The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Oct 24, 2022 3:55:02 GMT
What did you read this week?
I read:
🟣 They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
I probably shouldn’t have read this book because it just upped my anxiety and existential dread to the next level.
The author Is an investigative reporter, and she has spent a good portion of her career investigating various conspiracies. One of the things that she discusses is the difference between an actual conspiracy and a conspiracy theory, and the unfortunate truth is that we do have a lot of conspiracies that are interwoven throughout our culture. Because of these actual conspiracies and the actual maneuverings of the wealthy and powerful, there’s enough truth that the wealthy and powerful use this to create conspiracy theories and now we are at a point where many are so manipulated and confused that our democracy is at serious risk.
The author makes her living off from predicting trends and and finding the signal within the noise; she has been correct about a lot of what has come to pass in the United States, so she is definitely sounding the warning bell, or the death knell, of Democracy.
She is VERY opinionated and speaks in absolutes. I didn’t love her style.
🟣 The Quarry Girls ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Quarry Girls is an early release on Amazon prime this month, so it definitely piqued my interest when I noticed that it was based on, or at least inspired by, the real life murders that happened in my town in the 1970s.
I would call this a true life crime/Thriller/murder mystery, and I did really enjoy the narration; there were a couple different points of view and because it was set in the town that I live in, I also really enjoyed some of the historical accuracy or at least historical rumors that were interwoven in the story.
I appreciated that I had a certain amount of creepiness to it and good characterization that even though I saw some of the twist interns coming, I still really enjoyed it. It’s free for Amazon prime members right now and it’s only $1.99 if you don’t have prime for this month.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by Mystie on Oct 24, 2022 5:27:44 GMT
@the Great Carpezio Just your description of that first book spiked my own existential dread! I read a similarly themed article in The Atlantic the other day and have felt sick to my stomach ever since. I don't know how to handle the anxiety of watching the world crumble around me.
ANYWAY, because life does still go on, I did read a good book this week, There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset. Fauset was part of the Harlem Renaissance, more well-known as an editor than as an author. I heard about this novel on the Novel Pairings podcast and was intrigued. It was written in 1924, and it's about three friends as they grow into adulthood from roughly 1900-1920, and realize that their dreams for their lives will always be impacted by being black in America.
What I found interesting was that one of the main characters comes from a well-off family and the other two main characters come from impoverished backgrounds but enter a more privileged society as teenagers and aspire to careers and status themselves. So many stories about the experiences of black people are about slavery, so I thought it was interesting to read about people in a different era, from a different class, and with different opportunities. These main characters are the children and grandchildren of slaves but have very different expectations about what they can accomplish in life, and they encounter racism in different and unexpected ways.
The book is also about a love triangle, and has just a touch of Jane Austen style, with romances, misunderstandings, and the manners of a specific society. I had a couple feminist quibbles with it, but I'm very glad I heard about it and got to read it. I'd like to read more black literature from that era.
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Post by mnmloveli on Oct 24, 2022 16:50:54 GMT
A mixed reading week for me.
THE PERFECT MARRIAGE (‘20 - Read ‘22) by Jeneva Rose : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION: Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in WashingtoD.C. As a named partner at her firm, life is going exactly how she planned. The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He’s a struggling writer who has had little success in his career and he tires of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working. Out in the secluded woods, at the couple’s lake house, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers. But one morning everything changes. Kelly is found brutally stabbed to death and now, Sarah must take on her hardest case yet, defending her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.
REVIEW: New author for me. This sale book ($2.99; reg 7.99) caught my attention because out of $38,000+ reviews, 85% were 4&5 stars. The number of reviews alone compared to her past books, made me give it a shot. Plus this book has been optioned by Picture Perfect Federation for development as a film or TV series.
I like her writing and plot is moving along quickly. I rarely find things far fetched since it is fiction, but, at 35%, the sheriff being so helpful and caring to the possible killer’s wife is a bit much! The investigation had many twists that led to a great ending. Many times I thought I had it figured-out; I DIDN’T ! Very entertaining read for me.
KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY (‘22) by John Marrs : 2 STARS
DESCRIPTION: Mia & Finn are busy turning a derelict house into their dream home when Mia unexpectedly becomes pregnant. But just when they think the house is ready, Mia discoverers a chilling message scored into a skirting board. “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC”. Following the clue up into the eaves, the couple make a gruesome discovery; their dream home was once a house of horrors.
REVIEW: Previous books by this author for me were The Minders (‘22 - 4 Stars), When You Disappeared ('17 - Read '20 - 4 Stars), The Good Samaritan ('18 - Read '20 - 4 Stars), What Lies Between Us ('20 - 5 Stars), The One ('18 - Read '20 - 5 Stars) and The Passengers ('19 - 5 Stars).
TRIGGER ALERT : Child deaths. Same great writing leading us into a creepy mystery, but very slow. At 50% I’m thinking I hope there’s more than this. This does not feel like a John Marrs’ plot at all! At 75% still so slow and going nowhere, except many more dead children found. This book was very disappointing since all the books I’ve read by this author were 4 or 5 stars.
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Post by mnmloveli on Oct 24, 2022 16:51:40 GMT
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,020
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Post by mimima on Oct 25, 2022 0:52:12 GMT
All library books this week!
The Many Daughters of Afong MoyT by Jamie Ford. While his debut had several editing errors that took me out of the story, I have enjoyed several of Ford’s recent books and therefore I was expecting a straightforward Historical Fiction. This wasn’t so much that as a bit about an experimental epigenetics treatment in near-future Seattle and how that affected the main character’s history. Once I took it with the bit of magical realism that it needs, it solidified for me, though I never loooooved it, probably because this caused the ending to be the best part. My IRL book club book for December, but I found it on the “Lucky Day” shelf at the library and grabbed it. 3/5 stars.
The Sisterhood of Sleuths by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. When I was about 8, I stayed with my grandmother in Oregon along with my slightly older cousins. One of our favorite pastimes was to read the Nancy Drew books owned by a neighbor - enhanced by our yard sale and library finds of the coveted books. Therefore, I have always had a mixture of the original novels, as well as the 60s rewrites, and a couple of the late 70s as well (though I outgrew them before the Nancy Drew Files, etc.) One of my treasured copies is one that was given to my grandmother for Christmas in 1939, per the inscription. This book took me down that memory lane as the protagonists receive a box of Nancy Drew books, research the history of the books, reunite separated friends, and create a film. It's all so well done - while I got this from the library, I will definitely have to get a copy of the book for my keeper shelf! Thanks "Currently Reading" podcast for putting it on my radar. 4.5/5 stars.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I’d just listened to a panel discussion that included Klune, so that was in my head on this re-read for my IRL Book Club. I had forgotten a lot of the plot but remembered (correctly) the story of found family in an easily accessible for me magical setting. 4/5 stars
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,020
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Post by mimima on Oct 25, 2022 1:01:41 GMT
@ thegreatcarpezio: I have anxiety and existential dread reading your review. That sounds despressing. Mystie - that sounds fabulous. Thanks |
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Post by circusjohnson on Oct 26, 2022 0:19:21 GMT
I'm a middle school librarian today I had a kid (eighth grade 13/14 yrs old) toss a book at me and told me the book is inappropriate and why is it in the library. I asked him some questions why he would think that and told him not every book is for every kid He can find something else to his liking and I would read it! The book was Beneath a Meth Moon by Jaqueline Woodson and is so good. It was a quick read and I was able to finish it today. There was no swearing and no sexual content at all. There is a girl dealing with grief at the loss of her mom, grandmother, and home from a devastating hurricane. Her new boyfriend introduces her to Meth and from that moment on she is addicted. It details her addiction and decline, people who try to help her and her successfully getting into recovery. It's a beautiful story.
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Post by ~summer~ on Oct 27, 2022 14:18:49 GMT
I finished “Flying Solo” which is the same author as “Evvie Drake Starts Over” which I also read.
I thought both were cute and enjoyable - 3.5 stars. I like that she writes about independent women finding their way - with some romance thrown in.
I started “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and it is SO GOOD. Only a bit in but highly recommend.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
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Post by gottapeanow on Oct 27, 2022 18:27:20 GMT
I had company in town, so I'm posting late in the week.
I finished The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris. Quite a few of us read Sold on a Monday by her a few years ago.
This book is every bit as good and is a somewhat different perspective on WW2. It will certainly be one of my favorite reads of the year. I will eventually go back and read all her books.
I am still working on Highway of Tears. It's a tough but important read. I'll finish it in the next few days. I'm also reading Attic Child, which is excellent as well.
Lisa
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Oct 27, 2022 20:17:03 GMT
It has been a quiet week in Reading Land.
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Post by mnmloveli on Oct 27, 2022 23:34:10 GMT
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Post by pjaye on Oct 28, 2022 0:15:01 GMT
I had trouble getting into a new book, then finally started one and it was very slow to grab me so I didn't read at all for a few days.
I'll post in the next thread.
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Post by sudie on Oct 28, 2022 0:38:06 GMT
I finished Carrie Soto is Back - 4 stars. I loved the book and would have given it 5 stars, but I was annoyed at the amount of spanish that I could not understand. Still, it didn't stop me from loving the book.
Also read Lessons in Chemistry - Loved it - 5 stars.
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Post by Really Red on Oct 28, 2022 16:28:38 GMT
I finally read Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. I give it 3.5 stars. I liked it and it was very readable, but it is hugely misandrist. Overwhelmingly so. I think I would have appreciated some more subtlety with it rather than the outright actions. I'm not saying that the issues didn't exist; they absolutely did. But the only male character who was not horrible died before we knew anything about him. Even though the station guy and the minister were sort of decent, every other man was misogynist as hell. I think, as well, that it would have been way more powerful for Harriet to have wanted to divorce/leave her husband because of incompatibility rather than him being a slob and then finally hitting her. I know that existed; I just believe empowering women to leave a bad relationship would have been a stronger point. |
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Rhondito
Pearl Clutcher
MississipPea
Posts: 4,662
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Post by Rhondito on Oct 28, 2022 17:02:46 GMT
Yesterday I finished Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang. A historical novel about a young Chinese girl who is kidnapped and smuggled across the ocean to America. She keeps having to reinvent herself in order to survive as she moves across the country. This booked ebbed and flowed for me; some parts really held my attention and had me very interested while others completely lost my focus. It's beautifully written and I know many people have loved it, it just didn't hit mark for me. 3 stars
Next up is The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
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Post by rymeswithpurple on Oct 28, 2022 20:29:32 GMT
Currently listening to The Beauty in Breaking (Michele Harper) when I walk on the treadmill and am enjoying it thus far.
I also read Heart Solution for Women earlier this week, by Mark Menolascino. My cholesterol, thanks to some fabulous genetics, is high, so I'm trying to get that into check. I feel like I already knew most of what the book was saying and it seemed a little pushy for his supplements. I'll stick to my Greek yogurt and PB granola for breakfast and keep walking on the treadmill (which will also help my low bone density levels, so win-win).
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Post by mnmloveli on Oct 28, 2022 23:18:34 GMT
 HOPE you get some great spooky reading time during this Halloween weekend! |
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Post by SockMonkey on Oct 28, 2022 23:30:08 GMT
I'm reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, which is another cozy witch mystery/romance, and listening to What the Fact: Debunking Disinformation to Detangle the Truth by Seema Yasmin. Both are good!
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