EPBOT Readers discussion

Hello everyone,

I hope all is well and the approaching summer is giving you extra reading time and time to enjoy whatever you like.

We flew home and so I have a couple short story finishes. The first one is that I listened to Sweet Virginia. This was the last story I had in the Out of Line collection. It was not good to me. It was kind of okay and then took a bizarre turn that just did not fit. I gave it 2 stars.

There is also a collection "Untold Stories of the Beautiful Era" of non-fiction short stories (or at least this one was non-fiction). This story was The Electricity Fairy. It was mostly a biography of Loie Fuller who was a dancer and art nouveau icon in the late 19th century. She interacted with Edison, the Curies and others. It was a great introduction to her life and a great use of a short story format. Many non-fiction works are needlessly long and repetitive so this worked!

I also finished The Taken Ones. This is a thriller/mystery/police procedural. I like the writing style and the partnership and characters of the two detectives. This is not a genre I usually read. I enjoyed it even with the sometime unpleasant and gruesome content. I plan to read the next ones in the series but will space it out for the content part.

I'm still reading Homemaker. This is also a mystery but definitely more light hearted. I hope to finish it this coming week.

Still in progress but stalled (because I didn't bring the physical book on the airplane) is Welcome to Harmony. I am very close to finishing.

QOTW:
What is your favorite or most memorable smell?

There are a lot of delightful scents, some of my favorites are orange blossom and cinnamon. An interesting annual scent that really hits me is forsythia. There is one spot in my neighborhood with a large group of them and when they are in bloom, the scent is powerful and concentrated (because they have a very slight scent). It is a strange, very earthy scent. It is not floral at all.

Then, deep inside, as a child in school during the 1970s, I have ingrained the smell of mimeograph papers. Looking online it was some alcohol chemical combination but that smell was unique and I sometimes think about that.

Hello, all! The last day of our road trip was Thursday. It was a nice trip, but it was so hot. I've had enough summer, please bring back spring or fall.

Finished:
The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman - 4 stars - not currently for a prompt. I wouldn't start with this book, but if you enjoyed book 1, I think you'll like this one as well. The further adventures of the titular "ill-mannered ladies", a pair of 40-year-old spinsters in Regency England.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh - 5 stars - for a book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee. What a powerful, sad, hopeful story. This was so good. I stayed up late in my hotel room to finish it, and I'm still thinking about it days later.

Currently reading:
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto - for a dystopian book with a happy ending. So far this is a lot of fun.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - for a book about an overlooked woman in history.

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline - for a book about a road trip.

QOTW:
I had lilac bushes under my window growing up, so because of that, lilac is the scent of summer to me and I love it.

Some other scents from my childhood: I also love the scent of autumn rain and leaves, and of the ocean/beach (I grew up three blocks from the beach).

It's been hot here, too, but as one of the farmers at the market said yesterday, "We ain't even tasted summer yet!"

I Know a Lot!: A Board Book/I Can Do It Myself!: A Board Book/I Am So Brave!: A Board Book - Trying to find birthday gifts for three-year-olds. I liked these (in decreasing amounts) but the kids might be beyond them already.

Still Life - A picture book in which the artist explains that nothing moves in a still life painting, but various beings invade the painting and enact a little drama anyway. It's a cute idea, but somehow it didn't grab me. It might be the art style.

Murder by Memory - Somehow I hadn't realized this was a novella until I picked it up and was like, "Wow it's short!" Then I read it and I think that is still my prevailing impression. It's not bad, it's just...over.

QOTW: I just had the realization the other day that I don't think I know what lilacs smell like! My middle school band room had a unique scent that I am unlikely to encounter again but am pretty sure I'd recognize.