Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

HAPPY PI DAY!!!  We've got a chocolate pie ready to go :-)

I can't believe another week has flown by!!  My entire sense of time is confused.  Here in the US we had the spring time change last weekend, and that always messes me up for several weeks - getting up in the morning is agony, my body never knows when to eat, and I'm tired all day long and I keep taking naps.  Yesterday I took TWO naps. 

On the plus side: my very first daffodil opened.




Admin stuff
The May final poll is closed, and our May group read will be All Boys Aren’t Blue.

The nomination poll for June (a book set in space) is open - add your nominations here!  Remember to check the list of previous group books that are not eligible, and keep in mind that this is meant to be a book set in space, not a book set on another planet.   This poll will be open for two weeks.  Are you guys liking the new two week schedule?  

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Let us know if you'd like to volunteer to lead the discussion for April or May or June or any other future month.



This week I finished 3 books

Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer - I read this for the AtY three-part category: related to land.  I had high expectations and I was really disappointed, so much so that I now realize I can't bring myself to read anything else by this author, so I need to find another nonfiction book about Indigenous people.   If you're into her brand of spirituality, you'll love this, but it doesn't work for me, and I thought it had no place in a science book,  not even a pop-science book.  I listened to the audiobook, read by her, and her reading style is much too slow imo (which is why I know I can't handle Braiding Sweetgrass, because she reads that too - the only way I can give her another try is to "eye read" it.)

Something About You by Julie James- this was so trite and tropey and predictable and I loved it so much!  James is hit or miss with me, but happily this one was a hit.  I read this for "enemies to lovers" in Popsugar and "Author's name contains J" for AtY.

Quilting: Poems 1987-1990 by Lucille Clifton - great collection!  This isn't for my Challenge, but if you still need a poetry book, I recommend this one.



Popsugar 52% 26 /50
Must Reads 60% 6 /10
AtY 50% 26 /52



Question of the Week
What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)


I loved reading fantasy (eg Andre Norton's books for kids like Lavender-Green Magic, and the The Wizard of Oz series - I hated the movie but I loved the books), mysteries (mostly The Three Investigators books - which do NOT hold up on re-reads!) and books about animals (I LOVED Walter Farley's The Black Stallion series and I might have owned them all! but also books like White Fang).

Wow, crazy it's been a week! Time flew by. It makes me excited for personal reasons. I'd been pretty busy for this past week, again personal reasons, but all is well and all worked out well so I'm grateful.

This week the movie 'Origin' came out on streams so I watched it yesterday with my fam. My mom and I saw it in theaters and yesterday was my dad's first. He said he loved it more than he thought he would so that was pretty neat.

*****

My Book News:

Finished:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents - Woah, what an incredible book! This definitely made a 5-star read for me and out of the books I've read so far it's on top as my favorite.

The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration - What a tragedy! To read about all of these disasters and how the federal and local governments of are no help to people is insane. I knew things were bad, but not to the extent that the book describes. This is a 4-star for me.

*****

Currently Reading:

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture - I've tried reading this book several times before, but because it's so long I can never seem to get to finishing it. My therapist recommended that I read this one so now I'm determined to get through all of it.

*****

Books Bought:

Been busy on the shopping lately, but that will slow down soon (I've got 2 books on pre-order so those don't arrive until the next couple of weeks so they technically don't count).

In the mean time here are the ones I've gotten.

Finding Me - Been wanting to read this since it came out. Finally caved on getting it.

Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany - My sister told me about the tv series so when I found out it was a book it was an automatic must get.

Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943 - I've had the HB for what seems like forever. Finally got the PB which I plan to read, plus it just looks nicer on the shelf.

The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War

Mexicanos, Third Edition: A History of Mexicans in the United States - It's been a while since I've learned about Mexican history. Figured this would be a good place to start. It reads more like a textbook, but that's okay.

In the Shadow of Quetzalcoatl: Zelia Nuttall and the Search for Mexico’s Ancient Civilizations


*****

QOTW:

What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)

Yikes. I'll have to think on this one. I remember loving the Mary Kate & Ashley mystery series, Boxcar Children, a middle-grade adaptation of the Batman & Robin movie, a middle-grade adaptation of the Free Willy 2 movie. I'll have to think on others.

Happy Thursday, y’all. [Wow! I am posting on THURSDAY.]

I spent this week recuperating from visiting family. (I do need some downtime after a week of being constantly with others. That is the introvert, loner in me.)

It was also a week for getting back out into the community. I went to the Aiken County Museum for a lecture on the founding of the county, did a pottery class, and today will venture out for another lecture (local university) and a wine/dinner at a local wine shop.
The lecture is titled “Old Time True Crime: Appalachian Murder Ballads”. Sounds interesting!

Anyway, the trip is in a month and, of course, I am still planning and trying to get stuff together. I was anxious about taking my usual Canon camera and lens, mostly due to the room it would take up and the weight. Then I found a small Canon Powershot that I owned. Just right!

And, with constant dry mouth, I carry a water bottle everywhere. But, the one I use most often is hand-carried. I really couldn’t see me carrying it around Scotland. Then one day this week, I realized that I had another one…it has been hanging over my dining room chair for months and has its own sling. It even has a zippered pocket for a phone!

Things are starting to come together.

Finished:
Scones & Bones – ALCM, PAS. 4* Cozy mystery. Set in my own state with a tea shoppe as a background.

Exile – PAS, ATY #11. 3*. This book surprised me, and I enjoyed it, but I never really identified with any of the characters.

The Allingham Case-Book – PAS. 4*. Another book that surprised me. It is short-stories, a genre I read seldom. And, when I do, it is unusual for me to enjoy ALL the stories!

Long Man – PAS. 4*. Another bit of a surprise as it is a historical fiction about the Tennessee Valley Authority creation of a dam and the impact it had on the hill people in an area near where I grew up.

The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series #1-3 – Reading book #2. Kindle. 4*. Finished the book. I will take a break before reading the next, but the people that populate the story are believable and real feeling.

Currently Reading:
Dreams and Shadows –Kindle. 22%.

The Invitation – PAS, ATY #12. 60%. Meditations.

Outlander – Audiobook. Reread. 62%.

Just Starting:
Messenger of Truth - ALCM

Staying Well With Guided Imagery: How to Harness the Power of Your Imagination for Health and Healing – PAS.

Company of Thieves – PAS. 2%

On Deck:
World After – PAS
The Yellow Wind - PAS
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas – PS #47

PS 6/50
ATY 11/52
GR 48/200

QotW: What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)
I don’t really remember actual books that I read at those ages, but I was deeply into anything that had a horse in it…westerns, black beauty, how to care for a horse, etc. And, I didn’t even have a horse! I can even remember playing games where I was a horse!
I also remember Nancy Drew, so my interest in mysteries started early!

How is it half way through March already? I got very confused at the weekend as I saw lots of people mentioning clock changes, thinking it was weird that I didn't seem affected...but of course it was only in the US! Ours change at the end of the month, so we have two weeks of being extra confused with time zones.

I'm really struggling getting into books at the moment, even when I think I'm picking up something fun, so I've only finished one book again:

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn for someone dies in the first chapter and ATY (senior character). This was fun in parts but I found the "serious" flashbacks pretty boring, even though by the end they served a purpose. I just thought they detracted from the funnier present day parts.

QOTW:
Among my favourite series were the Jinny books by Patricia Leitch (I wanted Jinny's life in the Highlands, didn't understand why I couldn't go live with my cousins and own horses) and The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy. I read anything with horses in though, even if it was mediocre.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer - I read this for the AtY three-part category: related to land. I had high expectations and I was really disappointed, so much so that I now realize I can't bring myself to read anything else by this author, so I need to find another nonfiction book about Indigenous people. If you're into her brand of spirituality, you'll love this, but it doesn't work for me, and I thought it had no place in a science book, not even a pop-science book. I listened to the audiobook, read by her, and her reading style is much too slow imo..."

I like neither spirituality nor slow narrators so I think I'll have to cross her off my list for that prompt. Which is a bit annoying as a lot of the books recommended for that prompt aren't widely available here and hers are free on Audible.

Happy Thursday, everyone! And a very Happy Pi Day to you all!

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the importance that I’ve placed on my reading goals for 2024…

Since the beginning of the year, I have made a tremendous amount of progress on my TBR list, and I feel very proud of what I’ve managed to accomplish.

However, since the middle of February, I’ve been feeling like my reading goals have started to consume other parts of my life. I think a lot of you know that I’ve been having a really hard time focusing on getting my house back to normal after the floor renovation, but I also haven’t engaged in any of the other hobbies that I typically enjoy pretty much since the beginning of the year. I have been having some issues with my anxiety and depression, which have definitely played a role in this, but I’ve also sacrificed a lot of time and energy trying to accomplish my overly-ambitious reading goals.

So, I’ve decided to make the following changes to my reading goals for the rest of the year…

1. While I will complete my Mount Olympus climb for this year’s Mount TBR Challenge, I am no longer aiming to complete 50% of my TBR list before the end of 2024.
2. I am no longer keeping track of completion percentages.
3. I have decreased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal from 400 books to 200.
4. While I will finish the classics I have already started this year, I will not be attempting to read any others in 2024.

Ultimately, the only reading goal I will be continuing to work toward is my goal of reading all of the books I purchase this year before the end of 2024.

I think this will be a really good change for me, and hopefully it will bring some much-needed balance back to my life.

As far as this week’s reading is concerned…

March Mystery Madness continued this week, and it’s been a great experience so far. I’ve been focusing on finishing/continuing some of my mystery series that I’ve owned for a long time, and I’ve managed to make a significant amount of progress over the past week.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 109/200
Mount TBR Challenge: 79/150

📚Physical TBR: 46
📱Ebook TBR: 33
🎧Audiobook TBR: 0
TBR Checklist Total: 79

I did pick up a couple of new releases this week, which were Yakuza Lover, Vol. 12, by Nozomi Mino; and A Grave Robbery, by Deanna Raybourn.

“New” Books Bought in 2024: 34
“New” Books Read in 2024: 28

Finished Reading (Fiction):
This week I finished reading the Jane Austen Mystery series. I had so much fun reading this series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Jane Austen, and who also loves a good mystery. The writing is excellent, and all of the mysteries were intriguing! The books I read this week include:
~Jane and the Waterloo Map — This is the thirteenth book in the Jane Austen Mystery series. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to suicide, abortion, and war. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Jane and the Year Without a Summer — This is the fourteenth book in the Jane Austen Mystery series. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include the death of a dog, which is accidentally poisoned when it eats food meant for someone else. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Jane and the Final Mystery — This is the fifteenth (and last) book in the Jane Austen Mystery series. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to a dog that is killed, as well as suicide. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also continued reading the Darcy Sweet Mystery series this week, and was able to finish all of the ebooks from this series that I currently own. While all five of these books were pretty quick reads, I just couldn’t get invested in them the way I have with most of the other series I’ve read since the beginning of the year. I also didn’t care for the author’s writing style. There are 30 more books in the series, but I’m not planning to get any more of them. The books I read this week include:
~Mists of the Past — This is the second book in the Darcy Sweet Mystery series. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~From the Ashes — This is the third book in the series. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~The Ghost of Christmas — This is the fourth book in the series. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~The Stolen Valentine — This is the fifth book in the series. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~Hiding From Death — This is the sixth book in the series. 📱: ⭐️⭐️

I also read the following books…
~Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone — I picked this book up for a book club that I am attending at one of my local libraries later this month, without knowing very much about it. I’m so glad that I did, because I thought it was a great mystery! I really liked the characters and plot, and loved the author’s approach to the narration. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes toxic family relationships, as well as references to abuse and suicide. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death — I borrowed the audiobook from my local library, and really enjoyed the story! 🎧: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None — I’m still waiting for the next book in the xxxHolic series to arrive, and starting to wonder if it will ever get here.

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently On A Break:
~The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 1 — I am currently 68% of the way through this book. 📚
~The Complete Works of William Shakespeare — I am still a couple of acts into King Richard II.📚
~Tales of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table — I am currently 13% of the way through this book. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include references to incest. (hide spoiler)] 📚

Currently Reading:
~A Mortal Likeness — This is the second book in the Victorian Mystery series. It has been a long time since I read the first book in this series, so it did take me several chapters to get back into the world and really remember the characters. This book has been kind of depressing, so I'm really not sure if I'm going to continue the series after I finish it. I'm currently a little over two-thirds of the way through this book, and will probably finish it tonight. 📚
~Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet — I'm currently listening to the audiobook before bed each night, and I'm really enjoying it. 🎧

QOTW:
I remember the first few Young Jedi Knights books coming out when I was around 10. That was definitely a favorite series of mine. I also loved Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, by Robin McKinley.

Nadine in NY wrote: "HAPPY PI DAY!!!  We've got a chocolate pie ready to go :-)

I can't believe another week has flown by!!  My entire sense of time is confused.  Here in the US we had the spring time change last week..."

Oh man I want pie now... I'll have to stop on the way home from work and get a pie. At least we've got a pizza pie ready to go for dinner...

Finished:

Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn (3/5, book featuring a dragon)

This was a solid adventure story. Draycos, the dragon-ish character, reminds me a bit of Temeraire. The setting is a future with space travel, but the dragons give it some fantasy feeling, so it's a sweet mash-up of genres. This is the first book in a six book series, so there are some loose ends. I may revise my rating upward if the whole series is solid.

Currently reading:

Princess of Dune
The Bible Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
A Time to Sow
The Little Book of History

Question of the week:

Off the top of my head, I remember liking the Clue books, Mr. Topsy Turvy, and any collections of Peanuts comics.

Looking through some of my Goodreads books published before I was 10, I see The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.

The Hardy Boys were books I liked to check out from the library. I was a fan of the Matt Christopher sports books like The Kid Who Only Hit Home Runs. Other early favorites were The Hobbit and whatever Agatha Christie mystery I could find.

Happy Thursday, all!

Man, can we just abolish Daylight Savings Time already? I feel like I'm still trying to recover from the time change. I plan to mostly sleep this weekend, heh...

Started watching another anime this week -- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. It... has a fitting title, haha. But there's something entertaining in how gloriously over-the-top it is.

Books read this week:

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon -- for “book with the word ‘leap’ in the title.” A little awkward leaping (ha ha) into a series midway, but still a lighthearted and fun mystery. Could also count for “book that centers on video games.”

The Eyes and the Impossible: -- for “book with an unreliable narrator.” Enjoyable, but it fell apart in the end. Not sure why it won the Newbery Award…

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir -- graphic novel, not for any challenge. A funny and bittersweet coming-of-age story about family, identity, and what makes a hero

The Shining -- for “book about a writer/author.” Absolutely chilling, as I’ve come to expect from King’s writing. No, I’m not watching the movie. I can handle written horror much better than film horror…

PopSugar Challenge -- 39/45
PopSugar Advanced Challenge -- 2/5

Robot Librarian Challenge -- 21/32
Robot Librarian Advanced Challenge -- 6/10
Robot Librarian Non-Fiction Challenge -- 1/10

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge -- 26/50
Extreme Book Nerd Advanced Challenge -- 6/10
Extreme Book Nerd Non-Fiction Challenge -- 1/10

DNF:

This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us -- I loved Meddling Kids, but none of this guy’s other books have really worked for me. Ah well.

Currently reading:

Vesper Flights -- not for the challenge
Revelator -- for “book with a one-word title you had to look up in the dictionary”
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things -- not for the challenge
Remarkably Bright Creatures -- not for the challenge

QOTW:

I LOVED Calvin and Hobbes growing up. Also The Far Side. I was also a huge fan of the Encyclopedia Brown books.

Happy Thursday!

Finished:
Redsight by Meredith Mooring - 2 stars - for a book by a blind or visually impaired author. I wished I had enjoyed this more. Even handwaving away the nonsensical science as magic, I found it kind of disjointed and the characters were bland. I think the author was trying too hard to capture the feel of Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series, with the whole space nuns who are powered by blood. But I didn't really connect to any of the characters and I pretty much powered through it to finish the prompt. It ended really abruptly, too.

Comics/manga:
Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 29
Akane-banashi, Vol. 4
The Ancient Magus' Bride Vol. 19
The Apothecary Diaries 11
The King’s Beast, Vol. 12
Oshi No Ko , Vol. 3
Oshi No Ko , Vol. 4
Horimiya, Vol. 4
Horimiya, Vol. 5
Horimiya, Vol. 6

I am currently at 24/50 prompts for PopSugar (22/45 and 2/5).

Currently reading:
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman - reading along with the group now that I have a digital print copy

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Ann Older - probably for a book set in the future

Upcoming/Planned:
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer - a nonfiction book about Indigenous people... although Nadine's comment on her other book is making me wary of this one! *lol*

QOTW:
When I was really little, I adored The Poky Little Puppy. I know I had other Little Golden Books, but that's the only one I remember. I also remember I had a three-book set of fairy tale collections with blue covers that I loved.

I do remember reading a lot of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. I think around the third or fourth grade was when I started getting into Sweet Valley Twins and Babysitter's Club. Oh, and Beverly Cleary, The Mouse and the Motorcycle! Another book I remember getting from a Scholastic school book fair and loving was One Step at a Time.

At some point around this time, too, I read The Hero and the Crown and began my fantasy obsession. My copy of that book is literally falling apart.

Happy Thursday! And Happy Pi Day! We've got some pi shot glasses around here somewhere. I'll have to see if I can dig them out. It's also St. Louis Day... celebrated only in St. Louis, of course. The oldest telephone area code assigned to St. Louis is 314.

2024 Reading Challenges: I’ve read 103 books so far this year with an average length of 318 pages and an average rating of 3.78.

52 Book Club: 25/52
ATY: 20/52 (Spring Challenge: 0/12 + Bonus 4/5)
Booklist Queen: 25/52
Diverse Baseline: 8/36
Popsugar: 23/50
Robot Librarian: 27/52
ICYMI Backlist: 2/12

Recently Completed:

The Seven Year Slip: I’m not sure why I didn’t enjoy this one as much I’d anticipated. It was okay, but I won’t ever think about it again or reach for it as a comforting re-read. (ATY #44 – a touch of magic) ★★★

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures: I felt cheated by this one. There’s a quote from Ed Yong on the cover: “A miraculous, transcendental book.” I’d just recently finished An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us and expected a similar book… But this is a memoir, not a book about science, and the author has no scientific background. The sea creatures are discussed incidentally, used only to highlight the author’s own experiences. (52 Books #38 – published by Hachette) ★★

Mr. Texas: Another one from the 2023 NPR Books We Love list! Thoroughly enjoyable comic send-up of Texas politics. (Robot Librarian Advanced #2 – a parody or satire) ★★★★

The Rewind: I’ve had this book on my shelves for ages. I’ve tried to read it several times and just couldn’t do it. I tried again and actually finished it this time. It was fine, but I didn’t really care about Ezra and Frankie. (ATY Spring Bonus – title starts with a letter in SPRING/Booklist Queen #48 – a book you own but haven’t read) ★★★

Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America (52 Books #52 – published in 2024) ★★★★

Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves and the Will to Swim (52 Books #8 – features the ocean/Popsugar #1 - leap in the title) ★★★

The Bad Muslim Discount: Following two families from Pakistan and Iraq in the 1990s to San Francisco in 2016, this novel about being Muslim immigrants in modern America is both provocative and humorous. (ATY Spring Bonus – title starts with a letter in RAINBOW/Diverse Baseline #9 – BIPOC author with different religious background) ★★★★

Bookshops & Bonedust: Exactly what I expected from a Legends & Lattes prequel… cozy and enjoyable. (ATY #2 – related to something read in 2023/Popsugar #38 – a cozy fantasy) ★★★★

Five Little Indians: Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support, or family, they find their way to Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission. (Diverse Baseline #8 – Indigenous author/Popsugar #34 – at least 3 POVs) ★★★★



Currently Reading:

Mr. Mercedes (Booklist Queen #14 – published in 2014/ICYMI #3 – published in 2014)
The Future (52 Books #36 – futuristic technology/ATY Spring Challenge – white cover/Popsugar #19 – a book set in the future)
The Whispers (ATY #42 – a sound-related word in title)
Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America (52 Books #29 – published in a Year of the Dragon/ATY #10 – a history or historical fiction book)
Georgie, All Along: 2023 NPR Books We Love selection. (ATY Spring Challenge – yellow cover)
Once More with Feeling: Another 2023 NPR Books We Love choice. (ATY Spring Bonus – title starts with a letter in SHOWER)
Hang the Moon (ATY #10 – a history or historical fiction book)
Age of Vice (ATY Spring Challenge – a gold cover/Booklist Queen #20 – a debut author)
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years (52 Books #10 – told in nonchronological order/ATY #22 – author from African country)
Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control

QOTW: Up to age 10 or so? I loved the Little House series, especially On the Banks of Plum Creek. I also fondly remember Misty of Chincoteague, Caddie Woodlawn, A Little Princess, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

I can't shake the reading slump for some reason.

I might use this one (instead of another arc) for a book published in a 24 year as The Poison Pen by Paige Shelton will be out later this year (and turned out to be first in the publishing order so I read it before the book I had planned for this) It was a decent amateur sleuth mystery. Also set in Scotland it could have worked for bucket list if I hadn't already had one.

Still reading a lot of graphic novels

Once Upon a Time at the End of the World Vol. 1 by Jason Aaron a dystopic story that was enjoyable

Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? by Neil Gaiman Not my favorite thing by Neil

QOTW

I love this question. I read a lot of mysteries especially Nancy Drew by the collective authors of Carolyn Keene the Trixie Belden books by Julie Campbell, and the Hardy Boys Franklin W. Dixon but I was into Nagio Marsh and Agatha Christie

I read a lot of the Star Trek tie in books and The Lord of the Rings and given how many graphic novels I read now it'll come as no surprise I was hugely into comics especially the Fantastic Four, The X-Men and The Justice League

Happy Pi Day and it's Thursday!!! This week has been crazy. I've been working from home since Monday morning. There was a power outage in the Downtown area that affected our internet and security systems and it took them so long to get everything together so now we're back.

I finished 2 books, neither one for the challenge.
Love Everlasting Vol. 1I loved the art of course but the storyline was a bit confusing and I feel sorry for poor Joan.
Where the Body Was Another cool graphic novel that I finished. I liked the mystery behind it and the nostalgia of the early 80's.

Currently Reading:
Vox
Call Us What We Carry: Poems and
City of Bones

Question of the Week
What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)
I loved anything by Judy Blume

Jen wrote: "Happy Thursday!

Finished:
Redsight by Meredith Mooring - 2 stars - for a book by a blind or visually impaired author. I wished I had enjoyed this more. Even hand..."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed by Redsight. I actually ended up DNFing it and going for a different book for that prompt.

Happy Thursday! I might have to find some place to get a slice of pie to celebrate the day- each year I think about it and then completely forget. It's been a fun weekend/week- got to see some friends, went to the warehouse sale for a book store I love- it was very crowded, and saw an old b-movie at the local alamo drafthouse theater which is always a trip.

Reading wise- not a good week. Had another dnf and a book I should have dnf'd. Both I'd been excited for, but maybe I was just excited over the pretty cover?? They were new, and I didn't look at any reviews before checking them out. Luckily they were just from the library. But still...Disappointing! I think I need a break from fantasy for a minute. I think sometimes if I read too much of one genre I get burnt out on it. It happened before with mysteries and historical fiction, and I have some more fantasy on hold right now that I'm excited for. So I think this week is a palate cleanser week of everything besides fantasy.

Finished:
The Prison Healer- this was fun, pacing is a little wonky but picks up towards the end. I will say, if you think too long about the plot or the world building, it'll start to unravel a bit. But the ending makes me want to continue with the series at some point.
-no prompt

Lore of the Wilds- I should have dnf'd this, but I'd just dnf'd something else and I was being stubborn. This was very disappointing. The tone is weird- it feels like it was supposed to be ya but then romantasy was getting popular so they aged up the characters and threw in some smutty scenes, but the characters still make decisions like they're 15. I feel like this whole story wasn't thought through- how does the magic work, what is the world like, would a girl who's being hunted down really act like this??
-no prompt

Potentially up next:
Boys Weekend- the ToB review of this made me want to pick this up
The Centre- time to get back to this loan
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore- I loved sourdough, hopefully I love this too

QotW:
There's so many I could list!

The Hundred and One Dalmatians- I loved the disney movie, then found the original book and was obsessed. I checked this out from the schools library so many times in a row, the librarian finally told me I had to stop

Mandy- my older cousin gave this to me for christmas and I still have my copy. I wanted a secret cottage too

No Flying in the House- I wanted to fly so badly. There's a part where if you can kiss your elbow it means you have magic- I twisted myself in knots trying to get to my elbow!

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle- I read this with my mom, and remember thinking "I could do that too!" Kids are so cute

And of course the Babysitters Club series that I was completely obsessed with

Can't believe it is Thursday already! Or that we are already at the middle of March!

ATY 38/52 PS 22/50

Finished:
Water for Elephants = PS Nanowrimo and please let us never see this prompt again! I've read everything worth reading! ATY - historical fiction
Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes - ATY - title 6+ words
An Offer From a Gentleman - ATY - part of series
Only a Viscount Will Do - ATY Prompt about land
Grumpy Monkey Spring Fever: Includes Fun Stickers and Hidden Easter Eggs! - ATY botanical cover - and it's the last one! 😢
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories - for a Seuss challenge
The Peacock and the Sparrow - PS unreliable narrator, ATY 2023 Five Best Books espionage list

Currently Reading:
The Silence of the Girls
The Alchemist
Glory Be
Crooked Kingdom

QOTW: I can't say I really can name any. That was so many decades ago - other than things like Little Golden Books and a couple of Christmas things like The Night Before Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (which was a Little Golden Book and I still have a copy). Plus all the books were passed down to my younger sisters, not kept by me. I also don't quite remember what age I was when I read Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, or the Bobbsey Twins - that was more likely after I turned 10.

Popsugar: 38/50
Robot Librarian: 31/52

Read: The Queer Art of Failure

Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey This was more biographical than The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times, but I enjoyed The Book of Hope much more, which was more idea-heavy.

The City We Became for prompt BIPOC horror and RL prompt main chracter over 60. NYC is older than 60. Am I right or am I right? I ended up enjoying this one much more than I expected from the first few pages. Definitely a love song to NYC.

Flamer Uggh, this had so much crass, disturbing humor in it with a "redemptive" message pasted over the very end. Didn't care for it.

Reading: The Women Are Up to Something: How Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch Revolutionized Ethics for women's history month. Interestingly, a man wrote it and didn't write it terribly well, imo. Oh well.

QotW: The books that made the most impact on me when I was a child were The Dark Is Rising series, Emily of New Moon series, and the Babysitter's Club.

Okay so I've started reading:

Mexicanos, Third Edition: A History of Mexicans in the United States

The more I thought on the title and the author, the more they both started to sound familiar. That's when I realized I had the second edition, Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States . Read it for my Mexican history class in college a long while back.

Kind of cool that I now have both editions.

Hi all! Happy Pi Day! I only realized it was coming up a couple of days ago when it was mentioned in a Pizza Hut commercial! (the nearest Pizza Hut is 45 minutes away, the commercials torture me! And don't even get me started on Dairy Queen and Sonic....) So I am not prepared. A weird day here, my kiddo went to bed and woke up with a tummy ache, but she's acting both sick and fine...?? I caved and let her stay home. And I have a weird pain in my cheekbone that feels like I got punched (I did not, that I know of!). But the weather is gorgeous... for now. I saw crocuses in bloom a few days ago and my daffodils are sprouting. They haven't bloomed since the first year I planted them, so I don't have hope, but maybe with all this early warm weather??

I finished Deaf Republic for a book by a hard of hearing author. I liked it OK, but I don't think I'll remember it for long.

Otherwise, reading ADHD has kicked in- must read ALL the things!! So, I know others of you have mentioned this before, but it hasn't happened to me before, and in record time. Last week I was browsing and I came across Burntown. My library doesn't have it, but I could ILL it. So I put a hold on it. I can't remember WHY I felt I needed it immediately!! It's not a new book, I don't know that it fits a prompt that I've been searching for (it does fit someone dies in the first chapter, probably where I'll use it). No idea what I was thinking.... But I read the first few chapters and I'm into it.
Meanwhile, I'm also halfway through Burying Water, also a "murder" mystery (the victim survives), so it can't be that I was itching for a mystery...
Reading a bit more in Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll.
Trying to get back into The Brothers Karamazov after my cold.
Subscribed to Audible again, and found Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution for free, which is a mere 28 hours long....
Ought to get back to Schindler’s List before I forget everything I already read.
And half a dozen library books are coming due soon...

QOTW: I also loved anything horse or unicorn books. Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. The Judy Blume Fudge books. My favorite picture book was Little Bear, I just loved the illustrations. Loved, and still reread every so often, Bridge to Terabithia, A Wrinkle in Time, and Number the Stars. Those were books I read in 4th and 5th grade, so right about age 10.

Happy Thursday! I went home early today to catch a bit of the gorgeous spring weather. Sun, 18 degrees...

PS: 7/50
FNL: 9/40
Total: 14/52

Finished
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris⭐⭐
PS #4: A book about a writer/ author, FNL #26
O my, this was very very predictable and poorly written. I know why I usually avoid covers like this. I read this one for a book tournament.

Currently reading
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang
Rode sneeuw in december by Simone van der Vlugt

QOTW
Lots of Dutch books, mainly series for girls, so no use mentioning them here (Floortje Bellefleur, De Drieling, Bianca) and of course Snuf de Hond (a dog and a couple of kids in the resistance during WW2). The only translated book I liked was the Little House on the Prairie series because of the tv show.

Laura wrote: "Happy Thursday! And Happy Pi Day! We've got some pi shot glasses around here somewhere. I'll have to see if I can dig them out. It's also St. Louis Day... celebrated only in St. Louis, of course. The oldest telephone area code assigned to St. Louis is 314...."



Oh wow, my area code is 315!! However, (a) I have no idea how I'd "celebrate" that tomorrow (make salt potatoes I guess??), and (b) there's enough celebrating going on right now with March Forth and Pi Day and St Patrick's Day and the Spring Equinox and two family birthdays ... I don't need another celebration this week!

Jennifer W wrote: "Otherwise, reading ADHD has kicked in- must read ALL the things!! ..."



Ugh I've been struggling with this. My current audiobook is Band of Sisters and my current ebook is The Women of NOW: How Feminists Built an Organization That Transformed America, both for Women's History Month (although it turns out Band of Sisters is 3 POVs so I can use it for the Challenge), and they are both SOOOO SLOW! Why so slow??? I feel like this audiobook is never going to end, and I'm not motivated at all to read more than a few pages of "NOW" mostly because it doesn't fill any open challenge categories. So I pick up my phone and instead of opening one of these books, I start searching for OTHER books in Libby and tagging them to read soon. I want to read All the Books and I don't want to read these books!

We've been enjoying what my coworker calls "false spring," a run of 60 degree days before going back to mid-40s again. I ate lunch outside today, and it was glorious.
I managed to finish the last of the ToB books I needed, just in the nick of time for their matches. Most of the judgements (so far) have gone the way I thought they would, but there have been a few surprises.

Finished:
The Guest - (a book with an unreliable narrator) I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, though maybe enjoy isn't the right word. It was very stressful, but so fascinating to follow Alex's POV.
Chain-Gang All-Stars - (A book where someone dies in the first chapter) I listened to the audiobook, and I am very, very grateful that the character who sings actually got to sing. Most of the time, the narrator will just read the lyrics, and it sounds lame (there's right involved, I'm sure, but still). As for the book itself, it wasn't really for me. But it did make me realize I'm getting burned out on books where multiple characters are introduced with full backstories, regardless of how tangential they are to the actual plot.
The Shamshine Blind - (RH Howdunnit/Whydunnit mystery) I enjoyed reading this, but in the end it felt a little underwhelming.
The Wild Party - (a book that's been turned into a musical) I mostly read this because Art Spiegelman did the illustrations for this edition, but I'm glad I did.

Currently Reading:
Rental Person Who Does Nothing
Roaming

QOTW: The B is for Betsy books by Carolyn Haywood! I read a lot of books when I was a kid, but those ones stand out as ones I went back to again and again.

Happy Thursday! This week is just stretching out forever, it feels like.

Finished
Denison Avenue My final Canada Reads shortlist book. As promised, a fairly heart-wrenching experience, the story of a recently-widowed older Chinese lady just feeling lost in her city. I did love a lot of the style innovations.

Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977 I had a lot of fun reading this, even though I'm not a big gamer. It also made me thinking about getting into gaming a little more, but I'm not sure if I'll follow through on that or not. Used for centering on video games prompt.

The Atlas Complex Man, all these characters did was monologue endlessly about their feelings and relationships, rather than anything about what was actually happening. I feel like I would have liked a bit more plot and a little less analysis. But that said, I read pretty much straight through the series, so it hooked me somehow, even though I think I rated them all at 3 stars. Unfortunately, I already filled in my at-least-3-POVs book, so I used it for self-pubbed author, since she originally self-published the first in the series.

Land of Milk and Honey This book just sucked me in. I wasn't planning on reading it any time soon, although I'd added it to my TBR at some point last year. Then I saw it at the library when I was there to pick up other things, and decided to give it a shot. Still didn't plan to read it right away as I had other library books due sooner, but I was out with it in my bag and had some spare time, so I just decided to read a couple pages. Then kept going, and it jumped to the top of my reading pile even when I had other options. Just an engrossing story, and oh man, the descriptions of food - both wonderful and terrible dishes. Not for a prompt.

Currently Reading
Call Us What We Carry: Poems
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun
The Contortionist's Handbook
Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business
Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

Feeling a little off track - I've picked up quite a few books lately that are not as challenge reads. Usually it's later in the year that I end up going off list! Although maybe I read this way every year (I am easily distracted) and it's just that I'm not able to make as many things fit like I could previously. I'm still making good progress, so we'll see how things play out.

QotW
So many books! I was definitely an avid reader from an early age. I don't remember the exact age for all of these, but I think they'd qualify.
Favorites:
All of L.M. Montgomery's catalogue - I think I might have had all of her books.
The Little House on the Prairie series.
Madeleine L'Engle.
The Maze in the Heart of the Castle
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - like Erin, I thought it could be me - part of the reason I sail now is due to this book I'm sure!
Half Magic and the rest of that series
Swallows and Amazons, and that series (more fodder for sailing)
Five Children and It
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
The Chronicles of Narnia
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Very Last First Time

My parents wanted me to clean out some of the stuff I have in their basement and I had a couple of boxes of childhood boxes there. Opening them and seeing these titles, I wasn't willing to get rid of them! So now they're in a box at my place, and I plan to reread them all at some point to determine whether they should make it onto my shelves. Slightly worried about the suck fairy having come for some of them...

Nadine in NY wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "Otherwise, reading ADHD has kicked in- must read ALL the things!! ..."


Ugh I've been struggling with this. So I pick up my phone and instead of opening one of these books, I start searching for OTHER books in Libby and tagging them to read soon. I want to read All the Books and I don't want to read these books!..."

Lol, yes, the result of reading ADHD (for me anyway) is I *want* to read all the things and end up reading *none* of the things!

Hello from Columbus. We’re having lovely (but only lovely if you don’t have to go out in them) thunderstorms today. It’s been very warm and sunny lately but I know the forecast is dipping again next week so I’m trying not to let myself get too disappointed 😭
I’ve been weirdly tired all week so I’ve been falling asleep around 8 every night and haven’t gotten a ton of reading done as a result.

Finished:
The Ten Thousand Doors of January for a bildungsroman. I’d like a book that was just about exploring the worlds and finding new doors, the character bits of this book kind of fell flat for me but not so much that I found this book hard to read. Overall a fun read but nothing mind blowing lol

Currently Reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible
Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
It’s not on goodreads but Rescued, a Lent devotional from Blessed is She
Peter Pan
We Ride Upon Sticks

QOTW:
I really liked those Dear America books, specifically the royal ones. Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Austria, France, 1769 was my favorite. Sabriel, The Neverending Story, Betsy-Tacy, Who is Victoria?, The White Stallion, and Amy, Number Seven are some books/series I remember really enjoying as a kid.

Challenges:
Popsugar - 4/45; 1/5
Read Harder - 10/24
Classics - 2/12
European Tour - 4/10
12 Friends - 6/12
Yearly Goal - 49/150

Hi all,

This week's been weird weather. Weekend was all spring-like and warm, Monday snowed. Yesterday was 70. Today is rainy, possible storms this evening. Such weird weather!

I'm still infected with Baulder's Gate brainworms, so reading is still kinda patchy. I finished:

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism - my books & brew read. This was pretty interesting, I liked it over all. I'd kind of say i didn't really LEARN a lot, but it was interesting. Very pop science i think. Kind of felt a little repetitive for how short it was, and didn't really blow my mind, but it did provoke a lot of good discussions at book club, and attracted some new people which was nice.

The Best Thing You Can Steal - this was fine, mostly fluff. I'd probably have liked it more if it were the first Simon Greene I'd read. But it felt a lot like the Nightside books, while trying really hard to not be the Nightside books. It still took place in a dark magical underside of London you could only get to by stumbling in or knowing the way...but went out of it's way to NOT mention the Nightside or any of the prominent Nightside characters or locations. But the vibes were so similar it just felt weird. Like why write something so close to the Nightside, and not just set it there? Either needed to just accept he was writing a Nightside spin off, or he needed to work harder to spin in a different direction. WOrks for 24 letters in title.

Be the Serpent - finally felt up to tackling what terrible things were befalling Toby now. Really glad the library had the next one available immediately, because I needed it ready.

Currently reading:

Sleep No More - had to immediately switch into this. I just love this series. Most the time I start getting bored of series this far in. But this one it's just really ramping up now and all starting to come together after years of building. I think it'll work for my unreliable narrator book.

Shades of Milk and Honey - current audio book. this will be my nanowrimo book. I liked her lady astronaut first book at least, so figured I'd give this a try when I saw it was a nanowrimo. It's ok so far, but I'm not a huge Regency fan. So all the manners and talks of suitors and respectability and propriety is just meh for me. But the magic-as-art is at least interesting.

QOTW: I was a huge reader as a kid, so I read all kinds of things. Some of the stuff that stands out:

Bruce Coville books, my intro into sci fi. Particularly the Magic Shop books, I LOVED Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. i also really liked the Aliens Ate My Homework series.

The Saddle club books, becuase I was a huge horse girl. I did also really like the Thoroughbread books, although that tended to have a little more tragic things happening to the horses, because racing is dangerous. I was a sensitive kid so there were a lot more books I'd kinda skip in my series re-reads.

The Little White Horse -I adored this one, although I never really understood how everyone mistook a lion for a giant dog.

Y'all got me worried for Redsight now. I was excited to find a fantasy book that fit that prompt. I have it on hold, should get it soon. Guess we'll see how I do with it.

Daylight Savings Time Must End. Cannot stay awake.

And the Santa Ana winds have kicked up. For you non-SoCal people, they are supposed to be in the fall. They wreak havoc with your allergies and knock trees down.


But I still managed to finish 3 books:

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie:
PS: n/a
52: #48 contains the word secret
ATY: #43 Edgar award winner
Robot Librarian: #15: mentioned in a tv show

Around the World In 80 Days by Jules Verne
PS: n/a
52: n/a
ATY: #32 number in the title
RL: #6 translated from another lang


There There by Tommy Orange
PS: #34 At least 3 POVs
52: #46 Indigenous culture
ATY: #14 Indigenous main character
RL: #4 color in the authors name


Currently reading:
Demon Copperhead
Braiding Sweetgrass
Dear California
The Mists of Avalon
The Annotated Arabian Nights
The Sun Also Rises
In Search of Lost time

About to start:
Daisy Jones and the Six
London
the Wager


QOTW:
Judy Blume (everything!)
Trixie Belden series
All Of A Kind Family series
Little House On the Prairie books
A big hard bound book of Disney stories

Happy Thursday!

It's been sort of a rough couple of days. I've had a library board babysitter since my new director is in classes in Carson. So we have short hours. The interviews for filling his position is tomorrow.

The weather finally got sunny, but now we have north winds that are super chilly, which counteracts the spring like weather.

Popsugar:11/50
Finished:
Spoiled by my Stalker ps 28 - the main male mc is 42. I'm going for it.

Reading: none that I"m aware of

Aty: 14/52
Finished:

Reading:

Goodreads Challenge 190/400
Finished:

Story Hour:
When Glitter Met Glue

Light Novel:
The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General!
The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! Volume 2
The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows: Volume 1
Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break Off My Engagement and Now He's All Lovey-Dovey?! Volume 1
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord Act 1
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord Act 2

Romance:
Spoiled by my Stalker
The Enforcer

Reading:
I Shall Survive Using Potions! Volume 2 (I Shall Survive Using Potions!
Darker by Four
XOXO
Darker by Four


QOTW:

An Invitation to the Butterfly Ball
The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales the awesome unsanitized versions.

Happy Pi Day! Pizza and pie for supper, nice and healthy. Haha
Anyway it was a weird week that has had spring, freezing rain, snow, fog and winter.

Finished Reading:

The Christmas Guest ⭐⭐⭐ (PS genre I avoid)
This was really good until the very end. :( I'd explain but it ruins the whole point of the novella.

Homegoing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS one word title look up in dictionary)
So Homegoing wasn't in the dictionary, oh well. I listened to the audiobook because the ATY rejects challenge needs an audie award winner. I really loved this book even though the subject matter is upsetting. Every chapter is a different descendant's pov of the two sisters. Every character could of had their own book.

I Want My Hat Back ⭐⭐⭐
Nothing Rhymes with Orange ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A couple of picture books just because.

The Stand-In ⭐⭐⭐ (ATY crime not murder)
Good rom-com set in Toronto.

Punderworld, Volume 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Persephone and Hades comic with gorgeous artwork like Lore Olympus.

Blood Stain Volume 1 ⭐⭐
I tried this because Punderworld was great and inspired by these characters. Artwork was still great but there was no story so it was boring.

Once & Future, Vol. 2: Old English ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still a cool idea with making old stories real.

Strange the Dreamer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (recommended by librarian)
I finally finished this. I started it last spring and got stalled at the halfway mark. Grabbed the audio and finished it.

Odder ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (PS animal POV)
So cute! Novel in verse with lots of info on otters.

PS 21/50
ATY 19/52
Goodreads 63/150

QOTW:
Robert Munch books, especially Purple, Green and Yellow and Paperbag Princess.

I loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar and his other books for the artwork.

Into the Land of the Unicorns series by Bruce Coville

Harry Potter

I finished Street Dreams.

I'm now reading From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present.

QOTW: I always loved the Paddington books and Black Stallion. Emily's Runaway Imagination, Misty from Chincoteague.

Happy Thursday. We do not have pie, much less chocolate pie. So I'd rather be at Nadine's.

I did not finish a book this week, but I will finish one this weekend, especially since I have a 4 day weekend.

Series - 2/12
Nobel laureates - 1/5
Mysteries/Thrillers - 2/13

ATY - 8/45
PS - 4/30

Currently reading:
Meddling Kids - 85% done
Mortal Coil - 40% done

Buddy Reads:
Mere Christianity - 65% done
This Present Darkness - 40% done

QOTW: I love the Little House on the Prairie books, MacDonald Hall books, and Corduroy the bear. And Nancy Drew - the seed of my love of mysteries/thrillers began with her.

Happy Thursday!

(screw the clock saying 00:03)

I always forget about Pi(e) Day because we write our dates differently so it never triggers a memory, haha!

We had a wonderful day today. First Spring day of the year, so tomorrow we'll celebrate with rain and possible hail and thunder & lightning xD

My CFS/ME is still in the gutter, and I think I'm doing a good job of keeping my depression at bay, but I can usually only say for sure in hindsight so we'll see. I am focusing a lot on my puzzle (I finished section 9 today! Only one more to go!) and watching Shameless. I'm about to start season 7, and still loving it. Even if season 6 was a tough watch cuz my favorite characters wasn't in it. Hope he comes back soon! Also caught up on the Dreamlight Valley update.

The I'm Just Ken performance at the Oscars made staying up for it worth it, and Wie is de Mol finale came and went (I got it wrong, but she was my second choice so yay!) and De Mol (Belgium) is starting soon so I'm excited.

Tomorrow I'm going to see The Zone of Interest. It's a movie I've been really wanting to watch, but it plays at terrible times only, so when I saw it played at 2pm I figured screw my chronic illness, I'm going! So we'll see how that goes xD

Had my second physical therapy appointment yesterday, where she hurt me a lot again (my leg is literally bruised) but I am starting to feel improvements on my knee!!

Cats are doing quite well, too, and Lucy is still healthy and happy.

Is my distraction technique working? Cuz I still got nothing to report reading wise, haha! I read two short fics, but it's terrifying reading fics for a show you're still watching and fics from 2013 are a different beast I forgot about xD (lots of 'tongues battling for dominance' and 'letting go of a breath they didn't know they were holding') So I can't wait to finish this show so I can dive into the 14k fics that are waiting for me!

QOTW
Harry Potter. I was born in 1994, so they definitely qualify for the under 10 part. Most books aren't gonna be known here, though, as they're obviously Dutch, but I read all of Carry Slee and Jacques Vriens and Francine Oomen. Also the 'Op zoek naar Dolfijnen' series, originally known as 'the Dolphin Diaries' (Into the Blue). I still have my entire set. Same goes for the 'Hoe Overleef Ik' (How do I Survive) series by Francine Oomen. Those are the ones I am sure of I started under 10 at least, hahah!

Happy Thursday!

I only finished one book this week and my Current stack has positively exploded, so things are going great :D Excited for St Paddy’s on Sunday, hubby is making Guinness shepherd’s pie. The time change hit me harder than coming back from Arizona did, ugh. I didn’t feel jet laggy at all from the trip, but this past weekend a ton of my friends performed in a local professional production of Nicholas Nickleby (which I now desperately want to read) and it was a long show. Like, the original show was an 8-hour affair that lasted two nights (4hrs/4hrs). Ours was the abbreviated version, which still runs for 4-1/2hrs in a single evening. It’s a BEAST. Then we made the shortsighted decision to hit the bar for a round afterward, so with the time change I ended up getting home at 3am. Not doing that again any time soon!

Finished:
Hild - ugh this was FANTASTIC. A good slow book I could fall into, but with enough intrigue going on to keep my attention. I can’t wait to listen to the sequel!

PS 13/50
ATY 14/52
Mount TBR 5/48

Currently:
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley - picked this up after being disappointed with HER LOST WORDS and so far it’s delivering on all fronts. I’m always glad to find nonfiction that reads easily and moves quickly.

Vampires of El Norte - loving this dual-POV audiobook! The angst is real, and the horror (so far) is fairly light. Horror book by a BIPOC author

A Tempest of Tea - tea + vampires + heist? I haven’t had much time for this but I like where it’s going! (also, 2 vampire books?!)

Back burner:
Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman - Alan Rickman’s exquisite diaries have gone back to the library for the time being
The White Rose - ugh I don’t have the mental bandwidth to split time between this and Tempest so it’s waiting
The Wretched of the Earth - again with that mental bandwidth thing, although this is considerably denser than I had expected when I picked it up. Stellar, but requires focus and more time than I can devote just now

QOTW: What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)
Call of the Wild was a big one for me! Little House in the Big Woods, Island of the Blue Dolphins, I think Julie of the Wolves may have been around this time too… but also Boxcar Children, Encyclopedia Brown, and BabySitters Club (and Little Sister, I DEVOURED the Karen books).

Another week has flown by! I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked but I did finish one of my books-in-progress, which was one of my NetGalley backlist titles. I just need to write up a short review and move on to my next one. Since I was able to use the book I finished for an open prompt, I'm now at 5/45 and 2/5 for this challenge, and 15/100 for my overall Goodreads Reading Challenge.

Finished:
* The Spanish Diplomat's Secret by Nev March, which I used for the advanced prompt "a book with 24 letters in the title" since it has more than 24 letters in the title.

Currently Reading:
* The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim, which I really need to get moving on since it was a Giveaways win;
* Much Ado about Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin; and,
* Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb, which is one of my book clubs' picks for March.

QotW:
What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so) I loved the Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary, anything by Judy Blume, the Choose Your Own Adventure books, the Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol, and Ed Emberley's Big Green Drawing Book.

I like the polls being two weeks. Since I often skip weeks here, it usually ensures that I still get to vote.

This was the week I tackled poetry. I like reading poems, but I don’t care for reading poetry collections. When I read poems, I’ll read them multiple times over months or sometimes years before I’m ready to think about another poem. This one was always going to be rough for me. I avoided all of my favorite poets out of fear I would end up hating them after reading 24+ of their poems in such a short period. This sounds ridiculous and overwrought typed out. I have a lot of feelings, okay? ;)

Finished
the sun and her flowers (a collection of at least 24 poems). This book felt a lot more substantial than milk and honey. It was still deeply personal but focused on more than toxic romantic relationships.

Not a Sound (a book by a deaf or hard-of-hearing author). This was an okay thriller. The main character being deaf added some tension since she/we couldn’t overhear conversations or where the killer might be lurking. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I don’t think I would seek out more, but I would read another if it fit a prompt.

The Moving Finger (a book recommended by a bookseller). I suppose the mystery was fine, but I don’t like it when a book in the Miss Marple series only has about 3 scenes with Miss Marple in it.

Murder Road (a book recommended by a librarian). I was lucky enough to be first on my library’s holds list for this! I think this is as good as The Sundown Motel or The Haunting of Maddy Clare, which are my favorite two of her books.

Reading
The Four Million (a book by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person)

X (a book that starts with the letter X). I read A is for Alibi a few years ago and hated it, but this book sounds better than any other option for this prompt so here we are. I will say it’s off to a better start than I’d expected.

Female of the Species (an LGBT romance). Well, it has a lesbian romance in it anyway.

DNF
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen This was deeply not good. I forced myself to read a full 150 pages. It did not get better.

QOTW
I had a long bus ride home from school, and I read about a book a day on the ride. I read a lot of Ramona Quimby and Babysitters Club books. I read Dear Mr. Henshaw several times. I was obsessed with The Chronicles of Narnia. Okay, I still am.

I've figured out I can go without supplemental oxygen for an hour once or twice a day, which helps in running errands or grabbing lunch somewhere. Taking a tank around is no fun as I'm weak and it is heavy. It is still to be determined whether this will be a permanent thing, so I can't get better options. If any of you use supplemental oxygen in the day, give me any tips you have on how to handle it. I've been pretty grumpy about it (which might be someone's first tip).

Is anyone else obsessed with Ryan Gosling's Oscar performance of "I'm Just Ken"? I watch it nearly every day because it makes me so happy! And now I'm starting to watch Ryan Gosling movies that I haven't seen (watched "The Gray Man" last night).

Finished
Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower - 4 stars; PS #4 (about a writer/author)
Emily Dickinson and her maid become involved in a mystery. I love these series where famous authors become detectives. I've read ones about Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters and find them fun.

Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports by Gregory Zuckerman - 4 stars; PS #7 (about women's sports)
Someone mentioned this on here recently and I found it to be an entertaining read. Chapters were on athletes from Wilma Rudolph to Bethany Hamilton to Venus and Serena Williams and to Simone Biles, with many more as well. I'm trying to get the prompts about women done this month for Women's History Month.

Goodreads: 13/100
Popsugar: 10/50

QOTW:
I wish I could remember a lot of what I read as a child, but I know I loved Trixie Belden, the Bobbsey Twins, Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (her bigger books probably were read after 10), biographies of the First Ladies (especially loved Rachel Jackson's), Dr Seuss, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, and books like these. I don't remember reading fantasy or sci-fi at all. That came in my teens.

Teri wrote: "Is anyone else obsessed with Ryan Gosling's Oscar performance of "I'm Just Ken"? I watch it nearly every day because it makes me so happy!"

I'm so glad I'm not the only one to mention it! My sole purpose for watching the Oscars live was to see it. Back when Barbie came out and I watched it opening day, I posted on tumblr I knew it was unlikely to get nominated but that I needed it to be nominated because I needed Ryan to perform it at the Oscars.

My wildest dreams came true and it was so worth it!! With the other Kens, too!??

Happy Pi Day! I spent the afternoon making pie and then I had bell practice so it was a pretty perfect day after all. I am also having problems with wanting to read ALL the books, so I've been starting books and then not finishing them, but I will get back to reading only 1 or 2 books at a time eventually.

Stats:
PS: 15/50
ATY: 21/52
ATY Rejects: 5/25
ATY Rewind: 9/25
DBC: 17/36
GR Choice: 7/30
TBR: 4/10

Books I finished:

The Sandman: The Deluxe Edition, Book Five ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY Rewind: 5. A book with illustrations.
The newest packaging of the Sandman series, this collection had vol. 10 (The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake) which I had read, plus book:The Sandman: The Dream Hunters|166580 (prose with illustrations) & The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (graphic novel adaptation). I actually preferred the artwork that went with the prose story. But then again, I like this series for the story, not the artwork. Now Netflicks needs to greenlight season 2.

The Titan’s Curse ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY Rejects: 23. A book with a child character.
I'm really enjoying this series.

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY Rewind: 12. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue. (Cover is blue)
So this was a mixed bag of stories. The good stories were so good, I had to give the collection a 4 at least, but a couple of them were 1 star reads. As the stories span her career, it makes sense that the worst stories were from when she was starting out and her writing improved as she went on. The stories that were writen for this collection were all 5 star reads.

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
This series is sweet and cute, but ultimately forgettable. I was a little stressed this morning, so this helped me improve my mood.

In Progress:
Call Us What We Carry: Poems
The House of Hidden Meanings
Not Your Crush's Cauldron
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
Cruel Seduction

QotW
I have sooooooooooooo many. I'm limiting myself to one book per author.

Picture books:
Animalia
Vasily and the Dragon: An Epic Russian Fairy Tale
The Great Waldo Search
Jillian Jiggs
Green Eggs and Ham
But Not the Hippopotamus
Mortimer
Borrowed Black: A Labrador Fantasy
Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town
Mr. Forgetful

Chapter Books:
Little Women
The Secret of NIMH
Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
The Secret World of Og
The Silver Chair
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Bunnicula
Goblins in the Castle
The Magic Christmas
Ma and Pa Dracula
Anne of Windy Poplars

I am beginning to dislike the prompts list already this year! I have read 48 books so far and only about 6 fit a prompt. I doubt that I will finish the list this year. Way too hard to fit books to prompts!

Bea wrote: "I am beginning to dislike the prompts list already this year! I have read 48 books so far and only about 6 fit a prompt. I doubt that I will finish the list this year. Way too hard to fit books to ..."

It's certainly a hit-and-miss with them this year that's for sure. Sometimes you have to dig deep.

Hey,

This week was exhausting! but finally all of my exams are done.. As a reward I finally ordered the the fourth wing book on amazon. It just came in today! Super excited for it.
I did not read any books this week or last week for that matter. But its ok.. I have the next two weeks off and I'm going home. I don't have to worry about cooking and cleaning and other menial tasks for next couple of weeks. Woohoo! So psyched about it. OMG! is this what adulting is???


Question of the Week
What are some of your favorite books from childhood? (up to age 10 or so)

I used to be obsessed with Tinkle Series.. Also Junie B stuff.. I always used to borrow those in our school library. I think in a way, Junie B was the first series I actually read. And then I fell in love with The Naughtiest Girl in the School series. I badly wanted to go to a boarding school after I read those books.

I said last week that one of the planets must be in retrograde or something; I think I may have inadvertently pissed off a roman god. My newborn has strep. The fever's already going down (thank you modern antibiotics) and he's really doing pretty well, but jeez I could do without that. My husband and I both have different Unidentifiable Viral Yuckiness. Thankfully the dog is healthy, but sadly he is not able to take a shift of baby holding.

A guy at work said to me yesterday, "So did you bring in a pie? For the pi day contest?" After I explained I was only even there for an important meeting, he said "there's still time". I might choose him as a sacrifice to the aforementioned angry gods.

Finished
Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 1: The Case Of The Missing Men: 3 stars, mix of Nancy Drew meets Twin Peaks. not intrigued enough to continue the series

Nothing But Blackened Teeth: 3 stars; if a B horror movie was a novella. it's fine, but I won't remember it in a month

Silk: A World History: I'm just glad I'm done with it

QOTW
Oh I was huge on Nancy Drew, and Harry Potter of course. I was also very into historical fiction at that age: the Royal Diaries series, Dear America/My Name is America, History Mysteries, anything by Karen Cushman. I think a lot of that was fueled by a love of all things American Girl, but I loved Medieval Europe too. At age 8, I could have talked your ear off about Tudor England.

That's grim, Jackie. Glad your little is recovering and hope he is completely well soon. Thank goodness for antibiotics. Hope you and husband feel better soon - illness and lack of sleep is no joke.

Megan wrote: "... and Ed Emberley's Big Green Drawing Book. ..."




ahhhhhh ancient memory unlocked!! I had an Ed Emberley book! It was Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make a World (and at some point someone gave me a thumbprint or fingerprint one, too). I was out with both my parents, like at Sears or something, and we were going to dinner after, and I wasn't expecting them to buy me this book so I didn't care much at first, and I feel like they complained I wasn't being appreciative enough (although that does not seem like something they would ever say to me), and some other little girl expressed interest in my book and the adults with me (who may or may not have been my parents) said "see? she likes it! it's a good book!" and then we went somewhere for dinner. Such a weird memory, because my parents NEVER went out shopping together like that, and they NEVER spontaneously bought me things. So I suspected they had planned it out, but WHY would they come up with this secret plan to go buy me a book. Hahahah I'm sure my child brain made way too much of it, and it wasn't a big deal at all to my parents.

Jackie wrote: "I said last week that one of the planets must be in retrograde or something; I think I may have inadvertently pissed off a roman god. My newborn has strep. The fever's already going down (thank you..."



Oh no that's so terrifying!! I am fortunate that neither of my kids had any serious fevers as newborns, I would have been frantic. Keep pressing the dog to do better - there's no reason he can't step up to hold the baby too. He can do it if he really works at it!

I am out of town (left yesterday, returning tomorrow), so while I'm getting reading done in the hotel room at night, I am getting none accomplished during the day. (I usually get at least some done, even on days I'm working.) This will probably not be much of an update.

Completed
Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop - doesn't reference K-Pop as much as you might think given the title
Foundation - interesting, not my favorite when it comes to SFF, but interesting enough to make me curious about the "other Foundation" so might read more at some point
Murder Most Unladylike - really enjoyed this mash-up of Harriet the Spy and Agatha Christie

Currently Reading
Along Came a Spider
Me Talk Pretty One Day

QOTW
Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Boxcar Children/Encyclopedia Brown/etc, Little Women, American Girls
Oh, and the Velveteen Rabbit was always a favorite of my younger years.
I'm sure there were many others, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

Teri wrote: "Is anyone else obsessed with Ryan Gosling's Oscar performance of "I'm Just Ken"? I watch it nearly every day because it makes me so happy! And now I'm starting to watch Ryan Gosling movies that I haven't seen (watched "The Gray Man" last night). ..."




LOL we are not just obsessed with his Oscar performance, we are obsessed with him! It all started sometime last year when my younger daughter decided she HAD to see everything he'd been in. (I think this started BEFORE Barbie.) I need to go rewatch The Gray Man AGAIN 😃 I like watching movies so I made a check list of all his movies and we started working our way through the list. He has been in some amazing movies!! Excluding the first few he made when he was young and presumably had no negotiating power, he has not been in one single bad movie! We still have two or three yet to watch.


Here's my list, in order from best to worst:
The Gray Man
Drive
Barbie
Crazy Stupid Love
Blade Runner 2049
The Place Beyond the Pines
First Man
The Nice Guys (N)
Blue Valentine - P
The Big Short
Gangster Squad
The Ides of March - H?
Half Nelson
Lars and the Real Girl YT
Fracture
La La Land
The United States of Leland
Stay
The Notebook
Only God Forgives P
Remember the Titans
Murder By Numbers

(The notations are which streaming services the movie might have been on. Just skip Murder By Numbers - it was bad. Trust me, don't bother with that one.)

Oh, and Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines were both excellent but really really brutal. I don't know if I can ever watch TPBtP again.