Erica’s Comments (group member since Apr 05, 2019)

Erica’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Title: Happy Place
Author: Emily Henry
Recommend?: Yes. Henry is worth the hype.

Title: Magic Tides
Author: Ilona Andrews
Recommend?: Yes but you have to be familiar with the series first, a.k.a 10+ books. Alternate Atlanta where magic and technology swing back and forth.

Title: Onyx and Ivory
Author: Mindee Arnett
Recommend?: Only if you're a ya fantasy fan. It's okay and very long. It does have horse death so be warned.

Title: The Girl from the Sea
Author: Molly Knox Ostertag
Recommend?: Yes. This graphic novel had nice art. It's about accepting yourself and about caring for the environment.

Title: Bunnicula
Author: Deborah Howe
Recommend?: Yes. This is a cute and clever children's book. It is told from the dog's perspective.

Happy check-in! I've been away so I'll just do two weeks of books on Thursday.

QOTW:
Well I changed from not reading to reading. I use to read a lot of urban fantasy mainly and then reread favourite series. Goodreads, this group and other challenges have pushed me to read more new books out of my favourite genre. I also read poetry now on purpose. ;)

Happy check-in! It felt like summer a few days ago and I got the sunburn and mosquito bites, but today the furnace is close to turning on. The cool temps are nice though because it's been smoky here and you can't really spend time outside although today it's mostly gone. There are many fires in Northern Alberta, and some in Northern Sask and BC.

Finished Reading:

Heart on Fire ⭐⭐⭐ (PS song lyrics)
So this seems to be the end for Cat pov and the series continues with a different character. Oh well, the Greek Mythology is fun.

The Wedding Girl ⭐⭐ (PS about a family)
So this has been on the tbr for a long time. An early book from Madeleine Wickham/Sophie Kinsella. This was published in 99 and it's a tad outdated, but probably good for 99. Not the author's best work. The main character was too stupid to live to make the plot work. This also followed many characters, some were really good so this ended better than it started.

The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY 4+ colours on the cover)
This volume concludes the amount of the series I've read. Hopefully I can read the 4th book before volume 7 is published.

PS 33/50
ATY 37/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 116/200

Currently Reading:
Daughter of the Moon Goddess

QOTW:
For fiction I want to feel like the characters/world are real so having only one gender makes it harder for the author to pull that off.
Younger me did enjoy All Quiet on the Western Front and that was following an army unit of all men. I'm not sure that today I would have the same enjoyment though, I've read so many amazing books since then and I look at how women are written and talked about.

Happy check-in!

Finished Reading:

Tropic of the Sea ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY tropical setting)
A goodreads friend was rereading this for the third time and the cover art was amazing so the request to the library went in. This manga was originally published in a weekly magazine in 1990. I really enjoyed the artwork and characters in this fantasy story.

Forever Words: The Unknown Poems ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Johnny Cash's poems. This was much better than the collection of poems that Leonard Cohen's son put together after his death.

One Girl in All the World ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY Asian diaspora author)
This just felt like a good episode of Buffy when it was still set at the highschool.

Mighty Morphin, Volume One ⭐⭐⭐
I loved this show. This was the wrong comic to start off with though.

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why ⭐⭐⭐
Kamala was less annoying in this one but the artwork was better in the first collection.

Carrie Soto Is Back ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY best of ATY 2022/2023)
This will duke it out for best book I read all year. Loved it so much and struggled to sleep instead of finishing this book. Also my favourite Jenkins Reid now.

PS 31/50
ATY 36/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 113/200

Currently Reading:

Heart on Fire
Daughter of the Moon Goddess

QOTW:
I have 70 or so shelves. A few exclusive for the tbr and dnfs. Most are just for me to remember my favourite things, organized chaos maybe. I too have the old shelves with z in front to put them to the bottom.

Theresa wrote: "Ron wrote: "Carmen wrote: I always took that quote to mean 'even if 1000 people read the same book, ever single person takes away something different from it, has a (slightly) different view on it
..."

Haha my first thought was no I don't want to solve this math problem.

Happy check-in. May the fourth be with you too!
I've seen the No Mow May thing and we'll see if it's feasible here. Although there is a neighbourhood rabbit here that's been eating the lawn so we'll see what happens after it rains this weekend. I did spend time doing yard work this week and am paying for it today. Minor allegeries. :( I agree that mowing the lawn can be a good way to clear your brain from the day.

Finished Reading:

Northanger Abbey ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY reject prompt Rory Gilmore's book list)
I was surprised at how different this book was to Austen's other books.

Fool's Gold ⭐⭐⭐
Violet Tendencies ⭐⭐
Rusted Veins ⭐⭐⭐
These are all short stories/novellas from an urban fantasy series. The second one was too short so it barely had a plot.

The Call of the Wild ⭐⭐⭐ (PS friend recommended)
I liked the writing style, the violence towards animals not at all. I debated using this for the banned book prompt.

The Bridge Kingdom ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS meant to read in 2022)
Finally. I waited for over a year on hold with my library for this. The hold expired after a year and I had to rerequest it. Anyway I thought this was a fantasy series but not so much. It's just a made up world but no magic stuff at all.

Tropic of the Sea ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY tropical setting)
A town in Japan that has a family that are keepers of the mermaids egg. This manga has great artwork and a good female character written by a guy in the early 90s.

PS 31/50
ATY 34/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 108/200

Currently Reading:
A Promise of Fire

QOTW:
Perfect timing. I'm currently watch Where The Crawdads Sing after holding off until I had read the book, which I did a month or so ago. I just read the books I want and watch the movies I want most of the time.

You could interpret romance like Frozen did. True love was about family.

Also you could just find authors who’ve wrote books during nanowrmo and see if they have any picture books and call it close enough.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "Pro tip make sure the latches are all set before you call them to pick it up. Next door the latch was undone and the driver didn't check before loading a full bin. (concrete, drywall ..."

The biggest issue was that the bin twisted on the hydraulic lift and they needed to set it back down and get a new truck. All the garbage seemed to be in large pieces that the bin people were able to refill the bin fairly quickly.

Jennifer W wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! It's been chilly and rainy here most of this week. I'm starting to get motivated to do some spring cleaning etc activities. I just ordered a dumpster..."

Our neighbours have had a dumpsters since fall because they had plumbing issues and are gutting their basement themselves. Pro tip make sure the latches are all set before you call them to pick it up. Next door the latch was undone and the driver didn't check before loading a full bin. (concrete, drywall etc.) Surprise, it opened while loading it onto the truck spilling all over their lawn.

Happy check-in!
I too had an ancient iPhone die this week. Did Apple hit a kill switch??? Anyway tbd whether I loose things. I bought a newer than what I had iPhone because I don't want to be forced into a new plan.
Mostly the goodreads app is a little different now and I'm annoyed. Links look no different from bolded type, and new posts aren't designated in red so it's easier to find where I left off in reading the check-ins. I was hopeful some of my dislikes of the app were things I could attribute to an older phone/older version but no such luck.

Finished Reading:

Blood Heir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
There I have finished my full reread plan of the KD universe. June is too long a wait for the new one. 😭

Pride of Baghdad ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saga author with a stand-a-lone graphic novel inspired by true events. When America started bombing Iraq in the war on terror, zoo animals were left roaming Baghdad. This felt like an adult version of The Lion King because the artwork looked similar.

The Kinder Poison ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread. I love this ya fantasy series, where the mc can talk to animals.

Happy Place ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS vacation)
Ironically enough this made me cry. Book Lovers is still my favourite of hers.

PS 29/50
ATY 32/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 101/200

Currently Reading:

The Call of the Wild
Northanger Abbey
Heart on Fire

QOTW:
Kwame Alexander I discovered his poetry this year and have read six of his books so far.

Ron wrote: "Thanks, Jennifer. I was just about to make a similar post.

I went through the entire PEN America list (37 pgs worth, over 500 books) and it was slightly shocking to see Fangirl on ..."

Sadly Fangirl is probably banned because the main character writes Harry/Draco fanfiction.

@Ron do you enjoy poetry? There are lots of poetry collections that don't quite fit into fiction or non-fiction.

Jen wrote: "Hi, everyone! Happy Thursday, and happy NHL playoffs for any hockey fans out there. :)

Last weekend, we went to the theater and saw the anime movie Suzume. Highly recommended. It made both my part..."

Happy playoffs to you too. Sadly my Penguins broke their streak and didn't make it in. I'm aware no one feels sorry for me other than other Pens fans. 😭

Merry Christmas! It's blizzarding here. 🙃 The news says it's only 13cm here but blowing snow makes that not accurate. I've definitely shoveled more than that. It's perfect snow to be a kid outside right now though.
The ATY read-a-thon for Spring was fun and I read a lot, managed a couple of prompts too. Here's two weeks of reading predominantly for the read-a-thon.

Finished Reading:

Magic Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread, novella of a fave series.

Mirror to Mirror ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS published Spring 2023)
Middle grade poetry in verse. So good. Following twin sisters, one suffers from anxiety.

Four Faces of the Moon ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY moon on cover)
The author created a stop animation film about their ancestors and then it was turned into a graphic novel. The little deer was creepy and cute at the same time.

Fated Throne ⭐⭐
This was long and depressing but the plot at the end will keep me reading the next one.

Spy x Family, Vol. 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love this manga.

Angel & Hannah: A Novel in Verse ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS set in the 90s)
Romeo & Juliet in 90s New York. The setup was a little confusing at first but by the second section I was hooked.

Conquer the Kingdom ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY author +7 books)
End of a fantasy trilogy. Jennifer Estep is comparable to Janet Evanovich in my mind but she writes fantasy.

Belladonna ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY Past century)
A ya fantasy set in regency England? It's not clear where this takes place and that helped me want a little bit more world building. Anyway Signa can't die and can see death. She is sent off to another relatives at Thorn Manor and murder mystery ensues.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY route of travel)
Interesting concept and I liked this a bit better than the first.

Swing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY related to arts)
Young adult poetry in verse. Teenage boys who share a love of baseball and jazz. So many things in one book.

iZombie, Vol. 2: uVampire iZombie, Vol. 3: Six Feet Under and Rising ⭐⭐
The tv show is so good. The source material leaves a lot to be desired.

Heartbreak for Hire ⭐⭐⭐
I needed a book set in an office. I'm finding most rom-coms are now 3 stars for me because of the break-up to make up.

Solo ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another young adult poetry in verse by Kwame Alexander. This focuses on rock and roll following the son of a troubled rock star.

Breath of Fire ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY unusually large animal)
Fantasy with Greek Mythology.

PS 28/50
ATY 32/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 96/200

Currently Reading:

To Swoon and to Spar I'll finish this tonight
The Call of the Wild

QOTW:
I have an exclusive dnf shelf on goodreads and I've only added two books to it this year. I don't track percentages because I usually push myself to finish a book I start, or at least plan to get back to the ones I put down. That being said I give myself the first chapter to decide whether I'm reading it without adding it to the dnf or currently reading. I'm better at letting go of a book I'm not enjoying unless it fits a specific prompt.

Well I spent my time reading for the ATY read-a-thon this past week so I'll save all the books for a two week check-in on Thursday.

QOTW:
I agree that Content Warning is preferable to Trigger Warning. I think they're useful and important to avoid hurting others. I don't need them, but I can skip them. I'd rather the warning be there instead of editing things out of the book.

I think a ratings system would actually cause more censorship than content warnings. I take issue with how movies are rated already so I have little trust that one for books could be done well/reasonably.

Happy check-in! So Spring played the ultimate April Fools Day joke on us. It was warm and above zero so I chipped ice out of the eaves troughs only for a dump of snow the next couple of days to refill them. Now we're sitting at -20 again. That being said I'm happy to have cold and power unlike many down east.
Anyone have good April Fools jokes/pranks from this year?
@Lynn I'm looking forward to this read-a-thon.

Finished Reading:

The Girl from the Sea ⭐⭐⭐ (PS queer lead)
I loved the colouring of the artwork. I enjoyed the environmentalism and fashion. I wanted more magic and less instalove.

Other Words for Home ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS Bestie would like)
In verse poetry collection. Follows a young girl as she and her mother flee/immigrate to Cincinnati from Syria.

Mr. Wrong Number ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY Century: Present)
A rom-com that's kinda epistolary.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ATY full name)
Brilliant! I loved the Daevabad trilogy and this surpassed it. It's funnier and there is no awful character pov aka Dara. This would fit lots of the Popsugar and ATY prompts, including a funnier book about divorce.

PS 26/50
ATY 26/52
Nadine's 10/10
Goodreads 81/200

Currently Reading:

Fated Throne

QOTW:
What a weird random questions. Thanks Nadine.
So seeing a owl would be wrong and not just because I'm not a bird person. I honestly think the squirrels around here are too predatory for owls to be around. They will hiss at me in my dining room when they are outside on the fence.