Friday/International Women's Day - Reading Recap (3/8)

[ufcasey]

What have you read this past week? What are you currently reading? Reading total for the year so far?

QOTW:
In honor of International Women's Day, name your favorite female (pick any of them or all of them):
Author -
Book Protagonist -
Book Antagonist -
Speaker/Politician/Activist -
Historical Figure -

[rainbowchip]

I'm currently reading To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

I like it so far.


QOTW:
Author - this is so hard! I can't even pick. I love so many for so many reasons. Leigh Bardugo, Marissa Meyer, Gayle Forman, Colleen Hoover, Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen Diana Gabaldon...
Book Protagonist - Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games
Book Antagonist - Cersei from Song of Ice and Fire
Speaker/Politician/Activist - Ava DuVernay
Historical Figure - Grace Hopper

[ufcasey]

Read:
Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3) by Brandon Sanderson
4 stars/fantasy
I still love this series but this book really was too long (1.2k pages) and could have been edited down in several areas

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
3.5 stars/sci-fi romance
This space romance was recommended by Ilona Andrews and it was a quick read but definitely felt like a debut book

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
4 stars/contemporary romance
HOLY MOLY THIS WAS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. Great book, but do not read it if you have trouble reading depictions of domestic/sexual abuse. For real.

Total so far for the year: 29

QOTW:
Author - Ilona Andrews
Book Protagonist - Mercy Thompson (series by the same name)
Book Antagonist - Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
Speaker/Politician/Activist -Michelle Obama
Historical Figure -Ada Lovelace (one of the first people to work on creating a 'computer'! )

[ufcasey]

rainbowchip - I love that you chose a computing pioneer too!!

[rainbowchip]

Mar 8, 2019 12:15:06 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

rainbowchip - I love that you chose a computing pioneer too!!

I do SQL programming so she is a huge reason why I am able to do that! Plus she was a badass! 😁

[ufcasey]

Mar 8, 2019 12:25:07 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

Mar 8, 2019 12:15:06 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

rainbowchip - I love that you chose a computing pioneer too!!

I do SQL programming so she is a huge reason why I am able to do that! Plus she was a badass! 😁

I SQL programming too! Small world. And she is quite badass

[Nonny]

I finished Dust (Silo #3), and I'm currently working on Dawn (Xenogenesis #1) - my first Octavia Butler - and Sandman Vol. 7 Brief Lives.  I'm only at 9 books for the year, which Goodreads tells me is 1 book behind schedule for my goal.

QOTW:  Oh, this is hard... um... 
Author - JK Rowling, Anna Quindlen, Celeste Ng, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume
Book Protagonist -  Hermione Granger
Book Antagonist - I'm drawing a blank here
Speaker/Politician/Activist - Melinda Gates
Historical Figure - Also Grace Hopper, because I used to test software, and I love the story of her finding the moth in the computer, and giving us "bugs"

[mrspez07]

I’m listening to Being Mortal. A bit morbid and graphic at times, but interesting.
Reading Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. It’s been a busy week so I haven’t gotten super into it yet.

QOTW:
Author - Diana Gabaldon
Book protagonist - Claire Randall Fraser
Book Antagonist - Gellis Duncan
Activist - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Historical Figure - Abigail Adams, Molly Brown

Also, in all things women, if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend the History Chicks podcast. They dive deep into women historical figures and even a few fictional characters.

ETA: so many good people many of you have chosen for QOTW, I was blanking on more than one idea for many of them. I agree with many that have been included.

[ssmjlm]

Finished:
The Woman in Cabin 10-*
I don't know if I can even call this finished b/c I basically skimmed through most of it.

Love in the Afternoon-****
A bit sad to have finished this series. Thank you to ufcasey for turning me on to it.

River's End-**
Amazon freebie. It's a slow burn novel, but it was a bit too dramatic for me in the storyline. I don't think I'll be paying for any of the other books.

Currently Reading - Beartown
I'm having a shit week, so I'm hoping to get into a groove with this book this weekend

QOTW:
Author - Elizabeth Haynes
Book protagonist - Katniss Everdeen
Activist - Michelle Obama
Historical Figure - Too many, I've been reading Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls with my daughter and love discovering all of the women and learning more about them.

[tacokick]

Read:

The Winter Sister by Megan Collins
Solo: A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One by Anita Lo
The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts
Everything’s Trash, But it’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson

Reading:
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (ARC)

I’ve read 49 books this year.

QOTW:

Author - Sue Grafton
Book Protagonist - Nancy Drew
Book Antagonist - Mama in the Little House books
Speaker/Politician/Activist - Angela Davis
Historical Figure - Ida B Wells

[msmerymac]

I'll come back for QOTW, but this week I finished:

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spaulding
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon

Currently reading:

My Antonia by Willa Cather (on kindle)
Educated by Tara Westover (audio)

[travella]

I finished The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware,2.5*. I felt like the story had a lot of potential, but I never felt myself pulled into the story. I started The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens.

13/45

[mx27]

Mar 8, 2019 14:50:14 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Educated by Tara Westover (audio)

I just started reading this last night.  I hope it's as good as I've heard it is. 

[msmerymac]

Mar 8, 2019 16:35:40 GMT -5 mx27 said:

Mar 8, 2019 14:50:14 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Educated by Tara Westover (audio)

I just started reading this last night.  I hope it's as good as I've heard it is. 

It's SO good so far. So well written.

[mx27]

Mar 8, 2019 16:47:34 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Mar 8, 2019 16:35:40 GMT -5 mx27 said:

I just started reading this last night.  I hope it's as good as I've heard it is. 

It's SO good so far. So well written.

Oh good, glad to hear it!

[Gato]

I finally got Educated by Tara Westover from the library, so I dropped everything to read it. Wow, it was so hardcore. She truly inspired me with her work ethic and ability to adapt. However, I was done with her family about 100 pages before she was, so those last 100 pages were torture to read. My god, I hated them!

I'm reading American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson this week. I think that might be my last 2018 book, then I start reading 2019 books with The Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli.

ETA:

Author - Alice Munro
Book Protagonist - Viola in Twelfth Night
Book Antagonist - The White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Speaker/Politician/Activist - RGB
Historical Figure - Josephine Baker: amazing dancer, singer, and actress, a spy for France during WW2, AND she adopted 12 kids.  That woman had a zest for life!

[krystee]

I have been on medical leave, so big week for me:
We Were Mothers: 3.5*
Lost Lake: 3*
The Reading Group: 3.5*
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: 4*

Currently reading:
Where the Crawdads Sin

Next up:
The Winter Sister

My favorite female book protagonist is, by far, Anne Shirley. My favorite activist/politician: too many to count. I am admiring Nancy Pelosi currently, I appreciate what HRC has done to pave the way, Michelle Obama is amazing. If one would call Ellen Degeneres an activist, I adore her too and have donated to her new gorilla fund. I could go on! I don’t have an absolute favorite female author because I love so many, but I’ll say JK Rowling for the incredible worlds she has created and the world of reading she has introduced so many kids to.

[sassypants]

I've just started The Countess: A Novel of Elizabeth Bathory by Rebecca Johns.

In honor of International Women's Day, name your favorite female (pick any of them or all of them):
Author - Diana Gabaldon, Deb Harkness, JK Rowling. I can't pick!
Book Protagonist - Hermione Granger
Book Antagonist - Lady MacBeth
Speaker/Politician/Activist - Gloria Steinem
Historical Figure - Anne of Cleves (how did she manage to outwit Henry VIII??) or Queen Elizabeth I

[aurora]

I'm reading

Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. It's really interesting so far! A much easier read than I would have expected for the difficult subject matter (children growing up in a slum in Mumbai).

Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory (audiobook). Fluff but fun, about what you'd expect if you've read any of her other books.

QOTW

Author - JK Rowling, though I have lots of close seconds.
Hmmm, I'm going to have to think about the others.

[aurora]

Mar 8, 2019 14:05:54 GMT -5 mrspez07 said:

Also, in all things women, if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend the History Chicks podcast. They dive deep into women historical figures and even a few fictional characters.

Sounds interesting! I just subscribed.

[estrellita]

I'll have to think on the questions, I have no idea right now!

This past week I finished A Woman is No Man. I gave it 4 stars. I really enjoyed the story but I noticed a few random typos and the ending was a little confusing and abrupt in my opinion. But overall really good!

So far this year I'm at 3 books read. This is more than any recent year so I'm happy with it so far!

Currently reading The Great Alone. Good so far but a little slow. I think something is going to happen soon though!

[sarahswim]

This week I read On The Come Up.  Really liked it.

Started Sweetbitter last night.  I also have Tear Me Apart and The Children's Crusade on my nightstand.


QOTW:

In honor of International Women's Day, name your favorite female (pick any of them or all of them):

Author -
Judy Blume
Book Protagonist -
Anne Shirley
Book Antagonist -
Probably Estella from Great Expectations
Speaker/Politician/Activist -
Malala Yousafzai
Historical Figure - Marie Curie, purely because of my third grade book report about her

[minzy]

I didn’t finish one this past week, but have been reading Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years On Earth by Mark Hertsgaard.

QOTW:
Female authors - I’ve liked a lot of what I’ve read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Nadia Hashimi
Female protagonist - (kid’s books) Rosie Revere, Engineer and Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty - for each kid’s science loving enthusiasm, perservance and grit
Female antagonist (maybe you could call her that) - Mona Hanna-Attisha in What The Eyes Don’t See (about Flint water crisis)
Current favorite female activist -16 year old Greta Thunberg, who is raising attention to the issue of climate change
Historical figure - Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, in 1967 (despite an official trying to physically remove her from the course because she was a woman).