EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi all, sorry for a late post again!

This was a slow reading week for me, all I finished was Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Normally if a book takes me that long to finish it’s because I was bored or just not feeling it. But in this case it was more that it was so thought provoking that I’d read a few paragraphs and then sit and think about it. Really made me consider my relationship to the earth and the environment and what all I can do to improve. Also there was a lot of heartbreaking history of how the US treated the various Indigenous people, as well as descriptions of what various corporations and the like have done to the land that used to be their homes.

Currently reading:

The Great Believers - this is my next books & brew, not very far yet so no real opinion.

QOTW:

How’s everyone’s reading going this year? Whether it’s challenge based, or just what sort of things you picked. Are you liking what you’ve read? Had bad luck with selections? Been in a rut? Been on a roll?

I feel like I’m having a bit of a slower year than usual. I haven’t really resumed anything like “normal” life aside from some small hang outs with vaccinated friends, so it’s not really a time thing. More just flightier attention span, I guess. A lot of sitting down to read and scrolling on my phone instead, or staring off into space. It’s not a big deal, just annoying having the little goodreads challenge reminding me I’m behind. I might actually drop the target down just to get it to stop judging me haha. But I’ve had a pretty good year as far as most of what I’ve read has been 3 star + books, so that’s pretty nice. Been enjoying my book club’s selections more than other years too.

This was another week of short reads due to work overwhelm.

I caught up some more on the free Tor ebooks with Silver in the Wood. This was sweet and I feel like I ought to have been more into it. I love woods, and this one was nicely depicted (I could even smell it). Maybe it was just too short to get sufficiently engrossed. I'm not sure about the sequel.

Next was a book I originally got many years ago from the elementary school library, and of which I was somehow recently reminded: Rabbit Hill. I was impressed with how well it held up. I liked how much characterization the author accomplishes through dialogue, with the ways the different animals talk. Almost all the characters are male, but there wasn't any blatant sexism or racism, so I would feel comfortable recommending it to an animal-loving child.

QOTW: Overall I think my reading has been about the same as last year, with a slightly higher average tolerance for difficult subjects due to perceived improvement in the state of the world. I'm doing well so far with logging read dates, so I should have a better picture at the end of this year than I did last year.

I had a good reading week.

A Killing Frost - the 14th October Daye book that I hadn't gotten around to reading yet. This is my favorite urban fantasy series of all time and I can't wait for the next one to be released (in September, I think). Seanan McGuire is awesome at LGBTQ+ representation, and this one took it in a surprising direction (in a good way)! Used for the redemption story prompt.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - I loved Addie LaRue so much that I had to look up some of her other work. This one is very different but I really enjoyed it and I will definitely continue with the series. I counted it for book with a great first line (really two lines): “Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several, which was, of course, impossible.”

If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood - working through my back catalog of free kindle first reads. Fairly intense true crime book. It wasn't especially well written, but the true story was gripping (and disturbing) and I finished it quickly. I didn't see a prompt it would fit in the first set of 50 prompts so I jumped to the second set and am counting it for the seven deadly sins prompt.

Still currently reading The House of Hades with my kid.

QOTW: I've had good luck this year, almost all 4- and 5-star reads. I'm still following my usual pattern of reading by whim, not really planning much out except for my book clubs (and even then I only read the book if I'm in the mood). I had sort of intended to complete the first 50 prompts on the book nerds challenge and then work over to the next 50 afterwards, but since my last read really didn't fit any of the first list, I'll move on to the second set when I need to. I doubt I'll finish them all but I'm ok with that! I'm just happy that my reading is back on track again after a few lackluster years when my kids were really small and I didn't have much energy for books.

@sheri I enjoyed Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants too. We travel to and through that part of NY State often. The corporate pollution of Onondaga Lake was horrible. There were a lot of things to think about in the book. I am not generally a fan of random unrelated essays, but this book kept me reading.

Work got busy for me last week, so I didn't get a lot of time to read. I'm still working through Elatsoe. It's actually a really quick read when I have time to focus on it, so I'm hoping to finish it early this week. I'm really enjoying it so far. It will be my Popsugar book by an Indigenous author.

QOTW: I think my reading has been about the same as last year. I've liked most of what I've read this year. I'm way ahead on my Goodreads reading challenge, but that's because it counts graphic novels and manga. I'm about halfway through my prompt list for the Popsugar reading challenge, which is right on track for late May.

read some more potato chips - i mean, Sidney Sheldon books:
*The Stars Shine Down
*Nothing Lasts Forever
*Morning, Noon & Night

and now I'm reading the Best Laid Plans.

QotW: I'm reading a lot more than last year, more on par with the way it used to be. last year was just a weird year for me. my goal us always to read more this year than the year before. in 2018, i read 37 books, so my 2019 goal was 38. i ended up reading 45! so last year my goal was 46, but i only read 36. this year then, my goal is 37, and I'm already up to 26 completed books, and it's only the end of May. so this year is a good year so far :D

It's been a slow reading week for me - work has been insane, so it's hard to focus enough to read in the evenings! I did finish Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life, though, which I highly recommend. It's a very quick read, and really makes you think about how the world around you works. Speaking of which, like Sheri, I am also reading Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants for the same online alumni book club that Storm in a Teacup was for. I'm about halfway through, and it's fascinating - I wish I had more time and focus to read, but like Sheri said, it benefits from being stretched out since you have more time to consider each chapter.

QOTW: I have been reading SO slowly this year! I don't know why every book seems to take forever - its not that I haven't been reading good things, it's been a mixture - but it's probably the lack of focus. I've read less than half of what I've normally read by this point in the year, so it's not my imagination! Hopefully I'll have some time and focus this weekend, with the extra day. :)