Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2022 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 27: 7/1 - 7/7
date
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Reading 1st to 7th JulyBooks read
by Sharon Maas 1 Jul 2022 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An historical fiction set in Guyana, featuring mixed raced Mary Grace Smedley Cox, daughter of wealthy plantation owners, who struggles to fit into either world. Here is my review 
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan 2 Jul 2022 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Set in WW2 England during rationing this story features four women who enter a cooking contest. It works for the Popsugar prompt cutlery on cover or the ATY52 contains a recipe promptmy review
The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper* 5 Jul 2022 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A dual timeline historical fiction set in Australia in the 1880s and 1910s that involves map making and solving the mystery of a disappearance. It worked for the ATY52 Prompt “here there be dragons”. Here is my review
The Wattle Island Book Club by Sandie Docker 7 Jul 2022 ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Is set on an island off the coast of New South Wales and includes a book club, a mystery and a romance. challenges
Popsugar: 45/50
ATY52: 50/52
Aussie Readers July Challenge:4/10
Aussie Readers Winter Challenge: 8/12
Question of the Week
Not the main story but Love Marriage by Monica Ali includes these themes.
Happy Thursday. So I got Covid for Canada Day. It's been basically just a sinus cold and at least it's now and not the end of the month when I have a couple of weddings t go to, but my cousin just became a first time Dad today and I would have loved to go visit ( his poor wife has been in hospital since Monday.) But oh well. Everyone is healthy and happy and that's the important thing.Stats:
PS: 37/50
ATY: 61/75
ATY Reread: 24/52
Books I finished:
Frost Burned & Night Broken 5⭐ & 4⭐
Prompts: ATY Reread: 3 continents (North America) & related to mythology.
I'm continuing my reread of the series. I still love them just as much as ever.
The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain 3⭐
Prompt: ATY: A book related to psychology, neuroscience or the mind.
I wanted more science and less memoir, because the science was fascinating, but the author had a really boring life.
Still the One 3⭐
Prompt: ATY: A book related to fauna. (Animal Magnetism book 6)
I wasn't feeling great, so I wanted something that didn't require any brain power, so I borrowed a Jill Shalvis and it was perfect.
A Mirror Mended 4⭐
Prompt: PS: A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title.
I liked book 1 more slightly, but I'm not sure why... I think I just liked the ending more.
Spy x Family, Vol. 4 4⭐
Prompt: N/A
It made me laugh throughout.
Books I made progress on:
Shifting Shadows
QotW
I really liked Winter's Orbit, A Spindle Splintered, A Mirror Mended,The Poet X, Clap When You Land & Talking to Canadians.
Busy week with lots of social activities. Loved it, but didn’t do much reading. So a short check-in this week.PS: 15/40
Total 2022: 29
Finished
Nothing
Currently reading
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder This book is turning into a true crime journalism fraud. Didn't know any of it.
Casting Off
QOTW
Can't think of any. I don’t read specific books because of ‘Months’. It feels like mandatory reading and I quitted that when I left school 20 years ago.
Nadine in NY wrote: "I asked for, and received, this book for Christmas. It sits there waiting for me to open it. I am NOT familiar with slasher movies at all!!! (But my ex loved them, so perhaps I learned enough by osmosis to keep up.) I love SGJ so this book was sort of an auto-buy (well, auto-receive). He's really in love with this Jade character of his and tweets about her a lot and the more he tweets the less I want to read this book LOL..."I don't know if I've actually watched that many slasher movies but Netflix's Movies That Made us series has covered a lot of them so I felt like I knew what Jade was talking about. I do think she is a hard to love character, she acts out because her life is crap. So I sympathise but I'm not sure I like her!
Sheri wrote: "Nadine - Yeah it does come across as very thinky! But once you get over the speculative fiction new world, new words, new concepts aspect, it's actually a pretty fast paced...i guess you's call it ..."This makes me feel a bit better about picking this up for the Hugo award prompt. I don't have a lot of options that I haven't read already, and I thought this might be a struggle in my current mental state, but if I only need to think for the start, I might be OK!
I'll try to catch up on many of the posts later since there are quite a few.*****
Things for me are going smoothly if you want to call it that. My major issue was with my car. Ugh, $1,000 to fix (major tears over that)! The spark plugs burnt out and since it's connected to a central unit, the whole unit needed to be replaced. On top of that the transmission fluid needed to be cleared out and cleaned. And then I needed an oil change because I don't do that as often because it's just not something I think about.
*****
On a fun note, going to live with my sister and her family for a month. They have her step-son for the summer and since they both work they need some help. So I'm looking forward to that. My sister even said she'd help me job hunt even if it's in the place where they live since it's in a different city. That's cool.
*****
As for my books, since you all know I'm a NF reader and I annotate my books, it makes it very hard to finish them. At this point I'm just including them into my monthly book count because technically I do read them and most of them are usually half way through so I figure at that speed might as well add them. If they're less than half way then I won't.
All of that said, these are the books I've got going on right now:
90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality - This captured my view because it talks about women in the 90s. It's a very cool read because it talks about various women in that time period but the part I love most is how it mentions various TV shows and their portrayals of women. It mentions two of my favorite shows: Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed. While I knew Charmed was sexist (yeah they claim girl power and all of that but when it's broken down it really is sexist), I didn't know about 90210. It was just a show I loved but at the time thought nothing else of it.
An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States - This one has been on my wish list since I first discovered it on it's release date. Just never got to it. It's a book I've been wanting to read. You hear so much about White and Black history in a combined context but it's always hard finding other races interacting with each other, something other than White/Black, White/Indigenous, White/Latino, etc. So I'm really glad I found this book.
Woman: The American History of an Idea - This one captured my interest because it talks about the history and how women became below second-class citizens. While I'm barely starting it, since this is a history book it's going to take a lot longer to read than the others.
*****
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Since it is now July and Pride Month was in June, did you read any book(s) that you especially enjoyed and could recommend as a “Pride Read” to others? It doesn’t have to be only ones you may have read in June 2022, but could be among those read prior to last month as well.
Love the question. There were a few I enjoyed.
I read David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music : It was fun even though I gave it a 3-star. While I liked it, the dates were all over the place. He would jump from the 1950s to the 1980s. That made it disorienting at times. Wish he had kept things linear and focused on one yearly period and then on to the next. I was very fascinated with the music though so that was cool.
While I didn't read these two for Pride month, they are ones I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed them:
Girls Can Kiss Now: Essays
Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities
Hello all!I have been MIA on here and I figured I would just pop in and give y’all an update even though I am about three weeks behind on the updates. I will come back and read them when I can. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying your summers (or winters).
I haven’t been doing anything special; I have just been having to spend more hours entertaining the kid (who turned 5 yesterday) since it is summer break and working some. I was hoping to be able to catch up on the threads soon but, my boss just asked me to take over two large accounts for the next 4-6 weeks for my co-worker who is out sick apparently (don’t really know what happened there) and that means more nights and mostly weekends will be filled with work until I can give them back. You know, I have worked at this job for ten years and I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t really mind it… UNTIL I have to go work in the big accounts. They are just so much more work and take a LOT longer to do so my body tends to be in more pain, which I am not looking forward to. I think I have just gotten comfortable with my once a week at 2-5 hours at a time schedule, which I have now doubled or possibly even tripled! Eeekk!!!! Just have to remind myself I will make more money…but, is it really worth it?
Anyway, books:
2022 Challenges:
Popsugar: 47/50
ATY: 46/52
A to Z: 22/26 (Only letters left J, Q, U, V)
Read Harder: 14/24
50 States:
2021.....39/54 (Didn’t meet my June Deadline!)
2022.....15/54
Goodreads: 107/150
Finished:
9 finished this past three weeks, 3 for Popsugar
Front Desk
Loved this! Thanks Nadine for this rec.
The Topeka School
’21 50 States
I listened to this whole book, and I honestly still couldn’t tell you what it was about. However, I do know that it has NOTHING to do with a tornado so, it works for deceptive cover.
Three Keys (Front Desk #2)
Second book. Still loving it!
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border
’21 50 States
This was an interesting take on the border and its many viewpoints. It is told by a former Border patrol agent who also happens to be Latino and it deals with some heavy stuff without feeling like a heavy novel. He talks about how it was before, during and after being in the agency. Some stuff in here is just…despicable. I remember when he was talking about the stuff they would do with the pack and water supplies etc. they came across and I just kept thinking, Have they no compassion for human life? Because I don’t care if they are doing illegal stuff you are part of the reason why these people are dying in the desert. Just capture them and send them back don’t make it even worse than it already is for them. But, for most of the book it is not like that and he just explains his version of what happened and how he had to get out because he mentally couldn’t handle it. He also gives a tiny bit of information on how/when the border was created over the years. If you choose to read this I would keep an open mind while reading this. All-in-all it is a book about him trying to find his ‘purpose’ in life and is a good book.
The Love That Split the World
PS#47 Parallel Reality; ATY#19; ’21 50 States
After waiting for two months to get this back from the library I finally got to finish the second half! It is either Emily Henry’s first or second novel and it is a YA novel. I think it would also work as a SFF novel maybe. It deals with a split reality or timeline that she can jump back and forth between but, she is in a race to alter it before she loses her ‘window’ to do so. It takes place during her summer between high school and college.
I Wish You All the Best
PS #37 Gender Identity
This was a fabulous debut novel by Mason Deaver! I feel as though this novel will become one of those must-read books for many years to come.
The Three-Body Problem
PS #39 OwnVoices SFF, ATY #45
Didn’t love it but didn’t hate it. Just not really my kind of book.
A Bad Day for Sunshine
ATY #32; ’21 50 States
A Good Day for Chardonnay
’22 50 States
Both of these novels are fabulous. They are mysteries but with a bit of humor mixed in, just how I like it. I had only planned on the first one but, just had to read the second one too! Especially since the author loves to leave you hanging so you just gotta read the next one to find out what happens. Not only is this series new to me so is the author and I am loving it so far. A third came out this month (I think) and I recommended it on Overdrive so hopefully it gets bought, and soon.
Currently Reading
Aesop’s Fables
Room to Dream (Front Desk #3)
On the Backburner
Overdrive
Juliet Takes a Breath
Hope Never Dies
Small Great Things
Hope Rides Again
Homicide and Halo-Halo
Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
Physical Library Rentals
Under the Wave at Waimea
Reckless Girls
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
When You Get the Chance
Waiting for the Library to Renew
Just as I Am Loving her story.
It's Not All Downhill from Here fell asleep with about 3 hrs left!! It expired by the time I woke up.
A Painted House I was really liking this but the library snatched it back before I was done with it.
QOTW: Since it is now July and Pride Month was in June, did you read any book(s) that you especially enjoyed and could recommend as a “Pride Read” to others? It doesn’t have to be only ones you may have read in June 2022, but could be among those read prior to last month as well.
Yes I did read a few and I would highly recommend the book I just read I Wish You All the Best. Also, Some Girls Do was good.
Teri wrote: "I turned 62 on Sunday, which is blowing my mind. Bring on the senior citizen discounts! I had a great time in the days prior to my birthday as I got to spend time with lots of family and friends. I..."Happy birthday Teri!
I realized yesterday that I had just finished The Living End and had Dreaming the Eagle on my summer reading list, so I picked it up last night for Book that starts with the last letter of your previous read. Especially since I'm getting the feeling I'll not continue the The Accidental Empress duology 😂
Mod
I read the same book for "afterlife"! I didn't see it as YA, though.
Mod
We started watching this show, it's so cute! I've been thinking about reading the books. Have you seen the show? Is it loyal to the books?
Mod
I have found that most of this complaining about "new math" is completely overblown. If someone only knows a little bit of math and only knows ONE way to do something, then it can be confusing to be confronted with another way. But for someone who is a math nerd, it will probably be interesting to see.
They are teaching kids a variety of ways to perform basic arithmetic, but it's nothing that doesn't make sense once it's explained. Some of the methods are tedious and time-consuming and I can do it faster in my head, but for some kids it's really helpful. They draw a bunch of boxes to learn ones/tens/hundreds place, and they sometimes step them through basic functions in a different way (like maybe 52 + 48 might be written as "50+50+2-2" instead of "8+2 and carry the one to the tens place 5+4+1" the old way we learned) - and maybe that sort of rounding is helpful for some kids)
And when you get to the more advanced math, they have some different ways of solving multiple equations and polynomials. Like, if I'm presented with n equations and n variables, I'll solve one equation for a in terms of b and then plug that into the next equation and solve for b, then go back to solve for a, etc ... if that makes sense ... but they have some other way to do it.
But it's all just math. Math is still math!
In my experience, all of my kids' math teachers were open to them using different methods to solve, so long as they showed their work. So if I was helping them and I did it a slightly different way, the teachers never pushed back.
I finished nothing because I'm trying to read everything!!
Yeah, I hear that!!
Nadine in NY wrote: "Jen wrote: "... Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol. 6 ..."We started watching this show, it's so cute! I've been thinking about reading the books. Have you seen the show? Is it loyal to the bo..."
HI, Nadine - We watched the show last year, and I thought it was pretty loyal to the manga. The show only covers the first part of the comics, though, so the books continue the story.
Hello! I have been absent for a long time, and not really for any good reason. I'll update when I get more organized.I still have not completed any of the past challenges, but I am getting closer.
I just started a book by an author that has recently become very popular, and I'm just not very excited about it. I have felt bad about not really liking her work, as it seems like EVERYONE loves her. I keep hoping to see what everyone else sees, but so far, meh. I was really happy to see that someone on my friend list was not a fan either. Thank you for that.
QOTW: I loved Heartstopper, as well as Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey. I'm sure there are others, but I'm drawing a blank
Finished!
The Violence- Do you ever start reading a book and just KNOW you have found the "next big thing"? I loved this book. (WARNING: This has domestic abuse and violence.) Given all that, I loved the journey
Because of Miss Bridgerton- yeah, I have fallen down that rabbit hole.
Currently reading:
Loveless
A Discovery of Witches
Maybe Someday
Due to so many recommendations, I decided to watch an episode of Heartstopper last night. Four episodes later... How cute are they? So maybe I need to read the graphic novel? I suppose this would work for the "becoming a TV series in 2022" prompt, which I haven't picked something for yet.
Mod
Yes I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the show is, and I was so upset when we got to the last episode. "Wait, that's IT?? There's only one season??? "
You can read all of Heartstopper for free online, it's on a few places (legally) but I read it on Tapas this time:https://tapas.io/episode/428109
If you read up to after the thing at the party happens, that's the end of the first book I think, so then you can use it for a book becoming a TV series.
Just note Aled was replaced by Isaac in the TV show, if you get confused. Alice wanted to keep the storyline of Radio Silence out of Heartstopper I think, so Aled was taken out.
Wahoo, I discovered my book for the cutlery topic. The book was mentioned on the NY Times book section. It was release just this past May and the topic seemed interesting.
It's a series of essays written by a mother who shares her past drug use with her son. And even better, it's NF :^D
*****
I also found my book for the witches topic:
Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women
Mod
Isaac is my favorite character in the show (excluding the two mains)!! He's not in the books???
I don't usually update books I finish in between Thursdays, but I realized the book I read last night fits a bunch of prompts and thought I would share.Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black would work for:
2 POV
Parallel realities
Man-made disaster (the Blitz)
Book about the afterlife
Book set during a holiday (Christmas and New Years)
2 languages (there's German and Greek in it)
Set in London if you need it for a sister city
So many choices, I'm not sure which one I'm going to use!
I have a love hate relationship with Holiday weeks, haha. While I enjoyed my extra time off for the 4th of July, it really threw my work week off this week so I feel like I’ve spent my week playing catch up. Then I got a call yesterday that a flooring project I’ve been trying to get done since May is finally ready to start on Monday, so I have to get prepared for the chaos that will bring next week. I’m excited it’s finally happening though. Finished:
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
I liked this one a lot more than I expected. I thought it would go right over my head and that I would have to slog through it, but wanted to give it a try anyway. I’m glad I did. While I’m sure there are still lots of things that went over my head, as a lot typically does, I was still engrossed in the descriptions of the parallel world it described and invested in the story. There could have been a whole other half of a book about the main character returning to our world. I'm glad there wasn’t though. It was a nice touch for the ending to have him recognize he is both people and that he can see the beauty in both worlds.
Prompt: A book featuring a parallel reality
Currently Reading:
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Prompt: A book about a secret
Overall Progress:
23/50
QOTW:
I know I talked about Adam Silvera last week, but More Happy Than Not would be the book for this one. I have seen some critiques of how it handles Bi-Sexuality as the main character has relationships with both a boy and a girl but is said to be Gay, not Bi. So keep that in mind if that is something that would turn you off from this book. Otherwise, I love the story of this book so much. It’s touching, heartbreaking, and beautiful.
I have such low energy this weekend, but it's a beautiful weekend in Chicago- 75 and sunny with a nice breeze. Perfect weather to read in the park with the furball. 38/80 GoodReads Challenge
32/50 PopSugar Challenge
Finished:
1.) Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (#23 - Recipe) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: I loved this debut novel about a woman who dies and leaves behind 8 hours of audio for her children to learn about her real life.
2.) One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle (#47- Parallel Reality) ⭐⭐⭐: Her books are compulsively readable- I finished this in one day, however this one was cringey and not sure I can easily recommend it.
3.) We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union (No PS Prompt) ⭐⭐⭐⭐: This was really great on audio, revelations and observations that were sharp and smart.
Currently Reading:
1.) Parnassus on Wheels
2.) Unlikely Animals
3.) Lethal White
QoTW: Did you read any book(s) that you especially enjoyed and could recommend as a “Pride Read” to others?
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Britany wrote: "3.) We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union (No PS Prompt) ⭐⭐⭐⭐: This was really great on audio, revelations and observations that were sharp and smart."I listed to Gabrielle narrate this a few years ago and loved it! Glad you enjoyed it too :) I think she's got a second book out now, I need to find that one.
I really wish I had more time to read this week but I've been busy packing. I've got some stuff going on for the month of July so I haven't had the time to do so. Total drag but I'm looking forward to this next little adventure.Really hoping I find time to read throughout the days ahead while also helping my sister and her significant other out.
In the meantime, I'm almost done with 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality which has been a fun read so I'll be adding it to my book count.
Ashley Marie wrote: "I listed to Gabrielle narrate this a few years ago and loved it! Glad you enjoyed it too :) I think she's got a second book out now, I need to find that one."Yes, she does !! I need to pick that one up too.
Hope you all are well. I'll be headed to a new city for a while so I'm looking forward to that. Really hope I have time to read since I'll be busy but we'll see.*****
I finally chose a book for the witches topic: Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women
The neat thing is it's also a book I'm reading for a book club so it's perfect.
Katelyn wrote: "Oh interesting! I didn't even know this existed. Thanks for the recommendation."You're welcome! They were enjoyable. I think I found them on KindleUnlimited.
Discovered my book for the ship, plane, train topic:Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic
It's cool (not cool) because it's about the ship that got stranded at the start of the pandemic. Perfect for this prompt and perfect since I read NF. I didn't want the whole 9/11, Titanic, kind of stuff that's repetitive.
I've come to gather a collection of Covid books so this one will fit right in. It's an event I kind of forgot happened because it certainly seems out of a dystopian novel. And in a way it is because while it's NF, at the same time it got me thinking to the book/show 'Station Eleven' where there's a plane and people are unable to get off because they're all sick.
The book was released just this past June. Can't wait to add it to my book collection as well as read it in general and for the prompt.
*****
P.S., anyone getting any books for Amazon Prime Day? I may have gone a little over board with 6 of them. LOL!
Ron wrote: "P.S., anyone getting any books for Amazon Prime Day? I may have gone a little over board with 6 of them. LOL!"Ooo somehow I didn't realize there were books on sale today! I'm now excited and nervous to look at what's on special lol.
LOL totally worth it.I got a Lord of the Rings paperback trilogy set which under normal price would have been $35 but got it for $15.
These are a few others I also ended up getting:
Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women
(This one happened by chance. I'm reading it for a book club and it luckily fits the witches prompt here too.)
The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation
Listen To Me
(And then of course 'Cabin Fever'.)
*****
So yay, I can mark off two of the prompts here: Witches & Set on a Plane, Cruise Ship, Train.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Chrissi wrote: "Black Water Sister - reading for prompt #12 - a book about the afterlife. It's an interesting YA book about a grandmother who 'possesses' her granddaughter ..."I read the same bo..."
My library had it classed as YA, and I can sort of understand why, but I would say more teen, 'older' young adult.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Arata: The Legend, Vol. 01 (other topics)Witches, Witch-Hunting, and Women (other topics)
The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation (other topics)
Listen To Me (other topics)
Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rebecca Serle (other topics)Gabrielle Union (other topics)
Charmaine Wilkerson (other topics)
Mason Deaver (other topics)
Jill Shalvis (other topics)
More...
My past week has provided a range of emotions.
Frustration due to the fact my car was acting very strangely last Saturday while in town and had to have it towed to the mech..."
Happy Thursday also to you Lynn! My week has been great and enjoyable. We travel to Don Marcelino, Malita, and Santa Maria!
In Don Marcelino, We stayed in Grand Summit Hotel, and We go into parks, Resorts, and restaurants. It was peaceful and relaxing to stay.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Since it is now July and Pride Month was in June, did you read any book(s) that you especially enjoyed and could recommend as a “Pride Read” to others? It doesn’t have to be the only ones you may have read in June 2022 but could be among those read before last month as well.
- I'm not a fan of LGBT books but I have some books I read. My favorite is the Heartstopper: Volume One by Alice Oseman. Volume 1 to 5, I guess. It's on my TBR list for the Last Night at the Telegraph Club. I really wanted to read that one.
My Currently Reading
Shouting at the Rain and The Great Gatsby.
Planned
These books are for Group Reads and also Buddy Reads
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Dumplin'
Continuing
I'm trying to finish reading these books:)
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Wonder by R.J. Palacio