EPBOT Readers discussion

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a good week. This is a long holiday weekend in the US and I hope everyone enjoys it. We're not doing anything because we leave soon after the weekend to visit our son to meet our new grandson and then go to my daughter's to wait for her to have her baby. I'll try to remember to post next week!

I do not have any finishes this week. Because we're flying though, I have loaded up on the Audible Amazon short stories for the flight. I'll have a bunch of random finishes of those next week.

As a real audiobook I'm listening to The Taken Ones. This author wrote the "0.5" initial book as an Amazon short story. It is one of the best short stories I've ever listened to. It actually had a plot and managed to tell a whole story. I liked it so much that I actively sought out this first book. It is a series about two detectives. Enjoying it so far.

I am reading a fluff paperback Welcome to Harmony. I'll probably bring it with me on the flight but I kinds only want to bring my Kindle with me and no physical books so we'll see if I can finish it before we go.

QOTW:
There are a lot of book lists coming out for summer. Do you pay attention to any book lists? If so which ones?

I would not say I "pay attention" to specific book lists. But if a book list comes to me for some reason (like yesterday a news summary email I get every morning had a link to a JP Morgan book list) I will check it out and add titles that sound interesting to my TBR list.

I have a subscription to my local newspaper and check out their book lists when they come out.

In the past I've also read Bill Gates' summer list and added a couple.

Happy Thursday! Looking forward to having a 3-day weekend.

I just got Apple TV for Murderbot. I'm not an Apple person, but I've heard they have some other good shows on it, too, so I'll probably keep it for a month or two. And they have the film of the Broadway production of Come From Away, which is an amazing musical. Highly recommend that one!

Finished:
A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall - 3 stars - I wound up using this for Popsugar's book with a left-handed character prompt, thanks to a throw-away line about one of the main characters being left-handed. I wish I had liked this as much as I did the first book. This one just felt too long, and dragged too much.

Currently reading:
Overgrowth by Mira Grant - for Popsugar's author who is neurodivergent. This is a really interesting alien invasion story from the point of view of one of the alien scouts sent ahead to blend in with the human race.

Upcoming/Planned:
Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - for Popsugar's activity on your bucket list (more accurately, a location I'd love to visit)

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh - I have this tentatively down for Popsugar's nontraditional education, since it takes place at a magic school.

You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle - for Popsugar's book with a title that starts with the letter Y.

Behooved by M. Stevenson - not currently for a prompt.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman - not currently for a prompt.

QOTW:
I don't really. I don't really change up my reading for summer, although I might take a look and add something new to my TBR if it sounds interesting.

Jen - I bought a MacBook a month or so ago and it too comes with 3 months of free AppleTV. I turned it on last week in order to watch Murderbot also! The other shows we are watching are Slow Horses and Shrinking (with Harrison Ford). In the past we also watched For All Mankind. Enjoy!

We had a successful trip and did not pop the inflatable boat.

Murder at the Museum - Another middle grade mystery, from Alasdair Beckett-King, who does very funny sketches on YouTube. The book is funny in a similar way, although I think it was better as a Poirot parody than as a mystery. I'll probably read the sequel, which is all the library has right now (they just got a US release this year).

A Bit Much - Apparently this author was posting poems on Instagram as "Mary Oliver's drunk cousin", but I didn't hear about it until NPR covered the book release. I didn't feel like I was exactly the target audience, but I liked the writing style (although many of them were presented with slashes / and I didn't love that / for whatever reason). I would recommend giving it a shot if it sounds interesting to you.

QOTW: I mean, I'll look at a list if I come across it, but there aren't any I seek out or look forward to.