It's Friday! (2/15) Reading Recap :)

[ufcasey]

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

QOTW:
Would you rather magically be a great athlete (running, swimming, etc) or magically be a great artist (painting, sculptures etc.)?

[travella]

I finished The Wife by Alafair Burke, 3* and This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, 3*. I started How to Stop Time by Matt Haig.

QOTW: I'd pick athlete, because it would probably be better for my overall health and longevity.

[ufcasey]

Since last Friday I have read:
How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #9) by Louise Penny
4.5 stars/ mystery
This was SO MUCH better than terrible book #8

Bright Star (The Twelve Systems Chronicles, #2) by E.G. Manetti
3 stars/sci-fi-ish romance
There are so many reasons why I shouldn't like this series, but yet I do. But I can't really recommend it LOL

Dark Tempest (Red Winter Trilogy, #2) by Annette Marie
4 stars/ YA fantasy
This was quite a bit better than the first book! I like that this is unique in that it's completely set in Japanese culture/mythology

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
? stars/romance
Withholding my rating and review until our book club (unless you are my friend on GR already haha)

Total so far for the year: 22

QOTW:
I would rather be a great artist because I simply dislike playing most sports, regardless of how great I could magically be at sports.

[dontlook]

I read:
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh 4 stars
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick 2 stars maybe. It is one of the strangest books I’ve read.

QOTW: athlete.

[ally]

This week I finished:
Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield, 4* - really magical book, great writing, compelling story.
Educated, Tara Westover, 2* - read for an IRL book club.  Part 1 was so horrible, I realize why it was necessary by the end, but the book caused me anxiety and that is NOT why I read.  I should stop being in book clubs, they always seem to be books I wouldn't choose and only finish out of obligation. The discussion is why I continue...

Started: 
End of Your Life Book Club, Will Schwalbe
My Grandmother Asked me to Tell You She's Sorry, Fredrick Backman

QOTW:
I am so bad at both.  I think I would pick artist, because there is more longevity in it.

[wesleycrusher]

Finished:
The Best Years of My Life by Harold Russell
The Girl in the Tower and The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden (strong finish to the series)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker (this was so good!)
Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad (audio)
Cats I've Known by Katie Haegele
Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein (This book is enhanced greatly if you watch youtube while reading. I have every New Wave song stuck in my head at work today.)

Currently Reading:
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay- this was my IRL book club's October pick. I couldn't make the meeting, so I'm just getting around to reading it now.

QOTW:

I would want to pick artist, because I am NOT athletic.  But maybe if I was good at it I wouldn't hate going to the gym and would lose weight.  So the pragmatist in me would pick athletics.

[tacokick]

I read:
The Sleepwalkers Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob

The Life Lucy Knew by Karma Brown (awful!!)

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (I wish I was still teaching so I could make my students read her books!)

And 11(!) cookbooks.

Now I’m reading the new Jane Harper.

My library keeps doing a thing where it will check out a newly released book to me digitally but it won’t be available for the Kindle until I only have a week or so left on my loan. It’s annoying.

QOTW: probably art. I find fitness stuff boring even when I am good at it. Although athleticism would come in more handy in an emergency.

[rainbowchip]

I finished Prisioner of Night. It was pretty average as far as BDB books go.

I'm currently reading Wildcard (Warcross #2). I'm enjoying it about as much as I liked Warcross. I did just get to a big twist and I want to blow off work to finish it.

QOTW: I would pick sports. I'm pretty competitive and like games and sports a lot.

[litskispeciality]

I made good progress on An American Marriage. So far I really like it. Slowing chipping away at 50 Shades Freed as well. Hoping to finish 2 this month to be at a whopping 3 for the year.

QOTW: Athlete because I like to swim and dance. I'd love to toe dance or do gymnastics.

[monkeyfeet]

I’m 80% finished with Love and Other Consolation Prizes. I like it, but doesn’t hold a candle to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I picked it for my IRL book club. I do think there will be some good dialogue!

QOTW: I really like spirts, so I guess I’d pick that, but I definitely see value in both!

[spedrunner]

This week I read:

Good & Mad:  The Revolutionary Power of WOmen's Anger
4/5 stars. Really enjoyed this and it DID get me MAD! Want to join blinkist.com to get the short recap on this. Does anyone use blinkist?

Small Great THings by Jodi Piccoult
4.5/5 stars
Loved this so much

Currently Reading:


Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski

Still Writing:  The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative LIfe


One Day in December by Josie Silver (super cute so far)

The Artists Way

QOTD:  I feel I am pretty athletic, so I would go for creativity and artist choice.  I feel like I really need a lot more creativity in my life!  I feel stuck. I wish i had a natural knack. Sadly, i do not feel I am great/creative in anything

[charlatti]

I’m reading King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. I like it but I need to get it finished because a ton of good stuff came in for me at the library. Why do they all have to come at once? I’m listening to Children of Blood and Bone, which I read before. Narrator is excellent.

Qotw: athlete. I’m reasonably creative but I’d enjoy being a sportier (and probably healthier) person.

[msmerymac]

I'm reading Notorious RBG. I finished An American Marriage and I'm ALMOST done with the audio of Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

QOTW: Probably athlete for health and vanity reasons, unless I could pick any "art," and in that case, I'd want to be an extremely talented novelist.

[msmerymac]

spedrunner, I just got Good and Mad from the library! So excited. I love Rebecca Traister.

[abs]

I finished Nine Perfect Strangers earlier this week. Meh. It started out great, ended well, but the middle sucked.

Now I'm on to a trashy romance, LOL.

QOTW: I'm reasonably athletic so I'd choose artistic. I am not creative at all!

[ssmjlm]

I’m still reading The Girl in the Tower. I’ve been sick and haven’t had any time to read bc I fall asleep after like 5 pages.

QOTW: probably swimmer. That to me is a lifelong skill and uses your whole body.

[wildrice]

I finally finished Warlight. I would not recommend. It wasn't horrible, but it took me way too long to get through given that it was not a super long book and not a whole lot happened throughout the book.

I also read One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus, which was a super quick read and I enjoyed.

I think I'm reading Where the Crawdads Sing next. My Kindle is dying so I hope I can get through it before it completely stops working. It's a library book and I'll lose it if I connect to wifi (or switch Kindles)

QOTW: I think I'd rather be athletic. I've more or less given up being concerned about being thin, but I do worry about being healthy and wish I had better motivation for working out. If I was good at athletics maybe I'd find them fun.

[sassypants]

I'm about a third of the way through the Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare. I'm liking it but it's a huge book and wouldn't you know it--another of my library holds has come in so the pressure is on to get them both done before they run out!

QOTW: Definitely an artist. I already consider myself an artist, but I'd love to be a really talented one. Plus I don't like sweating. Ha!

[minzy]

I read The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris. It definitely felt like a long winded sales pitch for the presidency, but she had some good points. I can tell she will focus on criminal justice reform, being tough on banks, civil rights issues, etc. Her section on climate was about five or six pages long and came near the end, but I’d hope she’d make it a huge priority if she gets the job. The book was organized by topic rather than in a chronologically linear fashion. I read this directly after reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, and as a reader, I liked Becoming’s linear organization better.

I also read Glow by Megan E. Bryant. It’s YA, and may interest some of you since it’s a take on the Radium Girls that we read about last year for book club. It’s told partly as a mystery via a teenage girl in the present day who discovers some old paintings, and partly through letters written a hundred years ago.

QOTW: Hm, I guess I’d pick being artistic. I wouldn’t consider myself a gifted athlete, but I’m satisfied enough with how well I can run and swim. My strengths are not in art. It would be fun and probably very satisfying to actually be able to play music or make something creative.