paigepea
Drama Llama
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Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Aug 11, 2014 0:19:45 GMT
I enjoyed my reading this week!
I finished Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty, which I loved. She keeps getting better!
I finished Unorhodox, by Deborah Feldman. It is a true account of her journey as a member of the Satmar Hasidic culture through her desire to leave the community. I enjoyed it.
Now I'm almost half way through If I Stay - the story of the girl who has an out of body experience after her family gets into a horrific car accident. It is coming out in a movie soon so I wanted to read it. Ok so far. It is YA and reads that way.
What did everyone else read?
Paige.
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Post by SockMonkey on Aug 11, 2014 0:27:54 GMT
I'm listening to Blood & Beauty by Sarah Dunant (about the Borgias). Juicy historical fiction, and her reader (Edoardo Ballerini) is awesome.
I'm reading Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky (for pleasure) and also reading Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change by Grenny et. al. (for work).
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Post by lynnek on Aug 11, 2014 0:46:56 GMT
I enjoyed my reading this week! I finished Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty, which I loved. She keeps getting better! I finished Unorhodox, by Deborah Feldman. It is a true account of her journey as a member of the Satmar Hasidic culture through her desire to leave the community. I enjoyed it. Now I'm almost half way through If I Stay - the story of the girl who has an out of body experience after her family gets into a horrific car accident. It is coming out in a movie soon so I wanted to read it. Ok so far. It is YA and reads that way. What did everyone else read? Paige. I just got Big Little Lies from the library. I think I will read it next. Can't wait! I enjoyed If I Stay and am looking forward to seeing how it translates to a movie.
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Post by lynnek on Aug 11, 2014 0:52:23 GMT
I finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner last week. Another YA book being made into a movie later thus year. My son read this one first and recommended it to me. I didn't like it quite as much as he did, but i will read more of the series. I am interested to know what is going on.
Then I read Jojo Moyes's new book, One Plus One. I really enjoyed this one a lot! I enjoyed the story and the characters and just slipped right into their lives. This was a very quick read for me.
Now I am reading Gone by Michael Grant. Not too far in but I like it so far.
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Post by shinyhappytina on Aug 11, 2014 0:59:54 GMT
I love Liane Moriarty, I'm going to have to read that one. I'm currently reading Salt, Sugar, Fat, which is not light reading. I don't usually get worked up about things, but this book talks about how the big food companies essentially manipulate us into eating junk and being too fat. It's been eye-opening.
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Post by PEArfect on Aug 11, 2014 1:03:40 GMT
I'm reading Hollow City by Ransom Riggs and Second Firsts; Live, Laugh, and Love Again by Christina Rasmussen.
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,818
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 11, 2014 1:27:12 GMT
Two for me this week.
East of Eden, the classic by John Steinbeck. This was not even close to what I expected. I didn't like it at the beginning and almost stopped reading in several spots. I am glad I stuck it out. The ending is oh. so. amazing. Still, getting to that place was such hard work that I gave it 4/5 stars.
The other one was The Bait of Satan, a Christian book on forgiveness by John Bevere. I have read a lot of good Biblical material on this subject. This book was one of the best I have ever read. Excellent. If you are struggling with forgiveness - and every Christian does at some point - this is a Must. Read. 5/5 stars.
Lisa
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Aug 11, 2014 1:33:12 GMT
Well with all the Outlander hype, I decided to read it. I must have gotten a really good deal on it because I have it on my Kindle and had it downloaded on Audible. It's 33 hours long. I love Audio books, but the length scared me off for this long. So I started last Sunday and finished on Friday. And yes, my house looks like I've ignored it. Ha. Actually I'm usually productive when I listen to book, but for much of this, I followed along with the book. I felt like I needed to see the words I was hearing since many were dialect. I have to say I loved the book and I think it was a better choice for me to experience the audio version. The narrator was fantastic. So much so that I will continue the series through purchasing the audio version.
For those Outlander readers, I know many of you have read the latest one- how many more books are planned for this series?
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psychgirl
Shy Member
Posts: 37
Jun 26, 2014 1:27:38 GMT
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Post by psychgirl on Aug 11, 2014 1:44:40 GMT
Only one for me this week. Another Elin Hilderbrand. This one The Love Season. What to say…. it wasn't my favorite. It struck me as significantly different (not a bad thing) from her other books, but I'm not sure why exactly. Has anyone else read this one? I've got a question for you if you have.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,457
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Aug 11, 2014 2:05:14 GMT
I'm on a Nora Roberts kick this week. Three from her. The Inn BoonsBoro trilogy - The Next Always, The Last Boyfriend and The Perfect Hope. Another of her trilogy that have three guys, three girls and everything ends up perfect. I do like NR, because they're a quick easy read. On audio I "read" At Risk by Patricia Cornwell. It was a thriller type story. It was an unabridged version but I felt like it was too fast and condensed.
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Post by powderhorngreen on Aug 11, 2014 2:33:29 GMT
Two this week . . .
Baygirl by Heather T. Smith - a YA novel about a young girl dealing with family upheaval, her father's alcoholism, the death of her grandmother, and being displaced from her home. This could have been great - it was ho, hum formula YA.
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - lots have already chimed in on tis one. I agree that it is an enjoyable, easy read. I really didn't know about the Orphan Trains in the US. The characters were fine and the ending was, at the same time, sad and hopeful.
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Post by Yoki on Aug 11, 2014 2:48:26 GMT
I just finished Big Little Lies, too. I really liked it! She is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.
I was a little disappointed with Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I really liked all her other books, but this one just fell flat for me.
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Post by jillonthehill on Aug 11, 2014 3:07:17 GMT
I'm listening to Inferno by Dan Brown in the car. I requested the audiobook from the library when it first came out and I finally got it last week. So far it is good, but I think I've read enough Dan Brown books where I can kind of predict what is going to happen.
I'm reading Mrs. Poe for the book club. I never knew much about Edgar Allen Poe. I always saw him as a tortured writer who liked to drink. I find this fictionalized look into his life very eye opening. It make me want to learn more about him and read more of his work.
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,305
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
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Post by gina on Aug 11, 2014 3:22:57 GMT
I read If I Stay last week. I enjoyed it. I think the 2nd book is going to be even better! (I am on the wait list).
I finished a book this weekend that I need to discuss. lol Hoping someone here read it!
We Were Liars
3.2 / 5 stars
This isn't going to be much of a review since I am pretty sure the number one rule when reading this book is to NOT give anything away. I will say, however:
1) This book left me feeling horribly sad and desperate. Glad it was a book where I could close the page and it wasn't real life. Ugh.
2) The writing style seriously pissed me off. So many choppy sentences. So many. Like this. It happened all the time. Except it never did.
W-T-F? Annoying.
Overall, a fun book with you know, that secret ending, but yeah, the writing style killed most of it for me.
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The Great Carpezio
Pearl Clutcher
Something profound goes here.
Posts: 2,986
Jun 25, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
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Post by The Great Carpezio on Aug 11, 2014 3:36:34 GMT
Three books this week.
Paper Townsby John Green. I liked this. I'd give it a 5/5 for YA, but probably a 3.5/4 out of five for all ages. It kept me reading and I really liked the protagonist. It was a little far fetched at times. I would recommend it to my teen students —both boys and girls. He is an engaging author for sure.
Take This Manby Brando Skyhorse. This is the memoir of Brando, an award winning writer, who grew up thinking he was Native American but was actually Mexican in heritage. His mom was a compulsive liar and narcissist and Brando had many different men come in and out of his life as his mom searched for companionship. It as good, but It didn't resonant on a level like Glass Castle or Angela's Ashes.
Ruin and Rising the last in the Grisha trilogy. I really enjoyed this series. It is fantasy with very cool world building. It also has a satisfying ending. 4.5/5 for series. Great YA, but I think it holds it own in the overall fantasy genre.
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Post by RobbyKay on Aug 11, 2014 3:41:39 GMT
Hi Refupeas Who Read!
It's been a few weeks since I've posted, so I have a few titles to add to the mix.
I read Heather Gudenkauf's These Things Hidden. A woman is just released from prison for a crime she committed as a teenager. She works to get her life back together, and the mystery surrounding her crime comes to light. It was a quick read, but the mystery consisted of way too many coincidences to make it plausible. I enjoyed the book, but as I look back on it, it was a little silly.
Next up was M.R Carey's The Girl With All The Gifts. It was a dystopian zombie story set in the UK. It was pretty good.
Then I read Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. It's set in Ohio in the late 70s - a family suffers a terrible tragedy and works to heal itself and discover the mystery behind their loss. It was sad but good.
Billie Letts passed away last week, so in honor of her, I'm reading The Honk and Holler Opening Soon. Quirky southern fiction at its finest!
I'm also reading Tim Egan's The Big Burn - Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America - It describes the early days of the US Forest Service and a huge forest fire that torched part of Washington, Idaho and Montana in 1910. It's fascinating!
Happy Reading!
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Post by birukitty on Aug 11, 2014 3:52:12 GMT
I'm smack dab in the middle of "Voyager" which is book 3 in the Outlander series and happy as a clam. Ecstatic. I LOVE this book! Almost as much as the first! The second book was slow going here and there, but this one rocks!
For the Pea who asked there are 8 books so far in the Outlander series, but Diana is still writing. I just started reading them myself when I saw the preview for the "Outlander" series on the Strarz channel about 6 weeks ago. When I saw those previews I whipped my head around and said, "wait a minute-it's about time travel?!!!" I adore time travel books! All this time-for all of these previous 20 years I'd been under the mistaken impression that Outlander was a romance novel-the type of Danille Steel fluff I used to read in my 20's. Which is fine for what it is, it's just I don't read it now. Gosh darn it what I was missing!!!! I'm making up for it now though.
Turns out Diana Gavaldon has become my favorite writer in almost 50 years of reading-I'm 54. She is absolutely incredible! I love highly detailed writing and she's a master at this. My other favourite is Connie Willis who is a wonderful science fiction writer.
Having the series on Starz is a bonus. Especially that it's going to be a mini-series (and not trying to squeeze all of the first book into a 2 hour film) and they are doing such an amazing job with it!
Debbie in MD.
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linda~lou
Pearl Clutcher
Keep calm and eat crumpets
Posts: 2,744
Location: Motown but my heart is in San Francisco
Jun 25, 2014 21:57:08 GMT
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Post by linda~lou on Aug 11, 2014 4:30:51 GMT
I'm listening to Inferno by Dan Brown in the car. I requested the audiobook from the library when it first came out and I finally got it last week. So far it is good, but I think I've read enough Dan Brown books where I can kind of predict what is going to happen. I'm reading Mrs. Poe for the book club. I never knew much about Edgar Allen Poe. I always saw him as a tortured writer who liked to drink. I find this fictionalized look into his life very eye opening. It make me want to learn more about him and read more of his work. I'm reading Mrs Poe now as well. Just started, but I'm liking it so far. Read Orphan Train, which I loved! The Midwife of Venice, loved! So interesting to learn about midwifery in the 1500's and just medical treatment in general. Thoroughly enjoyed! The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. Fun, fun read and another one where I learned so much about the evolution of ice cream. Almost too much, I craved ice cream all the way through!! That was recommended on here, so thank you! Big Little Lies is up next. Love love Liane Moriarty!
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Post by scrapnatya on Aug 11, 2014 5:34:56 GMT
I read Mr. Mercedes by Stephen king today. It was pretty good and a very quick read for me.
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Post by pjaye on Aug 11, 2014 5:42:05 GMT
You might be surprised with this one, it isn't as predictable as you might think.
I finished Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford and absolutely loved it. It's the story of 12yo William, a Chinese-American boy living in an orphanage and his quest to be reunited with his mother, beautifully written and heartbreakingly sad in places. I loved everything about this, as usual, I listened to the audiobook and the narration was also great. 5/5 stars & definitely recommended.
I've got about an hour left on The Curiosity by Stephen P. Kiernan. It's the author's first novel and it's pretty good. The story centers around a scientific research team who develop a way to "re-animate" creatures frozen in Arctic ice for many hundreds of years...then they discover the body of man in the ice as well, and they also bring him back to life more than 100 years after he died. The author makes the science plausible and I've really enjoyed the story. 4 out of 5 stars. If you like a bit of science, a bit of fantasy and a touch of romance thrown in, then you'll probably enjoy this one.
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Post by honeyb on Aug 11, 2014 6:14:55 GMT
I'm reading Twisted Sisters by Jen Lancaster. It's not a memoir like most of her other books. Liking it so far. I especially like pop culture references. I think we watch as the same trash TV shows.
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Post by zoeybug on Aug 11, 2014 11:08:20 GMT
I didn't get a lot of reading time in this week which always makes me sad on Sundays/Mondays when I don't have very many books to talk about when this thread comes around. I'm still on track for reading 100 books this year-I finished book 60 this week and I'm nearly done with book 61.
I've been reading The Selection series- a YA series where the United States has become a monarchy and society has been organized into eight castes. When the prince is ready to marry, this process called The Selection, where he has a group of 35 girls from where he can choose a wife. Think Hunger Games and The Bachelor. I just finished the second book, The Elite, where the group was whittled down to five girls and I'm about halfway through The One, when he makes his final choice. Although these books aren't as great as The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies, they are still fun little reads.
I also started The Reason I Jump, a short book book written by a Japanese teenager with Autism through his keyboard with the help of his mother. It's great, he explains why people with Autism do many of the things they do. My oldest son has high functioning Autism and does very well (he's leaving for college next week!) but he even has some of these quirks like like of eye contact and not being a fan of being touched. I'll finish that up as well before I start Lisa See's new book, China Dolls.
Have a good week everyone! Libby
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Post by picotjo on Aug 11, 2014 12:37:17 GMT
I finished The Donor by Helen Fitzgerald and really enjoyed it. It's about a single father of twin girls who both need a kidney transplant. I then read the free e-book by Jodi Picoult-Larger than Life. Enjoyed that too. Now I am reading The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. I am only in the beginning chapters but liking it very much so far.
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Post by leannec on Aug 11, 2014 12:45:56 GMT
I'm reading Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen for the 2Peas Refugees Book Club ... it is quite good so far ... I wasn't sure what to expect but I like it For those of you who have or are planning to read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity it is our Book Club pick for October
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Post by brina on Aug 11, 2014 12:47:11 GMT
I just finished The Giver series by Lois Lowry. It is YA and there are 4 books in all. Initially the first and second seem unconnected, but then they link up in the third and the fourth. It was interesting, but the first was definitely the strength of the series.
I am now reading Big Little Lies. I am about 1/4 of the way through it and loving it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 6:27:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 13:34:43 GMT
This week I finished The Husbands Secret and The Invention of Wings. Now reading What Alice Forgot.
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Post by kckckc on Aug 11, 2014 14:31:56 GMT
I didn't check in last week, so this is two weeks worth of books for me.
The Painter by Peter Heller. Heller is the author of The Dog Stars, which I loved - this one not so much. The story of a painter and how he deals with violence and tragedy. 2/5
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Excellent YA novel - the story of a Native American coming-of-age on a Reservation. 5/5
A Bridge Between Us by Julie Shigekuni. The story of four generations of Japanese-Americans living in San Fransisco. This one was just okay. 3/5
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. Set in England, this one tells the story of a family and spans the time period from WWII through the 1980s. Very good. 4/5
Hounded by David Rosenfelt. The latest addition to the Andy Carpenter mystery series. I really enjoy this series (and unlike Evanovich's characters, the ones in this series change and grow). 5/5
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Post by GamGam on Aug 11, 2014 14:45:44 GMT
Two for me this week, both WW2 settings. The first:All the Light We Cannot See I enjoyed for 3/4 of the book. The ending just didn't match well the body of the book, so I was disappointed somewhat, with this one.
The next was:A Higher Call: an Incredible True Story of Bombat in WW2. The reviews on Amazon were soooo positive that I was eager to read it. But.... I found it to be so poorly written, that I skimmed parts of it. Honestly, it read like a committee report to the PTA or something. Very dull writing.
So I'm taking a break from this time period, and starting In the Sanctuary of outcasts: by Neil White.
Robbykay, I agree about The Big Burn. It was a great read!!!
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Mystie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,300
Jun 25, 2014 19:53:37 GMT
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Post by Mystie on Aug 11, 2014 14:55:19 GMT
In a thread about re-reading books, Grinning Cat mentioned the Guests of War trilogy as one she liked to re-read. I had never heard of it so I found a copy on Amazon with all three books included and ordered it. I finished the fist book, The Sky Is Falling, and am part way through the second book, Looking At the Moon. It's a really charming series, about a sister and brother who are sent from Great Britain to Canada for the duration of WW II.
I'm also reading The Hidden White House: Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America's Most Famous Residence. This is about the total gutting and rebuilding of the interior of the White House during Truman's administration...it's appalling to read about what terrible shape the place was in before they rebuilt it. It's kind of a miracle nobody got smushed by a falling ceiling or chandelier!
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Post by annabella on Aug 11, 2014 15:16:34 GMT
I'm halfway through A House in the Sky - Amanda Lindhout
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