Weekly Reading Thread: May 7-13(sorry late)

I started this...but it didn't grab me, not sure if it was just my mood at the time or if it's not for me...I'll be interested to see what you think and if I give it another try.

I have been in an absolute reading funk for weeks now. It's like I read a bunch of good books and then boom, couldn't find one that interested me. 

Here are ones that I've started and not finished:
-- How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu -- In theory it was about a plague that spread from where it was unearthed in the Arctic. But then it morphed into just weirdness. Got part way through, then tried to skip ahead and found talking pigs and space travel.   Nope. (nothing against either talking pigs or space travel, but in a book about a pandemic? lol)
-- Class Act, and the other graphic novels by Jerry Craft. I borrowed these because Craft came to our library to do an author talk. I tried to read them and then remembered why I don't like graphic novels. I can't read the small font, and even on a Kindle they're a pain to enlarge because there's just too much scrolling.
-- I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane. I can't even tell you what this one was about, except that it's a sort-of dystopian/fantasy about people being given a second shadow (or more, if they're really bad) when they do something that the Big-Brother-like State doesn't like. I gave up on this after a few chapters.
-- Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. Dysfunctional family goes on a family retreat at a resort in the mountains in Australia. They get snowed in, people start dying.. Seems like it has possibilities, like so many of this type do. But I just couldn't like any of the characters, and I especially didn't like the character who is telling the story.
-- The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner. I started this for a book group I'm in on Facebook. Read a couple of chapters, didn't really get caught up in it, then we went up to New York for my brother-in-law's funeral, so I dropped out of the group read. Everyone else was posting "SUCH a good book!" and "Wow, I couldn't put it down!" lol. Maybe I'll give it another look at some point. 

So anyway... Last night I downloaded an Agatha Christie and a Lilian Jackson Braun (the "Cat Who..." books). Hopefully these two will get me out of my book desert.  

I read the second in the Knockemout series Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score.
2 bullets put a dent in the Southern charm of town sheriff Nash. He is struggling to cope, to find the person who shot him.
Lina Solavita has her reasons for being in town, she too is hunting the person who shot Nash but she works alone and when she gets what she wants she's leaving.
Too bad Knockemout has other ideas and soon Lina finds herself sucked into small town life.
Dog sitting
Saying yes to being a bridesmaid
Trying not to let the police chief get under her skin.
But when Nash finds out why she is in town flirty friends become enemies but sparks still fly in the face of danger.
I have really enjoyed these steamy books. Looking forward to the third book coming out soon.

Two for me last week………..



YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COME HERE (‘23 - 3 STARS) BY JENEVA ROSE
DESCRIPTION : Grace Evans, an overworked New Yorker looking for a total escape from her busy life, books an Airbnb on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming. When she arrives at the idyllic getaway, she’s pleased to find that the owner is a handsome man by the name of Calvin Wells—and he’s eager to introduce her to his easygoing way of life. But there are things Grace discovers that she’s not too pleased about: A lack of cell phone service. A missing woman. And a feeling that something isn’t right with the ranch. Despite her uneasiness, the two bond and start to fall for one another. However, as her departure date nears, things change for the worse. What began as a playful romance soon turns into a complicated web of lies. Grace grows wary of Calvin as his infatuation for her seems to have morphed to obsession. Calvin fears that Grace is hiding something from him—including her reason for staying at his ranch to begin with. Vacation flings typically end in heartbreak, but for Grace and Calvin, it’ll be far more destructive.

REVIEW :
First two books by this author for me were The Perfect Marriage (‘20 - Read ‘22 - 4 Stars) and One of Us is Dead (‘22 - Read ‘23 - 4 Stars). Like the writing but the plot went nowhere for me. I kept waiting for more. At about 95% it got a little more twisty. The ending, for me, hinted at a sequel; don’t think I’ll read if there is. The book overall fell flat for me. I went with a generous 3 stars.



THE MARRIAGE ACT (‘23 - 4 STARS) BY JOHN MARRS
DESCRIPTION : What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills—the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single. But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives—monitoring every word, every minor disagreement…and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.

REVIEW :
Previous 6/7 books by this author for me were all 4or5 stars. One exception was Keep It In The Family (‘22 - 2 Stars). 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).

I hope the first page, “How are Smart Marriages Making Britain Better ?”, isn’t important to the plot of the book because on my Kindle it’s too small to even read. Since it’s a picture and not type, adjusting font doesn’t work. Luckily on the second picture, my brain woke-up and I thought to take a pic with my phone and then blow it up to read it.

Like the connection to two previous books (driver-less cars - The Passengers & DNA-match dating - The One). It’s frightening to see what AI and social media can cause. Lots of characters and 500 pages makes this book a tough read for me. Who’s for the marriage act, who’s against and who’s switching sides makes this book an immersive read. As the book continues (@50%) eerie to see the comparisons to everyday life today. Definitely a book that makes you think.



HAPPY READING !

I’m the total opposite of you on this book.  I read this last year and found it totally entertaining; 4 star read for me.  I thought it went into a totally different direction than I expected.  Loved the eerie vibe of the whole book.

Glad there are millions of authors out there so we can all find books we enjoy.  

Happy hunting !

I started Demon Copperhead this week by Barbara Kingsolver this week, based on recommendations from several friends.  And just today I read that this book just won the Pulitzer fiction prize, along with Hernan Diaz's book, Trust. So far so good.

I'd forgotten I read this as well, I gave it 1 star. Very close to the end someone says 'well that was a nothingburger' and it summed up the story for me.

Two books for you:

Cursed Bread, by Sophie Mackintosh.  This was on the tables at the bookstores (you know what I mean) when I was doing the independent bookstore challenge.  A little town in 1950s France is thrown into a tizzy when a diplomat and his wife arrive from America; the baker's wife in particular becomes enmeshed with them in all sorts of unhealthy ways.  Not my usual fare -- I'm not a big sexual intrigue person -- but well-written and a nice read.

Paradise, by Lizzie Johnson.  I had seen the documentary about the Paradise fire, and this is the book version.  Lots of information and a good walk-through about how things got so out of control so quickly and what conditions led to the fire in the first place; a little hard to follow the individual people, who I think the author tried to flesh out but didn't quite succeed in doing so.

I can appreciate that. I also hestitated getting this bc I am just so sick of the US political BS, but it actually was a light,quick read and I like this author anyway. I needed a much ado about nothing polticial story for once! LOL

I didn't know it was also a movie, but that makes sense -- it read more like a screenplay than a novel.

Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris. There's an element to the controversies that surround Morris that indicate that there should be a debate of who gets to tell their story. This story is, while one that I've read before, told just fine, though not amazingly, but there are indications that Cilka's family has argued that Morris isn't the one that should tell it. That's troubling to me. I will say, however, that her writing has improved between the Tattooist and this one, so there's that. 3/5 stars.

The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel. This one was intriguing as the set-up is recently widowed mom with two teenage daughters goes to Siberia and the daughters find an intact mammoth in the permafrost, which the mom uses DNA from to impregnate an elephant. The underlying story of grief, parenting, women in science, and teenagerhood was interesting, but mostly, the story left me with a puzzled, “Huh” feeling. 2.5/5 stars.

Same here! My book club is reading it for May, and the library wait list was long, so I actually bought this one. I'm about 120 pages in. 

I am in the minority and did not care for The Tattooist at all, mostly because I found the writing horribly juvenile. So I have decided not to pick up any more of Morris's books.

This week, I read one book: Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes. I thought this was really cute and liked the little twists at the end. However, the actions of Sam's husband (Phil? Paul?) were triggering b/c that's what my ex did: nothing while I worked full-time, took care of two young kids, and fixed dinner. (Thus the reason that he's my ex.) That aside, 4/5 stars.

Currently finishing up The Great Reclamation and will review next week. Up next, The Last Word by Taylor Adams.

Lisa

Freida McFadden’s new book, Ward D, came out yesterday, 5/8.  Can’t wait to read this one.  Hopefully by this weekend.  Here’s the description ….. Medical student Amy Brenner is spending the night on a locked psychiatric ward. Amy has been dreading her evening working on Ward D, the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit. There are very specific reasons why she never wanted to do this required overnight rotation. Reasons nobody can ever find out. And as the hours tick by, Amy grows increasingly convinced something terrible is happening within these tightly secured walls. When patients and staff start to vanish without a trace, it becomes clear that everyone on the unit is in grave danger.