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Post by vi on Jul 21, 2014 18:35:36 GMT
I haven't posted in a couple weeks so I have 4 books I have finished. The first one was a long one.
1. My Name is Resolute by Nancy E. Turner It was a very long book but it kept my interest. The setting was in the 1700's where a 10-year-old girl named Resolute was captured from her estate in Jamaica and sold into slavery in the American colonies. It covered her life on into adulthood and made you feel like you were right there in her shoes. It showed life in the colonies and what it was like around the time of the American revolution. She's the same author that wrote "These Is My Words" which I loved.
I was raised born-again-Christian so I decided to read some memoirs of other kids who grew up like I did.
2. Girl at the End of the World by Elizabeth Esther This was a memoir of a girl who was raised in the Assembly church. Her grandfather founded it and she was raised very strict. She was spanked often, was monitored most of the time and made few choices for herself. (I wasn't raised so strict but I still had a lot in common with her.) I thought it was well written.
3. When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman She grew up in an evangelical church and had an identity crisis when she was older. Her book made me think but she also fought her own demons of depression.
4. Faith in the Land of Make Believe by Lee Stanley This was my favorite book of a film maker who did documentaries. He was a chaplain in a juvenile detention center in California and took some of the juveniles sailing. He also did the movie about the incarcerated kids playing football against local schools. The whole book was fascinating.
Vi
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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 Jul 21, 2014 19:19:23 GMT
I read two books this week - I think I was in a psychological thriller phase, and I liked them both.
1 - Rain Girl by Gabi Kreslehner. It was about a girl who was struck by a car on the autobahn, but was assaulted before her death. There was an intertwining of the victim with the police detective's son. This was a free on Kindle First book, and it will be available on August 1 for non-Prime readers.
2 - Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbot. This was a page turner about a English housewife who is gone when her husband comes home. She has had dealings with the police due to other disappearances in her life. It was intriguing and I felt like it was a movie - I had to see what happened next. I would like to read more from this author. It was my Amazon prime lending book for the month.
Next up ??
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lovemy4js
Junior Member
Posts: 76
Jul 4, 2014 5:12:51 GMT
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Post by lovemy4js on Jul 21, 2014 19:30:48 GMT
I'm still reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. We've had a busy week and the only time I've had to read is late at night in bed...I keep falling asleep! It's not that the book is boring, I just can't stay awake!
Picking up In The Blood by Lisa Unger at the library today. I've never read anything by her, but it's gotten good reviews and I'm in the mood for a thriller.
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Post by Karene on Jul 21, 2014 19:31:40 GMT
I missed last week`s thread so these are the books I`ve read over the last two weeks. I was on holidays the first week.
Hiding Place by Karen Harper The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood The Mother Tongue (About the English Language) by Bill Bryson Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes Just Between Us by Cathy Kelly The House on Willow Street by Cathy Kelly Never Too Late by Cathy Kelly What She Wants by Cathy Kelly Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married by Marian Keyes
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Post by colleen on Jul 21, 2014 19:35:16 GMT
I'm having issues with books this week -- I downloaded three Audible books (two by authors I know I like) and just couldn't get into two of them: Natchez Burning by Greg Iles and The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. I'm sure it's me, not the books and I'll go back to them eventually. Luckily, Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante seems to be just right -- enjoying it.
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,738
Jun 27, 2014 20:37:34 GMT
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Post by purplebee on Jul 21, 2014 20:10:58 GMT
Still reading "The 19th Wife" by David Ebershoff, about Ann Eliza Smith, 19th wife of Brigham Young with a contemporary theme about a young man from a modern polygamous sect in Southern Utah. Very interesting, I'm enjoying it. I've got about 50 pages left. This one has been a slower read 'cause I've been devoting some of my reading time to this message board!
Next up will be "All Fall Down" by Jennifer Weiner or "The Hurricane Sisters" by Dorothea Benton Frank.
Thanks for keeping this thread going!
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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 Jul 21, 2014 20:11:44 GMT
I thought I was going to be reading George RR Martin's Dance with Dragons (the fifth in the Game of Thrones) forever, but I did finally finish it last week. I admit to being disappointed - I thought it would be fabulous, with the focus shifting to several of the "favorite" characters, but I felt that there was a lot of drag, and for being 1,000 pages (more or less) the plot only moved forward imperceptibly.
Yesterday, I read a sweet, light, Christian Fiction (although it was not heavy on that front) Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis. I honestly think in about two weeks, I'll be hard pressed to come up with the plot points, but it was an enjoyable read.
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Post by annabella on Jul 21, 2014 20:21:22 GMT
I'm reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 1) by Cheryl Strayed. amazonIt's coming out as a movie in December starring Reese Witherspoon so I want to hurry up and read it. It's an memoir of a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Train by herself to find herself.
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Post by sugarmama on Jul 22, 2014 2:12:12 GMT
annabella, I read WILD this past year and it made me want to go hike that trail so bad! LOL I have done the Komen 3 day walk in the past and it is so addicting! Because of that, I am always wanting to go walking in scenic places. Iplan to see the movie when it comes out, too.
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Post by sues on Jul 22, 2014 2:17:18 GMT
I finished The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. It's a YA book about a teenager with the 'perfect life' and what happens after he suffers a tragedy. I really liked it I'm still working on Worthy - but I'm finding a little dry. I haven't given up on The Starter Wife...but I haven't picked it up much either. It's my purse book and I haven't really been anywhere in a few days. I just borrowed Wicked Girls from the library. It's about two women who were accused of murdering a little girl when they were 11. 25 years later, they meet again - I forget why, and there's some intrigue about a secret they'd been keeping since the murder. So far, so good.
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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 22, 2014 3:07:10 GMT
I have about 8 hours in a car this week with my son, so we're listening to Mr Mercedes. So far it was easy to get into.
I just put The Ice Cream Queen... on my amazon wish list.That sounds like a book is really enjoy.
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paigepea
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Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Jul 22, 2014 15:09:15 GMT
I'm reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 1) by Cheryl Strayed. amazonIt's coming out as a movie in December starring Reese Witherspoon so I want to hurry up and read it. It's an memoir of a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Train by herself to find herself. My friends are always trying to get me to read this. I've been worried it was all going to be someone else's road to self discovering and I wasn't interested. Perhaps I should try it?
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Post by kckckc on Jul 22, 2014 17:16:45 GMT
I finished two books last week.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reit Larson. A 12 year old genius cartographer is selected by the Smithsonian (who don't realize he isn't an adult) for an award - he takes off on a cross country trip on his own to accept the award. This one is full of wonderful illustrations, and lots of notes written in the margins - a very different type of book. I really liked the first third of this book - absolutely great drawings, interesting story. The author brought in a long parallel story in the second third that I found exceedingly dull. The last third was fairly interesting, but the story just became weird and unbelievable. I only gave it a 2/5.
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant: A Memoir by Roz Chast. I heard the author on NPR and thought this one sounded interesting. Chast is a cartoonist for The New Yorker and this book is written in cartoon form. It is the story of the last few years of Chast's aging parents lives. It was both poignant and funny. Worth a read, especially if you have elderly parents of your own. 4/5
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,228
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
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Post by gina on Jul 22, 2014 17:21:51 GMT
I'm reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 1) by Cheryl Strayed. amazonIt's coming out as a movie in December starring Reese Witherspoon so I want to hurry up and read it. It's an memoir of a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Train by herself to find herself. My friends are always trying to get me to read this. I've been worried it was all going to be someone else's road to self discovering and I wasn't interested. Perhaps I should try it? I hated it. I stopped 1/3 of the way through (read it in March 2013). I gave it 2/5 stars and here was my review, fwiw: I didn't bother finishing this book. I couldn't connect with the main character's plight and her 'woe is me' story. She hiked a trail which was a completely absurd choice considering she did nothing to prepare. Nothing. I thought maybe I was going to be getting an actual account of a hiker's trials and tribulations on the PCT but all I got was a frail, broken-down party girl who left her husband, had no direction and made a really bizarre choice for an excursion. What killed it totally for me was when she took not one but two rides into town (if I recall correctly, one was to the start of the trail and one was to skip a part that was covered in snow. She may have ridden in more cars but like I said, I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way through). I'm sorry but I don't feel like you're "super-strong" or tackling your fear head-on if you take a mid-hike break and hop in a car. The whole book just fell flat. I was expecting more depth for sure.
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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 Jul 22, 2014 17:39:28 GMT
[HASH]ginam, all things considered, your rating is very generous. I give books like that 1/5 stars. I see that GR has now made a "comment" when you hover over the stars to rate. So I think the ratings are like this: 1 star - Didn't like 2 stars - OK 3 stars - I liked it 4 stars - This was really good 5 stars - Excellent. Anyhow, that is the general idea. Lisa
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paigepea
Drama Llama
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Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Jul 22, 2014 17:46:28 GMT
My friends are always trying to get me to read this. I've been worried it was all going to be someone else's road to self discovering and I wasn't interested. Perhaps I should try it? I hated it. I stopped 1/3 of the way through (read it in March 2013). I gave it 2/5 stars and here was my review, fwiw: I didn't bother finishing this book. I couldn't connect with the main character's plight and her 'woe is me' story. She hiked a trail which was a completely absurd choice considering she did nothing to prepare. Nothing. I thought maybe I was going to be getting an actual account of a hiker's trials and tribulations on the PCT but all I got was a frail, broken-down party girl who left her husband, had no direction and made a really bizarre choice for an excursion. What killed it totally for me was when she took not one but two rides into town (if I recall correctly, one was to the start of the trail and one was to skip a part that was covered in snow. She may have ridden in more cars but like I said, I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way through). I'm sorry but I don't feel like you're "super-strong" or tackling your fear head-on if you take a mid-hike break and hop in a car. The whole book just fell flat. I was expecting more depth for sure.Hmm. Well, that was the vibe I got from the synopsis. It's always nice to see different perspectives on the same book. It's a good reminder of how different we all are as people
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Post by katiescarlett on Jul 22, 2014 20:07:02 GMT
I finished On the Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves. It got high pea recommendations a while back. I liked it okay.
Just started Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Here's the synopsis:
"Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life."
It is interesting so far.
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Post by sugarmama on Jul 22, 2014 20:23:10 GMT
I hated it. I stopped 1/3 of the way through (read it in March 2013). I gave it 2/5 stars and here was my review, fwiw: I didn't bother finishing this book. I couldn't connect with the main character's plight and her 'woe is me' story. She hiked a trail which was a completely absurd choice considering she did nothing to prepare. Nothing. I thought maybe I was going to be getting an actual account of a hiker's trials and tribulations on the PCT but all I got was a frail, broken-down party girl who left her husband, had no direction and made a really bizarre choice for an excursion. What killed it totally for me was when she took not one but two rides into town (if I recall correctly, one was to the start of the trail and one was to skip a part that was covered in snow. She may have ridden in more cars but like I said, I stopped reading about 1/3 of the way through). I'm sorry but I don't feel like you're "super-strong" or tackling your fear head-on if you take a mid-hike break and hop in a car. The whole book just fell flat. I was expecting more depth for sure.Hmm. Well, that was the vibe I got from the synopsis. It's always nice to see different perspectives on the same book. It's a good reminder of how different we all are as people ____________*** Paigepea and ginam--No, she absolutely was not prepared for hiking the trail! Just for the 3 day, we had a daily training schedule. I also thought she was not being very safe many times throughout reading the book. But when I read HOUSE IN THE SKY--wow--that woman made Cheryl Strayed seem pretty tame! I thought both books had the same type of theme--woman who doesn't have a plan or know what she wants to do in life, so aimlessly wanders about.... LOL
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Post by theboydbunch on Jul 23, 2014 0:50:58 GMT
I read The Beach House by Georgia Bocklove. I heard about it from this thread last week. It's set in Santa Cruz where I grew up. It's one of those books that try to cover everything in 300+ pages - Death, divorce, good kids, bad kids, sexual tension, etc. It wasn't bad, but not a must read. And it was only $1.99 on Kindle. On audio, I listened to The Vessel by Taylor Stevens. Its a novella (3 hours long) that finishes her last book The Doll. Now I'm all primed and ready to start The Catch that was released this week. Looking forward to my commute. I just started Dark Witch by Nora Roberts. I'm 10% in and liking it. Have you read Return to the Beach House and Another Summer; A Beach House Novel, by the same author? I just went onto amazon to check these out and see there are a few books by her.
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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 Jul 23, 2014 17:33:52 GMT
I read One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf. I have read her other books, and I really like her as an author. I would not have picked up this book if she had not been the author. It's about a shooter in a small town school, told from the perspective of 5 different people. It was well written, and I couldn't put it down once I started! 4/5 stars.
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