First February Friday! What are you reading? 2/1

[charlatti]

Happy Friday! How extreme has your weather been this week, and what have you been reading?

QOTW: What do you like best about your current home? Least?

[charlatti]

I finished The Current by Tim Johnston, which was good. I think I preferred his other book, The Descent, but this one was definitely worth reading.

Currently reading Golden State by Ben H. Winters — maybe dystopian? I’m just under halfway and the novel’s world isn’t totally clear, but it’s interesting and fast paced. I’m on my third day of school being closed, so I’ve had plenty of reading time this week. We had two days of extreme cold and now a bunch of snow, but we were much better off than most places this week.

QOTW: I love our big picture window (though right now I wish it were better insulated). Least favorite would be the main bathroom, which is oddly arranged and needs better lighting.

[wildrice]

Happy Friday! I'm so glad it's almost the weekend! The weather here has been cold, and it's currently snowing, but nothing like the midwest. I'm glad to be working from home today, though.

I am back to reading Warlight, which I started a few months ago but ended up losing because my library hold ended (and I had a bunch of other things waiting, so I had to turn on my wifi on my Kindle and lose it!). I felt it was really slow last time, but had just started getting better when I lost it. I forgot most of what happened so I am re-reading what I already read. It's going a little faster this time. I better end up liking it!

QOTW: We are currently renting an apartment. It's a loft apartment that was renovated from an old clothing warehouse. I love that it's a neat old building with a history, and since it's recently renovated it has nice finishes, the floors are hard wood, the windows are huge, and it looks exactly like the city apartments you'd see on TV and wish you lived there. My favorite part is the exposed brick walls! It's also fairly large for the price and spacious compared to a lot of places in the area. BUT - a lot of the fancy finishes are very impractical. There is no light over the bathroom sink, for example. The bathroom sink is clear glass which means it looks filthy the second you finish cleaning it. And the open ductwork looks funky, but it heats the apartment poorly and is super loud (like we constantly have to turn up the TV). I wish the designer had thought more about the people actually living there and less about the visuals!

[travella]

I finished The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden, 3.5*. This was my last favorite book of the series. The story was ok, but my expectations were high and I found myself bored at times. I should finish The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris tonight. My goal this year is to read all the books that have been on my to read pile for over two years and this was one of them.

QOTW: I love our huge walk-in closets in the master bedroom and that our community is like a nice oasis from the outside chaos. I dislike where our house/community is located. I'd prefer a much smaller community with less traffic, pollution, and congestion.

[meowmaps]

It's been cold, but I've been able to spend most of the freeze indoors. We refilled on some hot chocolate yesterday.

I finished All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung over the weekend. I didn't love her writing style but the content was so important. I finished Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller on Tuesday. It was weird but I liked it!

I'm reading The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton now. I'm really enjoying it so far.

QOTW: The thing I like the best about my house is what I like the least, too. It's really cozy and that was perfect when we bought it, but now it feels like the walls are closing in. I wish our laundry room was bigger and more accommodating for the litter boxes. Right now, we've got our litter boxes in an entry closet because it's the farthest away from our living space. Also, we only have two bedrooms. This was fine before but now that we've got DD we're craving an extra bedroom for an office/guest room. Otherwise, I really do love it.

[spedrunner]

Happy Friday!  
In NJ here, and the weather has been brutally cold and windy but we have not had much snowfall, except today , i just saw my car is covered and coated. Grrrr 


This week I read:

Watching You by Lisa Jewell - 3 star. Meh, not terrible, not great, unremarkable

How to Be Alone :  If You Want to and even if you don't  - 4 stars. I really enjoyed this!

Currently Reading: 

How to Date Men When You Hate Men - Not sure how I feel abotu this yet, not crazy about the writing , i am only a few chapters in and it is pretty funny but not my style....

Small Great Things- Have not started yet

Re-Reading "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a  F*ck" because I need it

QOTD:  
I love the peace and quiet of my current home!  

[rainbowchip]

Record breaking cold here. They were actually closing businesses it was so cold. Taverns in WI closing is unheard of but it happened! Everyone went back to work/school today so I'm glad yo have the house back to myself (I work from home).

I'm currently reading Hidden Bodies (You #2). I have been having an issue staying awake to read which usually doesn't happen when I am reading a paper book. Ebooks I can get more cozy and tend to get sleepier quicker. I've tried reading earlier but I get about 20 minutes in and I can't keep my eyes open anymore.

QOTW: I don't love a ton about my house. I think my favorite is the yard and location.
I don't like the lack of space. Counter, cupboard, closet. We are starting to think about upgrading in the next year or so and I already have my list of mists in a new house.

[tacokick]

So cold but not as bad as it has been elsewhere! It’s been in the teens during the day.

I’m starting Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. I’ve read so many of her books I feel like I know more about her family than my own.

QOTW: best: the yard! We have a little over a quarter acre in the city which is really rare. Worst: the kitchen. It’s really poorly laid out and cramped.

[ufcasey]

Since last Friday I have read:
Spellbinder by Thea Harrison
3 stars/ fantasy romance
Interesting idea, but not executed well so the book was kind of boring and forgettable

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
5 stars/nonfiction
Everyone needs to read this, especially those who have aging parents or are aging themselves or have a health condition that is terminal

Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston
3.5 stars/paranormal romance
Really quite funny at times, but apparently the author put in a whole bunch of secondary characters from her previous series and it confused me

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
3.5 stars/fiction
This book got rave reviews from a lot of my Goodreads friends but I thought this book tried to do too much and thus wasn't particularly great at any of it.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
5 stars/nonfiction
Holy heck this book was CRAZY. Even more so because all of it really happened. Absolutely recommend this one.

Total so far for the year: 14

QOTW:
I like our open kitchen/living room with a seriously huge island - it's so useful and nice to all be able to hang together in one place in the house.

I wish our pool was bigger, which sounds like a stupid thing to complain about but the house already had the pool when we bought it. Despite the fact that the backyard is absolutely huge, the pool is really tiny so it's strange and annoying if you want to do laps or something because after like four strokes you are at the other end of the pool. But tearing it out, along with the screened in framing, to enlarge it would be ridiculously expensive and thus it's never going to happen. But man, I wish the original owners had either not put a pool in at all or had gone way larger.

[Vespasia]

I finished A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley earlier this week. It was probably my least favorite of all her books. The story was fine but not great. It seemed to drag on forever, to the point that I actually looked up the length to see if it had more pages than her usual stuff. Turns out the book finished at 84% in my Kindle. I was so relieved to be done! 

I'm listening to The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris. I don't know a ton about her background so it's been informative. It's good but basically one long campaign speech.   

Finally, I started Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb two nights ago. It was a Kindle freebie several months ago. The writing is just okay but I am really enjoying the story and look forward to picking it up. My last two books were duds so this is a nice change! 


QOTW: I really like the layout and size our of house. It's perfect for the two of us. This time of year I also appreciate how well insulated it is!

What I do not like is the half-assed way the former owners renovated, particularly in terms of paint. They only did one coat and I don't think they used very good paint. Plus they went over decades of layered wallpaper in a few rooms. Now the paint is cracked and peeling in several areas. I really, really don't want to shell out the money to have it painted but I know if we do it ourselves it still won't be done properly. 

[minzy]

It's been very cold here, not Chicago cold, but I think our lowest was around 4 degrees.  We had relatives pass through and the kids missed a lot of school because of weather and an in-service day, so despite having a huge stack of books, I've not gotten very far this week. 

I am partway through "The Enlightened Mr. Parkinson - The Pioneering Life of a Forgotten Surgeon and the Mysterious Disease That Bears His Name" by Cherry Lewis.  I'm just finishing the part about his political activities, but he was involved in all sorts of things.

QOTW: I really love a lot about our current house - layout, yard, street, neighborhood.  My only real gripe is that I wish more of our roof faced south (instead of mostly east-west), so solar panels would be more of a slam dunk.

[minzy]

Feb 1, 2019 12:20:00 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
5 stars/nonfiction
Everyone needs to read this, especially those who have aging parents or are aging themselves or have a health condition that is terminal

I love Atul Gawande's stuff and agree that book was great!

[scm1011]

I'm finishing up A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza and I'm really loving it. It's divided into 4 parts and I found the 1st part a bit slow, but now in part 4 I'm so fully invested that I don't want it to end.

QOTD: I like the location of my house, and the living room and kitchen, but our 2nd floor doesn't have central heating (we have two ductless wall units, one in our room and one in DS') so its always cold up there. Its miserable taking a shower in an unheated bathroom when its 5* out.

[krystee]

I am near Chicago, so -50 windchill. Not fun!

This week, I read Court of Thorns and Roses. It was a 3* in terms of quality but 5* in terms of how it sucked me in and I wanted to see what happens. I needed a YA novel after two memoirs!

I am halfway through the second book in that series now. I am sick so I sent the kids to daycare and I am curled up in bed with the book. Best day ever.

What I like most about our house is its wall of floor to ceiling bookcases in my loft! I lovingly refer to it as my library. I am Kon Mari-ing my books this weekend because it has books crammed in everywhere, and I want to narrow it down to the ones I really like so that the library looks nicer and makes me happier.

[aurora]

I'm listening to How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny, which I'm enjoying way more than the last one. I'm almost done and now wondering why I'm here posting in Book Club instead of finishing it.

Reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein. It's interesting to think about the ways in which our entire economic system (not-quite-pure capitalism) may be impairing our ability to fight climate change. I've always thought that we aren't going to find a way to prevent climate catastrophe through the market alone - there are far too many ways in which unregulated markets don't pay for the damage done to the general population and the world. However, I hadn't really thought much before about whether capitalism itself is inconsistent with climate solutions. It's a 2014 book so it's interesting to think about where we were then vs. where we are now in 2019. It is definitely biased.

QOTW: we've had a mildly chilly week with some snow, but not unseasonable for here.

ETA - oops, I answered the wrong question! I like the fact that our house is relatively small (~1500 sq feet), making it easier to heat/cool and clean, that it's well-insulated, and that it's easy walking distance to my bus stop to commute to work.

[aurora]

Feb 1, 2019 12:20:00 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
5 stars/nonfiction
Everyone needs to read this, especially those who have aging parents or are aging themselves or have a health condition that is terminal

I thought this was an excellent book! It also led to some good conversations with my parents. I could open with "I read about this situation in this book..." and get their thoughts now on what decisions they might want me to help them make later. For as difficult the subject matter is, I thought it was very accessible. It's been a couple of years, and I still think about some of the stories he told.

[aurora]

Feb 1, 2019 14:31:55 GMT -5 krystee said:

...
What I like most about our house is its wall of floor to ceiling bookcases in my loft! I lovingly refer to it as my library. I am Kon Mari-ing my books this weekend because it has books crammed in everywhere, and I want to narrow it down to the ones I really like so that the library looks nicer and makes me happier.

H is angling to add an addition for a real master bedroom to our house, which I'm not totally opposed to but tend not to value the idea as much as he does (and see my post just above about appreciating the small size of our house!). One of the ways he's trying to reel me in is by laying out a wall of built-in bookshelves in the connecting area. He certainly does know me well!

[pinotgrig]

Currently reading Going Clear (Scientology) and it’s crazy. I knew LRH was out there, but hoo boy - you cant make this stuff up.

Also listening to The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. I didn’t read the description since it’s been on my TBR list forever and was completely unprepared for an early scene. Now that I’ve read the description and have a feel for where it’s going, I feel a bit better. I ended crying while folding laundry though, because it completely caught me off guard.

QOTW - I love our screened in porch and yard the best, I think. Least fave is our master bath which is home to the biggest built in tub I’ve ever seen and has pink marble floors. The rest of the house was updated by the previous owners, but we’ll have to do the bathroom.

[dontlook]

I read Where The Dead Sit Talking. It was terrible. I’m currently reading The Chalk Man. So far, so good but I just started today. Weather here has been awful. Real feel -50 on Wednesday. Thursday wasn’t much better. Schools closed for 4 days.

I love the wood trim and details in my house. I’m also grateful for the sound plumbing and installation after the cold temps. I dislike that we don’t have 4 bedrooms upstairs and I dislike the powder room on the main floor. It’s tiny.

[charlatti]

Feb 1, 2019 14:55:00 GMT -5 aurora said:

I'm listening to How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny, which I'm enjoying way more than the last one. I'm almost done and now wondering why I'm here posting in Book Club instead of finishing it.

I’m glad you didn’t let the previous one deter you from the series! I really loved How the Light Gets In. (Pretty sure I’m becoming a Louise Penny groupie.)

[mx27]

Still reading "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah Maas. It's okay. Parts of the story line don't make sense to me. I'm hoping everything will come together at the end.

QOTW: I like the efficient use of space - we use/need every room/area, and don't want for anything more. I also like the size and layout of our kitchen.

[minzy]

Feb 1, 2019 14:55:00 GMT -5 aurora said:

Reading This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein. It's interesting to think about the ways in which our entire economic system (not-quite-pure capitalism) may be impairing our ability to fight climate change. I've always thought that we aren't going to find a way to prevent climate catastrophe through the market alone - there are far too many ways in which unregulated markets don't pay for the damage done to the general population and the world. However, I hadn't really thought much before about whether capitalism itself is inconsistent with climate solutions. It's a 2014 book so it's interesting to think about where we were then vs. where we are now in 2019. It is definitely biased.

I think reading this book last year really intensified my (already present but) growing sense of urgency about climate change... come check out my consumption thread on MM if you want to talk more about it/are looking for ways to do something at the personal level. 

[Nonny]

I finished China Rich Girlfriend this morning while it was pour rain out, and I missed last week but I've finally finished the 6th volume of the Sandman graphic novels, and read a heritage society book about my town. I've also made some limited progress on Unlearning Meditation (but the writing is painful, so I'm not keen on reading it).  We might get a skiff of snow this weekend or early next week, and I hope we do, because we rarely get snow.


QOTW:  The layout of my house is good and we have just the right amount of space with a great view out back. My main complaint through is that the interior of our house is shabby.  We've updated all the windows, painted the outside, and have a nice front door, but our interior is kind of a mess -- we need all new floors throughout, we need interior painting throughout, and we need all new interior doors and trim (our cats have absolutely wrecked all the doors and trim, and the doors weren't in good condition when we bough the house almost 16 years ago).  Plus all the bathrooms and the kitchen are seriously outdated, and I've reached the point where I can't keep repairing the chips in one of the bathroom sinks anymore - it looks ridiculous (the second sink that is rarely used is of course pristine).   We need to bite the bullet and just make some needed updates, but doing all the floors and painting will mean moving everything, and that just seems like a nightmare.  And how do you decide in what order to do things when you know you also want to do a kitchen and bathroom(s) remodel?  It feels overwhelming.

[mrspez07]

It was cold earlier this week but was upper 50s today. Denver area.
I’m not making much progress on Barking to the Choir (audio) and 4321. They are both ok, worth continuing but not super captivating. I’ve also been busy with life.

I have a love/hate relationship with the open floor plan of our house. Also, I love the colors we’ve used, 3ish years since we did it. I like when it feels cozy, and I hate when it feels cold or drafty (usually only in some places).

[abs]

Happy Saturday! Our weather has been warm, muggy, rainy, and gross. I guess that's better than -50 but it's still disgusting and depressing. I miss the sun.

I've downloaded samples to Where the Crawdads Sing and Nine Perfect Strangers. Hopefully one of those grabs me. I need something great after Winter Street. It was so bad.

I like my house okay. I wish we had a dedicated office and a bigger kitchen. I like the open lay out.

[sarahswim]

I've just started The Inbetween Days (Eva Woods). I also grabbed The Swing of Things (Linda Keir) from a "try this" shelf at the library. I don't have high hopes for it but we'll see.

QOTW: We moved to this house about a year ago and really love it. The previous owners gutted the house so it's completely updated with a totally open floor plan, and it's the perfect location for us. My favorite part is my laundry room (yes, really). My least favorite part is the master bathroom. It's pretty small and the shower is cramped. Also we don't have a fireplace, which isn't the end of the world but still miss it.

[sassypants]

I'm still plodding through The Invention of Murder veeerrryyy slowly.

QOTW: I love that this parsonage has a garage. It's especially nice this time of year. It's under the house, so we don't have to got outside in the cold to get to our cars. Right now I really hate that there is something wrong with our water on this street and NOBODY knows anything about it. I had planned on some cleaning today and I can't now. Also, I hate the old carpet in the family room, the old linoleum and counter tops in the kitchen, and the fact that we can't change any of it because it belongs to the church.

[monkeyfeet]

I finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed and enjoyed it. I lived in Portland for 4 years and live reading about the PNW.

Just started Night Road.

QOTW: love the location; hate that we have 2 full bathrooms but they’re on separate floors and all the bedrooms are upstairs. My husband uses the downstairs one, but I just share the upstairs one with 3 kids. Even though they are small and don’t have lots of stuff, it’s not ideal.

[dorothyinAus]

I'm currently reading Blood Orange. Life has been getting in the way of reading, but it's picking up, so I might get in a groove soon. I like China Bayles but sometimes the books are hard to get started.

QOTW: I love the location- we're on the crest of a hill, so we're just a little but higher and can catch the breezes that our neighbors miss. It's great in the spring/fall because we can open the floor to ceiling windows on both sides of the house and have great cross-ventilation. And we're walking distance to the shopping/restaurants in town, which is also great in all but the hottest days of summer. I dislike the bathroom! Water Closets are the dumbest design feature ever! Sometimes you need access to a sink close to the toilet, without having to walk down the hall (which for reasons I do not understand the landlord carpeted in pale cream plush carpeting). I hate the split bathroom design. And right now in the heat of summer, I hate the floor-to-ceiling windows on the east, south, & west of our open plan living/kitchen/dining room.

[Gato]

I read Hourglass, a memoir by Dani Shapiro, and loved it. So insightful about marriage and the passage of time. What I found annoying was she was always worried about money, yet lives an expensive lifestyle and can’t be bothered to plan for the future. She frames this as being plucky and artistic, when I thought of it more as privileged enough to not have to save and plan. It was a sore spot for me, but otherwise I really enjoyed her honesty about her marriage and what made it work.

Now I’m reading Maid by Stephanie Land. This book is a direct commentary on the Dani Shapiro book! Here is someone who makes one mistake when she is very young, but unlike Shapiro does not have the resources to get her out of a jam. She’s a maid because that’s the best choice among limited options. I’m looking forward to her insights on working so intimately within wealthier people’s homes.

ETA: what I like best about my home is location. It’s a mile to the ocean, down the street to the best bakery in town, yet it’s a down to earth neighborhood with diverse and interesting neighbors. What bothers me most is its size. It needs one more room. Someday we’ll finish the basement, and then it will be just right.