Friday Reading July 29th

[Vespasia]

I'm on vacation so days have no meaning but I think it's still Friday! What have you been reading this week?


QOTW: Do you follow any sports/teams? If so, how big of a fan would you consider yourself?

[travella]

I'm still reading A Thousand Splendid Suns. I should finish it tonight. I am going to start While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart next.

Qotw: I'm definitely not a sports fan. We don't attend or watch any sporting events.

[tacokick]

Slow week!

The Community by N. Jamiyla Chisholm (ok)

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann (eh)

The Darkest Secret by Alex Marwood (this wasn’t bad but was so long and dense?)


He's Gone by Deb Caletti (ok)

QOTW:

Nope! Neither of us care about sports at all thankfully!

[charlatti]

I finished Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson, which was fun — it’s a mystery, but focused on a translator for an alien species that has established a working relationship with earth. Now reading The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward. It is moving quickly and is interesting but not amazing.

QOTW: We are not sports people at all. I like the Olympics, though.

[Vespasia]

Earlier this week I finished Upgrade by Blake Crouch. It was excellent and included a depressing but probably realistic look at the near future.

Then I read Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, a middle grade horror book. I enjoyed it and found it very creepy.

QOTW: I follow some cycling, particularly women's cyclocross. Unfortunately almost all of the races are in Europe so I have to get up early on the weekends to watch and avoid spoilers!

[estrellita]

Recently finished Every Vow You Break. It was pretty good for the most part!

Just started The Last Mrs Parrish. Not far enough in to have an opinion.

QOTW: We don't follow anything super closely but we're somewhat big fans of our college hockey team (D1, been in the NCAA tourney a few times). I'm a pretty big baseball fan but haven't kept up with it as much as I'd like.

[rootbeerfloat]

I started the latest Outlander book. I've forgotten a lot of what happened in the last book, but she spent the first part rehashing it, so that helped.

QOTW: I watch a fair amount of sports. Favorite teams include my college alma mater, Las Vegas Raiders, Golden State Warriors. There aren't any pro teas where I live, but H and I have talked about traveling for March Madness or other events.

[dearprudence]

Finished Jameela Green Ruins Everything and ended up loving it. Read The Smash Up which I didn't enjoy at first, but ended up liking. Currently listening to The Lifestyle which is fun.



QOTW: Do you follow any sports/teams? If so, how big of a fan would you consider yourself? I don't really follow, but I have my "teams" (like the Yankees) who I will always cheer for.

[charlatti]

Aug 1, 2022 16:09:10 GMT -5 dearprudence said:

Read The Smash Up which I didn't enjoy at first, but ended up liking. 

Have you read Ethan Frome? If not, you should! The Smash-Up is such an interesting modernization of it.

ETA never mind, I see that you did! It’s one that I teach, and the melodrama and over-the-top symbolism is a lot of fun for the students.

[dearprudence]

Aug 1, 2022 16:40:22 GMT -5 charlatti said:

Aug 1, 2022 16:09:10 GMT -5 dearprudence said:

Read The Smash Up which I didn't enjoy at first, but ended up liking. 

Have you read Ethan Frome? If not, you should! The Smash-Up is such an interesting modernization of it.

ETA never mind, I see that you did! It’s one that I teach, and the melodrama and over-the-top symbolism is a lot of fun for the students.

I haaaaaaaaaated Ethan Frome. I was hoping for a retelling from either Zeena or Matty's point of view because Ethan is insufferable. I feel so bad for his wife while her husband leches after Matty and is blamed for all of his unhappiness. And I feel for Matty who has basically no one and nowhere to go and since the novel is told from Ethan's perspective I'm not convinced she was as interested in him as he believed her to be. I was surprised that the Smash Up was the only retelling I could find.

[charlatti]

dearprudence, I think they’re all horrible — I have no sympathy for any of the characters!