Weekly Reading Thread: February 6-12

I listened to Nothing to see here by Kevin Wilson. A quirky story set in Tennessee of a woman, Lillian, who goes to work as a nanny at her friend’s mansion to look after 10 year old twins who can set themselves alight. I enjoyed it and will probably read more of his novels.

I also read These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant. A suspenseful thriller/crime drama involving a father and his 9 year old daughter set in the Appalachian Mountains. I really enjoyed this one too.

I read The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. This book is a reimagining of history based on the premise that Jesus had a wife and told from the feminine perspective. It took me some time to get invested in the story, but once I did I was glad I’d stayed with it — and then couldn’t put it down. I typically don’t like reimagining stories, but this one was (I feel) very well done and believable. In her notes afterward, Sue Monk Kidd says she spent a year researching and taking notes, and it shows. Her novel walked a fine line between fiction and historical accuracy that allowed me to suspend my disbelief and learn some things along the way. It’s a reimagining of history based on the premise of “what if Jesus had a wife” and told from the feminine perspective. It took me some time to get involved in the story, but once I did I was glad I’d stayed with it and then couldn’t put it down.

I typically don’t like reimagining-type stories, but this one was (I feel) very well done. In her notes afterward, she says she spent a year researching and taking notes, and I think that allowed her to spin her fictional tale with a believable tone. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finished The Lincoln Highway; loved it...five stars.

I have moved on to To Paradise; all I can say about 150 pages in is 'wow'. Hanya Yanagihara is a masterful storyteller and writer.

I am a very slow reader thus I don't usually jump in this thread. But I wanted to share an amazing book I started the other day:

"The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom

Oh my, it brings such heartache for me especially since my hubby is half Dutch and I have heard stories from his family about this time period. And then my personal visit to Dachau. Definitely a hard read but so good.

I've been waiting for this to be released and I wasn't disappointed.
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka. It's about a man who is 12 hours from his execution for murder and his story is told in flashbacks from the women in his life - his mother, the twin sister of his girlfriend, and the police officer who tracked him down.
I'll copy the GR blurb because it puts it so much better than I ever could:


Really well written and very thought provoking. I gave it 5 stars.

I read this back in 2015 and gave it 5 stars.  One of my faves!

I would like to read this, but apparently it starts out with a cat dying and I wanted to avoid that.  I did really enjoy his How to Stop Time.

I am reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.  It's just the sort of thing I should enjoy, but I'm having trouble getting into it.

Thanks for the info!  I have to leave the room when the abused animal commercials come on, I am too sensitive about that sort of thing and even the James Herriot books are too much for me these days.

I finished an audio book-The School for Good Mothers. It was a Read With Jenna book pick and it was very disappointing. The narration was terrible and the main character was fairly unlikable so I never felt truly vested in the story.

     That is one of my very favorite books. I read it several years ago and one year found myself in the very same town (Haarlem in Holland) where the book takes place. We have family friends that live there and were visiting them. Anyway, there is a wonderful small museum above the jewelry shop (used to be the Ten Boom watch shop) that's been made from the family home. I've actually gone twice and was able to stand in the "Hiding Place" itself-it's part of the tour. Haarlem is only a 10-15 minute train ride from Amsterdam if anyone is interested in going to this museum. 

Also, there's a great movie that was made in 1975 (although it doesn't seem that old) also called "The Hiding Place". 

I'm trying to veeerrry slowly read down a stack of random books that is currently teetering between my bookshelves. As I read them, I want to then put them in a bag todonaye.

So I read Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn. This was a cute weird little story of Queen Elizabeth (about aged 80ish in this story) stepping off the Buckingham Palace grounds to go visit her old yacht the Britannia, and the Household staff who are scrambling to find her, keep her safe, and keep her out of the news. The story is not told in a linear fashion, which would probably frustrate a lot of readers, but I came to find it charming.

I also read The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoroff. A quickie ghost story, sort of the Breakfast Club meets the Shining? Kids stuck in their old dorm over Thansgiving weekend unleash an evil presence by playing qith an old outta board. It was fairly meh.

And I read Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux. mimima recommended this and it was totally my thing, having been a Little Woman love since age eight. The author talks about changing attitudes toward the story and characters...I enjoyed it.

Awesome -- I am reading it this week, and now am really looking forward to it!

Had a very good reading week !


THE GOOD LIE (‘21 - Read ‘22) BY A.R. TORRE : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers.  She’s spent a decade treating California’s most depraved predators and unlocking their motives; predators much like the notorious Bloody Heart serial killer, whose latest teenage victim escaped and then identified local high school teacher Randall Thompson as his captor.  The case against Thompson is damning and closed, as far as Gwen and the media are concerned.  If not for one new development.  Defense Attorney Robert Karin is a still-traumatized father whose own son fell prey to the BH Killer.  Convinced of Thompson’s innocence, he steps in to represent him.  Now Roberts wants Gwen to interview the accused, create a psych profile of the killer and help clear his client’s name.  
REVIEW:  First book by this author for me.  Right away I like the writing and flow.  At 50% I’m worrying nothing has really happened and time is running out.  Right after thinking this, the book took-off.  What a tangled web the whole second half of the book was.  I will definitely consider other books by this author, specifically Every Last Secret (‘20) and The Ghost Writer (‘17).  


FAMILY MONEY (‘22) BY CHAD ZUNKER : 4 STARS
DESCRIPTION:  Alex MAHAN is married to his high school sweetheart, Taylor.  They have two daughters and a beautiful home and Alex’s start-up business is about to explode thanks to massive private funding from his compassionate and supportive father-in-law, Joe.  With millions more to come, all is perfect until Joe is abducted and murdered on a family trip to Mexico.  Alex’s world is about to be turned upside down.  He can’t bear to tell his grieving wife why.  The man they’ve both idolized has been keeping secrets.  
REVIEW:  This book was a Kindle First Read for Feb 2022.  First book by this author for me.  Plot jumpstarts right away with the kidnapping.  I felt like I was watching a great mystery movie; it kept getting better and better and had my mind whirling with guesses.  Lots of action the whole way.  Definitely could be a movie since I felt the book was very visual.  


Happy Reading !

I'm so glad that you enjoyed, my friend!  I admit, this is not one that I will donate, though many of the ones that I have around here - including my current ready - will go out the door!

This week, I read:


Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult - for an IRL Book Club. I found that this was a compendium of all of the things that Picoult has researched - Egyptology, hieroglyphics, quantam physics, and death doulas. Because of this information dump, the story was far less important and not one that I particularly enjoyed.







Prince Caspian by CS Lewis - Except for LWW, I only read these in adulthood. Therefore, this one is not one that I knew intimately, and I am listening to a podcast going through Narnia (For Narnia and For Aslan) which just started this one. I grabbed it to re-read so the plot would be familiar. It's a lovely one - though as a kid I always bogged in it.







Glass Houses by Louise Penney - I love Three Pines and the characters who populate it. I do not like the Gamache Surete storyline. So, half was great and half was a slog.







Bread and Water, Water and Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God by Melitios Webber. Another toothbrush read - this one is a good theological introduction, especially on the sacraments.