Stina’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2016)

Stina’s comments from the Challenges from Exploding Steamboats group.

Mary wrote: "Wouldn't a third, fourth, etc. book of a series also be a sequel?"

Depends on whose definition of "sequel" you are using. Some sources are very specific that it is the second part of the story. Others, not so much.

I'll probably go with Circe for this one.

WTF does that even mean? I'm tempted to count my next book club book because everyone on the Zoom call will be talking about it. I don't suppose it hurts any that it's a #1 NYT Bestseller. But if you want to use this as a freebie prompt to read whatever all the voices in your head are talking about, you go right ahead.

I'm no particular fan* of Oprah or her book club, but I seem to have amassed an impressive assortment of these titles without even trying. It will probably come down to a mood call for which one I read first.

*Or enemy, for that matter. I have no strong feelings on the subject.

I think of this as being the second book of a duology, as opposed to the second book of a longer series. But that is not a hill I am willing to die on. And then you run into situations where declared duologies then get prequels or graphic novel continuations or simply keep on going in the manner of Douglas Adams's "increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy."

I hate prompts that require me to track down bestsellers, but right now I am listening to The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music for a book club, and it's right there on the cover in all-caps.

I remember thinking there weren't a lot of good choices, but I did start reading News of the World and was enjoying it when I got distracted by adulting and other horrible things.

No, not hobbits or other fictional populations. Actual Little People. The Little People of America have a list of relevant fiction on their website: https://www.lpaonline.org/fiction-wit.... I already have A Prayer for Owen Meany and Stones from the River on my TBR for other prompts, so I'm set.

They also have a list of LPA authors, which can point you towards some nonfiction if that's more your style.

One could argue that the massive hurricanes of the past few decades are as much man-made disasters as they are natural disasters, but I am going with Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico Before and After the Storm.

I started reading American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment for a book club a few years ago, so I might borrow that one again. Or I might already have something left over from grad school.

My top possibilities for this prompt are Beowulf in Parallel Texts: Translated with Textual and Explanatory Notes and It's Good to Tell You: French Folktales from Missouri.

I was going to borrow Wild Invitation: A Psy-Changeling Collection, which contains a qualifying story, but then The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper, which I already owned, qualified for this prompt.

The original Habitica prompt suggested looking at the AIYLA, Burt, Indigenous Voices Awards, and Nga Kupu Ora. My handwriting is a little iffy, so I'll look those up and make corrections if necessary.

I think I was looking at The Marrow Thieves for this one.

For me, these are rewards for finishing La Belle et la Bête, the grandparent's name prompt, and a book by John Irving. You can count these bonus reads however and whenever you like.

The two I own are The Hotel New Hampshire and A Prayer for Owen Meany. Neither one actually sounds at all interesting to me, and they're really long, but everybody keeps talking about how great they are. Maybe this will be the year I decide for myself.

I'm still thinking of reading either Handwritten: Speculative Fiction Stories and Vignettes or Vertical Burn.

These are specific books that I have been blowing off for whatever reason. I'll list them here in order of priority.

La Belle et la Bête
Geek Love
Shirley
The Brave
Gothic Tales
The Sundial
The Blood Countess: A Novel
Walkaway
Footsteps in the Dark

This prompt was originally part of #Victober, which is pretty strict about what they mean by "Victorian," so I'm still planning to track down The Diaries of Hannah Cullwick, Victorian Maidservant again to finish it up. If you want to take a looser approach to your definition, I will not judge.

I've had The House of the Spirits on and off my TBR for decades now. It's very hard to get into. So maybe I'll go with Zorro instead.

This tends towards literary fiction and depressing memoirs, which is probably why it's still on my challenge. I seem to recall that I'm planning to read The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays. Someday. I mean, it is interesting and all. It's just hard to pick up.