The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930 
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Mar 7, 2016 4:27:42 GMT
Yikes! I was out of the house and on the road all day. Finally home for the night. Sorry I'm late.
Post your weekly reading here.
I did read one book: Savage City
I would call it a mashup dystopian novel with Red Dawn in NYC 16 years later tendencies. YA.
3.5/5 stars
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Post by RobbyKay on Mar 7, 2016 5:17:12 GMT
Hi Reading Peas!
I just finished up Joshilyn Jackson's newest title: The Opposite of Everyone. It's quirky southern fiction with over-the-top female characters who have been through the wringer. I really enjoyed it.
Next up was Michael Sears' latest: Saving Jason. This is a mystery/thriller series that features a former Wall Street trader who committed a crime and was sent to prison for it. Now he's out, barred from his former profession, and supports himself by doing under-the-table investigations. The plots are complex, and I don't always understand the details of the financial world, but the main character has an autistic son, and their relationship is always at the forefront of the story. This one was had some really exciting moments!
I picked up a copy of Oliver Sacks' book, Gratitude. It's made up of four essays he wrote near the end of his life. It's only 45 pages long, and took less than an hour to read. It was a great, quick read between other books.
Have a great reading week!
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Post by pjaye on Mar 7, 2016 6:26:27 GMT
I got through a few this week but two of them were very short and don’t even add up to a full book together.
First up was the audio of The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin. This is a new release and officially a work of fiction, however the characters are real people and all of the events occurred, but author however imagined all of the various conversations that they had.
The book is set in New York’s high society during the 1950s when I group of wealthy women befriend Truman Capote. Because they all know he is gay, and their husbands aren’t threatened by him, he is allowed into their lives and learns many of their secrets…then he betrays them. I thought this was really interesting as I previously hadn’t heard of these women or the scandal (google-ing the old photos was fun too). I enjoyed this and gave it 4 stars. (Note: if you want to read this and haven't read any other Capote books - especially In Cold Blood, as that is referenced a lot, then I'd read those first and then this one...it will make more sense that way)
Of course then I realised I have never actually read any of Capote’s books, so I got In Cold Blood from the library.
This is a true crime novel about 4 people who were murdered in their rural property. Capote details the story of the victims, the killers and how they were captured and he even had to wait 5 five years before being able to write the ending. It gets a bit repetitive at times, but overall it was quite interesting. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
Then I decided I may as well continue on with Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. I never realised this book was so short, it’s only 2.5hrs in audio.
I’m probably one of the last people on the planet to read this so I won’t go into the story, but I didn’t like it much. I suppose it was very ‘shocking’ when it was first published, but it seemed kind of tame now and I didn’t think it was very interesting. I also disliked the Holly character, she was just a flake. I was happy when it was over and at lieast I can say I've read it now but I only gave it 2 stars.
Then on my list for the year was a serial killer book, so it seemed natural to go with that next: Killer Instinct by S.E. Green. I bought this in an Audible sale last year, so I’m glad it was only cheap (and short). This is basically the TV show Dexter reimagined as a teenage girl. The main character is Lane a 17yo girl who is fascinated by serial killers and thinks she might be one. Then there is a serial killer in her town who starts making contact with her. It was very unrealistic all the way through. Not one I would recommend and I gave it two stars.
I’ve just started listening to A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka.
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Mar 7, 2016 6:56:23 GMT
I just finished Allegiant, final book in The Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Someone ruined the ending for me when it first came out, so I put it off. But the movie is out in two weeks so I forced myself to read it.
I started 11/22/63 this evening. I know I'm late to the game, but that hardback was just too big! I saw it at B&N in paperback last weekend and snatched it up.
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tuesdaysgone
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,832
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Post by tuesdaysgone on Mar 7, 2016 11:15:55 GMT
Just one for me this week. I read The Restoration of Otto Laird. It tells about the life of a retired architect living in Switzerland. He finds out that an iconic building he designed in the 1960s is marked for demolition and he returns to London to take part in an effort to save the building. He hasn't been in London for 25 years and once there, he is overcome with the memories of his first wife and the successful career he enjoyed. The novel unfolds in flashbacks of his life. The writing and characters are interesting, but I also found it very predictable. I saw the ending coming a long way out. This really diminished my enjoyment of the book.
This was a book I selected at random from a library shelf. I rarely do that because I have a long list of "to read" books and usually research them a bit before I read. I find I have fewer disappointing reads that way...what about you?
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Post by miominmio on Mar 7, 2016 11:28:58 GMT
This week I'm reading "The hammer and the cross", by Robert Ferguson. It's a history book about the Viking Age, which explores the possibility that Charlemagne's violent efforts to christen the Saxxons (up to and including genocide), could be one of the drving forces behind the Viking attacks on Lindisfarne and other churches and monestaries.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Mar 7, 2016 12:45:37 GMT
I'm working on a book called The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James Shapiro. It's about what was going on in England at the time and how those issues came out in the plays of King Lear and Macbeth. I love reading about Shakespeare, so this is a good one.
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Mar 7, 2016 12:48:34 GMT
This was a book I selected at random from a library shelf. I rarely do that because I have a long list of "to read" books and usually research them a bit before I read. I find I have fewer disappointing reads that way...what about you? Yeah, that's usually how I work, too. I keep a list on Goodreads of things I want to read, and I check them out at Amazon before they go on the list, read a bit of the sample if it's available, etc. I still get disappointed sometimes, but it's great to have a list to work from when I'm at the library or bookstore. |
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Mar 7, 2016 12:52:25 GMT
First up was the audio of The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin. This is a new release and officially a work of fiction, however the characters are real people and all of the events occurred, but author however imagined all of the various conversations that they had.
The book is set in New York’s high society during the 1950s when I group of wealthy women befriend Truman Capote. Because they all know he is gay, and their husbands aren’t threatened by him, he is allowed into their lives and learns many of their secrets…then he betrays them. I thought this was really interesting as I previously hadn’t heard of these women or the scandal (google-ing the old photos was fun too). I enjoyed this and gave it 4 stars. (Note: if you want to read this and haven't read any other Capote books - especially In Cold Blood, as that is referenced a lot, then I'd read those first and then this one...it will make more sense that way)
Ooh, I didn't know Melanie Benjamin had a new book out. I've really enjoyed her other books, I'll have to find this one. |
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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 Mar 7, 2016 13:52:09 GMT
I read The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore.
It's about a seemingly accomplished family and the pressures they face as the teenage daughter applies to Harvard and mom and dad face some career challenges of their own. The themes of this book really resonated with me. How far will we push our children to achieve and succeed, and how far will we, the adults, go to get all of the things we believe we need and deserve? I thought this was a terrific book.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Mar 7, 2016 14:21:35 GMT
I've read:
The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. 5/5 stars. Really enjoyed this one - great storytelling.
The Door by by Magda Szabó. 3/5 stars. I picked this one up as it appeared on many lists last year, but I just wasn't invested in the story.
The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee. 4/5 stars. Story could've been tighter, but I liked it.
Currently reading The Widow by Fiona Barton.
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Post by jackie on Mar 7, 2016 14:56:17 GMT
I just finished H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald for my library book club. Book club was Thursday afternoon and I finished it that morning, so that tells you how much I was loving it. I would probably give it a 3 or 3.5 and would not personal recommend it. The book was well written, the author, who is a published poet had a beautiful affinity for language, but it just wasn't my thing. It was autobiographical and described the period after the author's father suddenly and unexpectedly died. The author uses the training of a goshawk as a way to get her through her grief. In some ways, it reminded me a bit of Cheryl Strayed and how she walked the Pacific Crest Trail to deal with the grief of losing her mother, among other things. Both women weren't afraid to show the ugly side of themselves and I admire that. But I LOVED Cheryl's book and just didn't feel that way about this one. It never quite connected with me and the strangeness of falconry as a hobby was something so foreign and unappealing to me, so that didn't help.
I am still listening to Kate Morton's The Lake House and I am really enjoying it. I'll be sad when this one is over. I've also started the next library book club selection, which is The English Spy by Daniel Silva. I'm only about thirty pages in but I'm thinking this isn't going to be a book I love. I'll finish it no matter what. Has anyone else read this or other books by this author? Just curious about your opinions.
The next book choice for my other book club is Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt. It's labeled as a "contemporary gothic". Anyone read this one or any by this author? I know nothing of this author but the book sounds a little more up my ally. I currently have it on hold at my library so I won't be starting it for another week or so.
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Post by tara595 on Mar 7, 2016 14:59:24 GMT
I'm reading Morning Glory by Sarah Jio. I've read a few of her books, and although she definitely has a "formula" she follows, I enjoy them. This one is probably my favorite.
I usually read on my kindle and I've been really good so far this year about downloading books from the library. I'm interested in The Swans of Fifth Ave. so I put it on hold. In the meantime, I might read another one by the same author - The Aviator's Wife. It seems interesting. Has anyone read it?
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Post by debmast on Mar 7, 2016 15:02:06 GMT
Only finished one book this week. Confess by Colleen Hoover. Really liked it. Every woman should have an Owen!
I had read a couple heavier books so this was a nice change.
Now I am reading The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
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Post by maryland on Mar 7, 2016 15:40:41 GMT
Last week was Love Anthony - lisa Genova and it was just okay. I had to skim a lot just to get finished. She seems to be a very popular author, but that's the second book of hers that I didn't enjoy.
Deciding between Where They Left Her and Summer Secrets. Our library is terrible, so I have to put in a book request and it takes about a week to get the book. So I hope I enjoy the two I have as I don't have more coming this week.
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Deleted
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May 19, 2024 7:28:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 16:17:51 GMT
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Post by lynnek on Mar 7, 2016 16:23:36 GMT
I finally finished A Little Life this past week. It has been discussed here quite a bit - heart breaking and hard to read but so well written. You get immersed in the story of the four men and it pulls you into their lives. Very much worth the month it took me to get through it.
I also finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It is about two high school boys who befriend each other because really neither has anyone else. It follows their relationship and their families. A friend of mine recommended it to me. It was one of her favorites from last year. I liked it but not quite as much as she did.
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Deleted
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May 19, 2024 7:28:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 16:29:57 GMT
I listened to Please Don't Tell by Elizabeth Adler, it was alarmingly bad but I listened to the end. I'm not sure why...
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Post by vi on Mar 7, 2016 16:40:35 GMT
I read In This Together: My Story by Ann Romney. This book went into great detail about her diagnosis with MS and how she has coped with it. It also touched on some of the other aspects of her life - like politics. I really admire her for doing something positive and launching the Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I got a little bogged down in her discussion of MS though. I probably would have devoured it more if this disease had touched my family. I also read The Girl From the Train by Irma Joubert. This book's setting was during and after WWII but was a little different than the usual books about that era. It started out in Poland and talked about the resistance movement there and then moved to South Africa where the heroine of the story was adopted. I had no idea that South Africans had adopted displaced German orphans. Although I found this book interesting, I was a little distant from the main characters.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,930
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Mar 7, 2016 16:56:44 GMT
I did read one book: Savage City
I would call it a mashup dystopian novel with Red Dawn in NYC 16 years later tendencies. YA.
3.5/5 stars
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Post by kckckc on Mar 7, 2016 17:11:41 GMT
I finished three books this week.
The Crossing by Michael Connelly. The latest in Connelly's Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller series. Connelly is a good story teller and I really like this series - this was a very good addition. 5/5
Travels in Alaska by John Muir. We are traveling to Alaska this summer, so when looking for my next audio book, I searched the library catalog and this popped up. Great descriptions of Alaska flora, fauna, and glaciers - perhaps a little more than I wanted to know! Muir was quite the adventurer. I believe there were pictures in the print edition - something I missed in the audio version. 3.5/5
Time and Time Again by Ben Elton. Time travel novel - a group sends a man back in time to stop WWI. I liked the premise and thought the history parts were well written. The characters on the other hand were rather one dimensional and unbelievable. A large section of the dialog consisted of the time traveler saying something in 21st century vernacular, being called on it by his friend/lover, restating in 1914 appropriate language, then having his friend saying what a way he had with words. (And the sex scene was awful!) 2/5
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Post by kckckc on Mar 7, 2016 17:24:41 GMT
This was a book I selected at random from a library shelf. I rarely do that because I have a long list of "to read" books and usually research them a bit before I read. I find I have fewer disappointing reads that way...what about you? I have a long "to read" list too and I usually read from that rather than browsing the library shelves. I do sometimes wonder if I am missing out on a lot of books that are really good, but just don't get much press. |
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
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Post by gottapeanow on Mar 7, 2016 17:37:33 GMT
As to how I pick my books, I have a super long list of "to-read" material as well. In addition, I have my favorite authors, and I add their books, too. When I go to the library, I browse the shelves for new releases and sometimes pick those up. And sometimes, I find books at the used bookstore. Then I include old classics that I never read when I was younger. For example, right now, I am reading Gone with the Wind. It is slow going, but I am about a third of the way done.  I did decide to take a break and picked up another book this week to read as well. I will review that next week. I also finished A Man Called Ove this week. Here is my GR review: This book. All the feels. A Man Called Ove is truly a little gem. I especially enjoyed Backman's succinct writing style works as he tells Ove's story, which rather matches Ove himself. People in general and society as a whole would do well to apply the sweet yet down-to-earth lessons herein. 1. Take proactive steps to help others. 2. Your family is sometimes who you make them to be. 3. Once you find this family, cherish them. 4. A group of people who band together can save someone's life. 5. Don't let little things spoil your treasured relationships. 5/5 stars. Lisa |
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,299
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Post by Mystie on Mar 7, 2016 18:35:23 GMT
I usually read on my kindle and I've been really good so far this year about downloading books from the library. I'm interested in The Swans of Fifth Ave. so I put it on hold. In the meantime, I might read another one by the same author - The Aviator's Wife. It seems interesting. Has anyone read it? Yes, I read The Aviator's Wife and really enjoyed it. Her book Alice I Have Been is also very good. She has a real knack for writing believable fiction about real, historical people, which is not something everyone can pull off. |
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Post by auntkelly on Mar 7, 2016 20:39:25 GMT
Just one for me this week. I read The Restoration of Otto Laird. It tells about the life of a retired architect living in Switzerland. He finds out that an iconic building he designed in the 1960s is marked for demolition and he returns to London to take part in an effort to save the building. He hasn't been in London for 25 years and once there, he is overcome with the memories of his first wife and the successful career he enjoyed. The novel unfolds in flashbacks of his life. The writing and characters are interesting, but I also found it very predictable. I saw the ending coming a long way out. This really diminished my enjoyment of the book. This was a book I selected at random from a library shelf. I rarely do that because I have a long list of "to read" books and usually research them a bit before I read. I find I have fewer disappointing reads that way...what about you? I miss those days of browsing the library shelves and picking books at random. I read so many great books that I never would have chosen except for the fact that the title caught my eye or the book had an interesting book jacket. I didn't know what book to start this week, so I browsed a list of Putlizer Prize books and decided to read So Big by Edna Ferber which won the Putlizer Prize in 1924. I've never read any of Edna Ferber's books before and I am enjoying this one. Her writing style reminds me of Willa Cather. It's a pretty gritty tale about a single mother trying to survive in turn of the century Chicago. |
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
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Post by finaledition on Mar 8, 2016 15:48:51 GMT
Just wanted to share the West With the Night-Beryl Marham's memoirs is $1.99 today as an Amazon daily deal. I know many peas read and loved Circling the Sun. You can add audible narration for an additional $3.99.
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Post by lynnek on Mar 8, 2016 16:17:31 GMT
Just wanted to share the West With the Night-Beryl Marham's memoirs is $1.99 today as an Amazon daily deal. I know many peas read and loved Circling the Sun. You can add audible narration for an additional $3.99. Oh, thank you for the tip!! I read Circling the Sun last year and have wanted to read her book. I will pick it up! |
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Post by fotos4u2 on Mar 8, 2016 21:29:16 GMT
I only finished one book this week--The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf. A quick read that was slightly different than I thought it was going to be. It was about two young girls who go missing in the woods and where they are/plus the process of the search for them.
I'm currently reading The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, book 5 of the Heroes of Olympus series (aka Percy Jackson). This is a series that my son and I started when he was younger and I've continued to buy the newest books. I bought it for the kid for Christmas 2015 but then neither of us read it. I was looking for something to read so picked it up.
I also have Saving Sophie by Ronald H Balson in my cue.
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Post by honeyb on Mar 9, 2016 2:02:45 GMT
I almost hesitate posting this because some of you read such substantial books. Please believe me when I say that I do too, sometimes. But other times I read utter rubbish. I have seen many on this board/thread that really like the Janet Evanovich books (Stephanie Plum). I always recommend Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubbles Series for people that like Stephanie Plum. I've now found another recommendation. The Miss Fortune Mystery series by Jana Deleon. It's about a CIA agent that had her cover blown and is now hiding out in the Sinful, Louisiana. Where an overabundance of crimes that she needs to solve are committed. The first book in the series, Louisiana Longshot, if a free download on Kindle. The rest aren't, but they are readily available for check out at my library, anyway. There are currently 7 in the series. I'm on book 4 and so far have really enjoyed the books. Hope someone on this thread is looking for some fluff to read too! www.amazon.com/gp/product/147813223X?keywords=louisiana%20longshot&qid=1457488489&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 |
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
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Post by finaledition on Mar 9, 2016 2:57:50 GMT
I finished one book. Probably the last person to read Room. I actually listened on audio and while I liked that there were multiple narrators it took me a while to like the narration of the little boy. I probably would have preferred reading it.
And I add this because so many have commented that they were embarrassed about the type of books they read. I read The Wall of Winnepeg by Mariana Zapatta. It's a new adult book and I loved it and there's no shame in admitting it :-p
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