EPBOT Readers discussion

Apologies for a late post! Our latest stay at home order extension allowed certain businesses to resume operation with many precautions and caveats. One of those was allowing landscape stores to resume operation, which means my company's biggest client is back to giving us actual work to do. It's nice, at least in terms of not being annoyed that I still have to "work" with no work to do and being worried about getting laid off due to lack of incoming business.

But it also means I have less time to just write long goodreads posts haha.

This week I finished:

So You Want to Talk About Race - can't remember if i marked this as read last week, finished it on thursday. It's hard to say if I "like" books like this, but I do think it was well written, a lot of good anecdotes that showed her points, and it's important to read. Counted it for popsugar book written by a woman of color.

Space Opera - this wasn't the quick read I expected! i did like it, but I found it took me a long time to read because she wrote with such long, surreal sentences I had to keep going back and re-reading sections. Either to grasp them, or to just appreciate the absurdity. I'm starting to try to come up with questions, there's not a lot of reading guides for this. Might take me a bit, sorry! not sure if i'll count it as a popsugar read yet. There's a couple prompts that it could kinda work for, might wait to see if something that fits them better comes along.

Twice Bitten - had a terrible stress headache the other night that was keeping me awake. Needed something that I didn't have to concentrate on at all, but would distract me so I re-read this for fluff.

currently reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo - made it a few more chapters. My kindle says i'm just over halfway now, but goodreads says I'm not quite halfway. Kind of confusing, since the edition I have selected IS the kindle penguin edition that I'm reading. They list two different page counts, so I have no idea. Either way I'm half-ish. Finally. I mostly just hope to finish sometime this year.

Here and Now and Then - next book selection for books & brews. (meeting virtually). Only a couple chapters in, so no opinions yet. Interesting premise at least!

QOTW:

I'll borrow from popsugar again: Have you ever read a book that made you either want to, or actually, throw it across the room?

I have never ACTUALLY thrown a book. I read a lot on kindles/devices these days, they get accidentally dropped enough without throwing. but i'd also not want to damage anything else or accidentally hit a cat or something.

but You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life made me want to throw it. It was dumb enough that her "advice" basically was to vibrate your way into good vibes that bring you success. but what totally made me lose it was how she said you had to examine the "hidden benefits" of the negative things in your life to see why you can't let them go. She said the hidden benefit of depression was drinking beer for breakfast and if you could just let that go, you'd get better. It was just such absolutely ableist gross writing, if it hadn't been my kindle I might have thrown it. I did finish, just because it was for a challenge and the prompt was an annoying one, and I only had like 30 pages left at that point. but it was still really aggravating.

Just finished The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. What a ride. I think I'll use it for the Gryffindor/Ruby/red cover prompt, although it would also fit the Marauders/friendship and Draco/bad boy or anti-hero prompts.

30/60

QOTW: I don't remember physically throwing a book, but I have certainly yelled at books and/or their authors. Motley Crue achieved this status. The death of Hedwig had me swearing up a blue streak. That book I read a few weeks ago where a weapon randomly respawned from one chapter to the next too.

And thanks for the heads up about You Are a Badass. I'll at least go into it duly warned if I ever get around to it.

Since last week, I finished The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, my Popsugar book with more than 20 letters in the title. I'm not sure I liked it as much as the first book, but I did enjoy it a lot.

Afterward, I needed a change of pace, so I read Stand Up, Yumi Chung!, a cute contemporary middle-grade book about an aspiring comedian. It's set in Los Angeles, so I'm using it as my Popsugar book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics.

I just started Space Opera. I'm having a better time with it this go around. I think the problem I had with it was the same thing you mentioned, Sheri - the sentences are so complex that it was difficult to parse at first, and I just wasn't feeling it, that's why I bounced off it the first time around. I'm not sure what Popsugar prompt this is going to fill, if any. Maybe it'll be my book I meant to read in 2019.

QOTW: I don't think I've ever physically thrown a book or Kindle device. I've gotten upset at books before, but I can't remember the last time I felt like I wanted to actually throw one.

This was my first week off in our new rotating furlough situation, so I read a lot of things.

I really enjoyed Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II. I'm not too interested in history in general, so I appreciate when I can get it wrapped in a personal narrative. This one's been on my list, and it was a free Hoopla borrow, so it seemed like fate. I've always liked Audrey Hepburn, but I never realized how affected she was by the war. It was really striking when the author pointed out that she was almost exactly the same age as Anne Frank, living in the same country at the same time (though in a different town and, of course, not Jewish). Her family was also directly affected in a way that I won't spoil (can you spoil actual history?). I had some small quibbles with the writing style, but the author clearly did a lot of research and it was a fascinating read.

Next was a random-Libby-browsing find, The Widows of Malabar Hill. I found it in the mystery section, but it's really more of a cozy legal thriller, I guess. It's set in 1920s Bombay, with a great diversity of cultures and religions discussed. There was a fair amount of exposition via characters giving unnecessary explanations to each other, but there was a lot to be explained to the modern, presumably Western reader, so I can't really hold it against the author. I did enjoy the book and may continue the series.

I followed that up with another Hoopla free borrow, Whodunit Mysteries. I have been known to wish for an adult version of Encyclopedia Brown, and now I won't do that any more. I guess there's just not a good way to make a very short story with a clue that is neither obvious nor implausible.

I have seen a lot of hype about The Kiss Quotient, so I thought I'd try another foray into romance. It's basically a gender-swapped Pretty Woman with an autistic protagonist. Reviewers seemed to find the sex scenes less cringey than in other works, and I did find that to be the case, so top marks for sexiness. The relationship, on the other hand, didn't go much beyond attraction at first sight and didn't feel as realistic. Also the author kept referring to people making fists by saying "she fisted her hands", which is a kind of weird construction made extra weird by the context.

I love corvids and read all books I find about them, with diminishing returns as I have accumulated most of the knowledge available at a pop-sci level. Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World is a short work that gives a brief overview of fable, anecdote, and science about the genus Corvus. I would maybe recommend it to someone with no time and no idea why anyone would like crows; otherwise I would suggest In the Company of Crows and Ravens as a more in-depth look at the same theme.

Finally, I saw someone on FoE mention Death Comes as the End as a favorite Agatha Christie. I've been trying to save the earlier Christies so I can read them when they enter the public domain (without a lot of success so far), so I figured I'd hop on this slightly later one. The setting in ancient Egypt was very well done, with the characters feeling like real people without seeming too modern. The mystery aspect was not her best work, in my opinion, but that's a very high bar.

QOTW: I'm not really a thrower. The last book I seriously regretted reading was probably The Goldfinch, but I didn't want to throw it so much as go back in time and not start it. I did recently read an article and some comments about not finishing books, which reminded me that it's OK to do that. After a few pages today of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, I decided to tap out.

Last week I finished The Invisible Library, which was great fun. It reminded me a little of The Starless Sea in plot, but had a completely different tone - much more light-hearted and less dreamlike. I enjoyed it in a completely different way. And I've just requested the second book from the library.

Nothing that I had handy was grabbing my interest, so I decided to re-read some old favorites. I read Hyperion and am halfway through the second book The Fall of Hyperion, and I'm sure I'll end up finishing the whole quartet for the umpteenth time...I just love these books. Probably my favorite science fiction ever. I usually gravitate more towards fantasy than SF, but something about this series brings me back again and again!

QOTW: I've only once thrown a book, and it wasn't actually about the book itself, but a MAJOR spoiler in a foreword. I get mad all over again when I think about it. So the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else: in Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel collection, volume 9 The Kindly Ones, DON'T READ THE FOREWORD until after you finish. I'm still floored that Gaiman and/or the publisher allowed a spoiler that major in the INTRODUCTION to the book.

Rebecca wrote: "QOTW: I'm not really a thrower. The last book I seriously regretted reading was probably The Goldfinch, but I didn't want to throw it so much as go back in time and not start it. "

I haven't read that one, but I despised her other book The Secret History, which all of my IRL friends seem to have loved; your description above pretty much sums it up. I don't know what kept me reading so that I finished the whole thing -- like watching a train wreck, I couldn't look away even though it was so awful?

Busy reading week for me, I apparently found a groove.

I listened to all of The Omega Objection which was a lot of fun. I decided that the first one was fun enough I'd just grab the second with my free credit.

I finished The Help. I enjoyed it and think it was important but I can definitely see and agree with some of the criticisms of it that I've read. I've also already seen the film so I knew most of what was going to happen, even if I had forgotten a couple of details. It was well written though and good pacing.

I'm now half way through Dread Nation because I needed something not classics-like and my TBR shelf is dwindling in that regard. Weirdly, despite the undead, it's giving me a similar feeling to The Help in places thanks to all the obvious racism and segregation. The tone is entirely different though.

QOTW: I have actually thrown a book. I mean aside from the fact I regularly softly lob them at my bed or other soft surfaces for later. I have thrown one in anger at the ending. I cannot for the life of me remember what. Possibly something like Ice Twins, the ending of which infuriated me after a book that didn't really entertain me. Mostly I wouldn't do that to a book, but whichever one it was really took the cake. I only thought of doing it because I'd seen Sliver Linings' Playbook, in which there is book throwing.

I have read a book or two in ebook form I wouldn't have minded throwing, and frankly I accidentally drop me laptop more than enough as it is.

This week was less reading and more QUACK finishing, but I did get some book time in.

Finished up The Fellowship of the Ring. Swoon!!!! I'll work on the rest of the series over the course of the spring. My record is 3 days on the second two parts, resulting in a strain-injury to my shoulder. I plan to not do so again. What???? You had your college regrets and shenanigans... I had mine!

Read Almayer Station, which is the 5th in The Admiral series. As much as I like the series, this one was just kinda boring. It's a side-quest from one of the supporting characters from early in the series. For her being in Mortal Peril for the whole book, I was just not into it, I think partially because she's just not that interesting of a character, and she kept reminiscing about her time with The Admiral, (aka. Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Book) making you miss his presence all the more. I'm guessing these unrelated books will all start to converge later in the series, so we'll see where it winds up.

Firefly: The Ghost Machine is the third of the Firefly TV series novels and was just fun! The author managed to write the characters convincingly, and it was a super creative plotline involving "paradise" alt-realities for each character. My only disappointment was that, for getting everyone into the predicament in the first place, we never got to see what Badger's would have been.

QOTW-
I'm not a book thrower, but they do occasionally make me that mad. I started Cider Revival: Dispatches from the Orchard earlier this week and it was the first book to really tick me off in a long time, and the first one I've deep-sixed in quite awhile, too. It's non-fic about the revival of (hard) cider in the US and looked super interesting, especially since I'm a big cider fan. Unfortunately the author was insufferably snobby about craft cider, constantly deriding people who drink (or sell) anything mass produced. At the point that he also managed to work in unnecessary pointed digs against both political and religious viewpoints, and all this by only the end of chapter 1, I probably would have thrown this one if it wasn't on my ipad. Sheesh!!!!!

Oh that’s a bummer! I’m also a big cider fan. while I like supporting local breweries, I’ll totally drink an angry orchard or woodchuck if that’s what there is

Mmmm...I want a cider now.

Hi everyone - Coming really late to the party this week, but I have a few updates to share (finally!). I finished this weeks ago, but don't think I mentioned it yet - Resistance Reborn. This is a Star Wars tie-in novel that fits between episodes 8 and 9 (the most recent movies). Roanhorse brings a lot of heart to the characters and shows how most of our favorite leads are dealing with the aftermath of the movie's events. It also brings back my personal favorite, Wedge, and the characters from Chuck Wendig's Aftermath series. Coincidentally, another Rebecca Roanhorse book came up in my library reserves as I was finishing this one. I've been waiting for this for ages!

Trail of Lightning. I love, love, LOVED this book. As a lifelong Arizonan with a background in cultural anthropology, this book is right up my alley. It's set on what remains of the Navajo reservation after an apocalyptic event ("The Big Water") has wiped out most of North America. The lead character, Molly, is a monster hunter who's battling quite a few inner demons as well. It's full of nods to Navajo culture, peppered with Navajo phrases, and is a refreshing take on the modern urban fantasy genre. It can be pretty brutal/violent in places, but nothing worse than you'd find in the Dresden books.

Also finished: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I know Mary Roach is very popular, but her books just don't do it for me. They're fun and enjoyable, but every time my interest gets piqued, she goes in a different direction with the narrative and leaves me hanging. I was hoping for more body science and less "what people are doing with bodies."

The Lace Reader. Oof. This was mixed bag for me. I met the author at a writing conference this past fall (coincidentally, in Salem, MA, where the book is set), so was excited to read it. The blurb says it's about a Salem family with a gift of reading futures in lace. That was maybe 0.0005% of the book. Mostly, it was a straightforward family drama with an unreliable narrator. The big reveal felt like a slap in the face rather than an "a-ha!" moment. She set up 3/4 of the book to go in one direction and then pulled the rug out from under us for the last quarter. People either loved or hated the twist. I just felt cheated. The writing is lovely, and the book is fantastic if you like a good character study, but it wasn't for me.

And finally, Akata Witch. Another fantasy dive into a non-Western culture. This one follows a group of Nigerian teens through a magical adventure. Generically, it's Harry Potter in Nigeria. That's either selling the book short, or singing its praises, depending on your perspective :) It's a YA novel, and I think I would have enjoyed it more without the coming of age angle. I've had enough of teens finding themselves at this point, but if you still love a good YA tale, definitely check this out. It's a good story and a lot of fun to read.

QOTW: I have exactly one book I remember wanting to physically throw across a room, but because it was my then boyfriend's copy, and he was standing right there, I couldn't. In the worlds of Dorothy Parker, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." By the end of the FIRST PAGE, I had already restrained myself from hurling it three times. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. I find his pedantic storytelling style absolutely exasperating. Great bones of a story, but the execution makes me want to throw books.

Hi - I'm also super late to the party this week. My last couple weeks have been fraught with DNFs. A Map of Days - This was the 4th book in the Peculiar Children series and by page 100 I realized I just didn't care. I enjoyed the first book in this series enough and read the first three. Saw this at the library before it closed for the shelter in place order and grabbed it. Oh well. I was also slogging through Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World. I didn't find the author nearly as clever as he found himself. And after finishing 54% of the book I wondered why the details of a decade old financial downturn mattered to me and realized they didn't. Only in the last couple years have I given myself permission to DNF - before I used to slog through no matter how much I hated the book. So even though it feels a little bit like I've failed because I can't add another book to my read list, I also feel better knowing my time is spent reading something I enjoy.

A couple audiobooks became available again at my library, so I did finish The Time of Contempt. It was OK. Not sure if I'll continue the series or wait for more TV seasons. Was also able to get through more of Serpent & Dove. Still enjoying this one.

Next up is Recursion.

QOTW: I've never wanted to throw a book. Sure, there have been books I haven't liked or books that I was frustrated with, but throwing it has never really crossed my mind. If it bothers me that much, I'll donate it. Somehow banishing it from my personal library seems like a bigger insult than throwing it. Haha!