Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2022 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 34: 8/18 - 8/25
Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! We've been getting lots of rain! If I had known it was going to rain non-stop, I would have made an extra effort to mow the lawn on Saturday. But I didn't, so I didn't, and now my l..."Happy Thursday! It's been raining a lot too. It was my first day of school earlier and a little nervous but it was okay. I watch travel from Taiwan and it was great. I also read a little because there's some homework and studies to do.
Currently Reading
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Doc W. and the Cursed Undersa
Question of the week
What book(s) would you recommend to anyone and everyone?
- I have lots of books to recommend! First, my favorite is Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Ban This Book by Alan Gratz, and Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks!
Happy Thursday and Happy Reading:D!
Happy Thursday! We celebrated my grandma's 93rd birthday over the weekend. She got a Kindle for Christmas last year so every time I'm over I make sure she has plenty lined up to read. I was able to get all four brakes and rotors replaced on my car yesterday, so that's one more thing out of the way before winter gets here (yes it's August and considering how the weather has been the past few years, we likely won't see snow in Ohio til at least December, but you can never be too prepared). And while I was waiting on that to wrap up, I started a new book :D
Finished this week:
Women in the Picture: What Culture Does with Female Bodies - 4.5 stars. Some good analysis with some shoddy pop culture research.
Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party - 5 stars, reread. Just as I loved the inclusion of Tolkien in the first volume, I love the deep dive into the Brontes here.
The Old Guard: Tales Through Time, Vol. 1 - 3.5 stars. An anthology collection, and as such it's fairly hit or miss. I loved the Zanzibar story for Nicky & Joe, and it makes me anticipate the film sequel all the more.
Currently:
Dreaming the Eagle - yup, she's still here
The Dark Is Rising - audio #1
Conspirata - audio #2
The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone’s Legendary Druid Pack - almost ready to skim the rest of this just to be done with it
What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix - not keen on the writing for Heathcliff but it moves along well
PS 40/50
Upcoming:
Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution - I'm due to pick this up tomorrow and it's all I can do to try and wrap a bunch of other stuff up first because I know this will be my sole focus until it's finished
House of Whispers, Vol. 1: The Power Divided - a new comic for another group's monthly read in September. Glad I read and finished Sandman first, I didn't realize it took place in the same universe!
QOTW: What book(s) would you recommend to anyone and everyone?
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Good morning. Well, technically the sun hasn’t risen yet. It’s painting a small stretch of yellow white over the mountains east of us as I type. The rest of the sky is sparsely dotted with one or two planets as the sliver of moon hangs low in the east above a bright star. The trees are silhouettes against the backdrop of clear grey-blue darkness.I’ve been immersed into more Chinese dramas. Costume and period are my go to choice. All those flowing costumes with impossibly long sleeves make me want to be less clumsy. Ha ha not going to happen but a girl can dream. I’ve caught up to the three I was watching last week. I’m letting a build up of new episode pile before I go back and watch them. Nothing is worse than binging something and have to stop mid awesome storyline.
Finished:
The New Gate Volume 1
The New Gate Volume 2
The New Gate Volume 3
The New Gate Volume 4
The New Gate Volume 5
The New Gate Volume 6
The New Gate Volume 7
The New Gate Volume 8
The New Gate Volume 9
The New Gate Volume 10
Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts Vol. 1
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 01
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest Vol. 2
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 03
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 04
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 05
Continuing:
Steins;Gate 0 Volume 1
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4: Includes Vols. 10, 11 & 12
The Beast Player
RG Veda Omnibus Volume 1
Inuyasha. VizBig Edition, Volume 4: Hard Choices
Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes: The Spirit Hunters of Tomoe Vol. 1
Planning:
Hinamatsuri
How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master's Medical Journal Vol. 1
How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 2
How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 3
How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 4
How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 5
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Vol. 4
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Vol. 5
Inuyasha (VIZBIG Edition), Vol. 5: Dueling Emotions
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina Manga, Vol. 1
RG Veda Omnibus Volume 2
RG Veda Omnibus Volume 3
Cemetery Boys
QOTW
I have a list of books that I keep in mind that I recommend. It depends on the genre someone is looking for. Sometimes I go through my Goodreads folders to see what else I can pull out of the hat. It also depends on if it’s in person (at work at the library with limited availability) or online.
This year the books I most recommend are:
In house and online:
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
The Kaiju Preservation Society
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 1
Online but now in-house
The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 (now owned by us on Libby)
Lots of rain here too, things are starting to turn green again, although it's a bit late for the deciduous trees which are dropping their leaves early. Feels more like late September than August.I don't feel like I've achieved anything this week, but I did finish one book (Nadine will be happy):
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel for ATY (all the vowels in title). Some lovely observations about pandemics and life in general. I loved that it was woven around an event from The Glass Hotel but is much more hopeful in tone. I give the UK edition bonus marks for actually calling it sci-fi on the cover.
Currently reading Ithaca and listening to Flowers for Algernon.
PS: 37/50 | ATY: 39/52 | GR: 77/100
QOTW:
I like recommendations to be personal, so there's not one book I push on everyone. If there's even a slight chance they'll like it I recommend I Still Dream by James Smythe, and more recently I've been telling loads of people about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
Good Morning All,Ashley Marie wrote "Happy Thursday! We celebrated my grandma's 93rd birthday over the weekend. She got a Kindle for Christmas last year so every time I'm over I make sure she has plenty lined up to read."
Happy Birthday to your grandma Ashley Marie. My mother is 91 & uses an Ipad with the kindle app to read. She is blind but could enlarge the print to the largest size & see enough to read. Now she is completely blind so Alexa reads to her.. My mom only reads Stephanie Laurens books. I was a little hesitant having Alexa reading Stephanie Laurens books out loud at a high volume in assisted living. It makes mom feel like she is still reading so I guess the whole floor will follow along with the book.
Sherri wrote: "Good Morning All,Ashley Marie wrote "Happy Thursday! We celebrated my grandma's 93rd birthday over the weekend. She got a Kindle for Christmas last year so every time I'm over I make sure she has ..."
Thanks Sherri! Love to your mom as well.
Lots of rain the past two weeks. It's been amazing. While I don't have a front lawn, we get weeds around here like crazy so that can be a pain. With the wet soil though it makes it easier to pull them out still, the rain makes them grow so fast so it's been hard with the upkeep.Currently Reading:
The Plague of Doves- While I'm not that far (ch.3), I'm enjoying it.
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole- Reread. It's amazing at how 5 months can change perspectives. Got a second copy since I don't really remember my notations the first time around, let alone more of the major details of the book. I'm liking it again though.
- With these two books I'm taking my time since I'm annotating. I still count them to my monthly count, but because of the annotations, they take longer.
*****
I've been buying a lot of books lately so that's been pretty fun. These are the ones I've gotten so far:
We've Got to Try: How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible
The Iliad / The Odyssey
Not a Nation of Immigrants: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion - (I have the hardback but I also got the paperback)
Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations
Teaching Truly: A Curriculum to Indigenize Mainstream Education
The Sentence
Louise Erdrich's Justice Trilogy: Cultural and Critical Contexts
*****
These are the books that I'll be starting next week:
TBR:
I'm Glad My Mom Died - *This one I'm looking forward to the most. It's taken me nearly 3 weeks to get it.
Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide
I finished Ship of Fools as my book that takes place on a plane, train, or ship. Hard to get into. Lots of characters to keep straight. Just kind of ends when the cruise ends. Not my favorite book ever, but it was alright.I read Treasure Island as my book with a protagonist with a mobility aid. I was not the target audience, but it was OK.
QOTW: Lonesome Dove is my favorite book, so I don't know why not everybody would love it. I also love Dickens so I would recommend most of his books. Not Martin Chuzzlewit, but most of the others.
Hi All, the weather has been cooler with less rain for 2 weeks. I actually watered the plants this morning. I'm looking forward to fall. It is beautiful here & my favorite season. I finished 3 books for the week.1. The Hacienda. 5 stars. I have decided I like gothic books. This was good. Also this book will work for Hispanic Heritage month. Not for this challenge.
2. The Memory of Us. 2 stars. For PS # 30 A book with the name of a board game in the title. So memory isn't a board game but I have owned the book since 2016 & it has the name of a game in the title. I felt it was as close as I was going to get. I can't remember now what I read in the synopsis of the book that made me want to buy it. It was alright but not great. The good news is this was my last prompt. I finished the challenge.
3. To Die But Once. 4 stars. I really enjoy the Maisie Dobbs series.
QOTW: I have a few nonfiction books I give as gifts. Running with Sherman. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.
Good afternoon! I'm totally enjoying the beautiful summer weather here in Switzerland. We did some hikes and a scenic drive over the Sustenpass (imho the BEST: you see all the Alpine scenery in one drive) and I read a lot and finished 2 books.PS: 16/40
Total 2022: 39
Finished
First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower - ⭐⭐
Not for PS
Nice, but that’s all. It’s not the insight look you get in The Residence, it’s more like Andersen Brower is recycling the stories she already mentioned in The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House.
Het landschap, de mensen. Nederland 1850-1940 by Auke van der Woud - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not for PS
I picked this book because of the debate on agriculture, nitrogen and nature in the Netherlands (where I live). In this book, the author explains how agriculture in the Netherlands developed from very low productive and small farms to the second biggest agricultural exporting country in the world (US is no. 1). It changed our landscape and, like we experience now, our nature. Scientists in the 19th century were convincing the government and farmers to focus on productivity: get out the most of the soil and animals so we can export more. Farmers were not anxious to change their farming methods. They were content the way it was. But eventually they learned there was a benefit in it for them too: higher incomes. And so we changed our land: farmers became entrepreneurs and usefullness and productivity became their way of life. Here the book ends. I'm so curious what you would read in a book in 2080 on the years 1940 - 2030....
Currently reading
Violeta
QOTW
't Hooge Nest. Title in English: The Sisters of Auschwitz: The True Story of Two Jewish Sisters' Resistance in the Heart of Nazi Territory
Happy Thursday, everyone!It has been a super busy week! I started the house hunting process over the weekend, and I’ve had an opportunity to see five different houses so far. It would have been more, but several of the properties I most wanted to see went into contract the day before we were going to visit them. Nothing has really stood out as “the house” yet, but we’re just getting started.
In other news, yesterday morning I participated in my first ever 5K! I decided to do the I Believe in Pluto virtual race through the Virtual Running Club, and I really enjoyed it. The weather was gorgeous too! It took me a little over an hour to complete the race, and I will definitely be looking to improve my time on my next 5K.
Goodreads: 441/200
TBR Checklist: 382/1022 -- I've met (and surpassed) my "30% read by the end of the summer" goal!
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Slayers - The Ruby Eye
~The Sorcerer of Atlas
~The Ghost of Sairaag
~The Battle of Saillune
~The Silver Beast
Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~The Big Book of Serial Killers
~The Hobbit Trilogy Location Guide Book
~Decorating a Room of One's Own: Conversations on Interior Design with Miss Havisham, Jane Eyre, Victor Frankenstein, Elizabeth Bennet, Ishmael, and Other Literary Notables
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition, Vol. 1
~Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition, Vol. 2
~Maison Ikkoku Collector’s Edition, Vol. 3
~Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition, Vol. 4
~Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition, Vol. 5
~Maison Ikkoku Collector's Edition, Vol. 6
~A Man Among Ye #1
DNFed:
None
Currently Reading:
~The Hacienda
~Vezendi's Shadow
QOTW:
I don't really have one book that I would recommend to everyone, but I have recommended The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to a tremendous number of people!
Mod
I look forward to your review. I read the old House of Secrets spin-off from the Dreaming way back when, and perhaps this is a continuation? But in the past I've been disappointed in comics that are written by novelists. It's like, comic writers can successfully transition to novel writing, but novelists can't seem to transition to comics. They are two different skills but the novelists don't seem to realize that. Of course, I'm basing this on just a few writers. Maybe Hopkinson does well.
Mod
LOL at that!! I tried a romance novel in audio once, the instant they got to a sexually explicit scene, I knew I never again wanted to listen to something like that!!
Perhaps all her hallmates are also hard of hearing, so only the nurses and aides are listening :-)
Mod
Sounds really beautiful!!!
Lol! Audiobooks... they can get you into trouble. I was driving through Ithaca once, stop and go at traffic lights with the windows down and the book I was listening to was using the N-word, and I'm thinking "OMG, the people around probably think I'm some awful racist..." I think I hit pause until I was out in the country.
Mod
Oh I have this one borrowed from the library right now! And I didn't even mention it over in my HHM post.
When I finished Portrait of a Thief the night before, I couldn't decide what to read next, so I pulled six books out of my ridiculously huge library pile and read the first few pages of each. Hacienda was in the running, but I ended up choosing The Fervor. It looks like it might be a zombie book. Apparently I always pick zombies first.
Hi all! Yes, we've needed the rain. I think the weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so we can catch up on mowing. I woke up with an atrocious headache this morning, but it seems to be fading, thank God, because we're leaving this afternoon for an overnight trip. The kiddo is so excited. I've got to keep her occupied until my boyfriend gets home... this is going to be a long day! lol
I didn't finish anything. I started When She Woke. I'm only a few chapters in, but it gave me chills when it was revealed that the book takes place in Texas. Given everything going on in this country with the overturning of Roe, but especially in Texas, it's just too eerie.
I also started The Nature of Fragile Things on audiobook (so far no racist language to worry about!). It's slow moving, but I mostly listen at bedtime, so that's OK.
I don't think I read any more in any of my ongoing books. Why make progress when you can pick up something new??
QOTW: Probably the book I recommend most, that is the least well known book, is The Gargoyle. Though I don't think I've ever seen anyone on here take me up on it... poke, poke....
Mod
Wow! That's amazing, considering how small the Netherlands is in comparison with China or Brazil!!!
Well it's the rainy season here, so we get daily rain. Looking in the backyard, the ditches are still full of water from yesterday's downpour. We definitely have to mow weekly this time of year.I finished several books since my last check in two weeks ago. I'm still making my way through the U.S. state challenge, I've finally tipped the balance at the halfway mark (now 27/51). I'm also 33/50 for the PopSugar challenge.
Not One of Us by Debbie Herbert - set in Alabama, murder mystery. I found a lot of plot holes, which were annoying, and very little reason for giving the main character synthesesia - it was just a lazy way to tie up loose ends.
On Fire by Larry Brown - set in Mississippi, a firefighter's memoir. The firefighter aspects were interesting, but I felt the rest of the random memories shared didn't age well (pride in drunk driving, etc.).
The Savant of Chelsea by Suzanne Jenkins - set in Louisiana, a grown woman returns home to face her past after the death of her mother. This was an interesting story, if quite horrifying at times. The end shook me, though in retrospect it also fit perfectly.
I'd Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos - when a woman's life comes crashing down around her, she tries for a fresh start - but first she has to face the past and understand how everything went so wrong. Told from multiple points of view, the story has some shocking twists and turns and emphasizes consequences.
Lost Little Rock by Ray Hanley - Images of America is a great series that illustrates the past and how things have (or haven't changed). In the case of Little Rock, it sounds as if historical preservation hasn't been a priority. I've never been, but I enjoyed learning about its past and the constant changes, and seeing pictures of bygone eras.
QOTW: Hard question. Selecting a recent read, I'd say I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Ashley Marie wrote: "House of Whispers, Vol. 1: The Power Divided - a new comic for another group's monthly read in September. Glad I read and finished Sandman first, I didn't realize it took place..."I'll keep you updated! It looks like this is a new set of spin-offs which began last year for the 30th anniversary; the opening story in v1 encompasses each of the different directions the Sandman Universe takes, so we see Lucien and Matthew, Lucifer, Erzulie, and Tim Hunter. Nalo is going to deal with Erzulie but I have to admit this opener has me interested in the others as well.
Mod
Erzulie is a new name for me. Looks like she's a voodoo deity - that's Hopkinson's wheelhouse!
And ahhhh Tim Hunter. I keep telling myself I should re-read The Books of Magic. That was such a good series. I like Harry Potter and all, but wow I was SO annoyed when NO ONE acknowledged how similar Harry is to Tim. She HAD to have borrowed heavily from that. I mean ... there's even an owl!!!
Mod
I..."
I've always been intrigued by the thought of reading a book set in each of the 50 states. You could probably read the entire Anna Pigeon series and check off a bunch of them!! Are you focused mostly on mysteries?
Sherri wrote: "The good news is this was my last prompt. I finished the challenge...."Congrats!
Nadine in NY wrote: "Mandy wrote: "Good morning. Well, technically the sun hasn’t risen yet. It’s painting a small stretch of yellow white over the mountains east of us as I type. The rest of the sky is sparsely dotted..."thank you. i was purple prosing before my first cup of coffee. thankfully it was understandable.
You guys are amazing at liking audiobooks. Sometimes I guess they're not for everyone. I try every now and then but I just can't sit still with them. I can be doing stuff and then I get distracted that I have to start all over and I forget what I just listened to. I try to treat them like podcasts because I can be doing multiple things and not lose track of what's being said. Don't know why I can't with audiobooks.
I don't know, I guess because I just like the physicality of having a book in hand. I'm a visual learner and very tactile when it comes to learning/understanding so I don't pick up things very well audio-wise. Perfect hearing, I just can't stay focused, especially when they last for hours, despite yeah, taking a pause whenever you want but then I lose track.
Still, you guys are amazing and I commend anyone who is able to read like that.
Finished: Plato Was Wrong!: Footnotes on Doing Philosophy with Young People This book was very helpful... I ended up structuring my whole philosophy club around its ideas!Creating Citizens: Teaching Civics and Current Events in the History Classroom, Grades 6–9 Also some great ideas shared in enough specificity to be applied.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People Brings up the paradox that God can't be omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent with all the bad things that happen in the world. Kushner takes away omnipotence. Not sure I'm convinced...
Staying with Conflict: A Strategic Approach to Ongoing Disputes This book just made me feel shitty about ongoing conflict in my life that I can't get the other parties to address. Not super helpful.
The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America: The Complete Guide to Abortion Legality, Access, and Practical Support Full of practical advice. Not super useful for my teaching unit, but hopefully, I'll give it to someone who needs it.
Abortion Full of first-hand accounts, including the original Jane Roe who switched to pro-lifer! Despite all the research I've been doing, I didn't know that until reading this book.
Stone Fox Uugh, the Native stereotypes in this make me squeamish. Still will probably use it in class and use it as an opportunity to talk about stereotypes.
Wow! That's quite a bit of reading!
QotW: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared because it is one of the few books that makes me laugh out loud!
Ron wrote: "You guys are amazing at liking audiobooks. Sometimes I guess they're not for everyone. I try every now and then but I just can't sit still with them. I can be doing stuff and then I get distracte..."
In general, I find listening to audiobooks and podcasts stressful because I feel like I'm having a conversation with someone and I have to be paying enough attention that I can respond. That said, I started listening to Ruth Bader Ginsburg's My Own Words as an audiobook and that one was fantastic because parts of it were recorded in her own voice! So maybe I like listening to autobiographies and memoirs as audiobooks?
Mod
Ugh that was required reading for my kids in elementary school. I didn't know it also had stereotypes in it. They told me (view spoiler), and that's all I need to know to cross it off my list forever.
Those poor kids had to read Old Yeller in the same class. Why do teachers do that to kids???
Mod
Sometimes I guess they're not for everyone. I try every now and then but I just can't sit still with them. I can be doing stuff and then I get distracte..."
It was a learned skill for me, to be sure. I'm also a visual learner, and for YEARS I avoided audiobooks. But I decided to try one on a car trip with my kids, a few years back. It's funny, I didn't really LOVE the first book I listened to (The Glass Sentence), I wasn't crazy about the reader (Cassandra Campbell), and my kids didn't enjoy the experience AT ALL. But somehow I figured out that HEY! I can read a book and drive my car all at the same time!! Not only did it allow me to squeeze MORE BOOK into my life, but I also learned that the physical act of driving engaged that part of my brain that was prone to wander, and the other part of my brain was able to stay engaged with the book! It was hard work. I had to get used to it. Sometimes I had to rewind. But I got better at it! And I found other activities I could do while listening to an audiobook: mowing the lawn, washing dishes, wrapping presents, and doing pictorial or numeric logic puzzles.
I will confess: sometimes I fall asleep while listening, but only when the book is boring me. I tried listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell on a bus trip with the high school marching band, and I fell asleep, and I didn't like that book AT ALL so I didn't bother to re-wind. More recently, I've fallen asleep listening to Truly Devious while I was playing games on my phone and waiting for my daughter to cook dinner. Again, I wasn't enjoying that book, so it didn't keep me engaged.
I love audiobooks, but it's funny, I like different types of books when listening. For example, I have a really hard time listening to nonfiction. I don't know why, it doesn't work for me. I read nonfiction all the time, but listening is almost a complete no-go. I also put up with slower, character-driven books better in audio format. I can't stand reading those types of books. And I rarely listen to mysteries, though I think that's more because I'm afraid I'll get to a tense moment and have to stop listening.
Mod
Yes! There are only certain types of books I like as audiobooks!! Never romance, for reasons previously stated ;-) But my choices sound opposite to yours. Basically, I pick books that sound like something I might hear on NPR, so: memoirs, nonfiction, mysteries, thrillers, and adventure stories are all a YES for audio. (Because NPR plays those old radio plays at night, like The Shadow.) Only the kind of thrillers and mysteries where I can miss a few minutes and still enjoy it; for example: I exclusively listen to Vince Flynn & David Balducci, never read them on paper. I listen to a lot of my non-fiction. I also have good luck listening to long rambling classics, possibly because they were written in an era when people commonly read aloud as entertainment. And sometimes just basic fiction is nice, like Louise Erdrich often makes for a good audiobook. In most cases, I do try to borrow the ebook at the same time, so if it turns out I don't like the audio format, or I'm missing too much info, or I just want to go back and re-read a section, I can. Sometimes I switch and read the rest of the book as an ebook.
Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! We celebrated my grandma's 93rd birthday over the weekend. She got a Kindle for Christmas last year so every time I'm over I make sure she has plenty lined up to read. I was able ..."
Happy Birthday to your grandma! That's an impressive number...
K.L. wrote: "Happy Thursday, everyone!It has been a super busy week! I started the house hunting process over the weekend, and I’ve had an opportunity to see five different houses so far. It would have been m..."
Good luck on your house hunt!
Happy Thursday everyone!This week I started college... and it has been exhausting. I need to learn to pace myself so I don't burn out this semester...
Books read this week:
Ban This Book -- excellent and timely read about banning books from school libraries… and one girl who finds the courage to speak up about it.
Action Park: Fast Times, Wild Rides, and the Untold Story of America's Most Dangerous Amusement Park -- I’ve read about the infamous Action Park, a water/amusement park in New Jersey responsible for hundreds of accidents and six deaths in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but reading this account of the park’s history (by the son of the park’s founder no less) was still fascinating and rather wild.
Down from the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear -- like most nature books, this was a sad read… but it was still fascinating reading about grizzly bears, how humans have encroached on their territory, and our efforts to protect them.
Garlic and the Vampire -- graphic novel. This was an adorable read! And the artwork is great too.
Currently Reading:
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Phoenix Extravagant
Dragons at Crumbling Castle: And Other Stories
Static Ruin
Elsewhere
QOTW:
The Martian, full stop. I think even people who don't like sci-fi will enjoy this one.
I can only listen to audiobooks while doing something else that doesn't take too much brain real estate, like doing the dishes or folding laundry, so I do most of my listening while driving. The audiobooks I tend to like best are the ones that involve more than one narrator, whether it's a whole production (Daisy Jones and the Six) or just different sections (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo). I read Devil House earlier this summer, and I'd wanted to get the audiobook, since it has original music included, but I was reading it for a summer reading group, and I wasn't able to get it in time. Ah well.Finished:
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century I got this for RH #23 (book by a disabled author), but decided to use it for #5 (anthology featuring diverse voices) instead. A very good read, but some of the topics were pretty heavy. I also used it for PS #20 (a book whose title starts with the last letter of your previous read).
I Am a Cat Only technically finished, since this version collects all three volumes of the series, but after the first one I didn't feel compelled to read the rest. The concept of human life filtered through the eyes of a pet cat was interesting at first, but the humans this cat had to observe got tiresome by the end. (The book is a satire, so I might have enjoyed it more if I knew more about the society and people it was satirizing.) RH #8 (a classic by a POC).
Trust (audiobook) Not for PS, but for a summer reading group. I really enjoyed this one, the way each subsequent book revealed something about the one that came before it, with the whole story only coming together at the end. Probably my favorite of the books I read for this group, in a very close competition with the first book we read (The Candy House).
I also finished two graphic novels that both dealt with families and summer vacation, though the stories were very different: Miss Quinces, Louis Undercover
Currently Reading:
All Systems Red
True Biz
Cat's Paw
QOTW: Any of Raina Telgemeier's books
Nadine wrote: Ugh that was required reading for my kids in elementary school. I didn't know it also had stereotypes in it. They told me (view spoiler), and that's all I need to know to cross it off my list forever.Those poor kids had to read Old Yeller in the same class. Why do teachers do that to kids???
My guess is to show the times and how different things were. Though it would be nice if teachers used more modern books.
Sometimes I liked the required reading and other times I didn't. The only time I felt represented was in the 7th grade when my Pre-AP English teacher had us read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West over the summer. There were a couple of black and white pictures in it but I saw the Natives with similar features as me. I've never felt represented in any other books that we read from 7th-12th grade.
And I didn't learn about Mexican history until my sophomore year of college.
I'm biracial (Hispanic & Native American) so representation truly lacked.
Though I am grateful to my 7th grade English teacher because that was the first time I learned Native American history in a way I hadn't before. It also got me on the road to loving Indigenous studies (I have over 150 books on the subject in my own personal library). It's the most out of every genre I read/have.
I finally got some reading done and I finished the challenge as well, shockingly early (especially since I didn't think I'd read all the prompts)For A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid I read The Glow of Luminiferous Aether on Tinsel
by Jana Denardo a Christmas setting steampunk with a character with an artificial leg and enjoyed it
and lastly I read The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff for A book about witches. It's the second in the series and I wouldn't attempt it without reading book one. I will be honest the underpinings of the magic in this does not sit well with me (It's not just female forward which is great but it is also anti-male and the power is kept by breeding with cousins, and yes it is literally a breeding program. It's creepy AF)
I also reread The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander mostly because the library gave away all the books on dvd and I picked up the series
and I read Zero Sum by Barry Elsler to finish my Alphabet challenge as well. It wasn't bad but killers for hire is not my genre.
QOTW Well The Glow of Luminiferous Aether on Tinsel was a fun novella but in general this is such a hard question because of people's widely diverging interests. I would rec C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr series for the mystery and historical fiction fans.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels are my favorite in the genre and my favorite things from him.
Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys series would be on my list too
Happy Thursday! I'm ready for fall. I'm over the summer. It's been a good one, but time to get back into a routine. I'm running out of ways to occupy my 4-year-old's time!Finished 31/50
At the Corner of East and Now: A Modern Life in Ancient Christian Orthodoxy for "book by an author you read in 2021". I always love Frederica. I fact, I lent this book out as soon as I finished it!
Gateway of Life: Orthodox Thinking on the Mother of God for "book with the name of a board game in the title". Anyone else play copious amounts of Life as a kid? Lol. This was a good read but very scholarly and dense.
Currently Reading
The Red Horse for "book about a man-made disaster" which war always is. This book is HUGE. I'm going to be here FOREVER.
Parenting in Repentance, Growing Together in Love, Gratefulness, and Joy for "book you know nothing about". My priest literally surprised me with this book just this past Sunday and asked if I could review it for him. I never even HEARD of this book OR the author, so I think it counts for this prompt!
QotW
I Live Again: A Memoir of Ileana, Princess of Romania and Archduchess of Austria is one of the best, craziest autobiographies you will ever read of a woman who watched the Nazis invade Austria, the Soviets invade Romania, and eventually had to flee for her life with her family to the United States. You want a strong, female role-model who knew how to face adversity and fight for her people? Look no further. This woman's story needs told far and wide.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Ugh that was required reading for my kids in elementary school. I didn't know it also had stereotypes in it. They told me (view spoiler), and that's all I need to know to cross it off my list forever.Those poor kids had to read Old Yeller in the same class. Why do teachers do that to kids??"
Have you ever read No More Dead Dogs? It has a bit in it that absolutely mocks books like Stone Fox, Old Yeller, Sounder, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. A character points out that, essentially, (view spoiler)
Mod
Have you ever read No More Dead Dogs? It has a bit in it that absolutely mocks books like Stone Fox, Old Yeller, Sounder, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. ... "
No! I've never even heard of that!! I'm definitely planning to read it.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! We've been getting lots of rain! If I had known it was going to rain non-stop, I would have made an extra effort to mow the lawn on Saturday. But I didn't, so I didn't, and now my l..."Wow - your daughter is back for another year at college! How fast they grow!
Greetings all! I'm catching up on some continuing legal education requirements so I can renew my law license at the end of next week. I suddenly realized that I needed a LOT MORE credits than I thought... Fortunately pandemic has made the workshops and seminars available On Demand so I can fit in among conferences and do in evening etc. AND I can catch up on my GR updates, LOL while listening/watching. I'm still at 6 books to finish -- and I have the books, just need to get to reading them. I have a lot of commitments of all kinds right now. I really hope I'm not scrambling in December to read them!
Finished:
Klara and the Sun - wonderful another brilliant book from Ishiguro - and it fits with QOTW as I AM recommending it to everyone. Much food for thought and discussion. I'm already hoping my Feminerdy Book Club will consider reading it.
Bright Orange for the Shroud - really enjoyed revisiting Travis McGee and John D. MacDonald who created and set the standard for these types of crime fiction and set the path for Carl Hiaasen, Lee Child, and Tim Dorsey
The Beach House - my first Jane Green and won't be my last. While some aspects felt rushed and came together a little miraculously, much to love and I thought Daniel's story in particular well handled - deals with something he wants to admit to people that will have huge affect on many lives.
The Yellow Room - back to the golden age of detective fiction and one of the Grand Dames. Liked and enjoyed, but in the end feel the puzzle and murder mystery was just too complex and layered and some of the stereotypical characterizations of protagonists was slightly off-putting.
Currently Reading:
Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983 - Barbara Kingsolver first book published in 1989 - non-fiction and her transition from journalist to writer. In her preface she says she could easily have told the women's stories as a novel but felt their stories justified a non-fiction treatment.
The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers
The Kingdom of Copper
QOTW: I find that the books I recommend universally, not just to people who like that genre, are literary or contemporary fiction covering universal subjects. On the surface Klara and the Sun would not be such a book, but it is because the story is about grief and loneliness and concerns with technical developments and their impact on every day life. Others I do recommend universally are classics that have survived the test of time - Austen, Dickents - and also books like A Gentleman in Moscow.
Hello, all, and happy Thursday! I will be so happy when cooler weather arrives. Lately we've been having these weird weeks where things cool off a little on the weekend, but the middle of the week is hot. At least work is pretty slow for me right now.Since the last check-in, I have just one finish:
The Girl in the Tower - for a book about someone leading a double life. I loved it just as much as the first one.
I am currently at 48/50 for Popsugar (38/40 and 10/10). I'm on my second-to-last prompt for this challenge!
Currently reading:
The Winter of the Witch - for a book about witches. The last book in the trilogy. I'm so invested now, I'd be reading this anyway. I love the fantastic medieval Russia that Arden created in these books.
Heroic Hearts - not for a prompt. This is a collection of urban fantasy short stories, some standalone and some from larger series. Originally, I just picked this up for the Dresden Files story, but I am actually really enjoying most of the others, too, even those for series I'm not current in.
QOTW: I have a hard time coming up with universal recommendations. I'm still plugging Little Thieves and pretty much any of the fantasy books by T. Kingfisher to any fantasy fans who will listen to me, though.
Happy Thursday. It's been kind of rainy this week with at least two thunder storms.I hope I used a PS prompt correctly - although no one really polices anyone. The Summer Tree starts with a reception following a university special lecture. It's one of those champagne and schmoozing ones. I hope that's a party. It's where all the characters meet each other so it definitely is important, even if the rest of the book is not a party.
My own reading has suffered because I need to finish both those books with my kids, both because when they go back to school, we won't have time, and because I need them for a summer reading challenge that closes August 31.
Finished:
The Summer Tree
ATY prompt: 2 books with the same word in the title (With Jelly Bean Summer)
Popsugar prompt: A book featuring a party
(summer prompt: Part of a series of at least three books)
ATY - 36/52
PS- 30/35
Series -11/13
Clearing my TBR list: 28/40
Currently reading:
Bunny - about 50% done
The Well of Lost Plots - almost 20% done
Reading with my kids:
At Home in Mitford - 21/24 chapters
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 31/37 chapters
QOTW: I don't recommend a lot . Most of what I read is YA, fantasy, mystery/thriller, and classic (and combinations of the same.) It's all very niche. General books I have recommended are The Night Circus, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Becoming.
I'm checking in on a Thursday for once, but it's gonna be short and sweet 🤣 I finished a book and found a way to make it fit one of my open prompts, so I'm one book closer to the halfway point! That brings me up to 14/40 and 6/10 for this challenge, and 45/75 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge.Finished:
* Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl, which I used for "a book about a party" (since it deals with a political party).
Currently Reading:
* Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward; and,
* The Golden Calf by Helene Tursten and translated by Laura A. Wideburg.
Question of the Week:
This week's question was suggested by Doni:
What book(s) would you recommend to anyone and everyone? For that broad of an audience, I'd recommend the audiobook version of The Book of Delights by Ross Gay (he also narrates it) for a non-fiction pick and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich for a fiction pick.
If I just try to listen to audio books, I fall asleep. If I listen while I'm doing something else, I miss big chunks of the book. The worst times are when I try to listen while driving, miss big chunks and start to fall asleep! I can listen to podcasts while doing other things. I think because the ones I tend to listen to are conversations between people. If my brain focuses on something else and I miss a bit of a podcast, I don't feel like I've missed something crucial. It feels like it's been raining non-stop here, which is great for the farmers! But, I'm getting a transportable delivered at the end of September, and if the rain keeps up they'll have to push it back so as not to get bogged.
Just one book finished this week.
PopSugar 33/50
Finished
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It was okay. I liked the ideas behind it, but the execution didn't pull me in completely. Prompt: #ownvoices SFF
Currently Reading
Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems
All That I Am
Thriving With ADHD Workbook: Guide to Stop Losing Focus, Impulse Control and Disorganization Through a Mind Process for a New Life
Coming UP
I'll be reading Together We Will Go for Suicide Prevention Month
I also have My Tender Matador slotted in for September, for the book by a Latinx author.
QOTW
There's not really anything that I recommend to everyone, because I think my tastes are pretty eclectic. I'm only a quarter of the way through, but All That I Am may end up being widely recommended in the future. I've also been recommending To Say Nothing of the Dog to anyone I think will have even the slightest interest in a Victorian-era comedy with time travelers.
Jen wrote: "Hello, all, and happy Thursday! I will be so happy when cooler weather arrives. Lately we've been having these weird weeks where things cool off a little on the weekend, but the middle of the week ..."Oh, I have Nettle & Bone on my TBR for a book about witches. It'll be my first by T. Kingfisher and I'm really looking forward to it.
Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday everyone!This week I started college... and it has been exhausting. I need to learn to pace myself so I don't burn out this semester...
Books read this week:
[book:Ban This Book|..."
Holy cow! I almost drowned in the tidal wave pool at Action Park as a teenager. Had to be saved by a lifeguard. That thing was dangerous. I did not know Action Park had such a history. Obviously, neither did my parents.
Happy check-in! Finished Reading:
Avengers of the New World, Part One ⭐⭐⭐
Black Panther comics by Ta-Nehisi Coates continued.
The No-Show ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Beth O'Leary keeps managing to create rom coms that aren't what I think they'll be.
Spy x Family, Vol. 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved the family dog adventure chapter.
Daughter of Sparta ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 love triangle)
Ya Greek Myth retelling following Daphne. The author did take a couple of liberties to make this story work.
PS 2022 45/50
PS 2015 45/50
Goodreads 192/250
Currently Reading:
The Dog Stars
Ruby Fever
QOTW:
The Song of Achilles comes to mind.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tempest (other topics)Twelfth Night (other topics)
Macbeth (other topics)
West Side Story (other topics)
Julius Caesar (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Emily St. John Mandel (other topics)Isabel Wilkerson (other topics)
John Scalzi (other topics)
Peter Heller (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
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We dropped my older daughter off at college this past weekend, so now my younger daughter and I are adjusting to an emptier house.
Admin stuff:
Our August read of The Dog Stars is wrapping up, and Our September group read of Cemetery Boys is about to get started in six days, and it's currently leaderless!!! Who wants to lead that discussion?! Step on up!!
The final poll for our December group read (published in 2022) is open. https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
There were a lot of nominations cast, I'm always glad to see a lot of interest!
**** We still need discussion leaders for September & October & November & December!! ****
Our September group read is "a book by a Latinx author," because September 15th through October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month in the USA. If anyone wants to chat more about cultural appreciation reading for this month, I'll be starting a post to talk about that over in the 2022 General folder.
This week I finished 4 books:
Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith- what a wonderful collection of poems!! I really loved this one. Five stars.
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson - This was on my personal challenge list of books I must read in 2022. I hated this book. It was so boring. Two thumbs down.
All the Beautiful Sinners by Stephen Graham Jones - I picked this up on a whim two months ago, because I saw it recommended on Tik-Tok of all places (and I already finished that category!). I can't say I enjoyed it, but I think it will stick with me for a long time. This was a very very confusing book, and it would probably benefit from a re-read, if I could stomach the gore a second time (which I cannot). If you like slasher films and mind-bendingly confusing plots, definitely pick this one up!
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li - I just LOVE this cover!
Question of the Week
This week's question was suggested by Doni:
What book(s) would you recommend to anyone and everyone?
Normally, this would be a very difficult question for me to answer! But I just read a book I loved and I HAVE been recommending it to people! Sea of Tranquility.