ŷ������

I belong to 3 IRL book clubs that meet once a month, John currently has 2 physical therapy sessions per week, and I teach at the gym 3 evenings per week, plus all day-in and day-out activities of daily living. I find I barely have the energy for all this at my age and physical condition, but I’d rather be active than not�� Every once in a while life just becomes overwhelming to me and that happened to me this past Tuesday, but I did recover by Wednesday morning!!

Following along with Nadine’s Question of the Week from last week, here is a Book Riot summer reading booklist for different types of summer readers��. Interestingly, I own personally signed/inscribed copies of the first two books since I met those authors within the past 9 months!!

ADMIN STUFF:
AUGUST MONTHLY GROUP READ FINAL SELECTION POLL IS LIVE!
Help select the ONE book for the 2024 August Monthly Group Read! This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #23 A book that features dragons. National Lizard Day is August 14!

It is between these two books:
Fourth Wing
The Tea Dragon Society

This poll will be open through Tuesday, June 4! Vote HERE!

The MAY MONTHLY GROUP READ IS All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
This book could be used to fulfill prompt #41 A memoir that explores queerness. I was so very impressed by this book! Thanks to Jai for leading this discussion! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

THE JUNE MONTHLY GROUP READ IS The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers!!This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #18 A book set in space. This is one of my all-time favorite books and series!! And who is the "cool Captain" who will volunteer to lead this discussion? Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!

THE JULY MONTHLY GROUP READ IS Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner!! This book could be used to fulfill prompt #44 An autobiography written by a woman in Rock ‘n�� Roll. I’m certain there is a “savvy superstar�� among our members to lead an amazing discussion of this one! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!

The comprehensive listing of 2024 Monthly Group Reads resides HERE for your perusal and reference throughout 2024!
***
Question of the Week:
From Doni: What is a book that you often find yourself thinking about?
Such a great question! And I have SOOOOOOO many answers!! LOL Of course, I remember different books for very different reasons! 😉

Although The Secret History felt VERY noirish to me (and I dislike noir overall), it has stayed in my head for years now�� As has Tartt’s The Goldfinch, which I actually enjoyed reading!

Just a few of my favorite books that I will NEVER forget:
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The School of Essential Ingredients and The Lost Art of Mixing
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Witch Elm
(both of the books immediately above deal with the same theme)
Jason Reynolds�� Track series: Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu
Long Way Down
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir
The Poisonwood Bible
The Confession
The Hundred-Foot Journey
The Tortilla Curtain
The Storyteller's Death
Cemetery Boys
This Is How It Always Is
An American Marriage
City of Girls
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Cellist of Sarajevo
The Inn at Lake Devine
How to Be an Antiracist
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
Just Mercy
The Lemon Orchard
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair

You can thank me later for stopping there!! 👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍

2024 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 29/50
Around the Year (AtY): 49/52
Read Harder: 16/24
52 Book Club: 40/52

FINISHED:
*How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon #1) by How To Train Your Dragon ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� is a book I picked up on a whim last Friday night when I arrived home from the gym and we had no electricity. I read using the flashlight on my phone and then finished it the next afternoon. Ostensibly, I had this selected for prompt #23 A book that features dragons. I found it to be enjoyable, though, IMO, probably much more appreciated by the younger readers to whom it is targeted!
POPSUGAR: #2, NEW #23, #31
ATY: #3-A book with gold on the cover, #6, #7, #12, #17, #23-Boats and Beaches, #24-Orange, #25, #28, #29, #33, #36, #37, #40-Dragons are wild!, #49
RHC: #16, #24-2016: prompt #5 Read a middle grade novel
52 Book Club: #2-Lots of descriptions of horridly putrid smells, #30, #38, #43, #47, #51-Dragons are wild!

*Sanditon by Jane Austen ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� is one of two of her unfinished works that has been published posthumously. (Over 100 years after she died!) It was a bit of a slog for the first third or so and then picked up into typical Austen. Manipulators were trying to establish relationships among younger folks that would blossom into financially advantageous marriages for the person with little money�� 😊
POPSUGAR: #2
ATY: #2, #3-A book you could read in 24 hours, #10-Historical Fiction, #15, #17, #20, #23, #27, #28, #33
RHC: #24-2018: prompt #1 A book published posthumously
52 Book Club: #9, #24, #26-Romance/Historical Fiction, #30, #31, #33,

I will document later today…or next week! LOL 😯😉
*Educated by Tara Westover ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� for the IRL book club I facilitate. I found it remarkable that the other members were much more ‘disturbed�� by this book than I was. I am uncertain of the reason, other than the fact that I typically expect such behaviors from the males in a Mormon community rather than not. Perhaps because I have read several books set in a Mormon community and others had not? I don’t know, but Westover and her siblings who were able to successfully get themselves out of the community in which they were raised were to be commended for overcoming obstacles that would likely prove to be too overwhelming to overcome by many. (Three of the seven children went on to earn PhD degrees.) Her writing was amazing, IMO! We were all in agreement on that! Though two members did not finish reading it due to their reactions to Westover’s parents�� behaviors. They found it too upsetting and depressing.
POPSUGAR: #2, #4
ATY: #3-A book related to a mountain, #12, #17, #24-Orange, #25, #27, #33, #36, #41, #45, #48, #49
RHC: #24-2016: prompt #20 A book about religion
52 Book Club: #4, #10, #14, #30, #31, #39, #43, #51

CONTINUING:
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer
*By Hook or By Book by D.R. Meredith

PLANNED:
*Fear No Evil (Alex Cross #29) by James Patterson
*11th Hour (Women’s Murder Club #11) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

Happy Thursday! I didn’t read much this week. Todd and I spent four days in Portland (Oregon) to celebrate our 35th anniversary. We had so much fun! We went on a “Weird Portland�� beer tour, a wine trip to the Willamette Valley, and a food tasting tour in downtown Portland. We also spent a day with old friends �� lunch, rose garden, dessert, night cap. We stayed at McMenamin’s Kennedy School. It’s an old elementary school that’s been transformed into a (very funky, very cool) hotel, restaurant, brewery, bar, soaking pool, and movie theater. We did it all�� Now we’re exhausted. We need a vacation to recover from our vacation.

Of course, when we got home everything got even more stressful. Ashley (my daughter-in-law) has been struggling with an intestinal ailment. At first, her doctor said it was probably viral�� that something was going around. But it didn’t get better. In fact, it got worse. She was admitted to the hospital on Monday. She’s still there. They think it might be Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis. She’s going to be okay. It’s good just to be getting some answers, and hopefully she’ll be home soon. Anyway, we’ve got the little ones for the time being. Now we’re really exhausted.

2024 Reading Challenges: I’ve read 195 books so far this year with an average length of 332 pages and an average rating of 3.76.

52 Book Club: 44/52 (May Mini-Challenge: 2/3)
ATY: 34/52 (Spring Challenge: 11/12 + Bonus 5/5)
Booklist Queen: 40/52
Diverse Baseline: 15/36
Popsugar: 36/50
Robot Librarian: 39/52
ICYMI Backlist: 5/12

Recently Completed:

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard (ATY #8 �� author from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand) ★★★★

The Miracle of Dunkirk: Well, here’s a case of the movie being better than the book. (Booklist Queen #40 �� about a historical event/Popsugar #16 �� set 24 years before you were born) ★★��

Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Popsugar #47 �� 24 letters in the title) ★★★★

Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution: Elie Mystal’s bluster is on full display in the audiobook and makes this a hoot to listen to. Of course, his bombastic delivery may take something away from his message, but I think he has some really great points about voting rights and the electoral college. Reasonable Doubt Book Club. (52 Books May Mini-Challenge #1 �� author’s last name starts with M) ★★★★



Currently Reading:

Come and Get It (ATY Spring Challenge �� a green cover)
A Game of Lies (52 Books #52 �� published in 2024)
Murder Road
L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future, Vol. 40: Adventures Underground Book Club.
Erasure
The Waters (ATY #18 �� a botanical cover)
Meet the Benedettos
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (52 Books May Mini-Challenge #2 �� related to alpha)
Dirty Dancing at Devil's Leap (Popsugar #1 - leap in the title)
The Fox Maidens
Witchland: The Graphic Novel

QOTW: These are probably the same as the books I re-read on a regular basis: Jane Eyre, The Stand, American Gods.

Happy Thursday!
The weather is gorgeous today. It's 68 right now with a nice cool breeze. It's supposed to be like this for the next few days. I can't wait to sit outside and read after work.

Finished:
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries for cozy fantasy.
The Big Four

Currently reading:
Watership Down
Kolyma Stories
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution on audio

Happy Thursday!

The weather is absolutely perfect today!  

I've been starting far too many books, so I haven't finished many.�� I guess I'm just too excited to read all of them so it's hard to settle on just one.�� 


I have managed to finish two books:

Lunar New Year Love Story written by Gene Luen Yang - SUPER cute graphic novel!!  I would recommend this to anyone.�� No Popsugar challenge category (although it would work for "2024" or "magical realism" or "bildungsroman").�� I checked off "related to lyrics of Wonderful World" in AtY, although now I'm not quite sure why - something to do with: "I see friends shaking hands they're really saying I love you."

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng - I was blown away by this book (as I expected to be) and I nearly cried when I finished it because I was so sad that I had no-more-book.�� No Popsugar challenge category, but I checked off "related to raining cats and dogs" in AtY.



Popsugar 84% 42 /50
Must Reads 60% 6 /10
AtY 73% 38 /52
2024 pub 22% 11 /50



QotW
A lot of books pop into my mind now and then, and my answer will be different from day to day.�� The Gift of Rain I'm sure will make repeat showings in my head. It's not always books I love - sometimes a book gains permanent real estate in my head even when I did not 5-star-love it.�� 

Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei pops into my head a lot - the noodle dish he ordered, the way he tricked the students into revealing info, the school library scenes ...

All of Chang-rae Lee's books that I've read pop into my head regularly:  On Such a Full Sea, My Year Abroad, A Gesture Life, and Aloft.�� My Year Abroad was my least favorite of his, and yet it is the one I think of most often, perhaps because a lot of the scenes were perverse in one way or another.�� A lot of scenes from that book are burned into my brain, but the one that will probably never leave is the guy who intentionally drowned himself in a pool of mercury.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong pops into my head a lot, despite the fact that I didn't even really like that book; but my brain likes to revisit scenes from it.

White Ivy by Susie Yang pops into my head a lot too - I don't remember the entire book very well, but certain scenes stay with me, when she first met Roux as a kid, and later Roux's glitzy apartment, and the sense of dread when Ivy goes hiking with Gideon.

Happy Thursday, y’all.

I am back! Scotland was wonderful, and I will go back in a heartbeat! And, I needed that time. I came home so much healthier physically as well as mentally/spiritually. Now to find the way to hang onto that health!

I took my Kindle and read books that have been downloaded to it for years…so, in that respect, the trip was a good time to read books I own but never seem to read.

Since returning, I have put books on hold at both libraries and am excited to report that now I have notices of books to pick up! Yay!
I think my reading will be slowing up a bit; there is so much other stuff I want to do…and now I am walking more. Maybe I can find a way to do an audiobook during that activity sometimes.

Finished:
I am not going to review or try to remember what challenges some of these books met. I will be doing well just to list them!

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas �� PS #47 (24 letter in title). 4*
Dreams and Shadows –Kindle. 4*
The Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series #1-3. Kindle. Book #3 - #5. 4*
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On �� Kindle. 3*
About the Night �� Kindle. 4*. ATY #18
Mississippi Blood Cake �� Kindle. 4*. ATY #19
Greed �� Kindle. 4*. ATY #20
A Book Signing To Die For �� Kindle. 4*, ATY #21
Rebecca Schwartz Series: Complete Set �� Kindle. Books #1-5. Book #4 was so unbelievable that I almost quit on this series without finishing the bundle, even though the first three books had been a bit beyond belief also. However, book #5 was terrific! It felt so much like a new or different writer, certainly a more mature writer. 4*

Currently Reading:
The Yellow Wind �� PAS. Another book that I own. 18%

Just Starting:
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives �� ATY #22 (African Writer)

On Deck:
Elegy for Eddie - ALCM
The Friday Night Knitting Club �� PAS
Suspect �� PS #12 (animal POV)

On Back Burner for now
The Beginner's Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera �� 27%.
Staying Well With Guided Imagery: How to Harness the Power of Your Imagination for Health and Healing �� PAS.
A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence - Kindle. 12%

PS 9/50 (I really need to get going on this challenge!)
ATY 21/52 (On track as I will be picking up this week’s book today.)
GR 75/200

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!

The weather is absolutely perfect today!  

I've been starting far too many books, so I haven't finished many.�� I guess I'm just too excited to read all of them so it's hard to set..."

Aw, I'm so glad you loved The Gift of Rain. It's one of my favorite books of the last few years, and we so rarely agree. You still have The House of Doors to look forward to.

Happy Thursday.

The bad news is that I've been sick the last week (and don't want to dwell on it). I was off work and the good news is that I managed to finished one fantasy book and read 300 pages in my Eragon sequel through having nothing else to do. I certainly don't recommend this as a method of how to find more reading time. :)

A group I'm in does a summer reading challenge. Since I have more than 100 pages left of all the books I'm reading, they could all count as "summer challenge books"

I still think it's funny, that despite reading a mystery/thriller a month no one ever dies in the first chapter. It took the third book of a fantasy trilogy for that to happen. I thought this would be the easiest PopSugar prompt to get, but it wasn't.

Finished:
The Darkest Road
ATY prompt: A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
Popsugar prompt: A book where someone dies in the first chapter

Series - 4/12
Nobel laureates - 3/5
Mysteries/Thrillers - 5/13

ATY - 18/45
PS - 12/30

Currently reading:
Brisingr - 50% done
The Murder on the Links - 25% done

Buddy Reads:
Legends & Lattes - 50% done
This Present Darkness - 60% done
Hollow City - 20% done

QOTW: I love Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and the Harry Potter series. I think the kids and I reference something about them almost monthly. I love Anne of Green Gables and Jane Austen too. Those are the ones that come up in conversation the most, which I guess shows they are always part of my psyche.

L Y N N wrote: "II belong to 3 IRL book clubs that meet once a month, John currently has 2 physical therapy sessions per week, and I teach at the gym 3 evenings per week, plus all day-in and day-out activities of daily living. I find I barely have the energy for all this at my age and physical condition, but I’d rather be active than not�� Every once in a while life just becomes overwhelming to me and that happened to me this past Tuesday, but I did recover by Wednesday morning!!.."

Lynn - I was getting tired reading all of your activities. I hope life gets saner for you by the summer.

Happy Thursday! This week I'm so happy I did ACT-therapy 2 years ago! It's a bit of a rough ride at work this month (July 1 our new manager starts so I hope it will get calmer) and ACT learned me that just bumping with it makes it a whole lot easier to live through. So comfort reading it is!

PS: 12/50
FNL: 22/40
Total: 29/52

Finished
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks⭐⭐
Just okay. I didn’t like the writing, I was distracted by the almost spoken word language. Written language should be so much richer imho.

Currently reading
Die Wunderfrauen: Alles, was das Herz begehrt by Stephanie Schuster

QOTW
Books pop up in my mind all the time. My mind associates things I see, hear or read with books I have read. Apparently my mind stores books somewhere in my mind and knows to get them out on the right time. It's amazing!

Just some associations of the last few days: every time I see a bunny I think of Watership Down.
When I watch the news, I think of Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East trying to understand what's going on in the Middle East.

Harmke wrote: "Happy Thursday! This week I'm so happy I did ACT-therapy 2 years ago! It's a bit of a rough ride at work this month (July 1 our new manager starts so I hope it will get calmer) and ACT learned me t..."

I am reading Watership Down right now. I also can't help but think of it every time I see bunnies on my evening walks. And about how much the bunnies probably hate my dog.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

This has been a very unproductive week. My new medication is still making me feel really drowsy, which is causing me to take a lot of naps. I’m hoping that that side effect will go away soon, so I will actually feel like getting things done. My “to do�� list is getting out of control!

Despite the frequent napping, this has been a great reading week! I spent most of the week focusing on titles from my “New�� Books list, as well as my stack of library loans, but I also had a chance to start a couple more titles from my TBR list. I did DNF one book this week, but really enjoyed the rest of the books I read.

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals��

ŷ������ Challenge: 207/200 (Challenge Complete!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 86/150

📚Physical TBR: 52
📱Ebook TBR: 34
��Audiobook TBR: 0
TBR Checklist Total: 86

I did pick up several more books this week, including the audiobook editions of The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, by Andrzej Sapkowski; Electra Galaxy's Mr. Interstellar Feller, by Candace Sams; Otaku Elf Vol. 7, by Akihiko Higuchi; Barbarian's Taming, by Ruby Dixon; the first four Slayers light novel collections, by Hajime Kanzaka; Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games Vol. 6, by Eri Ejima; Nana, vol. 1-21, by Ai Yazawa; and A Curse in Kyoto: a Mystery-Thriller, by S.J. Cullen.

I know I said I wasn’t going to do another book buying ban this year, but I’ve really gone overboard on the book buying over the past few weeks. So, I’ve decided that I will not be allowing myself to buy any more books until I have read all of the manga, graphic novels, and comics that I’ve purchased over the last two months. It’s a pretty big goal, but it should be a fun one to complete, and I really need to make some significant progress on my list before I make any more book purchases this year.

“New�� Books Bought in 2024: 222
“New�� Books Read in 2024: 112

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Paradise-1 �� This is the first book in the Red Space trilogy. I picked this book up on impulse at the bookstore, and I am so glad I did. The story was a perfect, fast-paced blend of horror and science fiction, with great characters. I had a really hard time putting it down, and already can’t wait for the next book to be released in November. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[This book does include graphic descriptions of wounds and medical procedures (some of which are highly questionable), as well as cannibalism. There are also references to anxiety and PTSD. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
None

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~The Ghost in the Shell: Fully Compiled (Complete Hardcover Collection) �� This was an incredible manga collection! I thought the artwork was amazing, and enjoyed the stories and characters. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[This manga does earn its mature rating, with occasionally graphic violence, animal deaths, and a considerable amount of nudity. (hide spoiler)] 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also started the Princess Jellyfish manga this week, and I’ve really been enjoying it so far. The characters are a lot of fun, and I really like the art style. The books I read this week include��
~Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 1 �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 2 �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 3 �� 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
~Ride Hard �� This is the first book in the Savage Saints Motorcycle Club series. I got about halfway through this book before deciding to DNF. I was having a really hard time getting into the story, and didn’t find the characters interesting enough to continue reading. 📱

Currently Reading:
~The Hanover Square Affair �� This is the first book in the Captain Lacey mystery series. I’m currently a little less than halfway through this book, and I have to confess that I’m not overly invested in the story right now. Hopefully the second half will be more exciting. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[This book includes references to abuse/beatings, rape, animal deaths, warfare, and castration. The main character also suffers from severe episodes of depression. (hide spoiler)] 📱
~Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin �� I’m currently halfway through this book, and it has been a fun read so far. I’m looking forward to reading more later today. 📚
~Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect �� I picked this book up at the library a couple weeks ago and finally had a chance to start it. This book is the sequel to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. I’ve read about half of the book so far, and I’m enjoying it. 📚
~Mrs Hudson and the Spirits' Curse: Holmes & Hudson Mystery, Book 1 �� I got a copy of this audiobook on Libby. I’m currently a little over halfway through it, and I’ve been enjoying it so far. It’s fun to see Mrs. Hudson portrayed as a competent investigator, rather than just Sherlock Holmes’s housekeeper. ��
~Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Vol. 4 �� I’m planning to start this book in a little while. 📚

QOTW:
I don’t know that there’s any one book that I find myself thinking about on a regular basis.

Happy Thursday...though I swear (wish?) it was Friday.

Did not complete any books this week. But just 5 more days til summer break...and a ton of reading time


Currently reading:
Huckleberry Finn
Family Reservations
Cultish
Dear California
In Search of Lost Time
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
London
The Annotated Arabian Nights
The Mists of Avalon
K-Pop Confidential
The Chaos Machine
The Great Alone

Up next:
The Women
Fahrenheit 451
Babel


QOTW:

No Land To Light On by Yara Zgheib. Just so beautiful written, I flip through it sometimes to re-read passages

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo. Also the writing that makes it attractive and memorable. There is a particular chapter that roams over the immigrant experience in the Mid-West that is very powerful.

Highly recommend both of these books

It's been a fairly nondescript week for me. My library has started their summer reading programs, and there are two options for adults this year: the main, yearly challenge (with an environmental theme this year) and a Bingo challenge put on by the nonfiction/reference desk. I've signed up for both.

I have officially finished the PS challenge! I've turned my attention to ATY.

ATY Progress: 45/52

Read
X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking - my last book for PS!
Franny and Zooey
Cards on the Table
Dumb Witness

Currently Reading
Irish Poems - This is for nonfiction bingo at my library.
The Turn of the Screw - Audiobook, should finish it this weekend
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

QOTW
Aside from books from my childhood that have stuck with me all these years...
The most recent book that fit this question would be Girl with a Pearl Earring. The way she describes the city is special. I could picture it all very, very vividly in my mind.

Ultimate Reading Challenge: 21/25

Read: The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row read this for an IRL book club. I wouldn't have read it otherwise. It was so powerful! Written from the perspective of someone who had been on death row for thirty years. Really made me re-think some of my more academic views on race.

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist This is such an important book and one that I re-read because I would like to mimic it if I ever write a non-fiction book. Such a cogent and succinct collection of many important ideas. I hadn't realized though how visual it is. Probably because I'm not a very visual thinker.

Never Never for UR prompt genre I never read (YA fantasy). I *think* this book was mentioned by someone in the popsugar community, or at the very least a book like it. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was amazing to me how much the author was able to flesh out the story from Hook's perspective and give Neverland a much darker vibe.

Started: At a Journal Workshop re-read. This is such a robust program, it's kind of overwhelming. But kind of exciting too. I find I prefer journaling in pretty books though rather than loose-leaf binders.

The Space Between Worlds UR challenge prompt where you tell a bookseller some of your recent favorites and they recommend you one based on that. Oh man! This was on my TBR list and I'm LOVING it. I never really ask for recommends because there are so many books I want to read on my own. But this was surprisingly fun. It helps that I have a good relationship with the bookseller.

QotW: I thought this was an interesting question because for me, it's a very different answer than what is your favorite book. The book that comes up the most in my mind is The Dreamers because of its profoundly disturbing ethical dilemmas. (Do you save those you love or those who would have the most utility for society in general?)

Our library is kicking off our summer reading challenge tomorrow and I'm excited!

Marie wrote: "It's been a fairly nondescript week for me. My library has started their summer reading programs, and there are two options for adults this year: the main, yearly challenge (with an environmental t..."

I read X Saves the World for the "starts with an X prompt" too...I laughed out loud and determined that I am a walking GenX stereotype, including the cynicism, sarcasm, and perfected eyeroll

Denise wrote: "Marie wrote: "It's been a fairly nondescript week for me. My library has started their summer reading programs, and there are two options for adults this year: the main, yearly challenge (with an e..."

How funny! It was certainly a very interesting read. If this book is anything to go by, I am absolutely not a walking Millennial stereotype (thank goodness!).

We had lovely bank holiday weather, went to some food festivals, and then the rest of the week has been pouring rain. Dog had her regular check-up, and she's getting a bit stiff at times, but vet didn't find signs of anything actually wrong. So they said she can just have a painkiller after long walks if she's hobbling around.

I finished more than one book this week! Woohoo!

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske for LGBT+ romance and ATY (secondary colour on cover). I made the mistake of picking this up on audio and I can tell you, I do not like listening to steamy sex scenes when out and about! Thought this was the weakest of the trilogy but I'm glad I found out what happened.

Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis for dragons. This was so much fun! It's very loosely inspired by Sense and Sensibility, but the fashionable women all have miniature dragons perched on their shoulders. Sir Jessamyn gets very nervous around his owner and often vomits down her gown, until he is rescued by Elinor. I will be reading the next book in the series.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley for ATY (science fiction). I can see this being everywhere this summer, the kind of sci-fi book that people who don't like sci-fi will happily read! I liked all the bits about the ex-pats (people rescued from the past) adjusting to modern life. There's a bit of intrigue but any action parts don't kick in until much near the end. More of an introspective book than a thriller.

I'm currently reading The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands and listening to Leave No Trace.

PS: 22/50 | ATY: 25/52 | GR: 39/100

QOTW:
My brain's a bit chaotic, so I guess sometimes I think about a book I read ages ago but I wouldn't be able to summon up the title right now. Though someone mentioned Watership Down and I often think of that, but I may be more influence by the old cartoon version. The fields of blood!

Happy Thursday all.

Spent Memorial Day weekend at my sister's house. We celebrated my niece's birthday, played games, and in general had a chill weekend. I also got my sister hooked on the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure anime, so guess what we'll now be watching together. Feels nice to get someone interested in my current hyperfixation, hehe...

Books read this week:

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide -- Darkly humorous look at a fictional school that trains would-be assassins. Gets a little convoluted in the second half, but still surprisingly enjoyable.

The Outlaws of Sherwood -- A little slow-moving but still a neat re-interpretation of the Robin Hood myth. Maid Marian kicks butt, hehe.

The Amityville Horror -- I went into this knowing it was most likely a hoax, but enjoyed it as a cheesy horror novel. Just goofy enough to be more funny than scary.

When Breath Becomes Air -- a heartbreaking but thoughtful and beautiful look at death from the perspective of a neurosurgeon who looks at the topic as both a doctor�� and a patient.

PopSugar Challenge -- FINISHED

Robot Librarian Challenge -- 32/32
Robot Librarian Advanced Challenge -- 10/10
Robot Librarian Non-Fiction Challenge -- 8/10

Extreme Book Nerd Challenge -- 41/50
Extreme Book Nerd Advanced Challenge -- 10/10
Extreme Book Nerd Non-Fiction Challenge -- 9/10

DNF:

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere -- maybe this would have hit different if I followed the author’s stand-up comedy routines. As it is, I’m just not finding it funny or interesting.

Currently reading:

The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology
Hounded
The Story of English in 100 Words
Your Utopia

QOTW:

Andy Weir's books are always on my mind -- The Martian and Project Hail Mary. Love them so much.

Happy Thursday everyone! So glad the week is almost over. Got something exciting happening soon which I can't talk about yet, but I'm thrilled and can't wait for it.

Just taking it easy as always which is fine, though boring at times, but I manage.



Finished:


Under the Bridge

I absolutely loved this book! I only had one issue with it which I mention on my review and that can be found on my page. Other than that though this book was excellent.

I finished it on Tues., just in time since the final episode, 8, of the series adaptation aired on Weds.

It was so fun to do a tandem in reading the book and watching the show together. There were some differences, but overall the show did an excellent job of sticking with the source material. I still can't decide which I like more. I'm leaning more towards the show though mainly because of Lily Gladstone. She was incredible in it and I loved her individual storyline. I found myself relating to it. Plus her chemistry with Riley Keough was awesome too.



Pride month is coming up so I think I'm going to focus on some Indigenous Two-Spirit books. I've got 4 lined up there. I also want to add in some other material. This is what I've come up with for my upcoming reads so far:

June TBR:


Nonfiction:

Thunder Song: Essays

A Generous Spirit: Selected Works by Beth Brant

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder

Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal & Sovereignty in Native America

Whiskey Tender: A Memoir

Women Without Kids: The Revolutionary Rise of an Unsung Sisterhood

Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma: The American Portraits Series

Fiction:

A Pipe for February: A Novel

Cleat Cute


*

QOTW:

What is a book that you often find yourself thinking about?

Fangirl

Speak

The Twilight Saga Complete Collection

Fire and Flood: A People's History of Climate Change, from 1979 to the Present

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

There's so many great books that I've read so it's hard to keep track of them all.

Happy Thursday! Had an excellent long weekend getting stuff done around the house - I’ve got the garage repainted and things are looking good. Also gearing up for my summer reading extravaganza, which equates to spending this week bumming around finishing other books and zipping through short audios so I don’t get started on my summer challenge books too early.

And music! I’ve finally gotten around to listening to Chappell Roan (she’s so fun) and Billie Eilish’s new release (AMAZING, top 5 of the year for sure). Today was for Eminem’s 2020 album Music to be Murdered By, because I needed to catch up before his new one drops (hopefully tonight!), and SZA’s SOS album is getting another spin tomorrow.

In baseball news, I am SO GLAD Cleveland is done in Colorado. I hate Coors Field lol

Book news! Finished this week:
Julius Caesar - 5 stars. Intense is an understatement. I grabbed this because it’s the play the students are putting on in If We Were Villains. Glad I read it now because I’ll be reading Antony and Cleopatra later in the year and it feels right to sort of read them in order, even if they’re not technically history plays. As with all Shakespeare, I neeeeeed to see a performance.

The Prince - 4 stars. A solid treatise, although I suspect it would’ve gotten 5 stars (or at least 4.5) had I read a print version. Both audiobooks I listened to had mispronunciations galore. Do narrators not learn the correct pronunciation of names before they record something anymore?

Currently:
If We Were Villains - reread, YES I just read this a few months ago and I wanted to do it AGAIN

Code Name Verity - reread, nearing the halfway mark and getting into the good stuff. I need to check in with my sister and see how she's doing because we're reading this together and she hasn't said anything about it yet!

Menewood - my single exception book for the summer challenge; it’s massive (500+ pages) so I’m allowed to start it early. Delighted to be back with Hild!

The Berlin Stories - will I finish this in the next two days or leave that for Villains and Verity? I’m leaning toward the latter, but you never know��

PS 26/50
ATY 30/52
Mount TBR 12/48

QOTW: What is a book that you often find yourself thinking about?
The easiest answer to this is If We Were Villains, which is why I’m in the midst of a reread after only 4-5 months!

Happy Thursday from a very rainy Netherlands!

Quick update as I am, as per usual, absolutely exhausted. Also don't got much to share so xD

9000piece puzzle is almost done! If it hadn't been for all the appointments, it would've been done already, haha! Today was day 10 of working on it, but it was only an hour or two so I guess it hardly counts.

Reading wise books are still a no go, but I am reading loads of fics. Like literal books worth. The one I'm reading now would translate to over 700 book pages, and I recently finished one that would translate to 330 pages. And a few between 170-200 pages. So at least that's something!!

QOTW
At the moment The Color Purple is on my mind a lot as it was the last book I started so I keep telling myself to pick it back up, haha! My brain is currently very anti-book, so I really can't say. The Waking Fire is always on a hair trigger for me to think of it, though, haha!

Hi all! Been having some nice weather here. Monday my daughter and I marched with Girl Scouts in a local Memorial Day parade. It wasn't too bad while I was walking, but the next day or two I was wiped out and clearly overdid it. Today I was out organizing the garage, and I ache and can tell I overdid it again. Sigh.
My long term disability lawsuit is going to court! I just don't know when yet, and I won't be invited anyway. I guess they don't care to hear from the person, they just want to see the records. Seems dumb to me, but I'm just glad we're dragging the company into court- they've offered no good reason why they terminated my claim a year after they approved it when nothing changed in my circumstances!

I finished Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution for a book with a complete sentence in the title. Holy moly was this a DEEP dive into Birmingham's history and the Civil Rights' efforts there. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want the full story. Though I would say everyone ought to read her chapter on the Freedom Rides, that is one that will stay with me for a long time.
Finishing that book seems to have given me a book hangover. Usually, I don't get those unless I really loved a book, but maybe because it was so involved and I was with it for months..??

So.... In the last week, I have read or listened to at least a little bit in....

Proxy, my annual Pride Month 'no really, this time I'm going to read it!' book. lol Though I'm already more than 80 pages in, so I think this year it might actually happen!
Bacchanal
The Schoolmaster's Daughter funny thing, I've borrowed this from the library several times. When I picked it up this week after getting it from the library again, it had one of my laminated bookmarks still in it! whoops!
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
The Brothers Karamazov I realized I probably really ought to try to finish this before school gets out because I don't think I have the brainpower to try to read it with the kiddo at home!
The Woman in the White Kimono

QOTW: Yes, loads of books live in my brain!

The Book Thief
The Poisonwood Bible
Animal Farm
The Gargoyle
To Kill a Mockingbird
Life of Pi
A Wrinkle in Time
Columbine
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
The Diary of Pelly D
Probably several more that I'm forgetting at the moment.

i cry.

I got my whole post done and accidentally refreshed the page because I thought I had posted it. Only, I didn't.

Sigh.

Mandy wrote: "i cry.

I got my whole post done and accidentally refreshed the page because I thought I had posted it. Only, I didn't.

Sigh."

Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOO I'm so sorry

I love three-day weekends for the reading time! I also spent some time with friends and my mom, which was very nice too, of course, and did some errands. I DNFed a book this weekend, which never feels nice, but I replaced it with a better book which does.

Finished
Throne of Jade. I love these characters so much. I’m committed to reading this series now. I liked the first part of the book (a sea voyage) better than the final third, but it did wrap up some pretty big geopolitical questions from the first book.

Reading
Murder and the First Lady

Zero Days

DNF
The Club. I hated every character. I listen to thriller audiobooks at the gym to motivate myself to keep going and find out what happens next. I listened to about 10% of this book and then didn't go to the gym for over a week.

QOTW
So many!! The Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Uprooted, A Thousand Pieces of You, If We Were Villains, The Martian, The Expanse, The Dreamers, The Haunting of Maddy Clare are the ones I can list off the top of my head

I finished Master and Commander. ugh. Sorry. I know it's supposed to be really good, but can't see the appeal.

I'm now reading A Guidebook to Newport Mansions of the Preservation Society of Newport County because I bought it a couple of years ago on vacay.

And The Light in the Ruins. No opinion thus far. Just started.

QOTW: That's a good question. For months after reading it, I kept thinking about Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster. But, I read it 4 years ago and can't really say I think about it any more. The Bible. I don't know.

Just a quick update for me this week because I'm tired but I want to post an update. And I know if I don't post now, I'll likely forget until late on Sunday and then it will still be a quick update because it'll be late on Sunday. So. Onto my quick update... 🙃

I finished an audiobook and a short story -- neither fit an open prompt, so no movement on my numbers. I'm at 12/45 and 2/5 for this challenge, and 45/100 for my overall ŷ������ Reading Challenge (which includes a DNF and a reading journal I reviewed for NetGalley).

Finished:
* Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine written by Olivia Campbell and narrated by Jean Ann Douglass, which was a book club pick. Looking forward to discussing it this weekend; and,
* Gone to Hot Pot by Vivien Chien, which was just released last week and is a short story in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. It features Lana's roomie Megan and friend Kimmy, as well as Kikko the cute pooch who is at the center of the mystery 🐶 Such a fun read!

Currently Reading:
* The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries edited by Michael Sims;
* One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole, which is from my NetGalley backlist (which I added to this week because Devil Is Fine, which is the newest from John Vercher, was offered as a "read now" title...and I could. not. RESIST! His books are so dang good!); and,
* Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, which popped up as a Lucky Day read option in Libby. I predict much boo-hoo-ing in the coming days 😭

QotW:
From Doni: What is a book that you often find yourself thinking about? One that frequently comes to mind is There There by Tommy Orange. It really stayed with me long after I finished the final pages and one that I found incredibly thought-provoking. I have a NetGalley copy of the follow-up, Wandering Stars, and predict it will also be one that I think about often after I finish it. As a bonus, I'd say the short story Recitatif by Toni Morrison is another that stayed with me long after I finished reading it last year. Brilliant. Utterly brilliant.

Happy Thursday! After sleeping pretty much the entire three-day weekend, I feel like I'm pretty much out of the woods for covid! The cough is gone, and I'm finally getting to make plans again. I've been taking lots of walk and took a huge stack of overdue books back to the library. This weekend there's an little book fest happening at my library, so I'm hoping to see a couple author talks!

Finished:
Counterweight- a Korean sci-fi book, did I understand everything that happened in this book? No. But I thought it was interesting, I'm glad I read it. I might read another book by Djuna, very weird
-no prompt (but could be used for the pen name prompt)

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder- this was a really moving memoir about Rushdie's experience after being attacked a few years ago. But it goes a lot into the love that helped him recover and his family and friendships. I thought this was really moving, and would really recommend the audiobook.
-8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author (he was blinded in one eye in the attack)

In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation- a quick, fun historical romance novella. Just light and fun
-no prompt

Up Next:
The Goodbye Cat
The Paradise Problem

QotW:
Some books I found moving, or made me cry, so I think about a lot are Transcendent Kingdom, Foster and The Great Believers

But another one I think about a lot is Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef- but not the whole memoir, just two parts. There's a part where she's trying to explain to people who had just ruined a huge amount of food that it's not just the money you're wasting, it's all the time and effort of the people who brought the food to the store/table. When I worked for a place that threw out a lot of food, I used to think about that.

There's also a part after she has a baby where she's super sleep deprived and she talks about how she doesn't think of it as a short night sleep, but a nice nap, and that's how she got through it. At the time I was working a lot and not sleeping a lot, so I used to tell myself that too.

Happy check-in!

Finished Reading:

The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King ⭐⭐⭐⭐��
I've been waiting for this library book since December. It didn't disappoint. Now for book 3 to be published in November.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune ⭐⭐�� (ATY 6+ word title)
This was very similar to Becky Chambers A Psalm for the Wild-Built except it was fantasy and not sci-fi. I definitely liked this better. I will be continuing the series.

This Winter ⭐⭐��
Cute one day story with 3 povs from Oseman's Heartstopper characters.

Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1 ��
First one star read of the year. A reviewer I follow let me down! There wasn't much of a plot just an excuse to draw a naked girl with a tail and wolf ears.

A Rogue of One's Own ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Suffragettes in Victorian England. The author's notes about her research are interesting to read at the end.

The Hero of Hamblett ⭐⭐��
A kid's comic with many swine jokes due to all the characters being pigs. A random book from the house that puts my goal at 12/30.

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror ⭐⭐⭐⭐��
Naturally I wait months for book two of the series, and the side book comes in right away.

PS 35/50
ATY 38/52
ŷ������ 135/200

Currently Reading:

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life

QOTW:
I don't really have an answer to the question, because if a book keeps popping back into my head I end up rereading it.

Jennifer W wrote: "The Schoolmaster's Daughter funny thing, I've borrowed this from the library several times. When I picked it up this week after getting it from the library again, it had one of my laminated bookmarks still in it! whoops!..."




LOL that's too funny!!!!

Mandy wrote: "i cry.

I got my whole post done and accidentally refreshed the page because I thought I had posted it. Only, I didn't.

Sigh."




Ugh I think we've all felt your pain at one point or another. It's so frustrating.

Heather wrote: "The Club. I hated every character. I listen to thriller audiobooks at the gym to motivate myself to keep going and find out what happens next. I listened to about 10% of this book and then didn't go to the gym for over a week. ..."




LOL so bad it was DEmotivating!

Happy Friday! I had the day off yesterday, and completely forgot about checking in. I took my first trip of the summer to our local theme park, and since their signature roller coaster was closed all last season for renovation, I made sure to ride it, even though the lines were pretty crazy. But the wait was definitely worth it.

Finished:
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip - (PS A book by a blind or visually impaired author, RH Read a book based solely on the title) I came across this one randomly on the shelf, and with a title like that I had to check it out. Despite being shelved as a graphic novel, it was more of a picture book, a satirical parable.
Fairy Mom and Me #3: Fairy Unicorn Wishes and Fairy Mom and Me #4: Fairy Mermaid Magic - Having started the series, I decided to go ahead and finish it. These continue to be cute, fun stories.
Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow. - (PS a collection of at least 24 poems, RH an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author) This ended up being more relevant to our times than I anticipated, but the poems were all more readable than some other collections of a similar type that I've attempted. I did skim or skip a couple of poems that hit a little too close to me personally, but overall I would recommend this collection.
The Baker and the Bard - I'd heard good things about this, so it's a little disappointed that I didn't end up particularly liking it. I can't really put my finger on why, though. I just didn't connect with the characters, I guess. I know it's a cozy fantasy, but not that much happened, and not in an interesting way.
Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem - In contrast, plenty happened in this one. A mission impossible for the middle grade crowd.
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 5 - We finally start to get some answers!
Chaotic Apéritifs - I read the first in this series last year and seem to remember liking it, but this one didn't do it for me.

Currently Reading:
Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City
Ribbon Dance
He Must Go Walk the Woods So Wild
The English Understand Wool
Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess
James

QOTW: If I'm thinking about a book after reading it, that means it was really good or really bad, and the two that I've been revisiting are the mostly bad variety: Brainwyrms and Sing Me Forgotten.

Two week check-in for me, and 1 week post surgery. My mom ended up coming and staying with me and just left yesterday. I'm glad she was here but I'm very happy to move into week 2 of my recovery and have my space back.

Challenges:
35/75 GoodReads Challenge
26/50 PopSugar Challenge

Finished:
1.) Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle (#35 Magical Realism) ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫: I really enjoyed listening to this one; I love the way this author plays with fate vs. free will, and couldn't stop listening to figure out what was going to happen. Would I want the papers? You bet I would.

2.) The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (No PS Prompt) ⭐⭐⭐��: Liked but didn't love, there were a few good twists that I appreciated, but a little too hard to believe. Curious how I'll feel about this the longer away I am from reading it.

3.) Middletide by Sarah Crouch (#30 - 1 word title that you have to look up) ⭐⭐⭐⭐: The author herself even comments on the title in her author's note at the end, so I HAD to use it for this prompt. I really enjoyed this one, the writing and craft of this slim novel really resonated with me. A body shows up on the remote land of our MC, and the unraveling of how we got this and a court case, reminded me the book that Crawdads should have been.



Currently Reading:
1.) The Cliffs



QoTW: What is a book that you often find yourself thinking about?
This is a hard question - not sure I really think about books that long past when I read them, except Harry Potter, and The BSC. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is putting.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect was a DNF for me. The author uses the meta style to both subvert tropes and play them straight, and by page 43, I had had enough. This style of writing is generally love it or hate it, so I know it is making some people very happy.

I am currently reading three long books:

Time of the Dragons: The Indigo King; The Shadow Dragons
Destiny: The Complete Saga
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

I am also reading a nonfiction book about Star Trek: The Next Generation that is easy to read in small bits: Star Trek 365: The Next Generation

Question of the Week: The Giver has some themes and moments that stick in my memory and bubble up every so often.

Britany wrote: "Two week check-in for me, and 1 week post surgery. My mom ended up coming and staying with me and just left yesterday. I'm glad she was here but I'm very happy to move into week 2 of my recovery an..."

Glad to see you back. Hope you're healing and feeling better!

Britany wrote: "Two week check-in for me, and 1 week post surgery. My mom ended up coming and staying with me and just left yesterday. I'm glad she was here but I'm very happy to move into week 2 of my recovery an..."

Glad your surgery went well and you're on the mend.

Dubhease wrote: "Happy Thursday.

The bad news is that I've been sick the last week (and don't want to dwell on it). I was off work and the good news is that I managed to finished one fantasy book and read 300 page..."

I was also surprised how dies in the first chapter prompt turned out to be difficult. I've read many books this year where someone dies in chapter two.

So I had plans to go to one of JLo's concerts this summer. Yes, I'm one who still likes her, so what? Was looking forward to going, but found out she cancelled her summer tour. To be honest I'm not surprised. Given everything in the media right now, I was kind of expecting something like this to happen. I just wish her luck with everything.

I'm sure I'll find other things to do in the summer. Don't know what, but I'll figure it out.

Okay second time is the charm . . . i hope.

Happy Friday!

After my blunder of refreshing before posting yesterday, I am no attempting to do it again.

The weather this coming week is supposed to be in the 90s! BOOOOO!! I'm ready for winter again.

Mosquitoes are already horrible. I need a swarm of dragonflies to come and hang out in my yard for a week.

Work is okay. I prepped 24 canvases with black paint for some neon paint. the kids will have a chance to paint on both white and black canvases. Story Hour is officially over this week Yay! Now is my super stressful 6 weeks of SRP. Can it be August yet?

Other than that, not much else is happening.

Popsugar:18/50
Finished:
Re: Monster Manga Vol 1 ps 27 This is a more unique isekai where the mmc is reincarnated as a goblin with a power he had in his original life. He was betrayed and murdered in the first chapter. His skill makes him absorbs his victims/preys skills when he eats them. It almost reaches my ick limit for rapey/dubcon (not by the mmc), but most of it happens before the fact and off screen, which isn't kosher but bearable.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reading: none i'm aware

Aty: 25/52

I finally got a chance to compare prompts to books. I was very surprised that there were this many.

Finished:
The Rookie aty 47 A fast, cheap, easy romance series that takes place in San Antonio, Texas with a fake hockey team. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 4 aty 46 Much of this book takes place in the middle of the night. Penelope and the Prince are in hiding from assassins.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Revved Up aty 42 A fast, cheap, easy romance that has a 'good' girl being conned by her cousin in going to a illegal street race. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Royal Rebound: Forget My Ex-Fiancé, I'm Being Pampered by the Prince! Volume 1 aty 38
The Invisible Wallflower Marries an Upstart Aristocrat After Getting Dumped for Her Sister! Volume 1 aty 39
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 2 aty 37 Ivy meets new people and forges friendships with humans and a slime ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 1 aty 33 Ivy runs away from her village after the chief and her father try to kill her.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Accidental Text aty 36 A fast, cheap, easy romance where a the fmc accidentally texts an SOS to a professor instead of her friend.⭐️⭐️⭐️
Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord Act 3 aty 32
Lord Hades's Ruthless Marriage, Vol. 1 aty 31 Hades is the god of the Underworld and of all precious gems and metals in the Earth. So definitely related to gold.

Reading: none i'm aware

ŷ������ Challenge 354/400
Finished:

Story Hour:
The Wrong Book

Manga:
Stray Cat & Wolf, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)
Stray Cat & Wolf Vol. 2
Stray Cat & Wolf Vol. 3

Light Novel:
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! Volume 1
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I'm the Strongest? I'm Not Even an Adventurer Yet! Volume 2
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! Volume 3
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! Volume 4
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 1
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 2
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 3
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 4

Romance:
Revved Up
Lost in the Wild
Pregnant for Best-Friend Biker Daddy: Erotic Short Sex Story: Age Gap Older Man Younger Woman, Plus Size Smutty Erotca Book

Reading:
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (Light Novel) Vol. 5
The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain (Light Novel) Vol. 2

QOTW:

If I'm giving recommendations then these come to mind first. Funny/Video Game: Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. Light Novels, Vol. 1, Historical/Paranormal/Mysterious: Raven of the Inner Palace (Light Novel) Vol. 1, Isekai Romance No Freaking Harem!: The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent (Light Novel) 1, Gives me Poe Vibes Dark: Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1 (I want to read the light novels so danged bad!!!), and HIstorical China/Mystery with a Tsundrere : The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 1.

Other than doing a next day "this book was" with my colleagues, I don't really think about specific books too much.

Erica wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "Happy Thursday.

The bad news is that I've been sick the last week (and don't want to dwell on it). I was off work and the good news is that I managed to finished one fantasy book ..."

Your comment made me question if Re: Monster 1 mmc did die in chapter one. So I opened up the amazon web reader and double checked. he dies on the first page.

Mandy wrote:

The weather this coming week is supposed to be in the 90s! BOOOOO!! I'm ready for winter again.

Tell me about it we're having temps in the 100s (F) so I am not thrilled whatsoever. I want it to get to fall. Unfortunately for us that doesn't start until late-September/early October so there's still a long way to go.

This past week in SC the temps have been in the 80s, which feels OK with a breeze and not so OK with humidity in the mid to upper 70s. This coming week we are climbing into the 90s. Less than OK.

What I have enjoyed this week are the early morning temps in the 50-60s. Beautiful!

Overall, it is a good thing that my AC got fixed on Tuesday!

In a fit of passion, I just updated my NetGalley profile and made two book requests. My profile is a big fat zero right now because I've never read anything through NetGalley before (excluding one book that a publisher sent to me unrequested). Are they picky? Will they not approve me since I have nothing to show yet? How will I know if I got the requested titles? Is there some place on my profile that lists the titles I've requested?

Nadine in NY wrote: "In a fit of passion, I just updated my NetGalley profile and made two book requests. My profile is a big fat zero right now because I've never read anything through NetGalley before (excluding one ..."

It depends on the book and publisher, really. My percentage is way under what they recommend (because I am insanely behind) but I always got approved for TJ Klune's new books for some reason. (and yes, I am devastated all they have for the new one is an excerpt.)

They email you that you got approved or declined, and you can check yourself at any point on your shelves under the tab 'Not Active'. Here you can find all pending requests and declined requests. Your approved ones you can find on your Start Reading tab, and once downloaded on your Give Feedback one, I believe.

It's often recommended to just request away because you can always be surprised, or if you want to give your percentage a boost, download from the books open to download and read by anyone, if there's anything to your fancy there.

But, speaking from experience: try to be selective. Don't end up like me. I have 94 books yet to read, and I haven't really requested anything other than Klune in years, hahah!

Carmen wrote: "you can check yourself at any point on your shelves under the tab 'Not Active'. Here you can find all pending requests and declined requests. Your approved ones you can find on your Start Reading tab, and once downloaded on your Give Feedback one, I believe. .."



Thank you!! that's exactly what I was looking for, and could not find. It didn't occur to me to even click on "not active" hahaha! When I made the request it went through so quickly that I wasn't sure if I'd clicked it or just thought about clicking it. Now I can see my pending requests.

Appreciate the well wishes Jennifer & Erica. 🤍

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday!

The weather is absolutely perfect today!  

I've been starting far too many books, so I haven't finished many. I guess I'm just too excited to read all of them so it's hard to settle on just one...."


I have been having this same problem.

Some of them are due next week and I'm not very far in. But, then I also want to just finish the ones I'm reading so I have been trying the one chapter a day/night for each book just to keep making progress on them.

It was a long, busy last week of school week. Made worse by my cold from a few weeks ago reappearing and being even worse.

Then today we started our day super early at a Judo tournament followed by an afternoon at a beach party. At least the kiddo went to bed early tonight.

2024 Challenges:
Popsugar: 33/50
ATY: 47/52
Robot Librarian: 36/52
A to Z: 25/26
Physical TBR: 0/93
Kindle TBR: 1/118

ŷ������: 82/100

Book Clubs:
PS Monthly: 21/55
Reese: 31/95
Oprah: 12/101
Jenna: 7/65
OSS: 6/39

Finished:
3 finished, 1 Completed Popsugar

ASAP
PS#43

Little Monarchs


Stories of the Islands

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Currently Reading
The Quarter Storm (��22 AtoZ)
Growing Feelings: A kids guide to dealing��
The Fledgling
The Great Divide
While We Were Dating
XOXO, Cody
Four Eyes
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic novel

On the Backburner
Libby
Congratulations, the best is over!

Physical Library Rentals
Incredible Doom: Vol. 1
Incredible Doom: Vol. 2
The Complete Persepolis
This One Summer
Passport
Displacement
The Magic Fish
Check & Mate
Lies my Teacher told Me
Invisible
The Eyes and the Impossible
Grace Needs Space!
Smaller Sister
Stargazing
Ghosts
Ride On
Freestyle
Garlic and the Witch
The Midwinter Witch
New From Here
Finally Heard
Three Weeks to Say Goodbye
The Highway

Magazines: (11/146)
Read since last check-in: 0

Question of the Week:
This happens sometimes, but it's usually because something reminds of a book.

I learned something on the final episode of 'Under The Bridge'. One of the main characters, Cam, talks about a Canadian program known as AIM (Adopt Indian Metis, or "Sixties Scoop"). The only AIM I was familiar with was the one in the states, the American Indian Movement.

I've decided to educate myself a bit on the Canadian version. It was a program that took away Native kids from their families and placed them up for adoption.

To start with I found a couple of books:

Silence to Strength: Writings and Reflections on the Sixties Scoop

Intimate Integration: A History of the Sixties Scoop and the Colonization of Indigenous Kinship