What Are You Reading Showing 5,301-5,350 of 6,935

[Seraphina]

There are hundreds of sites that offer free ebooks, the problem is they generally don't contain books of interest to me. Alot of them offer unknown titles, self published books, classics that are already free via librivox etc. So I guess it depends on what your looking for.

[Barbara]

Emma wrote: "I'm the same. I can get all the classics for free via Amazon anyway and I avoid self published like the plague. They are too hit and miss. I don't have that kind of reading time to be wasting on them."

I am of the same mind. Even when books are on special on Kindle, I check GR for reviews. I often don't buying many of them after I read reviews. I am determined to get loads more reading done of the books I already have but that doesn't stop me from picking up others. I particularly try to read new books by favorite authors and newly published books with good reviews.

[Karen]

I have just finished Kate Mosse book brilliant read listing to "Pretty Girls" and reading "The Secret Scripture not sure how i feel about this one but want to get a little more read before I have any thoughts on it

[Margo]

Has anyone read Lila or anything else by by Marilynne Robinson. It is next months book for my live book club. I don't fancy it based on the blurb.

[Barbara]

Margo wrote: "Has anyone read Lila or anything else by by Marilynne Robinson. It is next months book for my live book club. I don't fancy it based on the blurb."

I read Housekeeping and gave it 5 stars.

[Sara]

I read Gilead and gave it 5 stars. I think her books are of a particular kind though that might not be to everyone's tastes. I think on the whole they're quiet books with not a lot of plot.

[Margo]

Thanks. With 2 five star ratings for the author I'll give it a go. I have never not tried a bookclub read yet but I wasn't gripped by the description of this one.

[Karen]

Making my way through by Karin Slaughter.

Enjoying the story but have a creep feeling it

[Margo]

Karen wrote: "Making my way through by Karin Slaughter.

Enjoying the story but have a creep feeling it"

I listened to that about 6 months ago. Way too graphic for my taste. I'm a wimp ;-p

[Karen]

@Margo, having got that far yet. i let you know how i get on :-)

[Trelawn]

I am on a good reading buzz at the mo and have read outside my usual comfort zone. The thriller/mystery "After the Crash" was a really enjoyable read. I also enjoyed Here Are the Young Men by Rob Doyle despite it's bleak and graphic content. Today is my day off and as I am home sick I decided to catch up on the graphic novel companion series to Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books. I read parts 3-5 which were really good. A very interesting story arc. Next up is Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. This is the latest in the project Austen modernisations. I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Trelawn]

Yeah I think the Hanging Tree is out in July. I'll keep you posted on Eligible Emma.

[Paul]

Sadly they must have noticed two winners lived at the same address so they didnt send the copy I won. Would have been nice if the emailed and said that .

[Thomas, Moderator]

I am reading a GR Giveaway book Who Buries the Dead by C.S. Harris

It is part of the Sebastian St. Cyr series, set in early 19th century London. The blurb describes an aristocrat(St. Cyr) on the trail of a serial killer.

[Trelawn]

Sounds good Thomas

[Margo]

Emma wrote: "I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Eligible Trelawn.

I think the new Rivers of London book is out soon. Margo they are a series you might be in."

Emma, I got the first book in the rivers of london series soon after it came out on audio and just couldnt get into it. Some books don't translate well to audio

[Trelawn]

Maybe give it a shot on kindle Margo, I think you'd really enjoy the series. Peter and Nightingale are amazing characters

[Susan]

Trelawn wrote: "I am on a good reading buzz at the mo and have read outside my usual comfort zone. The thriller/mystery "After the Crash" was a really enjoyable read. I also enjoyed Here Are the Young Men by Rob D..."

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It's a very updated Austen book. I laughed all the way through it. I hope you like it.

[Sara]

So a book that I would highly recommend to folks, even though I'm only about 60% of the way through it is is my current audio book The Round House. It's absolutely riveting and deals with the important topic of sexual assault on Native American reservations and the complicated jurisdictional issues that make prosecuting the offenders difficult. It also gives a good cultural overview of the Ojibwe tribe (the author of the book is a member) and even manages to introduce moments of levity despite the serious topic of the book. When we get to North America in our "Continental Challenge," this might be a good option for folks looking for something different.

[Trelawn]

I'm enjoying it so far Susan

[Margo]

Must give it a try Trelawn. I thought I'd love on audio but it just didn't happen

[Susan]

Louise Erdich is great, Sara. I found The Round House especially moving. She has a new book coming out soon and I can't wait. She's never disappointed me.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Trelawn wrote: "Sounds good Thomas"

I am enjoying it so far, only 25 pages in, of 360 pages.

[Thomas, Moderator]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in a series of letters, between an author and various Guernsey Island residents. The letters reveal what it was like for the island residents to be occupied by the Germans during WWII. I liked the authors cure for hiccups: "you pinch your nose shut with two thumbs, and plug up both ears with your fingers, while a friend pours water down your throat without let."

[Thomas, Moderator]

Love and Fear: A Gulliver Dowd Mystery
by Reed Farrel Coleman

I enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read--only 154 pages. I received this free book from Orca Book Publishers through LibraryThing in return for an honest review. Gulliver Dowd is an unusual private eye. He is only 4 feet tall. His short size can be an advantage, because people are not threatened by him. He can, however, take on men much bigger than himself without a problem.
He is hired by a mob enforcer to find the daughter of the enforcer's boss. Gulliver knows and respects both men, but does not like either of them. They know something about Gulliver's sister's murder.
Gulliver is very good at what he does. How he solves this case leads to a satisfying ending. This book is a solid 4 out 5 stars.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Lilac Girls

I enjoyed reading this book. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House , for sending me this ebook in return for an honest review. This book follows three women at the start of WWII in 1939. The first is Caroline Ferriday, an American socialite working in the French consulate in New York city. The second is Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager who is arrested after caught working as a courier for the Polish underground. She is sent to Ravensbruck, a women's concentration camp. The third is a new doctor, Herta Oberhauser. She is unable to find work as a doctor in 1939 Germany, where women doctors are rare. She answers a newspaper ad for a position as a camp doctor at a "re-education" camp at Ravensbruck.
The book follows these 3 women until about 1960. Once I was halfway through the book, I found it hard to put down, reading 50 to 100 pages a day, because I wanted to see what happened in the lives of these 3 women.
The author has an explanatory note at the end of the book. Several of the characters, including Caroline and Herta, were actual people. Others were based on actual people, specifically, "the Rabbit women," a group of Polish women who underwent gruesome medical experiments at Ravensbruck.

Much of this story is very depressing. The horrors of medical experiments at Ravensbruck are graphically described. There is a humorous line when Caroline describes her father's color blindness: "One morning at breakfast, he appeared in a yellow jacket, burnt orange trousers, and red socks."
This book is a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Who Buries the Dead
I want to thank the publisher for sending this book in return for an honest review, through the Goodreads Giveaway program. I enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down once I was halfway through. This book is a tale of historical fiction, which takes place from March 21-31, 1813, London, England. A wealthy plantation owner's body is found, with the severed head a short distance away. The local magistrate calls in Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin and Earl of Hendon.
Devlin has a talent for solving murders and does not charge the magistrate.
Devlin's old enemy, former army officer Lord Oliphant, is one of the suspects. Not until the end did I find out the identity of the murderer and it was a surprise. The plot moved along well and the characters were believable. This is book 10 in the series, and I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in the series, but it read ok as a semi stand alone. I plan to read more of this series. This book is a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

[Margo]

Thomas wrote: "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is written in a series of letters, between an author and various Guernsey Island residents. The ..."

I have this book on my wish list purely as the name appealed to me. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it Thomas.

[Trelawn]

It's an easy, enjoyable read Margo.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Trelawn and Emma I heartily agree with you. Margo, you will enjoy this book.

[Susan]

I read an article in the paper today that says the average American reads 5 books a year. I almost wept when I read that. How can you exist without that food for your soul? It's beyond me. Even when I was raising the four kids, I still made time to read. Of course, it wasn't like I do now but at least 2-3 books a month.

I guess I'll have to man up and read their books for them. Ha ha.

[Paul]

That is depressing Susan.

[Cathleen]

I echo Paul. The Pew Research Center comes out with regular surveys and reports, and they're usually pretty dismal. I think the average is around 13 or 14 and the median is around 4 or 5. Women read more, on average, than men. I've never come across detailed research on why Americans don't read; that would be interesting to know. And I wonder what the average is in other countries.

[Cathleen]

Thomas wrote: "Who Buries the Dead
I want to thank the publisher for sending this book in return for an honest review, through the Goodreads Giveaway program. I enjoyed reading this book and fou..."

That sounds good, Thomas. I'll put it on my list.

[Cathleen]

I'm reading The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload --not fiction, obviously, but fascinating stuff about how we learn, process, and remember (or not!) information.

[Barbara]

Something I didn't know about literacy skills, is that people can "lose" them almost entirely. At least that was supposedly the case in Brazil when I lived there. All Brazilians learn to read as children in school, but later may be considered illiterate. This was, at the time, said to be because the cost of newspapers, magazines and especially books, are expensive - way beyond what the vast majority of the population can afford and people didn't read. There appear to be only a few public libraries in the country at least according to Wikipedia. A contrast to this bleak picture though is the example of the trash pickers in the Brazilian documentary film Trash. Some of the young men in the film collected the books they found in the garbage and read them. Two of them were reading Machiavelli's The Prince and debating it. It was brilliant.

Twenty years ago the Washington Post cost 25 cents. Now it's $1.25 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...
The Irish Times is ridiculously expensive. We all know newspapers have lost most of their subscribers and sell poorly. Sources of free and used books are abundant in the US but probably less so in other countries.

[Thomas, Moderator]

Cathleen wrote: "Thomas wrote: "Who Buries the Dead
I want to thank the publisher for sending this book in return for an honest review, through the Goodreads Giveaway program. I enjoyed reading th..."

I plan to read books 1-9 sometime. I think that you will like the series.

[Cathleen]

Barbara wrote: "Something I didn't know about literacy skills, is that people can "lose" them almost entirely. At least that was supposedly the case in Brazil when I lived there. All Brazilians learn to read as ch..."

That's really interesting, Barbara. I guess it's like any other cognitive "skill,;" if you don't use it, you lose it.

And as far as availability of either free or readily accessible reading materials, I was thinking that yesterday as I left the local library. Libraries are crucial, but it all depends on the region or community whether you have access to the library itself (because of their hours) and a wide range of books.

[Paul]

Thats intriguing Barbara . Makes sense I suppose.

[Susan]

I cannot imagine starting my day without my newspaper but I am considering it. The subscription price keeps going up and the quality keeps decreasing.

[Karen]

I have just finished reading

here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Thomas, Moderator]

We still subscribe to our local newspaper, The Buffalo News.

[SherryRose]

We get the newspaper. I'd miss it too Susan.

[SherryRose]

I'm listening to The Widow It's not a cheerful subject but it's well done so far.

[Margo]

It's getting good reviews Sherry, but so far I've been disappointed by any book where the review starts "for fans of gone girl"! I'll be interested to hear your verdict :-)

[SherryRose]

I never read Gone Girl so I have an open mind!

[SherryRose]

Behind Closed doors looks really good Emma. I added it.

[Susan]

I had to laugh when I looked up that book, Emma. It said for fans of the Girl on the Train. This must be the second most popular reference after Gone Girl. I don't know why they do that. When you read it and it's nothing like the book it was compared to, then you're doubly disappointed.

[Margo]

Emma wrote: "It is always worrying when books include taglines comparing them to other popular books. However having not read Girl on a Train I can't confirm if it's a good comparison."

My sentiments exactly Susan. Lazy pulicity! If the best thing that you say say about is that it is similar to another book, well.....
I loved Gone Girl, hated The Girl on the Train. Despite which Behind Closed Doors has been added to my wish list ;-p

[Margo]

Just finished Cat's Eye which is a definite 5* read for me. About to start People of the Book as 2nd book for oz challenge. I'm looking forward to it, it's my first time to read this author.