Weekly Reading Thread: February 20-26

I've been reading Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult. It is VERY RARE that I give up on a book, but omg I don't think I can stick with this one.

Honestly the only part I liked was the Galapagos island parts! I hate having to read anything to do with Covid (or watch it on tv for that matter) I've reached Part Two now and I think the Galapagos part is done so think i'll be returning it to the library unfinished. Anyone want to spoil it for me? You can pm me or put it in spoilers here, i'll check back.

I finished We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

You guys.

I snot-nosed wept at the end.

This felt like advanced reading for me, because there were SOOO many words I didn't know. Luckily the narrative wasn't so difficult that I couldn't figure out basically what they meant by the context of how they were being used. I eventually decided not to allow myself to be distracted by it and just plow through.

I'm not a mother. That's my vantage point as I experienced this book. I imagine mothers likely experience it differently. But I feel like both mothers and non-mothers would have visceral and dramatic reactions to this one.

Am I the only reader who doesn't try to figure things out? There are times in a book where a plot line or an upcoming twist become kind of obvious. But I don't actively spend time trying to determine what the pages will reveal. I don't know that it's a conscious decision. I think I just want to experience the book the way the author intended or hoped that I would. I had an inkling of what was happening in this one, but I eventually dismissed it and just accepted what she was saying. So the end wrecked me.

Has anyone read the book AND watched the movie? I'm wondering if I could watch the movie. It has good reviews, but clearly not every reviewer will have read the book.

I gave it 5 stars and thought it would be a while before I could start a new book.

But I picked up the next Allen Eskens book in his series and started it over the weekend...The Shadows We Hide. It's pretty good so far. Eskens has become a reliable go-to for me.

I read From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks.

I really enjoyed it. I read it in 4 days which is unheard of for me so it was quite the easy read. Brooks is a writer for The Atlantic and he hosts a podcast that is relatively new that I listen to. So I was definitely eager to read his book as he is a lifestyle person.

In some ways this book applied to me and in some ways it didn't. I am not a workaholic and I'm not a super overachiever at work. However, I am the kind of person who wants to do an excellent job at my profession. And I do push myself there. I also push myself outside of work. But the decline in performance as we age relates to everyone I think. And really too, all his suggestions were good ones.

All-in-all I would hands down recommend this book to workaholics, overachievers, and perfectionists. The kind of people he refers to as strivers.

I'm about a quarter of the way through Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds. It is a beautiful book. The words, the art. So far, it is illustrating 2020 BLM protests in an artistic way. This is definitely a coffee table book. I will finish looking at it this week. And then I will most likely pass it on to my daughter and her boyfriend. It's pretty powerful illustration of what was going on (is going on) in the world right now.

I might try We Need to Talk About Kevin. I loved The Push. Loved it! But I DNF'd Baby Teeth at a crazy scene in the middle.

I finished The Only Plane in the Sky. A hard but important read. So well-done and powerful. We will never forget. 5/5 stars.
I also finished Miracle Creek. So many secrets and lots of twists and turns. 4/5 stars.

As an aside, I won the new novel, First Born, by Will Dean as an ARC. I haven't won an ARC in forever, but The Last Thing to Burn was my favorite read last year. So I have really high hopes for this one. Just waiting for my copy to come in the mail.

Lisa

I listened to Project Hail Mary for book club. I needed a nudge to start the book as I bought it when it was released, but I really enjoyed it. The narration is fantastic. I just imagine the Andy Weir has so much pleasure in writing some of the scenes and probably laughs at some of the dialogue he writes. Fun book!

I finished Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau. It was not my cup of tea. 2/5

I also finished Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson and thought it was great. 4/5

Both books were recommended here. I so appreciate the diversity of reading here. So thank you to all who come here and review their reading choices. I've read some great books thanks to your recommendations.

The reviews I have seen so far is that most people really like the book. I didn't find this story to be a romance novel and by the end I didn't like any character.

I finished two books last week. The first was The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker. I normally go into a book knowing very little about it. I don’t even read the back often. All I knew was this was a thriller and has been popular of TikTok. I really wish I had at least checked the trigger warnings because this was a very hard read. It is told from one narrator, but from two times in her life. In one timeline she is 8 and it was very hard to be in her head. I listened to the audio so that made it even worse. Overall I gave it 3/5 stars. 

I’m also continuing my re-read of Harry Potter. I finished Goblet of Fire. After reading the last few chapters it brought back a flood of memories because I read books 1-3 and then only had to wait a few months for 4. The series really amps up in this book and it brought back the memories of excited waiting for the next book. 

Two very good books this week………..


SAVING MEGHAN (‘19 - Read ‘22) BY DJ PALMER : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  Some would say Becky Gerard is a devoted mother and would do anything for her only child.  Others, including her husband Carl, claim she’s obsessed and can’t stop the vicious circle of finding a cure at her daughter’s expense.  

REVIEW:  Previous books by this author (both DJ Palmer and Daniel Palmer) are The Perfect Daughter (‘21), The New Husband (‘20), Forgive Me (‘16), Constant Fear (‘15), Desperate (‘14), Stolen (‘13), Helpless (‘12) and Delirious (‘11) were all 4 star re ads for me.  This book, which I somehow missed, was recommended by Lisa Scottoline and Lisa Gardner who are other authors I follow.  This author’s writing never fails to keep me engrossed.  I thought this book was going to be similar to Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage (5 Stars), the Push by Audrey Adrian (4 Stars) and the Hulu series The Act (5 Stars).  This plot was coming from the other side; doctors, hospitals and court guardians trying to protect the child.  Some drama thrown-in between the parents kept this book moving.  


GOOD AS DEAD (‘21 - READ ‘22) BY SUSAN WALTER : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  After working up in the hospital to discover her husband has been killed in a hit-n-run accident, Holly Kendrick views to stay silent about the accident in exchange for a payout from the offender.  Holly has her reasons, especially if it means helping her daughter.  But Holly has no idea how much her decision will haunt their lives or what sort of danger she’s put them in.  The web of lies surrounding the cover-up reaches far and secrets can’t stay buried forever.  

REVIEW:  Recommended by an ad on my Kindle and so glad I saw this.  Debut book by this author.  Great writing that really pulled me in.  Very original plot that moved at a good pace.  Kept me intrigued with putting all the pieces together.  Can’t wait for this author’s next book.

If you liked Hostage by Clare Macintosh, don’t miss FALLING BY TJ NEWMAN.  Same overall plot but so much better to me.  Here was my review on here and Goodreads…….


SEPTEMBER 2021 - 5 STARS. Debut book by this author. You just boarded a flight to New York. There are 143 other passengers onboard. What you don’t know is that 30 minutes before the flight, the pilot’s family was kidnapped. For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die. The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

I was lucky to buy this book on sale for $5.99 but definitely would have paid full price!!!! The writing grabbed me right away. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. Loved how some chapters were cliffhangers. What a 5-star thriller!!!

Told ya! That book will stay with me forever!

Like you I also need to try We Need to Talk About Kevin.  Possibly will be my next read.  

I also loved The Push, The Only Plane in the Sky and Miracle Creek.  Sorry, unlike you, I also loved Baby Teeth.  

I must have missed The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean review last year.  That looks awesome and I’ve added to my TBR pile.  Will Dean’s upcoming book looks good too.  It will be a toss-up if the read this one next or “Kevin”.  

I have The New Husband from the library and I put Saving Meghan on hold!  All your recommendations always look so good!

I finished The Night Swim by Megan Goldin; I really enjoyed it. I loved how two stories, twenty five years apart, converged and made it all make sense. 

I started How To Be A Tudor by Ruth Goodman; no opinion as I am only about 10 pages in .