a reading miracle. :)Technically, I finished two books because I started Becoming by Michelle Obama in November and didn't finish until last week. That was my book club pick. We all agreed that it started sooooooo slooooooooooow but we really enjoyed it when it got to the campaigning years or the post-Barack meeting years.
For my other book club, I listened to the audio of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It is a novelization of a true story so I using it for that prompt.
Not sure where I'll slot Becoming.
Christine wrote: "When I was doing chemo, it seemed like every damn TV show I would watch to distract myself and have some escapism wound up having a Cancer Plot and it was rough. So I personally grok the need for warnings."Gosh, yeah this. My husband had it just shy of 5 years ago and you don't really realize that references of it are everywhere until it's something you just don't want to constantly be thinking about or remembering. We didn't know then but my husband has medical PTSD from the experience. About 6 months after what we consider the worst part of it and we moved to Texas from California. We step off the plane only to be bombarded with banners and advertisements from a local hospital (MD Anderson) which specializes in treating it. The word was everywhere in giant red letters (usually with a strikethrough) around marketing phrases like(view spoiler) All of those ads are still up even 4 years later. I know they are supposed to be inspiring and motivating but we just wanted a moment where we didn't have to think about it. Kind of hard to do when the entire airport is covered with the word in bright red, highly visible 1.5' tall letters.
Ugh. My absolute worst movie trigger happened while my husband and I were watching Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog. I had read it years before but we watched the movie together (view spoiler)
Juanita wrote: "You guys! I read two books this week! It's a reading miracle. :)Technically, I finished two books because I started Becoming by Michelle Obama in November and did..."
Yay Juanita! I didn't find it show, but I was listening to the audiobook. That probably helped. So glad you enjoyed it!
Finished A Study in Scarlet Women - A book featuring an amateur detective
I actually read A Study in Scarlet last year and have to say I enjoy this one more. I loved Mrs. Watson.
I also finished Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free and Annihilation, but they were not for the challenge.
Reading
Bitter Melon - A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
The Winter People - Two books that share the same title
Question of the Week
In grade school we read a book with pictures of Civil War soldiers that had had their limbs amputated. It also had pictures of dead soldiers on the battlefield. It was pretty horrific.
Mod
You just blew up my TBR list!! Cool!
I haven't updated on here in a long time so I'll just post the link to the full challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...I'm at 36/50
The last few I read were:
The Giver by Lois Lowry for Over 1 million ratings
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire for "Sugar" in the title. I also read the 2 books preceding this as it's the 3rd in the series. It's not that great, but they are quick reads.
Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris for Choose your own adventure (obviously). This was one prompt I was not excited about but I really loved this book. And that is why I do these challenges every year!
QOTW:
I read Speak in middle school, and that should probably have a trigger warning. Luckily, I do not have the particular trigger, but while reading it I was very disturbed and surprised that a scene such as that was in a book in the school library. I was probably about 12 years old and it was the first book I remember reading that had (view spoiler). Although, now that I think about it, we read Julie of the Wolves in class in middle school as well and that also has such a scene. The author contests that the scene is "misread" and is not actually (view spoiler), but the teacher certainly taught it that way.
Hi This is my first check in ever. I’m in awe at how much you guys read in a week! Congrats!
Completed:
I finished Gone with the wind- it took me 10 days to read. I really liked it, I had seen the movie but when I was really young so I didn’t remember much so it was like reading it without any spoilers (almost). I chose that book for a book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter.
I also read My lovely wife- I needed a light read. I used that one for a book that includes a wedding.
Currently reading:
Lilac girls
The kind worth killing
Qotw
I don’t think I read any book in high school that needed trigger warnings.
Yay! It's Thursday! It's been a long week!! My debit card was used on Amazon, but not by me and not on my account!!! Amazon refunded the purchase, and my bank canceled the card, but now I have to wait a week to get a card mailed to me... sigh... Then my car broke down on my way home yesterday and I had to get it towed. It's been acting up for a couple of months now, and no one can figure out why! Fortunately, my dad has let me borrow his car this whole time in case my car flunks out (like this)! Reading wise, I finished The Closer: My Story. I actually appreciated the non baseball parts of his story more than the details of what he was thinking during the games. I'll use it for a book about a hobby.
I also finished The Fall of the House of Usher, but I don't know if I want to count it as anything for PS (I haven't even looked if it would count) because it was so short. I read it because it's a 1001 book to read before you die, and it's short.
About halfway through Burial Rites, it's getting good! I should make a good chunk of progress this afternoon as I have to drive an hour for work and can listen to it in my company car!
Reading The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II, not sure if it'll fit anywhere.
Just started Chess Story. I have to dig because I'm getting conflicting info as to if this was published posthumously. I've read that the author died by suicide either after it was written or after it was published, and I kinda need to know! It's also a 1001 book. I started reading it while I was waiting for the tow truck, because if anything can make you feel better about being stranded on the side of the road, at least I wasn't dealing with Nazis!
My books didn't have trigger warnings when I was in school, but I also grew up in a pretty conservative small town, so we stuck to some pretty bland stuff. I'm not a fan. I worry it's a step away from ratings on books (PG, R etc) and/or censorship. I thin if there's going to be a warning, it should be in the form of "some material may be disturbing", but even that gives me pause. Someone can be disturbed by most anything in books (movies, tv, the news...).
Actually, I just remembered that we read Bridge to Terabithia in 4th grade. That is my favorite book from childhood, precisely because it showed me that all books aren't happy little stories where the good guy wins and the bad guy loses. I attribute my love of reading to that book. The ending is a gut punch, and that would have been completely lost if someone had warned us.
I don't have many updates for this week. I've finally been feeling a bit more myself (I've been dealing a lot with depression this year), but I used my energy to get some other things done that have needed doing instead of focusing on reading.Completed:
The Crimson Fairy Book: Using for the Modern Mrs. Darcy prompt "A book you've been meaning to read."
Currently Reading:
Ivanhoe: This one will probably take me awhile, but I'm loving it so far! I just need to have time to really digest the language. This will be my "Book you see someone reading in a movie or on TV."
Wintergirls: Okay, I technically haven't started this one, but I'm picking it up from the library tomorrow. This will be my "Book with unusual/no chapter headings."
QOTW:
This is an interesting topic for someone like me who happens to be extremely sensitive and suffers from generalized anxiety disorder (the depression this year is just an added bonus) and has been through a sexual assault experience. I do remember being pretty traumatized reading Daphne du Maurier's The Birds and I skipped most of Lord of the Flies because I knew it wouldn't sit well (it still disturbed me when we talked about it in class, but at least I didn't have to read it!). I'm also still bitter that they made us watch both Glory and The Last of the Mohicans when I was in junior high. My gosh. Not okay. However, those all affected me because they scared/disturbed me rather than them having any relation to experienced trauma. I lost many nights of sleep, but that's just because of my over-active imagination.
I read The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver and it ended up being really bad for me--it was a very cute book, but the main character is in counseling for her anxiety (not a spoiler--that's the whole premise), and unfortunately, the author did such a good job describing what it's like to have anxiety attacks that I ended up having one every time the character did! I felt so silly but there it is. I wanted to read the rest of the series because I did feel invested, but I also didn't want to have to be medicated just to read a book.
Interestingly, the book Speak actually helped me work through some of the trauma I've been through. So it's hard to say with trigger warnings, because like so many have said, it's individual. I could 100% see Speak triggering somebody, yet for somebody else (like me), it ends up being a comforting/cathartic experience. I've read that book SO many times.
Trigger warnings are such a difficult topic because, on the one hand, helping prevent someone from having to relive a traumatic experience (like Tracy's above--oh my gosh, I can't even imagine having to go through that and I'm SO sorry that movie made you relive it), on the other, sometimes the books that talk about those experiences end up being helpful. Or help you to test what you can handle (I've done this a lot to help with my sensitivity to things. It's not something I feel the need to "fix" because I don't think of it as something that makes me "broken," but I do need to maintain my ability to handle the everyday world). And if I always knew about the contents, I probably would avoid the books that might end up helping me.
Now I'll stop because otherwise my rambling could go on forever and will stop making sense.
Jennifer W wrote: ". I'm not a fan. I worry it's a step away from ratings on books (PG, R etc) and/or censorship. I thin if there's going to be a warning, it should be in the form of "some material may be disturbing", but even that gives me pause. Someone can be disturbed by most anything in books (movies, tv, the news...). ."I've wished so many times that books came with ratings like movies! I don't mean that in the sense of putting age limits on them that are enforced in any way though, just that I would really like to have an idea of what I'm getting into before I choose whether to read a book.
To me, this doesn't seem like it's anywhere near censorship--in fact it's kind of the opposite, since it's putting *more* power of choice in that hands of the user and letting them make better informed decisions. Does that make sense?
This is the first week all year where I have to admit that I did not finish a single book this week. Honestly, I have been sucked very deeply into a rabbit hole of Hulu. I am currently reading:
The Night Olivia Fell: I've been working on this one for what seems like forever. It isn't that there's anything wrong with it. I'm having concentration issues. I'm over halfway done, and will definitely finish it this weekend.
Next Door: I started this one yesterday and found it almost too similar to his other series, but it is easy to read and blessedly short, so I shall continue.
QOTW: I can't think of any book from childhood that was assigned that needed a trigger warning, but my own tastes tend to be a little disturbing. I can see how others might be bothered by some of the things I read. One of my coworkers limits his daughter's reading to what he feels is morally appropriate and he was upset that the school assigned The Giver, The Hunger Games, and Speak.
Happy Thursday all, I read three books this week.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins - a Netgalley ARC and I'm using it for PS should be made into a movie. This was so good. So many layers to it. It is s historical mystery about a woman who was a slave on a Jamacan plantation.
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep for PS prompt 40A - fav prompt from 2018 True Crime. This is a fabulous book. It's so well written. She breaks it up into 3 sections, the murderer, the lawyer and the writer. The murderer section had the least information and that's due to the killer being a blqck share croppers son and therefore not much history of the family is written. I founf the lawyer section fascinating as he was a lj eral democrat in a Wallace party sourthern state. For me though was the informatiin about Harper Lee and also, surprisingly Truman Capote. I didn't realize their connection.
The Lemon Grove by Ali Hosseini my very first Trim book. I was disappointed with this one. I find Iran such an interesting culture. The writing just didn't engage me.
Coming up:
I have gotten several new releases from the library. I was surprised how fast I got them considering just putting holds within the last month. I also have several ARCs for June coming up.
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo is the very next read.
Current count:
PS 33/55. RD 13/24. RW. 14/26. B2C. 4/12. Trim. 1/12
Oops, forgot QOTW
I'm a strong believer in warnings for books. I do believe in our world we should be able to come up with a way to provide them for those who want them. How hard would it be for book sites to have a link for warnings? For me, I wouldn't look. I don't think any book in high school would hav required a warning but it's been so many years, it's hard to remember. What I do remember is reading a book in college that was supposed to be a great work but the only thing a remember about it was a rape scene in a barn between an adult male and a young girl. It was brutal and with ni history of trauma it traumatised me.
Halfway there!Finished reading: (25/50)
The Scorpio Races (zodiac term in title, multi-POV, imaginary creatures, based on myth/folklore/legend, revolving around a game) - A book about two teens participating in their community's yearly horse race. I'm not usually a big horse fan, but these are vicious carnivorous semi-aquatic faerie horses, so that was pretty sweet.
It's a fairly slow character-driven novel (the race itself doesn't start until like 85%) but I was forewarned going in, and the characters are well-written, so I didn't overly mind.
The Call (based on myth/legend, multi-POV, imaginary creatures, superpowers) - A fun fast-paced splatfest with lots of body horror. Basically, the fairies of Ireland were imprisoned in an alternate dimension. Their revenge is that every human teenager in Ireland, at a random time in their teenage years, gets teleported (“Called”) to the faerie dimension for twenty-four hours, and the fairies hunt them for sport. Most don't escape. The national survival rate is like 10%. So, probably not everyone's thing but I liked it.
(Also I didn't mean to read two faerie books in a row, it just kinda turned out that way)
QotW: No. I'm not a fan of trigger warnings for school books specifically. Sometimes school books have disturbing content (in high school we read Elie Wiesel's Night, Lord of the Flies, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and Beloved) but presumably the teacher thinks the content is important and needs to be in the curriculum. You can't teach about the Holocaust or slavery without dark content, and, on the flip side, I don't think students should be able to avoid learning about those things because it bothers them.
For leisure books it's completely different and I think content warnings are a good thing. If you're reading for fun and you want to avoid certain topics, that's totally your prerogative. And I mean, if I were recommending books to my friend and e.g. I knew his mom just died, I would avoid picking something with parent death, or at least warn him. Content warnings are basically just that on a larger scale.
Errlee wrote: "Lisa wrote: "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing for ATY and PS15."
Can I ask which ATY prompt you used this one for? I have a copy from the library and was trying to figure out if I could use it for ..."
I used the prompt of a book from the 2018 goodreads awards.
Afternoon.Still not much news from my life. Eurovision was fun, although I was completely bamboozled by the Netherlands winning - good for them and all, and I'm happy for the artist, but their song was so dull that I took it as an opportunity for a bathroom break...
Saw a deer just outside my garden the other day - my house backs onto a park and there was a doe browsing in the little strip of woodland that serves as a windbreak. Absolutely beautiful. Watched her for literally hours from my bedroom window.
Surprisingly little reading done - only 3 books finished and 2 of those were YA, which I usually whiz through. 1 counted for Popsugar.
The Raven Boys - Enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Fab bunch of characters. Would definitely pick up the sequels.
Far From the Tree - Found it very moving. Used for Popsugar prompt #31, book about a family.
Range of Ghosts - This took a while to get into, I admit. It took about 150 to 200 pages for the main group of characters all to meet up, and I read that chunk over... 4 days? Which is ridiculously slow for me. Once the gang is all together and includes A GIANT WARRIOR TIGRESS LADY, though, I was enthused. Awesome beginning to a series. Pretty unique kind of fantasy, too - it's Asian-inspired rather than being Generic Europe w/ Magic, and loosely based on the actual history of succession wars in the Mongol Empire during the 13th century. Plus magic, horses, ghosts, badass ladies (the tiger is far from the only one!), assassins, gods, and changing skies... I wanna read the sequels immediately.
The gorgeous cover art doesn't hurt, either. Behold the pretty.
Currently reading Sparrow Hill Road. Can't go wrong with Seanan McGuire. This one's about a hitch-hiking ghost, guiding the dead and sometimes saving the living on the roads of America, and also trying to stop her murderer, who's killing in order to maintain his own immortality.
Gosh, when I put it like that, it sounds depressing. 😋 It's kind of like a mix of The Lovely Bones and American Gods. I'm quite enjoying it!
QOTW: I didn't get assigned a lot of books in school... or maybe I just wasn't there when they were assigned, I dunno. I had rather an atypical experience of the education system. So I can't speak to that aspect of the question specifically. But I would appreciate some kind of content-warning system on books.
I agree with pretty much everything Brittany said earlier:
Brittany wrote: "I do think that there should be systems in place so that people can avoid reading scenes which could cause them further trauma. I would never want someone to be blindsided by a scene/situation and do think that having something handily available for them to immediately know that a book has something they should avoid is good. Of course, I also think that it should be done in such a way that plot points can be avoided for those of us who don't need the warnings. A system of icons perhaps on the back flap of books?"
I think something like the PEGI symbols for video games would be good:
No reading updates for this challenge for me this week, but a great QotW!I would like to see content notes become standard on the publisher's website. It would be easy enough to put a note in the front of the book like: "For content notes, please visit..." That way people who need them could seek them out without anyone else being spoiled.
I tend to like dark and disturbing things, so I don't remember needing a warning for anything I was assigned in school. I think some other members of my class could have used one for The Jungle, though - that one was intense!
Raquel wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: ". I'm not a fan. I worry it's a step away from ratings on books (PG, R etc) and/or censorship. I thin if there's going to be a warning, it should be in the form of "some material..."It does make sense, but I could see schools (again, thinking of my own...) saying no PG 13 books or something, and that's how we slip into censorship. Sometimes I get very annoyed at my education that I missed out on great works because teachers wouldn't (couldn't?) assign harder hitting books.
Greetings! We've had some pretty spectacular weather, IMHO, but then I like it sunny and cool. We did have one hot humid day...ugh. Another is coming our way this weekend -- warnings of the summer to come. I'm hoping the exterior facade work that has been happening these last couple of weeks right outside my windows finishes up today so that I can use my window a/c if needed. While they are drilling out and replacing mortar around the brick, you have to keep your windows closed and the a/c covered/sealed to keep dust out. Gets a little warm...it's also noisy so I'm very glad I have an office requiring my presence!I finished 2 books this week:
River of Eden - This is an action/adventure/suspense romance set in the remote rain forest of Brazil's Amazonia featuring 2 botanists - one on the hunt for a rare orchid and one determined to bring an end to the evil army major who is raping the rain forest and killing off natives with his gold mines. I loved it - great characters, plenty of action, lots of fascinating cultural information and essentially a snake saves the day. There's even mention in passing of the Yanomami, a tribe I remember studying a long time ago in college for a class called cultural anthropology. I decided to slot this in for my PS Cli-Fi prompt after finding out that Maja Lunde's 2nd in her cli-fi series is not being published in English until January 2020. Yes it's a streeeeetch, but it's my challenge after all and it really did deal with the destruction of the rain forest. Also slotted in as ATY book involving STEM - botany is front and center. And it fit both the PBT May theme of beautiful (our hero is continuously described as 'beautiful') and PBT May Horizon's - Brazil. Given it took me 4 days to read it (very slow reading for me - not book's fault), it is only fitting that it fit 4 different challenges, yes?
Rules of Civility - solid 5 star read. Loved the NYC world so wonderfully, even beautifully, described by heroine Kate Kontent. It's 1938, the Jazz Age, and essentially tells the story of America's version of the Lost Generation. Fit ATY prompt - on NPR great book list for year 2011. Also was my PBT Trim read for May, and fits the 'beautiful' May tag.
Currently reading - as I just finished Rules of Civility on my way in to the office, I am not sure which I will pick up next. Have in the wings, even started:
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
The Lost Love Letters of Henri Fournier
Sense and Sensibility
But I do have a library ebook due in a few days which is more fluff than substance, perfect for a holiday weekend - The Cliff House. I also have a short novella length book that seduced me with its cover and binding: Cheerful Weather for the Wedding - might just be the perfect one afternoon or evening read to start off the holiday weekend and relax after another busy week. And I really need to read one or more of my translations of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita if I'm going to make the deadline for my discussion with friends on July 1.
There is no lack of options for my next read!
QOTW: Well, back in ancient times when I was in school, there were no such concepts as 'triggers' or 'trigger warnings' - those are extremely contemporary. I read whatever I wanted, whatever I could get my hands on. I'm sure I found some things upsetting in some way or hit too close to personal traumas or worries, but looking back over 50+ years of passionate reading, if an ugly or traumatic scene or book stands out (i.e. The Godfather which I read when I was 14 or so had that horrible section involving the pedophile, the stage mother, and the horse's head - you thought the movie bad, it was tame compared to the description in the book), it's because it educated a naive farm girl that there were ugly things in the world. I don't think that is a bad thing. In fact, I believe it helped me over the years develop knowledge, perception, tolerance and the ability to handle disturbing, upsetting things.
I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a friend 20 or so years ago. Her then 12 year old daughter wanted to read the newly published fantasy book 'The Golden Compass' - which was not necessarily noted as a YA book at the time. Mary decided to read it first to determine if it was appropriate - and had some serious reservations (for those who have read it, I'm sure you can understand). After some discussion (by then I'd read it as well), she decided that some of what was disturbing to her would not necessarily be understood or picked up on by her daughter. So her daughter read it (without any warnings from Mary), but Mary made sure they had a conversation about it when she finished. Guess what? Her daughter did not pick up on the sections that had worried Mary!
So - while something may be obvious to an adult, it is not so obvious to youth.
I don't feel I need trigger warnings per se --- there are types of books I tend to avoid - i.e. one's with children in jeopardy -- but I don't avoid them altogether. I mostly avoid horror (no Stephen King for me), but still read the occasionally creepy - The Likeness comes to mind -- I found it at times quite creepy and disturbing, but I know to put it aside for a bit, read something silly, then go back to it. If the mystery and/or writing and/or characters were not so good, I would not read it because it would not be enjoyable. I also avoid books, movies, etc. set during 9/11 - it's still too close an event that I experienced first hand for me to want to relive in any way in my reading. I don't need a 'trigger warning' to avoid - I just look at the story synopsis. It's fine if the book tangentially mentions it - i.e. heroine's fiance died in one of the Twin Towers and 12 years later she is finally leaving mourning behind. I just don't want to read about the actual event.
I will say though that I have on occasion warned a friend about a book. For example, I was raving about The Zookeeper's Wife to a friend, but suggested she think long and hard about when to read it because being Polish, her parents and most of her relatives suffered through WWII in Warsaw and environs. It was going to be very close to her family's personal history, and it would be best to pick the right time to read it.
I've rambled on a great deal here... but it's something I've often thought about -- I really don't like a lot of information before reading something. Just like I don't like movie trailers that show the whole movie. I like the exploration and slow revelation. Even if it takes me someplace dark, upsetting, disturbing, and memory triggering.
I usually check-in first thing Thursday morning, but it's been a busy day! That's fine with me because it means the time has gone fast. I'm working a half-day tomorrow, then taking an extra long holiday weekend. I'm hoping for good weather Monday. I'm hosting a cookout/game day.Finished
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey. This is a wonderful, subtle memoir about a writer who contracts an unknown illness that leads to extreme fatigue and muscle weakness. She is given a potted flower with a woodland snail living in the leaves as a gift. While bedridden, she finds comfort in the snail's daily movements.
Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse (a character with a superpower). A lot of people swear this one is better than Trail of Lightning, but I don't know. It felt different to me. Maybe because Kai is missing for so long. It's still a great book. I'm just not in the "better than the original" opinion camp.
Reading
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I now know everything I will ever need to know about Waterloo ..... (Raquel, I think we're at the same part of the book!)
I'm not sure what I'm reading next. I'll pick out a new book tonight after work. I'm thinking about reading the next book in The Expanse series.
QOTW
Shannon, your answer to the QOTW is beautiful and brave. Thank you for sharing that. It wasn't rambling at all and it makes perfect sense. My own feelings about trigger warnings are so complex and wrapped up in own psychological abuse (side effect: feeling like your opinion is always wrong and invalid) that I was really struggling to find the "right" words.
I don't think triggers necessarily work the way some people seem to think they do. Triggers aren't always something broad. I'm not triggered by psychological abuse in fiction. My triggers are so closely tied to the words, phrases, and actions used against me that you would never even think to list them. The webcomic Trigger Warning: Breakfast is a heart-breaking example.
I do appreciate knowing that a book contains difficult content in general. It helps me prepare. Better publisher summaries would be helpful for getting a sense of the tone of the book. Publishers seem to prefer glowing review quotes to summaries nowadays. I think something like content notes or a detailed synopsis (similar to how a good teacher introduces a novel to a class) would be preferable to actual trigger warnings.
Brittany wrote: "Christine wrote: "When I was doing chemo, it seemed like every damn TV show I would watch to distract myself and have some escapism wound up having a Cancer Plot and it was rough. So I personally g..."Yup! I was very glad that my doctors moved to a new office so when I go for my checkups I don't have to relive the whole experience. I hope your husband is doing well, and I'm glad to be 4 years out and so far so good!
Since I missed last week's check-in, I'm posting two weeks' worth of updates today. While I finished a ton of books at the beach, only two worked for open prompts. At least two of the books I'm currently reading will work for challenge prompts though, so I'll likely have a couple more prompts knocked off this weekend. I'm currently at 20/40 and 2/10 for this challenge, and 54/100 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge. Finished:
* Becoming by Michelle Obama, which was a book club read and I decided to use for "Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge" (2017: a book about an interesting woman);
* The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which I used for "a book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore";
* Lumberjanes #5, Lumberjanes #6, Lumberjanes #7, and Lumberjanes #8 by Noelle Stevenson, which I used for a BookRiot Read Harder prompt;
* The Leavers by Lisa Ko, which would've worked for several prompts I've already checked off (debut novel, a book about a family, multiple character POVs);
* Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (translated by Lois Roth), which would've worked for the set in Scandinavia prompt;
* Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten, which also would've worked for the set in Scandinavia prompt;
* Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien, which would've worked for the amateur detective prompt; and,
* Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano, which also would've worked for the amateur detective prompt.
Currently Reading:
* Moloka'i by Alan Brennert, which I'm planning to use for "a book you meant to read in 2018";
* A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert, which I'll use for "a novel based on a true story"; and,
* Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles, which I don't think fits any of my open prompts.
QotW:
(From Jen) Is there a book you read in high school or your children have read in high school which you think should have had a trigger warning? I can't think of any, but I'm fairly certain my English teachers let us know ahead of time if a book contained difficult material (i.e. sexual assault or suicide).
Mod
Does The Murmur of Bees qualify for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge #7 "own voices" book set in Mexico (or Central America)?
Hello everyone!I only finished one book this week: An Unnecessary Woman (no chapters), which I had been reading slower and slooooweer to savor it and put off the ending. I loved the ending, and I so thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Currently reading:
The Lightning Thief (million ratings): I'm listening to this on audiobook and enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Riordan has really thought through this world, and I can definitely see why the series has become so popular. Does the quality of the series hold up as it goes?
The Fifth Season (cli-fi?): I just started this last night, and I think I might bring it backpacking. It might rain and a very immersive book would lessen the sting of hanging out in one's tent. :-)
Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture ("pop" in title): The chapter on the Bible publishing industry is so interesting, but it does feel like people's earnest faith is being taken advantage of by corporate interests.
QOTW: I'm a little conflicted about trigger warnings for HS books, because as some have mentioned it could easily be used as an excuse to ban books from reading lists. Children and teens really benefit from the opportunity to think through difficult situations and conflicting viewpoints, and I would hate to see that opportunity taken away. However, when trigger warnings are used as they are intended (to give an individual the opportunity to make an informed choice for themselves) they are invaluable.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
My Husband's Wife (other topics)Crown of Midnight (other topics)
The Kite Runner (other topics)
The Assassin's Blade (other topics)
Year One (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Lynda Mullaly Hunt (other topics)Julie Orringer (other topics)
Tara Westover (other topics)
Ernest van der Kwast (other topics)
A.J. Hartley (other topics)
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Let us know if you would like to lead discussion for the August monthly read, The Wife Between Us.
Most of my reading this week has been focused on AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) culture appreciation month, but I also fit in a few Challenge reads, and I am now 39/50.
Wildcard by Marie Lu - I originally planned this for the LitRPG category, but then heard it wasn’t really a good fit, but I read it anyway since I’d read the first in the series. It was deeply disappointing, so much so that I think I might never read another book by Marie Lu (except that fourth “Legend” book she’s got coming out, because June & Day!). There was quite a bit of gaming in the story, and even in real life the characters earn points and level up, so for now I’m pencilling this in for “LitRPG,” and if I read something that’s a better fit later, I’ll swap it out. This was also an AAPI read, of course.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - my “becoming a movie” book, I did not like this at all, but I think it could be a good movie, because good acting could fix all of its flaws.
Amy Lowell: Selected Poems - I’d never read a full book of Lowell’s poems, and I was surprised how many of them were all about colors and flowers.
Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirstin Chen - another AAPI read, this has a charming title (I love soy sauce!) and a gorgeous cover, but a very blah story.
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee - another AAPI read, and a complete gut punch of a story. 5 stars
Umbrella Academy: Suíte do Apocalipse written by Gerard Way - this was okay. Not nearly as good as the Netflix series, imo. This would work for “written by a musician” of course!
Question of the Week
(From Jen) Is there a book you read in high school or your children have read in high school which you think should have had a trigger warning?
I think trigger warnings are a good thing, for people who have experienced trauma, and are struggling with ptsd, they need that “heads up” to prepare themselves before reading. For people who don’t need them, they can be easily ignored.
In fact, I included a trigger warning in my review of “A Gesture Life” - it’s a gentle, almost boring book, and then suddenly we are staring the ugly reality of WWII sex trafficking right in the face. I did not see that coming.
That said, no I never read an assigned book for school and felt it should have had a trigger warning. (Of course, the concept of “trigger warnings” did not exist when I was in school.) But I think our teachers must have prepped us before each book.