Albany Public Library discussion

Welcome to Week 3 of the Summer Reading Challenge! We hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend.

This week's recommended reading list celebrates Sci-fi and fantasy reads.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Recursion by Blake Crouch
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
Stories Of Your Life And Others by Ted Chiang
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Happy Reading!

This is why I look forward to APL's summer reading - suggestions in genres I would never read on my own. I am trying to choose between Recursion, Ninth House and Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts. The last sounds interesting because I grew up in Boston and loved a lot of books that are mentioned in the synopsis but I would probably be listening to the audiobook, and I don't know if it would be as easy to follow or the literary allusions as fun in audio format. Has anyone listened to this title?

Susan wrote: "This is why I look forward to APL's summer reading - suggestions in genres I would never read on my own. I am trying to choose between Recursion, Ninth House and Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts. The..."

@ Susan I highly recommend the Ninth House as an audiobook! I also would recommend Recursion. I didn't listen to it on audio but I do love Blake Crouch books.

Thanks! I must admit that the setting of Yale's secret societies is intriguing, but I noticed that a librarian friend of mine said the beginning was slow in audio format. Will give it a try.

I loved the short story version of The City We Became. I'm surprised not to see Magic for Liars on this list, or This Is How You Lose the Time War!
So far this week I've re-read The Way of the Househusband, Volume 2. A quick read, but I wanted something light and zany!

Kathleen wrote: "I loved the short story version of The City We Became. I'm surprised not to see Magic for Liars on this list, or This Is How You Lose the Time War!
So far this week I've re-read The Way of the Hous..."

@Kathleen I have added your book.

I went old school and read The Knife by RL Stine yesterday. Still fun and creepy and reminds me of being a kid!

Nicole wrote: "I went old school and read The Knife by RL Stine yesterday. Still fun and creepy and reminds me of being a kid!"

@ Nicole Perfect! I added your book.

Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires! I really enjoyed it, though it did make me EXTREMELY angry at times. I can't recommend Ninth House enough, pr The Starless Sea. I think I might try reading Horrorstör next, I bought it years ago but found it slow to start. Now that I know it's by the same author as Southern Book Club's Guide, I'm interested!

Abi wrote: "Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires! I really enjoyed it, though it did make me EXTREMELY angry at times. I can't recommend Ninth House ..."

@ Abi Yes! I am glad you read The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires We will have to chat about it at book club with Anne! I have not read any other titles by Grady Hendrix. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on Horrorstör

Kate wrote: "Abi wrote: "Just finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires! I really enjoyed it, though it did make me EXTREMELY angry at times. I can't recommend [book:Ninth Hous..."

I also added your book!

I finished I Thought it was Just Me by Brene Brown, The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen and What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

Recursion by Crouch - I'm going to try this one from the list. I'm listening to "How Much Of These Hills Is Gold" by Zhang. It's a western setting with a different point of view. Update: I finished How Much Of These Hills Is Gold" -- now I want to read the Goodreads comments to understand it better.

Valerie wrote: "I finished I Thought it was Just Me by Brene Brown, The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen and What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons"

@Valerie I have added your books!

Today I finished Before I Go To Sleep . Review here.

Hellooo, since last update I’ve finished:

The Blue Train by agatha Christie
Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik

...someday I’ll actually follow the reading prompts 🤦🏾‍♀️

This week I finished The Sport of Kings and the Kings of Crime: Horse Racing, Politics, and Organized Crime in New York 1865--1913, which was surprisingly dry for a book all about... horse racing and organized crime :/

I love this list of recommended SFF! I especially enjoyed Ninth House and Middlegame this past winter. About to embark on a fun fantasy-horror read for Archie fans: Interview with the Vixen.

This week I read Circe and Homegoing, both of which I enjoyed!

I have add your books!

FINALLY finished The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, right before it was returned by Libby! In true Hunger Games fashion, the romance is /not the point./ It's all about survival, and living as well as possible.

I finished Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas on Tuesday.

Just finished Black Card and really enjoyed it. A quick, fun read. Samantha Irby just posted a list of fiction by Black authors on her website, so I'm combing through that.

I have added the books so far.

I have finished "American Royals" by Katharine McGee

Liz wrote: "I have finished "American Royals" by Katharine McGee"

@ Liz I have added your book!

For science fiction and fantasy, I've read this week: The Tea Dragon Festival and Into the Heartless Wood (highly recommend!)

Kelly wrote: "This week I read Circe and Homegoing, both of which I enjoyed!"

Homegoing is such a treasure of a book- so deeply felt.

Alicia wrote: "Kelly wrote: "This week I read Circe and Homegoing, both of which I enjoyed!"

Homegoing is such a treasure of a book- so deeply felt."

@ Alicia I have added your books!

Just finished Samantha Irby’s Wow, No Thank You.
Honest, comedic read for any Midwest (Chicago) native missing home.

Just finished reading The Federalist Papers. Not exactly beach reading, but lots to think about related to current events!

This weekend I read Walter Mosley's *Trouble is What I Do* in one afternoon. This book is a long short story. The action never stops. The book has the character development of a Reacher novel. For me this was a great beach read: fast plot, engaging but not deep.

I am listening to *Me and Pasty Kicking Up Dust by Loretta Kind. Very interesting book. I've never read an autobiography about two people before. It's a very genuine story.

Finished Don't You Forget About Me this weekend. I really enjoyed this book. I almost didn't pick it up because of the cover and description, which made it sound like a romance, which I wasn't in the mood for at the moment. But it really isn't a romance at all. The romance is very tangential to the main plot and doesn't get much air time. So if you are looking for a romance, do not read this book!!! Most of the negative reviews of the book is that it wasn't a romance. The publisher needs to do better marketing.

The main character is Georgina, who lives in the medium sized British town that she grew up in. Her career has been working in bars and restaurants. She has a small group of supportive and fun friends. There is a fair bit of humor and also some serious scenes. A decent story, but Georgina has a horrible boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, to give you fair warning.

Was trying to finish my "Stranger Things" read yesterday, but completed this morning: Mayhem . Review to go up later today....

I am still trying to finish The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. It is longer than anticipated but in this week's category. I did finish "Love Me (Coopers Creek book 1)" by Kiwi author Bronwen Evans. A fine read in second chance romance category. More on the way.

I finished "One to Watch" by Kate Stayman-London — this was FANTASTIC and I can't recommend it enough! That was my seventh book toward the APL Summer Reading Challenge!

Hello, everyone! I just finished two books: "So this is Love" and "Sweetbitter". Both books were very different, with the first book being a twisted fairytale of Cinderella and the latter book a fictional, coming-of-age story based in NYC. I enjoyed both books.

I read the graphic novel “Penny Dreadful “ since I try to read one every summer. Honestly, I hated it. The story is too hard for me to follow because the characters looked to similar with all the atmospheric rendering. This is probably the only time of year I will pick one up. I loved Illustrated Classics as a kid. It was great story telling of classic literature. This was not.

Liz wrote: "I finished "One to Watch" by Kate Stayman-London — this was FANTASTIC and I can't recommend it enough! That was my seventh book toward the APL Summer Reading Challenge!"

Liz, I just started this book and am already obsessed!

All books to this point have been logged!

Finished Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. Next Up is The Witch Elm by Tana French!

Jen wrote: "Finished Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. Next Up is The Witch Elm by Tana French!"

I have logged your book!

Alicia wrote: "Kelly wrote: "This week I read Circe and Homegoing, both of which I enjoyed!"

Homegoing is such a treasure of a book- so deeply felt."

My BFF attended the Iowa program with Yaa and is thanked in the back of the book. My 6-degrees to fame hahaha.

I read Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewel. Good, fast -paced suspense novel. Lots of creepy guys and red herrings.

I have added your book, Jody!

You were right - the audio version of Ninth House was great! Knowing several people who have worked at Yale's Beinecke Library added to the enjoyment.

I just finished Never Split the Difference by Christopher Voss. It is a very useful book for people who negotiate deals, written by an FBI negotiator who has learned from very serious experiences.

Recorded your books!

For Week 3 I read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Book 1 in the Inheritance series) by N.K. Jemisin. The book focuses on the granddaughter of a dying king, who he appoints as heir alongside his niece and nephew, resulting in a three-way power struggle determining who will ultimately inherit the throne—if this isn’t enough, she must contend with the intrigues of several gods that humanity has enslaved and which reside in the kingdom as the leader’s personal weapons. While I’d point folks towards her Broken Earth series first, this first in the Inheritance series was still a pleasure to read. She’s been offering some of the freshest fantasy out there lately.

@ Rich I added your book