Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2018 Weekly Checkins
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Week 45: 11/1 - 11/8
FinishedUnsheltered I'm still trying to figure out how I felt about Kingsolver's new book. I love her writing style, and this book was beautifully written. But the story itself I'm not sure about. This is a dual timeline book, taking place in 2015/16 and in the 1870's in a real town in New Jersey - Vineland - that was established to be a sort of alcohol-free utopia. The themes about shelter and home and family I really connected to, but the story was maybe a little slow, even for me, and slow books don't typically bother me.
This Will Only Hurt a Little I listened to this on audiobook and it's a great celebrity memoir. It has everything I want in that genre - it's honest, heartfelt, at times funny, and she even names names (and doesn't hold back about James Franco). It was particularly fun for me too because she is about my age and we attended high schools in the same city (I didn't/don't know her) so a lot of the places she referenced I was familiar with and gave me warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings.
P.S. I Still Love You This is the second book in the "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" series and I was so excited my library hold finally came in! I read this in about 2 days and really liked it. It continues the story of Lara Jean and Peter and introduces a new possible love interest. I read the last 250 pages in one day because I HAD to know who Lara Jean would choose.
Currently Reading
Always and Forever, Lara Jean Finished book 2 yesterday and started book 3 today.
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir This book is devastating, but so good. I can only handle a chapter or two a day because it makes me so angry at the lack of true justice in our country and the disgusting inequality that many of us have just blindly accepted for too long.
QOTW
I don't keep track of my DNF books, but now I feel like I should. Here's the ones I remember abandoning:
The Picture of Dorian Gray I got through 75% but then something gruesome happened and I read the summary on Wikipedia to see how it ended and put it aside. It was super well written and Wilde for sure accomplished showing the depravity of our worship of youth, but I just couldn't do it.
The Eyre Affair Only read maybe 30 pages but I just couldn't get into it.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends Listened on audio and I enjoyed some of his stories but I just hated the way he talked about women so I stopped.
The Last Black Unicorn Another audiobook. Some of this I really connected to, but she is really blunt about sex and I had a hard time with it. But I might return to this one because I am interested in her story.
I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman Yet another audiobook abandoned. Her writing is clever, but it was making me fearful about aging so I stopped. I may come back to this one in 10+ years when the things she talks about have already happened to me.
Milena wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I forgot it was Thursday! Stressful week between election, being in a minor car accident and spraining my left foot (all were fine, my rental car totalled other car very minor damag..."I've walked out of 2 different productions of Uncle Vanya --- at this point I clearly hate the play so it doesn't matter who is doing it, I will not attend. I have also walked out of Wagner's Tristan & Isolde -- excrutiating is the description. I don't do Wagner. Ever.
I desperately wanted to walk out of Beth Henley's 'Impossible Marriage" but it was a one act and I was sitting 10 seats in so I was stuck. Bad as it was, I still dine out on this: at one point one of the characters says 'be careful or I'll shoot you' and both my companion and I and the 2 guys next to us muttered under our breaths 'please do'. At which point we started laughing. Henley is responsible for 'Crimes of the Heart' which I saw in revival and tolerated. Barely.
Tracy wrote: "Theresa wrote: " Except with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. That took me about 5 pages to be done with. .."OMG - I actually read the whole frickin' thing! I was so stunned at just how bad it was, I could not stop reading! It was 2016 and I read it for book becoming a movie that year. But I already owned it because a few friends thought it a great riff when it came out and recommended it. I should have thought about the fact that they like books with zombies and such in them - I don't.
I did watch the movie on cable at some point. It was one of those very rare times where the movie was far far far better than the book.
Chrandra wrote: "Moby Dick: I was reading it for the Read Harder challenge prompt (assigned reading you didn’t do). It is the only assigned reading I’ve didn’t do and I still can’t do it."Ugh. Moby Dick is the worst. I have a thing about trying to read all or most of the major classics in my lifetime, but I have now tried to read Moby Dick 3 different times and I just can't. It is so boring. Maybe if I could get to the part where they actually meet the whale it would get interesting, but I've never made it that far.
Nadine wrote: "Anyone from Texas? What is a "water station"? This was one of the things that confused me in this book."I'm not from Texas but I have 3 different ideas as to what a water station might be there, maybe one of them will make sense in the context of your book?
1. An emergency shelter type station to hand out water after a hurricane or other natural disaster
2. A station where you can go to refill a massive water tank (sometimes for extra $ if you need more than what should be allotted to you or your well can't provide what you need) in a drought type climate. My brother-in-law's family is from central Cali & they have to do this when they need to irrigate their fields so that they can have their horses graze on them later in the year.
3. In my small town we have a place called the water depot where you go to refill water cooler jugs usually, they have a special machine that sanitizes the empty bottles before you refill and you can also choose between a couple different types of water. They also sell things for water softener systems and special systems for homes like strong iron removal or reverse osmosis etc. I think they also sell things for hottubs too.
Raquel wrote: "Princess of Thorns Maybe it was just my sappy side kicking in, but I really loved this one. It was a good friends-to-romance story, despite the irritatingly bad choices that get made at various points in the story."
I used this one for author that shares my first/last name and I loved it too! I think watching how the irritatingly bad choices (even though they were frustrating in the moment) played out was part of the enjoyment for me! :)
Tracy wrote: "I am also almost finished (70%) with My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward which keeps showing up on my feed so I feel like there are quite a few people out there reading it right now."
This is too funny (after us noticing how many similar books we have this week with my 2019 reading plans) but my sister just leant me this last week and I'd never heard of it before that! I'm saving it at least until the PS 2019 list is released to decide when I want to read it though!
Good evening everybody! I haven't been updating in a while because I've been in a terrible reading slump. Back in it now though so I finally have something to share. Wade in the Water: Poems: I read this because it was a nominee in the goodreads choice awards and it's by the US Poet Laureate. I didn't get it. Like there were some bits in there that were interesting ideas, but it wasn't moving, or very cohesive.
The Corpse with the Diamond Hand: This had a average rating of 4.03 or something like that so I figured it must be at least decent right? NO. I hated this and finished basically because I needed it for a challenge and I didn't want to find another book.
We Are Okay: Amazing. 5 stars. Young adult dealing with grief; sparse yet emotional writing.
Anya's Ghost: This is a standalone graphic novel. The story was different (and better) than I think the summary had led me to believe. Quick but very enjoyable.
The Turn of the Screw: I just finished this today and what the hell. This wasn't scary; it was boring as all get out. How is this a classic?
Next up: H is for Hawk
QOTW: I've gotten much more adventurous with my reading since I started letting myself DNF. If I'm not feeling a book, I just let it go. This year that's included:
Undermajordomo Minor: I wasn't liking this after about a chapter or two and so I dropped it.
Dead and Breakfast: Just really bad writing.
The North Water: This is my most recent dnf; my library ebook ran out of time and it was kind of too intense for me so I didn't check it back out.
The Underground Railroad: I know everybody says this is phenomenal and so good and all that, but after a chapter I wasn't liking it. Just not for me.
The Great Passage: freebie from amazon that was just boring.
A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder: quit b/c I'm tired of reading about macho smoking old school cops who need to solve the case to save themselves from forced retirement because they can't be bothered to play by the rules / use updated methods.
I tried Gentleman in Moscow earlier in the year too and abandoned it, but I didn't mark it as dnf. It just wasn't a book I was interested in.
Happy Thursday Everyone & Happy Birthday Ellie & Sara! :)Currently still at 50/52 for the Popsugar challenge, (48/52 for ATY & read 76 books in total in 2018) maybe I'll finish this week? I started my last prompt book last night (reading aloud to my boyfriend) he's not usually a reader at all so no idea when we will get through it if we continue it together but if he loses interest and I finish it on my own or if I get impatient and read ahead I might finish it this week. :P
Finished
Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for my ATY Narrative Non Fiction. I said this was the week I was finally going to finish it and I did yay! I enjoyed it but had some format issues with it and was stuck reading it on my computer screen so I had little motivation to actually read it!
I thought this was not as interesting as the Netflix show for sure, the book didn't go into other inmates' stories anywhere near as much as the show did and that for a lot of people was one of the main reasons they love the show.
It wasn't all bad though, I got a whole new perspective on Piper in the book and saw a lot more of her coping mechanisms and thought processes through everything she's been through which I found interesting. :)
I really wish that the book especially went into more depth with Larry though. I think the average reader would probably relate more to him than to Piper.
Currently Reading
These are my final books for the PS challenge!
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson for A1/41) Bestseller from the year you graduated High School (2009)
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling for 11) A Book by a female author who uses a male pseudonym.
QOTW
I have DNF'd 2 books this year and for different reasons:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett:
I just really wasn't in the mood for something not written in modern english (I never am honestly but especially not when I was trying this) and I found myself slogging through it for a while. I tried audiobook & ebook but I couldn't stay interested in either. May try again later if the mood strikes...I know it's one my sister likes and we have similar taste for the most part so that has me motivated to pick it up again at a later date possibly...
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
I will never pick this up again...I HATED it!!!! I slogged through about 50% before abandoning this. If you've read the synopsis, you already know 99% of the plot and I couldn't relate to the characters so I found myself not caring how the love triangle played out one iota. I honestly don't even know who she picks and I don't care! I have no idea why Oprah raves about this book at all.
Also, call me a snowflake but parts of this book were just in really poor taste and turned me off it even more (I'm not referring to the main story I'm referring to tidbits that were just uncalled for). Ex #1: actual quote here: "going to buy a fish sandwich from the muslims" when there is no further narration of the sandwich or her experience buying it. I felt it just served to add to an unnecessary stereotype...why add that?! Ex #2: paraphase here: "I don't want him to know history so that he doesn't feel like he owes anyone". I'm pretty sure we should all be grateful to the vets who laid down their lives for our freedom who didn't expect anything from individuals in return! :'(
I've finished 10 books this week, mostly picture books. Frankenstein - a Madeline parody
The Rabbit Listened - Sometimes the best way to be a friend is to just be there
The Word Collector - nice
Love - Meh. How is the wind love?
Petra - It was OK
Julián Is a Mermaid - LOVED it. Bought it.
The Darkest Dark - by astronaut Chris Hadfield
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors - THANK YOU for mentioning this! I didn't love today but this book made me laugh. One day this book will be mine!
The Halloween Tree - Golly gee, it was swell.
Amped - Daniel H. Wilson, Native American author for November. Accidentally much more disturbing reading this in the current political climate. Hmmm... thinking about it now, I think I will count this as my cyberpunk book if I don't get to the one I planned.
Currently Reading:
Still carrying around The First Rule of Punk, not because there's anything wrong with it, but I'm just in a paper book funk.
Need to start a new audio. No idea which one.
QOTW: There are a couple I set aside and just haven't gone back to yet, but I intentionally DNF'd New York 2140 because one of the men was a creep.English History Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable didn't last long on audio for me when I heard something that sounded way too xenophobic for me to handle that day.
Tara wrote: "Chrandra wrote: "Moby Dick: I was reading it for the Read Harder challenge prompt (assigned reading you didn’t do). It is the only assigned reading I’ve didn’t do and I still can’t do it."Ugh. Mo..."
Now I feel silly. I liked Moby Dick. And I remember liking the first half better than the second.
Only 3 books this week.Educated (Popsugar Advanced #10, a book recommended by someone else taking the challenge) - This was a compelling memoir. Hard to believe that someone could live like Tara and her family did, and even more so that she got out of it and rose to such heights against all odds. Admittedly, there were a few parts where I was thinking, "do I believe this?", but yes, in the end I do, and I also respect that Tara was so clear about instances when her memory of events may have been inaccurate or where there were conflicting accounts of exactly what happened.
Follow Me in - This was kind of an up-and-down book. First off I was expecting a touch of magical realism based on the cover art, and it was purely memoir, but that's on me. (Only just realized that all my books from this week are memoirs.) I liked the travelogue part and learning about Mexico, but also I felt like I could've got more from watching a documentary about the country than I did from this book - the memoir aspect didn't really add much to the experience. Plus there were some small grammar/spelling mistakes in the lettering that I feel an editor should have caught.
Odd Girl Out - Thought this was interesting, probably a good read for neurotypical people who want to learn about autism. Didn't find it particularly relatable as an autistic woman myself though, our experiences and issues are very different. I did like the parts where she talks about "humanity depression" - despair at the capacity for evil and just plain callousness exhibited by our species - and fixating on political controversies like Brexit and Trump.
Currently reading:
Victoria - The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman who Ruled an Empire - Enjoying this. It's nice to see Victoria as a person rather than the venerated monarch way up on a pedestal somewhere. Finding the actual book a lot easier and less intimidating than I expected - it's shorter than it looks, the last third is notes, bibliography, index etc., so really I'm about halfway through. Plus the font isn't tiny either.
Girls Burn Brighter - I'm liking the writing here but feel a bit... detached? from the story. It's making me feel quite guilty, there's some truly horrific stuff happening to these poor girls - I "should" be emotionally shattered, and I am invested, but it's not really hitting me, you know?
QOTW: I've only really started abandoning/DNFing books very recently. Even so I wouldn't say I've properly DNFed any - I've got three GR shelves, "dnf" (completely ditched, never going back), "dnf-try-again-one-day" (restart it another time when I'm more in the mood), and "temp-dnf" (put by but intend to continue where I left off). The "dnf" shelf doesn't even have any books on it.
These are what's on the "try-again" shelf:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stane - This is a Scots-language edition of the first Harry Potter book. The slang like "Ye-Ken-Wha", "haud yer wheesht", "shift yer bahookie", was really funny for the first hundred pages but once the novelty wore off it was just... rereading Harry Potter again and I wasn't in the mood.
Alanna: The First Adventure - Random pick out of a TBR jar and, again, I wasn't in a childrens'-lit/YA mood. Need to go back to it though, based on its formidable reputation.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China - Just too heavy a read at the time, both size-wise (700 pages!) and subject matter.
Like Water for Chocolate - Picked it up at the wrong time, I think. Couldn't get into it.
New York 2140 - Too long, was expecting the book to have a lot more fun with the premise than it did, didn't like the character who seemed to be the main POV. Made it just over 100 pages out of 600 and just wasn't wanting to pick it up and carry on the story any more, so quit. Maybe someday.
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm - This one's more a dip-in-and-out book rather than a read-all-the-way-through-in-one-go book, so I think I'll read it that way next time.
Giovanni's Room - I was interested in this and even got more than halfway through, but I was trying to read several books at one time so was only progressing in tiny snippets and lost track of the story.
Tracy wrote: "Nadine wrote: " I really enjoyed Oscar Wao and was blissfully ignorant about footnotes! I listened to the audiobook read by Lin Manuel Miranda - I highly recommend that format!! He does a great job..."It's hard to say, since I never saw the written version. Maybe someone who read the book can comment.
I’m currently reading Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances, a book recommended by someone else in the challenge.
Ready Player One, cyberpunk
Year of Yes, a book that was borrowed or given to you
I didn’t finished Hidden Figures. I checked it out digitally from the library and it auto returned. Just haven’t gotten back to it. Was interesting, but it seemed to be very long.
Savana wrote: "I’m currently reading Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances, a book recommended by someone else in the challenge.
Ready Player One, cyberpunk
Year of Yes, a book that was borrowed or given to you..."
That reminds me I also didn't finish Hidden Figures, but that was last year. It was a lot more boring than I thought it would be.
Only two books this week, neither for the challenge. Still stand at 49/50.Finished:
The Storybook of Legends- fluffy but also charming!
Hatchet- a bit dull, I admit to half sleeping as I listened to it but I was sick too so maybe that was why
Currently reading:
Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds
Neuromancer
The Unfairest of Them All
Matilda
Tales from the Arabian Nights
No Plot? No Problem! Revised and Expanded Edition: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days
QOTW:
My oh my, I dnfed 30 books this year! I won't list them all but I'll group them into reasons why:
Took too long to get to the point:
Freehold
Storming
The Blackthorn Key
Did not care about main character(s):
Libriomancer
Steal the Sky
Did not care period:
London Falling
The President Is Missing
Quit in annoyance at portrayal of person/group:
Sea of Rust
We Are Legion - We Are Bob
Nightwise
Too weird for me to follow:
The Stranger
The Quantum Thief
Apparently I'm going to continue the reading slump. I did manage another two though Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Ann Charles and Angel: The End by Bill Willingham which I'm glad I finally finished.QOTW Honestly I don't remember the names of the books I didn't finish. there wasn't too many this year luckily. I used to power through anything I started but not any more. if I am not enjoying a book, I will DNF it.
Katy wrote: "Now I feel silly. I liked Moby Dick. And I remember liking the first half better than the second. "Oh my goodness don't feel silly at all! Plenty of people like Moby Dick. Some have even called it the best book of all time, or "the great American novel" which is why I keep trying it. And I'm not throwing in the towel yet. I don't know if I'll attempt it again, but I'm not ruling it out.
Raquel wrote: "Happy birthday to Sara and Ellie!I've had a strange day so far. The short version is that our doorknob on our main entrance fell apart (we didn't even get a key for the other entrance when we bou..."
Yup on the do these things happen to others. Last Wednesday I locked my house keys, car keys and phone in the car before I even left the driveway. I had to wander down the street till I found someone home and ask to borrow a phone to call the AA to break into the car and work to let them know I would be late and there may be unattended teens running riot. I have now stashed spare keys both at work and with a neighbour.
Theresa wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Theresa wrote: " Except with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. That took me about 5 pages to be done with. .."OMG - I actually read the whole frickin' thing! I was so stunned at just..."
I PP&Z on my shelf and still haven't picked it up so I guess I will now just to see for myself. Prefer Little Vampire Women to the original so you never know.
Jackie wrote: "Good evening everybody! I haven't been updating in a while because I've been in a terrible reading slump. Back in it now though so I finally have something to share. [book:Wade in the Water: Poem..."
Wish I had DNFd The North Water......truly disturbing!
Now I really want to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies... but will allow myself to DNF ;)I think the books I find hardest to get into are often most rewarding. I had a hard time getting into A son of the Circus and Pride and Prejudice, but then at some point the writing and the choices make sense. If it´s plain bad writing I will just put it down after a few pages (unless I have to read it for review).
Tara wrote: "Oh my goodness don't feel silly at all! Plenty of people like Moby Dick. Some have even called it the best book of all time, or "the great American novel"..."Whenever anyone calls a book the great American novel, I am instantly put off!
I thought Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was silly but fun. I knew what it was going in, I'm not sure people realise it's the original text with some amendments and insertions rather than a new novel written from scratch.
Jen wrote: "Yup on the do these things happen to others. Last Wednesday I locked my house keys, car keys and phone in the car before I even left the driveway. I had to wander down the street till I found someone home and ask to borrow a phone to call the AA to break into the car and work to let them know I would be late and there may be unattended teens running riot. I have now stashed spare keys both at work and with a neighbour."A pro tip is to duct tape a spare key to the back of your licence plate! It's usually a million times easier to get your hands on/borrow a screwdriver than it is to find someone with one of your spares! :)
Thankfully you had roadside assistance!
Stacey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Yup on the do these things happen to others. Last Wednesday I locked my house keys, car keys and phone in the car before I even left the driveway. I had to wander down the street till I..."If I did that I would have no house or car within 24 hrs round here. They know all the tricks.
I've decided that even if the list is released this week, I'm not going to look at it until I've finished my current book, as it's my last book of the 2018 challenge. We'll see how my resolve holds out on that one... #nowillpowerSo yeah. I'm sitting at 51/52 (42/42, 9/10)
I'm currently in book heaven as a bunch of library holds have come through for me recently (Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The Great Alone and Lily Allen's My Thoughts Exactly)
I'm also trying to up my % on NetGalley after a few publishers made it drop (approving my request and then making it unavailable a few hours later, before I'd had the chance to download), so this week I read Cover Stories. The premise of the book hooked me immediately - short stories which use songs as their inspirational starting point. I love music almost as much as I love reading, and with a heavy dose of artists I grew up on (Bowie, the Stones and Lou Reed) I had to try this intriguing mash-up. I wasn't disappointed, as each story is creative and clever. I particularly loved the haunting Space Oddity, the wonderful A Team and the heartbreaking couplet of Caroline Says (II) and Hey Joe. Like many short story collections, there are high and low points, though many more highs than lows. The only story I didn't like was the Trumpian Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (which, incidentally, was inspired by the only song I didn't like). I enjoyed the concept and found it quite funny, it just felt a bit preachy. But that is totally overshadowed by the standout stories. This collection is in turns funny, touching and provides some interesting social commentary along the way. It doesn't fall in to any obvious traps that the songs-into-stories approach could hold, as these are not simple retellings of lyrics.
What books have you abandoned this year, and why? Do you plan to finish them in 2019?
None. I think I can count on one hand (maybe one finger...) the number of books I've ever quit on. I tend to enjoy most of what I read, but even if I'm struggling I like to finish. Either because I'm hoping it will redeem itself, or because I'm a glutton for punishment...I'm not sure!
Well, actually...I currently have the audiobook of Bad Feminist parked. I started it a few weeks ago, but I'm really behind in podcasts and have plenty of physical books to be getting on with. I suppose that could be classed as abandoned, as it didn't grab me as much as I'd really hoped it would (perhaps its the narrator?) so I don't have the urge to make time for it. But it will be finished...probably in 2019!
Chrandra wrote: "Moby Dick: I was reading it for the Read Harder challenge prompt (assigned reading you didn’t do). It is the only assigned reading I’ve didn’t do and I still can’t do it.."Urgh, I did that for the set at sea prompt this year. It was the first book I tackled and I'm glad I did it when I was really motivated. Kindle speed reader and Schmoop notes helped a lot! Not sure it was worth the pain though...except for bragging rights!
Dani wrote: "QOTW: the only book I abandoned *this* year was Naked Lunch and I really have no desire to get back to it. The first few chapters were disgusting and actually made my stomach turn. I was told it only got worse so I have no desire to get back to it. "
Ooh, thanks for the heads-up. I'm trying to chuck out books to make space for new ones and swithered over getting rid of this off my TBR shelf. Decision made!
Mod
I don't know because I didn't even know there were footnotes!! I never felt confused or like I was missing something. Maybe he read the footnotes as if they were part of the book so I didn't realize.
For audiobooks, I have to be doing something else, I can't just sit and listen. I listen to them when I am: driving, waiting in my car to pick up my kids, mowing the lawn, washing dishes, making dinner, coloring, doing logic puzzles (the kind of logic puzzle that does not involve words). I'm sure they are excellent if you knit or crochet or quilt, too, but I don't do any of those things.
Mod
... You by Caroline Kepnes
I have been watching the TV series. What an interesting and creepy show! So I read the book, and the TV show is quite close to the book. I'm a little disturbed that I'm slightly attracted to this extremely troubled guy. ..."
Hahaha! SAME! to both!!
Posting this morning from snowing MN! My office is closed on Monday for Veteran's Day and I am blocking out some larger portions of reading time over the long weekend.I completed one book this week which was Open House by Elizabeth Berg for the Oprah book club prompt of Read Harder. This was just not what I was expecting and has ended up being my only 2 star read of the year. The book description made it sound like a story about a women who, with the help of some people who come in to her life make a new beginning in her life. For me, there were certain aspects of the book that just didn't line up and the main character remained stuck in negative patterns.
Currently Reading:
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (should have this one finished by tonight).
Rereadings: Seventeen Writers Revisit Books They Love by Anne Fadiman
QOTW:
I don't have any abandoned books for this year. I am one of those people that once I start a book I have to know how the story ends but do skim the book to get to the end if it's one I'm struggling to get in to. The closest I've come this year to a DNF was Open House and Everything Is Illuminated.
Nadine wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Nadine wrote: " I really enjoyed Oscar Wao and was blissfully ignorant about footnotes! I listened to the audiobook read by Lin Manuel Miranda - I highly recommend that format!! He do..."I think I should take up knitting again this winter, just so I can get more audiobook time. If I just sit and listen to an audiobook I will fall asleep.
Raquel wrote: "Happy birthday to Sara and Ellie!I've had a strange day so far. The short version is that our doorknob on our main entrance fell apart (we didn't even get a key for the other entrance when we bou..."
A few months ago my boyfriend and I made ourselves homeless for the night. We had just moved into our new flat and were giving a virtual tour to my boyfriend's family. We went up to show them the roof garden and I saw my boyfriend grab his keys so I didn't bother bringing mine.
Well the night before he had taken his keys off his keyring as he was wearing trousers with small pockets (now he knows what women go through) and that morning he had grabbed his keyring without the keys!
Ah but we were smart and had given a spare set of keys to our neighbours who were already our friends before we moved. But they were 100 miles away running a marathon.
But wait, didn't they say that they had given a spare set of their keys to another neighbour as well as to us. If we can get into their flat we can get our keys. But who was that neighbour? Number 43 is their next door, but I'm sure they know the woman at Number 4. Or was it someone of the 4th floor? Cue knocking on random doors saying 'Do you know Kate and Pete?' Nobody did except the next door neighbour who did not have the key.
So we waited another few hours for them to finish their marathon so that we could find out who else had their keys. The answer, no one. Just us. In our locked flat and our neighbours would not be returning until the following evening.
So in the end we had to buy appropriate work clothes (We were dressed for lounging around the flat on a Sunday) and stay at another friend's house with one phone, no charger and no money between us (thank God for Apple Pay!)
It was definitely an experience. Now every time we leave the flat we are super militant about keys!
Ellie wrote: " thought Pride & Prejudice & Zombies was silly but fun. I knew what it was going in, I'm not sure people realise it's the original text with some amendments and insertions rather than a new novel written from scratch.."And that was exactly my major problem with it... and even that was done really badly. It was a hack job rather than a serious attempt at satire. It was like that drinking game where you add the words 'in bed' onto the fortunes in your Chinese fortune cookies. I checked my review, and I actually gave it 2 stars but only because so much of the original text was left unchanged. I could not 'punish' Jane Austen for someone else's poor writing.
So, last night I had a closer look at my remaining prompts, and if I use picture books and graphic novels for some of them instead of my initial thoughts I might actually finish the challenge! I had totally given up on that for a few weeks there. I still can't be sure, but writing this to make it official. I have 12 prompts to go. It may not sound much, but I always have a couple of review books going as well. I've read close to 200 books this year, so a lot of them work for the same prompts or none at all. I will tell you if I am on track next week ;)
Tara wrote: "Chrandra wrote: "Moby Dick: I was reading it for the Read Harder challenge prompt (assigned reading you didn’t do). It is the only assigned reading I’ve didn’t do and I still can’t do it."Ugh. Mo..."
I tried to set a goal to read a chapter a day but I got like 6 chapters in and haven't picked it up since then.
Johanne wrote: "So, last night I had a closer look at my remaining prompts, and if I use picture books and graphic novels for some of them instead of my initial thoughts I might actually finish the challenge! I ha..."You can do it Johanne!! I did the same thing the other day with my prompts so I can make it to the finish line. I don't know about this challenge though.
Thanks Tracy, I am not finishing AtY but that's okay since I first looked at it in august.
Greetings from Lawrence, Kansas, where there's snow on the ground!FINISHED
The Indian Lawyer - I'm subbing this in for Popsugar's Nordic noir prompt as Native noir. This is my first James Welch, but it definitely won't be my last - what a fantastic writer! Now at 47/50 for this challenge.
Pride - I expected to like this more than I did. It was well-written but somehow didn't quite connect for me. I saw another review that mentioned how Zuri couldn't quite laugh at herself the way Lizzie can, and I think that was a big part of it - I missed that sense of the ridiculous.
Always and Forever, Lara Jean - An enjoyable end to the series! I'm glad the movie convinced me to give these a try; Lara Jean really comes alive on the page.
IN PROGRESS
I'm working my way through The Gene: An Intimate History and Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over, both of which are very good so far!
DNF
I quit My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which was extremely well-written but a little too absurdist for my tastes - like a Wes Anderson movie come to life.
QOTW
I quit books all the time! I have a whole DNF shelf and an additional "To Try Again" shelf. Sometimes it's just not the right time, sometimes I genuinely dislike it, sometimes it's fine and I just don't feel any urge to read it. I'll quit after 10 pages or after 300, whatever feels right - but I don't count a book as read if I don't actually finish it, and I don't rate what I haven't finished.
Thegirlintheafternoon wrote: "Greetings from Lawrence, Kansas, where there's snow on the ground!FINISHED
The Indian Lawyer - I'm subbing this in for Popsugar's Nordic noir prompt as Native noir. This is my firs..."
I finished My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but it was a struggle.
Just looked at the "105 Favorite Challenge Reads" - so many titles to add to my TBR list now from the slideshow!I received my overseas shipment this week after 4 months of waiting for it, and, of course, there are loads of books in there for me to read now. And I should read as many as possible for the upcoming challenge so I don't have to ship them to my next destination.
I hit my new reading challenge goal this week of 75/75 books for the year. I got to #75 with Prisoner B-3087, which is a book based on the Holocaust survival narrative of Jack Gruener.
As if to keep with the historical context, I picked up One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. This will take awhile to get through. The author begins in Cuba with the first defined concentration camps in the late 1800s. Total war tactics from the Civil War are cited as part of the reasoning for destroying everything, even civilian-owned. The book covers concentration camps in Nazi Germany, Soviet gulags, and those used in Africa during colonization. A timely book when considering how camps are used nowadays for political control ... and also immigrant/refugee control. She doesn't extend into that, as it's a bit more than the book's reach.
Burial Rites is also on my TBR this week.
QotW:
Once I put a book out to pasture for whatever reason - boring, flat, badly written, confusing, and on - I seldom go back to it. I do a 50-100 page reading test depending on its length. If it isn't gripping by then, it's on the bench, most likely not to get on the field again. There are too many books out there that are genuinely good to bother about books that don't interest me.
I did shelve The Essex Serpent early on for one of the prompts, but I may revisit it. I think it will be good, but the first few chapters just didn't grab my attention. With so many books left to read for the challenge prompts, I felt I could find something else to fill the prompt.
I shelved Britt-Marie Was Here mostly because I loved A Man Called Ove to the moon and back and didn't find the same lovable qualities about Britt-Marie. I *may* pick up my copy again. I have a feeling it might get better.
North Haven is a no. The characters were so flat and one-dimensional that I gave up after about four chapters. The plot and characters seemed cliched and didn't intrigue me to know more.
I nearly DNF'ed The Last Tudor, but it was the only challenge book I had for "read by a stranger in a public place" because, frankly, catching a stranger reading in a public place in Hong Kong was like looking for a unicorn. It was so repetitive and almost like reading a Wikipedia page about the same topic. Not as much classic Gregory where she goes inside the woman's head and innermost thoughts and really grows the story.
Jen wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Yup on the do these things happen to others. Last Wednesday I locked my house keys, car keys and phone in the car before I even left the driveway. I had to wander down th..."Wow, people actually go around removing plates to check behind them where you are? That's crazy! xD
I rather enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but DNF'd Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters because I found way too ridiculous. Not sure what that says about me...
Jess wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Happy birthday to Sara and Ellie!I've had a strange day so far. The short version is that our doorknob on our main entrance fell apart (we didn't even get a key for the other entra..."
Jen wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Happy birthday to Sara and Ellie!
I've had a strange day so far. The short version is that our doorknob on our main entrance fell apart (we didn't even get a key for the other entra..."
Just last a few weeks ago I managed to lock BOTH our sets of car keys in the car at once, and we've definitely had the 'wait, I thought you had the keys' moment before until we also got super careful about it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds keys difficult...
In this most recent case I think it was the door knob falling apart that made it feel so ridiculous to me. I don't even know how I could have prepared for that, because I had my keys and it didn't help.
Years ago I locked myself out of my apartment in a bathrobe and nothing else, during the winter... I lived in a small apartment with a shared shower in the basement. I had a door that automatically locked when you closed it... Imagine the rest. Luckily a neighbour was home, I borrowed her phone, called a friend who lived nearby and had my spare key, borrowed some clothes and it was solved. But I had a few really bad moments imagining myself walking the streets, freezing, in my bathrobe and bare feet.
I read 2 books this past week and both were for the challenge. LIFE IN A MIDIEVAL CASTLE was for the prompt 'book with 2 authors. Joseph and Francis Gies were the authors. 4 starsMy 2nd book was Hungry for Home for prompt 40; Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges. I went with 2017: A book you bought on a trip for this book. I had actually bought it at the Great Blasket Visitor Center in Ireland in 2003. Why I've waiting 15 years to read this is beyond me! This was a sad book but informative and the author visited with former inhabitants of the island in 1998 to interview them for this book. 5 stars
With that I have finished the challenge! I am so happy. This is the most I've ever read in a year and there's still 7 more weeks left.
QOTW: I have DNF many books and 95% I do not pick up again. All of these have been free kindle books that were free for a reason. I dnf them because I either do not like the characters, I don't like the storyline or I lose interest and just don't care. I try to give each book 50-75 pages before I give up. There have been ones I started like Voyager which I started to read last year and was going to read it in conjunction with the series but I ended up getting very busy with my father ending up in the hospital for a month and I abandoned it for a while. When the prompt came up 'book you meant to finish in 2017' came up, I knew exactly what book I was using. I had also picked up the Blasket Island book about 10 years ago but was sad about a scene at the beginning of the book and put it down. I thought I would pick it back up within a year or 2 but didn't.
Last week I finished reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams under the prompt "A book set on a different planet". I also started and finished the following books:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum under the prompt "A childhood classic you've never read"
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie under the prompt "A book mentioned in another book"
I also started reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi under the prompt "A book from a celebrity book club"
With this my reading progress has been:
Books completed: 38
Books completed for the challenge: 34
Books currently reading: 2
QOTW:
This year I dropped 11/22/63 by Stephen King because I didn't find it interesting enough. Probably I'd take it up after completing the this challenge or maybe later next year.
Stacey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Jen wrote: "Yup on the do these things happen to others. Last Wednesday I locked my house keys, car keys and phone in the car before I even left the driveway. I had to wa..."People will remove pretty much anything to check for anything pinchable and plates are always pinchable on their own.
This week I finished two books. On Two Feet and Wings which was an interesting look into a life very different than my own. And I finally finished Gone with the Wind, my book with a weather element in the title. I had hoped to finish this book before November because NaNoWriMo. I'm really glad I read it though. I really enjoyed this book.QotW:
I don't really DNF books. I think I would if it was really bad. I've been fortunate this year though, in that I haven't read a book I didn't like.
Sara wrote: "Brittany wrote: "I finally finished Cinder for my cyberpunk book this week which fits in great with the weekly question because almost all of my DNFs have been books that I’ve quit ..."Thanks for the rec I'll have to give it a try!!
Tara wrote: "Katy wrote: "Now I feel silly. I liked Moby Dick. And I remember liking the first half better than the second. "Oh my goodness don't feel silly at all! Plenty of people like Moby Dick. Some have ..."
I'd recommend listening to the audiobook- Pete Cross was a fantastic narrator, and I liked listening to it way more than I would have reading it!
Hello everyone. Looks like next years list is out. Have to take a look and decide if I want to take on the challenge again. I have determined combining popsugar and around the year was a bad idea so I have to pick one.
38/52
Currently Reading
QotW:
What books have you abandoned this year, and why? Do you plan to finish them in 2019?
I am very much of the belief that there is not enough time in the world to read a book I don't like. My to read list is WAY too long. That being said I used to throw something out if I didn't like the first chapter. I will generally give a book 50 pages now before throwing it out.
This year I have DNF'd quite a few
The Chalk Man, Hollow City, Railsea, A Simple Favor, Grave PerilThe Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. I plan to finish A simple Favor or at least try. I was listening to it as audio and had an hour left but I couldn't deal with listening to Stephanie's idiocy any further. I fell like reading it may be easier. Other than that I don't think I will revisit the other 3 this year at least. I tried Grave Peril a few years ago and tried twice this year to get into it. So that book series is over for me I think.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Heart Goes Last (other topics)The Bear and the Nightingale (other topics)
More Than This (other topics)
Half of a Yellow Sun (other topics)
Six of Crows (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Zadie Smith (other topics)Agatha Christie (other topics)
Lisa Scottoline (other topics)
Philip K. Dick (other topics)
Emily Giffin (other topics)
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I also finished Before We Were Yours which is a similar style. This is a great story that covers an important issue, and the characters were well-developed.
I just started Station Eleven on audio and look forward to starting The Last Watchman of Old Cairo on kindle.
QOTW:
I've only DNF'd a few books in my life, but one of them happened recently. I was listening to the audio version of Mother, Can You Not?, and after 30 minutes I realized it was not funny to me at all, was pretty annoying, and was stressing me out. I deleted it from my Overdrive app and took a deep breath in relief. ;) Other than that I try to finish what I start.