Friday November 5!

[ufcasey]

Happy Friday! What have you been reading this week? Any reviews/ratings/recommendations?

QOTW:
Would you rather lose the ability to read or lose the ability to speak? 

[travella]

I finished Bluebird by Sharon Cameron, 4*. I liked this book; it's a little different from the other WWII books I've read. It's about a Nazi's daughter. I did like her book The Light in Hidden Places a little more though.

I started While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams.

QOTW: I'd rather lose my ability to speak. I'm more on the quiet side anyway so it would be easier to lose my ability to speak than to read. I could always find another way to communicate, but I love to read to much and I don't like audio books.

[minzy]

I read The Premonition by Michael Lewis, about the start of the pandemic, which I found really interesting. And I finally, finally finished The Book of Delights: Essays by Ross Gay, this year’s One Maryland One Book pick. I wanted to like it more than I did, but the way it was written required a ton of concentration which I often did not have in the amount required.

I’d rather lose the ability to speak over the ability to read. I feel like a lot of what I do is in writing - text, reports for work, emails for my volunteering stuff. Interestingly my mom actually somewhat did lose the ability to speak due to cancer in her jaw, but eventually we could still understand what she meant 95% of the time.

[Vespasia]

I've been reading Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero. I'm enjoying it and like that the writing style is a bit different. However, I feel like I am making very little progress. I've been reading it since last weekend and I an only halfway through. I don't know if it's too long or if I am just having a hard time making time to read it. 


QOTW: Another who would rather lose the ability to speak. I feel like I could find others ways to communicate but I really struggle with any kind of audio books, podcasts, etc. I'm the kind of person who has to read (and generally write down) anything to retain it. 

[tacokick]

Super slow week. Started and stopped quite a few but finished

You Be Mother by Meg Mason

Everyone In this Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin

QOTW:

Lose speak. My husband already knows sign language and I read hundreds of books a year.

[litskispeciality]

Slow week. I'm chipping away at "What Comes After"

QOTW: Speak I guess? I can still write, type, learn sign language.

[charlatti]

I finished When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash, which I liked a lot even though the ending completely threw me. I loved the Oak Island (NC) setting. Now reading Betrayal on the Bowery by Kate Belli, a historical mystery.

QOTW: speech. Reading is too essential to everyday life.

[meowmaps]

I just finished A Line to Kill, the latest in the Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery series. Fine but not the best of the bunch.

I’m about to start In My Dreams I Hold a Knife.

QOTW: I really like to read so I guess I’d give up speaking.

[ssmjlm]

I finished:
One Night on the Island by Josie Silver which was an ARC. It was ok, I couldn’t tell if the male MC was really a villain more than the love interest. She’s also really into writing books where the women need to “find themselves” which I find annoying.

I’m currently reading A lot Like Adios and the book is just trying too hard to be relevant. We have a transgendered niece, both main characters are supposedly bi-sexual, and one uncle became gay? Like whut?

Also the relationship itself in the book is weird. I keep skipping through the flashback chats because I just don’t care.

QOTW: Read because I can listen to books on audible.

[mrspez07]

I’m re-reading An Echo in the Bone and listening to Gutsy Women. Enjoying both.

QOTW:
Even though I’m such a visual learner and often remember things by where on the page they were, I would probably say read. I could listen to audio books, and stitch, which is my other favorite thing to do. I also just came from an art exhibit where I caught up with old friends, so I feel like talking was so good for my soul.

[dontlook]

I read 5 Strangers. It was the Big Library Read book of the month. It was ok, not great but I read it in 2 days. I’m currently reading Later by Stephen King.

QOTW: speak.

[aurora]

I'm listening to The Midnight Library. I've been distracted, though, and feel like I've missed some key elements. Not sure how well I'll be able to discuss it for book club!

QOTW: I read way more than I talk, so my initial reaction is I'd rather not be able to speak. However, I keep thinking of how Helen Keller said she'd much rather have back her hearing than her sight. She felt that not being able to hear separated her from other humans far more than not being able to see. I'm already kind of a recluse, and it might not be good for my mental health to become more so!

[Nonny]

I'm currently reading Trashlands and The Butterfly Lampshade. I got Trashlands as an uncorrected proof a few months ago but of course I didn't manage to have to read it until after it was published. Oh well. And it wasn't like anyone was expecting a review from me, it was just passed along from a library employee.

QOTW: Speak. If I couldn't read, then I also couldn't write, and I feel like I do way more writing than I do speaking. I'd be lost without being able to journal, which I do primarily by hand (I do some typed, but much less these days). I also feel like I could learn sign language and/or get myself a computer voice (like Stephen Hawking, but they had a Hidden Brain episode a year or two ago about it and they are much more natural sounding now).