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I spent the majority of the last week very, very slowly making my way through The Underground Railroad, finally finishing this morning.

QOTW: It depends if I'm thinking of adding a book to my TBR or if I'm just about to start reading it. When I'm considering adding a book to my TBR to read later, I look at reviews and especially by the people I follow on GR. When I'm about to start reading, I sometimes look but I don't want it to influence my opinion too much and also because I don't want any spoilers. Most people are careful, but there's still a slight risk.

First time writing a post. I guess I'm new to this. Anywho.... this week I read the Underground Railroad as the February book chosen. It was an awesome read. I'm glad it was one of the books selected. I also just finished reading The Winter Garden for the title with a season in it. I am so glad I didn't give up on this topic. Although I was urged/recommended to read The Winter People ( I'm sure it was a great book) I'm very happy I decided to go with my first choice.
Now I'm about to start reading the Hidden Figures book. I'm glad I didn't see the movie yet. Don't like reading a book after I've seen the movie.
QOTW: I usually look at the reviews and see other comments. I do check the 4 star reviews as well as the 1 star reviews. I usually see what the issues are with the lower star reviews. If they seem petty, it's easier to decide if I will add to my TBR list or not.

I also finished Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood on audio this past week. Highly recommended, though far more somber than I was expecting it to be. And the cats....dude! I haven't decided yet which prompt this one is for. It could work for 4 (an audiobook), 5 (a book by a person of color), 15 (a book with a subtitle), 26 (a book by an author from a country you've never visited), 31 (a book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you), 36 (a book written by someone you admire), A2 (a bestseller from 2016), or A11 (a book about a difficult topic).

The other book I finished last week was Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I picked it for a few other challenges I'm doing this year, including the GenreLand game's assignment of romance for February, but it fits a few prompts for this challenge as well: 23 (a book with a red spine) and A11 (a book about a difficult topic).

QotW: It just depends. I read a lot for book clubs, and I'll often read those books cold. But if I'm actually making a choice, I will usually read my friends' reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ at the very least. I also like to read at least one negative review of a book, just to see if there is something specific that gives me a major nope-vibe. Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ is the review source I use most consistently. I follow a few book blogs and appreciate their reviews, but I get very behind on reading those. I used to listen to book reviews on NPR, but I haven't been listening to the radio much at all lately.

This weekend I read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind, translated in French (which is my mothertongue).
This is the first book in French that I have read since I started reading in English one and a half year ago. I read slower in English than in French and it was surprising for me to have read a book so quickly ^_^.
I have really liked it, in the sense that it was a good book and I'm glad to have read it, and I have also really disliked it, in the sense that one cannot like the main character and the atmosphere is quite unpleasant.
The French book has no subtitle, even if the English and German (original language) do have a subtitle, so I still chose to use it for 15. A book with a subtitle.

Currently I am reading The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. I may use it for 28. A novel set during wartime but I know I will read other books set in wartime during the year, and one central part of the story here is not to join the war so I will probably pick something else for that prompt.

Megan wrote: "Not a lot of activity to report this week. I finished Relish: My Life in the Kitchen for "a book about food." I'm still working on Be Frank With Me and [book:Inherit..."

Megan, I just got Relish from the library to read as my book about food too!

Last week I finished Oliver Twist, for the book with a title that's a character name. Charles Dickens never fails to make me laugh out loud.

If it's a classic, I may or may not read reviews. But I do read reviews for most contemporary books. Like other people have said, I try to read the negative reviews. I still haven't found a reliable source of reviews though - Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ offers a nice range of views, but people with similar tastes tend to read the same books, so there may not necessarily be that much diversity of views for some books.

I finished King's Cage last night. I'm so ready for the fourth book now! I also made progress on Skipping Christmas (red spine).

I don't usually read reviews. My tastes can vary so much, so I don't trust anyone else lol. I will pick up a book based on a friend's recommendation though!

Tytti wrote: "Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "QOTW: Yes! I use Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ reviews a lot, and frankly these days I tend to avoid a book with less than 4 stars because who has time for mediocre books when there are s..."

That's a fair point. I tend to *avoid* lower-rated books, but conversely, a high rating is not sufficient to indicate if a book is truly well-written or my cup of tea.

(I do also read lower-rated books if they sound particularly intriguing to me. For instance, I added Things Fall Apart because it was mentioned in one of these threads, and it sounds like a really interesting point of view.)

Avanti wrote: "Hello from India. I finished reading wuthering heights for the prompt a story within a story. Also did my first (and most probably last) audiobook -Bossypants by Tina fey. The only reason I could g..."

Have you been to England? I'm assuming you have, but it could fill the "Book by an author from a place you've never been before" Or " A book on your TBR list for too long" or "A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you"....

Hi all!

Made some progress this past week, as in MA/RI we had 2 snow days Thursday/Friday of last week and more snow Sunday, so I had a lot of time to read. I finished Belgravia by Julian Fellowes for my "Book set during wartime", because I'm a Downton Abbey fan, and it didn't disappoint. A great story of love lost and bonds formed in the least likely circumstances during post-Napoleonic England... it was a little bit of a stretch, but since the main event of the story took place actually during the war, I gave it to myself.
The messiness of advantageous marriages and the "downstairs" portion like in Downton (for those of you who loved that show, too) was slightly less hearts and flowers and a little more miserable. It was great! Took me longer than I anticipated, but it's okay. I also finished Mirror Work: 21 Days to Heal your life (or something like that... I'm not a super "self-help" person, but I was participating in a health and wellness challenge and we read it as a group. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you like things like self-talk and mantras and talking to yourself in the mirror. I'm reading You Are a Badass currently, and I like that much better because Jen Sincero is funny, real, and to the point with a sufficient amount of cussing to make it much more on my playing field. So we'll see.

That's where I am right now. Currently in Badass and The Tenth Muse: My life in food (Judith Jones). Like them both.

QOTW: I check goodreads reviews/stars (I don't like spoilers so I don't delve too deep), word of mouth, amazon reviews, authors/genres I like, and I read the book synopsis to see if it sounds good. :)

Sorry if I'm a little late...

I am at 9/52, last week I finished prompts #5 and #31 during the week of 2/3-2/9.

A book by a person of color

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Nicola Yoon was born in Jamaica, raised in Brooklyn, and now live in LA. If you've read Everything, Everything, you know what a good writer she is. TSIAAS doesn't disappoint, but I did prefer EE.

A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you

33 Revolutions by Canek Sánchez Guevara

This was written by a Cuban of African descent. More like a book of blank verse, than a book of prose.

QOTW: Reviews. I am careful of that. I do read some from The Guardian, NPR and some blogs. It's not so much I take the reviewer's word as to the quality as much as whether the reviewer makes the book sound intriguing.

Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "I do also read lower-rated books if they sound particularly intriguing to me. For instance, I added Things Fall Apart."

Things Fall Apart is on many lists of "books to read before you die" and considered a classic, but it doesn't appeal to everybody, some might hate it for the same reasons others think it's a great book. In any case it is probably an important book.

(Also I have noticed that Finns tend to rate many books about 0.5 stars lower than others on average, and for example I give 3 stars to many good books that are well written and enjoyable but which have nothing particularly new or interesting in them. An "easy" book like Christie's mysteries usually gets only 3 stars from me. Only few classics are over 4 stars, most Finnish books are under it, and they are still popular and well liked in general among readers.)

QotW: Yes, I read reviews and book blogs. I don't trust ratings that much, what people write is much more important, but I don't really knowingly choose books based on that, either. Choosing what to read is a combination of many things.

This week:
Group Read: The Underground Railroad I liked this and it is NOT something I would normally read. So thanks Group Read for making me reach outside of my comfort zone.

9. Espionage Thriller: Red Sparrow. Not my favorite. I liked that the author is a legit CIA operative with a huge amount of experience under his belt. This makes me think that the things I learned about Russia and the spy program are true. The book in general, however, just had too many facts and details for me. I think it will translate well to the big screen this year.

QOTW: I usually look at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ stars. If they're high I read the book, if they're low I might read a few reviews to see if there is a glaring reason why. But all in all, I read what I personally think sounds good.

I finished The Underground Railroad this week to satisfy the prompt for the book that was a bestseller in 2016. I don't know that you can say you enjoy a book about a topic such as slavery, but I did enjoy learning more about the underground railroad. I haven't ready anything about it since studying about Harriet Tubman in high school.

QOTW: Yes and no. Most of the books I read come to me through discussions with friends and coworkers whose assessments of books I trust. I will read reviews from other readers if I'm ordering from Amazon and want to get a feel for a author or storyline if I'm unfamiliar with that author.

I'm unsure about what i'll read this coming week, but I'm leaning towards Lamb in Love or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. I started the latter several years ago but never finished it. I don't remember why I didn't finish it. As I recall, I was enjoying the book at the time. Unlike me to not finish a book once I start it.

Tanelle wrote: "I just found out I get to go to a conference that has Joseph Boyton as a keynote speaker. I guess I should probably pick up one of his books before I hear him speak.

Rick Mercer is the the keynot..."

So jealous!!!