It's Friday - Reading Recap! (3/15)

[ufcasey]

What have you read this past week? What are you currently reading?

QOTW:
Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, what is the best luck you have ever had? (found something, won something, met someone, whatever!)

[dontlook]

I read:
The Lost Girls is Paris by Pam Jenoff: 4.5 stars
Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia: 5 stars

QOTW: best luck might be when I won $100 at the casino playing my last $1.

[ufcasey]

Read:
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
3.5 stars/psychological thriller
Really good twist in that it was surprising, but then didn't make any sense if you thought about it LOL

Transgressions (The Twelve Systems Chronicles, #3) by E.G. Manetti
3 stars/sci-fi romance
I can't really recommend this series, but I keep reading them for some reason!

The Bride Says Maybe by Cathy Maxwell
3 stars/historical romance
Good start but then got quickly forgettable

Total so far for the year: 32

Did Not Finish:
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon - historical fiction/romance; the history part was SO boring and then the rest of it wasn't much better. I quit at 34%

QOTW:
I once won a round trip from Florida to Australia via British Airways. Unfortunately it did require flying through London, which is the long way and then while in Australia I found out I was pregnant and therefore couldn't drink or take anything to help sleep on the long flight back home. But hey, it was still a free trip!!

[rainbowchip]

This week I read To All the Boys I've Loved Before and I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

I'm currently reading Chasing The Dragon by T.K. Leigh. I was in the mood for and intense romance.

QOTW: I was always super lucky to not get caught for underage drinking. I would leave a party sometimes minutes before the cops showed up. I had so many friends get busted but I never did.

[abs]

I read Daisy Jones and the Six this week. I don’t know how to rate it!! It was definitely unique and unlike anything I’ve read before. I still can’t decude if I liked it or not though.

I also re-read Blubber. Eek so uncomfortable to read.

[Vespasia]

I'm reading the Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through and it's taken me this long to get comfortable with the world and terminology. I'm also undecided on the writing style. However, the story is holding my attention and that's really the main thing I look for in a book. 

QOTW: A friend met me in Vegas when I was there for a work trip. She loves to gamble (I do not) so we spent a fair amount of time at the slots. I won $250+ at least three times. 

[ssmjlm]

I'm still reading Beartown. I'm not sure I "get" the book and the way it's structured. I mean, I understand, the author gives you the big event at the beginning, but I'm having a hard time with caring about the characters. I also keep getting Peter and David confused.

QOTW: I randomly met my husband because a random stranger sitting next to my friends and I decided to introduce us.

[charlatti]

I’m reading The River by Peter Heller. I’m not very far but I like it. I finished Little Faith by Nickolas Butler earlier this week and really liked it. Also listening to Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.

Qotw: I can’t think of anything particularly lucky. I won a giant pumpkin as a kid, and I’m really good at finding four-leaf clovers. They don’t seem to bring a lot of luck though!

[travella]

I finished a The a Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens, 2*. I started a The Witch Elm by Tana French.

QOTW:I have zero luck winning stuff for myself, but I've won some pretty good stuff for other people. I won a trip to NYC, $, and back stage passes to a music festival for my parents and I just won movie premiere event tickets, but I can't go so my husband and daughter are going to go.

[mx27]

Happy Friday!

I'm currently reading "Educated" by Tara Westover. I am about 90% done. Her story is remarkable, but I'm not loving the book - mostly for reasons that could not be changed. Her family is just so dysfunctional and abusive - none of their interactions are enjoyable to read. I find myself speed reading those sections. Also, some of her story feels repetitive. In summary, her life is fascinating, but I didn't need to know the details. I think I'll end up rating this a 3.5.

[msmerymac]

Finished (all audio):

Educated by Tara Westover (wow!)
White Working Class by Joan C. Williams
Patti Smith at Minetta Lane by Patti Smith

Started:

The World as it is by Ben Rhodes (audio)

Still reading:

We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My Antonia by Willa Cather


QOTW: The time I met Quentin Tarantino? The time I got Philip Seymour Hoffman's autograph? The time I auditioned for Jeopardy and taped an episode 2 months later?

Probably meeting my husband.

[krystee]

I had a good reading week! I LOVED Where the Crawdads Sing and rally liked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

I am now reading A Man Called Ove and Queenie.

The best luck we had was the our surprise DS2. We needed fertility treatments for DS1, had failed treatments to get a second, and when my H was laid off we stopped trying entirely and I somehow got pregnant out of the blue. It didn’t feel lucky at the time when we could barely pay our bills, but now I can’t believe our luck. He is amazing.

[Gato]

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson was great. The main character was so vividly drawn, and I enjoyed the spy story. My only criticism was the pacing was a little weird; I was just getting into it and then it was over. It’s one of the few books where I would have enjoyed 100 *more* pages.

Now I’m finishing Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez.

Hmm, have I ever been specifically lucky, rather than lucky in general? I did get a royal flush playing poker once - that was exiting!

[sassypants]

I'm about 2/3 of the way through The Countess: A Novel of Elizabeth Bathory. It's an interesting read and reminds me of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir novels. Not sure how accurate it is since there's so much mystery/conspiracy theories around the actual historical figure, but the narrative is enjoyable.

QOTW: I asked DH and he said meeting my sweet dearly departed kitty, Tessa. But I guess I'd have to say beating cancer as a toddler is pretty lucky.

[tacokick]

The World According to Fannie Davis: My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers by Bridgett M. Davis (very good! Highly recommend)


Radiant, Shimmering Light by Sarah Selecky (Satire? It was a tad tedious)


The View From the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts (after some of our childhood book discussions here I got it from the library. I’m actually not sure if I read it as a kid)


Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast (I’ve been to NYC a ton and still learned some things!)


Stone Mothers by Erin Kelly (my least favorite of her books so far)



In between books right now.

QOTW: I’m not sure! I’ve won second prize in several contests so that’s moderately lucky I think!

[estrellita]

I need to start finding more audio books to listen to at work because I feel like a slacker! Haha.

I just finished The Great Alone. I gave it 4/5 stars. It's really good, but gets a little slow in some parts. Hoping to start Before She Knew Him and/or Circe tomorrow. Haven't decided which yet!

I feel like I have a better answer for the question, but all I can think of at the moment is winning random things. I won a Fitbit, hockey tickets a few times (my college team, they're good!) at work, a Funko Pop from Twitter, and a few Ren Fest items from Instagram. It pays to retweet and comment on things sometimes, lol.

[sarahswim]

I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (yes, for the first time). I had never gotten in on the hype when they first came out, so I decided I would wait for my son to be ready to read them and we'd read them together. We've never seen any of the movies, either. We started Chamber of Secrets this week, after watching the first movie.
I also finished Among the Hidden with my class, but this is the 2nd or 3rd year I've taught the novel so I'm not sure that really counts.

Best luck I've ever had? I don't know. Last night I won a free entree from Piada because I correctly guessed the number of meatballs they had in their Insta photo. Oh, and a couple years ago I won a private dinner from a local chef-she came to our house and whipped up an incredible meal for my husband and me, just because I commented on her FB post.

[stephm0188]

I finished:

Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital. I gave it three stars.
Where the Crawdads Sing. Five stars.
Daughter of Moloka'i: Four stars. Liked it, but not as much as the first.

[minzy]

I finished Hot - Living Through The Next Fifty Years On Earth by Mark Hertsgaard. Not surprisingly, it’s sobering, but I thought it was a worthwhile read. It was written when his daughter was 4/5 years old, and I share many of his concerns for my own kids.

QOTW: Randomly sitting next to my now husband the day seats were assigned in a big class was my lifetime jackpot moment. Though I correctly guessed the number of M&Ms in a jar as a kid and won them, so that was pretty cool, too. 😛

[wildrice]

I've been reading Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. It's ok, thought probably my least favorite of her books. I'm almost done.

QOTW: my H was my third online date that I had. Given how difficult it is for most people to meet someone these days, let alone via online dating, I feel like it was extremely lucky we met so quickly.

[gibbinator]

I just finished Stephen King's Joyland. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been on quite a Stephen King kick lately, having finally gotten into reading his "recent" stuff (2000s). Which has in turn lead me to re-reading some my collection of paperbacks, many of which I've only ever read once.
Just picked The Shining up this morning.

QOTW: I win door prizes constantly. Pretty much half the time I participate. Look under your seat for a winning number, draws from a hat, bingo, you name it. I've won a free night at the casino's fancy hotel, free weekend at a resort, nice sports equipment... About the only thing I don't seem to win is money, otherwise I'd be buying lotto tickets weekly haha. My sister, who has similar luck, recently won a $9k custom racing bike. I dunno, luck of the Scottish?

[aurora]

I'm listening to The Long Way Home by Louise Penny. It's interesting in that I was wondering what she would do

SPOILER: Click to show

with Gamache after the former book when he retired to settle into a civilian life

.

I'm reading Tara Westover's Educated. Only about a quarter of the way in to it so far but I feel so bad for her and her siblings.

QOTW: I'm pretty confident the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me is being born into a loving family with educated, financially-stable parents. I think about that a lot as the gap between the haves and have-nots seems to be growing.

More trivially, extremely lucky to have found such a perfect, awesome, fully-trained, loving, well-adjusted 5-YO dog at the shelter and to have had her in our lives for the past 5 years (this week is the 5-year anniversary of adopting her).

[aurora]

Mar 15, 2019 11:05:26 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I'm reading the Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm about 1/3 of the way through and it's taken me this long to get comfortable with the world and terminology. I'm also undecided on the writing style. However, the story is holding my attention and that's really the main thing I look for in a book. 

...

It wasn't the easiest book or series to start, but I ended up loving it and deciding that Jemisin must be absolutely brilliant.

[aurora]

Mar 15, 2019 11:43:59 GMT -5 charlatti said:

I’m reading The River by Peter Heller. I’m not very far but I like it. I finished Little Faith by Nickolas Butler earlier this week and really liked it. Also listening to Commonwealth by Ann Patchett.

Qotw: I can’t think of anything particularly lucky. I won a giant pumpkin as a kid, and I’m really good at finding four-leaf clovers. They don’t seem to bring a lot of luck though!

We had some clover growing in our lawn when I was growing up and I used to sit there for embarrassingly long time periods looking for a four-leaf clover. I don't think I ever found one. I wonder what my parents thought? ("At least she's outside and not bugging us for something!" probably)