ŷ������

Theresa wrote: "I had some quibbles that really relate to it being YA"

I agree. I kinda wish that Leigh Bardugo had made the characters be in their 20's. And it almost reads like she had originally done that, but then the publishers made her age them down so it could be YA.....

Happy Thursday.

Books I finished:

Discount Armageddon & Midnight Blue-Light Special ⭐⭐⭐⭐- The next book in The Ghost Roads series came out this week, and I had planed to reread the Ghost Roads books & the Incryptid series before I read it. So I didn't get around to it until now... It just means I have to wait a bit longer to read the new book.

Shadow and Bone ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This was fine. If I hadn't read and loved Six of Crows already I might have only given it a 3, but knowing where the series is going made me like it more. Decent world building, but it seemed a bit lacking. I wish she had included chapters from other character perspectives.



Books I made progress on:

Ayesha At Last - I will probably finish this tonight. I'm loving it, but for some reason it's taking me forever to read.

Sparrow Hill Road - Continuing the reread of the series.

Rumor Has It - A nice silly romance. I was struggling with which prompt to use it for until I realized the obvious one - Song title.



QOTW

To me, abridged or condensed versions aren't really adaptations. Adaptations are books transferred to other mediums (graphic novels, movies), transferred to other settings (Modern retellings, Set in different countries) or genre switch-ups (Pride, Prejudice and Zombies).

I'm not opposed to abridged versions (I read a lot of them when I was a kid) or books that haven been edited to update language, but I do think they should mark that on the cover.

Kendra wrote: "Theresa wrote: "I had some quibbles that really relate to it being YA"

I agree. I kinda wish that Leigh Bardugo had made the characters be in their 20's. And it almost reads like ..."

Interesting....perhaps some day we will have an opprtunity to ask her in a milieu where she can answer with out upsetting her publisher. I read up on her a little bit - very interesting woman with an impressive education.

Oof, I have had no concept of what day of the week it was all day. I knew it was Thursday because I did things that I had scheduled for Thursday, I knew tomorrow was Friday, and yet I still spent the whole day convinced it was Wednesday. Time's an illusion.

Finished:
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes: I've been putting off reading this because I figured it would make me sad and WHOOPS I was correct. It was good, but I definitely had a sinking feeling in my stomach the whole time with the sense that things were going to go wrong and stay wrong, which is not my favorite feeling.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte: controversial-ish opinion: Anne is my favorite Bronte. I really enjoyed this! It was such an interesting look into interpersonal relationships that is still deeply relevant today, and Helen is a bad ass. The only problem was the audiobook I listened to had two narrators, and while the female narrator was fantastic, the male narrator was terrible, and repeatedly pulled me out of it, which is a dang shame.

Currently Reading:
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
The Queen of the Tearling
With the Fire on High
The Gilda Stories
Children of Blood and Bone

QotW:
I think "adaptation" is too broad a category for me to have a definitive opinion on. Are we talking specifically about abridged versions of longer stories, directed at children? I guess no matter the answer, I would say I don't think adapting works is inherently bad, but I would form opinions on them on a case-by-case basis.

When reading Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the introduction talked about how after Anne's death, there was a heavily edited version published that's commonly described as "a mutilated text" and I think cases like this or other situations of adapting for censorship purposes, I don't abide by.

But I also personally think there are some works out there that really needed more edits before publication. And like, if someone published a version of Moby Dick that took out all of the instructional whaling chapters, I would have read that in a heartbeat. 😅 I think ultimately for me it boils down to I don't think it's bad if adaptations exist as long as the original work is also still available. Pretty much all of pop culture at this point is in some way an adaptation of an earlier idea when you think about it.

Glad you're husband is doing well. Things here are good. My daughter had a great week. She finally got her cast off. She seems to have some nerve damage/irritation/something affecting her ring and pinkie fingers. So, we've been in and will continue to be in PT for that. It's improving, but the process could take months. Luckily the cello program we are putting her into this fall has been very understanding (her private teacher also works there, which really helps) and we're going to use a video I took before the break, that is literally in a basement and completely unprofessional, but the best we can do. Middle school placements also came out this week, and she got into an excellent school that I think will be a really great fit for her. So, good things all around.

That being said I only finished one book this week. The Girl with the Louding Voice. I really wasn't that interested in it, but it kept coming up as a book I'd really like. And, it was amazing. I tore through it.

Currently reading One Dark Throne, The City of Dreaming Books, and Little Fires Everywhere.

QOTW: I wanted to read Les Miserables, and my husband became obsessed with getting me a copy that was not at all abridged. It needed to be abridged. It rambled in ways it just didn't need to. I ended up DNFing. I also read it in India on one of my first trips abroad, and my first time really witnessing true poverty up close.

Happy check-in!
I'm finally eligible for my first shot so now I'm on a wait list. So hopefully I'll be partially vaccinated by next check-in. Better news is that my older relatives will be able to get their second shot soon so the real worry can go away. It is quite heart breaking to learn what is happening in India. The entire world need to help and care.

Finished Reading:

Terminal Boredom: Stories ��
The title made me do it. Boredom in the title was a huge hint. These short stories count as speculative fiction and only one was likeable, not great, but likeable. These supposedly inspired future authors. I'm annoyed that I couldn't even find a challenge for it.

Embrace the Night ⭐⭐�� (2017 audiobook)
This series is always available in audiobooks but the library has not bought ebooks. So I went with this for my dreaded audiobook. I constantly zoned out and missed things. I set it at the fastest reading speed possible. I thought a comforting urban fantasy would keep me focused but not so much.

Ayesha at Last ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (2021 Canadian Muslim author)
I nearly dnfed this at the beginning, but being BOTM kep me reading thankfully. The first few chapters did not sell the characters well. The way the author updated the P & P story was great. Oddly enough I disliked the use of Austen quotes but loved the Shakespeare quotes. My favourite character was the Imam who had the best lines. Definitely was chuckling out loud to this one.

Good Girl, Bad Blood ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book 2. The main character Pip is becoming a bit of a Mrs. Fletcher where everyone she knows becomes involved in crimes. This book could be fit in social justice because the trial concerning events in the first book takes place in this one.

Force Multiplied ⭐⭐⭐⭐��
It finally came in and was worth the wait. The artwork was great and the story matched.

Snow, Glass, Apples ⭐⭐⭐⭐��
So a dark take/retelling of Snow White where she's a vampire and the Queen is innocent in contrast.

PS 2021 27/50
PS 2017 27/52
ŷ������ 101/200

Currently Reading:
Anxious People
Space Opera
The Time of Contempt

QOTW:
I can't think of any that I've read. They should definitely be clearly marked and even shelved elsewhere in libraries/book stores. I think making a story accessible to different levels of readers is important to encourage literacy. However I wonder why any child needs to understand P & P or other classics during childhood. There are plenty of contemporary books out there discussing prejudice and other important themes written for them. Why read a classic twice unless you want to? Also aren't abridged versions obsolete when we have movies to quickly learn the main story and see if were interested in it?

Drakeryn wrote: "QotW: I read a couple of adaptations as a kid (abridged versions of Ben Hur and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court). At the time I didn't realize they were abridged. In retrospect it was kinda obvious because they were small handheld books with pictures taking up every other page. I remember getting into an argument with my mom because there was some kind of class contest for reading the most pages, and I wanted to count the book's actual page count (I DID read the whole book and it DID have that many pages), while my mom said I should only count half the pages because of all the pictures...."


LOL your mom was tough!!! I'd have given you the full page count, because yes you read the whole book. I mean, plenty of grown-up books start all chapters on the recto page, which means sometimes the verso page is empty (and sometimes the previous recto page is half-empty), but it still has a page number, and if someone were counting how many pages they had read, they wouldn't go through the book to figure out how many blanks to subtract from their count.

Hi Everybody, I had a good reading week I finished 3.
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge. 4 stars. Not for this challenge. It could be used for a book published in 2021, a book about a social justice issue,a book about a subject you are passionate about.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton. 5 stars. Not for this challenge. It could be used a book about a subject you are passionate about, a book published in 2021, a book where the main character works at your current or dream job, a book about a subject you are passionate about.
Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2) by Rainbow Rowell. 5 stars. Not for this challenge.
Question of the Week:
Adaptations. Are they “real�� books? Do they serve a purpose? Or should only the original texts be published?

Nadine wrote: "What is the "vide"? - that must be a European term. I'm picturing like the entry hall?."

I couldn't find a proper word to describe it. Our entry hall is partly open up to the ceiling on the first floor. Right from the front door you can look up unto our bookcase at the end of the hallway on the first floor.

Alex wrote: "... When reading Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the introduction talked about how after Anne's death, there was a heavily edited version published that's commonly described as "a mutilated text" and I think cases like this or other situations of adapting for censorship purposes, I don't abide by. ..."



Yeah, Charlotte was always my least favorite Bronte, and then I learned this about her, and that cemented my opinion.

I finished nothing for the challenge this week!

PS: 46/50 (+0)
ŷ������: 51/100 (+2)

This week I finished:

The Bell Jar; Sylvia Plath; audiobook; F; 7:24; 4 stars:
I listened to the audiobook read by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She did an absolutely amazing job, particularly on the more manic parts. I'm not sure why I've avoided this book for so long. The writing is brilliant. It is a bitter, mean little book, but so worth it.

One Two Three; Laurie Frankel; ŷ������ ARC; F; 400; 4 stars:
This is a GREAT book. I waffling between 4 and 5 stars. I'm stingy with those 5 stars, but I know others won't be, and this book deserves those stars. This is my first book by LF, and I will be reading her others. I love the repeating One Two Three chapters. I love the perspectives of all 3 girls. I love every character, flaws and all. The plot is heartbreaking, and hopeful. It does a beautiful job with body and neuro diversity. It's a powerful story about how protecting our environment protects us. It's nearly perfect. I'm not sure if this is YA (and that's a good sign if it is indeed YA), but it's perfectly appropriate for young adult readers, and I will be giving it to my 14yo daughter to read.

I'm currently reading:

The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray - no prompt - ebook - This is for a TBR twin read at /group/show/....

A Very Punchable Face - no prompt - audiobook, read by Collin Jost - Not as funny as I'd hoped.

The Midnight Library - multiple countries prompt - ebook - I just started this, and it's electronically due back to the library Monday! It's not Kindle, so I can't put it on airplane mode and take my time. It's going to be a reading weekend! 3 chapters in, and I'm hooked! Good thing given my timeline!

Coming up:

Project Hail Mary - no prompt - Also a library book that's not Kindle that is due back by the 25th!

Gone, Baby, Gone - 1990s bestseller prompt - ŷ������ giveaway book

Answer of the Week:

I will not read anything abridged, and I hate that they have all these abridged classics for kids who then think they've read the book but not really! Adaptations are their own thing. A book is the text as written by the author.

Hey y'all, checking in a bit late, but not too bad, given my track record!

@Alex and @Nadine: I hope you enjoy this little Bronte comic as much as I do!

I only finished one book this week? It feels like a read a lot! Just goes to show that Pandemic Time flows differently.

Finished

The A.B.C. Murders - this was fun! I always forget how fun Christie's characters are and how she has some great pithy dialog about How Humans Are, as well as the main characters throwing shade at each other. Also, of course, she makes fun smart female characters do fun smart things, even if they're only bit players.

Currently Reading:

Six of Crows - I'm so sucked back in! I actually think there's a good bit of nuance here that lifts it above typical YA territory, even if the characters are improbably young. I love the way Bardugo introduces complex/fraught/traumatizing backstories with small hints to start, and how the introduction of the Nina/Matthias situation is sort of a bait and switch.

QOTW:

I'm pretty open to spins on other works, as long as it's not in service of censorship. Honestly lots of books could do with tighter editing, and books written in ages where you wanted to savor and draw out the experience because your entertainment options were very limited can really suffer in our current "infinite buffet" environment of stories!

Then there's the problem of authors who become to famous to be stood up to by an editor. I read the original Stand in the 80s, read the de-edited version when it came out . . . and then sought out an old edition to own because that story was much better!

Hi all! It's spring in NY! Sun is shining, I've got windows open around the house! I'm in good spirits despite still having side effects and complications with my health, I'll go back to the doctor on Monday. I'm glad masks and restrictions are loosening, but with my health, I'll probably wear a mask into stores and events for the rest of my life anyway. I just might not look like as much of a weirdo if we hadn't all gone through this! ;)
I am starting to plan a romantic weekend trip with my honey and then a big outdoor cookout for friends I haven't seen in a while!

And! I finished a book! Fake. I'm using it for a different format book. It was an audiobook done by the LA Theatre Works, so it was a cast production recording of a play in front of an audience. I can genuinely say I've never read that type of book before! And I'm not sure I would again. Voice actors played several parts, and clearly there was visual stuff happening on stage that I couldn't see. As far as the story went, though, it was interesting.

I finally returned some very overdue library books, so I was able to take out some more (thankfully my library went fine free a while ago!). I just picked them up this morning, so I'll see what one grabs me. I think I'm going to try to pick up Dear Martin this weekend to get started for June's read.
My other goal for the weekend is to read at least 10 more pages in The Magic Mountain. I haven't touched it in months with my health, but I will be darned if I don't finish that book! I've come too far to surrender!!

QOTW: I personally don't like abridged or condensed books, if I'm gonna put in the energy, I want the whole thing. Even if I'm going to gripe about looong boring stretches in some books. I think there's a place for abridged books or condensed or whatever, but like most people have said LABEL it! And totally changing the format to make it accessible to others is great re: graphic adaptions or age appropriate, etc.


Regarding Little Women, I once was watching Antiques Roadshow and a woman brought in 2 books of Little Women. What I didn't know was that Alcott wrote the first part and it was so popular that she wrote a sequel the next year. Not Little Men, but more Little Women. The person had both books from the year when the second book was written, they're worth $3,000 to $5,000! So if any of you who got duped had an early edition, you'd be getting the last laugh!

Nadine wrote: "Lynn wrote: "... I just cannot say enough good about Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is mostly free verse poetry and does an excellent job or depicting a child’s emotions th...

I haven't read this book, but I LOVED another book by her, Listen, Slowly. She's a great story teller and I'll definitely be reading more of her books."
You and me both, Nadine!

I picked up a copy of Little Women that i keep meaning to read, I somehow never read it younger. It's around 800 pages, I certainly hope that's the unabridged version.

Sheri wrote: "I picked up a copy of Little Women that i keep meaning to read, I somehow never read it younger. It's around 800 pages, I certainly hope that's the unabridged version."

Is it a large-print version? The one I read last year was the original text and only 449 pages long! 😲 It was a mass market paperback which I usually avoid...

Sheri wrote: "I picked up a copy of Little Women that i keep meaning to read, I somehow never read it younger. It's around 800 pages, I certainly hope that's the unabridged version."


800 pages??!! Either it's heavily illustrated, or it's a collection of Little Women + Little Men?

Christine wrote: "Hey y'all, checking in a bit late, but not too bad, given my track record!

@Alex and @Nadine: I hope you enjoy this little Bronte comic as much as I do! ..."


Emily liked those bad boys!! And Charlotte just thought she didn't deserve happiness and neither did anyone else.


(to be clear, I'm making all this up, I have no idea what Charlotte was like, other than knowing she indulged in some massive editing of her sisters' works after they died.)

It's a kindle version, so maybe it's got something weird going on? I've had other kindle books vary wildly from how many pages they "should" have

Gemma wrote: "This week is feeling eternal, glad it's finally Friday tomorrow! Have also just booked my Covid jabs this morning, and annoyed my husband by getting the vaccination centre just down the road, when the closest one available when he booked is a 30-minutes drive away!"
I had to chuckle at that! ��

"Finshed:
Ayesha at Last for A book by a Muslim American author. This didn't rock my world, but it was an interesting take on a romance/'Pride and Prejudice' interpretation."
I just finished it last night and loved it. I particularly appreciated the varied interpretations of Islam through the Muslim characters' different lifestyles, dress, etc.

"Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books for A book in a different format than what you normally read. Enjoyed listening to this in audiobook format"
Added to my TBR listing. Looks like one I would enjoy!

"In progress:
The Shell Seekers for A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)."
Looks like another good one!

"QOTW:
I think the only books I've seen that would be adaptations in this sense are those ones that have been adapted/abridged for children. I know I certainly has some of those Ladybird book abridged tales when I was a child! Other that that, though, I'm not sure whey you would bother to adapt a book in that way?"
It would be interesting to hear what a publisher has to say about this.

I have the B&N Classics edition of Little Women from Alcott's original text, and it's 472 pages.

I’ve been working on cleaning out my closets this week, and it’s turned into quite a project! So far I’ve managed to complete the linen closet, and I’m about halfway through the dreaded storage closet.

Despite all of the cleaning, I’ve still managed to read a considerable amount this week.

POPSUGAR: 20/50
Beat the Backlist: 34/52
ŷ������: 141/200

Finished Reading:
~Fugitive Telemetry - “a book that’s published in 2021��
If you’d like to read my thoughts about this book, you can find them at .
~Beholden to the Bratva: A Russian Mafia Romance Novel
~The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well
~Dealing with Dragons
~Searching for Dragons
~Calling on Dragons
~Talking to Dragons

Currently Reading:
~A Feast for Crows
~The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People

QOTW:
While I generally prefer to read books in their original format, and I don’t care for abridged versions of books, I do think that adaptations (graphic novels, modern versions, re-tellings, etc.) do help make classic stories more accessible to a wide range of readers. I’ve read a number of modern-day and YA adaptations of classic novels that I’ve really enjoyed; some of which have even inspired me to read the books on which they are based.

I also enjoy graphic novel and manga adaptations. It’s really exciting to see how artists choose to approach the stories they’re adapting. Charles Dixon’s graphic novel adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a particular favorite of mine.

30/40 for the Popsugar challenge

Finished:
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi for #34, a book about a social justice issue. This book was heavy but I learned a lot.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus - I saw this on my daughter's book shelf (#12 prompt) and she had been bugging me to read it. It was very good. This is my second book by this author and she has a way of making sure you can't guess the ending. I love that!

Restart by Gordon Korman - For something broken on the cover (#23). I read this to my class. It was a cute book and fun to read. My class of 6th graders (11-12 year olds) loved it.

Currently reading:
Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone - For #19 a book that discusses body positivity. It sounds promising.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech - newest book read aloud for my class. Not sure where to put it

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan - For #26, a title with an oxymoron.

QotW: I once borrowed a book from a student and read the book and realized it was an adapted version. I felt like I cheated. I haven't read the original, but I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind say I need to read the original. Maybe I will some day.

SUPER late to this week's check in but wanted to get it down before Thursday rolls around again. I'm knee deep in cleaning out my storage unit and this process makes me never want to buy anything ever again. How does one person accumulate so much stuff?

18/40 PopSugar
5/10 Advanced PopSugar
25/80 GoodReads

Finished Reading:
1.) The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle (#14- Restaurant) ⭐⭐��.5: I really enjoyed In Five Years by this author, this one fell a little bit lower for me, but was still enjoyable- loved the premise of who would you invite to a birthday dinner- dead or alive?

Currently Reading:
1.) Les Misérables
2.) The Last Flight

QOTW: Adaptations. Are they “real�� books? Do they serve a purpose? Or should only the original texts be published?

Originals only!! However, there is a place for them to be adapted into young readers editions or for children. I loved what I thought was my version of Little Women more than I did the original text.