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Hi everyone!

Hope everyone's hanging I there this week. Seems like a lot of 2020 going around to a lot of people know.

The winner of the book poll is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! I put a pre-reading thread over in the book club folder. Luckily I've had a hold on it since it came out, so I'm #1 for the digital copy. Should be able to get it soon and get some questions up.

This week I finished:

Blood Stain Volume 3 - i'd hoped that when i finished this, I'd find that blood stain vol 4 was out, since I got the bundle with these at least two years ago. But looks like she got distracted with Punderworld and Blood Stain is on hold until next spring or so. Alas! Can't argue with where an artist's creativity is pulling them.

Nocturna - Finally finished this once my audio hold came back up. This was just ok for me. Maybe I would have liked it better if I read it, but it ended up just not really sucking me in. I did like that the mythology had more of a Latine base rather than typical European, but that wasn't really enough to make me excited for the rest of the series.

Harrow the Ninth - I had mixed feelings about this one! I ADORED Gideon the Ninth so much. This one started off very confusing, jumped around all over the place, and was just generally pretty weird. It took me a long time to get through the first section before I started really piecing together what was going on. It just took a long time for my suspicious to be proven or disproven. However, by the end it had gotten back into the groove I loved from the first, and left me eager for the third book to come out. Which doesn't have a release date yet. Siiigh.

Low, Vol. 1: The Delirium of Hope - This comic had BEAUTIFUL background art, and I really liked the sound of the overall premise. However it really suffered from "male dominated comics industry" syndrome. The women were drawn naked or in skimpy clothing at any excuse, in situations that didn't really warrant it. The women in general weren't written terribly well, fell into a lot of annoying tropes. I'd continue the story if hoopla has it or if I get another volume in a humble bundle I was buying for something else (which is how I got this one), but I wouldn't pay to continue on purpose.

Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild - This, however, is a woman written, woman illustrated book and the women written in it are all complex and messy and wonderful. And the art is gorgeous! Love this series so much.

Sex and Vanity - I liked the Crazy Rich Asians series so gave this a try. I'll say that the writing was similar, easy to read, funny at times, went fast. However I didn't like the characters NEARLY as much and by the end I was angry and didn't really like the ending. Kinda tired of romances where people can behave terribly and face very little consequences to it because it's LOVE. Real love takes work and you can totally screw it up by being cruel or careless.

Currently reading:

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies - had this on hold for a while, finally came up. I don't regularly watch her videos, but I've watched several in the past and like her sense of humor. I really like the illustrations in the chapters haha. I have to make sure I'm not reading it while eating though.

The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe - need something to read while eating/before bed that isn't so...corpse filled. I like revisiting the episodes.

QOTW:

I've lost track of questions I have and haven't asked, so just going with whatever I think of, sorry if it's a repeat!

What is your preference for format of books? Ranking is fine if you wish!

mine is probably ebook first, then paperback, hardcover, audio.

I know a lot of people are book purists, and I get that. But I like not having to worry about storage, and the ease of being able to take hundreds of books with me while traveling. Also being stuck somewhere with no book is no longer a thing, I can pull up what i'm reading on the kindle app and sych to last page read and continue on. Library holds are SO much easier on kindle, no special trips to pick up or take back books, or having to remember when they are do. They just auto-return and I don't have to worry.

I prefer paperback to hardcover because hardcovers are heavy and bulky. I often read in bed or curled up, and carry a book with me all over the house. Paperbacks are so much easier to deal with.

Hardcover's i mostly only read from library books. I get why libraries tend to do hardcover, they ARE much sturdier. Plus most new releases go hardcover before they come to paperback.

Audio is usually only if I can't get it digitally in another format and I don't feel like going to the library for a hard copy, or if I'm doing a re-read and I want something to craft to. I have a hard time doing new books, particularly fiction, in audio because I tend to space out a bit and lose track of the plot really easily. And it's hard to rewind to the right spot to figure out where I missed. I do like audio books for crafting, don't have to worry about following visuals even a little like a movie. I'll usually do something like a dresden file or a gaiman book, where i'm pretty familiar with the story and it's just soothing background.

This week I finished Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, which I got on audio to listen to while working long hours on my current work project. It was an interesting exploration of how the internet has changed language, written by a linguist. This was my Popsugar book with only words on the cover.

I'm currently about halfway through two very different books. I've started reading A Neon Darkness, which I'm really enjoying so far. I don't think it's as accessible as the first book to people who haven't listened to the podcast - it's the backstory of one of the antagonist characters from the audio drama, and I don't know how interesting that would be to people less familiar with him. That said, I have to give Shippen credit so far for making the main character both unlikable and sympathetic. It's a fine line to walk and I think she's done a great job.

I'm also listening to Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup on audio. This was my pick for Popsugar's book by or about a journalist prompt. I'm enjoying it so far. The stuff that went down at this company was wild! My first job was at a startup in NYC where some bizarre stuff happened from time to time, so this feels really familiar.

QOTW: I used to be one of those "book purists," and resisted the lure of e-readers for many, many years. I didn't even have a Kindle until I was gifted a Kindle Fire a few years ago. I was swayed by the sheer convenience of ebooks, especially for my specific reading habits. I typically read on the bus (when not working from home), at lunch, and during downtime at work, so eBooks are a natural fit for me there. I can read on my phone or using the library or Kindle website anywhere.

I do like to do audio for some books. I'm a web developer, so I like to put an audiobook on when I'm working on something where I don't have to focus on reading the content so much, like writing html/script.

I think my ultimate order would be ebook > paperback > hardcover > audio now.

Thanks for the heads up on the book pick - I somehow missed the poll entirely! I've put in my holds, so hopefully a skip the line copy will turn up before the six month estimate. :)

At last check-in, I was partway through Desert Heat for IRL book club #2. It turned out to be a fairly quick read - as I mentioned last time, definitely a bit dated in the way it portrays gender roles and how characters interact with each other, but not terrible overall. I don't know that I'll rush out to find the rest of the series, but I might read another someday if I stumble across it. Part of the problem is that I read a MUCH better book with a somewhat similar premise earlier this year - The Widows. That one was set in the past, but still felt more current and had much more interesting characters. So if you're looking for a story about a sheriff's widow clearing his name, that's definitely the one I'd recommend.

I'm now almost done with the next one for IRL book club #3 - I've Seen the Future and I'm Not Going: The Art Scene and Downtown New York in the 1980s. I can't put it down - it reads like a really long blog post or a story someone's telling at a party, so it probably could have used a bit more editing - but the people in it are such a hot mess that none of that matters. Clearly we're only getting one perspective on the people and events in the book, and it would be fascinating to hear about the same events from other participants, for a bit of balance - but there's also something cool about a person who would be a minor comic relief character if this were a novel getting to tell his own story. In a crazy coincidence, the wife who never wants to go to the art museum decided that we should go see the big exhibit of the year the last day it was open, and it had multiple pieces from McD and McG, including their most famous one. I kind of wish I had read this before going to the exhibit, but it also makes it more interesting recognizing some of the names.

On the audio front, I finished The Flying Flamingo Sisters, which was very cute, and startedOnce More Upon a Time, which has drawn me in much more than I expected for a Kindle freebie. Since I'm spending so little time in the car these days, I'm going back and listening to all of the short free books I picked up during my membership, since I know I would lose the thread of anything longer if it takes me months to get through it.

QOTW: I'm pretty much with Sheri on the format front - reading on my phone is so convenient and easy that it's hard to do anything else. I still buy hard copies from time to time to support authors I like, and of course there are still a few that aren't available in electronic versions (like the one I'm reading now) - but ebooks are definitely my preference.

Audio has grown on me a lot in recent years - I was really into podcasts for a long time, but then I realized that audiobooks provided the same ability to help me focus while driving, crafting, doing chores, etc. but were often better stories. And some stories, especially fairy tale type fantasy, memoirs read by the author, and stories in which sound is a crucial plot of the plot, seem to work better for me in the audio format.

One finish for me this week: Shaman, for the Ravenclaw/Bronze/set in prehistory prompt - definitely the prompt I had the toughest time to find a book for from one of my libraries. The characters grew on me, and I found it quite enjoyable after a bit of a slow start. That puts me at 58/60 for the One PHRC reading challenge.

I was going to use Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives for one of the two remaining prompts, but after one downer of an introductory chapter, I'm not sure the timing is right for me, 2020 being what it is. The other book I had thought of, The Great Zoo of China, I might want to keep for next year's 52 books challenge, which has a prompt about dragons. Addicted to reading challenges? Who, me? ;D

So I've reserved the physical copy of Jurassic Park from my local library and will await the call to pick up. At least I know what I'm getting into.

QOTW: I don't have a hard preference for reading. I can only really focus on audiobooks when driving. As for ownership, I tend to buy a lot from two fundraising book fairs every year, so I get what I get, but I tend to re-donate a lot of those books. I also collect ebooks compulsively through BookBub. My shelves are predominantly hardcovers of my all-time favourites.

I hadn't heard of The Shadow of the Wind until the author died recently and there was a ton of praise for it. I mostly enjoyed it. A sort of modernized gothic epic, like The Thirteenth Tale mixed with The Goldfinch. It's hard to judge the writing, since it's a translation; much of it was delightful, but some of it was clunky, and I'm not sure whom to blame. I did correctly guess the identity of a certain mysterious figure.

My vacation read was The Spook in the Stacks, which was set on the coast at Halloween, for double the thematic appropriateness. Another standard cozy in which the culprit is revealed by being caught in the act. I thought the story was a bit weak, and there were some phenomena that remained unexplained so we could consider whether MAYBE THERE REALLY WAS A GHOST! Still not bad as an easy beach read.

QOTW: I prefer physical books where possible. I hadn't ever really considered hardcover vs paperback; each has pros and cons depending on circumstance, and I don't think I care much overall.
Next would be e-paper reading, which is pretty close to physical book. That is somewhat more distantly followed by computer/phone screen. Audiobooks score a DNF in this race.

Two finishes for me last week. The kiddo and I finished I Shall Wear Midnight, which we both loved. It was a much more intense story with fewer funny bits than the previous few in the series, but I do now have a 9 year old who wants to be a Feegle for Halloween so I think that's a win :). He was asking about other Discworld books, so I looked through what I had to try and find one that wouldn't go over his head and so now we're reading Mort. He seems to be enjoying it so far!

My other finish was a gift from last year's Book Flood - Greywalker by Kat Richardson. I liked but didn't love it, and I'm doubtful that I'll pick up the rest of the series. I did like the unique take on urban fantasy with the whole idea of the Grey, but I don't think the writing was that great and little things kept pulling me out of the story.

I've just started Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire, after a months long library wait!

QOTW: I'm equally happy with e-books or paperbacks. I don't love hardcovers, they are too heavy, but I'll read them from the library. Audiobooks - it depends on the genre. I lose track of the story easily on audio, and I hate not being able to flip back easily to re-read a bit that I missed or needed to see again for some reason. On the other hand, I LOVE nonfiction on audio. I'm more likely to listen to podcasts, but if I have a long drive I like a good audiobook.

Wow, I just realized it has been 3 weeks since my last check-in here. We just completed our 3rd week of a kitchen remodel and I'm guessing two more weeks to go, so that craziness might be why.

@jennifer I loved Bad Blood! I recommend it to anyone looking for a non-fiction book for any variety of topics. It was so wild. I was acquainted with one of the (good and tangential) people mentioned in it at a job long ago. That was kind of weird to recognize names. It is such a thriller, but true.

For me, in the past 3 weeks, I finished The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club. I enjoyed it and I will probably pick up the next book. There were a lot of times I laughed out loud at some of the dialogue. That so rarely happens to me that it is quite noteworthy.

I'm now back to non-fiction and reading Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors. It is both very interesting to read and sometimes rather painful. I want to say, "No, stop, don't do that!" at some parts. I'm only about 25% done so there is a lot more math going wrong in the real work to read about.

I'm also still listening to Cibola Burn. It is pretty exciting now as I'm about 75% of the way through. It is a long book, maybe 20ish hours.

I tend to read physical books because I get them from the library. I also listen to audiobooks, mostly fiction. I don't have an ereader and haven't been motivated to get one yet. I find I have the opposite problem that most people said, I often forget what I read more than I forget what I heard. I only listen to audiobooks when walking alone (or on flights in the Before Times), so the audiobook gets my total attention. I do find that if I get distracted by anything while walking and listening, I miss whatever happened and have to go back a few 10s clicks.