EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi all,

Hope everyone has a good winter holiday that they celebrate, new year, get to enjoy some time off at the end of the year, etc!

Im having an unfortunately busy work week for pre-Christmas. I think I finally caught up though, and i should be able to take a half day tomorrow as planned.

This week I finished:

Calculated Risks
Spelunking Through Hell I was cruising along in my Incryptid read through, and came to a screeching halt as I realized I did it, I got caught up. The next book isn't out until March. Boo I say! Oh well. I have other library books out.

All Systems Red - audio re-read while working

Currently reading:

Tune in Tomorrow: The Curious, Calamitous, Cockamamie Story Of Starr Weatherby And The Greatest Mythic Reality Show Ever- pulled this off the library's new release shelf while in, it's ok so far. Not very far yet.

QOTW:

How do people handle end of year reading? Do you have specific traditions or things you like to read?

I usually like to keep things light end of year. I don't really love Christmas-themed stuff, although sometimes I'll re-read the Hogfather. But I'll generally keep to science fiction/fantasy, comics, escapism. I also like to try to end the new year clean. If I'm ANYWHERE near the end of the book, I'll power read on new year's eve trying to get it done so I can start a new book fresh on new year's day. If I finish one within a day or two of the new year, I'll just read some comics to fill the gap rather than starting a new one, so I can start the new year on a fresh book. I know it's silly but I like my yearly totals to be even and not have the first book be a "wellll...i started it last year though..." Sometimes it's not possible, but i try to at least make sure that any book i'm reading has at least over half of it left so it "counts" as mostly into the new year.

I am off until next year, yay!

Pinky Bloom and the Case of the Magical Menorah - I thought I would do a fun Hanukkah read, but sadly this was not very good. I would consider it below the level of your average Boxcar Children mystery.

The Kaiju Preservation Society - Do you like giant monsters and a lot of snark? This may be the book for you! It was not the book for me. I like John Scalzi's blog, but this is my third attempt at his fiction, and I have to conclude I am not the right audience. I don't hate it, but I don't seem to really get into it, and there's maybe a bit too much snark for me. Remind me of this next year when the excellently titled Starter Villain comes out and everyone says how great it is.

QOTW: Is it even the holidays if someone doesn't die while snowed in at a country house? This year I've got one all set in which they're at the house because their train got snowed in! I'm so excited.

Hello! We're in the middle of Pennsylvania enroute to meeting a lot of extended family at a large rented house, in a hotel, waiting out the rest of the bomb cyclone storm.

I am most of the way through The Party Crasher. It is a mindless read and fun enough. I am mostly done with it and it is a hardcover from the library so I did not bring it with me because I didn't want to bring 2 physical books in the packed car. So I left it at home.

Instead I brought another book I just started, One Day in December. I am not enough into it to know anything about it. My sister gave it to me after she finished. It is a "Reese's (Witherspoon) Book Selection".

Today on the car ride we listened to Letters from Father Christmas. That was a short book, maybe 4 hours. I want to get the physical book from the library to see the artwork in it. It is a collection of letters that JRR Tolkein wrote, as Father Christmas, to his children as they were growing up, every year from the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s. One of the children saved them all and had them published.

The other book we started is red bird christmas by Fannie Flagg. We're only about 20% into that. So far it is not Christmas themed.

I am still listening to The Human Division when walking alone.

QOTW:
I don't usually do anything special at the end of the year. I don't typically seek out holiday books. This year, since we have a lot of driving we're doing, I did seek out a few holiday themed adult audio books that were not romance that my husband and youngest (adult) child can all enjoy together.

Happy holidays! It's been snowy and icy here. We managed to get out to the grocery store yesterday, but otherwise we're planning on staying in this weekend. :)

I'll be spending today and tomorrow cooking, so probably not a lot of reading time. This afternoon, I'm making cinnamon rolls for the morning of the 25th, and tomorrow, I'll be making the lasagna for dinner.

Finished:
A Million to One - 3 stars - I feel like the heist just wasn't complex enough to be really satisfying, and of course, since it was set on the Titanic, I knew how it had to end. Still, I liked the characters, but I wish it had been longer so they had more room to grow.

Currently reading:
The Way of Kings, which will be my longest book for the Popsugar 2023 list. I'm hoping to get at least halfway through it this year. :)

QOTW:
I don't do anything special at the end of the year. As I mentioned above, I already started my longest book (1000 pages!) for next year's prompt, and I'm planning to finish it in January.

Oh, Susan, yes absolutely get the book! The charming illustrations are really key to the experience.

Happy winter holiday of your choice, friends! :)

Last week I finished A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore (links seem not to be working right now) and though it was amusing I probably won't read any more of his books - I think I mentioned last week that too much of the humor was based on offensive and outdated stereotypes, so yeah, I probably won't read any more of his. I used it for the Black & White cover prompt.

I've just started The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I have loved his SF but this is the first of his fantasies that I've read. In my experience there aren't too many authors who are equally good at fantasy and SF, but there are a few, and I've a hunch that Tchaikovsky will prove to be one of them.

QOTW: Nothing special for end of the year reading here, just that I'm always on school vacation week so I get one last stretch with lots of reading time before the year ends!