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

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

Nadine wrote: "Erin wrote: "Shadow and Bone-"author shares zodiac sign." I liked this! I wanted to read it before the Netflix show comes out. ..."


Oh I didn't know about that!!! I read this, and I enjoyed it, u..."

The netflix series isn't based on one series from Bardugo. It's based on the grishaverse and has characters from multiple series. I would suggest you read Six of Crows before you watch the show. (Six of Crows is set in a different country with new characters and it's a heist book within the world Bardugo created)

Brandy wrote: "Nadine wrote: "* Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal made a big splash, but aside from being set in NJ, it didn't really impress me. "

I'm coming on the other side of this. I think the early volumes of ..."

There's supposed to be more Saga?!!! I thought it just ended by ripping my heart out in Vol. 9.

I read Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai and loved it. This is a collection of poems from the perspective of a 10 year old girl as her family flees Vietnam by boat and ultimately ends up in the Southern United States. It is not a biography of the author's experience but it is based on it.
It's perfect for a fresh start, oxymoron in the title, and set in multiple countries.

If you are not being strict on the definition you can use The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. It is more of a closed circuit mystery.

I used A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas for this prompt.

Duy wrote: "Does anyone know if Scythe would count as a book about fresh starts?"

I think you can use it for this prompt. It starts off with the main characters being selected to train to be grim reapers leaving their families and friends behind.

Title: A ​Court of Silver Flames
Author: Sarah J. Maas

Recommend: Yes but this is book 4 of a series and you should start at the beginning. SJM doesn't seem to write short books so you do miss a lot of events and character development if you don't read them in order.

The Inheritance Games is a fast paced mystery. It is great for filling the 3 generations prompt.

Cornerofmadness wrote: "We got ice here for 12 hours but were far luckier than Texas. Somehow our electricity held.

I'm working on a good book but a slow book for some reason. I only managed one this week for the prompt ..."

Legendborn is so worth ignoring life and sleep for.

Nadine wrote: "Sheri wrote: "On the MCU front I probably have an unpopular opinion that while I enjoyed most the movies well enough when i watched them the first time, there's only a small handful I'm willing to ..."

Michael Pena is such a scene stealer. Definitely worth watching Ant-man and Wasp.

Jessica wrote: "Hi Friends!

I am sorry the discussion has lacked. I have covid and it's been a slow and hard recovery. Hopefully we can keep the discussion going for the time we have left!

Would you say Binti is..."

Wow I'm sorry you're unwell don't feel bad about not posting.

Christine wrote: "I haven’t checked in for a while - life was really difficult and chaotic - my daughter got seriously ill (she’s doing better), we had to re-home our puppy, and life just generally sucked for a whil..."

Scary. Glad to hear that your daughter is making progress.

Happy check-in. Had a furnace scare myself this morning. It was human error in reading the thermostat. Life before coffee is hard. ;) With that said I am definitely concerned about Texas especially our bookclub members. Ilona Andrews live outside of Austin and have shared a few updates through their blog. It's saddening to hear that people have to burn furniture to stay warm.
Hopefully the weather warms up down south asap.

Finished reading:

Shadowshaper ⭐⭐⭐
Interesting ya urban fantasy set in Brooklyn New York City. The author used ancestry as the super power. This was apparently a notable book on the New York Times list and on NPR's a few years back.

Grave Witch ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Starting to reread this series because I got the final book for Christmas. I had forgotten just how much I loved it.

Burke's Law: A Life in Hockey ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 subject your passionate about)
So Brian Burke literally got hired with my team while I read his memoir. His last chapter was about him taking a job with hockey media and being done working for a team lol.

A ​Court of Silver Flames ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 a book about fresh starts or do-overs)
This was published Tuesday and I had to stop halfway through rereading a different and equally long SJM book to start this one. I have spent the past couple nights staying up late to read, and then trying to sleep but wanting to read. The couple years wait and sleep deprivation was worth it.

PS 2021 10/50
PS 2017 11/52
goodreads 39/200

Currently reading:

House of Earth and Blood
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman

QOTW:
I can't think of an instance at the moment other than choosing to read instead of sleeping. Most of the time I can say to myself the book is not going anywhere and I can make myself go to bed. Some books just won't let you. I too recall being useless because of reading Harry Potters immediately upon attaining a copy.

Happy check-in. It's too cold to go outside here. However these face masks sure are helpful for keeping ones face warm if you must go outside. It's kinda disappointing that I've been using scarfs my whole life when face masks work so much better. (Doubling the mask is really warm)

Finished Reading:

Inside Out & Back Again ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Children's poetry about immigrating from Vietnam to Southern US that is semi-autobiographical. The author did a great job of expressing the feelings that a child would go through during such change.

The Far Side Gallery 4 ⭐⭐
I'm finally done all of these comic collections. :)
Remote Control ⭐⭐⭐ (2021 set mostly outdoors)
A little disappointing because while the main character is wonderful the world building and plot were sparse for me. Mostly I loved Binti so much that I hoped this would be the same.

Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 Mineral in the title)
This was riveting. I'm as hooked as I was on Saga. Thanks so much for the recommendation @Nadine!

Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 Body positivity)
Another great recommendation from @Nadine. This is a commentary on patriarchy. It's well done but I can't say I like it. Will be continuing the series though.

PS 2021 8/50
PS 2017 11/52
goodreads 35/200

Currently Reading:

House of Earth and Blood
Burke's Law: A Life in Hockey
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman
Shadowshaper

QOTW:

Well I have no idea. It seems things that become classics were not popular in their original time. I too read fantasy/sci-fi which seems to me is looked down on come awards time. (excluding the Hugo's)

I'm halfway through Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older and it is a good ya urban fantasy. I found this book when a friend recommended it because Tracy Deonn was inspired by this series to create Legendborn which I read last year and loved.

@Carmen thanks for the adorable bunny pictures. I'm reminded why animals attacked me a lot as a child I have bad instincts because all I wanted to do was pick the bunnies up. haha

Johanne wrote: "I don't understand why you're adding silver and gold?
I had a layman's understanding that they aren't minerals and went on a little search. Gold (aurum) is not on this very long list of all approve..."

Thanks for posting this link.
I went through and tin is there so Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars is a go. :)

ACOTR could fit
a book everyone else has read
the main character is an artist (painter)
you could say the main character has a fresh start in fairyland

K.L. wrote: "It’s been a pretty rough week. We found out that my Mum has developed a fourth brain tumor (located in the same spot as the one that was removed prior to Christmas). We’re currently waiting to find..."

I'm so sorry to hear that your mom has a new battle. Everything crossed that she's eligible for treatment.

Allie wrote: "Elaine wrote: "The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang for my book of a different format (a graphic novel ebook). This was so charming and delightful and wholesome! I do wish I'd had a physical c..."

You should also check out "Fence". There are four volumes of comics and a graphic novel that I need to read.