The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Jul 12, 2015 17:56:06 GMT
I am back from vacation, and I only read one book :::hanging my head in shame:::: I read The Martian. I think it will make an excellent movie. Throughout the reading, I kept thinking that certain parts are going to be very entertaining. I really did enjoy it; however, I gave it four out of five stars. I liked all the technical language – – – to a point, but I did find my mind wandering at times. Again, I think this will all transition well to a movie format. Here are a couple lists of some interesting books if you are looking for something new and interesting: Ted reading list
Best Books so far 2015
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Post by smokeynspike on Jul 12, 2015 18:02:14 GMT
I just finished Paper Towns by John Green last night. Ugh, it was not as good as The Fault in Our Stars. There wasn't enough forward plot action for my tastes. I think that the movie will be better than the book, which is odd because I usually never think that about books vs movies. I gave it 3 stars with a 2.5 in my review on GoodReads.
I started The Enemy by Charlie Higson. It's a YA zombie series set in London. I'm six chapters in and already engrossed in the characters.
Melissa
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Post by SockMonkey on Jul 12, 2015 18:02:21 GMT
I loved The Martian!
I just finished Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy. Eh. Just okay. The first book was very interesting and then it got kind of weird and the ending was pretty unsatisfying. I also finished Paolo Bacigalupi's The Water Knife and Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. Both were good!
I'm finishing Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event. Next up is Kate Atkinson's A God In Ruins, or Kristen Hannah's The Nightengale or Go Set a Watchman. I can't decide!
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Post by Goldynn on Jul 12, 2015 18:13:29 GMT
I finished The Martian this week, also. Loved it, can't wait for the movie!
I'm reading a John Grisham knock-off novel called The Neon Lawyer that someone loaned me. Then I start Finding Jake.
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Post by miominmio on Jul 12, 2015 18:13:56 GMT
I found P.D.James "Death comes to Pemberley", I had completely forgotten it, so I'll start on it this evening. I'm also reading a book in Norwegian, which is about religion in the Viking Age, not only the stories a lot of Scandinavians know from the "Edda", but a lot of it is about how people practised their religion. Not all of it relevant or possible today, but still interesting.
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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 Jul 12, 2015 18:15:34 GMT
I'm also back from vacation. I read two new adult books which were great poolside reads, but not worth mentioning here :-p
I finished listening to Tell the Wolves I'm Home. This is a great example as to why I love audible. This book probably never would have made it to the top of my to-read pile. I just didn't have a strong enough pull to read it, but I thought it was fantastic. Loved it.
I finished The Luckiest Girl Alive. Despite having an unlikeable main character, I really liked the book...,until the end. What a dud of an ending. Kind of felt like I'm watching a pitcher with a big wind up and the the ball doesn't make it over the plate.
About half way through Beautiful Ruins. I'm enjoying some of the storylines but not others. I'm sure at some point they will come together, but not loving this one yet.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 7:44:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 18:15:44 GMT
I finished Dracula by Bram Stoker (we all know how that one goes ) Little Girls by Ronald Malfi, it's billed as a ghost story but wasn't scary in a traditional sense. The secrets that are revealed along the way are much more disturbing than the slamming doors and whispered voices when no one else is home kind. I'm almost finished with You by Caroline Kepnes. I'm finding it hard to put down. This has been my best reading week all year Oops forgot I read a YA novel called 7 Days by Eve Ainsworth. It was a rather simplistic look at bullies and bullying in school.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Jul 12, 2015 18:19:23 GMT
I'm finishing Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event. I started this book but couldn't get into it. Maybe I didn't give it enough time. I finished Finding Jake and really liked it although it left me unsettled. I started a thread on it. I just started I Am Pilgrim.
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
Jun 26, 2014 18:26:03 GMT
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Jul 12, 2015 18:42:50 GMT
I read 3 this this week and they couldn't have been more diverse.
I read a true crime book by Ann Rule Don't Look Behind You. True crime books are my literary junk food. This was a quick read and I always find that Rule researches and writes well.
Next was Five Star Billionaire (Aw) It is the story of four Malaysian immigrants who arrive in Shanghai, each pursuing a new future while trying to forget his/her rural past. Eventually, all of their lives will intersect and be touched by a mysterious billionaire. The point of view and perspective change with each chapter as you learn more about the characters. The city itself seems like a character in the novel. Each character has to learn how to thrive in the city without being overwhelmed. It is very well written and thought provoking. It's not necessarily a "feel good" novel, but I found it very interesting.
The next book, Etta, Otto, Russell and James (Hooper) is going straight to the top of my list of favorite books (so far) this year. If you enjoyed Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you should try this. An 83 year old woman leaves home one morning to walk across Canada. Through flashbacks and letters, you learn about her early years, how she met her husband, and what events have influenced her life. The writing is amazing and so beautiful! There is also a sense of magical realism in the novel that really takes it to the next level. It is a real gem of a book.
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Post by RobbyKay on Jul 12, 2015 18:47:47 GMT
Hi Reader Peas!
I knocked down two this week. First up was A Man Called Ove. It has been highly recommended in these threads. For the first 75 pages, I wondered why, but then it turned for the better and I really enjoyed it.
Then I tackled 13 Reasons Why - angst riddled YA title. It was a quick read, and compelling. I think it might be a better audio book than a traditional book; I struggled to keep track of which character was speaking - it would switch off paragraph to paragraph sometimes. Overall, I enjoyed it.
I'm looking forward to the new Harper Lee title, Go Set a Watchman. It releases on Tuesday the 14th.
Happy Reading!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 7:44:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2015 19:07:57 GMT
Those Girls Chevy Stevens. She is at the top of the scary pile.
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Post by littlebee0408 on Jul 12, 2015 19:41:03 GMT
I read several books this week, very unusual for me. Don't think I did much else, lol.
Because there were so many, I will split them up by star-rating
2 stars: Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell
3 stars: Truth or Die by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, A spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave, and The Status of all Things by Liz Fenton
4 stars: Things you won't Say by Sarah Pekkanen, The Liar by Nora Roberts, and Memory Man by David Baldacci
Next up is "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman ( from 2012, I am late to the party on this one!)
Happy reading everyone!
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,294
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Jul 12, 2015 20:33:45 GMT
About half way through Beautiful Ruins. I'm enjoying some of the storylines but not others. I'm sure at some point they will come together, but not loving this one yet. I know a lot of people liked it but I did not enjoy Beautiful Ruins. It was OK, but overall I thought it was kind of boring. I finished A Memory of Violets : A Novel of London's Flower Sellers by Hazel Gaynor. It's fiction loosely based on a true story of a gentleman who opened a home for crippled and blind girls in London in the 1870's. However the story is not about the gentleman, but an orphan and her sister (1870's) and a housemother (1912). Predictable, but good. Now I'm reading the lastest Flavia deLuce novel As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust. So far, I'm indifferent. On audio I'm almost done with The Bees by Laline Paull.
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Post by shannoots on Jul 12, 2015 20:39:58 GMT
I finished Somewhere in France. I thought it was pretty good.
Currently reading Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through and it is slow going for me. I've heard really good things about it so I'm going to push through.
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Jul 12, 2015 21:31:50 GMT
I finished Luckiest Girl Alive. I loved it. I thought it was a great story with a really intriguing main character.
I'm now reading The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand. I read her books every summer and I think this one is typical Elin Hilderbrand fare---privileged Nantucket residents and their problems. The stories always hold my interest, though, and this one has been a perfect pool book.
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Post by maryland on Jul 12, 2015 21:55:49 GMT
I finished Luckiest Girl Alive. I loved it. I thought it was a great story with a really intriguing main character. I'm now reading The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand. I read her books every summer and I think this one is typical Elin Hilderbrand fare---privileged Nantucket residents and their problems. The stories always hold my interest, though, and this one has been a perfect pool book. I would love a "pool" book, but with rain almost every single day this summer, we only had one pool day! I hope the second half of the summer improves, because it can't get much worse weatherwise! And it stinks because I love reading at the pool!
I have both of those books on my list! I love to read an elin Hildebrand book at the beach! I have been doing it for years.
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Post by bunnyhug on Jul 12, 2015 22:05:01 GMT
The public library where I work is having a summer reading program for adults this year. It's in the form of a bingo page, with each square assigned a 'type' of book--for example, a book longer than 500 pages, a book of short stories, a book set in a foreign country, etc. Right now I'm working on ''a book with a one word title", 'Nickolei'. I picked it randomly off the shelf based solely in its title, and so far it's not bad, lol! My last book was "a male author", so I read one of the Charles Todd Inspector Rutledge series (one of the co-authors is male), "A Matter of Justice" which I enjoyed more than the last couple in the series. My next book will be "a book with a blue cover"--who knows what that will bring me?!!! Once you get a line covered on the bingo page, you can enter your name for a prize
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Post by gramasue on Jul 12, 2015 23:37:39 GMT
I'm reading Mightier than the Sword, the fifth book in Jeffery Archer's Clifton Chronicles. I waited so long for this book and couldn't wait for it to be available at my library and now I feel bad because it's just not holding my interest as much as the other books in this series did. I will stick it out, though. Next on my list is Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.
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Post by tania7424 on Jul 12, 2015 23:43:34 GMT
Last week I read The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes and The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. Really enjoyed them both. The Good Girl had a good twist in it as well. Currently reading We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas.
I read In The Unlikely Event the week it came out in a day. I really enjoyed it.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Jul 12, 2015 23:50:45 GMT
I finished Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk. It is a parenting book with strong love and logic from a strong Christian perspective. I thought it was very powerful. I have read two other books by Danny Silk, and I think he is a great writer. I have also heard him speak a couple times, which was off the charts. 5/5.
Like @smokenspidey, I am in the middle of Paper Towns by John Green. I keep thinking about how this will transition to a movie, and I think it will be great.
Up next, The Bone Tree by Greg Isles. Looking forward to that as well.
Lisa
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Jul 13, 2015 1:30:43 GMT
I finished Luckiest Girl Alive. I loved it. I thought it was a great story with a really intriguing main character. I'm now reading The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand. I read her books every summer and I think this one is typical Elin Hilderbrand fare---privileged Nantucket residents and their problems. The stories always hold my interest, though, and this one has been a perfect pool book. I would love a "pool" book, but with rain almost every single day this summer, we only had one pool day! I hope the second half of the summer improves, because it can't get much worse weatherwise! And it stinks because I love reading at the pool!
I have both of those books on my list! I love to read an elin Hildebrand book at the beach! I have been doing it for years.
I hope you're able to get some pool time in soon! We've had a pretty dry summer, but I know how nutty it can make you feel when it rains all summer long.
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Post by maryland on Jul 13, 2015 2:23:18 GMT
I would love a "pool" book, but with rain almost every single day this summer, we only had one pool day! I hope the second half of the summer improves, because it can't get much worse weatherwise! And it stinks because I love reading at the pool!
I have both of those books on my list! I love to read an elin Hildebrand book at the beach! I have been doing it for years.
I hope you're able to get some pool time in soon! We've had a pretty dry summer, but I know how nutty it can make you feel when it rains all summer long. Yes, it is making us crazy with all this rain. Very depressing not seeing the sun much. And we had to scratch plans for a graduation party for our daughter due to weather halting our large outdoor projects. Reading on the sofa hearing the rain is just not the same as sitting at the pool!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 7:44:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 2:30:31 GMT
I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird again this week in anticipation of Harper Lee's sequel to Mockingbird (although it was the *first* book she wrote, but it wasn't published until now).
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Post by hmp on Jul 13, 2015 2:35:21 GMT
I just finished Dead Wake (about the Lusitania's last voyage) and The Other Wes Moore (about two poor black men growing up in the same neighborhood with the same name but very different life outcomes). Not exactly light summer reading but both were excellent stories and both were really well written.
Now I need to spend the next week finishing up a long overdue textbook chapter. I'd rather be reading than writing.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 13, 2015 2:41:16 GMT
I finished "A House in the Sky". It was pretty good and gave me some insight into the Somali culture (we have a large Somali population here). I was listening to "Blink" on audiobook but gave it up about half way though. Started listening to "Thirteen Reasons Why". Not sure I will finish it. So far it is engaging but IMO, unrealistic. I am about to start reading "Ruby" and also finally got "The life changing magic of tidying up" from the library.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 7:44:27 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 2:42:24 GMT
tuesdaysgone I LOVED Five Star Billionaire. I can't remember how I found, but it was a good read. smokeynspike I agree with your review of Paper Towns. I did not like Margo. My daughter wants to see the movie and I'm also hoping I'll like it better.
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Post by annabella on Jul 13, 2015 3:07:26 GMT
I just finished Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll which seems to be the "it" book right now. It was just published in May and Reese Witherspoon is promoted it on instagram, makes me wonder if a movie is in the works. Well at the back of the book the author thanks her film agent. Honestly that book wasn't that great for me.
Now I'm reading Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin which is about rich Upper East Side mothers. That book got some bad reviews because while it's supposed to be a fictionalized memoir, some of the things she mentions don't link up with the timeline. However I'm really enjoying it.
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Post by smokeynspike on Jul 13, 2015 3:59:48 GMT
The public library where I work is having a summer reading program for adults this year. It's in the form of a bingo page, with each square assigned a 'type' of book--for example, a book longer than 500 pages, a book of short stories, a book set in a foreign country, etc. Right now I'm working on ''a book with a one word title", 'Nickolei'. I picked it randomly off the shelf based solely in its title, and so far it's not bad, lol! My last book was "a male author", so I read one of the Charles Todd Inspector Rutledge series (one of the co-authors is male), "A Matter of Justice" which I enjoyed more than the last couple in the series. My next book will be "a book with a blue cover"--who knows what that will bring me?!!! Once you get a line covered on the bingo page, you can enter your name for a prize Can you share the bingo page? That sounds like fun!
Melissa
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Jul 13, 2015 4:15:17 GMT
I read Fortune's Children, the Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. Someone here mentioned it on last week's reading thread and it sparked my interest. I've always loved to tour old mansions and have toured the Breakers and Biltmore and have always been curious about the Vanderbilts. I really enjoyed the book and especially liked the descriptions of the residences. As much money as they had it amazes me they were able to run through it all. The extravagances are mind boggling! I had planned to read Bettyville but just finished Fortune's Children an hour ago. I'm going to try to get back into Bettyville but after reading the first chapter or I'm not so sure I'm going to be able to finish. It's pretty boring so far
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ComplicatedLady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,037
Location: Valley of the Sun
Jul 26, 2014 21:02:07 GMT
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Post by ComplicatedLady on Jul 13, 2015 4:31:32 GMT
I'm still slogging through Dragonfly in Amber (the second Outlander book). It's a great read but it is so long and I haven't had a lot of time to read lately.
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