Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

How is everyone doing?

Each day is like a month, this week has been years long, I’ve lost a proper sense of time’s passing. It’s hard to focus on the quotidian when the world appears to be exploding. And it’s hard to read “contemporary” fiction or even care about the characters’ problems when the characters are - and of course they are - blithely unaware of the current pandemic and control measures. I’m definitely focusing more on SFF and historical fiction nowadays.

On the bright side: we have not run out of toilet paper. Also, I’ve found that life has slowed down and I like it, my kids and I spend lots of time together, we have been walking the dogs more and waving to the neighbors (from at least six feet away).

Admin stuff: we still have openings for discussion leaders for our group reads in May (Tattoist of Auschwitz), July (A Gentleman in Moscow), and August (Guernsey Literary). PM Sara or me if you’re interested.


This week I finished 5 books, 2 for this Challenge, and I am now 25/50.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson - I had never heard of this author before, I picked this up because it showed up on lists of books involving book clubs. There WAS a book club in the opening scene, so I guess this counts, but the book club did not play a big role in the plot, it was just the milieu in which two characters first meet, and then it was mostly dropped from the plot. Anyway, I checked off “involving a book club.” I wasn’t crazy about this book.

Stumptown, Vol. 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo written by Greg Rucka - I read this because the show looked interesting. I thought this graphic novel was so-so, but I’m even more interested in watching the show now.

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - my book with books on the cover; this was fun, but I didn’t like it nearly as much as the first book. (For one: there was no bookshop on a shore.)

Whose Story Is This? Old Conflicts, New Chapters essays by Rebecca Solnit - this was going to be my book with text-only cover, but I ended up reading another book while I waited for my hold to come in, so this was not a Challenge read. This collection was great! One of her best.

Rebel by Marie Lu - a sequel to the Legend series (which I loved), this is the sequel that didn’t need to be written.


Question of the Week

Have you been isolating yourself in your home? How has this changed your social media use?

I’m working from home now, and my kids are home, doing remote class work at their own pace. I’ve found myself on Facebook a lot more than usual, because the school parents groups I belong to have been giving tons of updates and news. Last week I was practically glued to Twitter when I’m not on FB, but this week I’ve been more relaxed. I tend to worry less when I’m with my kids and I can see that they are fine - they are my world, and if my kids are good, I’m good.

My reading has completely plummeted these past few weeks. I am also working from home (and very thankful I have that option). My daughter is doing school from home, but her work amounts to about an hour a day. So there's lots of tv watching going on because mom just doesn't have the time to do anything with her. She did spend some time yesterday doing non-tv things like painting, listening to music in her room.

I did get some reading done over the weekend. I finished two books:

If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now: Why We Traded the Commuting Life for a Little House on the Prairie - journalist writes an article about the "worst" county in the US. The residents of that county reach out in an attempt to prove him wrong, he visits, is convinced and ends up moving his family from the suburbs of Baltimore to rural Minnesota. I thought this was a cute read. Nonfiction - the author is a Washington Post journalist.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book has been on my TBR forever. I really loved it. It's a perfect book for best first line - "I am finishing up dinner with my family and my fiance when my husband calls". Emma's husband is presumed dead after the helicopter he was in disappears. Several years later she has moved on and is about to marry a new love when her husband turns up alive. It's a great story. After DNFing my first TJR book (Daisy Jones), I am glad to see that she's still an author I can enjoy. I just need to stay away from the rock and roll lifestyle reads.

I haven't really been assigning books to prompts lately. I will go through and assess at some point.

Currently reading:

Goodnight June

Marilla of Green Gables

QOTW

We are pretty much just staying at home these days. We went for a drive on Sunday, and I've done a grocery pickup order. I am spending way too much time scrolling social media reading article and updates. I need to assign myself a morning and evening time slot to check for updates and otherwise just stay off my phone!

No reading updates from me this week, still plugging away at Wolf Hall. So big. So slow. But so very very soothing right now.

QOTW: Yup, we (mother and I) have been self-isolating for (*checks journal*) 10 days now. God, has it only been 10 days? "Space is warped and time is bendable..." And now an official country-wide lockdown has been ordered in the UK. So that's fun! 😬
The one personal downside is that, on mother's orders, I can't order physical books any more in case the deliveryperson has the 'rona. 😥

Aside from that, we're doing well, neither of us has got it as far as we can tell, no symptoms, and as for food and supplies, we are feasting like kings thanks to the magic of grocery delivery services.
(Touching wood in regards to all of the above.)

As for how it's changed my social media use, it hasn't, I have always been an internet gremlin.
I have devoted my entire life to Animal Crossing, though. Who needs food, water or sleep when there are pixel butterflies to chase?! 🤪

I find myself in weird moods when it comes to reading - I'm supposed to be reading The Penelopiad for a group BR but that's tanked (which is unfortunate, because I love Penelope's voice - might give it another go this afternoon) and my audiobook listening has dropped because I usually listen at work and the small business I work for has been deemed non-essential (yay for Ohio's stay-at-home rule?).

However, I've found considerable comfort in my Lord of the Rings reread and we've had plenty to watch on Netflix and elsewhere.

Finished:
Shadowshaper Legacy on the 19th. Such a good book and a fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite, most imaginative trilogies.

Currently reading - none for the PS challenge, but:
The Penelopiad - as stated.
The Two Towers - I've watched the films so much that I'd forgotten, the book is split in half and follows first everyone else and then shifts to Frodo and Sam in the latter half.
Cold Magic - less than 100 pages in, but fascinating world-building so far
Blood of Tyrants - Infuriated by Laurence's memory loss, but Simon Vance's narration for this series is brilliant so I'm sticking with it

QOTW: Have you been isolating yourself in your home? How has this changed your social media use?
My husband has been making errands runs - I haven't been to the grocery store in three weeks, lol. And my social media use is limited to GR and some minimal Instagram scrolling, since I gave up Facebook and Twitter for Lent prior to this whole pandemic explosion. We're mostly homebodies at my house anyway, so it doesn't feel super-weird to be staying home. My dad has discovered Skype, though, and that made yesterday entertaining :)

Sending love to everyone - please be careful and stay healthy!

My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with my husband and our cats. Since there's not a lot to do and all the sports are cancelled, I have been getting a lot of reading time in. I finished four books this week.

First, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, which was for ATY book published in a prime number year. It could maybe work as a bildungsroman. I thought it was fun and light, but it was also just okay.

Then I wanted something frothy, so I got Love Lettering on my kindle, which I used for great first line (On Sunday I work in sans serif). It was a cute romance and I read it all in one day.

After that, I finished the book that we're reading for March in my library book club, which is Frankenstein. I have a lot of thoughts about this book. I enjoyed reading it, but I just have so many questions. It was not at all what I expected.

Finally, I read The Red House Mystery, which is a book that takes place in the 1920s. I was looking at the book Eight Perfect Murders, which I haven't decided if I should read, but it did make me interested in reading the 8 books that it is based on. So, I started from the beginning, chronologically. This book was a fun old-timey mystery. I had no idea that A.A. Milne had written a mystery, so that's kind of fun, as well.

QOTW: I am still going to work every day. I work in Maryland and they have shut down all non-essential businesses, but lawyers and law firms have been deemed essential, so we're keeping our office open on a skeleton crew. Most of our staff is teleworking at this point, but some people have to go in to deal with mail and original documents. Since my name is on pretty much everything, I've been going in so I can sign stuff. The courts may be closed to the public, but they are still in there working and moving cases along. I will say that going out at this point is super weird. There's very little traffic, lots of things are closed, and it just feels very strange.

Reading, going on walks, cooking way too much... I guess it's not that different from normal. But it's still weird. My husband's working from home now. It's a bit crowded. We don't have an office of any kind, so he's working at the dining table in our open concept townhouse. We're trying really hard not to bug him too much.

Challenge Progress: 32/50

Completed:
With the Fire on High: "The world is a turntable that never stops spinning; as humans we merely choose the tracks we want to sit out and the ones that inspire us to dance." Elizabeth Acevedo delivers a beautifully poetic coming-of-age story. (And the cover is gorgeous!) ★★★★

Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-changing Egg Farm - from Scratch: Eye-opening (and sometimes amusing/snarky) look at the business of middle agriculture. Tough, tough business. We're so used to our homogenized offerings from big agriculture that we forget about the good that can come from buying locally. I'm now even more dedicated to supporting small local producers. (A book with a bird on the cover) ★★★★

Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity in the Age of Anthony Comstock: Well documented and researched, but this was a fairly dry treatment of what could have a been a much more entertaining read. It kind of felt like someone's dissertation rather than a book meant for popular consumption. (A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins) ★★★

Gods of Jade and Shadow: Thoroughly enjoyable romantic fantasy set in 1920s Mexico based on Mayan mythology. It was so beautifully vivid that I think it would make a wonderful limited streaming series, and I look forward to reading more of Moreno-Garcia's work. (A book that takes place in the 1920s) ★★★★

One for the Money: It was cute. Unbelievable, but cute. I understand why many people find this type of book enjoyable... it's just not my genre. (A book from a series with more than 20 books) ★★

Here's Looking at Euclid: From Counting Ants to Games of Chance - An Awe-Inspiring Journey Through the World of Numbers: This made me nostalgic for teaching high school math. I always tried to give students some background on the history of mathematics as well as the mechanics (no, they weren't really interested... sigh), and I found a wealth of amusing and informative tidbits here. (A book with a pun in the title) ★★★★

Currently Reading:
Children of Virtue and Vengeance (A book written by an author in their 20s)
The Rosie Result
Oona Out of Order (Favorite Past Prompt 2018 - A book with alliteration in its title)
Nobody's Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls (A book with a pink cover)
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader)
Dragon Hoops
Doc (A western)
But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past (A book with an upside-down image on the cover)
A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump
.
QOTW:
I don't think my social media use has changed much. Maybe I haven't been posting as much... I'm not doing as much.

I’m a classic introvert but I’m going a little crazy. But I’d rather stay inside than spread covid. Plus, Oklahoma has decided what to do with school, so I have been planning for the past couple of days for that.

World Leader

The Splendid and the Vileby Erik Larsson. I love Larsson and this was an enjoyable read.

doesn’t fill prompts

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban. YA. A group of kids are locked in a room together and must choose one to die. Secrets are revealed. I saw the ending coming but it was still an enjoyable read.

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. A virus causes a sleeping sickness to sweep through a town. A great book to read during the global pandemic. Light on characterization and plot but the writing was lovely.

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi. Sci-Fi, second in the series. Not a huge sci-fi fan but I love these books.

No Judgments by Meg Cabot. Romance. Not great but an enjoyable read. Will read the second one in the series.

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. YA. Dystopian future where the native peoples are being hunted for the bone marrow because people have lost the ability to dream and that’s the cure.

Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews. Ending of the Kate Daniels series. I enjoyed it although there was some “oh by the way this happened to in the battle”, instead of actually seeing it.

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh. Historical romance. Okay, not great but would read more from her.

QOTW:
I have pretty much been isolating since spring break started: March 13. I have spent a lot of time on social media. I’ve unfollowed a lot of people on facebook (I find that to be a more toxic environment) but I do have a lot of teacher groups on there and I’ve been saving a lot of lesson ideas, etc.

Good morning all. Hope everyone is healthy and safe and not going insane on lockdown.

I had a moment where I wasn't reading and then in the last few days I managed to finish a few books. So I am still making good progress overall, and checking things off motivates me to keep on going. Also, I have been home alone for a week and 2 days :/

Read:
I'm Afraid of Men ( PS- trans/nonbinary). I loved this so much!!! There were about a million quotes I could pull from this book. Definitely recommended for this prompt.
Brokeback Mountain (ATY- Western) - I read it and then watched the movie. The book was, of course, better. Still I can say with 100% certainty that I don't want to pick up a Western again. My attempt last year was Blood Meridian. UGH.
Fish in a Tree (ATY- neurodiverse) Not having too much luck with my middle grade reads so far this month. I rated this a star higher than I wanted to because I appreciated the descriptions of what it is like to have dyslexia, but overall there were too many stereotyped characters, which annoyed me.
You Go First ( ATY- Binary opposites)- Meh. Not what I expected AT ALL. This could have been so much more than it was.

Still working on:
Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident ( PS recommended by a vlog)- I found this one on Books and LaLa. Started it last night read 1/3 of it, and can't wait to finish my cleaning today and finish it. I need to know!!!!!
At 50% on Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (ATY by two authors)- can't wait to be done with this trash. It's not cute. No one talks like any of these characters. Stop trying so hard!!!!! UGH.
Barely into A Feast for Crows (ATY- survival)- trying to take a little GOT break since I have flown through the first 3 ( that's over 3000 pages already) since December. I'm going to have to renew it in a few days.
Becoming (PS- world leader) on audio- I am loving this one too!! I just don't make enough time to listen so it's taking forever, but while I do my cleaning today I'll try and get in a few hours.

And last but not least, I am waiting for the girlies to come home so we can pick up on Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse :-)

QOTW- Have you been isolating yourself in your home? How has this changed your social media use?

Ummm yes, I have been on isolation alone while my girls are at their grandparents house, because I have assumed CV19. Was like a horrible cold/moderate flu for a few days there but the last few days my energy is much better and my symptoms are all but gone. There is such limited testing here that I even with a dr order I was unable to get one, so I just had to do home recovery, fluids, rest. I slept a lot for awhile there. I am immunosuppresed on injections for an autoimmune disorder, so I have temporarily stopped treatment. Basically, it's just been me and the dog and the dragon hangin out and a huge increase in the amount of time I spend talking on the phone and texting LOL. I took a newsbreak yesterday because I realize how badly the numbers are represented and I was much more relaxed. I did pop on today to take a quick peek at local news, the CDC map, and a few videos on facebook related to the pandemic, but I prefer my apocolypse watching to be fictional, so mostly I have been watching all of the Hunger Games movies, Outbreak ( that one was a little too disturbing right now), Armageddon, 2012, and a mini series on netflix that came out in 2015 or 16, but apparently has made a huge comeback in these times.... it's called Containment. Grim I know but at least I might pick up some survival skills....

Waiting SOOOOOOO impatiently to see my girls again.

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m..."

Happy Birthday Sara!!

It has been a challenging few weeks for me. First was having my flight home to the US kabashed because I'd have to self-quarantine for two weeks ... and my trip is two weeks. Since I'm in the epicenter of Europe right now, that was one of the first flight restrictions. I was meant to go home and care for my mum after her surgery. I do worry very much about her, but it sounds like her neighbors are helping out and bringing her groceries. She's one of those people who don't have the luxury of being out and stocking up.

I'm a teacher, and since schools are closed now, I'm teaching online. I seem to get little break away from technology, so books are rapidly becoming my respite! I try to take a daily walk along our river here so I at least get outside.

Currently at 32/50 for the PS 2020 Challenge.

So, books for March so far (it's been awhile since I've checked in!):

Followers - used for the social media prompt. Interesting story. I found it not too far off from where we'll probably end up. I could only imagine that something like The Spill would happen ... and heaven help us if it does!

The Wee Free Men - used for prompt of a book with 20+ books in a series. Hysterical diatribe about teachers in the beginning of the book. We could all use a little Terry Pratchett humor right now.

All Among The Barley - used for the prompt of an author's name with flora or fauna in it (Melissa Harrison). I picked this one up at Waterstone's in London, having done an English-language book run during our February break, and I really enjoyed it. Interesting narrator. Discusses a little known part of mental health history in Britain as part of the narrator's 'condition'.

King Leopold's Ghost - used for the prompt on the Seven Deadly Sins (mostly greed, but lust, too). My students were studying the impact of colonization and imperializing on modern countries. Must read. I learned so much about the history of colonization and also what happened in the Congo.

The Great Alone - used for the prompt, a book I meant to read in 2019. I know I'm sooo late to the party on this one, but OH. MY. GOODNESS. Kristin Hannah really did it again here. I raced through it (started on a Sunday, couldn't put it down, finished it Monday right after school). Her evocation of the landscape, the escalating tension in the family's home and in the community, the big climax point, and the resolution ... I done cried and had to make myself stop crying so I could finish the book.

American Street - used for the prompt a title that caught my attention. I was cruising my school's library, pre-shutdown, for books to read. This one caught my attention, so I picked it up and loved it. It's Zoboi's debut novel, I believe (before Pride), and she really hit on the head so many of the issues faced today in American society. Her blend of magical realism and Haitian customs into the narrator's life and story was beautiful.

The War That Saved My Life - I've squished this into a prompt, but I'll likely include another book to fill the same prompt as well. I loved this book, too. I've hit it lucky this month with reads. An excellent middle grade novel about identity, purpose, determination, and grit.

Less - used for the prompt, an upside down image on the cover. I listened to this on Audible, and it didn't catch me at first. The more I got into it, I found that I ultimately enjoyed it. Less's up and down fortunes on his around-the-world trip to avoid his former lover's wedding are astonishing. Funny, heartwarming and reflective.

Currently reading: The Shadow of the Wind for a city that hosted the Olympics, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill for a character with a vision impairment, and Stowaway just for fun. Another pick for my students when we talk about discovery and colonization.

QotW
Yes, I am self-isolating except for groceries, post, or a short walk when few people are out. I haven't seen friends, colleagues, or students in about 2 weeks. Switzerland is close to 11,000 cases of COVID-19. I'm a natural introvert anyway, usually preferring to stay home on my own rather than go out, but I do miss practicing photography in the city or just meeting friends for dinner or a coffee. I moved to Europe in part to have the advantage of easy travel to different countries, but ... yeah. I am happy to do what I can because I know what's at stake if I don't self-isolate as much as possible.

I use social media a lot, more than I should, but it's one of the few ways to keep in touch with family and friends far away, along with spread cheer through videos, memes, and whatnot. It's also how I find out news in English as I'm not a good speaker of German yet, so I'm active on Twitter and Facebook for news. It's also a great platform for teachers to share online learning tips and resources!

Hi everyone!

This has been such a long year, and it's only March! Saw a meme "Can we uninstall 2020 and install fresh? I think it has a virus"

This week, I finished:

The Water Dancer - counting as my book by a journalist, it's his first fictional book. It was really well written, a powerful story, but not really what I wanted to be reading right now. Getting dumped with a bunch of heavy stuff from library holds that I put on months ago before all this got bad.

There There - this was supposed to be april books & brew read, but that's officially cancelled. We're currently discussing in another book what to do abut book club, and if we want to do a zoom meeting or just digital discussions or what. The libraries closed before everyone would have had a chance to get this, but at least some of us DID get it so might do an unofficial meeting. Also the whole list is going to have to be redone to stuff available on hoopla, since hoopla doesn't have wait times. With overdrive/libby wait times spiking and physical libraries closed, it's really the only source everyone can make sure to get a copy, as long as they manage their holds well. ANYHOW, this was just ok for me. I mean there were good parts, but I didn't really like the shifting tenses from character to character, i had trouble keeping track of timeline and who was who. Also i thought the ending was very abrupt and left a lot of stuff hanging and felt very unsatisfying.

Currently reading:

Men Explain Things to Me - this is my book with only text on the cover. I think i was expecting this to be kinda funny but exasperating, and it just jumped right in with rape and violence statistics. It makes sense, but again, not really the happy read I'd like right now. More "been on hold at the library for months and just now became available".

QOTW:

I've worked from home for the last decade or so, been pretty business as usual aside from one of our most regular clients having to close store for the time being. but still managed to be fairly busy up until then, and more stuff than I expected keeps coming up. But still have all the crushing anxiety while trying to pretend everything's fine while working. I don't think my social media usage has changed, it's always been pretty high at least as far as checking, if not posting. but I get sick of it sooner while still grimly scrolling. Hard to turn away, wanting to know how bad it is while also feeling really anxious about it.

Did use Roll20 to do a Fiasco game with friends in Chicago, and have been using Zoom to do virtual fitness classes while we all stay at home.

Good Morning All, I realized I got my challenges mixed up & posted for the wrong prompts. Sorry. I edited the original post. It sounds like we are all hanging in there. I enjoy reading everyone’s post on how they’re doing. I had a head start on using long stretches of time. I retired 12/31/2019 so I was already structuring daily activity.
I read 2 books for the week. Tidelands by Philippa Gregory. A book on a subject you know nothing about. I didn’t like it. It took me longer to read because I couldn’t get into it. (Obviously I have issues about not finishing books) I gave it 2 stars. The next book was an audio book, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. She was the narrator. I loved the book. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name. I’m currently reading My Dear Hamilton:A Novel Of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamole. I really didn’t know a thing about her or them as a couple. It sounds like I live under a rock but even though I wanted to see the play I never did. Also I haven’t read the now famous book. I am enjoying the book.
QOTW: We have been self sheltering since 3/16/2020. We go to the store & walk the dog. I live in one of those lucky counties that so far have zero cases, the state has 391 cases the last count I saw. Just sitting tight. I use technology the same. I have been off Face Book for awhile. My face to face book club is going to try & use Face Book messenger video for the next meeting.

Today marks two weeks that we've been isolating. I'm still going out to do some food deliveries since that's been my only source of income since I lost my job in November, but that doesn't feel social. I wear a (homemade) mask and wipe down everything with 70% alcohol pads after each interaction, so hopefully that keeps all of us safe. Definitely missing friends and family, but I'm grateful to live with a partner that I get along with. Many aren't as lucky!

I'm at 35/50 for the challenge. I've switched focus a bit to new fiction that I can get for free with the 30-day promotion from scribd since I won't have much of a budget to buy any new books for Camp ToB and the Tournament of Books later this year so I'm trying to get as many free reads as possible.

I finished These Ghosts Are Family yesterday and it was really good. The last quarter of it was too difficult to follow on audio (keeping track of the new characters and storylines) so I recommend a print version of this one. It felt like a cross between Girl, Woman, Other and The Old Drift. 4 stars

I listened to Everywhere You Don't Belong and it started off great, but then changed after the first third or so. One thing I noticed is that it was packed with "he said, she said, I said" which as a new writer I've been taught that these simple dialogue tags are best, and they're pretty much unnoticeable to readers, but these were overwhelming for me in this story, very distracting. 3 stars

I finally finished my hard copy of Tears of the Trufflepig. I expected to enjoy it more than I did, but it's difficult to pinpoint why it didn't fully capture me, even though I appreciated what the author was doing. 3 stars

I listened to Run Me to Earth which was sad, but good. I thought it was interesting that the author avoided "torture porn" pretty well when there were so many terrifying things happening in the story. The writing glossed over those points, alluding to them rather than describing the gruesome details. 4 stars

I also listened to The Prisoner of Heaven (a reread, fits a city that hosted the olympics) for a book club. I enjoyed it, but think these books are a bit better read in print. 4 stars

I was able to read Night Theater through scribd and it was an interesting story. Pretty different from anything I've read before. 4 stars

And finally, A Tale for the Time Being (set in Japan) and it was great! There were some parts that might not have been necessary, but overall I found it to be a moving story that actually helped during this difficult time. 4 stars

I'm currently listening to Cinder and reading Verge: Stories. My social media use has been about the same as before, but I'm certainly spending more time in Zoom and Google Hangouts than before.

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m...

... Finally, I read The Red House Mystery, which is a book that takes place in the 1920s. I was looking at the book Eight Perfect Murders, which I haven't decided if I should read, but it did make me interested in reading the 8 books that it is based on. ..."


Happy Birthday! My younger daughter's birthday was last week, and older daughter's is next week. It's a weird time.


I have Eight Perfect Murders on my TBR, but I didn't really read up on what it was about so I didn't realize it was based on eight other books!!! I've read two of them. Now I am curious if I should read the other six first before I read Swanson's book?

Honestly, my life hasn't changed that much. For the last 2 years I have studied from home. I'm reading my last course for this semester and I'm feeling really stressed and anxious about writing my degree project (I don´t know if this is the correct word). So right now I'm procrastinating and writing this instead.

When it comes to reading this week it has been slow, but I'm just happy that I continue to read. I hope to be able to read a bit more during the weekend.

Popsugar reading challenge: 19/50
Goodreads reading challenge: 19/55

Finished
Under the Egg. Read this for middlegrade march and loved it! Liked the parts abour arts and finding new friends and the "mystery" was very interesting to read. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Prompt: The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed

I also finished The Screaming Staircase. It was quite good and I liked the whole mystery. It was a littlebit scary sometomes, but the good kind of scary. Looking forward to reading more books in this series. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.Prompt:A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics.

Currently reading
I'm buddyreading The Rice Mother. I haven't gotten very far in it but it seems to be a really good book. It takes place in Malaysia and one of my lifetime goals is to read a book from every country.

I'm also reading Crooked House. I love to read some Christie from time to time. I have only just started reading but the premise sounds really good.

QOTW
I live on the countryside so it's not that much people where I live, it's much worse in the biggest cities in my country (Sweden). I'm honestly not that worried about the disease, I'm more worried about the effects such as economy, education, health care and and so on.

I study from home so for me it's not that different. I still do my daily walk and go to the grocery store when I need to. I try to limit the amount of "Corona news", Tv/radio and newspapers do nothing to lessen people's worry. I also try to avoid some of social media, you're always exposed to the news and there's not many safe spaces from it. I do spend a bit more time on Facebook and groups for booklovers and so on. I feel like being able to read, watch tv and movies and so on is a great escape from reality and that is my safe space. This got very rambly but I hope I get my point across. I also feel a bit limited because I can't express myself as well as I want to in English.

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m..."

Happy Birthday!!!!!

I finished some books this week!

The City We Became for a book by a WOC. I'm not very familiar with New York to be honest, and I lot of this probbaly went over my head, and other stuff was just a bit too real world for what I wanted to read right now. But I did overall like it, and the whole cities manifesting and the Woman in White was great. Would have liked to have read it without a pandemic going on!

Leading onto the fact I put my audiobook of The Year of the Flood on hold as I was just zoning out.

I also read The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures which was both adorable and relatable mental health graphic memoir. I think this might be stuff she's published before online, but it was new to me.

QOTW:
We're only allowed out for one bit of exercise a day or essential errands for food/medical reasons. We walk the dog first thing in the morning and then we are both working from home. I am so fed up of people on social media suggesting we spend our time catching up on stuff/learning new skills like it's some sort of national holiday. I'm trying to spend less time on Twitter to avoid that!

Everyone seems to be behaving themselves locally. My partner was pretty worried about going to the supermarket this week but he said it was empty and lots of fresh food available. I think all these priority hours have just made it unnaturally busy when the vulnerable are all in one place.

Hello. I have been full on quarantined for a week and I am back at work for 3 days before I start my pre-scheduled "vacation". Thankfully my husband and I decided to wing it in town so we don't have anything to cancel. I don't want to be at work though. I'm high risk with an autoimmune disorder so being out of my bubble is stressful. Have not been successful in reading. Did play a lot of board games though.

16/40 Regular
3/10 Advanced

Finished:


Currently Reading

I've been listening to this, which I do in my car. Today is my first time in my car in a week ao it's not going well.

My bedtime book but bedtime is usually focused on news now. Ugh.


QotW:

Have you been isolating yourself in your home? How has this changed your social media use?
GREATLY!!!! I am on fb 24/7. Doing stupid polls and games on Instagram stories. My book club is run via instagram. Usually the next book is posted during our meeting but as we met remotely and with impending shut downs to increase I launched both April and May last week to give the members a chance to get the books since Amazon is "shipping essentials" and bookstores/libraries are all closed.

I think we’re starting to settle into a new normal at work. Things have quieted down a bit, and I’m not getting as many frantic e-mails and chats as I did last week. Also, the desk chair I ordered has arrived, which is helping my muscles and joints a lot. I was really struggling with how to separate work and personal time. A friend who works from home all the time advised me to put away all my work stuff at the end of the day and reset my dining room (which I’ve turned into my office). I thought it would be annoying to pack everything away and reset the table decorations every day, but I actually find it really soothing. I’ve been able to enjoy some reading time in the evenings again. I haven’t finished anything, though.

Reading
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (a book by or about a woman in STEM). Every time I think I’m going to get back to this book, another library hold comes in, and I want to prioritize those.

Golden State by Ben H. Winters (a book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title)

Crimson Lake by Candice Fox (a book that won an award in 2019 - Audie)

QOTW
I’m working from home and only leaving to buy groceries once every 2 weeks and take a daily walk in my quiet neighborhood. Probably, I have been on social media too much. What’s really changed, though, is my news viewing habits. I have a tendency to forget about local news sources. I’ve started paying more attention to them.

Seriously, what a historical and crazy time we're in right now. I'm trying to journal everything for posterity's sake. I wonder how this will affect our society and world in the long run? Hopefully we learn from this so that we can be better prepared next time.

Finished 11/50

God and Evolution for "book with an author with flora or fauna in their name' (it's by Jay Richards). This is a critique of theistic evolution by a multi-religious group of Intelligent Design theorists/scientists. Wow, is this technical in places! Really deep stuff. I enjoyed it, but some parts gave me a headache. There are better ID books out there more geared to the layman. This seemed just aimed at theistic evolutionists and not the casual reader. But still good!

Currently Reading

Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father for "book with 4 star rating on Goodreads". My goal is to finish this this week now that my church book club can't meet. :(

The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia for "book with title that caught your attention". No change here!

QotW

Well, I'm a stay-at-home mom, so social distancing hasn't been hard. I do that anyway. It has meant that we can't visit my dad/grandparents. I clean for them every couple weeks, but since my grandparents are in their 80s, we've not been going to see them just in case. Also not attending church which has been hard given that it's Lent and the Feast of the Annunciation was yesterday. Virtual church just doesn't cut it (can't have virtual Eucharist anyway). But it's better than passing this virus on! So we stay home. My toddler is very confused by it because she misses her Pop-Pop and all her church friends. My husband is a family therapist, so now he's home doing virtual therapy, so that's nice having him around more. All in all, very weird time.
My social media usage hasn't really changed. I spend more time with my family instead. :) Counting my blessings in the midst of the crazy. Praying for everyone affected too. We've been lucky, but I know many aren't. :(

Hi friends,

I hope everyone is hanging in there.

“Vision impairment”- All the Light We Cannot See- I took my time reading this, which turned out to be the best approach. It takes time to weave its spell, layer by delicate layer. I usually maintain a kind of assessing detachment to what I read, but this story got around my defenses and I was absolutely all in by the end.
I don’t want to oversell, but as you guys know I am not easily impressed. If like me, you found The Nightingale to be underwhelming, then may I suggest trying this, that other extremely popular recentish WWII fiction with a blue cover? 4 stars

“Great first line” (Assination is a tense, sweaty business)- Hour of the Assassin- This was my BOTMC pick for March and I think it will be my last one for a while. This was the most wooden bland political thriller imaginable. A decent script writer might be able to turn it into an okay action flick but as it is...no. 1 star

“No graphics cover”- Elements of Fiction- I don’t think I am being entirely fair, because I think these extraordinary times are playing havoc with my ability to concentrate on audio books. Something about this, though, didn’t work at all for me. Maybe I would have liked it better with a different narrator, or maybe I would have liked it better if I was a professional writer. I just found it dull. At least it was short. 1 star

QOTW- Yes, I am working from home and haven’t left it at all for a few days. My county is not ordering people to stay home yet, but we are basically living as if it has. I don’t use much social media for better or worse (no facebook, twitter etc) and that hasn’t changed. I get my news from other places and keep in contact with people individually. Also as endorsed by my therapist, I am trying to stay on a strictly controlled news diet so I get updates a couple times a day but no more. I already have elevated levels of anxiety so I’m trying to keep things within the stratosphere!

Progress:
Popsugar - 30/50
ATY - 24/52
Goodreads - 40/100

Finished:
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner POP Author with more than 20 books I suggested this book to my sister after I read it. She's a difficult person to suggest books to so this is a good recommendation. Story follows 2 sisters through their lives.

Four Dead Queens POP Three word title.
Enjoyed this book more than I thought I was going to. Tried to figure out the book the whole time. 4 queens rule the lands, 4 different lands but they all rule from the one kingdom.. The four queens are assassinated and the books follows a theif as she attempts to figure out who the assassin is.

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino 3 stars POP. Book set in Japan. This was an interesting book. It follows a police investigation where the reader knows who the killer is an how the killing was done but there is a twist at the end I didn't see coming!

Currently Reading:

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon POP trans or nonbinary author

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin ATY: Published in 2020

Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin POP Set in country beginning with C

Away from the Dark by Aleatha Romig
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

QOTW: We are self isolating but not much has changed for me, personally. I've worked from home for 10 years now so the only difference there is having everyone home with me while I'm trying to work! I went to the grocery store before the official "Shelter in place" took effect so haven't been since then. I used to go to the gym once a day to get out of the house but now I'm walking or riding bikes with my boys. My husband says he will do all the errands because he said if I get sick the house will fall apart. Works for me! I'm enjoying the family time we are actually spending together. My social media usage hasn't changed much, I'm not on twitter (don't really understand it or have the desire to), I only follow family and a few groups on FB and Instagram so I spend a few min a day scrolling through to see updates.

My reading is all off lately. I think I'm 3 books behind at this point with no finishes this week. I've just had trouble picking up any books to read. I'm working from home and schools have been shut down for the remainder of the year so my oldest will be doing distance learning starting on the 6th. Right now, I'm just trying to keep her occupied so I can get some work done. I have my comprehensive exam to complete this weekend so I can graduate in May. But I am enjoying this extra time with my kids. We go on daily walks now that the weather is nice and play in the backyard every afternoon.

QOTW: I've always been rather addicted to social media. It's a definite problem so I am on just as much as before. It's the best way to keep in touch with family. And it helps me feel more connected to the rest of the world. I have spent more time searching for memes on Instagram than before though. Even though I take the situation seriously, I still like to laugh about it rather than stress about it.

whoa, it's Thursday already

I've been holed up in my apartment since March 13. Technically I'm working from home, but we coincidentally hit a work lull around that time, and now the main office is (understandably) kind of a mess so it's not clear when we're getting more.

I was restless in the first week but I've mostly chilled out. I have a balcony for getting fresh air and such, and it's pretty big (nine steps long). I took a 45-minute walk out there yesterday.

Finished reading: (12/50) Finally, a good reading week!

Darling Rose Gold (pink cover, passes Bechdel test, three-word title, 2020 release) - Eh. A showdown between a horribly abusive mother and her now-adult child sounded like a good book premise, but the child was so terrible I couldn't root for her. I just wanted them both to implode. Still a page-turner, but not fun in the way I was hoping for.

Lock Every Door (medical thriller, passes Bechdel test, pink cover, main character in her 20s) - A fun fast thriller, but I was a little underwhelmed by the reveals. Still, if you're looking for a medical thriller that's unrelated to current events, this is a decent pick.


QotW: My social media use is pretty much the same. I spend a bunch of time on Twitter/Goodreads (too much, really) so being in lockdown hasn't changed anything.

Ellie wrote: "I finished some books this week!

I am so fed up of people on social media suggesting we spend our time catching up on stuff/learning new skills like it's some sort of national holiday."

Ellie, I completely agree. It has put me under such stress, thinking that I should 'use' this time to 'improve' myself. It is a crisis! And I feel I am in crisis mode and have enough to do to stay sane, healthy, stay in contact with familiy and friends and get my work done from home

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m..."

Happy birthday!

Nadine wrote: "I have Eight Perfect Murders on my TBR, but I didn't really read up on what it was about so I didn't realize it was based on eight other books!!! I've read two of them. Now I am curious if I should read the other six first before I read Swanson's book?"

From what I've heard, it spoils all eight books. So you don't HAVE to read them first but you might want to.


Ellie wrote: "I am so fed up of people on social media suggesting we spend our time catching up on stuff/learning new skills like it's some sort of national holiday. I'm trying to spend less time on Twitter to avoid that!"

This is really interesting to me. On Twitter I constantly see people saying "You do NOT have to use this time to catch up on stuff/learn new skills/write the next great American novel! Just take care of yourself and hang in there!" - and I keep wondering, who are they even responding to? Who is saying all this? (Because I haven't seen anyone expressing those sentiments.) But I guess the answer is, the people in your Twitter feed.

@Drakeryn some of it is just recs for Netflix shows/books, but there is an assumption most of us are sat around doing nothing. I know some of it is also people just trying to keep their businesses going, but I just want to see cute things at this point.

School has been shut down for almost two weeks, now. Since I am a teacher that has given me time to get used to teaching online. Still, it is hard for me, because my personal demons are thriving in times like these, where I have little outside feedback or reactions to me and my work which usually help me to be more relaxed about it.
Anyway, I am at least with my husband, who is also working from home, now.

I have gotten at least some reading done, but less than one would think. It is good to hear, that some of you have had the same troubles.
I have finished another book in the Decker/Lazarus series by Faye Kellerman The Forgotten. Don't think I'm using it for any category.
And I finished When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which was a great read in times like these.

Currently reading:
London Calling: Als Deutsche auf der Brexit-Insel

and might start the next Decker/Lazarus novel tomorrow or later today…

QOTW:
Yes, I have been on social media more. I am reading Instagram Posts more. I don't use Facebook anymore (about which I am glad right now) and don't use others, if you don't count goodreads. I have read more here!
We are allowed to take walks or bike rides, but I couldn't make myself do one every day, but at least almost. And I've been getting groceries once this week and gone to the bakery once. The latter was fine, the Supermarket I found stressful with all the people not keeping the appropriate distance...
Oh, and after having looked at news too much in the first days, I have also reduced that and try to only get really good quality news now, that offer a moderate way of presenting Information and well-researched Background info. That helps a lot.

Miriam wrote: "Ellie wrote: "I finished some books this week!

I am so fed up of people on social media suggesting we spend our time catching up on stuff/learning new skills like it's some sort of national holi..."

Not just on social media - I have a lot of friends who are throwing themselves into all these new projects and cleaning garages etc etc and I feel like its all I can do to get out of bed each morning :( Part of it is that I have always worked from home, and not much of a socializer, so I don't really feel like I suddenly have all this free time everyone is talking about. In some ways its the opposite, because I'm a freelance editor and I feel like I have to work as much as possible now in case I can't later on, and have no source of income!!

But also, I just feel totally unmotivated to do anything but watch tv and read the news :( I can't read (although that's getting a bit better), can't concentrate on my work (which makes me panic more) and can't get myself doing anything, and then I feel badly about it all. I also do have my husband and 16 year old home, and I am not used to sharing my space.

Honestly, I'm not super worried about getting it, nor do I have people I am feeling all that anxious about and so far my husband and I have work (although that could change and we are both freelance so eek) - and I am reaching out to friends more on Facebook etc., so in some ways that's a good thing. So why am I having such a hard time? Sigh.

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m..."

Happy birthday Sara!

Oh and after the discussion about indie bookstores last week I cancelled a book order with Amazon and placed the same order with Powell's Books.
I've heard of but never been to Powells as I live in another part of the country.
It was a bit more expensive, but would actually arrive sooner as Amazon is not prioritizing books right now. Plus, Amazon gets enough of my money as it is...

Sara wrote: "My birthday was this week. Happy birthday! The world is ending! I originally had a ton of stuff planned, but everything was cancelled and I just stayed home and made myself a birthday dinner with m..."

I read The Red House Mystery almost 5 years ago. I was shocked that Milne had written a mystery! I felt it was very similar in type to Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh's work.

And my birthday is this next week!

So in terms of my reading (instead of ranting), I have not been hugely successful.

But I did finish:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and loved it!

And just finished Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal - which I liked but didn't love - couldn't quite get what the tone of it was - a thriller? a social commentary? a romance? ... not that books can't be more than one thing, but I just couldn't get a handle on it. I liked the characters, but just found parts of it clunky.

Currently reading:
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - I'm about 1/3 in and it's a decent read so far, but not sure it merits all the hype. We'll see how the rest of it goes.

Stay safe everyone!

Happy Thursday, y’all.

I have been incredibly lazy this week... or at least incredibly lazy by my standards, at least. Part of me feels guilty for this and insists I should be doing a project at home or at least writing (even if it's just updating my fanfic), but I have to remind myself that this is still a high-stress time for a lot of people, and my first reaction to stress is to shut down and wait for it to go away. So this is perfectly normal... well, for a certain degree of normal.

Still hoping that the library can re-open soon. I'm set book-wise, but I miss my co-workers and my regular patrons, and I worry for the people who depend on the library for information, Internet access, book and movies, and other services.

Books read this week:

Salt -- for “book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it.” (It's also the title of an Angelina Jolie movie.) A group of orphans fighting monsters should have been a great concept for a book… but this just fell flat on all fronts.

The Field Guide -- for “first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed.” Short but cute, and I love Tony DiTerlizzi’s illustrations.

88 Names -- for “book that came out in 2020,” though could also work for “book about a world leader” and for “prompt from a previous year” (dang, I’m mad this didn’t come out last year, it would have fit the LitRPG prompt to a T). Not Matt Ruff’s best, but still highly entertaining, with plenty of nods to video games and MMORPGs throughout the years.

I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories -- for “favorite prompt from the 2018 challenge,” in this case “book with song lyrics in the title.” (The title comes from the song “I Sing the Body Electric” from the movie “Fame.”) Collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors, and it’s as good as I expect of his work.

Binti -- not for the challenge. Great worldbuilding, but too short for my tastes, and I didn’t feel like the characters got enough development. Maybe the sequel fixes that?

Not My Bag -- graphic novel, not for the challenge. The cover and the description made it seem like it was going to be a ghost/cosmic horror story set in a department store… it’s NOT that at all. More like a watered-down version of The Devil Wears Prada, just with a male protagonist.

Regular challenge -- 26/44 (split the last prompt into five)
Advanced challenge -- 5/10
Not for challenge -- 20

DNF:

My Dark Vanessa -- not for the challenge. I don’t know what possessed me to pick this one up when it hits triggers for me… I guess I figured it would be good regardless? I’m sure it’s as powerful and amazing a novel as everyone makes it out to be, I just could not. Sorry.

Currently Reading:

Poison Study -- for “book that passes the Bechdel test”
Lizard -- for “book set in Japan”
Funny, You Don't Look Autistic: A Comedian's Guide to Life on the Spectrum -- not for the challenge

QOTW:

Definitely been spending more time on Facebook... but because most of my friends live far away and Facebook Messenger and Discord are the main ways I can keep in touch with them, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I hate it when people demonize social media, because it's not inherently good or evil -- it's a tool, and like any tool can be used for good or bad. I could probably use to be browsing and sharing fewer memes, of course, but I also love the fact that it lets me stay in touch with people.

Finished three books this week, which is a challenge record for me - and a consequence of having a little more time for reading now that I'm working from home... ;)

Finished:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January for A book you picked because the title caught your attention. Loved this one - the style, the atmosphere, the plot, the world-building! First 5* book of the year!

Where the Crawdads Sing for A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads. And it got a 4* rating from me too! I thought the setting of this one was really evocative. - the marsh almost felt like the most prominent character.

The Starless Sea for A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement. My husband read this a little while ago, and has been bugging me to read it, so I moved it up. Unfortunately, while I liked it a lot, I didn't like it as much as him, which means he didn't get the mutual love-fest he was hoping for! In the end I just felt like there were too many ideas and concepts piled on top of each other, and everything became a bit messy...

Started:

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life for A book on a subject you know nothing about. Luckily, my husband likes to read non-fiction as well, so I just went to his shelves and found this! I've only just started it, but am finding it very accessible so far.

QOTW:

We are working from home (more time for reading, as I said!), and as the UK is now on sort-of lockdown, we're trying to go out as little as possible - just quick trips up the shop and taking the rubbish out. Oh, and a run out in the car last night to try to avoid the battery going flat from disuse - felt like were sneaking out under the cover of darkness!

I don't think it's particularly changed my social media use, though - I think I'm pretty much using it the same amount at the moment. I only have Facebook (no Twitter or Instagram), so there's only a limited amount of time I can scroll through my newsfeed before I've seen everything anyway.

Hi everyone! I hope you all are well and staying as safe as you can. My reading took a hit for awhile because I was so anxious I couldn't sit still, but I'm mostly back to a good reading routine now.

Finished this week
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry This is a book I've owned for a long time, and finally picked it up when my library closed. I will be reading a lot of books from my unread shelf in the foreseeable future. I'm using this book for the book with a map prompt. It was a slower and heavier book than I expected, but I mostly enjoyed it and found it to be mostly hopeful in the end, which is what I need right now.

Currently reading
As usual, a lot...
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix This is a reread. Listening on audiobook this time and it's wonderful.

Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877 (book on a subject you know nothing about) Still plugging away at this monster.

Villette Not for a prompt. So far Jane Eyre is better but this one is still enjoyable.

Anne of Avonlea Reading for the first time and doing it as a read aloud with my 9-year-old daughter.

Know My Name: A Memoir Taking my time with this one. It's really good and really well written but it is heavy and devastating. Using it for written by an author in their 20s.

Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint Loving this. Not for a prompt.

Apeirogon I'll have a lot to say about this one when I finish, but for now: I just love it so much. It could become one of my favorite books of all time. Using it for published the month of your birthday because it just came out this February, but it could also definitely be used for bird on the cover or published in 2020.

QOTW
I have definitely been self isolating. I've only left the house to go to the grocery store and to go on walks. I'm a part-time teacher and our schools are closed. So far I haven't had to do any online instruction but that is likely coming. I've been helping my kids with their online classes. I've been trying to stay off of Twitter and the news because it fuels my anxiety and I'm already doing everything I can right now so there's really no need to continually learn more. But I have enjoyed staying connected with friends and family over social media and through video chatting.

Errlee, I feel you. I also work from home, and I was actually having to work late a lot of nights up until this week dealing with stores who were uncertain about whether they'd have to close or not, sending out last minute emails and things like that. And even today where things have slowed down, i don't feel like I can justify just straight up not working and cleaning something just because everyone else is. My bosses want me to be learning stuff right now, so trying to concentrate on that (not going very well). I also have the uncertainty like you, that if this lasts too long whether my bosses (just a couple, i'm their only employee) will be able to keep me on.

Have you been isolating yourself in your home? How has this changed your social media use?

I was working one day in office one day WFH until yesterday, now its all WFH. So I wasn't feeling the effects as badly as, say, my sister who hasn't worked for a week. I'm on twitter allot more than healthy, but less of facebook since I would usually go on only during work to take a quick break. And ive been stressed over money, so every time I log onto insta, i immediately log off. I've never noticed how much my insta revolves around shops.

Im kinda enjoying how much time this gives us as a family. We are usually all busy and never really share quiet time together, and this has allowed us more of that.

READ
Severance- A book with a pink cover, A book with a main character in their 20s – 3.5 Stars
Such an odd time to be reading a book that hits so close to home. Honestly very uncomfortable, especially when talking about the remote work-from-home aspect that has become so familiar to many of us right now. The way capitalism has made it impossible for some of us to take care of ourselves because corporations want to keep moving the ball. Or perhaps it's the complete deniability some of us still have, that many in the book experienced.

Still, despite it's good, the ending left me so unsatisfied. I understand that a book such as this one needs an open ending, but it feels like the gate is too open, there's little direction forward in the narrative and by the end you lose sight of anything. I suppose that might have to do with the nature of the plague, and the way it mimics the life we lead today... routine, listless, ordinary. It's the way the plagued die... doing what they have always done.

READING
20th Century Ghosts - I deleted this off my phone this morning... i caaaant. The collection of stories isn't at fault, its the fact that I downloaded it off Scribd and let me tell you it was HORRIBLE. Skipped all over the place, the chapters move around like its a ballroom dance, and opening the app every time its closed results in listening to some piece of story I haven't even gotten to. I'm gonna try and see if I can place a hold in Libby instead.

Read this week:

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (2/5) - I finished this as part of the challenge, fulfilling the recommendation prompt. I have to say, this was a major let down. I don't regret reading it per say, because the writing is beautiful, but I definitely don't plan on reading it ever again.

Currently Reading:

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout - I'm doing a re-read of this whole series because it's one of those feel good series that I've been drifting toward in this time of isolation.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - I'm reading this for a different Goodreads group (EHRTBM) and I'm a bit behind. The group will be done with it on the 31st, and I don't think I'll be doing that. I'm going to finish it nonetheless!

The next book for THIS challenge is going to be The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.

QOTW
I've been hunkered down at home with my family. I try to go on nature walks every day (I live on a river, so I've been exploring a bit more) to keep active and release a little bit of the squirrely-ness. The worst is that it's a tad hard to keep up with all my classes from home (do not even get me started on the three research papers I'm postponing).

I definitely have been using social media a lot more, especially with people I don't normally use it with. For example, I don't often video chat with my boyfriend because he lives a dorm building over--when I want to see him, I do. With this self-isolation, though, I've been video chatting with him nearly everyday.

My dad has been interacting with facebook friends and creating collaborative Spotify playlists for everyone to interact on, and I'm considering doing the same because it's been so fun for him.

All in all, I'm lucky enough to have enough food and essentials (and BOOKS) so I'm just riding this whole thing out.

Ellie wrote: "@Drakeryn some of it is just recs for Netflix shows/books, but there is an assumption most of us are sat around doing nothing. I know some of it is also people just trying to keep their businesses going, but I just want to see cute things at this point."

Yeah I get you, a lot of my time these days is spent browsing my Twitter feed for cute things (art! dogs! Animal Crossing outfits! I've never played an Animal Crossing game but kinda want to get this one just to design my own outfits lol, I've seen so many cool ones)

Finished one book this week! I read Becoming for book that is the same title as a TV show but unrelated. It was good. I'd recommend it although there are definitely passages that can be skipped. Today I started reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I'm hoping to finish it today.

QOTW
I've been home for about two weeks now. The only times I left were to get groceries and gas. I'm starting to get tired of looking at the same four walls everyday but the weather is starting to get better so hopefully I'll be able to go on walks soon.
My social media used has definitely increased but I've been able to take the time to use it more mindfully. I've unfollowed a bunch of accounts that I just didn't care for and started following accounts that inspire me. I'm hoping that when this is all over I'll have a new mindset but we'll see!

Drakeryn wrote: "... a lot of my time these days is spent browsing my Twitter feed for cute things (art! dogs! Animal Crossing outfits! I've never played an Animal Crossing game but kinda want to get this one just to design my own outfits lol, I've seen so many cool ones) ..."


LOL what my younger daughter got for her birthday from grandma was a Nintendo Switch and the new Animal Crossing game. Has it been a struggle to get her to stay on top of her classwork when she just wants to play her new game? hell yeah! Has it been amusing to hear that twabbaudruadablblblbl sound of fake dialogue in the game? super yes! When they were little we had the Wii game, and it's the same sound, so it reminds me of that time.


Yesterday I was doing so well working from home. Today I just cant' get motivated.

I'm very busy putting classes online so my reading is still down but I managed a couple things

For A book with a pink cover The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole (The 1963 edition which I had for some unknown reason on my shelf was pink. Don't know where it came from or why other than it was probably a classic I thought I should read). Honestly I'm sure it was hot stuff in the 1700s but it's rather dry melodrama these days.

for the prompt of A book set in the 1920s I read Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes It could be for characters in their twenties as well though honestly I didn't like this nearly as much as I had hoped



QOTW I'm online all day moving classes there so I'm also looking at facebook and twitter much more than usual. Sometimes it's a relief. Other times there's far too much fear (understandable) and too much misinformation

Shannon wrote: "Oh and after the discussion about indie bookstores last week I cancelled a book order with Amazon and placed the same order with Powell's Books.
I've heard of but never been to Powells as I live in another part of the country.
It was a bit more expensive, but would actually arrive sooner as Amazon is not prioritizing books right now. Plus, Amazon gets enough of my money as it is..."

As someone who is local to Powell's, THANK YOU. It's not just a cool store, it is legit the crown jewel of the city. I honestly cannot imagine Portland without it.

This place goes through a LOT of books. I see people reading in public all the time. We even have quite a few smaller indys as well (I can think of 11 off the top of my head and that is not all of them), the main Goodwill's book section is larger than some of those (trade paperbacks start at $4), and our library book sales (twice a year) are large and most books are $2. (When I see people's posts of sale books for less than a buck I have to do a double take.) All that and we STILL keep the world's largest indy open. Normally.

Also, I saw this post on facebook:
"I got recalled to work at Powell's because of all the online orders. Please keep ordering books so more people can come back!"

If there is an indy near you, see if you can order from them too. Several of the teeny shops near me are open for phone/internet orders. They'll even text you photos of selections or talk you through choosing some. Then you can get them shipped, do curbside pick-up or they will deliver them to your porch! A couple of the kid shops seem to be doing pretty well with activity books, workbooks and puzzles.

Happy Thursday! My week was as busy as last week. So not much time left to read, my eyes were sooo tired after editing content all day. As we already expected, our trip to Canada in June has been canceled this week. We were really looking forward to it. But, if corona would still be ‘out there’ in June, I’d rather not cross the ocean having relatives in high risk groups for corona.

Finished
None.

Currently reading
Wir sehen uns unter den Linden. Lovely story so far, almost halfway through
De Bourgondiers

Qotw
Except for a daily walk and incidental grocery shopping, we stay at home like so many of you. Pretty easy, since we both have work that is going crazy these weeks.
My social media use has crashed completely. LinkedIn is sending me lots of e-mails ‘this is what happened’, but I don’t have time to visit. Facebook was already down. Once or twice a day I check Twitter and Instagram, normally I would have checked it, well, 5 times per hour. My WhatsApp explodes every day with check-ins from friends and family. My mum is video-reading books to my nephews and nieces, so funny to see the video’s of them listening and watching my mum. Great idea for all grandparents to stay in touch with their grandchildren! Take care everyone!

Happy birthday to @Sara and @Nadine’s daughters! And to all those Pisces and Aries celebrating in these strange times.

Finished:

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark It was an ok mystery. I prefer her earlier books. If you like MHC, it was bittersweet as it’s her last novel.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe. Book by a trans or NB writer. I loved this engaging and very intimate memoir. Maia really lets you into eir thoughts and memories. Highly recommend.

#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale Book by a WOC. Or an anthology. I’ve been reading a lot of First Nations and Indigenous writers, and it has been very uplifting. Especially now, it reminds me of just how much my ancestors have survived. This book can be a great introduction to some younger First Nations women and girls who are writing.

QOTW
I have been self-quarantining since March 13th, when I was laid off due to the effects of COVID 19 on our industry. Definitely needed 24 hours or so to crunch numbers and come to terms, (and heal from 8 years of insane scheduling), so I missed out on The Great Stock Up and panic buying. Except for the lack of paper products, I’m grateful to have had the time to get well and to have a slower pace.
Weirdly, I have been using social media more! Normally, I barely use it at all, except for keeping up with friends and loved ones overseas, a few times a month. I live in a fairly big city, but I love my Brazilian village. We’ve always looked out for each other, and I love that we are still doing that, on little and bigger levels. I’m more on community social media, and have been super lucky to be in local projects. Sewing face masks for our city health professionals – our whole city Skyped or FaceTime’d in and caught up with each other. Finally have the time to do volunteer projects I’ve wanted to get into: doing remote medical translating, helping seniors get signed up for food deliveries. Also I’m writing for an artist who is doing an online exhibit and donating the proceeds to a cool charity in our state that distributes food to those who need it. Scary times, but it’s been one big potlatch!

poshpenny wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Oh and after the discussion about indie bookstores last week I cancelled a book order with Amazon and placed the same order with Powell's Books.
I've heard of but never been to Powe..."

When I got to do the tourist thing in Portland (loved it btw) I made a point of going to Powell's. It's fantastic.

Currently reading:

From History's Shadow by Dayton Ward
Mentats of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
The Crimson Shadow by Una McCormack

So far, my reread of The Crimson Shadow is grabbing me much more than my first reads of the other two. McCormack really gets people and politics, and her writing of Garak is nothing short of joyous to read.

I am staying home as much as possible, but my social media use is about the same as before.

Hi everyone. The sun has actually been shining here in Yorkshire which is annoying now I can't go out and enjoy it, haha!

This week I finished Lightning Mary. I thought this was going to to be YA going in but it was actually middle grade. I was a little disappointed but maybe it was just because it wasn't what I expected going in?

Currently reading: Euphoria but not had much time to read it really

QOTW: The PM only closed hotels in the UK on Monday so I was still working as normal until Tuesday.

Honestly, the work situation plus dealing with my mother making herself overly anxious by watching the news all the time has been stressful enough without adding extra social media use to my day! I've checked in on my closest friends most days but I've seen a lot of dubious info floating around on Facebook so I've tried to distance myself.

Side note: I'm now feeling old with this talk of Animal Crossing. I played that on the Game Cube many moons ago!

This month is dragging for me. I was a stay at home mom for 23 years and just went back to work in September. Now I am at home again and I wonder how I did it when my kiddos were all in school and the house was quiet. Even now, with half my kids home (plus an couple extras- boyfriend, roommate) and my husband working from home the house is quiet. Everyone is busily working on there school work or regular work all day. It has been odd having no extra curricular activities to support. I miss my little job while I love having the children home.

This week I read:
Almost American Girl- a graphic novel (memoir) about the authors move from South Korea to America. I hate how challenging it was. The book was well done- and I recommend it to those who enjoy YA and are looking for a quick read.
The Book Charmer- a very light read that was too open ended for me, even though she wrapped up this character's story well. It is clearly the first in a series and I guess I was just hoping for more when I picked up the book.
Song for a Whale- a middle grade read about a deaf girl trying to reach out to a lonely whale. It was great until the climax which was forced and unbelievable.
Last of the Name- another middle grade read about the draft riots in NYC in 1863. I love learning about the Civil War and I felt this handled a first glimpse into the draft riots well.
The Library of Lost and Found- another light read, but this one had more substance. I liked it.

QOTW:
We are in isolation (with the exception of my daughter's boyfriend and roommate) with runs to the store. My social media lurking has absolutely increased and I am thinking about getting rid of FB because it is so disheartening. Next week's goal is to do less social media.

Happy Reading and Stay Healthy!