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Bkwmlee
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Apr 03, 2017 07:11AM
Just finished The Idea of You by Amanda Prowse a couple of days ago. In short: this book definitely wasn't my cup of tea. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Just finished a very awesome book: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for those good review, Bkwmlee :)~~~~~~
Invisible
(a Patterson+AuthorX thriller that actually didn't suck)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Castaway Planet
(family-friendly SF)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Doomsday Book
(time travel to the Middle Ages)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bkwmlee wrote: "Just finished a very awesome book: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Hi Bkwmlee! I know you were interested in my review of Letters From Home, so here it is! I just finished it, and I loved it :) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Kelsey wrote: "Hi Bkwmlee! I know you were interested in my review of Letters From Home, so here it is! I just finished it, and I loved it :) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Awesome review! Thanks, Kelsey! I'm glad I bought this book now (got my copy from Book Outlet a few weeks back). Can't wait to read it! :-)
Just finished reading The Light We Lost. I'm not much of a contemporary romance reader, though this one was well writtten enough to be on a higher category than the traditional books in this genre. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm not a huge adult Fantasy reader (I mostly like SF and other types of speculative fiction), but this unlikely heroes quest kept me up all night to see how it would end:The Eye of Night
My review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished a wonderful book -- All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg. Definitely a 5 star read for me. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I know some others in the group have this on their TBR, and so I just want to mention that my review isn't spoilery. I've written an overview of the expedition, but haven't really touched on what they specifically find, or the history of the civilization. It's mostly just my thoughts!
Bkwmlee wrote: "Just finished a wonderful book -- All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg. Definitely a 5 star read for me. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Great review! Definitely a book I want to check out :)
Thanks, Kelsey! Enjoyed your review of The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story too! I just added that one to my TBR! :-)
Just finished The Marsh King's Daughter -- good book with engaging story but summary was misleading in my opinion. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Kind Worth Killing, which is our Book of the Month! Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I don't have any spoilers in there, just in case some other members will be reading it this month!
It failed to win as our group's book of the month but I read it anyway. My review of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for all the recent reviews (Kelsey, Jane, Bkwmlee). Several books I wasn't familiar with.
Just finished a nonfiction book on WWII and the Japanese occupation of Philippines during that time. Here's my review of MacArthur's Spies: The Soldier, the Singer, and the Spymaster Who Defied the Japanese in World War II: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished another non-fiction book this weekend: Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung. A memoir this time that was quite good. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm a little behind with my updates but I finished 2 books since the time I last posted in this thread and now. I finished The Little French Bistro last week (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and Swimming Home this week (my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Not a bad start for June, I guess! :-)
Just finished a wonderful book that will definitely be amongst one of my favorite reads this year: The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for the reviews, Bkwmlee. This must be the year of the (mostly good) WWII-based books!Dollar Tree book of the moment (worth the dollar):
Sane New World: A User's Guide to the Normal-Crazy Mind by Ruby Wax
(psychology/self-help/humor/autobiography)
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I also got a Dollar Tree $1 hardcover of Vampires in the Lemon Grove, but I probably won't get around to it for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Non-dollar book finished recently: Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard (YA SF/fantasy)
There are already over 273,000 reviews; don't waste your time reading mine. Read Ev's review or Jennifer Lee's review instead.
I did not plan these percentages. Serendipity?
Maybe I'm too harsh a rater. Gee, the graph looks like I'm giving the finger.
But I think 22% 4 or 5 stars is pretty generous. To me, a 3 star book is "average"... perfectly fine entertainment, but not great or especially memorable.
How do your percentages stack up? Any patterns? Do you like/love most books you read?
StarMan wrote: "I did not plan these percentages. Serendipity?Maybe I'm too harsh a rater. Gee, the graph looks like I'm giving the finger.
But I think 22% 4 or 5 stars is pretty generous. To me, a 3 star bo..."
I couldn’t get the chart to come out right so I just did a quick calculation manually. Since I haven’t been on Goodreads that long, I’ve only rated/reviewed 31 books so far. Out of those, 31 ratings, here is the breakdown:
5 stars = 26% (8 books)
4 stars = 48% (15 books)
3 stars = 16% (5 books)
2 stars = 10% (3 books)
Fortunately, majority of the books I’ve read this year have been 4 or 5 star reads. No 1 star books so far and no DNFs (hopefully stays that way for the rest of the year).
There are quite a few books I’ve read in past years that I didn’t rate mostly because it was such a long time ago that I didn’t feel it would be fair to rate when I may not remember a whole lot from the book. Planning to rate those later on when I get a chance to re-read them.
Bkwmlee, I'm glad you're finding so many 4 & 5 star books (74%, pretty nice). I agree on older books; if I don't remember them well, I usually just mark as "read," with no rating added.I think some of my lower ratings are due to some books I've won on GR (some are not-so-great self-published). Occasionally I get a good one, and I've even 5-starred at least one self-published title*). I usually don't give ARCs an actual star rating.
*
I'm just awful at technology and don't even know how to insert pictures, buuuuuut!5 stars = 5% (32 books)
4 stars = 43% (249 books)
3 stars = 45% (259 books)
2 stars = 3% (22 books)
1 star = 0% (5 books)
Obviously, the majority of my books are three and four star books, but I think a lot of that stems from the fact that almost every single childhood book I read as a kid, I gave 3 stars, based on the fact that I know I enjoyed them, but I haven't read them for 17+ years, so I don't remember if I loved them!
I have to say that it's cool to see that the majority of books I read I like. I hate to read a book that I find I don't like, because there's sooooo many books out there to be read, and only limited time!
I do know for a fact that all my 1 star rated books are all books I didn't finish, except for The Good Earth. It just wasn't my kind of thing. Unfortunately, I'm reading Fangirl with the group right now, and I think that will be a DNF too :/
Out of the 16 books I've read this year so far, though, only 3 books have a 2 star rating, and only 1 book has a 3 star rating, which I think is pretty good! I've liked mostly everything I've read this year, so far :) Hopefully it's a trend that will continue!
Recently read & reviewed:
(YA SF/dystopia) ★★★Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
(fiction/mystery/thriller/magic) ★★★★Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America (history)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of I Capture the Castle, and why I gave it four stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
STROKE OF INSIGHT: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
by Jill Taylor
(non-fiction/science/medicine)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
THE SILENT GIRL [Rizzoli & Isles #9] (mystery/crime/thriller):
by Tess Gerritsen
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DARK MATTER, by Blake Crouch (SF)
(don't read my review if you are still reading this book for our Snail BOTM July 2017)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
CONQUEST (YA SF/Fantasy), Book 1 in series
by Jennifer Ridday & John Connolly
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for the awesome reviews, StarMan and Jane! I just added a few more books to my TBR pile (I swear, my TBR is going to topple over one of these days, lol).
Kelsey wrote: "Here's my review for Velva Jean Learns to Fly. 4 stars! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Sounds like another good WWII book, Kelsey. Thanks for reviewing it.
Just finished reading a memoir that moved me on a personal level. I gave it 5 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A YA book that was on my Paperbackswap.com wishlist (based solely on back cover blurb) for many months finally arrived last week:
The Last Girl by Joe Hart
(YA dystopian, light SF)
Review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think I've read too many "The Girl..." books. This one was a good middle-of-the-road one (being neither 1 nor 5 stars), and now I think I'll take a break from such allegedly clever thrillers for a while.
We should do a poll or two: Name your favorite and least favorite book with "GIRL" in the title. There surely are enough to pick from these days.
Bkwmlee wrote: "Just finished reading a memoir that moved me on a personal level. I gave it 5 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Thanks, Bkwmlee. I don't read tons of memoir-ish books, but that one does look interesting. Sounds like it might make a good gift for an educator, too -- assuming they aren't the type that avoids work-related topics during their downtime.
StarMan wrote: "Bkwmlee wrote: "Just finished reading a memoir that moved me on a personal level. I gave it 5 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Tha..."
You’re welcome! Yea, this one definitely isn’t the typical memoir. Agree that this would make a good gift for educators, especially those with a literature and/or history background, as the entire book is structured around the books and poems that the teacher Michelle Kuo uses to teach her students. It also brought back a lot of memories of my school days studying the same works of literature – it humbled me to see a book that I might have read and forgotten about back then actually make such a huge difference in someone’s life now. I definitely added more books to my “re-read” list after reading this book!
Another book I just finished today: The Address by Fiona Davis. Good summer read that I rated 3.5 stars: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished an ARC of a suspense thriller coming out in August: Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. It was an excellent read! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here's a YA adventure/mild romance tale that didn't suck:
The Valiant
OK, it wasn't Red Queen, but it passed the time. It had one fight scene I really liked, and some interesting historical figures as a bonus. Oh, and lots of kick-a$$ ladies.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished ARC of The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase. It was an enjoyable 4 star read for me. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished an ARC of The Resurrection of Joan Ashby yesterday. A truly womderful book that I rated 4.5 rounded up to 5. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Alice Network (by Kate Quinn) for book club and also one of my challenges. It was an excellent book, one I ended up rating 5 stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
RoboCop + Aliens: 
Version 43
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
RoboGAL + Elves:
Keeping It Real
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A superheroine's daughter gets more involved in the action, the plot advances incrementally, and the teen ♥ subplot is non-annoying:
Burn Bright
(Book 2 in a YA super-powers trilogy)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I love mysteries, and when I saw that Murder on the Orient Express was being turned into a movie, coming out this November, I knew I had to read the book.I just finished it today, and gave it a 3 star rating. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't include any spoilers, for those who want to read it, or see the movie, or both!
Kelsey wrote: "I love mysteries, and when I saw that Murder on the Orient Express was being turned into a movie, coming out this November, I knew I had to read the book.I just finished it today, a..."
Dang it, now you have me interested in reading it, too. I wonder if Agatha Christie was the first (or first famous) author to do "cozy" type mysteries?
I've actually never read Agatha Christie, even though I've heard o much about her and her books. Sounds like Murder on the Orient Express would be a good one to start with if I get the chance to read her. :-)I was able to squeeze in 2 more books to close out August. I finished The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-Made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang earlier in the week and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine today. Here are my reviews of both:
The Green Phoenix: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Eleanor Oliphant: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My first book read for September! Finished The Space Between Words by Michèle Phoenix. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. Wonderful book absolutely deserving of 5 stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Essex Serpent last night. Despite its gorgeous cover, the book didn't quite live up to its hype for me. I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
NON-FICTION: 
✪✪✪✪EXQUISITE CORPSE review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FICTION:
(view spoiler)
Just finished My Best Friend's Exorcism (and my reading challenge!) Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...Four stars out of five. Way heavier and better than I expected! Though I do have to warn you, there are some parts that are just straight up gross, and I believe that the main message of this story is based on rape, and how society handles it. However, if you can handle that, I would recommend it to those who like horror!
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Book Snails Book Group
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