Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday readers!

Last Thursday my library’s catalog system crashed, the entire county is down. At first it was just an odd novelty, but by Tuesday I got a little panicky. It's been a week now and it is still down - this means I can't put books on hold, and any holds that I have active are currently in limbo. Yes, I can walk in and pick up books, they will check them out by hand, BUT my branch library is ALSO under construction for the year, which means they have only a small selection of books set out for browsing. I am very particular about my beach reading! I plan for this all year! (No one else understands me, but I trust all of you to understand.) I leave for a two week vacation soon and I’ve got to put books on hold now so I can check them out before I leave. I rarely buy books, but ... I bought books. What choice did I have?!?! I have to have paper books for the beach!!

And honestly, it's a little bit of a thrill to just ... order seven books. They arrive tomorrow. I'm excited. I also hope my library gets their system fixed soon, because I'm getting to the point where I know the books I currently have at home need to be renewed but I can't do it from home because I can't access my account.


This week I finished three books, none for any challenge.

The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones - weird and intriguing dystopian, possibly cli-fi, in which the USA has basically fallen apart because of disease carrying ticks. I liked this a lot, although the ending was a little too open-ended for my taste.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth - this was dark and emotional and complex and it’s marketed as YA but i don’t think it’s YA. I loved this.

C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems - I thought I liked Cavafy but this was disappointing. Turns out I really like SOME of his poems, but the rest that I'd never read before are not my thing.




Question of the Week:

Are you more or less likely to want to read a book when it's very popular?


I’m frazzled about my library system thing so I picked an easy one this week!!

I used to avoid books if they were popular, on the theory that I never like what everyone else likes and I wasn’t going to read it just because they were. Then I realized (Water for Elephants, I’m looking at you) that sometimes I DO like books that everyone else likes! And my daughter pointed out (ah bless children for always seeing our weaknesses and TELLING us about them!) that NOT reading a book just because everyone else is reading it is just as silly as reading a book just because they are. In both cases, I was letting the “masses” dictate my actions. Also, sometimes I like to read the same books as my aunts and cousins.

So, short answer: I do pay attention when books are very popular, and maybe I'm a little more likely to read the popular book. I don’t always love the book (cough cough I hated A Gentleman in Moscow), but I like knowing what everyone else is talking about.

Hi everyone. Earlier check in for me than usual. Go me!

This week I finished Ruby Red. I had a serious case of judging the book by the cover with this book. I thought it would be a fluffy little romance with the apartheid in South Africa as a backdrop but it was completely different. It was YA, pretty serious and dark in places and the romance was very minimal. I'm not sure why I put off reading it for so long

I also finished A Crystal in Time. This series has had it's ups and downs but this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable books of the series so far

Currently reading Fingersmith. This book was taking a bit of getting into but I just hit the end of part one twist and I was so not expecting it! Now I can't wait to read more

QOTW I don't really know what is popular and what isn't. I don't know many bookish people IRL so you guys are my gage. Generally I only realise something is popular when it's on everyone's weekly check in!

This week I finished:

Saving Meghan: This book was very interesting and got really intense at times. The only reason it isn't a 5 star review from me is because there were a few elements of the plot that were just unrealistic and illogical, especially in regards to Children and Family Services and hospital policies.

Jane Doe: I really enjoyed this one. I'm trying to be more selective with 5 star ratings, which is the only reason this book didn't get one. It was interesting and unique and I really didn't know what to expect from it. The perspective was intriguing and I was sucked in from the beginning and I laughed about a half a dozen times reading it.

The Stillwater Girls: I loved this book. I wondered for a while where it was going, but the emotion of the story hooked me instantly and the book ran a gamut of emotions, but ultimately it made me feel joyful and it was a great read after a long day. 5 stars.

I'll Never Tell: This one really sucked me in and I was racing for the end. I will say that the dialogue was not well labeled and got a little confusing at times, but I liked it and would recommend it.

Nine Perfect Strangers: This book has some really terrible reviews so I was expecting it to be really bad, but I enjoyed it. It got a little extreme and stale for a bit in the middle but then it came back to reality. I quite enjoyed the setting and general theme.

I got really excited when I realized that not only did I read 5 books this week, but I really liked all of them. Then I had to rain a little on my own parade, because I DNF Every Moment After. I gave up at 60 pages.

Question of the week:

Are you more or less likely to want to read a book when it's very popular?

Generally I just read whatever seems interesting to me. Sometimes those are popular, sometimes not, but I would say that I’m more likely to read a popular book if I read outside my usual go to genres. Sometimes I just have to know what the hype is and sometimes I just want to be able to participate in conversations with others. Good reviews seem like recommendations, and I absolutely love when people recommend books to me, because I feel like it’s a really good way to get to know each other.

Nadine, I feel for you! I own loads of unread books but I'd still panic if my sources were cut off, especially if I was planning holiday reading. Also, the end of the world brought about via ticks? I'm both horrified but also want to read it!

I finally finished The Time Traveler's Wife for a book with million+ ratings. I would have DNFed it if it wasn't for this prompt, I really didn't have many options and one of them I had to use for idiom. I feel so out of sync with other readers when I read these big bestsellers and don't like them. I don't know how she managed to make time travel boring...

I'm currently listening to Sadie for ATY (GR choice) which is a fantastic audiobook production. I think I might also use it for amateur detective, as the podcaster is trying to solve a missing persons case and sadie is also trying to find someone to avenge a crime.

Currently reading Trinity for ATY (historical figure) and King of Scars which might be for convent, depending on how long they stay there...

PS: 34/52 | ATY: 36/52 | GR 74/100

QOTW:
I won't read a book just because it's popular, but if it sounds like something I might like I won't avoid it. I just don't think the books that get hugely popular are often my thing though (see my previous comment on TTTW). I'll check out books that are popular in smaller circles though, like the SFF or UKYA communities, but these are rarely the ones that everyone knows about.

I finished Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure as book with pop sugar or challenge in the title. Pretty interesting, but I kept getting people mixed up. Sure that was all me.

Now I'm reading The White Ravenas my book based on mythology. I'm about a third of the way through and I can't say I'm loving it.

QOTW: Not really. I just read what I read. I guess an exception would be for this challenge. I had no idea what LitRPG was and no idea what to read for it, so I picked the book I had seen being mentioned the most on here.

Hi all - I missed last week because Life. My husband is traveling all week every week these days and I feel like semi-single parenting is making my head spin! Meanwhile, the heat index has been over 100 for several days and looks to continue. Feeling very thankful for my indoor, air-conditioned job.

Nadine, I really feel for you! My library’s system went down for a day last week and I was beside myself!

Finished

Cthulhu 2000 -Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge (A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy) - I’m glad I read it - some real clunkers, but enough good stuff to sustain me!

Frog and Toad Together -A book that makes you nostalgic - Good choice - something that hearkened back to my childhood without endangering my memory of any of the wonderful novels I adored (but might not stand up to adult scrutiny!) I also realized that I’m 100% Toad: addicted to my to-do lists, lover of cookies, too impatient to garden, and more fearful than I like to admit sometimes.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max -Read a book during the season it is set in - Sweet Mae Jemison! Holy Juliette Gordon Low! Re-reading volume 1 was fun, and volume 2 wrapped up the story nicely. What better to read during the summer than a weird fantasy set in a girl-scout-esque camp?

That leaves me with 3 and 1/30th books (last issue of Paper Girls) before I finish!

Currently Reading

Ghost Stories - Two books that share the same title - Not loving it. Some of these aren’t even ghost stories by any measure. Just sad weird stories.

The Wild Dead - A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book - I really like Enid as a person, and I’m intrigued by the mystery already. These books have such a great sense of place, without getting too Captain Exposition about the catastrophe that led to the world.

QOTW

Like Sarah, I really only get book buzz from y’all. I have nothing against reading something popular, but I feel like popular books are often “sweeping family epics” or realistic fiction with incredibly upsetting or depressing themes, and those are definitely not my jam. So if I see something is popular I’ll check out the GR page and if it fits my tastes, I’ll try it out.

Good Morning. First off yes I do understand about planning all year for vacation reading. Hopefully your library will be on line soon.

I finished 2 books for the week. Neither for challenges. The last 2 books I need to finish for the pop sugar & BR read harder challenges are still on hold at my library.

The first book was Homer & Langley: A Novel by E.L.Doctorow. What a huge disappointment. The book is about the Collyer Brothers. They were 2 famous hoarders that died in their apartment of trash. One because he was so crippled he couldn’t care for himself. The other because he was crushed by trash & asphyxiated. The trash was a booby trap he had created in case someone or authorities came into the apt. E.L.Doctorow took huge liberties with the story. He switched the order the brothers were born in. Had their parents dying close in time to each other. Had one brother serving in WW1 which I never saw where he did. Then he had the brothers living about 30 years longer than they did having experiences they never did. I know the book is fiction but there are facts he should not have changed. This is not the book to read if you are interested in the Collyer Brothers. You should google the pics of their apt.

Second book was Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta. I liked the story but not the characters.

I find I read popular books later.

Oh Nadine! I hope the library system is up and running soon! But hooray for BUYING books! It's a nice little treat for yourself before you go on vacation :)

Finished:

HP and the Deathly Hallows - (reread) and thus ends a whirlwind 7 month read-a-long with some friends! It was a little fast paced for me, but the insights gained by reading them together was priceless!

Currently reading:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson - This delightful little book was a good fit for my summer reading slump. I hope to finish it by the end of this week. Using for a book that takes place in a single day, but it would also work for an author with same first and last initials.

The Wondering Years: How Pop Culture Helped Me Answer Life’s Biggest Questions by Knox McCoy. Knox is one of the hosts of the delightful podcast, The Popcast. I chose to listen to the audiobook since he narrates it himself and I'm already familiar with his voice. Great fun! Using for a book with "pop" in the title.

Up next:

The Power by Naomi Alderman. This was my book club's July pick. It's still sitting on my table waiting for me. I should probably get started!

QOTW

Like Nadine, I used to avoid popular books because it's a turn off to jump on the band wagon with everyone else. I still tend to avoid the most hyped books, but I try to be more objective in my evaluation. Is the book something I would normally be interested in? Or is it something that actually sounds intriguing (outside of the hype)? I still tend to wait until the copies are easier to get my hands on, but I try not to limit myself out of sheer stubbornness anymore :)

I traveled to both Chicago and New York this past week, giving me some good reading time. I finished The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont as a book with the word "love" in the title and The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and Empire at the Dawn of the American Century which was not for the challenge. I enjoyed both books.

QOTW: If a book gets super popular, I will usually check it out to see if I'm interested. Some of them turn out to be amazing, and some.... don't.

Nadine wrote: "Happy Thursday readers!

Last Thursday my library’s catalog system crashed, the entire county is down. At first it was just an odd novelty, but by Tuesday I got a little panicky. It's been a week ..."

Oh my goodness, @Nadine! I feel your pain! I plan my big ticket reading for the year (and work things in that are just musts). I work for a small county that actually had the library catalog system get hit with ransomware. Fortunately, the IT department, who had been told the library could manage the server on their own, was able to rebuild it in about 3 days time. Everyone was able to keep it out of the news and the ransom jerks didn't get a penny of tax payer funds. I hope yours comes back on line very, very, very soon!

Happy Thursday! 41/50

Completed:
19.) Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains by Susan Elderkin was really, really weird. I’m also doing a book set in all the European countries and this was my Slovakia. There were 3 POVS – Theobald, a slow-witted but kind, British expat, Josie, his adopted daughter, and Eva, the daughter of a Slovakian shoemaker who falls in love with a French ice cream maker. The book is partially set in Slovakia and the majority in the American southwest.

48.) The Ice Princess by Jim Walker was my second book with the same title. I read Camilla Lackberg’s book earlier this year. Gosh, these were different! Neither is my genre either. Lackberg’s Nordic Noir tome’s title Ice Princess was a corpse while Walker’s title was a Western villainess after land on which there was gold.

The Fifth Avenue Artists Society by Joy Calloway features a precocious young writer, reeling from a breakup. Her beau needed to marry for money. It read very YA. The first half was dull, but fine, while the second half was, well, very steeped in fiction.

41.) Botched 4 Murder is my climate fiction read is definitely a stretch for the category. It’s a murder mystery about replacing golf courses with eco-friendly parks. I’ll just mention I lettered in golf in high school back in the 80s and 30 years later still hit the links.

In Progress:

The CBS Murders by Richard Hammer
Beach House for Rent by Mary Alice Monroe

QOTW Popularity?

It really depends. It increases my awareness of books that I might not know about, but I still read what I like. I loved Educated, Gentleman in Moscow, Crawdads, and Sylvie Lee. Heck, I liked Go Set A Watchman. Don’t get me started on my hatred of Me Before You and I haven’t read a single Shade of Gray and I’m not about to. I spent more time rolling my eyes during The Nightingale than I did crying. I DNFed The Light Between the Oceans a couple years ago and keep saying I’m going to try it again, but I’m not sure. I enjoy a really wide spectrum of reading, but have accepted that there are some things that aren’t for me and have better become able to discern that.

Nadine, your situation is a reader's nightmare. I am also going on vacation next week, to Maine. I am unconcerned because I have so many library books on my Kindle. It has a glitch where it loads new books, but does not take away expired ones. I will probably take two Kindles though, just in case. It will be an active vacation, so I don't expect to get a lot of reading done anyway.

Finished:
The Calculating Stars for ATY. Really good.
The Last House Guest I wanted to read this book because it takes place in Maine, where we're going next week. It was pretty standard and disappointing, poor sense of place.
Like Water for Chocolate
Summer of '69

Currently reading:
The Satapur Moonstone
The Mother-in-Law

QOTW:
I always want to read the new and hyped books. I follow Reese Witherspoon's book club on Instagram, and I have been looking at The Millions list ever since I found out it exists. I end up reading about 1/2 the Reese Witherspoon recommendations. The one book I really resisted reading specifically because of all the hype is Fifty Shades of Grey. If even my sister said it was terribly written, there was no way I was reading it.

Hi all

@Nadine – enjoy opening that package tomorrow! And hopefully they fix the library catalogue issues soon!

I’ve had quite a productive reading week and am just 1 book short of finishing the challenge.

Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall (not for the challenge) – did not enjoy this one at all. The writing was erratic and difficult to read and the humour bypassed me completely. I think that this may be one of those books better experienced by listening to the audiobook, rather than in print or digital form.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette (for the book being made into a movie in 2019 prompt) – I enjoyed this book but did not love it (see QOTW). Looking forward to seeing what they did with the movie version.

Faceless Killers (for the book that takes place in Scandinavia prompt) – I generally like Nordic Noir and enjoyed this one, although it’s more a police procedural rather than a mystery that the reader tries to solve. One of my colleagues has been telling me for a while to read the Wallander series and I’m glad I finally started. Not in a rush to have to get the next one but I will try to fit them in eventually.

Dark Matter (for the book that I think should be turned into a movie prompt) – loved it! This is my go-to genre and I finished it in basically a single sitting. Fast paced, interesting premise (I’ve always thought that one’s life is a result of all the various choices one has made). I could totally see a movie version playing out in my head as I read so I think it’s a good fit for the prompt too.

QOTW:
If the book appeals to me, I’ll read it whether it’s popular or not. If it doesn’t appeal, I’ll give it a miss. The next factor to consider is availability. If it’s easily available, I’m more likely to read it sooner. If not, I just add it to my TBR list for later.
My problem is that when a book is hyped up too much, even if I enjoy it, most times it just doesn’t live up to that hype and then I land up being underwhelmed by it.

@Anne - the news is saying that this is “ransomware” (but reportedly no ransom has been demanded, so ... is it ransomware??) and I thought that sounded silly because who takes a county library system hostage? but apparently it IS a thing, if you know of it too!

I had not realized how completely dependent the library was in the computer catalog until this happened. I’m sure this has been a rough week to be a librarian in Onondaga County.

This week I got back in my audio book groove and happened to read a couple of short books, so I finished 7 books, which balances out my sparse weeks recently. Only 2 books left for Popsugar!

I don't know what I would do if my library computer system went down... (I mean, I guess I would read some of the 200 books I own and want to read, but that's beside the point--I'm always making holds and renewing on line, and just checking to see if books are in the library system for when I want them later so I know if I should prioritize buying them if I run across a good deal...)

Finished Reading:
The Martian Loved it! (As a side note, I saw someone on Instagram mention that Blake Crouch may be the best sci-fi writer right now, and I had to mentally rage and howl for a minute. Andy Weir is much better for my tastes.)

Pines This was okay--I liked the suspenseful parts, but not the violent/horrorish parts, and didn't love the ending. I think I'm just done with Blake Crouch.

The Borrowers Nostalgic childhood re-read that held up pretty well to reading as an adult. I think I want to re-read the rest of the series eventually now. I read this for ATY and then realized it would check off 'imaginary creatures' for Popsugar. Still accidentally checking off categories this late in the game, to my surprise!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane A good story, though a bit more creepy than I typically enjoy. (And I wish I'd realized that this was NOT a good bedtime audio book before I started. Wow.) For those tracking, I loved Neverwhere, and enjoyed this one and The Graveyard Book. (Also disliked to moderately liked a couple of his shorter stories.)

OrthodoxyThoroughly enjoyed this book, even though I didn't necessarily agree with his theology in every detail. Highly recommend to everyone who would enjoy reading philosophy with a sense of humor (whether you agree with his viewpoint or not). Used for 'book recommend by a celebrity you admire' (though I admit to stretching the definition of 'celebrity' a lot).

If A short devotional by Amy Carmichael--I also have her biography that I'm planning to read soon.

Mr. Popper's Penguins Such a fun children's story! I think I would have LOVED this one as a child, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit as an adult.

Currently Reading:
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist Slowly realizing that while I appreciate what he has to say, I really don't enjoy the way he says it, and it's harder to read than it has to be. Since it's for a church read along though, I'm going to try really hard to stick with it and finish it instead of giving up.

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep Got this ARC from Netgalley, and it's just as much fun as you would hope from the title! Kind of a grown up Inkheart meets the Thursday Next series with a tiny dash of Neverwhere. I'm really tempted to use this for 'set on college campus' but at 2/3s through the book only a few scenes have actually been on the campus...

Lab Girl Audio book. Hadn't thought about it, but parts of this one are set on a college campus too... probably only small parts though, I'm just not far enough in to know for sure. I think I'm enjoying this, though the style is different from what I expected.

Love Is a Mix Tape Since I spent the 90s listening to Broadway musicals and 1940s hit parades, I have no idea what most of the songs he references are like, so I've been listening to some of the songs/playlists he talks about as I read. Enjoying both the book and that experience so far.

QOTW:
Sometimes I'm more likely to pay attention to a book if it gets mentioned a lot here or on Instagram, but I still base the decision to read it or not on whether the book itself looks interesting. Except occasionally my brain gets confused about whether I was actually interested in a book or just have seen it around a lot, which is how I accidentally read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. (But I loved it, so it was a good mistake.)

Happy Thursday Everyone! I've been able to get back on track with my reading for the most part so finished three books this week!

Finished:
The Fault in Our Stars I honestly had never read this before so figured it was about time. I used it for prompt #5 - a book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads. Even though I knew what to expect, I liked it and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Sun Is Also a Star - I read this for the Goodreads summer reading challenge. It was a cute YA romance, but I found it a little unbelievable. 3 out of 5 stars.

Lost You - I got an ARC of this from NetGalley. It started off great, but then it lost me because none of the characters were likable.

Challenge Progress:
Regular Challenge - 34/40
Advanced Challenge - 6/10
Total Challenge 40/50

Currently Reading"
The Silent Patient - I should finish this tonight.

China Rich Girlfriend - I'm listening to this for the Goodreads summer reading challenge. Not sure how I feel about it. There are a lot of characters to keep track of.

Fangirl - I'm listening to this as well. It will be for prompt #17 - a book set on a college or university campus.

The Arrangement - I just started this today. I have an ARC from NetGalley

QOTW - Are you more or less likely to want to read a book when it's very popular?
I look at recommendations and ratings before reading a book so a lot of times I do end up reading popular books. They do need to be in a genre I like and the subject needs to be interesting to me though.

Hi everyone!

I was on vacation this week, and it was a pretty busy one so I didn't get a whole lot of reading done.

I finished:

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia - this was a short easy read. The writing was a bit dry, and I'm not sure why there was a chapter describing her favorite pictures of Appalachia if she couldn't/didn't get the rights to actually SHOW those pictures. But overall I learned more of a balanced perspective on the place, outside of the typical stereotypes. this was ATY book with 5 w's in the title, and reading women book about or set in Appalachia.

Home Is the Hunter - Reading Women's play prompt. This was alright, I don't really enjoy reading plays much. It was just another take of the homecoming of Odeysseus returning to Penelope. Nothing amazing but it was fine.

Artificial Condition - this was pretty good, I like Murderbot. I don't like paying full novel prices for novellas though so my progress is slow as I wait for the prices to drop where I'm willing to buy them. Counted for Reading Women's novella prompt.

Currently reading:
The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine - supposed to be my Read Harder's nonviolent true crime, but i'm really not feeling it. Picked it because I like reading about cons but so far it's just a lot of talking about the history of wine, and frankly I don't care at all. I might DNF and try to find something else.

The Silver Metal Lover - ATY's book related to an element. I like everything i've read by Tannith Lee, not sure how i never got to this one. I like it so far.

QOTW:

Generally depends on the book. If it's getting a lot of hype, I'll read the synopsis and see what it's about. If it sounds interesting, I'll check it out, if not I'll pass. If I'm doing a reading challenge and a really hyped book fits for a prompt, I'll probably use it. Particularly if it's a prompt that I'm not excited for or just don't have any good ideas. Whether I like or not seems to be pretty hit or miss. Even within a same author. I loved A Man Called Ove, and Britt Marie Was Here, and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, but I really hated and DNFed Beartown, and won't bother with the sequel to that.

Whoo, it has been a WEEK. And that really sucks about your library system, Nadine. Our library's system went down for an entire work day for updates, meaning we had to do all our checkins and checkouts by hand... and leaving a ton of glitches in the system when it came back online. We're still having issues with Overdrive, for example...

Books read this week:

Lock Every Door -- I don’t read a lot of thrillers, but somehow I’ve gotten hooked on Riley Sager’s books. I didn’t like this one quite as well as The Last Time I Lied, but it was still highly enjoyable and left me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

The Lost World -- Not the Michael Crichton novel, the Arthur Conan Doyle novel. Decent adventure story, though the racist overtones (while typical for their day) are rather cringeworthy.

Diva Las Vegas -- light and entertaining mystery read about a stripper doubling as a PI. Not my usual genre but a cute quick read.

A Year at the Movies: One Man's Filmgoing Odyssey -- Kevin Murphy, one of the masterminds behind “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” goes on a personal mission to view one movie in a theater/cinema every day for a solid year. A bit overlong and a tad outdated (he undertook his quest in 2001), but still a nice exploration of the art of cinema and our movie-viewing culture.

Currently Reading:

Starman: The Truth Behind The Legend Of Yuri Gagarin
Space Dumplins
Elevated

QOTW:

I usually wait until after a popular book's popularity has died down somewhat before I read it -- mostly because I read mostly library books, and then I can read it at my leisure instead of rushing through it so the next person on the wait list gets it. XD And I used to avoid popular books entirely just because I didn't get the hype, but in the past year I've found myself giving more of them a chance, such as Final Girls, Educated, The Priory of the Orange Tree, and Daisy Jones & The Six (that last one was a DNF but still...).

Hi all. Forgot to check in last week (oops!). This week I’m on vacation and enjoying some additional reading time.

This week I’ve finished:
Under Currents. I usually love these books but didn’t enjoy this one as much as recent books.

Discount Armageddon. I love her October Daye books so decided to give these a try. Enjoyed it enough to read number 2 but not as much as October.

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story. This was my audiobook for commuting and really enjoyed it.

Midnight Blue-Light Special second book in the series I started above.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet it’s been a long time since I’ve read pure SciFi. Really enjoyed this book! Reading for the monthly challenge.

All of the above books were for prompts in Popsugar 2016 or 2017. I’m reading mostly in my normal genres still and looking for applicable prompts. My stats so far this year are: Popsugar 2019- 55/56; ATY- finished!; nonfiction growth challenge- 18/20; Ps 2015- 49/50; PS 2016- 20/40 and PS 2017- 10/52. I’ll finish Ps 19 in September when I can read a book set in fall and will finish PS 2015 when I decide I’m ready to read the last book in the trilogy I picked. Otherwise I’m just going to keep reading and see what fits where until I’m ready to start reading outside my norm again.

Currently reading:
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir - my current audiobook
Storm Front

QOTW- I’m kind of embattled say that the more popular a book gets the less likely I am to read it. At least if I know it’s popular.

Raquel wrote: "This week I got back in my audio book groove and happened to read a couple of short books, so I finished 7 books, which balances out my sparse weeks recently. Only 2 books left for Popsugar!

I don..."

Yay, another Andy Weir fan! :D I've loved his stuff ever since I read his webcomic "Casey and Andy," and while he can't draw worth beans (sorry, Andy) he's a great writer. I'm looking forward to reading his graphic novel, "Cheshire Crossing" (he collaborated with the artist of "Sara's Scribbles" for that one, so it's not his art, but the story's his...).

Well, this week has been insane. I haven't been able to keep track of which day it is. I love my teacher friends but July always fills up so quickly because they want to get in as much hangout time as possible before school starts back up! (I know, this is a great reason to be busy, I'm just tired and feel like I have no time to get anything done).

Because of this, I have only read about 6 pages in the past week. Which is really sad.

In better news, I got a full time job! And it's kind of a dream job for me, so I'm REALLY excited. It's been a long road through grad school and then job hunting and all the rejections (I graduated May 2018). I don't know if I'll be able to finish my reading challenge, though, since I already go so slowly through books, and I'll be jumping from 19 hours/week to 40...but I'll try my best!

Completed:
Nothing

Reading:
Ivanhoe: I did make some progress! Hopefully the weather cools off so I can walk the dogs more and keep listening!

The Grey Fairy Book

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle: This will be my book that takes place in a day. I'm only a few pages in, but I'm definitely intrigued! I love a good mystery.

QOTW:
This is tricky for me. I've picked up way more popular fiction this year because the medical library I work in started a pop fic subscription. This means I get to see all the popular new releases, and then I get intrigued and check them out. Unfortunately, I then end up (usually) disappointed. I don't know why. I remember reading Water for Elephants when it was all the rage and, even though I love circus fiction, I was really disappointed. This year, I jumped on the Crazy Rich Asians bandwagon and really disliked it. I read Gingerbread, which I haven't seen talked about as much on here, but it's definitely pop fic, and it was okay. I DNF The Time Traveler's Wife (gosh, I hated that one) when we read it for a book club. But I keep trying! I'm pretty hopeful about The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle because it's a murder mystery and a period book, and I love those.

tl;dr: I don't avoid popular fiction but I find I often don't like the books as much as I want to.

I forgot to mention that I finally decided to read Where'd You Go, Bernadette. (I'm actually switching it in for my planned 'question in title' book, because I don't feel like tackling 400 pages of obscure nonfiction about Branwell Bronte right now.) I really can't tell if I avoided it because it was popular and then I finally got over that, or if I had no interest and then finally noticed that it might be an interesting story because I saw it mentioned everywhere. Motivations are complicated little beasts.

Anne wrote: " I spent more time rolling my eyes during The Nightingale than I did crying.."

I DNF'd Nightingale near the beginning and comments like yours make me feel much better about that decision.

I didn’t expect much, but I really enjoyed The Nightingale!!! I disliked The Great Alone, however, so I’ll be reluctant to read another book by Hannah.

Oh, Nadine! I can't imagine your pain. I panic when my library app doesn't work for a single day!

It's been three weeks since my last check-in (travel, travel, travel), so bear with me here.

Challenge Progress: 37/50

Completed:
Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues: Silly, a little bit dull. I really didn't like the female narrator. Her Norwegian accent sounded mechanical, and her male voice was ridiculous. (Audiobook)

Alien III: Fantastic production values, and it was great to have the original Hicks and Bishop on board! But... Was this story really necessary? Did it add anything to the "Alien" canon? I didn't feel like it really added much of value. I kinda wanted to just blow up the whole ship/space station and sacrifice the crew in order to save humanity. (Audiobook)

Extraordinary Means: Sort of a "Fault in Our Stars" novel about TDR-TB (total drug resistant tuberculosis) set in the near future. Yes, it's a story about (probably) terminally ill kids, but it's more about second chances, figuring out your place in the world, and being strong enough to get there.

99 Percent Mine: It took a loooooong time to warm up to Darcy Barrett, and there were some weird transitions in the writing sometimes (I had to back up a few times to see if I'd missed something. I hadn't. There was just a strange jump in the narrative.), but eventually it ended up being okay. I'll probably give Sally Thorne another chance. I've heard good things about her debut novel.

Clockworks: The best one yet! We finally got the eerie backstory... And Joe Hill is a genius. (Yes, I know. You're all tired of hearing me say it. But it's true, and I'll read anything he writes.)

Naturally Tan: The good stuff: It's fun and quirky, and it's definitely written in Tan's voice. But... it's kind of a mess. Like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Inspiring? Gossipy? Revelatory (about being gay, about race, about the entertainment industry)? All of those things were there, but it wasn't a cohesive message.

What You Don't Know: Gritty and brutal. This a beautifully, darkly crafted crime novel. It kept up the tension without ever throwing in a twist that didn't make sense. That's a pet peeve of mine. I can't tell you how many times I've thrown down a book in disgust, crying "What the hell? Where did that come from?!" JoAnn Chaney avoids that trap, and I'm grateful.

The Flame and the Flower: Wow. This does not hold up in the "Me Too" era. I read this when I was in high school (early 1980s) and loved it... but now? Ew. Rape is just not sexy.

Currently Reading: 20th Century Ghosts (a ghost story), Where the Crawdads Sing, 1984 (a book that inspired a common phrase or idiom), Lock Every Door, The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth

QOTW: Yes, I read popular books. Even when I'm not particularly interested. One of my book clubs specializes in this type of book, and besides I want to know what everyone's talking about!

When I was teaching high school, I read whatever the kids were reading... their English assignments, the latest popular YA, everything. Teachers in my school would post what they were reading on their classroom doors. As a math teacher, I found that it was a great way to connect with kids on a different level.

Hi All,

So it's been almost 2 months since I've checked in which is the longest I've ever gone without checking in since finding you all last year. I've been avoiding goodreads as I've only read two books during that whole time which is really low for me. GR has cheerfully reminded me that this now puts me 20+ books behind on my yearly goal. My reading slump plus constant reminder I'm behind has really put me in some sort of avoidance state. I think I'm going to drastically bump my challenge down just so I don't think about it so much and just will mentally aim for the original number.

You might remember me mentioning before I stopped checking in I had a 2 week vacation planned to join my husband at two different conferences (one was on a boat in the middle of the amazon in Brazil, the other Ireland). Well I did not end up going to Brazil. About 5 days before we were to leave we found out I was pregnant (!). So going to the middle of a Zika outbreak zone while preggo is not recommended and I had to stay home for that part which was a bummer. I did get to go to Ireland though and loved it!

On to books! I read Aurora Rising which was entertaining and kept me from wanting to put it down. I enjoyed the pairings and the group dynamic. Not entirely sure if I'll seek out the next book in the series oddly enough. I think I enjoy the characters but not the overall plot line that the series is clearly going to go with.

And the second book was Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: 2nd Edition: Fully Revised and Updated because the first thing I thought of when I learned the news is "I need to read up on this". Not much to report on this, was pretty comprehensive. Probably should have read along with it but I read it all in one go so I'd know what to expect.

QOTW: I have definitely been known to avoid really popular books before but only do it now if I really don't have an interest in the genre/plot. The most notable example of this is that in sophomore year of high school I refused to check out Harry Potter simply because so many people raved about it. Finally broke one day when it was pretty much the only thing in the school library that I hadn't read already and boy I had all 3 books (that's all she had written at that point) finished by the next day.

@Nadine: how awful! I like to plan before vacations as well and being able to look up the status of books and hold if needed is so key to that.

Congratulations, Brittany! How lucky that you found out before you left for Brazil.

Good Morning,

Oh boy, I feel so sorry for the people that work in your library system. I bet they are getting calls non-stop about the issue. I'm sure they, much like you, will be soooo happy when it's working again.

Finished:

Another slow reading week for me.

Naturally Tan for book with a two-word title. I wasn't sure if this was going to fit in the challenge for me but I wanted to read it. I hadn't completed this prompt yet, so perfect fit! I really like this book. Tan is my favorite of the guys on the new Queer Eye. He's so wonderfully sassy in the book. I also loved the story of him and his husband meeting, it's so frickin' adorable.

Currently Reading:

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald for novel based on a true story. I've been wanting to read this for a while and am finally getting around to it. I'm not too far into it but I'm liking it.

In a Dark, Dark Wood for book becoming a movie in 2019. Only 75 pages in and it's just building right now. I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books for book set on college or university campus. My audio hold of this just came up, so I've just started. It seems really interesting.

QOTW:

I will read anything that sounds interesting to me. Good reviews, bad reviews, popular, not popular. It's rare that I find myself completely hating something. I try to go into a book with low expectations and find myself enjoying them more often than not.

Nadine wrote: "@Anne - the news is saying that this is “ransomware” (but reportedly no ransom has been demanded, so ... is it ransomware??) and I thought that sounded silly because who takes a county library syst..."

@Nadine -- that is the worst! Libraries are being targeted because, well, librarians do everything in those walls and the security might not be as high as other forms of government because that isn't their full-time job. It's like holding someone's grandma hostage -- you'll pay what you can to get her back. Sad, but vicious. Since libraries are always adding new materials, skipping the ransom (what was done near me) means losing some material. We had to recreate based on invoices, but lost some statistics that the state demands. I hope your library is back soon!

Wow, Nadine, that's awful! I would be going nuts, too! The Ithaca library renovated about a year and a half ago, and they did a pretty good job of keeping most stuff accessible, but it was still a pain (and I still don't like the layout of the adult book stacks.... but I love my library, so I deal).

I'm in a bit of a crank mood this morning. Current events in the political world, my baby sitter just put in her notice that she's going back to work, a stray kitten showed up (that we DO NOT need! but will probably keep anyway.... sigh....), the heat and humidity in NY, is all just wearing me down.

I haven't finished reading anything since last week, though I'm getting close to being done with The Ghost Bride. I know a bunch of people here read it for the ghost story prompt, which is what I'm doing, too. I like the story, but for some reason, the plot feels too loose to me and I'm having a hard time keeping track of what the heck is going on and why. (why is she a cook suddenly?? what is she hoping to achieve??) I'm not having this problem with the other books I'm reading, so I think it's just something about the writing. As opposed to my overworked and overheated brain just not able to keep up...

QOTW: This is actually one of the reasons I love goodreads! And Mount TBR! I don't often read books when they're popular because I almost never buy books outright (so, yes, Nadine, I'm a bit jealous of your splurge!!). But with goodreads, I add them to my To Be Read list and wait until they come in at the library without a zillion holds. There are a few exceptions. If I'm super excited for a book, I'll add myself to the holds lists, or if I happen to see it on the library shelf I'll snatch it up, even if I know I'm going to have to get it back in quickly for the next person. So a book's popularity won't necessarily drive me to or away from a book, it's mostly determined by access.

Milena wrote: "Congratulations, Brittany! How lucky that you found out before you left for Brazil."

Thanks, Milena! I'm really glad we did too because I'd be a bundle of stress right now wondering if I picked it up if we had found out after.

Also, you guys are the first people I've told other than my parents, so that's kind of fun. We're still waiting for a little before we tell our local friends/family. Yay, for my internet family :)

Milena, where in Maine are you going? I went to college up there, it's beautiful!

I'm sorry to hear about your library troubles! Good luck with what you ordered, and have fun with your beach trip.

I finished a lot of books this week - I have slept very little, lol.

Tales from Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet - read for the book written by a musician prompt. This is the first Jimmy Buffet book I've really liked, and I loved it. It's a collection of short stories, some of them from his own life and some fiction. It felt more natural than the others, and the stories were funny and folded together in an interesting way.

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski - read for the novel based on a true story prompt. I loved Lois Lenski as a child, but this is one I never read. It was harder for me to read than some of her other works because the material is very heavy, and the story doesn't exactly have a happy ending. I struggled because though she did an excellent job of presenting both sides of the story, I really couldn't empathize with the opposing view.

It's Wonderful To Be In Love by Rosalind Welcher - sweet, short, good for a gift book (kind of like a long card)

Seashore and Wading Birds of Florida by Patricia E. Pope - I do a lot of hiking in Florida, so I was interested to see if I could recognize some of the birds I've seen. It's a nice beginner's guide, but the pictures are illustrations instead of photos, where I think actual photos would have been better.

Bad Therapist by Evan Wright - one of the longer books in the Exposure series recently released for Prime readers; I recommend all the books in this series. It's quite horrifying just how bad people can be, and how willfully they can hurt others to get ahead.

RFK, 1925-1968 by James A. Hudson - if you've read other books on the Kennedys, there's nothing new here. It is, however, a good summary of the family and RFK's political career, and a good starting place to learn about them. Though it is called RFK, there's as much time spent on JFK and the family as on Robert Kennedy himself.

Funny Bunnies by Laurie Frankel - this was a nostalgic read for me, remembering my pet bunny and the different breeds of rabbits my cousin raised when I was young. I already filled that prompt, so this was a just for fun read.

Veiled Freedom by Jeanette Windle - this has been on my TBR for a while, and it is excellent. It is Christian fiction and women's lit, the story of a female U.S. aid worker trying to make a difference in war torn Afghanistan.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl - I wouldn't say this was the lightest of children's books, but it was certainly lighter than many of my other choices this week. It's fun to escape into Dahl's worlds.

QOTW: I would say that sometimes I will read something just because everyone else is, just so I know what everyone else is talking about. But most of the time my TBR is so long, they just go at the end of the list and I end up reading them long after the height of their popularity. I mean I just read the Harry Potter books last year, though I'd seen all the movies, so popular doesn't necessarily bump a book to the top of my list.

@Nadine: I've heard of ransomware - it's basically a computer virus that locks your computer, and you get a big message on your screen saying "Pay us money and we'll unlock it for you." Hopefully they can fix it and catch the culprits.

No challenge progress for me this week...I've mostly reached the point where impulse reading doesn't fill prompts any more.

Finished reading:

Contagion (multi-POV, superpowers) - A sci-fi/horror thriller. There's a mining expedition on the planet Achlys; they send a distress signal, then go silent; a crew is sent to investigate. ("Follow the bloody footprints, they said. What could go wrong, they said.") This was fun and fast-paced with lots of great creepy scenes, but the cast was really bland. It seems like the sequel is less horror and more political sci-fi, and I don't think I'm interested enough in the characters/world to continue.

(About 10% of the book is the crew's journey in space to get to Achlys. The rest takes place on the planet's surface. It's kind of a stretch, but you could use it for the space prompt if you have no better options.)

And In Our Daughters, We Find a Voice (author from Asia, retelling of a classic) - A fun short story retelling of The Little Mermaid by the super-talented Cassandra Khaw. This doesn't appear to be on Goodreads so I'm linking it direct.


QotW:
Sometimes. I follow several bloggers, and if they recommend a book I'll often check it out (especially if more than one is raving about it). But I never read a book just because it's popular if it doesn't seem like my kind of thing.

Hello. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. It's super hot so I try to avoid leaving my house,
I missed check in last week. I have DNF'd more than half my pile this week (most to pick up at a later date) because I am overwhelming myself with personal goals, school and work. I can't handle everything and I am sooooo tired. Enough whinging from me.

Regular 22/40
Advanced 4/10

Currently Reading

Required reading for my Critical Thinking course. Only certain chapters are required so IDK if I will finish it.

Book club book for July

ATY

Finished
Nada. My brain has been melting daily.

DNF


I intend to return to both of these in August between summer semester ending and fall semester start.

I had this through Overdrive. Got about 60% through and it expired. Gotta get my hands on it again to finish.

Neither my daughter nor myself are enjoying this one.

QotW:

Are you more or less likely to want to read a book when it's very popular?
I have been very guilty of this in the past (and present, if we are being real). I think I particularly avoid popular literary fiction. I'm not so bad with other genres. I think lit fic isn't my fave to begin so add mass popularity and movie writes being sold 3 days after publication (slight exaggeration) and I get a bit annoyed. The only other factor is the popular books are harder to get from the library. (@Nadine hoping your library is up and functional very soon.)

Happy Thursday All! I'm trying to make it through the day because I'm excited about traveling to visit my partner in New York tomorrow. I didn't finish any books this week.

I'm currently reading:
The Lost Girls of Paris for prompt #26 A book published in 2019. I'm only a hundred or so pages in and I'm enjoying it so far. I love historical fiction and the book is inspired by true events.

The Graveyard Book I'm currently listening to this. Gaiman is one of my fav's and I like the premise of the book even though it's weird and slightly morbid.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire I'm almost finished with this graphic novel. it's a non-prompt book. So far I think Rick isn't a really great person like the t.v show portrays him to be and his wife is annoying and judgmental.

QOTW:
I'll read anything that's interesting to me and if it happens to be popular that's cool. I used to be in several IRL bookclubs that read popular books so I just so happened to read them. Some popular books I have no interest in reading at all.

Congratulations, Brittany! It's a bummer to miss out on a cool adventure to Brazil, but it sounds like you're getting set for a much bigger adventure. :-)

I finished 2 books this week, getting me to 34/50 for the challenge.
Storm of Locusts (author first and last names start with the same letter)--somehow this didn't grab me as much as the first book, but I still enjoyed it and would recommend.
The Westing Game (revolving around a puzzle or game)--I loved this book! I'd never heard of it until recently, but it was funny and endearing and really well written.

Currently reading: City of Heavenly Fire (gotta finish the series but I will be glad to be done with Jace) and The Moonstone (j'adore Wilkie Collins!)

QOTW: I enjoy reading popular SF/F books and popular romances, but for general fiction or historical fiction, I do tend to avoid them. I find that frequently the books publishing companies pick to get a big advertising push are ones with a pretty superficial treatment of a complex issue (ahem-hem The Map of Salt and Stars) or "lush prose" that's really just nonsensically quirky (looking at you, All the Light We Cannot See). There are exceptions, of course--I ended up loving The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--so I always take a look and consider reading. I'm planning on Where the Crawdads Sing soon, so we'll see. :-)

I got some good new from the ophthalmologist this morning - my eye injury is healed! I'm so relieved. I take any health problem seriously, but especially my eyes. (Don't mess with my reading life!)

Finished
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev (a book by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America). The author lives in the US now, but she grew up in Mumbai. This is a loose retelling, but a very good one. I enjoyed the Bollywood influences on the plot.

Warcross by Marie Lu (a LitRPG book). This wasn't a good fit for me. I would have DNFed except for this prompt. I don't think there's any problem with the plot or writing. I can see why it has such a high rating. I would have loved this at one point. I just think I am really done with YA fiction now.

Reading
Austenland by Shannon Hale

Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote by Tina Cassidy

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

QOTW
I've spent years avoiding a popular book only to discover that I love it, and also years reading everything popular and not really enjoying much of it. I've found a balance now. If I hear about a book quite a bit, I'll read the synopsis and a couple reviews, and then decide for myself if I'm interesting in reading it.

Jennifer W wrote: "Milena, where in Maine are you going? I went to college up there, it's beautiful!"

Acadia National Park. Although we're staying off Mt. Desert Isle, I just can't remember the name of the town.

Whee! I went to college on MDI- College of the Atlantic. If you're not looking for it, you won't see it! Have fun! I haven't been back since I graduated- [unable to display] years ago! ;)

Congratulations Brittany! Wonderful news. :)

Hi everyone! I didn't realize how much I read this past week until I put this update together. I guess that is par for the course when it is one million degrees outside.

37/50 for Popsugar
41/52 for Around the Year

Books I finished:
Whisper Network by Chandler Baker (Popsugar #28: A book recommended by a celebrity) This book hit home. It takes place in Dallas where I live, and it is about as on topic as you can get. The story is about the fallout when 4 women in the legal department at a big company (which in the story I think is supposed to be Nike) are sexually harassed or assaulted. As someone who has been through this, it is very real and honest. Everyone reacts differently as is demonstrated in the book, and some people - men and women - automatically assume the accusers are lying for financial and/or career gain. Reese Witherspoon selected it for her book club, and I think it is going to spark a lot of well needed conversations.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (Around the Year: A book from NPR’s best books of the year list) Another book that has probably prompted a lot of discussion. It takes on the prison system and the massive imbalance of African Americans incarcerated as well as class differences. I liked it and am scratching my head as to why it took me so long to read it. (I've owned it for over a year.)

Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin This was good but creepy. Don't read this if you are triggered by child or spousal abuse. I definitely needed a happy read or movie after I finished this one.

The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner Another creepy story, but this one was about a serial killer who used to be a cop, so he is able to outsmart a lot of people looking for him.

Loyalty in Death by J.D. Robb Continuing the "In Death" series, with this one at #9.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager. If you liked his last book (The Last Time I Lied) you'll like this one, although it isn't quite as good. It still kept me glued to the pages, though, and I finished it in two sittings.

I am currently reading:
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Witness in Death by J.D. Robb
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

QOTW:
I don't pay attention to best seller lists, but I do check out lists from The Millions, Goodreads and a few others. I won't necessarily avoid a book that is "popular," but I also don't necessarily read it because of its popularity. I have a few friends who have similar book interests to me, so if it is popular with them then I will almost certainly add it to my TBR.

Jennifer W wrote: "Whee! I went to college on MDI- College of the Atlantic. If you're not looking for it, you won't see it! Have fun! I haven't been back since I graduated- [unable to display] years ago! ;)"

Thank you! We have been there once before and loved it.

Good evening. Not much news this week, but I did manage to get tickets for a 1-night-only Hannah Gadsby show in Glasgow this winter. Quite excited, I really enjoyed Nanette.

Only 3 books finished, which is surprising, I felt like I'd read more.
1 for Popsugar.

The Bedlam Stacks - This was good! A bit less swashbuckling-adventure than I expected, but I didn't mind. It was mainly focused on an unlikely friendship intertwined with a mystery around a very peculiar set of statues.

Artificial Condition - Didn't live up to the first Murderbot novella unfortunately, though I did like the new character, ART.

Jurassic Park - Fun compelling read. I do think the movie is better - it's an all-time classic. And I don't think the whole subplot about the frog DNA was necessary when parthenogenesis already exists.
Used for Popsugar prompt #49, a book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom. (I was thinking of "life finds a way", along with "you were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you didn't stop to think if you should". Among others.)

Currently reading:

Gentleman Jack: A biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist - Decent so far, although it moves at a fair clip so it's hard to get an idea of timescales. And there is quite a lot of medical TMI and absolutely ghastly-sounding treatments (so much mercury in places it should never-ever-ever go 😨).

The Girl in the Green Silk Gown - Seanan McGuire. 😍 The Rose Marshall stories aren't my favourite of her work but I do still really like them.
(approximately a month until i get the opportunity to meet seanan at worldcon aaaaaaaagh i'm hyped but so scared)

QOTW: I'd probably veer slightly towards "less likely"? Depends on the book. And, of course, who it's popular among - if the demographic is "Booktubers whose tastes tend to align with my own" then I'mma pick it up. If it's something which just gets a lot of buzz among the general public, but which I wouldn't have wanted to read of my own accord without the hype, then... I still won't.

Nadine wrote: "Happy Thursday readers!

Last Thursday my library’s catalog system crashed, the entire county is down. At first it was just an odd novelty, but by Tuesday I got a little panicky. It's been a week ..."

Nadine, I feel your pain! Hopefully the library situation gets resolved soon!

Completed Prompts:
I have completed only 1 book this week.

The Wedding Date for the prompt A book about a wedding. This was a cute read, but very predictable and kind of dragged out longer than I needed.

On my bedside table:
Life After Life
Cherry Ames, Army Nurse
At Briarwood School for Girls

QOTW:
I guess I'm more likely to read a popular book, but usually because I've heard about it or it has been recommended by a friend.

Only one book that ticked off a prompt:

Choose You Own Adventure:

I loved these books when I was a kid but nothing piqued my interest so I got
Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse by Max Brallier. I read this one so that I could stick it in my classroom library. It’s geared toward middle school. It was a quick read. I think I read through all the possibilities. I can see some of my seventh graders reading it.

The rest from best to worst

The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe. I love historical romance but for some reason, I had not read Shupe before and I bought it based on Sarah Maclean’s recommendation, finished it and ordered one off of Shupe’s backlist. It was delightful

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner. YA. This is probably my least favorite of Zentner’s books but it was still quite enjoyable. The two main characters reminded me a lot of my students and trying to decide what to do after high school and the difficulty of telling your parents and friends that it’s not what they had planned.

Black Klansman: Race, Hate and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth. Black cop “goes” undercover as a KKK member. I wish it had been more in depth. I have not seen the movie yet but my niece loved the movie.

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson. Crime thriller. Woman suspects her next door neighbor of murder. It hits all the beats of these books: female main character, no one believes her, she keeps her investigation secret, mental health issues. So, it was nothing genre-breaking but it was an enjoyable read.

QOTW:
Less likely, only because generally I’ll buy it when it’s popular and then it sits on my TBR shelf because I have a lot of books on that shelf. And then when I actually read, I’m behind the times.

Greetings all from a miserably hot and humid NYC. I'm just back from vacation, and did not get much reading done this past week.

Finished:

Moon Over Soho - fits ATY #17 - speculative fiction (urban fantasy) - loved it - 2nd in the Peter Grant series, set in the world of jazz musicians and Soho. Also fit the London monthly theme for another group.

That's it - I managed to read one - just one - book in the course of the entire week and it is only 261 pages long!

But I was on vacation after all...

However, I'll be doing a lot of reading this weekend as temps here in NYC hit 98F and 99F and I don't leave my air-conditioned apartment for any reason. What I have lined up for the weekend - Christmas in July!: Knit the Season and Snowflakes on Silver Cove.

Currently reading:
The Gates of Damascus - so far so good - for PBT Horizon's monthly theme - Syria.
The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise - one more set in London for PBT monthly theme
Meant to Be - contemporary romance - about half way through.
Between the World and Me - this I'm dipping into from time to time, savoring it.

AND, I signed up for a discussion group at NYC Center for Fiction to read Proust. Meets once a month starting in September, with object to finish the entire magnum opus in 10 months, averaging about 250 pages of reading a month. I've read some of Proust - in French in college - but not in English or in its entirety. This is something I've wanted to do for a very long time (I own multiple copies - in French, English, and one of the English translations in ebook). Hopefully this is a good discussion group. I've not had the best luck with that in the past, which is one reason book clubs don't appeal to me.

QOTW:

I don't avoid the hot new book but I also don't always get around to reading them when they are 'hot'. Examples: The Night Circus, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and Bel Canto - all of which I loved.

Many times I buy a book that everyone has been talking about and raving about, but for which I do not find particularly appealing only to be really disappointed -- even actively hating it. Examples: Wolf Hall, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

But if it appeals to me from the beginning, then I will likely love it. If it doesn't appeal to me initially, it is usually a mistake to cave in. There are exceptions, Educated did not appeal to me at all from the publisher's blurb. However, I heard enough people talking about how much they enjoyed it, I gave it a try and was so surprised -- it was completely different - better, thought provoking -- then I'd thought it would be.

@Nadine - your daughter's comment is so on point: not reading a book just because it is the hot book to read is just as silly a reason as to read it only because it is the hot book to read. I've friends in both camps: one is always setting herself against the 'hot' book or movie or tv series, the other mostly reads from the best seller lists. In truth, the best seller reader is much more willing to be persuaded to read a book recommended by someone than the one who is automatically against the hot reads.

Happy Thursday all! Read 4 books this week, 3 for my YA lit class but 1 also counts for the challenge! So I'm at 46/50 overall.

Finished reading:
The Pursuit of Perfection: And How It Harms Writers- A good book for writers who can get "blocked" because they're afraid of their book not being perfect. I found the advice helpful and I wish I could pass it along to some fav authors whom I'm pretty sure are suffering from perfectionism... *cough popular epic fantasy authors cough*

Eragon- (A book that makes you nostalgic) I enjoyed the reread though there was a lot more traveling than I remembered. I also got to see Christopher Paolini on Saturday and he was so nice in person!

Wintergirls- To say I liked this may not be the right word but it was an insightful read and I'm glad I read it.

The Outsiders- I found this OK; I knew thanks to Fangirl certain spoilers so that might have deminished the overall impact. Though as the forerunner of today's YA AND being written by a teen it still holds up 50 years later.

Currently reading:
Wuthering Heights
The Lost World
Chains

QOTW:
Yes, I'll pick up popular books that everyone is talking about if it seems like something I'll like. I picked up Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Girl on the Train, and Into the Water because everyone was talking about it and ended up enjoying them all.

Cendaquenta wrote: "(approximately a month until i get the opportunity to meet seanan at worldcon aaaaaaaagh i'm hyped but so scared)"

omg hype

Bring her a frog! I hear she loves frogs.

Happy Thursday! I finished 2 books this week, 1was for this challenge so I'm now 36/50.

Finished:
Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine for the GR Summer Challenge...great thriller and series starter.

The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo for a book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title. I do not recommend the audiobook and I'm undecided on the book itself.

Currently reading:
The 18th Abduction by James Patterson

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch

QOTW: I'll look at popular books and I'll read them if they sound interesting to me, not because everyone is reading them.

Drakeryn wrote: "Cendaquenta wrote: "(approximately a month until i get the opportunity to meet seanan at worldcon aaaaaaaagh i'm hyped but so scared)"

omg hype

Bring her a frog! I hear she loves frogs."

Might be difficult to fly with a frog, but I am planning to bring her an offering of Diet Dr Pepper. Maybe a shirt for her cat, though it's a bit late to find one now.