Weekly a Reading Thread - week of January 11

I'm reading "I Must Say" by Martin Short- and really, really enjoying it. There's so much I didn't know about him, and it's interesting reading about his relationship with his late wife.
My purse book is "A Fool and His Honey" by Charlaine Harris- just trying to finish off the Teagarden series. They're fluffy and predictable and I'm sort of ready to be done. But they're good purse books.

I read a couple more Deborah Crombie mysteries--I highly recommend them--and a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder which I think is the one that the Peas who took the LIW class online in the fall must have read. It's called A Writer's Life and focuses on the writing process of her books, what happened as opposed to what REALLY happened, her daughter's editing contributions, etc. It was quite good.

I also read a quickie called The Public Library: A Photographic Essay, which had several essays about libraries interspersed with photos of American libraries taken over a twenty-year period. I love reading stuff like that. There were pictures of gorgeous new libraries and libraries in places like Detroit that have been shut down and boarded up. The essays were about what the role of the library was and is now. It was a fun read.

Serena - Ron Hash It was a slow start but I'm loving it now. It's coming out as a movie in March staring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

I just finished On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. It is one of those books that has a confusing start. In fact, I got to the 6% mark and had to start over. But it was so worth it. The author ties everything together. I'm so glad I stuck this one out!

I'm still reading "An Echo in the Bone" by Diana Gabaldon. I'm about 2/3 of the way through this 820 page book and feel like I'm reading it much too fast, since after this I only have one more book left to read in the Outlander series. No!!!!!!!!!!  My head and heart are so full of these characters that I just don't want to read anything else. It's funny, I glanced at the reviews on Amazon about this book and some of them were actually negative. I have no idea what they were talking about. So far I've found this book just as exciting as all of the rest of them. There were a lot of positive reviews too. I guess it's true-you can't please all of the people, all of the time.

I need to slow down and really savour it, but all I want to do is read and read to find out what happens next. Surely that is the sign of a good book, isn’t' it?  Not to mention her very detailed writing that makes me "see" in great detail everything she describes down to the tiniest little detail-okay, I realize what a terrible writer I am because I just used the word "detail" 3 times in one sentence. Maybe you'll give me a break? I'm sick again after being sick since December 14th, and really, I'm quite sick of it! (there, 3 times with one word again!)

Debbie in MD.

Just finished Once We Were Brothers and I loved it. Drew me in right from the beginning. Now I am reading Winter Garden and it is slow going. I don't know if its the book or me.

I was completely charmed by The Rosie Project.  It was so offbeat and engaging.  A wonderful read!

I'm now reading Brooke Shields' memoir about her mother, There Was a Little Girl.  

Hi Reader Peas,

I read the follow-up the The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion's newest title, The Rosie Effect, If you enjoyed the first one, you'll get a kick out of this one too.

While I was visiting my mother-in-law on Christmas, I discovered that her sister's niece is a published author. I went home with one of her books, The Time Baroness by Georgina Ellis-Young. It's a time-travel sci-fi novel set in 2120, with a Regency romance set in 1820 thrown in. Not my usual choice, but it was a nice cozy read.

I'm also reading Jodi Picoult's latest novel, Leaving Time. The main these seem to be a missing mom, abandonment, psychic abilities, and elephants (not in that order). I'm enjoying it so far, but I know there is a twist coming, and I'm trying to figure out what it could be before I get to it.

Happy reading!

I finished 3 books in "The Lunar Chronicles" -  Cinder, Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer.
These are a futuristic, YA, retelling of the fairy tales; Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.
I thought they were well thought out and well written and while I enjoyed reading them as an adult, I would have absolutely loved them as a teenager. What I really liked that all of the main characters are female and they are all strong and independent.
If you have teen girls, I’d definitely recommend this series – no sex (the occasional kiss) and good role models (none of this Twilight “I’ll jump off a cliff if he doesn’t call me” twaddle)
I gave it 3 stars as an adult reader, I enjoyed it for what it is, a light YA read.

Then I decided to stay in the fantasy genre and I am about 1/3 of the way through The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
This is about two magicians Celia & Marco who have been trained since childhood to fight out a magical duel against each other. However I suspect they are going to fall in love (but I’m not quite up to this part yet)
Enjoying this so far.

Too funny...  Right now I am reading There Was a Little Girl (compelling so far..) and have The Rosie Project waiting for me next!  Glad to hear you liked it. 

It's been awhile for me. Three weeks? Anyway, I've read:

On Such a Full Sea: 
Dystopian future that follows the story of a young woman as she leaves the life she has known, and it's told from an unusual point-of-view (a collective voice of her community). Well written but it takes time to adjust to the narration. 

The Hidden Blade:
This is the prequel to My Beautiful Enemy that gives the background. 

My Beautiful Enemy:
I used to read a ton of historical romance, but I read little now. This one showed up on the NPR best of list, and it sounded good, so I decided to give it a try. If you ever read this genre, I'd highly recommend. Read the prequel first (no romance in prequel though)

The Last Miracle at Little No Horse:
One of my favorites of 2014. Louise Erdrich is such an amazing author. This is the story of an aging priest on an Indian reservation and "his" life story along with his friends, loves and foes "he" meets along the way. Highly recommend if you want something with literary merit. Richly woven and intricate. 

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry
This one has been talked about a few times on this thread. A cantankerous bookseller widow adopts a child and his life changes. I liked it. I thought it was cute. I didn't love it like others have. 

Intangible:
I picked this one up cheap on Amazon. Im trying to remember what it was about. Lol.  Modern world with a hidden world within that surrounds around King Arthur and his mythology. Middle level or lower YA imo. I would recommend to the Percy Jackson type reader. 

The Golden Son: 
The sequel to Red Rising, a dystopia set in the distant future where men have conquered the planets and "golds" rule them all. A society where there are different levels of colors. Darrow, the protagonist, is a red, a minor and the lowest of the society. After his wife is killed, he is recruited to infiltrate the golds, the highest rank, and try to bring them down from within. Full of violence, action, mythology and extensive world building. Great series and a frustrating cliffhanger. 

My year is off to a disappointingly slow reading start.

I finished Cutting for Stone. It's just gorgeous. My GR review follows:

Simply breathtaking. Life, love and loss span the pages of Cutting for Stone, but the book is mostly the story of secrets and betrayals and the lasting and devastating impact they have on our lives.

The prose is gorgeous, while the characters, even those with minor roles, are beautifully developed. The thought-provoking plot keeps you hooked until the last sentence. Definitely 5/5 stars.

That was it for this week. I am almost finished with another book but will save that for next week.

Lisa

My (now adult) kids have been obsessed with Gary Paulsen since they read Hatchet in 6th grade. They've both read everything he's written and periodically re-read his books.

I don't think I have checked in since the first of the year.  In that time I have finished three books - I didn't love any of them.

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson.  This one has garnered lots of good reviews and I'm not sure why I didn't like it.  It's the story of a social worker in very rural Montana - his job, his family.

The Sun is God by Adrian McKinty.  An historical mystery set in the very early 1900s, in German New Guinea.  It took a while to get into this one, but overall I did like it.

Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott.  This is a collection of essays by Lamott.  Some were good, some were not.  I happen to agree with most of Lamott's very liberal political views, but I have a problem with the disdain she seems to hold for those who do not.