Susan's comments
(member since Feb 14, 2009)
(showing 1-20 of 69)
Oops - I forgot one:
#73. Bellwether by Connie Willis - I have loved her other books and this one, while not my favorite, didn't disappoint. A rather comical look at a scientist who studies trends and fads. 4 stars
Once again, I've been neglectful of this group and have a bunch to record:
#67. Play Dead by David Rosenfelt
#68. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - One of my favorites of the year - an insightful novel about the relationships between black domestic help and their white women who employ them set in 1960's Mississippi. A moving portrait, too, of the courage it took to do anything in that place and time period that challenged the injustice of the social structure. 5 stars
#69. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrfey Niffenegger. A reread for me in anticipation of the movie. After reading the rather mixed review of the movie, I've decided to wait till I can get it on Netflix (movies have to be really good for me to go to the theater to see them!) But it was fun to revisit Henry and Clare.
#70. So Many Books, So Little Time A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson - An entertaining look at one woman's reading habits over the course of a year. 3 stars
#71. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - How did I not read any of these Stephanie Plum novels till now????? Laugh out loud funny - can't wait to read number 2.
#72. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luis Ruiz. Loved this book!!! A father takes his son to the "Cemetery of Lost Books" - a place where unwanted books are stored - and allows him to select one. He picks "The Shadow of the Wind" and when he attempts to learn more about the author, he finds that someone has systematically been finding and buring all of his works. To unravel this dark mystery takes several years. 5 stars
Well - I'm getting close to my 75! Just started "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt - am liking it but it is not going to be a quick read.
I've gotten a little behind in posting:
#62. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
#63. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Gregory
#64. Belong to Me A Novel by Marisa de los Santos (A good follow-up to Love Walks In)
#65. Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt
#66 Dead Center by David Rosenfelt
Kay wrote: "Susan, It seems like my "To Read" list is growing exponentially. I've added "The Accidental Time Machine" to my reading list . . . in the SciFi genre, the concept of time travel is always somethin..."
I've also been drawn to time travel books and enjoy them as long as I don't think about them too much (those darn paradoxes!) The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis and Time and Again by Jack Finney are my favorites.
I know what you mean about the "To Reads" - since joining Goodreads, I've also discovered paperbackswap.com and books have been flying in and out of my house like crazy. It's so hard to decide which one should be next to reads.
#58. The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
This was a fun time travel book. A physics grad student discovers that machine designed for another purpose can send him to the future, but it can't send him back in time. He keeps travelling further and further into the future hoping that he will eventually find the technology to send him back. Enjoyable read.
#59 and 60. First Degree andBury the Lead by David Rosenfelt. (Audio books)
The first and second of his Andy Carpenter series - good mysteries with a lot of humor. Makes for good listening as I did these as audio books.
#61. The 19th Wife A Novel by David Ebershoff.
I was a little disappointed in this one. It is the present day story of a 19th wife in a polygamous community who is accused of murdereing her husband and the historical story of Brigham Young's 19th wife who divorced Young and travelled the country speaking out against polygamy. While both stories were interesting, I thought the historical story got too detailed, especially in the last third of the book and really dragged. I would have liked more attention to the present day story, which was told from the viewpoint of her son who had been thrown out of the community at the age of 14.
Kay wrote: "Susan, rats! Too bad the MP3 died . . . "
My new one has arrived and books have been downloaded - I am back in business! But I am number five on the waiting list to get The Little Stranger back.
#55. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Powerful YA story set in the very near future where "techno-geeks" in San Francisco resist a govenment that has truly turned into "Big Brother" after a terrorist attack on the Bay Bridge. Patriot Act 2 has allowed electronic surveillance of everything and everybody and First Amendment rights are trashed. My only criticism - while I love the theme of the danger of sacrificing our liberty for perceived security, I thought Doctorow hit the reader over the head with it a little too much. 4.5 stars
#56. The King of Lies by John Hart
When Jackson Workman Pickens is accused of the murder of his tyrannical father, he sets out to find the real murderer, hoping against hope that it wasn't his sister. Some reviewer calls Hart a combination of John Grisham and Pat Conroy, which sums it up pretty well - a mystery with a Southern lawyer with a dysfunctional family. Strong, taut plot and good characters. I'm looking forward to reading more by John Hart.
#57. The Guernsey Literary Society and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.
Charming epistolary novel set in the immediate aftermath of World War II when an author strikes up a correspondence with the above named literary society in Guernsey. I didn't realize the Channel Islands were occupied during World War II. I loved the characters on the island and the stories of how they coped duing the war. The descriptions of Guernsey make me want to start planning a trip. I loved the first two thirds of the book but the last third (concentrating more on the romantic travails of Juliet, the author) was just a little too cutesy for me. So I end up with 3 stars even though I would have given it 4 or 5 if not for the above.
(#58 would have been The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Was listening to it and my mp3 player died about half way though :( I have a new one ordered - this was a download through our public library and I probably will have to get on a waiting list to get it again.)
#52. Lottery by Patricia Wood
Read this for our local book club and it was well-like by just about everybody. Story of a 31 year old man with an IQ of 76, raised by his grandmother and ignored by the rest of his family until he wins 12 million dollars in the state lottery. A big-hearted story with great characters. 4 stars.
#53. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
I always enjoy spending some time with Sookie Stackhouse. I do have to say, though, after 9 books, I am getting antsy for some resolution in Sookie's lovelife. Still - devoured this in one evening and look forward to the next one. 4 stars.
#54. Whistling in the Dark by Leslie Kagen
This was ok - set in the 1950's in Milwaukee, a 10 year old girl and her 9 year old sister are largely left to their own devices when their mother has a lengthy hospitalization, their stepfather is drunk most of the time and the older sister has a boyfriend. And a child molester/murderer is at large. 3 stars
Even though this is the 75 challenge, I really want to hit 100 - it's good to pass the 50 mark!
#51 - Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Up to about page 98, I wasn't sure I was going to like this one. A Cary Grant look-a-like walks into the cafe and romance is immediately in the air, especially as Cordelia, the main character, adores old movies (The Philadelphia Story in particular). But the title doesn't refer to him, but to his 11 year old daughter, abandoned by her mentally ill mother. The relationship between Clare and Cordelia is indeed heart-warming and I went from luke-warm to "I REALLY like this book." 4 stars
I've been out of town, so I've got a few to add (spent quite a bit of time driving and managed to get some audio books in.)
#46. The Eye of Jade A Mei Wang Mystery by Diane Wei Liang (audio book)
Not much of a mystery - just ok.
#47. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
I was really touched by this book. The cellist (of the title) plays the same adagio every day for 22 days in the same spot to commemorate 22 people killed by a mortar as they waited in line for bread. The book follows the lives of three other people, all struggling to retain their humanity in the face of the inhumanity of war. This one will stay with me for awhile. 5 stars from me
#48. Jesus, Interrupted Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible by Bart Erhman
Very readable & interesting look at biblical scholarship concerning contradictions in the New Testament and the early history of the Christian church.
#49. Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz (audio book)
Not one of my favorites but it held my interest in driving from Tennessee to Chicago.
#50 Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt (audio book)
And this one got me from Chicago back to Tennessee. First book to feature Andy Carpenter, a wise-cracking defense attorney who takes on a death row appeal. The overwhelming evidence of the guilt of his client seems a little too pat and he sets out to prove his client was framed. Enjoyable and easy listening.
#45.
Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton
Pleasant and short cozy mystery, with a light touch of the supernatural and a little romance thrown in. I enjoyed it, but not enough to rush our for another one in the series. A nice change of pace - 3 stars.
#44. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Very different type of story - badly burned man is visited in the hospital by a mental patient who claims they were lovers in medieval times. She gradually tells him the stories of their past together. The stories were fascinating and I was totally engrossed in the book. All the way through I thought I would give it four or five stars. But when all was revealed, there were many things about the book that just didn't gel for me. (don't want to put any spoilers here). 3 stars.
#43. The Compound by Stephanie A. Stuve-Bodeen (audio book)
Suspenseful YA book featuring Eli,a teen-age boy whose billionaire genuis father is obsessed with the prospect of nuclesar war. The father builds a huge underground compound, designed to sustain them for 15 years, then one night herds the family done there because of an impending nuclear attack (but grandma, the twin brother and the dog get left outside). Six years later, the father's behavior is getting increasingly bizarre and leads Eli to question their whole existence in the compound. Some parts were pretty imnplausible, but it still sustained my interest. 3 stars.
#42. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.
Her second book to feature ex-police detective Jackson Brodie. Not near as good as the first, Case Histories, but still a good story. While the story stands on its own, I would strongly recommend reading Case Histories first, as it gives you a lot of background. I may have not even liked this if I hadn't read the first and already liked the character of Jackson Brodie. 3 stars
#41. Serena A Novel by Ron Rash.
A powerful and dark book, a story of unbridled ambition and greed. I usually don't like books if I can't feel any empathy with the main character, and I have seldom encountered as unsympathetic soul as the titled character. Various reviews call this a modern Macbeth or compare it to a Greek tragedy )complete with one of the lumber crews acting as a Greek chorus). The story is set against the background of the fight to establish the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the face of oppoisiton by the lumber companies, who are stripping the land bare. Serena and her husband run a lumber company and she is completely ruthless in her pursuits, culminating in her attempts to have her husband's illegitmate son (just a toddler) murdered because she herself is unable to bear children. I'm not sure if Serena is insane, evil or both, but she is certainly unforgettable. 5 stars
#40.
Abide with Me A Novel by Elizabeth Strout.
Touching story of a young minister struggling with his two small daughters and his vocation after the loss of his wife to cancer. His congregation isn't much help to him as he tries to adjust. A good character study, slice-of-life type story rather that one that is plot driven. 4 stars.
#39. Looking for Alaska by John Green. \
A worthy winner of the Printz Award (for excellence in young adultliterature.) A teen-age boy in boarding school relates this story in terms of "days before" and "days after" and it doesn't take much to figure out the traumatic event that everything dates back to. Great coming-of-age story. 4 stars.
#38. Duma Key by Stephen King.
Pretty good, liked the characters, but think I am just not into horror type books these days. 3 stars from me but can see where others would rate it higher.
#37.
Hard Truth by Nevada Barr.
One of her Anna Pigeon, park ranger, books, this one set in the Rocky Mountains. I have enjoyed this series in the past, but this one is not one of my favorites - featured a serial murderer and was a little too gruesome for what I expected.
#36. So Brave, Young and Handsome A Novel by Leif Enger.
I loved this book! It's 1915 - Monte Becket, a postal worker who wrote a surprise best-selling Western, can't seem to find another book to write, despite his promise to write 1000 words a day. One day he spies Glendon Hale rowing down the river standing up. The two men strike up a friendship and Hale asks him to travel with him to find the wife he left many years ago so he can apologize to her. We discover that Hale is an old outlaw and an ex-Pinkerton detective is hot on this trail. There's a lot in this - humor, tragedy, redemption, hope. I feel as if I travelled through the novel with the two of them. It is leisurely paced (but not slow) and populated with great characters. 5 stars.
