Week 45: 11/5 - 11/11

[L Y N N]

This week is a last-minute rush to finalize details for a major departmental event to be held next week. Wish me luck! I’m trying not to stress, but caterers, etc., are doing it to me! LOL 😊

I hope everyone else’s week is not nearly as stressful!!

This is Veteran’s Day in the U.S. A woman at the gym was telling me she and her daughter placed flags on veterans’ graves in a local cemetery yesterday and will collect them next Wednesday. That is an admirable task, IMO! My former father-in-law was a veteran of World War II. He had some stories…

Admin Stuff:
Don’t forget that we are reading and discussing The Firekeeper's Daughter by Karola Renard this month. You can find that thread here. I have yet to pickup my copy. Maybe this weekend...

In addition to that, as usual, we have a discussion thread where you can post any other books you’ve read that would fulfill prompt #16 A book written by an indigenous author.

Popsugar: 46/50
ATY: 49/52
RHC: 18/24
Reading Women: 15/28

Question of the Week:
Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?

I’m totally cheating with my answer since I list each prompt I could fulfill with each book I finish. I never cease to be amazed at how many POPSUGAR (and ATY) prompts one book can fulfill!

Just in case someone out there is still searching for a book and they don’t mind counting one book for more than one prompt, your answers this week might help them find a book they’ll enjoy reading and will help them complete the challenge. 😊 (Apologies to those who find “double-dipping” to be a horrid concept and/or sin!)

FINISHED:
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was a very poignant story. Very sweet. How a family can be formed amongst former strangers. I particularly appreciated the housekeeper’s attitude of unconditional positive regard—her ability to not be put off by the professor’s unique situation and coping behaviors. A quiet read, but a bit sad as well.
POPSUGAR: #4, #16, #18-Unconditional positive regard ; respect, acceptance, and appreciation for all!, #27, #30-Japan, #34-Accommodation of special needs, #37, #43
ATY: #1-In the beginning it was difficult to imagine how to successfully communicate with the professor, #6-Definitely! Though nothing to do with romance!, #8-Japan, #9-Summer, #18-Past relationships can make the present and future more meaningful and enjoyable, #26, #27-Death, Judgment, The World, #29, #31, #34, #36, #40, #41, #49, #51
RHC: #1-Was uncertain about a translation from Japanese, NEW #3
Reading Women: NEW #28

The Butterfly Mosque: A Young American Woman's Journey to Love and Islam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ was absolutely fascinating. A truly honest and well-written accounting of an “American woman” and her attraction to the Mideast and Islam; her resulting conversion and life in Egypt. Listening to her at the author event and meeting her afterward was a real treat! I really want a follow-up/sequel to this, however. They now live in Seattle and have children! I want to know all about their move to the U.S. and how Omar is handling that after being born and raised in Egypt.
POPSUGAR: #7-A writer!, #18- Peaceful coexistence and unconditional positive regard! (Respect, acceptance, and appreciation for all!), #21-Autobiography/Memoir, Religion, #24, #28, #30-Egypt, #34-Unconditional positive regard for all!, #36-524 reviews on Goodreads, #37, #38-Willow is a writer!, #47-Pretty sure Wilson will be one of my favorite authors and her author event was the first one I attended during the COVID pandemic (November 2021)
ATY: #1-In the beginning, Willow was just searching for a way to understand and “be” in the world, #2, #3-…whiskers on kittens… The pregnant kitty and the two surviving kittens!, #6, #8-Egypt, #9-Summer—it’s always hot!, #11-Set in Egypt!, #16, #17-both, #20-I would love to hear about Omar and Willow’s future life together!, #23-Autobiography/Memoir, Religion, #24, #27-Judgment, The World, #34, #35-Egypt, #36, #39, #51

CONTINUING:
The Laws by Connie Palmen is not exactly intriguing after the first 40 pages. I may start rotating this with the other two in order to finish... 😃
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

PLANNED:
My one November Buddy Read:
Roses Are Red (Alex Cross #6) by James Patterson
For the POSUGAR Monthly Group read in November:
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
For my favorite used bookstore book club in November:
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
For Literary Wives December 6:
The Summer Wives: A Novel by Beatriz Williams
And the others that are waiting patiently...
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #26 A book written by Isabel Allende.
Paradise by Toni Morrison to fulfill the 2020 Reading Women prompt #25 A book written by Toni Morrison.
In the future sometime, G.Willow Wilson's books I want to read:
The Bird King
Alif the Unseen

[Ashley Marie]

Happy Thursday and happy Veterans Day! My maternal granddad served in the USAF in the Korean conflict, and my paternal grandfather was a master sergeant in the US Army in WWII. I know very little about granddad's time in the air force, and have one or two pictures and certificates, but the army officer ended up in Belgium and the Netherlands as part of the 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company. He didn't talk much about his time in the military but there were a few stories, and he assured me that if I ever needed him to come speak at school or anything like that, he would be happy to do so. I'm rather sad now that it never materialized.

Ugh, Lynn, work events always sound terrible between the logistics and pressure and everything else. Good luck!!

Finished:
Tam O' Shanter by Robert Burns - 5 stars, a good classic autumny Scots-English poem.
The Fall of the House of Cabal - 4 stars, a solid ending (or is it?) to this series.
Fatherland - 4 stars. Another good one from Robert Harris!

Currently:
The Night Watchman - This ventures off on plenty of tangents, but when we get the narrative stuff I'm very intrigued. Should finish today.
Fables & Reflections - This one's weird. I'm still not sure if this series is episodic or a full-arc story, because it seems to change per volume.
Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means - Fully expecting this chonker to take me all month lol
Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 19 - Finally getting back to this in the hopes I can finish the series by the end of December (there's only 27 volumes total, so it should be doable!)

QOTW: Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?
There have been a few I've been able to mix-and-match; The Anatomist's Wife worked for Book about art or an artist/Place you want to visit. Legendborn works for Dark academia/Family tree/Published in 2021.

[Katy]

I finished The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero. very interesting.

I read The Ragman's Memory which was OK. Archer Mayor kind of gets on my nerves with his geographical descriptions. Whenever his m ain character is driving, it's like "I was driving down Western Avenue and then took the fork that led on to High Street. At the bottom of the hill I turned left on Main Street, heading towards Putney Road and on up towards Dummerston." Does any author do that? Or does it just annoy me because I am familiar with the roads?

I have just started Shakespeare's Wife which for some reason I thought was a historical novel, but I think it's a biography. Whic his fine.

QOTW: The Girl with the Pearl Earring for gemstone, best seller from the '90s and a book about an artist. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster (which I realy really really loved) as a bestseller from the 90s and a book that takes place outdoors.

[Patricia]

Hi! My week isn't stressful at all. I'm sorry I don't have a copy of The firekeeper's daughter so I can't join the discussion.

Question of the Week:
Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?

I think The Night Circus for a book about Magical realism and set in multiple countries.

[Kenya]

Happy Thursday, y’all.

This has been a WEEK. Last Friday I ended up moving out of an unhealthy living situation and am trying to get settled in a new place, as well as evaluate where I am mental-health-wise and figure out where to go from here. It's been rough and confusing and tumultuous, but I've had some very supportive family and friends who have been helping me through this, for which I'm very grateful. And I know it's going to be rough for awhile yet... but I'm hoping things get better from here on out.

Needless to say, this has been affecting my reading, haha... mostly short books this week.

Books read this week:

Styrofoam Throne -- rather weird coming-of-age story about a horror-obsessed teen working at a haunted castle attraction over the summer. Despite being rough around the edges, I enjoyed it, though the ending was a little abrupt.

The Importance of Being Earnest -- yes, finally got around to reading this classic. Funny and nicely satirical.

Princess Princess Ever After -- graphic novel. Very fun and adorable story about two princesses and their adventures, by the author of the Tea Dragon books.

DNF:

The Eyre Affair -- WAY too much going on, the characters were all really bland, and I’m just not fond of a villain whose only reason for doing what he does is to be evil.

Robinson Crusoe -- I get that it’s a classic, but… it’s mind-numbingly BORING. Also holy heck did they just love run-on sentences back in that day or what? I swear some of those sentences took up the whole paragraph. Not worth chugging through, honestly...

Currently Reading:

Stinger
The Last Policeman
Skeleton Crew
The Man Who Watched the World End

QOTW:

I'm sure I could come up with several, but dang if I can't remember titles right now. XD The Red Tent would work for "family tree," "multiple countries," "do-overs or fresh starts," and possibly others.

[Nadine in NY]

It finally happened, hard frosts have come to our area, and now my maple tree has no leaves.  Mild autumnal weather came back again, though, and we've had those lovely sort of days with crisp air and warm sun, the sweet smell of dried leaves, and (thanks to the frost) no bugs (but this morning it was frosty again, so maybe that was the last of the mild weather).  Also, lots of disgusting vole trails in my lawn.  They're right there in the open, why don't handy predators come along to pick them off??? I welcome you, snakes, foxes, coyotes, owls, hawks!! Even neighborhood cats! Please come pick these off!!  What is more disgusting than mowing the lawn and seeing a vole hip-hopping away from the mower just ahead of you?   Why can't they just live somewhere else, far far away from me? Sigh. I guess it's time to start setting those electronic-zapper traps again. I hate emptying them, but I'm tired of having rodents - they are getting into my walls now.

It's Veteran's Day today, but today is a work day for me like any other, so I forgot about the holiday ... and in a panic I burst into my daughter's room at 6:15am "it's late you have to get up!!" ... because I completely forgot they had no school today.  Bad mom. Sounds like my daughter managed to get back to sleep, at least.



This week I finished three books, one for this challenge, so I am now 46/50.  So close!

Second Place by Rachel Cusk - I can't say I regret reading this, but I also can't say I liked it.  There are some lovely passages, interspersed with far too much navel-gazing, and very little plot.  This would work for "a book about an artist" if you are still looking for a book, and my tepid mini-review hasn't put you off.

Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers poems by Jake Skeets - It was okay - some powerful poems, some less powerful poems. 
 
10 lb Penalty by Dick Francis - this was my 90s bestseller - it was a re-read for me, but it's been so long since I first read it that I had completely forgotten it!  It was like reading it for the first time!  I really enjoyed this, so I went from hating this category to loving it, because it helped me to remember how much I loved Dick Francis's books.  I'm not a big re-reader, so I never would have picked this up if not for this category. Now I'm going to plan to re-read all the rest of his books!!!



QotW

Well, let's see, back in the beginning of the year I would check off every single prompt each book filled, in case I needed to do some shuffling.  Here are a few that fill three or more categories:

Xeni fits "starts with X," "fewer than 1000 reviews," and "about an artist" (note, I did not like this book, so I'm not necessarily recommending it, but a lot of other readers did like it so .... if you need it, and it looks interesting ... go for it?)

Remarkable Creatures - I really enjoyed this book, and it fits "dream job," "set mostly outdoors," "about do-overs or fresh starts," & "set somewhere you'd like to visit" (I guess two of those categories are personal and don't apply to everyone)

The Other Americans - I really enjoyed this book, too, and now I want to read all of Lalami's books - this fits "Muslim-American author," "set in multiple countries," "three generations," and "social justice"

Home Fire - another book I really enjoyed, I read this for "Women's Prize," it also fits "Muslim-British author" and "set in multiple countries"

Picnic at Hanging Rock fits "dark academia," "mineral in title," and "set mostly outdoors"

My Year Abroad - one of my favorite authors! this book fits "published in 2021," "set in multiple countries," and at the time I read it, it had fewer than 1000 reviews, though that may have changed. *I just checked, and it STILL has fewer than 1000 reviews! Wow, this guy is so good, why aren't more people reading him??

Act Your Age, Eve Brown - "published in 2021," "set in a restaurant," & "body positivity"

Fugitive Telemetry - "published in 2021," "locked room mystery," & "genre hybrid"

Song of the Exile - I REALLY did not like this book!  but it fits seven categories, so I had to include it!  Indigenous author, multiple countries, set somewhere  you'd like to visit (Hawaii!), three generations, social justice, fewer than1000 reviews, & about an artist (musician)

You Love Me: A You Novel - published in 2021, dream job (independently wealthy & a volunteer librarian!), fresh starts, & your best friend would like (which I guess won't apply to everyone)

Malibu Rising - published in 2021, set in a restaurant, mostly outdoors (I guess those two contradict each other!!), three generations, & somewhere you'd like to visit.

We Could Be Heroes - published in 2021, forgetting, song title (which is what I read it for!) - I enjoyed this book but it didn't superwow me at the time, however, I find I'm still thinking about it, months later.

Our Woman in Moscow - published in 2021, multiple countries, three generations, fewer than 1000 reviews (at the time that I read it - maybe not now!) *Yes, it's up to 1060 reviews today.

Shipped - published in 2021, set mostly outdoors, about fresh starts, in a place I'd like to visit (Galapagos Islands) 


I guess that ended up being more than "a few."

[Nadine in NY]

Katy wrote: "Archer Mayor kind of gets on my nerves with his geographical descriptions. Whenever his m ain character is driving, it's like "I was driving down Western Avenue and then took the fork that led on to High Street. At the bottom of the hill I turned left on Main Street, heading towards Putney Road and on up towards Dummerston." Does any author do that? Or does it just annoy me because I am familiar with the roads? ..."


Yes I have come across this in other books (almost always mysteries, for some reason) and I always find it incredibly distracting, especially when it's an area I know. Like, if it's London (and Rowling is bad about doing this in her Cormoran Strike books), I don't get too worked up, I usually just skip all those words, because I don't know any London streets.

Sometimes their directions make no sense and I end up on Google Maps instead of reading. Sometimes I discover they've made up an intersection, which leads me to wonder: why be so specific if you're pulling it out of your ass???

I read a mystery set in Syracuse NY for a challenge at some point, because I live near Syracuse, and it annoyed the crap out of me because she gave incredibly specific street names, but half of them made no sense, and her picture of Syracuse was nothing like how I see Syracuse.

Same thing years ago when I read a mystery set up here where I live - she had her protagonist live near the river, but there are no houses near that particular river that are like the house she described. I whined about this in my review, and the author replied to me! She was very nice, and I've never read another one of her books, so that I'll never have to post another negative review for her hahaha!

[Nadine in NY]

Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

This has been a WEEK. Last Friday I ended up moving out of an unhealthy living situation and am trying to get settled in a new place, as well as evaluate where I am mental-h..."


That sounds incredibly stressful. I'm glad you've got a support network, and I hope you find peace soon.

[Ellie]

National Book Token Hidden Books game is back!
https://caboodle.nationalbooktokens.c...

A flying visit, work's really busy, so no time to play the hidden books game till later. :( I've mostly been watching Squid Game and playing Animal Crossing, I'm addicted to making them all holiday homes.

But I did read one book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty for ATY (you read a book about what?!) which was entertaining. Learned some new morbid facts to hand out at inappropriate moments!

[Nadine in NY]

Ellie wrote: "National Book Token Hidden Books game is back!
https://caboodle.nationalbooktokens.c... ..."



yay! that was so much fun last year!!! I remember doing it with my older daughter ... who is away at college this year, so either I'm on my own, or she and I do it together over text ...



ETA ... hmmmm ... maybe I'm not playing at all this year. I was able to open the page, but then I got a runtime error, and the page won't re-open. Perhaps they are just overloaded? or does the game not play with Chrome?


Another edit: it's working again!

[Shannon]

Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday, y’all.

This has been a WEEK. Last Friday I ended up moving out of an unhealthy living situation and am trying to get settled in a new place, as well as evaluate where I am mental-h..."

I'm glad you were able to move out! I hope you're able to get to a better place (literally and figuratively).

[Katy]

Nadine wrote: "Sometimes their directions make no sense and I end up on Google Maps instead of reading. Sometimes I discover they've made up an intersection, which leads me to wonder: why be so specific if you're pulling it out of your ass???

I read a mystery set in Syracuse NY for a challenge at some point, because I live near Syracuse, and it annoyed the crap out of me because she gave incredibly specific street names, but half of them made no sense, and her picture of Syracuse was nothing like how I see Syracuse. ..."

Yes, that would be more annoying. Archer Mayor lives in the area and all his directions are completely accurate. This one was written in 1996, though, so some of the businesses he mentioned are no longer business.

[Shannon]

It's definitely fall here in North Texas! We're doing the "cold in the morning, hot in the afternoon" thing that's basically the definition of fall here. It's also "cold in the shade, hot in the sun."

Have I mentioned that I really dislike fall?

Happy Veteran's Day! We also have work today--our grad students get very few holidays, so we get very few holidays. But there are events on campus to pay tribute and honor the veterans who are students/faculty/staff, which I appreciate.

Finished:
Eldest by Christopher Paolini - a book that takes place mostly or entirely outdoors. This book reminded me of a) why I don't read much fantasy (it stresses me the heck out with all the battles and danger everyone's always in--I usually end the book with at least a mild anxiety attack because the end is always where a battle happens); and b) why I never finished the series (because I LOVE the characters and know some of them will die and I hate it. I don't want to deal with that!).

Also, there were definitely some silly moments (one of the characters says "Barges? We don't need no stinking barges!" and at one point Eragon quotes Darth Vader by saying "Look inside yourself. You know it to be true."), but the character development and tension-building were so good. And the reveal at the end, even though I knew it was coming, still overwhelmed me lol.

I'm going to push back the last two to next year because I just don't have time for them both. Another problem with fantasy: they're always. So. Long.

Currently Reading:
How to Listen to and Understand Great Music by Robert Greenberg - this is now going to be my longest tbr. I really enjoy his lecture style--he definitely keeps it easy to listen to, even if I don't always fully understand what he's explaining. Music is just so abstract, my brain has trouble understanding it!

About to Start:
The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson - book by a Muslim American author.

QOTW:
Alice's Farm: A Rabbit's Tale - I used it for fewer than 1000 reviews, but it would also work for one that takes place mostly outdoors or new beginnings.

I'm sure there are others, but it would take me awhile to go through my list lol.

[Lauren]

It sounds like I'm not the only one having a rough week. Really grateful for the holiday today so I can step back from the work and other sources of stress right now. Hope everyone else's week starts getting better soon.

The past week I finished:
Bibliophile: Diverse Spines This is so fun - a perfect gift for book lovers! Gorgeous illustrations and plenty of books to add to my TBR mountain. 5 stars

We Are Not Like Them I was nervous about how this would work out since it's such a tricky topic. It happens to have similar themes to the novel I'm working on and it's incredibly easy to mess up when approaching this type of book. There were plenty of cringe moments (I found it really hard to sympathize with the white character), but overall I think the writers pulled it off pretty well. 4 stars

This Accident of Being Lost: Songs and Stories I'm a new fan of this writer and enjoy these short audiobooks she has out in the world. 4 stars

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations Who would have thought that a graphic novel/memoir could work so well as an audiobook? Good stuff here. 4.5 stars

Olympus, Texas I'm not too big on white family drama novels, but this one held my attention pretty well and I liked the ending. 4 stars

Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory This was a bit dry like history books can be, but the content is important. 4 stars

Islands of Decolonial Love: Stories & Songs This was my first book by this author that really hooked me. So lovely. 5 stars

I'm currently finishing up What Storm, What Thunder in print and listening to The Turnout

QOTW: Let's see... based on the spreadsheet I was using, Dog Flowers: A Memoir can be used for both the published in 2021 and Indigenous author prompts, Love Medicine can be used for family tree and Indigenous author prompts, and Where We Come From can be used for the song title and three generations prompts.

[Katelyn]

Count me in for a rough week as well. I caught a cold (or maybe allergies?) but COVID negative. I tested even though I am vaccinated just in case. And I had car trouble - my whole steering column went out and it was....an experience for sure. Waiting 2 hours for a tow truck, driving 10+ miles to the shop and $1,400.00 later my car is working, for now.

My paternal grandfather was a meteorologist in WWII - stationed in Greenland deciphering weather patterns for the soldiers. My maternal grandfather was a medic on the front lines in France.

Finished:

Nothing - not much reading done this week unfortunately. Tomorrow we leave for Disneyland so I am sure to get some reading done on the plane and at night since I am taking my first vacation in 3 years.

Continuing:

Long Bright River by Liz Moore (author who shares my Zodiac sign - Gemini) I almost abandoned this one. It is almost 500 pages and was slow going (still kind of is) but it is written well enough to keep me going.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. Slow going on this one as well. But again, more to read this weekend.

QOTW:
I am really bad at remembering all the categories for books. Though I move them around frequently. I mostly read books that weren't slated for a category, then bump a book that was for the new book I just read.

[Melissa]

Hello! My video game release that was scheduled for next week has been delayed two weeks, and is now coming out 12/3 instead of 11/19. While it stinks for a lot of people, the delay makes my life a lot easier. The release is now out of November, so I can finish NaNoWriMo without worrying about losing time to the game. I also have more time to get the last of the Hugo nominations read, since the video game stuff can now wait until after the Hugo deadline. Which is a week from tomorrow. Eek.

As it is Veteran's Day, I want to call out my paternal grandmother, who was in the US Navy in World War II. Grandma passed when I was 10, but the more I learn about her, the more impressed I am. Once things are easier, I'm going to take my aunt out for coffee and just let her tell me about Grandma for a few hours.

Finished This Week:
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. Another Hugo nominee, for Best YA. I enjoyed this, but I went in knowing pretty much nothing beyond Indigenous author and YA. I liked the gradual reveal that there was something wrong with the town, while also using normal things like online doctor ratings and phone navigation. Using for PS #16, Indigenous Author.

The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede. I'd heard stories in various 9/11 tributes about all the international flights that had to land in Canada when the US closed the airspace on 9/11. I finally got the book from the library this year talking about Gander, the tiny town in Newfoundland that took in thousands of plane people for those days before the planes got clearance to leave. It was shorter than I realized, and came out in 2002, so I think the book could have been twice the size and still quite good. Very much enjoyed. Using for #47, from the TBR associated with a favorite person, place or thing (Newfoundland). Great Big Sea even got a mention!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. Another Hugo nominee, for Best Novella. It was confusing at first, trying to put together the story from the disjointed way it was being presented, but I enjoyed it once we got to the reveal and the rest made sense. Not for PS Prompt.

PS: 46/50 RH: 19/24 RW: 22/28 ATY: 51/52 GR: 170/150

Currently Reading:
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons. Another Hugo nominee. I'm finally past halfway. I'd be less frustrated if I didn't hate the structure so much. For those who haven't read it, the story is told in alternating chapter POVs. POV 1 tells the story in first person, from point B to point C. POV 2 tells the story in third person, from point A to point B. Except they're both talking about same person. Supposedly, at chapter 72 or so, POV 3 takes over at point C and finishes. Now I'm glad I didn't win a copy from the Goodreads giveaway. Oh, and POV 3 has occasional footnotes throughout the chapters from POVs 1 and 2, just to make everything more confusing.

At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor by Gordon W. Prange. No progress.

Up Next: (Optimistic Hugo List)
Raybearer
Legendborn
The City We Became
Black Sun
Gideon the Ninth
Ring Shout
Cemetery Boys

QotW: Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?
It looks like Ink in Water: An Illustrated Memoir by Lacy J. Davis is my winner, with 8 prompts filled. It's a graphic memoir about an artist's struggle with an eating disorder, and her way back to healthy. Fills prompts #19 Body Positivity, #30 Visit 2021 (San Francisco), #31 Online Author (she has a blog where she helps people also struggling with eating disorders), #35 Different Format (graphic memoir), #36 <1000 Reviews (153), #38 About an Artist, and then two TBR, because I meant to read it last year (#46) and I got it from the Library (#50). You could also claim #15 Black and White cover if you stretch it a bit.

[Theresa]

Wow, November is flying by! Work was good this past week- a client won his case claiming he could keep the contract deposit on the sale of his condo when the buyer, a rich entitled princess who clearly had never been told 'no' in her life, refused to close when she changed her mind about wanting the property. I was so happy to release that money to him! He had to sell at a substantial loss during the height of the pandemic lockdown when she walked away.

I'm still at 46/50 in PS -- and one of those is longest in pages. I only had one finish this week and it has left me fidgety - unable to settle into a book or finish another. Fidgety in a good way - the finish left me thinking and marveling. Instead, I'm spending time on jigsaw puzzles, Hallmark Christmas movies, online games, and oh of course, work.

FINISHED: The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. First in his Book of the New Sun Series and a SciFi/Fantasy classic - published in 1980. I really liked this and will definitely be reading the entire series over time (4 books). I'd call this more literary fiction with elements of both SciFi and Fantasy than as belonging strictly to genre. I quite want to see just how Severian, our cast out from the guild torturer, manages out in the world (and great world building here - both a recognizable world and an imagined one -- i.e. earth far in the future). Severian in some ways is a Candide type character.

CURRENTLY READING: Well a page here and there is read....

After the Armistice Ball
Crashed - this is for PS - book I got free in Advanced Prompts (received in a good bag when attending a Soho Crime dinner honoring Cara Black)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - this is likely to be on hiatus for a bit
A Suitable Boy - longest in pages - determined to finish this month.

QOTW: Oy, I don't really keep track that way - I really don't preplan reading, just fit what I read in wherever it fits. Sometimes some reshuffling happens during the year.

[L Y N N]

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday and happy Veterans Day! My maternal granddad served in the USAF in the Korean conflict, and my paternal grandfather was a master sergeant in the US Army in WWII. I know very little about granddad's time in the air force, and have one or two pictures and certificates, but the army officer ended up in Belgium and the Netherlands as part of the 603rd Quartermaster Graves Registration Company. He didn't talk much about his time in the military but there were a few stories, and he assured me that if I ever needed him to come speak at school or anything like that, he would be happy to do so. I'm rather sad now that it never materialized."
Wow. You could have been 'famous' in elementary school! At least for that one day! 😊

"Ugh, Lynn, work events always sound terrible between the logistics and pressure and everything else. Good luck!!"
Yeah, just UGH about work period! LOL

"Finished:
Fatherland - 4 stars. Another good one from Robert Harris!"
That's such a scary premise! Eeeewwwww...

"Currently:
The Night Watchman - This ventures off on plenty of tangents, but when we get the narrative stuff I'm very intrigued. Should finish today."
I enjoyed it.

"Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means - Fully expecting this chonker to take me all month lol"
You made me laugh!

"QOTW: Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?
There have been a few I've been able to mix-and-match; The Anatomist's Wife worked for Book about art or an artist/Place you want to visit. Legendborn works for Dark academia/Family tree/Published in 2021."
Thanks for the suggestions!

[Nadine in NY]

Theresa wrote: "FINISHED: The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. First in his Book of the New Sun Series and a SciFi/Fantasy classic - published in 1980. I really liked this and will definitely be reading the entire series over time (4 books). ..."


One of my all-time favorites!!! I even wrote my college entrance essay on Severian LOL I always wondered if the people reading my essay had heard of the series, it was very new back then.

He wrote this far-future story like it's a medieval fantasy world, and it took me a long time to figure out that the guilds are actually in abandoned spaceships, not castles like I first assumed.

After the New Sun, you can read the Long Sun (inside a spaceship which is actually in space), and after that is the Short Sun, when it finally reaches another planet. Although none of them are as dense and magical as the New Sun series.

Someday I want to go back and re-read this whole 12 book cycle, I'm sure I've forgotten a lot, and it will all be new again. And then I can go read the books about these books (eg: Lexicon Urthus: A Dictionary for the Urth Cycle, Solar Labyrinth: Exploring Gene Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN& Gate of Horn, Book of Silk: A Guide to Gene Wolfe's The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun), and then go re-read this all again. That will all be a year's worth of reading!!

[Ashley Marie]

Update: The Night Watchman will be finished tomorrow. I spent the morning being distracted by the Pakistan/Australia cricket semifinal!

[Theresa]

Nadine wrote: "Theresa wrote: "FINISHED: The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. First in his Book of the New Sun Series and a SciFi/Fantasy classic - published in 1980. I really liked this and will definitely ..."

I never picked up on the abandonned space ship thing or the photo being of the moon landing until I finished and read the introduction (which I always read after as they always have spoilers) then this article: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-....

It took me forever to clue into it being in the far future -- and then certain things began to make sense as to tone and presentation, especially of the guild and its 'business'. Wild. The article says that you really have to read it a 2nd time in order to pull from it everything that is there - you need a base familiarity before the real novel can be appreciated. I totally see that here.

It's amazing how much I just did not put together at all, and how much I am now putting together. There were things as I read that I put together but often chapters after I read them. I'm an attentive reader with a broad literature background (lit major in college -- though French mostly), and Wolfe pretty much pulled the wool over my eyes.

Nadine - my suggestion is to make it a 10 year project to read all that Wolfe and just allocate a couple books a year to the project. Start a journal of the journey. I did that when I read Proust -- its a small moleskin notebook where I jotted down random thoughts as I read, referenced pages etc.

I'm thinking I will start a journal when I read the next...or maybe I'll just re-read this first and then move one.

It feels like a complicated puzzle that I'm still figuring out. No wonder I can't move on to a new book!

[Doni]

I have made so little progress across my books this past week!

Finished: Obie Is Man Enough This one came as a selection for a sponsoring membership of a new queer bookstore opening up near me. About a trans man. Maybe a little heavy for the middle reader audience it was targeting. But all in all, pretty good!

Reading: Emile, or On Education 4% of the way through

Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning 6%

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes 12%

Philosophy in the Classroom 14%

Seen and Not Heard: Why Children's Voices Matter 25%

Ethics in Light of Childhood 18%

Daughter of the Deep halfway through

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe halfway through

Design the Life You Love: A Guide to Thinking About Your Life Playfully and with Optimism 30%

Little Big Minds: Sharing Philosophy with Kids 8%

I've got myself spread too thin across too many books.

QotW: I think the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue could count for forgetting, fresh starts, magical realism, book everyone is reading, and probably other ones too. This is one I probably wouldn't have read had it not been for the challenge, and it ended up being one of my favorites this year!

[Harmke]

The whole country here is waiting in anxiety about what our government is punishing us with tomorrow. It feels that way, because they are in complete denial how stupid it was to just skip all the rules like face masks, social distance, etc. No boosters until December, because, well, I’m afraid there is a lack of preparation. Covid-19 hospitalizations are going through the roof as well as infections (a record high of 93.6 per 100.000 citizens). Hospitals have to postpone operations again and our health system is sort of falling apart.
BUT, on the bright side of that: I had a good talk with someone about how covid-19 and the hospital crisis affects our lives. How to handle it a second winter? When I went back to my room, I opened my bullet journal and it fell open on a quote of a prayer. I decided to write it over and give it to that person. She read it and said: “I have this in my house, hanging on the wall. So beautiful you share this with me.” And there I was touched by accidentally picking just the right words… Here’s the words, maybe the spark still works...

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.

Finished
Nothing

Currently reading
Queen by Alex Haley

QOTW
There are several, but they only work in Dutch or are not translated in English yet. So that’s not much of a recommendation to most of you.

[Alex]

Happy Thursday! It has been a whirlwind week for me too. Just yesterday, in the span of three hours, I was going back and forth between being Mom, Chauffer, Author, Parish Councilwoman, and Nerd Friend. TOO MUCH. I need to spread out the crazy a bit here. Phew! I like all my hats, but not wearing them all at once!

Finished 47/50

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry for "book set mostly or entirely outdoors". This was beautiful. Such a deep, powerful book. I really enjoyed it!

Currently Reading

Howl’s Moving Castle for "book on TBR with prettiest cover". Except, the version I got from the library is literally the most terrifying thing I've ever seen and is NOTHING like the cover listed here! So....uh....I'm still counting it because good intentions? SOMEWHERE it has a cover that's pretty.

QotW

Double dipping? Where's the fun in THAT? Although you could conceivably just grab a book from your TBR that fits multiple of those prompts fairly easily. i.e Ugly cover AND on your TBR the longest, etc.

[Dubhease]

It's Remembrance Day and I'm compressed tomorrow, which means I'm actually enjoying a 4 day weekend.

Currently reading:

We Were Never Here - over 70% done.. I got farther in one week than I did on A Slow Fire Burning in 2 weeks.

The Thirteenth Tale - started yesterday - less than 10% done.

A Slow Fire Burning - 60% done. Waiting to get another copy. .


QOTW:

Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?

I didn't know double dipping was allowed. I have read books that could have ticked off multiple prompts. And about 4 books for which I couldn't find a PS prompt. I sometimes have to move books from one prompt to another. Like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was wasting a favourite past prompt (under which you could stick almost anything), so a moved it to "a book about do overs and fresh starts" where I didn't have a book. Not pre-planning has its drawbacks.

[Nadine in NY]

Theresa wrote: "I never picked up on the abandonned space ship thing or the photo being of the moon landing until I finished and read the introduction (which I always read after as they always have spoilers) then this article: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-.... ..."



Yes! NEVER read the introduction!! I think we've all been burned there at least once.

I've never seen that New Yorker article, thank you. (And, if you're wondering, I've read the first two Soldier of the Mist books, and they are very good, but not as good as the New Sun series. I still need to read the third book in the Soldier trilogy. Someday.)

I didn't pick up on any of that stuff for a really long time. I was young when I read it, and didn't have a lot of context yet. I was possibly into the second book before I figured it out! But I don't think it's a spoiler to state it up front, which is why I mentioned it. I think it adds to the fascination.



Nadine - my suggestion is to make it a 10 year project to read all that Wolfe and just allocate a couple books a year to the project. Start a journal of the journey. I did that when I read Proust -- its a small moleskin notebook where I jotted down random thoughts as I read, referenced pages etc.

This is a wonderful idea!! I happen to have a special composition notebook that I've just been holding onto, not sure how to use it. Perfect!!! Thanks for that suggestion.

[poshpenny]

Lauren wrote: "Really grateful for the holiday today so I can step back from the work and other sources of stress right now."


Wait... do people get today off? I have no concept of what holidays people get off from work. The only holiday I get off is Christmas. (and when I worked in a theme park, not even that.)

[Nadine in NY]

Alex wrote: "Howl’s Moving Castle for "book on TBR with prettiest cover". Except, the version I got from the library is literally the most terrifying thing I've ever seen and is NOTHING like the cover listed here! So....uh....I'm still counting it because good intentions? SOMEWHERE it has a cover that's pretty...."



That's one of my favorite movies!! (Because, hello? Christian Bale as Howl!!) So it was really fun when I discovered it was A BOOK, and read it, because it's quite different from the movie. Miyazaki left a lot of stuff out (and I suppose that's what you have to do when you make a movie) and changed a bunch of other things. So it was like a brand new story for me.

[Nadine in NY]

poshpenny wrote: "Wait... do people get today off? ..."


Public schools have off, and I guess banks and government offices. But I'm working. Which is why I screwed up this morning and tried to wake my daughter up for school.

[Milena]

I am also working today, but many of co-workers with kids have taken the day off. I haven't checked in in a few weeks. I am reading much slower now that I am done with all the reading challenges. I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already seen. Would love to get excited over something new or just new to me.

Finished:
Magic Lessons I loved this even more than Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.

Currently reading:
The Lincoln Highway
Rock Paper Scissors on audio

QOTW:
I am very bad at this. I have a hard time matching books to a category for myself.

[Nadine in NY]

Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already seen. Would love to get excited over something new or just new to me...."


Have I expounded on my growing love for the German Netflix series, Dark??? It's sort of like Lost, with time travel, and a creepy serial killer, and an evil priest straight out of Carnivale, plus a touch of "nuclear power raises giants" horror a la Godzilla, with the absolute BEST intro sequence & song, and it's really good and some of the mysteries make sense and it is so mind-bendingly confusing. The casting is amazing; because it takes place in multiple times, most characters had to be cast as children, teens, adults, and elderly - and somehow, they pulled this off. I think I will need to re-watch the entire thing once we finish. There are three seasons on Netflix, I am assuming that the third season includes all the answers. It had better!!

A general trailer: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4289837081? which includes the excellent music by Apparat

[Milena]

Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already seen. Would love to get excited o..."

Thank you, Nadine. Is it subtitled, or dubbed? I am not put off by subtitles, just curious.

[poshpenny]

Another week, another batch of books.


Finshed:
State of Terror - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny - Political thrillers are something I barely read, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I thought it was pretty good.

Miss Hargreaves - I enjoyed this but I am left wondering what the message was. I feels like it has one and yet I'm unclear what it is...

Coyote Tales - A couple of quick traditional tales for November

How To Survive A Robot Uprising: Tips On Defending Yourself Against The Coming Rebellion - More native reading. Kinda fun to hear about both stuff robots can do and how they do it. Also I nice reminder to check on my earthquake kit.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark - I picked a nice picture book for my THREE HUNDREDTH BOOK this year! WHAT? This is insanity.

Flash and Gleam: Light in Our World - What a delightful picture book! Lovely illustrations, lots of different people enjoying light and some celebrations, and a nice science section in the back. Recommend.

And Then You're Dead: What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling Over Niagara - Hey I finally finished it! Fun.


Currently Reading:
Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash - Sci-fi

Borders - Graphic novel for November

Good Omens: A Full Cast Production - A full cast production! With David Tennant and Michael Sheen! Stand between me and this audiobook at your peril!

[Theresa]

Nadine wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I never picked up on the abandonned space ship thing or the photo being of the moon landing until I finished and read the introduction (which I always read after as they always have..."

Nadine - I have one too! I think it will become my Gene Wolfe Reading Journal as I move through this series and onwards. We might have to set up our own discussion group if you really start a reread!

I also have never been a reader of SciFi, and only an occasional reader of fantasy, so those tropes and references don't pick up. But I am widely read generally and in many genres and classics which inform my reading. I do think that makes this series more accessible.

[Theresa]

Nadine wrote: "poshpenny wrote: "Wait... do people get today off? ..."


Public schools have off, and I guess banks and government offices. But I'm working. Which is why I screwed up this morning and tried to wak..."

Lawyers never close for Veteran's Day though government offices and banks are closed. Although I would expect any lawyer who is a vet to take the day off.

[Nadine in NY]

Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already seen. Would love t..."


We watch it subtitled, because I hate dubbed, it drives me nuts when the mouth is out of synch w/ the words. And of course a big part of acting is in the voice, so I like to hear the original voice. (And every now and then they speak English, which makes us laugh because it's so unexpected for us. We don't suddenly start speaking German in our home, after all. I'm sure some people do, but we don't. I am always amazed at how effortlessly bilingual the rest of the world is. I wish the USA did better at teaching languages.) But Netflix gives you the option, you can choose dubbed or subtitled.

[Milena]

Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already see..."

Oh huh, we are currently watching Squid Game dubbed. I did not realize that it can be changed to subtitles.

[Nadine in NY]

Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I h..."

Yes! We watched Alice in Borderland in Japanese with subtitles. It's so much better!! (imo)


(I mean, it's better subtitled. I have not yet seen Squid Game so I can't compare the two shows. Although I thought Alice in Borderland was awesome so I'd be shocked if Squid Game is better.)

[Milena]

Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of strea..."

Clearly I don't watch many non-English language shows.

[poshpenny]

Milena wrote: "I would love to hear what people are watching/streaming. I am having a really hard time letting go of the comfort of streaming things I have already seen. Would love to get excited over something new or just new to me."

I haven't been watching much this year so far, but I really enjoyed Lupin on Netflix. So much so I read the first book Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief and the second just came in at the library! Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes

I'm not a fan of anime but the trailers got me pretty excited for the live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, which is out on the 19th. It looks so good.

I'm also looking forward to watching:
High Seas - a French murder mystery on a luxury liner in the 40s.

Babylon Berlin - Jazzy crime thriller show set in the Weimar Republic. I know as soon as I watch this I'm going to obsess over Max Raabe videos again.

Edit: haha Speaking of subtitles, of the four shows I mention, only one is in English. Also: I didn't even wait to watch, I'm already delighting in some fine Max Raabe music. (Yes, I do like my music 100 years old)

[L Y N N]

Katy wrote: "I finished The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero. very interesting."
Glad you enjoyed it. As I recall, that was rather long.

"I read The Ragman's Memory which was OK. Archer Mayor kind of gets on my nerves with his geographical descriptions. Whenever his m ain character is driving, it's like "I was driving down Western Avenue and then took the fork that led on to High Street. At the bottom of the hill I turned left on Main Street, heading towards Putney Road and on up towards Dummerston." Does any author do that? Or does it just annoy me because I am familiar with the roads?"
Huh. I don't know. I guess that doesn't bother me...

"I have just started Shakespeare's Wife which for some reason I thought was a historical novel, but I think it's a biography. Whic his fine."
You are correct. It is a biography!

"QOTW: The Girl with the Pearl Earring for gemstone, best seller from the '90s and a book about an artist. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster (which I realy really really loved) as a bestseller from the 90s and a book that takes place outdoors.."
Great! Thanks!

[Erica]

Happy check-in!
It's Remembrance Day here in Canada. Not every province has today recognized as a stat holiday but mine does. Today is supposed to be about honouring veterans and their sacrifices as much as it's supposed to be about seeking out peace.

I read a lot this week but it was a chapter here and there in many books so I didn't finish much this week.

Finished Reading:

An American Sunrise ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I definitely recommend this poetry collection. Most of the reading I've done about colonialization and the cost to indigenous peoples has been about Canada's actions not the U.S.A.'s. There are historical facts and quotes interspersed between poems that I found very interesting.

PS 2021 46/50
PS 2017 47/52
Goodreads 241/250

Currently Reading:

She Who Became the Sun
Skinwalker
A Twist of Fate

QOTW:
Nothing that hasn't already been mentioned is coming to mind right now.

[Cornerofmadness]

I'm reading less and less unfortunately. It's being a crazy time. I did get one read for the challenge though. I read Faith: Taking Flight by Julia Murphy for A book that discusses body positivity. The author talks about working with body positivity groups but other than having an overweight teen superhero there isn't much in this that is positive (or overtly negative either) But I'm counting it since it's close enough.


I also read Fairhaven's Forsaken by Susan Fernandez which was an entertaining urban fantasy.

QOTW I don't generally double up on prompts but I might for my gem/mineral story that I'm reading Jade City which I might use for longest story. Ones for published in 2021, prettiest/ugliest covers would be easy to double up with something else. I read Wings of Ebony for prettiest cover but could use it for magic realism. Honestly this years prompts have a lot you could double up easily

[Jenn]

Happy Thursday!


Finished
Sharks in the Time of Saviors - 28. A magical realism book

We Are Not From Here - 22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors

Summer of Salt - 6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title

The Midnight Library - 27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts

PROGRESS
PS - 43/50 | ATY - 51/52 | BR - 12/24

Currently Reading
Notes on a Nervous Planet
The Fifth Season

QOTW
Only one that is coming to mind is Root Magic, which would fit: Magical Realism, Genre Hybrid, Published in 2021, and Less than 1000 reviews.

I don't double up on prompts within the same challenge, but I do like trying to find books that would also fit prompts from other challenges (ATY, etc)

[Jennifer W]

Hi all! Add me to the list of people who are stressed out! My dad is in the hospital for an infection (not covid! thankfully). He's doing well and in good spirits, so hopefully he can get out this weekend. My clients at work are sick with colds etc, so I'm having a hard time meeting with them. And lately I've spent a lot of time redoing or undoing work that was done incorrectly through no fault of mine. Grrr. Thank goodness it's the weekend and the weather isn't supposed to be great so I can justifiably stay in!

My brain just hasn't been up to reading much lately. My evenings are mostly spent falling down rabbit holes of music and videos on youtube.

I've made progress on The Diary of a Young Girl and The Lost Apothecary. Apothecary's present day timeline is starting to annoy me. I'm all about books that use multiple time lines/ POV, but for some reason, present day chick is getting on my nerves. The historical part is great, though, so I'll finish it, but I'm really wishing the author had just stuck to the history.

QOTW: I really should double dip, since I know I won't actually finish the challenge anyway. But there's something about that which just goes against my moral code (really? I dunno, I'm just saying stuff....). But the book I've been working on all flippin' year would fit multiple prompts, The Song of the Jade Lily (it's good, just no time to devote to it like I should). I'm using it for a gem in the title, but it also is set in multiple countries and features 3 generations, and it's about fresh starts at least 1 time over (probably will have another one or two here at some point).
I've also tried a few attempts at The Hypnotist (her other books in the series would work for these, too) for a book about an artist, but could be stretched to be a book about forgetting (if you consider forgetting your past lives to be a thing) or magical realism (if you consider past lives and attempts to access them through objects to be magical...).

[L Y N N]

Patricia wrote: "Hi! My week isn't stressful at all."
Enjoy! I am jealous! LOL

"Question of the Week:
Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill?

I think The Night Circus for a book about Magical realism and set in multiple countries."
Thanks!

[Dubhease]

Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! Add me to the list of people who are stressed out! My dad is in the hospital for an infection (not covid! thankfully). He's doing well and in good spirits, so hopefully he can get out this ..."

You have my sympathy. My dad was in the hospital over Thanksgiving weekend. Due to Covid protocols, he could only have one visitor at a time (so I couldn't take my husband or teens) and I had to show proof of vaccination every time I showed up. I'm not blaming the hospital - just even without our parents not having Covid, visiting them is even harder than it once was.

I hope for a speedy recovery for him and as little stress as possible for you.

[Kendra]

So I'm a little late, but Happy Friday! It's officially winter here now (I don't care what the calendar says, winter is a weather phenomena first and foremost) so I got to spend yesterday shoveling. Fun🙄. But it is pretty out, and it's still not too cold.

Stats
Popsugar - Done😀
ATY - Done😀
ATY Rejects - 24/25

Books I finished:

An American Sunrise ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This had some really powerful lines and some great imagery, but it wasn't quite my cup of tea - so I went back and forth on what to rate it. But In the end, some of the lines stuck with me so much I had to give it a four even if some of the poems were only 2 stars for me.

A Twist of Fate ⭐⭐⭐ - This was a disappointment. I read the first book in the series earlier this year so I was looking forward to this, but it just wasn't as good as the first book. In a series that is supposed to be a mix of time travel, gothic mystery and romance, this one was just light on the mystery, light on the romance and just kinda meh. I love the author, and ill read book 3 when it comes out, but still...

Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse Vol. 1 & Firefly: New Sheriff in the 'Verse Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I still love Firefly, and I really like Greg Pak ability to write dialogue.

The Deadliest Bite ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - And I'm now done with the reread of this series. For an ending book, it still feels unfinished to me -> I suspect the author was intending to keep the series going, but then she died.

Books I made progress on:

Terciel and Elinor

Detective Inspector Huss - I'm trying, but I'm close to DNFing this. It's fine, but it's not my genre and I'm just bored with the story already.

Burn for Me - Because why finish books when you can start rereading a favorite series?😋

QOTW

I don't allow myself to double dip, but I will move things around as need be, so I do keep track of what prompts each book fulfills. The book that fills the most prompts for me this year has been Calculated Risks - It was published in 2021, has something broken on the cover, has a family tree, is set mostly outdoors, it's a book about forgetting (and therefore could be stretched to be about do-overs and fresh starts), it's still under 1000 reviews on Goodreads. Plus it works for several of the personal prompts for me. BUT it's book 10 in a series, and it picks up right where book 9 left off with a major cliffhanger, so you can't just read this one first.

[Megan]

I missed last week's check-in, so this is two weeks' worth of updates. I've finished five books (two worked for open prompts) over the past two weeks, including two NetGalley books I've had for more months than I care to admit. Did that stop me from requesting and receiving more NetGalley books like it probably should have? No. No it did not. But at least I've started to chip away at my backlog :)

I'm now at 29/40 and 6/10 for this challenge, and at 62/100 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Finished:
* Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli, which I used for "a book about a subject you are passionate about." I love reading about female trailblazers and am an NPR fan, so I decided to slot it in for this prompt;
* The Removed by Brandon Hobson, which I used for "a book by an Indigenous author" (the author is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation Tribe of Oklahoma). This was one of my NetGalley backlist books and I wish I'd picked it up sooner! I had a hard time picking a rating but went with 5 stars because it's going to be one of those books I can't stop thinking about;
* Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau, which was another NetGalley backlist book. It was a delightful fast read and just what I needed;
* The Guest List by Lucy Foley and narrated by Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Sarah Ovens, and Rich Keeble. This was one of my book club's picks for November (to be discussed next weekend). The library audiobook hold came in first (the ebook copy came in towards the end so I read the reading club questions and author notes that way), so I went with that version and highly recommend experiencing the book that way. The narrators were excellent; and,
* Life Is Good: The Book by Bert Jacobs and John Jacobs. It looks like I needed some feel good books the past couple of weeks 🤪

Currently Reading:
* The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin, which I'm using for "a book about forgetting."

About To Be Currently Reading:
* The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank -- my library hold came in as I was typing this up! I'm using this for "a book everyone seems to have read but you." I don't know how I got through school without reading this, but this is one of those books that everyone but me seems to have read!

QotW:
Do you have any specific books you would recommend to fulfill multiple prompts from the 2021 Popsugar reading challenge? What is that book and what prompts could it fulfill? I read a bunch of books published in 2021 that I used for other prompts (too many to list!). Here a few titles that fit more than one prompt for me (the prompt I used is marked with a 📚):
* The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey worked for "a book with a family tree" or 📚"a book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title;"
* Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi worked for 📚"a book with a family tree" or "a book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.);"
* Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia worked for "the book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover," 📚"a book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't," or "a genre hybrid;"
* Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis worked for 📚"a book about a social justice issue," "a book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list," or "a book with a black and white cover" (as long as you don't mind that the subtitle is in a muted yellow -- I was very rigid in interpreting that one);
* The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson worked for 📚"a book found on a Black Live Matters reading list" or "a book with a black and white cover;" and,
* Raphael, Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey worked for 📚"a book about art or an artist" or "a book about a subject you are passionate about."

[Teri]

I read nothing this week. I wasn't feeling well and was super anxious for reasons I do not know, and I couldn't focus on much of anything. Fortunately doing better and actually read a few pages last night. I took back several library books that were either partially read (and not loved) or not started, which relieved some stress. A pedicure and haircut yesterday also helped.

Currently reading
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Goodreads: 98/100
Popsugar: 54/55

QOTW:
I personally don't double dip, but I also do not believe it a sin. There is little about reading I would ever consider a sin. The only one I can think of is if you never read. :D

I do keep a list throughout the year of what books would fit into various categories in case I want to switch things around. Looks like these had the most:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - zodiac sign (Cancer); forgetting; genre hybrid; fresh starts; magical realism; multiple countries
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - zodiac sign (Cancer); fresh starts; multiple countries; best friend liking
Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor - Afrofuturist; body positivity; fresh starts; fewer than 1000 reviews (don't know if that's still true)
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons - passionate subject; fresh starts; visit in 2021; social justice issue; fewer than 1000 reviews; best friend liking
The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T.E. Kinsey - diamond on cover; fewer than 1000 reviews; artist (musicians)
A Time for Mercy by John Grisham - song title; passionate subject; social justice issue; pretty cover