Weekly reading thread - Week of Dec 28

I just joined two book clubs, my first ever. So for the meetings in January I just finished reading The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown and just started reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes which is being released into a movie in August.

Just finished All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner. It's about a suburban Mom who starts taking pills to cope and she gets hooked.

I am a few chapters into Stephen King's Revival. Not sure what I think yet.

Hey readers!

I just finished Darynda Jones Seventh Grave and No Body. It's from her Charley Davidson series. I haven't enjoyed the last few books as much as the first three or four, so I put off reading this one for a few months. I was pleasantly surprised to read this one. It was back to the Charley Davidson I loved, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I'm meeting my friends to see Wild at the movie theater this afternoon, so I picked up Cheryl Strayed's book. So far, so ggod.

I'm also reading Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal. It's about a 12 year old who thinks he might be the next incarnation of Krishna. It's supposed to be funny.

Happy Reading!

I just finished "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" by Diana Gabaldon this morning. It was book number 6 in the Outlander series. Oh what a wonderful book! I won't spoil it by telling you anything about what happens in the story line, but it was as usual so brilliantly written that I closed the back cover with a deep sigh. Just looking on Amazon I read that she won a Quill award and the Corine International Book Prize. I was very happy the book was a long one. 980 pages in the hardback Delacorte press edition.

Once I read the first book "Outlander" and loved it so much, I made myself a gift and bought every book in these hardcover editions. I'm the type to read books again and again, so I know the money was well spent. These books are so vividly written, so descriptive that I can "see" everything that happens in my mind. While the series on Starz was very, very good, it doesn't hold a candle to the books. There is so much more to the books that they just couldn't cover in the amount of time dedicated to film. There are characters you grow to love and know that feel like they are real people in your lives. And some you grow to hate.

 Luckily DS (25) bought me book number 7 "An Echo in the Bone" for Christmas" and I just bought book number 8, "Written in my Own Heart's Blood" with some Christmas money, while I could still get it in the Delacorte Press edition. Yes, I'm picky. The only other edition in hardback is from the Turtleback School and Library Binding and I really don't care for those. If you've ever gotten a book from that press you'll know what I mean.

The only drawback from these books is their hefty weight. It is like holding a brick   I usually read in bed, sitting up drinking my peppermint tea at night. Sometimes I'll lie in bed on my side, with the book resting on the bed and holding up one end. This isn't a book you can hold up and read. But I will have them forever. Even if we lose power for days and the electricity is off. Which, in this house, happens all of the time.

Debbie in MD.

I am about 1/4 way through this and loving it. It's a great story so far, every time I pick it up I get sucked right in. It's one of those books where I have to just read one more page to see what will happen - it turns into another 10 pages or more and I've read way past my bedtime and know I will pay for it when the alarm goes off in the morning! 

I've been in a funky punky mush for brains kind of mood this week. So I thought I'd check out some of my free kindle books. I only have the kindle app on my phone and have never paid for a book. Usually they are good.

This time I went through about 10 books, quickly deeming them unworthy. Some were just soooo bad. How many descriptive words do you really need to describe something? Her flowing raven hair, with thick perfect barrel curls, which reached all the way down her back, glistened in the sun and was gently tousled by the delightful breeze. Ok I obviously made that up but you know what I mean. Then the ones that meander and you don't know where they are supposed to end up. I deleted quite a few.

I finally found one I thought would be a pretty good read. And it was. Except It took me until I was halfway through the book to realize I had already read it! I still enjoyed it.

I came to share that delightful news with you. LOL

Happy reading!

Last time I posted I had started The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
I knew it would get strange at some point as it’s described as “genre bending”. I liked his writing and the main story, but then he introduced a whole science fiction element and I didn’t enjoy that part.
Overall I gave it 3 stars, interesting story, but personally I could have done without the weird sci-fi parts.

Then listened to The Center of the World by Thomas Van Essen. I always love books about art and artists and this is about the real British painter J. M. W. Turner but a story of fiction around a painting of Helen Of Troy (also fictional) and how he came to paint it and how it affected the people who saw it and owned it. An enjoyable story and I gave it 4 stars.
Coincidentally the bio-pic “Mr Turner” has just been released here, so will be off to see that this week.

Then while browsing the Overdrive audiobook library I came across The Invisible Girls: A Memoir by Sarah Thebarge and thought it sounded interesting…and it was. This is nonfiction, the author Sarah Thebarge was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer at the age of 26. She had bilateral mastectomies and intensive chemo (during which her fiancé told her “This is all too hard”, and left her). After she recovered she moved to a new city and one day on the train met a Somali refugee abandoned by her husband, who was struggling to raise five young daughters in a culture she didn’t understand. Sarah starts to help this family and that’s the basis of the book.
Really heart-warming and inspirational. All profits from the book are going towards college funds for the girls.
4 stars.

Next was The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Set in England, Harold is 65 and one day gets a letter from an old friend telling him that she is dying of cancer. He writes back and then goes to post the letter…but he decides that just posting the letter isn’t enough and he’ll walk and hand deliver it instead – a journey of over 500 miles.
I LOVED this book. Warm, funny, heartbreaking. 5 stars from me.
There’s a sequel (The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy) but it’s not available in audiobook for a couple of months, but will get that as soon as it comes out.

Last night I finished the last of the GR “it books” for 2014 Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I know lots of people have already read this so won’t go into much detail. I was hesitant to read this as I don’t have young children and haven’t experienced all the school dramas, but I was surprised and really ended up enjoying the story. I gave it 4 stars.

Last week I created my reading list for 2015 so I am now going to start on that...and first up is another Liane Moriarty – What Alice Forgot.

Lol!

I just finished Coming Clean: www.amazon.com/Coming-Clean-Kimberly-Rae-Miller-ebook/dp/B00B77UDXO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Its a memoir about the physical, social, and emotional impact of growing up with parents who are Hoarders. Interesting read.

I just finished 41: A Portrait of my Father by George W. Bush. It was a very good book. It was obvious to me just how beloved this man is to his family. I was also very impressed with all of his accomplishments before becoming Vice President.

I'm finally finishing 11-23-62. I started it last year and was bored Soni didn't finish it. Picked it back up yesterday and I should finish it today or tomorrow

I made plenty of time for reading on my vacation.

Four Letters of Love (Williams) I really wanted to like this one, but didn't. It's set in Ireland and follows the lives of a man and woman until their paths finally cross. Too predictable for me.
The Dog Stars (Heller). I loved this book! If you enjoyed "Station Eleven" you will like this. It's set in Colorado after a flu pandemic has killed about 90% of the population. It's stark, at times violent, but also incredibly beautiful.
The Pleasing Hour (King) Another book I wanted to like, but it was only ok. An American girl with a troubled past becomes a nanny for a wealthy family in Paris. The descriptions of the city and country side are excellent, but none of the characters struck a chord with me.
The Kingdom of Ice (Sides) An outstanding non fiction read! Tells the story of the USS Jeanette, a ship and crew who attempted to reach in North Pole via the Bering Strait in 1879. So compelling, I read until 3:00 a.m. This book was on Amazon's top reads for 2014 and lives up to that billing.

I finished Bird in Hand. Several here read it and gave it pretty good reviews. I liked it but it was not my favorite read. Now I am reading We Were Liars.  It's a short book and it's keeping my interest.

I'm currently reading a book I think must have been free for Kindle at one point, it is called 600 Hours of Edward. He has Asperger's and OCD. It's a little bit Rain Man, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night and Flowers for Algernon. I am really liking it so far.