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Post by birukitty on Apr 27, 2015 22:48:04 GMT
Today I finished reading "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. I really liked it, so much that I couldn't put it down today and read for 4 hours straight to see how it ended The writing wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, much too descriptive and while I really like descriptive writing, you can have too much of a good thing it turns out when you have 15 sentences of nothing but descriptions going on for a full paragraph. The story line was fantastic, just amazing and that's what I liked so much about this book. My next book which is what I'll start tonight will probably be "My Enemy's Cradle" by Sara Young. It's a historical fiction book. Debbie in MD.
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Post by gramasue on Apr 27, 2015 23:37:20 GMT
I recently finished Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, and found it fascinating reading. Now I've started on Dancing till Midnight by Rosie Goodwin. Too early to tell but it seems pretty good so far. It's about a young girl, Grace, who is raised by her bitter and religious aunt and at age 20, begins to discover that there is a whole world out there to explore and experience, but is thwarted at every turn by her nasty old aunt. Grace has just fallen in love with a fellow she works with, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this turn of events will affect her relationship with the aunt. I'm guessing it won't go well!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 13:36:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2015 23:48:29 GMT
I listened to Paper Towns by John Green this week. I was concerned about their being mature themes for my daughter (who's immature for her age) and she wants to listen to the audiobook. I thought the book was kind of lame; full of teen angst and mystery. If I was a teen, I'd think it was quite awesome. I do give it 3 stars because I wanted to know how the dumb thing ended. A lady in our book club picked Outlander. I requested we do it for 2 months because I knew it was a big book! I'm only about 60 pages into the book. I'm having a hard time not laughing. The main character thinks if the Scotish man in the book was a horse she would ride him. I do find the time traveling aspect intriguing.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 13:36:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 0:53:00 GMT
hollymolly, the second book from Justin Cronin is out! I have an ecopy reserved (is that correct term?) online from my library. valleyview, I've enjoyed reading authors of varying ethnicities as well. I loved Cutting for Stone. Salvage the Bones was a hard read, but gave you a new perspective of hurricane Katrina and poverty among some of the black community. pjaye have you seen the movie Guilt Trip with Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan? A mother and son go on a road trip and she brings the audio book Middlesex to listen to. quinlove, I am intrigued by Empty Mansions as well! ETA: I think I read your post wrong hollymolly. I thought you were referring to the 2nd book, not the 3rd.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 2, 2024 13:36:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2015 1:59:20 GMT
I finished most of Move to Italy! by L.J. Stone. It's my dream to move there someday. The book was basically a report of her exact experience of moving from the US to Italy, all the legal steps, securing an apartment, utilities, what to do about the language, etc. Seemed very helpful! I'm reading Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews. I'm a blogger (not a lifestyle blogger) so all the background to "professional" blogging has been very interesting to me. The rest is a pleasant love story with a little bit of mystery and DIY house rehab thrown in. Overall pretty enjoyable.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Apr 28, 2015 2:54:48 GMT
This week I am reading The Doctor's Sweetheart a short story collection by L.M. Montgomery, The Diviners, an occult type mystery by the author of the Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy (but not as good so far), and Beautiful Darkness, second in the Beautiful Creatures series.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 28, 2015 2:58:08 GMT
I've heard of that movie but I haven't seen it. I can imagine there would be some very uncomfortable moments for a mother & son listening together! I'll keep an eye out for a re-run on TV.
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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 Apr 28, 2015 13:45:19 GMT
valleyview, I've enjoyed reading authors of varying ethnicities as well. I loved Cutting for Stone. Salvage the Bones was a hard read, but gave you a new perspective of hurricane Katrina and poverty among some of the black community. Thanks for the rec! I haven't read any of the Katrina books, but I will look this one up. I also liked Cutting For Stone. I finished my book, and really liked it., but will warn that there are abusive relationships in the plot. But, while it was not about redemption, the characters grew more into themselves in a positive way. The book also made me think a little more deeply about how we all like to put ourselves on display as perfect.
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Post by kckckc on Apr 28, 2015 14:12:28 GMT
I have finished 3 books in the last couple of weeks.
All the Birds Singing by Evie Wyld. This was a rather odd book. A woman living alone on a British island, raising sheep - something is killing the sheep. This one jumps back and forth in time a lot - too much for my taste - it was almost like the author wrote the story, then shuffled the pages. Still it was a good story.
The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay. An okay book about organizing/purging. It actually reminded me somewhat of the tidying up book by the Japanese author that is so popular now.
Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral by Mary Doria Russel. I really liked this one and I am generally not a western reader. It is an account of Wyatt Earp's life. I would definitely recommend this one.
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Post by sillyrabbit on Apr 28, 2015 14:17:41 GMT
Ohhhh...I'm gonna add this to my "to read" list. I loved her book about Doc Holliday.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Apr 28, 2015 15:11:59 GMT
My DH is reading this right now. I gave him Doc first and he enjoyed that, too. Neither of us is a Western reader, but Russell's books are great!
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Post by powderhorngreen on Apr 28, 2015 15:13:45 GMT
Dead Wake by Erk Larson - this is the story of the Lusitania sinking just before Word War I. As usual, Erik Larson did a great job writing a nonfiction historical book that reads like a novel. The perspective of the u-boat captain was particularly fascinating. A definite highly recommended read.
After The FIre, A Small Still Voice by Evie Wyld - This is the same author that wrote All The Birds Singing and it hit me that same way as that first read by her. I can't really put my finger on it, but her stories stay with me afterward. This one tells the story of a man struggling with living alone in Australia after his wife leaves him. He tries to deal with his alcoholism and poor relationship with his father. The story moves back and forth between his point of view and his father's. His father deals with the repercussions of his time in Vietnam. A really hard book to describe, but I would definitely recommend it. Of course, I liked All The Birds, Singing, and I know it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - This book has been discussed here many times before, so I'll just add that I really enjoyed this one also.
The Neighbors Are Watching by Debra Ginsberg - This one has been on my Nook forever. A quick, soap opera read about a California community and how everyone's secrets come tumbling out in the aftermath of a canyon fire. This one only gets 3 stars on Goodreads and is certainly not great literature. Although, if I am honest, it was a fun, quick, no brainer read.
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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 Apr 28, 2015 17:29:03 GMT
Dead Wake by Erk Larson - this is the story of the Lusitania sinking just before Word War I. As usual, Erik Larson did a great job writing a nonfiction historical book that reads like a novel. The perspective of the u-boat captain was particularly fascinating. A definite highly recommended read. I just finished this one as well and enjoyed it. Although I had this sense of dread while reading it. The scene of the sinking was horrifying. I'm impressed at the research he did and the details he tracked down. It's been awhile since I've posted on this thread. I've been working my way through the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books by Louise Penny. Overall I like them. Some interesting characters. How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (4/5 stars). A book of feminist essays that I really liked. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin (4/5 stars). Good story telling with a strong sense of place. I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (4/5 stars). Fast paced, fun read as long as you read it for what it is - a spy novel with some crazy plot points. Who Buries the Dead by C.S. Harris (4.5 stars). Latest book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. This books are all feeling a little similar at this point, but I still love them. I'm currently reading So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. I think we'll have an interesting book club discussion on this one. Besides some more Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books, I also have these currently on loan from the library: The Accidental Empress, Delicious Foods, At Water's Edge, and Shantaram.
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 5,650
Jun 27, 2014 2:21:22 GMT
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Post by valincal on Apr 28, 2015 19:59:24 GMT
I'm reading Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight (author of Reconstructing Amelia). Two thumbs up so far. I really liked Reconstructing Amelia so I'll check this one out! I finished Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. It was okay. I didn't like it as well as The Huband's Secret. I also finished Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt. It was just okay. Rather abrupt dumb ending IMO. I just started The Good House by Ann Leary and am enjoying it so far.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,760
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Apr 29, 2015 3:25:36 GMT
One for me this week, and a total winner, IMO. The Nightingale, reviewed by several peas, so I won't bother to summarize. But here is my GR review.
"Sigh. Simply amazing. I will be thinking about this for a long time to come. The best book I have read this year. I can count on one hand the books that have reduced me to tears in the past two years. I now have fewer fingers with which to count. Stellar perfection. I really wish I could rate this a 10. Instead, I will settle for 5/5 stars."
Lisa
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Post by maryland on Apr 29, 2015 10:52:43 GMT
This past week I listened to Lost & Found by Brooke Davis. This is the debut novel by a young Australian author. The main character is Millie Bird, she's 7 and her dad just died and her mother isn't coping. One day her mother drops her off in the underwear section of a department store and never returns. Millie meets up with Karl (who's 87) and Agatha (who's 82) and they take her on a road trip to find her mother. Whimsical, funny and bit sad. I loved this and would recommend it. 4 stars.
Then I listened to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. The hard copy of this has been sitting on my bookshelf since it was an Oprah book club book about 10 years ago. I finally realised I was never going to get around to 'reading' it, so I bought the audiobook. I shouldn't have bothered! I didn't like anything about this at all. It's meant to be about Calliope Stephanides who is born as a hermaphrodite and how she discovers this a deals with it. However it tells every story of every minor character along the way first. I didn't like the stories (incest) I didn't like the writing (wanders off track and too detailed about characters that are never mentioned again) also completely unrealistic. Plus I thought it took a sensitive topic and instead of writing about it with some insight it went down the predictable path and exploited it and made it feel 'unclean'. I really objected to that. This was a long book and I was bored and couldn't wait for it to finish. I also didn't like the narration at all, too rushed, shouty and he did silly voices for some characters. Not one I would recommend. 1.5 stars. I don't think Oprah and I would agree on much when it comes to books, I really haven't liked any book that she's raved about.
I have just started The House We Grew Up in by Lisa Jewell. Only one chapter in, so too soon to comment, but it's described as "This story covers many topics such as love, secrets, mental illness, relationships, family and hoarding".
I just looked it up on Barnes and Noble site, and The House We Grew Up In looks good!
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Post by maryland on Apr 29, 2015 10:56:27 GMT
Today I finished reading "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. I really liked it, so much that I couldn't put it down today and read for 4 hours straight to see how it ended The writing wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, much too descriptive and while I really like descriptive writing, you can have too much of a good thing it turns out when you have 15 sentences of nothing but descriptions going on for a full paragraph. The story line was fantastic, just amazing and that's what I liked so much about this book. My next book which is what I'll start tonight will probably be "My Enemy's Cradle" by Sara Young. It's a historical fiction book. Debbie in MD. I tried to read The Light Between Oceans two times, both while at the beach, but just couldn't get into it. I really wanted to like it because it gets such great reviews. But I couldn't get past the first 40 pages. Maybe because of the writing style you described. But I am glad you liked it! Maybe I will try it again.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 29, 2015 11:45:21 GMT
I've almost finished it and I've really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
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Post by birukitty on Apr 29, 2015 21:12:29 GMT
Today I finished reading "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman. I really liked it, so much that I couldn't put it down today and read for 4 hours straight to see how it ended The writing wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, much too descriptive and while I really like descriptive writing, you can have too much of a good thing it turns out when you have 15 sentences of nothing but descriptions going on for a full paragraph. The story line was fantastic, just amazing and that's what I liked so much about this book. My next book which is what I'll start tonight will probably be "My Enemy's Cradle" by Sara Young. It's a historical fiction book. Debbie in MD. I tried to read The Light Between Oceans two times, both while at the beach, but just couldn't get into it. I really wanted to like it because it gets such great reviews. But I couldn't get past the first 40 pages. Maybe because of the writing style you described. But I am glad you liked it! Maybe I will try it again. Maryland-Yes, the writing is jumbled and I found it difficult to keep my focus many times. It works best if it is read in a very quiet setting. But the story line was great as I mentioned. Lots of gut wrenching moments and lots of heart felt moments too. Very touching and true to life. I think you'll like it. Debbie in MD.
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Post by SockMonkey on Apr 30, 2015 0:13:08 GMT
After almost a year, I bought a book on iTunes for my iPad. Why did I not do this sooner ?? I am loving it, since my ipad seems to be glued to my hand all of the time anyway. I am reading The Girl on the Train and really enjoying it. I read almost half of it in one day and that never happens !! Has anyone here read Empty Mansions ? i am considering that one for my next iTunes book. Thx Get thee the Kindle app, too!
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Post by chrissypie on May 1, 2015 10:40:50 GMT
Kate Atkinson fans, have you seen that she's releasing a new book in the next few days?? Apparently a "companion piece" to Life After Life, about the younger brother, Teddy. Hmmm. Doesn't immediately make me want to rush out and read it. I wonder what it will be like... Oh, it's called A God in Ruins.
I'm almost finished The Miniaturist. Still not devouring it, but enjoying it more now that I'm further in. Should go and read it now, actually. I want to finish it this weekend and start something new! Not sure what...
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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 May 2, 2015 20:06:41 GMT
Kate Atkinson fans, have you seen that she's releasing a new book in the next few days?? Apparently a "companion piece" to Life After Life, about the younger brother, Teddy. Hmmm. Doesn't immediately make me want to rush out and read it. I wonder what it will be like... Oh, it's called A God in Ruins. I'm almost finished The Miniaturist. Still not devouring it, but enjoying it more now that I'm further in. Should go and read it now, actually. I want to finish it this weekend and start something new! Not sure what... I loved Life After Life. I listened to it on Audio and plan to do the same with this. I'm really looking forward to it.
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