Week 6: 2/3-2/9

[Warren]

OK so 7/40, having added two since last post
#28 Book set in wartime, I was lured to Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow, the first in a series about a centurion and a legionnaire in Claudian Roman Empire and the invasion of Britain. Good read and I will probably follow the series when time allows. Under the Eagle
#29 Book with pictures. My Japanese lecturer asked me to review some Japanese readers so I am counting the first box set of Japanese graded readers (6 titles, each around a dozen pages) for this.Japanese Graded Readers: Level 1

[Rebecca]

I have not been reading at all this week and it is pretty unfortunate. I did start Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes today. Not sure if it will fit into any of the categories for the challenge, but I guess we'll see once I finish.

QOTW: I do read reviews for books before I buy them - normally on Goodreads. However if it is a book I'm really interested in bad reviews won't stop me and I'll still give it a chance :)

[Linda]

I haven't finished anything new this week, but I'm reading/listening to three books.

Reading The Underground Railroad for the monthly prompt, and Autumn's Flame for fun. I also started listening to American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good because I enjoyed his American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. I guess this works for the prompt of a book with a subtitle.

[Kate]

Letizia wrote: " one of the few book I've read back then - and probably the only one I really like - is The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly (the link is to my italian edition). It was so nice to reread it! It's a beatiful story...."

I read that aloud to my son last fall and we LOVED it! Such a different and touching story.

Missed a check in (or two). I've read several books that don't hit any prompts for the challenge but for the challenge I've only read 2 this last week.

For prompt #19 About Food I read Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan. It took me awhile to get into it and I did like it, but not enough to read the sequel. Read other's reviews of the sequel and it seems to be filled with more of the same relationship drama.

For prompt #28 Set During Wartime I read The Red Badge of CourageStephen Crane. I'm glad I finally read it but really not my thing.

That brings me up to 8/40.

QOTW: Yes, I do read reviews but I don't often write them. I like to just give star ratings.

[Emma]

Shannon wrote: "This week I read Sorcerer to the Crown for the character that is another ethnicity than you prompt. Sadly, I found it disappointing. The setup and main character were great but the ..."

I read Sorcerer to the Crown last year, and felt the same way as you. It's so disappointing to find a book with potential, only to have the writing not live up to what it could be.

Thank you also for mentioning that Unmentionable was on a bestseller last year! It's on my TBR list, but I've been holding off on it since I want to get all reading challenges out of the way before I get distracted by other books.

[Carole]

My first check-in.

Last week I finished The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. This was for the prompt been on my tbr list too long. Didn't thrill me too much. Very repetitive, but some food for thought.

Have also finished Persepolis by Marjane Satrapies for a book with pictures. Enjoyed it, my first graphic novel.

For the audiobook prompt I listened to Child 44 ( Leo Demidov, #1) by Tom Rob Smith, my first audiobook. I really liked the book, but my mind tended to wander while driving and listening so I had to keep going back to the beginning of tracks.

Currently reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. This fulfills the book coming out as a movie in 2017 prompt. Not really my cup of tea, but I'm committed to finishing it.

Q of the week. I like to check the average rating of the book on goodreads, but I read the reviews after I finish the book. With my first graphic novel, Persepolis, I should have read the reviews first. It totally escaped me that part of the experience was the pictures. I blew through it in short order and then had to go back and re-read it taking time to actually look at the pictured.

[Emma]

I read 5 books this past week, and all of them were for PopSugar!

#5 - Author is person of color - Kindred by Octavia Butler. I love Octavia Butler (if you want thought-provoking sci-fi, read her Xenogensis/Lillith's Brood trilogy), and I love time travel books. Kindred was fascinating even as it was uncomfortable.

#8 - Multiple authors - My Lady Jane. A tongue in cheek magical reimagining of what happened to Lady Jane Grey when she became queen of England for nine days. It was a cute book, but not amazing. Towards the end, I was ready for it to be done.

#17 - Involving mythical creatures - Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant. A short book about mermaids, but not the beautiful fantasy kind. A tv station wants to make a sensational (not really )documentary about finding mermaids. The problem is that they find them. And then bad things happen. Going into the story, you already know how it ends. The fun is in reading how they came to that end.

#27 - Title as character's name - Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton. This book was a dreamy, fictionalized story about Margaret Cavendish. There really wasn't any plot, and the felt more like journal entries that represented snippets of her life.

#33 - Set in two different time periods - The Marvels by Brian Selznick. The graphic section of this book was beautiful, and left me wanting to know more about the Marvel family. The prose section was somewhat anticlimactic. It was lovely in its own way, but the way in which the two sections are connected was a bit of let down. It was not how I wanted it to be.

QOTW - I read review sites such as Book Riot, Bookish, and BookBub. I'll also dip into Goodreads and Amazon if I'm on the fence about a book to see if it is worth the time. I do take reviews with a grain of salt because my 5 star book is someone else's 2 star book, and vice versa.

[Jennifer]

For this week I finished 2 books.

I read Me Before You for a book about someone with a disability. I am so happy I went with this book. It is one of the best books I've ever read. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh and cry. So many emotions. Definitely put on my favorites list. 5 stars from me.

I just finished The Promise Kitchen: a Novel for my book about food. Horrible. I read about 85% of the book, then skimmed through the rest. I felt like it was cheating so I eventually went back and read the end, but my view didn't change. Descriptive to a point of being repetitive and annoying. The characters were shallow and the politics drug the book down. At one point I actually said out loud, "who cares?!?" Story had potential.

Qotw: I use good reads and Amazon for my reviews and to find books. I also like to get books that are free or on sale.

I'm about to start a book I've been waiting for, Kings Cage!!

[Lynette]

This week I read Career of Evil. It is my book that is "by an author who uses a pseudonym." This puts me at 10/40 for the regular challenge. I am still not sure if I will venture to the advanced list, though I do have some books picked out for some of the categories.

I might glance at the star ratings of books on here, but I don't use them to make decisions about what I will read.

[Shivani]

Hello from Mumbai!

I'm still on vacation and so I got lazy and didn't check in last week. In the past 2 weeks, I've started 3-4 books which I thought would fulfill prompts from the challenges, but I gave up on them 1/4th-1/3rd of the way because I was just not feeling it!

One of them was Helen Oyeyemi's "What is not yours is not yours", where I'm currently at 40%, for either the prompt of "A book with an eccentric character" (It is full of eccentric characters, in every short story) or "A book by a person of color". I've really tried to be absorbed by the book but both the genre (magic realism) and the format (short stories) make it really hard for me to care about any of the characters. However, I do intend to stick at it and finish it off by the end of this week.

I completed Paul Kalanithi's "When breath becomes air", and it is one of those books that you want to get back to immediately after it's over. I might use it for one of these prompts from the Advanced list - " A book that takes place over a character's life span", "A book about a difficult topic" or "A bestseller from 2016".

Additionally, I'm also close to finishing up "How an economy grows and why it crashes" by Peter D Schiff and Andrew Schiff. I had initially picked it up to fulfill the prompt of "a book by multiple authors", but it also turned out to be illustrated! :D

QOTW: I love reading negative reviews about books that I found to be pretentious, to fulfill my insatiable confirmation bias.

[Keri]

I read two books this week!

The Thief - I gave it a 3. But looking back, it was REALLY boring. The action only happened in the last like 35%? Which is way too long to get into. I don't think I'd recommend. I used this for my "Book on my TBR List for too long" since it was on there for 2 years (and I didn't even remember!)

The second one was Bitter Remains: A Custody Battle, A Gruesome Crime, and the Mother Who Paid the Ultimate Price which I used for my "Book with a subtitle" prompt. It was good! I knew nothing about the case and it was just sad all over. I loved the background info thought it dragged at the trial part. Still good.

QOTW: I always look at reviews, especially from reviewers I've seen before and my friends list. I will look at a book at the library or at the used book store and immediately run to GoodReads to read the summaries and some reviews. :P

[Tanelle]

I just found out I get to go to a conference that has Joseph Boyton as a keynote speaker. I guess I should probably pick up one of his books before I hear him speak.

Rick Mercer is the the keynote speaker, I'm kinda freaking out

[Tanelle]

Boyden. Oops autocorrect

[Megan]

This week I only read 1 book The Drafter for espionage thriller. I am also still currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo (book with more than 800 pages) and Truly Madly Guilty (bestseller from 2016).

QOTW: I try not to check reviews of books before I read them because I feel like everyone has their own opinion and if I go into a book knowing that a lot of people didn't like it, I usually don't enjoy it as much.

[Katy]

This week I have been reading Audacity which is both a book about an interesting woman and a book about an immigrant. I may also stretch it to fill the prompt a book with career advice since the story is about unionizing.

I'm really enjoying the story. It is written in verse and is inspired by the true story of Clara Lemlich who was a workers' rights advocate in the early 1900s.

QOTW: I sometimes read reviews, but I think that the reasons I do or don't like most books is as much about me as it is about the books. My best friend and I both read a lot and read very few of the same books because we like different genres and aspects of books. When you use the library you're not really risking anything checking out a book you don't know if you'll like.

[Shannon]

Emma wrote: "Shannon wrote: "This week I read Sorcerer to the Crown for the character that is another ethnicity than you prompt. Sadly, I found it disappointing. The setup and main character wer..."

You are welcome Emma. I was determined to fit Unmentionable in somewhere!

[Antonia E Iacampo]

Only one book for the challenge this week. This brings me to 8 / 52

5. A book by a person of color: The Underground Railroad

I also finished The Last Colony but I'm not counting books from the same series more than once for the challenge.

Currently Reading:
Tesla: Man Out of Time
Zoe's Tale
The Inheritance Trilogy - Second book of the series

QOTW - I don't really read reviews that much...I like to get an idea of what the book is about, but real "reviews" aren't that important to me. I do however find a lot of books through Scalzi's Whatever blog and the Big Idea pieces he publishes there.

[Nicole]

I haven't made as much progress this week as in past weeks, but I'm still chugging right along.

I only finished one book last week, and that was Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I read it because I wanted to read the sequel to Cinder, and it worked out nicely by filling the spot for prompt #27, a book with a title that's a character's name. I have also found that the 4th book in the series, Winter, will fill prompt #8 on the advanced reading list, a book that's more than 800 pages. So, to get there, I started reading Cress, which I can't seem to fit into any of my prompts. It is quite a bit longer than the first two books in the series, so it's taking me longer to get through it.

I am still listening to the audio version of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead on Scribd. It was on my TBR list, and since it was chosen as the group read for February and fills prompt #5, a book by a person of color, I started it sometime before last week's check in. It is a good, but difficult book. It's quite heartbreaking in places, and definitely eye-opening. I think it's made much easier to listen to than to read, due the narrator, Bahni Turpin. I should finish it today, so I'm looking to follow up with something a little lighter after that.

That brings me to 15/40 or 16/52.

QOTW: Now that I am on Goodreads, I never add a book to my TBR list or pick one out without consulting that book's page on Goodreads. I look at the average rating, then look to see if any of my friends have read it or marked it as "want to read," and finally, I scroll through the reviews. Sometimes I make up my mind within the first review or two, but other times I will read 10 or 20, and I often skim through the reviews, not just reading the first few, but maybe reading 5 out of the first 30 or something. I love having GR to give me good ideas and good reviews!

[Kelly]

Happy Friday :)

This is a two week check-in for me, because I missed last week's post.

9/52
Also 4/24 for the Book Riot challenge

Last week I read The Underground Railroad: 4 stars; I am using it for the "bestseller from 2016" prompt

This week I read Jaws: "a book set around a holiday other than Christmas", the story focuses on 4th of July weekend; I gave it 3 stars because a sub-plot greatly annoyed me

I am still working on:
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts. This is taking me a lot longer than expected. It's interesting, but takes a lot of focus to keep the names and events straight especially considering I know very little about the political struggles of Timbuktu and Mali.

I also hope to start Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream this week.

QOTW: I definitely look at reviews before I pick out a book, but usually just reviews of people I know. A bad review won't necessarily turn me off of a book, because everyone's opinions vary. However, bad reviews may make me push a book farther down on my TBR. Also if I'm trying to decide between two books on the same topic I'll look at review to help me decide. Just yesterday I used goodreads reviews to help me decide between Victoria and Albert and A Magnificent Obsession: Victoria, Albert, and the Death That Changed the British Monarchy. This can be tricky though, because one has a higher rating but the other has more reviews.

I tend to avoid super popular books. If The Underground Railroad hadn't been our February group read I doubt I would have picked it up.

[Jacque T]

Forgot to check in last week, but had not finished anything either. This week I finished:
Touch by Alexi Zenter. I'm counting it towards a book set in the Wilderness, but it would also count for a book about mythical creatures;
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack; I'm not sure which category it will go toward--non-human character, set in war-time. Will have to see how some of my other reading choices play out

I was also a serial-starter the last 2 weeks:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (author uses a pseudonym)
Winter Solsticeby Rosamunde Pilcher (season in title|)|
The Broken Road: From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos by Patrick Fermor (book about travel)
Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit (book loved as a child) reading this to my 5 year old
Dubliners by James Joyce (listening on audio book)

Continuing:
The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 (800+ pages)

Currently at 4/40 (or 5/40 if counting Book Thief) and 1/12

QOTW: I don't worry too much about reviews. I get most of my recommendations from friends, from other home-schooling moms or from the podcast "What Should I Read Next" at Modern Mrs Darcy blog. Will look at reviews if friends have had mixed reviews of a book.

[Charlotte]

I am at 7/52. I also finished The Underground Railroad but I'm using it for the 2016 bestseller prompt. I feel like I'm in the minority here though because I only found the book to be okay. It wasn't bad and it certainly was difficult to process and made me uncomfortable at certain parts (the good kind of self-reflection uncomfortable). I think maybe I just built it up so much in my head based on reviews that I couldn't appreciate it quite as much as I wanted to.

Which brings me to...
QOTW: I do read reviews, mostly on Goodreads. I also take my friends' recommendations seriously. I follow my local library and a couple of book publishers on social media too so I learn about new releases before I can be jaded by other opinions.

[Lynette]

Well, I'm hitting these updates more like every other week - here's what I've read since my last one:

14. A book involving travel
'Tis, McCourt goes from New York City to Germany during the Korean War, and travels between there and Ireland, and NYC and Ireland several times throughout the book

16. A book that's published in 2017 -
The Power of Different: The Link Between Disorder and Genius, coming out on March 7 (I got an advance reader copy)

33. A book set in two different time periods
Almost Missed You, (Another ARC, also works for a book published in 2017)

44. A book that takes place over a character's life span
The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights - ,(This has been on my Newbery TBR for quite some time, came up at an interesting time in current affairs. It also works for the travel category)

49. A book you got from a used book sale
The Taming of the Shrew, This was for my Shakespeare studies. The playwriting is very well done, but I really hate its nasty, horrid misogyny, regardless of considerations of the century involved.

So I'm now 16/40 and 5/12.

QOTW:

I do read reviews of books before I buy them. I don't pay a lot of attention to the professional ones, preferring to go by what "real people" tell of their experience with it. For that reason, I LOVE it when people don't give a synopsis of the book for a review - we can get that from the flap/back/editor. Instead, I look for the person to tell us if they did or did not like the book, and why, describing particular factors that contributed to that reaction without putting outright spoilers up. In other words, don't tell me the story line of the book - tell my why you choose the number of stars you did. :)

[Nadine in NY]

Kelly, that's brilliant to read Jaws for the "holiday" category!! I never thought of that one!

[Deb]

So, I finished Simple Genius and am more that halfway finished with The Underground Railroad. A friend loaned me Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, so I'm good to go for March!

QOTW: I'm in a Reading Group on Ravelry (kind of like Facebook for Knitters/Crocheters, but 100x better!) Anyway, I try to find someone who likes books I've read and see what else they are reading. Some helpful people here have added to my TBR list as well.

[Stephanie]

This week for the challenge I finished :

32) Book about an interesting woman: Scrappy Little Nobody Loved this one it was so funny and easy to relate to.

12) Bestseller from a genre you don't normally read: Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Vol. 1 This was a bestseller in 2012 according to the internet. My fiance has been wanting me to start reading manga so I figured this prompt was a good opportunity. However I really really really did not enjoy this one. I've since been told by a friend who also enjoys manga that this was not a very good series and he gave me some other recommendations so I might try again. My fiance has apologized for the terrible recommendation lol.

Advanced 2) A bestseller from 2016 - Glass Sword really enjoyed this one as well, looking forward to picking up the next instalment King's Cage which came out this week.

17/52 in total for the challenge.

[Johanna]

Total: 9/52

I have not finished any new books this week. I am tackling my more than 800 page prompt. I am trying to read4321 by Paul Auster. I'm a fast reader and I'm enjoying the book, but I don't think I'll get through in the 2 weeks before I have to return it to the library. (And there's a hold already on it so I can't renew it.)

On another note, I'm also trying to do the children's literature challenge with my kids. We are almost done with Wonder for the prompt of a book about a person with a disability. I am loving this book - I may even cheat and use it on my own.

QOTW:
I do look at ratings, but I mostly use the description to see if I'll like a book. I've love books others have hated and have hated ones that it seems the whole world loves. I just try to go with my gut about a book and what the jacket cover says. The other day I just wandered around the library and got some great ideas from the recommended books there. Can't wait to delve into those.

[Marisa]

Hello everyone! I am almost done reading Me Before You (a book by or about a person who has a disability) and I am still trying to get though You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life (a book you bought on a trip). I guess I need to just get into it and finish reading it. Happy reading everyone!!

[Emily]

I finished The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo on Tuesday for "a book with pictures". I was thinking "a book about an interesting woman", but that's March's challenge.
I'm still on the wait list for the February challenge book (#282 on 125 copies). I'm also on the wait list for Hidden Figures (#27 on 8 copies). So, I might finish March before February. :p
QOTW: Yes! I tend to read books after having read some good review. But, sometimes I'll read a book after having read the description and a bad review. haha

[Theresa]

Woot! I'm finally checking in at the appropriate moment! Been really busy so haven't been on GR much at all. However I am reading reading reading.

This week, I finished Hidden Figures, then dashed off to see the movie! Terrific book but a much broader, drier, read than the movie would leave you to think. The book is more like reading a dissertation, but absolutely fascinating. Opens with Dorothy Vaughn who gets a temporary job during WWII at Langley working as a 'computer' in aeronautics. This division morphed into aerospace after WWII with the onset of the Cold War, with the book ending in the 1970's with the end of the Apollo flights. Also portrayed is the deep segregation enforced in Virginia until the 1970s, providing a rich social background to the story. The movie covers a particularly critical moment in our space explorations, and I have to give the scriptwriter significant cudos for adapation. And woohoo! It's the selection for March challenge so I'm ahead! I actually categorized this read as my book in a genre I don't usually read (non-fiction historical narrative/biography), but it fits at least 4 other categories easily. Note: Book only about 250 pages long -- there are over 100 pages of annotations, bibliography and a very detailed index.

I also read my book set in a hotel: A Gentleman in Moscow. LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! Think Eloise but for grownups. In 1920 Russia, an aristocratic gentleman is sentenced by the Bolshevicks to house arrest for life for writing and publishing a controversial poem. However, his home is actually the premier Hotel Metropol in Moscow. There he lives in a tiny room in the attics for the next 35 or so years. One would think his life would be narrow and how could it possibly sustain a book? Well, I would say that his house arrest actually gave him a richer life than he otherwise would have had.

Now I'm about half way through my 7th challenge book, which is the one being made into a movie this year: The Circle. I've come to the conclusion that I'm too old for this book, I'm finding myself impatient with the characters. Set in a company called The Circle (a mash-up of Facebook/Apple/Google), you follow a 24 year old woman from her first day on the job. There is a constant undertone of creepiness -- in both a Big Brother and a Stepford kind of way. Evil has to surface, me thinks. That said, it's an enjoyable read, plus the issue of privacy, and the erosion of one's right to privacy, is dominant, something of interest to me. Movie version opens in March starring Emma Watson.

My other challenge reads so far have been Rest You Merry (reread of favorite book), The Girl on the Train (unreliable narrator - boy, is there ever!), The Woman in Cabin 10 (book with travel), and How to Moon a Cat (book with cat on a cover). All these could fit multiple categories if someone is looking.

QQTW: I read reviews a lot, mostly in newspapers and magazines, especially the NY Times. But also read reviews online at Amazon and B & N although those I find less reliable, also GR and Kirkus of course. Many of the more eclectic books I buy I first discover from NYTimes reviews.

[Kathy]

Read three challenge books this week:
Swimming Lessons - I've had this book for while and was glad it worked for "book of letters".
Yes Please. I'm using this for a book about an interesting woman, although I didn't find her that interesting after all, maybe something later in the year will be a better fit for me.
We Were Liars for the unreliable narrator.

QOTW- yes I read reviews, they usually make my TBR longer! I love the NYT book review on Sunday, and I always check out the Goodreads reviews for what I'm reading. I try to wait until I'm done with the book, but sometimes I can't stop myself.

[Emma]

I've not finished anything this week, so am still on 7/40 I'm going to spend lots of time reading this weekend!

I am reading The Book Thief for a book set in wartime. It's taken me a while to get into it but I'm getting there!

I'm listening to The Story of a New Name for the audiobook prompt. Not generally a fan of audiobooks but am really enjoying this one, I read the first book on kindle last year and have been looking forward to this one.

I'm also reading Getting it Right for Two Year Olds: A Penny Tassoni Handbook for work, and may use it as a book with career advice, seen as it's relevant to my career!

QOTW - sometimes I'll read reviews, particularly if I'm buying for kindle, but generally I'll go with recommendations from friends and family more often, or recommendations from online forums I'm on. If I'm reading something with a book review section though I will always check it out and end up adding things to my to read list.

[Anne]

Avanti wrote: "Hello from India. I finished reading wuthering heights for the prompt a story within a story. Also did my first (and most probably last) audiobook -Bossypants by Tina fey. The only reason I could g..."

eccentric character

[Michelle]

I finally feel like I'm making some progress and actually finished two challenge books this week! I finished Suite Scarlett for a book set in a hotel and Wishful Drinking for a book about an interesting woman. That makes me at 7/40 and I'm feeling pretty good about that.

QOTW: I tend to only read reviews if I feel like the description provided for the book is too vague for me to really have any sort of idea what it's about. More than anything, I check the average rating for something on goodreads. I feel like that's the most helpful for me to determine if it's "good".

[Kathy]

I finished two books this week so I'm at 8/40 and 2/12. For my recommendation from a librarian I read The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin. I was so involved in the story and with the characters that it felt like I was part of it all. I read Walking by Henry David Thoreau for the book set in the wilderness. Short and interesting to read.

I'm in the middle of The Secret History by Donna Tartt for Popsugar Advanced genre or subgenre you've never heard of: the inverted mystery. Actually I've read quite a few mysteries where you know who was killed right at the beginning then the book shows how it all happened, but I just didn't know it was called an "inverted mystery." This book is wonderful!

QOTW: I read reviews and look at ratings but they don't totally sway me one way or another if I want to read a book.

[Chrissy]

TGIF!

This week I finished 5 books!
The Handmaid's Tale on audiobook for prompt 51 (difficult topic). It was wonderful (again). Everyone should read it.
Americanah for prompt 5 (POC author) and the February group challenge. I found it engrossing and (somewhat surprisingly) relatable, while also opening up an experience (immigration) and culture (Nigerian) that are new to me.
The Bees for prompt 21 (non-human narrator). I liked it and even recommended it to my beekeeping friend, but I can see how it would not be for everyone. To me, it read a lot like a sci-fi story about aliens with a culture, environment, and physiology completely different than ours.

I also finished 2 books for the Read Harder challenge:
The Mothers for prompt 24 (all POV characters are POC). I really liked this one too, although it was sad. The mothers characters were interestingly done, and the protagonist was flawed but lovable.
Strong Poison for prompt 7 (published between 1900-1950). I've read one or two Dorothy Sayers mysteries in the past and liked them, and want eventually to read the Wimsey/Vane series in order. Enjoyable, but probably not that memorable.

QOTW: I occasionally put a book on my list because I saw it written up somewhere... I often choose a book because my library has picked it for their monthly read (never been disappointed). For the challenge, I use GR star ratings to choose between options for a prompt. I sometimes read a few of the reviews, but avoid spoilers. And I am NOT someone who jumps on the bandwagon for "hot" books. In fact, I often avoid really popular books because I have an innate distrust of things that everyone seems to love. (Never saw "Titanic", for example!)

[Diane]

Good morning!
I finished 3 books this week
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for prompt #45 A book about an immigrant or refugee. But it could also be used for #31 A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you or #26 A book by an author from a country you've never visited or #5 A book by a person of color.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation by Brad Ricca for #16 A book that's published in 2017. It also has a subtitle, so could have been #15, but I already have a book for that.

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth for #39 The first book in a series you haven't read before. If you've seen Call the Midwife episodes on TV, it's based on this trilogy -- a true story of about Jennifer, a nurse midwive and nuns (also midwives) delivering babies in the East End of London in the mid to late 1950s and very early sixties.

QOTW: I often add books to my TBR based on reviews in the Minneapolis paper. Typically I do not base my reading on book ratings in Goodreads, but may take a peek at the rating if I'm not sure about a book that's been recommended.

[Ana]

I'm at 10/52 for the challenge right now.

I read The Witches of Karres which is currently slotted in for eccentric character, because some of the characters are a bit odd. I don't know if this will stay on my list or not, but t was still a fun read.

I also read Education of Oversoul Seven and put it in for a book about a difficult topic. Not the usual sort of difficult topic, but it is about the afterlife and a different way of thinking about what life is. Truly an amazing book.

Finally I read The Spirit Thief and could not put it down. Right now I have it under a book bought on a trip, since going to knitting group at a used book store is the only real trip I will ever take for the moment. But this could also work for an eccentric character.

I'm still reading Inferno, only reading about a canto a day, so it is slow going.

Qotw: I usually don't read the reviews, because the books are usually on my to read list regardless. But, when looking for library books, sometimes I do. And sometimes just to se what people say about a book, but that is usually after I have read it. And then I usually skip past the ones that summarize the books because those are boring. Then again, I feel like I have the freedom to write whatever I want in my reviews because someone has already given a 'professional' review.

[Katie]

I just got serious about the challenge a couple weeks ago. To date I've finished 4 books and am starting my fifth:

Love in the Time of Cholera

My first Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel read! Overall it was good but the storyline dragged on a bit and I'm typically not one for lovesick forlorn characters. I liked reading their life stories and the backdrop of the Caribbean islands. This will be in the "Book by an author from a country you've never visited" category.

The Underground Railroad

I expected this book to be super historical/depressing but it was actually not. I liked the use of the literary device of an actual Underground Railroad (which was what I thought it looked like when I was little). Like others, I found the characters to be a bit emotionally detached. Which I suppose made the book a bit more tolerable and a quick read. This will be in the category for book by person of color.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I really loved this book. I learned a lot about the occupation and the British perspective of WWII. The characters all make you fall in love with them! This could fit in the book of letters category but I chose to put it in a book with multiple authors category.

Things Fall Apart

Quick read. Loved the weaving of folklores into this and the African perspective. Will check out the other books in the African trilogy later. I put this in the category for a book with one of the four seasons in the title (Fall).

The Subtle Knife

I'm currently reading this. I read the Golden Compass a few years ago and loved it. So I'm grabbing the opportunity to read book #2 in his Dark Materials trilogy. Plus it fits in the steampunk novel category.

QOTW: Reviews are hit or miss for me. I usually go off book recommendations if I hear people mentioning them over and over to the point where I'm curious enough then I read a synopsis and skim a few reviews. I rely on them more if it's more of an "unknown" book.

[Claire]

I finished one book this week - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for a book of letters. I adored this book; I enjoyed the format, the characters, the storyline - everything. It also really made me want to re-read 84, Charing Cross Road, which I may have to try and fit in somewhere! Possibly as a book that always makes me smile.

I'm 4/40 and about halfway through my fifth book at the moment. I've also just collected three more challenge books for the library so I know what my next three reads will be.

QOTW: I do read reviews, and when I'm very interested in a book I'll go to Amazon and read an excerpt from it - it normally includes at least the first chapter, and that's usually the deciding factor for me as to whether something goes on the TBR list.

[Jennifer]

This week was a good one reading wise and allowed me to catch up on my target.

Finished this week:

The Winter People - book with one of the four seasons in the title and also the group read. I gave my review in the m monthly update. Thought it was fine but wouldn't rush to read anything else of hers.

The Metamorphosis - book from a non-human perspective. I found this one a bit odd and was left feeling at little underwhelmed and like I was missing something.

The Underground Railroad - feb group read and book by a person of colour (although I really want to read 'the colour purple which was my original pic for this prompt so might move this around later). I loved this book and will definitely recommend.

I started off the year with a personal challenge to read as much as possible from my TBR. Into month 2 and that challenged has changed. As well as this bc I have joined the GR '1001 books to read before you die' group and want to try and read he monthly group reads for each every month if possible. In addition to that I'll be reading the Dymocks book of the month each month. I think this will broaden my reading horizons and extend me beyond the books I would normally pick up. Will try to make as many of thee ones fit prompts as possible but we're not possible I'll try for in a prompt book here and there to make up for it.

Next off the pile is The Marriage Plot which I'll be starting today and is he 1001 feb group pick.

QOTW: I like to read GR reviews when I'm filling up my TBR Alistair (I can spend hours doing this).

I don't usually read reviews on a book right before I read it though as like to make my own opinion. I'll read them afterwards on occasion when I'm leaving my own review but tend to find it makes me feel a little inferior by some of the overly complex opinions people have over the negatives to books I love.

[AF]

Last week I didn't finish my book, but I finished it this week! I read The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum for my espionage thriller. It was nothing like the movie, and I must admit I love Matt Damon so much that I think the movie is better, which I have NEVER said before. I am so glad I read it though. I found that book on someone else's list.

I was then surprised by my public library because the book I had on hold for well over a month, finally became available. So I read Adulthood Is a Myth by Sarah Andersen. Oh.my.goodness I laughed so hard through that book. It was such a short, quick read that I read it twice and laughed even harder the second time. I chose this book from the New York Public Library recommendation page way back in December when I was planning my books for this challenge. It is my pick for "recommended by a librarian".

I was going to borrow The Underground Railroad from a friend, but knew it would be a couple of days until I could get it from him, so I read another short book. I read The Field Guide by Holly Black for my book with a red spine. It was highly recommended by my daughter who has read the whole series. I was completely disappointed with the ending of this book. It felt like, since the author was writing a series, it just stopped. I literally turned the page looking for the next chapter. It was not a complete story in book one. I might read the rest of the series at a later time, but I'm so irked by the first one I might not.

And then I started The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead for my book by a person of color and for my monthly group read. I'm about 60 pages in and already can tell I'm going to love it. I should have it finished by next check in.

I am currently 12/40 and 2/12. Last year I got a good head start, too, and then took two months off in late fall and frantically finished just in time. I'm hoping I stay at this pace until I'm finished. Then I will read sequels and other books in the series.

QotW: I do like reading reviews, usually only a few positive and a few negative. Sometimes I am talked into reading a book and sometimes I am talked out of it. I love it when people use memes in their reviews. LOL I hate it when they basically write the synopsis.

[Melanie]

12/ 52

Two week post-
An Ember in the Ashes (a book written by a person of color) was delightful start to a new YA fantasy series.

Hidden Empire (a book written by someone you admire). Kevin J. Anderson is a SFF author that’s been around for along time, but always sort of under the radar. This is the start of a series I haven't yet read by him. My favorite books by him (so far) are: The Dragon Business and Death Warmed Over.

Wintergirls (a book with one of the four seasons in the title) could easily be a book about a difficult topic or an audiobook pick. Laurie Halse Anderson has never disappointed me and this book is no exception. The audio was done so well that it definitely made a great book even better.

***
QOTW
I almost always read the reviews. If GR friend recommends or dislikes a book, that matters because then I can approach the book with the right expectations. Plus, I don't generally mind book spoilers.

[Lexi]

I finished All Men of Genius this week for Steampunk. It was awful: poor plotting, sexist and ambiguous consent (everything you might want in a children's book). I am still reading with my mother, whose house burned down this week, so we will be on pause for a bit. Total: 5/52

[Christine]

I'm kind of off track the past couple weeks - I find myself listening to podcasts instead of Alexander Hamilton - I guess I'm just in the mood for quick and peppy, not long and serious right now.

I am making progress with Rebecca, and Mrs. Danvers is now on the scene, which can only get me more interested. Bring on the Gothic creep!

I haven't made much progress though, because I've been cheating on my main book with Octavia Butler. :) I read Kindred for the challenge and loved it. Then last week my favorite podcast (H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast) covered the titular short story from her collection Bloodchild and Other Stories - of course I had to pause the podcast, get the book, read the story, and then get immediately hooked into the next one . . .

Anyway, it's a nice "problem" to have!

QOTW: Yes! I use Goodreads reviews a lot, and frankly these days I tend to avoid a book with less than 4 stars because who has time for mediocre books when there are so many fabulous ones?

I love it when people in the challenge write a little about what they thought - I've already gotten so many great ideas from these threads!

[Nadine in NY]

Xelly wrote: "... I am still reading with my mother, whose house burned down this week, so we will be on pause for a bit. ..."

That's awful!! Is everyone okay?

[Tytti]

Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "QOTW: Yes! I use Goodreads reviews a lot, and frankly these days I tend to avoid a book with less than 4 stars because who has time for mediocre books when there are so many fabulous ones?"

I have often thought that books with ratings (well) over 4 stars are often mediocre or even bad, mainly because people who like that kind of books tend to read a lot of them and then give all of them 4 or five stars, and at the same time people who are looking for something different (usually that means "not romance") won't even try reading them. An interesting and different book won't appeal to everyone so some will only give it 1-2 stars, bringing the rating down. Only some of the best (modern) classics deserve their 4+ rating, and even they are not usually among the highest rated books. And there are so many books closer to 4.5 stars but are absolutely horrible... I rather read a good 3+ book than one of those.

[Tara]

Tytti I agree, some books that have massive appeal I feel are written to the lowest common denominator. Series like Twilight and 50 Shades do not appeal to me at all. I do like a good fantasy or dystopia so I do like Harry Potter, maze runner, hunger games but can definitely agree that often those mass appeal books are not the best! Some of my favourite books others have absolutely hated!

[Megan]

Not a lot of activity to report this week. I finished Relish: My Life in the Kitchen for "a book about food." I'm still working on Be Frank With Me and Inherit the Bones -- and enjoying them both :) I finished three Scarlet Witch comics for another reading challenge I'm also working on (2017 BookRiot Read Harder). And, I picked up Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person at the library yesterday, which fits a couple of categories for me :)

QotW: I sometimes read reviews before selecting a book, but sometimes wait until after I'm done with the book to read them. I like experiencing the book on my own and not being influenced by others' thoughts. However, I receive several book-related newsletters and usually at least skim the reviews, which frequently results in me adding to my TBR list. I love reading the Washington Post's reviews (and still miss the weekly Book World insert!) and often seek out new-to-me authors based on those reviews. I follow several professional reviewers and bloggers on Twitter and occasionally use those reviews to select a book. I enjoy reading Goodreads reviews after I'm done reading a book, especially if I had a strong positive or negative reaction to it. I'm unlikely to read a Goodreads review before selecting a book, unless it was written by someone I know and have a good sense of how their reading preferences match up with mine.

[Lexi]

Nadine wrote: "Xelly wrote: "... I am still reading with my mother, whose house burned down this week, so we will be on pause for a bit. ..."

That's awful!! Is everyone okay?"

Everyone got out including the animals, thank you

[Sheri]

I was still on vacation for most of the week so continued to work through my comic stash. Catching up on ongoing, plus I read Descender, Vol. 1: Tin Stars and Injection, Vol. 1 which were both excellent. Descender's art in particular was beautiful watercolors. Don't fulfill challenges but were still great. I did get some challenge reading fine by reading Immortal Nights as my book o got wile traveling. It was fluffy romance. Not as good as some of the earlier books but not as bad as some of the more recent ones. I am also currently reading The Kept Woman which is already for. Not sure if it really fits into the challenges at all but it finally came up for my library.

QOTW: sometimes I read reviews if I'm indecisive. I'm more likely to read reviews if friends reviewed. If anything i read the reviews after I finish a book. I like to see if people had similar thoughts once I'm done. I especially do it if something confused me if I didn't like it, to see if anyone else agreed with me.