May 2020 Reading Discussion

[Tracy]

Emily wrote: "Tracy, I checked out The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives in February for Black History Month but couldn't get to it....."

I need to discuss this book with someone, it's killing me. Super quick to read by the way, you'll be done in a few hours.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Haha noted! I'll make it one of my first books of June!

[Sherri]

I finished The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for # 47 A Classic You’ve always meant to read by Oscar Wilde. This prompt was hard. I never enjoyed classics. I have read all the classics I have wanted to read so picking a new one was a challenge. My original plan was to reread Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I came close to doing that but I needed to read a play for a different challenge so there you go. Two birds with one stone. I don’t enjoy reading plays either so I got to complete two hard prompts at once.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Sherri wrote: "I finished The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for # 47 A Classic You’ve always meant to read by Oscar Wilde. This prompt was hard. I never enjoyed classics. I have read all the classics..."

Sorry you didn't enjoy it, it is a very funny play to watch. "Classics" could include a modern classic, for instance I would consider Harry Potter a classic at this point. I do know what you mean about not liking certain genres. I used to do the Read Harder Challenge which includes some unusual categories to get people to try new things. I realized I resented spending time on something I didn't really want to read. I might feel differently if I were much younger, but now - Life is too short! A great thing about this group is that the list is very flexible so no one should feel stuck. As far as plays, if anyone else is dreading this, a recording, podcast or audiobook of a play could work.

[Traci]

Tracy wrote: "Emily wrote: "Tracy, I checked out The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives in February for Black History Month but couldn't get to it....."
..."

I've added both Far from the Tree and The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives to my TBR based on your comments, but probably won't get to either of them anytime soon!

[Rachel]

Robin wrote: "Sherri wrote: "I finished The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for # 47 A Classic You’ve always meant to read by Oscar Wilde. This prompt was hard. I never enjoyed classics. I have read a..."

I liked reading The Importance of Being Earnest, but it's much better to watch. It's so funny!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

That moment when you feel confident about where you are in ATY, so you decide to read a bunch of side reads... then the countdown says you are one book behind. Oops!

[Sherri]

I have completed Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery,#1) by Vivien Chien for # 5 The first book in a series you have not started. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for # 47 A classic book you've always meant to read. What My Mother and I Don't Talk about for #34 A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter from your name.

[Sherri]

I completed this last night for #33 a book about a non-traditional family. I gave it 5 stars. I really enjoyed it & read it too fast.

[Sherri]

I finished In a Field of Blue by Gemma Liviero for #36 A book from your TBR/wish list that you don't recognize,recall putting there,or put there on a whim. This book was perfect for the prompt because I don't remember buying it.
I know I will complete one book maybe 2 before the end of the month so I'm waiting to post in the best books of May thread.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I'm not sure I will finish this in May but I am listening to Virgil Wander and it is my favorite of the month. I lived a long time in Minnesota and I am finding the accent delightful, even though some people thought it was exaggerated. There are a number of quirky characters and the narration has made me laugh multiple times but it also has some serious messages. I'm not sure what prompt it will fit under, I'll have to finish it to decide. I had it on my TBR since it was recommended by some list of Midwest booksellers and then people in one of my groups suggested a buddy read. Was it this group? I don't remember!

[Sherri]

I finished They Called Us Enemy by George Takei (co-writer), Justin Eisinger (co-writer), Steven Scott (co-writer) for #27 A History or historical fiction. It's a graphic memoir. I gave it 4 stars, well done. I'm currently reading Pride,Prejudice,and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev. Not sure if I'll finished it by the end of the month. I just started reading it this morning so not sure if I'll like it.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I was kind of bummed because I only read 5 print books this month, but then I looked at my page count and only one was less than 400 pages. Definitely made me feel better!

The Heart's Invisible Furies (598 Pages - 5 Stars)
The Book of Longings (407 Pages - 5 Stars)
Things in Jars (369 Pages - 3.5 Stars)
The Gifted School (450 Pages - 4 Stars)
The White Queen (408 Pages - 4 Stars)

[Hannah]

You know how there are slow reads and fast reads and they don't always match up with how much you like the book? Like, there are books I hated that I absolutely tore through and books I hated that dragged on forever, and books I loved that I couldn't put down and books I loved that still took me a long time to get through?

The point of all this is that I looked over the books I read this month and I liked all of them! All fours and fives, with one three that I still enjoyed a lot. But none of them were fast reads! I feel like I'm in some sort of weird slump, except I can't really be, since I read five books this month and liked all of them. I just really feel like reading something that I love so much that I just fly through it!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hannah, that's exactly how I felt! Like... I didn't read as much and I felt like each book took forever to get through, but I loved all of them.

I will say that I tend to give higher ratings to fast reads, just because I feel like I tore through it so it had to be good, right? I definitely need to rethink my ratings for those books.

[Hannah]

I usually give an extra star to something that I read quickly, because at the very least the author knows how to write compelling stuff. Though sometimes I think when I really REALLY hate a book, I get into this weird "aaargh, I hate this book so much, have to finish it so it'll be over/have to see if it could possibly get any better/worse" state? Like, I really am not fond of Gillian Flynn's books (though I definitely concede that she has a talent for writing compelling stories), but I read all of them very fast - I just spent the whole time being like "I hate all these people SO MUCH please let me get out of their heads."*

*Totally my personal distaste for books about horrible people, not any comment on Gillian Flynn's talents!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Yes, in some books it seems like it takes forever to get through 20 pages and others you look up and 100 pages are gone!

[Cheryl A.]

I only completed and 2 books in May but thoroughly enjoyed both of them:
and
I will be continuing on The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries on book 3, Murder Most Maine. I am hoping to continue with this series but I may have trouble finding the books at our library in large print or as downloadable.

[Jill]

I read 9 books in May and the only 5 star was After the Funeral but also 5 that were 4 stars.

[Laurel]

Finished 10! ATY prompts in May. 4 5-star, 3 4-star, and 3 3-star books.

A mix of genres - memoirs, young adult, children, cozy mystery, historical mystery, paranormal mystery, romance, translation, literature, and history of science.

My favorites were The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars, Lethal Remedies and Last Train to Istanbul - three completely different books.

[Traci]

I decided this month that I wanted to finish all 36 prompts of the spring reading challenge as well as read some books that fit Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage month. So, I read 14 books and will finish my last this evening.

5 stars: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, This Light Between Us: A Novel of World War II, Small Wonder

I had a bunch of 4 star books too! All in all, good reading month.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Wow Traci. That's an accomplishment!