Weekly Reading Thread: December 12-18

I finally finished The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich which was EXCELLENT. I haven't ready her before -- a gap in my reading -- and now I want to read more of her work.

Now I'm reading Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki and I love it so far. www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56179360

I read Who is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews, a mystery / thriller about a want-to-be writer who just starting out in the publishing world. I thought it was pretty good, but somewhat predictable. If you're interested, I recommend you do not read the description of the book, which gives the whole thing away.

I also read The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier, which I thought was excellent. It's a bit unusual, and it went a different place than I thought it was going to go. Something different.

I don't think I posted last week, I read The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, which I thought was a pretty ordinary domestic thriller. And The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, which is a great epic story of an early female aviator and the actress who is playing her in modern times. Enjoyed it, but found it overly long.

I read Pride And Prejudice And Mistletoe by Melissa De La Cruz and it was a fast, okay read.

Two for me-
I finished Jodi Piccoult’s latest Wish you Were Here and found it meh. The first part was a little slow and I really didn’t like any of the characters. Then the infamous Piccoult twist and the story became more interesting. This book deals directly with our current pandemic and is well researched, but I felt the way this info was delivered felt forced. 3 stars

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner-I’m seeing this on a lot of best of lists. It’s a memoir of a young Korean American musician dealing with her identity and mother’s death. It is extremely well written. If you’re a a foodie, she is excellent at describing food! It’s extremely heavy. 4 stars

Two very good books for me last week.


SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE (‘18) BY MICHELLE CAMPBELL : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  For Rose Enright, enrolling in a prestigious New England boarding school is the opportunity of a lifetime.  But for Rose’s vulnerable twin sister, Bell, O’Dell Academy is a place of temptation and danger.  When Bel falls in with a crowd of wild rich kids who pressure her into hazing Rose, the sisters’ relationship is shattered.  Rose turns to her dorm mother, Sarah Donovan for advice.  But Bel turns to Sarah’s husband Heath, a charismatic and ambitious teacher.  
REVIEW:  Author’s first two books for me were Strangers on the Beach (‘19) and The Wife Who Knew Too Much (‘20) which were both 4-star reads for me.  This is an older book I bought on sale.  The plot jumps right in getting the reader familiar with all the main characters and their issues.  This was a really fast-moving book.  Enjoyed the pace and the story.  


LITTLE DARLINGS (‘19) BY MELANIE GOLDING : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  Everyone says Lauren Tranter is exhausted, that she needs rest.  They’re right; with newborn twins, Morgan and Riley, she’s never been more tired in her life.  But she knows what she saw that night in the hospital; a woman tried to take her b abides and replace them with her own … creatures.  Yet when the police arrived, they saw no one.  A month later, and the babies disappear while at the park.  When they’re found, something is different about them.  
REVIEW:  Debut book by this author.  Soon to be a movie; production probably got interrupted by Covid.  Part eerie fairy tale of sorts, while a real mother tries to ensure her new born twins stay safe.  I liked the writing which kept me tense the entire book.  Very original story for me.

I read The Christmas Promise by Richard Paul Evans, a cheesy but sweet holiday romance with a fairly decent lesson. 4/5 stars.

I'm now reading an older book The Promise of Stardust and am almost finished.

I'm also skimming A Rebel in Auschwitz, which is a YA nonfiction. It's intense and too hard for me to read in depth right now. There are photographs, which helps.

Lisa

I always look forward to your recommendations and I add them to my list!  We must have similar reading tastes! 

Just finished Malibu Rising by Tara Jenkins Reid. I absolutely loved it - 5 stars - and couldn't put it down. She is such a great writer - I also loved Daisy Jones and the Six.

Hi Readers, Been a few years since I have been on here. Just stopping in to see what everyone is reading, you guys always had great suggestions.

I just finished If She Wakes by Michael Koryta. It took me a while to get through it. I liked it okay but it wasn't like I had to rush to read it like other books I've read. KWIM? 3.5 stars rounded up to 4/5.

I am going to the library in a few minutes to pick up a few I have on hold.