The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,917
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Apr 8, 2024 19:57:43 GMT
This week I read:
The Other Valley Scott Alexander Howard Science fiction/speculative fiction ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cool concept: When we meet Odile, she is 17 years old and on the cusp of choosing her trade and rising in popularity in her school (from being mostly a quiet loner). We find out that Odile’s valley is neighboured by the same valley on either side–one 20 years in the past and one 20 in the future.
Only under rare circumstances can one visit the other valleys.
I did like the book overall, but a large part of the book is pretty bleak.
What did you read this week?
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valincal
Drama Llama
Southern Alberta
Posts: 5,626
Jun 27, 2014 2:21:22 GMT
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Post by valincal on Apr 8, 2024 20:10:06 GMT
I finished The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. 5⭐️ read for me. 😊
I’m trying to read more ebooks in addition to my usual audiobooks…not being super successful at that. Slogging my way through Book Lovers by Emily Henry. It’s ok. I don’t really care for romance but I will finish it.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Apr 8, 2024 20:16:23 GMT
I read Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge by Helen Ellis. It was very funny. Stories of her and her husband in midlife. I even read out loud the chapter where her husband gets prescribed Viagra to Jeremy and he laughed his butt off.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,742
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Apr 8, 2024 20:23:36 GMT
I tried to read like three books this week and DNF'd all of them. They just did not hold my interest whatsoever although all seemed to have potential. A bit frustrating.
However, I did finish two books.
Grant Park by Leonard Pitts Jr. Whew. This man can W R I T E. I love everything I've ever read by him. Really an amazing book with alternating stories told between 1968 and an MLK rally and the night of the 2008 election when Obama is put into office. Such a great plot with wonderful characters as well. 5/5 stars and one of my favorite reads of the year.
Jaded by Ela Lee. Wow. I am still processing this one. A young lawyer is r*ped after a work event. What happens next. This was really, really, really well-done. I gasped out loud in a few spots. I might have to include this in one of my favorite reads of the year as well. 5/5 stars for sure.
Slogging through a book called Victim (about halfway done). I don't really like it so far, but I will see where it goes.
Picking up four books at the library tomorrow. Looking forward to another Frieda book and The One by Marrs along with a couple more.
Lisa
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Post by trixiecat on Apr 8, 2024 20:35:49 GMT
I just finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.
As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us.
Strong 5 star read for me. I live 45 minutes away from Pottstown so this interested me. Then I discovered the author lives part time 30 minutes away from me and that I had actually read another book by him called The Color of Water back in 2004 and loved that book as well.
I read somewhere that it may be helpful to print off a list of the characters in this book and I am glad I did it. There were a lot that were introduced in the beginning of the book and their stories went along with them and I was a little confused and actually started the book over maybe 50 pages in. It all came together beautifully. I listened to it on audiobook as well. I picked this book for my newly formed bookclub and I will be interested to see their responses in 2 days.
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,098
Jul 6, 2016 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by hutchfan on Apr 8, 2024 21:13:23 GMT
I read Familia by Lauren E. Rico. I won this book from Goodreads. Wow this book was a thrilling page turner kind of wild ride.
As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths-until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result:Gabby has a sister-one who's been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby's beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that's impossible. Isabella Ruiz can still picture the face of her baby sister, who disappeared from the streets of San Juan twenty-five years ago. Isabella, an artist, has fought hard for the stable home and loving marriage she has today-yet the longing to find Marianna has never left. At last, she's found a match, and Gabby has agreed to come to Puerto Rico. But Gabby, as defensive, and cautious as Isabella is impulsive, offers no happy reunion. She insists there's been a mistake. And Isabella realizes that even if this woman is her sister, she may not want to be. With nothing-or perhaps so much-in common, Gabby and Isabella set out to find the truth, though it means risking everything they've known for an uncertain future-and a past that harbors yet more surprise....
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Post by mnmloveli on Apr 8, 2024 21:27:08 GMT
Jaded by Ela Lee. Wow. I am still processing this one. A young lawyer is r*ped after a work event. What happens next. This was really, really, really well-done. I gasped out loud in a few spots. I might have to include this in one of my favorite reads of the year as well. 5/5 stars for sure. Lisa This one looks great ! Her debut book also ! Trying a sample right now !
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Post by mnmloveli on Apr 8, 2024 21:30:19 GMT
Very good reading week for me………
THE INTERITANCE (‘24 - 4 STARS) BY JOANNE GOODMAN DESCRIPTION : Arden Moore enjoyed an affluent life thanks to her husband’s high-paying job. But a year after his death, the 36-year-old is a grieving single mother deeply in debt and living paycheck to paycheck with her three children. Then an unexpected call from a well-known estate lawyer in New York offers a glimmer of hope. It is the beginning of a complex legal journey that could mean the difference between a life of abject poverty and unthinkable wealth thanks to her father, deceased billionaire Wallace Barclay. Thirty years before, Arden’s mother Virginia Bunt, a flirtatious love addict with a string of failed affairs, met Wallace, an encounter that transformed her life. When he died unexpectedly without a will, Virginia fought to secure a comfortable future for her and the secret unborn daughter she shared with Wallace. Yet despite her best efforts, society and the legal system prevented her from receiving the money that should rightfully have been hers. Now, though, with changes in the legal system and science, her daughter Arden may finally succeed in claiming the inheritance that has been long denied.
REVIEW : First two books by this author for me were The Forgotten Daughter (‘20 -4 Stars) and The Home for Unwanted Girls (2018 - 5 Stars). Always like this author’s writing, so smooth. This story is much more than an inheritance drama, even though I did like the court scenes a lot. It showed how we can all be shaped by the happenings in our life and our personal decisions. Two damaged female main characters, Arden & Virginia, find their healing paths in life.
SHE’S NOT SORRY (‘24 - 4 STARS) BY MARY KUBICA DESCRIPTION : Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom to a teenage daughter and working as a full time nurse. While on duty at the hospital one day, a patient named Caitlin arrives in a coma with a traumatic brain injury, having jumped from a bridge and plunging over twenty feet to the train tracks below. But when a witness comes forward with shocking details about the fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was Caitlin pushed and if so, by whom and why?
REVIEW : Author's last 7 out of 8 books were all 4 stars; Just the Nicest Couple (‘23) Local Woman Missing (‘21), When the Lights Go Out (‘18), Every Last Lie (‘17), The Good Girl (‘14), Pretty Baby (‘15) and Don't You Cry (‘16). One book, The Other Mrs (‘20), ended up with 3 stars - first 60% was 2 stars with the last 40% of the book getting 4 stars.
Always like her writing. This book was giving off a creepy vibe because of all the unknown in the first 50%. I felt like it was like being on a train that kept going faster and faster in the last 50%. I did feel the book could have been 50 or so pages longer to fully wrap-up a couple of story lines. I also had mixed feelings about Meghan that I would have liked resolved; I’ll leave it at that so not to spoil for anyone. That all being said, I still went with 4 Stars.
Hope your reading this week takes you to a happy place !
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,017
Jun 25, 2014 19:25:50 GMT
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Post by mimima on Apr 8, 2024 21:30:30 GMT
Dh was just telling me about The Other Valley! I'll have to put it on my list.
I had struggled last week with a lot of things in process but only one finished. This week, I got the fruits of that labor!
God So Loved the World by Elizabeth Goudge. Read for an Elizabeth Goudge Book Club, I got to participate in a Zoom discussion. Not only a retelling of Christ's life but a beautiful meditation on it. Wonderful to read a bit at a time, especially in the Pre-Lent and Lenten period. 5/5 stars.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. A reread – for the Book Fare podcast discussion, the magic of this book isn’t magical realism, per se, it is the magic of nostalgia. Some of the vignettes went a little odd or long, but the overall feeling is sweet. 4/5 stars.
The Women by Kristin Hannah. I was absolutely fascinated by the story of serving in Vietnam and the attitude towards the female soldiers though I did struggle with the continual soap opera tropes that kept coming up. Having said that because I wanted to be reading it when I wasn’t, it gets four stars even with the eyerolls. 4/5 stars.
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. As a LOTR flunky, it seems incongruous that this was a childhood favorite that I have read over and over again. The first chapter will always be my favorite in literature It is where I learned “out of the frying pan and into the fire.” Read for Close Reads podcast, it’s the ultimate in hygge. 4.75/5 stars.
The Four Loves by CS Lewis. This was my little bath book for a couple of weeks. This lesson in the four loves is profound and humbling, told with Lewis’ humor and grace. 5/5 stars.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 9, 2024 5:53:29 GMT
3 books about women being stalked/chased - two duds and one hit for me this week. Nightwatching by Tracy SierraSet in USA- current day. A women wakes up and realises a man is in her house, she manages to get her two young children and hide while he continues to stalk through the house looking for them. I won't go into too much of the plot as it will spoil it if anyone does decide to read it. This was a miss for me though, lots of overdone stereotypes, the misogynistic police (I know they exist, but this was just too over the top for me) and the main female character was too meek and just annoying. Plus I didn't buy into the main story at all...I finished it though. 2 stars. The next one was even worse! Hunted by Darcy CoatesSet in USA, current day. A 22yo female hiker goes on a short day hike, but ends up being chased by something/someone and goes missing. Her creepy stalker friend sets out to try and find her (but he doesn't tell anyone) and also goes missing, then there's more incompetent police, and then the rest of her friends decide to go and search too. Lots of dumb decisions made by dumb people. I DNF this just before half way and skipped to the end to see whodunnit - which was also ridiculous, so I'm glad I didn't waste more time on it. Very surprised this book has a 4 star average on GR. I gave it 1 star and do not recommend! then finally the good one... Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. IhliAlso USA/current day. This has a unique twist on the classic serial killer story...with ghosts. James, who appears to be the ideal man on an online dating site, charms women and then kills them. He has claimed three lives so far, but instead of passing on, they have turned into ghosts determined to prevent him from killing again. Although it seems a little silly, it's not. The writing is very lyrical and moving, and even made me tear up. I liked that the main focus was on the women and their experiences and not on the killer (he is only described through the women's points of view) 4 stars
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Post by tamiq on Apr 9, 2024 9:51:22 GMT
3 books about women being stalked/chased - two duds and one hit for me this week. then finally the good one... Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. IhliAlso USA/current day. This has a unique twist on the classic serial killer story...with ghosts. James, who appears to be the ideal man on an online dating site, charms women and then kills them. He has claimed three lives so far, but instead of passing on, they have turned into ghosts determined to prevent him from killing again. Although it seems a little silly, it's not. The writing is very lyrical and moving, and even made me tear up. I liked that the main focus was on the women and their experiences and not on the killer (he is only described through the women's points of view) 4 stars I really liked this one too. 4 stars
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Post by flanz on Apr 9, 2024 16:35:50 GMT
I tried to read like three books this week and DNF'd all of them. They just did not hold my interest whatsoever although all seemed to have potential. A bit frustrating. However, I did finish two books. Grant Park by Leonard Pitts Jr. Whew. This man can W R I T E. I love everything I've ever read by him. Really an amazing book with alternating stories told between 1968 and an MLK rally and the night of the 2008 election when Obama is put into office. Such a great plot with wonderful characters as well. 5/5 stars and one of my favorite reads of the year. Jaded by Ela Lee. Wow. I am still processing this one. A young lawyer is r*ped after a work event. What happens next. This was really, really, really well-done. I gasped out loud in a few spots. I might have to include this in one of my favorite reads of the year as well. 5/5 stars for sure. Slogging through a book called Victim (about halfway done). I don't really like it so far, but I will see where it goes. Picking up four books at the library tomorrow. Looking forward to another Frieda book and The One by Marrs along with a couple more. Lisa Thanks! Just picked up GRANT PARK ON KINDLE UNLIMITED! JADED sounds excellent as well, put it on my library hold list.
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naby64
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,922
Jun 25, 2014 21:44:13 GMT
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Post by naby64 on Apr 9, 2024 16:53:32 GMT
I finished Circe by Madeline Miller and Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas.
Circe was interesting and it caused me to look up some other mythology names and connections. I am listening to Epic the Musical and want to re-read The Odyssey. This has been on my want to read list for a while so I grabbed this one in audiobook form. It seemed to have a lot of time jumps and for me, listening when I could, was a bit hard to keep up with. I would give it a 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Heir of Fire is just a YA book. But I am all in for it now. I really only got into reading this series due to reading ACOTAR on the suggestions from DD and YDS. Now I am in and discussing as I finish each book with my YDS. It keeps us connected while he is 1000 miles away.
I am now reading Maame by Jessica George. 4 out of 4 stars on Goodreads. Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.
It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.
When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her heart on the line.
And on to book 4 Queen of Shadows, Sarah J Maas.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 10, 2024 4:14:05 GMT
Jaded by Ela Lee. Wow. I am still processing this one. A young lawyer is r*ped after a work event. What happens next. This was really, really, really well-done. I gasped out loud in a few spots. I might have to include this in one of my favorite reads of the year as well. 5/5 stars for sure. Lisa This one looks great ! Her debut book also ! Trying a sample right now ! I just added it as well. Sounds good.
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Post by peasapie on Apr 10, 2024 9:34:07 GMT
I just finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us. Strong 5 star read for me. I live 45 minutes away from Pottstown so this interested me. Then I discovered the author lives part time 30 minutes away from me and that I had actually read another book by him called The Color of Water back in 2004 and loved that book as well. I read somewhere that it may be helpful to print off a list of the characters in this book and I am glad I did it. There were a lot that were introduced in the beginning of the book and their stories went along with them and I was a little confused and actually started the book over maybe 50 pages in. It all came together beautifully. I listened to it on audiobook as well. I picked this book for my newly formed bookclub and I will be interested to see their responses in 2 days. I was at a book meeting yesterday and three members disliked this book so much they DNF. Others I’ve spoken with loved it. I wonder why it’s so polarizing.
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Post by trixiecat on Apr 10, 2024 12:08:17 GMT
I just finished The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. As these characters’ stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town’s white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community—heaven and earth—that sustain us. Strong 5 star read for me. I live 45 minutes away from Pottstown so this interested me. Then I discovered the author lives part time 30 minutes away from me and that I had actually read another book by him called The Color of Water back in 2004 and loved that book as well. I read somewhere that it may be helpful to print off a list of the characters in this book and I am glad I did it. There were a lot that were introduced in the beginning of the book and their stories went along with them and I was a little confused and actually started the book over maybe 50 pages in. It all came together beautifully. I listened to it on audiobook as well. I picked this book for my newly formed bookclub and I will be interested to see their responses in 2 days. I was at a book meeting yesterday and three members disliked this book so much they DNF. Others I’ve spoken with loved it. I wonder why it’s so polarizing. I could see how the book could be a little intimidating in the beginning. There are a lot of Jewish terms used that could be confusing. My husband is Jewish so I understood some or most of them. The author in my opinion would introduce a character and give background about them...so there were a lot of stories "floating" around. But as the story went on, the characters and their stories/backgrounds all came together. I listened to it versus reading it. Maybe reading the story may be harder for some people. I struggled in the beginning to keep track of everything. I have my book club meeting tonight so it will be interesting to see their thoughts. One more thing. Maybe it depends on the type of book club people are in. Maybe some people just like reading pleasure books??? My club just started last month, but the person organizing it only invited people that knew this was a club that was going to discuss each book and not chit chat about every day life for the entire time.
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Post by peasapie on Apr 11, 2024 0:03:55 GMT
I was at a book meeting yesterday and three members disliked this book so much they DNF. Others I’ve spoken with loved it. I wonder why it’s so polarizing. I could see how the book could be a little intimidating in the beginning. There are a lot of Jewish terms used that could be confusing. My husband is Jewish so I understood some or most of them. The author in my opinion would introduce a character and give background about them...so there were a lot of stories "floating" around. But as the story went on, the characters and their stories/backgrounds all came together. I listened to it versus reading it. Maybe reading the story may be harder for some people. I struggled in the beginning to keep track of everything. I have my book club meeting tonight so it will be interesting to see their thoughts. One more thing. Maybe it depends on the type of book club people are in. Maybe some people just like reading pleasure books??? My club just started last month, but the person organizing it only invited people that knew this was a club that was going to discuss each book and not chit chat about every day life for the entire time. They’re pretty good readers in the group and we have real discussions … but you make a good point. My husband is also Jewish and I know the expressions, but I know many people don’t, so that might make it intimidating. I’m going to follow your lead and rent the audio instead of the digital book and give it a go. Some books take quite a while to get into, but are so good once you do.
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Post by trixiecat on Apr 11, 2024 3:36:32 GMT
I could see how the book could be a little intimidating in the beginning. There are a lot of Jewish terms used that could be confusing. My husband is Jewish so I understood some or most of them. The author in my opinion would introduce a character and give background about them...so there were a lot of stories "floating" around. But as the story went on, the characters and their stories/backgrounds all came together. I listened to it versus reading it. Maybe reading the story may be harder for some people. I struggled in the beginning to keep track of everything. I have my book club meeting tonight so it will be interesting to see their thoughts. One more thing. Maybe it depends on the type of book club people are in. Maybe some people just like reading pleasure books??? My club just started last month, but the person organizing it only invited people that knew this was a club that was going to discuss each book and not chit chat about every day life for the entire time. They’re pretty good readers in the group and we have real discussions … but you make a good point. My husband is also Jewish and I know the expressions, but I know many people don’t, so that might make it intimidating. I’m going to follow your lead and rent the audio instead of the digital book and give it a go. Some books take quite a while to get into, but are so good once you do. One thing I saw recommended was print out the characters in the book. I started to makes notes next to them until I felt comfortable knowing who everyone is. I had my book club tonight. It was interesting. Most said they were glad I picked this, because they would not have picked it up on their own. There was at least one person who did not say anything, which made me wonder if she even read the book. I openly said they wouldn't offend me if they didn't like it. We had a really good discussion I thought.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Apr 11, 2024 22:45:11 GMT
I just finished More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter. I apparently am quite a bit of a prude because there was a whole lot of sex stuff I really didn't need to know about this woman. I felt sorry for her. I think this whole thing started because she was unhappy with her life and she was looking for validation in the arms of another man. And her husband seemed to want to push her into it so he could have an open marriage. Instead of learning something I walked away feeling even more solid in the idea of monogamy. Two stars and that was generous.
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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 12, 2024 3:36:12 GMT
Wow. I haven't participated in this thread since last year, and its my favorite post on the board! I just haven't had the attention span to really read lately. Alas, I finally finished a book. lol The Women by Kristin Hannah - 4 / 5This book taught me so much. I feel like whenever you watch a movie centered around Vietnam, you get the impression that many of the soldiers came home broken and with PTSD. I had never read about it. The author must have researched a ton on this subject because you could really feel how broken the main character Frankie was. I guess I naively assumed when soldiers and service men & women came home from war, they were thanked and celebrated. I had no idea that they were spit on and ridiculed and this led to their depression and issues navigating life once they returned to American soil. Sad. I loved the trio of women characters and the friendship spanning years between Frankie, Barb and Ethel. Frankie's parents were kinda sh!tty but redeemed themselves later on. Without going into spoiler territory, I couldn't stand some of the male characters. This book gets 4 stars from me rather than 5 because of the relationships Frankie had with the male characters, and there were a few. I felt like none of them were deeply developed and all were very surface-level. I also was certain that the two guys who magically came back from the dead were in fact, going to come back from the dead. So those reveals were not shocking or surprising to me. The bulk of the storyline with Frankie nursing during the war, forming her female friendships and the tough time she had coming back home were solid. After this book ended, I thought "I would love to see this turned into a movie!" I am flying tomorrow so hoping to start something on the plane.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Apr 12, 2024 3:55:30 GMT
Last week I finished reading The Women by Kristin Hannah. So many feels about this book. Some people on Good Reads didn't care for the romance in the book. I am a romantic at heart so I loved the balance between the war and her personal life. Some things I knew would happen I knew she would lose the baby and not marry the psychologist. Rye broke my heart ~ ugh what a lying jerk. I expected Coyote to show up but the ending ~ wow! 5/5 stars Now I'm reading book #6 of the Ryder Creed Series, Hidden Creed by Alex Kava.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Apr 12, 2024 4:02:08 GMT
I guess I naively assumed when soldiers and service men & women came home from war, they were thanked and celebrated. I had no idea that they were spit on and ridiculed and this led to their depression and issues navigating life once they returned to American soil. Sad. Many of my high school classmates went to Viet Nam and suffered when they got home. At our 45th class reunion, we gave them the welcome they never got. We played the music from the different armed services and all the vets went to the front of the event center. Then all the rest of us went through the line hugging them. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. We also honored those who were killed in VN and never made it home.
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hutchfan
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,098
Jul 6, 2016 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by hutchfan on Apr 12, 2024 4:21:11 GMT
I guess I naively assumed when soldiers and service men & women came home from war, they were thanked and celebrated. I had no idea that they were spit on and ridiculed and this led to their depression and issues navigating life once they returned to American soil. Sad. Many of my high school classmates went to Viet Nam and suffered when they got home. At our 45th class reunion, we gave them the welcome they never got. We played the music from the different armed services and all the vets went to the front of the event center. Then all the rest of us went through the line hugging them. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. We also honored those who were killed in VN and never made it home. What a wonderful thing for the classmates to do!
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Post by cadoodlebug on Apr 12, 2024 4:27:18 GMT
What a wonderful thing for the classmates to do! It truly was the highlight of the weekend. We had 2 females who served but I'm not sure in what capacity.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Apr 12, 2024 18:48:05 GMT
I guess I naively assumed when soldiers and service men & women came home from war, they were thanked and celebrated. I had no idea that they were spit on and ridiculed and this led to their depression and issues navigating life once they returned to American soil. Sad. Many of my high school classmates went to Viet Nam and suffered when they got home. At our 45th class reunion, we gave them the welcome they never got. We played the music from the different armed services and all the vets went to the front of the event center. Then all the rest of us went through the line hugging them. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. We also honored those who were killed in VN and never made it home. that is the most fantastic thing i've ever heard. my mom is part of quilts of valor, and they present quilts to anyone who served. I get goosebumps every time, and the most emotional are typically the veterans who served in vietnam.
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Post by Bridget in MD on Apr 12, 2024 19:13:08 GMT
3 Stars for Mercury by Amy Jo Burns. This is the story of the Joseph brothers, a family in small town Mercury, PA. The 3 brothers -Baylor, Waylon, and Shay - work for the family roofing business. When Marley moves into town, she finds herself at the dinner table of Mick and Elise bc she dates Baylor, only to end up marrying Waylon and becoming a 2nd mother to Shay. While the family dynamics is interesting, the story really gets intersting when a dead body is found boarded up in the local Presbyterian Church. I enjoy a family saga, but this seemed to take forever to really get into the story for me.
4 Stars for Phaedra by Laura Shepperson.
"I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men."
This is the retelling of the mythology of Phaedra, the daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasaphae (the mother of the minotaur). TRIGGER WARNING for violent sexual assault, rape, and suicide. Not much is really known of Phaedra's story - did she seduce her stepson Hippolytus, a boy devoted to the goddess Artemis? Did jealous goddesses use them as pawns? She is brought to Athens as the bride of Theseus, king of Athens. What intrigued me is that the minotaur was described as a deformed, gentle brother, where most stories, he is a violet monster. I think the author uses that to show Phaedra moving from a loving, clean home to a brutal city ruled by the urges of men. Women (voiced by a choir) are at high risk of being raped and brutalized without consequences for men. Because she is passive and believes that the Gods will seek revenge on these men, including her murderous husband Theseus and stepson, she is distraugh when she is violated and finally begins to understand, with the help of her cousin Medea (who murdered her own children) the need to take justice into her own hands. While the story was told by many points of view, it was interesting to see the different takes the author uses for this retelling.
“Justice is sometimes a mistreated woman. What should happen isn’t always what does happen.”
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Post by trixiecat on Apr 12, 2024 20:20:52 GMT
I just finished Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle.
Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. The papers told her she’d spend three days with Martin in Paris; five weeks with Noah in San Francisco; and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake.
But as Jake and Daphne’s story unfolds, Daphne finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction, and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Because Daphne knows things Jake doesn’t, information that—if he found out—would break his heart.
Told with her signature warmth and insight into matters of the heart, Rebecca Serle has finally set her sights on romantic love. The result is a gripping, emotional, passionate, and (yes) heartbreaking novel about what it means to be single, what it means to find love, and ultimately how we define each of them for ourselves. Expiration Dates is the one fans have been waiting for.
I liked this book way better than One Italian Summer. I would give it 4 stars.
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Post by Tearisci on Apr 12, 2024 20:39:46 GMT
I read two books this past week that were good mystery page turners.
The first one was Under the Skin by Lisa Unger and Kill for me, kill for you by Steve Cavanagh which was recommended on this thread! I would give both 5/5
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Post by flanz on Apr 12, 2024 22:56:43 GMT
I guess I naively assumed when soldiers and service men & women came home from war, they were thanked and celebrated. I had no idea that they were spit on and ridiculed and this led to their depression and issues navigating life once they returned to American soil. Sad. Many of my high school classmates went to Viet Nam and suffered when they got home. At our 45th class reunion, we gave them the welcome they never got. We played the music from the different armed services and all the vets went to the front of the event center. Then all the rest of us went through the line hugging them. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. We also honored those who were killed in VN and never made it home. That's so beautiful! I'm another for whom The Women was a 5 star read. Loved it.
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Post by worrywart on Apr 14, 2024 3:00:10 GMT
3 books about women being stalked/chased - two duds and one hit for me this week. Nightwatching by Tracy SierraSet in USA- current day. A women wakes up and realises a man is in her house, she manages to get her two young children and hide while he continues to stalk through the house looking for them. I won't go into too much of the plot as it will spoil it if anyone does decide to read it. This was a miss for me though, lots of overdone stereotypes, the misogynistic police (I know they exist, but this was just too over the top for me) and the main female character was too meek and just annoying. Plus I didn't buy into the main story at all...I finished it though. 2 stars. This book started out strong and kind of scary but quickly turned into a 2 star read for me as well!
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