Fri Jan 31 check-in

[minzy]

What have you read this week?

QOTW: Any big plans this weekend? (New month! Groundhogs Day! Super Bowl/Puppy Bowl!)

[minzy]

I read Secondhand - Travels in the New Global Garage Sale by Adam Minter and found it very thought provoking. It looks at the question of what happens to all the “stuff” of the world? I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something fresh (Nov 2019 release) in the nonfiction category.

I also read Good Talk - A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob. It’s also a 2019 release and a graphic accounting of her experience as a first generation U.S. born Indian woman. It was interesting, and thoughtful too, and a quick read with all the pictures/illustrations (which she did herself). Check it out!

QOTW: My husband wraps a ginormous project at work today so I’m hoping we at least take the kids out to dinner at some point this weekend to celebrate. Sunday is a birthday party, Lunar New celebration, and we’ll watch the Super Bowl (go Chiefs).

[meowmaps]

minzy I read Good Talk earlier in the month. I liked it too! It was my first graphic novel.

I started and then stopped A Starless Sea. I just couldn’t get into it and didn’t have the patience to persevere.

I’m reading Long Bright River. It’s getting a lot of buzz but so far I’m just along for the ride, neither loving or hating it. Hopefully it picks up soon.

QOTW: Sometimes we watch the Super Bowl for the commercials or halftime show. I didn’t even know it was this weekend until my husband mentioned it yesterday. Oops. Otherwise, it’s going to be a low-key weekend. Hopefully we’ll get to the Kennedy Center to see the winter lanterns before they take them down.

[snshne322]

I started The Priory of the Orange Tree a couple days ago. So far, I think it's interesting and I hear great things, but it's...long. I've been sick all week and not making a ton of progress like I've wanted to.

QOTW: Our house is a germ factory so I think we're all staying in and resting.

[Vespasia]

I am reading The Girl in Red by Christina Henry, which is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in a plague ravaged US. I'm really enjoying it. 


snshne322 , it is long but worth it! I was lucky that I happened to pick it up over a holiday weekend. I completely ignored the family I was visiting and blew through it in a few days.


QOTW: This is a pretty busy weekend for us. MH's bff is visiting so we will be out with him a lot, there are bike races to watch on TV, and we need to start prepping for vacation next week. We also did Dry January so I will be having all the booze starting tomorrow! 

[msmerymac]

I'm still working on both We Were Eight Years in Power and Catch-22.

QOTW: This weekend is nuts. I have a 3 hour IV infusion at some point tomorrow, and I want to meet up with a friend who is in town. I'm seeing another friend on Sunday. We normally go to a Superbowl party, but I have so many dietary restrictions at the moment (dairy, gluten, alcohol, caffeine) that I don't think it would be too fun, so I'm going to stay home and make wings, guac, salsa, and chips (well, I'll buy the chips). Then my MIL is visiting in 2 weeks, so I have to get my house clean.

[dontlook]

Jan 31, 2020 10:10:01 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

I am reading The Girl in Red by Christina Henry, which is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in a plague ravaged US. I'm really enjoying it. 


snshne322 , it is long but worth it! I was lucky that I happened to pick it up over a holiday weekend. I completely ignored the family I was visiting and blew through it in a few days.


QOTW: This is a pretty busy weekend for us. MH's bff is visiting so we will be out with him a lot, there are bike races to watch on TV, and we need to start prepping for vacation next week. We also did Dry January so I will be having all the booze starting tomorrow! 

Adding The Girl in Red to my list.

I read zero books this week. I started 3 books but couldn’t get into any of them.

QOTW: I’m so excited for this weekend. I’m looking forward to eating junk food and hanging at home. I don’t even care much about the super bowl but I’m excited for some home time with no real plans.

[Vespasia]

dontlook her Alice books are great too but dark and rather gory.

[wesleycrusher]

Web of Love (3), Unforgiven (3), Indiscreet (3), Irresistible (2) all by Mary Balogh
The Hating Game (3) by Sally Thorne
Nobody's Baby But Mine (2) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Meet Cute(3) by Helena Hunting

These were all vacation reads. I am a big Mary Balogh fan for historical romances, but honestly all her characters are the same, especially if you read one book after another. They're a nice distraction and I'll keep reading them, but besides one or both of the main character having some type of "flaw," they are not all that memorable and one is very similar to the next.


QOTW: Busy weekend- Promised to take kids ice skating tonight. Saturday I have a women's meeting at church that I have to make muffins for, then kid's show to see at our local symphony, then swim lessons. Sunday my husband is playing the violin in church, then I have to take DS to a different church for Boy Scouts, then back to our regular church for a "souper bowl" lunch. We do not watch football (or any other sports, really)

[ssmjlm]

It's been a while, C&Ping most recents from the ML thread:
-The Kingmaker & The Rebel King, Kennedy Ryan (KU) - Had high hopes for this one after wambam's praises, but Book 2 ruined it for me. Just too much angst for the sake of words on the page. Also did not like the political storyline in book 2 AT ALL.
-Audition, Skye Warren - I really like her books, but this one had a cowriter and the voice of the author did not work for me. It was an off-shoot of another series, but I could not get into the story or characters and just didn't feel like the author's writing.
-The Golden Pecker, Penelope Bloom (KU)- Super cute, fun read. I love His Banana by her, so this had the same type of style.
-Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, Christina Lauren - Another cute one, but the plot twist ruined it for me. Just let people be happy, why does "something" have to happen.

Currently Reading:
MindHunter - very dry, not sure if I'll finish. I love the show
Ask Again Yes - So far just WTFing the whole story and nothing has really happened yet, so I'm like "hmmm what is the plot?"

QOTW: My daughter is in a full leg cast at the moment. We go today for another check, so the weekend we depend on how the appointment goes (the last one resulted in a lot of tears for all of us). I am getting my hair done tomorrow, bye grays!

[just]

(c&p from ML)

Trust Exercises - 4* - LOVED it, but already aware everyone on ML hated it.

The Testaments - 3.5* - Enjoyed this way more than I expected based on other comments. It read like well-written fan fiction, but it scratched an itch.

The Ungrateful Refugee - 3.5* - There were moments of brilliance in this book, and then quite a bit of slog. But I did find it really interesting to see the refugee perspecitve so fleshed out.

Bad Blood - 4* - I didn't think I'd enjoy this since I'd seen the HBO documentary, but this was such a well-written book

Five Dysfunctions of a Team - 2* - Recommended to me by someone for my new job.

The Fact of a Body - 3* - This is a bizarre book - part memoir about sexual abuse, part true crime novel. It was well written and the two threads came together well, but was a strange read

The Dutch House - 3.5* - Read by Tom Hanks which was charming and gave it the extra .5*. Just a fairly run-of-the-mill family story

Holding - 4* - By Graham Norton (of BBC chat show/Father Ted fame), adorable cosy murder mystery set in Ireland. Completely unexpectedly good

The Keeper - 3* - Also by Graham Norton. This one was a little weirder. I appreciate what he did with it, but veered a little Misery-ish to me.

Currently - Home Work by Julie Andrews

[dontlook]

Jan 31, 2020 12:31:59 GMT -5 just said:

(c&p from ML)

Trust Exercises - 4* - LOVED it, but already aware everyone on ML hated it.

The Testaments - 3.5* - Enjoyed this way more than I expected based on other comments. It read like well-written fan fiction, but it scratched an itch.

The Ungrateful Refugee - 3.5* - There were moments of brilliance in this book, and then quite a bit of slog. But I did find it really interesting to see the refugee perspecitve so fleshed out.

Bad Blood - 4* - I didn't think I'd enjoy this since I'd seen the HBO documentary, but this was such a well-written book

Five Dysfunctions of a Team - 2* - Recommended to me by someone for my new job.

The Fact of a Body - 3* - This is a bizarre book - part memoir about sexual abuse, part true crime novel. It was well written and the two threads came together well, but was a strange read

The Dutch House - 3.5* - Read by Tom Hanks which was charming and gave it the extra .5*. Just a fairly run-of-the-mill family story

Holding - 4* - By Graham Norton (of BBC chat show/Father Ted fame), adorable cosy murder mystery set in Ireland. Completely unexpectedly good

The Keeper - 3* - Also by Graham Norton. This one was a little weirder. I appreciate what he did with it, but veered a little Misery-ish to me.

Currently - Home Work by Julie Andrews

I tried to read Trust Exercise and couldn’t do it. I’m so sad because you have been so pumped about this book. I really wanted to be able to discuss it with you.

[just]

Jan 31, 2020 12:42:11 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Jan 31, 2020 12:31:59 GMT -5 just said:

(c&p from ML)

Trust Exercises - 4* - LOVED it, but already aware everyone on ML hated it.

The Testaments - 3.5* - Enjoyed this way more than I expected based on other comments. It read like well-written fan fiction, but it scratched an itch.

The Ungrateful Refugee - 3.5* - There were moments of brilliance in this book, and then quite a bit of slog. But I did find it really interesting to see the refugee perspecitve so fleshed out.

Bad Blood - 4* - I didn't think I'd enjoy this since I'd seen the HBO documentary, but this was such a well-written book

Five Dysfunctions of a Team - 2* - Recommended to me by someone for my new job.

The Fact of a Body - 3* - This is a bizarre book - part memoir about sexual abuse, part true crime novel. It was well written and the two threads came together well, but was a strange read

The Dutch House - 3.5* - Read by Tom Hanks which was charming and gave it the extra .5*. Just a fairly run-of-the-mill family story

Holding - 4* - By Graham Norton (of BBC chat show/Father Ted fame), adorable cosy murder mystery set in Ireland. Completely unexpectedly good

The Keeper - 3* - Also by Graham Norton. This one was a little weirder. I appreciate what he did with it, but veered a little Misery-ish to me.

Currently - Home Work by Julie Andrews

I tried to read Trust Exercise and couldn’t do it. I’m so sad because you have been so pumped about this book. I really wanted to be able to discuss it with you.

Ah! Thanks for thinking of me

[litskispeciality]

Adding The Girl in Red to my list too! Thanks for the rec.

I finished "My Sister the Serial Killer" 3*'s. I started "P.S. I Still Love you", I think it's been too long since I read part I, but it's super cute. Also started "We Came Here to Forget" so far pretty good.

OQTW: It's my dad's birthday weekend so going to see him. We'll watch the Superbowl on Sunday. Not sure who to root for since I don't know much about either team.

[tacokick]

Just the first two Tana French books. I was sick and didn’t read at all for a few days then had insomnia and read a lot. Now I’m reading the new Jill Ciment.

QOTW:

Normally we go shopping during the Super Bowl so maybe that. Out to dinner one day, making baked ziti one day and visiting my mom in the hospital.

[mpc]

Lock In by John Scalzi - 5* - FBI murder mystery but set in a near future world when a virus leads to some people using robots to interact when their bodies won't work anymore. Well written and entertaining, but I am a sucker for murder mysteries.
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4* - short story written entirely in letters
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez - 5* - This story was told with such feeling and I really felt connected to the main character. Really good!

QOTW - we're going out of town to visit some old HS friends of my H's.

[wesleycrusher]

Jan 31, 2020 14:18:08 GMT -5 mpc said:

Lock In by John Scalzi - 5* - FBI murder mystery but set in a near future world when a virus leads to some people using robots to interact when their bodies won't work anymore. Well written and entertaining, but I am a sucker for murder mysteries.
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4* - short story written entirely in letters
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez - 5* - This story was told with such feeling and I really felt connected to the main character. Really good!

QOTW - we're going out of town to visit some old HS friends of my H's.

Lock In was very good! I read it a while ago (and the sequel) and the premise was so interesting, it's definitely memorable long after reading it.

[rainbowchip]

This week I read Chernobyl 1:23:40. It was OK but this was the first male author I've read this year and his voice in this book annoyed me a little. He was humble bragging a lot of it and boring in a few chapters that seemed to be there to make the book have more pages or something.

I also finished Girls of Storm and Shadow. It was OK. There was a lot more battles in this one which I'm not a huge fan of and tended to skim over.

I'm currently reading The One and Only Ivan with my DD. She is going to see the play next month so we are reading it together.

QOTW: DD is having a sleepover tonight and has basketball with her friend tomorrow. Other than that, we don't really have plans. I'll probably watch the Superbowl and maybe grill burgers if DH wants to do it in the cold (though I think we are supposed to be getting record highs on Sunday in the mid-upper 40s!)

[travella]

I finished The Dutch House, 3*. It was well written, but so slow and it never grabbed my attention. I found it merely ok.

I am nearly finished with Dear Girls. I was excited to read this book because I have loved everything I've seen Ali in on TV. However, I've realized she is censored on TV and I enjoy her much more sightly censored.

QOTW: We don't have any plans this weekend and I look forward to it. Things have been too busy around here.

[sassypants]

I'm 3/4 of the way through The Secret Commonwealth. I'm wondering how he can tie it all up in the last quarter of the book, or maybe he's got another follow up planned? It's a good read, though.

QOTW: I feel like garbage today, so I hope that's not the theme for the upcoming weekend. Boo. We were supposed to go to a play tonight that my friend is directing, but we'll try again Sunday. I don't get into the sportsball but we'll probably catch some of the puppy and kitten bowls.

[mrspez07]

I just finished the Swan Theives 3.5 stars.
Spoiler: I enjoyed the historical mystery and various narrators but was disappointed that the patient’s treatment kind of got forgotten as part of the story.
Also in the middle of Girls Burn Brighter.