Albany Public Library discussion

Hello APL Readers,

Welcome to Week 4 of the Summer Reading Challenge! This week's theme is Help Yourself - books that help us get better at life. This can include books on cooking, exercise, hiking, selfcare, you name it. If it helped you out, it counts!

Below is a list of reading recommendations from our APL staff:
Eat, Habibi, Eat!: Fresh Recipes for Modern Egyptian Cooking
Sumac: Recipes and Stories from Syria
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
Doghiker: Great Hikes with Dogs from the Adirondacks Through the Catskills
Scenic Driving New York: Including the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and the Finger Lakes
Eat Better, Feel Better: My Recipes for Wellness and Healing, Inside and Out
Reader's Digest The Essential Book of Herbs: Gardening * Health * Cooking
The Weekday Vegetarians: 100 Recipes and a Real-Life Plan for Eating Less Meat: A Cookbook

Don't forget to comment below on what you have been reading so we can count those titles towards the challenge.

Happy reading!

I finished:

Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Finished An Appetite for Murder, The Murder of Mr Wickham, and The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag. It was a very murder mystery kind of beach weekend!

This is my favorite kind of book! I finished via Hoopla, the new title from Miller and Lesesne called The Joy of Reading which as a school librarian is super helpful! I've put Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? on hold because it sounds great. I look forward to adding more books this week.

Alicia wrote: "This is my favorite kind of book! I finished via Hoopla, the new title from Miller and Lesesne called The Joy of Reading which as a school librarian is super helpful! I've put Why H..."

Hi Alicia- This is one of my favorite topics as well! If I had to pick my top three, they would be:

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Want to exercise more? Start a novel? Look no further!

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
If you want to disconnect from your phone or any digital device, this is a great read!

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
We live in a society with decision overload- this book takes an interesting look at how having less choices is sometimes better.

Alicia wrote: "This is my favorite kind of book! I finished via Hoopla, the new title from Miller and Lesesne called The Joy of Reading which as a school librarian is super helpful! I've put Why H..."

Alicia, do you listen to the Go Help Yourself podcast?! If not, you should check it out!

Ooooo someone just returned the Giada book, Imma go grab it!

Anne C wrote: "Ooooo someone just returned the Giada book, Imma go grab it!"

Coffee and SPINACH smoothie??!! Do I really trust Giada...???

everyone who has commented so far has been logged :-)

Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting. I had to get that out first! I finish it on Friday and have been missing the little commuting help group since then.

Anne C wrote: "Anne C wrote: "Ooooo someone just returned the Giada book, Imma go grab it!"

Coffee and SPINACH smoothie??!! Do I really trust Giada...???"

I don't think I would count that under either eating better or feeling better!

Anne C wrote: "Alicia wrote: "This is my favorite kind of book! I finished via Hoopla, the new title from Miller and Lesesne called The Joy of Reading which as a school librarian is super helpful!..."

I admit to only listening to two podcasts- Serial and Nice White Parents because I'm not in the habit of listening to podcasts, I'd rather read! So... worth it for a non-podcast listener but a lover of self-improvement?

I just finished The Midnight Library, which was a bit darker than i was expecting!! But I did enjoy it.

I’d also like to recommend a self-care book: The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. Basically a beginner’s guide to Buddhist thought including mindfulness. For me, reading this was like giving myself a therapy session. It helped me learn how to better accept and deal with emotions.

Valerie wrote: "I finished:

Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi"

I loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold! I've read the second and the third in the series comes out this November.

I finished Portrait of a Thief, which has a lot more depth than a typical heist story.

I’m behind on the weekly themes—I’m reading a classic Sci Fi book, Parable of the Sower, right now. I have several self-help books in my TBR pile, but they just don’t entice me.

I finished "The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" last night. I liked it, but it seemed long... Currently working on "The Vanishing Tide." The theme of water still seems to be working it's way into my reading. Three books into the challenge. Seven to go.

Everyone who has commented so far has been counted!

Julia wrote: "I just finished The Midnight Library, which was a bit darker than i was expecting!! But I did enjoy it.

I’d also like to recommend a self-care book: [book:The Wise Heart: A Guide t..."

Thank you for the recommendation, Julia!

Ashley wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I finished:

Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi"

I loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold! I've read the second and the third in the..."

Hi Ashley! When you get a chance can you comment with your signup information? Which branch is your "home" branch/do you use most frequently? Thanks!!! Welcome to the group!

This week's finished books: From Here to Eternity (Caitlin Doughty), When We Cease to Understand the World (Benjamín Labatut), and The Dance of Connection (Harriet Lerner). From Here to Eternity was by far my favorite of the three, though all were good!

Hi Anne! I’m participating through READsquared, though my “home” branch would be Pine Hills.

I read The Midnight Library last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the philosophic references fired up my curiosity as much as the story.
I'm now reading What the Eyes Don't See, Mona Hanna-Attisha, regarding Flint MI water problem and the resistance to admit and correct the issue.
A bit more serious for summer reading.

I'm reading "You Grow Gurl!" by Christopher Griffin because nothing makes me feel better than tending to my houseplants and working in my garden.

I just finished Parable of the Sower and I’m going to switch over to a fluffier book for my next read. Still no self-help on the agenda. :)

Finished yesterday two cool stories, the first is a middle grade/YA verse novel about the Johnstown flood called Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown and the audiobook on Hoopla by Kate Lister called Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts: A History of Sex for Sale for which I will also dive into her other book next month when I have more Hoopla borrows-- I learned about the history of tiramisu in the book about sex for sale!

On Thursday, 7/21/2022, I finished The Worst Best Man . Anne knows why. 😊

I finished The Children on the Hill this week!

I finished “Out of the Corner” by Jennifer Grey”. I completely identified with her musings and judgements on noses, nose jobs, people who got them and for what reasons and how it overwhelmed our young lives. This was also a window of early 80’s NYC clubs, fashions, and freedoms.

Finished The Black Widows by Cate Quinn - very good! and Consensual Hex - extremely good title extremely not good book.

Just finished French Braid, which wasn't light enough to be called a beach read, but not heavy enough to be "serious literature." I just did the math, and the author, Anne Tyler, was 81 when she wrote this. I am feeling like a slacker.

And thanks to Mirkat's suggestion from (last week?) I just finished Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language on Hoopla as an audiobook. I loved her Cultish and after reading this one, I just adore the voice HER voice that she adds to the topic she's writing about.

I read Wrath Goddess Sing pretty quickly over the weekend and loved it. A bold re-imagining of familiar stories.

I finish the audio book of “Finlay Donovan is Killing It”.

I just finished The Secret Bridesmaid .

I also read The Secret Bridesmaid (cute and fluffy) and The Worst Best Man (not my thing).

I finished Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire, both by Sarah J Maas

Alicia wrote: "And thanks to Mirkat's suggestion from (last week?) I just finished Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language on Hoopla as an audiobook. I loved her Cultish and..."

Ooh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too! One of the great things about the audio is that the author demonstrates the vocal examples she's referring to. Thinks like upspeak and vocal fry.

Read Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know from this list. I never would have picked it up if I didn't see it both here and on another recommended reading list from someone I respect. Figured a book written by an organizational psychologist at Wharton would be filled with feel good corporate mumbo jumbo. (I had to rethink my opinions on Wharton!) But I really liked it. So much so that I am looking for a used copy to own. Lots of extremely practical advice and ways to improve conversations and your life by being more open to rethinking than most of us are.

I wish I had read this advice about 15 years ago when I was earlier in my career and parenting and before the divisions that 2016 has sown.

For Week 4, I read Red Rising by Pierce Brown

All comments have been recorded up until this point for the challenge- Keep up the great work!

Joyce wrote: "I read The Midnight Library last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found the philosophic references fired up my curiosity as much as the story.
I'm now reading What the Eyes Don't See, Mona Hanna-..."

Hi Joyce! Thank you for joining us! If you would like to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge, please let us know what your preferred branch is and we will get you entered. Thanks!

Heather, thank you. Bach is my preferred branch.

Joyce wrote: "Heather, thank you. Bach is my preferred branch."

Ok you are all set!