janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Jan 3, 2017 1:26:21 GMT
I should be finished with Truly Madly Guilty by the time I go to sleep tonight. Unless it takes a weird turn, I'm giving it two thumbs up. I just love her storytelling style and character development.
Next up is Drew Barrymore's Wildflower.
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Post by lynnek on Jan 3, 2017 16:39:45 GMT
Happy New Year everyone! And let me just say how much I love this thread and how much I appreciate every Pea on it. I love hearing all of the books you have read and through the year have gotten so many wonderful recommendations from so many of you. This past week I read two books. First up was The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith. This book I picked up at my local library. I have to be truthful, I was draw to it by the cover and because of two things-it was historical fiction and it was I though going to be about the sea. It looked promising-"Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution this incandescent (how I love that word-how it sounds and what it means) debut novel follows three generations of family" from goodreads.com Oh, I thought, sounds like my kind of book. I wanted to like it. I really did. I read the entire book. I kept waiting for it to get better. It had all of the right ingredients. Great writing. Wonderful setting. Pretty good characters. So what happened? No storyline is what happened. Well, there was one. Obviously there had to be. But it just kept kind of wandering along here and there in my opinion. I don't need all books to end with a happy ending. That would be boring. But this one felt empty. Not my favorite by a very long shot. I gave it 3 stars. Next I read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Oh my goodness, this author can write! Earlier this year I read her recent book, To the Bright Edge of the World, which I rated 5 stars and really enjoyed. Because of that I sought out her other books and chose her first novel The Snow Child to read next. I can't choose which I like best, but I think it's got to be this one- The Snow Child, which by the way ended up being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. In my opinion it should have won. It is an incredible novel. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it. This novel has everything. A wonderful story line, exquisite detail-it takes place in Alaska and I could feel the frost as I was reading about it, characters you grow to know and care about. I gave this book 5 stars, but I'd give it 10 if that were possible. My favorite book of the year. I'm buying this in a hard copy to keep for myself. To The Bright Edge of the World was one of my favorite books of 2016 for sure!! I just bought The Snow Child on Amazon when it was on sale so I think I may try to dive into that soon.
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Post by lynnek on Jan 3, 2017 16:42:31 GMT
Two things, first, what did you think of What We Saw? I thought it was an interesting take on mob mentality and morality. I really enjoyed the book! Second, what is a bookshot? I saw those on sale on Amazon today and I was not sure what they are - maybe short stories? Are they written in conjunction with a longer book or a certain order?
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Post by Linda on Jan 3, 2017 16:50:16 GMT
I didn't set a goal last year and didn't keep track of what I read. This year my goal is 51 books based off a reading challenge my DS sent me - he, I, and DD16 are all going to try it.
So this week, I'm reading Notes from Underground; White Nights; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man and selections from The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by Andrew W. MacAndrew for challenge 1: Read a book originally published in a language you don't know.
It's a bit hard-going so far - I'm reading White Nights first and the main character is very socially awkward ...reminds me of Aspergers Syndrome, really.
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Post by freeatlast on Jan 3, 2017 16:50:42 GMT
Next I read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Oh my goodness, this author can write! Earlier this year I read her recent book, To the Bright Edge of the World, which I rated 5 stars and really enjoyed. Because of that I sought out her other books and chose her first novel The Snow Child to read next. I can't choose which I like best, but I think it's got to be this one- The Snow Child, which by the way ended up being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. In my opinion it should have won. It is an incredible novel. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it. This novel has everything. A wonderful story line, exquisite detail-it takes place in Alaska and I could feel the frost as I was reading about it, characters you grow to know and care about. I gave this book 5 stars, but I'd give it 10 if that were possible. My favorite book of the year. I'm buying this in a hard copy to keep for myself. I read this in the summer of 2015 and I swear I was cold the entire time!
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Post by birukitty on Jan 3, 2017 18:30:39 GMT
Happy New Year everyone! And let me just say how much I love this thread and how much I appreciate every Pea on it. I love hearing all of the books you have read and through the year have gotten so many wonderful recommendations from so many of you. This past week I read two books. First up was The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith. This book I picked up at my local library. I have to be truthful, I was draw to it by the cover and because of two things-it was historical fiction and it was I though going to be about the sea. It looked promising-"Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution this incandescent (how I love that word-how it sounds and what it means) debut novel follows three generations of family" from goodreads.com Oh, I thought, sounds like my kind of book. I wanted to like it. I really did. I read the entire book. I kept waiting for it to get better. It had all of the right ingredients. Great writing. Wonderful setting. Pretty good characters. So what happened? No storyline is what happened. Well, there was one. Obviously there had to be. But it just kept kind of wandering along here and there in my opinion. I don't need all books to end with a happy ending. That would be boring. But this one felt empty. Not my favorite by a very long shot. I gave it 3 stars. Next I read The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Oh my goodness, this author can write! Earlier this year I read her recent book, To the Bright Edge of the World, which I rated 5 stars and really enjoyed. Because of that I sought out her other books and chose her first novel The Snow Child to read next. I can't choose which I like best, but I think it's got to be this one- The Snow Child, which by the way ended up being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. In my opinion it should have won. It is an incredible novel. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it. This novel has everything. A wonderful story line, exquisite detail-it takes place in Alaska and I could feel the frost as I was reading about it, characters you grow to know and care about. I gave this book 5 stars, but I'd give it 10 if that were possible. My favorite book of the year. I'm buying this in a hard copy to keep for myself. To The Bright Edge of the World was one of my favorite books of 2016 for sure!! I just bought The Snow Child on Amazon when it was on sale so I think I may try to dive into that soon. Mine too, until I read "The Snow Child". I even bought a copy of "The Bright Edge of the World" for a gift for my father for his birthday. In my family we give each other books for gifts. I thought he'd like it because of the travel and exploration part of the male character, plus the photography side (we are both into photography) and we both really love well written novels. When I wrote I'm buying a hard copy of "The Snow Child" to keep for myself, I meant I'm buying a hard back edition. I was writing too fast. I do that with my very favorite books, because I do read books over and over again. I went to look on Amazon and oh my gosh! You can't even get them anymore from Amazon unless you are willing to pay big bucks for a new copy (from a private seller). It's crazy. It wasn't that long ago that it was out new. I guess it's because it was up for a Pulitzer Prize. I did find one from www.abesbooks.com (great place to check by the way) for $30.00 new, free shipping which wasn't too bad, and if it had been any other book I would have thought twice about it. I'm also very picky about my books. My sister doesn't care-she gets paperbacks that are beat up cheap. I want mine pristine. I'm building a collection. Yes, I'm crazy.
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Post by Heidi on Jan 3, 2017 21:10:51 GMT
I finished up My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman and I just started Big Little Lies by Liane Moritary. I only read 11 books last year. (Only my book club selections) I was feeling a little embarrassed by that until I remembered I finished 10 cross stitch projects and I have a two year old. Happy reading in 2017 everyone. I have set my goal to 24; the book club selection each month and 1 other book of my choice each month.
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,158
Jul 6, 2016 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by hutchfan on Jan 3, 2017 22:00:36 GMT
I am currently reading The House At Riverton by Kate Morton. I am hoping to read at least 2 books a month this year if not more and I am making a list from this thread to buy when I hit up Barnes and Noble this weekend.
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Post by not2peased on Jan 3, 2017 22:01:43 GMT
I just finished "Britt-Marie was Here" (by the author of a Man Called Ove)I didn't love it, but did like it. Right now I am reading, "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin and I am enjoying it so far.
I listened to "The Snow Child" over the summer and really enjoyed it as well-I agree, it made me cold to read it too, lol
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my3freaks
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,206
Location: NH girl living in Colorado
Jun 26, 2014 4:10:56 GMT
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Post by my3freaks on Jan 3, 2017 22:23:43 GMT
Two things, first, what did you think of What We Saw? I thought it was an interesting take on mob mentality and morality. I really enjoyed the book! Second, what is a bookshot? I saw those on sale on Amazon today and I was not sure what they are - maybe short stories? Are they written in conjunction with a longer book or a certain order? Bookshots are basically short stories, but the 2 James Patterson ones I read didn't really have a short story feel. They felt more like one his books at a faster pace, just told the story with no filler or anything. They were actually a little longer than I expected, around 160 pages or so. A couple of them I read have main characters from series. I do think the Alex Cross books need to be read in order, but 113 Minutes is fine stand alone. I like his Private Series too. I might get a few books in that .99 cent sale today. I was on the fence about What We Saw. There were a lot of seriously unlikable people in it. I liked Ben, but really wish he'd done the right thing. I knew from the beginning that he knew something, I was just hoping he wasn't "actively involved". I SO get that kids will do dumb stuff in groups when drinking (I was one of them), but I just can't fathom what they did, and how a group watches. Definitely speaks to mob mentality, and peer pressure; no one being brave enough to speak up and stop it at the time.
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jennc
Shy Member
Posts: 23
Nov 18, 2015 17:05:23 GMT
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Post by jennc on Jan 3, 2017 22:28:03 GMT
I read 29 books in 2016! Some I read others I switched back and forth between listening to and reading. Many of these books have been suggested by y'all. Thank you for sharing your love of books. The final book for me of 2016 was Small Great Things. I absolutely loved it! The characters were authentic and believable. The first book of 2017 is another book that has been suggested by my fellow book lovers, The Couple Next Door. I hope that I'm able to finish it before my loan from the library expires and it disappears from my Kindle. It's not renewable since there's a waiting list for it. LOL! I guess I'll just have to spend extra time reading! Turn you kindle on airport mode while you are reading a book from the library and it won't disappear until you turn airport mode off. As long as it is not linked to wireless it can't disappear! I read your posts every week and never post, but I have read many great suggestions from this forum! My last book of 2016 was Salt to Sea by Ruta Septeys. Wonderful fast read, WW2 historical fiction, great characters, 5 stars First book of 2017 is Today Will be Different by Maria Semple. I should finish tonight and loving it so far. Happy Reading!
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newlywoods03
Pearl Clutcher
Blessed Beyond Measure
Posts: 2,828
Jun 26, 2014 3:09:09 GMT
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Post by newlywoods03 on Jan 4, 2017 3:08:50 GMT
I've started book two in the Harvey Bennet series by Nick Thacker. The first one was good enough to have me want to read the second. That doesn't happen very often. The Amazon CodeHere's the link to book one - The Enigma Strain ETA - I read 66 of 75 for last years challenge. This year I'm shooting for 100. Go big or go home, right??!!
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Mary Kay Lady
Pearl Clutcher
PeaNut 367,913 Refupea number 1,638
Posts: 3,076
Jun 27, 2014 4:11:36 GMT
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Post by Mary Kay Lady on Jan 4, 2017 4:04:48 GMT
I read 29 books in 2016! Some I read others I switched back and forth between listening to and reading. Many of these books have been suggested by y'all. Thank you for sharing your love of books. The final book for me of 2016 was Small Great Things. I absolutely loved it! The characters were authentic and believable. The first book of 2017 is another book that has been suggested by my fellow book lovers, The Couple Next Door. I hope that I'm able to finish it before my loan from the library expires and it disappears from my Kindle. It's not renewable since there's a waiting list for it. LOL! I guess I'll just have to spend extra time reading! Turn you kindle on airport mode while you are reading a book from the library and it won't disappear until you turn airport mode off. As long as it is not linked to wireless it can't disappear! Thanks for the tip!
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Post by refugeepea on Jan 4, 2017 4:25:42 GMT
I read Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortuneby Bill Dedman. It is about the heiress to a copper mining fortune. The eccentric, mysterious Hugette Clark who rarely left her apartment or hospital room for over 50 years. The last 20 years she preferred to be in a hospital room instead of one of her two apartments in NYC that was over 15,000 square feet and full of incredible art and collectibles. It was fascinating! She was a smart woman, an artist, naive, generous with her money, but shrewd as well. I'm always fascinated with The Gilded Age. Her family had one of the mansions on 5th Avenue and the most expensive built. It was only occupied 14 years before being torn down for high end apartments. They had homes in California and Connecticut that were maintained for over 50 years and were never visited again. She was obsessed with Japanese history, collecting musical instruments, all kinds of dolls, and dollhouses. She would commission artists from around the world to make elaborate dollhouses. Everything had to be to her specifications. Most were thousands of dollars. I was thoroughly disgusted with how in some ways she did seem to be manipulated (by her private nurse) and the constant push by the hospital for her to donate outrageous amounts (100 million). It also goes extensively into her father's background and how he obtained his wealth. A true rags to riches story. A fascinating read for sure! ETA: I've found if I have a reading goal for number of books, I tend to pick books with less pages. I choose to enjoy the process. I think that's why I enjoy reading from a Kindle. Especially non fiction and historical fiction. I'm constantly highlighting people's names, places, etc... to obtain even more info. So I do read A LOT, but it doesn't appear that way from my number of books read. I also throw in audio books in my total count too. Another ETA: Or maybe I don't read a lot. A whole 21 books and some were audio.
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Post by freeatlast on Jan 4, 2017 11:36:02 GMT
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Post by brina on Jan 4, 2017 13:18:18 GMT
I had a goal of 35 books in 2016, which I missed by 3. I got really into some good Harry Potter fan fiction (yes, there is some good out there, but you have to paw through a lot of crap to find it) and if I counted that I would be at about 38.
This week I read Harmony by Colleen Pankhurst - didn't like it - the characters were idiots and it was very predictable. And, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline - the author of Orphan Train. It was an advance reader copy that a friend gave me for Christmas. It was interesting, the story behind a painting by Andrew Wythe.
Going through a lot of shit with dh right now, so I downloaded Amy Shumers book since I need the laughs.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Jan 4, 2017 14:39:41 GMT
Books I've read since I've last posted:
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond. 5 stars. I consider this a must read! This is my review from Goodreads:
Evicted is an utterly compelling must read. The book follows the lives of people living in abject poverty and wretched circumstances in the poorest neighborhoods in Milwaukee and shows how unstable living arrangements and evictions are cornerstones of the poverty cycle. This alone is not surprising. What made the book revelatory to me was Desmond's examination of the exploitation of the poor in the private housing market. Who knew there was so much money to be made off the poor (or in some ways, the taxpayers).
Evicted has the hard data and research to support the connections and conclusions Desmond presents, but it is the up close and personal stories of Arleen, Scott, and others that really drive the book and makes these realities more real than any statistics could ever do. It could be easy to reduce their stories to simply failures of the system or failures of the individual. Desmond avoids simple portrayals and shows how they are real, complex people and how there are many threads to pull to unravel the story of their situations.
Desmond includes an afterword that offers possible solutions moving forward and another chapter about writing the book. This provides insight into the massive scope of the project and his interviewing process (he actually lived in the same neighborhoods as his subjects in order to gain access and establish relationships). Understanding the scope of the project and the huge amount of source material he was working from, makes Desmond's book even more impressive. He was able to boil down all his research into a streamlined book that never feels unwieldy or like a slog. It is an example of what the best non-fiction books do; find a balance between information and the personal and providing a reader with insight through a compelling story. Five stars and by far one of the best books I read in 2016.
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Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters. 4/5 stars. Alternate history with the Civil War never happening and slavery still existing in four states. I thought the details and alternate history were more interesting than the story itself, but still a good read overall.
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick. 4/5 stars. Like her and liked the book.
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. 4/5 stars. Final book of the Tearling trilogy and it was good. Unexpected, but good.
The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. 4/5 stars. Follows the inhabitants of a town from its founding to current day. Love Hoffman's writing.
Night School by Lee Child. (Jack Reacher #21). 2/5 stars. I think I'm done with this series now.
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I'm currently reading Shrill by Lindy West and next up is Moonglow by Michael Chabon.
ETA:
My initial goal for 2016 was 100 books. I hit that in October and set a stretch goal of 125 books - which I hit, but it was a lot. Not doing that again! I set a goal of 100 for this year too.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Jan 4, 2017 14:45:23 GMT
My standard goal is 52 a year and I usually exceed that, but not in 2016; I read 50. I finished 3 books this past week. The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu. It's about a librarian who saved thousands of priceless manuscripts from Al Quaeda in North Africa. Primarily the book is about the history and rise of extreme Islam in North Africa. It was very interesting and scary too because this is real history. I also read the Watchmaker of Filigree Street and had really high hopes for this one and instead it was a huge bust. The book is part steampunk, part historical fiction, part mystery and it doesn't do well in any genre. The ending was awful. Usually I won't stick with a horrible book, but I finished it with the vain hope that it get better. Fortunately, I ended the year on a great book The News of the World. In this novel a 72 year old Civil War veteran who travels the West reading newspaper aloud in small towns agrees to take a 10 year girl who was kidnapped by the Kiowa back to her remaining family. The two travel 400 miles thru Indian territory and many adventures. They form a bond and the man becomes conflicted with his decision to return her to her family. I had high hopes for Watchmaker and was disappointed as well. Definitely did not live up to the interesting premise. I also enjoyed The News of the World and the librarians book is on my list.
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marianne
Pearl Clutcher
Not my circus, not my monkeys. . . My monkeys fly!
Posts: 4,176
Location: right smack dab in the middle of SC
Site Supporter
Jun 25, 2014 21:08:26 GMT
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Post by marianne on Jan 4, 2017 18:01:07 GMT
Turn you kindle on airport mode while you are reading a book from the library and it won't disappear until you turn airport mode off. As long as it is not linked to wireless it can't disappear! I wondered why my library books were still there sometimes! I always read in airplane mode to extend time between charges and just turn it off to download new books. Thanks for that enlightening bit of info!
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scrappyesq
Pearl Clutcher
You have always been a part of the heist. You're only mad now because you don't like your cut.
Posts: 4,032
Jun 26, 2014 19:29:07 GMT
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Post by scrappyesq on Jan 4, 2017 18:06:14 GMT
I'm reading the Harry Potter series again. Right now I'm on book one. After that It will be The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings (all three).
I need to read books about good overcoming evil right now, you know because......
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Post by katiescarlett on Jan 5, 2017 16:29:33 GMT
I read 28 books in 2016. I made my goal 30 for 2017.
I have recently read:
Gray Mountain by John Grisham. I did not like it. Interesting premise but the main character was incredibly boring. I think I gave it 3 stars but may go back and change it to 2!
The Journey by John Heldt. Another with an interesting story (49 year old main character traveled back in time and interacted with her 18 year old self) but the dialogue was ridiculously cheesy.
Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming. This one I liked. It's a zombie book but also a love story. I really enjoyed the friendships between the characters. I liked it enough to start the 2nd in the series, Until the End of the World and After, immediately after, which I usually do not do.
I'm also reading the Pact by Jodi Picoult.
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Post by beachbum on Jan 5, 2017 16:52:32 GMT
No reading last week, I was on a cruise, 18 of us with an open bar = no time to read!
I didn't keep track of how many I've read, it must have been a lot judging by how many times DH has complained about my nose being stuck in a book or having my Kindle in front of my face. Oh well, he has football, it evens out.
I just started James Patterson's Cross the Line, so far it's keeping my attention. I had that one, Redemption Road, and Tricky Twenty-Two to download when we got back home. I better get busy.
I always leave my Kindle on Airplane mode - it uses less battery that way. The books not disappearing is just a bonus!
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