Weekly Reading Thread: Jan 8-15

Was reading Under the Influence and it's really good. I was on the waitlist for Little Girl Gone, and it was available, so I had to start reading that and put the other aside as I can't renew Little Girl Gone. So far it's good, but I just started.

I read Shrill by Lindy West and gave it 4 stars. It's part memoir, part essays. West is a feminist and fat acceptance activist - I like what she had to say.

I'm currently reading Moonglow by Michael Chabon and am almost finished (will likely be 4-4.5 stars). 

I went a little crazy with requests from the library and have a stack (both real and virtual) that includes: The Gene, The Vegetarian, Miss Jane, The Sun is Also a Star, All the Single Ladies, To the Bright Edge of the World, Rebecca, and The Song of Hartgove Hall.

Reading a book called The Girl with No Name by Diney Costeloe. Its excellent. About a Jewish girl from Germany who is evacuated to England. She's injured in the blitz in London and forgets who she is.

I'm about halfway through The Woman in Cabin 10 ... it was just released here in Canada the other day so that's why I'm so far behind the rest of you   

I'm liking it and I am definitely liking it more than her first book In A Dark Dark Wood   

I recently finished A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Mara. Although I finished it this year, I read most of it in 2016, so I listed it as my favorite book of 2016. I guess that makes it pretty clear how much I liked it! It was a really beautiful story set in Chechnya during the wars of the last few decades. It's amazing and heartbreaking reading about what some people have gone through, are going through.

I'm now reading Underground Railroadby Colin Whithead. More suffering and resilience of human spirit, beautifully told. It's so difficult to read these books and know that this type of human cruelty and depravity exists. I'm so fearful for the main character. The book is beautifully written. I'm about halfway through but would highly recommend at this point.

I'm also listening to The Last Child by John Hart. I enjoy his books okay but don't have quite the same love affair others have with him. I would rather read Ruth Ware. Ruth, write more books!

I read Before The Fall by Noah Hawley. It started out fine, took a nose dive and then crashed at the end. Gave it three stars on Goodreads. Reading Turbo Twenty Three this week.

I am reading The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarity. About 1/3 of the way in.... so far, so good.

I couldn't agree more with you.  I have read several of her books and have enjoyed most of them.  I felt like it was such a build-up of "what happened at the BBQ" and it just dragged in the meantime and then it dragged after you finally found out what happened. I thought it would never end. Definitely disappointed in this one. 

I'm reading Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner, really liking this so far.

I tried to read Ready Player One for my book club meeting on the 25th but gave up about 100 pages in..

I'm getting to a few books that have been in "meaning to read them forever because everybody else has" pile.

This week I finished Tuesdays With Morrie and Bossypants. What can I say? They were great reads. Actually I did the audio for Bossypants and loved Tina Fey's reading of it. I think it's only 5 1/2 hours long, so if you have a short road trip, I highly recommend it.

This week I'm reading a book for book club. It is terrible Valley of the Moon-the writing is simplistic and I'm just struggling to find the interest to read it. I'm about 25% in. In the meantime, Homegoing became available and that is just calling my name. So I think I'm going to abandon the book club book and dive in with the other.

It was billed as a collection of interconnected short stories and normally I'm not a big reader of short stories, but I loved it. This was what I wrote at the time I read it:

I loved A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and was excited to see Anthony Marra had a new book out this fall. My enthusiasm waned slightly when I saw it was a short story collection with interlocking stories. I have enjoyed short stories, but don't read them often as a I prefer novels. But Anthony Marra could write Twilight fan fiction and I would read it so I picked up the book.

Although The Tsar of Love and Techno is a short story collection, I felt it was closer to a novel on a sliding scale. The stories are connected and together make a whole. There is a common setting and themes and the same characters pop up in the different stories. Similar to A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, the connections feel right and not forced or gimmicky. And the writing is wonderful - the details, the voices, the observations, the dialogue - all fantastic. I didn't love it as much as A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, but I still loved it enough for five stars.

I read The Girl on the Train yesterday because my GF wants to watch the movie together. Mixed reviews.


I've been listening to books on Audible forever so it was nice to pick up my e-reader and snuggle on the couch to read while DH watched football. I'm going to make it a habit on these cold snowy days!

I read Underground Airlines (Winters) and enjoyed it. I didn't love it as much as I loved his Last Policeman series, but it was still a great book. Others have reviewed it here, so I'll be brief. It's a alternate US history where the Civil War never happened and there are still 4 states with slavery. Like most alternative history books, it's a lot to wrap your mind around.