EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi everyone!

Had a bit of a slow reading week this week, maybe a bit of a post-challenge lull.

All I finished was Shadow Magic it was pretty good, but not my favorite by Patricia Wrede. It's her first novel, and even after she revised it for this edition you can still kind of tell. Just not as engaging as the others I've read by her.

I'm almost done with Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, should finish today. I think this book just proves that I am not good at reading nonfiction. At least if it's not a memoir or something more narrative. It's interesting, i think it's well written, but I'm having such a hard time getting through it. Every time I pick it up to read, it seems like half the time I end up setting it down and checking facebook or poking at a cell phone game instead. I just need that narrative "what happens next?!" to really keep me focused. I had to turn my wifi off because it expired yesterday. I thought i'd have no problem finishing, and here I am dragging my feet over the the last 50 pages a day later.

I have two more digital holds checked out, and three library books I need to pick up today or tomorrow. I really need to get back up to speed!

How's everyone else doing?

I am reading Quiet too. I am going very slowly. Given that I generally read before bed, I often fall asleep with 2-3 pages. It'll take a long time at that rate!

I really loved Quiet, but I listened to the audiobook version. I think that audiobooks really help for slower "have to drag your eyes down the page" books.

Rachael wrote: "I really loved Quiet, but I listened to the audiobook version. I think that audiobooks really help for slower "have to drag your eyes down the page" books."

I can see that, but I have trouble with audio books too. I can only really listen to them if i'm doing something like cross stitch or painting, where I can focus just enough attention on my ears that I can grasp what the words are saying. If I try to listen when i'm not doing anything, i'll totally space out and have no idea what is going on. If I try to listen while doing something like work, I'll completely block the words out, and again have no idea what's going on. I work from home so don't really drive anywhere long enough to make listening while driving a thing. I a lot of times have the problem with library audio books where I just can't find enough "ideal audio book time" to listen in 2 weeks before they expire.

Hello All,

I'm still chipping away at the reading challenge. Last week I read Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton, I started off this challenge with the first book in this series, Nuts, because I was looking for a way to ease into the challenge and this book--recommended by a librarian--was close to what I was mostly reading by default at the time. Since then, I've read so many good books, but the last two were pretty heavy, so I wanted to return to something fun and lighthearted for the "book about food" prompt. Clayton's Hudson Valley series is a trilogy of modern day romance novels based around the local farming movement in the Hudson Valley, New York. While they are not truly "about" food, the lives of the characters revolve around food production, so I figure it's okay for this prompt. I liked both of the books I've read in the series--they are hilarious, fairly well thought out, and have just the right amount of smut, hah. I preferred the first book in the trilogy, though. I'm considering reading the last book, Buns for my book set in a hotel (woman who specializes in reforming and restoring vintage hotels must work with subdued, but hot and stuck in his ways hotelier as the town of Bailey Falls seeks to capitalize on all the good press from the farm-to-table movement by bringing in tourist dollars. Will they do it? I'm guessing yes). However, I'm not sure if I love the series enough to put this one on my challenge list. I currently have Hotel du Lac earmarked for that prompt, and I'm really looking forward to reading it. Most likely, Buns will just go on my TBR list for another time.

I'm also almost through The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which is my book that was written in 2017. This book is dark, dark, dark, gritty, and dark. So pretty much your basic CanLit! Think Margaret Atwood meets David Adams Richards meets Anne Michaels with a bit of magical realism thrown in. I have seen some people say it also reminds them of The Night Circus, which I haven't read yet. Anyway...it's about two orphans who grow up and fall in love with each other in an orphanage in Montreal and then come of age in the depression. The language the author writes in is beautiful, but the subject matter is grounded in the gritty, sometimes hopeless realities of the two main characters as they try to survive all the crap that life has dealt them, often through using drugs and sex. They are also not always the most likable people (understatement!). I wouldn't say I'm enjoying it as much as I'm appreciating the book.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to read next--I was thinking of the sequel to Oryx and Crake, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to stay in the realm of the dismal! I'd be interested to hear everyone's opinions on where Boneshaker falls on the dismal scale.

It's nice to see so much chat on the board this week!

Stephanie, I was looking at the description of that one since I saw Night Circus in it. I don't know if I agree with their assessment, based on the description, and your description. I mean maybe if you're being very loose in the sense of "magical realism".

Night Circus does have a little bit of a depressing streak through it, but it's not bleak. It's just more that sometimes bad things happen, but overally I don't find it a downer to read. The actual story is basically about two old magicians who have rival schools of thought have been pitting their students against each other in long-term magic duels for centuries. One of the magicians finds out he has a a daughter he never knew about, who has a certain natural talent and decides she'll be his crowning student, and demands his rival find an opponent. So it's a story about the two students, who don't really understand what kind of game they're locked in, what the terms are, or how to get out of it, feeling their way through it in the venue of this magical circus. I find it a very rich and dreamy story, and I always end up making black and white circus art while I read it.

I wouldn't want the comparison to turn you off reading it!

Thanks for your thoughts, Sheri. Based on what you've said here, it seems the only thing the two have in common is that there is a circus involved! I was using the term magical realism somewhat loosely--the characters in The Lonely Hearts Hotel are made to seem more beautiful and extraordinary than they are by both the beautiful language that the author uses and her (I think intentional) attempts to gloss over the true horror of what is happening to the characters because they themselves often deny just how horrible their lives are. Since the two characters spend the middle part of the book apart from each other, they also heavily romanticize each other, often giving the other almost magical or superhuman qualities in their memories. Sometimes it reminds me of Salam Rushdie's work--particularly Midnight's Children--where you are never sure if the children in question have magically abilities or it's just the unreliable narrator trying to make himself sound more important than he really is. (Also, Midnight's Children is one of my favourite books of all time :-))

Any thoughts on Boneshaker as a next read?

Stephanie wrote: "Hello All,

I'm still chipping away at the reading challenge. Last week I read Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton, I started off this challenge with the first book in this series, [..."
hmmm... I didn't think Boneshaker was dismal really at all. It might be just enough of a break for you. Briar is one tough lady, and the people that she meets are pretty interesting. Of course I read it 7 years ago, so my memory might be foggy, but while Cherie Priest can write dark, I think that she balances it well with humor and also affection for her characters.

Oh I missed the Boneshaker part, sorry!

I would say if you're specifically looking for something LIGHT, Boneshaker isn't what I'd call light.

The setting is pretty gritty steampunk, a lot of it takes place in a closed-down Seattle that's fully of goopy gas and zombies. There's danger, and some intense scenes. I don't think it's the level of say Oryx and Crake or other dystopian literature in terms of being depressing to read, however. So if you're just looking for something that won't completely batter you emotionally, it's probably safe enough.

Also, in terms of that whole "questioning whether there's magic or not", there's a lot of that in My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. I was on the fence for a lot of the book trying to figure out if it was an actual fantasy, or if the main character was using the fantasy to help her deal with a difficult reality. I won't say what conclusions I came to :)

Well, I have My Grandmother on the list, so I'm sure I'll check it out at some point soon. And thank you to both you and Susie for the Boneshaker feedback. Most of the books I have left on my list are a bit on the gritty side, so I think this looks like a good next book! I'm going to pick it up at the library this weekend.