Week 1 & 2 check in

[Sheri]

Hi all, apologies for starting off the year with a missed check in. It's been a rough start to the year, been very stressed.

Hope everyone else's year started better!

Book club:

I'm about to make a post for the book club selection for the next post. As always, the previous books will stay open. So if you weren't able to get to the book yet, you can still join in whenever!

These two weeks I finished:

Seven Secrets, Vol. 2 - Finished this up as the clock was counting down the new year, haha. i wanted it off my currently reading, i had started a few issues and was waiting for the last few in the trade to come out.

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories - this was the book that completed my book nerds challenge! Finished it right on new years eve haha. Unfortunately was just kind of meh for me. I'd been looking forward to it, but it just felt grim and dark and depressing to me, not the feminist and empowering book it was made to sound like.

Daughter of the Deep - first finish of the new year, I liked it! I didn't love the actual book of 20000 leagues, but I do like the stuff that gets inspired by it.

The Titan's Curse - finished audio re-read

The 5th Gender - this was fun, i always like Gail Garriger, I really need to get back into her catalogue. It was a cozy mystery m/m romance with an alien, fair warning, pretty explicit sex scenes if that's not your thing.

Gods of Jade and Shadow - first books & brew pick of the year. Sadly we made the decision to go back to virtual this month, due to omnicron. It was the right decision, but i miss getting out of the house and being social. The club is run through the library, and it's right at the librarian's end of day, she gets no decompression time between work and it. So she had to shut things down right at 8, while at the brewery we can stay until close, she just leaves around 8:30 or so when she's tapped out and we're basiclaly done discussing the book. The rest of us can continue to be social. Hoping things calm down a bit for February, but not super optimistic.

Afterparties - this was from Roxanne Gay's book club last year, i'd gotten through about the first half of them before losing track. I wasn't really participating in the actual discussions anyhow, but it was an interesting list. I liked it pretty well, more than most short story collections. i did like that several sort of wove together, mentioning characters from other stories. Made it feel more cohesive than just a bunch of random stories put together in a book. I was sad to learn that the author died of an overdose at 28, end of 2020. So he didn't even get to see his book published.

currently reading:

Miss Mabel's School for Girls - someone mentioned that the author was giving the first book of this series free a while back, and I picked it up. Finally got around to reading it, and i really like it. Magic school book, but with twists I didnt' expect. Darker than some magic school books, but not quite as dark as say the Scholomance books. Almost done, should finish up today.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - audio re-read

QOTW:

Anyone have any reading plans/goals for this year?

Normally I do reading challenges, but I decided to take a break this year after several years of doing multiples. I might go back and fill in some later and see how I did, but right now I'm enjoying just reading what I feel like without trying to make it fit somewhere.

I also lowered my goodreads goal from previous years, just to not worry about it nagging at me if I get in a slump or read a longer book. I always manage to catch up with a graphic novel binge, but I dont' want to feel like I HAVE to do that to stay on track. Really i just want to chill this year, i'm already stressed out enough.

[Jen W.]

My year has been pretty quiet so far. Work's been slow, so I've been getting a little extra reading time.

Since last check-in, I have a few finishes.

I finished reading the Penric and Desdemona novellas (and one novel). I used a few for reading challenge prompts, but mostly I just wanted to read them all because I love the characters.

Penric’s Mission
Mira's Last Dance
The Prisoner of Limnos - a book with two POVs
The Orphans of Raspay - a book you can read in one sitting
The Physicians of Vilnoc
The Assassins of Thasalon - a different book by an author you read in 2021
Knot of Shadows

Manga finish: Takane & Hana, Vol. 18 - the last volume of a manga series I've been reading from the library. Overall I'd give this series 3 stars. It started strong and funny, but then got kind of muddled in the middle, and there was one plotline in volume 11 that left a bad taste in my mouth.

I also read MEM as my book with a palindromic title. It was an interesting alt-historical sci-fi, where people can extract memories which live on in cloned copies of themselves, called Mems. The main character is an unusual Mem who has her own mind and personality, and the whole story is her struggles with personhood, vs knowing she's a copy of her Source.

I also read Under the Whispering Door, which I swear I cried through the last 25% of. I think overall I liked The House in the Cerulean Sea better, but this gave me similar vibes. I could very easily see this book as a Pixar movie or something. This was my book about the afterlife.

I'm currently reading Into the Dying Light. I kind of regret not rereading the previous books of the trilogy, because the author just throws you back in without any recap. It took me a few chapters to get my bearings and remember what had been happening with the characters in book 2, which I read last year.

QOTW: I've started with my usual 50-book goal for the year which I put in to my Goodreads challenge. I usually blow that goal out of the water, but it's a good place to start.

I'm also doing Popsugar again this year. I don't think I could handle multiple challenges without burning out, but I do like having the challenge to help me plan and focus my reading at the beginning of the year. It helps that I also managed to fit nearly everything on my current hold list at the library into prompts, and filled the rest with books already owned and/or on my TBR for the most part.

[Sheri]

Yeah I do like the challenges for focusing reading. But I have done several a year since about 2015 i think, so I'm feeling like i just want to do a year of grabbing whatever. Maybe later in the year I'll feel directionless and see about using interesting ones to help me pick or something, but right now it's kinda nice just reading whatever with no pressure beyond library hold times haha.

[Shel]

Happy new year all! Two finishes for me so far.

White Fox by Chen Jiatong - this was a book that my kid picked out from the Scholastic catalog a while ago, and he LOVED it and wanted me to read it too. It ended on quite a cliffhanger, so I told him I'd wait until the second book was available and read it then. We got him the second book for Chanukah, so after he re-read this one I picked it up. I...didn't love it.
It's a children's book translated from Chinese, and I suspect that most of what I disliked was mostly a result of a too-literal translation. It was a story that could have been utterly charming, but the writing was clunky and didn't flow at all. That said, any book that gets my kid begging for the sequel gets an extra star from me :) I haven't read the second book yet because he's still working on it.

The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft - final volume of the Books of Babel series. If you like steampunk, I can't recommend this series enough. The ending was not at all what I expected, and I'm a little ambivalent about it, but I still gave all four books a five star rating. I hope Bancroft keeps writing, because I want to see what else he comes up with!

Currently reading:
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I'm not very far into it yet, but I quite liked Gods of Jade and Shadow (what did you think of it, Sheri?) so I'm certain this will be just as good.

Bedtime books in progress with the kiddos - reading The Red Pyramid to the fifth grader to continue our Rick Riordan streak, and reading All-of-a-Kind Family to the first grader. I read my copy of that one to pieces when I was a girl, so it's fun to revisit and share it with her.

QOTW: I had fun with the Book Nerds with No Shelf Control challenge last year - it was the first time I did a book challenge - and so I'm doing that one again this year. I don't want to even think about trying more than one challenge, though. One challenge is quite enough for me!

[Kathy]

Happy New Year! Slow reading start this year. I read A Master of Djinn, which had lots of things I like in a book, but for some reason it just took forever for me to read. Also did a reread of the first MurderBot just to finish something quickly.

Aiming for same number of Goodreads books this year, as I just made my goal. I did the Book Nerds challenge last year for the first time and enjoyed-just messaged Dann to see if I missed the posting at FoE for the 2022 challenge.

[Tricia]

Rough start to my year. Reading Fae Hunted by Rose Garcia. Started out great just need time to read.

[Kathy]

Sheri wrote: "Hi all, apologies for starting off the year with a missed check in. It's been a rough start to the year, been very stressed.

Hope everyone else's year started better!

Book club:

I'm about to m..."
Thanks for the feedback on the 5th Gender. I am in Gail Carriger's FB group, and I've been tempted to read that series because I love her other stuff. But I remember she decided to use a different name for those because she said they were "hella raunchy", which is not my thing.

[Sheri]

Shel- sorry I got distracted by talking about book club and forgot to talk about the book 😂 I liked it quite a bit. I love mythology related stuff so that appealed to me. I found both that one and Mexican Gothic to be 4 star reads. For me that generally means I enjoyed a lot, would recommend to others, but missed that spark that turned it into a LOVE. But I still plan on reading more of her!

Kathy- it is QUITE raunchy. But it also has an interesting plot and explores gender and sexuality through an alien race with 5 genders hooking up with a human. So it’s not just pure smut, but the smut is there.

[Tricia]

Kathy wrote: "Happy New Year! Slow reading start this year. I read A Master of Djinn, which had lots of things I like in a book, but for some reason it just took forever for me to read. Also did ..."
Thanks for sharing Master of Djinn. I put it on my TBR!

[Tricia]

Shel wrote: "Happy new year all! Two finishes for me so far.

White Fox by Chen Jiatong - this was a book that my kid picked out from the Scholastic catalog a while ago, and he..."

Thanks for sharing! I put the Gods of Jade and Shadow on my TBR.

[Rebecca]

I've already taken a vacation day this year, so that's how my year is going.

Spinsters in Jeopardy - This entry in the series was quite ridiculous: there's a murder witnessed from a train, a cult, drug trafficking, and the kidnapping of the detective's young son. I...actually enjoyed it? I wouldn't want to read a lot of books with plots this absurd, and probably the kid would grate after a while, but for one book it was fun.

Anthrax Island - Just from the title this doesn't sound like my jam, but classic mystery blogger guy voted it top book of last year and swore that there was a legit locked-room mystery in it. There were a bunch of blurbs in the front comparing it to James Bond or Jason Bourne crossed with Agatha Christie, and that's basically the deal. The protagonist survives way more injuries than would be plausible, but he does indeed also solve a mystery, and it was generally a good time. I was a little concerned about the whole contagion topic, but it was different enough from the current situation (the concern was breathing spores from the ground, not other people) that it didn't bother me. However, do not read this if you are allergic to comma splices.

Artificial Condition - So far I don't love Murderbot as much as many people seem to, but the character became slightly more likable in this one. Possibly by the time I finish all the free novellas from Tor, I will feel more inclined to read a novel.

QOTW: My goal is to have no goals. I did read 100 books last year, but if I ever actually have to return to the office there's no way I'll repeat that, so I'm trying not to think too much about it. I also tried the Book Nerds challenge but ran out of steam about halfway through the year, so I think challenges just aren't for me.

[Tricia]

Sheri wrote: "Hi all, apologies for starting off the year with a missed check in. It's been a rough start to the year, been very stressed.

Hope everyone else's year started better!

Book club:

I'm about to m..."

Thanks Sheri for getting us started. Stress here as well. Hope things are looking up for you. Appreciate the list!

[Rebecca]

Also now I'm gonna have to read an alien smut book because you said "cozy mystery".

[Trystan]

my year's off to a good start, actually. :D

I've already read four books this year!: Warriors: A Light in the Mist (Erin Hunter); To Be Taught, If Fortunate (Becky Chambers); Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight (Janet Evanovich); and Chouette (Claire Oshetsky).

QotW: my goal every year is "read more than last year." last year i read 69 books. I've told goodreads my goal is 70, but that's a minimum. :D

[Susan]

My year started out pretty well as we were able to go to our ski place again for the first time since March 2020. (We were there 3 days before the world shut down and didn't ski last year at all.) I get reading and listening time up there in Maine.

On NYE I finished my last book of 2021. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. While I like Mary Roach, the topic was only okay for me. But I finished and it was interesting enough.

Starting off 2022 I also finished Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt's Creek. This was a warm fuzzy read. I liked the series and I liked the book talking about the series. They really put a lot of care into their creation.

I also finished listening to Leviathan Falls, the final (9th) book in The Expanse series. It was really interesting and the authors did a fantastic job wrapping up things. Some of it was not really clear to me and after my husband explained things he has read on other groups about it, I listened to the last 30 minutes (of the almost 20 hour audiobook!) again. Anyway, this was an excellent series.

Currently I am reading another Mary Roach, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. I am enjoying this content and topic a lot more than the other one.

I'm back to listening to the second Thursday Murder club book The Man Who Died Twice. I had gotten several chapters in but stopped it for Leviathan Falls and then couldn't remember anything so I just restarted the whole thing. I recommended the first book for the book club. These are fun reads.

QOTW: I'm "doing" book nerds again, which for me means reading what I want and just seeing what prompts it fits. A first for me is using a spreadsheet. I also plan to count a book for any/all prompts it fits and then remove duplicates later as needed.

I don't set any number goals because some books I have planned are longer and some are much shorter (Murder bot series) so I just make sure I always have something.

[Daniele]

2022 is off to a roaring start, with work picking up swiftly where it left off before the holidays and two new major projects to keep me busy.

The 2022 Book Nerds reading challenge is up in the group, so if you hear of others like Kathy who got stranded when the Epbot post got nuked, by all means send them my way! Also, even though I provide 100 prompts for the mega-readers, there's no pressure to do the whole thing! It's split into 4 quarters, or you can pick and choose as you'd like!

QOTW: I've set my goal at 100 again, even though I failed miserably last year, because I figure I should at least *try* to complete my own challenge :D

I generally track a bunch of other challenges as well, but I haven't had time to built my spreadsheet yet, so we'll see how that goes.

So far, I've completed:

The Outside Circle: A Graphic Novel is the story of two brothers that shows the generational trauma of First Nations people in Canada. A quick but difficult read. I slotted it in the Graphic Novel prompt.

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 1, a manga, first in a series, about a little girl and the monster who takes her in when she is abandoned in the woods. Waiting my turn for Vol. 2 at the library. I love the artwork of this. Used for the 2 people on the cover prompt.

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey Lamar. Infuriating tales of everyday, casual racism, told with the bubbling energy and humor of the late-night talk show host and comedy writer. Solid as an audiobook. Used for the Sisters prompt.

3/100

[Sheri]

What happened to the Epbot post? I’m not over there as much lately, must have missed it!

[Susan]

I saw one recent-ish post (not sure if it is *the* post) where someone asked about a reading challenge and Danielle replied to each person who said they too were interested saying she PMed them. I'm not sure why that would cause the post to be removed. PM'ing someone is not allowed?

At least Danielle knows who she messaged and they hopefully are not stranded. Otherwise I'm only occasionally there and I'm only guessing.

[Daniele]

Yes, Susan, that's the post. I can't advertise the offshoot group directly, so I did it by PM, and after a while, the mods decided it was "self-promotion" and deleted it.

I'm hoping I caught everyone in time, but who knows. I also updated the post from last year, as some new people stumbled on it accidentally. That one is still up, with the prompt list pics.

[Sheri]

That’s weird, wonder if someone complained directly? Last I heard the mods explicitly stated spin off groups were fine and they didn’t delete posts for them. But maybe if someone actually reports it they do

[nimrodiel]

as someone who doesn't read the Facebook group very often, can I ask for the reading prompts?

[nimrodiel]

ok I have a few goals this year. I kept my Goodreads goal at 135 rather than aiming for my standard 150 as the last couple of years have been less focused reading wise and I'm thinking about going back to school. I started looking at the pop sugar reading goals for this year. not sure if I want to try to fit reads to it. I'm also still trying to focus on the books taking over my office in the massive TBR pile. so this year I am trying not to buy any new books unless they are part of a series my husband and I are enjoying together.

I have been isolating since I tested positive and my work still has the ten day quarantine rules since I work with under fives who are not vaccinated yet. so I have read quite a bit.

read so far in January:

Auberin by James A. Corey - which catches me up on the Expanse shirt stories until the collected volume comes out in February with it's new short story.

Married With Zombies by Jesse Peterson which has been in my Book library forever.

Seattle Girl - Fun chic lit. also has been in my Nook TBR library for ages.

The Sandman Act I - hubby and I listened to this together.

Brave by Svetlana Chmakova - Graphic novel from her Berrybrook Middle School series. This really touches on bullying and ways to identify and stop it.

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova - book 3 in her Berrybrook Middle School series

Diary by Svetlana Chmakova - meant as a book readers could use like a diary. this has three short comics with characters from her Berrybrook Middle School series

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel A graphic novel memoir which was sweet but sad. she talks about her father growing up, her coming out to her parents in college, and finding out her father was a closeted gay man or bisexual and the impact of his death on her life shortly after she came out to her parents.

The Sandman Act II also listened with my husband.

[Daniele]

nimrodiel wrote: "as someone who doesn't read the Facebook group very often, can I ask for the reading prompts?"

You certainly may! Here they are. If you want the spreadsheet version, you can reach out to me (Dann Giroux) on FB or give me your email address and I'll be happy to send it your way.

2022 Book Nerds with No Shelf Control reading challenge

1 Who/what/when/where/why/how
2 Number in the title
3 The family you choose
4 Related to art
5 A classic
6 Blue
7 Yellow
8 Red
9 Purple
10 Green
11 White
12 A mystery
13 Nymphadora Tonks (shapeshifter - prompt that fits whatever you need it to be!)
14 BIPOC author
15 One word title, max. 5 letters
16 In translation
17 Silhouette on the cover
18 Author with 3+ names/initials
19 Punctuation in the title
20 Two people on the cover
21 Silent generation author (born 1925-1945)
22 Boomer generation author (born 1946-1964)
23 Generation X author (born 1965-1980)
24 Millennial author (born 1981-1996)
25 Gen Z author (born 1997+) or written by age 24
26 North America
27 Central+South America
28 Europe
29 Asia
30 Africa
31 Australia
32 Shortest book on your TBR list
33 Longest book on your TBR list
34 Collection of short stories/essays
35 Book you got for free
36 Banned book
37 Author you'll definitely be reading again
38 Mystique - (shapeshifter - prompt that fits whatever you need it to be!)
39 Memoir/biography
40 Fits one of last year's prompts
41 Character with a distinctive feature
42 An adventure
43 Damsel in distress
44 Creature that may or may not exist
45 Out for vengeance
46 LGBTQIA2S+
47 Creativity
48 Recommended by someone else doing the challenge
49 Humor
50 Poetry
51 B&W cover
52 Cursive/script font on the cover
53 Chapters with titles
54 Person named or described in title
55 With photographs inside
56 Historical fiction
57 Sisters
58 Unrequited love or love triangle
59 Character who dies young
60 Inspiring leader
61 Off the beaten path
62 Drip on the cover
63 T-1000 - (shapeshifter - prompt that fits whatever you need it to be!)
64 Your favorite author
65 A new-to-you author
66 Animal on the cover
67 Monster
68 Character with a skill you envy a little
69 Dynamic duo
70 Dynamic duo
71 Character that makes you facepalm
72 Recommended by a celebrity or public figure
73 Published in 2022
74 Published the last year you were a full-time student
75 Award winner
76 Longest title on your TBR list
77 Shortest title on your TBR list
78 Title with alliteration
79 Hat or head covering on the cover
80 Graphic novel
81 Title does not contain the letters N, S, or C
82 (A/The) ______ of ______
83 Past
84 Present
85 Future
86 Drawn/painted cover
87 Author on the cover
88 Loki - (shapeshifter - prompt that fits whatever you need it to be!)
89 Klutz
90 Bombshell
91 Science
92 Girl next door
93 Wealth
94 In the Navy
95 Comedy
96 Gives you all the feels
97 Recommended by an author
98 Goodreads Choice nominee
99 Related to something you read in 2021
100 A bestseller you slept on

[Word Worthy]

2022 is is to a great start so far
In no particular order I've read;

Hollowpox - Jessica Townsend 4.75/5
The Humans - Matt Haig 4.5/5
The Midnight Library - Matt Haig 3.5/5
The Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch 3.5/5
The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins 3/5
The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner 4/5
American God's - Niel Gaiman 3.75/5
Firekeepers Daughter - Angeline Boulley 3.5/5
Deaf Republic - Ilya Kaminsky 3/5 (not written for me)
Nevernight - Jay Kristoff 4.75/5

I'm just starting
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T. J. Klune.
I should have that finished before January is over.
I've done a mix of physical books, ebooks and audiobooks books.

For 40/50 (POPSUGAR challenge) to read this year still but I'm having a ball even if not all these stories have been ideal for me.

[Maleah]

Read so far in 2022

Finished
Jan 1 - Network Effect Full-length Murderbot novel. Nothing new here but really enjoyable, like sitting down to watch a favorite television series, comfort entertainment. [ebook]

Jan 7 - Fugitive Telemetry This was confusing as to the timeline. Having just finished #5 the week before, it really threw me off for a while trying to figure out why it is marked as #6 in the series but makes no reference to the events in #5. instead it seems like possibly a short story of events happening before book #5. This confusion really took away from my enjoyment so that in the end the story felt just kinda meh. [ebook]

Jan 13 - Cibola Burn This book is my sci-fi jam - space cowboys/pioneers exploration of new worlds/alien tech while trying to problem solve with limited resources. This is the 4th in the Expanse series and I am hoping that the other crew members will get some more fleshed out back stories soon. [ebook]