Joanna’s Comments (group member since Dec 27, 2013)

Joanna’s comments from the CPL's Book a Week Challenge group.

Happy May! Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the new month.

What is everyone reading this week?

I'm still working on the The Iliad. Also reading The Cat Who Saved Books and The Boyfriend Project. I decided to try and read some library books before I tackled Oseman's books lol.

Happy reading!

Hello, everyone! I hope your last two weeks have been going well and have been full of wonderful reads. Is everyone enjoying our summer weather?

What is everyone reading this week?

I'm reading The Iliad for the first time and it's been really engaging. I've read The Odyssey a couple of times (though the version I have is a prose form and not poem so I should probably try and find an actual poem form), but never this. I'm a bit sad it's taken me so long to read it. I'm also working on The Hobbit.

Trying to decide what else I should read. I just finished binge watching Heartstopper on Netflix (y'all, you should go watch it; it's so sweet and amazing and now ranks up there as one of the best adaptations I've seen) and while I've read those graphic novels, I've not read anything else Oseman has written. Yet I own all her books. Hm. I'm thinking starting with Solitaire, her first book, and doing a full read of them. Yeah, that sounds good. :D

Happy reading!

What are "real" books?

This is a trick question.

All books are real books. The medium they are presented in doesn't matter.

Why are we talking about this? I was inspired by a reel I saw on Instagram. One of the people I follow did a whole thing where she indicated that yes, audiobooks, graphic novels, children's/middle grade, indie, ebook, etc. are all "real" books.

See, there are people out there who will tell you otherwise. They'll tell you that "real" books only consist of a physical object, with either a soft or hard cover, that contains paper inside full of lines of words. Images may or may not be allowed depending on the circumstance.

These people are wrong.

All books are real books regardless of what medium they come packaged in.

So I just wanted to put that out there to everyone. If you're struggling to determine if a book counts as a "real" book for this challenge or for Goodreads logging or whatever, the answer is "yes."

Listen to those audiobooks. Immerse yourself in a graphic novel. Scroll through that story on your device. Buy that book from a local author. Dive into childhood stories.

All of them are real books.

Happy reading!

Happy Monday!

What's everyone reading this week?

I'm 50ish pages away from finishing Travelers Along the Way, which is part of Macmillan's Remixed Classic series (it's a remix of Robin Hood), and I'm loving it. It might be my favorite of the series so far. I'm sad the next one doesn't come out until July; it's a Wuthering Heights retelling.

After I'm done with that, I'll probably read The Untold Story, which is the final book in the Invisible Library series. It's always sad to see a series end and I wish I could put it off but I need answers after that last book.

There will probably be a couple other books read this week because I'm going on a trip but I'm not sure what I'll bring with me yet.

Happy Reading!

Kayzee wrote: "It was hands on! Ended up being a lot of fun. I also tried to go to the itabag panel, but the person that was supposed to run it never showed up :("

That's so cool! I'll have to check it out if they have it next year. But I'm sorry the person never showed for the ita bag panel! That's disappointing. :(

It's the final week of March! Time most certainly flies. For those of you participating, the next quarter's Take It or Leave It challenges are viewable on Beanstack and will go live on April 1st. Be sure to log any books for the Jan-Mar quarter before end of day on the 31st.

What is everyone reading this week?

I only have 50 pages left and then I'll be done with A Conspiracy of Kings, the fourth book in the Queen's Thief series. I am determined to finally finish this series. I also started my Tolkien reread last Friday and am halfway through The Silmarillion. I want to read a library book, probably either The Love Con or Icebreaker. And then I was approved for an arc of Three Kisses, One Midnight so I might try and finish that one too.

I've really been in a reading mood so fingers crossed that will last!

Tiffany wrote: "I definitely seek out book reviews-- that's how much of my TBR list has been formed. I use Goodreads the most, but also follow a lot of Bookstagram accounts because there are a few that showcase le..."

I hadn't thought of using reviews for when I'm in the middle of a book. That's genius. And that's understandable. I've had that happen before too. Or, after later review, realizing the book wasn't quite all that. It can be hard but to each book it's reader and thankfully, we don't have to like every book.

Kayzee wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Kayzee wrote: " I spent my weekend hanging out with friends and running up, down, and sidways through a hotel. It was grand. ..."

By chance, was this a hotel in Natio..."

Oh, fun! How did you like the brush painting? Was it a hands on panel? I only made it to one panel which was the Representation in Anime one.

Happy Spring! Did everyone enjoy the lovely weather this weekend?

Let's talk about book reviews. Do you use them? Are there ones you prefer or trust more than others? Do you like word of mouth reviews? Have you ever found the perfect book through reviews?

Book reviews exist everywhere on every platform you can think of. Instagram and TikTok have exploded in recent years as the place to go for social media book reviews. If you've walked into a Barnes and Noble recently, you may have seen tables dedicated to BookTok or Bookstagram. Twitter also has a heavy presence. There are the more traditional places as well such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and others. Newspapers and magazines also carry book reviews. Then there are us, the people who read books and love, hate, like, them. Our reviews populate on social media but also on YouTube, blogs, Goodreads, and more.

I do tend to use book reviews to figure out whether or not I will read a book. The big one for me is of course Goodreads. If I stumble upon a new and interesting book, but am not 100% sure, I'll check what everyone is saying about it here. Of course, I am very aware Goodreads is not perfect. For example, if a book is a sequel, it will tend to have a higher rating than the first book because the people reading it are the ones who liked or loved book one. Those who rated book one low don't tend to read the rest. Also, Goodreads has been having issues where fake accounts review bomb books (generally by BIPOC or LGBTQ+ authors) creating false low ratings. But, if you delve into the actual reviews on Goodreads, you can generally get a good sense of the book and whether you'll like it.

I follow a lot of Bookstagram content and am always finding new books through reviews on there. I especially like it because, even though the big titles are always there, you can find some great smaller titles that I wouldn't have known about initially. And finally, word of mouth. I work at a library so word of mouth is constantly happening and it's a joy to just be able to gush about a book.

Tell us your opinions on book reviews!

Joanna wrote: "Kayzee wrote: " I spent my weekend hanging out with friends and running up, down, and sidways through a hotel. It was grand. ..."

By chance, was this a hotel in National Harbor?"

Haha. Why yes it..."

That's awesome! It was so much fun! Did you just hang out or did you go do any panels?

I'm sorry there wasn't a weekly thread last week! I ended up dehydrating myself while at the beach which put me behind on everything when I got back to work. But I have rehydrated (and hopefully learned my lesson?) and now it's back to the books!

What has everyone been reading over the last two weeks? Any you would recommend? Being sick put a damper on my reading plans but I still managed to finish the next Invisible Library series book, The Dark Archive. This is the penultimate book and are all the revelations coming! I'm anxious to read the final book but since I'm reading with a friend I have to wait.

This week, I'm hoping to finish The King of Attolia and probably some manga (I'm rereading the Wotakoi series).

Happy reading!

Kayzee wrote: " I spent my weekend hanging out with friends and running up, down, and sidways through a hotel. It was grand. ..."

By chance, was this a hotel in National Harbor?"

Haha. Why yes it was. :D Did you happen to also be at that hotel?

I was flipping through a list of book questions for book clubs and came across this one - which book have you read most frequently? It got me thinking...

Rereads - yes or no? Only for specific books? For any book you've enjoyed? Do you reread a series when the latest book comes out?

What are your thoughts on rereading books?

I've heard the argument from people that one of the reasons they don't reread books is because there are already so many books out there to read. Why waste time with a book you've already read? Valid point. I can see where they are coming from.

For me, though, I'm definitely a person who rereads. I'll reread to remember what happens in a series (especially if it's been a while since the first books). But mainly, I reread for comfort. There's something about certain books that gives me peace when all around is unstable. There are also books that I want to dive into as often as possible because I just love the world and the words. This makes me weird in that I have seven books I typically reread every year and one I tend to flee into when I'm sad- The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, Crown Duel, and A Countess Below Stairs.

Tell us your thoughts on rereading books!

Arlice wrote: "Hi ,
I am currently reading Enemy at the Gates by Vince Flynn and Love Con by Seressia Glass.
I plan on re-reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coastes for the online February book club.
[..."

Oh, how did you like Love Con? I have that checked out right now.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! If anyone placed bets that I would not read any books over the weekend, you would be correct. Lol. I spent my weekend hanging out with friends and running up, down, and sideways through a hotel. It was grand. Now I have to remember how to be a regular person. Sigh.

What is everyone reading this week? I'm close to finishing The Thief and then I'll be on to its first sequel, The Queen of Attolia. I also had my roommate pick a book from my owned tbr to read so I'll be reading Final Fantasy XV: Dawn of the Future as well hopefully.

Have a great week and happy reading!

A quick little PSA to start. Cheryl asked about the Take It or Leave It challenge regarding books with puzzle pieces on the front cover. There don't seem to be as many out there as my brain led me to remember. Oops. But I have found some:
- Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger
- The Heist by Janet Evanovich
- Deadlock by Catherine Coulter

In addition, there are two kids titles which considering how hard it is to find this cover, I will be happy to accept for the challenge:
- The Jigsaw Jungle by Kristin Levine
- The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Erin Berlin (we do not own this one)

The other option of the challenge was for the book to feature a puzzle game which can include everything from riddles to jigsaw puzzles to crossword to sudoku to codes etc. There seem to be a few books along this line including the Puzzle Lady series by Parnell Hall and the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

I hope that helps anyone else looking for the puzzle themed books!

What is everyone reading this week? One of my goals for the year (which I'm sure I've mentioned) is to try and read the backlog of series I have. I am notorious for reading book 1 but then never any of the others. February's series is The Queen's Thief and I'm working on book 1 again, The Thief. I also decided to do my annual reread of A Countess Below Stairs. I'm heading to a con this weekend so don't know if I'll pick up anything else. I always believe I'll read books while on vacation but then do I? Nope.

Happy reading, everyone!

Happy first full week of February! I hope everyone's month is off to a great start.

I was thinking the other day about book genres. What's your favorite? Do you have a favorite subgenre? Any you avoid? Is there a genre you don't gravitate toward normally but will read if recommended?

There are a number of genres out there and they can be broken into subgenres. For example, Romance can be broken down into "Regency romance," "historical romance," "dark romance," "contemporary," "rom-com," etc. And each of these subgenres can be broken down further or combined. I personally don't generally look too closely at the subgenres but I do see where they're helpful. If you gravitate toward "rom-coms," for example, you know a book labeled under "dark romance" is probably not for you. Knowing what you like in the subgenres also helps you get better recommendations from sites such as NoveList.

My favorite genre is Fantasy (to the surprise of no one). For fun, I looked up some of its more common subgenres and I definitely have a type. I tend to go for "high or epic fantasy" or "fairy tale retellings." "YA fantasy" is also listed as a subgenre (and is one I read a lot of) but you can argue that YA Fantasy is just an age specific Fantasy genre that will incorporate almost all the other subgenres.

There aren't genres I actively avoid; it's more like certain tropes or topics. I am less likely to read the Contemporary genre, unless it's part of Romance/Horror or contains something geeky (like people going to a con). I also don't tend toward "literary fiction." But I will read both of those if the book either looks interesting or if someone recommends it to me.

Tell us about your favorite genres!

Happy January 31st! I find myself constantly shocked by how fast each month flies by; at some point soon, I'll hopefully be less surprised.

What is everyone reading this week? Over the weekend, I managed to catch up with the current volumes of Magus of the Library and I finished the book The Shadow in the Glass. The book was both exactly what I was expecting and also not. It's a Cinderella retelling with a Faust twist and is incredibly dark (check trigger warnings before you read it). While I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting (I definitely prefer more "happily ever after" stories), there were parts that got to me.

For this week, I'm hoping to start the next book in the Invisible Library series, The Secret Chapter. If you're looking for a fun series, I definitely recommend this. It's full of libraries, books, dragons, fae, alternate worlds, romance, crazy adventures, and honestly one of the smartest heroines I've read (who isn't made dumb to further the plot). The Secret Chapter is book 6 and there's only 8 total.

Happy reading!

Anita wrote: "Hello, i’m new to the challenge. I love reading but just haven’t had the time so my resolution this year is to take time to do the things I enjoy,

I just finished My Darling Husband by Kimberly B..."

Welcome, Anita! We're so happy to have you join the challenge! Taking time to do the things you enjoy is a perfect new year resolution. Hopefully we can help you achieve it!

It snowed! I've missed snow. I personally don't feel like we get enough here (the crazy shoppers and drivers tell me otherwise, of course). Snow just does something to the world, though. It adds a tiny bit of magic. It also makes curling up with a book that much nicer!

Did you go out and enjoy the snow? There was the obligatory shoveling of snow away from the cars and scraping those off but I also threw snowballs at my roommate, made snow angels, and crafted a sad little snowman. I saw this poor father tethered to a sled pulling his daughter up and down the street. She was having the time of her life but he looked resigned. Poor parents lol.

Did you do any reading? Were any winter themed? I almost managed to finish three books over the course of our snow. All part of the same series, The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. Book 2, The Silvered Serpents, is winter themed because it takes place in Siberia at a hidden ice palace. I even took it outside and got some pictures of it with the snow (no books were harmed in the making of those photographs). So that was basically my snow reading.

Let us know how you enjoyed the snow!