Sunday, October 28, 2018

The Sunday Post #170

Just run slightly faster than your slowest friend. You'll be fine.





The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, and share news. It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. I get to tell you what I’ve read recently.




On The Blog Last Week











On The Blog This Week


  • On Tuesday we talk about how I’d die in a horror story.
  • On Thursday I wrap up October.
  • On Saturday there’s a book haul.









In My Reading Life


I feel like I read a ton last week, but I’m still somehow 3 books behind on my Goodreads goal. *Sigh.*

I read Vengeful by V.E. Schwab. I loved it, guys! It has all the scheming and brutal murder that I wanted. My only complaint is that I liked some point-of-view characters more than others. That always seems to happen with multiple POV books.



Then I read the Ballot Book for my state so that I could vote early. (Remember to vote, my fellow Americans. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about what kind of dystopia we end up in.) The Ballot Book should totally count toward my Goodreads goal. It was 200 pages, and it was boring. I’d rate it one star.



Then I read The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee. I had low expectations because reviewers have been saying that it’s not as good as Gentleman’s Guide. I agree. It’s not as good. The stakes in Lady’s Guide don’t feel as high, and Felicity is less funny and spontaneous than Monty. Still, I mostly liked Lady’s Guide. It’s escapist, which is what I wanted.



Right now, I’m reading The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. It’s going okay so far.








In My Internet Stalking Life











In The Rest Of My Life


Five things that made me happy last week:

  1. Dewey’s Readathon was awesome, as always. I only read half a book, but that’s better than nothing.
  2. Aside from the Ballot Book, I really liked the stuff I read last week. I need to find more escapist books. I’ve been reading too much realistic stuff this year.
  3. New books! Sadly, they’re nonfiction.
  4. I’m looking forward to Halloween. I’m probably just going to eat candy and watch creepy stuff on TV, but that sounds like fun to me.  
  5. I voted early. I do not want to stand in long lines on Election Day, so *pats self on back for being responsible.*









Shameless Self-Promotion














Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other! See you around the blogosphere!  






84 comments:

  1. I should have looked into early voting. I know the lines are going to be brutal in my city. I'm still reading Vengeful...it's been a slow reading month. Happy reading!

    Natflix&Books

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    1. It’s been a slow reading year for me, so I understand! Getting through books is hard sometimes.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. I think if I lived in the US I'd be voting early too! Over here there are never queues at our polling station so we go round in the car and it only takes a maximum of ten minutes and we're done. That booklet looks like a nightmare!

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    1. There aren’t many lines for early voting, but on Election Day, the waits are long. I think putting stuff off until the last minute is the American way.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  3. Good job on voting early. Your Halloween plans sounds wonderful. Have a great week!

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  4. Good for you reading the Ballot Book, AJ. I like to go to my voting site so that's what I always try to do instead of early voting. I remember going with my parent's to vote when I was a child. Those are great memories. Hope you have a great week!

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    1. Thanks! My parents never took me with them when they voted, but my schools were always polling places. I mostly remember our teachers telling us to be quiet in the halls so that people could concentrate.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. I can't believe you actually read the Ballot Book! I've never even heard of such a thing! XD I hope your Halloween is fun! I'll probably be doing the same.

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    1. Haha, I guess some states don’t have Ballot Books? We get them before every election. What’s really embarrassing is that I read my first Ballot Book when I was a teenager. I wasn’t even old enough to vote.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  6. LOL to your 1 star review for the Ballot Book. I think I'll pass. Although I will be voting. Maybe I'll have to read a few pages after all. Our ballot drop-off location is the library, so I guess I'll drop it off Saturday.

    I don't really do Halloween, but I might spray my hair purple and dress up like Lila for my NaNoWriMo novel when I go to work (well, if Lila ever would work at Walmart, which she wouldn't, not until close to the end of the first book, at least). I will go home and shortly afterwards it will be midnight though, which means NaNoWriMo!

    See you on Top Ten Tuesday!

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    1. Wow, you’re dedicated to NaNo! I’m sleepy and useless at midnight. I don’t think I could write anything.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  7. Yes, good for you for voting already, and I hope that more people go out there and do it!

    I have had a good week, since the previous one was chaotic with a broken laptop, DMV stuff, etc.

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. That sounds like a stressful week. I hope this one is going better for you!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. Haha, nonfiction can be fun, too, it's just that much hard to find titles that aren't about crime or terrible things happening.

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    1. I know! I seem to be drawn to the books about terrible things. It gets depressing.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I'm currently reading Vengeful and, even though I'm loving it, some characters' POV just aren't as interesting as the others. Eating candy and watching creepy shows seems a perfect Halloween plan.

    Happy readings!;)
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

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    1. I hope you like Vengeful! I liked the characters from Vicious more than the new characters. I always wanted to get back to their POVs.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. I cannot believe your voter manual was 200 pages. Wow! I vote by mail. We don't have early voting in NJ and my transportation is not reliable on a work day.

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    1. Our Ballot Books are always really long. They explain everything in tedious detail.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. I also voted early as we'll be out of town during the election. Yay for voting!

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  12. Hahaha yes eating candy and watching scary movies is not a bad program AJ!

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  13. Oh no you're going to die in a horror story...I'll have to come back and read that.

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    1. Haha, the post went up this morning, so it’s there if you want to read it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. I'm seeing rave reviews for Vengeful. One of these days I'll read something by Schwab.
    Thanks for the reminder that I need to brush up up all the amendments before election day. Now there's some fascinating reading. Ugh. I'm feeling a little meh about The Lady's Guide. I never did warm to Felicity throughout The Gentleman's Guide and I'm not super excited for her book. It's low on the TBR.

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    1. I never warmed to Felicity, either. My favorite parts of Lady’s Guide are the ones with Monty and Percy in them. I found those characters more entertaining.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  15. Ballot book??? I love voting early, I once had to sit in line on Election Day for three hours. Never again!

    That's too bad about Felicity's book. I'll need to lower my expectations too.

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    1. I don’t think every state does a Ballot Book. Or maybe they’re only online in some places. Standing in line for 3 hours would be challenging for me. I’m too twitchy.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. Halloween is only a few days away *sputter* that still blows my mind. Seems like Oct just startd. Anyway... wow a 200 page ballot book? Yikes. Speaking of I need to vote early too. Long lines on election Day = ugh.

    Have a super week !

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    1. I know! Why is this year going so fast? I haven’t accomplished anything yet.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  17. I would imagine that the Ballot Book would be rather dry reading. I have similar reading to look forward to. I am excited that I can vote with my daughter this year. I never miss an election. I do like Halloween but it is just for the candy. I hope you have a great week!

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    1. Mother-daughter voting sounds adorable. I mostly like Halloween for the candy, too.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  18. I always seem behind on my Goodreads goal, even though it seems like I read enough to be over. LOL Have a fun Halloween - sounds like a good plan to me.

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    1. I just can’t seem to read this year. Every time I finish a book, I get on Goodreads, and I’m 2 or 3 books behind where I should be.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  19. I think that boring ballot book should count as two reads. At least. :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  20. Yeah, Lady's Guide wasn't as good as Monty's book, but I liked it overall. I hope you have a fun Halloween - that sounds like a wonderful plan for the evening!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I liked it overall, too. I need to find more funny, escapist books.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  21. Voting early is a great idea. I play to be there on the 6th like usually. I am ahead on my goodreads and in reading in general. I have to get more active with working on my school work.

    Mary

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  22. Yay for voting!!! I've never voted early but I am thinking about it this year.

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  23. eating candy and watching some special creepy tv show sounds good to me!

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  24. Great job on the voting!! It's so important!!
    It sounds like you had a great reading week. And your Halloween night sounds perfect, is you ask me. ;)
    Have a great week and happy reading!

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    1. I did have an uncommonly good reading week. Actually, most of the books I’ve read this month have been excellent.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  25. That is an EPIC ballot book! And I can't believe you read it all -- it totally should count towards your goodreads goal!

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  26. Seems like you had a nice week overall. Great job on voting early.
    I fell like I haven't read anything since a long time. I am glad your reading was good though. Have a lovely week ahead.

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  27. I would like to early vote but ther isn't any parking at the election office. I work from home in the afternoons so hopefully I'll get a slow time. See what I read this month at Girl Who Reads

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  28. What is a ballot book, and why tf is it 200 pages?!

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    1. I don’t know how things work in other countries, but in the US, we don’t just vote for candidates in elections. We also vote on state and county issues (usually tax increases and potential changes to laws). The Ballot Book explains all of the issues in incredibly tedious detail. That’s why it’s so long. The complicated issues sometimes get 20 pages of explanation.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
    2. The leaflet for the EU referendum (Brexit) was smaller than that! And that's the biggest one I'd ever seen.

      We only vote on referendum issues, o/w it's done by elected officials. Our leaflets just tell you 'this is what the vote is, this is what each option means, you have to register by this date, you have to put your X in the box.' And then there's usually a brief explanation of how if you put anything but an X in the box, (like a tick, or colouring in the box,) your paper is spoiled and your vote doesn't count. For EU Parliament/Welsh Assembly elections, where we have to fill in our proportional rep. votes, we get ONE PIECE OF PAPER HANDED TO YOU AT THE POLLING STATION to explain wtf you're supposed to do.

      Like, America, overkill much?! Lol! ;) I suppose it just means your voters have even less excuse to be badly informed! (Sorry, that was a low blow... but a true one!)

      Delete
  29. Wow, you got through a lot of books and in my opinion should get double credit for reading The Ballot Book. Eating candy and scary movies sounds like a perfect Halloween to me!

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    1. I agree that I should get double credit for reading the Ballot Book. It’s the most boring thing I’ve read all year.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  30. LOL, I am looking forward to how you die post. My hubby and I just talked about this recently, and he decided I would die at home. Since I hate to leave home and the killer would have to come here.

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    1. Haha, same! The killer would have to break in and find me. I’m not going outside.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  31. Woo! Good job on voting! I'm hoping to get there early as well. The 'How you'll die' post sounds like it should entertaining,lol.
    I hope you enjoy your Halloween and your reading!

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  32. I'm glad you mostly enjoyed Vengeful! I'm hoping to read that soon, as well as finally getting round to reading Gentleman's Guide, because I keep hearing so much about it! It's a shame the second book isn't quite as good though.
    Thanks for sharing my post, and have a great week (and a great Halloween!) :)

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  33. I'm planning to vote next Tuesday. I have voted at that location a couple of times since I moved here and never had a line. Of course, being retired, I tend to go mid-morning which isn't the busiest time. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  34. I have been a little hesitant about reading The Lady's Guide and I think that I will keep it on the TBR for a while longer. I hope that you enjoy The Talented Mr. Ripley. I haven't read the book, but I really enjoyed the film :)

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    1. I have about 90 pages left to read in Mr. Ripley. It took a while for the action to get going, but I really like it now.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  35. A 200 page Ballot Book?! Wow... good job voting early though. Lots of people voting early here in FL, too. I voted by mail.

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  36. I voted early today. There was no line, which was great because my husband and I had our three girls under age 5 with us! Have a great reading week!

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    1. I’m glad you got in quickly. Voting with kids could be challenging.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  37. You reading half a book in Dewey's Read-a-thon makes me feel a little better about myself for NEVER doing it at all! Thanks.

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    1. Haha, I always do terrible at readathons. I spend too much time chatting with people on Twitter. Sometimes that’s more fun than reading.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  38. Our voters' pamphlet is misnamed at 145 pages. Pamphlet, my eye.

    Oregon does vote by mail. I still usually manage to wait until the last minute then have to drive it to the library by 8 pm on election day, but this year we got it done super early because, well, it feels so urgent.

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  39. YES early voting! This is my fourth election cycle living in Nevada and it's amazing to just be able to scoot over to the library when things are slow at work and vote!

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  40. Congrats on early voting and being able to participate in the Dewey readathon, reading that long doesn't ever seem to work out for me.

    Tori @ In Tori Lex

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  41. I'm very much a vote on election day girl. We have so many voting places there's rarely a line. Usually takes me 30 minutes total since I walk to my poling place (just up the road).

    Ahhhh on Goodreads. Ahhhhh! (good luck catching up!)

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  42. There's so much hype for V. E. Shwab books right now!

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