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

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

PB & J sandwiches are the best. Although the best combo is smooth Kraft peanut butter and Welch's grape jelly.
Also love peanut butter with apples or bananas, or peanut butter and dill pickles.

Shannon wrote: "I am a peanut butter addict (I actually discovered one that's made with honey in it!) and now I just want to sit down and eat a jar of peanut butter..."

Also a peanut butter addict and not the healthy kind, although the healthy stuff is still tasty.

poshpenny wrote: "On today's episode of Retail in the Time of Covid... my boss tested positive. The other assistant was on duty when it all hit the fan, but being the wonderful co-worker that they are, left most of ..."

PBS had a documentary/show following Itzhak and I really enjoyed it. Added the picture book to my tbr so thanks!

Dubhease wrote: "I'm not sure if this counts as a QOTW, but years ago I read "On a Pale Horse" by Piers Anthony. I loved it. I loved Zane and Luna as characters.

It was the first of his 7 "Incarnations" books. I t..."

I loved On a Pale Horse and I got stalled on book three. I've been meaning to go back and finish but now I'm worried. :(
Also been delaying because people mention Anthony isn't so great a person and it bleeds into his books. Purposely not finding out what it is so it won't ruin what I've already read.

I created a separate shelf for short stories that dies not impact my read stats. Why is goodreads messing with something like this when they could make gifs load on the app?
I could understand wanting to streamline pages of authors works and it would be nice for short stories to be clearly different from fully published books/works but hiding them in the site is stupid.

@Nadine good BOTM questions.

I'm assuming the US released first and they wanted to appeal to people who hadn't travelled in a while as opposed to selling it as a romance, which it is.

Happy check-in. It's great to have so many people new and old participating this year!
I managed a lot of reading this week, because it's safe to do. Also had my visit to the vampires to donate my blood.

Finished Reading:

High Jinx ⭐⭐⭐ (2015 magic)
Favourite author, not so favourite series. This is book two and the Greek mythology aspects are great I just don't like the two main characters. Usually I think characters are Armstrong's wheel house but I guess it shows range even if I don't like them.

The Trouble with Twelfth Grave ⭐⭐⭐ (2022 board game in title)
One more to go in this series, which I intend to finish this year. Like most in the series, the book is boring until the end where everything happens and you need to know what happens in the next book.

Paper Girls, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
Originally I wasn't going to continue this series because the first one wasn't so good but it looked at me in the library and it's Vaughn so. This was actually better than vol. 1 but not set in the 80s fyi.

Where the Drowned Girls Go ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2022 read in one sitting)
This was fantastic. I really liked Cora so I was glad she got her own book. The last book was a bit of a let down in terms of the series. This is a commentary on conversion therapy fyi.

Tales from King Arthur ⭐⭐⭐ (2015 supposed to read in school)
I enjoyed this and thought it was funny. Every story was Sir so and so went here, met a knight, fought/killed them. Every now and then someone would discover they were killing the brother because they didn't wear the right name tag and every problem resulted in threatening to burn Guenevere at the stake it seemed.

Born to Be Awkward: Celebrating Those Imperfect Moments of Babyhood ⭐⭐⭐
A lot of unhappy babies.

Awkward Family Holiday Photos ⭐⭐⭐
The Easter bunnies were so so creepy! Thanks mom and dad for never dressing up and just putting vhses and chocolate in the Easter basket.

PS 2022 6/50
PS 2015 2/50
Goodreads 12/165

Currently Reading:
Badger to the Bone
Jade City
Apple: Skin to the Core
Silver Shadows

QOTW:
The only thing coming to mind are the sequels to A Curse So Dark and Lonely. This was a great retelling on the beauty and the beast story. Each sequel made me question the author and like the first one less, resulting in a lowered rating for book one.
I loved Ready Player One so thanks for the heads up about the sequel.

So I just was looking in the New Releases section of gr web version and discovered upcoming books by NOT A BOOK and I was confused has to when I had read a book by this author. Turns out short stories from my favourite authors have been relabeled because they are not books. Anyone else see this?

Kelly wrote: "I picked this up at my library yesterday, and look forward to reading it, as so far in 2022 I've had some heavier reads!

I didn't even know what BookTok was until starting this challenge LOL!! It..."

The Cruel Prince series is my favourite so I would say you should still read it. (Litereally was telling myself last night that I don't need to reread the series right now and should read my library books) Her Tithe series and stand-alone The Darkest Part of the Forest are set in the same world with different characters.

@Nadine @Brandon thanks for the confirmation I can see the movie without spoiling future books.

Jacqueline wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Jacqueline wrote: "Morning and Happy New Year from overly sunny (and way too hot for me) Balranald, NSW, Australia where I'll be living for the next 2 or 3 months.

Coming back..."

Love the Sewing Bee and Pottery Throw Down shows!

Check point 8 - 12

In terms of this book and/or its characters, It Aspires...?

Have you ever booked a hotel room with two beds only to end up with one? Does this common event in rom coms bother you or are you a fan?

Do you ever catch yourself buying into the social media promoted ideal of perfection? Poppy makes her living by staying relevant with social media and having an inspiring brand. How does she avoid low self esteem when she has dealt with so much bullying as a kid? Or does that explain her ennui or her holding on to a friendship instead of a relationship?

What is the best road trip music? Or is this a dumb question when audio books exist for this crowd?

I guess I should answer my own questions.

This was published last spring right in time for vacation and beach read season. Is reading a book about vacation when on vacation appealing to you?
Reading a book about vacation while vacationing isn't a thing to me but reading things set in the summer during the summer definitely is.

What do you think of 'Millennial Ennui'? Is this concept good for the character building of Poppy or is it good for plot?
This jumped off the page at me. I had not heard of this term but it seems so perfectly hipster to me. It definitely helped me understand Poppy and her best friend Rachel and their lifestyles.

Seeing how this is a rom com, does the initial text banter between Poppy and Alex interest you? Do you need to wait for the meet cute to decide if the characters will be a good pairing?
The initial banter was okay to me. But the repeating of inside jokes so much was a bit obnoxious. A rom com needs a meet cute so definitely.

Does Henry's use of time jumps build the plot or do they slow the plot down for you?
At first I was a little annoyed/impatient to find out what happened in Croatia so the constant change in time slowed things down. After a couple of vacations it made sense and so it just made me read faster.

Omicron hit Canada right before Christmas, leaving multiple provinces incapable of keeping up with testing. My province stuck their heads in the sand ages ago. At least masks are mandatory in public. FYI masks are better at keeping your face warm than scarfs. I'm currently anxious for my booster appointment on Friday.

Brandon wrote: "Finished:

Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston (reread, 3/5)

There is some good character work and action at points in the book, but there are also sections tha..."

So I've only read Dune, can I watch the movie that came out in October? Or do I need to read some of the sequels first?

Also there is new saga out this month. :)

Karisa wrote: "Any ideas where these might fit?

The Inheritance Games, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani
Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale
River Secrets, by Shannon Hale
Forest ..."

I've only read the Inheritance Games, and loved it.
It fits for the secret or the party prompts. I think it's recommended on TikTok. It is going to screen tbd, so maybe this year.

Alex wrote: "Does anyone have any ideas for the Lunar Chronicles books, please? I read Cinder for a mc with a mobility aid. And I am excited to read the rest of the series! What prompts could [b..."

Okay:
Scarlet has a few chapters set on a train.
Cress
Winter
Fairest
Stars Above this would fit found family the best, although everything but Fairest can fit too.

It's been awhile since I read this series and I can't remember when some of the overall story plot points occured. So you could probably use the secret prompt, party prompt, man made disaster because of the plague.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Erica wrote: "Happy first check-in of 2022!

The weather woman today said "The hottest it's going to get to today is -30." I've been laughing about this all day. ..."



Oh my goodness, where is it..."

Canadian prairies and it's been quite cold for 3 weeks but we've got snow which we desperately need even if shoveling in the cold is not so fun. I was a little whiny yesterday because I went for groceries and my legs got cold taking things in from the car. The next time I went out I wore ski pants and all was good.

Carmen wrote: "Erica wrote: "I made a list of potential books for a good chunk of prompts. Naturally I've started and ignored this plan right away."

This made me think of the scene where Leonard Snart explains h..."

Thanks for this. Glad that you're back. I'm sorry about you bunnies health troubles. Are vet bills for rabbits just as expensive for cats and dogs?