Happy Friday 7/19: what did you read this week?

[charlatti]

How has your week gone, reading-wise and otherwise? 

QOTW: How do you feel about talking about the weather?

[charlatti]

I finished The Travelers by Regina Porter and The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung. Both were good but not amazing. I just picked up The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams from the library, so I’ll start that next.

QOTW: I think weather is fascinating and love talking about it. It’s such an easy, universal conversation starter, but I get that others hate it for the same reason. (It’s crazy hot here today, but not as bad as some places.)

[meowmaps]

Our condo went under contract today so I'm excited about that! Hopefully everything runs smoothly with the appraisal, inspections, etc.

I finished Miracle Creek and loved it. I'm in the middle of The Library Book and loving that too.

QOTW: I guess I'd have to say that I neither like nor dislike talking about the weather. As you mentioned, it's an easy thing to talk about with people so I definitely do it. It's more exciting to talk about when there's something abnormal going on like a major snowstorm, heatwave, etc.

[rainbowchip]

I am ready for this day to be over. I had a lot of technical difficulties at work today and it's put me in a foul mood.

I finished Home Front by Kristin Hannah. It was good but I sobbed though 75% of it.
I'm currently reading The Nightingale. I made a mistake by reading 2 Kristin Hannah books in a row but I'm going to power though for book club discussion.

QOTW: I don't mind talking about the weather but it annoys me when people talk like certain weather is unique to a certain area. Like "only in Wisconsin is the weather xyz" but it also happens in Minnesota and Kentucky and Massachusetts.
And don't get me started on the phrase "it's so cold here. So much for global warming."

[travella]

I finished The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald, 2*. I can see why people rated it highly, but I had a difficult time getting through it. It didn't improve for me until the last couple chapters. I am reading The Last Year of War by Susan Meissner.

QOTW: My family farms so I'm used to talking about the weather. Weather is super important to them and controls their days. It's the first thing my father brings up every time we talk and he knows the forecast in my area (across country) better than I do half the time. So I don't mind talking about the weather. In fact, I'm likely to bring it up in conversation.

[dontlook]

I read The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda. It was pretty good. I could rate it anywhere from a 3.5 to 4.5.

Still working on Harry Potter.

QOTW: I live in a cold climate so we are always talking about the weather.

[sarahswim]

I finished:
The Tatooist of Auschwitz-Heather Morris
Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty
I'm in the middle of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, and I just started The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer).

I don't like talking about the weather. Whatever people claim is going to happen almost never does and I abhor making small talk with people, which is often weather-related.

[AJL]

I've been in a major reading slump. I've far ahead my Goodreads goal for the year (47/52), but nothing was motivating me at all. I managed to knock out four books this week.

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas 4.5/5* - I really loved this book! The writing was beautiful. It's billed as a regular ol' "bodice ripper" but it's so much more than that. 

Undeniable by Melanie Harlow 1.5/5* - Ugh. She's a doormat. He's a dick. It wasn't great

The Virgin Romance Writer by Meghan Quinn 1/5* - Just bad. Soooooooooo bad.

Everything Girl by Emily Mayer 3.5/5* - Sweet and cute but not so much it makes your teeth hurt. 

QOTW: Um I don't really feel any particular way about talking about the weather. I mean it's balls hot here so we talk about that a lot. *shrug*

[mrspez07]

I gave up on How will You Measure your Life and finished The Death of Mrs Westaway and When Life Gives you Lululemons. Started Firefly Lane last night.

I don’t mind talking about the weather, it’s a good generic topic, plus in CO, something interesting is always happening.

[mx27]

I finished, “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 3.5 stars. I enjoyed reading about the U.S. from the perspective of the main character who was from Nigeria.

Currently reading, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It’s a quick, entertaining read.

[sassypants]

I finished The Peacock Emporium at lunch today. I've got Daisy Jones and the Six next, and I hope it's a quick read because I have one of George RR Martin's tomes on loan next and it's nearly 800 pages long. (These are all library e-book loans).

QOTW: I only like talking about lovely fall weather. I hate the heat and can't wait for cooler temps again.

[aurora]

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver's new book Unsheltered. I liked it but it wasn't as amazing as some of her others.

I don't mind talking about the weather. It's a pretty safe topic for small talk (which I generally don't love, but have to do occasionally). I mean, I get that it's kind of cliche, but there are so many things I can't safely bring up with a distant colleague.

[abs]

I finished Recursion this past week. I really enjoyed it! Creepy and somehow realistic all at the same time. I would recommend.

Reading The Rosie Result now...so far I like it much better than the second book.

QOTW: Depends. I hate talking about weather in the summer. It's hot. It's humid. It's totally awful and oh so very long. Complaining about the heat in July just reminds me how much more of summer we have to go. I'd just rather not think about it. Now when there is a cool front coming? Yes please talk about it so I can be reminded it won't be surface of the sun miserable forever.

[ssmjlm]

It's been awhile, so I'll just list some recents. I'm doing KU for 2 months and enjoying all the cheesy romance books while at the beach too.

Under the Table by Stephanie Evanovich - not as good as her previous ones. I found the whole story had too many holes and was undeveloped

Wolfhunter River (Stillhouse Lake #3) - Meh, I didn't think this series needed a third book and I don't think Sam's character warranted a whole book. I was not a fan of this story.

Deception Trilogy - if you have KU, worth the read. Really enjoyed the books.

Method by Kate Stewart - awful, she's going in the Colleen Hoover do not read shelf. I will not be drawn in again.

[just]

I'm in a lull between a plethora of library holds coming due after months of waiting and nothing due now for three weeks .

So in the last week or two I've read some that have been on hold forever, and others that I got mostly because they were 'available now' at the library

Pachinko, Min Jin Lee, 2*, Though I usually love cross generational fiction, and have lived in Japan and traveled in Korea, it didn't quite do it for me.

The Porpoise, Mark Haddon, 3*, I loved Curious Incident, and A Spot of Bother. This was so interesting and in the vein of Circe and Song of Achilles, but also a little unfinished

A Woman is No Man, Etaf Rum, 3*, I liked the perspective of 3 generations of Palestinian/Palestinian-American women, but I think overall the story was lacking, and I missed the tie up for the end that was referenced 200 pages before. I had to google what happened in the end. I'm not a sloppy reader, and there were tons of threads about it, so it wasn't just me.

Dope Sick, Beth Macy, 4*, Loved it. Great non-fiction, compelling and relevant content

[just]

Jul 20, 2019 9:23:10 GMT -5 aurora said:

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver's new book Unsheltered. I liked it but it wasn't as amazing as some of her others.

I found it a little preachy, though overall engaging. Thinking back her others (Poisonwood being most clear in my memory) also had a very obvious political skew, but maybe because it was unfamiliar it felt less lecture-like. This one felt a little sledgehammery in that regard even though I agreed with her - the economics discussions with the kids, and the father in laws radio choices. 

[aurora]

Jul 23, 2019 22:06:09 GMT -5 just said:

Jul 20, 2019 9:23:10 GMT -5 aurora said:

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver's new book Unsheltered. I liked it but it wasn't as amazing as some of her others.

I found it a little preachy, though overall engaging. Thinking back her others (Poisonwood being most clear in my memory) also had a very obvious political skew, but maybe because it was unfamiliar it felt less lecture-like. This one felt a little sledgehammery in that regard even though I agreed with her - the economics discussions with the kids, and the father in laws radio choices. 

Yeah, it was definitely commentary on today's politics! But I mostly dismissed that and found the family dynamics contrasted across two different eras interesting.

Poisonwood is my favorite of her books, but I also really liked Prodigal Summer and The Bean Trees. I don't remember them being nearly as explicitly political, though obviously there were messages.