Weekly Reading Thread Week of August 24

Hi Readers!

I read Amy Bloom's newest title Lucky Us. It's about an odd sort of family, who start out in Ohio, move to Hollywood, then on to Brooklyn. It's set around WWII. There are a lot of themes about being someone you are not. It was good - and odd, but good.

My book club is reading La's Orchestra Saves the World, by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm halfway through. It's about a woman living in rural England, right around WWII. So far, so good.

Happy reading!

I'm reading a Discovery of Witches. I don't like it very well. Everything I've read so far has reminded me other books I've read before. Did anyone else have that impression?

However, I will continue with the trilogy. I just hope the story gets better.

On my kindle I finished Lies you wanted to hear by James Whitfield Thomson I loved this book! I loved the pace of the story, the characters were very authentic to me...not the typical characters you fall in love with, they struggled, they did bad things, they were annoying - but I found myself engrossed and turning pages wondering where is the story going?? - it all just worked well for me!

On Audio I finished The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand I liked the book. It made for a good end of the summer read I guess. I would give it 3.5 stars because I was totally engaged for the whole story......it was just soooo predictable at every single moment!!

This will teach me to not judge a book by its cover. I liked the covers so I wanted to read them. Boy, was I wrong!!

I had a little down time this week because it was my birthday. I lounged by the pool with my sister but didn't get quite as much reading done as I had hoped. Still, two for me....  

One Day by David Nicholls. This was nominated for 2 peas book club but didn't make the cut. Still, it was at the top of my to-read pile. I know people talked about this; most of the negative comments surrounded the characters' lack of depth. I was prepared to not really like it, but surprisingly, I got over the characters and really enjoyed it. The ending surprised me a bit. 4/5 stars. 

I had Big Little Lies on hold at the library right down the street and was [HASH]50-something on the list. When I was in town for my staycation, I stopped at the main library. They had it there - no wait list! 
I was really happy, since it is our book club book for Nov. I did not like how it started because of all the characters. But I kept reading and thought it got much better around the middle of the book. By the end, I thought it was great and was happy I persevered. 4/5 stars. I think I liked it slightly better than The Husband's Secret. 

Lisa

I an currently reading Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige HillI am just floored by how BIZARRE Scientology beliefs are. I am also re-reading Outlander I'm a little frustrated by the television version. The romance between Jamie and Claire is why I'm so endeared to the series. The TV version is taking a different route, come on already!!!

Just started So Far Gone, Girl the parody of Gone Girl that was free on Kindle. Literally, just started only read 2 pages but it seems like it will be funny. 

Just finished Jojo Moyes, Sheltering Rain, I liked it. Not one of her best, but I enjoyed it! 

I read Beth Harbison's Driving With the Top Down.  I actually loved this book.  I don't doubt she gets dismissed as just a "chick lit" author by a lot of people, but I find her characters really relatable and layered. This book in particular was a fun story with bits of humor, but it also included some serious themes.  

I'm now reading Karen White's A Long Time Gone.  Another good read. I'm having trouble putting it down.  

I finished Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness and The Giver by Lois Lowry this weekend. I just started Have a Nice Guilt Trip by Lisa Scottoline today. I am one book behind on my GoodReads yearly challenge, so I have been trying to catch up!

Melissa

I finished listening to The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones.
I liked it. Although there's a murder in the book, it's not a 'whodunit' it's more of a character study about the people in a small town and how their lives intertwine and interact. I thought it was well written and if you like character driven books rather than action books, then you'd like this one. I'd give it 3.5/5 stars.


I did exactly the same thing with my next book!
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard. Great title, nice cover...but it was a bad book. Unbelievable story line, unlikeable characters and the writing wasn't good either. It's the story of a girl who's father was shot and who's mother vanished 23 years ago when she was aged 3. The book starts when the man who was sentenced for their murder is let out of prison and is on his way back to town. The story had promise, but the writer couldn't make it work and it just got more ridiculous as it went I listened to the audiobook and I also didn't like the narrator, she bordered on 'screechy' much of the time.
I wouldn't recommend this 1.5/stars.

Currently listening to The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. There's two different audiobook versions and the one I have is narrated by Jenny Agutter (who plays Sister Julienne in "Call The Midwife") She has a lovely voice and I'm really enjoying the narration.
The main story is about a reclusive author who is dying and she hires a biographer and finally tells the true story of her life.
It has a dark/Gothic Victorian feel and I'm about 50% through and liking it very much.

I haven't participated in a couple of weeks so I have three books...

The first is The Orphan Train which I really enjoyed. I would have liked to have read more about the trains and gone a little deeper into the story.

Then I read Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. I had never read anything by her. This was my by the pool fluff read and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The book was pretty well written and despite the title there was no sex in the book. For a fluff read I would definitely recommend it.

The third book I read was Where She Went. This was the sequel to If You Stay. It was ok. The book was a little slow but I like that I am able to "finish" the story.

Now I am reading The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. I am about 100 pages in and I am enjoying it. It is the story of four kids that went to art camp the summer that Nixon resigned. I would like the story to pickup a little bit we will see.

Just finished Mrs. Poe for Refupeas Book Club. I won't say anything further to avoid spoilers but I will say I loved it! It was very interesting and wonderfully written.

I'm finishing up The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan. It's given me a great insight into the middle east conflict. It's the story of a man whose family was forced out of their home in Palestine and the Bulgarian family who inhabits it now. 20 years later he knocked on the door and over the years built up a relationship with the new occupant of his family's home.