L Y N N’s Comments (group member since Nov 10, 2018)

L Y N N’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

A book you should have read in high school

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther is one I would list. Though I did read it (on my own) in high school!

As Heather L noted there is a discussion for the 2015 prompt #25 A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't HERE

There also is a Goodreads listopia for "Books Every High School Student Should Read" HERE

Our own listopia for this prompt is HERE

(It has taken 3 tries to get this to post!!) :)

A book you read more than 10 years ago

I admit I got kinda excited about this one! There are a few books that immediately came to mind that I wouldn't mind rereading. They were initially read over 50 years ago in junior high or high school!

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (Note the alliteration!)
...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer (Can also use for longest book on my TBR!)

Listopia is HERE

A book you wish you could read for the first time again

Any time I see something like this my first thought is always to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone! That whole series is so magical to me! And each book in Andrea Penrose's Wrexford & Sloane series! How about you?

Listopia is HERE

A book by an author with the same initials as you

I already had this prompt in the past, so I automatically know that I want to read Lisa Genova's most recent and first nonfiction release, Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting.

You can get creative if you have a middle name (or names) you could use rather than your "first name" or a maiden name you could use... Or even a first and middle initial.

No listopia, but here is a list of authors on Wikipedia, alphabetized by last name that might help! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

A book with alliteration in the title

I am forever noticing this in titles! I just got a copy of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell to read! I would highly recommend Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt!

There is a Goodreads listopia for "Alliterative Titles" HERE As some of you noted, it only contains titles where each word is alliterative! Therefore...

Our own listopia for this prompt is located HERE! This can include all titles containing alliterative words!

The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list

This was prompt #41 from the 2021 Challenge. There was no listopia, but it might be helpful to post what your book will be to give others ideas if they want to add that to their TBR listing...

My first one is A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth at 1,474 pages
My second one is ...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer at 1,433 pages
I own a copy of the second one and I really would like to reread it, so it could also count for the "book you read at least 10 years ago" prompt... I'll probably cheat just a bit and read it...

HELP IN CASE YOU NEED IT:
To sort your "Want to Read" shelf, click on "Settings" > I always set "Per Page" at Infinite Scroll > "Sort" by "num pages" > select "descending" > CLICK ON "Save current settings to you 'to-read' shelf"
That should give you a listing of the books with the most pages first!

A book that features two languages

Two that I read recently:
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This was prompt #42 for this year's challenge. HERE is the discussion post and HERE is the Listopia.

I won't create another listopia. Let's just add to this current one. :)

A book with a holiday that's not Christmas

I know of a few...
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket

Listopia is HERE

A book with a pet character

There should be oodles of these! My first thoughts:
Two of my favorite books:
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and One Good Dog by Susan Wilson
And others: Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
(If you've seen the movie, but book is much better, IMO! It ends on a hopeful note...)
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
(For some, this might not work, since she trains a wild animal... I suppose an argument could be made that might not strictly qualify as a "pet" character...)
Any installment of David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series work!
Any of Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie series installments would work!

Listopia is HERE

A book that started out as fan fiction

Oh, boy. I am of no help with this one! Although I did read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which gave me a much better understanding of "fan fiction"! Unfortunately, it doesn't qualify for this prompt, as far as I know!

Here is a list of 10 popular books that started out as fan fiction stories: https://www.businessinsider.com/guide...

Edited to add: Wikipedia "fan fiction" article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fic...

Listopia is HERE

A book that was self-published

Two immediately spring to mind: Still Alice by Lisa Genova and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
Both are now favorite authors for me!

I did discover one Goodreads Listopia for strictly "Self-Published" Young Adult books HERE. I cannot attest that each book listed is indeed self-published...
There is also a listopia for self-published erotica HERE
All the other Goodreads listopias I found included books published by independent agencies.
A listing of 9 best-selling self-published books that might help: https://gatekeeperpress.com/bestselli...
(I had forgotten about The Martian! Ooohhh, and The Celestine Prophecy! I reread that book every few years!)

Listopia is HERE

A book that takes place entirely in one day

I keep meaning to read Mrs. Dalloway. Perhaps 2023 is the year! :)

This was a 2019 prompt. (I searched because I thought I remembered it!) HERE is a link to that discussion.
HERE is a link Anabell posted that might prove helpful.

Listopia is HERE

A book based on a popular movie

Ooohh! Oooohhh! I cannot remember the title... Oh, yes! The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro! I loved the movie and loved the book! How about you?

Listopia is HERE

A book written during NaNoWriMo

The only one I know of that comes to mind immediately is The Night Circus, which I adore!!

Nadine's helpful link is HERE

Do you know of others not included on that listing?

Listopia is HERE

Heather L wrote: "Melissa — I have two skinny tower bookcases like that— shelves perfectly spaced for the regular mass market size (double stacked), with one shelf on the bottom for trade size books. Books that are ...

(Hey mods — this might make for a good QOTW: how do you feel when series switch format (ex: from MMP to HC) mid-series? How much does it matter to you?)"

Great idea! Thanks!

Nadine in NY wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

Oh no Lynn!!! I have never (knock on wood) hit a deer, but I've had several close calls. It's scary. My ex hit a deer a few years ago and I remember him complaining bitterly about the forms he had to fill out. And OUCH about your nose!!! Is it swollen and multicolored now? Maybe Tigger will calm down as she gets older? Maybe Tigger needs her own bedroom!"

It took 50 years which is rather amazing that I went that long without a deer jumping into my car considering all the miles I've driven in mainly rural settings! Just glad I wasn't hurt and the car is driveable!

I sometimes think Tigger needs her own house! LOL ;) But she's a real cuddler and overall a sweetheart. She just needs some downers! LOL

Hit a deer last night on my way home. Dealing with insurance, etc., today. Hoping everyone else is not dealing with similar situations! HAPPY THURSDAY!

After complaining so much about the new Goodreads format, I do admit to liking the private notes section. Maybe that’s not new and I just never noticed it before, but I do find it useful. I’m always trying to note the positive…eventually… :)

Close call! At 2:18AM on Monday morning I fell in our living room. I was trying to capture Tigger (aptly though inadvertently named “Tigger the Terror” by me when we adopted her 5 years ago…) who inevitably awakens me at least once every single night and I have to put her in her carrier which I keep in the kitchen so I can return to a state of sleep. Once she has me awake she will not stop harassing me until I get up and either put her in the carrier or close our bedroom door, though she typically then knocks stuff off the bathroom counter (located next door to our bedroom) until I come searching for her. Fortunately, since I have 4 indoor cats I kept 2 rather large carriers in the kitchen for feeding time: Mister/Big Boy/Big Guy and Tigger the Terror both eat in separate carriers, Miss Mini-Me eats on top of the clothes dryer, and Sissy eats from her dish on the kitchen floor. I fell because (1) I was still mostly asleep and (2) I was angry at being awakened and having to follow her through the house until she allows me to pick her up and place her in the carrier. The result? I made the mistake of actually lunging down to try to catch her before she offered herself to me… I both felt and heard my nose “crunch” against the carpet and assumed I had broken it. That made me panic enough to brave through the pain of kneeling on my ‘titanium sports model’ knee implants to get myself up and to the kitchen sink immediately! (My oldest son broke his nose at the age of 10 and I was aware of just how much blood can literally gush from a broken nose… I still cringe when I think of what all he had to endure as a result of that injury. But I digress…) It bled just a bit and I immediately placed ice in damp paper towels and held it on there for at least 30-45 minutes. I also took 3 Aleve. Anything to keep the inflammation down. In the meantime Tigger had been scared senseless and raced through the house several times, eventually stopping beside me and allowing me to place her in the carrier. (An immense concession on her part!) About 7 hours later that morning my nose was still a bit sore and rather sensitive to the touch, but no longer bleeding and allowing me to breathe almost normally. Sheesh! That was scary! Just a note: In those 5 years Tigger has allowed me to literally sleep through the night all of 5 times. Every 9 months or so I threaten to rehome her, but I just can’t do it. Once I’ve made a commitment, it is forever…for better or for worse.

ADMIN STUFF:
Much gratitude to Jennifer W for volunteering to serve as the “official organizer” for November's discussion of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #9 A book about a “found family.” You can find that discussion as well as the thread to post the book you read to fulfill prompt #9 in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. I still have to dig out my copy to reread.

Just a reminder that we are reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry for December. This could be used to fulfill prompt #1 A book published in 2022. JessicaMHR will be the "rambunctious reader" facilitating that discussion!

The comprehensive listing of Monthly Group Reads for 2022 is HERE.

Also, another reminder that every single past 2022 Monthly Group Read discussion and “I Finished!” thread is open and available to all in the 2022 Monthly Group Reads folder HERE.

Question of the Week:
Are you reading or planning to read any specific books in November for “Nonfiction November” or “Novellas in November” or perhaps (in the US) related to Thanksgiving or as I prefer to think of it, Native American Heritage Month honoring Indigenous People?

As you-all know, I am planning to finally finish The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed, ostensibly for Nonfiction November. Good motivation! 

I’ll actually be rereading A Psalm for the Wild-Built for a brand-new IRL book club and will follow that up by finally reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, both novellas and both written by Becky Chambers.

For another IRL book club I will be reading Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger who is a Native American author.

There are many many others I would love to think I might read this month, but I have another 3 Buddy Reads, including The The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story which is rather a brick at 624 pages containing 18 essays. Plus I have one other IRL book club book to read, Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. If I finish all these I’ll be quite satisfied! :)

Popsugar: 46/50
ATY: 50/52
RHC: 19/24

FINISHED:
*The Perfectionist by Lane Kauffmann (5 STARS) was well-written, even if I had initial qualms about being inside the murderer’s mind. I would happily read at least one more of his books but I barely found a copy of this one (on Etsy for which I paid a high-to-me price) and it doesn’t look as if copies of any others are readily available. (And I did remember to check Project Gutenberg.)
POPSUGAR: #25, #36, #40-2018: prompt #9 A book about a villain or antihero, #46-Martin
ATY: #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): Total despair, #5, #7, #14-1 rating, #15, #25-211 pages, #31-1954, #40-The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, Judgment, The World, #49
RHC: NEW #20, #24-2016: Read a book originally published in the decade you were born

*Purrfect Murder (Mysteries of Max #1) by Nic Saint (3 STARS) for the IRL Borders Book Club reboot! This proved to be a much better read than I had expected. It borders on being a romance disguised as a cozy mystery and it would have definitely benefitted from better editing, but I admire him for tackling the issue of prejudice and discrimination against transgender folks. Saint depicted what damage extreme trolling and harassment can cause for transgender folks. I won’t continue with the series, but it was a rather enjoyable read and the writing was actually much better than I had expected… Edited to add...none of the book club members really enjoyed this much. I think my 3-star rating is quite generous! :)
POPSUGAR: #5, #7, #25, #36, #37, #40-2015: prompt #7 A book with nonhuman characters, #42-Cat and Human!, #46-Odelia, #47, #48
ATY: #1-Uncle Alec, #4, #6, #7, #14-1,752 ratings, #15, #19, #36-Cats, #40-Strength, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Judgment, The World, #41-Pate!, #43, #46, #49, #50
RHC: #24-2020: prompt #3 A mystery where the victim is not a woman

*The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo (5 STARS) was an absolutely enthralling and intriguing read for me! I’ve now read and loved both of Choo’s books! I credit her writing skills for the fact that I truly enjoy her books, given that both contained themes to which I am not usually attracted. I highly recommend this one!
POPSUGAR: #4, #12, #25, #36, #40-2017: prompt #17 A book involving a mythical creature, #42, #46, #47
ATY: #1-Ambika, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal): William was in total despair, though still plotting, #6, #7, #11, #12-glass vials, #18, #19, #20-1931, #30, #35-poison distilled from oleander, #36-tigers, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41-Beware the tea!, #44, #46-the tiger, #49, #50, #51
RHC: #24-2021: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read--Wasn’t sure I would enjoy it…

CONTINUING:
*Cross Fire (Alex Cross #17) by James Patterson
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico for the sister cities prompt.
*Beloved by Toni Morrison
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. Nonfiction November is here!

PLANNED:
*Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
*Strange Sight (Essex Museum Witch Mystery #2) by Syd Moore
*The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
*Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
*The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
*Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
*Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
*Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Wow. I have a lot of reading to do to catch up in this thread! :) Cool!

Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon group is offering a Winter Interreadathon HERE, if you are interested. It is quite different in that it is a “genre war.” Every book you read counts. You just need to determine the best genre it fits to include it in the total count. Quite a unique concept, IMO! 

Five Memorably Unique Takes on Artificial Intelligence (AI) https://www.tor.com/2022/11/01/five-m... lists Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series as well as Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series. I read the first book in Sanderson’s series and own the second, but I think I would benefit from obtaining the third, Cytonic, and then reading all three straight through. (I see he is continuing the series beyond these first three as well!) I haven’t read any of the other three books/authors mentioned.

A Goodreads listing of 51 New Books to Read for Native American Heritage month is HERE! I am still working my way through this listing! Lots of new-to-me books and authors!

ADMIN STUFF:
Much gratitude to Jennifer W for volunteering to serve as the “official organizer” for November's discussion of The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #9 A book about a “found family.” You can find that discussion as well as the thread to post the book you read to fulfill prompt #9 in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE.

Thank you to Sherri for being the “knowledgeable navigator” who lead the October Monthly Group Read discussion of The Ex Hex (Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling! Yowza!

Just a reminder that we are reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry for December. This could be used to fulfill prompt #1 A book published in 2022. JessicaMHR will be the "rambunctious reader" facilitating that discussion!

The comprehensive listing of Monthly Group Reads for 2022 is HERE.

Also, just a reminder that every single past 2022 Monthly Group Read discussion and “I Finished!” thread is open and available to all in the 2022 Monthly Group Reads folder HERE.

Question of the Week:
This is a really old suggestion from Theresa!
How many books have you added to your TBR or acquired and read this year because of challenge participant review or group theme, discussion or buddy read? Could be any challenge - PS, ATY, any GR group. How does this compare to how many added from other sources (browsing, reading non-GR reviews, etc)?

While this is an intriguing question, I’ve not used it in the past because I have no good answer! So kudos to Nadine for bravely answering it first! :) I add books to my TBR from all manner of places! And I’m terrible about not noting where I discovered a certain book. I would say I add many just because I’ve read the author and wish to read more of their books. Then there are various email messages from publishers. However, for me, I believe the most common source of new books to add to my TBR is right here at the Weekly Check-Ins! When I have time to go through each message, I realize I am adding so many books that you-all list! I rarely read reviews of books in places other than here. While I have been participating in more buddy reads this year, about half of those are due to the fact that I already have the book on my TBR and own it, though I have discovered 4 new series this year from 2022 Reading Challenge Buddy Reads: Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford & Sloane, Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie, Ann Cleeves’ Shetland Island and Vera Stanhope. All four of these are very different, and while I can highly recommend all of them, Wrexford & Sloane is an absolute favorite for me!

Here are some stats: of the 10,664 books currently on my “want to read” shelf, I added 800 during 2022. I definitely must live to be at least 100 years old in order to read even a decent amount of those books! LOL ;)

Popsugar: 46/50
Okay, I concede defeat, Nadine! You now have only one more book to go… Just wait for 2023 when I call for a rematch! LOL ;)
ATY: 50/52
RHC: 18/24

FINISHED:
*The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (5 STARS) was first published in 1868. Wow. I was very interested to see how it might be similar to or differ from modern-day mystery novels. It is classified as an epistolary novel and is considered to be a precursor to or one of the first detective novels. It was definitely, as I expected, a “slow burn” with not much action for the first third or so of the book. I enjoy that type of writing-getting to know the characters, the setting, etc. But for those who need lots of action, I doubt this would be all that enjoyable. I particularly enjoy getting to know more details of past eras, such as the Victorian era. I admit I was pleased once the true thief was identified. I had a distinct dislike of that character!
POPSUGAR: #25, #34, #38, #40-2015: prompt #10 A mystery or thriller, #46-Godfrey, #47
ATY: #4-A book with a history, #7-Ezra Jennings’ experiment, #15, #31-1868, #40-Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #43, #44, #49, #50-Batteredge
RHC: #24-2018: prompt #3 A classic of genre fiction

*Blue Lightning (Shetland Island #4) by Ann Cleeves (5 STARS) actually made me shed a few tears. I think this is one of the best in this series thus far. Though I just cannot believe what Cleeves did! Yikes!
POPSUGAR: #5, #9, #25, #26, #28-Holiday=Vacation, #40-2016: prompt #30 A blue cover, #47
ATY: #1-Angela, #4-A book related to Shelley's poem Ozymandias (Nadine’s proposal)…passion…desolation…despair—but in the end, something more to live for, #5, #7, #13, #15, #19, #24, #29, #31, #33, #36-BIRDS, #40-The Lovers, Strength, Justice, Death, Judgment, The World, #41, #43, #44, #49

CONTINUING:
*The Perfectionist by Lane Kauffmann for a Read Harder prompt. This was published in 1956 and won the Edgar Award. It is narrated by the villain, after the fact of having murdered his wife, and he must identify the person blackmailing him about that murder. I appreciate Kauffman’s use of sly humor and am wondering why I’ve never heard of him before…
*The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
At about 50 pages in I am convinced that I will read anything Choo writes! Loving this!
*Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York (Mrs. ‘Arris #2) by Paul Gallico for the sister cities prompt.
*Beloved by Toni Morrison
*The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. Nonfiction November is here!

PLANNED:
*Cross Fire (Alex Cross #17) by James Patterson
*Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
*If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
*Strange Sight (Essex Museum Witch Mystery #2) by Syd Moore
*The Winners (Beartown #3) by Fredrik Backman
*Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
*The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
*Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
*Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
*Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

I never even knew this thread existed! I have compiled a huge listing of diverse awards as a proposal for ATY 2023 challenge, but some of these are new-to-me! Great thread, poshpenny!

Sherri wrote: "Happy Halloween weekend everyone. This has been fun. Jessica posted some good questions that had me wondering too. Feel free to post any questions you may have about the book. I really enjoyed reading your sentences from the word scrabble. In conclusion what did you think of the book? Was it a good Halloween read for you? Did you like the book? Are you going to read The Kiss Curse?"
I didn't think it was particularly spooky, but I typically don't do truly "spooky"/horror reads anyway. Too many sexual details for my liking, so a bit too "romance-y" for me. I won't continue with the series but this was an enjoyable story.

Thanks so much for leading, Sherri, and to all who participated!