Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday!! How many of us were in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday? I was, but the sky was REALLY cloudy. So I got to experience it getting suddenly very dark, and then light again, but I didn't get to actually SEE the sun that day.




Admin stuff
Our current group read is The Mystery Guest - join the discussion here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The winner of the Final Poll for the June group read is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

The nomination poll for our July group read for an autobiography by a woman in rock-n-roll is here, and will be open for two weeks:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Vote for or write in your favorite!

Let us know if you would like to lead discussion for any group read!




I recently got bogged down with some slow books that I was not enjoying, so not only were they taking a long time, I wasn't really wanting to read them. I'm only now getting those behind me and reading fun books again.

This week I finished two books, and I found challenge categories for both of them:


Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera - this was fabulous!! The protagonist has amnesia, so I checked off "unreliable narrator." If you like psychological thrillers with a podcast angle, read this!

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward - meh - not my favorite from Ward. Chock full of magical realism (SO chock full that I almost want to just say this is a fantasy novel, not even magical realism!) so I checked off "magical realism" in Popsugar and "touch of magic" in AtY.



Popsugar 64% 32 /50
Must Reads 60% 6 /10
AtY 56% 29 /52






Question of the Day
What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?


For me, that would be Listen for the Lie! I'm so glad I read that! And to think, I almost passed on it.

Happy Thursday, y’all.

Well, I suspect that this will be my last check-in until I return from Scotland at the end of May. Hopefully, I will have tons of books to report as I am taking my Kindle, which has a lot of unread books on it.

I am going through library withdrawal. I have read and returned every book to my local library that I had on my desk and was just itching to get more out…just a few, mind you.

I do have one book that I am finishing for the Augusta library. Then I guess I will start on old books that have been pending quite a while on my Kindle.

Five days to go…and I am battling a sinus infection. Saw my PCP and got meds. I am determined to kick this so that I can fly!

Finished:
The Cat Who Played Post Office - ATY #16. A delightful romp with two Siamese cats, a missing young woman, and a reporter who has suddenly inherited a mansion and the money to go with it. 4*

Among the Mad – ALCM. Next in a series. This story was about the post war effects of those returning men who had PTSD…a condition not acknowledged post WWI in England. 4*

Fireworks – PS #5 (K-pop). 3*. I know nothing about K-pop nor is it a subject that I want to explore. This book was more about relationships between two people with K-pop as the background. An interesting story of renewing a relationship and finding that it was more…

Dead Dead Girls – ALCM. Debut novel. Set in Halem, NY, in 20s. Crime, mystery. 4* Very well written for a debut novel. Characters are likeable for the most part, although there is the white cop seeing the black women as less than nothing attitude in parts. I am sure that it reflected the times. What is more disturbing is that it could reflect today.

Code Name Hélène – ATY #17. Really enjoying this…much more than I expected that I would. And, it turns out to be based on a real person using some of her own dairy to tell the story. Historical Fiction. Amazing person! 4.5*

Currently Reading:


Just Starting:
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas – PS #47 (24 letter in title). 1%. I own this one.

On Deck:
Dreams and Shadows –Kindle. 22%.
The Yellow Wind – PAS. Another book that I own.
The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series #1-3. Kindle. Book #3

On Back Burner for now
The Beginner's Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera – 27%. Own.
A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence - Kindle. 12%
Staying Well With Guided Imagery: How to Harness the Power of Your Imagination for Health and Healing – PAS. Own. Need for challenges but never really started.

PS 9/50
ATY 17/52
GR 66/200

QotW: What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?
None, actually. I have had some fun reads that I devoured but none that I could barely put down.
My current book is very engaging but due to the war descriptions and the issue of will she be captured, I occasionally have to take a break.

Happy Thursday!

I have finally become Presbyopic. So now I’m in two glasses because I can’t stand bifocals. Even edge-less ones would drive me insane.

My readers are actually good enough for mid-range sight as well. So I’m living in them at work. Lots of close up work and reading. It’s a library so yeah.

I got to have unadulterated baby time on Friday. Mom and watched the wee ones for a couple of hours while their parents went to the bro-in-law’s dad’s retirement party. It was fun. Alex and Livvie were stealing mom’s walker and fighting over who could ride on it. They ended up on it together. I got pics!

They ate chicky nuggies and Livvie kept sharing with mom. So cute!

not much else is happening. The eclipse barely darkened the sky. I was in the 30 zone so I didn’t even bother to look at it. I was at lunch at the time so I was wandering around outside. The best I got was barely there shadow distortion.

Today will been in the 70s but 4th winter will hit right after and we will have 50s freezing and below nightly temps.

I think winter and spring switched places on us this year. We barely had any freezing temps during actual winter. Sigh.

Popsugar:15/50
Finished:
10 A book by a self-published author -- Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord Act 1⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a fun book. I loved how the main character didn't want anything to do with being a villain despite having to fight the "game system" that kept trying to move the story along the "proper path. She even became the strongest person as a precaution.
A lot of Light Novel authors (including this one) self-publish on Shōsetsuka ni Narō aka "Let's Become a Novelist", which is a self-publishing site akin to the defunct Authonomy and Figment and Swoon Reads. The most popular ones are picked up by publishers.
11 A book from a genre you typically avoid -- BL/Yaoi -- ENNEAD Vol. 1 Paperback ⭐⭐⭐ This graphic novel was hardcore Egyptian Mythology. It gave us the beginning of the universe (no bennu bird sadly) to after Set/Seth kills Osiris. Set is on trial by the Gods for his crimes against humanity and the murder of his brother. It was a good read.
This was the paperback version, which was PG. The Hardback of this book carries the mature content. I didn't realize it was Boys Love until after bought the book.

Reading: N/A

Aty: 14/52
Finished: N/A

Reading: N/A

Goodreads Challenge 248/400
Finished: (2 weeks worth)

Story Hour:
A Unicorn, a Dinosaur, and a Shark Walk into a Book

Manga:
Tamon's B-Side, Vol. 3

XXX Manga:
The Fake Princess and the Obsessive Prince: A Decade of Hidden Desires Behind the Ice Mask Vol.3

Light Novel:
As The Villainess, I Reject These Happy-Bad Endings!
Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! Volume 1
Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! Volume 2
Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! Volume 3
The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain (Light Novel) Vol. 1
Of Dragons and Fae: Is a Fairy Tale Ending Possible for the Princess’s Hairstylist?
The Invisible Wallflower Marries an Upstart Aristocrat After Getting Dumped for Her Sister! Volume 1
Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up: Volume 3
Only the Villainous Lord Wields the Power to Level Up: Volume 4
Saint? No! I'm Just a Passing Beast Tamer! Volume 1
My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages' Guild! Volume 1

Romance:
Falling For My Crush's Dad: A First Time Older Man Younger Woman Pregnancy Romance
Stranded With A Dirty-Talking Shifter
Teach Me How
Tongue Tied
Professor Granite's Rules
Forbidden Muse: A Professor Student Romance
Dirty Talking Alpha

QOTW:

As The Villainess, I Reject These Happy-Bad Endings! comes the closest to this. It was different to normal isekai because all the endings of the original otome video game were effed up and the transmigrator main character had to deal with them and stop them from happening as the villainess!

Happy Thursday!

I'm going to the last home game of the season for the Seattle Kraken tonight. Really looking forward to it!

Finished:
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa - 4 stars - for a book from an animal's POV. I knew this was going to destroy me and I read it anyway. I enjoyed it, the cat's POV was funny and I cried all through the last chapters.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker - 4 stars - for a book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author. This was just adorable.

Comics/manga:
Oshi No Ko , Vol. 5
Horimiya, Vol. 9
Horimiya, Vol. 10
A Man and His Cat, Vol. 10
Rainbow Days, Vol. 8
Rainbow Days, Vol. 9
Skip・Beat!, Vol. 49

I am currently at 30/50 prompts for PopSugar (28/45 and 2/5).

Currently reading:
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden - I found this recommended on indiebound.org so counting it as recommended by a bookseller. This would also probably work for magical realism.

Upcoming/Planned:
The library has been overly generous - I have so many books waiting!

The Diablo's Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa - not for the challenge (yet). The first book, The Wicked Bargain, was about pirates, so if they're in this one, too, I might use it for that prompt. This would also work for LGBT romance and a fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author, but I've already filled both prompts. :)

Lyorn by Steven Brust - not for the challenge (yet).

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - for a cozy fantasy.

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier - not for the challenge (yet).

QOTW:
I can't really think of one really recently. I've read/been reading a couple of really engaging ones recently ( The Travelling Cat Chronicles and The Warm Hands of Ghosts ) but they're both ones I need to take a break from occasionally due to subject matter.

I read one book that wasn't in my Star Trek or comic series readthroughs. It was USA National Park: Lands of Wonder. The photography is excellent, and they give some basic strategy tips for making the most of each park for different types of visitors.

Question of the Week:

For a recent reread, A Time for War, A Time for Peace is something I finished this week and wanted to read all the time until I was done.

For a new-to-me book, the most recent examples are Yellowface and The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Yesterday evening, I had a chance to attend an author visit sponsored by one of my local libraries. Mary Roach came to talk about Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, and it was a fabulous evening. She was not only very interesting, but absolutely hilarious.

I did a significant amount of reading this week, focusing mostly on titles from my “New” Books list. I also started reading a series from my TBR list, which I am enjoying, but I keep getting distracted by Agatha Raisin and Murderbot.

This coming Saturday is the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon, and I am really looking forward to participating! I’m not planning to read for the full 24 hours, because I do value my sleep, but I will be reading for as long as I can. I’m hoping to be able to read the entire Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles manga during the readathon, but it is 28 volumes in length, so we’ll just have to see how far I get.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 148/200
Mount TBR Challenge: 81/150

📚Physical TBR: 48
📱Ebook TBR: 33
🎧Audiobook TBR: 0
TBR Checklist Total: 81

I did not buy any new books this week!

Only 19 days until my book buying ban ends!

“New” Books Bought in 2024: 93
“New” Books Read in 2024: 63

Finished Reading (Fiction):
This week I continued reading the Agatha Raisin series. I’ve really been enjoying these books! The stories are very clever, and the characters are a lot of fun. The books I read this week include…
~Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came — This is the twelfth book in the Agatha Raisin series. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate — This is the thirteenth book in the Agatha Raisin series. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House — This is the fourteenth book in the Agatha Raisin series. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to (and accusations of) infidelity. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Deadly Dance — This is the fifteenth book in the Agatha Raisin series. I do have to admit that I am still puzzled by the title of this book, as the story had nothing to do with dancing. This book also includes an Agatha Raisin short story set at Christmas. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ The short story does include a reference to rape. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Perfect Paragon — This is the sixteenth book in the Agatha Raisin series. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes references to rape and infidelity. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also continued listening to The Murderbot Diaries on Audible. This series is a re-read for me, but it is my first time listening to the audiobooks (apart from Fugitive Telemetry). I loved Kevin R. Free’s narration! This week I finished the following audiobooks…
~Exit Strategy — This is the fourth book in the Murderbot Diaries series. 🎧: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Network Effect — This is the fifth book in the Murderbot Diaries series. 🎧: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
~Tales of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table — While I did manage to complete about a quarter of this book, I just was not enjoying it. The writing is very difficult, with a lot of archaic grammar and spelling, which made this a very tedious read. I also found the story kind of boring, which really surprised me, because I usually like stories about King Arthur. I may eventually try to read the rest of this book, but I’m not going to force myself to continue reading it right now. I’ve got too many other books I’d rather be spending my time on. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to incest. There are also several animal deaths. (hide spoiler)] 📚

Currently On A Break:
~The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 1 — I am currently 68% of the way through this book. 📚
~The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — I am currently a few acts into King Richard II.📚

Currently Reading:
~His Majesty's Dragon — This is the first book in the Temeraire series. While this book has been very good so far, I’m currently only 49% of the way through because I keep getting distracted by the other series I'm reading. 📚
~Fugitive Telemetry — This is the sixth book in the Murderbot Diaries series. I actually listened to this book a few weeks ago on my library app, but this is my first time listening to my own copy of the audiobook. I'm currently 75% of the way through and will definitely be finishing it tonight. 🎧
~Love, Lies and Liquor — This is the seventeenth book in the Agatha Raisin series. I will probably finish it later today. 📚

QOTW:
I’ve really been enjoying the Agatha Raisin series lately. The books have all been really fast-paced, so I’ve had a hard time putting them down.

I’ve also really enjoyed listening to the Murderbot Diaries on Audible. The narrator is fantastic!

As far as standalone books are concerned, I had a really hard time putting down Dungeons and Drama, by Kristy Boyce. It was just a really cute story, and made my nerdy little heart happy.

Hi all,

My area was in almost totality, but my in-laws live in totality so we went down to visit them. They had rented a pavilion out in a park and we did a whole day long picnic/hang out there. The totality was so cool! I didn't realize how much those last few percentages made. Really freaky, like the sky was just broken. Got some cool pictures. Unfortunatly we didn't think to spend that night there as well, and attempted to drive home. The usual 3 hour drive ended up taking 6, it was miserable. Didn't end up eating dinner until almost 10 because we were afraid to get off the road after the rest area was almost gridlocked. Weren't sure we could get back on again.

Been kinda distracted this week so not a lot of finishes:

Redsight - i think i liked this better than most people seemed to. I am totally fine with space magic. I in fact really enjoy sci-fi fantasy mash ups, it was one of my favorite genres that got me into the space initially and I've kinda missed it as the two genres got more strictly segregated. I like that there's a comeback of letting them blend again. I don't MIND space travel books where the space travel is thoroughly researched and extrapolated down to "here's how it could happen down to the most accurate guesses based on current science". But i also think it's fun having "hey yeah we have space magic that flings ships through the galaxy, whee!". It wasn't the best thing I ever read, but it was fun and I'd read another. Counting it for a book by a blind or visually impaired author.

Currently reading:

Noumenon - this is my book with a one word title I had to look up in a dictionary. (It's the opposite of a phenomenon, a thing as it is in itself, as distinct from a thing as it is knowable through the senses through phenomenal attributes. ) I'm liking it so far.

Talking to My Angels - current audio book, will be for my autobiography from a woman in rock and roll. I like it, a lot of the chapters are interspersed with her singing the songs she references.

QOTW:

probably the Seanan McGuire Toby Daye books, especially Sleep No More. Everything was going wild and i just NEEDED to know what happened. and even the next book, while there was a little less urgency because I kinda knew what happened, i still urgently wanted to fill in the gaps of what was going on from the other side.

Bea wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

Well, I suspect that this will be my last check-in until I return from Scotland at the end of May. Hopefully, I will have tons of books to report as I am taking my Kindle, ..."




Have a wonderful trip!!!

Happy Thursday! Unfortunately, we were nowhere near the path of totality… barely 20%. But we experienced totality back in 2017, and it was one of the most amazing experiences! We’re talking about trying to go to Iceland for the 2026 eclipse.

2024 Reading Challenges: I’ve read 139 books so far this year with an average length of 326 pages and an average rating of 3.79.

52 Book Club: 34/52 (April Mini-Challenge: 2/3)
ATY: 31/52 (Spring Challenge: 5/12 + Bonus 5/5)
Booklist Queen: 32/52
Diverse Baseline: 10/36
Popsugar: 27/50
Robot Librarian: 32/52
ICYMI Backlist: 4/12

Recently Completed:

Murder in Westminster: “Goodreads Giveaway” that I finally got around to. Mysteries aren’t my favorite genre, and this is the first in a series that doesn’t feel like the first in a series. It just jumped right into the mystery. I needed more backstory right at the very beginning, so I could really get to know the characters before I concerned myself with the dead lady next door. ★★★

Hana Khan Carries On: Not as good as Ayesha at Last but still entertaining. (Popsugar #4 – about a 24-year-old) ★★★★

The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of Obsession: Occasionally amusing but superficial. (52 Books #31 – includes a personal phobia/ATY #43 – Edgar Award-winning author) ★★★

Annie Bot: I never thought I could empathize with a sex doll… (ATY #1 – title ends in A, T , or Y) ★★★★★

The Girl on the Train: Mystery/thrillers with an unreliable narrator aren’t my favorite kind of book, but this one’s better than most. (Booklist Queen #44 – a popular book you’ve never read/ICYMI Backlist #3 – published in 2015/Robot Librarian #29 – a car, plane, train, motorcycle, or bicycle on the cover or in the title) ★★★★

Spinning: A graphic memoir centered around ice skating… and identity. Unfortunately, it felt like the author didn’t really know what story she wanted to tell. (ATY #24 – a secondary color on the cover) ★★★

Homegoing (ATY #13 – on a “Five Books” list/Diverse Baseline #12 – about colonization by a BIPOC author/Robot Librarian #25 – set in Africa) ★★★★

The Three of Us: It’s a character study, not a novel. (52 Books #32 – time frame spans a week or less/Popsugar #37 – written during NaNoWriMo) ★★

Sunshine Nails: NPR 2023 Books We Love (52 Books April Mini-Challenge #1 – “(Never Gonna) Give You Up”) ★★★★

Leslie F*cking Jones: Admire might be a strong word here, but I certainly admire her tenacity and forthrightness. I listened to the audiobook. I’m not sure how well this would work as a book… it’s seriously just Leslie Jones talking to you. She even admits that she’s not really following the script. (52 Books #12 – title starts with L/Booklist Queen #39 – a memoir by someone you admire) ★★★★



Currently Reading:

Shubeik Lubeik: NPR 2023 Books We Love (ATY Spring Challenge – purple cover/Diverse Baseline #11 – a SWANA author)
Marcelo in the Real World (ATY #15 – author’s name contains J, Q, X , or Z/Popsugar #29 – neurodivergent main character/Robot Librarian #3 – neurodivergent character)
The Book of Doors (Booklist Queen #49 – a book about books)
Outofshapeworthlessloser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out (ATY #31 – related to going for gold)
Rise: My Story (Popsugar #20 – set in the snow)
James (52 Books April Mini-Challenge #3 – “(Never Gonna) Desert You”/ATY Spring Challenge – black cover)
Kala: NPR 2023 Books We Love (52 Books #11 – title starts with K/Robot Librarian Advance #4 – title does not contain the letter E)
How the Boogeyman Became a Poet (ATY Spring Challenge – blue cover/Robot Librarian Nonfiction – the 800s) ★★★★
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir (52 Books #50 – musical instrument on the cover)
Congratulations, the Best is Over!: NPR 2023 Books We Love

QOTW: I found Annie Bot to be absolutely fascinating. I’ve already promised to bring it to my next book club meeting to pass it on to another avid reader. And Leslie F*cking Jones was a great audiobook, f-bombs (so many f-bombs!) and all. It’s a 17-hour audiobook, and I finished it in 5 days while still keeping up with my other reading.

Happy Thursday, I was in the totality of the eclipse. I'm in Ohio and it was so many parties and events happening that day and the days leading up to it. Our CEO decided it was best for us to work from home so that's what I did on Monday.

FINISHED:
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More#39 I thought this prompt was supposed to be for a nonfiction book about a trans author, nonetheless I loved this book. I never knew Janet dealt with so much in her life.

Call Us What We Carry: Poems#48-A collection of at least 24 poems. It just so happens I planned to read this book before it was a group read. Poetry is something that I love to examine and reexamine to see specific themes. It took me longer because I wanted to dig deep into them.

CURRENTLY READING:
Ring Shout and Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture

Question of the Day
What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More I listened to it in a few days. I learned so much about Janet and her early history.

Hi everyone. Been quite a week here with the earthquake and the eclipse. Not sure what our coverage was, maybe 85%? It was not that cloudy, so I could actually see it and it was so cool. My co-worker went to Rochester to be with her family and could not see the sun at all. She did say the total darkness was cool though. We did not get total darkness here, it just got kind of dusky.

Finished:
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years Finally!
My Name is Barbra Also finally! But for a different reason. This is a 48 hour audiobook, and I enjoyed every moment of it. But I had to wait for it from the library 3 or 4 times because I could not finish it in one loan.

Currently reading:
The Berlin Stories
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
Written in the Stars on audio

QOTW:
I've enjoyed so many books recently. But none that made me stay up to 3am because I had to know what happened. That used to happen all the time, but not so much as I get older. Now when I am reading at 3am it's because I can't sleep, not because the book is keeping me from sleeping.

No eclipse for us here in the UK!

I'm so annoyed with myself. Spent ages sorting out the PDF files for the print edition of Paws and Portals, and then I go an submit the wrong format one. But it doesn't tell me, so I have to wait for it to be reviewed and then rejected. We love to moan about Amazon, but at least all their self-publishing stuff is quick and easy to review/edit.

Anyway, on a brighter note, the bluebells are starting to come out. Our usual morning dog walk goes through the bluebell woods so I'm looking forward to all the blue.

Finished:
Bride by Ali Hazelwood for ATY (one word title). This was ridiculous in parts but so much fun. If you already don't like her contemporary romances, I don't think her switch in genre would make much difference.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell for a character sleeps for over 24 hours. This was somehow gruesome and cosy at the same time. I loved it! It's about a shapeshifting, gelatinous monster who eats people, who is rescued by a human and falls for her. Only the human doesn't know she's the monster her family have been hunting.

QOTW:
Probably Someone You Can Build a Nest In. I just had to keep reading to find out if she ate everyone!

Bea wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

Well, I suspect that this will be my last check-in until I return from Scotland at the end of May. Hopefully, I will have tons of books to report as I am taking my Kindle, ..."

I hope you have an amazing time, and please bring some good weather with you!

Happy Thursday!

We were in the path for a partial eclipse, but were also totally overcast on Monday. Oh well!

Finished
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie For a book club, also ATY secondary colour on cover. I enjoyed it. I found Flavia completely unbelievable as a realistic 11 year old, but decided to just go with it, and had a lot of fun. I'm not against reading further books in the series, but I'm also not running right out to grab the next.

Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business Not for a challenge, just that I always read and enjoy Roxane Gay's writing.

The Blue Sword Was pretty strongly enjoying this until the end, and then it just really disappointed me. (view spoiler)[ Didn't like that this magical solution came out of nowhere, or that it turned into a love story. (hide spoiler)]

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone Clearing off the most dated stuff on my TBR list + also used for ATY's secondary colour on cover (I'm going one for each green, purple, and orange). Overall I enjoyed it, although there were a couple essays that were really quite dismissive of cooking / eating alone. I get that it was probably to provide a balance of opinions, but I was like, "I live alone, this is pretty much my only option so thanks for judging my life!"

Me Talk Pretty One Day For PS published in 2000, and ATY's on your TBR over year. It was the top entry on my Goodreads TBR. Enjoyable and amusing enough, though it certainly didn't inspire the devotion in me that many of his fans seem to have.

Currently Reading
The World We Make
Pulling the Chariot of the Sun: A Memoir of a Kidnapping
People We Meet on Vacation

QotW
I talked about them last week with my best of March, but both Some Desperate Glory and Land of Milk and Honey really sucked me in. I had more urgent / prompt fulfilling things to read in both cases, but with each of them, I just got caught up right away and they were the reading priority.

Sheri wrote: "I in fact really enjoy sci-fi fantasy mash ups, it was one of my favorite genres that got me into the space initially and I've kinda missed it as the two genres got more strictly segregated. ..."




If you like scifi/fantasy together, you should try A Spark of White Fire which is a space opera retelling of the Mahabharata.

We were not in the path of the totality, but I donned my eclipse glasses and got out there anyway! It was pretty cool before to watch the path, but during the maximum, I couldn't see anything because of the cloud cover. I think unless you're in the path of totality, lunar eclipses are cooler because you can look at them as much as you want! Looking forward to the one in 2025!

And in Popsugar News.... I've finished the challenge!
Robot Librarian: 37/52

Finished: Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth I read this one for set 24 years before I was born. This was a stretch.... It referenced Sputnik in 1957, but was actually set in modern days. I'm reading a book now set in the 1950's that might replace it. BUT I wouldn't have read Sputnik's Guide otherwise, so I"m counting it!

The Door-to-Door Bookstore Loved it!

The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things ― Stories from Science and Observation This one was surprisingly boring. Read it for a book club, but had to force myself to get through it.

What Do You Want Out of Life?: A Philosophical Guide to Figuring Out What Matters This did not help me figure out what I want from life and was frankly drivel. At first, I thought it'd be great because she talked about how being a woman in philosophy was so challenging because she likes to be nice and not pick fights. But her examples were so pedestrian like buying shoes.

Started: Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading
Emily of New Moon re-read from childhood.
Big Ideas from Literature

QotW: Definitely the aforementioned Door-to-Door Bookstore. I read it in a day and it was so fun! About a guy who delivered books to shut-ins, but as the plot develops, the shut-ins start to help each other.

Laura wrote: "Shubeik Lubeik: NPR 2023 Books We Love (ATY Spring Challenge – purple cover/Diverse Baseline #11 – a SWANA author)..."



"SWANA" is a new term for me, so I googled, and the first hit I got was: Solid Waste Association of North America. LOL probably not it. I kept scrolling and I did eventually find South West Asian and North African.

But seriously, out of the 60 links I got on the first page of my Google search, FIFTY ONE of them were referring to the Solid Waste Association. A mere 8 were for South West Asian and North African groups, and one was for the Swedish Warmblood Association of North America.

There was 92% totality where I was, but even though it was nice and clear when the eclipse started, clouds rolled in before it reached the halfway point. It was still visible with the glasses, but not as crisp as it could have been.
I finally finished the mermaid doll I was crocheting for my niece and got that in the mail today, so I am free to finish the other projects I put on hold. Which, naturally, means that what I'm actually choosing to do is start an entirely new project.

Finished:
The Fox & Little Tanuki, Volume 6 - I thought this was the last volume, but it turns out it's just the last volume published in English, and there's one more that hasn't been translated yet OTL I'll finish the series, but I haven't really been following what's been going on for the past couple of volumes.
The Skull - I checked this out mostly because of Jon Klassen's art style, and it was a fun read.
Paper Planes - (A book recommended by a bookseller) This was just okay, and I liked that it had ace representation, but the relationships were a little muddy (intentionally). I wish the ending was a little more resolved. I get why it wasn't, though.
My Aunt Is a Monster - (a book with magical realism) I've been curious about this one for a while, and there were interesting elements, but the overall story didn't really impress me. A quick read.
The City We Became - I listened to the audiobook, and I'm very glad I did. It was a whole experience, with sound effects and music, vocal distortions, all kinds of fun stuff. The story itself did get bogged down quite a bit, but there was a lot to cover. 3.5 stars

Currently reading:
Convergence Problems
Dead Collections
The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies
In Buddha's Kitchen : Cooking, Being Cooked, and Other Adventures at a Meditation Center
Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City

QOTW: Despite it overall falling flat, I did get sucked into Paper Planes while I was reading it, and practically read it in one sitting.

Hi all! My house was *just* outside of totality (99.7%!), but my brother was in it, so we went to his house. It was mostly cloudy, but we did catch a few breaks to see it starting to get covered. I have never managed to see any part of a solar eclipse, so that was very cool, but the clouds really built up at the time of totality and we saw nothing. And then it got dark, so we really saw nothing! I'm kinda feeling like I missed something, so I might have to go eclipse chasing...
Kiddo's 6th birthday was this week and I'm mystified how it's been 6 years... She also started karate this week, but I think she's on overload and only participated for half the class and then came over and crawled in my lap.

Read a couple more chapters in The Brothers Karamazov. Still not a lot happening, but we're getting even more characters! How wonderful....
Listened to more of Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. I'm into the 60s now, so I feel like things are really going to start moving.
Started Bacchanal on audio for a 1 word title I had to look up. Still too early to tell if I like it.
Also started Dust Child, not sure what prompt I'll use it for.

QOTW: I don't get sucked into books like I used to, for various reasons. Even though I haven't picked it up in over a week, I would say the closest I've gotten to a 'can't put it down' read recently is Burntown. I read more pages faster than most books.

Happy Thursday all!

I wasn't in the path of totality for the eclipse, but I did get to go outside and see a chunk missing out of the sun (with eclipse glasses of course). And then listened to "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on repeat the whole way home, haha...

Also binge-watched almost all of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure anime with a friend the past couple weeks, so guess what I still have on the brain. Wonder if I can find the manga anywhere...

Books read this week:

The Ardent Swarm -- not for PopSugar. Painful but hopeful book about a beekeeper’s struggle to save his hives and the often-violent upheaval of politics in Tunisia.

Mary Jane -- not for PopSugar. A coming-of-age novel set in the 1970s about a young woman from an uptight family finding herself as she nannies for a free-spirited family playing host to a rock star. Magnificent.

Stand on the Sky -- for “book whose title is a complete sentence.” A beautiful YA book about a Kazakh girl who is the first girl of her people to train a hunting eagle.

Silverwing -- not for PopSugar. A good animal-centric YA read (centering on bats) that should please fans of the Warrior Cats or Guardians of Ga’Hoole

PopSugar Challenge -- 43/45
PopSugar Advanced Challenge -- 4/5

Robot Librarian Challenge -- 29/32
Robot Librarian Advanced Challenge -- 7/10
Robot Librarian Non-Fiction Challenge -- 2/10

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge -- 31/50
Extreme Book Nerd Advanced Challenge -- 9/10
Extreme Book Nerd Non-Fiction Challenge -- 3/10

Currently reading:

The Ferryman -- for “book with a main character who’s 42 years old”
Cat’s Cradle -- not for PopSugar
The Murmur of Bees -- for “magical realism book”
From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava -- not for PopSugar

QOTW: Mary Jane, definitely. I listened to this as an audiobook on my walks and my commute, and I found myself extending my walks to listen more. And actively swearing at a character as I went too, haha...

Nadine,

that looks interesting! Is it one that even if i'm not super familiar with the original, i'll get it?

Happy Thursday! I pretty much ignored all the books I was supposed to read last week, and picked up new stuff from the library, and then got busy and didn't really read anything... Work has been a little hectic, so at the end of the day I've just been spacing out for the night.

My friend's coming up to visit this weekend- and after a whole week of nice sunny weather, she'll get here right for the rain to come back. The worst weather luck!

Finished:
Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny- for my bday weekend, I decided to pick up something that was pure fluff and cuteness. This definitely fit what I was looking for. But there were so many steamy scenes that at a point I just wanted to get back to the story. I liked the story and the characters, I wish there'd been more about them
-no prompt

Currently reading:
Murder Road- I love Simone St James, so I was super excited this was available at the library

-and then I have a bunch of books that are about to be returned, so have to figure out what I can fit in!


QotW:
I think the last one was The Jasad Heir- I was supposed to leave for lunch with my parents and had about 50 pages left, and I was not going to leave until I'd finished. Luckily my mom was running behind too, so it was all good

How is it Thursday again??

Man, bronchitis really wiped me out. I'm on day 4 of antibiotics and I'm doing a lot better already, luckily, but the wheezing is still killing me.

I am SO close to finishing my 40.320 puzzle, but in the past week I've also done 3 1000 piece puzzles real quick cuz my head was hurting too much to do the big one. So that's been happening, too :P

Finished Shameless. Not okay. Loved it. Still firmly in my Gallavich trashcan xD

Read
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Ian Gallagher Someone listed it on GR ohgod, haha! This was 310k words. That's about a 1000 pages. It was amazing.

QOTW
As above, hahah!

Sheri wrote: "Nadine,

that looks interesting! Is it one that even if i'm not super familiar with the original, i'll get it?"



I don't know. I gave it three stars, and part of my problem was that I did not connect with the characters, and that might be because I'm not familiar with the original story. But another part of my problem was the weirdness of swordfights on spaceships, and sounds like that might be right up your alley!!

Haha true, I have zero problem with sword fights on space ships.

Nadine in NY wrote: ""SWANA" is a new term for me, so I googled, and the first hit I got was: Solid Waste Association of North America. LOL probably not it. I kept scrolling and I did eventually find South West Asian and North African."

SWANA was a new acronym for me too. I was really thrown off when I went to Storygraph to log Shubeik Lubeik as "Currently Reading" and found that the Diverse Baseline Challenge checklist had changed the prompt from MENA (Middle Eastern/North African) to SWANA (Southwest Asian/North African). Sometimes I really have a tough time keeping up with the acronyms! Are we no longer using the term Middle Eastern?

I finished Nemesis. Very good.

I just started Tucker Peak. No opinion thus far. Only 10 pages in.

QOTW: It's honestly been a while. not that I haven't been reading good books this year, I just haven't been in the frame of mind to be so immersed as to not just set it aside. I started a new job at the end of January and it's taking a lot of my mental energy. It's completely different from anything I've ever done so there's a lot to learn and some days I feel like I'm 5 minutes away from getting fired. Not a conducive mindset for getting lost in a book.

I had in 99-point-something totality. No ring/halo, but still cool to see.

Completed
The Sympathizer
The Good Soldier
Something Wicked This Way Comes
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Hiroshima
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
The Complete Christmas Stories

Currently Reading
Our Town
The Master and Margarita
The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds

On Hold (I promise I will eventually get back to them.)
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Great Cities Through Travelers' Eyes

PS Progress: 39/50
I'm due for a check in for the other challenges I'm following, too, but don't have the energy to do that right now after a long day at work.

Edited my list of finished books as I finished one this afternoon. (Post #2)

Happy Thursday!

I wasn't at the path of totality but I got to see the sun go down to like a thin crescent which was cool. Someday I hope to get to see a full totality.

Finished:
Princess Princess Ever After: cute, early middle grade graphic novel

Currently reading:
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea: I won a giveaway! So excited for some cozy sapphic fantasy

QOTW:
I absolutely burned through An Unwanted Guest; if you like snowed-in thrillers, you should give it a try!

No totality in Los Angeles. But I was in my classroom trying to prevent teenagers from looking directly at the sun anyway so just as well!

Only finished one book this week, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. It was a re-read.

PS: #4 book about a writer
52: #40 holiday I don't celebrate (Fiesta de San Fermin)
ATY: #30: country bordering the Mediterranean
Robot Librarian: #2 fair, theme park or CARNIVAL

Currently reading:

London
The Age of Innocence
The Mists of Avalon
This Impossible Brightness
Dear California
Why We Read Jane Austen

QOTW:
I am having trouble putting London down every night so I can sleep
A few weeks ago I read 200 of 250 pages of There There in one sitting. I only stopped because I needed to babysit

2-week check-in. We've been driving through the Deep South of the USA this week. We were in the path of the partial eclipse, we did see strange light, but that was all. We also missed the severe weather in Louisiana, Mississippi, etc, lucky us. We’re in Asheville right now and tomorrow we are driving to the sun in Charleston. From there we drive south to Florida. Highlights so far: sleeping in an Antebellum in Natchez, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis (standing just a few steps away from the place Martin Luther King was killed was unreal. Also goosebumps because of the immense courage all those ordinary people had and especially the reverends) and Nashville for the vibrant vibe downtown, loved it.

Because of all this action and the jetlag I didn’t read as much as I usually do in a vacation.

PS: 9/50
FNL: 14/40
Total: 18/52

Finished
The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa ⭐⭐⭐
FNL #9b
Felt like the author squeezed 3 books into 1, which made everything a bit of a rush.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PS #29, FNL #2
Conform my Kate Quinn expectations: entertaining, good pace and nice characters.

Currently reading
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

QOTW
None this year yet.

Happy Thursday! I can easily say that being in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I took a half-day from work and was thrilled that we had incredible weather here in NEOhio; it seems like any time something like this happens (or meteor showers etc) it’s always too cloudy to see anything, so sunshine was a huge plus. Conversely, it’s been pouring rain all day today.

Finished this week:
Perestroika - 5 stars. Tony Kushner is a visionary. I’ve begun a subscription (for at least a month) to the National Theatre at Home and just finished watching Millennium Approaches last night; I can’t wait to see this one. Marianne Elliott is a genius. One word title you had to look up in the dictionary

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice - 4 stars. Back on track after the dud that was book 3! I’m more than happy if this is the end of the series, but it seems to be open in case any more ideas strike.

PS 19/50
ATY 18/52
Mount TBR 8/48

Currently:
A Certain Appeal - enjoying this more than I thought I would! I don't generally pick up romances for the genre but then I end up having a good time and find myself wondering "why not?" lol Genre you typically avoid

The Berlin Stories - this one has taken a backseat to Certain Appeal, but I’m looking forward to picking it back up shortly. Turned into a musical

Anna Karenina - I really like this so far, and the short chapters are immensely helpful.

QOTW: What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?
Probably Midnight Blue-Light Special. Seanan McGuire's humor is fantastic and her books move at a quick pace.

Another rainy thursday night in NYC. I'm eating chinese take out and planning an evening of finishing a jigsaw puzzle, watching some tv, and once I've settled and eaten, reading. Reading has been pretty poor all week mostly because I am just so busy with work and mentally having trouble paying attention to reading anything else. My mind is busy with litigation strategies and gnarly drafting issues.

But I do have a report on something wonderful that I did on Monday night. A friend who is an author published by Simon & Schuster invited me to join her as a guest at the 100th Birthday Celebration of the publisher on Monday night. 32 of its living authors each gave a 4 minute bit about how they came to write or be published or whatever. It was everything a book nerd could want - Judy Blume, Judith Viorst (who is 93), John Irving, Fredrick Bachman (hilarious), Jerry Seinfeld (less hilarious), Hilary Rodham Clinton (who put a protestor in her place with great skill while security hustled protestor out) , Stephen King appeared virtually, Rupert Holmes sang (did you know he wrore the Pina Colada song? His most famous and successful one), Walter Isaacson, Bob Woodward, Safiya Sinclair (who upstaged everyone dressed in head to toe lime green sequins and told in her singsong jamaican accented voice the heartbreaking story of being a rastafarian as a child), Jesamyn Ward and Jason Reynolds, even Christina Lauren - it was an evening of laughter and storytelling and glittering stars to make our reader hearts soar. I was particularly thrilled to see and hear Ruth Ware, a personal favorite of mine, who is a bit shy.

The NYTimes today published a really nice story about the evening, some wonderful photos, and a little of S&S history. It's storied. Just think: 2 college grads basically start a publishing house in 1924 because they liked good books. First book was a collection of crossword puzzles, the first ever, and it was an instant bestseller (S&S is still the primary publisher of collections of Crossword Puzzles). In 1925 they published The Great Gatsby - and with that iconic cover art. .

I'm still on a high from that evening. It was long but went by in minutes.

I think they found the right profession.

ATY: 42/52 PS: 28/50

Finished:
Clean Sweep
Embroideries

Currently reading:
Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London - NF which is a slow read but oh I am so relating to it!
The Silence of the Girls - I keep putting it aside in favor of ....
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

QOTW: and before that

I finished no books this week. I'm doing a challenge where I have to write every day and my writing time is interfering with my reading time.

I did start two new books. One is a buddy read with my kids. The other is my mystery of the month.

The eclipse was amazing.

Series - 3/12
Nobel laureates - 1/5
Mysteries/Thrillers - 4/13

ATY - 13/45
PS - 8/30

Currently reading:
The Inheritors - 40% done
The Westing Game - 17% done


Buddy Reads:
This Present Darkness - 40% done
Hollow City - just started

QOTW: I can't think of anything in particular. All my read this year have been good.

Harmke wrote: "2-week check-in. We've been driving through the Deep South of the USA this week. We were in the path of the partial eclipse, we did see strange light, but that was all. We also missed the severe we..."

Glad you've missed the worst of the weather. Do you have anything like that back home? I'm so jealous you got to see the Lorraine Motel. Memphis is definitely a place I want to visit for that, and then the food! Enjoy the rest of your travels!

Theresa wrote: "But I do have a report on something wonderful that I did on Monday night. A friend who is an author published by Simon & Schuster invited me to join her as a guest at the 100th Birthday Celebration of the publisher on Monday night. 32 of it's living authors each gave a 4 minute bit about how they came to write or be published or whatever. It was everything a book nerd could want..."

And, I'm also jealous of that!

On all of the eclipse maps I looked at, my home was exactly on the line between partial and total eclipse. So I took off Monday to go to an eclipse viewing party at the library, which was definitely in the path of totality. I got to see an annular eclipse in elementary school and now a total solar eclipse! We had just under a minute of darkness, but it was one of the most amazing minutes of my life. We had beautiful weather and clear skies too.

In book-related news, Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is this weekend. I have my books picked out and ready to go.

Finished
The Color Purple (a book by a blind or visually impaired author). This was a very difficult story, but excellent.

His Majesty's Dragon (a book that features dragons). This has been on my reading list for so long. I loved it! I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

The Four Million (a book by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person). Like any short story collection, some were great and others were a bore. O Henry endings are usually fun either way though.

Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea (a book with at least 3 POVs). These are some of the weirdest (in an amazing way!) sci-fi short stories I've ever read.

X (a book that starts with the letter X). This book was okay. Much better than A is for Alibi. I would read another in this series for a prompt - in fact, I’m planning to do just that - but probably wouldn’t read otherwise.

Reading
I’m waiting for the readathon to start any new books.

QOTW
Same answer as last week! Murder Road by Simone St. James

I've not been on here for a month (stupid pneumonia), but I'm finally healthy'ish. We are having beautiful spring weather this week, and I wish it would last for the whole three months we are promised of spring. Who is in charge of this stuff? We were not in the path of totality, only about 40% or so. I watched an online feed and saw pictures from my friend who was in Dallas for the event.

I've done very little in that time, except for seeing a play called "Clue" based on the board game. It is a madcap mystery story that was incredibly funny if you knew the game and a bunch of old movies. The teenager sitting next to me didn't laugh once.

Finished
Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron - 4 stars; PS #17 bucket list destination
Although I easily guessed the mystery plot (which doesn't happen much), I really enjoyed this 15th and final book in this series. I really related to her stuggles to try to do much of anything while being so ill (this was set just a few weeks before she died). I would love to go to that part of England and see the Jane Austen sights and tours. I had hoped that I could use this for some of the more difficult prompts like for age 42 (she died at 41), letters in title (22 instead of 24), 24th book by author (only 22). So close yet so far.

QOTW:
My most recent book that I couldn't put down was The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. Couldn't wait to see what happened next.

@Jennifer W: no, tornado's and these crazy amounts of rain are still very rare in Western Europe. We do have storms, but they don't cause that much damage. Our infrastucture is generally much better than in the USA, we also pay a lot more taxes *smile*.

Bea wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

Well, I suspect that this will be my last check-in until I return from Scotland at the end of May. Hopefully, I will have tons of books to report as I am taking my Kindle, ..."

I hope you have a wonderful time in Scotland

I'm still working with books that are so slow and not that gripping. Also I'm heading up a writing comm this month (we alternate) so time is low.

I did manage a few graphic novels/manga I finishedOnce & Future, Vol. 2: Old English by Kieron Gillen a beautifully drawn, fun story that answers the question what if a Buffy-like character hits 80 ropes her clueless grandson into the monster hunting business and then steep it in British folklore

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 4 by Shuzo Oshimi this horror manga is SO creepy because the villain (the mother) IS plausible. I've seen mothers like her on Evil Lives Here. It's well executed horror.

QOTW Oh there's been a few lately. In no particular order:

Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

These Haunted Hills by Jana Denardo

Harmke wrote: "2-week check-in. We've been driving through the Deep South of the USA this week. We were in the path of the partial eclipse, we did see strange light, but that was all. We also missed the severe we..."

Harmke - I have a book to recommend to you that fits with the road trip you just did and is an excellent read - Pilgrimage to Dollywood: A Country Music Road Trip through Tennessee - author is from UK and when she and her family moved to US when she took a position teaching history at a CA university, they did a road trip through Tennessee ending in Dollywood. Far more serious and interesting book than cover suggests.

Life is not easy right now, but it could always be worse! We do not live in a war zone. We have access to food, clean water, medical care, etc. Gratitude is what I choose! I am so thankful to have found our PCP. I felt so much better after our appointment with him Tuesday! This man is so knowledgeable and sensible! More gratitude!! I was able to teach for an hour last evening while my husband stayed with a neighbor. I have to teach for two hours tomorrow evening and have no one to stay with him, so it looks as if he’ll have to stay at the gym or in the car while I teach. We shall see… Our PCP thought he would be okay on his own next week. I’m uncertain, but also realize I cannot be with him 24/7, nor do either of us want that!! 😊 Onward and upward! We should be starting PT and OT appointments next week and then a recheck with our PCP on the 25th. Fingers crossed!

A list! There were some listed here that were new to me! And since we have a neurodiversity prompt this year… 😊 Penguin UK’s listing of The Essential Books to Read About Neurodiversity:
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/20...

***
ADMIN STUFF:
THE JUNE MONTHLY GROUP READ IS The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers!!This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #18 A book set in space. This is one of my all-time favorite books and series!! And who is the "cool Captain" who will volunteer to lead this discussion? Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!

JULY MONTHLY READ NOMINATION POLL IS HERE!
Wow! A ton of books already nominated:
Face It: A Memoir
Girl in a Band
The Woman in Me
Crying in H Mart
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk
Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics
Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story
I, Tina
Rememberings by Sinéad O'Connor
Just Kids
My Love Story by Tina Turner
Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll
Help with these nominations so that hopefully a book you want to read is selected! Thank you! 😁

DISCUSSION LEADER NEEDED FOR MAY!
The MAY MONTHLY GROUP READ IS All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
This book could be used to fulfill prompt #41 A memoir that explores queerness. I have wanted to read this one so badly!! Glad it was selected! My copy will hopefully arrive next week!
I'm certain there is at least one member out there fitting the description of "guru guide" to lead this discussion! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!

THE APRIL MONTHLY GROUP READ is The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose
This book could be used to fulfill prompt #29 A book with a neurodivergent main character. April is Autism Awareness Month! I'm certain there is at least one member out there fitting the description of "knowledgeable navigator" to lead this discussion! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer! I really enjoyed The Maid and have started reading The Mystery Guest, so will be posting comments and questions as I read. Fortunately, I should have time to do that these next few days! Barring any other unforeseen circumstances arising! I could actually use some nice boring days right now! LOL

The comprehensive listing of 2024 Monthly Group Reads resides HERE for your perusal and reference throughout 2024!
***

Question of the Week:
What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?
I found Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury by Sigrid Nunez to be an amazingly intriguing read.

And The Maid (Molly the Maid #1) by Nita Prose was so much more enjoyable than I expected! Molly proved to be a much more complex character than I had imagined she might be!

2024 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 22/50
Around the Year (AtY): 49/52
Read Harder: 13/24
52 Book Club: 37/52

FINISHED:
*Postern of Fate (Tommy and Tuppence #5) by Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So enthralling how Christie can weave a mystery! And although not all details are revealed by the book’s end, I felt it worked just fine!
ATY: #2-Read the first installment in 2023, #3-A book with more than one main character, #16-the dog played a pivotal role, #17, #24-purple & green, #25, #28-submarines/naval secrets, #33, #37, #43, #49
RHC: #23, #24-2015: prompt #2 A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65
52 Book Club: #10, #14, #24, #30

*Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury by Sigrid Nunez ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was amazing! Another one of the regulars for this IRL book club also missed the meeting, so we discussed it between ourselves via text! I appreciated learning some of the intricacies of marmosets, as well as the relationship between Leonard and Virginia Woolf. Nunez is definitely a writer I will be more than happy to read in the future! I very much want to read The Friend!
POPSUGAR: #14, #31
ATY: #1, #3-A book involving a Wild Animal or Endangered Species, #9-1,124 ratings, #10-Historical Fiction, #15, #24-Orange, #25-Smuggling wild animals into the US and selling them, #28-Wild Animals hauled to the US across oceans, #33, #40, #49
RHC: #16, #24-2015: prompt #18-Read a book someone else has recommended to you
52 Book Club: #4, #9, #14, #19, #24, #30, #51-Mitz is a Wild Animal

CONTINUING:
*The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose
*I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai looks as if it may be dark academia
*1984 by George Orwell (pen name)
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer

PLANNED:
*Fear No Evil (Alex Cross #29) by James Patterson
*11th Hour (Women’s Murder Club #11) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

Lynn, glad your PCP is helpful. Continued hope and wishes that your husband continues to improve (and that you don't choke anyone ;)

L Y N N wrote: "Life is not easy right now, but it could always be worse! We do not live in a war zone. We have access to food, clean water, medical care, etc. Gratitude is what I choose! I am so thankful to have ..."



I'm so glad to hear that your PCP has been a great support and help to you!!

Just a short check-in for me this week. I finished one book and DNFed another (which is something I've only recently started doing...and I found it liberating!). I'm at 8/45 and 2/5 for this challenge, and 22/100 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge (though it shows as 23 since I marked the DNF book as read).

Finished:
* Yellowface written by R.F. Kuang and narrated by Helen Laser, which was one of my book clubs' pick for April. I used it for "a book where someone dies in the first chapter."

DNFed:
* Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González. After 100ish pages, I just couldn't get into the story and decided to set it aside. I thought about pushing through since I was more than 30% of the way in but this just wasn't the story I was in the mood to read. Maybe I'll come back to it one day. Maybe not.

Currently Reading:
* The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, which I have got to finish before next check-in because I feel like I've been reading this one FOREVER;
* Careless Love by Peter Robinson, which is the title I've had in my NetGalley backlist FOREVER;
* The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict, which is my other book clubs' pick for April;
* Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson, which is a Lucky Day title from Libby; and,
* Grown Woman Talk: Your Guide to Getting and Staying Healthy by Sharon Malone, which I checked out because I'd put a "Notify Me" request in on Libby...and I was notified it had become available today!

QotW:
What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down? It was probably the book I most recently finished - Yellowface. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and am very much looking forward to discussing it with my book club at the end of the month.

Happy check-in! Just a partial eclipse here, that made it get slightly darker like it was cloudy out. Anyway I've spent this week dealing with a little cold that's lingering. Oh well, hopefully I'll be rid of it soon.

Finished Reading:

High Five ⭐⭐⭐
I really like the narrator on these.

100 Children's Books That Inspire Our World ⭐⭐⭐
So this is very much a British perspective (polled people at a British publisher), and thus many things on this list I had never heard of. I had read about twenty and can think of books that should be on it instead. Some very interesting factoids about the authors and inspiration behind these books.

The Good Egg ⭐⭐⭐
So I read a children's book that had nothing to do with the list book. It looked at me in the store.

Burning Cold: An Inuit and Dene Comics Collection ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY Author JQZX)
This jumped out at the library because it was so pretty. A collection of short stories, some in comic form some written with illustrations.

Spy x Family, Vol. 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY intelligence)
Sort of a speed redo with children.

The Longest Ride ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finally got around to reading the book after watching the movie first.

The Last Olympian ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS bildungsroman)
Good series ender. Now I think I have to read the spin-offs before reading the new Percy books.

Once & Future, Vol. 5: The Wasteland ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A nice ending to this series.

PS 27/50
ATY 28/52
Goodreads 93/150

Currently Reading:
Dragonfruit

QOTW:
A Fate Inked in Blood Norse mythology world, following children of the gods.

Happy Friday.

Stats:
PS: 18/50
ATY: 30/52
ATY Rejects: 8/25
ATY Rewind: 12/25
DBC: 22/36
GR Choice: 12/30
TBR: 6/10

Books I finished:

The Prisoner’s Throne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: 39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2.
I liked this more than the first book in the duology, but I still prefer the Jude/Carden books.

Burning Cold: An Inuit and Dene Comics Collection ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: 41. A book with a chilling atmosphere.
Like any mix of stories, some were fantastic and some were less successful. But the artwork was gorgeous.

The Demigod Files ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: 45. A book that is not a novel.
Still making my way through this series. I really wish this had been around when I was a kid.

What Moves the Dead ⭐⭐⭐
ATY Reject: 22. A book related to one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (Pestilence)
I do not like the original story, so the fact I wasn't really into this was not a surprise. I do like T. Kingfisher as an author, and her writing was the only thing that kept me reading and managed to eke out a positive rating.

In Progress:
Take the Lead

QotW
Wandering Stars. It was a slow start, but after I got past the the one section, I just couldn't put it down.

Another quick check in for me, had a weird medical emergency that landed me in the ER Thursday through Friday. I'm back home and just trying to rest and relax until the next steps can happen.

Challenges:
22/75 GoodReads Challenge
17/50 PopSugar Challenge

Finished:
1.) Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (No PS Prompt but would fit for 3 POVs) ⭐⭐: This was meh for me. Just didn't flesh out the characters or the plot enough to actually draw me in. I found that I just didn't care about any of these. A very clever twist at the end couldn't help my overall feelings on Hepworth's latest.



Currently Reading:
1.) The Mystery Guest
2.) One of the Girls



QoTW: What is your most recent read that was so good you could barely put it down?

Iron Flame and The Women. Both for completely opposite reasons, but I could not stop reading these.