It's Friday! (8/21)

[ufcasey]

What have you been reading this week?

QOTW:
Would you rather be magically fluent in any language you choose (can only pick one) OR would you rather magically be able to play any instrument you choose (can only pick one)?

[meowmaps]

I finished The Mercies, which I really liked. Then I read A Madness of Sunshine. It’s one of the slowest-paced mysteries I’ve ever read.

Now I’m reading The Glass Castle.

QOTW: I’d love to be fluent in Spanish. It would make my life so much easier and richer. I figure I could learn how to play an instrument if I tried but languages have always been tough for me.

[dontlook]

I’m reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X and listening to Guinea Dog with my kids. Both are good but my kids lose a bye test after a chapter or two so it’s slow going. The Malcolm X book is good but I’m not getting much reading time so it’s slow going as well.

QOTW: I would love to play piano or learn Spanish. If I had to pick I suppose piano since I could play for myself and kids whereas I don’t have anyone to speak Spanish with.

[tacokick]

In Bad Company by Viveca Sten

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

The Second Home by Christina Clancy

No real standouts. I prefer the Viveca Sten books when it’s summer and they are on the Swedish islands more. The Clancy book had way too much drama packed into it and the whole plot hinged on two people not talking to each other after one incident that I felt they both should be been suspicious of.

QOTW: learn a language! I guess French but I’m already very good at reading and understanding it but I have horrible pronunciation. We know a number of French speakers and it would be fun to talk to them in French. If I’m not being practical, Portuguese. We enjoyed Portugal a lot and picked it up pretty quickly.

[rainbowchip]

Master Class by Christina Dalcher - the idea was good but the execution wasn't great.

Reread Lover Revealed (BDB #4) by J.R. Ward

Party of Two (Wedding Date #5) by Jasmine Guillory - I really liked this one. I was worried after the mess that was Royal Holiday but this one definitely was back to the series vibe.

Currently reading Beach Read by Emiky Henry and rereading Lover Unbound (BDB #5) by J.R. Ward on audio.

QOTW: I'd pick a language over an instrument because a language would be more practical. As for which language, I have no idea.

[AJL]

Read:
Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor, 2.5/5* - the dialogue and relationships between the present day characters felt so stilted. They were also very flat. Nothing engaging about them at all. The flashback scenes to the historical characters were more interesting but the author kind of left out some really interesting history that was going on at the time. Over all the book was a bit meh. 

Currently Reading:
Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

DNF:
Belleweather by Susanna Kearsley - I usually enjoy her books so much but this one is soooooo boring and kind of a repeat of her book Mariana  (by far less engaging.)

QOTW:  I've always wished I had the superpower to instantly be fluent in a language from just hearing it one time.  I'm fluent in English and Spanish already. If I could instantly speak another language fluently I think it would be either Hebrew or Japanese.

[litskispeciality]

Bad reading week for me. I started (20 pages in) This is how it always is - I can't wait to dive in, it's so good! And I'm still chipping away at "Everything We Keep" - it's a typical Kindle free book.

QOTW: Spanish would be helpful for work, and cool to have to travel. I'd love to learn Lithuanian to better connect with my mom's family. She used to take CCD in that language.

[ssmjlm]

Plugging through Normal People. I'm not used to this sort of "stream of consciousness" writing. The writing itself isn't bad, but the story is just OK. I guess I thought the book would be better than the show.

QOTW: Instrument

[minzy]

I finished The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson, which I think I first heard about on this board and/or NPR. (Thank you, whoever you are!) It’s a bizarre true crime story about a massive museum theft of feathers from exotic/endangered/extinct birds to make decorative fishing ties. I was pretty fascinated and would recommend it.

I also read Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s climate fiction (monarch butterflies winter in Tennessee instead of Mexico because of the changing climate) but also about a woman making changes to her life. The ecology/climate angle gets high marks from me, but I didn’t love how the woman’s story went. It’s older but in a somewhat similar vein to Where the Crawdads Sing.

QOTW: I would be glad to either speak a second language fluently or play music since I have zero skill set in either. The language seems more “useful” (I’d pick Spanish) but the ability to play music just adds another dimension that transcends specific languages. Sometimes when I’m harassing my kids to practice music, I wonder if it “matters,” but I morosely think if they’re on the proverbial Titanic and the world is ending, I’d want them to have the ability to play songs to provide comfort and beauty to others.

[mrspez07]

I’m nearly done with listening to Bad Blood. Fascinating!
I am reading The Paris Architect on my paperwhite. I’ve got books piling up tho.

Speak a language fluently. I’d probably go with Spanish. In my travels, I’ve wished I had known more Spanish, French, Italian and German. Locally I wish I had more Spanish and could speak it confidently. Spanish and Italian have a lot of similarities, so I feel I could make due there.

[fernweh]

Currently reading Little Fires Everywhere

QOTW: language for sure. I don’t know which one- probably Spanish

[travella]

I finally finished Danny Champion of the World (read with my son) and Big Lies in a Small Town. My son and I started Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl and I started The Boy From the Woods by Harlan Coben.

QOTW: I would definitely choose language. I would choose to be fluent in Mandarin.

[abs]

I just started American Dirt last night. So far I am totally hooked but I'm not very far into it yet. Before that I have to admit all I have managed is re-reading most of The Babysitter's Club books with DD. 2020 has made me so nostalgic and also so unable to concentrate on anything.

QOTW: Language. I would choose Spanish. The little bit I learned in college wasn't enough. I do love music, too, though.

[aurora]

I finished listening to On the Come Up yesterday. I liked it but won't say more before the discussion.

I'm still trying to read Black Leopard, Red Wolf but not making very fast progress. Too many distractions lately.

QOTW: language, for sure. Probably Spanish as it could be useful where I live but maybe something else that would help with travel. I played the flute for about 15 years and enjoyed it, but have never been that good with languages.