Friday Again! What Are You Reading? (6/9/17)

[dorothyinAus]

Hello & Happy Friday!  It's the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend in my world, and I'm planning on spending to reading and working on an embroidery project.  What's happening in your world?  What pages are you turning?

QOTW:  When you hand write things -- notes, lists, letters, journal, calendar entries, etc. -- do you print (letter) or write in cursive?

[bex]

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I just started it and it's pretty good, but I'm 50 pages in and I think we've had 6 different narrators. So it's kind of hard to follow. I'm hoping it evens out a bit as the book goes on.


My handwriting is a weird combo of print and cursive. It's not very pretty. Probably if I went to straight cursive it would be prettier.

[rainbowchip]

We have our community garagle sale weekend next weekend so I am spending this weekend prepping for our garage sale next weekend. I'm way behind already!

I'm currently reading Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) I think I might stop this series after this book unless someone tells me it gets so much better. I just don't like Cealena at all. She doesn't make sense. Her personality is all over the place.

QOTW: I do a weird combo of cursive and print but it's mostly print.

[charlatti]

I have three going, which is unusual for me.

Nonfiction: True North by Gavin Francis about his travels in the arctic circle. It's more history than travel so far, which is slow going for me.

Fiction: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey -- one literary fiction and one dystopian thriller, both quite good so far in very different ways.

QOTW: I have a hybrid style too. When I want it to look nice I lean more to the printed writing and when I'm writing quickly it's more scrawly cursive.

[bex]

Jun 9, 2017 6:34:38 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm currently reading Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) I think I might stop this series after this book unless someone tells me it gets so much better. I just don't like Cealena at all. She doesn't make sense. Her personality is all over the place.

How far are you into the book? I felt like it dragged and then picked up a lot around halfway through? Queen of Shadows (the next one) is also really good and I think that's worth reading. I did not love Empire of Storms.

[snshne322]

I'm still working on White Hot. I'm liking it, but too distracted by The Keepers on Netflix and scrolling Twitter after Comey Day.

I'm also re-listening to Lick by Kylie Scott while I'm waiting for some other holds to come in.

QOTW:  I'm all over the place with handwriting, but my default is all caps.  DH tells me I'm yelling at him when I leave him notes.  

I've always been fascinated by the handwriting posts.  I love ogling people's handwriting.

[snshne322]

Jun 9, 2017 6:34:38 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

We have our community garagle sale weekend next weekend so I am spending this weekend prepping for our garage sale next weekend. I'm way behind already!

I'm currently reading Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) I think I might stop this series after this book unless someone tells me it gets so much better. I just don't like Cealena at all. She doesn't make sense. Her personality is all over the place.

QOTW: I do a weird combo of cursive and print but it's mostly print.

I struggled with #3 a bit as well, but it did get a lot better by the end.

[rainbowchip]

Jun 9, 2017 7:43:09 GMT -5 bex said:

Jun 9, 2017 6:34:38 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm currently reading Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) I think I might stop this series after this book unless someone tells me it gets so much better. I just don't like Cealena at all. She doesn't make sense. Her personality is all over the place.

How far are you into the book? I felt like it dragged and then picked up a lot around halfway through? Queen of Shadows (the next one) is also really good and I think that's worth reading. I did not love Empire of Storms.

I'm about 100 pages in. Thanks for saying that it gets better and the next onr is worth it. I think that's what I needed to hear. Lol

[litskispeciality]

Hoping for a date day with my husband tomorrow. There's a winery in the area where you can sit outside, have a glass and relax. Maybe a little lunch too. It's supposed to be nice, some outside reading would be nice too.

I just started "Yes Please" by Amy Polher last night. Only 30 pages in but it's good so far. It's funny and seems like a quick read.

QOTW: Mainly print, but I try to mix cursive in. I'm so afraid to lose that skill even if I never use it.

[leeba25]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only weird hybrid print person! My handwriting is very weird. Also - maybe because I don't hand write very often? - when I do have to write something more than a couple lines, my hand starts cramping up. Anyone else?

I am super excited for Orange is the New Black this weekend - it dropped on Netflix today.

Right now, I'm listening to A Generation of Sociopaths by Bruce Cannon Gibney. It's fascinating and a bit infuriating. About how boomers largely screwed the rest of us with consequences that will last for generations.

I'm also reading Code Name Verity, which is really slow to grab me. Does it pick up? The writing style is a bit weird too, in that the narrator is writing in the voice of a 21st century young woman, but it's set during WWII. It's both engaging and off-putting at the same time; I haven't quite figured out how I feel about it. 

[sassypants]

I've got a long weekend because I'm taking my comp day from having to work 611 excursions over Memorial Day, so I'm heading down to see one of my college BFFs in Winston-Salem later today!

I'm reading NK Jemisin's The Fifth Season. I haven't had much time to devote to it lately, though, and I'm worried it will be recalled before I can finish it. I also downloaded Paris for One (and other stories) by Jojo Moyes for my drive to and from W-S this weekend since it is short.

My handwriting is atrocious no matter which form I use, but more legible with printing. I am known to mix styles, too. I wonder what that's about, because I see that most of us switch back and forth between print and cursive.

[cole]

This week I finished Women Who Tri by Alicia DiFabio, it was good, interesting mix of personal story telling about her foray into triathlon and history of the sport, particularly as it applies to women.

I just started How Does It Feel to be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi.

QOTW: cursive the majority of the time

[booknerd]

I had a long weekend vacation in Vegas, which was so much fun but I didn't get any reading done other than the plane.

I just started reading Breath of Malice by Karen French. I'm about a third of the way in. I needed something fast paced and easy to get me through this week and adjusting back to my own time zone (east coast).

I'm still rereading Harry Potter.

QOTW: I mostly print, sometimes it'll be a little cursive if I'm writing fast.

[ally]

I have today off which is just so nice - a quiet house and no obligations - which means reading, napping, and cooking (my plan for the afternoon is to make hamburger buns for dinner).

I finished Career of Evil (3rd Strike novel) by Robert Galbraith.  I liked it and would probably read a 4th book, but it was dark and I needed frequent breaks.  Because of that I picked a long ago free Nook book to read next - Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon, it sounds light and a good change.

QOTW: Like almost everyone else, a weird mix of the two, sometimes within the same word! 

[litskispeciality]

Jun 9, 2017 12:19:17 GMT -5 ally said:

I have today off which is just so nice - a quiet house and no obligations - which means reading, napping, and cooking (my plan for the afternoon is to make hamburger buns for dinner).

I finished Career of Evil (3rd Strike novel) by Robert Galbraith.  I liked it and would probably read a 4th book, but it was dark and I needed frequent breaks.  Because of that I picked a long ago free Nook book to read next - Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon, it sounds light and a good change.

QOTW: Like almost everyone else, a weird mix of the two, sometimes within the same word! 

Is there a thread somewhere with light books? The Summer that Everything Melted was pretty heavy too. Overall I read a lot of depressing stuff. I could use some easy reads on my goodreads want to read list.

[monkeyfeet]

Jun 9, 2017 8:42:44 GMT -5 leeba25 said:

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only weird hybrid print person! My handwriting is very weird. Also - maybe because I don't hand write very often? - when I do have to write something more than a couple lines, my hand starts cramping up. Anyone else?

I am super excited for Orange is the New Black this weekend - it dropped on Netflix today.

Right now, I'm listening to A Generation of Sociopaths by Bruce Cannon Gibney. It's fascinating and a bit infuriating. About how boomers largely screwed the rest of us with consequences that will last for generations.

I'm also reading Code Name Verity, which is really slow to grab me. Does it pick up? The writing style is a bit weird too, in that the narrator is writing in the voice of a 21st century young woman, but it's set during WWII. It's both engaging and off-putting at the same time; I haven't quite figured out how I feel about it. 

I really liked Code Name Verity. It's been a while so I can't remember if it was slow for me at the beginning or not.

[monkeyfeet]

I finished The Woman in Cabin 10 this week! Looking forward to the discussion. Currently 10% into A Gentleman in Moscow and am already enjoying it! But between this and The Romanov Sisters, I realize I really need to read up on Russian history!

Another hybrid vote...

[travella]

School will soon be out for the summer so it's been a busy couple weeks. Thankfully, this weekend all we have is my daughter's hula recital. I have been reading The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood. I'm ​only about a hundred and fifty pages into the book, but I'm really liking it. I wish I had more time to sit down and read it and get into it.

Qotw:. I have a tendency to write in a mix of print and cursive, sometimes even individual words are a mix of the two.

[brewco]

Fighting a touch of a hangover today after going to a concert last night. I'm annoyed because I only had 2 beers. No plans for the weekend, it's the first weekend we've been home in the last 4 weeks so I am looking forward to doing whatever comes our way.

I read Behind Closed Doors this week, I enjoyed it. Starting The Dinner tonight- I'll also (hopefully) be getting a few ebook holds soon!

QOTW: another hybrid writer checking in

[Nonny]

I wrapped up The Woman in Cabin 10, The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2), and The Boston Girl this past week, and I'm about 70% of the way through Orange is the New Black.  Piper is significantly less insufferable in the memoir than she is on the Netflix show, but she still seems very hoity toity and it feels like there is a lot of white savior complex going on.

QOTW:  My handwriting is a mix of mostly cursive with random printed letters thrown in, particularly if it's a capital letter or the beginning of a word.  I think my handwriting is legible but awful, but I've been complimented on it's readability, and I used to take notes for money in college*, so I guess it's not as bad as I think. 

*I think this was really more a by-product of me actually showing up to all of my classes reliably more than my handwriting though.

[mrspez07]

I'm rereading An Echo in the Bone but haven't picked up another new book after finishing one on Wed. I did start A Handmaids Tale on Audible this week but am hesitating on reading more, it's kind of creeping me out.

I print. My Landscape Architecture major knocked most of my cursive writing out of me. I still sign in cursive though.

ETA: decided to start Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller tonight.

[dorothyinAus]

I finished Prisoner's Base last night, so I have to pick a new book this morning.  It was fantastic, and the adaptation for the A&E TV series was excellent.  I love it when the adaptations live up to the book.

QOTW:  I use cursive almost exclusively, unless I'm writing to my younger cousins or for the ESL students.  But even then I'll often start out in cursive and then have to remind myself to print.

[Vespasia]

I spent all of last night finishing In the Woods by Tana French. I really enjoyed itand had a hard time putting it down. It was twisty and suspenseful without trying too hard like so many recent "must read" mysteries. I will probably read the next book later this month.

[MrsAxilla]

I'm reading The Subtle Knife, book two in His Dark Companion. I challenged my 9 yr old to read-race me, but if mom likes it, it must suck.  

QOTD: another hybrid writer here!  Fun fact about me: I've worked for doctors, lawyers, and a negotiator (never wants the other side to peek at his notes).  I can read the MOST atrocious handwriting, but I can't read DH's. 

[ufcasey]

Just got back from being out of town for a long weekend (went to New Orleans with friends!)

Read last week
Idol by Kristen Callihan - romance; 4 stars; reminded me a little bit of Kylie Scott's Stage Dive series if you have read that
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier - fantasy romance; 4 stars; this feels more 'heroic journey' than romance-y so if that's not your thing, fair warning
The Queen and the Cure by Amy Harmon - fantasy romance; 2.5 stars; I enjoyed the first book but this one can definitely be skipped
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler - sci-fi; 3 stars; the worldbuilding with the third gender aliens was actually pretty awesome, but unfortunately the other humans were very bland caricatures so it pulled the rating down

Did not finish
Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran - fiction; it had all this sad stuff in it but it was just boring me so I quit

Currently reading
Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal - historical fiction; still reading this, but it's fun having been to some of the places in NOLA that were in the book
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley - fiction; so far so good, quirky daughter and secretive father whose past slowly gets revealed via flashbacks every other chapter

QOTW
Unless I am trying to be extra special, it's always in print. My handwriting is pretty terrible though in general.

[ally]

Jun 9, 2017 12:25:04 GMT -5 litskispeciality said:

Jun 9, 2017 12:19:17 GMT -5 ally said:

I have today off which is just so nice - a quiet house and no obligations - which means reading, napping, and cooking (my plan for the afternoon is to make hamburger buns for dinner).

I finished Career of Evil (3rd Strike novel) by Robert Galbraith.  I liked it and would probably read a 4th book, but it was dark and I needed frequent breaks.  Because of that I picked a long ago free Nook book to read next - Must Love Otters by Eliza Gordon, it sounds light and a good change.

QOTW: Like almost everyone else, a weird mix of the two, sometimes within the same word! 

Is there a thread somewhere with light books? The Summer that Everything Melted was pretty heavy too. Overall I read a lot of depressing stuff. I could use some easy reads on my goodreads want to read list.

There is a thread on ML about lighter beach reads.  I feel like they pop up on occasion.  I will probably add a few of the suggestions to my library wish list.