Weekly Reading Thread: February 21-27

I read Long Bright River which was recommended last week by... edie3 (I went and checked!) I absolutely loved this book. I finished it on Thursday and have thought about it often since then. My first 5/5 this year. 

I’m currently about 60% through We Can Only Save Ourselves by Alison Wisdom. It’s different, and I’m enjoying it. It’s about a teenager, Alice, who is truly a golden girl. Until she disappears one day following a charismatic young man who takes her photograph.  Unusually, part of the story is narrated by the first-person plural chorus of the mothers and neighbours who have known and adored Alice her whole life. I’ll rate it next time, but from what I’ve read so far, I would recommend it.  

The Beautiful Struggle by T. Coates. His writing is incredible.

Started reading Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas.

In the process of reading The Joy of Less. It’s the follow-up to something I read a few years ago. Satisfies the need to read without getting sucked in.

Same. I LOVED this book! More like this, please, Kristin Hannah. My favorite 2021 release so far.


I also read The Last Flight by Julie Clark which was a fast "what's going to happen next" read with some twists at the end. I enjoyed how my perception of the characters changed over the course of the story. I think someone here (was it cadoodlebug?) recommended this book - thank you!

I just finished The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. This was a thriller (sort of) sci-fi, with themes similar to the TV shows Orphan Black and West World. The story is about a scientist who discovers her husband is cheating on her with a clone he made of her, minus all her "rough edges," and explores the source of her rough edges and the nature of how we become who we become. The writing was lovely, but the plot was thin.

I am reading The Push and oh my! it is so good. I spent too much time reading it this weekend. And I am not sure how it is going to end.

Finished this last week. I think it was a plot that has been covered before boy oh boy her writing is just sooo good it added a different feel to the story.

I also read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. I loved it. It was heartbreaking and sad and beautifully written. An amazing story and I couldn’t put it down. 5 stars for me. I have loved all of her books but I had missed a few of her older ones so I am now reading True Colors.

I am also going to start listening to Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey this week.

I loved Take It Back. One of those books that will stick with you. Enjoy!

I've been on a reading binge this month, partly due to a monthly challenge I'm in. My team is pretty far ahead so we're all motivated to extend that lead. hahaha

This past week I read (or finished):

The Guest List by Lucy Foley. A large-ish group of people gather on a remote Scottish island for a wedding, someone is killed, and the author offers five or six people who had a good reason to kill the one who's killed, and the reader doesn't know until right at the end who did it. The book is told from the points of view of a handful of guests/staff which was interesting, and each chapter was short so that makes the book seem like it's moving along. 

Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson. The story of three women who go to West Point, their friendship, and their lives after West Point. It was pretty good, although the choices that some characters make had me wanting to shake them. hahaha

When The Tripods Came by John Christopher. My book challenge group had a Tic Tac Toe game and one of the boxes was a "middle grade" book. The Tripod Trilogy is one of my favorite series ever and I have the boxed set which includes this prequel. I read it in a couple of hours. lol. Now I'm reading the other three because it's been awhile since I've read the whole set.

And The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, because one of the Tic Tac Toe boxes was "a book with magic". lol. I was looking for a really quick read to I could check off that box and the Narnia books are ones that can be read in a couple of hours. I've read these many times but am always up for another read. If you've never read them though you MUST start with "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" not "The Magician's Nephew". Lewis had "Wardrobe" as book #1 but when the series was rereleased the order was changed. It's a big controversy among readers, lol. The reason I think "Wardrobe" needs to come first is because in "The Magician's Nephew" you learn how Narnia came to be, where the lamppost came from, why the wardrobe is magic, who the professor is, etc. So if you learn all that before you read "Wardrobe" then some of the magic is taken away. You just know everything immediately. If you don't then you can wonder at it all along with Lucy and the other children. This is the same reason that I've always liked the first Harry Potter book the most... we're all learning about magic along with Harry. 

I just started Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo. I found it in a Little Free Library in my neighborhood and then when I looked on the library website I discovered that it's a series! woo-hoo! I love finding a good book and then learning that there are more. lol. They're murder mysteries set in Amish country. So far this one is pretty good. 

Finished...

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré - It took me a bit to get into this one, but I did end up liking it. I listened to the audiobook, which was read by a Nigerian. While that made it more authentic, it was a challenging accent to listen to. I usually listen at 2X, but had to slow this one down to understand.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley - It was just okay for me. I kept having to look back at the chapter titles to remember whose perspective the chapter was coming from. And the ending was kind of anti-climatic for me.

Started...
? There's nothing on my OverDrive bookshelf at the moment. I may just listen to podcasts until a hold comes in.

Thank you, ladies...I have requested a number of titles based on your recommendations this week.

I had nothing left to read after finishing some Xmas gifts; so I pulled one of my hubby's books, CrissCross, and read that. Not good; but better than nothing.

I purchased three books this week; my first purchases (I tend to the library) all year. I am currently reading Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson and enjoying it.

For some reason We Need to Talk about Kevin has always stuck with me, even though I read it years ago. Maybe it was more graphic, I don't know. But of the three of these, The Push might just be the best written of these.

And I too stayed up too late to finish it last night.

Yes!!  I didn't even think of that!  what a great idea!

HAPPY reading & drinking !