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Hi everyone!

Had a bit of a slow week this week. All I finished was The Hammer of Thor, Had in laws spend the weekend, just had little time to read.

I started Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet but I think I'm shelving it. I like ballet, and the history of it is interesting. But the book is written very densely and dryly. It's like trying to read a textbook cover to cover. Sure you can DO it but it's not going to be fun. I will keep note of it though. If I ever want to incorporate ballet into a story, it'd be a fantastic resource. But the whole reason I was reading it was to count for Read Harder's book about sports, and I wanted something more enjoyable than reading about "real" sports. So I guess back to looking for a new book about dance, that's more fun.

How's everyone else doing? I know there's some new people floating around there, feel free to chime in!

I might suggest Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus. It is in the same realm as ballet in terms of sport I think (as an adult who dabbles in circus aerial arts). It isn't about sports specifically but about Lillian Lietzel. But it could be a stretch for that category and it is engaging.

Susan wrote: "I might suggest Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus. It is in the same realm as ballet in terms of sport I think (as an adult who dabbles in circus aeri..."

Thanks! I'm willing to stretch for the topic. I have zero interest in anything that is considered a traditional sport. So I'm willing to count anything that is athletic as a sport. So I'll see if I can find that!

Here's a short (under 2 minutes) video with footage of her from c1928.

Susan wrote: "Here's a short (under 2 minutes) video with footage of her from c1928. "

That's awesome, thanks! And my library actually had the book digitally, so I put a hold on it!

Hello - Thought I'd chime in with some of my recent reading.

Currently I'm reading Water for Elephants as my book at the bottom of my "to read" pile. I've bought this book on 4 separate occassions (garage & book sales) thinking I didn't already own it and that I wanted to read it. Haha. I'm about 2/3 through and have some mixed feelings about it. I like the story, but I'm pretty sensitive when it comes to the treatment of animals, so this book has been hard in that way.

Way back in week 16 there were a few Margaret Atwood mentions, so I recently decided to try The Handmaid's Tale. The ending bothered me - I didn't like having so many loose ends - but otherwise it was an OK read. I didn't think it was too uncomfortable to read (for me, Handmaid's Tale was less uncomfortable than some parts of Water for Elephants) and I didn't mind her writing style, so I picked up another of her books when I came across it at a book sale.

I also recently finished The Murder of King Tut as my book about a place I've always wanted to visit. It was a fun historical read, though I couldn't make up my mind if I liked James Patterson's story-telling style for this or not.

That's all I've got! Now that my sister's wedding is over I'm hoping to have a lot more time to read!

Welcome, Sara!

I don't know if I could do Water for Elephants, animal mistreatment bothers me too.

I was ok with the ending for Handmaid's tale, because of the nature of it, that the story was a found record that got cut off. I mean yeah it could be argued that it was lazy writing to do that, but i find it less annoying than if they'd just cut off the story and left it with no wrap up at all.

I don't super love James Patterson, though I did get through his Maximum Ride books, some of them anyhow. He has interesting ideas, but i don't love the writing style. Probably similar to how you felt!

It's so great to see discussion picking up in these check-ins. Thanks to Sherri and others who had the idea to put a prompt on the FOE page :-)

Susan, I watched the video you posed, and I would definitely support seeing the book you suggested as a book about sports. That woman has some serious strength, and if women's rings were an olympic sport back then, she would be a contender!

I am ever so pleased to "report" that I finished TWO books this week and am two-thirds of the way through another, which I'll probably finish today or tomorrow. Canada Day technically is tomorrow, which means employers have to give a statutory holiday either today or Monday, and my husband and I ended up getting different days off. After what's been a very busy eight weeks and with a few projects now wrapped up, I'm basically taking today to be a lady of leisure, read, and catch up on Doctor Who and Orphan Black (and hang out with Mjølnir, of course, Sheri!). Maybe do some gardening. Maybe. We'll see. (I feel so decadent writing this, but the truth is, I can't remember a single day in the last year that I've had off like this, so I'm maximizing my slothiness, heh).

So, I finally finished Oryx and Crake! Having last read it about 13-14 years ago when it first came out and not remembering much about it, I'm happy to report that I found it worth the re-read, although I did not remember it being quite so gritty--which is hardly surprising, since it is Margaret Atwood, after all, and she's hardly one to shy way from tough subjects, particularly around the treatment of women. I've got the two sequels to this book lined up as books on the reading challenge, but I'm not quite ready to tackle them yet as I feel like I need a bit of lighter fare, which leads me to the next book I finished this week: The Eternal Highlander.

Waaayy back when I started this challenge, I said I did it because I had fallen into the habit of reading terribly written "bodice rippers" (and I truly don't mean that in any sort of disparaging way--I love reading them!) and wanted something to get me out of that rut because I used to read a lot of "literature" style books. Just over halfway through this challenge, however, I needed a break, and my mother had gotten a bunch of paranormal historical romance books from my aunt, didn't want them, and passed them on to me. The Eternal Highlander is one of those books. I ripped through it in a few nights and enjoyed the change of pace and frivolity, and, as expected, let's just say it won't be winning any literary prizes. Still, I think this reading challenge has done it's job of getting me to branch back out again in my reading tastes, because I did not enjoy it as much as I would have in the past. It did, however, hit the spot. Also, this book ticks the "book with a red spine" box on the challenge, so I'm now up to 24/40 books on the challenge list.

Finally, I've started reading Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah as my book by someone I admire. I don't even know what to say about this book except that I think the world would be a better place if everyone read it. This being a FOE thread, I don't want to get too political, but I know that, as a group, we support including and supporting people whatever their background, and this book casts an insight into institutional racism in a way that is both powerful and engaging. Basically, the book is a collection of short stories about his childhood growing up in South Africa during and just after apartheid, where he was literally "born a crime" because his parents were of different races and so legally not allowed to have sex with each other. The stories are short, humorous (sometimes darkly so) and incredibly insightful; the whole book is accessible and I feel a real connection with Noah as he's telling the stories--even those parts where he makes it pretty clear that he could be a real shit as a little kid (his words!). The book is also a tribute to the strength and bravery of his mother and South African women in general. I could go on and on and on about this book...anyway, if you're even remotely interested, just read this book! :-)

Stephanie,
No judgement on the bodice rippers! I'm an unrepentant consumer of vampire smut as I call it. (Aka paranormal romances but still). And I don't just read it, I re read it. They're so good for a mental break!

Glad you finished Oryx and Crake! I know what you mean though. I'll feel Noah the series at some point but I needed a break.

That last book sounds good, but maybe a bit later. I just went through Underground Railroad, need a bit more time before tackling another heavy hitter.

Glad to see more people checking in!

I read Water For Elephants a few years ago. It was a very good book and it was upsetting with the mistreatment too. I think they did a pretty good job with that delicate balance.

I definitely read a bunch of romance novels (like Nora Roberts and random paperbacks). I have to do a lot of hard thinking for my job so I often don't want to have to think too much when I read. Although I seem to often read non-fiction too. Sometimes I just feel so random!

Susan, I know what you mean about needing a break from the "hard thinking." I spend so much of my day reading and writing academic lit that I usually just want to read, as Sheri put it so well, "Vampire Smut" or some such equivalent. I'm grateful that this challenge has reminded me that there are lots of other good things to read at the end of the day, but I'll still be indulging in this genre from time to time.

Sheri, the Trevor Noah book is (surprisingly) not a heavy read. It definitely deals with heavy topics, but, since he's a comedian, they read more as humorous narrative fiction than heavy hitting social commentary (although the social commentary is definitely there). Not trying to pressure you into reading it, though! I just wanted to add that you don't need to "gird your loins" before you wade into it, ha!