Weekly Reading Thread Week of Sept 21

Hi RefuPeas Who Read!

One for me this week. I read Monique Truong's The Book of Salt for my book club. It's about a Vietnamese man who works as a cook for Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas in Paris in the 1920s. It has themes of family tradition, homosexuality and alcoholism all rolled into one. It was good but not great.

Now I'm reading John Darnielle's Wolf in White Van. It's about a young man who has survived a disfiguring accident, and he now makes a living proctoring a role playing game. Some of the players take things too far, and he has to answer for their actions. I'm almost half way, and it keeps building into something bigger. It's up for a National Book Award, so it should be worth it.

Happy reading!

I finished Life, Animated, a memoir about one family's experience with autism and how their son used Disney movies to understand people and the world around him. I have a daughter on the spectrum and I found this book interesting, but it was tough to relate to this family that has seemingly unlimited funds and connections to procure help for their son.

I started The Bone Clocks, the new David Mitchell book and I already love it. Can't wait to get back to it!

I read Elise Juska's The Blessings and loved it. The book centered around a large, tight-knit Philadelphia family and how their lives unfold before and after the death of a family member. I thought it was beautifully written---very moving and authentic.

I've just started Ruth Reichl's Delicious!

I read The Blood of an Englishman, the newest of the Agatha Raisin series by M.C Beaton. I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and kind of quirky , as this series is.

I finished four books this week.

Like ntsf, I finished The Good Lord Bird.  I actually listened to this on audio.  I thought the narrator was excellent.  It is the story of a young slave who somewhat by accident ends up a part of abolitionist John Brown's group.  5/5

The Flight of the Silvers by Daniel Price.  A science fiction/fantasy novel.  When the Earth is destroyed, a small group of people are transported to an alternate Earth.  This one was definitely a page turner.  It is the first of a trilogy. 5/5

Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin.  Margolin usually writes legal thrillers, but this one was historical fiction, based on a true story.  A man takes his slaves  (Worthy Brown and his daughter) to Oregon with the agreement that he will free them after he is settled.  The owner goes back on the deal and will not release the daughter.  Her father takes him to court.  There were a couple of subplots also going on.  Margolin wrote this many years ago and only recently rewrote and published it - I think it showed.  Although the book was interesting, the writing seemed a little amateurish. 4/5

The Death Factory by Greg Iles.  A novella that bridges the gap between Iles last Penn Cage novel and his most recent.  3/5

I have been in a real reading slump, nothing is keeping my attention! Right now I'm working on The Other Family by Joanna Trollope...normally I like her books, but every character in this one is giving me a pain!


I read a book about van Meegeren several years ago, can't remember if it was the one you read or not, but that's what blew me away about him--his stuff was terrible! How on earth he managed to fool so many people I have no idea. Fascinating story.

I finished the Stephanie Plum 21 book- I forget what it's called. I liked it. It wasn't as predictable as the last few. After all this time, I wish she'd give Lula more than 'she's a big woman' and 'I want a doughnut'. It seems like a no brainer, but it's never happened.

I moved on to Mambo in Chinatown, which seemed like it would have an Amy Tan-lite feel to it. It wasn't a bad read. It wasn't really poorly written- but I can't recommend it. Every time it would really get in a groove, she'd veer off track. It was sort of like she couldn't decide what kind of a book she wanted to write. In a lot of ways it was predictable. Sometimes the dialogue was good, but too much of the time, it was bad. It was stilted or sometimes really inauthentic. Instead of reading it and 'hearing' the character's voice, I was very aware of the words- if that makes sense. There were just too many times I thought 'People don't talk like that' - or the manner of speech was uneven. She'd have someone speaking like an everyday 20-something, or an older person for whom English is a second language- and out of left field, there would be a word that just stuck out like a sore thumb. It just didn't go with the rest of the dialogue. By the end, I was ready for it to be over. There was one twist near the very end that made me go "Are you kidding? What did that add to the story?" It was a really dumb sub-plot.

Still waiting for the Gabaldon WIMOHB book to come back up- (it will be later this week, I have to believe) - I moved on to China Dolls by Lisa See. It seems like I have a pattern going- but this one popped up as a recommendation based on Mambo in Chinatown, and it looks good.

My purse book is There's More to Life Than This by Theresa Caputo. If you watch her show, you already know a lot of what she says in the beginning. Some of it drags a little- maybe because I've heard it before. But she writes like she speaks and it's not a hard read at all. She's interesting and there's a lot in the book that I've heard her allude to on the show, but never heard the whole story.

I feel that most books have that rushed ending feeling now. Or at least the books I've read.

Just finished THE DINNER by HERMAN KOCH...... Unfortunately this was my choice for book club, not sure I will be asked to pick again!!! It was interesting but a bit hard to follow and no redeeming characters.

Starting the third book of KEN FOLLETT'S CENTURY TRILOGY, EDGE OF ETERNITY

I am reading The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness and Early Decision by Lacy Crawford. I don't normally read two books at once, but I need to this week.

Melissa

I try to read at least one classic a year that I haven't read before. I usually read it over the summer when I'm not working, but I just wasn't in the mood for a classic until lately. I'm reading My Antonia by Willa Cather. One of my colleagues said it was one of her favorite classics, so I thought I'd give it a try...it's a little dry so far.

OP...
My favorite page-turner of the summer was In The Blood by Lisa Unger. Kept me up late a couple of nights until I finished it! I highly recommend it.

I am finally getting around to readingOlive Kitteridge. The prose is lovely, but I am not sure how I feel about a collection of stories rather than one continuous (or back and forth) tale.

Last week I read Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigani. Not thrilled with it, but it was ok.

I was looking at a list of books that B&N lowered the price on for their nook version.  There is one that I would like to know if others liked if they have read it.  The Time Keeper by Mitch Alborn.  I think I have seen this book mentioned on reading threads but I might be mixing it up with something else.  Would love opinions on it.  It is currently $2.99.