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I know a number of you have been reading various Agatha Christie books for various challenge prompts, so I thought you might enjoy reading this NYTimes article celebrating her work and her birthday.

Fannie wrote: "Bonjour.
at 35/40 with all the rest of the prompts planned except for the book I bought on a trip. I have no plan of travelling nor did I go anywhere during the year. I'll se if I change it to something else.

"

How about a book you buy on a trip to the grocery store, or to visit a friend? Just happen to drive by the bookstore on your way? Or go to a bookstore in the next town over or in another part of the city. Just make the word 'trip' mean a shorter journey. When I was growing up on a dairy farm in upstate NY, we only went to town once a week, and it was a BIG DEAL, referred to as a 'trip' . Even now, if I go to a borough other than Manhattan, or cross the river to NJ, it really can qualify as a trip!

We haven't gone very far ourselves this year and the couple of day trips we've taken didn't involve book buying. Thankfully I bought a book years ago in Vietnam and didn't read it, so I'm using that one.

I'm late this week, but at least my Horrible week-long event at work is over and I can relax a bit!

I'll just hit the QOTW from the more light-hearted, personal side.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less influences my life pretty much every day. I listen to it over again when I'm feeling stressed out and overburdened. It's the best take I've ever seen on productivity, because it addresses the root cause of being overwhelmed rather than promising tricks to help you complete the 182 items on your to-do list every day.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, 'Salem's Lot, and My Favorite Horror Story were all key moments in my 30+ year infatuation with horror stories.

Pride and Prejudice revealed to me that a "classic" novel doesn't have to be a boring, frustrating, unrelatable slog done only for a class assignment. Jane's voice is sparkling and witty and just as fresh now as when she was writing.

Greetings from foggy Fort Collins! I finished only one book last week, and it doesn't tick off any new boxes for me. I also don't feel like I can recommend it. I won a copy of Murder at the Male Revue in a kingsriverlife.com giveaway, so I can at least recommend the online magazine, which has a little bit of everything and does lots of book giveaways. I'll be reviewing this book soon, but my main problems with it were that it was very poorly edited and none of the characters rang true.

QotW:

The book that springs to mind first is The Handmaid's Tale. I read it when John Ashcroft was Attorney General, and this story first crystallized how precarious my life is as a woman in America. In the past few years, Between the World and Me and Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt have further expanded my understanding of just how utterly wrong things are in America, how this came to be, and how long in the making our status quo actually is.

Taylor wrote: "Good morning!

I am so excited because this week I finally finished A Game of Thrones!! I'm using it as my book over 800 pages. I really liked the story and am excited to read the rest..."

Yay!! I'm almost there. I finished watching Season 1 of the show, so now I'm ready to listen to the last CDs of the book. I'm not sure if I will continue with the books after this one, though. The writing is just so dense and I have so many other books I want to read.

For steampunk, I really liked Cherie Priest's Boneshaker. For the prompt, I was going to read Agatha H and the Airship City or The Difference Engine, but Karen Memory popped up as a book club selection, and I'm liking it so far.

Jackie wrote: "Jules Verne was writing contemporary science fiction; while his books do involve some steam-powered technology, there's no "punk" aspect because he was writing about the tech known in his time period. It's a great book and I love it, but it's not steampunk."

I concur. Instead, maybe try Tom Sawyer Abroad, in which Mark Twain pokes gentle fun at his friend Jules Verne and has Tom & Huck stow away on an airship and wind up in Africa. I would argue that it's the first actual steampunk story.

I had hit a pretty bad reading slump but finally getting back into it. I even completed this years goal of reading 50 books!
This week I finished 2 books:

1. Claiming Noah- for a book title with a character's name. I loved this book, although it was a little predictable.
2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- first book in series you haven't read before. I'm kind of on the fence about reading the other two books in the trilogy.

I'm currently reading After I Do, not towards the challenge. But I'm hoping to finish the challenge in October!

For a book that's changed my views on the world I would probably say, The Last Lecture. This book was very inspirational and was especially important to read as an oncology nurse. I think it not only helps me connect with my patients better, but also had great advice on living life.

I am still working on the advanced challenge. So, this week, I finished Etiquette & Espionage. It was my "book from a genre/subgenre that you've never heard of."

QOTW: I can't single out one book. I like to think that most books open your mind to different situations and views.

Theresa wrote: "Fannie wrote: "Bonjour.
at 35/40 with all the rest of the prompts planned except for the book I bought on a trip. I have no plan of travelling nor did I go anywhere during the year. I'll se if I c..."

That's a good solution. I will ''travel'' to my parents next week for a book fair. That'll be it.

Finished 2 books this week, but with only 1 counting towards the challenge (for the September monthly nomination).

Completed:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (a book of letters, also for September monthly challenge). Easy read on my Kindle and finished in 3 days.
Rating: 3 stars

The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes- I wanted to read for ages. This is a non challenge read and got this book on loan from my library.
Rating: 2 stars

Currently reading:

Lost in a Good Book (a book mentioned in another book), which is the second book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and I'm enjoying it as much as the first title, The Eyre Affair.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on audio. Love the narration by Stephen Fry.

Current total read:

38/40 + 7/12 = 45/52

Very late check-in for me. It is Sunday and we have had a beautiful Michigan summer weekend with temps in the high 80s. This weekend, I took my daughter's Brownie Troop to an overnight at a horse stable. 145 girls and 2 WCs.That is all I will say.

Last week I finished The Jane Austen Book Club. It does not fit any prompts but was a pick for my IRL book club. I didn't enjoy this book. And I remain at 30/40 and 3/12.

QotW

About 20 years ago, I read Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. It was very heavy and I was in a very vulnerable place in my life. I don't read Wally Lamb any more.

I also feel that books like Night by Elise Wiesel are very important to reinforcing our knowledge of history.