Friday Again, What Are You Reading? (8/26)

[dorothyinAus]

Anything exciting going on this week?

QOTW:  Of the books that were assigned/required reading for you, what was your favorite?

[abs]

I just finished It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. Um, that was intense. I'm not sure if I can recommend it or not. Definitely a book you need to be emotionally prepared for!

Started Sting last night and so far so good. I'm only a few chapters in though.

QOTW: Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. Two of my all time favorite books!

[snshne322]

Aug 26, 2016 7:15:50 GMT -5 abs said:

I just finished It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. Um, that was intense. I'm not sure if I can recommend it or not. Definitely a book you need to be emotionally prepared for!

Started Sting last night and so far so good. I'm only a few chapters in though.

QOTW: Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. Two of my all time favorite books!

I follow her on IG and she occasionally posts letters from readers and this is the impression I got.  Her books are always intense, is it worse that usual?  I have a hold on it.

[rainbowchip]

I just started The Infinite Sea last night. I was very confused about the POV because it isn't one of the POVs from the last book.

QOTW:
I remember really enjoying Siddhartha but I can't for the life of me remember anything about the book! Time for a reread!

[snshne322]

I'm reading Crushed by Lauren Layne. Another NA series. It's cute so far, but nothing amazing.

I'm listening to Aristotle and Dante Explore the Secrets of the Universe. It's been so slow to read (just on commutes), but it's narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so it's clearly a good narrator. I'm about 2/3 done.

QOTW: TBH I'm not sure I finished one assigned reading book in HS. I was definitely a reader, but it's like I actively repel being forced to read anything. I do remember be more interested in The Iliad than I was with most books.

OH, WAIT! I did finish The Killer Angels on summer reading once. I thought that was decent.

[snshne322]

Aug 26, 2016 7:47:38 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I just started The Infinite Sea last night. I was very confused about the POV because it isn't one of the POVs from the last book.

QOTW:
I remember really enjoying Siddhartha but I can't for the life of me remember anything about the book! Time for a reread!

Yes!! I remember starting and I had to stop and think if I was reading the wrong book.  It didn't start at all like I expected it to.

[susiebw]

Aug 26, 2016 7:50:31 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

I'm listening to Aristotle and Dante Explore the Secrets of the Universe. It's been so slow to read (just on commutes), but it's narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so it's clearly a good narrator. I'm about 2/3 done.

I didn't realize this!  That book is on my TBR list, but it was never much of a priority.  I'll definitely keep it in mind next time I'm ready for an audiobook, though.

[pandora89]

In The Woods - Jane French, I am having a hard time getting into it but anyone I know that has read it has loved it.

[abs]

Aug 26, 2016 7:43:09 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

Aug 26, 2016 7:15:50 GMT -5 abs said:

I just finished It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. Um, that was intense. I'm not sure if I can recommend it or not. Definitely a book you need to be emotionally prepared for!

Started Sting last night and so far so good. I'm only a few chapters in though.

QOTW: Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird. Two of my all time favorite books!

I follow her on IG and she occasionally posts letters from readers and this is the impression I got.  Her books are always intense, is it worse that usual?  I have a hold on it.

Yes. It's a book that was personal to her and you can tell. It goes beyond her usual hard to get there but eventually they do romance. It tackles very real emotional issues. Read it--just prepare yourself first!

[susiebw]

I'm finally reading Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I'm only about 50 pages in, but like his Washington book, it's already phenomenal. There's something about the way that he presents history and brings historical figures to life that just makes it so you don't want to put it down. This book has been on my shelf forever, and I had been putting it off because it's so huge and I don't have it for Kindle. As unwieldy as this giant book is, it's also reminding me of how satisfying it is to watch my bookmark move steadily along through such a monster. I had started a shorter Hamilton bio a few months back, but I hated the bias and tone of it, so I quit in favor of the one I should've just picked up in the first place. 

I think after I finish this one, I can finally get on with the presidential books.  I've been stuck between Monroe and JQA because I wanted to read everything else about the revolutionary period before moving along to the next phase of presidents.

QOTW: I really loved Brave New World.  And Hamlet.  I've always had a bit of a crush on the hot mess that is Hamlet (or maybe that was the hot guy that played him when my HS English class went to see the play by a local theater company).  And also To Kill a Mockingbird, obvi.

[susiebw]

Aug 26, 2016 8:12:29 GMT -5 abs said:

Aug 26, 2016 7:43:09 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

I follow her on IG and she occasionally posts letters from readers and this is the impression I got.  Her books are always intense, is it worse that usual?  I have a hold on it.

Yes. It's a book that was personal to her and you can tell. It goes beyond her usual hard to get there but eventually they do romance. It tackles very real emotional issues. Read it--just prepare yourself first!

Without giving anything away, can you give me an idea of the sort of emotional issues?  Dating violence and rape are triggers for me, so I like a heads up before getting into books like that.  I read Sarah Dessen's Dreamland with no warning and it messed me up for days.

[abs]

Aug 26, 2016 8:24:33 GMT -5 susiebw said:

Aug 26, 2016 8:12:29 GMT -5 abs said:

Yes. It's a book that was personal to her and you can tell. It goes beyond her usual hard to get there but eventually they do romance. It tackles very real emotional issues. Read it--just prepare yourself first!

Without giving anything away, can you give me an idea of the sort of emotional issues?  Dating violence and rape are triggers for me, so I like a heads up before getting into books like that.  I read Sarah Dessen's Dreamland with no warning and it messed me up for days.

I'm sending you a PM.

[spedrunner]

Aug 26, 2016 4:41:39 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

Anything exciting going on this week?

QOTW:  Of the books that were assigned/required reading for you, what was your favorite?

Just finished The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory

still reading Appetite:why woman want

And just started Eligible!!
Qotd: I really enjoyed reading and discussing the circle. Fun book club read for discussion

[ufcasey]

Read in the past week:
I *finally* finished reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson! Excellent, but long (a little over a thousand pages)
The Arrangement by Mary Balogh (historical romance - 3 stars)
The Last Mile by David Baldacci (mystery/thriller - 3 stars, audiobook)
Hotter Than Ever by Elle Kennedy (romance - 4 stars but still like her hockey series better)

Currently reading:
Across the Universe by Beth Revis (YA/sci-fi audiobook - I like it but I don't think I'll continue on with the series)
A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison (PNR, Hollows series #4 - too early in the book to judge it)

QOTW:
I remember liking A Separate Peace and I still love To Kill A Mockingbird

[booknerd]

I'm reading Sting by Sandra Brown. I'm about halfway through and it's good so far. I usually like her books.

I'm also starting The Cursed Child tonight since DH will be away at a bachelor party and I can binge read it without him interrupting.

I want to do another HP reread but I have so much new stuff to read. FWP.

QOTW: To Kill a Mockingbird of course. And even though I don't care for it now, The Scarlet Letter.

[willyh19]

I just started Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole.

QOTW: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

[monkeyfeet]

I finished Sisters in Sanity this week and really enjoyed it. Just started The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life's Delays. It came highly recommended a few years ago, but this is the first time the library where I live has it. Too soon for an opinion and kind of hoping another book will come in.

[revjen]

Reading Undercover Gorgon by RL Naquin. It's a short but she's a fun writer to read.

Listening to lemon merengue pie murder. I'm kind of sad that Hannah isn't quite as secure in herself as she was. I like her independent streak.

QOTW: I can't remember. I've blocked out high school.

[litskispeciality]

Hoping to plow through the BFG. I've (re) read about 30% so far. I might jump back into Miss. Peregrin's too, although I don't like reading 2 books at the same time.

QOTW: I took a Women's Studies class where each group had to read a book and report on it. Another group read "Speak", which I later read. I really enjoyed it knowing the heavy content. Ironically tried to read "Lucky" by Alice Sebold (another group covered this), but the content was too graphic to get past the first 50 pages.

[Nonny]

Still working on Children of the Frost by Jack London (kind of boring to be honest) and I'm just over halfway through Machine of Death, which I'm really enjoying - it's a fun thought experiment and I'm loving all the irony.

QOTW:  Honestly, I read so much, I have a hard time remembering what I was assigned in HS, and what I read on my own.  I guess I'll say King Lear, because it's one thing for sure I know I read in HS and that I've continued to actively seek out as an adult.  I also really loved A Brave New World, but I'm not sure that was actually assigned reading, I think I read it on my own.

[sassypants]

I'm reading Three Sisters, Three Queens, by Philippa Gregory. It's pretty good so far and I've enjoyed seeing the Tudor era from Henry's elder sister's perspective. I've also just started listening to After You by Jojo Moyes.

The only "exciting thing" this weekend is the wedding of a church member's son that DH is officiating. I've met the couple once (they live out of state but are coming home for the wedding). Sadly, I'm also excited to do a good cleaning of the house since the last three weekends have been consumed by the musical I just finished playing. It desperately needs dusting and vacuuming even though DH did some partial vacuuming during that time.

It makes me feel old that it's been so long since I've had required reading that I can't remember for sure whether I read a particular book for class or just because I wanted to read it. I did love Shakespeare, though. I know that was required reading at a couple of points in HS and undergrad.

[travella]

I'm about half way through Some Luck by Jane Smiley.

QOTW: Number the Stars.  It was a required reading in grade school.  It was the book that made me fall in love with reading.  Sadly, I don't recall To Kill a Mockingbird being a required reading.  I think I read it on my own accord.

[charlatti]

Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen, the newest in the Royal Spyness series. I was waiting impatiently because I knew I was very close to the top of the library list. It's very fun so far.

QOTW: The Great Gatsby, even though I really disliked my teacher for that one. Beloved and Song of Solomon (that one was college, but Beloved was HS) were favorites too.

[aurora]

I'm reading a book for work and also back to Robert Jordan's The Shadow Rising (book 4 of Wheel of Time) as part of a rather extended re-read. I think I started this one in June and then put it down for a while due to travel and other books coming available at the library.

I'm listening to Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train and enjoying it.

QOTW: I, uhm, it's been a long time since I had required reading, and my memory isn't that great anymore. I think the The Handmaid's Tale was required and it's one of my favorite books, so we'll go with that.

[aurora]

Aug 26, 2016 9:34:53 GMT -5 milliep said:

I am FINALLY reading The Raven King.  I started the audio on vacation two months ago and fell asleep while listening.  I was over 2 hours in when I woke up and had to start over.  I'm trying to listen and read using Whisper Sync.  I forgot how convenient it is.

QOTW: Probably To Kill a Mockingbird.  I also remember liking Things Fall Apart, but I don't remember anything about it. 

I read that in college and remember really liking it, but don't remember much more than that things got worse and worse and it was really depressing and really well-written.

[secretlyevil]

I have made no progress with Ruth. Stupid work.

[10nille]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

[secretlyevil]

QOTW: I think Grapes of Wrath was my favorite.

[dorothyinAus]

I finished Princess Elizabeth's Spy Thursday night and started Ho-Ho-Homicide Friday, after seeing the bit from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon declaring it as a book you should not read. Actually, it was next up on my list anyway, so it's not just the bit that made me read it.

QOTW: I really enjoyed The Crystal Cave, and it sparked my love of Mary Stewart, though I prefer her thrillers to the Arthurian saga. And I really enjoyed Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe and The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley, though those were only assigned in that what we read for the final paper had to meet certain criteria.

[mrspez07]

Still reading The Book Theif, I also picked up the first daughter as a hold last week, I need to get on that one or I'll likely have to return it without finishing.

I don't think they were officially assigned but we're one of the options for reports/projects. I remember liking Mila 18 (world History class) Rebecca and Jane Eyre (English class).