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

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

Title: She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

Author: Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Would you recommend this book?

Yes, I have a much better understanding of why she is an important figure in fighting for equality. I did not know about her service in the Civil War. The title is so fitting.

Shannon wrote: "Erica wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Hayjay315 wrote: "This is the 3rd Austen I have read, and both the novel and its heroine rank 2nd on my list!"

That makes me happy--a lot of people hate on Fanny for ..."

So I've watched both and there are pros and cons to each. I have not read Mansfield yet. I would recommend the 2007 movie because Fanny's character stays true to her morals. They don't call out Fanny's uncle for making his fortunes off of slavery in this one though like they do in the 1999. Also the 2007 has Haley Atwell as Mary Crawford and I thought she was a scene stealer in the best way.

I'm on hold for Hana Khan at the library. A retelling of You've Got Mail with competing Halal restaurants instead of bookstores, why not.

Happy check-in. It's been a rainy week and that has been a good thing. I'm a little sad today because my hockey team got punted from the playoffs last night and seeing that Eric Carle had passed away. I remember borrowing his books over and over again because of the artwork. I always picked pictures books due to the artwork as a child, didn't care for the whole reading thing. Haha things change.

Anyway to the QOTW. At first I had no idea about what you meant by plastic/board books. I envisioned fake plastic books that don't open or homemade board games that are carved into plywood. 🤷‍♀️😂 Reading through everyone's posts helped me visualize. I have never heard of kids books that have thick pages being called board books. I would not say that these can't be literature. More simplistic language does not lessen the value of a story.

Finished Reading:

The Time of Contempt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 bestseller from the 90's)
I loved getting back to this awesome series. I'm still sad The Witcher got canceled.

The Soulmate Equation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 set in a restaurant)
The newest Christina Lauren that didn't seem that appealing after reading the blurb, but these authors are always funny and they love BTS so... A lot of this books happens in a coffee shop or in restaurants so I stretched into this prompt. :)

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook ⭐⭐ (2021 About forgetting)
A horror origin story of Captain Hook by a good author, didn't quite work for me. Creativity and writing style were good, but it was a bit boring and depressing.

Space Opera ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 First in a new series)
This was a difficult read for me but it ended well and I rounded up to three stars. An ode to Eurovision set in space with pop culture references galore. The creativity is awesome but the writing style is it's own thing.

Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A comfort read to make up for all the depressing and tough reads I've got going on.

PS 2021 31/50
PS 2017 28/52
Goodreads 110/200

Currently Reading:

Watchmen This is work ugh
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Turtles All the Way Down

Jennifer W wrote: "Which is good, because I got a case of grabby hands and put holds on a bunch of stuff from the library that I need to go pick up...."

This is the best way to explain checking out books from the library.

Alex wrote: "Well, I am rather thankful that I get to check in today since last Thursday I nearly died! Was thisclose to a head-on collision with a large tractor hauling a haybale on his front fork down a farm ..."

Yikes. Glad to hear you're all okay.

Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

Not much to report this week... so on to the reading wrap-up, heh...

Books read this week:

The Magic Misfits -- for “book with a heart, diamond, club, or s..."

I read the whole Shatter Me series, novellas included, during lockdown last year. They were enjoyable ya to me, I've put it on my craptactular shelf. This series seems to be hit or miss with people. It starts off with the main character being quite mentally unwell and the writing style changes within the books to accommodate better wellness in the mc's pov. Plus every time I was ready to be done with the book/series there would be an unexpected plot twist.

Shannon wrote: "Hayjay315 wrote: "This is the 3rd Austen I have read, and both the novel and its heroine rank 2nd on my list!"

That makes me happy--a lot of people hate on Fanny for being too timid, but I always ..."

Do you mean the movie from 1999 with Frances O'Connor and Johnny Lee Miller? Or from 2007 with Julia Joyce and Douglas Hodge? Or a different one?

Shannon wrote: "Chandie wrote: "Erica wrote: "To continue the argument I have with my mom. Matthew Macfadyen all the way. ;)
..."

Agree. The hand flex. The scene where she is yelling at him in the rain and he jus..."

Ooh I haven't seen that version yet. I keep watching my favourite. :)

Teri wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "Whaaa... you haven't read P&P? Have you seen a movie or TV version?"

Right? Life is not worth living if you have not seen Colin Firth as Mr Darcy."

To continue the argument I have with my mom. Matthew Macfadyen all the way. ;)

Mary wrote: "Hey everyone. I missed my check-in last week, because of my hectic life. Little did I know that this week was going to be a whole lot worse. On Monday, my grandfather passed away, after a long illn..."

Wow you're really having a tough go of it. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you are able to celebrate his life with family safely.

Happy check-in! Today is weird because it snowed (barely) this morning and it probably will tomorrow. Also so happy that I was able to get my first shot this past week. Just had a sore and stiff arm the rest of the day but it was gone the next day.
Unpopular opinion alert: I can't understand the joy of bird watching. They're just creepy to me. I say this while watching a Penguins playoff game. ;)

Finished Reading:

Shadowed Steel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Brand new book of the Cadogen Vampire spin off series. This is book 3 of the series and it was better than book two. Chloe Neill is a comfort read author and I really want to reread the origional series again.

Anxious People ⭐⭐ (2021 Locked room mystery)
Unpopular opinion alert: I really struggled to read this. I wanted to hit all the characters and the author to smarten up. I just couldn't take the fourth wall breaks they felt mansplainy to me. I needed the mystery to be solved more directly. I've read and enjoyed other books by Backman but this one did not work for me.

Blade of Secrets ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ya fantasy with a mc that is a magical blacksmith and has major anxiety. It ended with a rude cliff hanger. I don't want to wait until 2022 for the next one. :(

Grave Ransom ⭐⭐⭐
So continuing my reread of this series and I ended up down grading this book. When it first came out it had been a long hiatus for the author that I was so happy to have a new one I thought better of the book. This was a bit boring and it seems like it was meant to set up a spinoff series following a different character that has not happened yet. Still a favourite urban fantasy series.

PS 2021 28/50
PS 2017 27/52
Goodreads 105/200

Currently Reading:

The Time of Contempt
Space Opera

QOTW:

I don't go out and buy something I already own, I'd rather have a copy of book I don't have. I do like to have matching copies but I buy a lot of books used so I take what I can get. I do have a couple of nice boxed sets for favourites. I like using the library to figure out if a book is worth owning. If I won't read it again I don't want my own copy.

I think Amir was the character that was easy to be prejudiced towards. He was obnoxious and sexist leaving me to discount the character completely. (view spoiler)[When Khalid confronts him about his alcoholism we actually get to see a more layered character and it's not so out of left field that he steps up and helps in the end. (hide spoiler)]

@Stacey I enjoy Madeline Miller's writing style but Circe was not the best. I too found it slow and it built to nothing while being depressing. Song of Achilles was an instant favourite for me. It's more of a tragic love story than a character study. The first half was slower but I still loved it. The second half focuses on Patroclus and Achilles during the battle for Troy. I put off reading Song of Achilles because of Circe.

Happy check-in!
I'm finally eligible for my first shot so now I'm on a wait list. So hopefully I'll be partially vaccinated by next check-in. Better news is that my older relatives will be able to get their second shot soon so the real worry can go away. It is quite heart breaking to learn what is happening in India. The entire world need to help and care.

Finished Reading:

Terminal Boredom: Stories ⭐
The title made me do it. Boredom in the title was a huge hint. These short stories count as speculative fiction and only one was likeable, not great, but likeable. These supposedly inspired future authors. I'm annoyed that I couldn't even find a challenge for it.

Embrace the Night ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 audiobook)
This series is always available in audiobooks but the library has not bought ebooks. So I went with this for my dreaded audiobook. I constantly zoned out and missed things. I set it at the fastest reading speed possible. I thought a comforting urban fantasy would keep me focused but not so much.

Ayesha at Last ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 Canadian Muslim author)
I nearly dnfed this at the beginning, but being BOTM kep me reading thankfully. The first few chapters did not sell the characters well. The way the author updated the P & P story was great. Oddly enough I disliked the use of Austen quotes but loved the Shakespeare quotes. My favourite character was the Imam who had the best lines. Definitely was chuckling out loud to this one.

Good Girl, Bad Blood ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book 2. The main character Pip is becoming a bit of a Mrs. Fletcher where everyone she knows becomes involved in crimes. This book could be fit in social justice because the trial concerning events in the first book takes place in this one.

Force Multiplied ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It finally came in and was worth the wait. The artwork was great and the story matched.

Snow, Glass, Apples ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So a dark take/retelling of Snow White where she's a vampire and the Queen is innocent in contrast.

PS 2021 27/50
PS 2017 27/52
Goodreads 101/200

Currently Reading:
Anxious People
Space Opera
The Time of Contempt

QOTW:
I can't think of any that I've read. They should definitely be clearly marked and even shelved elsewhere in libraries/book stores. I think making a story accessible to different levels of readers is important to encourage literacy. However I wonder why any child needs to understand P & P or other classics during childhood. There are plenty of contemporary books out there discussing prejudice and other important themes written for them. Why read a classic twice unless you want to? Also aren't abridged versions obsolete when we have movies to quickly learn the main story and see if were interested in it?

Apparently there is a site wide glich, shocking, that won't allow html in posts. It's been reported and Goodreads responded that you have to post without html and then edit and you can add it in. 😤

So I finished and gave it 4 stars. I loved all the Shakespeare quotes thrown in along the way but not the Jane Austen ones. Weird.

My first impression of both Khalid and Ayesha was not good. It took more chapters for me to like them because the author had more time to develop them plus I need humor to connect with a character. I'm at about 10 chapters in and optimistic that this will be a 4 or 5 star read if that helps.

Also I really want onion pakoras right now.

Lauren wrote: "Hmm, I remember liking the movie Maleficent, so I'd be interested in a book version of something like that."

So Holly Black has this one Heart of the Moors: An Original Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Novel. I have a copy and have yet to read it so I can't recommend it, but Holly Black is one of my favourite authors. Fyi it's middle grade.

Happy check-in.

Finished Reading:

Claimed by Shadow ⭐⭐⭐ (2021 less than 1000 reviews)
Book two of an urban fantasy series following a clairvoyant. I didn't really like book one but the world was intriguing and I wanted to know what was going to happen. Fortunately this was a better book, and I think I'll continue the series.

A Court of Frost and Starlight ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A reread of the first novella from A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I need the next novella yesterday, but I'll have to wait until later this year.

To Sir Phillip, With Love ⭐⭐⭐ (2021 same title as a song)
Continuing this series. This was a close enough match for the prompt for me.

Cursed Luck ⭐⭐⭐ (2021 blogger/vlogger)
This was originally done online chapter by chapter last summer on Kelley Armstrong's blog. Surprisingly this centered around Greek myths. A good urban fantasy about a curse weaver/antique dealer.

DNFed
Itsuka this is the sequel to Obasan which I read years ago. Obasan was historical fiction about growing up in an internment camp/beet farm in Alberta after WII. The sequel follows the main character Naomi when she is middle aged in Toronto (1970s) when the Canadian Government is making compensation for their crimes. This is due back at the library to soon for me to push through the tough subject matter quickly.

PS 2021 27/50
PS 2017 25/52
Goodreads 95/200

Currently Reading:

Ayesha at Last 7 chapters in
Anxious People
Terminal Boredom: Stories

QOTW:
I reread all the time and I can't think of anything really that hasn't held up other than Twilight.