Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Weekly Checkins
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Week 18: 4/26 � 5/2
Hello everyone! I finished two books this week, getting me to 20/50. I've got some fun books on the go currently, and (finally) a weekend that isn't crazy busy, so I'm hoping to bump that up in the next couple days.Finished:
Warcross by Marie Lu (LitRPG). I was a little annoyed by how "just go with it and don't think too hard" the technology was, but I very much wanted to know what happened next in this book, to the point of putting off bedtime. That's always the marker of a good YA SF/F read for me, so I recommend it.
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell (written by an author from Africa). Sigh, I was pretty disappointed in this one, and I'm still not sure why. Maybe I expected to get more of a sense of Zambia from this book than I did? Maybe I didn't know enough about Zambian culture to get myself all the way into the book? Maybe it's the same problem I always have with multigenerational sagas that some of the characters seem so fleshed out, and some seem half-drawn and abandoned midway through their stories. It's possible the book was making a point about people's lives not fitting neatly into stories--which is a good literary point to make!--but if so it didn't fully come across. I kind of want to make other people read this book so we can talk about it and I can sort out my actual opinion, you know?
Currently reading:
An Extraordinary Union (what category would this fit?)
An Unnecessary Woman
The Rosie Project
QOTW: I don't remember finding any odd objects in library books, but I love seeing what people choose to write in them as marginalia. My favorite is when someone writes something sarcastic or sassy in the margins, like the author will somehow know. :-)
Happy Thursday!! I finished 2 books this week and I'm now 22/50 for the challenge. I haven't been seriously sticking to the challenge and just been reading whatever I pick up. I think I need to start focusing on it more now that I'm getting down to the more difficult prompts.Finished reading:
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead...it was a reread and I used it for AtY.
Arthur the King by Allan Massie...I used it for a book inspired by myth/legend/folklore.
QOTW: I haven't borrowed a library book in a long time and I don't remember anything odd when I did.
Hello everyone. I cannot believe it's May already. I am going to try to ramp up my reading this month. I have a few books that I have been working on for ages that I am going to officially put on pause or burn through this month. Regular- 17/40
Advanced- 3/10
ATY- 18/52
Finished-
#12 Inspired by myth. (So good!)
ATY Picture book challenge - Also really good
Currently Reading
Pause
QotW:
Have you ever found something unusual tucked inside a library book? Could be something interesting or something disgusting (just google "things found in library books" if you dare).
I will skip that google search. Receipts mostly. Not necessarily library ones though. I believe I found a candy wrapper once. I enjoy inscriptions sometimes found in the library book sale. It's interesting to see the life a book had before it found you.
Bit slow on the reading front for me. I read The Dreamers (campus). I’m so glad I got this prompt out of the way! This was an eerie literary-ish sci-fi novel that I generally liked. Don’t read this expecting any concrete answers though. 3 stars.
QOTW- I don't usually find much in library books except the gross questionable stains and bits of what looks like dried food. Ugh!
Tracy wrote: "I finally finished The Knife of Never Letting Go. I thought it was good. Made it to 67% and almost dumped it [spoilers removed] So not sure I'll continue the series. Has anyone read..."(view spoiler)
I didn't get a chance to check in last weeks, so these books encompass the last two weeks.Finished:
Still Alice
Crocodile on the Sandbank
The Lost Man
The Winter of the Witch
None of these were for Popsugar.
Currently reading:
The Haunting of Hill House for ghost story
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire audiobook for I don't know what
QOTW:
I rarely borrow physical books anymore, just ebooks and audiobooks. I don't remember ever finding anything interesting in a library book though.
I did good this week. Finished all 12 books for the OWL readathon and I'm now at 23/50 books for PopSugar.The Grand Tour is the sequel to a book I read last week. (my potions owl)
The Mislaid Magician: or Ten Years After is the third book in the series. Such a good series, one of my favorites.
Go was one of those free books for World Book Day. I liked it well enough, it was pretty cool to see discrimination in a different light. This is one of my books for An Author from Asia, South America, or Africa.
First ImpressionsThis was just a fluffy romance that I borrowed from my friend ages ago. (could be used for plant on the cover).
Dear Martin was my book for Own Voices and was such a good book.
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish I finally finished this one after so long of not really reading it. It's a good book on writing.
The Hate U Give A good book, which could be used for Own Voices, but I decided to slot it into Debut novel, since it definitely made an impact.
Blackberry Pie Murder I finally recovered enough to read the next book in this series. Now I am buffering books again, lol
The Passion According to Carmela was another one of those free books for World Book Day. I do not recommend this one. But, it can be used for South American author, since the author was from Argentina.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children just for fun and because I have the second book now.
QotW:
I can't remember finding anything special in the library books that I took out in 2016, and so far I haven't found anything in the books I just took out. I'll have to keep my eye out. But if you want to talk about unusual bookmarks, my Uncle was the type to use whatever was on hand for his bookmarks, so I found a business card, pay stubs, a razor, and drugs (because he was on the good stuff near the end).
It's interesting that two different people this week complained about the lack of explanation of the technology in Warcross. I didn't really feel anything needed to be explained because, really, the technology is just barely a step advanced from technology that already exists. Am I missing something?
I keep thinking that things are going to get less busy and then it doesn't happen. I had a trial this week, and an emergency PTO hearing, plus I have tons of pleadings that I'm trying to get done. So, I've been averaging somewhere around 40 pages a day. Sigh. But, I did read a lot over the weekend, so overall, I've still met my reading goal for the week. I finished 2 books this week. They are my two books with the same title. First I finished Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from the Terrifying Cult Nxivm which I found very interesting. I've been following the NXIVM story for a while and the trial is coming up soon, so the book felt timely. For people who are interested in cults, this would be a good read.
Afterwards, I read Captive which is a romance novel that is 25ish years old. There are some things in there that do not stand the "me too" test of time, as it were. But, I did enjoy the story.
I am currently reading: War and Peace, Sweet Bean Paste, Tokyo Cancelled, and The Old Drift. My goal is to finish one or two of those over the weekend. I'm particularly loving The Old Drift. And I'm kind of excited to get into the final stretch of War and Peace, I just keep putting it off.
QOTW: I have found lots of receipts and book marks in library books. But, the most interesting thing I've found was years ago when I got Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints from the library and someone had spilled something in it that had a fruity aroma. It was sticky and very sweet smelling, but somehow it made me feel even more like I was in the French Quarter and it somehow added to the experience. It's definitely what I remember most about reading that book. The smell of the story.
Happy Thursday - well, early Friday in my time zone - and merry May.Not much news this week. Saw Endgame. It made my soul squishy. (... And my posterior numb.) My superhero BABIES.
Definitely wasn't flawless, in fact a fair bit of the plot was ridiculous ðŸ®ðŸ’©, but what an experience.
4 books read this week, 2 for Popsugar, currently 29/50 for the challenge.
Peaches for Monsieur le Curé
The Strawberry Thief
Finished up the Chocolat series. Thought Peaches was the weakest installment - still a solid 3.5 though. Strawberry Thief was a nice ending. Enjoyed Reynaud's massive amounts of character development, and Rosette is my favourite character of the series - she is even, miracle of miracles, relatively unencumbered with obviously-written-by-a-neurotypical gubbins. (Although there's still a few weird comments about how she'll "never grow up" because neurodivergency.)
Miss Timmins' School for Girls - Was liking it, but it lost me somewhere about 2/3rds through. Bit too long and the ending felt muddled.
Used for Popsugar prompt #30, book featuring an amateur detective.
Frost In May - Whatever the point of this book was, it went completely over my head. Gave it 2 stars - at least the writing was good.
Used for Popsugar prompt #50, book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent. (Convent school, but same diff.)
Temp-DNFed Daisy Jones and The Six - I was reading it alongside a couple of other books, which I think is the wrong way to experience it. Going to go back to it when I can read it on its own, devote full attention, really binge it.
Currently reading:
Please Look After Mother: The million copy bestseller (P.S. could a librarian remove that marketing-speak from the title) - Not all that absorbed by this one. It's good, and the story is sufficiently interesting to keep me reading once I've started, but I don't feel any pull to pick it up. I'll finish it eventually though, I'm like 70% through so might as well.
The Fated Sky - Enjoying, though I do prefer my sci-fi with more adventure and this is aaaallll about the technical side. Hey, it's an alternate-history 60s and we're going to Mars! ... Want to hear about all the maths our protagonist has to do to get us there, the sexism/racism embedded in who gets assigned to what duty on the spaceship, and fixing a loo in zero-gravity?
QOTW: I haven't had decent library access since I was a kid, so no, can't remember ever finding anything.
My mother does remember an incident of finding content in one of my library books that decidedly shouldn't have been there - a picture book that was filed in the children's section, but was actually directed towards adults. Some pretty disturbing imagery hidden in the illustrations - severed limbs and stuff. Fortunately I was either too young to notice, or had it taken away from me before I could look.
I managed to get one more book in for thursday : Will Grayson, Will Grayson. A quick read. I enjoyed it.
I gave myself a three day weekend and am looking forward to getting lots of reading in so should have a passel of books to check in with next week. This week I only completed one.Completed:
The Corinthian- With an irrepressible heroine, an amusing hero and a cast of colorful supporting characters this delightful madcap romp through the British countryside involving a murder and a mystery was another engaging and sparkling read of Heyer’s for me. This is my second book of hers I have read and I have not been disappointed with anything she has written and will continue to work my way through her catalogue of books.
Prompt: A book published before 1950 (ATY)
Prompt: A classic by a female author (Back to the Classics)
Currently Reading:
Gingerbread
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
QOTW:
No, I have not found anything interesting or disgusting just the standard scraps of paper or a library check out list.
My reading slump is finally ending. Got a few things finished in the last couple weeks, so I'm back on track.Finished
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 7. A reread of a favorite book
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game
So far far book 3 and 4 are still at the top. Now onto my least favourite of the series and the one I've read the least amount of times (only once). I'm very curious how I'll feel about book 5 now after so many years.
Cat About Town - BR cozy mystery
This was my first time reading a cozy mystery. I won't likely continue on, but the cat was really cute.
Heart and Brain: Body Language: An Awkward Yeti Collection - BR Humour book
The Little Prince - ATY 1001 books to read before you die list
Progress
PS - 16/52 | ATY - 17/52 | BR - 12/24
Currently Reading
A Clash of Kings
To Night Owl from Dogfish
The Weight of the Stars
Norse Mythology - Book Riot
QOTW
I've found food crumbs and dead bugs. For more interesting things, I found a thank you card once.
I'm checking in while it's still Thursday! Life has been a little crazy. Soccer season started, got rained out, finally started again. I haven't checked in for awhile, but I don't have much to show for it.Progress:
PS - 13/53
ATY - 17/52
For Popsugar I finished:
The Mad Ship for a book I meant to read in 2018. I started reading Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings books for another GR group read last year, but I fell behind quickly. I managed to get a few of them on my list for this year. I am thoroughly enjoying these books. Hobb is a great storyteller.
The Reptile Room for a book written by a musician. I started this series with my eldest last year. We are having fun reading through these books, and we've already moved on to the next one.
I finished a bunch for ATY:
The Wednesday Wars, a book inspired by Shakespere
The Borrowers, wedding rhyme #3 - something borrowed
The God of Small Things, a book from NYPL staff picks
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, a book by a Far East Asain author/set in a Far East Asian country
Ella Enchanted, book with a person's name in the title
Also finished reading Everything On It. My boys have been on a big Shel Silverstein kick. We almost finished this book twice before we had to return it to the library.
QotW:
It's funny that this question came up this week. While I don't think I've found anything more interesting than a receipt or bookmark in a library book, this week my son found a bookmark in a recent book from the children's library. He was so excited! It wasn't a particularly special bookmark, just one that featured a character from one of his favorite books.
Books I finished:Sweep in Peace (A character with superpowers)
One Fell Sweep (Set on a different planet)
These were a reread to help me destress after the last week. They're short and quick and I love them.
Leaving Time (Has an amateur detective)
I found this at the book sale last week and wasn't expecting much, but then I realized it was all about elephants and it managed to pull off a twist I didn't see coming.
Books I made progress on:
The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family
Valiant: A Modern Tale Of Faerie
This Years Challenge: 21/50
Last Years Challenge: 24/50
QOTW
I found the results of somebody's bloodwork tucked into a book one time. Once I figured out what it was I shredded it.
Monkiecat wrote: "I use random papers for bookmarks and have left all sorts of things in books accidentally. Including a lab order for bloodwork, so I've started having the doctors fax those over..."Kendra wrote: "I found the results of somebody's bloodwork tucked into a book one time. Once I figured out what it was I shredded it. "
Things that make you go hmmmm... 🤔😋
Ali wrote: "sidenote, I really wish the prompt of authors from Africa, Asia, and South America was three distinct prompts!..."I've split this prompt into three anyway.
Finished: The Miniaturist for the second Two books that share the same title prompt. I expected to struggle with this one, and I did, so my expectations were well and truly met there! Part of me is happy I read it, though, as one thing I wanted to do with this challenge was read some books that I would never have read otherwise.Started: The Binding. I'm hoping to use this one for A book you think should be turned into a movie, as my husband recently read it and said he thought it should be!
QOTW:
Don't think I've found anything more unusual that dead bugs and the odd shower of biscuit crumbs (as well as the obligatory paper scraps, receipts, etc.) in a libarary book, even when I worked in a library many moons ago.
Mod
Hah! I read The Old Drift too, and I was also disappointed in it. BUT it's really not my kind of book, because I don't usually like: long books, magical realism, or multi-generational family sagas.
The sections about the character with all the hair really bothered me. It just didn't make sense, and it was depressing the way she was treated as a child.
The later sections set in the near-future were the most interesting to me, but near-future sci-fi is my jam :-)
Some of the characters in the book were actual people, like the racist photographer in the beginning, and the guy who was starting a Zambian space force. I didn't understand how I was supposed to feel about that space force guy - was she poking fun at Zambia?
Currently reading:
An Extraordinary Union (what category would this fit?)
Based on a true story? The heroine and hero are both based on real people (there really was a spy with a photographic memory), but of course their romance is entirely fictional.
Cendaquenta wrote: "Happy Thursday - well, early Friday in my time zone - and merry May.Not much news this week. Saw Endgame. It made my soul squishy. (... And my posterior numb.) My superhero BABIES.
Definitely was..."
Fixed the title!
Also, I found your description of The Fated Sky intriguing, oddly enough. :-D
Mod
Ha! Ha! I had to laugh at the "creepy" Tarot cards! ;)
Raquel wrote: "Fixed the title!Also, I found your description of The Fated Sky intriguing, oddly enough. :-D "
Thank you!
I'd definitely recommend the series - starts with The Calculating Stars.
Raquel wrote: "It's interesting that two different people this week complained about the lack of explanation of the technology in Warcross. I didn't really feel anything needed to be explained bec..."Is it that close to existing technology? I mean I'm not an engineer, but the glasses/contacts are supposed to interface with your brain to fill in detail and avoid the uncanny valley. Fair enough, but like...how? Also, the extent of and mechanics for physical sensation were really inconsistent and not explained. Emika gets the wind knocked out of her a couple times--how is she experiencing that? If the world is so immersive, how is she typing in ways others can't see; or alternatively, if the neural link somehow makes an exception for typing motions and they don't "show" in the in-game world, why is she bothering to type subtly? There is one reference to clenching one's toes and thinking about walking in order to move, so... how is the dude in the wheelchair accomplishing that? those are just some of the many questions that occurred to me while I was listening.
I understand it's a speculative novel, but it's a novel speculating about how people would interact with a very specific type of technology, and I would have liked some more detail/consistency about how that worked. It's the sort of detail that might put others off, but I like it. :-)
Nadine wrote: "Christy wrote: "I kind of want to make other people read this book so we can talk about it and I can sort out my actual opinion, you know? ..."Hah! I read The Old Drift too, and I..."
Oh thanks for the tip about Extraordinary Union! I wasn't aware it was based on real people.
Re Old Drift, I hear you about multigen sagas, and I also really felt the length of this book. Normally I love a hefty tome, but there wasn't enough continuity for me to relish it this time. Oh well. Still an interesting reading experience!
Hayjay315 wrote: "I gave myself a three day weekend and am looking forward to getting lots of reading in so should have a passel of books to check in with next week. This week I only completed one.Completed:
[book..."
So glad you too loved The Corinthian, Hayjay!
Good evening from the swirl of bowties, extravagant hats, and bourbon that is Louisville during Derby Week. I would kind of like to be in the thick of it instead of at home on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, but I am being Thrifty and Responsible since we just got back from vacation. I'm trying to banish my thoughts of getting turnt by making myself a (half-assed) mint julep and drinking it while playing Mario Kart *shrugs* Maybe if I have another...Read this week:
The River King - Not for the challenge, although it does fulfill an ATY prompt. This is a new selection from my favorite mini-genre (boarding school murder mysteries), but I was left curiously underwhelmed. Not sure if I just wasn't in the mood, or if I don't like Alice Hoffman generally. I have another book of hers (The Marriage of Opposites) on my TBR, and it sounds quite different, so I'm not going to write her off quite yet.
Currently reading:
Black Leopard, Red Wolf - I think this one is going to break my reading slump, but it is challenging reading and therefore slow going.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century - I miss being able to read history... I'm simply not a fast enough reader to tackle more than one or two non-fiction books a year while I'm doing a reading challenge. Barbara Tuchman is stellar, but I haven't devoted a lot of time to it for fear of falling further behind in the challenge.
QOTW:
I haven't found anything too odd in a library book, although I get about 75% of my reads from there. Our public librarians must be very proactive! Sometimes I'll find someone else's checkout receipt, and then I always wonder if I'd like the other books they checked out.
Progress: 20/50Finished:
Useless Magic- read for prompt #
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone- read for prompt #
The Sun Is Also a Star- read for prompt #
Currently reading;
Mike Reilly Finding My Voice: Tales from Ironman, the World's Greatest Endurance Event
This is How It Always Is
QOTW: I do not recall ever finding anything interesting (or disgusting) in a borrowed book.
Hellooooo! I've been so infrequent lately. It's just weird. I've barely read at all in the past month. Too busy re-watching and currently watching Game of Thrones, and work mess and all that. Today I was off early though, and read for a bit in the park. Once the breeze gets slightly less chilly I hope for more of that to come. Funny, I haven't read much at all, but I *acquired* SO MANY books last month! A crazy amount. Tax return came in, the weather got nice so I didn't always go right home, work is stressful and it was my birthday. Oh and the Friends of the Library sale. Holy cow, I got 61 books in April! But hey, I saved a thousand dollars off list price! Woohoo! I love getting a new book, but I also love getting a $75 massive coffee table book for $4. So satisfying.
Currently Reading (still, and infrequently)
You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P!
A Dirty Job
QOTW:
I don't open that many library books, but I do handle a fair number of used books. A few years ago at Powell's, I went to the Conan Doyle section as usual, opened a random edition of something, and found a cute note from another Sherlock fan. That was fun.
PS - I was totally into fixing the space loo. Love those books! Of course, I did wear my Saturn V socks today, so...
Kelly wrote: "Good evening from the swirl of bowties, extravagant hats, and bourbon that is Louisville during Derby Week. I would kind of like to be in the thick of it instead of at home on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, but I am b..."Hi Kelly,
boarding school murder mysteries have really improved lately. There have been a fair few I've liked so if you have any suggestions......
Nadine wrote: "assassin nuns serving the God of Death"What do we say to the God of Death?
poshpenny wrote: "Nadine wrote: "assassin nuns serving the God of Death"What do we say to the God of Death?"
🤣🤣🤣
A good one!
Last week I started reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett for the May challenge.So far, my reading progress has been:
Books read: 14
Books read for the challenge: 5
QOTW: I haven't taken used the library ever since I graduated from college, so I don't remember finding anything unusual. Just the usual notes forgotten by previous readers,
Mod
What do we say to the God of Death?"
I am not a GoT watcher/reader, so I had to google!!
Hi all. So according to the dates I read zero books this week. This isn’t true because I was reading hard all week. I was reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. It was 500 pages & not a fast read for me. I started 4/25/19, finished 5/3/19 so I fell between check in dates. I will count it in next week check in. I have read only ebooks for years. When I did check out library books I only found library receipts in them.
This was a bit of a slow week. I only finished one book, and it doesn't fit into any of the categories for this year's challenge.The one book I finished this week was Columbine for my friend Jenna's book club on Instagram. I left this book broken hearted but also incredibly informed. I definitely recommend it if you can handle the subject matter.
Christy wrote: "Raquel wrote: "It's interesting that two different people this week complained about the lack of explanation of the technology in Warcross. I didn't really feel anything needed to b..."Now that you mention it, I would find explanations of some of those questions interesting too! I really like how the author of Red Rising handled tech stuff, by not slowing down the story to explain everything, but putting more explanation on his website for those who were interested. (Though, I saw the website mentioned in the back of the second book, and I'm not sure how to find that information now... That's the problem with that method.)
I did a bit of googling on brain-computer interface, and while I don't really understand the tech, it looks like something that can already be done in a basic way with big machinery, so it's just refining and miniaturization to get to where it is in Warcross. So, to me, we are actually close to that technology, just maybe not in a way that answers the questions you have about it.
I have felt so bad lurking along and not adding anything, sorry. This week has been pretty good, I’ve been sick so lots of convalescing time spent reading.
Bitter Greens I finished this for the Bitter prompt and I just loved it. It’s the story of rapunzel retold, so it could work for a couple of other prompts as well. I really enjoyed the way Kate Forsyth spun the tales together and it was so evocative, I really felt pulled into the story.
How to Be Second Best was a really fun, quick read. It could work for family, or debut, or published in 2019.
I think I read here that the author behind Lemony Snicket is a musician, can’t believe I didn’t know that, so thank you. I was struggling so much with that prompt.
I finished three books (only used one for a prompt) and started another. I'm at 18/40 and 2/10 for this challenge, and 43/100 for my overall Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Reading Challenge total. Finished:
* The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, which was a NetGalley ARC -- I really enjoyed the intro to the new series (pub. date: Sept. 2019) and am looking forward to seeing how it progresses;
* Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline, which I used for "a book with a two-word title;" and,
* Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl, which was a FirstReads win.
Currently Reading:
* Becoming by Michelle Obama, which is the June read for one of my book clubs. I kept extending my library hold so I could read it closer to our actual meeting date. I'm planning to use it for the favorite past prompt prompt (can't recall which year off the top of my head, but it's the interesting woman prompt).
QotW:
I had a different question selected, but my comments above about the condition of a library book just begs me to ask this question: Have you ever found something unusual tucked inside a library book? Could be something interesting or something disgusting (just google "things found in library books" if you dare). Most of the things I've found in library books have been pretty standard (bookmarks, checkout receipts, business cards). Probably the most unusual was an autographed bookmark; I handed it to a librarian when I returned the book hoping it would find its way back to the owner.
I didn't finish any books this week. I have a plan... a plan to get me reading again.QotW: I haven't found anything, but I once wrote on a scrap of paper "This book traveled all the way to Montana!" and left it in the book I traveled with to Montana. I don't know why really- I just thought someone would like to know that. Haha
Hi everyone,Got busy at the end of last week, didn't have a chance to check in. I hate writing check ins on the phone since you have to mess with the website in desktop mode to be able to actually link books.
This week I went on a comic binge so I didn't make a ton of progress for challenge books.
I finished:
The Winter of the Witch - Which I'm counting as a book published in 2019. I liked it, good conclusion to the series.
Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal, Vol. 1, Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal, Vol. 2, Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal, Vol. 3 - Cute series taking place i think a few centuries after the movie.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Vol. 7 got caught up on this, it's a fun story
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 7: Damage Per Second - catching up on this too
Along with a bunch of other issues that don't have a goodreads volume listed. (I don't like to count individual issues until they pile up into a trade).
DNF: If - this was going to be my choose your own adventure book. but I only got about 5 % because i was just...really disgusted. The description was all about how you build your character as you read. Nothing mentioned that choices would lead to pre-teen blowjobs, heavy pre-teen drug use and drinking, date rape, or brutal beatings. I don't really want to know how it escalates if that's all in the first 3 choices.
I'll save the rest for Thursday's post this week
Currently reading: A Study in Scarlet which i'll use for my book that inspired a common phrase or idiom. I figure "It's elementary, my dear Watson" counts, along with "the game's afoot!".
QOTW: Not really found anything particularly unusual. Most recent was a brochure or something like that. Really just hte kinds of trash scrap paper that readers use when they lost their bookmark for the umpteenth time.
Sheri wrote: "A Study in Scarlet which i'll use for my book that inspired a common phrase or idiom. I figure "It's elementary, my dear Watson" counts, along with "the game's afoot!"I like that the prompt is *inspired* instead of created. Doyle is very lucky his stories inspired others to create memorable things attributed to Holmes, thus cementing him in everlasting pop culture. *Puts on pedantic deerstalker and directs pointer at chalkboard* For example: Holmes never said "elementary, my dear Watson," that came from P.G. Wodehouse. The deerstalker came from the illustrator and the calabash pipe from an actor. "The game's afoot" is from Shakespeare. Still, Holmes is such a character that we immediately think of him when any of these things appears. He's kind of amazing that way. <3
Mod
I like that th..."
he does say "elementary" though - but not the full phrase.
Yeah, I figured since it said “inspired by� those were close enough!
Does anyone else find weird patterns with their books? I seem to be reading lots of books with girls that don't/can't talk at the moment. Totally not planned. Witches keep cropping up too.
I definitely find weird patterns! I'm finishing up what will be my 5th book with a yellow cover in 2 weeks. Yellow doesn't seem to be very common so it's funny how that happened!
I especially like when there’s patterns! An unusual character name in common, a repeated word I hadn’t seen often but now see a lot, a reference to a book I’ve read, similar covers, etc Sometimes I choose my next book because it seems to “go�
I don't deliberately set patterns like this, but sometimes it just seems to happen. I ended up reading three books about/involving vampires one right after the other earlier this year, which is saying something when I normally don't even like vampire novels! Also ended up reading three different zombie novels for the challenge this year despite not being a huge zombie fan either...
Sarah wrote: "Does anyone else find weird patterns with their books? I seem to be reading lots of books with girls that don't/can't talk at the moment. Totally not planned. Witches keep cropping up too."Yes Sarah, this totally happens to me all the time! Since the month of February I have read at least one book with a strong woman character.
I notice accidental cover themes all the time in my goodreads 'currently reading' list on the sidebar. Recently it was whole string of blue and black covers. Now it's a combo of silver/gray and light green.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Bright We Burn (other topics)You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone (other topics)
Wildcard (other topics)
The Woman in the Window (other topics)
Miracle Creek (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nayyirah Waheed (other topics)Ann Cleeves (other topics)
Michelle Obama (other topics)
Lisa Scottoline (other topics)
Ruth Reichl (other topics)
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I completed all of 12 of my O.W.L.s exams for the Magical Readathon and became an Alchemist! It was my first time participating in this readathon and am looking forward to the N.E.W.T. exams in August. All of the books below helped me complete my O.W.L.S :)
I am 23/40 for this challenge as of May 1!
Finished:
The Binding for a book based on a hobby...this was a fantasy/historical fiction with great plot and magical writing that was a bit depressing (it portrays the dark side of people) but I was satisfied with the ending!
Crooked Kingdom for a book written by a musician (Leigh Bardugo plays in a band)...What a great ending to a fantastic duology!!
Cinder...the start of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer...I had a hold on this through the library and it became available. It wasn't for this challenge but completed by Divination O.W.L.s exam. I really enjoyed the start of this series and look forward to moving onto the next in the series.
Vicious for a book with a character using a superpower. What a great, twisty, enthralling read!
Currently Reading:
Kings of the Wyld for a book from a past challenge...this is from 2017 (the first book in a series you haven't read before) I am loving the humor/monsters/world building of this book! Imagine a favorite band from the past (for me Led Zeppelin or Lynryd Skynryd) is reuniting and going on a concert tour...now replace the musical band with a band of mercenaries and the concert tour with fight monsters and you have the book!
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer for a book published posthumously. I am really enjoying this especially now that we know the Golden State Killer has been caught!
Illuminae...I have just started this and the holds I had on the next 2 books in the trilogy came in. I have been looking at this one for a while due to all the good reviews. I am not sure how I will fit this into the challenge yet :)
QOTW: I haven't really found anything significant in a library book except for food stains...yuck!