EPBOT Readers discussion
2021 Reading Check Ins
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Week 2 Check In
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Just one finish for me this week: Beowulf: A New Translation. This was a modernized version of the poem, and I chose to listen to the audiobook because I thought it would work better to hear it in spoken word rather than read it. I also went into this never having read the original in its entirely, but basically knowing the story through cultural osmosis, though other books, shows, and TV/movies. I liked it well enough. The introduction, read by the author herself, was also very interesting, as she talked about her reasons for making the updates she did.Currently I'm still reading The Silvered Serpents. I'm enjoying it so far, but it's been slow going just because my work schedule's been full of more meetings than usual.
QOTW: I was such a voracious reader as a child. These are the standouts for me, though.
The Hero and the Crown - what I believe was my first fantasy novel. I read it when I was 8 or 9, and I used to reread it all the time. Same with The Dark Is Rising - it was one of my all-time faves.
Magic's Pawn - I think this was probably first "adult" fantasy novel, read in the seventh or eighth grade (12/13ish).
I also read so many Babysitters' Club and Sweet Valley books in grade school, you have no idea. :D
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Kiddo and I are about halfway through The Lost Hero and it continues to be good fun.
QOTW: Oh there are SO many. I was obsessed with the Little House books and the Anne of Green Gables series. I think I re-read A Wind in the Door a bazillion times as a kid, despite the fact that the echthroi gave me nightmares. And Alanna: The First Adventure was my gateway book to fantasy. I finished it and immediately decided I need more books like THAT in my life.
I decided that I should probably read light stuff through next week, just in case.First one this week was The Vulcan Academy Murders. I found out this existed, and the reviews indicated that it was good but the murderer was obvious, so I figured that was worth five bucks on eBay. Indeed, the reviews were correct: as a fic, it captures the characters well, ties together a surprising amount of source material, and includes some nice world-building for Vulcan. Everyone was so dense though! The tagline on the front is "Captain Kirk becomes an interplanetary homicide detective!" and even before reading it I was like "could literally anyone else please try instead." They need to assign some mandatory Agatha Christie at Starfleet Academy. Also, the image on the cover does not represent any event occurring in the book. Anyway, still worth $5, and I am now going to mail it to my Trek- and mystery-loving cousin.
Megan recommended Assaulted Caramel back in December but I had to wait until we had cleared out some of the holiday candy (the caramels, at least). Pretty standard cozy mystery, had some of the "amateur vs hostile law enforcement" trope that isn't my favorite. I liked the cat.
Finally we have Boyfriend Material. This is a romance with the fake-dating trope, but somehow I didn't gather from the reviews how funny it was, or maybe how it was funny. It's a very British humor in the tradition of Dickens or Wodehouse, with silly names and improbable scenarios. I feel like you will know whether you want to read a romance with peripheral characters named Judith Cholmondeley-Pfaffle and Alex Twaddle, and a dung beetle conservation charity called "the Coleoptera Research and Protection Project. The acronym for which is definitely pronounced CEEARAYPEEPEE. And definitely not CRAPP." Personally I thought it was fun.
QOTW: I think I mentioned Robin McKinley and the Enchanted Forest Chronicles last time, so I will pick something different. I was for some time obsessed with Harriet the Spy. I wanted to be a spy, too, but all I could do was sit behind the recliner and write down what my parents were doing, because I didn't have free rein of the neighborhood like Harriet, and anyway no one would have had a dumbwaiter for me to use. I think I failed to understand the interpersonal relationships at play (isn't there something about Ole Golly's mother? I didn't get that) and entirely missed the moral lesson (which is, y'know, about not being a "spy").
This week was surprisingly mild, so long walks were taken with audiobooks. Finishes includeShortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future, by far my best read so far this year. I'm fond of listening to anyone go on and on about something they are passionate about, whether it's something I find interesting or not. While I can't say I'm usually super into American municipal politics, Mayor Pete's earnestness felt fresh and positively hopeful. I look forward to seeing what his future holds. Used for the book by someone who inspires you prompt.
The Strange Library. Short, beautifully illustrated, with a car-crash of a finale. Oof. A worthwhile quick read. Used for the book with illustrations prompt.
I listened to Beowulf on audiobook this week too! Like Jennifer, I knew of the story without ever reading it. Mine was a different prose translation, though, and no matter how hard I tried, my attention just kept slipping away. I had the best intentions, but this didn't work for me. Used for the story that spans several years prompt.
Book Nerds 7/100
QOTW: Last time this question came up, I mentioned the Mr. Men books my nana would mail me from Wales. Slightly older, I inherited my cousins' stack of beat-up/well-loved Astérix comic books, and I've been a huge fan ever since.
Good reading week for me. I read The City We Became based on an FoE recommendation. I almost stopped because it was so weird but glad I kept going. Like her first Hugo book, there were a few times I paused to admire a beautifully written sentence. There is one hilarious paragraph that is a gift to Star Trek fans. It's set in New York city, and I would love to hear thoughts about it from someone from the area.I got the Grishaverse books for Christmas and readShadow and Bone in preparation for the Netflix show coming in April. Still very much enjoyed the second (or third?) time through. Counted for debut novel in book nerds.
Just finished The House in the Cerulean Sea. It was lovely. At first I thought the characters were too caricaturish (like the Dursleys or the chocolate factory parents) but they evolve. Lots of positive things about acceptance.
QOTW. I was an avid reader. In summer I was only allowed one book a day and had to go outside. I was a big Trixie Belden fan; read Nancy Drew too but it bothered me that she was always 18 years old. There were two series by Elizabeth Enright that were favorites; just reread one and it held up nicely. I read Betsy Tacy Tib books that my mom had read when she was young, and those were some of the few from my childhood that daughterbot agreed to read. Harriet the Spy, Egypt Game, Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankwheeler were also favorites.
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It filled 7 prompts on the Nerds Challenge. Are first time challengers there using one book for multiple prompts? I see people posting (and I just did) that completing one book fills several prompts. I made a similar posting but then commented on only one "card" photo.
I'm still listening to Nemesis Games. Still pacing the TV show too.
Considering what to read next. I have a couple new books in the house to choose from while I order something from the library.
QOTW: As a young child I remember reading Curious George with my mother a lot. We used to walk to the library (about 1.5 miles away - it seemed SO far as a kid). Elementary school I remember reading a lot of Beverly Cleary. Middle school I don't remember a whole lot although I do remember reading Papillon and that took a while. Early high school I was on an historical fiction kick for a while and read the entire Bicentennial Chronicles and the North and South series, both by John Jakes.
@sheri, we love Bruce Coville but neither my husband nor I knew of him until we had kids. Bruce was one of our favorite authors to listen to with our kids on road trips. The other was Gary Paulsen. We did a lot of long road trips and these were amazing. All 3 kids, with 6 years between oldest and youngest loved all those books. They were appropriate for all ages and engaging for adults too.
This week I finished listening to Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know. I really enjoyed it. It was indeed like listening to an extended podcast, I appreciated the way he leaned into the audio format rather than it just being a straight up read aloud of the book. Interesting stuff as well, definitely makes you think differently about how we think and react. A bit depressing/concerning at times, but there's some optimistic stuff in there too. Using this for the prompt book that makes you think.My other finish was The Fated Sky. I remember really enjoying the first of the series, but I wasn't so taken by this one. I think it just felt a bit obvious and a little dreary. That said, it was enjoyable enough and I like the concept of humanity being pushed into space much faster than in our reality due to a catastrophic meteorite strike in the 50s.
QOTW - I'm having a hard time thinking how to answer this one! I read a lot, and a lot of different things growing up. One of my favourite books of all time is Haroun and the Sea of Stories - I remember my dad reading it to us when I was young, and I've read it myself over and over again throughout my life whenever I need a proper story and the reassurance of knowing it will all work out in the end. Might be time for a re-read now that I think of it!
I missed last week, so since the beginning of the year I've read: Hearts of Oak: This came from NPR Concierge's 'Funny Stuff' category, apparently dystopian satire falls in that category...I thought the premise was generally interesting, but the writing felt stilted so I never really got into the flow. Also...really not funny.
The Once and Future Witches: Loved this one, three sisters in an alternative history, witches and women's suffrage. Thousand Doors of January was great too, Alix Harrow will be an author I follow. She has some short stories on her web site I plan to read too.
The Glass Hotel For some reason I thought this was a group-stranded-in-a-hotel murder mystery, which must be something else on my list, so I kept thinking it was taking a long time to get to the point. Realistic fiction isn't high on my list of fun read, but the writing was good so overall I enjoyed it, although not as much as Station Eleven.
November 9 I started listening on a run, increased the speed because the narration was so slow, then increased to 2x because the story was so bad...I was probably only 1/4 done, but the loan has since expired and I think I hated it enough to drop it, despite being the book club pick. If it hadn't expired I probably would have suffered through it, but now that it's gone good riddance. So much overdone Teenage Angst and bad conversation and weird Definitely Not Having Sex physical interaction. (sorry guys, I know it was the club pick and I wouldn't have brought it up but I know from FB I'm not the only one, so if you DO like it I'd be interested to hear more)
Started Something That May Shock and Discredit You, I have a selection of NPR Concierge books from categories I wouldn't generally read, since I'm trying to not read ONLY mysteries and fantasy/scifi...It's kind of slow going for me, being a memoir and essay format, but an interesting window to his experiences on gender and transitioning.
Started The Faithless Hawk today, really looking forward to it...I read The Merciful Crow towards the end of last year and really liked it, hopefully this is similar.
QOTW: I read TONS as a kid, the usual suspects: Ann of Green Gables, Little House series, Betsy Tacy Tib as mentioned above...we weren't allowed to read Trixie Beldon or Nancy Drew, but I remember working my way through huge stacks of old Bobbsey Twins, Happy Hollisters, Hardy Boys, Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown...
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@Susan: I am trying out marking multiple prompts per book, but I think it's nice for people to list multiple options so even people doing it the "right" way can see what they could use it for (says the person too lazy to do that).November 9 still shows four weeks out for me, so I guess I'll let some more people be guinea pigs and see where we are when I get it.
This has been a crazy month for me, both with work and personal stuff...so I am still reading The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories a month later! It's actually working out well, since I've had so little reading time and it's been so far apart - short stories are definitely better than a novel for that format. I'm hoping that things will settle down soon so I can get back into my usual groove!I feel bad that November 9 is not working out for so many folks, since I was the one who suggested it. I haven't had time to start reading it yet, but the reason I nominated it was because my IRL book clubs have had good experiences with Colleen Hoover books, and this was a standalone one that I hadn't read or heard much about. Now that I'm hearing your feedback, perhaps there was a reason for that.... I will read it as soon as I can, though, so at least you won't have suffered alone.
QOTW: I think I was here when we last talked about books from our childhood, because I remember the Mr. Men conversation. I feel like I brought up most of my middle grade faves then, so I'll just mention a few earlier childhood ones that I came across recently while going through some boxes....
Pettifur: A Story
Mooch the Messy
The Complete Brambly Hedge
The Night Stella Hid the Stars
Wee Gillis
Some of those have probably stood the test of time better than others. :)
Another check in I would start then absent mindedly close the tab before posting. The last two weeks have been insane.I only finished two books this week
[Don't] Call Me Crazy edited by Kelly Jensen This was a fantastic anthology about mental health issues written by a ton of creative types and athletes. It's one of those books that I want to pass on to any teen/young twenty-something and urge them to read.
The Sword, Vol. 1: Fire The art in this graphic novel was a little generic and plasticky, but the story! This pulled me on hardcore. I am going to have to track down the three other volumes now.
Megan please don't feel bad about November 9, after all we all had a chance to vote on it. I looked through the reviews on Amazon, it has 3,367 reviews and 4.8 stars and there is apparently a Plot Twist so I renewed it! :D
I picked up November 9 I just haven't started it yet.I want to try and finish at least two of the in progress books before I do.
EPBOT Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
Wee Gillis (other topics)The Complete Brambly Hedge (other topics)
Pettifur: A Story (other topics)
Mooch the Messy (other topics)
The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Jakes (other topics)Josiah Bancroft (other topics)
Hope everyone's doin alright this week. Enjoying a bit of sunshine and weather in the 40s which is a nice mid winter break. It's going to change tomorrow I think, so will probably do a walk at lunch to take advantage, yesterday actually did a little run.
This week I finished:
This Is How You Lose the Time War - I can't remember if I posted this but i loved it. Such an interesting take on time travel. Great story all together. Counting for booknerds character that is a basket case/outcast. Both characters were outcasts in their respective societies. Also used for ATY short book by a new-to-you author, it was i think 200 pages, and I hadn't read either author. Popsugar for a past year's prompt, 2018's book involving time travel.
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America- - as i mentioned last week, wow, timely read. I had put it down for a few days, finally managed to get through it this week. It's a good read, just difficult. Well researched and written. Author pulls no punches, nor do I think she should. Used for BookNerds book that makes you think, ATY book about racism/race relations, Read Harder nonfiction book about antiracism, Popsugar BLM reading list.
A Deadly Education - This was such an interesting take on magic schools/chosen one tropes. I thought it was interesting and well done! Had fun reading it. It did get called out for some problematic lines that were unintentionally racist. I did see those. But the author did make a long apology accepting the responsibility, and giving steps how she'd avoid a misstep in the future. I don't know what else you can expect out of an author who makes a mistake, so I feel alright still reading and supporting her as an author. This is my popsugar dark acadamia, book nerds book with sun, moon, or stars on the cover, Around the Year book involving magical elements.
Currently Reading:
The Many Lives of Tom Waits - just started it, no real opinions yet. Although I just noticed there were a bunch of bad reviews so we'll see if I finish it, I have enough other stuff to read I have no time for meh right now haha.
QOTW:
Going to revisit some oldies, since I know we have a lot of new posters now!
Are there any books from your childhood that stand out, even today?
I really remember The Little White Horse, i don't know what happened to my copy but I can picture the cover clearly. I still remember more of the plot than some of the stuff I just read last year, haha. I also really remember Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, or really Bruce Coville in general but that one in particular. I loved dragons, fantasy. I especially love fantasy where the dragons can be friendly, or at least not outright evil. I don't want to slay dragons, I wanna be friends with them. I also remember reading SO MANY Saddle Club books and Thoroughbreds in my horse crazy days. THose are less the individual books, so much as just remmbering loving them, the characters, reading through the whole series multiple times etc.