Week 23: 5/31 - 6/7

[Jen]

Raquel wrote: "Teri wrote: "My niece told me I would love The Hunger Games, but her description of the plot made me cringe (there is no good way to describe the series that actually sounds appealing)."

I read [b..."

Being tough and loyal is not a bad thing. Makes me think I'll come and hang out with you if the world goes to hell in a hand-basket.

[Kenya]

All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly cover"... *hangs head*

[Nadine in NY]

Kenya wrote: "All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly cover"... *hangs head*"

It IS kind of an ugly cover, though!

[Emma]

It’s been a while since I updated! Think since last post I have read:

The Heist - well this was on audible, using for the heist prompt. Hated it as cliche ridden nonsense at first but then relaxed into it and found it enjoyable nonsense 😀

84, Charing Cross Road - for book that involves a bookstore or library. This was charming and unexpectedly moving.

The Inside-Out Revolution: The Only Thing You Need to Know to Change Your Life Forever - pencilling this in as book about mental health, my therapist has started working with a ‘three principles’ approach to mental health, which this book explains quite well, though made it sound a lot more spiritual and ‘woo’ than I’m comfortable with.

Snow Falling on Cedars - book with a weather element in the title. This was excellent.

Also read, though not for challenge Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries (I’d use for movie prompt but I’ve not actually seen it yet!) and Swimming Lessons which was wonderful. Today just finished The Lesser Bohemians which was — odd — and a tough read in some ways but very good.

[Katy]

Nadine wrote: "Kenya wrote: "All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly cover"... *hangs head*"

It I..."

I think it's kind of cute.

[Kenya]

Katy wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Kenya wrote: "All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly cover"... *han..."

Is "ugly cute" a thing? The taxidermied raccoon on the cover IS kind of adorable with his big grin and spread arms, but you can throw all the gold glitter you want on a dead raccoon... it's still a dead raccoon. *shrugs*

[Katy]

Kenya wrote: "Katy wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Kenya wrote: "All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly c..."

Is he dead? I thought it was an artist's rendition of a dancing raccoon.

[Chinook]

Oh , he’s definitely dead.

[Katy]

Chinook wrote: "Oh , he’s definitely dead."
Well, in that case, it's quite disturbing.

[Chinook]

She’s into taxidermy.

[Katy]

Chinook wrote: "She’s into taxidermy."

I am not. I didn't read the book. I just clicked on the link to see if it was an ugly cover re: the conversation. So, I didn't realize. I just thought it was a dancing raccoon. A live dancing raccoon. Or rather a painting of one.

[Chinook]

I highly recommend the book, even if you don’t share her love of odd taxidermied creatures. I find her hilarious and read her blog long before she published books. The audiobooks are also fantastic.

[Somer]

I added six more books this week!!

Siege and Storm
Loved this book and I am looking forward to read the next!! I have questions lol but I think they will be answered in the following books!
The sea witch: Can love turn you evil?: Volume 1
This is a wonderful back story of a movie I have seen and wowza it's interesting to see how the authors come up with these! This series looks to be a good read!
A Wrinkle in Time
I read the book this week and want to watch the movie now!! I liked it alot!!
The Book of Life
wonderful book for a wonderful series!!!!
September Girls. I honestly am not the biggest fan of this book, just hard to follow and keep up with and not my favorite story line
Fangs and Fennel pretty good easy read series!

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Jen wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Teri wrote: "My niece told me I would love The Hunger Games, but her description of the plot made me cringe (there is no good way to describe the series that actually sounds appealin..."

Aw! I appreciate this response. :-) It seems like a lot of times people focus on Katniss's flaws, which I admit she definitely has, but I actually like Katniss quite a bit too.

And weirdly, I'm kind of better at dealing with emergencies than with everyday adulting, which might be why I enjoy dsytopian books so much.

[Abbie]

Chinook wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Since my last post I finished:
Bad Feminist - my book about feminism. I like reading Roxanne Gay in the newspaper, and have enjoyed her public speaking,..."

I really love her short fiction (I haven't steeled myself enough to read An Untamed State yet and Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body is still on my TBR). She's been featured on Selected Shorts a couple of times so you could listen to one for free to see what you thought.

I was on vacation this week so I got a lot of reading done. I always pick a selection of books, whatever I'm really excited about, when I go on vacation and two picks made the list based on Roxane Gay's reviews.

First I finished up The Cipher which I had been dragging on prior to my trip. It was a little more navel-gazy than I had expected.

Then I moved on to my official vacation picks, starting with The Perfect Nanny. I loved this! Just the right blend of deep character building and ambiguity to keep you thinking.

Switched genres to The Wedding Date, a fun, fast read. There's not a lot of actual conflict but the characters are fleshed out and it's cute and funny.

My mom had lucked out and snagged a copy of The Outsider at her local library so once she finished she passed it on to me. It had one of King's signature great beginnings and kept up steam pretty well in the middle section, but I was underwhelmed by the ending. I also didn't feel like the antagonist(s) ended up being utilized very well. Not sure yet if I'll rearrange my challenge list to fit this in or just have it as an extra.

Currently in the middle of another of my special picks, Tangerine. The first couple of chapters didn't grab me but now it's sucking me in. It definitely got me through the plane ride home!

[Jacqueline]

When I was young back in the dark ages Kenya we used to say that the definition of cute was “ugly but interesting” so ugly cute is probably like saying double ugly but interesting 😂😂😂

The definition is attractive in a pretty, endearing or childish way. Don’t know if a dead raccoon quite fits but each to their own 😂😂😂

[Miriam]

Raquel wrote: "Miriam wrote: "Jen wrote: "Miriam wrote: "Hi everyone,

this week I didn't get much reading done, paused The Power because I had to give it back at the library, but will read it at ..."

I think I'll look out for Food Wars!, Vol. 1 to try Manga then!

[Teri]

Kenya wrote: "All these people reading Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things for "mental health" prompt and here I slotted it under "ugly cover"... *hangs head*"

It is definitely an ugly cover - even when you know the story behind it. I wasn't sure I actually wanted to read it when I picked it up from the library because of the cover.

[Teri]

Jen wrote: "Being tough and loyal is not a bad thing. Makes me think I'll come and hang out with you if the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. "

I like your response. I was thinking something similar. Unless of course you get on Raquel's bad side, apparently - then you might get an arrow in the throat.

[Jen]

Teri wrote: "Jen wrote: "Being tough and loyal is not a bad thing. Makes me think I'll come and hang out with you if the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. "

I like your response. I was thinking something si..."

at least it would be quick and she wouldn't mess about with psychological games.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Teri wrote: "Jen wrote: "Being tough and loyal is not a bad thing. Makes me think I'll come and hang out with you if the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. "

I like your response. I was thinking something si..."

Heh. For what it's worth, you'd have to do something to really deserve it before I put an arrow in your throat. ;-)

My husband does talk about my 'justice hammer' which is when I get really angry about something wrong or unjust happening. (If I seemed intense about the code enforcement conversation last week that's why--though I was trying to restrain myself somewhat.)

[Jen]

Raquel wrote: "Teri wrote: "Jen wrote: "Being tough and loyal is not a bad thing. Makes me think I'll come and hang out with you if the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. "

I like your response. I was thinking..."
Sounds fair enough to me. I think I would need a better method than an arrow as I would probably shoot myself in the foot if I tried that one.

[Sarah]

So only two books read between 5/31 and 6/7 but both were able to fill prompts!

Planetfall by Emma Newman for a book about mental health. (The MC has an anxiety disorder.) I enjoyed it very much and was happy I could fit it here because I was sort of dreading this prompt.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie for: Favorite prompt from 2015, 2016, or 2017 (book from a non-human perspective). I loved this one. It's been on my kindle for awhile now but only just now got around to reading it. Can't wait to check out the next two!

QOTW: I guess I'd have to go with Janet Evanovich for this one? I forget how or why I ever picked up One for the Money but Stephanie Plum feels like the fictional incarnation of my life. Without the bounty hunting and multiple love interests of course (which really only leaves the bad luck).

I mostly find trendy authors disappointing. I don't think it's their fault. I think by the time I realize they're trendy and want to jump on the bandwagon the hype is so high that I'm expecting perfection.

[Amanda]

This week I finished 1 book making me 14/40 so far. I've really fallen behind on my reading but I'm hoping all the time spent in or near the pool will bolster that.

I read Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer for "a book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't". I loved his previous works of fiction but this one was a bit dull for what I was expecting even though I'm still a fan of his talent. It took me 2 full months to finally finish this beast!

DNF: Reading Lolita in Tehran. I don't like how the author writes so much from an outsider's view even though everything she's describing happened in her own living room! I think it helps to have previously read the books discussed in it as well. I've read them all but still, the book was too dry for my taste.

QOTW I've read the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson and really enjoyed all of them!

[Lauren]

Chinook wrote: "I highly recommend the book, even if you don’t share her love of odd taxidermied creatures. I find her hilarious and read her blog long before she published books. The audiobooks are also fantastic."

I also enjoy her books, although Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir has more laugh-out-loud moments that Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, so I recommend starting there first. :)

[Melanie]

Hello everyone, I’m new to weekly check in so please let me know if I’ve done anything incorrect or missed something. I didn’t think I could get poosugar challenge done this year but yesterday I started pugging books into prompts and have 12 of them filled.

My new to me author is Harlan Coben. Im finding the books to be fast reads. They are light and quick but still interesting. I was wondering if the last one I read could suit the prompt about a “heist”. The mystery was all about an elaborate con artist scam and it’s victims. I thought heist meant more “bank robbery”. Although dictionary definition simply says robbery or to rob.

Thanks for letting me join in.

[Sheri]

Melanie, I think most people are treating heist as an elaborate crime, more so than strictly a robbery. I know I counted Six of Crows which was more of a kidnapping/jail break. And several others counted Artemis which was more about sabotage than robbery. So I think as long as the book was about an elaborate plan to commit a crime, you’re good.

[Theresa]

Sheri wrote: "Melanie, I think most people are treating heist as an elaborate crime, more so than strictly a robbery. I know I counted Six of Crows which was more of a kidnapping/jail break. And several others c..."

As Sheri says, a "heist' involves some elaborate, long-planned, complex robbery - could be of $$, could be a work of art, technology, etc. Donald Westlake wrote many entertaining heists, and even Janet Evanovich has a series (not Stephanie Plum!) that are heists. Movies that are heists, many based on books, which might help you figure out if something you read is one -- Sneakers, Oceans Eleven (and sequels), Inside Man, Quick Change, The Thomas Crown Affair, How to Steal a Million (Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole - swoon), and my personal favorite The Lavender Hill Mob - a classic starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway - about stealing gold bullion in London, and includes an awesome race down the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. If you have not seen any of these movies, you need to!

[Melanie]

Theresa wrote: "Sheri wrote: "Melanie, I think most people are treating heist as an elaborate crime, more so than strictly a robbery. I know I counted Six of Crows which was more of a kidnapping/jail break. And se..."

Thank you Sherri and Theresa. I just finished two books this week so it’s a good time to investigate something new to read.

[Tina]

I'm reading Pachinko, I'm about 25% in. I'm reading that in hard copy, at home, and then I'm about to start the new Laurie King book "Island of the Mad" on Kindle, which I'll read during my commute to and from work. That just came out this week. I've already knocked off the the prompt for reading the next book in a series, but I'm sure I can fit that into a prompt somewhere. Pachinko will count for the author that's a different ethnicity than me.

[Conny]

Finished during check-in period:

Just After Sunset
For the "award-winning short story collection" promt of the ATY challenge, I returned to my all-time favorite author. This collection has a number of really great stories; not as brilliant as his earlier ones but still hugely enjoyable, making me laugh, cry, and scared, all at once.

Towering
For the "book with a warm atmosphere" prompt, also of the ATY challenge. A fairytale retell by the author of "Beastly". A nice, enjoyable teenage-angst-romance something, not great, certainly not bad.

QOTW:
Who are some trendy authors you've read in the last few years that you were surprised to find you really enjoyed?

Cassandra Clare, for one: I was surprised how much I enjoyed the City of Bones books and also the spin-off ("Clockwork Angel" etc.). I went in expecting a cheap Harry Potter knockoff with shallow characters and got a soundly built world with an engaging mythology and a well-though-through overarching plotline.
Rick Riordan: I absolutely fell in love with his mythology books; loved the laid-back, dryly funny voice of Percy Jackson, loved the Heroes of Olympus spin-off even more, loved the Kane Chronicles and the crossover. Currently only read 2 out of 3 of the Magnus Chase books, but they are putting a big smile on my face as well.

[Carmen]

Read
Twintig regels liefde - non challenge, I think
I really, really enjoyed this one, and would definitely recommend!

The Hate U Give - i can't remember for which prompt i read it, but it was a challenge book!
This book really lives up to its hype! It's honestly so good, and confronting. This is a book that will go down in history as important, and should definitely end up on reading lists in schools!

QOTW
Eehmm.. while I have books on my TBR that would qualify, I haven't actually read them yet. Anything else I read before they became a trend, I think? I don't know. I don't think I have? Though I did enjoy Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and I think he might count?