🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of December 3

Last week I finished: The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding. I gave it 4 Stars. This was a quick pace, 2 POV story of Lee, a chef who is living in her car, on the run from an unsavory lender after borrowing money to keep her restaurant running, and Hazel, a wealthy, married woman to a man who has her trapped in a "total control contract" marriage, and wants to escape. Lee saves Hazel from drowning, and both need/want to escape from their identities - the turns of this story completely gripped me. The ending - I was underwhelmed by the ending, but the rest was kept me turning the pages!


Now I am reading Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

I listened to The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor after seeing it on Lisa's Goodreads last week. I enjoyed learning more about the European children who were sent to other countries for protection during WWII. I've read a couple of other books on the same subject. I really liked the characters and the relationships in this one. 4 stars.

Now I reading The Wishing Game.

Between trying to get ready for the holidays and leaving tomorrow for a 3-day mini-vacation, I've been doing a slow read of The Only One Left by Riley Sager. I'm enjoying it okay but am eager to finish and get on to the next one! I'm at about 57%.

I finished The Last Devil to Die. It’s the 4th book in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. I have been not so patiently waiting for it to become available to check out from my library. When it popped up available in my Libby app I squealed with happiness and promptly returned what I was currently reading and so not into that I can’t even remember what it was. This book was worth the wait. I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. It made me laugh out loud and shed a couple of tears. If you enjoy mysteries with fun characters this series is well worth reading. 

 Practically all the books I have had a hold on have become available at the same time, so I have started John Grisham’s newest and The Five Star Weekend . I think I will probably finish Five Star Weekend first. 

Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien. Read for the Book Fare podcast December Community Read. Not my first read, but it appears to have been long ago. Sweet, fun, a record of difficult depression and war times, as well as parents experiencing their kids growing up. 4/5 stars.

A Deeper Heaven by Christiana Hale 2023 was the year of the Ransom Trilogy for me - three podcasts read Out of the Silent Planet and one continued to the next two of the trilogy. One of them interviewed this author and I was intrigued enough to pick it up. She is very much in conversation, convincingly, with Planet Narnia and applies the same theories to the Ransom novels. I re-read the first two and read for the first time the third and her works add an very intriguing and intelligent layer. Note: she is allied with an apparently controversial theologian, who wrote the introduction (which is the only interaction with him that I have had,) and therefore, there are a few conclusions that come through her specific brand of theology, which do not work for me. With that caveat, I think this is well-done and one that I will keep on the shelf next to Planet Narnia. 4/5 stars.

Anne of Windy Poplars by LM Montgomery. Fittingly, I finished this on Montgomery’s 149th birthday. The feeling of this one was like a firehose of descriptions and scrapes – which felt exhausting. However, it is always lovely to spend some time with Anne. 3.5/5 stars.

jenna that made me laugh so hard. Truly this woman gardens like nobody's business. I just need a little bit of veggies and herbs.

I read less than 100 pages then DNF. I read the last chapter to see what happened and I'm so glad I didn't finish it because I would have hated the ending.

Geez, I've never heard of GR closing a book for reviews. That drives me NUTS but I guess they feel no one is really rating the book, but more about how they feel towards the Royal family or Scobie himself.

I have no interest in reading it. I didn't read Finding Freedom, I didn't read Spare, and I won't read this one. I understand the purpose of the first two, but this third one I guess is a money grab, or trying to keep milking the cash cow? I didn't think M&H helped him (ie gave him interviews or information) with this book. So I really think he is attempting to "get some truth out there" because very soon, if not already, there really is nothing - the brothers dont talk, Harry doesn't visit Charles, Meghan doesn't either, which is why (IMO) he wanted to remind everyone about the racist speculation about Archie's skin color and that Harry wasn't told the Queen passed/was left in the dark because honestly, that's about it. Without interaction, the only thing left to really talk about is how H&M don't have a relationship with the King, and... we all know that. No new info has come out. Again, my personal speculation: I do think after H&M's "car accident that almost was like Diana's fatal car accident" showed there was some sketchy moves and a lot of sensation to pair it with his mother's, but overall, it didn't work. There are only so many stunts that the public is going to buy, and since that one flopped, I don't see them really trying to do something like that again.

On the other hand, I am disapointed in Pr&Pss OW's workload. Yes, she is raising a young family, but they have nannies. I understand she wants to be hands on, and she is, but the British people pay a LOT and IMO (again, I'm not British) they should be out doing what they can to make awareness for projects and charities and organizations to improve the lives of or honor their citizens. For example, Catherine didn't go to EarthShot, and there was a lot less press about it this year than the previous year when she wore that bright green recycled dress. I know they don't always want there to be a discussion about Catherine's clothes, but if I come for the clothes (which I do!) then I will stay for the purpose. William just doesnt have that same draw when he's alone. She supposedly was staying home to help George study for entrance exams to his next school, but seriously? They dont have tutors or people to go over that with him, just for a couple of days? Is she REALLY sitting down and helping him go over math problems or vocab? LOL.

Anyways, that's a lot about a book I'm not even going to read! But thank you pjaye for your opinions on it!

Last week I read The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff. I gave it 4 stars. Lots of strong women in the story. It was nominated for best Debut Author on Goodreads.
Currently, I am reading The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. So far it’s caught my interest. 

Thank you to everyone who participates in this thread. 

Start a new thread!!!! =)

I read While Idaho Slept by J. Reuben Appleman.  This was a "recommended" at an indie bookstore so I hoped it would be good.  It was not.  It is about the University of Idaho murders from last year; half the book is just the sorts of fawning profiles you get of high-profile murder victims (I am sure all four victims were awesome people, but you know what I mean about this), and the back half of the book is basically information you have if you followed the case, including some half-assed personality profiling of the killer.  I do enjoy true crime, but this was not it.

Currently reading Tom Lake, and enjoying it -- will report back when finished.

I just finished 2.5 Stars for Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

This story is nothing what I expected or imagine. In 1987, June's uncle/godfather Finn is dying of AIDS. Before he passes away, he paints a portait of June and her sister Greta. Once he has passed, June looks for ways to connect with him, and discovers his special friend (boyfriend) Toby. It is Finn's dying wish that June and Toby take care of each other, although Finn had to hide Toby away due to the shame (of the time). Their friendship, June's reluctance to take his support is what kept me coming back to this story. But June’s adoration with Finn became just too much. She was basically in love with him, and I felt once he had died, she projected those feelings onto Toby. I really wish the author had spent more time on the background of that relationship. Did Finn KNOW his neice had this unnatural feelings towards him? The whole premise of forbidden love (June/Finn and Toby/Finn) was just.... off-putting.

The plot plodded along. The parents are accountants, and hey, it was the 80s, so what June gets away with makes total sense for the times. Her sister Greta was a jealous bitch and even though we come to understand why at the end, it doesn't really make the reader forgive her. I did love that the sisters kept adding touches to their portait, and finally had an understanding with each other. This was just not quite the "coming of age" story I was expecting it to be.

Thank you for sharing this book. I started it yesterday and I am SO enjoying it!