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Read, Reading Now and Reading Next (April -June 2016)
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Ezi, Factory Superintendent
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Jun 07, 2016 06:15PM
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I didn't make it that far in today :( too much other stuff going on. I'll listen again tomorrow. Glad you're enjoying it. I've been waiting for their story :D
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I like how she redeems Nikolai!
ThatEzi wrote: "~Melissa~ wrote: "I didn't make it that far in today :( too much other stuff going on. I'll listen again tomorrow. Glad you're enjoying it. I've been waiting for their story :D"I like how she red..."
I made it to about 16 chapters in ~ I'm wondering (view spoiler) just random thoughts so far. I'm hoping to listen to more while I'm at work tomorrow :)
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Simone's mom really wants her daughter to succeed her on the council so her daughter has to be blameless and spotless. Thus falling in love with Nikolai, a demon, doesn't fit the script.
I've never liked the witches but loved Conn's book Hunted the best in the series
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She's hiding that secret so no one will know about her daughter's lineage. She let Simone think she was pure blooded witch. Simone found about Bear on her own.
ThatEzi wrote: "~Melissa~ wrote: "what a load of crap since [spoilers removed]"She's hiding that secret so no one will know about her daughter's lineage. She let Simone think she was pure blooded witch. Simone f..."
I know I know just what a pain in the ass.....parents wanting to plan their kids lives instead of letting 'them' live it :)
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Playing for Pizza by John Grisham – 2** What’s the male equivalent of chick-lit? Jock-lit? Well, whatever term we use, this novel is it. Light on plot (and what’s there is predictable), a little romance, a life lesson learned (sort of), and a lot of football. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed some of the scenes that explored Italian culture. Evan Welch does a fairly good job of voicing the audio. He has good pacing and I liked the way he voiced the Italians.
Full Review HERE
The Ghost and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell – 3*** This is book #3 in the cozy mystery series featuring Mrs Hepzibah Jeffries, housekeeper to Inspector Gerald Witherspoon, and her team of servants who all help solve the crimes. It’s a fast read, full of colorful characters, and I enjoyed watching Mrs Jeffries figure it out and gently coaxing the Inspector towards the correct solution to the mystery.
Full Review HERE
If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t) by Betty White – 2.5** I feel a little mean not liking this more. I love Betty White, and some of the essays in this book are spot on perfect. But it’s pretty lightweight in substance, and while it is a fast read, it just didn’t satisfy what I look for in a reading experience.
Full Review HERE
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – 4**** Early in his career as a writer, Hemingway lived in Paris with his wife and infant son. This is his memoir of that time, when he was young, curious, and soaking up atmosphere with a sponge. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have shared even one afternoon with these young writers! There is immediacy to Hemingway’s writing that just draws me into the world of his work. I thank Hemingway for letting me live vicariously through his memories.
Full Review HERE
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – 3.5*** Eleanor is the new kid – and target – at school; Park is a quiet loner who prefers listening to his music tapes and reading comics. Eleanor winds up sitting next to Park on the bus and slowly they begin to notice the value in one another. I can certainly see where the target audience would love it (as my niece did). But for me it’s just a little better than average. Fair warning: there is some very vulgar language in the book.
Full Review HERE
Read.
Reading now.
Reading next.
Reading now.
Reading next.
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain – 3*** McLain does extensive research and had a wealth of information on which to base this work of historical fiction. I appreciate how she paints the landscape of this part of Africa in the early part of the 20th century. I recognize Markham’s intelligence, determination and tenacity, but she never seemed to learn anything from her mistakes. I struggle with giving the work a higher rating because I so disliked Beryl Markham. McLain chose to focus her work on Beryl’s childhood and young adulthood, so that the character is just becoming the woman we know about when the novel ends. And I’m left feeling disappointed in both Beryl and the book.
Full Review HERE
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa – 5***** and a ❤A beautifully elegant gem of a novel. The slow way in which the Housekeeper, Root and the Professor get to know one another is framed by his lessons on the poetry of mathematics. I liked how Ogawa used the Professor’s and Root’s love of baseball to frame their growing friendship. It is a story about love (not to be confused with a “love story”).
Full Review HERE
The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais – 3*** Hassan Haji is born into a restaurant family and becomes a celebrated French chef in this delightful fable. The book focuses on his life’s journey, and those bumps in the road that might derail his ambitions. There is a significant clash of cultures when this Indian family establishes their Maison Mumbai in the small French village of La Lumiere. But good food will always attract a following. Neil Shah does a good job of performing the audio version.
Full Review HERE
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain – 4**** I first listened to this audio in Feb 2013. I listened again in preparation for my F2F book club. I won’t change my rating, but I find the audio more annoying this time for the poor voice work. The book, however, is still a good one in the way McLain portrays the Hemingway’s marriage and their life in 1920s Paris. I really liked Hadley.
Full Review HERE
Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernières – 4**** Dionisio Vivo is a philosophy teacher, whose letters to the editor about the effects of the coca trade on the people of this unnamed South American country have attracted the wrath of the local drug lord. This is a fun romp of a satire, full of magical realism and totally outrageous scenarios. I laughed aloud in many places, and cried out in dismay in others. The language de Bernières employs is nothing short of delightful. The reader who can suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride will find much to enjoy.
Full Review HERE
The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown – 3*** As summer begins, ten-year-old Alice meets two extraordinary people: a bi-racial boy visiting his grandparents for the summer, and a middle-aged artist with AIDS who has come to live with his sister. This coming-of-age novel brought back many fond memories of the summers spent doing “nothing” and “everything." One of the difficulties with choosing a child narrator, however, is that the adult reader will clearly see certain plot elements coming long before the less-experienced child. Still, I thought Brown did a good job of revealing the plot elements, and the changing relationships.
Full Review HERE
Read:
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra 5 stars - a favourite and the best book I have read in years.Reading Now:
Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi something light to cure my book hangover.Reading Next:
Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland 
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
And the Mountains Echoed 
Horus Rising
Read:
and
Reading Now:
Reading Next:
Mrs. Jeffries Takes Stock by Emily Brightwell – 2.5** I like this cozy mystery series featuring Mrs Jeffries and other servants in the Inspector’s Victorian household, who work together to lead their boss to the solution of the mystery. However, I think I’ve read too many recently and the plots are getting formulaic and thin. Still, it’s a fast read, and an occasional cozy never hurt anyone.
Full Review HERE
I'm reading
and listening to
which I hope to finish today so I can get on with
as I drive down the road tomorrow.
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian – 3.5*** Emily Shepard is a troubled teen. Totally understandable, given that she’s been orphaned by a nuclear plant disaster where both her parents worked, she’s homeless, and she’s one of the most reviled people in Vermont, if not all of America. The novel is told as a series of journal entries, and Emily’s recollections are not linear. Often, I was irritated with her, but I grew to like her and root for her. She was intelligent, resilient, tried to be responsible, and very vulnerable. Grace Blewer does a fine job narrating the audio version. Blewer is Bohjalian’s daughter, and she helped him with the slang and cadence of speech so that he could write in a more-believably-teen-aged voice.
Full Review HERE
4:50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie – 3.5*** The story begins when Mrs McGillicuddy witnessed a murder on a passing train. She reports it to the authorities, but as there has been no body found, and no woman reported missing, they dismiss her story as active imagination. This is a great cozy mystery, featuring a fine cast of suspects and amateur sleuths. Miss Marple employs the assistance of the very capable Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a young woman who is smart and steadfast. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with. Joan Hickson - the marvelous actress who played Miss Marple in the television series – is absolutely pitch perfect narrating the audio book.
Full Review HERE
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Books mentioned in this topic
4:50 from Paddington (other topics)Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands (other topics)
Allegiance of Honor (other topics)
Unhidden (other topics)
Born of Legend (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Anthony Marra (other topics)Mari Mancusi (other topics)
Dakota Cassidy (other topics)
Nora Roberts (other topics)
Christina Dodd (other topics)
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