Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Weekly Checkins
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Week 41: 10/3 - 10/10
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I finished Popsugar right after last week's update, and finished the Read Harder challenge today. Just have ATY, Reading Women and Classic Bingo left to go.Finished:
When We Left Cuba I felt about the same about it as someone else earlier in this thread.
An Extraordinary Union
Currently reading:
Middlemarch
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
QOTW:
I like to read horror, I have read many Stephen King books. I do not like horror movies though. I hate that jumpy feeling they give you.
Ellie wrote: "Currently listening to Gotta Get Theroux This: My life and strange times on television for ATY rejects (journalist) and reading War Girls for review."This might be my favourite title ever.
I have read one book this week. This new job, I am telling you. I read The Brandons (went to link it and all the books that are coming up are books by Brandon Sanderson and Brandon Mull). It was OK, I think I really would have liked it if I hadn't read it in small chunks, a little each night after work. Hopefully, I'll figure out a better reading schedule once I am settled into my job.QOTW: I am a complete wimp when it comes to scary things. I ate them up when I was in high school, then started scaring myself so quit reading them years ago (I still don't like to take a shower without one of my family in the house). I am not opposed to ghosts and ghouls- just no gory or really intensely creepy reads for me.
Happy Friday, all!Finished reading: (39/50)
The Graveyard Book (inspired by myth/legend/folklore, ghost story, imaginary creatures, superpowers) - Enjoyed this a lot. I recommend this if you're still looking for a ghost story and don't want something spooky, but a kids' book about friendship and family and finding your place in the world.
Currently reading:
The Twisted Ones - Another Halloween book, but this one IS spooky. The main character is cleaning out the house of her deceased grandmother, who was a hoarder. Lots of, uh, house horror (is that a thing?). Then she finds the journal of her step-grandfather, who writes obsessively about "the twisted ones," and things get worse from there. (Worse from her perspective, that is. The book is great.)
Also fyi:
(1) She's writing the story in retrospect, after everything is over.
(2) As she's writing, her dog is flopped on her feet. THE DOG IS OKAY. This is not a spoiler, it's in the very first chapter.
QotW: For sure! I love horror aesthetic, but am a wuss when it comes to visual horror (jump scares in video games super mess me up), so I mostly stick to books.
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Nadine wrote: "It is ALWAYS important to know the dog is ok!!!! I hate plot spoilers in general, but that is one spoiler I’ll always want (if it were a spoiler, which it is apparently not, here). I google iffy bo..."The dog is almost NEVER OK in a horror book. Do not get attached to the dog. Rule number 1
Nadine wrote: "It is ALWAYS important to know the dog is ok!!!! I hate plot spoilers in general, but that is one spoiler I’ll always want (if it were a spoiler, which it is apparently not, here). I google iffy bo..."I'm not sure if there's a similar website for books, but I know for movies there's an actual website that tracks trigger warnings and sensitive issues in movies -- and it's literally called "Doesthedogdie.com" It also has categories for cats dying, kids dying, jumpscares, self-harm, gun violence, clowns, strobe effects. etc. Actually really seems helpful.
Link here -- https://www.doesthedogdie.com/
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Also my general rule is: if the dog is featured in the title, I’m probably not reading/watching that one. Turner and Hooch? Why did you do that to me??? Marley? Not gonna read it or watch it. My Dog Skip? Nope. Art of Racing in the Rain? I’m not touching it. Salvage the Bones? I see that dog on the cover, that’s a nope. Plague Dogs? Hahahaha no.
Real life is heart wrenching enough, I don’t need to read about dogs dying or being abused.
Nadine wrote: "Yes I’ve relied on that website many times. Also my general rule is: if the dog is featured in the title, I’m probably not reading/watching that one. Turner and Hooch? Why did you do that to me??..."
Yeah, if you can't stand animal abuse, avoid "Plague Dogs" like... well, the plague. The abuse is awful, and the rest of the book just feels like the author's long-winded rants about how terrible humanity is and how pretty the English countryside is.
Nadine wrote: "Yes I’ve relied on that website many times. Also my general rule is: if the dog is featured in the title, I’m probably not reading/watching that one. Turner and Hooch? Why did you do that to me??..."
Yeah, don't... don't ever read Salvage the Bones...
I'm late this week. Yesterday I ended up leaving work early because I was swinging between anxiety and depression for no apparent reason. I'm feeling much better today!Sadly...I've finished nothing. But I have at least made progress on the books I'm reading! I'm tired of listing them out every week, so I'll post them again once I'm actually done haha.
And because I'm so behind on my PS challenge, I checked out a book from the library today that...doesn't fit any of my open prompts: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
My Masters is in linguistics, so when my tiny university library (it's a med school, so our popular collection is itty bitty) got this, I knew I needed to jump on checking it out.
QOTW:
My friends get very frustrated because it's so hard to find what will scare me and what won't. Steven King? Hell no. Willy Wonka and Wizard of Oz? Love them! I dig creepy/dark a LOT. I HATE scary/horror. I've read about a lot of horror novels and movies, though, because I'm so interested in the stories themselves. And sometimes the summaries still manage to freak me out to the point I can't sleep...
Hey guys, fall in CT is one of the best times of the year! I thought it wasn’t going to be a good year for foliage but over the past week things have really changed and it’s so pretty everywhere. I finally have some books read too! I finished The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye which I’m using for Scandinavian book and Between Shades of Gray for hobby (art). Both were ok. Working on The Girl Who Lived Twice to finish out the series but not sure where I’ll use this one yet. Still very behind at 19/50. QOTW: scary books are my favorite and probably what I read the most!
Good Morning. I finished 2 books this week. The Patron Saint Of Liars by Ann Patchett. Have you ever read a book & wished there was someone you could talk to that has also read this same book? This is my book. While I was reading it I kept wishing I knew someone who had read it. I like Ann Patchett. Bel Canto is one of my all time favorite books. I keep reading her & sometimes the novel is fine & sometimes I find the novel unbelievable. This is her debut novel & I felt the main character was not flushed out enough. I wanted reasons & background information on why the main character was damaged without a conscience. I felt the reason this is the way she was disingenuous. Didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. The second book was fluff which I do sometimes. The Rejected Writers Book Club (Southlea Bay #1) by Suzanne Kelman. As my sister says it is what it is. QOTW. I am glad you asked this question. I do read scary books occasionally. I really want to read Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. I heard an interview with him when the book was released & I was a little scared listening to him. I think I need a reading buddy for this one.
Finally getting over a major reading slump. I had to DNF Heart of Barkness; the narration of the dog was very cute and sweet, but I found it too distracting from the mystery. I just had to admit to myself that it just wasn't for me, in spite of the adorable dog. I did finish The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer which was a pretty interesting look at the story of a kid who murdered his mother and what happened to him afterward. This is really more biography than true crime though; maybe about a third of the book deals with the crime and the trials.
QOTW: I like spooky stuff, but like Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo levels of scary. So I read a very select number of thrillers, and stay clear away from horror. Historical true crime I'm good with, modern day true crime considerably less so.
@sherriThe Patron Saint of Liars stressed me out. I remember thinking the same, “I wish someone else I know read this so I can rant about how much I dislike the main character” lol
I finished four books this week; one worked for this challenge and another worked for two other challenges. I'm now at 34/40 and 6/10 for this challenge, and have read 108 books overall this year. Finished:
* Murder Likes It Hot by Tracy Weber, which nicely tied up this series;
* How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents by Jimmy O. Yang, which I used for the 2019 AACPL Reading Challenge October prompt (read a book by or about an immigrant) and the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge prompt (a humor book);
* The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan, which was the October pick for one of my book clubs. I thought it might work for the "book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent" advanced prompt, but very little of the book took place in the village church; and,
* Educated by Tara Westover, which I used for "a book set on a college or university campus."
Currently Reading:
* The Lying Game by Sara Shepard, which will be book #2 of the "two books that share the same title" advanced prompt (I read the Ruth Ware novel earlier this year);
* The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela, which I'm using for a BookRiot prompt (I don't think it fits any of my open PS prompts); and,
* A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult, which I'm using for "a book that takes place in a single day."
QotW:
Do you like to read scary or creepy books? Sometimes I do enjoy a good creepy book (thinking of gothic novels or books where the house is a creepy character). I love the way that Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware, and Neil Gaiman do creepy and like being creeped out by them. When it veers into scary/horror, I'm more of a wimp, but it depends on the author...and how many lights are on AND if I'm alone in the house :)
Mod
Continuing:
Happenstance: Two Novels in One About a Marriage in Transition
Question of the Week:
Do you like to read scary or creepy books?
NO!
Mod
I plan to read Black Swan Green for a color challenge, so I'll be interested to see my reaction to it.
I'm coming out of a major reading slump this week, and happy to be finishing many I started this fall and getting into some new books. I've finished:*American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic, which I'll use for book with a plant on the cover. This was a very she read for me, an interesting story, but I think it could have been shorter.
*Winter of the Witch by Katerine Arden, which I'm using for a book published in 2019. I really enjoyed the trilogy, and am surprised it took me so long to finish.
*A Cold Dish by Craig Johnson, not sure where I'm putting this yet, but was an enjoyable book on tape for a recent car ride
QOTW: I don't like scary or spooky books as a rule, and have never braved much in those genres. I do like nice clean mysteries, including Agatha Christie.
Lynn wrote: "Teri wrote: "I had a wonderful day on Sunday riding with a friend to see the changing leaves. It wasn't as wonderful in the places we thought it would be. But the colors were spectacular and beauti..."I loved Black Swan Green, I read it for the challenge last year. I thought it was funny, and I really related with main character's struggles of trying fit in at secondary school. There's enough 80's nostalgia to make it special without dating it, and with enough hindsight to make some clever observations.
Super late!Managed 3 books:
The Amber Spyglass I love this series, but totally could see why I haven’t read it a billion times. One of my coworkers asked me what it was about and I was like, ‘I can’t even explain.’
La Belle Sauvage this was my first time reading what ended up as a prequel to His Dark Materials, loved it
Red, White & Royal Blue I absolutely loved this book, it was so much fun.
QotW: I love ghost stories! I tend to like creepy over gory, though. One of the reasons why I love Bruce Coville is all of his creepy anthologies
I got super behind on posting, but...Week 41
40. Atonement -- A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
41. The Alice Network -- A novel based on a true story
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
La Belle Sauvage (other topics)Red, White & Royal Blue (other topics)
The Amber Spyglass (other topics)
Black Swan Green (other topics)
Black Swan Green (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Neil Gaiman (other topics)Tracy Weber (other topics)
Tara Westover (other topics)
Sara Shepard (other topics)
Jimmy O. Yang (other topics)
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Finished
Tunnel of Bones - 36. A ghost story
A great follow up to the first book. This was a lot of fun to read and hard to put down.
The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: The Apocalypse Suite - 3. A book written by a musician
I loved the Netflix series, but the comic was kind of disappointing. I think I'll just stick with the show.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette - 1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
Finally finished it. I think the only part of this book I actually enjoyed was the last 50 pages or so. Was not for me.
Through the Looking Glass - ATY 31 Children's classic
I liked the first Alice book more, but this was still a fun read.
Wayward Son - ATY 50 Includes a journey
I NEED BOOK 3!
Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby
It was okay. There were a few giggles.
Progress
PS - 40/52 | ATY - 38/52 | BR - 20/24
Currently Reading
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Water Dancer
A Wrinkle in Time
The Choice
QOTW
I love, love spooky, creepy, or horror stories. I don't find them scary at all.