EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi all,

Had a good news, somewhat bad news week. Teddy and Moxie both had to go to the vet Monday. Teddy got an A+ from the vet, no signs of regrowth of tumor, great hair growth, good weight, no signs of problems. So yay! Moxie however has been losing weight, been having some litter box issues etc. So her results came back and she's got thyroid problems. Right now we're trying medicine. Have to give her a half pill twice a day. Luckily we found a new wet food that works for her, and she really likes it. So far we've gotten her to eat the pills by hiding them in a glob of food. Let's hope that keeps up!

Also tomorrow I am going to the going away party for my best friend who is moving to California for the next 3-5 years. I'm really bummed! Hopefully she does come back. They're not selling their Michigan house, at least not right now.

This week I finished:

Hell Bent - I liked this quite a lot, maybe even more than the first one. I'm bummed that I have to wait however long until the next comes out! The dangers of getting into a fairly new series!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - this was very meh for me. I admit i didn't go into it with the best mindset. I was in the middle of a book that was taking me longer than I expected, so I had to put it down and start this to get it done in time for book club. Ended up having to super speed read it to get it done because I really wasn't feeling it. I just didn't like the writing style. it had a very "written by a dude" feel with the way the women were written. Lots of talking about the size of their breasts and behinds, lots of talking about sex, stuff like that. Also dropped a LOT of slurs. most the characters were Afro-Caribbean so I guess there could be an argument for reclaiming the n-word. But there were other slurs used that you can't make that argument for.

The Inheritance Games- another audio book. I had wanted a book with brothers for the book nerds challenge so googled around and found this series. PoV character is a girl, but the four hawthorn brothers are all pretty major characters. It's a pretty fun series. Kind of like YA Knives Out. I could do without the love triangle, but whatever. There's still some books left, but i'm also a little annoyed at how much is made of the charity wing of the family giving out 100 million a year. Sure, for regular people that's a huge amount. But this family has double digit of billions. That's like...a drop in the bucket for them. So what are they doing with the rest of their money if only a 100 million is going to their good works? They have the largest personal residence in Texas, a bowling alley in their home, multiple airplanes, an entire lawyer firm that only works for them, own a football team etc. Just kinda tired of the glamorous billionaire. They are the problem in the world.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - re read before bedtime

Currently reading:

The Hawthorne Legacy - audio book. Still fun, new twists. More will they wont they between hawthorn boys.

The Archive Undying - had to set this down to finish the oscar wao. Should finish this up at lunch. Have the last 5% left. It's very confusing and dense, but also fascinating.



QOTW:

Borrowing from Popsugar again: Do you read multiple books at the same time?

I used to be very one book at a time. But now I almost always have an audio book going. Plus I often will have a re read or lighter book going if i'm reading something heavy/scary. And i'm seeing a sleep doctor, she recommended I read something before bed that I'm not super invested in so I don't get tempted to stay up all night reading. Like I'd ever do that. *cough*. So that's why I started a long way to a small angry planet. I've read that several times so it's pretty easy to just read for 15 minutes and put down.

Sheri, I hope the meds help Moxie (is your pet named after the unique-flavored soda from Maine??) and hurray for Teddy. We're heading for Maine tomorrow to go to Acadia NP, one of our favorite places of all time. We were supposed to go today but shifted a day (and thankfully the AirBNB was available the day after to shift into). Hurricane Lee is hitting enough there that it would have been a miserable drive. Let's hope they have power by tomorrow.

I have no finishes this week. I'm still listening to The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. I'm about 80% done and the climax is coming. I have been enjoying this one better than the first The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. I think because he can get on with the story rather than all the introductory stuff that was needed in the first book. It has a tighter feel to it and I'm better able to follow and remember on audiobook.

I'm also still reading The Brass Queen. I have about 1/3 to 1/4 of the way to go. Hopefully I'll finish this week.

I put in for holds on a few random books at the library. We'll see what comes in and what I'll read and listen to next.

QOTW:
Like you I always have both a physical book and audiobook in progress. I consume those in very different ways although I don't have a particular pattern of "I only listen to X and always read Y". Only once, ever, have I both read and listened to the same book to consume that one faster (it was for my first attendance at neighborhood book club and I had very limited time to at least read most of it).

I rarely have more than that going but will occasionally have an informational non-fiction thrown in there, like last week when I read The Glucose Goddess Method: The 4-Week Guide to Cutting Cravings, Getting Your Energy Back, and Feeling Amazing. Even though I often read non-fiction as a narrative, this specific type of book is not what I'd choose to read at bedtime. So last week I had 3 books going. That said, the glucose book was something I read in one sitting in an hour or two.

Also everyone, my NYT summary email today pointed me to the National Book Foundation 2023 lists for fiction and non-fiction.

TBH, none of these immediately catch my interest but I'll read the longer summary on GR and maybe add to my TBR.

https://www.nationalbook.org/2023-nat...

https://www.nationalbook.org/2023-nat...

Late check-in this week. I go back to work on Monday and things are going to get busy next week.

Finished:
The Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth - 3 stars - for Popsugar's "got secondhand" prompt. It was fun and funny, but didn't blow me away.

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo - 5 stars - I continue to just adore this series. A beautiful reflection on grief, and memory, and change.

Comics & manga:
Shortcake Cake, Vol. 7
Shortcake Cake, Vol. 8
Persona 5, Vol. 10
Cats of the Louvre
The Apothecary Diaries 02
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 11
One Piece, Volume 1: Romance Dawn - a long overdue reread, inspired by the live-action series on Netflix

Currently reading:
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall - continuing my pirate kick, I guess. So far, so good, but I'm not that far into it yet.

Upcoming/Planned:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

QOTW:
Kind of. I usually only read one novel at a time, but I will read multiple comics at the same time. Occasionally I will have an audiobook or a nonfiction going at the same time, but very rarely.

Hi all-haven't checked in for a bit, although I've been reading all of your posts. I'm ready for something that keeps me up past bedtime, but instead have a lot of things that I'm DNF or reading to find out what happens but not really enjoying.

Best book I've read this summer is Lessons In Chemistry, about a woman scientist in the 1960s who starts a cooking show. Going to be a series on Apple TV soon. Ping me if you need to check for TW. Also liked the Beekeeper's Apprentice, featuring a young woman who apprentices with Sherlock Holmes. Happy to find a new series.

I finally read Life of Pi (didn't enjoy), Where the Crawdads Sing (liked better than expected), and Jurassic Park (liked).

I am usually a one book at a time person, but will have a fiction going too if I'm reading a non-fiction. And sometimes if it's a slog but I'm going to finish I'll start a second one for relief.

Sheri, I have had good luck with a podcast, Bedtime Stories for Everyone, Where Nothing Much Happens, for helping me shut off my brain when I wake up during the night.

Kathy wrote: "Sheri, I have had good luck with a podcast, Bedtime Stories for Everyone, Where Nothing Much Happens, for helping me shut off my brain when I wake up during the night."

I will swear by the sleep podcast called "Sleep With Me". It saved me when I was struggling with getting to sleep. It sounds similar to the one Kathy mentioned - boring bedtime stories. https://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/

Sheri, I didn't like Oscar Wao either. It was partly the magical realism as deus ex machina thing, but also the skeeviness. A "hello m'lady" type as the hero? No thanks.

Similarly, Kathy, I wasn't into Life of Pi back when it was super popular. I did have a friend who felt the same, and we were like, "Are we missing something?" The puppets for the new stage show are neat but there's no way I'm going to pay to see it.

Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe - This is a book in which the author tries to describe what one might see in the sky from various points in the galaxy, starting with the moon and moving out through several points in the solar system and then to other star systems and such. It seemed pitched at a slightly lower level of knowledge than some other pop astrophysics books, but I still learned plenty. I might go back and read his first book.

QOTW: I pretty much only read one book at a time, but if I read before bed it'll be a reread of something else. Nice to see that's endorsed by a professional.

Oscar Wao has been on my vague mental "I should read that someday" list for a while, but from what you all are saying I think I'm going to pass, so thanks for the heads-up!

Last time I posted I was having a hard time getting into The Dragon Republic. When I finally had some breathing room and sat down to read for more than 15 minutes at a time, I got sucked in and couldn't put it down. Then went right on to book 3, The Burning God, and raced through it in a single day. The ending is stunning. Highly recommend this trilogy, but CW for war/violence/rape. It's historical fantasy that is loosely based on the Sino-Japanese wars, which were pretty nasty.

I'm now about 2/3 through Funeral Songs for Dying Girls. I've been meaning to read something by Cherie Dimaline for a while, and I'm impressed by her turn of phrase.

After all the war and death I'm going to need something a little lighter next!

QotW: I usually only have one fiction novel going at a time, but sometimes have multiple nonfiction books or short story collections in progress.