EPBOT Readers discussion

Hello Everyone,

Happy October. The leaves are starting to turn here in New England and it is getting quite pretty outside. The temperatures are moderating. I hope you're all doing well.

I only have one finish this week. It was Bad Reputation. I gave it 3 stars. It was fine. I finished it but it was not memorable.

I started reading Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 for neighborhood book club. I haven't been to book club since April but should make it this month. I'm liking this book more than I thought. It is in the genre of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women. Not enough people take this event seriously. I'm actually looking forward to knowing more about it.

I am continuing listening to North Woods. My daughter read it for her book club this past week so I've been sending her my thoughts as I listen. I'm only on Chapter 3 but it had several minutes that totally reminded me of my kids that I immediately shared with her.

QOTW:
How do you feel about spoilers?

I think most websites and people tend to do the right thing with spoilers, by hiding them when appropriate. When reading reviews I want enough context to know if I might like it. Not necessarily complete spoilers but maybe a little.

A while ago I was downvoted a little on r/suggestmeabook when I described a book with a spoiler (of a book that I shall not name right now): "Every bad thing that ever happened to anyone ever in the Great Depression happened to the MC and then she died."

I am on vacation! We're doing staycation-y stuff this week while waiting to see if the state park in which we booked a cabin will reopen after the hurricane in time for our reservation.

The Wishing Game - Willy Wonka for bookish adults; nearly as simplistic. Tear-jerker-y in the way that cheesy romcom movies sometimes hit me on channel-surfing afternoons, and equally obvious. Not a terrible way to pass some time but also not something I would describe as "good".

Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture - This guy has a YouTube channel about queer pop culture, with something of a focus on sitcoms. Te book is just a chronological review of a selection of sitcoms' gay content along with what was going on in the country at large at the time. It's good if you want a sort of snapshot of the topic or for whatever reason don't want to watch his videos, which go into a bit more depth and also can show clips (although he did a good job of describing and quoting scripts).

QOTW: I read a lot of mysteries, and those are particularly vulnerable to spoilers. I do agree that most people are pretty good, but I had The Murder of Roger Ackroyd spoiled, and I recently looked up A Kiss Before Dying for reasons and saw a blurb that spoiled the famous twist! You do need some information to decide whether to read a book, and I guess the determining factor is whether it's available or obvious early in the book. For mysteries, the identity of the victim is often not a spoiler, because it's the person everyone hates. I don't know what your Depression book is, but there are definitely some books for which "everyone is miserable and dies" would fall into the "immediately obvious" category.

Funny, I just read The Wishing Game this week too! And it is exactly as you described it. I rated it four stars, but that's for enjoyment, not necessarily for quality.

QotW: I do whatever I can to avoid spoilers. I had a few surprises spoiled for me and I don't know that it quite ruined my enjoyment of a book, but it definitely affected it.

Last week was my first week back to work since my vacation and I'm so tired....

Finished:
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi - 4 stars - for Robot Librarian's book set in Africa. It mostly just made me sad and angry for Vivek.

The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning - 3 stars - no prompt. After Vivek, I needed something fluffy. Two teenage sisters are hired to pose as a woman's granddaughters for a party, and wind up in a locked room murder mystery with magic and a bunch of witchy teens and their parents/grandparents. Except it's pretty obvious from the start whodunnit. It's also very YA in feeling, complete with instalove.

Comics/manga:
Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 2
Daytime Shooting Star, Vol. 3
Chihayafuru, Vol. 8
Chihayafuru, Vol. 9

Currently reading:
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo - no prompt. So far, it's interesting.

The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 9 by Natsu Hyuuga - no prompt. Things are getting crazy.

Upcoming/Planned:
Jasmine Is Haunted by Mark Oshiro - no prompt. Looking forward to some fun middle grade for spooky season.

QOTW:
I don't usually want spoilers, unless it's something I've already decided I don't want to read (or watch or play, etc.) but I want to know what the fuss is about. In those cases, I'll go read a plot summary or a review with spoilers.

Although, sometimes, I just want to know if something specific happens so I know if I can handle it (i.e. pet death, extreme violence, etc.).