Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

It's the middle of April already! The weather has been cold and brooding in NY, my crocuses are tattered from regular snowfalls. A friend joked that it's like the snow stormed (hah!) out of the room in a hissy fit, but keeps coming back in to shout: "and another thing!" It's also tax season here in the US, sigh. I just did my taxes. That just adds to the gloom.



Admin stuff:

Not much, really! I hope those of you joining the April monthly read are enjoying the book. We still have "discussion leader" opening for the months of: July (The Woman in Cabin 10) and August (The Night Circus)

If you are interested in leading a discussion for any of those books, just send a note to me or Sara.



This week I finally read a few Challenge books, after weeks of no progress! I read two novels and two graphic novels, two of them for the Challenge, so I am now 30/50 for Popsugar.

The Sky Is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith - this was very weird and different and I loved it. It's a semi-dystopian, set in a possible future NYC (called "Empire Island"), the city is mostly abandoned because two mysterious dragons keep circling in the sky above, burning parts of the city. (Don't read it for the dragons, though - it's more about the people.) This would work for a few categories, including pub in 2018, allegory, and recommended by someone else (me!).

Ghosts - a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier - this checked off "set during Halloween" for me; it would also work for "about death or grief." This was ... okay. Not her best. It's nice to see Mexican culture featured, but a lot of reviewers say she gets it all wrong, and this book amounts to just cheap appropriation.

Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 graphic novel written by Ta-Nehisi Coates - I needed something to read while I was eating lunch on Sunday, so I downloaded this via hoopla because I had loved the movie and wanted to see what Coates did with the character. Well ... what he does is create a hot mess. I was completely confused, and I doubt I'll read more in the series. (I'm using this for "book with a map" in AtY, so even though I didn't like it, at least it fulfilled a challenge category.)

Broken Harbor by Tana French - this is the fourth book in French's Dublin Murder Squad series. I love Tana French's writing, and I was completely riveted by this, but when compared to the other three books, this is not as great (IMO!). I probably would've rated it higher if I didn't have such high expectations. I used this for "set in a country that fascinates you (Ireland)," and it would also work for "mental health."



Question of the Week:

Does it bother you if the book's title doesn't seem connected to the plot?

Yes! This is something that drives me nuts, and I'm wondering if other people share this peeve? For most books, the title makes perfect sense. ("Broken Harbor," for example, was set in the fictional town of Broken Harbor.) Sometimes the title is a line or phrase used in the book. ("Tree of Smoke" frequently refers to Biblical passages that mention a column or tree of smoke, and there is a secret government mission code-named "Tree of Smoke.")

I'm forgiving with gimmicky titles like Grafton's alphabet series and Evanovich's numbers series, a few of those titles didn't really fit, "Three to get deadly" and "four to score" did not involve exactly three and four people (respectively), I don't remember "Hot Six" involving six especially hot people or things, and some of the middle alphabet letters didn't really work, but I could see they were trying.

But "Snow Like Ashes" never made sense, there was never any snow like ashes in the book; there was snow, and I guess there were a few fires, but never did anyone point out that the snow was like ashes and to this day I don't know what the author was thinking. I dinged that book hard, for multiple reasons, including the ridiculous title.

I go nuts if the book cover doesn't fit with the book, too, but I realize the cover art is usually out of the author's control.

This week I finished three books, all of them for the challenge.
21/50

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells for a book mentioned in another book (mentioned in Matilda).

The Girl Who Couldn’t Love by Shinie Antony for a book about a villain or antihero.

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith for a book you borrowed. I read all three books in the series for the challenge which was a very fun thing to do.

QOTW
I would prefer it if the title is somehow connected to the plot. But even if it doesn't, I wouldn't mind as long as the book is engaging.

EDIT: I just went through my read list and realised that I never was bothered about the title. It's fun to find the connection while reading, but not a necessity.

We don't need to do taxes in the UK unless we're self employed. After doing them once in my brief stint working for Weight Watchers, I'm so glad I don't have to do them every year! I am jealous when I see my US friends getting their rebates though...a lump sum would never go amiss in my life!


Well I'm on book #14 on the 15th week, so I'm feeling good about keeping the pace (especially considering both Moby-Dick or, The Whale and The Goldfinch are crossed off, which are both humongous books).

This week I finished Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books for prompt #7 a country that fascinates you. I am fascinated by women's experiences of a Muslim society in general, and I read another of Azar Nafisi's books about Iran a few years ago. I really enjoyed this memoir of life in Iran, told in the context of Western literature. I'll admit, I did get lost in the vast cast of characters and the political situation, not to mention the in-depth literary discussions. But it was fascinating to learn more about life under the veil for Iranian women at the end of the last century. And some of the prose was just beautiful, it touched me deeply.


Does it bother you if the book's title doesn't seem connected to the plot?

To be honest, I'm not sure I think much of the title once I'm into the book. But if I do consider it, then yes that is a bit annoying. As is unrelated cover art. I actually just glanced at my bookcase and couldn't find any wonky titles, so maybe I've not come across many!

Early check in for me. Yay! It's my birthday this weekend so I'm looking forward to possibly receiving some bookish presents!

This week I finished one book which takes me to 18/50 (17/40, 1/10).

I read The Exiled which is the third in the Anna Fekete detective series. This wasn't as good as The Defenceless and was kind of separate from the main plot and many of the characters as Anna is on holiday in her home country of Serbia. I still liked it and it did a lot for Anna's character development. Like all the books in this series it had themes of race and identity but this one had a particular focus on the refugee crisis in Europe so I am using it for my first advanced prompt 'a book about a problem facing society'.

I will probably still mostly focus on the main prompts for now unless I really want to read something that i know will fit an advanced prompt.

I am currently reading three books but not very far into any of them:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - for WW book club (a book set in the decade you were born)

The Historian for the monthly challenge of a book involving a bookstore or a library. I am less than 50 pages into this chunker of a book and i can already tell that I'm going to love it!

The Power of the Dog - I don't remember buying this book and it's not the sort of thing I would usually read but it's been highly praised and I need a book with an animal in the title so I'm going to give it a go. I have only read the prologue so not much to say yet apart from that I think it's going to be very violent.

These are all 500+ page books so I doubt I will have finished any of them by this time next week.

QOTW

That's never been something that I really notice or that bothers me. I tend to pick books based on their blurb so I already have an idea of what type of book it is.

I guess it only effects me the other way round where I might miss out on a book that I like because it has been marketed in a way that does not appeal to me. If The Sport of Kings wasn't nominated for The Women's Prize for Fiction last year I definitely would have passed it by as the title and cover make it look like it's about horse racing but actually it's a family saga that tackles race and legacy among other topics. I feel the marketing is trying to make it appeal more to men which annoys me.

I think sometimes the title isn't under the authors control as I'm sure the publishing company has a say in it. One example is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I find it really sad that the US publishing company did not credit American children with enough intelligence to not be put off by the word 'philosopher'.

Sarah wrote: "We don't need to do taxes in the UK unless we're self employed. After doing them once in my brief stint working for Weight Watchers, I'm so glad I don't have to do them every year! I am jealous whe..."

haha yeah well, we are all jealous when we see people getting a big refund. I remind myself that just means the government was taking too much money from them, holding onto their money, earning interest on THEIR money, all year long while they did not have access to it.

Really, though, it's ridiculous that we have to do our taxes, because the government already knows exactly how much we earned and how much we owe. THEY are doing the same calculations that we have to go through. (Exceptions of course for people who are self-employed.) I would prefer that they just do the calcs, send them to us, and have us sign them or something.

Hi all! Since last week's check in I finished 1 book for the challenge. I find myself quite by accident with 3 books on the go at the moment which NEVER happens, I'm usually a 1 book at a time reader. Yet right now I have a paperback, audiobook and Kindle read underway.

Completed:
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue - great storytelling set in 1850's rural Ireland. But overall I didn't really connect or emotionally engage with the characters as I hoped so it failed to keep my full attention. Found myself wanting to just finish the book. Only a 3 stars from me. Read for the prompt 'A book tied to your ancestry' (Ireland).

Currently reading:
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede - listening to this as an audiobook. Fascinating insight into the events that happened in Gander, Newfoundland following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I knew literally nothing beforehand and uplifting story about people pulling together and doing everything they can to help their fellow man in time of need. I'm about three quarters of the way through, with just over 2 hours of listening time still to go. This is a non challenge read.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar - my sister recently read this and recommended it. I love reading historical fiction and so far love the writing style of Gowar. Got this on loan from my local library and can't wait to read more.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - started this one today on my Kindle. Quirky plot told from the viewpoint of the family dog, Enzo. Already has a heart-warming feel about it and only 7 chapters in.

Total prompts completed: 20/50
Total books read in 2018: 24

QOTW:
I have to say I don't mind too much if the book's title isn't totally connected to the plot. I'm more drawn in initially (deciding whether to buy or not) by the cover art and the synopsis. Similarly to Sarah, once I'm reading the book I don't tend to think much of the title.

Another week flown by! I keep meaning to get caught up with posting my reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ but it never happens (they are written as I post them to my blog first, it's just the boring copy pasting that needs doing).

I put my back out washing the dog at the weekend so I've not been in a great mood. Why do I always injure myself doing something mundane? Once I sprained my neck by *sleeping*. Anyway, onto the books.

I finished Swimming Lessons for my local author. It's not as good as her debut but I enjoyed the local references. The author lives in the same county as me and the book is set in the county I work in.

I also got to the end of Lost Mars: The Golden Age of the Red Planet and the better stories were definitely in the second half. I'm squashing it into the Read Harder genre classic prompt as it's an anthology of classics.

I'm currently reading Children of Blood and Bone and The Murders of Molly Southbourne which I might be able to fit into my Science Fiction vs Fantasy Bingo challenge (which I am neglecting dreadfully, I'm such a bad host).

QOTW:
I like a clever title that you only realise the relevance whilst reading but I don't think I'm that bothered about a random title. I generally assume I missed something.

Authors are asked to change the title more often that you'd imagine. I wonder how many of the "Girl" thrillers actually had half decent titles before they went through the commercial fiction mill. I do get annoyed by there being different UK/US titles as it is all too easy to think the author has an extra book out.

Jess wrote: "Early check in for me. Yay! It's my birthday this weekend so I'm looking forward to possibly receiving some bookish presents!"

Happy birthday! I hope you get All The Books. :)

We had spring break last week, and I actually only finished one book. But I started a bunch. It was getting a little out of hand, so I promised myself if I finish all the books in progress, I can buy myself Maplecroft which is like genre catnip for me.

And it's working - in the past 7 days I've finished:

The Wet Nurse's Tale for a Book by a Local Author. This was a quick, easy read. The story meandered a bit before it found its driving plot conflict, and it took its time establishing a sense of time and place. But once it got going, it did a great job of underlining how little power servants had in Victorian England, and I was totally invested in Susan figuring out how to reach her goals.

Explain Pain for A Micro-History. This is a fascinating book and a must-read for anyone with chronic pain. I kind of knew, but never really appreciated what it means for the brain to construct the subjective experience of pain. It's much more than a simple neural signal from damaged tissue.

Burnt Offerings - Book Set in the Decade You Were Born. Not a fan. It had some promise, but the characters aren't relatable at all, and the pace is incredibly slow and repetitive. I admit I also couldn't get over what seemed like the author's underlying sentiment of "bitches love antiques, right?"

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made for A book about a Villain or Antihero. READ THIS! It's fascinating and funny. Tommy Wiseau seems like an obnoxious weirdo with few redeeming qualities. He made an infamously bad movie written, directed, produced by and starring himself. He's perpetually late, rude to waitstaff, cheap, vindictive, and out of touch with reality. But this story gives you a more nuanced view that doesn't erase any of those bad qualities, and provides a frame to this Hollywood story that has you rooting for him a little bit even as you cringe. You must get the audio book to hear Greg Sestero do Tommy's voice, and hear both the frustration and affection in his descriptions of Tommy.

and finally,

Dawn, for a A Book with a Time of Day in the Title. This was another compelling, fast read - easy to get through in a day or two. I guess it's not as good as Octavia Butler's other work I've read, but that means this is just very good, rather than magnificent. It works the same themes as Kindred and Bloodchild, but the story is a fresh take, and I was 100% invested. Will definitely read the next book.

QOTW:

I'm actually not sure I've encountered this phenomenon, but yes, it would bother me a little!

Omg Nadine Preach!! It’s so ridiculous that we (I’m
In Canada but our tax systems are essentially the same!) have to fill out complicated forms to tell the government if we know what they already know. They could so simply for like 80% of the population just send us a print out and have us check and sign. It’s like they’re testing us for no reason.
Anyway!! We had hopefully our last storm this week but who knows lol I’ve been busy because my husband who used to stay in an apartment in the city during the week has started commuting with a group of guys so he’s home every night for the first time in our entire marriage besides short leaves when we had our kids.
I’m also still alternating between 5-6 books but I finished Sharp Objects and the others should be done by next Thursday so I’ll have a big check in next week.
I’ve got sharp objects by Gillian Flynn- finished
Smoke gets in your eyes by Caitlin Doughty- 1/2
Mr penumbras 24 hour book store- 1/2
The hot zone-3/4
A piece of the world by Christina baker cline- 3/4, and
Let’s pretend this never happened by Jenny Lawson- 3/4
I’m reading 1/4 a day minimum but alternating between them so I should be done most of them next week!

QOTW: no it doesn’t tend to bother me too much,I guess like some others have said I don’t think about it much once I start reading

Good morning everyone! I haven't done much reading this past week. I spent a good bit of my weekend binge watching The White Queen (still need to read that book) and then started rewatching Downton Abbey.

I've also started spending a chunk of time every day at the local dog park so my pup can play. It's been fantastic for her, but it has taken most of my evening leisure time. I don't read at the park because 1. I am watching my dog to monitor her behavior and that of the dogs around her and 2. I am usually chatting with the other dog owners.

Soooo...nothing to report.

Currently reading:

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

The Lady of the Rivers

Crazy Rich Asians - I have been saving this for when my annual spring/summer slow down began. I'm hoping this series will help keep me moving through my slump.

QOTW

I wouldn't say it bothers me if the title doesn't really tie into the story (though I certainly think it should), but I do look for that tie in while reading it. I love when it hits all of a sudden halfway through the book and I think "so THAT'S what they titled it the way they did".

Happy Thursday! 24 of 50 down.
@Nadine � I agree on your comments on Broken Harbor. I felt the same way about #5 in the series, too, The Secret Place, which I read for my ancestry.

As for taxes, the government doesn't know your charitable donations, religious tithes, or other possible deductions. I would never accept them at their word one what I owed. It's important to save your receipts through the year and run the calculations yourself or with a trusted tax professional.

Completed:
The Expatriates by Janice Y K Lee for #14: an author with a different ethnicity than you. The writing is rich and the characterizations are great in this tale of Americans living in Hong Kong. We follow the path of three women � 1 loses a child (due to poor child tending by another) and the third debates marriage and adoption. I loved most of the book, but was disappointed by the culmination.

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson for #33: a childhood classic you have never read. It is kind of violent compared to what children read today!

A Killer Kebab by Susannah Hardy as a fun cozy cleanser.

Currently reading:
The Beet Queen by Lois Erdlich for #45 Book with fruit or vegetable in the title. It's okay, but the giant YA label on the spine has me preparing to be utterly disappointed or annoyed.

Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni as a fun thriller. I'm reading it for a 50 states challenge and needed a Washington book.

Hitman: The Untold Story of Johnny Martorano: Whitey Bulger's Enforcer and the Most Feared Gangster in the Underworld by Howie Carr I originally picked this for #12, but Whitey who was reputed to be of that mindset was not prevalent enough. Martorano was oddly a Mr. Mom in addition to being a hitman. The Brothers Bulger would have worked, but I've read that. This could be true crime, but I have that done already.


QOTW - Title matching the book?
It’s rare that I find a title doesn’t work in some manner. I’m more apt to be annoyed if the cover doesn’t properly set the mood for the book. I actually have loved some book names -- Rebecca, by Daphne De Maurier for example!

Hi All!

So the majority of this week my husband and I were on vacation in Vegas (woohoo!). We spent many hours by the pool where I had plenty of opportunities to lounge about reading. I managed to finish 3 books this week, which is ironically less than I probably would have gotten through had I stayed home (I do most of my reading on the weekend).

The most exciting thing about our vacation is I managed to spot 13 books that were being read by strangers. I've been worried about this prompt since I don't really get a chance to see what strangers are reading. I'll probably check them out next week and see if my library has any in stock or available as an ebook.

For the prompt: A book set on the sea, I read Cinnamon and Gunpowder . The cover of this book led me to believe it would be fun, easy reading Chicklit. Basically, I was expecting something perfect for poolside reading. Unfortunately, I was surprised when I cracked it open it was actually written in first person journal format (a style I don't particularly care for) and was written with the voice of a man during the early 1800's - again, something I'm not particularly fond of. It ended up taking me some time to get through it given its fairly short length, 319 pgs. I didn't bond with the main character very quickly although over time when he loosened up I eventually found myself caring for him and the pirates of The Rose. Still, I suppose you could consider this a slow-burn type of romance when you squint, but I wouldn't recommend this to someone who is looking for a fast-paced romance.

I also read Don't Look Down which would cover the prompt: A book written by two authors (I actually already fulfilled this prompt last month with Agnes and the Hitman written by the same authors). This one was much more in line with what I had been looking for. It was an easy, quick-paced witty romance. A bit over the top but in general, entertaining.

Then I listened to Still Life which is the first Chief Inspector Armand Gamace book on the recommendation of a podcast I've started to listen to (What Should I Read Next). I have a soft spot for those quintessential murder mysteries and this one is a pretty solid one. I mainly read it as I heard the series overall is great and that the characters tend to show up in more than one book. One of my favorite things is character development and having the same characters over multiple books is something that most murder mysteries don't do.

I am now working my way through The Silkworm. This one isn't necessarily for any prompt (as I've already read 3 other books which cover the prompt - The next book in a series you are reading) but I'm enjoying it anyway.

Up next will be, The Hate U Give which I think aligns with multiple prompts so I might just pick the one I think it works for best. I've been seeing this recommended by multiple people online and have wanted to pick it up but my library just got it in (I accidentally stumbled upon it on the shelf much to my delight!)

QOTW
If I noticed that would probably bug me but I think I'm more likely to think I missed some sort of philosophical reasoning behind the title. I can't actually think of any time when the title doesn't match.

Sarah wrote: "Well I'm on book #14 on the 15th week, so I'm feeling good about keeping the pace (especially considering both Moby-Dick or, The Whale and The Goldfinch are crossed off, which are both humongous books).
"

I'm reading Moby Dick for another challenge as the assigned book I never read as it's the only assigned book in school that I did not read and I remember why. I'm trying to do a chapter a night.

Yesterday and today it has finally feel like Spring! I'm enjoying the warmer temperatures before predicted snow again this weekend.

this week I finished 2 books, which puts me at 25/50. I finished:

Emerald Green, which I'll be using for time travel prompt. this was a cute series, but I was a bit let down by this one.

The woman in cabin 10 for a book set at sea.

I'm currently reading half broke horses, for the ugly cover prompt, and enjoying the format of short chapters (1-2 pages) full of rich content. this is a great bus book, easy to pick up and put down.

I'm also working on Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and Cutting for Stone.

QOTW: Out of place titles bother me too, although when they don't seem to match at all I typically assume the publisher/editor selected the title to be something they thought was more marketable. I have no idea if that actually happens at all, or how much control authors have. A book that comes to mind for me is Nigerians in Space, this had an odd assortment of stories that were supposed to tie together when characters crossed each other's paths, but seemed to be much more about smuggling, than the bit about space. I wondered if the author wrote a great smuggling story, but the publisher said"smuggling doesn't sell, space does. add something about space and we'll have a deal." I may have watched too many movies about the plight of authors trying to publish their books.

Books that tick off prompts:

None…it was another slow reading week for me�.

One’s that don’t tick off prompts

Death Masks by Jim Butcher. One of the Dresden Files series-urban fantasy. They are nice easy reads.

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews. Third in this series which is also urban fantasy. I love both this one and their Kate Daniels series.

QOTW:

I don't think I've ever really noticed the titles of book and if they don't relate.

Good morning! I like to get my taxes out of the way just as soon as all the paperwork comes in, so I'm glad not to be dealing with that this month.

I'm now 28/50 for the challenge. This week I read:

- Forever, Erma by Erma Bombeck, this was a reread for me, read for a nonfiction challenge

- Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg, I've had this book on my TBR forever, lucky it didn't disappoint but was not a cheerful read at all and I didn't realize that it was the first in a series (I don't think I'll continue) (could work for a book about death or grief)

- Digging In by Loretta Nyhan, one of the best books I've read this year, the storyline really affected me, used for a book published in 2018 (could also work for a book about death or grief)

- The One You Love by Paul Pilkington, not love for me but it was ok (may work as a book about mental health, one of the characters was not stable)

- The Almost Wives Club by Nancy Warren, another mediocre (for me) read

- The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea by Melanie Cellier, I wanted to love it, and I did like it, but something about it felt too modern despite the fact that the setting, characters and culture were all in olden times like they should be, used for a book with a fruit or vegetable in the title (would also work for a book with characters who are twins)

My choices this past week started great, but tapered off with my not having loved the last 3 books. Several of these were first in a series, but none that I plan to keep on with. Unfortunately, now I'm reading The Royal We because it just came available on my Libby shelf, and so far it has been an average read for me as well. I mean the books are fine, but a let down after a great emotional book like Digging In I guess.

QOTW - I don't usually think much of the title once I start reading, I'm much more annoyed when the book is nothing like it's description.

Hi everyone. I've pulled muscles in my back this week so I've been off work today, but at least that means extra reading time.

It's been a YA kind of week for me. First off I finished Red Queen. Not a fan of this one. The main character goes on and on about getting by with just her brains and street smarts but she's absolutely blindsided by every little "plot twist," even when they've been blindingly obvious to the reader for the previous ten chapters. I won't be continuing with the series.

Secondly I finished The Rose & the Dagger. I really enjoyed this one. It's the sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn and I think I actually preferred this one to the first.

QOTW: I really like that eureka moment when a random title suddenly makes sense (like To Kill a Mockingbird) but it doesn't overly bother me if it doesn't happen. I hate it when the cover doesn't match the book.
looks like a standard YA space/cyberpunk type of book but it's actually a fun middle grade book with a talking robotic goldfish. At least that one was a good surprise!

Hi everyone!

Michigan can't make up its mind this week. We've had several mornings where we wake up to snow coating the ground, but it's in the 50's by the end of the day. Just to repeat the next morning. Today's actually pretty mild in the morning, but it's going to snow again Monday. Can we just get proper spring yet?

This week I finished:

The Hate U Give which was my past goodreads winner. It was really good, but very hard to read, especially at the start. Once I got past the halfway point, it moved better. It also counts for ATY own voices.

Maplecroft - I thought this wold be my novel about a real person, then realized I hit that prompt already and forgot. I really should actually look at my spreadsheet when picking books. But I'm counting it for ATY's book involving water as an element. It's Lizzie Borden meets sort of Lovecraftian horror. (Lovecraft or any of his creatures were never mentioned by name, but the references/tone were pretty obvious).

Overwatch: Anthology Volume 1 - been playing a lot of Overwatch, so cruised through some of the backstory comics. They're short but kind of fun.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 2: Squirrel You Know It's True accidentally picked up vol 2 instead of vol 1, but it was still a fun read.

Mockingbird, Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda finally got around to reading this, it was a lot of fun. Sad they didn't give her a longer run, I really loved this series. She briefly showed up in The Unstoppable Wasp, but they cancelled that too :( Let me read about awesome science ladies, Marvel!

Currently Reading:

Impostor Syndrome - I was planning on counting this for my mental health prompt, but then I realized the prompt said "about" mental health, not just involving so not sure it counts. The main character has borderline personality disorder, and it does play a fundamental role in her character. I guess I'll see if I find something else that applies better later, this could also count for my book published in 2018.

QOTW:

I'm not sure I can think of any book offhand where I absolutely couldn't see how the title related to the book. I'm not sure if that means it hasn't happened, or if I just don't notice it at all. I guess if someone pointed it out, it might bug me.

Finished one book: Geekerella. I'm using this for a past goodreads choice awards winner. The audiobook was good. The plot was lacking for me.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. I'll have to check what my library has available to me. My holds for Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Dear Martin are taking forever to get to me. :(

11 Regular, 1 Advanced, and 4 Non-Challenge books.

Cold and windy hello from Idaho! Just spent the morning wrangling a goat that escaped from his pen, so that was fun...

Finished two books this week, neither one of which was for the challenge. I'm rather ahead on said challenge, though, so I'm not worried about falling behind...

Timeless -- last book in the "Parasol Protectorate" series. It kind of falls into the trap of "let's throw some out-of-nowhere plot elements into the final book just because we can" that a lot of final books in series seem to, but I still feel it was a very good finale to an excellent series.

The Wild Robot Escapes -- I didn't realize The Wild Robot had a sequel until this popped up in our library's Overdrive database! Both books are very sweet and have valuable things to say about the world in general, and even if you don't like sci-fi and/or YA books they're excellent reads.

Currently Reading:

Argo: How the CIA & Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History -- for "book set the decade you were born." Kind of a cheat because the action starts in 1979 and I was born in the 80s, but I figure it's close enough...

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions -- for "allegory."

DNF:

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch -- tried to read this for "allegory." I like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman... so it was heartbreaking to find this book so "bleh" that I just couldn't get into it. My friends told me "oh, stick with it, it gets better!" but, to be honest, I couldn't. Both authors have written much better books than this.

QOTW:

In most cases when I read a book, I can find the title fits somehow, even vaguely... and even in cases where it doesn't fit at all it usually doesn't bother me. For example, if the title of Universal Harvester fits the story somehow, I missed it, but it wasn't my primary problem with the book. *stops here before I go on a book rant*

Then again, I guess I can't point fingers because I write a lot of fanfic *hangs head in shame* and will sometimes resort to titles that just "sound cool." I named one story "Domovoi" simply because the main characters were Russian -- though to be fair I eventually found a way to incorporate the domovoi into the story somehow...

Having employers report my income directly to the IRS so they can calculate my taxes for me sounds like something that would happen in a dystopian novel or an episode of Black Mirror. No, thank you! I prefer to be engaged with my government and laws.

I didn't finish any books this week. I've been napping and binge-watching The Expanse instead of reading. Since I love sleep and The Expanse, I can't say I'm sorry about it!

Reading
The Light Between Oceans - I've seen the movie, so I'm reading a little slower than usual since I know what happens. I'm enjoying it, but it's difficult to read about good people making such poor choices.

The Shadow Land - I've just barely gotten started with this one, but I like it so far.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women - The author is a very talented writer. I usually read nonfiction slowly, but I'm wrapped up in this story.

DNF
The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime - I don't know how a book on this subject could bore me, but it did so I stopped reading.

QOTW
All a title needs to do for me is catch my attention. Beyond that, I don't really think about it.

22/52

Does anyone else have problems with reading a book for a category only to have it fit into a different category. I feel like I am shifting books around all the time! Lol!

Completed Prompts
I only finished one book for the challenge this week. (I'm a little schizo with books though and have started like 5!)

A book about or involving a sport: Swimming Home: A Novel definitely fit this prompt since it is about long distance swimming. There's a bit of historical fiction thrown in with the women competing to be the first to swim the English Channel. I loved this book! I thought it was well written, I just wanted it to keep going. And the ending completely satisfied me.
It could easily have fit in the prompt for feminism as well.

On my nightstand:
I have made no progress on The Time Traveler's Wife or Beartown. China Dolls has been what I have really been into and I just started Number the Stars.

QOTW: I agree! Please have the title in some way related to the book! But MY biggest pet peeve is when a book has a classic cover and then the movie comes out and they change it just to have the actors on the cover! Grrrr! Who cares!

Sheri wrote: "Overwatch: Anthology Volume 1 - been playing a lot of Overwatch, so cruised through some of the backstory comics. They're short but kind of fun."

Ooh, do you play on PC? Maybe we can group up! In the meantime I'm going to check the comic out, thanks!

I didn't check in last week, so I'll put two weeks worth of books here.

I finished The Enchantress of Florence. This was a little tougher to get through, as Rushdie's style of stories within stories requires a bit more focus than my two year old will allow. I wasn't really into it until about halfway through, but it's one of those that I'd probably enjoy a lot on a second read through. It was my "Set in a Country that fascinates you", as it was set both in India and in Florence, with stints through Persia as well. All areas that bleed orange and red and excitement in my mind.

I read A Man Called Ove for a book club I'm in. Originally it was going to be my "Book about a movie you've already seen", but I think I'm going to reclassify it as "Grief." It's a hilarious story about an old cranky man and he deals with life after his beloved has passed. Truly charming.

I read We Were the Lucky Ones. This was Georgia Hunter's debut novel detailing the war years of her Jewish-Polish family's struggle. It was wonderfully written, though it struggles with having so many characters, a family tree would have been nice, as I got confused as to who were the children, and who were the in-laws, but gave a human face to the holocaust, and somehow was even uplifting at the end.

My daughter and I are almost done with A Wrinkle in Time, a childhood favorite of mine that we are reading together (she's seven). This is my "takes place on another continent."

This week I'm hoping to whip through another of my silly Chronicles of St Mary's series with A Second Chance as my "next in a series" and finish up A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, my "local author" prompt. That should put me at 15 books, I think? I read The White Album earlier in the year, and am not sure where that fits, if anywhere.

QOTW: Yes, it bothers me. I really like when the title is something you have to discover in the book, so you're reading and you're like "Oh! There it is!".

Once again the goal was to get through seven library books I had out for my youth reading committee- and I am ready to take a break and read something that I picked out. Maybe this week I'll find time for me between the committee books. So if you have middle grade readers:
Granted- a wish granting fairy goes on her first mission and encounters all sorts of problems. It is cute and I would recommend it to people who want to believe in fairies (like me).
Aru Shah and the End of Time- kiddos are going to eat this one up. If they like Riordan this is for them. It is about Hindu gods and is action packed. I would give this to any middle grade reader.
Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen- this is a quick and easy read as there are a lot of great pencil illustrations throughout the book. Younger readers who like dogs will like this one.
Mustaches for Maddie- a girl with a big imagination is having all the regular friend problems at school when she discovers she has a brain tumor. It is based on the author's (two of them so would that make it authors's) daughter. It was good. I would give this to a girl who really likes to read realistic fiction.
A Boy Called Bat- this is for young readers (thirdish grade) who are animal lovers- a boy is hoping to convince his mom to keep a skunk kit. There are big pencil illustrations.
Sidetracked- a book about a boy who is bad at everything he does joining the cross country track team. He doesn't suddenly become an athlete, but he does work hard and improves and also makes a friend. I felt like it was a little slow in the middle.
The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding- a boy has a demon inside him (thanks to a great great something grandfather) and he is working hard to get rid of the demon without making a contract with said demon. No one is who they seem and it is a set up for the next book in the series but kiddos who like their books with a little bit of magic will likely enjoy this one.

QOTW: I find most titles do go with the book somehow- even if you have to dig a little for the meaning. I'm not overly fussed about it if the title isn't perfect. Cover art not matching- or just being ugly- drives me crazy though.

Hello all! It's rainy today, but there's a winter storm warning for tonight and tomorrow. No spring quite yet!

I finished 2 books again this week, bringing my challenge up to 32/52

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas for Past Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Award winner (2015 YA winner)
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin for recommendation by someone else in the challenge.

QOTW:
I don't think I've run into many books with titles that are completely out there. I'm not sure it would really bother me though.

Unauthorized Cinnamon wrote: "Ooh, do you play on PC? Maybe we can group up! In the meantime I'm going to check the comic out, thanks! "

Sorry, I'm on Xbox one! Wish they'd get more games going that allow cross-platform playing! I was happy because Brigitte is my current favorite for playing, and the Reinhardt comic had her in it :D

Heather wrote: "Having employers report my income directly to the IRS so they can calculate my taxes for me sounds like something that would happen in a dystopian novel or an episode of Black Mirror. No, thank you..."

That's actually reality, though; at least for me it is. My employer does report my income to the IRS. The IRS knows how much I owe before I do. Now that they've made it difficult to file paper forms, it's even more annoying.

I finished four books this week. Two of the books, I used for the challenge. The Music Shop I used for the book that was a gift prompt. My son gave me a subscription to BOTM for Christmas. This was the first book I received. It was good, and would recommend it for people who like "cozy" reads. It has a great community of characters. The other book that I finished for the challenge was Turtles All the Way Down. This was the third John Green book I've read. All I can say about him, is that I wish he was a writing when I was a teen. He has a unique voice that appeals to both teens and adults. This book worked for the mental health prompt.

The other two books I finished were The Passenger and The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra. I liked both books. The Inspector Chopra book is the beginning of a series. I haven't decided whether I will continue reading it or not. My TBR pile seems terribly big right now.

QOTW: I don't think I ponder too much about the title. I think I'm more annoyed by titles that seem to "copy" whatever is the latest trend. The same is true for cover art, too.

This week I finished Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. I really loved the first half, when the books discussed were ones that I was familiar with, but it started to feel a little drawn out after that (probably because I wasn't connecting with the other books). Still a great read from an admirable writer though.

I also listened to Turtles All the Way Down, which was lighter than I expected. I'm not sure how much research the author did on lived experiences like the ones described through the main character, but it seemed realistic to me. I enjoyed it overall.

I'm currently listening to Cloud Atlas, and seem to prefer the odd-numbered stories so far, haha. The second and fourth ones are with a thick British accent, which is usually difficult for me. ;) It's pretty interesting though. I'm reading If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating, which is a little more improv-focused than I hoped, but still decent. And I'm still slowly getting through When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Not because it's not interesting, but because it's my nightstand hard copy read, so just a few pages at a time.

I'm at 35/50 for the challenge, and 52 books read so far this year.

QOTW:
I haven't been too bothered by titles not matching the book, but I think this happened a little with The Rules Do Not Apply. I couldn't tell what a dark and depressing read it was going to be. I will say that I love when the title is solid and reminds you of a heartwarming or important part of the book. A few examples that come to mind would be The Color Purple, My Brilliant Friend, and The Hate U Give.

Tania wrote: "Good morning! I like to get my taxes out of the way just as soon as all the paperwork comes in, so I'm glad not to be dealing with that this month.

I'm now 28/50 for the challenge. This week I rea..."

Thanks for the review on Digging In. I added that to my To Be Read list earlier this year, tentatively. I'll see if I can intertwine it in earlier now. Maybe grief (#10)....

You guys! I finished SO MANY books this week! (And I'm pretty excited about it.) I finished the two giant books I'd been working on, one of which I had been reading for more than a month, and I think that momentum propelled me to quickly start and finish a few more.

Finished
At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68 (3. next book in series) I did it! I finally finished this giant 3-volume series. I do think this one was too detailed, and focused too much on things only loosely related to the Civil Rights movement, but the series overall is phenomenal. It you ever want to know everything about the Civil Rights Movement, this series by Taylor Branch is for you.

Angle of Repose (36. book set in decade I was born - 1970's) Beautiful prose, interesting characters and setting, moved a little slow but was satisfying and worth the read.

Till We Have Faces This was a non-challenge re-read that I did this time on audiobook. Loved it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Adv 8. Microhistory) I was asked to join my first IRL book club ever last month, and this was picked as our first book, which I was delighted about because I already owned it on Kindle and I had already planned to read it for the challenge. I loved it. It was fascinated and maddening and moved quickly and I felt like I learned a lot.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (39. Book involving a bookstore or library) I picked this up yesterday because I needed a little break from the heaviness of Educated: A Memoir. I expected to read a couple of chapters in the morning and then return to Educated later in the day. Instead, I read and read and read The Storied Life and finished it last night. I really, really enjoyed it. I think I'm just really into the grumpy-person-with-a-heart-of-gold trope because it works for me EVERY TIME.

Progress
Completed 23/52 (21/42 regular, 2/10 advanced)

Currently Reading
Educated: A Memoir I lucked out on this one because I really wanted to read it and then I saw that the author and I share a first name, so I'm using it for that prompt. I have to say though, I'm about a third of the way through and it is just one horrifying thing after another, but I'm still in her childhood so I'm hoping that we'll see a little bit of light and hope as she grows up.

QOTW
I don't think I've ever even thought about this or noticed, but now I certainly will!

Heather wrote: "Having employers report my income directly to the IRS so they can calculate my taxes for me sounds like something that would happen in a dystopian novel or an episode of Black Mirror. No, thank you..."

Haha sometimes Britain feels like a Black Mirror episode but I don't mind the PAYE system. I don't think our personal taxes are that complicated, for example we can't claim back tax for charitable donations as individuals, but the charity can claim the tax if we say so when we donate. It's just easy to have it come out my pay every month.

However we don't have zero control, anyone can do a tax return if they don't agree with the tax they've paid (we get something called a P60 once a year and every payslip has tax info on it). Unless you've had multiple jobs in a year, it's rare to be wrong though. My partner is self-employed so he has to do tax returns and pay 6 months estimated tax in advance. No thanks! :D

Two books for the challenge completed this week!

Bloodline for "Favorite category from 2015 - book with a one word title" I enjoyed it and loved the writing very much

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World for "book mentioned in another book". Personally I liked the author's "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" (which is the book this one is mentioned in) better.

Just started Ready Player One for "book being read by a stranger in public". on chapter 7 and honestly not sure if I'm going to finish it.

QOTW I prefer if by the end I can understand the reason for the title. But it's not a deal breaker for me.

Good morning! This week flew by for me as well, what is up with that? I'm going out of town to visit a friend this weekend which means time on planes which means time to read! Quite excited about that, actually.

Finished:
The Secret of Flirting (this will be the beginning of a trend this week, I went on a romance kick)

Lord of Darkness - crazysauce but hooked me enough to search out the next book....

Duke of Midnight which was still ridiculous but a page-turner and darn it, now I want to know what happens with the next couple and....

Darling Beast and here I stopped. Three books in three days.

Currently reading: Educated: A Memoir, which I have almost finished and I am loving it. This could work as a book about feminism or mental health as the author addresses how wrestling with both concepts helped her reflect on her strange upbringing.

QOTW: Like some of you, I don't get upset if I don't end up learning what the title is supposed to mean... I only get annoyed if I loved a book and recommend it to people and they get baffled by the title so I have to try to explain it, if that makes sense.

Our weather is being weird, 30 one day 70 the next.

I'm still not reading at the level I'd like but part of that is due to the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaways I won which are 400+ pages and not at all engaging (and I have three of them).

I did manage a few for the challenge though. For the prompt A book involving a heist I finished Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I had read one other book in this universe (different trilogy from this) and thought it was okay but I have to wonder if I would have liked the worldbuilding better had I finished that. This, in spite of it being called a heist in the book and on the blurb, isn't really a heist; it's a jailbreak. I'm counting it because I don't really like books about thieves. I liked some of the characters but man this was twice as long as it needed to be.

From the advanced challenge I read for the prompt A cyberpunk book Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline by Ernest Cline. Honestly much like Six of Crows it's probably more adjacent to the prompt than dead on. There's plenty of argument is this truly cyberpunk. Since I liked it, probably not quite (because even as a SF reader I hate cyberpunk as a rule) but I'm counting it. I was an 80s gamer chick so it appealed to me.

QOTW - Sometimes it bugs me but not overly so especially since I know that often the author at big publishing houses have no say over their titles. I'm not sure why or how titles are settled on. I publish with indie presses and only had to change mine once.

Kenya wrote: "Cold and windy hello from Idaho! Just spent the morning wrangling a goat that escaped from his pen, so that was fun...

Finished two books this week, neither one of which was for the challenge. I'm..."

Don't you dare hang your head in shame for writing fanfiction! I've read plenty of fanfiction that is SO MUCH BETTER than actual original published stuff, so just keep going and be proud of it! You're writing, and that's a good thing!

Ugh taxes! I still have to finish mine this week.

None of the books I read this week fit in the challenge but I'm at 30/50 so I don't feel too bad about that.

Finished reading:
Hidden Bodies The follow-up to You This is more of a series of vignettes than an actual novel.

A Midsummer Night's Dream I read this for another challenge and while I appreciate Shakespeare's brilliance, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer stage versions than reading them.

Sing, Unburied, Sing I really enjoyed this one. Beautifully written.

Currently reading:
A Year in Provence

Slaughterhouse-Five

QOTW: I can't say I spend much time thinking about it but there have been times that I'm in the middle of a book and realize that the title makes no sense.

Johanna wrote: "22/52

Does anyone else have problems with reading a book for a category only to have it fit into a different category. I feel like I am shifting books around all the time! Lol!

Completed Prompts..."

I don't have that specifically, but I do read books not intended for the challenge and having to shift books because it did fit a prompt and I can't just ignore that.. oops :D

As for the classical/movie covers, I agree, up to a point. In terms of Call Me By Your Name, the new cover is a definite improvement!

Carmen wrote: "Don't you dare hang your head in shame for writing fanfiction! I've read plenty of fanfiction that is SO MUCH BETTER than actual original published stuff, so just keep going and be proud of it! You're writing, and that's a good thing! "

Aw shucks... thanks Carmen. Sometimes I feel rather silly for writing so much fanfic when I could be working on my novel instead. It doesn't help that I did a word count of "Domovoi" and discovered it's longer than any of the "Lord of the Rings" novels and at least half the "Harry Potter" novels. Not bad for a "Pacific Rim" fan sequel, I guess...

"Johanna wrote: "22/52

Does anyone else have problems with reading a book for a category only to have it fit into a different category. I feel like I am shifting books around all the time! Lol!

C..."

I'm just now getting to that point this year. I have no problem shifting books around. Part of the fun of reading is coming across a twist! Sometimes those twists make a book fit into an unexpected category. Once I start reading for the advanced prompts, I'll probably do some more shifting. I find the advanced prompts really hard this year for some reason, so if a book from the regular prompts can fit one of them, I'll move it there.

Kenya wrote: "Aw shucks... thanks Carmen. Sometimes I feel rather silly for writing so much fanfic when I could be working on my novel instead. It doesn't help that I did a word count of "Domovoi" and discovered it's longer than any of the "Lord of the Rings" novels and at least half the "Harry Potter" novels. Not bad for a "Pacific Rim" fan sequel, I guess... ."

I've read fics with over a million words, and I love the posts that highlight the word counts of Harry Potter and LotR because it shows how much time and effort fanfic writers put into their work! It's really eyeopening.

Heather wrote: "I'm just now getting to that point this year. I have no problem shifting books around. Part of the fun of reading is coming across a twist! Sometimes those twists make a book fit into an unexpected category. Once I start reading for the advanced prompts, I'll probably do some more shifting. I find the advanced prompts really hard this year for some reason, so if a book from the regular prompts can fit one of them, I'll move it there."

I've almost finished my advanced prompts already, and have had multiple books for some of them. I hadn't expected that when I started, but eventually I had to choose which book to read for a certain advanced prompt!

Carmen wrote: "I've read fics with over a million words, and I love the posts that highlight the word counts of Harry Potter and LotR because it shows how much time and effort fanfic writers put into their work! It's really eyeopening. "

It really is. And even if fan fiction is looked down upon in some circles, I'm glad that people appreciate it. :) What kinds of fics do you normally read?

Hiya everyone! 
Weather here has been weird; we’ve had temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius with sun, but we’ve also had a storm, with another one (supposedly) incoming tonight. No snow though!

I didn’t check in last week because I was too exhausted from the Fall Out Boy concert the night before, and I pretty much slept all day. When I was finally feeling up to it, the amount of messages already posted was too daunting and I decided to just skip it. “just� is not really accurate as it’s been bothering me all week, but let’s go with it anyways. I didn’t have much to say anyways. Unfortunately. Not that this week’s check in is stellar, (there has been a lot of episode watching) but at least there has been SOME progress. Even if not for this challenge.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE BUGS/ANIMALS RESULTS:�
My polls gave me 75% yes, and 25% no. This makes me feel a bit better about it all, especially since I’ve gotten to learn some of the reasoning on here. I may not understand it myself, but it’s good to know.

This is the first year I did my taxes (well, my dad and some guy from the union) because I would actually be getting money back for the first time! It’s all filled out already though, and all you have to do is check to make sure the info is correct. Could definitely be worse. Good luck to all the Americans out there! (btw, I think they make you do this in the hopes you miss something and they don’t have to pay you back; I sometimes even get that feeling here)

(I apologize for the lack of coherency in this post, but I’m just too tired to properly focus. I showered and that zapped all the energy I didn’t have to begin with. I’ve been doing dreadfully lately so every small thing, like updating here, is a small victory.)

Books finished�
The Crown: The inside history for microhistory. I loved this. I really hope he’ll/they’ll make a book like this for every season, because it just gives so much more insight into what happened, and it shows you what the show changed/added, and why. Would definitely recommend if you’re into the show! I did get annoyed with the character pages and other short parts interrupting sentences, but I laughed when they blatantly had the wrong photo on one page. Woops?

Winnie de Poeh, currently not for any prompt. I should have been reading my current reads, but you’ll soon see why I didn’t want to, so when this book came in (a new Dutch version, looking stunning) at work, I just had to check it out. I figured it was the perfect excuse to put the other books on hold a bit longer and to finally read these stories. I was a bit underwhelmed, but I blame that on the terrible translation. I had to look up the English texts multiple times to see where the hell it came from, and I loved those bits so much more. At one point they used “aandoenlijk�, as how Eeyore described himself, and I was so confused, because why would Eeyore find himself adorable/endearing??? Turns out, it came from pathetic and I just wanted to hit my head against the wall repeatedly. The stories brought back so many memories from the movie and from being a kid, though, and that was lovely! There were also some great humoristic bits, but the writing did put me off (once again blaming the translation) so it took me longer to read than it should have. It was only 148 pages after all. Eeyore is definitely my favorite, and it gave me all the feels whenever he was involved, but I also wanted to yell at the others for being mean to him *hides* Will definitely read the original version one day and hope it’ll get rid of my grievances!

Currently reading�
Alfenmark - not for a prompt. Could work for a sequel, but I have other books I'd rather read for that one. I read the first book of this series earlier this year, and wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to continue. There were some problematic things in the first one, and I had hoped they'd disappear, but unfortunately that didn't happen. If anything it seems to be getting worse. I'm barely into it, and I've had sentences like "Women aren't supposed to kiss men, it's supposed to be the other way around", "It feels wrong for Gishild to be leading him." (because Gishild is a she), and "If you truly loved me you would do this for me." The sad thing is that this only happens in the chapters from the kids' POV. I can't even remember how old they are, but it's such a struggle. The chapters from the adult characters' POV are great and I want to know more. Unfortunately the story it tells is about the two kids, so this might just end up as a DNF. My second ever. Especially since I have a feeling the synopsis at the back is incredibly misleading. Not that I care for what it said, but still.

First Impressions: A Contemporary Retelling of Pride and Prejudice, also not for a prompt. Could work for published in 2018 (it's a review copy, ebook) but it's been published before in 2004 so I'd feel awkward using it for that. I could only use it if I manage to finish it, which seems unlikely at the moment. I'm at 17% and h o n e s t l y. I was so excited for this, even having never read (or seen) the original Pride & Prejudice, because the characters get to play their P&P counterparts in a play, but in the first chapter alone the main female character gave me whiplash. She changed her mind about the main male character like five times. Without proper incentive. You can't go "I wouldn't even want to date him, he's not my type, even if he's handsome" to "...perhaps I wouldn't even be so hard to catch" to "I hate him" in less than 10 pages. And then our male character still thinks marriage is a noose put around his head by a woman. Honestly, it doesn't feel very contemporary, and just having a smartphone thrown in here and there isn't gonna cut it. I have P&P slotted for my alliteration prompt, but I have to admit that right now, my excitement for it has lessened. I will try to get to at least 50% of this book, because I think the author deserves a proper review, even if I DNF it, but I hope that somehow I'll end up loving it, because this was supposed to be my book to take a break.. Wish me luck!

QOTW
I’m not sure it bothers me per se, but I do wonder sometimes. Same with cover art. But what does really bother me is when the back cover’s summary/synopsis doesn’t match the book. I’ve seen it happen so many times and it just annoys the hell out of me. Just get it right, dammit! This is supposed to hook me into the book, and if the book doesn’t match the summary, I’m going to be disappointed and/or angry. The struggle ha!

One of my favorite titles though is “Sons of Destiny�, the final installment of the Darren Shan saga, and when that title clicked, it blew my mind haha! So it does add extra, but I’ve never been bothered if it seemed unrelated. That I can remember right now. Perhaps that will change from now on xD

(Oh wow, this ended up way longer than planned. Sorry!)

So this week I have completed exactly 0 books!
I am moving house in 12 hours and will be without internet for a while so am still checking in. Mr Penumbra is nearly done as is the awful brain one I have been slogging through all year. The same cannot be said for the packing. 2am now and less than half done.

Hi all,

I did my taxes! Actually my Dad did them! (thanks Dad). He is a retired CPA, so it is all good. He does them for me and my husband :)
I am getting a refund - so that is all that really matters!

For the challenge, I am currently at 9/40 and 3/10.

I am currently reading a book by an author who is a different ethnicity than you. I chose The Boy on the Beach.....so sad. I was crying at 11:30pm last night. It is incredible what the Kurdi family has been through.

This week, I actually spent some time planning out what I am going to read for the challenge, and changing some of the titles that I picked way back in December 2017 (seems like a very long time ago)! I think I only have about 3 more items to pick for the whole list.

QOTW: I don't think this bugs me. I am much more concerned with song titles that have NOTHING to do with a song! But beautiful book covers, those I like. I am a complete sucker for a nice book cover/nice art work on a cover.

Ann wrote: "QOTW: I don't think this bugs me. I am much more concerned with song titles that have NOTHING to do with a song! But beautiful book covers, those I like. I am a complete sucker for a nice book cover/nice art work on a cover. "

YES TO THE SONG TITLES. The only time I don't care is when they're fun like "Mike Dexter is a God, Mike Dexter is a Role Model, Mike Dexter is an A**hole", but other than that.. it drives me nuts!

Hello from Columbus where it’s finally acting like spring!

Northanger Abbey I can’t remember if I finished this in time to post about it last week lol. It was my pick for my book club, I set up a poll for lesser known works by popular classics authors and Northanger won. I was glad because Austen is my fave and I’ve already read or reread most of her work this year. It was short and sweet, her books never fail to make me feel like the world is a good wholesome place where nice things happen to nice people.

Breakfast at Tiffany's finally a book for the challenge, I read this a book with a song lyric as the title. I love Capote’s writing, and when I saw that audible had it with Michael C Hall narrating it, I was snatched that up real quick (why doesn’t he narrate the Dexter series, I should start a petition to make that happen). I know a lot of people get a but mint touchy with how different and less romantic the story is from the movie, but I really love them both for different reasons.

The Polish Boxer this was a reread from last year. It’s the only translated book I’ve found of Eduardo Halfon, and I really love his work. He’s Guatemalan and it’s really nice for me to read about just normal life in other countries, especially in parts of the world that America likes to paint with this “other� brush that gives me anxiety about ever leaving home. Does that make sense or is it just me lol. Anyway, the book is a collection of intertwined stories about his past and life. They’re really good, good enough for me to want to come back to them a second time.

Bone in the Throat not for the challenge, I’m just working my way through the books Anthony Bourdain has written. This wasn’t great but it was still interesting. A lot of chef talk with some mafia shenanigans mixed in. I was able to finish in a day which was nice because it’s tbe kind of book that does not need to be dragged out.

So I’m at 29/40; 0/10 with 60 books read this year.

QOTW: I think it’d bother me if I noticed but I feel like that’s something I wouldn’t notice.

I finished 5 books this week, and not a single one counts for a challenge, blergh.

FINISHED

I absolutely loved The Summer of Jordi Perez, Book of a Thousand Days, and Coach's Challenge. The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated was fine, and Linemates wasn't worth the time I spent reading it.

IN PROGRESS

I'm currently reading I Am an Executioner: Love Stories (I'm only two stories in, but it's quite good so far) and listening to the audiobook of The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun (a re-read for me).

DNF

I quit Love, Hate & Other Filters (good, but I just couldn't seem to get invested in it) and The Straight Boyfriend (extremely meh). I also moved Silver Sparrow back to my TBR; it was too good for me not to be able to focus on fully.