Casual Readers Club discussion
January 2013
>
What are you reading?
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Christy
(new)
Jan 16, 2013 04:45PM
Mod
reply
|
flag
Mod
I'm wading through The Historian, which is a BEAR of a book. I'm 85% through the 700 pages, and still can't decide If I really like it.
Colleen wrote: "I'm wading through The Historian, which is a BEAR of a book. I'm 85% through the 700 pages, and still can't decide If I really like it."Finally finished...
Well, this certainly wasn't a QUICK read! At a little over 700 pages (kindle edition), and virtually no action to move things along, it felt like it took ages to get through it.
Unlike many readers, I didn't hate this book, but it certainly isn't a favorite. Atmospheric and heavily-descriptive, it reminds me of a reading assignment in a college lit class. I couldn't care less about any inaccuracies in historical facts or descriptions the book may contain ---if I want facts, I don't pick up a novel!
The author's synopsis describes this as a vampire story, but honestly, Dracula could have been substituted with anyone, and it would have made absolutely no difference. The story primarily focuses on research of 15th century monasteries, and an academic-based search for Vlad Tepes; the fact that he was a vampire is really incidental.
If you enjoy classic books that are high on atmosphere and low on plot, give this a try.
Just finished The Empathy of Alice Winters. Dickson is one of my favorite indie authors, and often offers her work on Amazon for free.Allison M. Dickson always delivers well-written, character-driven stories, and this is no exception. At 38 pages, it's difficult to say much about the plot without ruining the reading experience, so I'll simply say it's worth your time to pick it up.
This isn't as creepy as much of Dickson's work, though it does deal with the darker side of life. I would have given this 5 stars if the ending wasn't predictable from the beginning of the story.
.The Empathy of Agnes Winters
Just finished Joe Hill's NOS4A2. LOVED it!! Creepy, suspenseful, and dripping horror on every page. I'll never look at Christmas the same way again. :)
I just finished reading Red Fox. I think I am going to read the next book in the series. I want to see if the personalities and relationship between Perry and Dex mature.
Julia wrote: "I just finished reading Red Fox. I think I am going to read the next book in the series. I want to see if the personalities and relationship between Perry and Dex mature."
Just picked up the first in this series for free on Amazon. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention! Darkhouse
I just finished Hannah's Voice, and was unfortunately disappointed. The book is rooted firmly in fundamentalist Christianity, but isn't preachy. My issue with it is that nothing really happens until the last quarter of the book. I yawned through the whole thing. Hannah's Voice
Currently on the top of my reading list: Deeply OddI've been reading Dean Koontz since childhood, and I love this series.
Starting on book #4 in the Experiment in Terror Series. The relationship between Perry and Dex has become more strained and bizarre. Some of the events in the books creep me out (not my definition of scary, aside from the creepy clown lady) but none of them scare me as badly as the relationship between Perry and Dex. It's, well... it's almost toxic.They addressed maturity issues on Perry's part in book #3, which I enjoyed. It is fun to watch the writer mature along with the characters.
Julia wrote: "Almost finished with The Forgotten Garden I don't hate it, but I don't love it either."Too bad, the description makes it sounds like an interesting read.
I just finished Dreamer's Cat, which I loved...but it's a bit out there, so most likely not for everyone. Now I'm working on What the Dead Know. so far, so good!
I couldn't get into The Forgotten Garden. The writing was good, it's the subject matter and Nells attitude I had a hard time tolerating. I will try to read another of the authors books in the future, as long as it's a different subject matter. Sometimes we readers just can't sympathize with a character. For most people, waking up one day thinking your parents are your biological parents and finding out otherwise will never happen, and they people might like the book just fine...but there are those of us for whom that isn't a scenario but a reality. Nells attitude made me very uncomfortable. I started Mama Does Timeand it was just what I needed to forget about the blah time I had with The Forgotten Garden.
I just finished What the Dead Know. Definitely worth the read, though I wasn't thrilled with the ending. Up next is Almost Paradise, which was an Amazon freebie.
Colleen wrote: "Up next is Almost Paradise, which was an Amazon freebie."I can't recommend
Almost Paradise, unless you're looking for a mystery story with more atmosphere than story. Beautiful descriptions of Hawaii and it's culture, but plot is sorely lacking.
The Survival of Thomas Ford is next.
I gave up on The Survival of Thomas Ford. ugh, couldn't't even get through the first 10% of the story. Horrible, unsympathetic characters, and not really much of a plot.I moved on to In Leah's Wake, which I loved from beginning to end. It's a realistic coming of age story....definitely not a "feel good" book, but compelling, and well written.
Up next is Changing My Wardrobe
Julia wrote: "I started reading Mommy Had a Little Flask."I just picked this up, too, Julia, since it was free on Amazon. I have my Kindle sorted alphabetically by author, and just read from the top down, so it will be a while before I get to this one.
Casual Readers Club
Books mentioned in this topic
In Leah's Wake (other topics)Changing My Wardrobe (other topics)
Mommy Had a Little Flask (other topics)
Almost Paradise (other topics)
The Survival of Thomas Ford (other topics)
More...
