The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Oct 12, 2015 3:12:35 GMT
Hello readers!
I only read one book this week. I read Goddess. Historical fiction based on the real life of Julie la Maupin, a woman well ahead of the times she lived in. She was a crossdressing bisexual in the 17th century who was an accomplished sword fighter and revered Parisian opera singer. I am just finishing it now (95%). I am going between a 3/4. I will likely give it a 4/5 rating. The narration is unique but at times distracting. Some parts move too quickly and has the feel of a biopic versus a novel.
What did you read?
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Post by smokeynspike on Oct 12, 2015 6:21:12 GMT
I finished Angelfall by Susan Ee. It was pretty good. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads and picked up the second and third books in the series.
I just started Ready Player One by Ernest Cline yesterday. My DH doesn't think I'll enjoy it, but we'll see.
Melissa
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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 Oct 12, 2015 6:34:54 GMT
I read the thriller PRETTY BABY by Mary Kubica. I really liked her earlier book, the good girl, but pretty baby fell very flat for me. It had a lot of potential but had no excitement, plot twists or suspense. Skip this one.
I started AFTER YOU by Jojo Moyes. It started off alright, but I don't feel compelled to read. I hope it improves.
Paige.
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Post by pjaye on Oct 12, 2015 6:54:37 GMT
I finished After You by Jojo Moyes which is the follow up to Me Before You. This briefly describes what Louisa did the first few months after the last book ended, and then takes up the story in full 18 months later when Louisa is back in England and still hasn't come to terms with what happened (trying not to say to much and spoil it for those who haven't read the first book). Some of the previous characters are there - such as her family and some new ones we haven't met before. I thought it was a fitting continuation but because the last book was so gut wrenching and emotional, this one was never going to have the same impact. I enjoyed but didn't *love* it like I did the first book, it still made me laugh out loud a few times though. Gave the first book 5/5, I'd give this 3.5/5.
Next I listened to The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon. This is about two unusual sisters told when they are young during the 1970s then one of them vanishes and one has a daughter. Then in modern times the daughter has just died...and the story is taken up by one of her childhood friends. It was a little confusing initially when the narrative switched, but after I worked out who was who in modern times, then it was fine when it went back and forth in time after that. This is a little bit creepy, a couple of deaths but no really detailed descriptions....this is the same author who wrote The Winter People and has that same sort of slightly 'supernatural' element to it. I liked the story overall and would recommend it, 3 out of 5 stars.
I'm currently listening to Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight, which is the of story a newborn's body found near a college campus. It's told from various points of view, a reporter who had a still birth, a couple of mothers and a couple of teenage girls. It seems likely that the baby belongs to one of these women, but I've only just started listening. So far there hasn't been too many details about the baby (which is good, no gory descriptions, just a brief overview). I'll complete the review next week. |
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Post by kckckc on Oct 12, 2015 13:50:34 GMT
I finished two books this week.
Two Across by Jeff Bartsch. Vera and Stanley meet while contestants in the National Spelling Bee. They are together then they separate, then find each other through crossword puzzle clues. I thought this one was a little gimmicky and the characters fell flat. 2/5
The Last Policeman by Ben Winters. I believe someone on one of the Pea reading threads recommended this one. An asteroid is due to hit (and basically destroy) earth in 6 months. Many people have quit their jobs and gone to do things from their bucket lists, many other commit suicide, but Detective Hank Palace is still working cases. This one raises some interesting questions about our goals/purposes in life as well as being a good police procedural. It is the first of a trilogy, but this book also stands alone. I have the next book on reserve at the library now. 4/5
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Oct 12, 2015 13:59:48 GMT
I am still reading my way through Agatha Christie's oeuvre and having a lot of good mystery fun with that. The best of the ones I read this week was called Endless Night, which is one of her later works and not a Marple or Poirot mystery. It was creepy in a fun way.
I also read Season of Fear by Brian Freeman, a political mystery that was quite good. It takes place in Florida as a hurricane is threatening the Gulf Coast. The widow of an assassinated third-party candidate is making a run for governor and someone is threatening her. Her best friend's son, a policeman, is hired to get to the bottom of it all. Very twisty-turny story, I enjoyed it a lot.
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Post by maryland on Oct 12, 2015 14:13:22 GMT
Every Secret Thing by Lippman, pretty good, but I have only been reading a bit at night, so it's taking a long time. Lots of characters, so I have to skip back and remind myself who they are. But reading right before bed when I am tired anyway, that's probably why!
Have The Good Girl to read too.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 4:37:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 14:33:13 GMT
No reading again for me, just listening to audio books. I finished Mosquitoland by David Arnold. I probably would have liked it more if I was a teen/young adult. My daughter LOVES it, so I gave it a try. A teen girl runs away from her dad and stepmom in Mississippi and travels to Ohio in an effort to see her mom because she knows she's sick (found some info. in a letter) and wants to find her. The whole book is mostly the journey to get there.
Since it's October and Halloween I've been listening to Bradbury 13. It's radio adaptations of Bradbury stories. They are interesting. I feel like I'm listening to episodes of The Twilight Zone. I checked out The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe at the library. It's over 700 pages and I'm quite certain I won't read it all, but I'll pick stories and poems here and there and see how far I get.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
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Post by gottapeanow on Oct 12, 2015 14:43:08 GMT
I was fighting a bug this weekend, so my sleep patterns are all wonky. I was up at 1:45 reading and have not been back to sleep since.
I finished Little Friend by Donna Tartt just minutes ago. I think that she is a literary genius. But this book - gahhhh! There is no point to it. At all. It had so much potential. But the ending - it felt like someone was talking and just completely stopped mid-sentence.
Her literary skills aside, 2/5. In comparison, I loved The Goldfinch, the only other book that I have read by her, despite it's verbosity and need for serious editing, and gave it a 5/5.
Lisa
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
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Post by janeliz on Oct 12, 2015 15:42:46 GMT
I read The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene. This one really took me by surprise. It had been sitting on my Kindle for months and I finally decided to sit down with it. It was a very touching, well-written story about grief and its toll on a marriage. I enjoyed it very much.
I also read Sue Grafton's X. Two thumbs up. I'm so sad at the thought of these books coming to an end.
I'm now reading Erik Larson's Dead Wake. I'm not far in, though.
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Post by auntkelly on Oct 12, 2015 16:42:48 GMT
I'm reading The Stand by Stephen King. It's a great story and I don't know why I've waited all these years to read it.
I think The Stand was originally released in 1978, which is the year I graduated from high school. It's strange to read the book and see the many ways life has changed since 1978. The characters use pay phones and ride in cars w/out buckling their seatbelt and take aspirin for every ailment.
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Post by lollapealooza on Oct 12, 2015 16:47:00 GMT
I read While I was Gone by Sue Miller - it's really a good read about the lives of a pastor and his veterinarian wife and her past. Now I'm almost finished with Margaret Atwood's The Heart Goes Last and it's very good also...a dystopia type thing. In fact, I only started it yesterday and haven't been able to put it down! Almost finished.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 4:37:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 16:52:28 GMT
I wanted something light after reading a couple of intense books so I started Good In Bed by Jennifer Weiner. I'm not very far in to it so no opinion and this is the first of her books I've attempted to read. I loved the movie In Her Shoes which is from one of her books, so we'll see.
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MDscrapaholic
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,375
Location: Down by the bay....
Jun 25, 2014 20:49:07 GMT
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Post by MDscrapaholic on Oct 12, 2015 16:54:00 GMT
I read The Murder House by James Patterson. It was really good. He has another Alex Cross book coming out soon!
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my3freaks
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,206
Location: NH girl living in Colorado
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Post by my3freaks on Oct 12, 2015 16:55:45 GMT
I finished The Other Daughter. I really liked it, and gave it 4/5 stars. I just started Looking for Alaska by John Green. I loved Fault In Our Stars, so figured I'd try this one too when I saw it on the main page of my libraries Overdrive site. |
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purplebee
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,734
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Post by purplebee on Oct 12, 2015 16:58:06 GMT
I'm about two thirds of the way through The Martian.
Good story, will definitely finish, but gosh there's lots of technical details! Guess it's good to read a tale that makes you apply brain cells - been reading lots of fluff lately!
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Post by annabella on Oct 12, 2015 17:24:46 GMT
I finished listening to The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty and loved hearing the Australian accent, although it wasn't as pronounced as the accents on Wentworth. I'm glad you guys told me to finish the book as when I first started it was hard to keep up with all the characters so I wrote down all the names so I could refer to my reference list. I definitely recommend this book!
I just started Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling as I enjoyed her last book.
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lisaknits
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,357
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Post by lisaknits on Oct 12, 2015 17:51:33 GMT
This week I read The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker. It's the story of a women in her twenties whose father disappears one day after he leaves on a routine business trip and doesn't return. Her subsequent search for him takes her to Burma and leads her to discover her father's past. I really loved the story-telling and recommend this novel!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 4:37:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 17:58:06 GMT
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Post by belgravia on Oct 12, 2015 18:10:47 GMT
I was fighting a bug this weekend, so my sleep patterns are all wonky. I was up at 1:45 reading and have not been back to sleep since. I finished Little Friend by Donna Tartt just minutes ago. I think that she is a literary genius. But this book - gahhhh! There is no point to it. At all. It had so much potential. But the ending - it felt like someone was talking and just completely stopped mid-sentence. Her literary skills aside, 2/5. In comparison, I loved The Goldfinch, the only other book that I have read by her, despite it's verbosity and need for serious editing, and gave it a 5/5. Lisa You must, MUST read her first book, The Secret History. I am a huge Donna Tartt fan, and The Secret History is one of my all time favorite books. I also loved The Goldfinch, and feel the same way about Little Friend as you do. |
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
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Post by gottapeanow on Oct 12, 2015 18:53:23 GMT
Thanks so much, belgravia, for the rec. My sister told me the same thing about The Secret History.  Lisa |
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Post by 3SugarBugs on Oct 12, 2015 19:02:28 GMT
I finished Black Eyed Susan's as recommended by @the Great Carpezio a couple of weeks back. I loved this book until the end....but then was soooo frustrated! That's it?!?!...no real "why"...I wanted inside their head!!! Ughhh  I don't regret reading it, but wanted/needed more closure!
Just started After You, so I'm avoiding the Spoiler Alerts...too tempting.
Have a great week Peas who Read! |
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,175
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Oct 12, 2015 19:22:35 GMT
I know I am a little late to the party but, this weekend I finished reading The Nightingale Wow, what a story. I am giving it three thumbs up. I think this has been the best book I have read all year. |
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Post by irisheyes on Oct 12, 2015 20:09:16 GMT
I Read The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C McKissack and blogged about it. I also finished up the Artemis Fowl series finally with The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. I enjoyed it, but the ending was a bit off. I also read My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young, but only gave it two of three stars. I struggled with the characters and how they were written. They made too many stupid mistakes in that time of hatred and war. I finished The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, and I really enjoyed it. I liked her storytelling voice, the characters, and how they came together to help one another. I am currently reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. I can't believe I've never read it. |
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Post by kellybelly77 on Oct 12, 2015 20:26:02 GMT
I only finished one book this week. Argo, by Antonio Mendez. Now I can finally watch the movie, like 5 years later! Its my general policy to read the book before I watch the movie.
I did enjoy the book, just the whole secretive nature of the CIA intrigues me.
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Post by birukitty on Oct 12, 2015 22:33:32 GMT
This week I read a book I plucked from the library shelf when I ran in while I was there for a just a few minutes to pick up a few books I'd placed on hold. I usually scan a few favourite sections-Titanic books being one for me, and came across this book instead Last Man Off-A True Story of Disaster and Survival on the Antarctic Seas by Matt Lewis. I grabbed it tossing it in my bag thinking it might be good because I love survival stories at sea. I've read quite a few but all of them have been from people sailing their own sailboats, and for some reason having to abandon ship and then take to their life rafts. I read these because my dream is to one day sail across oceans myself. This book was different. It was about a deep sea fishing boat.
First of all it was a great book. Wonderful writing that kept me very interested. The story is about a 23 year old man who'd just gotten his master's degree in Aberdeen Scotland in marine biology. He was looking for work in his field and was having difficulty finding it when an opportunity arose for him to be a scientific observer aboard a deep sea fishing boat. "They are in waters off Antarctica and Lewis is mesmerized by his new surroundings: glistening icebergs, killer whales, and majestic albatross. As the crew haul in their lines for the day the waves are casting shadows on the deck. A storm is brewing.
What follows next is an astonishing story of folly, tragedy, and courage. With the captain missing and the crew forced to abandon ship, Lewis directs the escape onto three life rafts-and the battle to survive begins." That's from the back of the book. Don't know why they wrote the captain is missing because he wasn't. He was there, but he basically shut down and was ineffective, and Lewis took over, with the help of another crew member.
It is a very well written book, with a through drawing of the boat in the front and a glossary of nautical terms defined in the beginning of the book. I highly recommend it and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Debbie in MD.
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Post by RobbyKay on Oct 13, 2015 3:58:52 GMT
Hi Peas Who Read,
I've been missing for the last couple of weeks, but I have a few titles to share...
I read J. Ryan Stradal's Kitchens of the Great Midwest. It's a series of stories that all feature the same woman, Eva, at different points in her life. We see her as a baby, as a young woman, and as a full grown woman. Her life revolves around food, and her food adventures are featured in the stories. I really enjoyed this one.
I'm working my way through After You by Jojo Moyes, Some of the reviews were pretty negative, so I haven't been excited to jump into this one, but I am starting to enjoy it.
I read Jason Segel's newest title, The Sleep Tonic; it's No. 2 in the Nightmares! series. It was cute.
On a whim, I picked up Al Roker's The Storm of the Century. It's about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. It's an interesting story about a horrible disaster.
I've been working my way through the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and I'm working on the third book, Life, the Universe and Everything. I was really enamored with this series when I was 17, Now, thirty years later, I'm not feeling it. But I'll keep going, just to meet my goal.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Oct 13, 2015 3:59:16 GMT
Hi Peas Who Read,
I've been missing for the last couple of weeks, but I have a few titles to share...
I read J. Ryan Stradal's Kitchens of the Great Midwest. It's a series of stories that all feature the same woman, Eva, at different points in her life. We see her as a baby, as a young woman, and as a full grown woman. Her life revolves around food, and her food adventures are featured in the stories. I really enjoyed this one.
I'm working my way through After You by Jojo Moyes, Some of the reviews were pretty negative, so I haven't been excited to jump into this one, but I am starting to enjoy it.
I read Jason Segel's newest title, The Sleep Tonic; it's No. 2 in the Nightmares! series. It was cute.
On a whim, I picked up Al Roker's The Storm of the Century. It's about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. It's an interesting story about a horrible disaster.
I've been working my way through the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, and I'm working on the third book, Life, the Universe and Everything. I was really enamored with this series when I was 17, Now, thirty years later, I'm not feeling it. But I'll keep going, just to meet my goal.
Happy Reading!
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Post by chrissypie on Oct 13, 2015 9:08:41 GMT
I finished a couple of books last week: Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight (as recommended here!). Yeah, pretty good. pjaye has given a synopsis above. I liked that some bits were predictable and some bits weren't - best of both worlds (satisfaction and surprise). I might check out her other book, but I'm not beating down the library door to do so! After reading The Nightingale a few months ago, I wanted to read Sarah's Key , which had been recommended here as a similar book. LOVED IT!!! For those who haven't come across it yet ( it's a few years old), it's the story of a young Jewish girl whose family is taken to a concentration camp in WWII France. Before leaving, she locks her brother in a hidden closet, to protect him (hence the key of the title). 60 years later, an American lady living in Paris discovers the story of Sarah and becomes obsessed with finding out everything she can about the young girl. Such a great book! I am loving (well, in a bad way) reading these stories about France in WWII, and how it was often their own people who had to carry out the Nazi's dirty work, against other French people. The only thing I thought would have been better is if we'd got more of Sarah's story from her perspective - it starts out alternating chapters between Sarah and the American lady, Julia, but half-way through reverts to just being from Julia's perspective. Definitely the kind of book that makes you go "wow" when you turn the last page. And now I am reading Steven King's 11.22.63 and also loving this one! More on that next week - it's loooong! |
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Oct 13, 2015 14:11:29 GMT
I was fighting a bug this weekend, so my sleep patterns are all wonky. I was up at 1:45 reading and have not been back to sleep since. I finished Little Friend by Donna Tartt just minutes ago. I think that she is a literary genius. But this book - gahhhh! There is no point to it. At all. It had so much potential. But the ending - it felt like someone was talking and just completely stopped mid-sentence. Her literary skills aside, 2/5. In comparison, I loved The Goldfinch, the only other book that I have read by her, despite it's verbosity and need for serious editing, and gave it a 5/5. Lisa I didn't like Little Friend either, but loved The Secret History and The Goldfinch. I would definitely recommend The Secret History. |
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I don't regret reading it, but wanted/needed more closure!
