It's the Final Week, Everyone!

[Hannah]

As we have reached the end of the Summer Reading Challenge this week, we hope that you all had fun and enjoyed your Summer! We will have an additional week for anyone who is away this week and will have the chance to pick up their shirts then. A reminder if you have finished, email us at albanyreads@albanypubliclibrary.org your shirt size and branch pick up.

I will have to say, it has been great to see everyone’s reading choices and your conversations! Side note: I do apologize for missing some questions. It’s my first time using Goodreads, and I am prepared for next year! I hope to see you all again!

What has been your favorite book you have read thus far? Mine would be Summertime Rendering. It’s a sci-fi thriller manga series where the male protagonist is stuck on a loop where when he dies he starts all over on the boat entering his home island. He is then trying to solve what the shadow things and figuring out who to trust. It’s great in my opinion! It’s also got an anime adaptation on Hulu.

[Susan]

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was my favorite summer read this year. The audio version was even more fun than the print version.

[Ashley]

My favorite book of the challenge has been The Hacienda.

Hannah, I read this prior to the challenge but you may also like The Seven and a half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. That’s also a book where the main character has to live the day over again until they figure out the secret to get them out of the cycle. One of my favorite books!

[Paul]

Hannah, I had a lot of fun doing the challenge again this summer. It is a great idea to keep me reading. My favorite read this summer is Kiwi Gold by Roselind James. I am up to twenty read now. It is kind of exciting. I hope you do this again. Paul

[Alicia]

My favorite was hands-down the adult graphic novel Always Never.

[Mirkat]

I just finished my 10th book, completing the challenge: Since We Fell .

[Amanda]

My favorite was The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier by
April White. Such a fascinating book about how women were granted divorce in the 19th century. Also, the author used materials from Union College!

[ED]

My favorite book had to be Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention- and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari.

[Mirkat]

Yesterday I completed my 11th book! Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing .

[Susan]

Mirkat wrote: "Yesterday I completed my 11th book! Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing."
I have been interested/afraid to read this.

[Mirkat]

It's really good! I haven't had a chance to write my review yet, but I definitely recommend it.

[Susan]

Mirkat wrote: "It's really good! I haven't had a chance to write my review yet, but I definitely recommend it." Thanks!

[ED]

My 10th book was The Third Reconstruction: America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century by Peniel E. Joseph. This historical review was very eye opening regarding how American history is continually looping in regards to particular beliefs about racial progress. The SNCC, The Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter were all groups that responded to the calls of injustice during different times in American history. While progress has definitely been made, there is still a conflict and question about the validity of the citizenship and vote of Black Americans. Peniel Joseph thoroughly discusses parallel racial controversies during different times in history including the current timeline and the results are quite alarming. Definitely a good read if you're up to it.

[Susan]

Thanks for the recommendation. I took an entire course on the topic 30 years ago. It will be interesting to see where the movement and scholarship has gone since then.