Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Looks like you had a nice reading month Lea. Kudos on getting through book 4 in the Before the Coffee gets Cold serires. I'm afraid it was a DNF for me. That doesn't happen to me too often but I just couldn't get traction on that one.

Motley Challenge 2024

1. A humorous book - Seven Up

2. An autobiography/ biography - All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir

3. A locked room mystery - How to Solve Your Own Murder

9. About a historical figure - The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra

11. A holiday or celebration story - The Exception to the Rule- Valentine's Day

12. A novella under 100 pages-Divorce Horse

14. Any color in the title-Silver in the Bone

15. A title with more than 4 words-To Be Taught, If Fortunate

16. An animal on the cover - As The Crow Flies

17. A house on the cover - The Confession Club

20. A place you always wanted to visit- Homecoming - Australia

21. Book has four or more stars on GR The Running Grave

22. Winner of the GR awards of 2023-Weyward

24. First book in a series-Bookshops & Bonedust

Getting to enjoy the Irish countryside with The Hunter by Tana French.

“Humans are great at imagining stuff. That’s why their media is so good.”
― Martha Wells, System Collapse

#88 System Collapse Murderbot is back! This story follows closely on the conclusion of the previous book and is chock full of Murderbot's sarcasm and repressed emotion. So good! 4 makes me want to watch a few episodes of Sanctuary Moon stars. Audiobook. SciFi.

#89 The Hunter This story picks up with the characters from Tana French's The Searcher two years later. Feeling that they have somewhat recovered from the events of two years ago Cal, Trey and Lena find their hard won peace suddenly threatened once again by the darker side of Ardnakelty. 5 loved the writing, loved the atmosphere, loved the characters stars. ebook. Mystery.

#90 An Obvious Fact A leisurely weekend turns into another case as Sheriff Longmire and Bear come face to face with a piece of Bear's past. 3 such a fun series stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

#91 Smoke Bitten Mercy encounters the legendary Rumpelstiltskin, adding another paranormal encounter to this already overflowing series. 3 light, quick and funny stars. Audiobook. Fantasy-Paranormal.

91 books/8713 pages

Current:
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Audiobook.
The Will of the Many ebook.
Of Human Bondage ebook.

“All the things that disappoint me worst, I knew them all along.”
― Tana French, The Hunter

“Many a choice is made this way: By pretending it makes itself.”
― Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

#85 The Midnight Feast An intense fast-moving mystery set at a new wellness retreat on opening day. I was not totally drawn in until the old diary entries kicked in and then I had to read to the end. I actually really enjoyed the micro chapters and the fast-revolving POV's. Those don't usually appeal to me but they really worked in this story. 4 don't go into the forest stars. Hardback. Mystery.

#86 Muse of Nightmares A good conclusion to the Laslo Strange duology. This book was a little better than the first one, more action-less introspection. I had a few quibbles with some of the author's choices but overall, it was nice. 3 nice world building stars. Audiobook. Fantasy.

#87 One Perfect Couple Ruth Ware is starting to be something of a guilty pleasure for me. Her stories are all similar enough that I should have lost interest by now, but I love the way she ramps up the suspense. This one was Lord of the Flies meets Reality TV and creates a closed room mystery. 3 talk about getting voted off the island, yikes! stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

87 books/8221 pages

Current:
The Hunter ebook. I have sooo been waiting for this one and it was worth it.
System Collapse Audiobook. Another one I've been looking forward to. Also, worth the wait.
Of Human Bondage ebook. Still reading/not reading this one. Too many other shiny books in the way.

“Turns out a leopard doesn’t change its spots, even if it’s covered them up with some wellness bullshit and white linen.”
― Lucy Foley, The Midnight Feast

Lea wrote: "Nice. I love making progress in reading my series books! I'm glad that most of the books you enjoyed."

Yes, this was a very satisfying challenge and it helped me close out a few series. Unfortunately, I am always starting more of them.

This list is completed!! It was a good list. There weren't a lot of barn burners but most of them were consistently good. Since they were all from series that I have enjoyed in the past, this is to be expected. It was a nice comfortable list and I wouldn't mind doing one like it again sometime.

Done and done!! Finishing the series and the list with Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor.

In the second installment of the series, Laslo tries to save his true love and in doing so finds at last answers to his questions about who he is and where he came from. Of course, he also has to defeat a series of angry god-like opponents and square off everyone in the city.

This series is written with a dreamlike/fairy tale atmosphere that I loved. I also loved the main character Laslo Strange. I do think that the entire series would have been improved by sticking to Laslo as the only POV. I felt that once we moved away from that things got complicated and less interesting. On the whole though I enjoyed this book more than the first one. Mainly because all questions were answered, and the action was more straight forward. A good series in spite of my little quibbles.

3 dreams and nightmares stars.

Quotable:

“There comes a certain point with a hope or a dream, when you either give it up or give up everything else. And if you choose the dream, if you keep on going, then you can never quit, because it's all you are.”
― Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

“Once upon a time, a sister made a vow she didn't know how to break, and it broke her instead.
Once upon a time, a girl did the impossible, but she did it just a little too late.”
― Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

“Can we leave the past behind us?"
Could they? The question was everything.
"That's an excellent place for the past," said Suheyla. "If you don't leave it there, it clutters everything up and you just keep tripping over it.”
― Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

Alissa wrote: "I got Margo's Got Money Troubles in my BOTM box and I plan on reading it in August so I'm glad to hear it seems like a winner!!"

I liked it Alissa. Like I said the content might bother some people so it may not be for everyone but I liked the MC and her "team".

I do enjoy it. The audiobooks are read by George Guidall and they are excellent.

Thanks Karol and Jackie!

“She also lent me her books, saying reading was a way of traveling the world, getting to know people you’ll never meet, also traveling through time, getting to know people who lived long ago.”
― Jeannette Walls, Hang the Moon

#82 Margo's Got Money Troubles When an unwanted pregnancy throws Margo suddenly into adulting, she struggles to find a way to support her child and to find people who will support her choices. There was a lot of questionable content in this book but I loved Margo's pluck and enjoyed the story. 4 she worked hard for the money stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Contemporary.

#83 Hang the Moon Set in the Virginia hills during the Prohibition years, this is the story of a young woman who takes an unlikely path to become the head of a moonshine empire. This book stretched believability at times but I enjoyed the fast paced plot. 4 white lightening stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Historical.

#84 Dry Bones #11 in my current favorite series - Longmire. This book seemed to be an almost perfect example of what I enjoy about this series. The discovery of an almost intact T-rex skeleton brings national attention to Absaroka County and gives the Sheriff and company a murder to investigate. 5 Dinosaurs make everything better stars. Audiobook. Mystery.

84 books/7482 pages

Current:
The Midnight Feast Hardback. I'm really liking this twisted little mystery.
Muse of Nightmares Audiobook. Finishing up my series challenge and this duology. Two birds, one stone.
Of Human Bondage ebook. Not making much progress maybe the weekend will bring some reading time.

“The sadness from the morning didn’t exactly go away; it dried on me and slowly crumbled, leaving me covered in little flakes, like if you eat a glazed donut in a black shirt. That was how it was being a grown-up. We were all moving through the world like that, like those river dolphins that look pink only because they’re so covered in scars.”
― Rufi Thorpe , Margo's Got Money Troubles

Alissa wrote: " BOOK 94
Completed the weirdest book of the year lol

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck



3 STARS
Audiobook

I think if I would have..."

I felt similarly about this one Alissa. It was as you say so very weird but at some point it struck a note with me. Not for everyone maybe but good if you're up for something different.

Lillie wrote: "Congrats Michelle! I’m always hesitant to read books from the awards but 12/16 with thumbs up is pretty decent"

Thanks Lillie! They weren't all 5 star but most of them were enjoyable reads.

Bill wrote: "Congratulations, Michelle. Always good books to come, too many!"

Ain't that the truth! Thanks Bill.

Lea wrote: "Congratulations!

So basically, the GRC selections seem to have treated you pretty decently, with 12 thumbs up and 4 thumbs down! :-)

What a fun challenge!"

Definitely a good experience. More GRC selections in the future.

This list is officially finished. 16 mostly great books from the Goodreads Choice Nominees of 2023. I said at the beginning I would give each one a thumbs up or thumbs down. I ended up giving a thumbs up to 12 out of the 16 books on the list. I guess this proves that the Goodreads readers really do know what makes a good book. I look forward to the Goodreads Choice awards for 2024. Maybe I will try a similar challenge next year or maybe I will just use it for reading suggestions. Either way there are more good books to come.

Done and done! Finishing up the list with Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls. 👍 Thumbs up!

Sally, sent away as a young girl, is summoned back to her powerful father's home after the death of her stepmother. As a young woman she struggles to find her place in her father's house. Meanwhile Prohibition threatens to change the way of life for her community in the hills of Virginia. After her father's sudden death Sally finds she must step up and try to fill his shoes to save her family and her community.

Whew! This was some book. The synopsis above does not do it justice because a LOT of stuff happened in this book. Constant twists and turns. It almost got to be irritating after a point. In spite of that though I did enjoy the book about a woman ahead of her time who takes on a moonshining empire in the middle of Prohibition. Like many people I read The Glass Castle and loved it. After that I read Half Broke Horses and did not love it. This book lands somewhere between. The plot twists were a little unbelievable at times but the story was engaging.

4 moonlit moonshine run stars.

Quotable:

“Quality? Hell, the only time our whiskey aged was when we got a flat tire.”
― Jeannette Walls, Hang the Moon

We’re a family. There are two kinds of family, those you’re born into and those you put together from pieces that don’t go anywhere else, and this is one of those families. Five of us now. Like mismatched buttons that still keep your shirt closed.”
― Jeannette Walls, Hang the Moon

“Because sometimes men don’t take care of the women. And that’s why we women need our jobs.”
― Jeannette Walls, Hang the Moon

I haven't posted here in so long! Adding some from my 2024 tour to the list

The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
The Women
Homecoming
The Colors of All the Cattle
The Keeper of Hidden Books

Just began listening to Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls. The last book on the list! Whoohoo!