It's Friday! (4/13)

[ufcasey]

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

QOTW:
Have you ever met (or randomly passed by on the street etc) a 'celebrity'? If so, who? (It doesn't have to be anyone really famous, just someone you "knew about" without having ever actually met them before)?

 

[rainbowchip]

This week I finished The Gunslinger and Ready Player One.
The Gunslinger left me...confused. But a lot of people seem to like it so I will give the next book a chance.

I listened to Ready Player One and went to see the movie last weekend. I'm still working out how I feel about the movie. Overall I think I liked it.

I also read Nightfall. It's a younger YA novel which I don't really enjoy. There were a lot of things that were never really figured out. You just had to take it at face value.

I'm currently reading The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.

QOTW: When we were in Hawaii we were in a shop and there was some buzz that Burt Reynolds was driving by but I didn't actually see him because I was inside.

[ufcasey]

Read:
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa
4 stars/non-fiction
Prepared to be shocked/horrified/depressed, but this is the kind of thing people to need to know about - first hand accounts of how terrible things truly are in North Korea

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham
4 stars/suspense thriller
This book has secrets, lies, betrayals, and really realistic characters. No surprises at all, but still really engrossing

Garrett by Sawyer Bennett
1 star/romance
No relationship at all, just a bunch of smex and a melodramatic cancer plot


Total so far for the year: 42


Currently Reading:
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See - fiction; I don't understand why this is categorized as historical fiction considering it takes place only as far back as the 1990s, which to me is not historical enough at all. I'll save my other comments for book club

Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee - fiction; so far this is pretty interesting seeing how different people react differently to the same person having a schizo-affective disorder flare up: denial, sympathy, anger, disappointment etc. It really shows how difficult it is for people to deal with mental health compared to how they might act if she had a physical health issue.

QOTW:
I once met Rick Steves (he writes travel guides and had his own travel show) in Italy, while holding one of his books which was pretty funny to me. I didn't think to ask him to autograph it *facepalm* but I did get a picture with him. I also did a meet and greet with Imagine Dragons once (I love their music, come at me LOL!).

[litskispeciality]

This week I finally finished A Wrinkle in Time. I don't want to get flammed but I think I read it wrong, I didn't love it, but didn't hate it. For once I'm hoping the movie fills in some gaps.

I started reading "Just One Day" by Gayle Forman. Hoping for some reading time this weekend. It's good, but a little fluffy for Gayle Forman. I assume it picks up since it's a trilogy of sorts.

Rainbow, I didn't like the Gunslinger either. It took me almost a month to read (a 230 page book). My husband LOVES the series and says it picks up in the second one. This group has given good reviews to the rest of the series too. I've heard not to watch the movie though.

QOTW: I met Steven Tyler once when he was in Northern NH to film Behind the Music. I also met one of my all time favorite bands Buffalo Tom and got to hug the lead singer. Mike O'Mally was at one of their concerts, while I didn't get to meet him the venue was small and he yelled out my request for a song when they band didn't "hear" me. (This was pre-Glee and I was geeking out from the Nickeloden Guts days). Finally, I saw 30 Seconds to Mars once. They did an autograph signing and since I'm a mega Jared Leto fan I waited in line just to be near him, because I'm creepy lol.

[spedrunner]

Read:



The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
4 stars/fiction




Currently Reading:


Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
I am almost done! I love love love this book so much I am having a hard time putting it down! Can't wait to finish it tonight! I want to add more Diane Chamberlain books , can't believe this is my first!

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Love all the suggested and recommended activies and meditations Now if I could only put them into practice





QOTW:

I met and danced with Jim Belushi at a Blues Brother performance in Altantic City. My XH (H at the time) was so mad, he was a favorite of his and he wanted to meet him! lol

I also "saw" Neil Patrick Harris walking with his boyfriend when I was in Venice! It was so adorable

[bex]

I finally finished Ready Player One. It was - okay? I can see why some people love it but lord almighty some of the video game descriptions, or descriptions of haptic suits etc, were just too much. If I had been reading it in paper copy I prob would have skipped a third of it, lol.

Started Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I hope this one is a fast read because I have comey's book pre-ordered and that should arrive next week.

[monkeyfeet]

I finished The Rules of Magic. It was unlike any other book I’ve read by Alice Hoffman (haven’t read Practical Magic) and it started slow, but liked it.

Starting The After Party for my irl book club.

Saw Tom Hanks in Canada with my soccer team in passing.

[sassypants]

I'm quickly approaching hell week at the theatre and I was working out of town last weekend, so not much time for reading. I'm still working my way through my reread of Drums of Autumn.

QOTW: I've met a bunch of people because of my old line of work. Let me think. I've met the band Toad the Wet Sprocket twice. They always hang with fans after the show. I walked past Jackson Browne once but didn't realize it until he was well past us. I've met composer Michael Kamen, violinist Joshua Bell, I talked on the phone with former Cleveland Cavaliers player Brad Daugherty, I went to college and was in theatre with Shanola Hampton (she's on Shameless), I went to church with Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls) once, and her dad helped DH and me plan our wedding music (he's a prof of sacred music), saw Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman with their kids at Disney's MGM studios, also John Ratzenberger on the same trip. I was backstage with Robert Goulet when he was doing Man of La Mancha about 20 years ago (he was surrounded by a bunch of women, too!). I met Alex Trebek when I tested for Jeopardy in HS, saw Tyler Perry at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, I met and interviewed astronaut Leland Melvin for our oral history kiosk at work. Had lunch in the same restaurant at the same time as that dude from Swimfan, Jesse Bradford, and saw Dylan Walsh in the Grove right after that. Oh, and I was part of the interactive studio audience one time for the Mickey Mouse Club in the 90s. I'm probably forgetting some...OH! I met Mario Lemieux at a hockey game and he signed my jersey and ticket. I have also met several other hockey players and gotten some signatures, but none of them are especially famous outside of the sport itself.

[litskispeciality]

Tooshort, we did a group discussion on All the Ugly and Wonderful things last year or the year before ifyou want to read up. I agree it's good, but you're kind of like "should I have liked this book?" "could I recommend this to another person?"

[kelliebeans104]

Read
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ****  loved this
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan ****
Goblet of Fire *****

Currently Reading
Nothing at the moment but I'm going to read Artemis by Andy Weir next and also start Order of the Phoenix in the next few days.

QOTW
I saw Brendan Fraser in Pike's Place in Seattle.  He was eating an ice cream cone with his girlfriend.  

[travella]

I finished Deep Freeze by John Sanford. 2* I couldn't get into the book. I started Silent Child by Sarah Denzil last night.

QOTW: I knew Elijah Wood before he became famous. I've probably met other famous people, but had no idea because I don't usually pay attention to those types of things.

[mrspez07]

Still listening to the Power by Naomi Alderman for my IRL book club.
I am thoroughly enjoying Broken Harbor by Tana French. I find many of her books delicious unraveling stories, they are easy to read but don’t go too fast. This one so far is like the best CSI episode ever because the detail is so much more involved. The gruesomeness is not for the faint of heart though. I somehow am not disturbed by the descriptive stuff in mysteries.

QOTW: I got nothin’

[rootbeerfloat]

I haven't been here in a while! I'm reading The Thief by JR Ward.

QOTW: Jerry Seinfeld at Banana Republic (waiting for his then-girlfriend to try on clothes) is probably the most famous. That mall was actually where I saw others, but I can't remember who. In grad school, I'd always see Veronica from Road Rules/The Challenges at the gym lol. More recently, Ludacris walked right in front of me while boarding a plane.

[jmliongrrrl]

I finished Mark of the Thief by Jennifer Nielsen ***
The second book in the trilogy, Rise of the Wolf was available to borrow from the library so I started that.

QOTW: We sat behind Michael Phelps at an Orioles game. He was friendly to everyone who approached him. I've seen Lady Gaga at a grocery store in Lancaster County but didn't want to bother her. The town I live in has a company that manufactures sets for concerts. Bands/artists come and try them out in this giant rehearsal space so they can work the kinks out before going on tour. I'm always on the lookout when I'm out and about but I find famous people blend in very well when they want to.

[wesleycrusher]

Read:
Spelled (The Storymakers, #1) by Schow Betsy- YA fantasy book. It wasn't that great and I won't be reading the rest of the series.

Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate by Zoe Quinn- I really enjoyed this (I mean, I didn't "enjoy" reading about how her life was completely ruined, but it was a good read)

A Girl Like That byTanaz Bhathena- YA about a teenage girl's death in Saudi Arabia. Very good.

Currently reading:
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson- haven't been able to read much yet. My co-worker retired and they haven't replaced her position yet, so it's severely cut into my reading time.

QOTW:
I've ridden the elevator with local celebrity Rick Sebak at the library.

[dorothyinAus]

This was a good reading week for me. I finished 4 books:
Death at the Chateau Bremont on Monday night;
Hot Chocolate Glazed Murder on Tuesday;
Murder in St. Giles on Wednesday; and 
Kale to the Queen early Saturday morning.

Now I'm reading Murder in the Rue Dumas.

QOTW:
The Mannings are friends of friends, so I've encountered them out and about. And Archie Manning was a client of the law firm I worked for so I saw him frequently in a professional role.
I discussed a couple of books with Hoda Kotb one day at Barnes & Noble when she was still an anchor on the local news in New Orleans.
I shared a smile with Geoffrey Rush on the street in Melbourne. He was at a memorial service for an Australian humorist and I was on the street waiting for someone to come out of the Memorial service. A couple of girls rushed up to him for a selfie and he declined. They went away muttering about how rude he was; the girls were the rude ones! He was having a discussion with someone and they interrupted. I was standing on the other side of the bench waiting and just smiled. He smiled back.
And I shared a table with Ross Noble at a food court in Melbourne one day. I didn't know who he was at the time. The food court was full and I asked if two seats at the other end of the table were taken he said no. It was sometime later when I discovered who I had actually shared the table with. And unfortunately it was because his house was one that was destroyed in a bushfire.

[aurora]

I finished The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (audiobook; I'm going to have to look up spelling for the discussion!) and started The Waste Lands, which is book #3 in The Dark Tower series. I read the whole series a few years ago and am now trying them on audiobook.

I'm also re-reading Voyager (Outlander series).

QOTW: Weird Al autographed my race skis once when I met him in a hotel lobby.

[aurora]

Apr 13, 2018 9:20:18 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

This week I finished The Gunslinger and Ready Player One.
The Gunslinger left me...confused. But a lot of people seem to like it so I will give the next book a chance.
...

Honestly, I don't love the first three books in the series, and it took me a long time to get through them. I loved the fourth and am really glad I persisted. I'm re-reading now to see what I missed the first time.

[aurora]

Apr 13, 2018 13:18:18 GMT -5 @tooshort said:

...Currently reading All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I’m hooked but it’s very disturbing. ...

I agree it was a captivating read, but over a year later I am still disturbed.

[abs]

spedrunner, try The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. That was my first book by her and I really enjoyed it. We tend to have similar taste so I think you will like it!

I am reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. I tried reading this a year ago or so and couldn't get into it but I gave it another chance and can't read fast enough this time. Heartbreaking but very good.

@tooshort, there is a book club discussion from All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Look for it when you are done...I will be curious to hear your thoughts! Well written but oh so disturbing.

[minzy]

I finally finished Antarctica - An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker, 4.5 stars, #23 of the year.  I think I first saw it mentioned by charlatti, so thanks for that!  I thought it was really fascinating, especially the science they're doing down there.  I only wish there had been pictures of some of her travels!

sassypants - Maybe you already know about it, but if not, Leland Melvin has a book that came out last year that's pretty good - Chasing Space.

QOTW: During summers in college I worked at an airport and encountered several famous people - I sold a magazine to Brian Boitano, spotted Katie Holmes, interacted briefly with John Walsh from America's Most Wanted, met one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul guys (I never would have recognized him, but he introduced himself and then gave me his autograph, which I had not asked for, lol).  I once spotted one of my favorite (kind of obscure) musicians in the airport and basically abandoned my post to go talk to him (he was very gracious).  I zig zagged through exhibits on a fairly empty floor of the Tate Modern the same time as Bill Paxton, I passed Jenna Fischer in the Dulles airport, randomly sat on a plane behind Gretchen Wilson and in a row with her bandmates (they were pretty funny, we decided to team up and not put our seats in an upright position on landing).  When I worked in DC, I would see politicians periodically.

[charlatti]

Apr 14, 2018 12:56:57 GMT -5 minzy said:

I finally finished Antarctica - An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker, 4.5 stars, #23 of the year.  I think I first saw it mentioned by charlatti , so thanks for that!  I thought it was really fascinating, especially the science they're doing down there.  I only wish there had been pictures of some of her travels!

I checked out a bunch of Antarctica photo books from the library after I finished it — I definitely wished there were pictures! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[charlatti]

I finished The Gone World by Tom Sweterlisch, which I didn’t enjoy at all, and The Stone Girl’s Story by Sarah Beth Durst, which I loved. It’s a middle grade book but much more thought provoking than I expected. Currently reading The Humans by Matt Haig. I like it but I feel like I’ve read it before. Pretty sure I haven’t actually read it, so I’m not sure what it’s reminding me of.

[Vespasia]

Between school and work this week was insane and I had no time to read. I just started Children of Blood and Bone this afternoon. Really enjoying it so far!

QOTW: Ron Howard came into the store where I worked in college and I discussed an item with him. In the end he didn't buy it so I have boycotted his movies ever since.

[spedrunner]

Apr 14, 2018 11:32:10 GMT -5 abs said:

spedrunner , try The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain. That was my first book by her and I really enjoyed it. We tend to have similar taste so I think you will like it!

I am reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. I tried reading this a year ago or so and couldn't get into it but I gave it another chance and can't read fast enough this time. Heartbreaking but very good.

@tooshort , there is a book club discussion from All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Look for it when you are done...I will be curious to hear your thoughts! Well written but oh so disturbing

Thank you! It was on my to read list and I just picked it up from the library

I was eyeing before we were yours as well, but it was one of the "hot" item books, it was only a 7 day rental and if you are a day late there is a $2 charge. I dont trust myself  lol

[sassypants]

Apr 14, 2018 12:56:57 GMT -5 minzy said:

I finally finished Antarctica - An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker, 4.5 stars, #23 of the year.  I think I first saw it mentioned by charlatti , so thanks for that!  I thought it was really fascinating, especially the science they're doing down there.  I only wish there had been pictures of some of her travels!

sassypants - Maybe you already know about it, but if not, Leland Melvin has a book that came out last year that's pretty good - Chasing Space.

QOTW: During summers in college I worked at an airport and encountered several famous people - I sold a magazine to Brian Boitano, spotted Katie Holmes, interacted briefly with John Walsh from America's Most Wanted, met one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul guys (I never would have recognized him, but he introduced himself and then gave me his autograph, which I had not asked for, lol).  I once spotted one of my favorite (kind of obscure) musicians in the airport and basically abandoned my post to go talk to him (he was very gracious).  I zig zagged through exhibits on a fairly empty floor of the Tate Modern the same time as Bill Paxton, I passed Jenna Fischer in the Dulles airport, randomly sat on a plane behind Gretchen Wilson and in a row with her bandmates (they were pretty funny, we decided to team up and not put our seats in an upright position on landing).  When I worked in DC, I would see politicians periodically.

Oh yes. He mentioned it to me during the interview, and when it came out I had our retail manager order copies to sell in the museum store. There are two versions--an adult reader and an youth reader. The youth one has science experiments in it and I got a copy for education director to have. We want to have him in for a book signing, but he's SO busy with all of his speaking engagements and other appearances. He's an amazingly humble person, and just lovely.

[ssmjlm]

I have been stuck in a bad book rut. I finally finished after like 2 weeks True Fiction by Lee Goldberg. It was so so bad. Thankfully it was a prime reading freebie. But I’ve read stuff he’s done with Janet Evanovich and that stuff was good.

I just finished Still Me by Jojo Moyes. I know a lot of people didn’t think she should have written anything after Me Before You, but this one was good too. Much better than the second book. The first half made me nervous, but the second half with Mrs. DeWitt was really good. And I loved the ending. I think she did a great job of weaving Will’s wants for Louisa and Louisa’s decisions in the end.

[leeba25]

Apr 13, 2018 19:49:10 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

I haven't been here in a while! I'm reading The Thief by JR Ward.

QOTW: Jerry Seinfeld at Banana Republic (waiting for his then-girlfriend to try on clothes) is probably the most famous. That mall was actually where I saw others, but I can't remember who. In grad school, I'd always see Veronica from Road Rules/The Challenges at the gym lol. More recently, Ludacris walked right in front of me while boarding a plane.

Are you enjoying The Thief? I am re-reading a couple of her previous BDB books, and am considering picking that new one up. Unfortunately, it's not available at the library & it's pretty expensive on Kindle, so I'm still debating. I'll usually buy her stuff right as it comes out, but The Chosen annoyed me (mainly with Qhuinn turning into a next-level asshole), so I don't know. 

[rainbowchip]

Apr 17, 2018 8:21:48 GMT -5 leeba25 said:

Apr 13, 2018 19:49:10 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

I haven't been here in a while! I'm reading The Thief by JR Ward.

QOTW: Jerry Seinfeld at Banana Republic (waiting for his then-girlfriend to try on clothes) is probably the most famous. That mall was actually where I saw others, but I can't remember who. In grad school, I'd always see Veronica from Road Rules/The Challenges at the gym lol. More recently, Ludacris walked right in front of me while boarding a plane.

Are you enjoying The Thief? I am re-reading a couple of her previous BDB books, and am considering picking that new one up. Unfortunately, it's not available at the library & it's pretty expensive on Kindle, so I'm still debating. I'll usually buy her stuff right as it comes out, but The Chosen annoyed me (mainly with Qhuinn turning into a next-level asshole), so I don't know. 

Liking to agree that Quinn was an ass and basically everyone in that book was completely out of character from what they have been the entire series!

I read on FB that at one of her events Ward said she was only going to do 1 BDB book a year. I don't know if that means she is ending BDB Legacy or if she is just going to do one BDB and then the next year do a Legacy.

Anyway, she said it was because BDB sometimes couldn't afford 2 books a year and wants to concentrate on one quality book a year. But I don't buy it. I think she has other series that might appeal to a larger audience that she wants to work on and take the place of one of the two BDB book.

[rootbeerfloat]

Apr 17, 2018 8:21:48 GMT -5 leeba25 said:

Apr 13, 2018 19:49:10 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

I haven't been here in a while! I'm reading The Thief by JR Ward.

QOTW: Jerry Seinfeld at Banana Republic (waiting for his then-girlfriend to try on clothes) is probably the most famous. That mall was actually where I saw others, but I can't remember who. In grad school, I'd always see Veronica from Road Rules/The Challenges at the gym lol. More recently, Ludacris walked right in front of me while boarding a plane.

Are you enjoying The Thief? I am re-reading a couple of her previous BDB books, and am considering picking that new one up. Unfortunately, it's not available at the library & it's pretty expensive on Kindle, so I'm still debating. I'll usually buy her stuff right as it comes out, but The Chosen annoyed me (mainly with Qhuinn turning into a next-level asshole), so I don't know. 

It was fine, but I could've waited. I was hoping for a more exciting resolution between Assail and Sola. I actually still haven't read Blood Fury, the latest BDB Legacy (because I'm waiting for my library hold), and I wish I'd read that one first.

V sucks at the beginning, but that's been happening for a couple of books now.