Weekly Reading Thread: February26-March 3

I finished The Quartet Murders by J.R. Ellis which is part of a police procedural series that takes place in Yorkshire. It was pretty good. I enjoyed the setting and the main characters. If there are any more available through Kindle Unlimited, I'll probably try another one.

I'm partway through Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey by Sharn Garlough Brown. I very seldom read much Christian lit of any kind; I am a believer but so much of it is crap! I help process books for my church's library and this one was donated; I flipped through it and it seemed more substantive. It's fiction with a devotional slant--I guess there are more books in the series and a study guide. I'm not interested in all that, but the story is about four women who are hurting for various reasons and who come to a seminar on spiritual direction to renew or rebuild their relationships with God. So far I am finding it thought-provoking.

Next up is Mike Rinder's memoir on living in and leaving Scientology--I'm very excited to read it! Love that guy.

I had gotten about an hour or two into Spare by Prince Harry and couldn't stand to hear him say "the heir and the spare" one. more. time. So I stopped that right quick.

I read City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and gave it 5 stars!

I am so happy I picked this book on a whim when I saw it was available through my local library (audio). I absolutely loved it!

We meet Vivian Morris as a 19 year old in 1940. Kicked out of Vassar College, she is sent to live with her Aunt Peg in NYC. Aunt Peg owns the Lily Playhouse and there, Vi is introduced to the showgirls, amongst other characters. I just love the whole setting, 1940s city vibe and character development of everyone and everything.

The book is told in letters that 95 year old Vivian is writing to Angela, a character we won't come to understand her placement in the story until the end.

There's promiscuous sex which I found intriguing given the year/timeframe, regret and a true love story within these pages. Vivian Morris is a solid, smart, hard-headed female character, I just loved her!


Currently listening to Molly Shannon's autobiography and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune.

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. My Dh encouraged me to pick this up. While there were moments that I cringed at the language this was a sweet story. Cozy sci-fi was an apt description. 3.75/5 stars

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Continuing the re-read of this series for a podcast that I found, this one was never my favorite growing up. Having said that, it was a delightful picture of life in the northeast at this time. I found some of the editorializing about the American dream and the value of hard work to be of note this read. 3.5-5 stars.

Love and Saffron by Kim Fay. What an absolutely delightful, sweet epistolary book. It made me cry in public. 4/5 stars

Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis This was the book choice (the entire series in two cases,) of three podcasts that I listen to, so it seemed prudent to pick it up again. I will never love sci-fi, and this is not strong enough to outlast that, and it will never be my favorite of Lewis' writings, but I do enjoy some of the topics that it addresses and definitely think that the pre-space travel space travel is interesting. 3.5/5 stars

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Spurred on by the upcoming movie release, I figured it was time to reread this one. I read it so often growing up that I pretty much remembered every big happening, but I – who grew up in rural California with very little diversity – hadn’t realized how New York City these characters were. A great reread. It’s been updated since I was a kid (I read about sanitary belts, but now they just use pads. 4/5 stars.

DNF – Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra. I got about 125 pages in and realized I wasn’t engaged and didn’t care.

A few that I’ve recently read…

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey-This actually wasn’t all that good-lol. I just could not deal with the main character so I decided it was time to abandon ship around 30%. DNF

The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar-This was beautifully written, but such a heavy, somber book. There were no moments of levity. Not sure I’d recommend, but 4 stars.

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham-Suspense is not my favorite genre. I’m continually disappointed despite good reviews. But sometimes you just find yourself giving it another try. And this one was pretty good (which I think that means most would like it even more than me). 4 stars

Currently reading Ma’ame and really enjoying it.

My book for this week was Take It Back by Kia Abdullah; a surprise ending that I didn't see coming.

I have ordered Katherine May's new book Enchantment. I am really hoping it is as good as Wintering. It just got released today and is set to arrive in my mailbox on Friday. I admit, I've put every other book on hold right now because I'm waiting so impatiently for this one to come. LOL!

I am almost finished with Bono's book Surrender. I am listening to it on audiobook and I think that was the wise choice with this particular book. I'm also still reading Stephen King's On Writing. I have no desire to write fiction so right now, it is kind of slow going for me. I enjoy the memoir parts, but the tips I'm not sure will ever apply to me.

A great reading week for me!  I don’t think I’ve ever read (3) 5-Star books in a row.  I’m thinking this week might be a let down.  LOL


THE HOUSEMAID’S SECRET (BK 2 OF 2 THE HOUSEMAID) (‘23 - 5 STARS) BY FREIDA MCFADDEN
DESCRIPTION:  It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay.

REVIEW:
New author for me in 2022 and her first three books were Never Lie (‘22 - 4 Stars), The Inmate (‘22 - 3 Stars) and The Housemaid (‘22 - 5 Stars).  TRIGGER WARNING: DOMESTIC ABUSE. Without giving away the storyline, I’m sure some readers will not approve of how the abuse played-out. You’ve been warned. I love how fast this authors writing gets you all drawn-in to the story so quickly. A surprise is always a plus “in my book”. This story kept the tension high and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I stopped guessing where this tale was going and just enjoyed the whole ride to the very end. Even though this is listed S a two-book series, I’m still hoping for a book 3 due to Millie’s new “connection”. If not, I’ll still be looking forward to her next book, wherever it takes us.


A FLICKER IN THE DARK (‘22 - READ ‘23 - 5 STARS) BY STACY WILLINGHAM. 
DESCRIPTION:  When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Now twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren't actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?

REVIEW :
Debut book by this author. Her newest book, All the Dangerous Things (‘23) was reviewed by 2Pea @bridget in MD who gave it 4 Stars - child kidnapping started slow but had different twists/turns. I’ve already put this book on my TBR list. Eerie writing in the opening which I loved. Writing keeps pulling me in and wanting to learn more. Story moved along at a good pace. My doubts and anixety kept me guessing at every turn. I enjoyed the whole trip. The last 30-40% pushed this to a 5-star read for me. I’m jumping right into her new book All The Dangerous Things (‘23).


ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS (‘23 - 5 STARS) BY STACY WILLINGHAM
DESCRIPTION :  One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally. Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle's past makes her nervous.

REVIEW: I read this author’s debut book first, A Flicker in the Dark (‘22 - Read ‘23 - 5 STARS), and then jumped right into this one. 2Pea @bridget in MD gave THIS BOOK, 4 Stars - child kidnapping started slow but had different twists/turns. I love this author’s writing and how she slowly peels back the layers of history. The real picture starts appearing as the reader tries to put it all together. A very tense and original unwinding of a mystery. Don’t miss the “Author’s Note” page.


Wishing everyone a 5-star read this week !

I'm currently reading and almost through with Life by Keith Richards (Rolling Stones). Wow, what a crazy life he's had. I'm a big fan of the Stones, so I'm loving it. Has anyone else read it?

I am glad for the recommendation.  I love memoirs.  

I don't think I posted the last 2 weeks. Here's what I've read:

4 Stars for The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark. "The difference between justice and revenge comes down to who’s telling the story." Coming off from watching Ozark, I am fascinated by novels that get me to root for the anti-hero, and honestly: I just enjoy it. I do feel that the connection btwn Kat Roberts to Meg Williams was a little unbelievable/far fetched, but it just made the theme of revenge/making the past right that much better.

4.5 Stars for Stone Blind: Medusa's Story by Natalie Haynes. Docking .5 stars bc some of the dialogue btwn the gods were just... childish and not believable. I was also kind of surprised that the author chose to make Persues a hero, but only truly bc of the god's intervention, that he was almost too stupid to do it himself? I guess he was a mortal and the disdain they felt was true. Some people complain that this story does not focus on Medusa, but I think it it was great. She really was a small part in a much bigger story, much more intertwined with so many other background and then stories of how her head was used later (ie, Atlas, Andromedea, etc). What really intrigued me was the humanizing of Medusa, she was a beloved (mortal) sister, and in this book, how she chose to sacrifice herself to save mortals; she was not just the monster we all know of.

5 Stars for Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes. This book was so entertaining, I just really enjoyed reading it. Sam and Nisha are at a gym and Sam accidently take's a bag with Nisha's one of a kind Christian Louboutin shoes. In a rush to attend a meeting, she has no choice but to wear them to get thru the day, but her life changes dramatically due to wearing these shoes. On the other hand, so does Nisha's fortune - a rich biatch, she is snotty and not kind at all. Frozen out of all her money, these two women's stories cross in the most entertaining and satisfying way. JM last book came out in 2019, and this was well worth the wait!

Now I am currently reading Together We Will Go by J. Michael Straczynski

Mark, a frustrated millennial writer living with his parents, is planning a cross-country road trip. He buys a beat-up old tour bus. He hires a young army vet to drive it. He puts out an ad for others to join him along the way. But this will be a road trip like no other: His passengers are all fellow disheartened souls who have decided that this will be their final journey—upon arrival in San Francisco, they will find a cliff with an amazing view of the ocean at sunset, hit the gas, and drive out of this world.

The unlikely companions include a young woman with a chronic pain sensory disorder and another who was relentlessly bullied at school for her size; a bipolar, party-loving neo-hippie; a gentle coder with a literal hole in his heart and blue skin; and a writer dreaming of a better world beyond this one. We get to know them through access to their texts, emails, voicemails, and the daily journal entries they write as the price of admission for this trip.

I am only 15% in and I am enjoying this book but I have to admit, on kindle, it is kind of hard bc some of the interactions are pictures of texting thru a phone, and I have to click on the picture to enlarge it to read. I love that kind of format (like Daisy Jones & the Six or anything with different ways of communication to tell a story), its just harder on a kindle.

Can I be honest--I loved her last two books, but I did finish this one and didn't recommend it to my husband. She is a beautiful writer but the plot on this (and I say this as someone who shares her politics) seemed like a hodgepodge of reactions to recent political events.

I just couldn't get past this character - she would have to be the most useless and incompetent psychologist ever, she has zero ability to read or understand people, misses all the major clues and is constantly swallowing handfuls of pills.
I think even if the killer had a big flashing sign above them saying "I'm the killer" with an arrow pointing to them, she'd still miss it and be shocked when they were revealed.

Last week I finished Magpie by Elizabeth Day. It is billed as a thriller but I’m not sure it is. I really enjoyed the first half but the second half/ending kind of didn’t fit for me. 3/5 stars

I just this minute finished Look Closer by David Ellis. Wow.just.wow! What a twisty story he wove. Both DH and I loved it. 5/5 stars!

I borrowed this book from the library based on name recognition since I read her other books. I didn’t even read the description. Now I don’t even think I’ll bother starting it. Thanks for saving me some time for my other books, peas.