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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 22, 2019 19:41:26 GMT
In my above post about Finding Rebecca I mentioned that part of the setting is on the Island of Jersey during the time of the Nazi invasion. I have a distinct memory of seeing a TV show or movie that showed this exact scene, but I can't remember what it was. I'd love to suggest seeing that before reading the book... While the book did not give the entire historic facts about the invasion, my visual memory filled in all of the missing details. ETA - While trying to find the video, I found this site: The Times of Israel. This page gives more information on the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands for anyone wishing to learn more.
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Post by katiescarlett on Apr 22, 2019 19:50:04 GMT
I'm listening to Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. It is an interesting and horrifying true story of death row cases handled by Attorney Bryan Stevenson in Alabama and the role that race and poverty play in death row convictions. The facts of some of these cases are outrageous. Not finished yet but it has been a 4.5 star read so far.
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Post by stingfan on Apr 22, 2019 20:17:33 GMT
Finished...
Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty - One of her earlier books - 2003. I liked it. I enjoyed the way the relationships between the characters played out.
Started...
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian - His books are kind of hit or miss for me, but I like this one so far.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 22, 2019 20:32:46 GMT
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Post by pjaye on Apr 22, 2019 22:43:43 GMT
Then I listened to The Au Pair by Emma Rous. It was enjoyable, but not great. I kept thinking if these people would just take a DNA test their questions would be answered, problem solved. 😜 3.5 stars I agree. It just went on too long and the author added too many twists (babies) and I just got bored. Plus I think parts of the storyline were just too unbelievable. I only gave it 2 stars. I guess I will be the lone dissenter and say I enjoyed the audible narration. I don't recall anyone saying they didn't like the narration...I had no problems with it. My complaint with the book was that the initial descriptions of her drunk, stumbling around unwashed etc went on for way too long. The first 50% of that book could have been cut in half and we still would have got the character development. Once the story got moving then I started to enjoy it a lot more.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 22, 2019 22:45:16 GMT
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian - His books are kind of hit and miss for me, but I like this one so far. Same here, but unfortunately this was a definite miss for me.
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,205
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
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Post by gina on Apr 23, 2019 2:11:06 GMT
Then I listened to The Au Pair by Emma Rous. It was enjoyable, but not great. I kept thinking if these people would just take a DNA test their questions would be answered, problem solved. 😜 3.5 stars I agree. It just went on too long and the author added too many twists (babies) and I just got bored. Plus I think parts of the storyline were just too unbelievable. I only gave it 2 stars. I guess I will be the lone dissenter and say I enjoyed the audible narration. I don't recall anyone saying they didn't like the narration...I had no problems with it. My complaint with the book was that the initial descriptions of her drunk, stumbling around unwashed etc went on for way too long. The first 50% of that book could have been cut in half and we still would have got the character development. Once the story got moving then I started to enjoy it a lot more. Not here. I copied my review over from Goodreads and that was an overwhelming sentiment there. Nobody liked the narration! yes I agree with your second thought as well.
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Post by jackietex on Apr 23, 2019 3:23:31 GMT
I finished listening to A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones book 1) and loved it! Now I'm listening to Educated by Tara Westover.
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camcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,973
Jun 26, 2014 3:41:19 GMT
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Post by camcas on Apr 23, 2019 13:06:08 GMT
Just finished “ the Huntress” by Kate Quinn...a really good page turner Also “ the Binding”...can’t remember author
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Post by candygurl on Apr 23, 2019 13:18:38 GMT
I’m still reading A HEART IN A BODY IN A WORLD and am struggling with finishing it. I just don’t find it to exciting. I’m about 1/2 through.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,701
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Apr 23, 2019 13:55:59 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars?
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Post by thundergal on Apr 23, 2019 14:09:02 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars? I wanna know, too!
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Post by pjaye on Apr 23, 2019 14:38:00 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars? As far as I know you can't do 1/2 stars officially on GR...apart from making a note of it in the comments section.
When I post here I'll sometimes put a half if I think it's between the two, but on GR I round up or down depending on which I think t's closest to.
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Post by lynnek on Apr 23, 2019 17:26:56 GMT
I finished three last week: First was a book I was reading with my 11 year old son called The Collector by K.R. Alexander. He picked it at the book fair and was excited to read a creepy, scary book. It was actually probably the perfect amount of creepy and scary for him. It is about a girl who moves to live with her grandma so her mom can take care of her. The grandma gets confused but she warns the girl not to go in the forest and talks about someone trying to come get the girl. There was a little mystery, a little scary, a little magical realism, and overall a decent book that my son enjoyed.
I also finished A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I have seen this forever all over the place and finally decided it was time to read the series. It was very good and I will definitely continue.
Lastly, was The Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyes. I was so excited to see a new Jojo Moyes book and was even more excited when I was one of the first to get it from the library. However, it just wasn't that good. Susanna has always grown up in the shadow of her deceased mother who died in child birth. Athene was always larger than life and a bit over the top and wild and crazy. In reading the book summary, I thought it was going to be the story of Suzanna's life and how the shadow of her mother was difficult to live with, but other than an old painting of her mother that never fit anywhere, she just didn't seem bothered by her mother. Suzanna was an unhappy person but I didn't see the mom as a root of that. Then there were other relationships that Suzanna had in the book that just didn't feel very well fleshed out. After finishing reading the book, I found out that it is a re-release of a book from years ago. That makes more sense that it was one of her early books when she was not the author she is today. But I really wish the publisher would have marketed it that was instead of as a new book. Overall, it was ok at best, but I am docking it a further star because I feel duped by the publisher. SO only 2 stars for me.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 23, 2019 18:02:01 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars? You really can't. I've seen some people spell it out if they review a book, but otherwise, you have to choose whether you're going to round up or round down. Personally, 5 stars is very rare for me, and 3 is like a "C" grade. Since I typically make a minimal attempt to select better books to begin with, the vast majority of ratings I end up giving are 4 stars; they're better than good but haven't reached that best of the best. What's really interesting is seeing what the average rating is overall after a lot of people have rated a book. Over and over, I find that they are pretty close to what my rating would be if we could break it down more.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 23, 2019 18:14:57 GMT
I finished three last week: First was a book I was reading with my 11 year old son called The Collector by K.R. Alexander. He picked it at the book fair and was excited to read a creepy, scary book. It was actually probably the perfect amount of creepy and scary for him. It is about a girl who moves to live with her grandma so her mom can take care of her. The grandma gets confused but she warns the girl not to go in the forest and talks about someone trying to come get the girl. There was a little mystery, a little scary, a little magical realism, and overall a decent book that my son enjoyed. I also finished A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I have seen this forever all over the place and finally decided it was time to read the series. It was very good and I will definitely continue. Lastly, was The Peacock Emporium by Jojo Moyes. I was so excited to see a new Jojo Moyes book and was even more excited when I was one of the first to get it from the library. However, it just wasn't that good. Susanna has always grown up in the shadow of her deceased mother who died in child birth. Athene was always larger than life and a bit over the top and wild and crazy. In reading the book summary, I thought it was going to be the story of Suzanna's life and how the shadow of her mother was difficult to live with, but other than an old painting of her mother that never fit anywhere, she just didn't seem bothered by her mother. Suzanna was an unhappy person but I didn't see the mom as a root of that. Then there were other relationships that Suzanna had in the book that just didn't feel very well fleshed out. After finishing reading the book, I found out that it is a re-release of a book from years ago. That makes more sense that it was one of her early books when she was not the author she is today. But I really wish the publisher would have marketed it that was instead of as a new book. Overall, it was ok at best, but I am docking it a further star because I feel duped by the publisher. SO only 2 stars for me. Young readers are so special. I'm reading a review of A Court of Thorns and Roses that's almost entirely done in GIF's. She liked it. She really liked it. I see quite a few Kindle books with relatively new release dates when they were actually first published long before. You have to look closely all the way down in the details to find out the original publication date. It's an effective way to hook new readers, but it's a bit misleading all the same.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,390
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Apr 23, 2019 19:14:09 GMT
I am super behind on my reading lately. Seems like a month went by with not much. One book, I don’t remember the name even, didn’t get finished, and another was a struggle.
Currently I’m reading Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams. I’m about a third into it, and it’s fine. Just a contemporary novel about life and the choices we make.
There are so many on my TBR list I don’t even know what I’ll choose next.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 23, 2019 21:40:53 GMT
I am super behind on my reading lately. Seems like a month went by with not much. One book, I don’t remember the name even, didn’t get finished, and another was a struggle. Currently I’m reading Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams. I’m about a third into it, and it’s fine. Just a contemporary novel about life and the choices we make. There are so many on my TBR list I don’t even know what I’ll choose next. This is why I turned to having either the sometimes questionable reading app read out loud to me, or when possible, listen to an audiobook. On my Kindle, I can turn the pre-installed app on or off in the settings. Some books are totally fine with only an occasional odd pronunciation. Other books are just really hard to listen to that way. Some, I find better if I read them myself. If you load up enough choices, you can have the best of all of the above. <----- my personal philosophy.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,390
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Apr 23, 2019 22:11:24 GMT
I am super behind on my reading lately. Seems like a month went by with not much. One book, I don’t remember the name even, didn’t get finished, and another was a struggle. Currently I’m reading Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams. I’m about a third into it, and it’s fine. Just a contemporary novel about life and the choices we make. There are so many on my TBR list I don’t even know what I’ll choose next. This is why I turned to having either the sometimes questionable reading app read out loud to me, or when possible, listen to an audiobook. On my Kindle, I can turn the pre-installed app on or off in the settings. Some books are totally fine with only an occasional odd pronunciation. Other books are just really hard to listen to that way. Some, I find better if I read them myself. If you load up enough choices, you can have the best of all of the above. <----- my personal philosophy. I’ve not been able to get into audio books. I get sidetracked and don’t hear what they’ve said. Plus, I listen to the radio all day at work, so reading is a nice change for my senses. I feel like I can shut the world off better that way.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 23, 2019 22:25:00 GMT
I’ve not been able to get into audio books. I get sidetracked and don’t hear what they’ve said. Plus, I listen to the radio all day at work, so reading is a nice change for my senses. I feel like I can shut the world off better that way. Very true. I often replace the radio with a book, though it depends what else I'm doing at the time. Sometimes, I can focus on a book and do something else. Sometimes, I can't.
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,633
Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Apr 23, 2019 23:51:41 GMT
I'm listening to Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. It is an interesting and horrifying true story of death row cases handled by Attorney Bryan Stevenson in Alabama and the role that race and poverty play in death row convictions. The facts of some of these cases are outrageous. Not finished yet but it has been a 4.5 star read so far. I’ve got this one on my “to read” list. He was on Preet Bharara’s podcast recently, and I was so moved by what he had to say. What an amazing human being.
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Post by roundtwo on Apr 24, 2019 0:08:32 GMT
I finished The Univited Guest by John Degen and I quite liked it.
I'm just 60 pages into, and enjoying so far, A Map Of Glass by Jane Urquhart. From the book jacket " Sylvia Bradley was rescued from her parents house by a doctor attracted to and challenged by her withdrawn ways. Their subsequent marriage has nourished her, but ultimately her husband's care has formed a kind of prison. When she meets Andrew, a historical geographer, her world changes.
A year after Andrew's death, Sylvia makes a connection with Jerome, a young conceptual artist/photographer who, while executing one of his outdoor projects, discovers Andrew's body.
After Sylvia escapes to the city, she shares with Jerome the story of Andrew's forebears, a story that goes back to the nineteenth century amidst the flourishing timber and shipbuilding industries of Lake Ontario. This story is the breathtaking centre of A Map of Glass, an intricate novel enriched by moments of vivid history come to life and haunting imagery. It stands as her richest, most accomplished novel to date."
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Post by lgr4 on Apr 24, 2019 0:20:49 GMT
I just bough THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL on Amazon for $1.99 because of the peas recommendation! For some reason I couldn't find it at my library.
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Post by leftturnonly on Apr 24, 2019 2:05:16 GMT
I just bough THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL on Amazon for $1.99 because of the peas recommendation! For some reason I couldn't find it at my library. I think it may be on sale all month. (Don't quote me on that!)
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edie3
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,465
Jun 26, 2014 1:03:18 GMT
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Post by edie3 on Apr 24, 2019 2:43:27 GMT
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,205
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
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Post by gina on Apr 24, 2019 4:12:49 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars? As far as I know you can't do 1/2 stars officially on GR...apart from making a note of it in the comments section.
When I post here I'll sometimes put a half if I think it's between the two, but on GR I round up or down depending on which I think t's closest to.
Exactly this. I round up or down for GR, depending on how much I enjoyed the book. But when I type my review (and I always type a review because it helps me to better remember what I read), I give a more detailed rating out of 5.
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Post by lynnek on Apr 24, 2019 14:38:53 GMT
Slightly off topic, but some of you say that you gave a book a 3.5 or 4.5 rating on Goodreads. How do you do 1/2 stars? I rate books via my Kindle, and I'm only able to pick whole stars? You really can't. I've seen some people spell it out if they review a book, but otherwise, you have to choose whether you're going to round up or round down. Personally, 5 stars is very rare for me, and 3 is like a "C" grade. Since I typically make a minimal attempt to select better books to begin with, the vast majority of ratings I end up giving are 4 stars; they're better than good but haven't reached that best of the best. What's really interesting is seeing what the average rating is overall after a lot of people have rated a book. Over and over, I find that they are pretty close to what my rating would be if we could break it down more. That is pretty much my way of rating. 3 is average, 2 something is wrong but i finished. 4 is what I give many books because like you, I try to pay attention and pick books wisely. To get a 5 a book has to e really great plus have something more. I can't quite define what "more" is in words but I know it when I read it. Often it has to do with extraordinary writing or story telling.
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Post by lynnek on Apr 24, 2019 14:40:22 GMT
Yes, I read Just Mercy last year and without realizing the connection, read The Sun Does Shine this year. Very interesting to read both.
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Post by katiescarlett on Apr 24, 2019 14:58:40 GMT
Thanks for the recommendations! I have both of those on my "to read" list.
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