Weekly Reading Thread: May 15-21

Hi readers!

I just finished The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, about four siblings who are chomping at the bit to claim an inheritance that's been promised, but most of the money has been spent to bail one of the siblings out of trouble. It 's an interesting story about family dynamics and forgiveness. I really liked it.

I'm still working on Futuristic Weapons and Fancy Suits by David Wong. It's kind of bizarre, but in a good way, and for some reason it reminds me of The Wizard of Oz.

My book club selection this month is Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being. I'm looking forward to it.

Happy Reading!

I finished two this week.

First, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society started out really slowly for me, and I almost quit reading it. But thankfully, it picked up at the end. Just meh to me - 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

Next up was Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. Now this, I absolutely loved. Yes, it's sappy. But I thought that it was an amazing view of friendship, life and death and so much more. Very heart warming, and one of my favorite books that I have read so far this year. 5/5.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Pretty Baby at the library yesterday when I went to pick up another book that I had on hold. I am reading that now.

I also happily found four books on my to-read list while thrift shopping yesterday.

Lisa

This week I listened to Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski on my long road trip back home. This is the story of a middle-aged, divorced woman who has down-sized her life in order to pay for her 19-year-old son's rehab. She takes a job helping sort/declutter a woman's house full of stuff. The two women each have a son and the story itself has layers which look at mother/son relationships, our relationship with the stuff we own, and what we treasure in life. This is the author of The Next Thing on My List, which is also a good read.

I also read Blood Orange by Susan Wittig Albert. This is the 24th book in her China Bayles mystery series and her stories don't disappoint. If you enjoy plants and gardening you will really enjoy this series. Each book has loads of plant information and they often include a few recipes, too. I don't want to give too much away, but the story begins when a hospice nurse who is renting China Bayles' back apartment goes missing. Each of her mysteries stand alone, but if you start at the beginning of the series, you'll understand the back stories of her family and of all of the towns people and various businesses that China owns. It adds even more to the enjoyment of the read! I really enjoy this series.

I read What She Knew by Gilly McMillan. I enjoyed it a lot. It was my pick for my book club this month. The meeting is on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what everyone thought.

I have been missing this thread (my fault I've been so busy the last couple of weeks) so I have a few books to add. They are:

"Fever" by Mary Beth Keene I grabbed this book off of my local library's shelf thinking it was a copy of a different book-Fever 1793.  When I started reading "Fever" by Mary Beth Keene I realized my mistake and was surprised to see this book was about the true "Typhoid Mary" in history. Which was certainly okay and in reality I think I enjoyed this book better because it was longer and not a YA book like Fever 1793 is reported to be. I have yet to see because I haven't read Fever 1793 yet. Now that you all are thoroughly confused let's talk about the Typhoid Mary book, which is the one I read. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot about typhoid and the fear and gross misjustice Mary suffered at the hands of the system in the early part of the 19th century. The book is very well written, the characters are well drawn so that I as a reader grew to care about them, especially Mary. I give the book 4 stars.

81 Days Below Zero by Brian Murphy This book is about a WW2 pilot who is the only survivor of his flight crew in a crash of their plane in Alaska (who knew we had a base in Alaska during WW2? Well, we did-they tested planes there) and the story of his survival of 81 days in the winter in that harsh environment. That story itself is incredible, inspiring, heart pounding, and page turning but it only lasts for one chapter or so. The rest of the book is filler and that's the problem. The story could have been a magazine article and probably a very good magazine article. But the author was determined to make it a book so he stretches it out and stretches it out. Oh my gosh, does he stretch it out! He goes on and on and on with every tiny little detail about every little bitty thing he can think of. The history of every little patch of snow the pilot passes, the history of Alaska itself, the history of the people of Alaska and on and on and on. Snore zzzzz. I wouldn't have finished it except I wanted to see how the guy survived at the end. I knew he survived because it said so on the cover, but I wanted to find out how and I didn't want to go to the last page and cheat-although I was very, very tempted. I give this book 1 star. Okay, 1.5 Because the story of the actual survival (the one chapter that should have been an article in a magazine) was pretty good. 

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin Last time I posted I said I'd just started reading this book. I finished it and I really liked it. I can't wait to see the movie. The only thing I didn't like was how Eilis behaved when she went back to Ireland by starting to date again when she'd just done what she'd done (won't say what it is for those who haven't read it yet) back in New York.  What was that all about? I understand all about the feeling of being back home, her obligation to her mother, and all of that. I get that. But to immediately start dating the second she's back home? That I don't understand. Characters in books do all sorts of things we don't like so I'm trying to get inside her head and understand what makes her tick to have taken this course of action. Maybe she really wasn't ready for what happened in NY and it was more what T wanted? Is that it? But I thought she really loved T. You don't forget someone you love just like that because you are home again. Can someone who has read this book explain what they think? All in all I did think it was a good book, so I give it 3.5 stars.

Currently I'm rereading an old favorite To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis It's been a few years since I've read it and I love this book. It's a time travel book with humor and it's just a, oh sometimes I just want to hug it close, that's how much I love it! It's very confusing if you are new to her books on time travel at first. If you are I highly recommend you read Doomsday Book first which sets everything up and introduces you to the characters (same ones appear in both books) and the process of the time travel machine and mechanics in both books. They aren't the type of science fiction time travel that are stuffed with science fiction-in fact they are more like novels with only a wee bit of science fiction-that being the time travel parts. So if you normally don't like science fiction don't worry, you'll probably still like these. 

Debbie in MD. 

I do not get the love for The Girl on the Train. I despised the protagonist. The story was just stupid. Obsession of a drunkard...Blah!

Liking the characters is not a prerequisite. I loved Gone Girl. They were despicable people. The premise was interesting. I need to pull out whatever Gillian Flynn book I have lying around her somewhere.

Anyway, last week I read Exile by R A Salvatore. It is from the Forgotten Realms series. I think it's from Dungeons and Dragons. LOL! I adore Drizzt. This was the second book in the series. It's an origin story. He's a dark elf from the underground who refuses the chaos and evilness of his race. They are not Tolkein elves for certain.

Next up was Left Neglected by Lisa Genova (Sp?). I enjoyed her novel, Still Alice, tremendously. That one had something to say. Left Neglected had some good points. However, I thought the protagonist was shallow in many ways. Otherwise, learning about the condition was an eye opener. Made me once again extremely grateful that my husband's TBI was not worse.

Last night, I started Room by Emma Donoghue. Looking at the situation from the POV of a 5 year old is interesting. However, what child who's only company is an adult is going to talk baby talk. It effects the flow of the book. At this point, I am accustomed to it. It simply feels wrong. This child is the only one she has to talk to. He should speak in a more adult manner.

I will be lucky to finish Room this week. DH is on vacation. The man has no ability to stay home.

Haven't been able to read much this week except at bedtime, so I'm still reading The Fifth Witness (Mickey Haller series) by Michael Connelly. A banker is murdered and the prime suspect is a woman in the process of foreclosure. I'm about half-way through and am thoroughly enjoying the courtroom drama and quality of Connelly's writing. But then, he's one of my favorites, so no surprise there.

I finished three books this week.

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson.  Reading this novel reminded me so much of watching Downton Abbey.  It is set in a small English town and starts in the summer before WWI.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Longest Road by Philip Caputo.  The author hits 70 and feeling like it is now or never sets out with his wife and his dogs  to drive from the southern most point in the US to the northern most point - Key West to the Arctic Ocean - in an Airstream trailer.  Along the way he asks people he meets about the state of our country.  This one was pretty good - a little rambling.  I listened to it on audio and did not like the narrator - when he spoke in a woman's voice it was terrible.

What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross.  Lucy, who seems to be a perfectly normal woman, basically steals a baby,
names her Mia and raises her as her own for 20+ years, before Mia finds
out the truth.  It is the story of Lucy, Mia the daughter she raises,
and Mia's biological mother. It was a very quick read and definitely a page turner - some of it seemed rather implausible, but overall a pretty good read.

I am currently reading The Year of the Runaways - so far a very good book.

I read a novel called Flight of Dreams, by Ariel Lawhon, about the last flight of the Hindenburg. She had obviously done her research, but the book was "meh." I have found that not many authors have the talent to write fictional stories about real events and people.

And I read the latest Laurie R. King mystery in her Sherlock Holmes series: The Murder of Mary Russell. I used to LOVE this series, but the last several books have been abysmal. This one was slightly better--it tells the story of Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock Holmes' famed housekeeper--but still not great. I was glad I read it, though.

Right now I am reading She-Wolves: The Women who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor. I'm not too far in, but it's well-written. I just get bogged down with all the kings and queens and who was who and who did what!

I'm reading it now.  I'm about halfway through it and am really enjoying it.  

Here's the synopsis from Amazon:  Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.



Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.



As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Although I personally liked it, I definitely see how it's not for everybody. It's not a book I would give as a general recommendation. I read The Year of the Runaways and thought it was a really good read, although a downer of a book.

on vacation last week.. read Finders Keepers by Craig Childs. really well written. dh loved it too. about treasure hunters of the sw..and the ethics of museum collections..should they give stuff back? very very good.
also read Wright Brothers. another well written book..easy read and fascinating story.

www.amazon.com/Angels-Burning-Tawni-ODell/dp/1476755957

This one was very good.

I loved that book!

I finished listening to Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. I'm not usually a chick lit kind of person, so put it off for quite a while. I was pleasantly surprised! I give it three stars and I'm looking forward to the movie.

Still working on the second Harry Potter.