Albany Public Library discussion

Hi everyone, and welcome to Theme Week 8 of the Albany Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

This week's theme is "Rising Stars". 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 New York Times Bestsellers recommended “Rising Stars” curated by your local APL librarians! Some of these titles may still have high holds so feel free to read any New York Times bestselling title. Happy reading!

Where the Crawdads Sing-Delia Owens
Nine Perfect Strangers- Lianna Moriarty
The Reckoning- John Grisham
Fire and Blood- George R.R. Martin
The Great Alone- Kristen Hannah

I finished 'Heroes of the Frontier' by Dave Eggers.

Kristopher wrote: "I finished 'Heroes of the Frontier' by Dave Eggers."

I have added your book!

Since my last post I I read "15 seconds" by Andrew Gross. I am enjoying his writing and checked out a bunch of his books.

I read The Book of Essie this week. Couldn't put it down, but ultimately unsatisfying.

I just stayed up too late reading The Hard Bounce by Todd Robinson. so satisfying.

I have added your books.

@Jaybee you have a Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 prize for pick up at your APL branch.

Finished Forgotten Monster yesterday. Cool indie fantasy.

Kate, I also picked up my levels 1-3 prizes downtown--perhaps the running list of prize pick-up for that location hasn't been updated! :)

I read Wildflower by Drew Barrymore for this week's challenge, Rising Stars.

I also finished
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon and
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad

I have added your books!

Finished reading Love and Luck by Jenna Welch and Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

Mayra wrote: "Finished reading Love and Luck by Jenna Welch and Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman"

I have added your books! You have a Level 1, 2, and 3 prize for pick up at your APL branch.

I finished Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and I'm Fine and Neither are You by Camille Pagan

Valerie wrote: "I finished Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and I'm Fine and Neither are You by Camille Pagan"

I have added your books!

Hello! I just finished another one by Jojo Moyes, “Paris for One and Other Stories.” Another easy read, some funny characters in the shorter stories.

Read Actual Air several mornings this week over coffee.

Happy mid August!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer reading.

Here are my latest reads:

Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter
This is Home by Lisa Duffy
The Summer of Sunshine & Margot by Susan Mallery
Window on the bay by Debbie Macomber
The Reckoning by John Grisham
City Of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Inn by James Patterson

Enjoy the weekend!

I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and I Owe You One by Sophia Kinsella!

I finished The Silence Between Us. This is a brand new YA book with a deaf main character. The sign language is written out the way it is signed. Would recommend if you have a Deaf or Hard of Hearing young person in your life, since they almost never see themselves depicted in books.

I have added your books!

@ Alana you have a Level 1 prize to pick up at your APL branch.

@ Diana you have a Level 4 prize to pick up at your APL branch.

@ Molly you have a summer reading t-shirt to pick up at your APL branch.

@ Susan you have a summer reading t-shirt to pick up at your APL branch.

Finished my next-week book (week 9; child stars) today, Wildflower . My review.

It just so happens that after being on the waiting list for something like 23 weeks, my turn came for the audio version of the bestsellingbook, Educated this week. Very good, but suffered from the fate of being much anticipated, so when I finally read it, I wondered what all the fuss was about.

I just finished and reviewed The Walking Dead, Vol. 32: Rest In Peace . My review is here.

I finished rereading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

I finished two books this past week:

#10 - Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
#11 - Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

Knocked out Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1: High School Is Hell today. Review here.

From this week’s list I read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and loved it

I also finished Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine, and Bring Me Back by B. A. Paris.

Jane, what did you think of Bring Me Back? I've seen mixed reviews....

Mirkat, I listened to the audiobook version and enjoyed it. Not my favorite thriller, but I thought it was good for a quick easy read or listen.

I finished a few books this week. Hold Me Now by Ann B. Harrison and as a audio book: The Affair / One Night...Nine-Month Scandal by Maya Banks. I read a number of stories by Piper Sullivan: Let's Pretend, I'll Pretend, Nanny's Billionaire, and Nanny's Boss. The first two take place in the US while the second two are set in Australia. I still have to pick up my t-shirt after they tracked one down. Thank you so much for the summer reading incentive. It has been great.

Read a book from the YA bestseller list, One of Us Is Lying. Book candy, but book candy that is hard to put down.

I have finished book #6 over the weekend, "Cannibals" by Rory Mullarkey. This 'book' was actually a play--I wanted to try reading something different. I'm hoping to read books 7-9 before the end of the challenge!

I have added your books!

@Valerie you have a summer reading t-shirt for pick up at your APL branch.

@Susan you have a summer reading t-shirt for pick up at your APL branch.

@Christine you have a Level 3 prize for pick up at your APL branch.

@Jane you have a Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 prize for pick up at your APL branch.

Alana wrote: "I have finished book #6 over the weekend, "Cannibals" by Rory Mullarkey. This 'book' was actually a play--I wanted to try reading something different. I'm hoping to read books 7-9 before the end of..."

Great! You have a Level 1 and 2 prize for pick up at your APL branch.

I read Hornswoggled by Donis Casey, The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey, Kingdom of Strangers by Zoe Ferraris, and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. I'm trying to read enough for a t-shirt before I leave for vacation on Saturday morning. Crazy, but fun!

Jaybee wrote: "I read Hornswoggled by Donis Casey, The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey, Kingdom of Strangers by Zoe Ferraris, and Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. I'm trying to read enough for a t-shir..."

I have added your books. You are getting close to the t-shirt. Happy reading!

Are we allowed to keep checking in even if we’ve done 20 already? I read The Girl on the Train last week and really enjoyed it!

Abi wrote: "Are we allowed to keep checking in even if we’ve done 20 already? I read The Girl on the Train last week and really enjoyed it!"

Absolutely. I have added your book!

I read Then She Was Gone, a thriller from the NYT 's best seller list. I read it very quickly - the author's writing certainl caught me up - but the story seemed pretty far-fetched.

Susan wrote: "I read Then She Was Gone, a thriller from the NYT 's best seller list. I read it very quickly - the author's writing certainl caught me up - but the story seemed pretty far-fetched."

I have added your book!

For week 8, I read “Mont-Saint Michel and Chartres” by Henry Adams. I went into this book prepared for it to be something much different than what one would expect it to be, and was still not prepared for how little was actually said about the subjects at hand. There were certainly many interesting passages, but Adams writing style is dry and he tends to meander far of course (sometimes it pays off and you are reward, other times you are left grappling to get back to the main point he was attempting to make).

Rich wrote: "For week 8, I read “Mont-Saint Michel and Chartres” by Henry Adams. I went into this book prepared for it to be something much different than what one would expect it to be, and was still not prepa..."

I added your book. You have a Level 1 and 2 prize for pick up at your APL branch.