It's Friday! Yes, Really! (12/15)

[dorothyinAus]

What are you reading today? Are you all ready for any of the holidays you celebrate?

QOTW:  You have two new kittens (or puppies), and want to give them literary names. What do you choose?

[minzy]

I've been reading The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far (Why Are We Here?) by Lawrence M. Krauss. It's about theoretical physics, and frankly, quite a bit over my head. I'll finish it though.

I am pretty much as ready as I can possibly be for a huge neighborhood party I'm supposed to be hosting tomorrow, but one of my kids woke up an hour ago with a raging fever, so we'll probably have to postpone/cancel. Ugh. I just can't expose 30 kids to this the week before Christmas.

Cat names... Pride and Prejudice? Shelley and Keats? Franny and Zoey? Ramona and Beezus?

[charlatti]

I am rereading The Handmaid’s Tale and just started Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie. It’s been many years since I first read Handmaid, so while I remember the basics the details are unfamiliar.

I’m sort of ready for the holidays but need to set aside some time to organize and figure out what still needs to be done. Now, to find that time...

QOTW: DD just asked me this question last night! We got stuck on Harry Potter names. We liked Godric Griffindog and Rowena Ravencat; Helga Hufflepet wasn’t quite as good. My current cat is Atticus, and Scout makes a good pet name too.

[bex]

I'm reading Days without End by Sebastian Barry. It's good but his style of writing is almost like reading a foreign language. You just kind of have to accept the rhythm and go with it. (I've never read any of his other books so not sure if that is normal.) I read Homegoing earlier this week and LOVED it so I figure I'm going to be disappointed by whatever follows.

I'm ready-ish. I have most of my shopping and planning done, I just need to make final preparations for hosting Christmas dinner.


Cat names: Anne and Gilbert if they are male/female lol.

[ufcasey]

I am very unprepared - we just got our tree last night and still need to decorate it, we need to deep clean the house in preparation for having guests over this weekend, and we still have quite a bid of kid present shopping to do for family. Tis the season to be slightly stressed

Read:
The Silent Waters by Brittainy Cherry - romance; 3 stars; I like this trope, two broken people who fix themselves and fall in love, but at the same time I've read better ones (Kane's Hell by Elizabeth Finn for example)
Burn by Suzanne Wright - PNR; 4 stars; I really enjoyed that this was about demons and had a unique take on the 'fated to be mated' thing
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - fiction; 5 stars; GO READ THIS!!! This is quite possibly my favorite book of the year. I liked this one even more than her debut book, Everything I Never Told You, for reference if you have read that.

Did Not Finish
Ransom by Julie Garwood - historical romance; this was all kinds of terrible really but one little adorably obnoxious kid had me reading it until the half way point until I gave up

Currently Reading:
Beartown by Fredrik Backman - fiction; this is SO different than his other book I have read, A Man Called Ove, but I'm really drawn into it despite it's partial focus on hockey (a sport I know/care nothing about), which speaks to how good it is
Married by Morning (#4 in series) by Lisa Kleypas - historical romance; I freaking love this series

QOTW:
I enjoy this question!
Hermione (from Harry Potter) and Kvothe (from Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles)

[abs]

I just finished the Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and overall I really enjoyed it! The ending left me wanting more though.

I am so not even ready for the holidays. I am overwhelmed and not feeling them at all.

QOTW: girls or boys? Hermione and Albus? Jane and Charlotte? Fun question!

[ally]

I finished Before the Fall earlier this week, I liked it overall.  My hold for Into the Water came up, so I about halfway through.  I am always late to the book club - slow library holds! 

Last night I got the gifts wrapped that I have.  I think I have everything else ordered, so waiting.  This weekend I need to confirm that!  We are hosting my in laws on Christmas Eve, so DH and I need to come up with a shopping list and a timeline.

QOTW: For as much as I read this should be easy, but any animal names have been from TV: we once had three fish with the Charmed girls names.

[rainbowchip]

I finished Empire of Storms. I don't ever feel like I fully grasp the detail in this series. So I don't love it but I will finish it out.

I'm starting to read the novellas. I see now I should have read them before EoS.
I'm 6 behind on my goal of 52 books tghis year so these novellas will help. (Thoughn with finishing EoS I have more pages in 43 books than I did all of last year with 52)

I am pretty much done shopping. I still need to find something for my dog niece and nephew. I did my shopping almost exclusively online this year which is fantastic! I need to start wrapping everything now.
We got our tree on Sunday, brought it in the house on Tuesday and still need to decorate it. Probably tonight or tomorrow.

QOTW: I am the worst at naming stuff. Maybe BDB names. So like Phury and Zsadist.

Our dog's name was Bella. We got her right around the time the Twilight was published. But I didn't know anything about it until years later when the movie came out.
My grandpa's name was Edward so I chose it for my son's middle name.
Everyone assumes both were based on twilight. Lol

[sassypants]

I'm about halfway through As You Wish by Cary Elwes. It is his recollections about the filming The Princess Bride. He's not the tightest writer, but the stories are fun.

QOTW: I was going to name my dearly departed Tommy Hamlet, but he was too cheerful a kitten. Let's see. Calvin and Hobbes could be cute. I named four feral cats at a boarding school where I used to work after LOTR characters: Frodo, Bilbo, Sam, and Gandalf.

[monkeyfeet]

I’m about 37% through The Fiery Cross but that will probably be my answer for the next month. I also started Born A Crime. I had no expectations going in and that’s probably a good thing.

QOTW: Charlotte and Wilbur? I’m unoriginal!

[rootbeerfloat]

I finished Jane, Unlimited this week. It was... weird.

I'm in good shape for Christmas, though I have a list of errands for the weekend (picking up GCs from random places, etc) and need to wrap.

QOTW: I really want a corgi I can name Tyrion, though this is inspired by the TV show. And I wouldn't ever get a cat, but naming one Katniss would amuse me.

[hurricanedrunk]

I'm listening to Gone with the Wind. I didn't realize how long of a book it is. I'm on disc 32 of 41 and enjoying it. I keep waiting for Scarlett and Rhett to get together.

I'm reading Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. It's good so far but all my reading time has been before bed when I've been dead tired. I'm looking forward to getting into it better this weekend especially after ufcasey,'s review.

QOTW - A lot of good ones already. I love the name Albus for a dog. I would go for Yossarian & Milo Minderbinder or Major Major Major Major. All just fun to say!

[Nonny]

I'm still slogging my way through The Yiddish Policemen's Union. And by slogging I mean largely skimming at this point, because I want to know who the murderer is and why, but the writing is killing me. 

I waiting on another package from Amazon, I still need to do my H's stocking, and I have to wrap everything. 

QOTW:  I'm not a dog person, but I'm imagining a black mastiff puppy named King Lear, and a calico kitten named Cordelia.

[doxies]

I am finishing up They Both Die at the End this weekend. I really am liking it but am dreading getting to the end. I like a happy ending, so I was asking my DS who already read it if they really die. Then I said - don't tell me, I don't want to know. But I image it will be a mess.

Next up is Good Me Bad Me.

Looking forward to some relaxing reading time between holiday events and going to see Star Wars. I think I am going to try to squeeze in a reading of Kindred Spirits before we go. It is Rainbow Rowell's Star Wars adjacent short story. I gave it to my DD to read today.

[Vespasia]

I have been flying through Artemis by Andy Weir this week. I'm really enjoying it a lot! I should finish it this weekend, which will put me one book over my goal for the year.

QOTW: I'm terrible at naming things. Our current cat didn't have a name for a long time after we got her and the tiny kitten I found a year ago never even got a real name until have went to his permanent home at 8 weeks!

[charlatti]

Dumbledog was my very first thought. I can’t believe I forgot that one!

[travella]

This week I finished The Red Queen, The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman, and started Glass Houses by Louise Penny.

I'm ready for the holidays. I've got all the gifts bought and wrapped. All the major holiday parties are over. Next week is my daughter's birthday and the classroom holiday parties, but after that it's smooth sailing with the exception of making holiday meals.

QOTW: I like the idea of names from Harry Potter.

[mx27]

Dec 15, 2017 8:55:16 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

I am very unprepared - we just got our tree last night and still need to decorate it, we need to deep clean the house in preparation for having guests over this weekend, and we still have quite a bid of kid present shopping to do for family. Tis the season to be slightly stressed

Read:
The Silent Waters by Brittainy Cherry - romance; 3 stars; I like this trope, two broken people who fix themselves and fall in love, but at the same time I've read better ones (Kane's Hell by Elizabeth Finn for example)
Burn by Suzanne Wright - PNR; 4 stars; I really enjoyed that this was about demons and had a unique take on the 'fated to be mated' thing
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - fiction; 5 stars; GO READ THIS!!! This is quite possibly my favorite book of the year. I liked this one even more than her debut book, Everything I Never Told You, for reference if you have read that.

Did Not Finish
Ransom by Julie Garwood - historical romance; this was all kinds of terrible really but one little adorably obnoxious kid had me reading it until the half way point until I gave up

Currently Reading:
Beartown by Fredrik Backman - fiction; this is SO different than his other book I have read, A Man Called Ove, but I'm really drawn into it despite it's partial focus on hockey (a sport I know/care nothing about), which speaks to how good it is
Married by Morning (#4 in series) by Lisa Kleypas - historical romance; I freaking love this series

QOTW:
I enjoy this question!
Hermione (from Harry Potter) and Kvothe (from Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles)

I just got my first kindle yesterday and was trying to figure out what to read first...until I saw your post! I think we have similar tastes in books and am very excited to read Celeste ng’s books and the historical romance series! Thank you!

[mrspez07]

I picked The Book (A cover to cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time) by Keith Houston back up again. it was a gift last Christmas from DH, and is both fascinating and dry, so I’m only on page 40. It’s also a beautiful specimen of a book.
I also needed a story, so I started The Next Always from Nora Roberts last night.

We’re getting there. A few more gifts needed and lots of wrapping. MySIL is tough this year. She had a few Russian-themed books in her wishlist, now I need more Russian themed items to round out her gift (she was an exchange student there 25 years ago). Any ideas?
Also still stuck on our 5yo

[dorothyinAus]

I'm reading Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love by James Runcie so I can give it to my Dad when I see him after Christmas.  After that I need to read Mistletoe & Murder and Cream Buns & Crime by Robin Stevens so I can give them to my mother to forward on to my cousin's little girl -- I get them when they are released in England so she can have them before they are released in the US. And she gets the original UK covers, which I think are nicer.

I'm as ready as possible for my holidays. We're doing Christmas with my ILs in mid-January and we'll look for gifts while we're in the US or on the cruise. My family doesn't do gifts for Christmas. DH and I decided this year's gifts would be the splurge of a cruise over the holidays (and associated airfare) and that's all paid off and we've books shore excursions and on-borad indulgences for each other.

QOTW:  Ohh the answers already given have been great. I thought Josephine & Laurie would be good for kittens. My own cat was named Wimsey after Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter, and I always thought she needed a companion named Bunter.  But I can see myself naming a pair of cats Nero & Archie (from Rex Stout's books), or Poirot & Hastings (Agatha Christie). For puppies, I would consider Athos & d'Artagnan (The Three Musketeers) or Falstaff & Dogberry (Shakespearean fools), depending. I've always thought the Commedia del'Arte characters were great pet names as well, Pierrot & Pierette or Columbine & Harlequin, but I'm not sure those are literary as such.

[abs]

Dec 15, 2017 8:55:16 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - fiction; 5 stars; GO READ THIS!!! This is quite possibly my favorite book of the year. I liked this one even more than her debut book, Everything I Never Told You, for reference if you have read that.

)

Okay, because you insist. I started this last night. So far I really do like it and am intrigued.   I am going in rather suspicious though because I HATED her other book.  Like I think I actually threw my Kindle across the room once I finished.  I did like her writing though so I am willing to give her another chance!    I really have heard nothing but good things about Little Fires Everywhere.

[ssmjlm]

Finished I See You by Clare Makintosh. It wasn’t as good as her first by far. The beginning was very slow and the end was meh.

I didn’t even make it 100 pages into Everything I Never Told You. I still don’t get the love for that book.

QOTW: Probably something cutesy like Pride and Prejudice. Or maybe Christian and Ana? 😉 kidding!

[abs]

ssmjlm, I finished Everything I Never Told You but it was probably one of my least favorite books ever.

[rainbowchip]

Dec 15, 2017 14:49:41 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I have been flying through Artemis by Andy Weir this week. I'm really enjoying it a lot! I should finish it this weekend, which will put me one book over my goal for the year.

I've heard so many great things about this book. That it lives up to The Martian. I have the book from the library and am super excited to start reading it.

[sassypants]

Dec 15, 2017 13:06:45 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

I finished Jane, Unlimited this week. It was... weird.

I'm in good shape for Christmas, though I have a list of errands for the weekend (picking up GCs from random places, etc) and need to wrap.

QOTW: I really want a corgi I can name Tyrion, though this is inspired by the TV show. And I wouldn't ever get a cat, but naming one Katniss would amuse me.

I have a friend whose son named his cat Katness. ;-) 

[AJL]

I've been re-reading The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati. I really love this book. I can't wait for the second book in the series to be released. It was supposed to be finished this summer a and then hopefully published and released next year, but who knows.

I have been reading A Wrinkle in Time to my children each night. I forgot how much I love that book (but the chapters are looonnggg.)

Next up in my queue is Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.  I've already met my reading goal for the year, so the next week or so is just cake. I'm not sure what my 2018 goal will be, yet. 

QOTW: They would likely be kittens (probably all black as that's what we currently have and I love solid black cats). They may be:

Holmes and Watson
Laurie and Jo(e)
Bertie and Jeeves

[sassypants]

Dec 18, 2017 16:34:53 GMT -5 AJL said:

I've been re-reading The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati. I really love this book. I can't wait for the second book in the series to be released. It was supposed to be finished this summer a and then hopefully published and released next year, but who knows.

I have been reading A Wrinkle in Time to my children each night. I forgot how much I love that book (but the chapters are looonnggg.)

Next up in my queue is Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.  I've already met my reading goal for the year, so the next week or so is just cake. I'm not sure what my 2018 goal will be, yet. 

QOTW: They would likely be kittens (probably all black as that's what we currently have and I love solid black cats). They may be:

Holmes and Watson
Laurie and Jo(e)
Bertie and Jeeves

Samhain says hello to your black kitties (and forgive our gross carpet. It's old):
 

[AJL]

Dec 18, 2017 17:01:16 GMT -5 sassypants said:

Dec 18, 2017 16:34:53 GMT -5 AJL said:

I've been re-reading The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati. I really love this book. I can't wait for the second book in the series to be released. It was supposed to be finished this summer a and then hopefully published and released next year, but who knows.

I have been reading A Wrinkle in Time to my children each night. I forgot how much I love that book (but the chapters are looonnggg.)

Next up in my queue is Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.  I've already met my reading goal for the year, so the next week or so is just cake. I'm not sure what my 2018 goal will be, yet. 

QOTW: They would likely be kittens (probably all black as that's what we currently have and I love solid black cats). They may be:

Holmes and Watson
Laurie and Jo(e)
Bertie and Jeeves

Samhain says hello to your black kitties:
 

Hello, Samhain!

My two black kitties, Jeff (left. He's just over a year old) and my old man Max (at 14 y.o., looking very put out. LOL!)