ŷ������

Sherry wrote: "Hello All,

We just had the mask debate at work yesterday, so far we are not mandated to wear them in regular businesses (only municipal buildings)(lots of people wear them everywhere including me ..."

You should appreciate this, Sherry! I had my car worked on 2 weeks ago and it was drizzling rain so they pulled it right up to the door to avoid me having to walk very far in the rain. Very hospitable and customer-friendly, right? He gets out of the car with no mask on, no gloves on, etc. I was appalled. Not only for my possible exposure, but for his own sake. Yikes. So I now have alcohol and paper towels in my car as well just in case I ever have a similar situation and need to wipe down my car or anything else when I"m out and about. Geeminy!

Shannon wrote: "QOTW:
I don't follow any awards other than Newberry, and I've loved every one of those that I've read. So I took a backward route and just went with a popular book I didn't like, figuring it had won some awards, and it has! I've mentioned it before, but I completely despised The Fault in Our Stars. It was just so pretentious."

I had totally forgotten the Newberry Award! I have never read one I didn't love. And The Fault in Our Stars is another of my all-time favorites. :) So we're even. lol

Lynn wrote: "Shannon wrote: "QOTW:
I don't follow any awards other than Newberry, and I've loved every one of those that I've read. So I took a backward route and just went with a popular book I didn't like, fi..."

Haha it's a favorite among several of my friends, as well, so I always feel bad admitting that I didn't just dislike it, I actively HATED it. But I also wonder if I would have liked it more had I read it when I was a pretentious teen.

Cendaquenta wrote: "So yeah. We don't know how long he's got. Could be years. Could be weeks.
Personally, I just want to get him to the new year. 2020 is not getting one more thing."

At least he is responding well! That's good. Gives you a bit more time together. :)

I have yet to read a book written by Yangsze Choo. I have both of these on my TBR listing, however.

Yes, poor Jeannette Walls. Definitely makes me appreciate my own childhood so much more. Have yet to read Educated, but hope to get to it yet this year.

I have a copy of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine to read since my book club is considering it. It was one I felt I should preview before agreeing to add it to our list.

Christy wrote: "Middlesex bothered me so much because I just couldn't see the continuity between the child and adult versions of the main character. How does this interesting child turn into an adult who is frankly The Worst? All the Light We Cannot See got a DNF from me even though I bought the book because the technique for teaching the blind child to navigate her neighborhood was possibly the most illogical pedagogical method I have ever heard about in my life. Ah yes, I know what this miniature bench feels like in my hand so I won't bark my shins on it in real life. WHAT?!? That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!
Ahem. Calming down. I know many people loved both of those books so they must have had something great to offer, but I did not find it."

I had forgotten Middlesex won the 2003 Pulitzer for fiction.

Thrilled for your much clearer air! :)

Lynn wrote: "Katelyn wrote: "Unpopular opinion but I really couldn't get into The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. I know it won a few different awards (Pulitzer maybe?) but I just didn't think it was anythin..."

It looks like it was a finalist for a lot of awards and only won a few. You may like it and definitely don't let my opinion stop you. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Drakeryn wrote: "Middlesex bothered me so much because I just couldn't see the continuity between the child and adult versions of the main character. How does this interesting child turn into an adult who is frankly The Worst? All the Light We Cannot See got a DNF from me even though I bought the book because the technique for teaching the blind child to navigate her neighborhood was possibly the most illogical pedagogical method I have ever heard about in my life. Ah yes, I know what this miniature bench feels like in my hand so I won't bark my shins on it in real life. WHAT?!? That's not how this works! That's not how any of this works!
Ahem. Calming down. I know many people loved both of those books so they must have had something great to offer, but I did not find it."

LOL Another of my favorites. Perhaps this QotW is showing me just how many books I find truly enjoyable! :)

I feel like if wearing masks properly were the norm, I would have more courage to speak up. But when I went to the grocery store yesterday, half the people were not covering their noses, including two of the checkers! One man was coughing loudly near me and did not sound healthy. I just wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible, not have a confrontation! There's this internet meme going around that says, "Amazing discovery! Scientists have found evidence that nostrils are actually connected to our lungs!

QotW: I feel like maybe this is a stretch because it's maybe a bestseller, and nominated for a Webby award (whatever that is), but I recently read Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life which I did not like at all. The author herself says to think of it not as a self-help book, but more as a memoir. Still, putting her in a the same class as Montaigne does not really do service to her work. Nothing was generalizable, nothing reached beyond her experience. The book felt like a selfish project with not much to teach anyone other than the author herself.

Finished: The Butterfly Lampshade I loved this one! It is by the same author as The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It is about a daughter's relationship to sanity through the lens of her mother who has mental illness. It uses objects as really strong metaphors and the metaphors turn into real objects. There is no real resolution and I'm okay with that because there is so much uncertainty laced with mental illness.

Started: Eco-Socialism: From Deep Ecology to Social Justice I've been meaning to read this book for about 10 years now and am finally getting around to it. It seems very good so far. It is trying to close the gap between socialism and anarchism and how they can inform green politics. The first chapter deals with political dichotomies such as whether perceive our community as atomized or as something more than the sum of individuals.

How Happiness Happens: Finding Lasting Joy in a World of Comparison, Disappointment, and Unmet Expectations This is my MIL's favorite author and though fluffier than my usual fare, I think Lucado is a pretty good author.

Hi everyone. I hate to be one of those people that blames things on other generations but the local teens have been annoying me. All the schools and colleges in my area are back open now and so my commute is now full of kids standing in big groups and not wearing masks. I want to tell them off but instead I just give them an angry glare as I walk past.

This week I finished The Princess Diarist. Does anyone else feel awkward reading someone else's diary? I felt like I was prying...

My library has reopened but only for lucky dips! You give them a genre and they pick five books for you which is a fun idea but no good for trying to fit into a challenge. I'm struggling to fit my unread books into some of the more specific prompts I have left so I had to do a re-read of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. This is the only book I own with 20 in the title. I don't even own a book with a pun in the title so that one is going to be a struggle if the library stays closed!

Currently reading: The Calculating Stars but it hasn't grabbed my attention yet. Does it get more interesting?

Also just started a re-read of Wuthering Heights because I needed an author in their twenties!

QOTW: The last one I can think of is See What I Have Done. Eugh! That book was a mixture of gross and dull. Why would you give it an award?

Hello!

I haven't checked-in in forever! It has been wild here just like I'm sure it has been for everybody.

This week I finished The Graveyard Book and I really enjoyed it. It's one of Gaimen's childrens books, but if you know him, you'll know it's great for adult readers too.

I haven't planned what I'm reading next but banned book week is soon and I'm excited for that prompt in the challenge.

QOTW:

I don;t know for sure if it's won awards but I always think of The Great Gatsby for stuff like this. It's a crowd favorite but I've never enjoyed it.

Donna wrote: "QOTW
This is an easy question for me. I recently finished The Goldfinch. I never connected with the story or the characters. It was so dark. My daughter and I typically enjoy the same books. She leant it to me, with high recommendations. I struggled through it and kept thinking, this will get better. For me, it never got better."

Sorry it didn't improve for you. This reminded me of one of our book club members who insisted we read two different books before Pulitzer prizes were announced and both of them won the Pulitzer for Fiction that year! This happened two years in a row and now she hasn't had that type prescience over the past 2-3 years. We told her she's lost her touch! :)

Donna wrote: "QOTW
This is an easy question for me. I recently finished The Goldfinch. I never connected with the story or the characters. It was so dark. My daughter and I typically enjoy the same..."

I agree about the story and most of the characters, but I loved the descriptions of furniture and its care for some reason! That rescued the book from being a total loss for me. Life is a rich, rich tapestry. :-)

Melissa wrote: "Hello. Our new fridge arrived finally (after a week and a half and one cancelled-without-notice delivery), and then our marriage license came in yesterday's mail. Those were the two things I've bee..."

A new fridge AND a marriage license! Congrats! :)

Doni wrote: "Finished: The Butterfly Lampshade I loved this one! It is by the same author as The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It is about a daughter's relationship to sanity through the lens of her mother who has mental illness. It uses objects as really strong metaphors and the metaphors turn into real objects. There is no real resolution and I'm okay with that because there is so much uncertainty laced with mental illness."

I loved The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake! Everyone in my book club did as well. I didn't know about this latest release. I certainly agree with that last sentence--uncertain and unpredictable!

Sarah wrote: "Currently reading: The Calculating Stars but it hasn't grabbed my attention yet. Does it get more interesting?"

If you read back through this thread, you'll see mixed reactions to this book. Though I would highly recommend it! ;)

Late (for me) post today because I had to go into work this morning for a face-to-face meeting. ��’m out of practice at the getting up and getting ready and getting going thing! I ambled around until I realized I was on the verge of being late, and ��’m usually early to everything.

I had a follow-up regarding my dental surgery, and it sounds like things are healing well. It’s getting easier to eat. Still on a restricted diet until mid-October, though.

I finished ... absolutely nothing this week. That may be true for the next couple weeks. Between the 800-page novel, audiobook, and nonfiction book ��’m reading, ��’m not going to be racing through anything.

Reading
An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

QOTW
I hate seeing prompts about book awards. Even the extremely open-ended prompt this year was a struggle for me. I almost never like the books on the shortlist or the winners. I’ve had better luck with genre awards, but not much. I think my worst experience was with Cold Mountain. Every page was torture.

Cooling down in Santa Fe, and I love it! It's not the autumn I'd grown used to in the Midwest, but it's beautiful in its own right. My favorite time of year.

Challenge Progress: 49/50 I'm still waiting for Banned Books Week... almost there! I'm at 19/20 on the Summer Challenge and started my final book today.

Completed:
The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland: "Sweetness floods me. His sweetness, the apple’s, mine, they tangle together. If there is poison in this, I’ll risk it. I will risk a life with poison to have this moment forever." Loved it! ★★★★�� (S18: A book about camping or summer camp)

Sloth: Weird but enjoyable graphic novel. It finished up my "seven deadly sins" prompt. I read one book for each of the sins. ★★★★ (P27: A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins)

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country ★★��

Mislaid: More about this one in the QOTW... ★★

Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction: Fairly technical financial information. I'm still not sure what a "derivative" is, but it's all really shady. ★★��

Soccer in Sun and Shadow: "Homage to soccer, celebration of its lights, denunciation of its shadows." Interesting, sometimes lyrical, account of soccer and the World Cup from a Latin American perspective. ★★�� (S16: A book with sun, sand, or waves in the title)

Currently Reading:
A Girl's Guide to Vampires (P19: A book set in a country starting with C - Czechia)
The House in the Cerulean Sea (S5: A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist)
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth (P19: A book set in a country starting with C - Comoros)
Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life In the Minor Leagues of Baseball (S20: A book that makes you nostalgic for summer)
Small Wars (A book set in a country starting with C - Cyprus)

QOTW: I've read three books like that this year.

Mislaid: My favorite review of this book reads: "If you told me this author has literally never interacted with an actual human being in her entire life, I would believe you." (2015 National Book Award Nominee)

The Topeka School: What a confusing tangle of ideas and characters! Densely written, the whole thing just seemed pretentious. (2020 Pulitzer Prize Nominee for Fiction)

Real Life: Wallace is misunderstood, alienated at work and even among his friends. "Real Life" is a brutal examination of intimacy and violence, and while beautifully polished, it's hopelessly depressing. (2020 Booker Prize Nominee - Shortlist)

Hi all! Went to a doctor's appointment this morning and was noticing trees are starting to turn.... sigh.... it's going to be fall. The heat has kicked on in my house a couple of times because it's gotten below 70 in here (I like being warm!!)

Back to work this week. Hasn't been too bad, but man, I'm tired. Glad I have today to just laze around. It's dreary out, so I don't feel so bad about dozing, watching TV, being a slouch for the day!

Haven't finished anything. But I am bound and determined to finish The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by the end of the weekend. If I have to pull college all nighters, I'm gonna get it done. I'm liking it (though not as much as I like the Disney movie, oddly enough). I also got back a copy of Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors from the library. I was farther along in that than I thought, so maybe by next week's update, I'll have 2 books to post??

QOTW: I don't pay much attention to award winners (though I will jump on the bandwagon of Newberries, I've never met one of them I didn't like, even as an adult). I recently read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, and wasn't that impressed, but I guess I can see why it may have won awards. All the Light We Cannot See was a real disappointment to me. I also kinda gripe about goodreads' awards. I read Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency. It was an OK book, but when I looked into it, there were more votes for it than ratings! Clearly, not everyone who voted for it had read it!!

Cendaquenta wrote: "Well, bad news and good news this week.
Bad news is that the dog is definitely terminally ill.
Good news, he's responding fantastically to the palliative care measures the vet put him on. He's on a..."

Best wishes for the dog! I hope you're able to enjoy your remaining time with him and that he continues to respond to the medications.

It drives me nuts when people wear masks below their nose! If I can avoid the improper mask wearers, I do. But I refuse to interact with people who don't wear them properly. I ask students, cashiers, anybody I have to come into contact with to please fix their masks. A cashier gave me an earful about how hard it is to wear a mask for 3 1/2 hours and how she needed a breath. A whole 3 1/2 hours, huh? And do breaths last as long as it takes to checkout 3 customers? I keep the snark internal and don't debate them, though. If they fix the mask, I thank them. So far, everyone has been willing to fix their mask, but I've been in the position of power (customer, staff) when asking.

Kenya wrote: "Oh man, I'm going to get blasted for this... The Fifth Season, which won a slew of awards including the Hugo award for Best Novel."

I feel the same way. I had such a hard time connecting with that book. I think the concept is great, but I have no interest in reading more.

I filled in the last open spots for the PS challenge. So excited I might even finish this challenge! It means I read a record amount of 40 books this year. Yay for me!!

Finished
None.

Currently reading and almost finished
Watership Down

Qotw
This happens all the time! And it's comforting lots of you share this feeling *smile*. It happened at least twice this year. Manhattan Beach, several nominations including ŷ������ Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction and National Book Award Nominee. To win a prize, a book needs something special. This book didn’t have that ‘special something��. There was no plot, it just ends and you think ‘okay, now what?��.

The other one was Wees onzichtbaar. Won the Libris Literatuur Prijs (national Dutch book award, I never ever understand why the Libris Literatuur Prijs is a prize, it's a recommendation NOT to read a book). IMHO this book also misses something special. I guess it’s theme was already enough to win a prize (coming-of-age story of an immigrant boy).

Katelyn wrote: "Donna wrote: "Good morning! The skies are very smoky today. Talk of our schools opening for in class learning in mid October. I hope they’re able to. This week we joined friends for dinner outdoors..."

Good to hear that people liked/are liking The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. This has been on my TBR list since I learned it existed, but haven't gotten the chance to dive in. I read a historical romance ages ago that had the main character be Mary Kelly's sister, and she goes to Whitechapel to investigate her sister's disappearance. She ends up trying to find the other victims (before they're killed), falling for one of the inspectors (it is a romance) and then gets targeted by the killer. I knew nothing about Jack the Ripper when I read it, and looking back, it would have been so much more meaningful that her sister was Mary Kelly, or that she was trying to find Polly Nichols, if I had known more about the murders.

Heather wrote: "It drives me nuts when people wear masks below their nose! If I can avoid the improper mask wearers, I do. But I refuse to interact with people who don't wear them properly. I ask students, cashier..."

Only 3 1/2 hours? I wear one 8 hours every day Monday-Friday, and maybe even more by adding my time at the gym. Just a difference in people. Although I do know a person who works at one of the grocery stores I frequent who told me that it is impossible for her to wear a mask due to PTSD from numerous surgeries as a child. I had never considered that possibility but it makes sense. She is wheelchair-bound so I can easily imagine many surgeries in her childhood. They finally got her a face shield to wear and that works for her, so I'm happy because I was very concerned for her own health and well-being when unable to wear a mask or similar face covering. She is obviously working with the public constantly, so very important for her and the rest of us!

Harmke wrote: "The other one was Wees onzichtbaar. Won the Libris Literatuur Prijs (national Dutch book award, I never ever understand why the Libris Literatuur Prijs is a prize, it's a recommendation NOT to read a book).."

You made me laugh. :)

Harmke wrote: "Qotw
This happens all the time! And it's comforting lots of you share this feeling *smile*. It happened at least twice this year. Manhattan Beach, several nominations including ŷ������ Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction and National Book Award Nominee. ..."


I didn't read that one, but I was underwhelmed by her first book, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which got SO much praise, won the Pulitzer. And it was okay, I didn't hate it, but ... what was I missing? because it didn't seem that great.

Jennifer W wrote: "Hi all! Went to a doctor's appointment this morning and was noticing trees are starting to turn.... sigh.... it's going to be fall. The heat has kicked on in my house a couple of times because it's..."



A few days ago it was hot in the house and I made the mistake of sleeping with all the windows open, without checking the forecast. OOPS!! It went down into the 30s that night (not below freezing, thankfully, so I still have my tomatoes) - it was in the 50s in the house! My fingers were getting so numb that I couldn't even type on my computer for work, so I turned the heat on.

Sarah wrote: "Currently reading: The Calculating Stars but it hasn't grabbed my attention yet. Does it get more interesting? ..."



Nope!

I think either you love it from the start, or it just isn't for you. I enjoyed the first chapter, but then it started to drag, and I started to really resent Elma for making me spend so much time wading through that boring book. I love what Kowal was trying to do, and I love that a lot of other people love that series, but I did not love that book and I'm not reading the rest of the series.

Nadine wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Currently reading: The Calculating Stars but it hasn't grabbed my attention yet. Does it get more interesting? ..."



Nope!

I think either you love it from the start, or it just isn't for you. I enjoyed the first chapter, but then it started to drag, and I started to really resent Elma for making me spend so much time wading through that boring book. I love what Kowal was trying to do, and I love that a lot of other people love that series, but I did not love that book and I'm not reading the rest of the series"

I can definitely see that being true. If it is dragging for you now, it may well just keep dragging...

I finished two books and am about halfway done with a third for this check-in period. I plan on starting a banned or frequently challenged book soon since two of the reading challenges I'm working on have banned/challenged book prompts and it's almost Banned Books Week (HOORAY! :))!

Both of the completed books worked for two of the reading challenges I'm working on (including this one). I'm now at 27/40 and 9/10 for this challenge, and am at 96/100 for my overall ŷ������ Reading Challenge total.

Finished:
* The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, which I used for another reading challenge; and,
* The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and translated by Lucia Graves, which I used for "a book you meant to read in 2019."

Currently Reading:
* Design for Dying by Renee Patrick

QotW:
What is the title of the most recent book you read which won or was a finalist for a well-known literary award that you truly did not enjoy? You know, you kept thinking to yourself, “Who thought this was an award-winner?�� Tell us the book, the award, and why you would not have selected it. I went back over the books I've read over the past 4 years and really couldn't come up with anything. The books that I read and had won a major award were books I enjoyed. The closest I came up with was a ŷ������ winner that was previously mentioned (Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis). I only finished it because it was a book club pick last year and the person who'd recommended it said that it had changed her life. It really did not work for me. At all. We never did discuss the book because we cancelled that month's meeting due to snow. It was definitely a reminder that not every book is right for every reader.

Man, what a day! One client screamed at me for wearing a mask in their presence (you read that right!) and another tipped me $100. So today I learned that some people are horrible, hateful jerks, and others are lovely and generous. Which I already knew, but I'm always happy to be reminded that there are genuinely kind people out there.

Finished

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik for a book with gold, silver, or bronze in the title. It was gorgeous. I loved this book, and can't wait to check out her others!

DNF'd Catherine House. The writing was beautiful, but I got through 100 pages and...nothing was happening? I know that some books are more about the atmosphere and the creepy feels, but I was just not in the mood and kept getting so bored.

Currently Reading

Misery by Stephen King. This is my "author who has written more than 20 books" book. What can I say? It's King. It's great. It's creepy.

And I'm still reading Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages. I'm enjoying it, it's just not a "sit down and read the whole thing" book.

QotW

Normal People. I just don't get it. The writing was good, and I felt invested in Marianne, but more in the way of a concerned parent. I wanted to take her to therapy and tell her exactly what I thought of her damn boyfriends. The book felt like an edgy YA, not a groundbreaking literary masterpiece. I had a similar problem with this as I did to Catcher in the Rye--I wanted to shake these kids and tell them to calm down, there is life after first love. Anyway, truly don't see why this one swept the world like it did. It's not bad, and I don't hate it. I nothing it.

Heather wrote: "It drives me nuts when people wear masks below their nose! If I can avoid the improper mask wearers, I do. But I refuse to interact with people who don't wear them properly. I ask students, cashier..."

Yeah it would be tough to have to wear a mask the entire time you are working but you could have no job or be a health care worker with 8 to 12 h shifts that can only take a mask off at lunch. Or worse covid.

Happy Thursday! We have two brand new decks into our house so that safety issue is gone. :) However I'm having problems trying to step down out of the house when the deck is now flush with the entrance. I'm so good with change. :p
So here's a poll for people that like pumpkin spice. Are the pumpkin spice cherios worth it? The peanut butter ones were a disappointment to me.
Anyway just enjoying the last few days of summer. :(

Finished Reading:

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet 3 stars
This series is funny and unique for urban fantasy series and I'm hooked now so I'll be reading the next 9 books and any of the novellas I can get ahold of.

The Near Witch 2 stars
This was Victoria Schwab's first book, that she wrote when she was 21 for those with that prompt left. It took me a month to read it but I did. It was a good idea but she took way to long to tell her story. The main character kept doing to stupid things just so it would take longer to vanquish the Near Witch. Her writing style is still really enjoyable so if your a fan of hers you may enjoy this book.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1: The Crucible 3 stars
I like the darker take on Sabrina but I'll take the netflix series instead of the comics.

The Heist 4 stars
I just felt like a comforting reread and this ebook was available. I like this series a lot more than the Stephanie Plum series.

Things My Son Needs to Know about the World 5 stars
I finally read something by my sister's favourite author and it didn't disappoint. This is a quick read that had me laughing out loud. It's all one big letter to his son and it's super cute.

PS 2020 48/50
PS Summer 20/20
PS 2016 35/40
goodreads 159/200

Currently Reading:
Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

QOTW:
Mostly I find literary award nominees and winners to be unappealing. (they always look so depressing)
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler I think this has one many awards in Canada at least. This was forced reading in school and it's very long, depressing, with a detestable main character. Oh yeah nothing happens over many many many pages.

I don't count goodreads as a literary award because they are popularity based. Literary awards don't seem to have diversity in reading tastes so I put more stock in the goodreads awards because fantasy and science fiction books actually get noticed a bit. Are the winners going to be what I would pick? No, but I find a bunch of good books to read from the nominees every year.

And I'm managing to do this while it is still Thursday! I still have some work to do -- reading and marking up legal papers for a conference call early tomorrow -- but I can break for a bit. And snack on something while I catch up.

First - great seeing you, Lynn, in your new role! And Sara - enjoy just reading and reporting!

FINISHED:
Notes on a Cowardly Lion: The Biography of Bert Lahr, With a New Preface by the Author- 5 stars! As much a biography of Bert Lahr as it is a history and biography of comedy and the comedian from burlesque to musical comedy. I will read anything John Lahr writes about theater.

The Grilling Season - in the Goldy Bear catering series - very weak and problematic - skip.

A Buccaneer at Heart - one of my pandemic insomnia audio of a favorite. Still adored it and Steve West is particularly excellent as reader.

CURRENTLY READING:

Pandemic Insomnia Listens - The Daredevil Snared - 3rd in the Adventurers Quartet and another fave. Also Holidays on Ice because I need some snark and satire right now.

print or ebook reading:
A Brief History of Time
She Walks These Hills

QOTW: I'm sure there is something more recent but the one that I always carry on about is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel which I finally read in 2016 or 2017. It won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 2009 along with a bunch of other prizes. It was so badly written, I was appalled at it winning any prize. I will grant it was an interesting concept and at times the perspective really worked, but too often it didn't. Plus the writing was just BAD. I almost abandonned it 3/4 through it but really don't DNF especially when I have read so much of it. And then I discovered that her 2nd in the Cromwell Tudor Series was also a Booker winner - 2012! I basically crossed Booker winners as being of interest to me after that. I was not happy to see the 3rd and final in the series on the long list for Booker this year -- why?????? - but have been happily gloating that it did not make the short list.

(an aside - I do think based on some of the last decade winners that Booker often is rewarding an original or interesting concept even if it just isn't written well or doesn't quite succeed).

Did I mention how badly I thought it was written????

Melissa wrote: "Hello. Our new fridge arrived finally (after a week and a half and one cancelled-without-notice delivery), and then our marriage license came in yesterday's mail. Those were the two things I've bee..."

That's nice your license came in. My cousin got married last week and they spelt his name wrong on the license so I'm still waiting to hear when it's changed and he's actually married.

I kept thinking it was Friday today, but we're not quite there yet! And I'm sorry to hear about the tough stuff folks have mentioned above (losses, dog illness, fires/smoke, etc.). Wishing the best for everyone.

This week I finished:

Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership felt a bit too long, but the information is so important. We'll be discussing this in one of my book clubs on Sunday. 5 stars

Betty Wow, this was a lot. Major content warnings: lots of sexual assault and two scenes of animal cruelty. The tough parts were really tough and I almost stopped reading. They made me sick and I found myself wishing there were fewer of those parts in this story. Then I reminded myself that it is a privilege to choose to avoid these things in our reading, when they are the everyday reality for some people. Since this story is based on the author's mother's experiences, I'm guessing the horrific scenes were based in real life, and not just literary devices. At the end of this reading experience I have to give it the five stars it deserves because its exploration of racism faced by indigenous people in the U.S. is important to learn about, but I also found that the bright parts of the story were able to make up for the terrible ones. Betty's father as a person and their relationship was heart-warming and I loved the beautiful indigenous wisdom and traditions that were present throughout the story. 5 stars

Deacon King Kong wasn't quite what I was expecting, but ended strong. 4 stars

Almost Anywhere: Road Trip Ruminations on Love, Nature, National Parks, and Nonsense is for another book club and the beginning didn't grab me, but once it got to the main reveal I was sucked in and I noticed a lot of emotions coming up as I went through her story. It was kind of just what I needed during this strange time that is 2020 and when I'm craving more nature.

I'm currently listening to Winter Counts and just started The Sellout in print.

QOTW: I see Elaine got to this above, but when I read this question this morning I practically shouted "Normal People!!" at my phone, haha. It won the ŷ������ choice award for fiction last year AND the Tournament of Books AND it's in the next ToB Super Rooster since it's one of the winners over the 16 years. So this thing will continue to haunt me. Ugh it was just so blah for me. I think my overall reaction to it was one big eye roll. There were a few important issues touched on in the story that I don't take lightly, but besides that I just really didn't care about the characters and thought there were much better books deserving of these (and other?) awards last year. /rant

Hey friends and readers. This has been a good reading week and an ok week as a whole. Found a tone of information I was unaware of for my German course so I'm like 3 weeks behind. Hope everyone is doing well. Sending positive vibes to everyone. I know I need them!

31/40 Regular
6/10 Advanced

Finished



Currently Reading





QOTW: What is the title of the most recent book you read which won or was a finalist for a well-known literary award that you truly did not enjoy?
Ummmmm. I don't know. The last book I can think of that won some awards and had rave reviews that I just thought was OK was Daisy Jones and the Six.

Too much smoky air is hurting my lungs and making me ill, so I haven't done as much reading this week as I had hoped. I am so sorry for those more impacted by wildfires.

My state hit its highest daily increase of positive COVID cases today. Yay us! :( We have a lot of anti-maskers which is only prolonging the agony for the rest of us.

I had hoped to be finished with the PS Summer Challenge this week, but didn't make it. I still have my self-imposed deadline of 9/21 so I should be fine. I did finish two books over the weekend:

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz - 3 stars; PS Summer #13 (scary book)
I do not read scary books, so this was as good as I get. It was a bunch of not very scary stories more appropriate to children, but it was fun enough.

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth - 4 stars; PS Summer #11 (summer romance)
The main character was a bit of a spoiled, whiny 17-year-old, which I no longer relate to. But many of her feelings about love and trust I understood. Cute LGBT romance.

ŷ������: 82/100
Popsugar: 37/44, 10/10
PS Summer: 18/20

QOTW:
Much of the time I cannot figure out why the Pulitzer Prize people pick the books they do. Recent ones I've read that I haven't really cared for are Less and A Visit from the Goon Squad. I didn't hate them but have read dozens of books in the past couple of years that I consider much better.

Fall is moving rapidly into northern New England. That usually means wood fires, more cups of tea and lots of reading. Just finished THE LAST ROMANTICS by Tara Conklin and I really enjoyed it. Been on my TBR list for awhile. Not sure if this would work for any of the prompts I have left, but I will still have time to get those filled in. Tomorrow ��’m going to start WE RIDE UPON STICKS. May use it for a book I meant to read in 2019-though I have a bunch of those. If anyone needs a book with a map, it does have that. Partway through MY DEAR HAMILTON and THE GUEST LIST but don’t seem to be progressing on these very well.
QOTW: Last award winner that was a big disappointment for me was LESS which won a Pulitzer. Just did not get that choice at all.

Melissa wrote: "Hello. Our new fridge arrived finally (after a week and a half and one cancelled-without-notice delivery), and then our marriage license came in yesterday's mail. Those were the two things I've bee..."

Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes this is so intriguing.

Elaine wrote: "It's not bad, and I don't hate it. I nothing it."

I nothing it. My favorite description of the day. And I felt the same way about this book [[book:Normal People|41057294]].

Ellie wrote: "My dog decided to celebrate her being with us 4 years by squishing my hand on the gate. No real damage done but it's bruised and hurts when I hold things like big hardback books.

Finished:
T..."</i>

So I didn't know about her knew series and I went to go check it out and discovered [book:Extra Scenes which is free on her website. This has spoilers if you haven't read the series fyi.

Everything is still on fire but the fires are a bit further away this week. The air is still quite bad though. We haven't seen the sky in over a week. I seem to have stopped doing nearly everything in my spare time but listening to books. I am blazing through them! I'm not mad about it.


Finished:
Catherine House

Three Men in a Boat - Disapointing

�Ѳ�ñ���Բ������Ի�

The Talented Miss Farwell

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

The Enigma of Arrival - So pretentious

The Second Sleep - Unexpected


Currently Reading:
Return to the Enchanted Island - The second novel translated to English from Madagascar, of which I know... lemurs and vanilla. Absolutely nothing about the people or culture. I might have to look things up a bit before continuing.

So one day late but better late than never :-) I have been and are so busy at work at the moment so it hard to find the time to comment, at least I fit some reading in. This is for two weeks as I did not find any time last week.

Fall is definitely here now. I am 50 % at office and 50 % working from home. The days at office I ride my bike there.

Status
Popsugar: 20/50
ATY: 19/52
ŷ������: 38/52
Maybe I should look at the books that I haven't fitted in to the challenges yet and see if I can get them in and my statistics will be a bit better :-)

Finished

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: I enjoyed this book, thought it was interesting to read from the point of view it was written. Think it would not have been as good told in another way as the story in itself was not so advanced. Four out of five stars from me. Used for ATY#17

Vattnet drar A Swedish modern fantasy young adult book. Title directly translated would be The water pulls. First book of three and I will continue to read the series. 3 stars out of 5. Used for ATY #19

Then She Was Gone: I liked the story but not as much as the other book I read from Liza Jewell this year. 3.5 stars out of 5. Used for ATY #18 and Popsugar Read a book you picked because the title caught your attention

Dockfabriken A Sewdish book, direct translation would be The Doll factory. It was a book about AI and robotics and sort of a futuristic approach on how human like robots could become. And involving a few murders along the way. Three out of five stars. Used for Popsugar Read a book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character

Slumpens barn Swedish non-fictional book about the author looking for his culture in both Sweden and Gambia by interviewing his family and also other persons with the same roots as him. It was quite interesting, 3.5 stars out of five from me. Read it for an upcoming book club. Direct translation of the title would be something like: Children of coincidence

Mylingen Read aloud for my son. Swedish urban fantasy, the series is really good and I enjoy reading these books. Four out of five stars from me.

Currently reading

Harry Potter och den flammande bägaren Reading aloud for my daughter

��������� Swedish urban fantasy reading aloud for my son

The Poisoner by Sharon Bolton, can't find a link for it

Twenties Girl This is my current audiobook

Happy Friday Everyone! :)

I missed checking in last week but I didn't really read much of anything anyways so I'm not too fussed about it. I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy!

I did finally complete one of my reading challenges (Popsugar Summer) this week so I'm very happy about that! :D

Current Progress

PS: 47/50 | PSS: 20/20 | HP: 54/56 | ATY: 49/52 | GR: 99/100

Read The Last 2 Weeks

We'll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) by Jenny Han ⭐️⭐️ Bleh...characters were turned inside out to manipulate the story here and Belly at times was super immature in this book which was annoying. The romance was completely boring and flat in here and I so wasn't here for that. This one was definitely the weakest in the trilogy in my opinion and was missing a lot of things from the first two books that made them special!
Used for: PSS - 19. A Book classified as a "beach read"
Becca's Bookoplathon - TBR Game (the end result of which was this book)

The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow, this blew me away and was way better than I was expecting it to be. It had high stakes, kept me intrigued and wanting to know who was who and what was going to happen the whole way through! It also has one of the most resilient yet compassionate main characters I've ever read about in Lia. I'm now officially tossing out my planned TBR and moving on to book 2 - I need to know what happens next!
Used for: Becca's Bookoplathon - Chance Card

Sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 Stars) This was an enjoyable ride, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I think this book suffers from a case of being a bit different than it's advertised. I didn't really find most of this funny, it wasn't full of embarrassing moments or funny dating disasters like I expected it to be and the podcast bits/tips were way more simplistic and minimal to the story than I expected them to be plus I thought they seemed way more like heavy-handed foreshadowing for what's to come in that chapter which was unfortunate. Despite that though, this was still an enjoyable read full of dramatic moments. I did appreciate that things did change and move forward within the story but I also question how much the main character really learned or grew from her experiences here?
Used for: PSS - 2. A Book with a summer drink or cocktail on the cover
Becca's Bookoplathon - A Book set in the present

The Last Smile in Sunder City (The Fetch Phillips Archives #1) by Luke Arnold ⭐️⭐️ My full review for this one is basically a long pro/con list but as a brief sum up my biggest pro was that the mc is interesting and has a backstory that you get to piece together as you read. My biggest con is a (view spoiler)[Instead of the MC slowly, creatively piecing the case together throughout the book, we get a monologue with the most important information near the end. (hide spoiler)] and my biggest non-spoilery con is that the lore and back stories for the world and all the magical creatures was just so basic!
Used for: PSS - 16. A Book with "sun", "sand" or "waves" in the title
Becca's Bookoplathon - Community Shelf Card (Prompt: Adult Fantasy)

Currently Reading

The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) by Evan Winter

QotW

Unpopular opinion time but The Martian. It has won loads of awards including a GR choice back in 2014. I didn't hate it and I still rated it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but I definitely don't think it deserved that kind of popularity because I felt the main plot points were underwhelming, the writing felt repetitive (soo many potatoes and system checks!), and the ending could have been stronger. It was also very notably character driven, which I'm definitely not a fan of and which I was surprised and disappointed by given that I really enjoyed his newer novel Artemis.

Brittany wrote: "Hello All!

It's been a month since I last checked in and what a month it's been. In my immediate family, we have had two households evacuate (one for fire, and my own for Hurricane Laura), my baby..."

I'm so sorry the loss of your grandmother, and hope good memories are helping you and your loved one. Oh noooo, on all the evacuating! Hope you and your loved one are safe. 2020 has been a helluva year. But... congrats to your baby's milestone :)

Cendaquenta wrote: "Well, bad news and good news this week.
Bad news is that the dog is definitely terminally ill.
Good news, he's responding fantastically to the palliative care measures the vet put him on. He's on a..."

so sorry to hear about the bad news, really happy for you both about him feeling better. Dogs (and cats) don't care much about number of years (per my cats); they're not planning their weddings or graduations like we do. They're all about quality of life, and really glad to hear your little one is enjoying life with you!

Lynn wrote: You should appreciate this, Sherry! I had my car worked on 2 weeks ago and it was drizzling rain so they pulled it right up to the door to avoid me having to walk very far in the rain. Very hospitable and customer-friendly, right? He gets out of the car with no mask on, no gloved on, etc. I was appalled. Not only for my possible exposure, but for his own sake. Yikes. So I now have alcohol and paper towels in my car as well just in case I ever have a similar situation and need to wipe down my car or anything else when I"m out and about. Geeminy!

I would be appalled as well

But Some people just don't care we had one person phone up make an appointment and after telling the customer that we have limited waiting area and only two people can wait in the showroom at one time to maintain physical distancing and we are not offering rides due to COVID. They phoned back ten minutes later to cancel the appointment cause our competition allows unlimited people to wait in their showroom. All I could think to myself is " Okay enjoy your COVID"

In saying that most people are pretty good.

Sherry wrote: "All I could think to myself is " Okay enjoy your COVID" "

hahaha I am gonna be thinking this all the time now

Good morning all,

Hoping that everyone closer to the wildfires is living as safely as possible! We have had haze in New England since Tuesday, so I can’t begin to imagine how people and animal are coping in the west.

We’re pretty lucky here, as masks are mandated. Fortunately, most people seem to be courteous and/or informed. Now, I cough a LOT! Ragweed allergy season has been pretty intense this year, and lupus is just a kaleidoscopic fun-filled ride of health adventures. For the mask-wearers, I apologize and say, “No worries, ragweed��. For the unmasked, I say, “Aren’t you glad ��’m wearing a mask?��

Finished:

A Charmed Death I’d heard about Madelyn Alt, and she clearly did her research on Wicca. The book has a respectful treatment with a well-paced plot. The MC seemed overly naïve for approaching 30, but I enjoyed this fast fun read.
Prompt: Book with 3 word title.

Go Ask Alice This was a buddy read with, and prompted by, my BFF after trying to remember if we’d read this when we were kids. We hadn’t. The book is not anonymous; it is written by Beatrice Sparks. It’s not a real diary; it is a ‘cautionary tale�� meant to terrify youth about drugs. Nothing about it adheres to reality: who starts off with acid and hopes to try weed? Where did Beatrice get her terrible info on tripping and flashbacks? And what teenager writes like that? The MC kept me from DNF’ing, though. Her lack of self-esteem, her intense desire to fit in, and her wish that adults would listen all rang true --some things stay the same.
Prompt: Book written in the 20th century. Also, a banned book.

Liquid Gold: The Lore And Logic Of Using Urine To Grow Plants I should have used this for “Book title which caught your attention��. No titles using “gold��, “silver�� or “bronze�� were appealing to me �� and then I find this! I really enjoyed it. A good primer on eco-social responsibility, lots of good info on nutrient cycles and chemistry, and how we waste a valuable resource because we’re so skittish in the west.


QOTW:

Hmm, ��’m more likely to find out a book won an award after I read it. Maybe On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I liked it ok, I jut didn’t love it. For me, Night Sky with Exit Wounds was more deserving of its awards.