Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Chiming in! Some library websites have a chat feature where you can ask librarians questions, so I just did that. I got a real recommendation from a librarian but I still used a "chat" feature to get it. He recommended Red Mars!

I've also got an aversion to AI (although I'm fascinated by some of the weird videos on FaceBook). There have been so many great alternatives suggested on this thread!

Thanks to those of you who recommended "What Should I Read Next"! I put in several of my favorite books, aiming for a variety of genres. Some books, like One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir and Remarkably Bright Creatures, weren't popular enough to get more than a couple of hits.

But, Wool, by Hugh Howey, and Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde, both gave me a ton of hits! Half were ones I've read, but both titles came up with A Canticle For Liebowitz, by Walter M. Miller. I've been curious about this book for decades, but none of my three library systems has it on Libby, and not even the huge, LA Public Library, with its 71 branches, has it! How is that even possible?! Now, I'm really dying to read it! LOL!

I've requested that LAPL buy the book, but in the meantime, one of my favorite books, Walking Across Egypt, by Clyde Edgerton, came up with the book, Standing in the Rainbow, by Fannie Flagg, a book that is on my current TBR list. I was going to read it for my Alphabet Reading Challenge, so I might free up Letter "S", and use it for this AI prompt instead.

I used books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Unmaking of June Farrow, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January and went to a a few different recommendation sites and used Goodreads "similar book" suggestions. The God of the Woods came up as a recommendation for each one and it was on my TBR anyway, so that's what I went with.

Having read it, I'm not entirely sure why it's considered a similar book to those because it's really not. I know the goodreads likes to push what's trendy though. That being said, I did like it. It's very much a slower paced book, but has enough mystery and hooks that I wanted to keep going.

I could never have a favorite book, but AI asked me several questions about books I liked recently, and it came up with “The Silent Companions”. I’ve been enjoying some gothic stuff lately I guess.

I took the quiz someone posted. It suggested Light from Uncommon Stars. 5 stars. I enjoyed it.

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley was one of the books recommended to me. The more the book went on, the more I liked it.

I wrote a list of my favourite books in an AI chatbot, and it suggested a list of books I should read. I went with Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The blurb reads, "Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland."

One of my best books of last year was Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death so I Googled similar books and looked at the sites that came up.

The Woman's Prize website recommended All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake. I could see a connection and it was an excellent recommendation.

Finished The Inmate by Freida McFadden

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Like may here, I don't care for AI or chatbots - especially since they sometimes recommend books that don't exist! I think I stayed with the spirit of the prompt: I went to Amazon and looked up my favorite books, Woman on the Edge of Time and The Handmaid's Tale. The "You may also enjoy" plugs included The Gate to Women's Country. I could see the thematic connection, but the book did not work for me.

Sorry, the review contains spoilers:
http://www.lauraruthloomis.com/whats-...