Weekly Reading Thread Week of September 14

Every Last One Anna Quinlan

she does an amazing job of expressing the grief process. It helped me understand better what my dd has been going through since losing her son 20 months ago.

I haven't chosen a book for this week. I've had such such rotten luck in my selections.

This week, I finished up Where She Went by Gayle Forman. It's the follow up to If I Stay.

Next up was Stephen King's On Writing. Loved it!

Followed that one up with, The Shining. Finished it up a few hours ago.

Now, I am debating whether to purchase Doctor Sleep for my Kindle.

What I really should be doing is writing the first draft of a paper that is due Tuesday. The final draft is due Friday. I'm thinking that I'll use Doctor Sleep as a reward for finishing the darned thing.

I read The Uninvited by Liz Jensen--it was a sort of apocalyptic thriller about children running amok and killing people all over the world. Not bad.

Then I read The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling, which I enjoyed. I don't think I was quite as blown away as I was by The Cuckoo's Calling (the first book) but it was still a good strong British mystery, which I love.

Right now I'm reading The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street, which several Peas have mentioned. It's okay--not riveting, but it's holding my interest.

I read another two stinkers this weekend, A kind of Vanishing by Lesley Thomson and We Were Liars by E Lockhart.

I can't seem to stay awake for more than 20 minutes after I get in bed right now so I'm not getting a lot read    

I'm reading Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty for my IRL Book Club ... I need to have it done by Friday and I'm not sure if I'm going to make it   

I'm also halfway through Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen for the 2PeasRefugees Book Club ... I should be able to get this done by the end of the month   

Btw, I'm actually really enjoying both of these books when I can stay awake   

Finished up Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad, which i'd been reading for weeks it seemed. Was not a "quick" read.

Then I read Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly. This one was really good, it was hard to put down.

I felt the exact same way about All Fall Down, Lisa. I like the couple of other books I have read by her but this one just didn't do it for me. 

I did finish Gone by Michael Grant. It took me a long time to read this one and it is something like a seven book series. I may or may not pick up the next in the series.

I'm reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I am really loving it and wishing I had Starz to watch it. I don't know how I've missed reading this series the last 20 years!

I listened to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I read it quite some time ago but I wanted to re-read (or really listen) to it again before our trip to Savannah and Charleston next month. I am so ready to go.

I am now listening to The Hurricane Sisters by Dorothea Benton Frank. I am just getting going on this one, but I like it so far.

I'm reading December, Again. A friend of mine wrote it and it's really good so far.

I'm still reading The Poisonwood Bible-love it.  

I also started The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.  It's a funny, easy read I keep in my purse for when I have a few minutes to read.

Last week I decided September would be my "books about art" month.

I finished Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland. Lovely story set in France, mainly fiction but combines real painting into the storyline.
I really enjoyed this 4 out of 5 stars.

Then I moved on to the non-fiction Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper.
I love the art of the pre-Raphaelites so was thrilled to find this book in the library, what is even more interesting is that this focuses on the lives of some of the woman in Victorian times and how they lived. Effie wrote many letters, so through those the biographer is able to get a good sense of her life.
Life was hard back then! Lots of interesting information about the British Victorian era (like 1 in 4 of all children didn't make it to their 10th birthday). If you like historical fiction, then this is even better, a fascinating story and all true. Another 4 out of 5 stars.

Almost finished listening to Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. Historical Fiction set in Holland in 1664 based on a real painting by Vermeer...but the author has woven a fictional story around how it was painted. Beautiful writing and I'm really enjoying it. This will be another 4 out of 5 for me.

Then I'll be moving on to I Was Vermeer: The Rise and Fall of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Forger by Frank Wynne.
Another non fiction book about an art forger who made a fortune forging Vermeer paintings...but was arrested after the war for being a Nazi collaborator. he then faced being charged with selling paintings to the Nazis, or having to admit they were fake and then being charged for being an art forger. I know the basics of the story only and can't wait to read the full thing.

I agree - they are both very quick reads. I think it took me about three days to read both books. And I found that once I finished If I Stay I really wanted to start Where She Went right away to see what happened. I actually liked both books but liked If I Stay better. 

I read The Fault in our Stars for book club.  It was better than I expected, but far from a favorite.