🟣 :::READING THREAD::: Week of November 3

I mainly read fluff this past week

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - it was decent not great. I liked the year by year progression

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis - this one was very heavy on American football details (people, plays) and I don't really have much interest or knowledge there but the underlying story was more interesting than I expected

Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury - a modern take on the Biblical story of the King Solomon and the two mothers. Definitely pushed the bounds on credibility in places

Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble - a fairly forgettable book - nothing wrong with it but nothing that really stands out either.

The Widow's Choice:1941 by Gilbert Morris -a decent read and unlike some Christian romances, the characters seemed multi-faceted

The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance by James Wilson Hyde - this was really interesting information presented in a very old-fashioned (written in 1885) and rambling way.

I read three this week.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay. I give this one 4 stars. It was really well done, I thought. Took witchcraft seriously and did not make a mockery of it.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I hesitate to rate it because it was children's literature. But it was creative and imaginative. I enjoyed such a little, easy read. I read Through the Looking Glass too.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I only rated this 3 stars. It just didn't resonate with me. Like no one was a full developed character for me. I wasn't even sure I liked the narrator. I know he wanted us to feel sorry for Gatsby at the end but I just didn't connect enough with him to feel bad.

I read Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ such a captivating story, ensconced by great characters.
Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.
Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight,something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their deaths are far in the future-age 103!-and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.
How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant),but none would become as famous as "the Death Lady."
Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall nothing her board the plane. She wasn't exceptionally old or young,rude,or polite. She wasn't drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.
A few months later, one passenger died exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die-again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

Last week T.J. Newman books were mentioned I loved her first one and want to read her latest couple of books. She is a former stewardess and her books are narrated by a man named Joe Morton.

Tearisci , I just learned in a recent interview that Jean Hanff Korelitz is the niece or great-niece of Helene Hanff, who wrote 84 Charing Cross Road.

This week, I read:

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. Clever book within a book structure, though I admit by the time we got back to the original book, I struggled to remember the players. Hearkens back to the Golden Age of mystery writing. On a side note, my 50-something Dh just told me that he’s never read a mystery. I was shocked! 3/5 stars.

The Secret Life of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. This series of short stories is not a gentle one. These women are messy, dysfunctional, and frank, and the descriptions are open door. I am not a fan of short stories, and this collection definitely did not change that. I read it for an online Book Club that I participate in, and the author will do an author chat on Wednesday that I’m looking forward to hearing. 2/5 stars.

Last week I finished A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. I quite enjoyed it although it had more twists than an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. 4/5 stars

Then I started The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden. I got to page 90 and gave up. I just wasn’t connecting to the story or the characters at all.

Now I’m reading The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby and am enjoying it.

I pushed through to finish Martyr by Kaveh Akbar. I figured it out pretty early and kept waiting for something else to happen but it never did. Didn't love the ending.
I've got some fluffy audio on deck today while I clean the house.