Erica’s Comments (group member since Apr 05, 2019)
Erica’s
comments
from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.
Showing 921-940 of 1,266
Happy check-in day!A big thank you to all who wished their condolences last week. I know many people are grieving too and kindness always helps.
This week is much more positive, I enjoyed the inauguration yesterday. A new leadership that has compassion and understands diplomacy is beneficial to Canada. Not to mention the glass ceiling being broken. I too was blown away by Amanda Gorman and have added her book to my tbr. I don't like poetry but I keep reading it???
Finished Reading:
Shuri, Vol. 2: 24/7 Vibranium ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2017 POC author) This would also work for a song title because 24/7 Vibranium is a song title within the comic.
More Okorafor genius plus Marvel = awesome. Loved that the Marvel crossovers were all the young new iterations.
Stepsister ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cinder is BOTM in my bookclub and it's unavailable from the library and I consoled myself by reading a new to me retelling of Cinderella. This follows Grimm's version not Disney's and it was hard to put down. It starts off with the entities of Chance and Fate making a bet over one human girl; an ugly stepsister of Ella who mutilated her foot to no avail. Set in 1700s France.
In Flanders Fields: And Other Poems of the First World War ⭐⭐ (2017 set in wartime)
I love In Flanders Fields but the rest of this collection was not my thing and obviously it was depressing. Every poem was written by a soldier, while serving during WWI.
The Bright and Breaking Sea ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 a red spine)
The first book of a new series by a fave author. I was on the fence about this one and it's due to go back to the library soon so I gave it a shot. It was an enjoyable fantasy about a magical captain battling pirates and a former King.
PS 2021 4/50
PS 2017 8/52
goodreads 18/150 (I may need to increase this)
Currently Reading:
Across the Green Grass Fields
The Wicked King buddy reading this
QOTW:
+1 for spreadsheet joy (completions are purple)
+1 for reading being the reward
I do use rereads as rewards after reading books I want to accomplish prompts.
It's been a crappy week again. We lost a family member to cancer. The events in the states have emboldened idiot protesters here. Then last night we got hit with a major blizzard with F1 comparable winds. Add an upset stomach and no sleep making today great. Sorry I'm grumbly and sad. I'm glad we had no damage from the storm and the same for friends and family. I too have used books to find comfort. Finished Reading:
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really wish that Carden's letters to Jude had been included in this book but no such luck. It was still awesome none the less.
Pocket Apocalypse ⭐⭐⭐⭐(2021 family tree)
I'd been meaning to continue this series all last year and it never happened. So naturally I pick this book up soon after starting discover it's a plague book... a virus that cause werewolfism but it was a good urban fantasy set in Australia.
Forsaken ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(2017 mythical creature)
I tracked down a novella from an all time favourite series told from the perspective of my favourite character. This was a major comfort read and it didn't disappoint.
Warrior of the Wild ⭐⭐
This was a comfort read because it's ya fantasy. However it's not Levenseller's best. It was very generic but I still sped through it.
Blood Heir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 publication)
This might be the book I was most anticipating for the year. I was first on the wait list for the ebook. This being posted chapter by chapter during the lockdown saved my sanity. Do I care that most of this book I had already read... nope. :) I love the world Ilona Andrews created and to go back and have some characters pop back is great even if I want the story arc to go differently.
Austenland ⭐⭐⭐⭐(2017 a story within a story)
I love this movie so I thought I'd give the book a try. It was almost as good.
PS 2021 4/50
PS 2017 5/52
goodreads 14/150
Currently Reading:
I don't know what yet.
QOTW:
Ooh there's a bunch:
I want to read all 6 Jane Austen's plus Sanditon. (I've read 3)
Dune
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The LOTR and Hobbit
War and Peace
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Far From the Madding Crowd
The Illiad
Rebecca
Jane Eyre
and I'll stop there.
Dani wrote: "Good morning from a bitterly cold Columbus. I am really disliking this getting up early and taking a kid to school in the morning gig. Funny how I’ve been a mom for 14 years and this is the first s..."I love this series so much. Sabriel is the best. Just wondering if you purposely left out Goldenhand. I just discovered yesterday that there's a book 6 expected to be published in September. Terciel and Elinor Are you getting a charter mark tattoo?
Big Little Lies is also an oxymoron.
Mary wrote: "Reading is going to take on a whole new significance for me as this point. They say that children become readers in the laps of their parents, or in my case, my grandmother, who passed away yesterd..."I'm so sorry. Your grandma sounds like she was awesome and being able to hear her reading sounds truly wonderful.
Dani wrote: "Well what a weird start to the year, jeez. A new reading list always gets me excited so I think I’m off to a good start.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones for the magical realism p..."
Yeah I found the same thing to be true. My favourite character was Sumi but her book is the one I like the least.
Yeah so yesterday was a day... 2021 you were supposed to be a fresh start.I seem to have read a lot this week so that's good. I've been holding off of things so they could be used for this years challenges so I kinda went crazy.
Finished Reading:
Stolen Songbird ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm trying not to use ya for prompts this year so this was just for fun. This was a good start to an intriguing ya fantasy series by an author from the prairies.
Sailor Moon Eternal Edition 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been waiting to read this in 2021. This came in from the library and it's a completely different sailor moon book than what I requested but that's okay. It's such a pretty happy book I really don't want to return it.
Shuri, Vol. 1: The Search For Black Panther ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 afrofuturist)
This was awesome. There were multiple crossovers from the Marvel Universe that surprised me. I read the 3 volumes of Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates first and Nnedi Okorafor followed them quite well but you could still read Shuri without having read the Black Panther first. I need to get volume 2 asap.
The Broken Ones ⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed this series so much that an available prequel was tempting. I thought it was a short story... it was a full book. Probably should have left it to read at the end because of a spoiler but it was already spoiled for me by what shelves people placed Stolen Songbird on.
Vi ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 about immigrant/refugee)
This was near unputdownable. It's a memoir mostly following Vi's immigration to Canada from Vietnam during the late 70s. I gave it three stars because the ended crushed me when it just stopped in the middle of her life.
The Far Side Gallery 5 ⭐⭐ (2021 random TBR)
So I started borrowing this series to find a specific comic that was in this collection and it was not what I had envisioned. There weren't any real standout comics to me so it was just okay.
My Not So Perfect Life ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 career advice)
I got back to reading Sophie Kinsella last year so just catching up on one I skipped. Her books are comforting but fairly predictable. I love the friendships she creates but there are always moments when I want to slap the main character.
The Heroes of Asgard: Tales from Scandinavian Mythology ⭐⭐⭐ (2017 a book with pictures)
I borrowed a few collections of mythology/fairy tales of other cultures from my grandma's library so I'm resolved to read them all before the summer. I knew nothing about Norse mythology other than what the Marvel movies taught me... they were wrong.
PS 2021 2/50
PS 2017 3/52
goodreads 8/150
Currently Reading:
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (This is such a pretty book)
Austenland
QOTW:
Ooh well the book I hated the most last year I'm sick of ranting about so... Brighter Than the Sun. I've been working on this urban fantasy series. I'm 9/13. This is a novella following a different characters perspective. He had a horrible childhood and the content is disturbing. I didn't read the synopsis before I started it and I needed to read one audiobook by the end of the year. Also this was only available as an audiobook, which I hate, so I struggled to read it.
@ Sarah I think Sorcery of Thorns works for dark academia because she's lived at the library training for years. It's a trade in knowledge so you could stretch it.
Just read Vi by Kim Thúy.This was a Giller Prize nominee a few years back. It's a memoir of Vi's experience in Vietnam, immigrating to Montreal, and obtaining her education. It was written in French and I read an English translation.
You could try for dream job: a lawyer. Set in a restaurant, because some chapters are. Immigrating to a new country counts as a fresh start. The book is set in multiple countries notably Vietnam and Canada. Anyway here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Lilith wrote: "Erica wrote: "I wish everyone a happy New Year!Today started off so good but it has turned awful and next year will start that way too. I usually could care less about celebrating the new year, b..."
Thank you Lilith.
Shannon thanks for thinking of us. I haven't seen them since October so I don't have to worry about myself anymore than usual. It's just a waiting game now. I'm sorry your 2020 is ending not so well too.
Lauren wrote: "Happy New Year's Eve (it's also my birthday)! Thanks to the pandemic and some unemployment earlier, I've read 262 books this year (many on audio). I'm working on my top 10 list... This week I fin..."
Happy Birthday.
I wish everyone a happy New Year!Today started off so good but it has turned awful and next year will start that way too. I usually could care less about celebrating the new year, but I thought surviving this year was worth it. We found out about a covid outbreak in the hospital ward where an eldery loved one was for other health concerns. Now it's just helplessness and panic. Sorry to be a downer.
Finished Reading:
The Far Side Gallery 3 ⭐⭐
More comics and nothing stood out.
Heartstopper: Volume One ⭐⭐⭐
This was cute.
A Stitch in Time ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A new book from my favourite author came in from the library. It was hard to put down. A time travel (Victorian era England) murder mystery mashup with gothic romance. Great for a genre hybrid.
Where the Heart Is ⭐⭐⭐
This was my Oprah list book to complete the 2016 challenge. I had seen the movie many times because it's a good story. If you believe in karma this book would be up your alley. We follow Novalee after her baby daddy abandons her at wallmart, 7 months pregnant, and we follow him after this event. The writing is direct and probably would of had me laughing and crying had I not already knew the story. This book could be very triggering for people because the main characters deal with many terrible hardships. It ends at a good place. Sorry I'm not much of a reviewer Lynn I know you're interested in this one. I definitely recommend it but the violence was more upsetting in the book then the movie for me.
The Dirt on Ninth Grave ⭐⭐⭐
This was due to go back to the library so a mad push to finish it. I think this has been the best of the series. This book the main character ends up in New York with amnesia so it would have been perfect for the do over challenge but oh well.
PS 2020 50/50
PS Summer 20/20
PS Fall 10/10
PS 2016 40/40
goodreads 223/200
Currently Reading:
Stolen Songbird This is comforting fantasy ya and a nice surprise.
QOTW:
So my resolution is to read non ya books for my 2021 challenges but I'm definitely going to be reading things for comfort right now. Sailor Moon, #2 is up first and I could use it for different format seeing as this will be my 3rd ever manga.
Heather I too love This Is How You Lose the Time War. I nearly bought it today with my Christmas gift card but I choose to get the last two Saga collections instead.
Nadine you could slot Dune in the different format if you don't do buddy reads or buddy reads with your daughter.
Thanks Brandon. This is a prompt I'm not thrilled for because it seems to fit the mystery genre most often and finding out the narrator is unreliable from the start ruins the book a bit.
I just read what I want to read the most and then try and fit it in. I currently have a few library books and Christmas presents that I'm holding off on because they accomplish prompts. It's your challenge so whatever you decide is right.
Sorry I'm doing 2017s list and an unreliable narrator is from it.
