Friday reading thread 5/22

[charlatti]

What have you been reading this week?

QOTW: Is your day-to-day activity changing now that things are starting to reopen? 

[travella]

I'm nearly finished reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I'm still reading The Glass Elevator with the kids.

QOTW: Our move was finally definitively reinstated (as long as there is no more craziness) so we are hastily getting ready for that! We've been in limbo since quarantine started - our move cancelled and reinstated multiple times. Otherwise nothing has really change in our day to day life.

[wesleycrusher]

-Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux- interview transcribed by John G. Neihardt (audio) - 4 - his life story was good, but I will admit that I unintentionally zoned out some when he would describe the visions he had. I get why they are important to his life story but it's easier to follow a plot rather than abstract dreams on an audiobook.

-Confessions by Kanae Minato (audio) - 1, DNF- Japanese author and the book was translated into English, it was also movie in Japan and I believe both were very popular. I only made it 50 minutes into the audiobook. At first tried to pass off the HIV fearmongering as a cultural difference but then the book dug in deeper to scientifically inaccurate information- I had to stop.

-The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park (audio) - 2.5 - I need to stop reading YA books because now that I'm an adult the parents in YA books just make me too angry. It's happened in the last few books I've read I the genre. Why are they always horrible people?

QOTW: Work has gotten a lot busier- almost back to pre-shutdown levels, so I'm in the office more instead of at home. And my kids go back to childcare next week. Our church is doing an outdoor service in a few weeks and other activities are starting to discuss re-opening.

[meowmaps]

I read Exit West, beautifully written, and Behind the Beautiful Forevers, an interesting but difficult read.

QOTW: As of this week we're seeing my parents again so they'll be helping me out with DD. Otherwise, we're still isolating at home. We're still being just as cautious because we don't want to put my parents at risk and vice versa.

[charlatti]

I just finished The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, which was very good. Not sure what is next.

QOTW: Not a big change here. Today is my last day of teaching, finalizing grades next week and doing end of the year paperwork stuff. We’ve had a few medical appointments that got us out of the house. Biggest excitement is my library starts curbside pick up Tuesday!

[minzy]

We finished On The Banks of Plum Creek (Little House on the Prairie #4) by Laura Ingalls Wilder and have moved onto the next one.

QOTW: I am getting itchier to do more but from a public health perspective really think we should still be staying put where I live, so day to day is still basically the same. I’m almost dreading online school being done soon because at least it gives some structure/sense of accomplishment to the day for my kids.

[rainbowchip]

Finished HP and the Sorcerers Stone and Nothing To See Here. The latter was only OK for me. People have raved about it but I don't get it.

I started Rodham by Curtis Sittenfield. I'm really excited abou this!

QOTW: I plan to continue to stay home as much as possible. I've been shopping for groceries about once every other week and even though I hate it, I plan to continue.
My county has had at least one case per day (with the exception of a few days) over the past 15 days so I think it's just ramping up here. And everyone is going back to bars and shit! I'm so frustrated. Sorry for the rant.

[abs]

Just finished up A Woman is No Man. It's fantastic! Not sure what is next. Lots of great new releases this summer!

QOTW: We are slowly opening up our germ circles. We've seen my MIL and DD has seen two friends. Those are exceptions though. We are taking it very slowly.

[sassypants]

I finally finished The Intimate Bond: How Animals Shaped Human History. It was pretty good and very informative, well written. My only real criticism is that for an anthropological study, he was fond of speaking in absolutes and any good historian knows that you can't really never/always history. I moved on to A Court of Thorns and Roses as I wanted something light. So far so good.

QOTW: Nothing new here really. I keep looking for a job but Virginia isn't very "open" yet.

[minzy]

May 22, 2020 17:36:46 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

Finished HP and the Sorcerers Stone and Nothing To See Here. The latter was only OK for me. People have raved about it but I don't get it.

Same for me with Nothing To See Here. I also found it kind of “meh“ despite the hype.

[mx27]

May 22, 2020 18:20:56 GMT -5 minzy said:

May 22, 2020 17:36:46 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

Finished HP and the Sorcerers Stone and Nothing To See Here. The latter was only OK for me. People have raved about it but I don't get it.

Same for me with Nothing To See Here. I also found it kind of “meh“ despite the hype.

totally agree. It was an odd and very mediocre book.

[mx27]

Just finished “The Silent Patient” (3 stars). Currently reading “The White Queen.”

QOTW: playgrounds are now open, so we are going to one daily rather than just walking/biking around our neighborhood

[tacokick]

High Achiever: The Shocking True Story of One Addict's Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World — and Me by Marisa Meltzer

QOTW: I don’t think anything is really going to change for me for a long time. Still planning on shopping in person every 3-4 weeks. We might get some curbside steamed crabs next weekend from a seafood market for my husband’s birthday. We haven’t had takeout since early March. Crabs is almost like getting a rotisserie chicken though lol

[Vespasia]

I finished The Future of Another Timeline which I absolutely loved. I feel like I was definitely the target audience for this one. 

Now I am reading The Mother-In-Law for book club. I'll save my comments for next week but it's definitely a quick read. 


QOTW: Not really. The state has relaxed some rules but my city has not. Nothing has really changed in terms of the real risks, so we will continue to limit our interactions with others. We have gotten together with friends twice in the past month, but only outside and at a distance. 

[aurora]

I just started The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a new prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. I didn't even know it was coming out until this week.

I'm listening to Stephen King's The Outsiders, but also not far into that one.

QOTW: Not a lot, really. We have met up with a few friends for outside exercise, which we hadn't really done for the first 6 weeks. I'm still trying to grocery shop only every two weeks and ordering other stuff online, even from local stores.

[ssmjlm]

Finished Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner. It was ok, she’s not the same writer from In Her Shoes and like Jane Green, has not gotten better through time. Also there was another mistake in the book and that drives me crazy.

QOTW: the only change for us is we expanded our circle to my parents. We’re spending some time at our beach house for a change of scenery since they opened the county. We own the house, we don’t rent it, and we brought food although local restaurants are doing take out since it’s in a big tourist area.

[sassypants]

May 23, 2020 13:04:23 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Finished Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner. It was ok, she’s not the same writer from In Her Shoes and like Jane Green, has not gotten better through time. Also there was another mistake in the book and that drives me crazy.

QOTW: the only change for us is we expanded our circle to my parents. We’re spending some time at our beach house for a change of scenery since they opened the county. We own the house, we don’t rent it, and we brought food although local restaurants are doing take out since it’s in a big tourist area.

Ugh, I hate that! I see mistakes in books much more often now than I used to. I think publishers are pushing stuff out so fast they're getting sloppy with editing.