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.
Showing 1,961-1,980 of 4,909
Sarah wrote: "Hi everyone. I haven't checked in for a while but I've been lurking. Work has been insanely busy. This time last year, about 75% of our staff were made redundant and now we're back open, we're really struggling to hire people. It's been stressful but after my shift today I'm on annual leave for two weeks so I'm going to erase it all from my brain and hope the situation will have improved on my return."Good to know you have been lurking! 😊 Oh, I certainly hope the staffing situation at work does improve greatly! That must be very frustrating!
"This week I finished The Mysterious Island. I know i haven't read it before but I kept getting some serious deja vu over some sections. I feel like as a child I must have read an abridged edition or an excerpt because the memory of them building the house in the cave is so vivid in my head. Last year I read The Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe a few years earlier. I much preferred this over both of them. Less preachy and more actual adventure."
Yeah, I would definitely prefer "less preachy"! It is so interesting about your deja vu moments with this one!
"Currently reading: In the Full Light of the Sun So far, I really dislike every character but I think that is intentional...maybe?"
This looks so good!
"QOTW: I don't remember learning to read but my mum likes to tell this story about our neighbour bragging about her kid's reading and not believing my mum when she said I'd read the same book (I was about 2 years younger than her son), so my mum got me to read one of my books to her. She still didn't believe it and said my mum had taught me the book by heart, so my mum pointed to individual words and got me to read them.
About a decade later the same woman was caught in a lie bragging that her daughter was top of the classes I was actually top in so I guess she didn't change."
That is hysterical! 😂
yoyi wrote: "I had nothing that interesting to share since it's been raining a lot and I just can't go out or I'll end up sick, but I can for sure hope you are doing great☆"That is so very kind! And...I'm pretty sure what we share does not need to be "interesting," else I may never share anything!! Always feel free to pop by and participate!
"QOTW:
I remember learning chunks (like "Mi mamá me mima", I'm a native Spanish speaker) when I was at school, I was 6 in 1st year and it was reaaaally boring! I have an elder sister and I spent almost all the time next to her even when she was studying so it was quite easy for me.
However I do remember learning to read in English. I was in 11th year and I started by reading some hollywood gossip news. I had to search for almost every single word, but then it became easier. I think I mastered my skills during my freshmen year of the English Teaching Program as I read a lot and had the opportunity to share and discuss my ideas and reflections on the readings for the very first time."
It is so interesting that you said this. I was just reading a book with a person describing how they learned a second language by doing this same thing, just starting out translating word by word and my thought was, "I'm not sure it would be possible to do it that way..." But you have proven that it is! I would say you did very well!!
Ashley Marie wrote: "I had a good time with my sister and her friends last weekend, and predictably ended up with poison ivy thanks to stepping outdoors. It's not bad at all, so I shan't complain too much ;)"Oh, my! I have a small patch of poison ivy on my arm, too! From wedding outside... 🙁 Though it has not gotten any worse, for which I am grateful. I think the pool chemicals help a lot. Seriously! After two hours working out in the heated therapy pool it is amazing how much better it is! Those chemicals kill alot of things! (Hopefully not me! LOL)
"And I finished a pair of books this week!
4 stars each to
And They Called It Camelot: A Novel of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis - A solid telling, but I'm feeling myself pulled away from recent-historical fiction after this one.
Fugitive Telemetry - Hilarious, as per usual. Locked-room mystery"
I'm really anxious to get the third book in the Murderbot series to continue it.
"Currently:
The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog - started this last night and ahhhhh wolfies!! <33"
Oooohhhh! This sounds marvelous!
"The Hangman's Daughter - I actually started this a few weeks ago and made it through the prologue and (I think?) chapter one. Hoping to carve out more time for it once I rip through Dream Country."
I don't know. This sounds fascinating, but also a bit creepy?
"The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna - audio! CW Gortner's historical fiction always moves quickly. I just started this morning and I'm enjoying myself so far."
This is on my TBR.
"^^ Hoping to get through at least two of these by the end of the month, next week. September is busy between a pair of weddings (both of which I'm in), rehearsals for my next show, and a pair of overnighters for mental health reasons. I'll be here in October, no worries :D"
Wow. Your September sounds busy, but fun!
"QOTW: Do you remember learning to read?
I don't really, aside from being told innumerable times to "sound it out", but we have plenty of pictures of reading my Peter Rabbit pop-up book with my parents when I was about 3, and reading various books with my grandparents. I vividly remember first grade (age 6) and rolling my eyes SO HARD because classmates would routinely mix up "stared" and "started" when we did circle time and each read a single sentence of a story."
That is so funny! I can just see a child doing that! LOL
Nadine wrote: "This past Monday lasted a whole week, but Tuesday and Wednesday are a blur and now I can't believe it's Thursday already. I have had back-to-back meetings all week starting at 7am and it's turning into 12 hour days and wearing me down. I don't mind meetings, but I need some downtime to just breathe, and I need time to do all the things we talk about in the meetings. I feel like I'm barely treading water right now."Ugh. That sounds like no fun at all, Nadine! Here's hoping you get a chance to come up for air soon!
"We are still adjusting to Lily being away at college - I think I'm cooking too much food for dinner, the leftovers are starting to pile up!"
That's when you can have a "heat up leftovers night"! And you don't have to cook! YAY! I love the name Lily! I trust she is doing well! Sending you both positive "adjustment" energy!
"You Don’t Have to Go to Mars for Love poems by Yona Harvey- I really enjoyed these poems!! She plays with language and rhythm and jumps between modern slang and historical and current events."
What a great title! And you enjoyed the poems! YAY!! 👍
"Question of the Week
In honor of back-to-school season:
Do you remember learning to read?
[forgive my mom brag now] When my younger daughter was in preschool, they put on a "school play" and one role was the "narrator" who stood at a podium and read the descriptions. Afterward, another dad came up to me so impressed by how well she could read and asking me how I had taught her, did we use a special tutor or method? And I could only shrug and say "I just read to her."
Nothing to forgive! What a fun story!! That had to make you feel good as a parent!
I am so grateful to have discovered this new D.O. He is an avid reader and while examining me, started a conversation about Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Saga since he read it many years ago. That was just so much fun! Then we got into a brief discussion of fantasy and science fiction and some authors… Then we had to finally discuss medical stuff! My good news is that my blood work all looked good with just one area of kinda sorta a little bit of concern and that should be easily remedied with a bit of nutritional adjustment. (As I sit here eating some chocolate candy! LOL¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) And after the second adjustment last Thursday morning, as I was watching for traffic in preparation to pull out of his parking lot, I inadvertently ended up turning my neck much further than I have been able to do in many years…it almost scared me! It was definitely surprising! I couldn’t believe it! So I took a few minutes to text him about this revelation! Immediately following the manipulation he stated he had gotten into “some older stuff” and that I might experience some emotional release as well as physical. I have known people who experienced quite dramatic emotional release following massage therapy…but that has never happened to me… (I don’t know whether that’s good or bad! LOL) 😁 I'll accept it as being good. And I have had to deal with ‘broken things’ yet once again this past week. My poor car. Two front hubs and almost $1,000 later… *sigh* I keep telling myself it could always be worse. I’m not in a different country and displaced from my home or under attack or anything else…I’m just poor here in the US! 😊
Admin Stuff:
Brandy B is leading August’s discussion of Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas! I basically read this in one day and enjoyed it way more than I thought I might.
And don’t forget to post the book(s) you have read to fulfill prompt #5 A dark academia book here!
I will open the two September threads next Monday or Tuesday in preparation for September 1 on Wednesday! Yikes!! 😊 I'm reminded that I still need to get a copy of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue for this discussion! I hope I enjoy this one as much as I think I will!
WE STILL NEED DISCUSSION LEADERS FOR THESE TWO MONTHLY GROUP READS:
October: #13 A locked-room mystery
(“Spooktober”/Halloween)
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Are you the "fascinating facilitator" needed to lead discussion of this book?
December: #1 A book published in 2021
(Because it’s the end of the year!)
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
There is need of a "gifted guide" to lead this discussion!
Message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
Question of the Week:
In honor of back-to-school season:
Do you remember learning to read?
I’ve been dreading it if one of us used this question, Nadine! I cannot remember learning to read at all. Nada. Zilch. Nothing in the memory banks. I don’t even know when I could read. I just remember being enthralled with books once I could read. I may have mentioned before that one thing my mother did do that I appreciated then and now--we made weekly trips to the library every Saturday. One of my favorite things ever! Since I am old, we were only expected to learn the alphabet and numbers in kindergarten. There wasn’t near the amount of prior knowledge expected as there is now when you enter ‘school’ at age 5/6. It blew me away when I realized what my own children were expected to know as they entered kindergarten.
I was so grateful to have been home with them and working with them all along on the alphabet, numbers, fractions (Yes, you can teach/learn that concept prior to starting ‘school’! Fairly easy if you allow them to help cook and use a recipe.), time, and actually reading what are now called sight words and more. I used to allow my three sons to take turns at trying to read a book any time we were reading together. If they got frustrated they were allowed to quit and try later, or not, as they chose. Plus, they could self-select the book. It worked. My oldest son was reading at 3rd/4th-grade level in first grade. (I have a good story about that when we interacted with a local librarian! LOL) Typically, reading levels even out among classmates by 4th grade or so. Although he isn’t much of a reader as an adult, he did retain that advantage throughout high school, when he immersed himself in Homer and Shakespeare! Of all things! Cracked me up. I called him a nerd and he would just grin in reply!
My middle son delighted in memorizing books and then following along and chastising me any time I missed a word or mispronounced one, etc.! When he was about 18 months old he would run through the house yelling, “Doctor Doo, Mommy! Doctor Doo!” A simplified version of Dr. Doolittle was his favorite book at that time. He was so adorable when doing that!
My youngest son was the least interested in reading. By the time he was 4 we had an older Nintendo their cousins had gifted them, so he loved playing video games while the older two were in school.
No such recollections of my own reading skills emerging, however! All I can remember is immersing myself in books! Especially since I was an “only child” raised in the country on a farm!
Popsugar: 41/50
ATY: 48/52
RHC: 14/24
Reading Women: 11/28
No new ones this week, but there should be quite a few more completed in September! At least that is the plan!
FINISHED:
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was rather intense, as I would expect. This is my second Louise Erdrich and I enjoyed it, though perhaps not quite as much as The Round House. I found the writing style to be a bit disruptive in several spots, but by book’s end it all gelled together nicely. Unbelievable how the U.S./white men have abused, murdered, and further oppressed Native Americans. Steal your land and then do their best to annihilate you. There should be retribution, IMO!
POPSUGAR: #16, #18-Protecting Native American rights!, #21-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Native American, Politics, Prejudice/Discrimination, Pulitzer Prize Winner, #27, #33, #34-The continued persecution of Native Americans
ATY: #2, #3-…warm woolen mittens…Millie’s orange mittens!, #8-North Dakota, #9-Winter, #10-Bernadette, #18-Nothing can ever truly makeup for the damage done to Native Americans, but we should try!, #23-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Native American, Politics, Prejudice/Discrimination, Pulitzer Prize Winner, #27-The Lovers, Justice, Death, Temperance, Judgement, The World, #28, #31, #34, #46-2020 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction, #49, #51, #52-In the end they defeated the proposed termination law.
RHC: #5, #19
Reading Women: #18, #19
Fat Like The Sun by Anna Świrszczyńska, translated by Grazyna Baran & Margaret Marshment ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I am not a huge poetry fan but this book fulfilled several reading challenge prompts and I was curious. It is translated from Polish and the author is supposedly one of the first Polish authors to write as a feminist. Some of these were quite intense. I mostly enjoyed the poems regarding female roles typically being self-sacrificial, especially in more traditional cultures, domestic abuse of females, and the negative and positive aspects of ‘loving’ relationships.
POPSUGAR: #18-Women’s rights!, #21-Feminism, Poetry, Social Justice, #30-Poland, #34-Domestic Violence, Women’s Rights, #36-7 reviews on Goodreads, #44
ATY: #1-Anna was one of the first to write of feminism in Poland, #8-Poland, #18-Although one of the first authors to write of feminism in Poland, hopefully that was just the beginning of many more following suit!, #23-Feminism, Poetry, Social Justice, #26, #27-The Lovers, Justice, The World, #31, #33
RHC: #1, #13
Reading Women: #2
Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ proved to be quite interesting. While I am generally repulsed by all the NYC ‘high society’ BS of the time, Wharton did an excellent job of depicting it and threw in a few surprises in the last 20 pages or so. Newland’s wife May may NOT be as sweet and innocent as she first appears! LOL For some reason, I was immediately motivated to finish this one after the above two! Perhaps the best way to describe my reading sequence is ‘totally unpredictable’! And, I know many of you never expected me to ever finish this one, but I did!! 😁
POPSUGAR: #21-Classical Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Romance, #27, #30-New York City, NY, #33, #46
ATY: #1-In the beginning it appears May is all innocence and naïve, #3-May’s wedding dress was white with a blue sash, #6, #8-New York City, NY, #20-One can never know what the future may have been given a different decision made in the past, #23-Classical Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Romance, #27-Justice, Judgement, The World, #31, #34, #40
CONTINUING:
Xenocide (Ender’s Saga #3) by Orson Scott Card is just as fascinating as all the others in this series have been for me!
Jack & Jill (Alex Cross #3) by James Patterson. Though this did begin with a murder right off the bat, I'm very hopeful this will not be as grisly as the first two!
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. I can tell I will keep this one by my bedside to read a bit every once in a while once I've completed it the first time through. An excellent resource, IMO!
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
PLANNED:
For August Buddy Reads:
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
The Alchemistby Paulo Coelho
September Buddy Reads:
Children of the Mind (Ender’s Saga #4) by Orson Scott Card
****The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman
And…
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #26 A book written by Isabel Allende.
Paradise by Toni Morrison to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #25 A book written by Toni Morrison.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Ellie wrote: "It feels like autumn already, did I miss summer?"You could join me in Indiana! We're still in the middle to high 80s!
"Finished:
Fake Law: The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies by The Secret Barrister for anonymous. Nearly all I know about the UK legal system is from the Secret Barrister, so important to discuss these things, although now I have even more to be angry with the government about."
No government is without faults and corruption, it seems...
"QOTW:
It seems I don't read that much standalone fiction. Sometimes I want to know what happens to characters but also not sure if a whole other novel is necessary, like I'd prefer a short story or novella just to glimpse into their future lives. I got to the end of House of Hollow and initially wanted a sequel, but I don't think a sequel would be anywhere near as good."
I think therein lies the danger. A sequel can either expand upon the original book and be enjoyable or it can fail miserably...
Nadine wrote: "On Saturday we take my daughter to college, so I'm all verklempt. She's still packing and is a stressed out mess, so it's fun times! It's very weird that suddenly she won't be a part of all of the continuing things in our lives...I may or may not be a hot mess next week, my first week without her. Mother Nature is cruel, forcing new parents to completely change their lives and make EVERYTHING about the baby, and then, just a few short years later, poof! the grown child moves out." I had to laugh! It's been way more than "just a few short years," Nadine! This is her next step to an independent life! YAY for her! YAY for you! You have succeeded in one of the most important (IMO, at least!) aspects of parenting...allowing them to leave the nest and strike out on their own! So exciting!
"This week I finished a few mediocre books. Happily, all of the books I'm reading right NOW are GREAT!! I wish I could only read great books! As discriminating as I am in choosing books, I still end up with a lot of clunkers. I guess because I'm always trying to read outside of my comfort zone, that's the risk I take."
That is so true! I guess I believe in the old adage that you need a little rain to fall in your life to appreciate the sunshine! Reading a book I don't enjoy much every once in a while tends to make me appreciate the ones I really enjoy even more, I think!
"A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson - this book was raved about so much, I thought it was a sure thing! Nope. Didn't like it. REALLY didn't like it."
I saw this but assumed I wouldn't like it. Though I did enter to win a free copy...just in case! LOL
"QotW
I would love to read a sequel to Catherine House! It has a very open-ended ending, anything could happen next!"
Agreed!
"But sometimes you read a sequel and wish you hadn't! This happens more with YA I think. I remember LOVING Delirium, it was the perfect book full of teen angst and forbidden love and secret covert ops fighting back against The Man ... and I wish the next two books didn't exist. Warm Bodies was so good, so fresh and different! The sequel was so blah, and so unnecessary."
That's just sad... 🙁
Katy wrote: "I finished A Man Called Ove as my book that everyone else has read. LOVED IT."I loved it, too! Even if it did make me ugly cry! 😭
"QOTW: You mean besides A Dance with Dragons?"
Ha! Ha! YES! LOL
"I'm sure I have. I can't remember, though. But, it might be a careful what you wish for kind of thing. My favorite book is Lonesome Dove and if there weren' a sequel, I would proably wish there was, but I wish the sequel that does exist, didn't."
Ahhhh...That's too bad! 🙁
Ashley Marie wrote: "Whoa, it's Thursday again already? Where did the week go??"I know!
"I'll be out of town from later today til Sunday afternoon for my sister's bachelorette party. She's keeping things pretty low-key, which I appreciate, and I've made sure my Kindle is loaded and charged so I'll have plenty of books in the event the weather decides to be less-than-ideal."
Sounds like a good time!
"I finished From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars this week!"
I bet there was a lot of good stuff in there!
"I also finished One of Our Thursdays Is Missing this morning - 4 stars. This series has always been mind-bending, but this installment is especially so."
Ack! Reminder to me that I wanted to read the first in this series this year! I own a copy...
"Currently reading:
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent - I should probably take this back to the library and read it another time, but some part of me is determined. Determined, I say!"
Ha! I had to laugh at that! DETERMINED!! 😂
"Upcoming:
Fugitive Telemetry"
I'm definitely itching for another Murderbot!
"Get a Life, Chloe Brown"
I plan to get a copy of this soon. I think I'll enjoy it!
"QOTW: (from Heather) - Are there any books you’ve read that you wish had a sequel?
I would agree with Last Night at the Telegraph Club! And probably add The Alice Network while I'm at it; so many amazing historical fiction books are standalones."
I have a copy of The Alice Network being held for me. I really want to read it!
Mary wrote: "Happy Thursday! I'm still stuck in a little bit of a reading funk. I have been so unbelievably busy at work that I don't have the energy for reading when I get home, so I have been only reading on the weekend right now. I'm really hoping that changes soon, because I have so many great books checked out from the library right now and I want to read them all RIGHT NOW! I have a three day weekend, so fingers crossed."Firstly, since I've been reading SSF lately, I'm issuing a magic spell to remove your funk! Out damn funk! Out I say! LOL 😁 Secondly, I hear ya about reduced energy level. It has been almost 2 weeks since I reacted to the COVID vaccine and I am just now beginning to feel as if I'll recover to my full energy level. Admittedly, since I am old, that level has decreased somewhat from my younger years however! 😳 Thirdly, I am so jealous of your 3-day weekend and yet very glad you are getting one! May the reading genie visit you all three days!
"This week I finished:
We Were Never Here: I enjoyed this one a lot more than I expected to. There was even a surprise so good that my mouth actually fell open when I was reading it."
Oh, gosh! I can't remember what book it was, but that happened to me several months ago. Isn't that fun?!? 😅
"Planned:
The Mary Shelley Club: I had no idea that this book was so long when I requested it from the library. It sounds good, but I try to stick to stuff under 400 pages unless I'm sure I'm going to love it. Has anyone read this yet? Is it worth all 500ish pages?"
I have not...
"QOTW:
I'm sure that there are lots of them, but I can't think of a specific one off the top of my head."
Well, if you remember one, you can always return and post about it!
Jessica wrote: "Didn’t read reviews before reading and now 34% in I still hardly have a clue about what’s going on…I do like the book though! As I’m a struggling student my self working through summer exams I ab..."
Uh-oh. I hope your grades are okay in the end! 😳
Brandy wrote: "And one year I lived in a place with tree branches that were scratching at our windows and it was midterms or finals or something so I grabbed my roommate's good kitchen sheers and leaned out the window and pruned the trees. Totally ruined the scissors but she says to the day it was worth it because those branches were ANNOYING.."That is hysterical! I can just imagine someone doing that! It would be annoying, especially when trying to study or just concentrate on something!
Brandy wrote: "Would you knowing only what the characters know at the start of the book take the deal and attend Catherine House?"I can't imagine ever living/studying in such a place! For one thing, there were few "females" I liked much at all when younger. It wasn't until I was 30 or so that I finally discovered several females with whom I bonded in a close interpersonal relationship. I don't get into most things the majority of young girls wanted to dwell on: BOYS/DATING, CLOTHES/FASHION, GOSSIP. Yeah, none of that interested me. I dated, but as soon as a boy began getting "serious," I was outta there! I despised talking about other people. Still do. And I guess I'm fortunate not to have had much interest in clothes or fashion, 'cause I didn't have much money to spend on such things...
I am an only child who lived with her mother and grandmother and had no contact with my biological father or his family. I often think I might have felt much different about females if I'd had a sister, but who knows? I may have disliked them even more so! LOL 😉
As much as I disliked my mother, I would have never wanted to leave my grandmother until high school was done. I think I was a rather "late bloomer."
Happy Thursday!!Time to check-in with all you beautiful people!
I am starting my day with an early doctor’s appointment followed by a very long day at work.
Anxious for this week to be over and the weekend to arrive!
Admin Stuff:
Brandy B is leading August’s discussion of Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas! I basically read this in one day and enjoyed it way more than I thought I might.
And don’t forget to post the book(s) you have read to fulfill prompt #5 A dark academia book here!
WE STILL NEED DISCUSSION LEADERS FOR THESE TWO MONTHLY GROUP READS:
October: #13 A locked-room mystery
(“Spooktober”/Halloween)
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Are you the "fascinating facilitator" needed to lead discussion of this book?
December: #1 A book published in 2021
(Because it’s the end of the year!)
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
There is need of a "gifted guide" to lead this discussion!
Message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
I was reviewing our list of monthly group reads for the rest of the year and am really excited about them!
Question of the Week:
(from Heather) - Are there any books you’ve read that you wish had a sequel?
This JUST happened to me a few weeks ago. I would LOVE to have a sequel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. want to know more about Kath’s life: her family, her life following arrest, etc. I would also like more information about Tommy and Lana: their prior lives and more details of their relationship. And, of course, I want to know how life worked out for Lily!
I wonder if Elisabeth Thomas has any plans for a sequel to Catherine House? I felt it ended on rather a cliff-hanger and I definitely felt the story arc would lend itself to a sequel…
Popsugar: 41/50
ATY: 48/52
RHC: 14/24
Reading Women: 11/28
Added one more this week!
FINISHED:
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was a rather quick read for me. I found it engaging and enjoyed it. Certainly not an ‘all-time favorite’ read, but enjoyable. Creepy, but not too creepy, even for a wuss like myself! LOL I think I was intimidated by all the “horror” classifications given to it by Goodreads members! Although it contained some horrific elements, I didn’t really consider it to be “horror,” which is a very good thing!
POPSUGAR: #16, #21-Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Mystery/Thriller, #27, #38-Ines was majoring in Art History
ATY: #3-…girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes…, #10-Viktoria, #14, #16, #19-The present didn’t offer Ines anything much better than the past, in end end, except she has made some friends, at least with Yaya, #23-Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Mystery/Thriller, #27-The High Priestess, The Lovers, Death, The Tower, Judgement, The World, #41, #42, #46-Catherine House went way beyond “school uniform,” #49, #52-In the end I’m not sure Ines knows much more about “plasm”…
RHC: #1
Reading Women: #18
A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology edited by Dhonielle Clayton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was one of the best short story collections I’ve read. Really enjoyed it! I might never have picked it up if not for the Read Harder challenge prompt #10 Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color. I enjoyed stories written by some authors whose books I’ve read in the past, as well as discovering some who are new-to-me! Overall, one of the best short story collections I’ve read!
POPSUGAR: #18-Diversity in literature, #21-Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult, #27, #36-491 reviews on Goodreads, #47-Diversity
ATY: #1-In the beginning, there was no diversity in literature, #10, #14, #17, #20-Diversity is the future!, #23-Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult, #33, #40, #41, #43
RHC: NEW #10
CONTINUING:
I am reading The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich in preparation for a face-to-face IRL book club meeting at my favorite used bookstore this coming Sunday! I assumed I would enjoy this, and I am!
Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
PLANNED:
For August Buddy Reads:
Little Men (Little Women #2) by Louisa May Alcott
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Still need to dig this one out.
Xenocide (Ender’s Saga #3) by Orson Scott Card.
Giving the Alex Cross series one more try with Jack & Jill (Alex Cross #3) by James Patterson.
****The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman
And…
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #26 A book written by Isabel Allende.
Paradise by Toni Morrison to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #25 A book written by Toni Morrison.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
Cendaquenta wrote: "Feel like I read a lot this week... and then I realized it was almost all short fiction, so, heh."That counts!! 😀
"The Past Is Red - Hi would you like a helping of righteous rage at the current state of our planet. Seriously, last quarter of this made me want to punch something.
But surrounding that... jeez. There's so much hope and joy here. So much love for a world that is not only a literal garbage dump but also hates you personally.
I hate to use this expression because it feels woefully inadequate to the point of insulting, but: this book has all the feels.
I find myself wanting to describe every Catherynne Valente book as a masterpiece, but I don't ever want to imply that she's peaked, because my fervent wish is that that will never ever happen."
This is already on my TBR listing, but you make me want to read it NOW! 😄
"The Searcher - Enjoyable slow-paced mystery. Didn't quite stick the landing, the Big Reveal left me with some questions (mainly: how did that one character accrue the sort of power that they have, the narrative treats them like the Godfather but it's a 2-horse lil Irish town) - but it was a good reading experience overall."
Ack! I'd almost forgotten that there is one more Tana French book out there I have yet to read! Must get a copy...
"QotW: I really can't think of anyone at the moment. I tend to have fairly limited reactions to villains / antagonists - if they're written as irredeemably despicable, I just loathe 'em as intended."
Agreed!
"More complex villains I tend to enjoy and like outright, even while acknowledging they are terrible people."
This has happened to me as well, though I'm not coming up with any specific examples right now...
Teri wrote: "It's been another long day of medical tests and stupid mistakes by doctors in ordering said tests. I'm tired. But it's Thursday, so this is my reward for being a good girl and not strangling anyone."I am laughing so hard at that strangling statement! I felt like that all three days at work last week! That one person in our department is soooooooooooo lucky!!!
"I picked up most of the books from the library that I need to finish the challenge. Only 9 to go!"
Whoo! Whoo! Exciting! 👍
"Finished
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart - 4 stars; PS #26 (oxymoron)
I wasn't happy about the book I had plugged in for this category, so I went with one that is definitely an oxymoron. This is my second book by this author, and I really love the wackiness of her stories. I never have a clue where they are headed for a long while into the book, so I just sit back and enjoy the ride."
Ah. An author I hope to finally read next year...
"Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - 5 stars; PS #15 (black and white cover)
I was going to read A Promised Land by Barack Obama for this prompt, but I had to get it back to the library. And then I realized when I read this last night that it would fit. At least, I thought so until just now I see the cover on Goodreads and realize the author's name is in a kind of green. Too late. It's done."
Oh, my! Laughing! Laughing so hard! I love it! 👍😂
"Currently reading
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich"
Ooohhh...I'm about 75 pages into this one. I'll be finishing it this week or weekend, depending how much reading time I have during the work week! I am enjoying it so far, as I expected I would. I own several more of Erdrich's books and absolutely loved The Round House! I suspect I will enjoy anything she writes.
"QOTW:
Voldemort (and Snape - ducks) in Harry Potter"
Hah! I feel that way about Snape as well...
"And I'm with Nadine on Joe in the You series. I love him and can't love to hate him. We're disturbed (in a good way).."
That's one I've not gotten to yet...
Kendra wrote: "Happy Thursday. I've been in a bit of a slump - I have all these books picked out for challenges, but I'd rather be rereading old favs or finding something new and so I just end up watching TV instead...."You made me laugh so hard! 😂
"Stats
Popsugar: 41/50
ATY: 45/52
ATY Rejects: 17/25"
You've made me curious...ATY "rejects"?
"Apple: Skin to the Core ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This was soooooo good! This is a memoir told in free verse, with additional artwork included (It started out as a painting series that the author then added poetry to). It connects the Beatles music (with their Apple label) and the racial slur of Apple - Red on the outside, white on the inside, and the generational trauma caused from the residential school systems. I used it for ATY: A new to you biopoc author."
This looks interesting!
"Temporary DNF
Act Your Age, Eve Brown - The library is going to take this back and for whatever reason, I'm just not in the mood for it. I'll get it again some other time and just restart."
Sounds like a wise plan!
"QOTW
I'm with the crowd who either loves or hates characters not love-to-hate. I do love a good antihero or reformed villain. Hugh from the Kate Daniels series is case in point. I actually love his series even more the Kate's!"
😁
Lauren wrote: "Checking in for two weeks since I was traveling last Thursday... Finished:
Love People, Use Things - I enjoyed this, even though I don't plan to implement much of it. I like the idea of minimali..."
I trust your travel was worthwhile and uneventful!
I should just stop reading your posts. My TBR grows outrageously as a result every time! LOL
Warning: do not read the spoiler until you've finished the book! 😋So I basically read this book in one day. I thought the writing was excellent for a debut novel. So very atmospheric! I mainly read for characterization, so the lack of action didn't bother me a bit. I was gratified that there were (at least IMO) no truly horrific moments other than (view spoiler)
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts since this book will sit with me for a while. But I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
What was your craziest pet?Ha! Ha! I'll date myself here...a "pet rock"! Anyone else remember those? LOL 😉 Actually, for some odd reason, my mother actually brought home a baby chick in a cage and it ended up dying... 😢 She was working at Lilly at the time and it was some sort of give-away. Who knows what had been done to that chick or it's mother/father?
If appropriate what is the craziest/most dumb flaunting dorm rules story you have?
Nothing extraordinary. Of course, I wasn't in a dorm situation until college. My 'dorm room' freshman year was a temporary one setup in the basement of the dorm building to handle overflow since it was an unusually large entering class that fall. There were two bunk beds for four of us. I had the upperbunk right where one of the two small windows was. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time at night opening and closing that window and helping others in and out of it through MY bed! Naturally, there were nights when I was not in my bed 'cause I had snuck out as well! LOL 😁
