Albany Public Library discussion

Hi everyone, and welcome to Theme Week 4 of the Albany Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

This week's theme is "Out of This World". Remember to comment with any books you have finished this week! We will keep track of them for you, and let you know if you have reached a prize level!

Here's a list of "Out of This World" supernatural themed recommended reading curated by your local APL librarians! Happy reading!

The Outsider- Stephen King
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina- Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
The Outsider-Kiersten White
Good Omens- Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy-Douglas Adams
Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
The Host-Stephenie Meyer
War of the Worlds- H.G. Wells
Annihilation- Jeff VanderMeer
Starship Troopers- Robert A. Heinlein
John Dies at the End- David Wong

I've downloaded John Dies at the End (audio). It's over 14 hours. I am doomed (when it comes to catching up, as I just started my week-three book).

Mirkat wrote: "I've downloaded John Dies at the End (audio). It's over 14 hours. I am doomed (when it comes to catching up, as I just started my week-three book)."
I am not knowledgeable/into a lot of the themes this year, so I have been looking at which books have the best reviews. For week 3, All Systems Red has good reviews and has won several awards, so I picked it. Was pleased when it arrived to see that it was short enough to actually read in less than a week! So maybe we should change our strategy to picking the shortest titles?

Susan, that's actually why I chose Astrophysics For Busy People; the audio is only four hours long! I will probably finish it today. But then with John Dies at the End, I was intrigued by the description and accessed it despite the length. Le sigh. I also only noticed belatedly it appears to be book one of a series.

I've finished three books so far this week. Sure, two are about potty training but I'm COUNTING them :) The third, a cute YA novel to take my mind off of potty training.

Wish my toddler and I luck, please...

#5 Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki
#6 The No-Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
#7 To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

:-)

Funny, I finished one of those last week!

I have finished If There Be Thorns by V. C. Andrews, continuing my modern view of what my friends and I read as preteens.

I also finished Charity and Sylvia: A Same Sex Marriage in Early America by Rachel Hope Cleaves, which was quite fascinating.

Books have been added!

@Christine - you have a Level 1 and 2 prize for pick up at your local APL branch

@Valerie -you have a Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 for prize up at your local APL branch

Hi, I finished reading these books these past weeks
Just Kids by Patti Smith
More than Enough by Elaine Welteroth
Hooking up by Helen Hunting
Binti: Home by Nnedi Okoroafor
Astrophysics for people in a hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Thanks and have a great day

Finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Books have been added!

@Evee -you have Level 1, 2 and 3 prizes for pick up at your local APL branch

This week I’m actually at least a little bit on theme! So far I’ve read all four books of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - Cinder; Scarlet; Cress; and Winter. I think this puts me over 20 books if my stats from last week were updated!

Just finished When you read this by Mary Adkins

Evee wrote: "Just finished When you read this by Mary Adkins"

@Evee -you also have Level 4 prize for pick up at your local APL branch

Alicia wrote: "This week I’m actually at least a little bit on theme! So far I’ve read all four books of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer - Cinder; Scarlet; Cress; and Winter. I think this puts me over 20 bo..."

Yes, you have surpassed the 20 book mark. All prizes can be picked up at your local APL branch!

Hi! My name is Jane Robertson. I just signed up for the summer reading challenge at the Pints and Planets event last night, so I’m wondering if I can backlog books I’ve read since June 17? Also, do our books have to align with the weekly themes to count?

Here are the books I’ve finished so far this summer:
1. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
2. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
3. The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clementine Wamariya
4. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Thanks!

Jane wrote: "Hi! My name is Jane Robertson. I just signed up for the summer reading challenge at the Pints and Planets event last night, so I’m wondering if I can backlog books I’ve read since June 17? Also, do..."

Welcome! I have added your books. You have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your APL branch.

Just finished The Girl he used to know by Tracey Garvis Graves

I read a few books this past week with a few duds, so I'll only share the good ones!

First, the ones that fit the "out of this world" theme for the week: Paper Girls, Vol. 5 which I heard recently will become a series on TV soon. And the others have elements of magical realism: All the Bad Apples and The Things She's Seen.

The others are just great reads that I would recommend. One The Bite of Mango I hadn't read when it came out, but a worthy nonfiction read set during the war in Sierra Leone. A few other nonfiction titles: Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever and Left to Our Own Devices: Outsmarting Smart Technology to Reclaim Our Relationships, Health, and Focus.

A graphic novel Fever Year: The Killer Flu of 1918 and a YA fiction Call It What You Want.

Alicia, I've added "Left to Our Own Devices" to my "want to read" shelf; sounds interesting!

This week I read “Ripper” by Isabelle Allende. It was great!

Hope everyone is staying cool this weekend!

Sisters of summer’s end by Lori Foster
Surfside sisters by Nancy Thayer
Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs
Under Currents by Nora Roberts
Summer of a thousand pies by Margaret Dilloway

In the interest of avoiding going outside this weekend, I read Where the Crawdads Sing and Die Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker.

Molly wrote: "Hope everyone is staying cool this weekend!

Sisters of summer’s end by Lori Foster
Surfside sisters by Nancy Thayer
Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs
Under Currents..."

Ha, very summery titles! I wanted to read something about the Arctic this weekend, but I read about space instead.

Hi everyone. This evening I managed to finish Veil of Reality by A.K. Duboff under this week's theme Out of This World. It is not only out of this world but enters another reality and the use of telekinetics as well. I am captured by this series. I also read The Beauty of Us by Kristen Proby, Falling Under You by Laurelin Paige, and Strange Love by Robin Edwards.

Good morning everyone,

I just finished “The Summer Wind” and “The Summer’s End”, books 2 and 3 in the Lowcountry Trilogy. I haven’t kept with the themes of the weeks, i ‘m sorry! I try to read depending on the season, and summer is full of easy beach reads 😊

I have recorded all of the books above!

@Evee - you have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@AliciaAbdul - you have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, and the reach Level 5 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch! Great job! You have read 20 books so far this summer!

@Abi - you have Level 2 and Level 3 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Molly D - you have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Diana H - you have Level 1 and Level 2 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch

@Paul - you have Level 3 and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch. You are currently at 15 books read, and only have 5 books left to go before you get to the reach prize of 20 books read!

@Nicole R - you have Level 3 and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch. You are currently at 13 books read, and only have 7 books left to go before you to the reach prize of 20 books read!

I finished two books in the "Out of this World" category

Muse of Nightmares by by Laini Taylor and

Hammers on Bone (Persons Non Grata #1) by Cassandra Khaw.

I really liked Muse of Nightmares (second in a series) but Hammers on Bone, not so much.

Read another one of your suggestions in a genre I almost never read in - Annihilation. Weird, but intriguing. I see that the Goodreads reviews are pretty bifurcated - mostly 5 and 2 star reviews.

I have added all books above.

@Diane B, you are currently at 16 books read, and have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch. 4 more books read, and you will receive our "reach" prize at 20 books read!

@Susan DE, Annihilation is also a movie, made last year, if you'd like to compare and contrast the book to the movie! You are currently at 13 books read, and have Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 prizes to pick up at your local APL branch.

Alexandra wrote: "I have added all books above.

Oh, thanks for letting me know! I will have to watch it. Maybe I will pick up some of the stuff I didn't understand in the book.

Okay, STILL chipping away with John Dies at the End, but meanwhile I completed The Walking Dead, Vol. 31: The Rotten Core , which I think also fits into the week-four theme. My review.

Meanwhile, I will most likely finally get through my week-five selection while everyone else is completing a dozen or so "week six" books.

Mirkat wrote: "Okay, STILL chipping away with John Dies at the End, but meanwhile I completed The Walking Dead, Vol. 31: The Rotten Core, which I think also fits into the week-four theme. My revie..."
Well, I am still reading my Week 2 book because getting through a book written by Gucci Mane is proving to be difficult!

Thank you for posting that, Susan--it's comforting. I actually downloaded The Mueller Report: Presented with Related Materials by The Washington Post , having put myself on the waitlist before Summer Reading started, and now I am postponing it until after we're done, because the audio is over 19 hours, and I'd be down for the count if I took it on sooner....

I finally (FINALLY!) finished John Dies at the End . My review.

Mirkat wrote: "I finally (FINALLY!) finished John Dies at the End. My review."

I added your book!