Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Hello everyone! A quick check-in for me this week. I finished one book, The Beautiful Mystery.

Question of the week:

In just a few short days we will be halfway through this year. How are you doing with your reading goals for the year? Are you as far along as you expected?

I am ahead in both my overall reading goal for the year (46 read with a goal of 60) and in my reading challenge (27/40 and 8/12). This is good since I'm only averaging about a book a week right now!

I'm a bit behind but I'm enjoying doing the prompts with picture books for my almost 3 year old son. We read a book about a famous marine biologist for interesting woman and an adaptation of an Indian folk tale for different ethnicity. We discovered a fantastic book with trains for the steampunk prompt and were able to get a recommendation right from Robert munsch!

For my own challenge I've finished 2 books this week; Just Like Other Kids by Torey Hayden and My Dad's a Policeman by Cathy Glass which I may not count but haven't decided.
Currently working on Silent Cry by Cathy Glass and Murder on the Orient Express for a book being turned into a movie this year. And as always I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban one chapter per week with my HP and the sacred text podcast :)

QOTW I guess I sort of answered already; more specifically I thinkI've read 22 of my goal of 50 and with Jack I think we're Simone about the same. I got held up on a super boring book club pick that I didn't feel I could abandon because it was the last of the season so hopefully I'll make up for it soon!

Good morning Thursday!!

My kids & I drove to Maine last weekend to celebrate the end of the school year, went to the beach, and we all checked off one more state from our life-list. I'm glad I got summer off to the right start, now I just have to keep that going, because summer seems to be over before I know it.

I finished three books this week, none for my Challenge (but they could all be used for a challenge category, if I hadn't already checked it off - I'm thinking this year I might inadvertently double my Challenge).

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham, audiobook read by Kristen Bell. OMG YOU GUYS! If you loved Veronica Mars like I did, you must listen to this audiobook!! It was Just As Good as the show! (If you didn't watch Veronica Mars, but you do like slightly off-kilter murder mysteries set in southern California, I encourage you to try this book - there is enough exposition that you can still enjoy it without having seen the show & movie. And if you like the book, then go get the show on DVD from your library and watch it! Sadly, Netflix does NOT have it right now, which caused me to utter several bad words.) This would work for "multiple authors" or "audiobook."

The Romance Reader's Guide to Life by Sharon Pywell - I read this because it's about sisters named Lilly and Neave, and my daughters are named Lily and Neve, and what are the odds of finding that combination together?? It was ... okay. I enjoyed the writing, and I liked how it was a genre-blender (historical/mystery/suspense/paranormal/ romance/family saga), but the tone was uneven, as if Pywell couldn't really decide if she wanted to be light-hearted or serious, so she vacillated between both. In the end, I was left with the impression that as an author she kind of looks down on romance authors, and thought she could one-up the genre. I hope that wasn't really her intent, but the author's note at the end gave me that impression. I enjoy reading romance novels, and I don't enjoy authors acting like the genre is somehow "less than." This book would work for "story within a story" because there is a torrid pirate romance novel interspersed.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - yes, I am almost 50 and this is the first time I've read this! it was great! In the middle, I found myself getting frustrated with how spineless the narrator was being, and what an ass her husband was being, but the wonderful essay tucked in at the end of my e-book gave me some great insight. I now realize that this IS an "unreliable narrator" book, but not for the obvious reason. (view spoiler)[The truth is that the narrator IS being subsumed by her husband, but she doesn't want us to see it like that, so she is desperately spinning it to be a wonderful romance. I mean, he MURDERED his first wife (which is totally left out of the Hitchcock movie!), and she's all "oh I still support you!" and I was all "what is THAT about? How can you defend him? It's not okay to kill your wife just because she's cheating on you!! what if he kills you next?" and in the end, he steals her life, too, by dragging her into the whole mess and they both end up in a sort of exile together. That was a wonderfully subversive book and I'm SO impressed by du Maurier! (hide spoiler)] This book, obviously, would work for "title that is a character's name" or unreliable narrator.

And I'm about to finish Anansi Boys today, but I'll leave that for next week. (All that driving to and from Maine gave me lots of audiobook time! My kids hate that. But that's what their headphones are for.) And after that, I finally have Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run audiobook from the library!!! I'm not a Springsteen fan, but I am from NJ, so I'm really excited to listen to this.

QOTW I'm actually reading MORE than I anticipated this year. I'm not sure why. I'm three books away from finishing the Challenge, so yes I'm very comfortable with where I am :-)

Hello all,

One challenge book finished this week, my book from childhood: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. That puts me at 34/52.

QOTW: I'm really surprised at how much I've read this year - I should finish my 50th book later this week. Recently my pace has slowed down as the weather has gotten nicer and work has gotten busier but nonetheless I've already read several times more books than I read all of last year. This challenge group has been a big factor. I've been inspired to pick up many of the books mentioned in the discussions and the weekly challenges have kept me accountable. I love being able to say I finished a challenge book that week.

I finished two books and started a third all from the advanced section of the challenge.

Finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. I said I disliked it in last weeks check in and now that I finished I dislike it even more. Not the book for me but at least it checked off character's life span.

Finished Two By Two - Using this one for best seller of 2016. This one is hard to put a rating on it - it's a little different than his other books - which is a welcome relief because he usually follows a very strict formula.

Started Dear Daughter - 53% in to this one. It is a very slow moving plot with a tonnnnn of the main characters inner monologue. The whodunit is keeping me going and it will check off recommended by an author you love.

QOTW
~I'm 14 books ahead of my goodreads goal of reading 60 books - last year I read 96 books so that should be no problem for me.

~I'm right at 26/52 for completed tasks so I'm on target for completing both the regular challenge and the advanced (as long as I can find that 800 page book). 21/40 and 5/12.

~Personal goal was to finish 5 series - I'm at 4 series completed.

~Personal goal was to clean up my virtual to-be-read shelf (either by reading books or recognizing that I'm never going to read it so take it off. But I also haven't slowed down adding to it which is okay lol) - down 22 books!

Nadine wrote: "In the end, I was left with the impression that as an author she kind of looks down on romance authors, and thought she could one-up the genre."

I was so excited when I saw this title on the shelf at my library a few weeks, but I got the same impression you did from the book jacket. Any time there's a mention of "but is she using romance to HIDE from REAL LIFE?????" I am so 100% out of there.

Week 26 - 31/40 & 8/12 (39/52)

Haven't finished any books this week, but am currently reading four. Still working on A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for prompt #35, a book set in a hotel. Also still listening to Heartless by Marissa Meyer for prompt #2 on the advanced list, a bestseller from 2016.

The third one I'm still working on is Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford. When I started it last week, I was just reading it because it was is the first ARC I've received and I needed to start reading it so I could review it & hopefully continue to get more ARCs in the future. I didn't actually have a place for it in the challenge, but as I read it, I think I'm going to be able to use it for prompt #4 on the advanced list, a book that takes place over a character's life span. I mean, it doesn't go from birth until death, but it does go from when he was a young boy of maybe 5 or younger until he's at least in his mid-sixties, so I think it works.

This week, I started reading The Tin Snail by Cameron McAllister with my son. I originally wasn't going to put this book anywhere, either, but it is set before & during WWII, so I'm going to use it for prompt #28, a novel set during wartime. It is over 300 pages, so even though I'm reading it with my 9-year-old, I feel like it can be considered a novel and not just a short kids' book. Hopefully by next week's check-in, I'll be able to at least cross a couple of these off my list.

QOTW: I am feeling pretty confident with this challenge. I am at 39 of 52 total, and with the fact that I'm reading four currently, I think I'm doing quite well. Even if I don't finish these all for another two weeks, that still puts me with less than 10 books left for the rest of the year.

Of course, I was off to a great start at the beginning of the year & have slowed down considerably, so I'm not doing as well on my current Goodreads challenge. I was hoping to read 100 books this year, and for the first few months, I was always ahead of where I needed to be, but right now I'm three books behind schedule, and have been for a while now. I am going to try & hurry to knock out at least the three of these that I'm reading by myself and get started on some more so I can hopefully get caught up again soon. It would be nice to meet my yearly goal, but I've already read more books so far this year than in probably the last five years combined, which was the reason I joined this challenge, so I'm happy with however it turns out. :)

Hello from Cleveland! The weather has been wonderful this week - warm but not humid during the day and cool enough to cuddle up under a blanket or two at night.

The first book I finished this week was American Gods for a book based on mythology. (Side note - I don't really get the huge boom in popularity for myth-based books; between AtY and Popsugar, it's been a struggle this year!) I got most of my frustration out last week, but I ultimately gave this book 1*. I use 2* for books I don't like but have something redeeming (like Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town was *incredibly* racist but I did learn a ton about Africa), and I thought the concept of American Gods was great, but in the end I decided awful execution of a good concept didn't merit the extra star. The only part I did like was the missing girls subplot. I think if that had been expanded into a short story/novlette, I would've given it 4 or 5*.

The second book I finished was Flowers for Algernon for a subgenre (lablit) you've never heard of. I was really confused at first because I thought I had read this in middle school, but I knew I hadn't read it as a novel. Finally, between my friend and husband who had the same class, we realized there was a short story version and we had read that. Which is unfortunate, because I think the novel suffered from expanded short story syndrome. (Looking at you, Lolita!) The themes it tries to tackle are really interesting and important, and the first half was really interesting, as Charlie undergoes the operation and starts getting smarter. I really liked the struggle of "regular" intelligence and emotional intelligence, especially when Charlie has to deal with theft at the bakery (a very realistic problem he wasn't equipped to handle), until it became all about Charlie wanting to sleep with women. I think an emotionally fulfilling relationship is a lot more than that, and it was disappointing to see him avoiding a certain woman just because they couldn't sleep together, even though they enjoyed each other's company. I feel bad because it's one of my friend's favorite books, but I only gave it 2*.

QOTW: I've read 95 (!!!) books so far this year. My goal was 150, so I'm so pleased. I only really got back into reading partway through last year, so I just made a best guess.

I'm 22/52 on the AtY challenge (about 2 books behind), 13/24 on Book Riot, 18/36 on Diversity Bingo, and 32/52 on Popsugar. (The weekly check-ins always make me prioritize Popsugar reads!) I'm really glad I added in Diversity Bingo at the last minute. It took a lot of research to find an adult level own voices book for each prompt, but it's led to me reading a lot of memoirs on subjects I never would've encountered otherwise. (A deaf woman from where I grew up doing motocross? An intersex woman who didn't have corrective surgery now doing activism? Growing up in Kosovo during the Bosnian conflict? All so fascinating!)

First, the books that actually fulfill a prompt.
Monstress by Marjorie Liu and illustrations by Sana Takada. Used it as a bestseller from a genre I don’t normally read. I gave it 3 stars (2 for storyline and 4 for illustrations). I don’t think I’ll pick up the next volume. I feel like the world building was lacking except for info dumps in the form of notes from lectures about the history of this place at the end of each chapter.

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brooks. Using it for my steampunk prompt. The main characters are a female cop in Victorian steampunk England and a uber rich duke (with a shady past) who has iron bones. I liked it and if the author had continued with the main characters in the series (as mysteries), I would pick up the rest.

And books that don’t fulfill a prompt or I’ve already checked it off

The Last Town by Blake Crouch. The final book of the Wayward Pines trilogy. I got invested but then it was bonkers and I’m not really sure I love his writing but I felt like I needed to finish the series. I love Good Behavior the show but I don’t think I’ll pick up another series by him.
the-alligators-of-abraham”>The Alligators of Abraham by Robert Kloss. It’s about the Civil War and Lincoln and alligators and it’s bonkers and beautiful and I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s written in second person and there’s not really a strong narrative thread but I really liked it.

Judgement in Death by JD Robb. I guess it could be used for the pseudonym prompt (although, I’ve already ticked that off). However, it’s the worst pseudonym ever as in big letters on the front of the book “Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb”. It’s like the 11th of the series. It’s a mystery that doesn’t take a lot of effort what I like to call brain candy. So, I’ll keep reading the series.

All the Rage by Courtney Summers. YA. It’s about a girl who is raped by the sheriff’s son and the aftermath when no one believes her. It was a good read.

QOTW: I’m way ahead of my reading goal right now. I have about 20 prompts left on the Popsugar challenge and a little over half the Read Harder challenge. I go on vacation in late July, then I need to hit my classroom for a couple of days and then school starts so I know my reading will drop dramatically, except for everything I’m re-reading with my classes.

Nadine wrote: "If you loved Veronica Mars like I did, you must listen to this audiobook!! It was Just As Good as the show! (If you didn't watch Veronica Mars, but you do like slightly off-kilter murder mysteries set in southern California, I encourage you to try this book - there is enough exposition that you can still enjoy it without having seen the show & movie. And if you like the book, then go get the show on DVD from your library and watch it! Sadly, Netflix does NOT have it right now, which caused me to utter several bad words."

I love Veronica Mars and i love the books. If you have Amazon Prime, it streams there. My niece was constantly asking what shows she should watch that she missed and I kept telling her Veronica Mars and she finally watched it and loved it. I ended up re-watching most of it with her because I'd walk through the living room and get sucked in. It holds up.

Oh I didnt know Amazon Prime has Veronica Mars! Is streaming free w Prime? The one time I tried it (for a movie), it said I had to pay extra, and I wasn't about to pay for something I already pay for. Right now my daughter has me watching season 1 of Riverdale on Netflix (it's based on the Archie comics characters, but the best way to describe it is: "the teeny-bopper version of Twin Peaks" - and every single parent in the show is 100% awful, except for Luke Perry, who is only 50% awful, and as a parent I'm getting really sick of that, but at least my daughter shares my feelings), but when we're done w that I'll look for VM on Prime! I want to re-watch it!!

Good morning from Baltimore - it's supposed to climb back up into the 90s but that's okay because my air conditioning is fixed!

This week I finished I'd Know You Anywhere which I was not particularly enjoying but it was for book club - or so I thought! I got 75% through before realizing my book club is reading another Laura Lippman book (I swear someone told me this one, they must have changed it) and I still have time to pick that up if I want... debating if I want to bother.

I also read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in about a day and a half (rediscovering my love of these books). I'm trying to read one a month to finish a reread by the end of the year.

Currently almost done with The Last Laugh: A Novel because I've been getting a lot of ARC requests approved recently for some reason! This one is out Tuesday and I look forward to organizing my thoughts about it into a review.

QOTW: I'm ahead on my goal of 100 books (almost done with #54!) and pretty on track for the reading challenge (25/52). I was expecting getting through 100 this year to be more stressful than it appears it will be, which is surprising. I also petered out on the reading challenge with less than 10 items to go last year and I really want to prioritize finishing it this year. So far, so good.

I finally finished The Stand for my 800+ page prompt on Monday. I really pushed through the last 400 pages so I haven't been reading too much the last two days.

Other books finished:
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies read as an audiobook. It was interesting but not what I thought it would be? More about domesticating plants and animals and not about guns and germs.

First Light by Bill Rancic also an audiobook read. I had an ARC copy of this but decided not to read it in print. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I think the reviews on it are harsh...a lot of "It advertised as a romance and it's not" or "It's about a plane crash but not" okay, don't judge the book by it's description either folks! I'd say it's more domestic fiction - relationships. It's not romancy like Nicholas Sparks but it's still a good story.

QOTW
I'm at 42/52 for the Popsugar challenge and 48/75 on my 2017 Goodreads challenge. My Goodreads only counts books read in print because I wanted to make a personal goal to read in print more than audio. I am 48 in print and 34 in audio so far this year, where last year I read 15 and listened to 44.

I also made a list of authors I want to read more of (at least one book by each a year). There are 17 authors on my list right now, and I only have 5 left to read a book by this year.

I decided to make a Bullet Journal (BuJo as the trendy kids are calling it I guess) and include all the book things I want to track in addition to the typical things in it. I love data and I love archiving...I think it will be fun to look at in the future.

Hello again my bookish friends! I've missed you! Sorry I've been absentee but life has interceded in my reading. Grrr argh! (TM Joss Whedon)

I'm going to start with the Question of the Week as a way of explanation why I haven't been as active as I have in prior years. I am very far behind in my reading goals. My lovely Goodreads Challenge tells me I am 7 books behind schedule. I've completed 16/40 for the challenge and, I think, 1/12 for the advanced.

I just haven't had the concentration for reading lately. I did manage to listen to an audio book for my book club last week while driving back and forth from Grand Rapids to Detroit. It was The Beginning of Everything. It's a YA book. The storyline was "meh" and the narrator was just AWFUL. He attempted to affect a female voice when reading the female characters and sounded like a bad female impersonator. It was just bad. Rather than having the female characters come off as sincere, he always sounded like he was making fun of them.

Based on the book description, I was hoping to use this for "a person with a disability" but, unless I get desperate at the end of the year, I probably won't use it for that. The lead character was hit in a car accident and has to walk with a cane but I don't feel like that's the spirit of what the category/prompt intended. But, like I said, I might get desperate.

Right now, I am reading My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, which will work for a challenge prompt (author uses a pseudonym). I'm still trying to get through Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton and it's very slow going for me. This is a shock because it's a slim 200-page volume. Again, no concentration.

I made a library run because what a person with no concentration needs in her house is MORE BOOKS! And picked up Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes (August's book club pick) and downloaded the audio book of Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman for my anticipated drive time. Hoping to use the latter for "book becoming a movie" as it includes the short story How to Talk to Girls at Parties -- and again, getting desperate.

I've decided that rather than stressing myself out over reading challenge prompts, I'm just going to make the most of the reading I accomplish and fit things in where they can.

Nadine: I listened to Bruce Springsteen's audio of Born to Run and loved it. Loved hearing his voice tell the stories. It made it that much cooler for me. And then I promptly created a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band channel on Pandora and continued the obsession for a few weeks.

Hello from a slight gloomy Indiana!

I just finished up Norse Mythology last night for a book involving a mythical creature. I'm not going to lie, I cheated a bit on it. The audio-book is read by Neil Gaiman so I listened to it rather than read it.

This puts me at 13/40.

I'm currently reading Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore for a book that's published in 2017. I really like it and should have it finished up in the next couple of days.

I also am kind of reading Soulless and am enjoying it a lot but I borrowed the e-book from the library and my check out time expired with just 100 pages left, so I'm hoping I actually get that back this weekend so I can finish it up.

QOTW:
I'm only at 13/40 which may not seem great to others but that's pretty good for me. I'm a slow reader and started about 2 months late, so I'm happy with where I'm at. I have a few shorter books on my list that I'm going to try to knock out over the next month to get me closer to my goal. I'd love to be at 20 books read by the end of July.

I'm super excited to listen to The Boss and I'm kind of startled by that because, like I said, I was never a fan. But I guess, once a Jersey Girl, always a Jersey Girl ....

Juanita wrote: The storyline was "meh" and the narrator was just AWFUL. He attempted to affect a female voice when reading the female characters and sounded like a bad female impersonator. It was just bad. Rather than having the female characters come off as sincere, he always sounded like he was making fun of them. "

I just read something on Book Riot about this issue!

http://bookriot.com/2017/06/28/why-i-...

Tara wrote: "I'm a bit behind but I'm enjoying doing the prompts with picture books for my almost 3 year old son. We read a book about a famous marine biologist for interesting woman and an adaptation of an Ind..."

Tara, I love that you're adapting the challenge to using picture books with your 3-yr-old son! Awesome!

I finished 2 books this week:

Court of Lions which was a wonderful book set in Granada in two time periods. I learned more about Moorish architecture and History than I knew before.

Continuing the dual-timeline trend I then read The Alice Network. I can't recommend this book enough! It's set in 1915 and 1947 in France/England and deals with female spies.

I started Lord of Shadows and I have less than a week to finish the whole 700-pages and get it back to the library. I have to do at least 100-pages a day to accomplish it. Wish me luck.

QOTW:
My Goodreads challenge I blew out of the water. I set it at 52 and I'm at 70 so far. For Popsugar I only have (I think) 5 prompts left. I may try to shift some around to see if I can use some recent books.

Heather wrote: "Juanita wrote: The storyline was "meh" and the narrator was just AWFUL. He attempted to affect a female voice when reading the female characters and sounded like a bad female impersonator. It was j..."

Heather that's an interesting article! I don't necessarily agree with her stance, there have been LOTS of male readers that I've really enjoyed ( Robert Glenister, Will Patton, Lenny Henry to name a few), but I HAVE run into the problem. I will never again listen to a book read by Len Cariou (I listened to a Harry Bosch book, Echo Park), because his women's voices are all ridiculous whispers. I don't think the hardass FBI agent would talk in a delicate whisper.

Heather wrote: "I just read something on Book Riot about this issue! "

That was a great article. Thanks for sharing!

I finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which I used for one of the author's favorites prompts, and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, which I used for the nonhuman perspective prompt. Both were really good reads. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was a quick read and had a great plot twist, and for the other, I never really thought about animal cognition. I had no idea how clever a lot of the animals he discussed can be.

I started Goldfinger for the espionage thriller prompt. I've read a few Ian Fleming short stories before, but I'm really enjoying a full James Bond novel. I also started Flavor: The Science of Our Most Neglected Sense, which is another interesting nonfiction.

QOTW:
I've had a lot more time to read this summer than I thought I would, so I'm way ahead of where I thought I would be by now. I think I only have around 7 or so prompts left.

Nadine wrote: "Heather wrote: "Juanita wrote: The storyline was "meh" and the narrator was just AWFUL. He attempted to affect a female voice when reading the female characters and sounded like a bad female impers..."

Jim Dale is a great audiobook narrator!

Hi Everyone,

I had a really busy weekend with family staying over. I didn't get much reading done. All I finished was The Hammer of Thor. It was good, just didn't have much time to read. I will say, I kinda wish he'd go back to the Heroes of Olympus style where the perspective switches from character to character. Magnus is ok, but i'd like to get to see things from Samira's perspective, or Hearthstone, or Blitzen.

I started Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet that I was going to use for my book about sports for Read Harder. But I spent 3 days reading it and only managed 5%. I think I'm going to have to shelve it. I like ballet, and I find the subject interesting, but the book is very long and written very dryly. It's like reading a textbook cover to cover. I think I'll keep a mental note of it, in case I ever want to write a book involving ballet. It'd be a great resource for research, but not so much for enjoyable reading.

At the moment I'm just kind of wandering, picking at some comics and Reserved for the Cat as a re-read since i got in the ballet mood. I'm still waiting on the last book I need for popsugar from the library, so I can't just finish up.

QOTW: I'm almost finished with the challenge, as I said I'm just waiting for my last book at the library. I'm also way ahead on my general goodreads challenge, having read 92/150. I admit that there's a fair amount of comics in there. I don't put individual issues, that'd bloat the number way too much, so it's all trades. But I can breeze through a trade in a half hour or so, so the number looks more impressive.

Good morning, all! It's a stormy morning here in Lawrence, Kansas - perfect reading weather, if only I didn't have to be at work :)

Finished

When Dimple Met Rishi - I finished this audiobook and slotted it into Around the Year's "A New York Times bestseller" prompt. The performers were very strong, especially the woman who voiced Dimple's chapters, but I think I would have liked this one more in hard copy - it went on just a bit too long for my patience on audio. But the book is cute and I do recommend it, especially if 11 hours doesn't sound like too long to you! Now at 26/52 for this challenge.

Daddy-Long-Legs - I listened to this on audiobook, as well, and used it for Read Harder's prompt of "a book written between 1900 and 1950." This book was written in 1911, and you can DEFINITELY tell, but it was thoroughly charming and enjoyable nonetheless. I grabbed a hard copy, too, so I could see the illustrations the main character includes, and they're delightful! That makes 17/24 for this challenge.

In Progress

I'm currently reading Mayday, Crucible of Gold, and Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero.

DNF

I quit almost exactly halfway through The Cuckoo's Calling. It was well written and engaging enough when I had it in front of me, but I felt absolutely no drive to finish it. I certainly don't regret trying it, though! I'll have to find a different novel for the "author who uses a pseudonym" prompt.

Hello everyone! I spent a few days this week driving all over NE and Central Kansas (still here, actually, and going to attempt to fly home to Dallas tonight if the storms allow it), so thank goodness for audiobooks. There is nothing but radio static, corn fields and wheat fields in that part of the state. But at least I got to spend evenings with my mom and grandmother, so that makes things better.

I crossed off 1 prompt for PopSugar this week, so I’m now at 30/40, 8/12 or 38/52.

I read:
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah for a book that’s been on my TBR for too long (2). This book was great, about two best friends and their ups and downs over the years. Lots of nostalgia thrown in, which took me back to my childhood.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. I totally recommend this on audiobook. The narrator was great! It is a cute story about a librarian who gets pushed out when they close a majority of the London area libraries and modernize the rest. She buys a big van and opens a mobile bookshop in Scotland.

The Magnolia Story by Chip & Joana Gaines. Really fast-to-read fluff piece about their backgrounds and lives leading up to their show. I enjoy watching their show, mostly for the designs but partially because of their personalities.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. This was a fascinating memoir about a young woman who seemingly has a mental breakdown, but after countless tests it is determined she has an autoimmune disease.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. This started a little slow, but once I got into it, it was difficult to put down just to solve the mystery. I wasn’t a huge fan of the MC, though.

I am currently reading:
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger. I might slot this in a book with a month or day of the week in the title (34), although I have something else in mind for that prompt.
We are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby.
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella.

QOTW: I guess I like competing against myself, because I have pushed myself to read 65 books so far this year when I originally had a goal for the year of 40 books! (I've actually never read more than 55 books in an entire year before, so I am sort of in shock.) I read more when I travel since there is a lot of downtime on planes and in hotel rooms, which has made a difference. I've also started listening to audiobooks in the car all the time instead of just when on a road trip or on a walk. Based on how July looks with my currently planned business trips and vacation at the end of the month, I should get close to completing the PopSugar Challenge by mid-August.

Bonjour tous,

At first I was going to say that I didn't have anything to report this week but I just remember that I read a book that I loved as a child: Le Lotus bleu. It was fun again, same as the five previous readings.

I am still on The Winter King. Really different from other Arthurian's tales but I like it a lot.

And I am listening to Oliver Twist also but I don't think it will fit any prompt. I didn't know that one and it's really great too.

QOTW: I am on target so far. A bit ahead for my personal challenge, but as I count graphic novels, I feel that it doesn't count.

Hello from Dallas, TX!

I have not checked in in a LONG time, but I am ahead of my reading goal! *yay* :)

I have read 49 books so far this year and my GR goal is 60. So I am very ahead of schedule and this number doesn't even include most of the graphic novels/comic books I have read.

For this challenge I am at 28/52.

For the BookRiot challenge I have read 13/24.

This week I finished Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream for a book with a day of the week in the title.

I also read Boy Meets Boy (not for this challenge) and Hawkeye, Volume 5: All-New Hawkeye and Outcast, Vol. 2: A Vast And Unending Ruin

Does anyone else read comic books regularly? I am looking for some new titles.

Good morning, everyone!

I've finished two books this week, but only 1 of them fits a prompt. When the challenge first starts, everything seems to find a place, but it gets harder as the prompts get filled!

The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates by Frans de Waal - This beautifully written book is the product of the author's lifetime study of primates, whom his research shows to be natural moralists -- as are humans, who share an evolutionary past with them. His stories of bonobos gave me a feeling of kinship with other living creatures and a better understanding of my fellow humans.

Fallout by Sara Paretsky - I'm using this for a book recommended by an author I love (P.D. James, who recommended anything by Paretsky). I'm not surprised by how many crime novelists highly recommend her books, because she's great! I love the strong female lead, the intricate and clever plot, and the energy and wit that's sustained throughout the novel. But I especially love that Paretsky has a strong sense of social justice that pervades her work.

Question of the Week: I'm ahead of the game in my goals, which is usual because I get a little compulsive about finishing things! I've read 44/75 on my overall Goodreads Challenge, and 37/52 for Popsugar (32/40 on the original list, plus 5/12 on the advanced list).

Thegirlintheafternoon wrote: "Good morning, all! It's a stormy morning here in Lawrence, Kansas - perfect reading weather, if only I didn't have to be at work :)

Amazing -- I was going to let you know that there's an old Daddy Long Legs movie starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron that I remember watching on TV as a child, and I loved it way back then. But now I also want to comment that the book I just finished takes place mainly in Lawrence, Kansas! It's Fallout by Sara Paretsky and I gave it 5 stars.

Hello all!

This week I managed two books:

City of Clowns: This is a graphic novel, but it's really more of a graphic short story. A quick read, but good. It feels very artistic, which is different from other graphic novels I've read.

Leaves of Grass: I read the original 1855 edition, which is the short one since he continually added to the book each time he re-published it, and boy am I glad I didn't get one of the longer ones. This is a very boring collection of poetry. And that intro! Good lord, such self-indulgent, look at me, I am a poet, poetry is the best, you should all be grateful for my poetry nonsense. I guess the writing style was innovative and important for literature or something? In any case, I don't get what all the fuss is about.

Currently I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as this week was the 20th anniversary of its publishing.

QOTW: I have read 37 books this year. Pretty sure everything I've read so far counts for some prompt or other, but I'm ahead enough I'm not too worried. I try to keep the prompts in mind as I select books. Next week I will be on vacation at the beach so I have loaded up my kindle in expectation of a big reading week!

Hello all!

I only finished one book this week - March: Book One by John Lewis. I used this for "a book with a month or a day in the title." Now I know this isn't referring to the month of march but I decided to be a little liberal with this prompt! My challenge right?!

QOTW: I am doing really well with my reading goals right now! I already completed my Goodreads goal of 52 books and I decided to up it to 75. According to Goodreads I am currently 18 books ahead of that goal too so I should hit it! As far as Popsugar goes, I am chugging right along. I currently only have 9 more prompts to fill! At the beginning of the year it was easy to fill prompts because I was just reading whatever I wanted. Now, with so little prompts left, I have to be very specific for what I choose to pick up and read.

Nadine wrote: "Oh I didnt know Amazon Prime has Veronica Mars! Is streaming free w Prime? The one time I tried it (for a movie), it said I had to pay extra, and I wasn't about to pay for something I already pay f..."

I just went and checked and Veronica Mars isn't on Prime any more which means it's not streaming any where and that's a shame. Grr. Sorry. I ran into the same thing with Psych, I was going to re-watch because there's a Christmas movie this year and it's not streaming anywhere either.

Qotw first: I'm 52/52!!

Done with this terrific challenge, as I finished my last two books this week:

The Naked and the Dead: With a New Introduction by the Author, for a war novel. It was recommended by my husband years ago; a harrowing look, from first hand experience at what men become when facing the gruesome and competitive experience of war. Highly recommend!

And July's People, for a book with the name of a day of the week or a month in its title. This short novel by Nobel winner Nadine Gordimer blew me away. Displacement viewed as few can given so few pages.

I'm off to another challenge now, Book Riot's Read Harder.

Thank you all for a wonderful network!

Nadine wrote: "Good morning Thursday!!

My kids & I drove to Maine last weekend to celebrate the end of the school year, went to the beach, and we all checked off one more state from our life-list. I'm glad I got..."

I didn't realise there were Veronica Mars books! I am immediately adding them to my TBR! Is it based around the TV show era or the movie?

I read It's Not Summer Without You and currently reading We'll Always Have Summer and Station Eleven.

QOTW: My reading goal was 50 books and I completed it!

Hi all,

A beautiful day in Vancouver. Sunny and WARM!!!!

This week, I finished The Handmaid's Tale, for the unreliable narrator prompt. I was lucky and bought a copy of this in May. Couple of things going on..... the story is dark and twisted. However, I'm also watching the series on TV in Canada. That said, I think the TV show has done an excellent job of retelling the book. This book is still on my mind! Thinking about Offred, the Commander, and Nick. And what about Luke? The husband?

Moving to much lighter fare, I am now reading Lights Out Liverpool. Suggested by my mother-in-law, and I'm enjoying it so far. Set in 1939 and WWII has just started.

QOTW: I am at 30/40 for the PopSugar Challenge. I am ahead of my personal goal! I will have to think more about digging into the advanced challenge as well! Nothing read for the advanced challenge yet.

Also want to note, we are at Week 26. So, half way through the year. I am more than half way through the PopSugar Challenge.... more than on track.

And the 2017 Goodreads Challenge, I am at 44/70. That's 10 books ahead of schedule. So I'm doing great on the overall challenge too. I might try to hit 80 items this year??? What?

Kelly wrote: "Hello from Dallas, TX!

I have not checked in in a LONG time, but I am ahead of my reading goal! *yay* :)

I have read 49 books so far this year and my GR goal is 60. So I am very ahead of schedul..."

I'm a relative newbie to comics, but I'm really enjoying Faith, Volume 1: Hollywood & Vine.

Kelly wrote: "Does anyone else read comic books regularly? I am looking for some new titles."

I do! Some of my favorite non superhero ones (you mentioned hawkeye so I'm assuming your'e reasonably familiar with marvel/dc) are Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery, The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act, and Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening.

What sort of comics do you like? I read a lot, could give more specific recommendations.

Mercedes wrote: "Qotw first: I'm 52/52!!

Done with this terrific challenge, as I finished my last two books this week:

The Naked and the Dead: With a New Introduction by the Author, for a war novel..."

Well done! Hope you've enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is Comic Con! Super excited - there are several authors I'm interested in seeing at panels and getting signatures. Some cool celebrities too, though we can't afford most of the prices for pictures and autographs, so I plan on seeing some panels instead. Plus the girls will be all dressed up - I will be wearing a Wonder Woman and Darth Vader dress and maybe a Zelda one, but no actual cosplay since likely Maddie will spend a lot of time in the baby carrier - she hates the stroller.

In the past week, each book I read is by an author who's going to be at Comic Con. Handily, they've slotted nicely into challenges.

Information Doesn't Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age - this I listened to the narration by Wil Wheaton and it was really fascinating. He talks about the way copyright and creativity and technology are changing and what that means for creators. It was great. Highly recommended. I slotted this into Book Riot's book about technology but it would also work as a book about books.

Old Man's War - Loved it! The vibe was quite creepy in the first half, since all you know is somehow those 75 year olds will become soldiers and you wonder how technology will be used to accomplish it. I will definitely read the rest of the series. This went under my book about war.

Ancestor - this was a big dud for me. It's such a dude bro book - as an example, one of the characters reveals that he banged Marilyn Monroe, a detail that didn't advance the plot or really tell me anything interesting about the character. The romance is basically the thinnest of plots - it happens "off screen" in the past and the reconciliation didn't make it believable at all. It's very Dan Brown to me - the plot was interesting and I wanted to know whwere it was going but the characters and writing didn't do it for me. That said, it's Sigler's first novel and was rewritten when he was signed to a big publishing house after being a free podcast and a small press book, so I'll give him another try at some point. I put this under wilderness, since it's set on Baffin Island and then a remote island in Lake Superior. The weather and remoteness does play a significant part in the plot.

Millicent Min, Girl Genius - I wish this had been around when I was middle grade aged because it's fabulous. Millicent's voice is very sarcastic and I think the way she works through her problems is well done. I'll be pushing this one on the girls at the right age. I put it under character's name in the title.

I'm currently reading Skilled Artifice now, since the episode is short and I'm otherwise not sure what to read next. I don't really get the whole Season-Episode format of some recent books, but this story is pretty decent so far, so I will likely continue with it. If I get through all of it soon, I may use it for multiple authors.

QOTW: I'm at 136 books this year, 92 if I take out all the picture books. My goal is presently 175, so I'm way ahead and I already bumped it up from 150. My real goal though is to hit 30,000+ pages, which would beat my previous best year since I started using Goodreads. I'm at 27,235 so I guess that's happening. I credit he weekly check-ins for keeping me focused and the Overdrive library system for making it easy to borrow books.

For challenges, I'm doing okay. I'm at 20/24 for Book Riot and my goal is to finish it up first - though I'm waiting on some library holds for it. For Pop Sugar, I'm at 37/52 - I need to start focusing more on filling the remaining prompts because my random selection isn't working as effectively with fewer prompts anymore. For Bustle I'm only at 8/20, so I'm a bit behind. This challenge was the one I really let slide last year and it was one of my bigger goals to work through it this year, so it's also time to buckle down a bit more on this one. The older Book Riot and Pop Sugar challenges I don't necessarily intend to finish this year, or even next year. I just thought I'd chip away at them as I complete the present year challenges because it's been such a great way for me to pick what to read next and avoid ruts of one kind of book for months, which I'm otherwise prone to.

So, overall I'm happy with my progress but I also think it's time to focus a bit more on the remaining prompts.

Hi everyone. After weeks of bright sunshine, it's now cold and rainy and very much feels like November rather than June.

I've finished United as One which brings me to the end of the series. It definitely had it's good bits and it's not so good bits but overall I enjoyed it (and I managed to fit six out of the seven into prompts). My one niggle would be the same one I had with the Lunar Chronicles' ending (view spoiler)[ So the band of heroes gather together to defeat a super strong, almost all powerful big baddy and not one of them dies in the battle? A bit of a cop out in my opinion. (hide spoiler)]

Currently reading The Way of Kings, Part 2 which is a lot more interesting than part one! I should finish it within a couple of days so that'll be my over 800 pager done.

QOTW: My goal is 52 before the end of October. I don't have time to read much in November if I do NaNoWriMo and then I still have December to catch up if I'm behind although I don't think I will be because I'm on 41 already.

Sarah wrote: "Nadine wrote: "didn't realise there were Veronica Mars books! I am immediately adding them to my TBR! Is it based around the TV show era or the movie?...."

I only just learned about them myself!!! They pick up immediately after the movie, so Veronica is back home in Neptune, and Logan is in the picture (but he's shipped out, so she only skypes with him, he's not in Neptune).

Chrandra wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Oh I didnt know Amazon Prime has Veronica Mars! Is streaming free w Prime? The one time I tried it (for a movie), it said I had to pay extra, and I wasn't about to pay for something ..."

Sad face :-(. The universe is aligned against me! This would explain why I didn't know Prime had it! They don't! I used to have it on DVD but my DOG chewed it up.

Kelly wrote: "Does anyone else read comic books regularly? I am looking for some new titles."

Yes! I'm not sure what you've read. So far as continuing series, I'm enjoying Saga and Bitch Planet. I've got The Underwater Welder out from the library right now but haven't read it yet.

Hello everyone! It's a sunny(ish) day here in Washington. June is usually a bit cloudy here, but the weather has actually been alright. In the 70s and partly sunny out right now. Which is okay with me for the time being, as most places here don't have A/C.

I finished two books this week:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. I tend to avoid anything new adult, but this had been getting great reviews so I picked it up. And while I definitely was not disappointed, I thought it could have been executed better. In my opinion, it would have been more compelling if it had been quite a bit longer with quite a bit more detaul. However I did like the message and the characters.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Now I really liked this one! Funny, sexy, adorable, this has it all. My only complaint was I wished for more angsty work banter (but I love my angsty banter in romances). If you like chick-lit, definitely give this a try. I had my mom start reading it and she's loving it so far.

Nothing for the challenge. Still 12/40, 0/12.

QOTW: I am at 33/50 for my personal 2017 reading goal, which I will easily meet. I did want to reach 100 though, which isn't looking too bright as I am behind in the challenge. We shall see.

Hello! It's almost time for a long holiday weekend, so I'm excited.

This week I finished:
The Last Paradise by Antonio Garrido, filling the prompt for A book about an immigrant or refugee. The book is about Americans immigrating to Russia during the Great Depression, in search of job when none were to be found back home. It's a fascinating subject, unfortunately it was a terrible book. I plan to find a better book to read on the topic, perhaps a nonfiction this time.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien - the first of a pair of books I'm reading for another challenge, to read both a fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject. O'Brien writes fictional accounts that are most likely based in fact (though he refuses to sort it out for us, and we're left to just take in the stories and wonder about the truth) about a group of soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. It's a gripping collection.

Next up - Vietnam Medal of Honor Heroes by Edward F. Murphy - this is the nonfiction book in the challenge I mentioned.

QOTW: I'm well ahead of all my goals at this point, fingers crossed - my goal for the year was 125 and I'm at 98, and I'm 40/50 in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge (I raised my goal for PS last month, my original goal was 32). It's nice after a few years of falling short.

I listened to another Inspector Montalbano mystery on the way home from my road trip this week, A Beam of Light. It was fun and dark as usual.

I also finished Pale Fire, which was a buddy read in another group. I liked it, but didn't put in enough effort to get the full effect of the interweaved stories and poetry.

QOTW: I am way ahead on my Popsugar challenge (45/52), as well as my yearly goal (95/100). I am adding in quarterly and monthly challenges from the 2017 Reading Challenge group to keep me reading for the rest of the year. I don't imagine my pace will slow down too much during the summer, although during July I will be doing a lot of spinning (making yarn) so I may switch over to mostly audiobooks during that period. And once work starts again in August, I may give myself a break and slow down a bit.

Cheri wrote: "Amazing -- I was going to let you know that there's an old Daddy Long Legs movie starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron that I remember watching on TV as a child, and I loved it way back then. But now I also want to comment that the book I just finished takes place mainly in Lawrence, Kansas! It's Fallout by Sara Paretsky and I gave it 5 stars. "

I am DEFINITELY adding that movie to my to-watch - I love Leslie Caron! And Sara Paretsky came to the Lawrence Public Library and did a reading of Fallout a couple of months ago - I heard it was great :)

Hello from Columbus! Slow week for me. I decided to rewatch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations (major celebrity crush 😬) so I've been watching that in the evening instead of reading.

A Million Junes is the only book I finished this week. I got it for June's BOTM pick, I figured I'd read it in June as a my month or day of the week pick. I'll still keep it in that category but since June is the character I feel kind of like I'm cheating so I'll probably read another book for that category too. I really love magical realism in books but I always find that once the mystery is unraveled I end up underwhelmed, this book was no exception. I really enjoyed it but would get mildly annoyed at the particularly "profound" quotes because no 21 year old dude talks like that. None of them. Not buying it. The scenery and style was still really solid so it's a 4 out of 5 for me.

I'm reading three books right now so maybe I'll have more done next week. Nylon has been doing a book club (Marlena and Salt Houses so far) I'm behind on the second pick but so far I'm really liking their picks so if you're interested in some new reads check out their Facebook for future picks.

So that brings me to 31/40; 3/12 with 47 books read

QOTW: my goal this year was 80 books and I'm more than halfway there. And I'm 34/52 for the reading challenge so im doing good there too!

olá, this week still working onUm Quarto com , I had some much to do at work and at my bed:sleeping!Vista

QOTW: I'm ok with the reading, so far, lefting some prompts, but 31 books so far, is good for me, 4 to go until 35(my age).

This week I have finished:
Whose Body? (Diana Gabaldon recommendation), Me Before You (Bestseller of 2016 or A book about a difficult topic), Anne of Green Gables (Book mentioned in another book...the next on this list!) and You're Never Weird on the Internet (Career Advice, atm. There are chapters about dos and don'ts about Self Employment, etc)

I'm working on:
Mister Monday, Grim Death and Bill the Electrocuted Criminal, Dangerous Minds

Started this year, but may not finish this year:
The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery, A Modest Genius: The Story of Darwin's Life and How His Ideas Changed Everything

QOTW: I'm 42/52, but I have "cheated" and have 2 Dr. Seuss books on there right now. I'm assuming I'll replace them, but they do fit their categories! The Lorax for Story within a story, and Oh Say Can You Say? for A book you loved as a child. :)