Jennifer’s Comments (group member since Dec 03, 2021)

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

Lea wrote: "I didn't read Spare yet, I'm hoping to get to it next month. Instead I read Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond. I never watched Happy Days (we did not have a TV ..."

I read Being Henry a few months ago -- Winkler was quite forthcoming about some ego issues -- I admire him for that -- and he seems very human, decent, and approachable.

Also not surprised re less sympathetic with Harry. The reviews alone made him sound like an entitled spoiled little brat.

Time for page-turners and late-night reading -- let's have those THRILLERS for June, everyone!

I like a book that grabs you early, Bonnie. Good to hear this one is like that.

Mistress of the Art of Death
Ariana Franklin

A chilling, mesmerizing novel that combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction. In medieval Cambridge, England, four children have been murdered. The crimes are immediately blamed on the town's Jewish community, taken as evidence that Jews sacrifice Christian children in blasphemous ceremonies. To save them from the rioting mob, the king places the Cambridge Jews under his protection and hides them in a castle fortress. King Henry II is no friend of the Jews-or anyone, really-but he is invested in their fate. Without the taxes received from Jewish merchants, his treasuries would go bankrupt. Hoping scientific investigation will exonerate the Jews, Henry calls on his cousin the King of Sicily-whose subjects include the best medical experts in Europe-and asks for his finest "master of the art of death," an early version of the medical examiner. The Italian doctor chosen for the task is a young prodigy from the University of Salerno. But her name is Adelia-the king has been sent a "mistress" of the art of death. Adelia and her companions-Simon, a Jew, and Mansur, a Moor-travel to England to unravel the mystery of the Cambridge murders, which turn out to be the work of a serial killer, most likely one who has been on Crusade with the king. In a backward and superstitious country like England, Adelia must conceal her true identity as a doctor in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she is assisted by Sir Rowley Picot, one of the king's tax collectors, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. Rowley may be a needed friend, or the fiend for whom they are searching. As Adelia's investigation takes her into Cambridge's shadowy river paths and behind the closed doors of its churches and nunneries, the hunt intensifies and the killer prepares to strike again . .

Martha wants in and will post her shelf when she gets back from wherever she is. :).

I posted the pairs. Pick here!

I have a PM in with Martha to see if she wants in. Gonna give her some time to answer. :)

You're whipping right through them, Eileen!

I'll commit to -- my boyfriend's son and I are watching our way through The Wire while Jim is in school in South Florida for the next two months, and the book will make a good backdrop to the TV Series.

The colors for the June 2024 Color Challenge are lavender and/or yellow. Looking forward to seeing what you pick to read!

In for five, please!
PIFM

Hi, everyone!

For anyone unfamiliar, this is a monthly challenge where you post a link to a shelf you created. It can be named "PIFM" or "Pick It For Me" etc, if you want one dedicated only to this challenge, or you can use an existing shelf you already have, as long as it has 100 or fewer books on it. The link must be to the specific shelf, or you will not be partnered.. Indicate how many books you would like to have picked for you from that shelf for the month in question. There is no lower limit as to how many books you can have on your shelf, but, of course, they should be books you are interested in reading during the next month and have ready access to.

On or about the 25th of each month, I will post who picks for whom. In order to accommodate an uneven number of participants, pairs will not be reciprocal -- in other words, it won't be Joanne picking for Jennifer and Jennifer picking for Joanne. It may be Joanne picks for Jennifer, Jennifer picks for Herman, and Herman picks for Suzanne, and someone else entirely picks for Joanne.

If anyone has not been "picked for" by the 30th, I will pick for them if the designated picker can't be contacted by PM.

When you are assigned someone to pick for, note the number of books in parentheses after that person's name in the pick list, go to the link for their shelf, and pick that number of books for them. Post the books in a new message here. That person has the entire following month to read his/her picks. Someone will be picking for you the same way. We all like to see what people think about their picks, so we hope you will keep us posted in this thread!

Example: "In for five, please!
PIFM"

The HTML template for linking your shelf can be found HERE and if you have trouble, PM me and I will help you.

Your designated shelf must be set so that others can see it. To set up a PIFM shelf for those who would like to, go to the "MY BOOKS" link in the GOODREADS toolbar, scroll down below your shelves on the left until you see the "add shelf" button, and click that. Name it PIFM or Pick It For Me. Add books to it, and post the link to it in this challenge as described above. Again, if you need help, please don't hesitate to PM me!

If you are in for June, post your shelf and the number of picks you'd like to have below. See you on picking day!


June pairs

Jennifer picks 1 for Martha
Joy picks 1 for Jackie
Denise picks 3 for Lance
Jackie picks 3 for Joy
Lance picks 2 for Denise
Martha picks 5 for Jennifer

Hi, everyone! This is the thread for the "Commit to one book monthly" challenge. In this thread, post one book you intend to read in May, so everyone else can see your pick. When you finish reading it, we'd love for you to come back and post your opinion. I expect everyone's TBRs to suffer because of this monthly reading challenge, but I'm prepared to make that sacrifice. Are you? :-D

Hi!

It's time to nominate non-fiction books for our third quarter 2024 NF group read. The nominations thread will be open through the 31st.

On June 1st, I'll put up a poll. The winner will be announced on June 15, which should give everyone who is interested some time to get the book if they wish to read it starting on July 1st.

Patricia wrote: "I finished Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World & have started The Library Book. I have been meaning to read this forever & am already fascinated."

OOOOH I forgot. I have The Library Book around here somewhere too.

Good to know, Eileen.

I've read two books about landmark television this week. I usually only have the set on about one day a week (my sig other and I usually watch our way through a show on Saturday nights) so a lot of these shows that sound really great I haven't seen. Starting a TBW? LOL. Anyway, both of these were quite good and very readable:

Oh, excellent, Eileen -- it's on my TBR so I'm glad to hear it's good.

Joy D wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Argh! You're too good at writing reviews. You didn't let on what conclusion Posner came to. LOLOL"

Not sure if you want to know but if so, his conclusion is: [spoilers removed]"

I did want to know, so thank you. :). My mom was pregnant with me and we were living in Dallas when JFK was assassinated. So it's something I feel a little connected to.

Pam wrote: "I’m reading The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. It’s really interesting! This is my first book by Larson."

Excellent! One of the few nonfiction books I reread every now and then is one of his: