Week 11 Check in

[Sheri]

Apologies, I didn't have a chance to get a post up last week, and got busy over the weekend. Spring means cleaning and house renovations, right?

I'll still make another post later this week, hopefully. This is for last week!

I finished:

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 - This was a fun read. I think it's actually in the middle of a series, but it stood alone pretty well. I counted it for Popsugar's book on my tbr I got free, I think it was an Amazon First Reads. Also counted for ATY book set in a country I've never visited, book nerds book i got for free.

Network Effect - Good to get back to Murderbot, I enjoyed having a longer story than usual. Using it for my popsugar TBR list book that i meant to read last year. I'd wanted to get to it after I read the rest of the novellas, but then a bunch of end of year library books came up. Also used it for Book Nerds set in space, ATY book that was a goodreads choice nominee last year.

Currently reading:

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - doing audio book for when i'm doing some home improvement stuff. Nice to use one that i've read so I don't have to worry about missing things.

1Q84- still plugging away

Streaming - poetry book

QOTW:

Are there any characters in books you've read this year that stand out as someone you'd want to be friends with?

I always like Murderbot, I think it'd be interesting to be friends with an AI, and always good to have someone who can be protective.

[Jen W.]

A few finishes this week for me:

You Should See Me in a Crown - my Popsugar book that has the same title as a song. I really enjoyed this. The main character was really likeable and the f/f romance was cute.

A Blade So Black - my Popsugar book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover. I really enjoyed this anime-influenced urban fantasy take on Alice in Wonderland. I admit, I got a chuckle out of all the Sailor Moon references.

Manga: The Promised Neverland, Vol. 18

Currently reading: As the Shadow Rises - I'm not too far into this one yet. I'm kind of wishing I'd reread the first book before starting this, because I've forgotten the characters a bit, and the sequel just jumps right back in without much recap or reminders.

QOTW: Murderbot would be great, I agree.

In books I've read this year, I think Liz from You Should See Me in a Crown would have been fun to hang out with in high school. Adult me would love to hang out with Clara from Paladin's Strength.

[Megan]

I think I had started Lone Wolf at last check in - I'm still reading, hoping to finish at my glacial pace by IRL book club #2's virtual meetup next week. It's actually pretty interesting - definitely different, and not one I ever would have picked on my own, but that's what book clubs are for!

I also had a chance to listen to a little bit more of Skyward, which is having a hard time holding my interest - but when I'm back to spending more time in the car this summer and can listen without such long gaps between, hopefully it will draw me in more.

QOTW: Who wouldn't want to be friends with Frodo and Sam in real life? :)

[Shel]

Great week - two finishes and both were 5 star reads! The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang was both macabre and fascinating. The main character is a resurrectionist (digs up cadavers and sells them to medical schools and museums) in 1850 Manhattan. My second book by Kang and I want more! I used it for the book with a beautiful cover prompt.

I also read Arm of the Sphinx, sequel to Senlin Ascends and just as amazing as the first one. Used for book about a criminal, since the characters have to turn pirate for survival as they continue their adventure through the tower of Babel and much more fascinating world-building ensues!

Currently continuing The Mark of Athena with the kiddo, and am partway through Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox.

QOTW: I'd love to spend time with any of the demigods from Camp Half-Blood! And if re-reads from this year count, I would kill to hang out with any of the Heralds of Valdemar :)

[Susan]

Last week I finished The School of Essential Ingredients. This was very fast. For the book nerds book with multiple POV. I really enjoyed this book. Since every chapter is specific to one person in the cooking class it is more broad than deep for each character. But it was light and easy and pleasant. I have ordered the sequel from the library.

Still listening to Babylon's Ashes. I still have a long way to go on this one. It is interesting that parts of season 5 of The Expanse are clearly coming from this book with slightly different characters.

QOTW: I'd love to hang out with Lilian from the cooking school/restaurant above. Everything sounded so delicious and her intuition about what her students needed was spot on. But this answer would probably change in a month or two.

[Rebecca]

A hold came in and I had a festive book plan, so last week I accidentally read two mysteries in which the protagonist takes over the family business and then feels she has to find the murderer to prevent a family member from taking the blame.

I got A Deadly Inside Scoop from Goodreads' list of mysteries by Black women. The family business in this one is an ice cream shop, and the protagonist's reasons for moving back home to run it made more sense than they sometimes do. I really liked her and her family, although her two best friends were a bit annoying. The mystery was eh, but I need this ice cream shop to be real and located near me instead of fictionally in Ohio.

My festive holiday read was Murder in an Irish Village. The business in this one is a bistro, and the protagonist is running it and caring for her five siblings after their parents' death. There was enough to the mystery in this one that I was able to solve it, but it felt like the author was trying to make it aggressively Irish. Like, she makes brown bread, OK, we got it, you don't need to mention it constantly. Next year I gotta get my act together and read Yeats or something.

QOTW: So far the best contender is probably Win from the ice cream book. She seemed nice and level-headed, and she runs an ice cream shop, so maybe I'd get to test new flavors or something.

[Trystan]

I finished reading Ready Player Two this week. I started Travel Light, (which was mentioned in This is How You Lose the Time War,) but I decided I want to buy this one. So I set that aside and am now reading The 7 and a 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

QotW: If it was downtime, and they weren't out saving their respective worlds, I think I'd like to hang out with either the Jacob, Noor, Emma, and the Peculiar kids.... or Wade, Aech, Art3mis, and Shoto

[Megan]

Rebecca, I've had a Deadly Inside Scoop on my list forever (being actually in Ohio and also a fan of ice cream), so I'm sorry to hear that the mystery is meh. Maybe the series gets better? I can hope! The author is such a cool person that I want the books to be just as good. :)

[Rebecca]

It was pretty standard for a cozy, in that the protagonist accuses every possible person as she seizes on potential clues, eventually stumbling on the murderer. I would absolutely recommend it if you enjoy cozies! I personally prefer a more puzzle style, so the mystery aspect was not the standout feature. I will probably still read the next one for the characters (and the ice cream).

[Megan]

Thanks for the additional detail, Rebecca - I'll keep it on my list, then, and we'll both have to see if the next one is any different - from the times I've met the author at events, it seems like her writing style has evolved quite a bit.

[Kathy]

My biggest reading accomplishment was finally finishing Americanah, which was my IRL book club choice. It was a slog. My book club is pretty chill about skipping books you don't like, but my son's girlfriend commented that she really enjoyed it when I added it so decided to stick with it. I liked the second half better than the first, but reminded again that I'm not that fond of realistic fiction. As someone posted a cartoon at FoE, I read to escape reality, not get thrown into it.
I had to intersperse it with books I liked better, so read the next one in the Charlotte Macleod series I'm rereading, and read a Samantha Spade by Merline Lovelace. It's marketed as a romantic suspense, but I have enjoyed the series-main character tests weird inventions for the miltary. Also read Stardust and liked it, but think it was another book that I had high expectations for because so many in FoE love it, and was a bit disappointed to not be enthralled as well.
I would like to be friends with Samantha Spade and Sarah Kelling and Faith Fairchild and Meg Langslow, but can't imagine how our paths would cross (NM that they are fictional). I also like the detective in Very Bad men; she has a daughter in high school in Ann Arbor as I do; so it's possible we could run into each other (again, if she were real.)