The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Nov 22, 2015 21:16:46 GMT
Good afternoon readers!
I finished one book this week: An Ember in Ashes. This is the first in a trilogy. It was written with the Hunger Games and Divergent audience in mind. It also had elements of Red Rising, which is a favorite series for me.
I would say it is similar in calibre. I know there are a lot of books like this out there now, but this one, although maybe not quite HG, it is competitive in the field. It follows two different characters from two different classes in the future dystopian society. I give it 4.5/5 stars.
I am hoping to get in three books this week...we shall see.
What are you reading this week?
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Post by kellybelly77 on Nov 22, 2015 21:33:32 GMT
My book this week just isn't doing it for me so I find other things to do!! Silver Linings Playbook Have you all read it? I just can't get into it. I am about 2/3's of the way through. I was debating on giving up. Is it worth it? I thought maybe I could stop reading and then just watch the movie which I haven't seen.  |
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,020
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Post by mimima on Nov 22, 2015 21:51:52 GMT
My book this week just isn't doing it for me so I find other things to do!! Silver Linings Playbook Have you all read it? I just can't get into it. I am about 2/3's of the way through. I was debating on giving up. Is it worth it? I thought maybe I could stop reading and then just watch the movie which I haven't seen. I loved the book, but I was definitely engaged by the point you are |
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 22, 2015 22:04:24 GMT
Hey Readers,
I read a couple this week. For my book club, I read Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson. It's a story about two women who have each suffered loss, who come together to get through their issues. It was a cozy read, and I enjoyed it, but it didn't really have a plot.
On a whim, I picked up The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. A group of high school kids make their way through senior year, while strange supernatural things happen all around them. This was a fun read. It touched on lots of hot topics, and paid homage to angsty teenage fiction.
Last week, one of the recommended reads was Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I just started this one, but so far, so good.
Happy Reading!
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Post by smokeynspike on Nov 22, 2015 22:48:21 GMT
I am reading Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini right now.
Melissa
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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 Nov 22, 2015 22:59:15 GMT
I've got two books going right now and I'm thoroughly enjoying them both---Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson and It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History by Jennifer Wright.
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Post by Karene on Nov 22, 2015 23:05:14 GMT
I read Lost by Sharon Bolton. It was good, but I didn't realize it was book 3 of a series so I need to go back and read the first 2. I also read The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah. I like her books but this one was a bit confusing.
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Post by ~summer~ on Nov 22, 2015 23:07:36 GMT
I'm still reading City on Fire and am enjoying it - about half way through the 900 pages!
Also reading Provence, 1970 about Julia child, MFK Fisher (two of my all time favorite ladies) and James beard in the south of France
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
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Post by finaledition on Nov 22, 2015 23:25:52 GMT
I read Defending Jacob. I know this was really popular a few years ago when I purchased, but I heard too many allusions to the ending so I had to wait a few years so I forgot-lol. It was great, it truly was a page turner for me.
I just purchased Furiously Happy this week and I think based on recommendations it will shoot to the tip of my TBR list.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,389
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Post by peaname on Nov 22, 2015 23:35:11 GMT
I'm reading A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan I've been reading at times I don't normally do so because it has kept my interest. I also just picked up We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren.
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
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Post by finaledition on Nov 22, 2015 23:51:52 GMT
I'm reading A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan I've been reading at times I don't normally do so because it has kept my interest. I also just picked up We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren. I listened on audio to A Window Opens. I liked it. |
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Post by kellybelly77 on Nov 23, 2015 0:27:45 GMT
I totally forgot about a book I read last week until I logged into my Goodreads challenge! Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess. A book about Anastasia Romonov, the Russian princess, who was killed with her family in 1918. It was a book based on her diaries in the few years leading up to her death. She seemed like a whiny princess in the beginning but was so full of spunk and ornery. There was an announcement awhile back that her Grandfather's blood stained clothes would be tested for DNA against the 2 bodies that were found in 2007 (?) in order for them to be properly buried. Or something close to that!
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Nov 23, 2015 0:46:49 GMT
I finished World of Trouble by Ben Winters, the last in the Last Policeman trilogy. It was good...I think the ending will stick with me for a while. If you like apocalyptic fiction, definitely check out this trilogy.
Also a couple of Agathas, yada yada, y'all know I'm reading my way through them. They're like brain candy, so easy to read.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Nov 23, 2015 0:49:45 GMT
Argh, I can't fix the quote! I'm talking about the Brian McLaren book! My small group at church read through that book last year and into this year. I really liked it. Lots of good stuff to talk about and think about. |
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Post by stingfan on Nov 23, 2015 1:00:47 GMT
I listened to The Rosie Project and liked it more than I expected to.
Then I listened to The Language of Flowers for book club which I'd read a couple of years ago. I liked it the second time around too.
Next is Big Little Lies.
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Post by beachbum on Nov 23, 2015 1:08:22 GMT
I've been reading these threads for awhile and I've gotten some great suggestions, so I'm going to jump in!
This week I read Ready Player One - for someone who has never gotten into video games at all this book hooked me from the first page. I stayed up way too late reading, loved this one.
Started The Last Policeman today, it looks like I'll be reading the next two books, too. Thanks!
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Post by auntkelly on Nov 23, 2015 2:01:24 GMT
I'm reading City on Fire. It's a good read.
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luckyexwife
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,067
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Post by luckyexwife on Nov 23, 2015 2:32:25 GMT
I read two great books!
The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle. 4.5/5 stars. I loved the imagery presented, and how you really didn't know quite what was going on, but you know something is off somehow. It is being compared to We Were Liars, and it did remind me of that book. It is a young adult book, so it was a fast read, but I was pulled in right away, and stayed up late to finish!
For fans of We Were Liars, How I Live Now, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane comes a haunting, sexy, magically realistic debut about a family caught between a violent history, a taboo romance, and the mysteries lurking in their own backyard.
Every October Cara and her family become inexplicably and unavoidably accident-prone. Some years it's bad, like the season when her father died, and some years it's just a lot of cuts and scrapes. This accident season—when Cara, her ex-stepbrother, Sam, and her best friend, Bea, are 17—is going to be a bad one. But not for the reasons they think.
Cara is about to learn that not all the scars left by the accident season are physical: There's a long-hidden family secret underneath the bumps and bruises. This is the year Cara will finally fall desperately in love, when she'll start discovering the painful truth about the adults in her life, and when she'll uncover the dark origins of the accident season—whether she's ready or not.
The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon. 4/5 stars. I've read several by this author, and this one was great. It is told in 3 different times, the 50's, the 80's, and today. A creepy hotel plays a center part in all 3 times, and it was neat to see a hotel in it's heyday, then when it is closed and falling apart.
The latest novel from New York Times best-selling author Jennifer McMahon is an atmospheric, gripping, and suspenseful tale that probes the bond between sisters and the peril of keeping secrets.
Once the thriving attraction of rural Vermont, the Tower Motel now stands in disrepair, alive only in the memories of Amy, Piper, and Piper's kid sister, Margot. The three played there as girls until the day that their games uncovered something dark and twisted in the motel's past, something that ruined their friendship forever.
Now adult, Piper and Margot have tried to forget what they found that fateful summer, but their lives are upended when Piper receives a panicked midnight call from Margot, with news of a horrific crime for which Amy stands accused. Suddenly, Margot and Piper are forced to relive the time that they found the suitcase that once belonged to Silvie Slater, the aunt that Amy claimed had run away to Hollywood to live out her dream of becoming Hitchcock's next blonde bombshell leading lady. As Margot and Piper investigate, a cleverly woven plot unfolds—revealing the story of Sylvie and Rose, two other sisters who lived at the motel during its 1950s heyday. Each believed the other to be something truly monstrous, but only one carries the secret that would haunt the generations to come. |
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
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Post by gottapeanow on Nov 23, 2015 2:33:43 GMT
I read an older book that I picked up somewhere. I thought this one by Alice Hoffman was just okay - Blackbird House. It's more like a bunch of short stories linked together by.... the blackbird house over decades. 2.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 3.
Moments ago, I just finished Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. The plot is decent, and the reader is cracking up in places. Not one of my top Grisham books, but I still whizzed through this in three days and especially enjoyed curling up with it this afternoon. 4/5 stars from me.
I just found a hardback copy The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at my local thrift store for $1. That's up, but next is Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland.
Lisa
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smginaz Suzy
Pearl Clutcher
Je suis desole.
Posts: 2,606
Jun 26, 2014 17:27:30 GMT
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Post by smginaz Suzy on Nov 23, 2015 3:09:14 GMT
I finished Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart by Lisa Rogak. I like memoirs and biographies, and this was a decent account of Jon's career. It kept me occupied.
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 2,811
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Post by TXMary on Nov 23, 2015 3:49:46 GMT
I listened to The Rosie Project and liked it more than I expected to. Then I listened to The Language of Flowers for book club which I'd read a couple of years ago. I liked it the second time around too. Next is Big Little Lies. I'm reading Big Little Lies now. I'm just starting to read again and I really like her books. Enjoying this one a lot. I'm at about 60% and I have a pretty good idea where it's going. We'll see if I'm right. |
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Post by stingfan on Nov 23, 2015 3:55:36 GMT
Oh, and how could I forget the all-important reading of Love Life by Rob Lowe? I've been enjoying watching him on The Grinder and picked this up. Seems like a decent guy.
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Post by MorellisCupcake on Nov 23, 2015 4:13:08 GMT
I read Stephen King's new book, Bazaar of Bad Dreams. I really liked it.. every story was introduced by him, with what writer influenced him, where the idea came from, etc. Not horror like some of his usual stuff. I also read Diane Chamberlain's new book, Pretending to Dance. I liked it initially but after a while it was grating.. it flipped back and forth between 14 year old Molly in NC, and adult Molly adopting a child with her husband. And of course, the big secret which frankly irritated me. I didn't like the character of Molly in either world.. she was self absorbed and self centered, which is a little understandable as a child but not so much as an adult. Spoiler below.. In her teenage story, her father had advanced MS, her mother was a pharmacist and there were constant family meetings Molly wasn't part of. It wasn't hard to figure out it was a "dying with dignity" scenario. When the father ultimately dies, Molly flies off the handle with "my mother killed him!" and is upset no one will listen. Again, fine for a 14 year old. But as an adult and a lawyer, she hadn't seen her family in over 20 years because her mother killed her father. I mean, please. You think as an adult you would work through that, gain some perspective, etc., but she was still just ridiculous. |
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Nov 23, 2015 12:22:00 GMT
One read and one almost finished this week.
Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster (Wilbanks) is a bit unusual. A magical door allows two women to communicate between 1995 San Francisco and 1895 Kansas. They soon find that their lives are linked in an important way. This one started off very promising, but the ending felt too rushed and there was one too many quirky coincidences for my taste. Not a bad read, just didn't end strong.
I'm about to finish The Invention of Fire (Holsinger). This book is set in Geoffrey Chaucer's London where the main character, John Gower, is investigating the murders of 16 unknown men. They have been killed by a handgun. Hand guns are unknown at this time and Gower must investigate how these murders may be linked to the highest levels of power. The characters and writing are great and the book has wonderful historical detail. Highly recommended for historical fiction fans.
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Post by pjaye on Nov 23, 2015 13:06:44 GMT
From last week I finished The Children Act by Ian McEwan. About a female judge and some of the cases before her, mainly involving children, and one case in particular about a 17yo Jehovah's Witness who wants to refuse a life saving blood transfusion. It didn't really live up to it's promise. It was only a short book and I thought the judge herself and her husband were interesting, but there was too much courtroom talk that took up most of the story. Also her involvement with the JW boy was not very believable. I only gave this 2 out of 5 stars.
Next I listened to my first ever Kate Morton book, her newest one The Lake House. This is about a female police officer who is on enforced leave because she got too involved in a case where a mother is missing and child was left alone. While she is visiting her grandfather she stumbles on an old house and the story of a child who went missing 70 years ago...and she starts to investigate. It's told from various points of view in the past and in the present and even though I listened to most of it while I was painting, it was still easy enough to follow the story. There were a few too many co-incidences for my liking and wrapped up way too neatly at the end. It was OK, I gave it 3 stars.
Currently halfway through The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth. Set in the 1800s and tells the story of Dortchen Wild who lives next door to the Grimm brothers. It tells the story of how they collected the old folk stories and the relationship between Dortchen and one of the brothers. Along the way we learn the early version of some of the fairytales. I'm enjoying this more than I expected. |
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Post by tommygirl on Nov 23, 2015 13:50:06 GMT
Just finished Perfect Son. It was a very good read 4/5 stars. It was one of those hard to put down books that explores family dynamics and relationships.
Next up-a non fiction, Seven Women:And the Secret of their Greatness by Eric Metaxas. He also wrote Seven Men:And the Secret of their Greatness and Bonhoeffer.
I am about 20 books short of what I read last year. I need to get reading!
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lindawn7
Shy Member
Posts: 26
Jul 13, 2015 3:09:21 GMT
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Post by lindawn7 on Nov 23, 2015 14:40:35 GMT
Just finished The Kind Worth Killing and really liked it. It was compared to Girl on the Train but I thought it was much better.
Now starting on Big Little Lies
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Post by hollymolly on Nov 23, 2015 14:50:16 GMT
My book this week just isn't doing it for me so I find other things to do!! Silver Linings Playbook Have you all read it? I just can't get into it. I am about 2/3's of the way through. I was debating on giving up. Is it worth it? I thought maybe I could stop reading and then just watch the movie which I haven't seen. I loved the movie, but only liked the book. They are quite different from each other. The book is a little darker, I think. If it's not doing it for you at this point, stop and watch the movie. The movie is one of my all time favorites. I only read the book because I love the movie so much and I wanted more of the characters, which I didn't really get from the book because they are different. |
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Post by hollymolly on Nov 23, 2015 14:57:15 GMT
Last week I finished Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, the fourth Outlander book. They are getting longer and longer, and as much as I still care about the characters, I'm almost dreading the next four books. I definitely need a long break.
I also read The Martian by Andy Weir. I wanted to read before seeing the movie. I loved it. It would be perfect reading for an engineer, especially one who is not big on reading. I thought it was a good "guy book." It's very much about problem solving, but not dry. There's just enough humor and personal interest stuff, but not too much. It was moved really quickly for me, but didn't feel crazy and hectic.
Now I'm reading In The Woods by Tana French. I want to love it, but it's been hard for me to shift gears to a slow boil police procedural. I'm pretty early in, though, so I feel like it will pick up soon.
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Post by kristi521 on Nov 23, 2015 16:06:35 GMT
I read Stephen King's new book, Bazaar of Bad Dreams. I really liked it.. every story was introduced by him, with what writer influenced him, where the idea came from, etc. Not horror like some of his usual stuff. I also read Diane Chamberlain's new book, Pretending to Dance. I liked it initially but after a while it was grating.. it flipped back and forth between 14 year old Molly in NC, and adult Molly adopting a child with her husband. And of course, the big secret which frankly irritated me. I didn't like the character of Molly in either world.. she was self absorbed and self centered, which is a little understandable as a child but not so much as an adult. Spoiler below..
I agree with your thoughts on Pretending to Dance. Okay, I get that she was upset, but I would have thought she would have had an epiphany far earlier and come to her senses. |
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