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Post by littlebee0408 on Jul 24, 2019 17:19:52 GMT
I’m finally reading again! Two for me this week, light summer reads, and I gave both 4/5
Summer of ‘69 by Elin Hildebrand and The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman
Up next are The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda, and The New Girl by Daniel Silva.
Happy reading, everyone!
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Post by thundergal on Jul 25, 2019 20:06:24 GMT
Since the last time I checked in:
- I DNF'd Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen. I just didn't care and I didn't get it done before book club and then I REALLY didn't care.
- I finished Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen. I listened to this one. I loved it. 5/5 A great true-crime book.
- I also finished listening to Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini and was All. Freaking. In. Loved this one, too. 5/5. She's funny, it's pop culture-y AND a cult?! Check check and CHECK. Fascinating and now I'm watching her show on Hulu.
- I'm currently listening to Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and enjoying it.
- And I'm pretty engrossed in the paper version of Love You More by Lisa Gardner. My first by her. We chose it for book club because it was only going to be 3 weeks before we met again and we wanted something that would read fast. I think it's great for what it is...mystery/suspense. Interesting characters.
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Post by finsup on Jul 25, 2019 20:08:11 GMT
Where the Crawdads Sing -- I did enjoy it but I did not TITLE it and I definitely wouldn't consider one of the best books of the year (soo many people here said it was). I thought it was a good beginning and ending, but overall just not as good as other books such as Pachinko, This is How it Always Is See, I thought Pachinko was just OK, and I didn't like This is How it Always Is at all, but TITLED ' Crawdads' I just re-read This Is How It Always Is and loved it again. I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you didn't like it.
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Post by pjaye on Jul 26, 2019 0:45:45 GMT
I just re-read This Is How It Always Is and loved it again. I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you didn't like it Firstly I know that the author has a transgender child herself & I knew that going in & even though this book is fiction I did expect a fairly realistic narrative about some of the common challenges that parents of a transgender child may encounter. But it wasn't & it annoyed me from the start, the whole bit about wishing for a girl, implies that somehow this is what made the child transgender and I think that does a disservice to the parents suggesting that somehow they "caused" their child to be transgender by sheer will of them wanting a child of the other sex. That's a argument against that I've heard a lot...that parents unduly influence their child's choice because they yearn for a child of a certain sex. I HATED that cloying fairytale that runs through the novel...it felt a tool to explain the transgender issues in dumbed down terms to the reader. However I'm an adult and this is a book written for adults so why waste a good chunk of the book telling it in a fairytale version aimed at 5 year olds? For the most part none of it rang true to me. The whole process was just too easy for everyone at the start and the author spent a lot of time patting the mother in the story (i.e herself) on the back about what a fantastic job they had done about making the whole transition so easy and the child was always just so comfortable in her own body and was never the slightest bit bothered by having a penis. In all the adult transgender patients I've spoken to (I'm a nurse and I regularly care for transgender patients undergoing genital surgery) none of them have ever been so "unconcerned" about having a penis, not even the younger ones with really supportive parents. Then when the secret gets out I didn't believe that the child would just decide to be a boy again so quickly and seemingly easily. If that is your real identity then you can't/don't go back, especially not when the author has the character being so firm in her gender identity and is so accepted in her life as a girl. Again this is an anti transgender argument I've heard a lot "what if they change their minds and want to go back?" acting as if that decision is just made on a whim, but this book pretty much makes it sound like these kids can simply switch back and forth between genders when things get tough. The therapist was written as total crackpot and I found it hard to buy into that character as well, he'd be far too polarising to hold to that job. Ugh and then the running away trip to Thailand and the whole vaguely racist/broken English 'ladyboy' thing grated on me as did the sudden switch back and near perfect ending. I don't think all LGBTQ stories need to be filled with drama and tragedy and I thought putting a more positive spin on the storyline was good initially, but it went OTT and became too sickly sweet and unrealistic. Even the most supportive parents will have some doubts and will question if they are doing the right thing. So the author builds this narrative about the perfect family and everyone loves and accepts the transgender child unconditionally...BUT as soon as the smallest issue arises instead of helping the child to deal with it, they run away, they move states or they run to another country. These parents want to live in a perfect worlds yet never teach their child how to deal with conflict, they just teach her to run away, hide and keep secrets. So yeah I had lots if issues! The fantasy style writing in some places, that ridiculous fairytale, then the unrealistic quick and easy transitions from one gender to the other & back. Plus it seems to actually reinforce common misconceptions about transgender children, which I thought was particularly odd. I think that people who don't personally know any transgender individuals are more like to rave about this book.
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Post by finsup on Jul 26, 2019 1:44:40 GMT
pjaye thank you for sharing your thoughts; you've made me think more deeply about my own feelings about the book. Too bad you can't be at my book club when we discuss this next month! Interesting how we interpreted some things so differently, like that you didn't feel the parents in the book doubted whether they were doing the right thing. My perception was that they absolutely spent a lot of time struggling with that and wanting so fiercely to do right by Poppy, and I thought that was one of the major themes of the book. And I guess I loved the book because I really related to that as a parent.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 27, 2019 14:36:15 GMT
I just finished The Last Time I Lied. I love it. Came here to find recommendations on what to read next. I can't decide if I should read Lock Every Door now or try something besides a thriller (maybe We Were the Lucky Ones) first. I am also listening to I Found You when driving. Thanks for the recommendations, everyone!
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lisaknits
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,460
May 28, 2015 16:14:56 GMT
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Post by lisaknits on Jul 27, 2019 14:59:36 GMT
I just finished The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I am so impressed by the complex issues that she and the Gates Foundation are tackling. I don't read non-fiction very often and I think I was prepared to do an eyeroll reading about a billionaire who is trying to help solve very difficult world issues. She is obviously highly intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic, and inspirational. This is a book that will stick with me. 5 stars.
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Post by utmr on Jul 27, 2019 23:44:40 GMT
American WarBy Omar El Akkad I started this one over a year ago and finally got back to it. It took me while to get into it, but it ultimately captured my attention. It isn’t The Road depressing, but it might be an even more disturbing post-apocalyptic near future because it weaves together America’s history, climate change, and today’s deeply divided America into something that seems like it could happen. It’s a tough read because it doesn’t let up from its march towards an ugly conclusion (with just a tinge of hope), but it was an interesting format. 4/5 stars. So, what did you read this week? I read this about a year ago and it was terrifying because it was so believable. I can absolutely envision everything in there happening. Very very good but terrifying. This and “Christian Nation” are two that you should not read at bedtime. You’ll never sleep again
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fitzy
Full Member
Posts: 227
Jun 28, 2014 2:50:04 GMT
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Post by fitzy on Jul 27, 2019 23:54:46 GMT
Two books that I have started but not finished in the past are A Gentleman In Moscow and Educated. I am making it a goal to finish both of these this year - I'm not sure why I didn't finish them, I think I will end up really enjoying both of them. Educated got a lot better as after awhile. I really liked it though sad it’s a memoir. If you like Educated then you might also like The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
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Post by alsomsknit on Jul 28, 2019 0:58:02 GMT
I read something. But, for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was. It was a paperback, because I keep forgetting to recharge my Kindle. Oh, that’s just awful. The bad thing is I enjoyed it to the point I was up far too late finishing it because there was no putting it down. Why can’t I remember?
At present, I am reading Death’s Acre by William (?) Bass. The author is responsible for creating the Body Farm at University of Tenn. Fascinating reading!
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