Friday 1/11 - what are you reading?

[ufcasey]

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

QOTW:
What was the worst present you’ve ever received?

[abs]

I read a lot this week. I finished the last two books in the On Dublin Street series, The Last Mrs. Parrish, and am now halfway through Two Can Keep a Secret. When you are sick and told to rest you have lots of reading time. The worst of the bunch was The Last Mrs. Parrish but it was still worth getting from the library.

We will see how Two Can Keep a Secret turns out. Right now it feels very much so like a Fear Street book. This is not a bad thing but it does not feel original like her first book did.

QOTW: I can't really think of anything too bad! Maybe earrings as a birthday gift when I don't have pierced ears.

[ssmjlm]

DNF - How to Stop Time - just couldn't get into it and after 100 pages I said, no more.

Hate Notes - 5*
OMG I loved loved this book. I rarely give 5 stars, but this book just spoke to me. I loved Penelope Bloom's His Banana and felt this had some of the same great qualities with her and Vi Kneeland writing together.

QOTW:
My nana once sent me a Lobster kazoo when I was like 25 because she said she swore I told her I wanted one.

[ufcasey]

Read:
Rogue Spy by Joanna Bourne
3.5 stars/ historical romance
Strong beginning but the spy mystery ends up being weak and the two main characters develop lust more than an actual relationship which is disappointing for this genre

The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #8) by Louise Penny
2.5 stars/mystery
You guys warned me that this one wasn't going to be good, and man, you weren't kidding. I'll keep reading this series but man, this was kind of terrible.

Total so far for the year: 3

Currently reading:
The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy, #3) by Katherine Arden - I'm loving this!

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin - this is a collection of short stories so it's easy to pick up and put down. I'm about a third of the way through it and some stories are better than others, but nothing so far comes anywhere close to her amazing Broken Earth trilogy

QOTW:
My mother-in-law once gave me a pair of earrings that she put inside a small fancy jewelry box you would see for an engagement ring, but when I opened the box, they had been poked through a plastic holder thing that had clearly previously held a necklace before, not earrings. And that would have been only a little weird but ok if it weren't for the fact that the earrings themselves didn't match each other (both plain gold balls but slightly different sizes) and one was turning green. We do have a good relationship, as far as I know, but that gift has always made me wonder...

[meowmaps]

I'm 70% through An American Marriage. I'm really enjoying it and hope to finish it later today or tonight. Next up is Becoming!

QOTW:
I don't like gifts that I have no use for and are just going to collect dust/take up space in my home. Years ago my grandma gave me a rabbit-fur purse. I'm a lifelong animal lover and I've never worn or would wear fur. It was a very odd, out of left field gift.

[staceymcgill]

This week I finished Factfulness which was very good. I’m about halfway through I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which honestly is freaking me out lol.

[sassypants]

I started Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine by Kelley Fanto Deetz. She's an acquaintance of mine and I've been looking forward to reading her book, and DH gave me a copy for Christmas! I had to put it aside for now though because my hold for Rich People Problems came in from the library and that wait list is hella long.

QOTW: Oooh, man. My Granny, who I loved dearly and I was her favorite grandchild, gave me a couple of doozies in the later years. One year, when I was in my 20s, she gave me a track suit. You know, like old lady mall walkers/The Golden Girls favor? It was shiny red with gold printed rope-type detailing and gold pants. It was horrific! She used to be the only family member who could buy me clothes, and that was the first time she missed the mark. The other thing was something DH and I got right after we were married. He was in his first church appointment, and she sent us a super tacky plastic clock shaped like the 10 Commandments. We joke, but we totally lost it somewhere and neither of us knows how. It wasn't done intentionally, but it totally went missing!

[rainbowchip]

I read Girls of Paper and Fire. It's a YA fantasy which are hit or miss for me. This one was a hit. Disclaimer: there is a trigger warning at the beginning of the book that is 100% necessary.

I'm currently reading Dark Matter. I'm only a little but into it but I and delightfully confused as to what is going on.

QOTW: MIL (who is a horrible gift giver) gave me a cheetah print camisole one year for Christmas. She always cuts the tags off of everything so you can't even think about returning it. That went right in the donate pile.

[dontlook]

This week I read:

Barracoon: The Story of The Last Black Cargo by Zora Neale Hurston: 3 stars
Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris: 2 stars
Dark Matter by Blake Couch: 3.5 stars

I’m starting:
Until It Fades by K.A. Tucker

QOTW:
My MIL gave me this contraption that helps you locate your keys except I have a keyless system and I never actually need to locate my keys to drive or get in my house.

[monkeyfeet]

I finished Sister’s First and am currently reading The Dream Daughter. So far, I’m enjoying it!

[Vespasia]

I finally finished the Becoming audiobook this week! It was fantastic. 

Currently reading the Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. It's fine but I am struggling a bit because my orignal loan expired around a third of the way through and it took me several weeks to get it back. I barely remember who all the characters are and their relationships to each other. 

QOTW: A sweatshirt with puffy paint and embroidered snowmen. 

[Nonny]

I just finished up Lethal White (really enjoyed the characters, but was much more iffy on the mystery), and I've started BA Paris's Bring Me Back - I'm only 10% or so of the way in, and it's OK so far, but I'm struggling a little bit with the narrator.  He seems... off, and not just in the "he's clearly unreliable and lying" sort of way, but in the, "this person feels like a one dimensional caricature" sort of way.

QOTW:  Pretty much anything my mom buys in quadruplicate off of QVC or the "As Seen on TV" endcap at the store for herself, me, my sister, and my niece.  She did good twice with a travel wallet and collapsible insulated shopping bag, but has missed the mark repeatedly with such things as the purse hammock for your car, the GIANT jewelry storage box (that firstly I don't have a place for, and secondly was given to me just months after our house was robbed and 90% of my jewelry was stolen anyway).  One year she also got us all ugly old lady Christmas sweaters to wear while unwrapping gifts (that she legit thought were adorable) and mine was too small.  She was super unhappy and pouty when I refused to wear mine all day until it was time to take the group family photo.  

Donate donate donate. 

[pinotgrig]

The Seven Deaths is Evelyn Hardcastle - 4* This was a really interesting one - there was time travel and body hopping murder mystery. The way the author set this up was superb. A pleasant surprise!

Beartown - 5* I’m like the last person to have read this read this, but it was amazing. So, so good.

Currently reading Intensive Care: A Doctor’s Journal (not bad) and listening to Into the Water (meh).

QOTW: A used food dehydrator as a wedding gift.

[travella]

I just finished Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, 4*. I will start The Wedding Date tonight.

QOTW: I've had plenty of things end up straight in the donation bin over the years, but nothing really stands out as being really horrible at the moment.

[charlatti]

I just started Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia. It’s good so far and very fast paced — mystery/suspense-type book. I’m also re-reading a couple of classics that I’m teaching right now, so it’s nice to have something less taxing.

Qotw: A college boyfriend bought me a dress. It was llike a prom dress, totally not me, and also more revealing than I wanted to open at Christmas in front of my family. Very awkward.

[meowmaps]

Jan 11, 2019 15:43:50 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

The Seven Deaths is Evelyn Hardcastle - 4* This was a really interesting one - there was time travel and body hopping murder mystery. The way the author set this up was superb. A pleasant surprise!

Beartown - 5* I’m like the last person to have read this read this, but it was amazing. So, so good.

Currently reading Intensive Care: A Doctor’s Journal (not bad) and listening to Into the Water (meh).

QOTW: A used food dehydrator as a wedding gift.

I have that on my library request list.  I'm looking forward to reading it.  

[dontlook]

Jan 11, 2019 17:17:16 GMT -5 charlatti said:

I just started Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia. It’s good so far and very fast paced — mystery/suspense-type book. I’m also re-reading a couple of classics that I’m teaching right now, so it’s nice to have something less taxing.

Qotw: A college boyfriend bought me a dress. It was llike a prom dress, totally not me, and also more revealing than I wanted to open at Christmas in front of my family. Very awkward.

I’m adding that to my want to read list! I love Mindy Mejia.

[minzy]

I was on a tear this week.  I read:

In Defense of Food - An Eater’s Manifesto - Michael Pollan - 4 stars.  "Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."

Us Against Them - Fredrik Backman - 5 stars.  Masterfully done.

Use Less Stuff - Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are - Robert Lilienfeld and William Rathje - 5 stars.  This book was published in 1998 and is still almost 100% applicable to stuff we should all be doing today.  It gives a history of consumerism, philosophies on consumption, and offers many suggestions of using less energy and stuff.  Reading it prompted me to clean the dust from the back of my fridge, lower the temp on our hot water heater, and change our HVAC filters (it had been a few months).  Check out the Use Less Stuff website if you're interested.

The Art of Gathering - How We Meet and Why It Matters - Priya Parker - 4.5 stars.  Although it's only mildly applicable to my current life station, it was interesting and food for thought on diplomacy at every stage of a gathering.

QOTW: I won't say it was the worst present, but it was memorable... we got a personalized wedding gift that had been previously personalized for another couple, with our names essentially stickered (as nicely as such a thing can be done) on top.  We were amused when we finally got the courage to peel back the sticker.  Shoutout to Tara and Bob! 

[mrspez07]

I’m listening to The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny and reading Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

Listening to Louise Penny is tricky sometimes because some of the reoccurring police officer names are similar.

QOTW: I was a pre-teen/young teen and so was still really into presents. I also think this is the first one that felt like someone didn’t really know me My aunt and uncle got me an ugly windbreaker and when I tried to return it I either couldn’t find the brand anywhere or it was so old it wasn’t returnable, (memory is foggy). They garage sale’d a lot, so I think I got it that way or a hand me down from something my aunt picked for herself.

[sarahswim]

I read The Breakdown (BA Paris) and The Good Liar (Catherine Mackenzie) this week. Up next is probably The Nest (Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney) or It All Falls Down (Sheena Kamal). I've been putting those off, even though I'm not sure why. I have 5 books on hold at the library to be picked up this week, so I need to just read them.

QOTW: A couple of years ago I received a stuffed snowman thing from my SIL. My MIL is a 2nd grade teacher, and I'm 99.9% certain she received it as a teacher gift. Then my SIL needed *something* to give me, so she grabbed it from MIL.

[dorothyinAus]

I finished Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt and started Withering-by-Sea which has started out very fun. I think I am going to enjoy the series.

QOTW: A Danielle Steele book from a co-worker during a Secret Santa exchange. It wasn't so much the book that was bad, though I have never been a fan of Danielle Steele, but that it came with the note "you read books, this is a book." The co-worker in question proudly proclaimed she hadn't read a book in over 20 years.

[closertofine]

I finished The Death of Mrs. Westaway this morning. I didn't like it much. Now I am six hours into Grapes of Wrath which I missed in all of my schooling. I like it so far though I know the basic story. I'm in Hamlet with my seniors this week. I am hoping some of my wait list items come up soon because I don't have anything else at the ready.

[tacokick]

Just finished Small Fry. It was interesting. Steve Jobs was a very odd man.

Now I’m starting The Au Pair by Emma Rous.

QOTW: when I turned 25 I had recently moved and my mom gave me a bunch of toiletries but they weren’t fun and oddly all from multipacks but not a full mulipack? So it was like one bar of Dove soap and some cotton balls? I honestly thought it was a joke. She’s never done anything like that before or since.

[wildrice]

Jan 11, 2019 15:43:50 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

The Seven Deaths is Evelyn Hardcastle - 4* This was a really interesting one - there was time travel and body hopping murder mystery. The way the author set this up was superb. A pleasant surprise!

Beartown - 5* I’m like the last person to have read this read this, but it was amazing. So, so good.

Currently reading Intensive Care: A Doctor’s Journal (not bad) and listening to Into the Water (meh).

QOTW: A used food dehydrator as a wedding gift.

My book club read this one in November. I liked it ok, though I found it hard to follow at points!

I am still reading Bridge of Clay. I think I've been reading it for about 3 weeks now. I'm almost done (may even finish it today). It's good, but way too long and I don't like the pacing. I feel like it took me FOREVER to get into it and even now I'm not in a super rush to hear the rest of the story.

I did listen to the audiobook of A Man Called Ove last week. I loved that one so much. I really enjoyed Beartown and Us Against You so I am not surprised I liked it too. The narrator on the audiobook was pretty great too.

I can't think of any terrible gifts! It's rare I get something I am super excited about but also rare to get something awful.