Weekly Reading Thread January 21-27

I finished Dear Martin by Nic Stone last Monday and then started Panchinko by Min Jin Lee. I'm about 60% done with it, and it's sooooo good. I'm really liking it. It has that large epic tale/story-of-a-life feel that "The Goldfinch" had, but I hated "The Goldfinch" and I love this.

pudgygroundhog there was a thread a while back where you recommended either a science fiction or fantasy type of trilogy. I remember you saying you've recommended it to a lot of people and are surprised most have not heard of the series. Does that sound familiar?

I thought I had it on my wishlist from the online library, but I can't seem to find any type of series that fits.

I quite liked the first one and could buy into the story of a mother on the run trying to protect her children.

I thought the second book was ludicrous. You have to suspend all rational thought.
I won't give reasons why I think this because I don't want to spoil anything, but there's lots of eye roll worthy moments ahead.

I just started Sing, Unburied, Sing. Looking forward even more now! 

Based on Reckoning, above, I put a hold at my library on the first book in that series. I see Reckoning is 7/7 - I have lots to read before that!

I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine last week, as well as Before We Were Yours. Loved them both, and read them based on recommendations here on 2Peas. I'm so appreciative to everyone who shares their reading lists. And everything else!

I loved both of Julie Buxbaum’s books. I don’t read a lot of y/a each year, but I will definitely read whatever she writes. I also read The Opposite of Love while waiting for What To Say Next to come out and thought that was pretty good too.

It's The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. So far only the first book has been published, it's The Daevabad Trilogy.

I read You’ll Never Know, Dear by Hallie Ephron. It was a decent mystery, although I did guess the outcome fairly early on. This is the first novel I’ve read by her, and I would certainly be happy to try another. 3/5. 

I'm currently about 30% into The Diplomat's Daughter by Karin Tanabe and really enjoying it so far. It’s about German and Japanese Americans who were sent to interment camps in the US during WWII. 

I'm reading American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I enjoyed Prep by the same author and this is good so far. It's fiction based on Laura Bush's life I know very little about her I'm going to wait until I finish the book so read up on her.

I also just started Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Eval Noah Harari. I can already tell after just one chapter that this will be good. I've learned so much already!

I'm doing a daily Bible reading podcast and we just finished Genesis and are almost out of Matthew.

I finished The Marriage Pact by Michelle Raymond. It was horrible. It's supposed to be suspense but by the end there were no surprises at all. The story was overly detailed and drug out. Yuck.

I'm glad I haven't led you astray.

I haven't read anything about a new book from Eowyn Ivey (I have been browsing the "books to look for in 2018" and nothing has popped up about her). I hope we don't have to wait too long.

lynnek I liked What to Say Next even more than Tell Me Three Things.  Have you read After You?

I finished QB: My Life Behind the Spiral by former SF 49ers quarterback Steve Young. It was a wonderful read and quite the eye-opener. If you are a 49er fan, this is a must-read. It's like reliving the glory years all over again. Most people think of Joe Montana as the star of the 49ers but Steve Young holds records that Joe never reached. It reveals many things about Young that the public never knew.

I'm now reading Look Behind You by Iris Johansen. So far I'm liking it.

Jesmyn Ward is an incredible writer. Her novels are difficult to read at times. However, it's near impossible to put them down once you start. Salvage the Bones was the first of her books that I had read. Since, I've read Men We Reaped, too. I spent the entire day on the couch reading this one. 

I also have her book The Fire this Time. Haven't started it, as I want to reread James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time first. 


That which I read this week is:

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood--the series was quite true to the book. Glad I read the book, though. I need to read more by this author. Handmaid's Tale was read in a lit class.

Fall of Night by Jonathan Maberry--It's the follow up to Dead of Night. Zombie book. Not a happy ending. In fact, it was quite frightening. Not the zombie part. The quick spread of a virus & how solutions and decisions could go so wrong. It didn't help that the setting was located near me. LOL! I prefer his books that feature Joe Ledger. 

Not sure what is next. 

I am reading a lot less than usual, due to medical issues and medications. Like 75% less. But I did finally finish "Before We Were Yours" (or whatever it is called), and really liked it. I've just started "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. Yeah, I know it's been out quite awhile, but I had to be in the right mood, which I am now. So I need to quit opening these threads and catch up on the long list I already have!

I finished up The Alice Network. I liked it, but it just didn't quite feel like the period piece that it was.

Next up was The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon. This is a YA novel about an undocumented immigrant facing deportation and a child of immigrants who unexpectedly meet. The story is told mostly over the course of a single day. It is a coming of age romance novel with some heavy themes mixed in. I recommend it for a quick, easy read. (This book is $1.99 on Kindle right now if you're interested.)

Sticking with the Dreamer theme, I just started Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, but I'm not far enough along to have formed much of an opinion.