Weekly Reading Thread: April 22-28

I was on vacation this week and got some good reading done.

I read Force of Nature by Jane Harper, about a woman who disappears in the Australian bush and the cops who are trying to find her because she's their whistleblower for the company she works for. This is a follow-up to The Dry, which I think was better. This one held my attention, but could have been a lot better.

I read Keeping Watch by Laurie King, about a Vietnam vet who rescues abused children and who thinks he is ready to retire, but is called back to his last case to protect a 12-year-old boy. King is a good writer and I enjoyed this book, it was nothing memorable but a good vacation read.

And I finished The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which I've been listening to on Audible for several weeks. I have a confession about this book...when it came out 20? years ago, my sister-in-law read it and strongly encouraged me to read it, but for some reason I just never felt like it was something I wanted to read. Maybe it was the Oprah book club stigma, lol. But I read a history of the Belgian Congo last year, so I knew some of the background for this book, and when I was looking for something to listen to, it came up as a suggestion. The narrator wasn't perfect, but mostly good. The story was terrific and the writing was amazing. Really a tour de force, I think, one of those big sweeping and definitive novels that blows you away. I was very impressed.

I read The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi. It's a beautiful book.

Told from two points of view, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell grabs you from the first sentence and takes you on a non-stop ride, not letting you go until the very last sentence. Rahima and Shekiba endure and overcome many obstacles as women of Afghanistan. An elderly single aunt tells Rahima the story of Shekiba, the young girl's great-great-great grandmother (I think that's all the greats!) Rahima is inspired by her ancestor's courage, which gives her the strength to make some difficult decisions. Powerful characters, a gripping plot, a well-written setting -- this book had all the elements needed for a wonderful novel. 5/5 stars.

Lisa

Standard Deviation by Kathleen Heiny. Graham and Audra are living what seems to be an ordinary life in NYC with their young son when Graham’s ex-wife comes back into their lives. It was smart and occasionally laugh out loud funny, with themes including love, friendship, infidelity, and raising a child with Asperger’s. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and was sad to leave Graham and Audra’s world. It brought to mind some of Anne Tyler’s older novels with her eccentric but not always lovable characters exploring serious subjects.  

I read:

Still Me by JoJo Moyes. 4 stars. Third book of the Me Before You trilogy. The first is the best, the second was meh, and I liked this one. Soapy, but I really like Louisa and JoJo Moyes always writes compulsively readable books with likable characters.

Stray City by Chelsey Johnson. 4 stars. Andrea is part of the "Lesbian Mafia" in 90s Portland, until she gets pregnant. Liked this one - characters/setting/story that were not what I typically read and enjoyed it.

City of Bones by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch #8. 3.5 stars. 

The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott. 2.5 stars. This one was well received by critics and readers and I had high expectations. The writing was good, but I was mostly bored.

I just started I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

I'm reading Educatedand loving it. I'm about 60 percent in. It's my book club selection this month.

I finished Educated by Tara Westover. I thought the book would be more about her faith transition, but it mainly focused on her family relationships. So I didn't like it as much as I had hoped to, but that's just because of my expectations.

Now I'm reading Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight and it's totally sucked me in.

I finished James Patterson's Fifty Fifty, the sequel to Never Never. I'm not sure how much I liked it as I really don't like the main character. I probably won't read the 3rd book when it comes out.

I'm currently reading Only Child by Rhiannon Navin. It is told from the perspective of a first grader after his 4th grade brother is killed in a school shooting.

I re-read The Nightingale for book club, I loved it just as much the second time as I did the first - 5 star read for me!

I read "The story of Arthur Truluv" by Elizabeth Berg. I liked it but didn't really love it. Seemed a lot like "A Man Called Ove" which I loved. I'm at the library now picking out my next book. Thank you all for the recommendations!

I read Home Fireby Kamila Shamsie, an updating of Antigone. I thought it was very well done - actually it was good until the ending when it was amazing. I had read Antigone when I was in college, but didn't remember much more than it was going to end horribly.

A cozy mystery, though not too much of a mystery, about Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Witig Albert. It was sweet and interesting, but as mentioned, not really a mystery. It's a cozy cozy, I guess

Then I finished up with a horribly written very predictable The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth. I was interested enough in the story to finish the book but my eyes rolled a lot.

I re-read The Poisonwood Bible last year, Mystie. Not only was it amazing, it is one of the few books I have ever felt the author reaching and kept thinking, "nailed it!"

I felt that way, too...there would be an observation or statement or just something beautifully expressed, and I would just shake my head in wonder at how well done it was. Love those kinds of reading experiences, and they're rare.

You mentioned on FB another of Kingsolver's books that was your favorite, but I can't remember which it was...? I'd like to read more from her.

I read in the Shadow of the Banyon by Vaddey Ratner. It is a novel based on the author’s true life experience as a young girl in Cambodia during the reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge. It was a difficult read because the Khmer Rouge was unbelievably cruel to its own people. However, it is an important story to tell and it is beautifully written.

For book club, i reread The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Eagan a nonfiction book about those who survived the Dust Bowl. It was another hard book to read but it really helped me to understand how truly difficult day to day exsistence was in the heartland during the Dust Bowl. My grandmothers were both living in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and used to talk to me about it when I was growing up, but I never really appreciated how difficult survival would have been until I read this book. I would give anything to hear my grandmothers’ stories now that I am old enough to appreciate what they lived through.

I finished Bear Townyesterday. I read it because it was about Hockey and I like Hockey. I had no idea about the sexual assault story line. It was appropriate I read it now because Wednesday I march on the California Capitol for sexual assault awareness month.

I'm thinking I will read Big Little Lies next