EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi all,

Hope everyone is having a good week! We have tickets to go see Barbie on Sunday, i'm excited! I haven't looked forward to a movie this much in ages.

This week I did a lot of short audio books so there's quite a list of finishes:

Girl Made of Glass- finished up poetry for my genre genius challenge. This was just ok. Poetry is not my genre of choice.

Raven Stratagem - second book of the series, i like it, it's just very complicated.

Crying in H Mart - staff pick from my library, another genre genius. I liked it a lot

The Importance of Being Ernest - plays are one of the genres, and I don't really like reading them. So I found an audio drama version of this, it was pretty fun.

The Past Is Red - this was another short audiobook. I hadn't heard of it before, but it was on Seanan McGuire's list of recommended books. I liked it, pretty funny for a post apocalyptic dystopia book. My main complaint was that it drifted from "now" to past back and forth and it got a little confusing to figure out the passage of time or when exactly it segues.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - another audio play. This was kinda funny, but i also felt like i missed a lot not actually seeing stage action. Might watch the movie eventually.

Currently reading:

The Final Empire - reading the first mistborn book. I haven't read any Sanderson before. I like it so far. About half through.

A Song Below Water - about to start the audio book for this.

QOTW:

borrowing from popsugar again: When it comes to retellings, do you prefer to read the original first?

It kind of depends for me. I'm more likely to read a retelling if it's a story I'm familiar with, and especially if it's a story I like. It's just more appealing to me. But i have read several where either i didn't realize they were retellings until I was committed, or ones of stuff that i'm not THAT fond of but sounded interesting, or ones where the retelling just sounds interesting enough that I went ahead and read them because I didn't really have interest in reading the original. Sometimes reading the retelling will make me interested enough to go dig up the original afterwards, or revisit it.

Happy Friday! Things have been quiet here. Too warm for me but then I've always hated hot weather. We might wind up going to a movie this weekend just to escape the heat.

Finished:
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green - 4 stars - for Popsugar's book with just text on the cover. I still think the first book stands alone just fine, but I also enjoyed the sequel, if only for explaining more about Carl.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - 4 stars - for Popsugar's romance with a fat lead. I didn't quite like this as much as I liked Dani and Chloe, mostly because I didn't like Jacob as much as their love interests, but it was still fun.

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales - 3.5 stars - for Popsugar's book with a song lyric as its title. I loved the premise of this, although it took a bit of suspension of disbelief. There was also a fictional European country thrown in.

Comics & manga:
My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1
Honey and Clover, Vol. 5
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Vol. 6

Currently reading:
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik - for Popsugar's book I meant to read in 2022. I've been meaning to read this whole trilogy, so I dropped all three books into prompts. :)

Upcoming/Planned:
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik - for Popsugar's book with a map. It's got an illustration/diagram of the school in the back, so I'm counting that as a map.

The Golden Enclaves  by Naomi Novik - for Popsugar's book with a color in the title.

QOTW:
I don't think its necessary, but I think sometimes I can help you spot more subtle references to the original. Sometimes, I think retellings are better when they help "modernize" a classic story and bring its message to an audience that might have trouble with the original language or writing style.

It has been a crazy time for us. We walked away from our New Hampshire house purchase, losing our deposit. We discovered we were given drastically incorrect financial advice from an accountant and the correct information means we're staying put. Super stressful.

Last week I finished We Are Electric: Inside the 200-Year Hunt for Our Body's Bioelectric Code, and What the Future Holds. It was very interesting and feels like a biology field similar in its path like the microbiome.

I'm listening to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I'm not sure how I feel about this book yet. It is set in Cambridge, an area I'm familiar with. I'm a woman in Computer Science so I relate to the lonely technical woman. I don't like that by chapter 3 it went into the trope of female tech student must have affair with professor.

We leave in 36 hours for a 3 week PNW vacation. I took a few small paperbacks out of the library. I don't recall what they were, but I'll update when I read them.

QOTW:
I don't necessarily prefer to read the original. I seem to like the modernized versions equally or better (if I'm familiar with the original).

Oh, I'm sorry about the house, but I'm glad you have a plan B available at least.

It was a busy week at work, so I gave up an hour of my reading time for overtime pay and a free sandwich.

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence - I kept seeing this recommended on advice sites, and even though it's nearly 30 years old there have consistently been holds on it, so I grabbed it when it was available. The references to "recent" events are of course all dated, but actually what dated it the most was that some of the advice has apparently made it to the mainstream and was not new to me (e.g. the idea that if you reply after the 10th unwanted message, you've just trained the person that it takes 10 messages to get your attention). Also it is waaay too long, with unhelpful anecdotes about the author's consulting business and rants about the media and stuff. It should be 90% shorter and then it could be a helpful leaflet about the warning signs of violence.

QOTW: I have of course encountered adaptations before reading the original stories, often as a kid (Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the character of Sherlock Hemlock on Sesame Street, surely some books that I can't think of offhand). I don't think I'd actively choose to read a retelling of something I wasn't already familiar with unless it had really great reviews that explained why it was worth reading instead of the original.

That's a bummer, Susan! It's always so disappointing when things like that fall through. Sounds like it was a bit of a roller coaster.

I had a good reading week! Tsalmoth was, as expected, utterly delightful. Given that it's book 16 of a series, I wouldn't recommend starting there, but I do recommend the series (and read them in publication order, despite the fact that they skip around in chronology). There are two more books remaining to be published in the next few years. I slotted this one in under the "Death" prompt because Vlad is an assassin, although in a universe where death isn't actually permanent so his targets can be revivified most of the time. It's complicated. :)

Next up was a re-read of The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. I read it the first time maybe 15 years ago and remembered very little. I rated it 3 stars the first time around and stand by that rating after a re-read; it's a charming little book but nothing special. It's clearly one of Bujold's earlier works and not up to the bar set by her more recent offerings, which I love. I used this for the "Dark" prompt as it includes dark magic.

In a complete change of mood I next picked up Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (prompt plucked from the middle of my TBR, has been languishing unread on my kindle for a long time) and I could NOT put it down. I just started book two and have the third one downloaded already.

QOTW: My answer is similar to Sheri's. I enjoy a retelling where I'm familiar with the source material, since it's fun to catch the references and connections, but at the same time I don't find it completely necessary. Most of the time, whichever version of the story is the first that I encounter gets solidified into my brain as canon, so if I read a retelling first and then encounter the original, I frequently have to remind myself of the fact. Example - the first ever version of the King Arthur story I read was The Mists of Avalon, so when I read other versions that paint Morgan/Morgana/Morgaine as an evil witch I always think to myself "no, she's just misunderstood!" (**I have to acknowledge that it's since come to light that Marion Zimmer Bradley was a child abuser, which of course taints my memory of a book that I adored, but I feel the same way that I do about JKR and Harry Potter - I can love the universe without supporting the author)

Hey ya'll - I haven't checked in since...forever, really (seriously - I can't even remember). More responsibilities at work, more traveling outside of work...but I've been lurking and have picked up SO MANY great suggestions from all of you regular posters, so thank you all for that!

Rather than attempting to recap everything I've read in the last however long, since I know it's been at least a couple years, I'll give you my top 5 for last year and my top 5 so far for this year:

2022 Top 5:
Rule of Wolves - I mean, with the new contract it's probably not the end...but it sure wrapped up a lot and set the stage for some amazing things to come.
The Jean Harlow Bombshell - this one sat in my TBR for a few years before I finally picked it up...I don't know why, but I'm glad I finally did! Very Only Murders in the Building reminiscent.
Husband Material - Hilarious, surprisingly thought provoking, and the best ending ever.
The Sunbearer Trials - a huge thank you to whoever suggested that one...it was like a way better Legends of the Hidden Temple.
The Extraordinaries - the whole trilogy. So many moments that I still laugh about on a regular basis.

First half of 2023 top 5:
Olga Dies Dreaming - So many twists on a not terribly original premise, but every character could support their own book.
On a Sunbeam - sweet, cute, real...but also scifi.
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives - Really makes you think about how everyone is the main character from their own perspective and how stories are framed.
Bluebird, Bluebird - A mystery that could be real.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Perfection

Currently Reading: Interior Chinatown for IRL book club #3...I'm struggling with the format, which I think is a result of reading the Kindle edition, plus the years of hype that preceded my actual reading of it.

Currently Listening: Unhinged It's been so long since I read the first one that I was worried I wouldn't remember enough for it to make sense...but it does a great job of working in things to jog your memory without paragraphs of exposition.

QOTW: I usually don't read retellings if I'm not familiar with the source material (that is, if I realize they're retellings), since many of them don't make much sense without the shared background. There are some stories that are so often used as a jumping off point that a person could probably work out the highlights without ever reading the original (Alice in Wonderland, Pride & Prejudice, Cinderella, etc.) - but I don't see the appeal of reading something that is a specific commentary on a story if I'm not familiar with what it's commenting upon.

Welcome back Megan!

I liked Interior Chinatown, but the format did take some getting used to! I also read it within a few weeks of it coming out, I think, just because I had really liked How To Live Safely in a Since Fictional Universe. So i'd just grabbed his new one without really digging into any buzz.

@Megan: It's interesting that you say that about the ending of Husband Material, because I decided not to read it after a bunch of reviews said that it ruined Boyfriend Material! I equivocate anew. (What I really want is for Alexis Hall to decide to write more Sherlock Holmes pastiche.)

I also had issues with the format of Interior Chinatown, and I'm pretty sure I had it in dead tree format.