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Post by RobbyKay on Feb 23, 2015 4:33:36 GMT
Hi Reading Peas!
First up for me was Rebecca Rasmussen's The Bird Sisters. It's my book club title this month. It's what I would describe as quirky midwest fiction set in post WWII Wisconsin. It was a debut novel, but it was a little weak.
Now I'm reading All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I'm halfway through and I'm really enjoying it. Part of the story is that the two main characters have to visit some of the special places in Indiana and share their findings. It has inspired me to find some of the unique and quirky things about where I live, so my daughter and I spent the weekend visiting some of the unique places around Portland (official motto: Keep it Weird). We had a great time!
Next up for me is Reif Larsen's (The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet) newest title I Am Radar. It comes out on Tuesday.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Feb 15, 2015 19:51:10 GMT
Hi Reader Peas!
I just finished Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. It was excellent. It's set in occupied France during WWII. Two polar opposite sisters are forced to make some tough decisions in order to survive a horrible time in history. But it's so much more than that. There is some family drama, some romance, some political intrigue and a mystery that runs throughout the book. It has an ending I enjoyed, but I cried through the last twenty pages. Overall, it was a really great read!
Now I'm reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I want to read it before I see the movie.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Feb 8, 2015 21:17:12 GMT
Hi Reading Peas!
This week I read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. It was a great read! Sometimes the main character was so pathetic, it was painful to read; but I had to keep going!
I picked up Mike Greenberg's (one of the Mikes from the Mike and Mike radio show) latest title, My Father's Wives, about a man who seems to have everything, then discovers his wife may be having an affair. He works back through his late father's ex-wives, trying to find something that will put his situation in perspective. It's interesting so far.
I'm also reading The Hadassah Covenant by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen. It alternates between a story told by Queen Esther set in biblical times, and a modern day Israel. It's not my usual genre, but it's intriguing and well paced.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Feb 1, 2015 23:35:42 GMT
Hi Reader Peas!
I just finished Karen Marie Moning's latest, Burned. I love the series, and I was excited to start this one, but it wasn't that great. I think an author, especially one writing a series, sometimes has to turn out a "transition" book that repositions the plot and lines up the characters so they can play out the story in the next book. I think this one was a transition novel.
I picked up Sarah Addison Allen's newest title, First Frost. It picks up the story from Garden Spells, but ten years later. So far, so good.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Jan 19, 2015 3:39:04 GMT
Hi Pea Readers, I needed a quick read, so I picked up Jason Segel's Nightmares. It's a middle-grade book he co-wrote with Kirsten Miller. I loved it! It's about 12- year old boy dealing with the death of his mom, and his dad's remarriage. But it also has strong themes of friendship, loyalty and family. It even made me cry! I'm now reading Tommy Tenney's Hadassah: One Night with the King for book club. It's set in biblical times, and I'm about 15% into it, and a lot of people have been beheaded. I'll let you know how it ends next week. Hi. I've decided to move on from Lost Lake and try something else. Any ideas? I'm always a sucker for a good story or a suspenseful page turner. Hope everyone is having better luck than me. Paige. I think you're right about Lost Lake. I'm a fan of Sarah Addison Allen, and I read the book when it came out. I was so happy that she survived breast cancer and resumed writing, but I thought the book lacked some of the "sparkle" that I usually expect. I'm looking forward to her next book, First Frost, being released on Tuesday. Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Jan 12, 2015 2:58:34 GMT
Hi Reader Peas,
I read the follow-up the The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion's newest title, The Rosie Effect, If you enjoyed the first one, you'll get a kick out of this one too.
While I was visiting my mother-in-law on Christmas, I discovered that her sister's niece is a published author. I went home with one of her books, The Time Baroness by Georgina Ellis-Young. It's a time-travel sci-fi novel set in 2120, with a Regency romance set in 1820 thrown in. Not my usual choice, but it was a nice cozy read.
I'm also reading Jodi Picoult's latest novel, Leaving Time. The main these seem to be a missing mom, abandonment, psychic abilities, and elephants (not in that order). I'm enjoying it so far, but I know there is a twist coming, and I'm trying to figure out what it could be before I get to it.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Dec 28, 2014 21:19:58 GMT
Hey readers!
I just finished Darynda Jones Seventh Grave and No Body. It's from her Charley Davidson series. I haven't enjoyed the last few books as much as the first three or four, so I put off reading this one for a few months. I was pleasantly surprised to read this one. It was back to the Charley Davidson I loved, and I'm looking forward to the next one.
I'm meeting my friends to see Wild at the movie theater this afternoon, so I picked up Cheryl Strayed's book. So far, so ggod.
I'm also reading Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal. It's about a 12 year old who thinks he might be the next incarnation of Krishna. It's supposed to be funny.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Dec 24, 2014 2:55:32 GMT
I'm looking forward to a few titles that are coming out in the next few weeks:
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Burned by Karen Marie Moning
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
The next Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, The Shadows, by JR Ward is scheduled to be released on March 31.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Dec 8, 2014 1:14:57 GMT
Hi Readers!
I'm working on The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. I'm enjoying it, I'm just struggling to find time to read.
I picked up a copy of Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary. It's an irreverent look at parenthood. I picked it up because it was featured on a list of laugh-out-loud funny books, and that sounded like fun. It's been good for a few laughs.
My book club is taking December off, so I'm lining up a few titles that I've been avoiding because I've been worried I can't fit them in between book club titles. I'll let you know what I pick.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Dec 1, 2014 4:00:05 GMT
Hi Reader Peas!
I finished Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See. It was a very good story, and beautifully written. Like others have mentioned, I had a little trouble getting into it, but the chapters are short, so I just kept going.
I'm almost through Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun. It's a YA title, and it started off all teen-angsty and whiney, but it has improved dramatically, and now with 30 pages to go, I'm excited to read to the end,.
I have one more title to read on the Goodreads "It" List. The last one for me is Sarah Water's The Paying Guests. I may pick this one up next, Or I might read something else, then finish up the year with "guests." I'll let you know how it goes next week.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 24, 2014 2:30:19 GMT
Hi Refupeas Who Read
I'm still working my way through All the Light We Cannot See. It's good, and I'm down to the last 200 pages, but I'm just not finding much time to read.
I'm almost finished with Nothing Daunted, a true story about a pair of young women who travel from Auburn, NY to rural Colorado at the turn of the century to be schoolteachers. It's pretty good. The women come from wealth, and after they graduate from college and travel around Europe for a year, they are expected to find suitable husbands and settle down. Instead, they go to Colorado.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 16, 2014 23:43:46 GMT
Add me to the list of Pea readers working on All the Light We Cannot See. I've been fighting a cold this week, and you would think that I would have plenty of down time to work on my reading - but I seem to drift off every time I start to read - so not as much progress as I had hoped.
Next up is Nothing Daunted by Dorthy Wickenden for book club. I think It's a memoir.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 11, 2014 2:20:41 GMT
Thanks to Pjaye's post last week listing the Goodreads "It" books of 2014, I decided to take a stab at reading the list by the end of the year.
First up this week was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It's the story of a pandemic that wipes out 99% of the world population, and how the survivor's cope. It was really good.
Next I tackled Rainbow Rowell's Landline. It's about a middle aged couple going through a rough patch in their marriage, and they get a chance to revisit the early days of their relationship. It was a fun read, and like a prior poster, reminded me of the "salad days" of our relationship. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure why it's an "it" book.
Now I've moved on to All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I'm looking forward to getting into this one.
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 10, 2014 0:16:38 GMT
Here are a few of my suggestions: Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts. Dan Gable The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime. Babe Ruth Winners never quit and quitters never win. Vince Lombardi Sports do not build character. They reveal it. Heywood Brown To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift. Steve Prefontaine I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. Mia Hamm There is no 'i' in team but there is in win. Michael Jordan I got all of these at Brainy Quote. You can type in keywords, and it will bring up quotes based on your keyword.
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Post by RobbyKay on Nov 3, 2014 2:01:02 GMT
Hi Readers!
I finished Laird Hunt's Neverhome, about a woman who leaves her husband and her farm behind in iowa, disguises her gender, and sets off to be a soldier for the Union army in the Civil War. It was good, but the end kind of unraveled for me. It wasn't predictable; in fact, it left me quite stunned.
My guilty pleasure book was Lara Adrian's Crave the Night. I started this series (Midnight Breed) a few years ago, once I was caught up with the Black Dagger Brotherhood and was seeking more Vampire Porn. My interest in vampire lit has diminshed over the years, but I love a good series, and this one keeps me coming back. I'm pleasantly ashamed to admit i enjoyed it.
I started Emily St John Mandel's Station Eleven. I'm barely 10% in, but it's good so far.
I'm one of the readers who finished David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. I thought it was really good. The stories told from different points of view, but crossing paths throughout the book, gave the story a grandness that was quite beautiful.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Oct 27, 2014 4:17:42 GMT
Hi Reader Refugees,
I read Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the book club discussion at the end of the week.
Right now I'm reading Laird Hunt's Neverhome. It's about a young woman who hides her gender and leaves her husband and their farm behind to go off and fight for the Union in the Civil War. It's really good so far, and the writing is excellent.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Oct 26, 2014 23:09:19 GMT
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Post by RobbyKay on Oct 13, 2014 2:39:44 GMT
Hi Readers,
I'm working on David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. it's a good one.
Jason Mott's newest title, The Wonder of All Things looks like a good next book. He wrote The Returned.
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Sept 30, 2014 1:52:38 GMT
Hi Refupeas Who Read!
I finished John Darnielle's Wolf in White Van. It was good, but bleak.
This past week was Banned Books Week, so I always like to pick a title off the list. I picked up Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. I read it in high school, but I appreciate it so much more this time around.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Sept 22, 2014 5:02:26 GMT
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!
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Post by RobbyKay on Sept 14, 2014 21:36:24 GMT
Hi Readers!
I finished up two this week. First up was Jojo Moyes One Plus One. A frazzled single mom, her quirky but brilliant 10 year old daughter, her teenage Goth stepson, and a computer nerd who made a huge mistake join up for a painfully slow road trip to the Math Olympiad in Scotland. Hilarity ensues, issues are resolved and it was all worth it in the end. My description may seem a little short, but the book was an enjoyable read.
The second title was Claire Cameron's The Bear. 5 year old Anna and her little brother have to fend for themselves when a bear attacks her family on a camping trip. Almost all of the story is told in the voice of Anna - and at times that was a little obnoxious. But otherwise, it was an engaging story.
Right now I'm reading Monique Truong's The Book of Salt. It's a fictionalized acccount of a Vietnamese cook who worked for Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas in Paris during the 1920s. So far, so good.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Sept 8, 2014 19:43:35 GMT
I read Graham Joyce'sThe Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit. It's about a young man who spends a summer at the resort where his father took his own life twenty years earlier. It was good, but not what I expected.
Now I'm reading Jojo Moyes One Plus One. It's a good one!
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Post by RobbyKay on Sept 1, 2014 3:46:51 GMT
Just one for me: Natalie Baszile's Queen Sugar. It's about a black woman born and raised in California who inherits a sugar cane farm from her father. i enjoyed the book; lots of family angst with a healthy dose of southern quirk. Next up is Graham Joyce's The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit. I'll report back next week. Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 26, 2014 19:55:43 GMT
My employer has been in business for over 60 years, but we had our first all company holiday party last December. Our party planners found an artist that makes hand-blown glass ornaments. The artist used the company colors in the design, and etched our company name onto the glass. They were beautiful! Each one was unique, and they we very well received. The artist was able to produce over 300 for our party.
Now the challenge is to find a suitable gift for this year's party.
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 24, 2014 23:22:22 GMT
Hi Readers!
I read Amy Bloom's newest title Lucky Us. It's about an odd sort of family, who start out in Ohio, move to Hollywood, then on to Brooklyn. It's set around WWII. There are a lot of themes about being someone you are not. It was good - and odd, but good.
My book club is reading La's Orchestra Saves the World, by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm halfway through. It's about a woman living in rural England, right around WWII. So far, so good.
Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 24, 2014 4:55:50 GMT
Interplanet Janet, she's a galaxy girl!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 18, 2014 3:25:09 GMT
Hi Refupeas Who Read! I finished Billie Lett's The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. It was a fun read. I just finished Tim Egan's The Big Burn about a horrific forest fire that burned through Idaho and Montana in 1910. It was fascinating. Now I'm reading Amy Bloom's newest title Lucky Us. Enjoyable, yet strange at the same time. Happy reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 15, 2014 12:16:00 GMT
This thread is useless without samples!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 11, 2014 3:41:39 GMT
Hi Refupeas Who Read!
It's been a few weeks since I've posted, so I have a few titles to add to the mix.
I read Heather Gudenkauf's These Things Hidden. A woman is just released from prison for a crime she committed as a teenager. She works to get her life back together, and the mystery surrounding her crime comes to light. It was a quick read, but the mystery consisted of way too many coincidences to make it plausible. I enjoyed the book, but as I look back on it, it was a little silly.
Next up was M.R Carey's The Girl With All The Gifts. It was a dystopian zombie story set in the UK. It was pretty good.
Then I read Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. It's set in Ohio in the late 70s - a family suffers a terrible tragedy and works to heal itself and discover the mystery behind their loss. It was sad but good.
Billie Letts passed away last week, so in honor of her, I'm reading The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. Quirky southern fiction at its finest!
I'm also reading Tim Egan's The Big Burn - Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America - It describes the early days of the US Forest Service and a huge forest fire that torched part of Washington, Idaho and Montana in 1910. It's fascinating!
Happy Reading!
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 7, 2014 18:53:00 GMT
Remember in school, how you were almost force fed different topics, and expected to remember them and learn from them? I love the concept of reading one book about a topic, and then pursuing that topic until your curiosity is satisfied.
Keep reading! Knowledge is Power!
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