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

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

Lynn wrote: "HAPPY THURSDAY! HAPPY MARCH 31st!

Okay…drum roll please! Now for my "big reveal"!

Today happens to be memorable for more than the fact it happens to be my 66th birthday! *bows to audience and dof..."

Happy Birthday! If quitting your job has already taken so much stress away I don't think you need to worry about making it to 70. Have you seen those standing flower beds at Cosco? They could be a way to keep gardening without all the bending/kneeling. Unfortunately I'm Canadian so I have no understanding of your health care ways in the States.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Lynn wrote: "I must meet with Social Security folks so I will ask then ..."



There are Social Security folks to meet with??? Where do you find these folks? I have so much to learn about retiring."

Does your company/employer not have seminars about retiring that you can sign up for done through HR?

Read this month:

Fearless Females: The Fight for Freedom, Equality, and Sisterhood A graphic novel that's an overview of various movements the world over for women's rights. Definitely more focus on the US and UK. Author and artist are female and this was published on International Women's Day.

Squire Another graphic novel with a female author and female artist. This is middle grade to ya about a 14 who dreams of being a squire. She leaves home to train to become a squire but hides her heritage to fit in. This looks like it would be fantasy but there's no magic just made up countries and cultures so that was a little disappointing. SFF is my go to.

The Atlas Six This was a surprise because it was long but it kept me intrigued to read through it fairly quick and for being so popular on booktok I assumed it was ya but all characters are recent university grads or older. You flip through the various characters and not all characters are likeable but the story and magic system were compelling. A great way to mix science and magic into the current world.

Kingdom of the Wicked Kingdom of the Cursed These are set in Itally during Victorian times. Ya/New Adult fantasy with witches and demons. They are just entertaining and I can't wait for the third book to be published in September.

The Tangleroot Palace This was a disappointment. I love Liu's comics series Monstress and I thought this short story collection would be more of the same, not so much. Yes these story come from much earlier in her career, but I really hated the one story and the others were mostly depressing. She has good ideas but I didn't like where she went with them ultimately.

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban This was fantastic. I had no clue what she had accomplished to end up on the Taliban's kill list. Malala is quite a funny writer. There was a lot of Pakistani political history to give context.

A Library of Misremembered Books: When We're Searching for a Book but Have Forgotten the Title I loved this, but it's an art book. Luz took people's foggy memories of books and created book covers for them.

Huda F Are You? This graphic novel that's a fictionalized memoir was great. Huda tells the story of her identity crisis as a teenager being Muslim American. She started a blog with cartoons, which led to graphic novels.

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave This was the final book in an urban fantasy series about Charlie Davidson who is the Grim reaper.

One for All Own voices retelling of The Three Muskateers but with girls. The mc has constant dizziness and uses fencing to combat it. At the start the mc was a little whiny but she grows out of it and learns to believe in herself and trust others. The author was the first disabled athlete to qualify for a NCAA championship. She did it in fencing.

Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems This got better as it went. Rita Dove is a former poet laureate in the US and over her career she broke a few glass ceilings.

Jen wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Jen wrote: "Cinder's Adventure: Get Me To the Wedding!, 2 stars, not for a prompt. This was pure fan service, a non-canon, choose-your-own-adventure novella ..."


I want to re..."

I also want to read this but my problem is that I haven't read anything other than the Cinder series.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "The Pool Project ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 mirror image on the cover)
Courtney Milne took photographs of his pool throughout the years to show the wonder of water. I went to see this collection 10 ..."

Yeah Milne did a blog first and used a different photo everyday. He would write a little something to go with and encourage others to do so. Then a year or two before he died, he started putting together this exhibit which his wife ended up finishing when he passed.

Happy check-in! It's a gloomy rainy/snowy day perfect for reading.

Finished Reading:

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 book that scares you)
Malala is funny writer so this was not a depressing read like you would think. There is a lot of helpful history to better understand the political climate of Pakistan throughout Malala's life.

Fated Blades ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 book from an author you love that you haven't read yet)
I actually didn't like the first two books of this series so I was happy that this was much better. It's the romance/instalove that I really don't like in this series. This book was more space opera so it was better.

Library of Misremembered Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My sister told me what this was so I had to read it. The author takes internet pleas for remembering what books people have read when helpful things like title and author are escaping them. She then created book covers for these descriptions for an art collection. I wish it had been much longer. I think my favourite was the book in the romance section where the main character becomes her mother. :) It was a really pretty cover that made it look like a good book to read.

The Pool Project ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 mirror image on the cover)
Courtney Milne took photographs of his pool throughout the years to show the wonder of water. I went to see this collection 10 years ago now, when did that happen? I loved it then and going through the photos again was great.

Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1: Rainbow Sprinkles ⭐⭐
This was a random library pick. I keep going back and forth on the rating between 2 and 3 stars. It's like black mirror so they're short story SFF. The creativity is awesome, but they're so weird and disturbing. I want to read the others and I don't.

Huda F Are You? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 based on a true story)
Huda took her teenage identity crisis and put it into a book. It wasn't as funny as the title suggests but it still was really good.

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave ⭐⭐⭐ (2015 funny)
This series is finally done and I'm kinda sad. I laughed a lot at this one. The ending also is obnoxious but that fits the series.

PS 2022 28/50
PS 2015 24/50
Goodreads 74/200

Currently Reading:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
One for All
The Deepest of Secrets
Sweep of the Heart

QOTW:
The most recent 5 star poetry for me are The Poet X (free verse) and Call Us What We Carry.

I use both Overdrive and Libby. Libby is handy to use on my phone but it’s like the goodreads app, there’s so much you can’t do because they provide less information. I use overdrive on my laptop to look up books because then I can request that the library purchase them especially if they are not published yet. Do the survey on the Libby app and complain! I did.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm Irish Canadian so naturally I had potatoes for supper. Usually I can't stand potatoes because we have eaten them so much over my life that I just want rice. :) Although I can go for champed potatoes (mashed with green onions) anytime. Really enjoyed pie day this past week too.

Finished Reading:

Kingdom of the Wicked Kingdom of the Cursed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comfort rereads. Waiting for the final book to be released in September is too long away. :(

The Tangleroot Palace ⭐⭐ (2015 short stories)
This was a disappointment. I love the author's graphic novel series Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening. This would have been three stars but the one short story was so bad. I could rant about it for a while but mostly it's not for the people in this group who love bunnies. Mostly not gorey horror just depressing horror.


Marvel's Voices: Legacy ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 SFF own voices)
This isn't a comic book. It's a collection of snippet comics, interviews and articles mentioned on the Marvel's Voices podcast. This collection was released to celebrate Black History Month. It definitely introduced me to some comics that I need to read.

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft ⭐⭐
Well I thought I'd give this series a shot cause the first issue was there in the library. I didn't like the artwork, the characters, or magic/world building. Three strikes you're out. It's also depressing.

PS 2022 27/50
PS 2015 20/50
Goodreads 67/200

Currently Reading:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Sweep of the Heart

QOTW:
I can't think of anything I've read. All that comes to mind is my dad's favourite series by Patrick Taylor. They're all 'An Irish Country...' and the series is at about 16 books. They follow a doctor in the Irish country and at least one in the series has recipes at the end. I think the author is Irish but moved to Canada.

I didn’t mean to cause extra worry my grandmother had a pre-existing vision problem and the shingles made her eyes vulnerable to infections. Shingles and infections led to scarring which led to her being legally blind.

Yeah shingles is awful. My grandmother got it in eyes and had so many painful flare ups that she eventually lost her vision.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "Happy check-in! It's been a rough week. I'm so glad to just talk about books.
Also definitely celebrating the Pi Day. I feel like having pumpkin pie this year.

Finished Reading:

[bo..."

Yeah that's true. I've found a few books for the tbr from your check-ins so thanks!

Happy check-in! It's been a rough week. I'm so glad to just talk about books.
Also definitely celebrating the Pi Day. I feel like having pumpkin pie this year.

Finished Reading:

Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 3 ⭐⭐⭐
This was decent but I think my mood kept me from liking it more.

Squire ⭐⭐⭐ (2022 you know nothing about)
I just saw the cover and that it was a graphic novel. The artwork was really good. The story is a hero story and there's a lot of commentary on war/violence.

The Atlas Six ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 number in the title)
So this was a solid SFF for me but it's also dark academia for sure. The use of science to explain how to use/see magic was awesome. There are six strong character perspectives to follow and most things I was unable to predict.

PS 2022 26/50
PS 2015 19/50
Goodreads 62/200

Currently Reading:

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban She's really funny
Sweep of the Heart

QOTW:
First thought: isn't that what sisters are for?

Recently I was talking with my mom and sister and I referenced a golden ticket only to discover my mom had no clue what I was talking about. My sister and I harassed her to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She read it and liked it. Although she whined that we make her read things and we don't read the books she loves. So I have to read The Witch of Blackbird Pond now.

Kenya wrote: "So... my home state (Idaho) is trying to push through a law that would make librarians pay a fine or even face jail time if they allow a minor to check out any material deemed "obscene" or "objecti..."

Is this bill name the '1984 bill'? Yikes. On the bright side you and your colleagues can educate the public on this bill with reading displays about censorship.

There was one other Erica in school but usually nobody else with that name. Although at the library requests are put out on a shelf with initials and I seem to have a twin who reads middle grade things.

Thanks guys, I read just the Yellow Wallpaper so I'm not counting it as a book because it was too short. I would recommend it btw.

I'm going to read The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories and I was wondering if it's actually a book. I keep short stories separated from the books I read on this site. Anyone seen a little book of this?

Happy check-in! We're awaiting a huge snow storm here so I'll be shoveling.

The situation in the Ukraine is heartbreaking and I feel bad for the innocent Russian people especially those with family in the Ukraine. The pros and cons of social media means that we can't look away and pretend war isn't vile.

I finally have some books that I really want so I went to the bookstore to spend Christmas gift cards. Two of the three books I wanted were in stock. I didn't feel like ordering the one book today so it will wait for another day. The bookstore had a 'Blind date with a book' promotion going on that was a really cool idea. They took donated books and wrapped them, wrote genre and a quote on the outside and priced them all $5-$15 dollars. All proceeds went to their children's charity which supplies children with books. I bought the only fantasy option on the shelf, that was the first book of an epic series... The Way of Kings which I have not read so I'm happy with my present. :)

Finished Reading:

Allegiant ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 non patriarchal society)
I finally finished this off. 🥳 I did not see the ending coming which was great. It makes me sad that they never finished off the movies though.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 mobility aid)
I was surprised to find this in overdrive and I tore through it. A sequel to An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good that you need to read before this one. More short stories from a Swedish senior citizen who keeps uses murder to solve her problems. Maud uses a cane to appear more elderly and avoid suspicion fyi.

The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Single Volume ⭐⭐ (2022 afterlife)
Graphic novels generally improve a story for me after reading the original but not in this case.

Prairie Dreams ⭐⭐⭐
This book isn't properly entered into goodreads so it has no picture and has the wrong publishing date but oh well the cover only has my favourite picture from this photography collection. It's a picture of a sunset with pink, purple, orange, and yellow with a few black horses running. This starts with a great concept of a photographer reaching out to people on the Canadian prairies and asking them what the prairies mean to them. This was published late eighties so I think the rules about citing pictures and poems probably has changed. I needed more information and this seemed to not have much from indigenous peoples. :( The photos were still nice.

Kingdom of the Cursed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 book from a trilogy)
This was even better than the first book and I went out and bought it. September is too far away for book 3. :( This author's books are big on BookTok fyi.

Fearless Females: The Fight for Freedom, Equality, and Sisterhood ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2015 Female author)
A graphic novel with a timeline overview on feminism. Definitely more focused on the US and United Kingdom but still informative.

Coraline ⭐⭐ (2022 Hugo award winner)
So Neil Gaiman books keep being underwhelming/boring. He does have a clear viewpoint but so far it just doesn't work for me.

PS 2022 25/50
PS 2015 18/50
Goodreads 59/200

Currently Reading:
Sweep of the Heart This is shaping up to be my favourite of this series.

QOTW:
Well I didn't have anything planned but Fearless Females: The Fight for Freedom, Equality, and Sisterhood looked at me in the library so I went with it. Most of what I read is by female authors anyway but I should read more non fiction to begin with.

Read Coraline for this cause it's short. :)

Yeah the Fearless Females has a female author and artist. I have Bechdels books on the tbr so maybe later in the year that’ll happen. You should try The Monstress series. It is another author artist pairing of woman. It’s a darker story than saga but the artwork is beautiful. It was inspired by the author’s grandparent’s experience in China but it’s a fantasy world. It also has Hugo love if you need that prompt accomplished.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Our next cultural appreciation month of 2022 is (almost) upon us!  How did February fly by so quickly?  In the US, UK, and Australia (but not Canada), and possibly also in Russia, the Ukraine, and ..."

I too find that most things I read are by a female authors except for my graphic novels/comics.
This jumped out at me in the library today and gets bonus points for being published on International Woman's Day in 2018.
Fearless Females: The Fight for Freedom, Equality, and Sisterhood