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Post by hollymolly on Jan 26, 2015 18:54:16 GMT
I finally finished England, England and started The Passage. This one is moving so quick for me! I had a really hard time putting it down last night and I can't wait until I can pick it up tonight. It's easily 3 times as long, but I will probably finish it in half the time.
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luckyexwife
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,067
Jun 25, 2014 21:21:08 GMT
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Post by luckyexwife on Jan 26, 2015 19:02:08 GMT
I finished All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve. 2/5 stars. It was set in 1899-1014, and the writing was hard to get used to. I had a hard time getting into it, once it got moving I was really enjoying it, then I completely disliked the ending. I was reading Goodreads reviews, and found out there is a sequel, but that isn't getting great review, so I'm going to see if my library has it, so I can skim it and see how the author ends it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 20:14:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2015 19:06:52 GMT
Totally different book! We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is what I was referring to.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,936
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jan 26, 2015 19:10:02 GMT
The Orphan Master's Son This one has been talked about a lot here, so I won't say much, but I did give this a 5/5. North Korea, duel perspective and disturbing but ultimately redemptive (not in the way the North Korean government wants though)
I am Hutterite Nonfiction and it was $1.99 on Amazon. 3/5. Fairly short but not fast paced. I have read a lot of "extremist" religious sect books, so it wasn't anything new. I did like her sympathetic descriptions of their world but she skimmed over the family drama that led to their departure. I questioned the reliability of the author.
Wildalone A lot of buzz about this paranormal romance. I liked it and gave it 3.5 to 4. There were parts that were 5/5 for me but other parts left me empty. A college freshmen/piano prodigy leaves Eastern Europe for Princeton to go to school and find out what happened to her older sister and realizes there are forces beyond her known world and mysteries in her family history. It's the first of a series. Even though I didn't LOVE it, I'll read the next in the series. It was intriguing.
Beyond Shame Free smut book. It was pretty dumb. I liked that it had a dystopian premise, but that was mostly forgotten for a lame plot line of sex and annoying characters. It was fee. I didn't even log this on Goodreads. 1/5 storyline. 2/5 sex.
Burned This is the latest installment of the Darkfever/Iced series. Total fluff paranormal/dystopian adult series. This is pure escapism and I thought it was ok. 3.5/5---not my favorite of the series, but entertaining with a gigantic cliffhanger. For those who have read the series--for good or bad, the narration is back to mostly Mac with done Dani and others chiming in.
The Book of Strange New Things Mentioned already in this thread. I gave it 4/5. I agree there were some plot holes and I didn't connect well with the characters BUT I found it haunting--the ending even more so. I think the lack of connection with the characters is part of the point of the story--there is a lot going on underneath the surface of the story. It made me think and it woke me up in the middle of the night, so even though it won't make it on my favorite list, it will stick with me and that is a sign of literary merit and a worthwhile read.
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Post by candygurl on Jan 26, 2015 19:32:34 GMT
I just finished a YA book called Hidden Wings. It was okay but probably most teenage girls would like the books. I probably won't read the sequels though.
Started reading Amy Poehlers book, hope it's good as the reviews say.
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valleyview
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,816
Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
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Post by valleyview on Jan 26, 2015 20:12:21 GMT
I read You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It's about an NYC therapist who discovers that her doctor husband is not who/what she thought he is. She has to repair her life and relationships.
I recommend it.
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Post by mom2luke on Jan 26, 2015 20:25:18 GMT
This week I read, Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan. It was a cheapie on Amazon. It was total fluff. But I am in a reading rut after All the Light You Cannot See. I don't think this was the book to lift me out of my funk. It might have been better in the summer next to the pool.
I also started One Plus One by JoJo Moyes. I am really enjoying it!
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Post by auntkelly on Jan 26, 2015 22:45:10 GMT
I am reading Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin. The story centers around two sisters from Turkey during WWII. The sisters are from a wealthy, modern Muslim family. One sister is married to a Turkish diplomat . The other sister previously disgraced her family by marrying a Jew and running off to France with him. France is now occupied by the Nazis and the sister living in France and her Jewish husband are in grave danger.
I''ve read about 25% of the book so far and it's pretty good. I've learned a lot about Turkey's role in WWII and that has been very interesting.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Jan 27, 2015 0:49:00 GMT
I read:
We Were Liars Two stars. I know I am in the minority on that one, but I hate the plot devices it used - felt cheap and gimmicky to me.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North Three stars. I wanted to love this one - it did win the Man Booker prize and has been critically lauded, but I just didn't connect with the writing style or most of the characters. I did appreciate it gave a WWII point of view I haven't read often: those of Australian POWs forced to build the Burma railway (the author was inspired by his father's experiences). That portion was pretty horrifying.
Dark Places Four stars. I really like Gillian Flynn's books, although she excels at twisted and unlikeable characters. In the acknowledgements for this book, she says this while thanking her husband: "What do I say to a man who knows how I think and still sleeps next to me with the lights off?". Got a good laugh at that one!
I'm now reading 10:04 and in queue I have We Are Called to Rise, Wildalone, The Unquiet Dead, Fram, and All the Bright Places.
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Post by carolynhasacat on Jan 27, 2015 0:58:14 GMT
Just finished Station Eleven. I really loved it, though the ending was left open. Hoping for a second book.
Reading One Plus One by Jojo Moyes, but having troubling getting into it.
But, I'm super excited because Girl on a Train is arriving tomorrow, just in time to get in my suitcase for vacation!
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Jan 27, 2015 1:08:26 GMT
Still working on Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It's not that I don't like it, but it's a challenge in the audio format.
I'm also a big Audible user. I don't know if other users got the "invitation" bro beta test OneBook. I can send any book I own to up to 10 people. The first book the recipient receives is free. Thirty can be sent to members and non member. Though if you are not a member I think you can try a book for free and can select any book. Anyway, i probably have 15-20 good titles I'm willing to send if anyone is interested.
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Post by birukitty on Jan 27, 2015 1:31:42 GMT
This week I'm in the middle of book #8 in the Outlander series "Written In My Own Heart's Blood" by Diana Gabaldon. I'm trying to savour it and go slow, but I just can't because I'm so anxious to find out what's going to happen to these characters! It's the last book published (so far) and I've heard that Diana has plans to write another, but it might be awhile. The second book has now been accepted to be made into film by Starz (Yippee!) so she'll be busy with that too.
I cannot even begin to express how much I have loved these books. I've been reading passionately for 48 years (truly, I can remember the exact moment I learned how to read, when it clicked in my brain, the rush of excitement and running home to tell my mother I'd learned how to read), my sister's nickname for me was "bookworm", and I don't remember a book, or series of books, that I've loved this much!
Reading after this will be like coming back down to earth and I'm not looking forward to it. But, there are so many other books that look promising, and so I will forge ahead. Who knows, maybe I will find another author I like just as well? Doubtful, but "never say never" I always say.
Debbie in MD.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,936
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jan 27, 2015 1:36:27 GMT
I read: We Were Liars Two stars. I know I am in the minority on that one, but I hate the plot devices it used - felt cheap and gimmicky to me. The Narrow Road to the Deep North Three stars. I wanted to love this one - it did win the Man Booker prize and has been critically lauded, but I just didn't connect with the writing style or most of the characters. I did appreciate it gave a WWII point of view I haven't read often: those of Australian POWs forced to build the Burma railway (the author was inspired by his father's experiences). That portion was pretty horrifying. Dark Places Four stars. I really like Gillian Flynn's books, although she excels at twisted and unlikeable characters. In the acknowledgements for this book, she says this while thanking her husband: "What do I say to a man who knows how I think and still sleeps next to me with the lights off?". Got a good laugh at that one! I'm now reading 10:04 and in queue I have We Are Called to Rise, Wildalone, The Unquiet Dead, Fram, and All the Bright Places. I completely agree on We Were Liars. I think I gave it a 3 but it was more like 2.5. I don't care if there is a twist. I care when I see it coming for 150 pages. I figure 14 year olds might not catch on?
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Post by elinoah on Jan 27, 2015 2:05:06 GMT
I read We Were Liars which I enjoyed but rated it a 3/5 on goodreads, I think. I did actually read it quickly so I enjoyed it for what is was. I just finished Big Little Lies and really loved it. I am currently reading What Alice Forgot I hope it is as good because I didn't love The Husbands Secret.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Jan 27, 2015 2:16:32 GMT
I read: We Were Liars Two stars. I know I am in the minority on that one, but I hate the plot devices it used - felt cheap and gimmicky to me. The Narrow Road to the Deep North Three stars. I wanted to love this one - it did win the Man Booker prize and has been critically lauded, but I just didn't connect with the writing style or most of the characters. I did appreciate it gave a WWII point of view I haven't read often: those of Australian POWs forced to build the Burma railway (the author was inspired by his father's experiences). That portion was pretty horrifying. Dark Places Four stars. I really like Gillian Flynn's books, although she excels at twisted and unlikeable characters. In the acknowledgements for this book, she says this while thanking her husband: "What do I say to a man who knows how I think and still sleeps next to me with the lights off?". Got a good laugh at that one! I'm now reading 10:04 and in queue I have We Are Called to Rise, Wildalone, The Unquiet Dead, Fram, and All the Bright Places. I completely agree on We Were Liars. I think I gave it a 3 but it was more like 2.5. I don't care if there is a twist. I care when I see it coming for 150 pages. I figure 14 year olds might not catch on? I am okay with twists, but that particular one grates on my nerves because it seems so cheap. And you're right, it probably doesn't help that I'm not the target age group. ;-)
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Post by DinCA on Jan 27, 2015 9:10:00 GMT
I just finished The Kitchen House and while it was good, I felt the end was just too rushed. We spent a lot of time going through day after day, to end so abruptly. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I seem to be having a hard time lately completely liking a book. No, it's not just you. I have the same complaint. I really enjoyed the book until the end.
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Post by pjaye on Jan 27, 2015 9:42:25 GMT
Still working on Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It's not that I don't like it, but it's a challenge in the audio format. I'm also a big Audible user. I don't know if other users got the "invitation" bro beta test OneBook. I can send any book I own to up to 10 people. The first book the recipient receives is free. Thirty can be sent to members and non member. Though if you are not a member I think you can try a book for free and can select any book. Anyway, i probably have 15-20 good titles I'm willing to send if anyone is interested. I actually thought Life After Life was easy to follow in audio. I think it would have been more of a challenge for me in print.
I haven't heard anything at all about OneBook, sounds interesting, I assume it's Audible? If the first one is free, then is there some sort of payments for the others? I own about 90 Audible titles and would be happy to share with more people if I could do it legitimately. The only catch might be that even though I am Audible.com member, I am in Australia and sometimes these things are restricted to USA members only.
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,540
Oct 11, 2014 3:17:29 GMT
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Post by bethany102399 on Jan 27, 2015 16:06:51 GMT
Just finished You're not you and wanted to HIGHLY recommend it. I stumbled on it as it's being turned into a movie and I caught the trailer. While I was initially unimpressed with the character of Bec, she grew on me. I was shocked to find out this is the author's first novel. it's extremely well done and stayed with me for some time after I finished it.
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Post by katiescarlett on Jan 27, 2015 17:07:25 GMT
<div class="quote" author=" finaledition" timestamp="1422320906" source="/post/414996/thread"><div class="quote_body"><div class="quote_avatar_container"><div class="avatar-wrapper avatar_size_quote avatar-445"><img alt="finaledition Avatar" src="http://i61.tinypic.com/6549p1.jpg"></div></div><div class="quote_header"><a href="/post/414996/thread"><abbr title="Jan 26, 2015 19:08:26 GMT -6" class="time" data-timestamp="1422320906000">Jan 26, 2015 19:08:26 GMT -6</abbr></a> <span itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope=""><a title=" finaledition" class="user-link user-445 group-0" href="/user/445" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">finaledition</span></a></span> said:</div>Still working on Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. It's not that I don't like it, but it's a challenge in the audio format. <br><br>I'm also a big Audible user. I don't know if other users got the "invitation" bro beta test OneBook. <br>I can send any book I own to up to 10 people. The first book the recipient receives is free. Thirty can be sent to members and non member. Though if you are not a member I think you can try a book for free and can select any book. Anyway, i probably have 15-20 good titles I'm willing to send if anyone is interested. <div class="quote_clear"></div></div></div><p><br></p><p>I am interested! I am an audible member. How does it work?<br></p>
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Post by katiescarlett on Jan 27, 2015 17:10:06 GMT
Hmmm, well the quoting function didn't work, lol.
I would be interested in the Audible loaning program mentioned by Final Edition. How does it work?
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Jan 27, 2015 20:01:21 GMT
Here are the books I have to loan. I have yet to loan a book so not sure what to expect, but here's the Q & A page. audible.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4380/~/audible-onebookIf you want to pm me with your email, I'll try to get it to you today. Again, I'm a newbie and not quite sure how this program is working, but willing to try. Again I think if you are not an audible member you can try any book from their library so if you don't see anything on my small list, I wouldn't waste a freebie Life After Life Fangirl Landline Outlander books 1-5 The Ice cream queen of Orchard street Me Mercedes One plus one Defending Jacob Night Music Unbroken How To Talk To a Widower Just What Kind of Mother Are You Code Name verity Bitter Is the new black the Tao of Martha Mi have many others but they were cheapies and not all that good.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,022
Jun 25, 2014 19:25:50 GMT
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Post by mimima on Jan 27, 2015 20:32:23 GMT
I re-read a childhood favorite, The All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor. A cute story about five girls growing up in early 1900s New York. Just as delightful as I remembered.
There's a series saga set in 20th century America that I enjoy by Robert Vaughn. I read an installment of those, The Iron Curtain
For Book Club, I read Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You. I think I was supposed to find the family dysfunction charming, but I found it appalling.
Lastly, I read one of the later Thursday Next books, One of our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde. A fun romp, as always.
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Post by birukitty on Jan 28, 2015 1:27:05 GMT
I remember reading "All Of A Kind Family" as a child and loving that book! I haven't read it since but it is in my wish list on Amazon. I should just get it from the library but it is one of those all time favorites that I'd like to have on my bookshelf. I can't wait to read it again. Was it as good as you remembered?
Debbie in MD.
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Post by tampascrapper on Jan 28, 2015 3:07:48 GMT
Thanks pjaye for the quick reply. You explained it much better than the website. My eyes are not as good as they used to be and although I have an iPad mini I read on, I think I would enjoy just listening. I will also check out Downpour. Just in case you hadn't thought of it, you can listen to books for free from the library Based on the mentions here, I just downloaded The Girl on the Train. It sounds good! I love listening to audiobooks and always have one I'm in to. I get mine exclusively through the library. I don't want to pay for a book that I'll probably only listen to once.
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Post by pjaye on Jan 28, 2015 3:18:10 GMT
How is that different to paying for a book that you only read once?
I pretty much never re-read books, and I'm therefore sure that the number of books I'll listen to again is going to be low., but I don't understand the idea of needing to do something multiple times in order to justify paying for it. Do you pay to go and see a movie or a stage show? Pay for dinner out? Pay for a coffee? Those are all only "once" too. That sort of logic baffles me.
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Post by annabella on Jan 28, 2015 3:32:08 GMT
I used to buy all my books, then I realized I could get it from the library for free, and last year I finally learned how to borrow kindle books from the library which I also see has audio titles for the same books, I just don't know how to listen to them? I don't want to download to my phone but have a tiny ipod but I also remember that in the past that audio books were abridged versions of books?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 20:14:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2015 3:49:08 GMT
pjaye I don't buy audiobooks but aren't they usually quite a bit more expensive than Kindle or paperback books? I don't buy hardcovers due to the expense 'for something I may only read once' and rarely buy a Kindle book for more than a few dollars. So maybe that's kinda' what tampascrapper was alluding to (?) . . . paying *that much* for a one-time book.
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Post by pjaye on Jan 28, 2015 4:17:11 GMT
No, I actually think they are cheaper (well, at least in Aus, not sure about standard book prices in the USA) For example as an Audible member I can get a new release book on audio for the standard price of $12-13 USA, which in AU is about $14. At Downpour it's about $1 cheaper. To walk into a shop and buy a new release paperback of the same book here would cost me $20-30. Older paperbacks are still $15-20.
My experience is that prices are pretty comparable for audiobooks and kindle /e-books.
Also not all audiobooks are available in the library...I don't know enough about it but there are obviously some author or publisher restrictions for certain books making them unavailable for library borrowing. I have no issue with people using libraries at all(I do myself) the logic I meant was the idea that you wouldn't pay for an audiobook as it is a lesser thing. To me it's like saying "I wouldn't pay for a meal in a restaurant that I am only going to eat one" or "I wouldn't pay to see a movie in a cinema that I can only see once" We pay for lots of things "once" - what makes an audiobook different?
Annabella - just like paperbacks there are some abridged versions available but in most cases an audiobook has everything that a print book has.
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,022
Jun 25, 2014 19:25:50 GMT
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Post by mimima on Jan 28, 2015 5:44:35 GMT
I remember reading "All Of A Kind Family" as a child and loving that book! I haven't read it since but it is in my wish list on Amazon. I should just get it from the library but it is one of those all time favorites that I'd like to have on my bookshelf. I can't wait to read it again. Was it as good as you remembered? Debbie in MD. Admittedly, I've reread as an adult before, but yes <3
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Post by MommyofTriplets on Jan 28, 2015 10:59:39 GMT
Just finished Station Eleven. I really loved it, though the ending was left open. Hoping for a second book. I just finished this one too - I thought it was excellent! I love how the story unfolded - it was very compelling.
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