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

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

I posted this on the BookTok thread but these books that are being adapted will often blow up on social media.

So no sporks allowed? Not that I have a book suggestion for that. ;)

Slayer & Chosen by Kiersten White. This is a young adult duology that is Buffy canon after the tv show.

Also if it's got a movie or series that comes out on Netflix it usually blows up on TikTok.

Read this last spring, Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron. Fake engagement trope where the couple enter a cooking competition only for couples. Two recipes at the end.

I was not going to read this but I read Evelyn Hugo and loved it so much and there apparently slightly linked. Unless I got that wrong. Anyway I’m going to join in even though this won’t finish a prompt for me.

@Nadine and @Theresa thanks for the recommends. I may just give them a shot for next year's challenge.
It wasn't the regency period that I had issue with it was more the romances, I enjoyed the historical sides. (Take a drink when someone is insufferable in the Bridgertons)

Happy check-in or Turkey Day to those in the States. Normal Thursday here in Canada but with so many retail businesses being American chains we do get Black Friday tomorrow.
I'm realizing that it was always about being Thankful when I was in school with turkey and pumpkin decorations, at least that's all I remember. I vaguely remember watching tv shows that had Thanksgiving episodes and the pilgrims (a.k.a. people with terrible hats) being mentioned but never really knowing what that was all about.
I'm getting excited for the new list and also more worried about finishing this years before the end of the year.

Finished Reading:

On the Edge ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comfort reread. I love the world idea.

Never Fall for Your Fiancée ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 one of the four seasons in the title)
This was a bit disappointing but it may just be that historical romances aren't my thing. I've read the Bridgerton series and this so I have no clue.

Firefly: Blue Sun Rising Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The artwork was better than the last one. I really don't like it when I associate an actor with a character and there is no likeness in a comic/graphic novel.

The Quotable Slayer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 Q,X,Z title)
Panic read for something short and quick that met this prompt. I love this show but a few quotes showed their age.

Green Willow And Other Japanese Fairy Tales ⭐⭐⭐ (2021 tbr meant to read last year)
I finally finished this one. Still very annoyed that this book page and editions are not correct. Most of the fairy tales were kind of boring but there were a few that I really enjoyed.

PS 2021 49/50
PS 2017 49/52
Goodreads 154/150 Beat this goal this past week. 🎊

Currently Reading:
Crush
Believe Me

QOTW:
Definitely grateful for my family and friends. I was lucky to find out that they all were on the same page about covid safety. I'm grateful that many little guys will be partially vaccinated by Christmas too.

Awesome news Nadine. Although there’s no way I’ll be done my last 5 challenges by then.

Haven't watched this past week's yet but I know exactly who Heart is. 😁

Happy check-in! A blizzard showed up this week but no complaints from me because I'm not in BC which is suffering. Everything was so dry it burned spring and summer just for all the water to show up now.
A much better reading week for me. Too much anticipation for goodreads choice awards left the changes so disappointing.

Finished Reading:

Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse Vol. 1 Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I liked the artwork in the first story better than in these two, plus this was so much more westerny which is not my thing.

She Who Became the Sun ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 800 plus pages)
So I have no patience for long books right now so a 400 page book I started in July and have had to borrow repeatedly from the library to finish is being slotted in. (The ebook copy did say it was 800+ pages too) I did like this story and I voted this for best debut but it felt like 800 pages.

The Embassy of Cambodia ⭐⭐
This little book jumped at me in the library to take it home. This is a short story and it repeats "The Embassy of Cambodia" a lot! I thought it was building to something interesting but it just ended.

Skinwalker ⭐⭐⭐
Go back to my comfort genre of urban fantasy and try something new. It was interesting to have to characters sharing a body and to get chapters from both perspectives.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The letters to books were 5 star worthy but then the author had some rants/lists that dropped the rating.

The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 3 The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
These follow the plot of book 2 in The Mortal Instruments series. Very pretty artwork and it's clear the artist and Cassandra Clare work well together.

PS 2021 47/50
PS 2017 48/52
Goodreads 249/250

Currently Reading:

On the Edge
Crush

QOTW:

Well I've read so many books (249) this year and yet I haven't completed this challenge. I added extra rules (no rereads and no young adult) for myself to make it challenging and I'm about ready to give up on them and slot things in so I'm done. Here's what bothered me the most.
Anonymous author
Long page count - couldn't it just be 500 pages
Q X Z title - I read them all last year
Magical Realism - I don't understand this label/genre despite loving all things SFF
I probably would have resented Women's Prize winner for it's limitations had I not wanted to read The Song of Achilles already.

So mad about no write ins right now. Makes me think goodreads staff forgot about this until the last minute.
I've read 23 of the nominees and read about 40 that would be eligible.

Okay I went and looked through my spreadsheet for prompt options. I'm listing some favourite reads that fit multiple prompts.

Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
- published 2021 (what I used this for)
- hybrid (post apocalyptic Atlanta and world where magic and technology battle it out lots of history thrown in to cement the magic system)
- there are broken buildings on the cover
- this is the first book in a spinoff series and the mc comes back to Atlanta unrecognizable with a new name so definitely a fresh start
- Ilona Andrews has a blog that got me through lockdown
- three generations
- when I read this in January it was <1000 reviews
- pretty cover (IA has an artist that they work with for many projects)
-they released some chapters in 2020 so it works for that tbr prompt

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
- published 2021
- suit on the cover ( a diamond ring)
- dark academia (the mc's marriage dissolves because of scientific breakthroughs in cloning and the rest is kinda spoilery)
- dream job if you want to be a scientist
- forgetting explanation is kinda spoilery
- hybrid sci-fi thriller (what I used this for)
- fresh start/do overs again spoilery
- 3 generations
- when I read it, it was <1000 reviews
- pretty cover

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
- dark academia (so many crimes intertwined in the families of a kindergarten class)
- set in a restaurant (a bunch of scenes go down at a beloved coffee shop)
- broken candy on the cover
- oxymoron in the title (this is what I used it for)
- visit 2021 set in Australia
- 3 generations
- recommended it to my bestie who did read it this year and loved it
- everyone else has read it but you 844,000 plus ratings
- pretty cover

Happy check-in!
It's Remembrance Day here in Canada. Not every province has today recognized as a stat holiday but mine does. Today is supposed to be about honouring veterans and their sacrifices as much as it's supposed to be about seeking out peace.

I read a lot this week but it was a chapter here and there in many books so I didn't finish much this week.

Finished Reading:

An American Sunrise ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I definitely recommend this poetry collection. Most of the reading I've done about colonialization and the cost to indigenous peoples has been about Canada's actions not the U.S.A.'s. There are historical facts and quotes interspersed between poems that I found very interesting.

PS 2021 46/50
PS 2017 47/52
Goodreads 241/250

Currently Reading:

She Who Became the Sun
Skinwalker
A Twist of Fate

QOTW:
Nothing that hasn't already been mentioned is coming to mind right now.

Title: Burning In This Midnight Dream
Author: Louise Bernice Halfe

This is a poetry collection and I gave it three stars. I enjoyed reading it but nothing really stood out to me. If you like poetry then yes I would recommend it. I'm currently reading An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo and I'm liking it a lot more.

Well it was a first that a graphic novel did that to me. Haha :)

Just checked the goodreads choice awards page and the twitter comments say Nov. 16 for a start date.

Happy check-in! It's sunny and warm here, you can go outside without gloves and a hat for a bit which is crazy for November. I finally went back to a restaurant to dine-in since the delta variant hit here. It was weird, but so nice.

Finished Reading:

Monstress, Vol. 6: The Vow ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This series is standing strong. A great cliff-hanger ending that sucks because this was so newly published that there won't be the next one for a while.

Lost and Found Sisters⭐⭐⭐ (2021 fresh start)
The mc finding a lost sister and building a relationship was great. The mc finding a fiancé was boring. This author does write some funny lines though.

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A new collection of poems from Amanda Lovelace inspired by Persphone of Greek mythology. As always there are lots of tws for her work.

One to Watch ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a good rom-com. It makes fun of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette tv shows while believing that they can work. Lots of good points about accepting yourself as you are.

Fatty Legs ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I read the 10th anniversary edition of this children's/middle grade recollection about attending a residential school in Northern Canada. Despite the heavy and upsetting topic, Olemaun's spirit is strong and sweet. Olemaun told her daughter-in-law about her experiences and she wrote them constantly going back to make sure Olemaun was okay with the end result. This edition has some updates in language as well as Olemaun reclaimed her name in the years between publications.

Terciel and Elinor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A new book in one of my all time favourite series. Yes please! I loved it. This follows Sabriel's father and mother. Garth Nix went back to some of my favourite things about the world he created. This definitely has spoilers for Sabriel and Lirael so read them first.

In Real Life ⭐⭐⭐
This has the same artist from The Prince and the Dressmaker so I thought I'd give it a shot. This looks at the economics of online multiplayer games. It's young adult so it keeps things very simple and easily solved.

PS 2021 46/50
PS 2017 47/52
Goodreads 240/250

DNFed

Ironskin
A fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre that I didn't like the mc or world building so it wasn't worth my time to finish.

Chew: The Omnivore Edition, Vol. 1
@Nadine you recommended this to me ages ago but it didn't work for me. Thanks anyways. The concept was definitely creative but the subject and artwork turned my stomach so I had to quit.

Currently Reading:

An American Sunrise
Japenese fairy tales
A Twist of Fate

QOTW:
I'm impatiently waiting for the nomination period for a reason. I like voting and I have read 40 or so 2021 publications. In my favourite genres I tend to pick the winners, but there are popular authors I don't like that win sometimes. This book club can at least vote for a murderbot book in the sci-fi genre.

@Kenya thanks for the heads up on Killer. I read Meg by Steve Alten this year and really enjoyed that.

You guys aren’t alone. I too have been constantly checking. I’ve read a lot of books published this year and I want to be able to figure out my write in votes. I realize it’s a popularity constant and not a list of the best books but bests lists are always subjective anyway. Books that are popular entertained a bunch of people and that’s good enough for me. I found lots of good books because of what is nominated.