Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2020 Weekly Checkins
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Week 43: 10/15 - 10/22
I guess i've always kind of wanted to read Satanic Verses to see what all the fuss was about, but it seems kind of daunting. I was actually planning to finally get that out of the way with my banned book prompt, but I obviously lsot access to the library and someone put Brave New World out on their lawn, so I have avoided it yet again.
I am enjoying my current audiobook (The Diabolical Bones), especially listening while walking through the autumnal woods in the fading light!
QOTW:
My oldest unread books date back to pre-Goodreads days so I have several added on 12th January 2010. I think these all date back to when I bought most my books from charity shops and just bought anything that looked interesting. For the sake of this question I'll just pick the one that comes up first on my TBR, which is The Flood by David Maine. I went through a phase of collecting all the Canongate Myth series but obviously not reading them all. I guess this retelling of Noah's ark was less interesting to me than some of the others.
Saturday is Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon. I’m very excited. It’s my 10-year readathon anniversary. I have my books picked out already. I’ll be reading Hickory Dickory Dock, Another Man’s Moccasins, The Vine Witch, The Dreamers, and The Sun Down Motel. If I manage to read them all (doubtful, but I’ll give it a try!) Saturday will make a serious dent in my TBR. I also have my meals planned. I’m really looking forward to making my first autumn soup (apple, sausage, and bean) and first batch of buttermilk cornbread.
Finished
Angelus by Peter J. Evans. Excellent sci-fi horror story, but many mistakes in the Stargate terminology. I have no doubt the author is a sci-fi veteran, but not familiar enough with Stargate to write in this series.
Sadly, I think this will be the last Stargate Atlantis book I read. After the show was cancelled, the editors started writing a “Legacy” series that is supposed to be a season 6. I read 4 of the books in that series, but I’m not a fan. If they ever go back to standalone books set between episodes, I might start reading again. Until that time comes, I still have some Stargate SG-1 books to read.
Reading
Do No Harm by Karen Miller
The Witch's Kind by Louisa Morgan
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
QOTW
It's my question!!
There's some discrepancy between my Goodreads shelf and what is true. Goodreads says the book on my TBR the longest is The Hawkman: A Fairy Tale of the Great War added July 2018, but the book I've actually had on my TBR the longest is one I bought in 2010. Back then, I went whole hog on the Stargate tie-in novels and bought everything published to that point. They've been out of sight, out of mind for most of the last 10 years in a storage tote in my closet. Earlier this year I moved them to the TBR basket beside my bookshelf, and now I'm reading them much more often. Shocking, isn't it, that I would forget about books tucked away in my closet and not on my Goodreads list? Haha! I can't guess which exact book I've had the longest. I'm going to say City of the Gods because it's the earliest in the series that I haven't read yet.
I DNF'd The Girl on the Train - Rachel was not likeable and nothing was happening. I can handle unlikeable characters but not with nothing going on.
Read:
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington - 4 stars. A fascinating short story with a fantasy element.
Cuisine des Mémoires - 4 stars. Another short story, haunting and deeply personal.
After Girl on the Train didn't work out, I grabbed The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo and I like it a lot so far.
Also still reading Beloved. I like this so far but I only seem able to read it in bits.
The Catwoman comic had to go back to the library, but I picked up a Betty White book, If You Ask Me: And of Course You Won't, which has been delightful. It's short and upbeat. A good bedtime read. And I still need to read Carmilla - I'm very late on this buddy read with another group.
PS 49/50
QOTW: What book has been on your TBR the longest? Why haven’t you read it yet?
Funny that this question comes up now that I've started planning for 2021 -- one of my goals for next year is to read the ten books that have been on my TBR the longest. I joined GR in March of 2014 and currently have nearly 1600 books on my Want to Read Shelf, plus another 1000+ on a separate "eventually/possibly" shelf. I'm not sure which book has been waiting around the longest, but likely The Historian which, funnily enough, I just received a second copy of for my birthday. It was already on my 10-to-read list for 2021 but this moved it to the top of the list!
The nerd convention I was planning on attending this year was cancelled, so this weekend they're holding a virtual convention instead -- live-streaming panels and a "virtual dealer room" where people can sell things online. It's not quite the same thing, but it helps, and it's far safer than packing a thousand geeks into a single hotel ballroom/convention center right now...
Books read this week:
Sour Candy -- Weird and chilling horror novella. Maybe a bit TOO weird, but still freaky, and you’ll probably think twice before buying those sour gummies again…
The Last Dragonslayer -- Quirky fantasy novel that reminds me a bit of Terry Pratchett. Fun, and definitely going to continue the series.
Librarian Tales: Dispatches from the Stacks -- A book by the creator of the Librarian Problems Tumblr blog. I guess I expected it to be more entertaining, but it pretty much just reads as a blow-by-blow of the guy’s librarian career. I still found myself nodding and going “yep, I’ve run into THAT on the job…”
Carl Sagan's Hunt for Intelligent Life in the Universe -- Short sci-fi story. Fascinating, though the ending was a little abrupt. I guess it’s meant to be a prequel to a longer book?
DNF:
Black Sun -- Man, I’ve heard such great things about Rebecca Roanhorse, and I was excited to read a fantasy novel not based on medieval Europe… but I could NOT get into this one. Still not giving up on the author, though… Trail of Lightning’s on my to-read list.
Hotter Than Ever -- The author bills this as a satire, but honestly, cranking the humor and insanity up to eleven does not instantly a satire make. And the main character is supposed to be going through menopause but comes across as more psychotic than menopausal. Apparently you go insane when you hit 50? Got halfway through but just can’t bring myself to finish.
Currently Reading:
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
Dragon's Pawn
The Mage & the Magpie
QOTW:
If we're going by the "want-to-read" list of physical books I'm continually adding to, probably Ginny Moon. If we're going by my Kindle books, I still have books from 2013 (when I first got my Kindle) that I haven't read yet! According to Amazon, the oldest one I've downloaded that I haven't touched yet is Magic of Thieves.
Finished:
Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories: An anthology. This was a fun read! I don't do scary, so this was perfect--most of the ghosts are nice (or neutral). The stories are more atmospheric than anything else, which I love. The couple with mean ghosts I found to be more sad than scary, so it worked perfectly for me for a Spooktober read!
I have 12 books to go if I want to finish the challenge, so I've had to go through and swap out some of the longer books I'd selected. Anyone have a good suggestion for a shorter book about a world leader?
Currently Reading:
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam: An Illustrated Memoir: A book about a subject you know nothing about. My mum lent me this and, since it's a graphic novel memoir, I hope it'll be fairly quick. It definitely looks interesting and she enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to it!
Victorian Fairy Tales: I sort of stopped reading before bed and I really need to get back to it so I can finish this book! It's good, I've just been going to bed so late that I'm too sleepy to read.
QOTW:
Oof, y'all are having us call ourselves out like this, huh? I have a TON of books all added on September 3, 2011, so I'm assuming that's the day I joined Goodreads.
The first few to pop up are all Roald Dahl books, but they're ones I read when I was younger and just have been meaning to re-read. So I guess the oldest ones that pop up that I know I haven't read before Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (which I guess would have worked for a character with a vision impairment or enhancement); The Witch of Blackbird Pond (could have been a great banned book); and The Lightning Thief (could work for a book with at least a 4-star rating and several other prompts). There are more from that date, but I'll just stop there.
I always mean to slate in books from the oldest part of my TBR and then I just...don't. I do like to cull the list every so often, but it still grows really fast. I'm at 904 right now!
This is a great idea--I may have to do something like this! Maybe I'll do the 10 I own that have been on the list the longest, since I've also been trying to read more of the books I already own.
Finished reading:
The Black Flamingo (no prompt): I really enjoyed this, but I had an ebook version and some pages with pictures were blank so I missed out on a fair bit of the story :( Still a fantastic read though.
Harrow Lake (no prompt): I was really looking forward to this, but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. It felt very disjointed and I struggled to follow.
Currently reading:
The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker (no prompt): I'm 90 pages in and so far loving it!
QOTW:
I hate having books on my TBR for a long time. I read the few books this year that have been on my TBR for over a year. The book that I've owned the longest and haven't read yet is The Deathless Girls which I plan to read after I finish my current read! I got it in February and I haven't read it yet as it was stuck in my office for 6 months during lockdown.
I only really use TBR shelves on Goodreads for books that I spot on the site and add to it, and browse the list every few months if I need inspiration...
I got to go pick-up free pie for my office this morning, so I've started my Thursday off right. It's an Amish made apple pie and soooo good. Yes it's 10:30 and I've already had a piece.
Finished:
The City We Became - I loved this. It is so good. I listened to the audio but now want to pick up the actual book and do a re-read of it. I'm also looking forward to whenever the next in the series comes out. I can't wait to see where the story is going.
Currently Reading:
The Fellowship of the Ring for a book with a made-up language. I've seen the movies but never read the books. I'm enjoying the book just fine. There is a lot of singing though. The movies were light on the singing.
Gideon the Ninth for your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. I know so many people that love it. I don't think I love it but I am enjoying it. I'm still using the back glossary/info section to help me keep names straight. There's a lot of names.
The House in the Cerulean Sea - I have breezed through the first 100 and so pages so quickly in this one. It's so gosh darn sweet and I love the kids and Linus and Arthur. I can't wait to see where this goes.
QTOW:
I actually did a big purge of my Goodreads TBR last month and deleted a bunch. But the current oldest book on my TBR is Anna Karenina which I plan on reading next year. I'm going to take my time with it since it's so long.
This week I finished:
Children of the Land There was something about the writing style (or maybe audiobook narration) that made this story less engaging than it could have been, but it was still a lot and there was enough emotional pull at the end to connect. 4 stars
His Only Wife This one was pretty disappointing. I don't know if we were supposed to like the MC, but she was terrible throughout the whole book until the very end. It also felt a bit more romancy than litfic, which isn't for me. I don't even know how to rate this...
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day This was so great - exactly what I needed to listen to during a hard week! Highly recommend. 5 stars
The Things They Carried Yikes, this was a tough read. And there was an animal cruelty scene I wish I had skipped. BUT, the overall message was so powerful, along with the title story. 5 stars
What They Meant for Evil: How a Lost Girl of Sudan Found Healing, Peace, and Purpose in the Midst of Suffering I like that this one didn't dwell on the horror too much and get into "torture porn" territory, although there were plenty of awful parts. I wasn't wild about the Christianity aspect, but was happy that Rebecca was doing well. 4 stars
Less This was fun, a nice light read to break up the other things mentioned above. 4 stars
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness This also had some Christianity connections I wasn't expecting, but great otherwise. 4 stars
I'm currently reading Nervous Conditions and just started Furia on audio.
QOTW: For my Goodreads TBR (which I don't keep up with too often) it looks like Picnic at the Iron Curtain: A Memoir: From the fall of the Berlin Wall to Ukraine's Orange Revolution from 2015. I used to be really into Russian/Cold War politics. I'm still interested in those topics, but don't read as much nonfiction for them now. I'm determined to read Doctor Zhivago in the next few months though.
On my physical book shelves, I might guess East of Eden, which I started many years ago but never finished.
Challenge Progress: 50/50
Recently Completed:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: It was both funny and heartbreaking, but what really put it over the top for me was the character Rowdy. He should have been a throwaway, a background character who didn't really matter, but I cared for him just as much as I did Arthur. ★★★★★ (Read a banned book during Banned Books Week)
Scythe: Fun! I'm looking forward to reading the next volume in the series. ★★★★
Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina (Audiobook): This was the most disappointing celebrity memoir I've ever listened to. Besides lacking any personal insight or growth, Frantz reads his book to us like we're small children listening to a bedtime story. ★
The Calculating Stars: I don't usually give the first book in a series five stars, but I've made an exception for this one. It's a complete novel - a beginning, a middle, and a satisfying conclusion. Yes, I want to know what comes next, but I don't feel cheated. Great book! ★★★★★ (A book by or about a woman in STEM)
Currently Reading:
Almost American Girl (A bildungsroman - Nonfiction)
Never Kiss a Duke
You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation
QOTW: The oldest book on my GR "Want to Read" list is The Children of Men by P. D. James. I'll get around to it eventually. I loved the movie. Why haven't I read it yet? There's just so many books that need to be read!
That's a really interesting idea to read fiction and nonfiction for each prompt. I don't see myself reading 50 nonfiction books, but I know I can do better than I did this year. I have to really set aside time for nonfiction, and I failed hard at that this year.
This week I finished The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia. I mentioned before that it was taking me longer than expected to read it, but I'll say that after I hit the halfway point I couldn't put it down. It's an excellent book, I don't know that it starts slow because that very well could have just been a lack of focus on my part, but I do think that it builds in intensity as it hits the midway point.
Still reading:
Never Cry Wolf: The Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves
The Girl In Between
QOTW: Coincidentally I was just paring down my TBR on Goodreads the other day, so right now my oldest is from 2009, Taliesin. 2009 is when I started adding to my lists on Goodreads, so it's probably been on my list longer (I don't remember when I bought the book). I'm not really sure why I haven't read it yet, it just never makes the top of my ever-growing list I guess.
Even worse, I can't imagine my local library reopening properly before the end of the year so I might have to give up on the challenge. I don't own a book with a pun in the title and there isn't one I want to read badly enough to purchase. *Shrug* I'm trying to not stress about it because challenges are meant to be fun, right? Maybe next year I'll get to read one
This week I finished Evil Thing. This series is kind of up and down in terms of quality, but I think this is one of the better ones. I loved reading about young Cruella and her friendship wit Anita. Once they were adults, the book seemed to lose steam and I have a lot of unanswered questions about what really happened to Cruella's husband (view spoiler) but I think it was left intentionally unambiguous because of the target audience being the younger side of YA...and me lol
DNF The Calculating Stars I've been reading it on and off for a few weeks and it just isn't holding my attention. I don't really care about any of the characters so far. I know a lot of people here either love it or hate it so I'm leaning towards the latter.
Currently reading: Doctor Zhivago. I'm almost at the end (woo!). When I'm done I'll have to watch the film because that's one of those classics I've never seen.
QOTW: Well, I copied my TBR from another website when I joined Goodreads and that list was in publication order so The Odyssey was the very first I copied over, but I have hundreds that I added on the first few days of joining Goodreads and no idea which one was truly first on my TBR. I haven't read The Odyssey because I think it seems like one of those books you really need to be in the mood for and concentrate on. I might be wrong?
On to books! I've finished a lot of children's books this week and only one to count for the challenge. I'm too tired to list them all. I am also listening to Columbine and I swear it's like I'm in middle school again. It's so intense, but so good.
QOTW: My oldest book on my Goodreads TBR is Meridon by Philippa Gregory. It's been on there the longest because I DNF'd the first book in the trilogy. I adore Gregory but I hated the main character so much I couldn't get through it. I still hope to as I own all three books but we'll see.
Finished
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld - I surprised myself how much I liked this. I was pretty wary of the concept which honestly I still think is a bit creepy when the subject is still alive but I loved this book. I think this is going to be one of my favourite books this year - it really spoke to me
Beach Read by Emily Henry - had heard some mixed things about this but was pleasantly surprised - a cute romcom
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim - a bit of a letdown, I totally loved Spin the Dawn so was looking forward to this. Unfortunately it was missing a lot of what made the first one so charming, I liked the characters, did like the plot but it had lost some of the magic for me
Currently Reading
News of the World by Paulette Jiles - I have tracked down and started a Western, I'm so proud of myself!!
QOTW
I joined goodreads in December 2018, I have a few classics that I put on the TBR that day I joined. I don't know how many would have been there originally but there are 7 books added that day currently on the list. Most of those, honestly I don't think I'll ever read, maybe 2 of them I will when I'm in the mood (eg. I do plan at some point to read To Kill a Mockingbird but I now know I don't like the writing style of Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Moving past those books, most of the next set of books are things I've changed my mind about wanting to read or have poor availability in my local library. Presumably most things I wanted to read around that time (early 2019, I have since got hold of and read)
I've never culled my TBR though and honestly, my reading taste and interests have moved on since I added a lot of these books to a list.
Finished 43/50
Truth Matters, Life Matters More: The Unexpected Beauty of an Authentic Christian Life for "book by an author who's written more than 20 books". This was good but really heady. Not written for the average joe. I liked it, but I wish it didn't feel like drinking from a fire hose.
Currently Reading
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club for "book set at in the 1920s". It's good so far! I've always loved this time period.
The Wilderness Journal: 365 Days with the Philokalia for "book whose title caught my attention". Still in a love/hate relationship with this book. Almost done. We can do this.
QotW
Probably Ten Dates for Mates because I read about it many, many years ago and haven't found it and yet it still intrigues me enough that I haven't removed it, ha! Though I haven't been very proactive in searching for it. Plus you can't go out on a date very easily now anyway SO.....we'll get there. One day. Maybe after we get a handle on this pandemic. We shall see.
Huh. Obviously, I am totally unfamiliar with that syndrome! (I lie...) :)
Nadine wrote: "I wish my job was reading books."
I've been saying this ever since I started working outside my home full-time! :) Over 20 years now! LOL I'll share information with you if I ever find one!
Nadine wrote: "The next oldest book is from Aug 21, 2008. The Girl with a Pearl Earring. I actually own this book - back then I would just browse bookstores and buy books! Imagine that!"
My book club read that in 2012 and I still remember so much of it! We all loved this book and felt as if we were really there! If you get to it, I hope you enjoy it, too! :)
I've been having a stressful week at work trying to get a multi-level navigation to work and be responsive. After two solid days of attempting to get what i have to work, I finally started from scratch this morning, using a working demo of the navigation and then slowly replacing the demo with my actual nav and restyling. Finally working! But now my neck and shoulders are a mess from being tense/ hunching down trying to get this to work.
This week I finished:
Sex and Vanity - This was a solid meh. It was an easy read, I gave it 3 stars just based on keeping me turning pages to the end. The main meh is that the main character starting acting so annoyingly that by the end, I didn't really WANT her to find any kind of resolution. Felt like she needed to learn that you can't treat people like crap and expect them to keep loving you. That includes family.
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies - Finally got this from the library, I think my hold was placed in February, thinking I could use it for a woman in stem. I got impatient and replaced it a long while ago, but still a fun read. I've watched a few of her videos, they're entertaining. Do have to say I had to read other stuff while eating, there's some pretty detailed descriptions of what happens to dead bodies. It doesn't bother me on a general level, but still not pleasant food reading.
Fiyah Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction, Issue 10: Hair, Spring 2019 - Finally read this to finish up Read Harder, I bought it a while ago and then kept forgetting to put it on my ipad so I didnt have to read on computer, and then kept forgetting that i DID put it on my ipad. Some good stories, I enjoyed over all. So finally finished Read Harder!
Currently Reading:
Life After Life - This is for my books & brew, so I put my other book on pause since I own it. I knew this was a longer read and I didn't want to mess with coming right up against a hold deadline. It's actually a pretty quick read though, for it's length. I thought the librarian from book club said it was 900 or something, so I had thought I might actually run up against the deadline. It's really only 512. Still girthy, but well within my ability to finish. Still have a week left on it, and i'm about 70%. I like it, although it's a bit of a tough read with war and disease over and over again.
The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe - pausing on this to finish the other, still good but i've listened to the episodes and I own it, so no real rush.
Nowhere Men, Vol. 1: Fates Worse Than Death - started this as my "while kindle is charging" read, it's just ok so far. hopefully picks up.
QOTW:
I don't know if this really applies to me, I don't keep a physical TBR. The goodreads want to read is mostly filled with books i own but haven't read that I added when I made goodreads, or stuff i entered book giveaways for and they auto-place it on the shelf. I just kind of vaguely figure all books are potentially on my tbr shelf, and I am not going to live to read all books. So if I REALLY want to read something, I will make a point of getting it from the library or buying it and it'll get read sooner or later. If it ends up sitting for years, it means I didn't REALLY want to read it after all. I might feel compelled to read it eventually if I did spend money on it. I guess you could count the Dune books, they've sat on my shelf for probably 20 years now, and i might just keep the first one and resign myself to getting rid of the rest. At the time I got them at the used book store, I'd just discovered dune and was gung ho. Then I tried to read the 2nd and it wasn't great and I'd heard the series just kind of got terrible after that. So saying it's still on my "tbr" is a stretch. Basically if I don't read it within a few years of buying, I probably just lost interest in it and am keeping it based on some vague "well maybe some day" speculation/haven't purged my books recently.
However, I'm a little cranky because I was just reading that all the seasonal Charlie Brown shows aren't going to be on TV this year, you have to stream them from Apple. I don't want a new app and subscription just so I can watch treasured classics! ARGH! (hehe) Perhaps I'll just buy the DVDs instead.
Today I finished Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law for a book by a Woman of Color. It was an easy read. I would recommend it.
I just started Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses for some Halloween fun! It would work as a book with a pun in the title, but I already read one of those (silly question from last week being relevant again!). So I dunno where it might work, but it looked fun.
QOTW: The first book I put on my GR TBR back in 2008 (!!) was Keeping Faith. I don't have a good reason for not reading it. I really like her books, I used to want to keep a few in reserve so I could dig into them without running out of options, but she puts out like 2 books a year now, so that's not really an excuse anymore. Maybe I'll get to it soon....
I often add books to my TBR as a way to remember them. I don't really use it as a way to pick my next book, it's more of an external memory drive for me!
Finished reading:
Latchkey (passes Bechdel test) - The sequel to the utterly brilliant Archivist Wasp. The first book has all the character development, this one's more like a cool action movie, but it's a good action movie.
Currently reading:
A Deadly Education (authored by a woman in STEM (Naomi Novik, programmer), 2020 release, passes Bechdel test) - lmao I wasn't expecting Orion to be such a himbo but I love it
QotW: Ooh, interesting one. I don't keep my TBR on goodreads (idk, it feels like cheating to add books to my shelves that I haven't read), but I have a big notepad file.
The oldest book is probably Thunderer by Felix Gilman, from 2015. I had just started reading it, but I was changing jobs and my reading got sidelined. There were three POVs: the first was great (a teen escaping basically a prison sweatshop), but the second was boring (a pious monk searching for his god), and the third was just confusing. So I was never really eager to get back to it.
But goodreads keeps recommending it to me! What does it know that I don't? Maybe the book picks up later? That's why it's still on my list.
Finished
Nothing
Currently reading
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men - I’m shocked. And mad. More next week.
Qotw
The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War - This one sits on my TBR since January 2013. I actually remember adding this book. We were in Orlando (FL) for a week and I was having lots of fun in a book store adding a lot of books to my TBR. I started on GR in December 2012, so my TBR was pretty small. #ThoseWereTheDays. Never read the book because it is not available in Europe. I seriously should clean up my TBR.
One of my best friends celebrates her 78th birthday next week so I’ll be spending time with her this weekend or next since she is still staying home just as much as humanly possible. She has a heart condition, so COVID-19 would most likely end her life, hence she’s playing it safe!
Another good friend celebrated her 41st birthday last week and we plan to spend some time together but haven’t planned that as of yet.
I obviously have friends from all different age groups! 😉
We have mainly pine trees around our house, but the maples and others in our neighborhood and the surrounding countryside are turning beautiful shades this year. Though I despise the onset of colder/cold weather (osteoarthritis is the main culprit for that) I love the change of seasons otherwise.
Admin Stuff: Just a reminder that the October monthly group read discussion of Daisy Jones & The Six is ongoing. I plan to sit down with the book this weekend and answer some of the questions posted. If you’ve read it or are reading it, please plan to join in!
And to help with planning:
The November monthly group read is to fulfill prompt #22 Read a book by or about a woman in STEM: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Discussion leader is Trish! I know I won’t have time for a reread of this one next month, but so many details of this book are still with me although I read it in July 2019! One of my all-time favorites! Anxious to read others’ reactions!
The December monthly group read is to fulfill prompt #1 Read a book published in 2020: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Discussion leader is Lauren Oertel! Although I have not yet read The Mothers, I am soooo anxious to read this one! I will purchase it in November in anticipation of participating. (I find both of those covers amazing!)
Oh, my, in just over two months this year will be over. And done. Forever. May we have only better and brighter years ahead! I doubt I will miss 2020…other than to note I (hopefully-fingers crossed) survived it to experience 2021!
Popsugar: 48/50
ATY: 50/52
RHC: 22/24
Reading Women: 18/26
(Double-checked and corrected my totals! I'm a bit further along than I thought! Always a good thing!)
I plan to finish at least two of these in November. I could read just 11 more books to complete all these challenges. However, there are at least another 4 books I purchased for prompts that I also really want to read... Oh, well, whatever I don't get to in 2020 will perhaps fulfill some 2021 prompts! :)
FINISHED:
I ended up unexpectedly devouring Spotting the Leopard by Anna Myers on Saturday. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We had a small “flood” in our house last week and a few of my books got wet. This was one of two that I was able to get dry and save so I decided to read it. I had picked it up cheaply at a library sale a long time ago. It was sweet, though admittedly H.J. was a bit too good to be believed. But sometimes I need a bit of “too good to believe” in my characters! 😊
POPSUGAR: #3-“I don’t reckon he can live,” Mama said, and her voice was real low.”, #6, #12, #20, #24-I know nothing about trying to capture and save a wild animal, #26, #27-Pride, Greed, #35, #48
ATY: #4-Living in the US during the depression would have been hard, #9, #16, #22, #27-historical fiction, #29-Lesser known, #36-Put there on a whim, #43-Death, #49, #51, #52
RHC: #7, #10, #11, #12
Reading Women: #12, #22-New-to-me publisher: Walker Childrens
I read We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib for the book club at my favorite used bookstore. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a remarkable memoir. Very straightforward and simply written, easily readable, and yet she very aptly depicted the complexities of the intersectionality of religion, culture, society, and sexuality. I am so happy she was able to break the bonds that confined her as a young person.
POPSUGAR: #3-“We both had shaved heads.”, #6, #12, #15, #19-Canada, #20, #24-I know nothing about being queer or Muslim, #27-Lust, Envy, Wrath, #32, #33-4.06, #36, #38, #47
ATY: #9, #15-Toronto, Canada, #22, #23, #25, #28-Canadian, Pakistani by birth, #34-LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, #35, #39, #43-Death, #52
RHC: #11, #12, #19
Reading Women: #10-photographer and writer, #12, #20, #23
The Zodiac Killer (Zodiac Killers #1) by W.L. Knightly is an ebook that I became aware of through the 2020 Reading Challenge as it is their monthly November group read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ It also satisfies one of the two remaining A-Z Title reading challenge prompts and I was curious to see what I thought. This pseudonym represents “two female USA Today best-selling authors” (Ali Parker and Lexy Timms) who co-wrote this series, as well as others. Just a bit too grisly for me and no character with whom I truly felt a connection as they all had what were to me very dislikable characteristics, making this feel rather noirish. And I typically do not like noir. It was “meh” so I won’t be continuing with the series. There was no resolution and I’m gathering you might need to read all of the remaining 12 books in the series to get to one. I’m just not that interested. Maybe someone can message me if they know who did it. 😊
POPSUGAR: #3-“Detective Darek Blake thought the secrets of his past were long buried, but when a young girl is murdered in a familiar way, finding the killer will not only bring back memories he’s repressed, but give him a golden opportunity to impress the FBI.”, #13, #20, #24-I know nothing about tracking a serial killer, #27-Pride, Lust, Wrath, #35, #46
ATY: #5, #9, #11-2017, #22, #41, #43-Death
RHC: #3
CONTINUING:
Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings (Dandelion Dynasty #1) for a 2020 Reading Challenge October Buddy Read. At just over 1/3 through I am finally getting to the point that every page is keeping my interest. I think if I had time to devote hours-long reading sessions to this book I would have been much more invested in the first 200+ pages, but breaking it up hasn’t held my interest that much until now! So I’m glad for that. My buddy read partner and I both inadvertently ran across the second installment on sale so purchased it, hoping we would want to continue in November. Looks as if we’ll be doing just that.
China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians #2) by Kevin Kwan. Hoping to finish the Liu book this weekend and tear through this one!
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for the campus White Racial Literacy Project book club on campus. Discussion was good. The group is so diverse I can’t imagine there won’t always be many different reactions to the material covered each time. That is what makes discussion so interesting!
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (The Penderwicks #2) by Jeanne Birdsall. As I stated, I read some of this every once in a while when I go to bed. I find this series to be adorable. It always puts a smile on my face and usually makes me at least chuckle every few pages. Perfect way to end my day. I’m just over 1/3 through it.
*Come back to me! 😉*
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, Learning Race, Learning Place: Shaping Racial Identities and Ideas in African American Childhoods by Erin Winkler, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, are all on hold for now. I hope to reunite with them in October/November?!?
Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Russell Wasden. I have great hopes for this after the first 52 pages!
I keep looking at each of these books and wishing…wishing I could just pick one up and finish it! Soon. Soon. It will happen…soon…
PLANNED:
Whew! I always try to fit in a couple nonfiction books for Nonfiction November and I have several planned to finish reading challenges, so those will be my first choices for November once the above books are done:
The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem by Marcus Samuelsson. This is only the second cookbook I have ever purchased for myself. During the first 5 years of my first marriage I was gifted at least 20 cookbooks! I was a stay-at-home mom and co-business owner and cooked constantly. Once I accumulated 20 I asked everyone to stop buying me cookbooks! 😊 This satisfies the Read Harder Challenge prompt #13 a book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before and Reading Women prompt #21 a book about food.
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman. I have always been fascinated by Van Gogh and his art and this satisfies the Read Harder Challenge prompt #1 a YA nonfiction book.
The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed. I have literally wanted to read this for years and was able to purchase a copy for just $3.98 this year! This would fulfill the Read Harder Challenge prompt #16 a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950 written by a woman and Reading Women prompt #6 a nonfiction title by a female historian.
Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World by Zahra Hankir. This will fulfill the Reading Women prompt #24 books listed on the 2019 Reading Women Award shortlists or honorable mentions.
I purchased these specifically for those prompts.
Question of the Week: (from Heather) What book has been on your TBR the longest? Why haven’t you read it yet?
Ugh. I hate this question! 😊 How dare you try to snap me into “reality” regarding my TBR listing! LOL I currently have 8810 books on my TBR listing. Yep! That many! This TBR listing on Goodreads is my GIANT ALL-INCLUSIVE wishlist! Any book that interests me in the least bit is added. And I love browsing through that listing every once in a while, just to remind myself how many books are out there that I truly want to read. I’m glad for that. And I’m thankful I have the wherewithal (computer, ‘leisure’ time, etc.) to pursue this hobby of reading! I have a full-time job with which I can provide myself environmentally-controlled shelter, a self-selected food supply, four-legged critter companions, time with friends and family, and time for a hobby! That puts me ahead of over 90% of the world’s population I believe…and I am forever grateful for that!
Fine! The oldest book on my list is Gold by Chris Cleave which I remember specifically purchasing because I was amazed by Little Bee (A book I think everyone should read. It is kinda a downer but shows a part of the world few of us here probably have direct experience with…) and then…? I don’t know. I have just never gotten around to picking it up and reading it, although I have listed it for several challenge prompts last year and this year. So perhaps this will be the needed impetus for me to actually dig it out and finally read it! 😊
I am SO OVER all these streaming services. It's too much. I am not going to subscribe to every one of them, I'll just not watch the shows. Right now we've got basic cable, plus Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. I'm thinking about canceling the cable, and I'll admit that lately Netflix kind of sucks and I watch more movies on DVDs from the library because I can't find them on Netflix, but they churn out enough tempting original content that I keep them. The Hulu isn't even mine, my ex subscribes and lets us have an account. That's it. No more streaming services. I don't care. I'll just read a book.
In another ten or twenty years we'll all look back on this time and laugh at all the streaming services we had to juggle. The one that "wins" will probably be something that doesn't even exist right now.
haha that was also my thought on seeing the QotW
Ashley wrote: "Gideon the Ninth for your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. I know so many people that love it. I don't think I love it but I am enjoying it. I'm still using the back glossary/info section to help me keep names straight."
Yeah it's a big cast, I initially took notes to keep track of everyone. Quick tip: The last names are all coded by number, and also by length (necros have long names, cavs have short names). So e.g. if you see "Octakiseron" you know it's the necromancer of the Eighth.
Finished:
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (not for the challenge). It was really good! Took most of the book to build up the suspense but it kept me guessing about what actually happened. Seems like it would have been a popular book when it came out. I also watched the Hitchcock version of the movie for this book. It was good too - followed the book closely.
Currently Reading:
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (a book with the same title as a movie or tv show but unrelated to it). I am very intrigued by this one. The plot is good - a little slow, but typical with mystery books (I just want to know what happens!). I can tell this was a debut book for Kubica. She repeats many of the same phrases and words.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I didn't get into this one as much as I thought I would. It has glowing reviews and it is funny at times but I guess I just need to sit down and power through.
QOTW
The "oldest" book on my TBR list on Goodreads is Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I read The Husband's Secret and then added this one. A couple of my friends have read it but I just kept reading other books I guess.
I am currently really looking forward to Saturday because I’m going to be participating in the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. I’m planning to focus exclusively on comic books, manga, and graphic novels during this month’s Readathon, so I'm anticipating having a lot of fun!
POPSUGAR: 50/50
Goodreads: 189/150
Finished Reading:
Through the Woods
If you’d like to read my thoughts about this book, you can find them at https://theunapologeticbookworm.com/2....
The Ripper's Shadow
Currently Reading:
N/A — I’m waiting until the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon to start my next book.
QOTW:
I don’t know if it’s been on my TBR the longest, but The Tale of Genji has been part of my home library for years without being read. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
haha that was also my thought on seeing the QotW
Ashley wrote: "Gideon the Ninth for your favorite prompt from a past..."
That's good to know. I wish I would have figured that out earlier in the book. Hopefully this will help with the last bit that I have left.
N/A — I’m waiting until the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon to start my next book."
I feel like I'm always in the middle of a book when Dewey's comes around. I'll set all my books aside and won't read anything tonight or tomorrow so I'm refreshed and ready to read Saturday morning. Then on Sunday I'll deal with being overwhelmed by 1) the books I'm currently reading, 2) the books I didn't finish during Dewey's, and 3) all the unread books I picked up from the library today :'D
Finished this week:
Terminal Freeze: I really enjoy Lincoln Child's "monster of the week" thrillers. They're suspenseful but not too scary, and they're always set in some interesting, well-described location. I've got another one on my Kindle already for next week.
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld: My cousin has been recommending this book to me for years, and I'm so glad I finally got around to it! I can't put my finger on what makes it feel so archaic and dignified, but it has a very particular vibe to it that I enjoyed very much. I think I'll read some more Patricia McKillip.
Currently reading:
Jamaica Inn: this is my second Daphne du Maurier book ever, and I'm enjoying it even more than Rebecca. Extremely moody moor moods, totally my jam.
Jeeves and the King of Clubs: frankly, I'm listening to this while falling asleep and I currently have no idea what's going on. No regrets, it's fun and silly and doesn't keep me awake.
QOTW: Three of the first four books I added to Goodreads in 2011 were about epidemics (The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, and Year of Wonders) and I'm like hahahahahahaha no. You can stay on my TBR for another year or two mmmmkay? Imma go ahead and watch my show about teenage vampires and read my books about archaeologists unearthing Terrible Monsters right now.
The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide This book wasn't ideal in terms of scope and writing, but it did shift even further my feelings that Bernie was not the ideal candidate and give me hope that Kamala Harris will help lead us in the right direction.
Started:No Ordinary Thing This is the second in a middle-reader book club put on by Parnassas and it's quite enjoyable. It's written by a Chinese immigrant, but is a straight-up magic realism book, which I feel like is an unusual find (rather than being focused on identity politics.)
QotW: The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge this has been on my to-read list 2009. And I own it, so I really have no excuse. I think I haven't read it for the same reason that the guys I used to live with wouldn't throw out milk from the fridge because it had gained seniority. It's been on my list for so long that I overlook it as a possibility. The same thing happens with my physical to-be-read shelves. If a book is on there for too-long, it simply gets moved to my probably-will-never-read shelf or donated to my Little Free Library. It's much easier, though, to give away books that you've finished than ones that still hold possibility of discovery.
Congrats on your win and your question! I'll be anxious to see what you think of The Space Between Worlds!
Sorry that one didn't work for you. But you are correct, there's not lot of action for quite a while.
"Read:
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington - 4 stars. A fascinating short story with a fantasy element."
Oh, my! That title! :)
This is a great idea--I may have to do something like this! Maybe I'll do the 10 I own that have been on the list the longest, since I've also been trying to read more of the books I already own."
That is a good idea! :)
I always assumed that would be a tough read for me. Rather depressing...?
Glad you enjoyed it! This is one of my favorite series! I especially appreciate the fact that MRK takes different directions with the other books. Each one really works as a stand-alone, IMO, but you get a complete picture of so much by reading all three of them!
Congratulations on finishing! I love your idea of reading both a fiction and nonfiction for each prompt. I'm certain I'll never take the time to do so, but that is admirable!
Finished this week:
Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
A Choice of Catastrophes by Michael Schuster and Steve Mollmann
Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom by Louis Sachar
Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno
I recommend Shadow Games and Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (the latter recommendation gets stronger the closer to grade school you are). Catalyst is best for those who love Galen Erso, Lyra Erso, and Orson Krennic or those who are super interested in the history of the Death Star's design and construction.
I liked the main character of Aunty Lee's Delights and the main police officer. However, I was less satisfied with how the mystery unfolded and the utter ineptitude of the culprit in getting caught. If you are trying to put a harmful substance in someone else's cup of tea, keep a close watch on the cups so that they do not switch theirs with yours!
If you like McCoy's character and history, there is a good story for him and the other crew members who stay on the Enterprise in A Choice of Catastrophes. The other stories involving the planet and two shuttles were extremely underwhelming.
Currently reading:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Already, the book has told us that Mrs. Danvers did not die in the course of the story like in the movie, so I am curious to see how the ending of things at Manderley goes down in the book. The first chapter about the dream had an awful lot of botanical description, which I hope does not make a comeback later in the story.
QotW:
Goodreads is no help on this, as I entered my TBR en masse on 11/19/19. I choose my next reads basically at random from the list, so anything that has been on there for awhile is just chance. There are some that I may not feel like reading when their number comes up, but if the reaction is strong enough, the book comes off of the TBR entirely.
Virgin River (#1 Virgin River) by Robyn Carr. I got sucked into it. 3 stars.
The Sweetness at the bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce#1)by Alan Bradley 3 stars. Ok. Not sure I’ll read more.
The oldest book on my TBR list is The Third Man by Graham Greene. I bought it 12/11/2015. Not sure why I didn’t read it. Not sure I’ll read it now.
35/40 Regular
7/10 Advanced
Finished
Currently Reading
QotW from Heather: What book has been on your TBR the longest? Why haven’t you read it yet?
I have 1065 on my goodreads TBR. The Eyre Affair is the first book on my list. I add to my list willy nilly and I'm a mood reader. I haven't had it and been in the mood for it yet.
So sorry about COVID-19 increasing in your area! Ugh...
"I don't own a book with a pun in the title and there isn't one I want to read badly enough to purchase. *Shrug* I'm trying to to stress about it because challenges are meant to be fun, right? Maybe next year I'll get to read one"
I have a few. I own a few. I would be willing to share titles and if you wanted to read one I could send it to you. Also, a cheap source of books to purchase is Better World Books. No shipping costs either.
"DNF The Calculating Stars I've been reading it on and off for a few weeks and it just isn't holding my attention. I don't really care about any of the characters so far. I know a lot of people ere either love it or hate it so I'm leaning towards the latter."
So sorry that didn't work for you! :(
"Currently reading: Doctor Zhivago. I'm almost at the end (woo!). When I'm done I'll have to watch the film because that's one of those classics I've never seen."
Warning: the movie ending is quite different from the book's ending. I MUCH preferred the movie's ending...
"QOTW: Well, I copied my TBR from another website when I joined Goodreads and that list was in publication order so The Odyssey was the very first I copied over, but I have hundreds that I added on the first few days of joining Goodreads and no idea which one was truly first on my TBR. I haven't read The Odyssey because I think it seems like one of those books you really need to be in the mood for and concentrate on. I might be wrong?"
It has been over 50 years since I read this, but I would agree on mood and time to concentrate...
I can't believe no one is helping you create lesson plans or providing them to you. As a teacher, I had 2 weeks' worth of lesson plans on hand for a sub, just in case! Only 3 students is good though! At least it's not a whole classroom full! ;)
You made me laugh. I'm glad you located one. I'll be interested to see what you think of it. I have yet to read that author.
"QOTW
(eg. I do plan at some point to read To Kill a Mockingbird but I now know I don't like the writing style of Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
"
I reread To Kill a Mockingbird this year (after 50 years) and I think I enjoyed it even more as a full-fledged adult! I have now read one and DNF'd one book written by Marquez. I was determined to try Love in the Time of Cholera since I feel it is a book I should read, but I don't know that I'll even try it. I just fail to connect with him/his themes/his writing style. :(
The only book I finished was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, which was fantastic. I realized after reading it that it works for the "20/20 vision" prompt, as Henry wears glasses! So that's another prompt checked.
I'm reading Pet Sematary by Stephen King for my book published in the 20th century.
And still working on The Stranger Beside Me: The Shocking Inside Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy, Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite, and Save the Cat! Writes a Novel.
QotW
I recently cleansed my Goodreads shelves (due to quarantine boredom), so Goodreads thinks my oldest TBR is A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi, which is funny because the second oldest is The Star-Touched Queen, which comes first in the series. I still have both books, even after a severe Marie Kondo-ing of my unread books, so I *might* get to them someday.
But as for my actual oldest TBR, like, from the physical pile of books that haunts my every waking moment, reminding me of my own mortality--that'd probably be The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I bought copies about 10 years ago and still haven't read them. It's partly a time thing--there are so many books I want to read, and I know Tolkien will take me a while; every time I've started, the "on hobbits" prologue kills any desire to continue. Also, I know this is blasphemous, but I've seen the movies a million times, so I feel like I already know the story. I know, I know, they're SO different--according to my mom, who's read the books 5 times!!!--but I'm good with just the movies? But I also won't give up on reading them someday because it makes me feel bad (and my mom would never forgive me lol).
I admire the fact that a portion of the proceeds will support such a necessary program!
LOL what an amazing way to put it! I do sometimes get really anxious knowing there are so many things I want to read and I'll never get through them all!
Oooohhh...and I would say ESPECIALLY family! :)
I am reading China Rich Girlfriend and plan to finish the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, but uncertain about this one...
LOL what an amazing way to put it! I do..."
Haha thanks! Seriously, though, there is no greater memento mori than a stacks and stacks of unread books! Lol
That is awful! How dare they? Ugh!
"I often add books to my TBR as a way to remember them. I don't really use it as a way to pick my next book, it's more of an external memory drive for me!"
I think that is more how I use my GR TBR listing as well! Any book I wish to remember that I have an interest in!
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
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I've been struggling to stay focused on anything. There's one more week left of Spooktober and #Inktober and I haven't done much of anything for either! I keep telling myself I'm going to get to The Last Final Girl as a Spooktober read but that just hasn't been happening. I'm still catching up on books I lined up for Latinx Heritage Month (which is over). And then in November I have books lined up for Native American Heritage Month. And on top of that, there are several books published in 2020 that I want to read in 2020. (Yes there are a few 2020 publications by Native authors, so I've got some crossover there!) I think I'm planning too many books for myself. I wish my job was reading books.
Admin stuff: not much. We're all just in a holding pattern now, finishing up our Challenge reads as needed.
This week I finished 4 books, 1 for this Challenge and 1 for the Fall Challenge. This brings me to 48/50 and 3/10. I'm so close to finishing the Popsugar Challenge! But maybe I'm not going to finish that Fall Challenge ...
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - I enjoyed this a lot, the pages just flew by. This contains Black joy, so I checked that off in the Fall Challenge.
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan- this is one of the books on my list of 12 books I really need to read this year. It was okay. I don’t think I’ve read a book set in Mumbai before so that was fun. Of course everything in it is over-the-top, for humor, the way cozies tend to be, but it has some surprisingly dark parts too.
Neurocomic by Hana Ros - over at AtY they were talking about “you read a book about WHAT??” which inspired me to read this comic book about the brain. I was a little disappointed by this, it wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped and I hated the artwork.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera- this was just okay. I know a lot of other people loved it. It's a coming of age story and those usually aren't for me.
Question of the Weekfrom Heather: What book has been on your TBR the longest? Why haven’t you read it yet?
I currently have 1623 books on my GR TBR list.
From time to time I like to go back and look at the oldest books on my TBR, and I'll delete them if I think it's a book I'm never really going to want to read (I have that bad habit of adding books I "should" read but don't really WANT to read).
The oldest one was added June 18, 2008, The Wizard, and it's actually a re-read because I want to read its sequel, The Knight, and I know I've forgotten everything. And I haven't read it yet because re-reads get lower priority, and I remember it being REALLY confusing, and I'm just never in the mood to think that hard I guess? Plus, this book plus its sequel would be an almost two month commitment, and I always have other books I don't want to delay that long.
The next oldest book is from Aug 21, 2008. The Girl with a Pearl Earring. I actually own this book - back then I would just browse bookstores and buy books! Imagine that! I'm not quite sure where it is. If I ever find it, and have time to fit it into my schedule, I'll read it. I have no idea why I haven't read it yet. It gets good reviews, it looks good ... maybe because it's been on my TBR for so long, I FEEL like I've read it, so I don't think of it when planning my next read.