Finally Friday! 12/6 reading thread

[charlatti]

What have you been reading this week? 

QOTW: Do you decorate your house at this time of year? Do you decorate for other seasons?

[rainbowchip]

I finished After by Anna Todd and I think I wrote the longest review I've ever written. I have feeling about that book!

I am currently reading Where Winter Finds You (BDB #18). I thought this was going to be one of those side books with different characters but it's about Trez so I'm pleasantly surprised.

QOTW: Last year I bought a light projector because I couldn't get DH to actually put lights up so we have that for outside.
I don't do a ton inside because we just don't have room for a lot of decorations.
I do hang up the Holiday cards we receive on our half wall in the living room.

[meowmaps]

I read When All Is Said and really enjoyed it. Now I'm reading Catch and Kill and can barely put it down. I've never been so excited to put DD down for a nap!

QOTW: Historically we haven't decorated much but we're trying to put more of an effort in now. We have a wreath on the front door, Christmas tree in the living area (no ornaments - that will probably come next year), and lights wrapped around our deck/balcony.

[minzy]

I read Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty, I’ll chime in about that later in the month for book club. I’m partway through The Body - A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson, and I like it.

QOTW: I do a little bit for other holidays but we definitely have the most decorations for Christmas. We’ve done the indoor decorations, tree, some garland, the door wreath. I haven’t put the outside stuff up yet, mostly because I’m lazy, but also because the thought has occurred to me that the longer we wait, the less electricity we’ll use.

[wildrice]

I listened to My Sister, the Serial Killer. I liked it, though found myself frustrated with the ending. It was a super quick one though and definitely held my attention, which isn't always easy with audiobooks.

I am reading the Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. So far it's good, but I'm only 30% through it.

I also just started listening to Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Interesting so far.

QOTW: I do decorate for Christmas, and also for fall/Halloween. I have a couple of spring/Easter and Valentine's day things but often forget to put them out. I live in an apartment so nothing outdoors. I have been trying to find more/better Christmas stuff this year because I feel like a lot of what I have is super old and not really my taste anymore, but so far I've struck out on finding much that I love.

[dontlook]

I read Recursion by Blake Crouch: 2 stars. I loved Dark Matter and I liked the first 3/5 of this book but the last 2/5 were terrible. I felt lost and confused and then angry when I got to the end. Anyone else read this one and care to discuss?

Year One by Nora Roberts: 4 stars. I started book 2 but I think I’m going to quit. Book 1 was good and 2 seems a little too into the fantasy realm for me.

QOTW: I do a wreath, welcome mat and decorate my mantle for each season. I’m jealous of houses with holiday lights but H would never agree to put them up.

[charlatti]

I’m still finishing my reread of Harry Potter #7 — longest week ever and I was too exhausted to read more than a few pages every day.

Qotw: We do a little decorating for spring and Halloween but lots for Christmas. We are getting our tree sometime this weekend!

[travella]

I'm almost finished with The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton.

QOTW: We decorate, but only the inside of the house. I've tried to get my husband to put up lights on the house, but he refuses and I'm afraid of heights. I put up decorations for all major holidays but I have more decorations for Christmas than any other holiday.

[krystee]

I read Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. The first 100 or so pages were so good and so freaky, and I was really excited. The second half was really repetitive and unexpectedly very religious. 5-star first half, 2.5-star second half.

QOTW: We put up lights and two inflatables outside, and we put the tree and some decorations in the living room inside, plus a mini tree in the kids’ room. I have some fall decorations too,

[tacokick]

I read this week:

Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America by Michael Ruhlman

Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The Glass Eye: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

Where I Belong by Mary Downing Hahn

The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

In the Name of Truth by Viveca Sten

So children’s books, a memoir, a mystery, an advice book and a nonfiction. Not too shabby! I enjoyed them all. I hadn’t read any of the children’s books before so that was fun. MDH’s books are actually pretty long on average!

Almost done with an ARC of Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

QOTW: we have a tree (my Jewish husband’s idea, I don’t really care one way or the other but he always wanted one) but it’s decorated with glass food ornaments not particularly Christmassy ones. We also have Star Wars stockings and this year I got a reusable wood Advent/“countdown” (it starts December 1st vs actual advent) calendar (woodland theme) I filled with fancy/fun international candy. We are not religious and are child free but have been adding some new traditions over the years. It’s a long period of the year to do nothing in so we’ve tried to be more festive.

We also have a mah-jong tile menorah but it’s not quite Hanukkah yet. We don’t decorate the outside of the house.

We don’t do any other decorations

[sassypants]

I finished Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner. It was fine but it would stall out periodically. I've started Gifts by Ursula K Le Guin. It's my first time reading her work, and it's going pretty quickly though I'm not fully sure where.

QOTW: DH loves Christmas decorations and I love Halloween so we decorate for those, and I have some Easter stuff I put out when I remember. On a related note, my mom has one of those goose lawn ornaments that comes with 12 months of outfits. Some are a real stretch, though. Ha!

[aurora]

I finished The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. It was fascinating, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once. I had heard of women who practiced cold water dining but didn't really know anything about their culture. I also learned quite a bit of Korean history. IMO, one of her better books, though n definitely read it when you're in a frame of mind for heavy topics.

I am also almost done with the audiobook version of Glass Houses by Louise Penny. Enjoyable as most of her books.

QOTW: I tend to decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (the secular version). I am always sad to take my lights down in January.