Book Snails Book Group discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
ARCHIVED
>
[Archived] Share Your Book Reviews
Sadly, as I really wanted to like the series, I DNFed our January read, Red Queen. Here's my review, for those who are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Kelsey wrote: "Sadly, as I really wanted to like the series, I DNFed our January read, Red Queen. Here's my review, for those who are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2......"I sorta have to put on my YA reading hat (frame of mind = no deep epectations) for the genre, but as long as there isn't lots of insta-love and sighing and flashing eyes, I can usually find something good in it unless the writing style sucks. I did like RQ, but you made some good points in your review!
With a few exceptions such as The Hunger Games, it's not often we get YA books with "too much action," so I enjoyed that aspect in RQ more than you did. Or maybe I just dug the (view spoiler).
StarMan wrote: "Kelsey wrote: "Sadly, as I really wanted to like the series, I DNFed our January read, Red Queen. Here's my review, for those who are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show..."Hahaha, I don't think I have a YA hat! It was never really a genre I was super into, and it has to be a real stand out for me to like it, like The Girl with All the Gifts. Now that was a good book!
I did like the superpowers, though. That part was cool. Again, I just think if the descriptions and world building had been better, I would have like the story a whole lot more.
Erin wrote: "
ScytheI'm really not sure where to begin with this one... There was definitely a handful of elements that I took issue with, one big one in particular r..."
That one's been on my "maybe" list for a while, so thanks for the quick review, Erin... I'll probably give it a shot.
Finished Everything Here Is Beautiful, which publishes tomorrow (1/16). Such a beautifully written, emotional read well-deserving of 5 stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Little Reunions by one of my favorite Chinese authors Eileen Chang. This was the English translated version of the book, which I ended up giving 3.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished the infamous The Girl on the Train, and gave it 3 stars (not bad, not stupendous).Brief, no spoiler review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and Karen (a favorite GR reviewer) also has a great review where she gives one of the more memorable passages from the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White. Good book overall, though hard to compare to the previous book I read on a similar topic. I gave it 4 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished
by Patti Smith. 3/5 stars. I thought I would have liked it a lot more, but it mostly focused on her soulmate Robert Mapplethorpe, who was an artist.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. Wonderful, atmospheric read! I gave it 4.5 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished All the Missing Girls today.. and it was not bad.My no-spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Now I eagerly await Kelsey to read it, and probably murderize it *grin*
StarMan wrote: "Finished All the Missing Girls today.. and it was not bad.My no-spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Now I eagerly await Kelsey to read it, and probab..."
Hahaha you know your fellow Snail well! :P But I always give books a shot so...we’ll see! I enjoyed your review, though. I’ll probably pick it up within the next month or two :)
Kelsey wrote: "Hahaha you know your fellow Snail well! :P But I always give books a shot so...we’ll see!..."Kelsey, you're actually a kinder reviewer than me, usually. You average close to 3.5 stars... I hover around 3.0. Or maybe you make better (or less weird) choices in reading material. I do like it when you tell it like it is on a "bad" book, though!
StarMan wrote: "Kelsey wrote: "Hahaha you know your fellow Snail well! :P But I always give books a shot so...we’ll see!..."Kelsey, you're actually a kinder reviewer than me, usually. You average close to 3.5 st..."
Ha thanks StarMan! I just think that it’s mostly because I don’t go too far out of my “comfort” zone while reading. I know what genres I like, and with over 400 books on my TBR, I REALLY don’t have time to read books I’m not sure on! There are some surprises for me every year, like The Girl with All the Gifts, that I love and would have never read outside of this group, but mostly, I read historical fiction, classics, some mysteries, some historical memoirs, and...that’s about it :P
K -- It's awesome that you liked TGWATG. I like weird books, but that one surprised me in a good way, too.[Shamelessly slides the following book across the table towards you]:
The Reapers are the Angels
StarMan wrote: "K -- It's awesome that you liked TGWATG. I like weird books, but that one surprised me in a good way, too.[Shamelessly slides the following book across the table towards you]:
[bookcover:The Rea..."
Another to add to my TBR list! :P Thanks StarMan :)
Just finished our February read, The Kitchen House! Here's my non spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Kelsey wrote: "Just finished our February read, The Kitchen House! Here's my non spoiler review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Thanks for that review, Kelsey. I'm gonna send a copy of the book to a local friend who loves historical fiction, Gone With the Wind, etc. (I'm using up excess paperbackswap.com credits)
Finished Kristin Hannah’s newest novel The Great Alone. 5 absolutely well-deserved stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Adult titlesSPOOK: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
PURITY IN DEATH: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
YA titles
EARTH GIRL: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
GUNSLINGER GIRL: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
ENTANGLED: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Covers for above: (view spoiler)
Finished Amy Bloom’s White Houses. Didn’t connect with the story as much as I thought I would. Gave it 3 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bkwmlee wrote: "Finished Amy Bloom’s White Houses. Didn’t connect with the story as much as I thought I would. Gave it 3 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"I just added that to my TBR yesterday. I'm a little nervous because like you, I sometimes have a hard time connecting with the characters/story, especially if it's due to the writing, which can make for a subpar read. Great review, though!
Kelsey wrote: "Bkwmlee wrote: "Finished Amy Bloom’s White Houses. Didn’t connect with the story as much as I thought I would. Gave it 3 stars. Here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/sh..."Thanks, Kelsey! While I didn’t connect with the characters or the story, I do think it’s worth a read for anyone who may be into American history/politics. I also think that already having a certain familiarity with the Roosevelts helps because the format of the book is kind of half-epistolary and half-memoir (though the story is completely fictional) in which the narrator Hicks recounts her own story in first person and sometimes she mentions names of people but doesn’t explain who they are (which of course makes sense if she’s speaking to Eleanor let’s say or writing the thoughts down in her journal)….there were no notes in the version I read and I didn’t feel compelled enough to go look up the names to find out whether they were real people....I think for me, since I’m not really into American history and don’t follow politics much, that contributed a bit to why I wasn’t able to connect much with the story…
Finished a highly-rated fantasy book that JustElise and Erin liked:The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
It also happens to be our first Book Snails Quarterly Read for 2018.
Review (may contain some small hidden spoilers, but nothing major): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished
Educated: A Memoir today. Excellent memoir but fell a tiny bit short of 5 stars for me. I gave it 4.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bkwmlee wrote: "Finished Educated: A Memoir today. Excellent memoir but fell a tiny bit short of 5 stars for me. I gave it 4.5 stars....."Glad you liked that memoir, Bkwmlee. Nice review, too.
Finished a random juvie paranormal-ish tale, because I like a change of pace (non-serious books) sometimes:
by Sienna MercerSwitched (My Sister the Vampire, #1 in series)
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (4.25 juvenile stars)
Finished the short story collection Back Talk by Danielle Lazarin. Good writing but didn't really like the execution. 3 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. This was a good one that I definitely enjoyed. Well-deserving of 4 stars! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. Heartwrenching read but also very necessary one. 4.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished YA SciFi/Fantasy, The Touchstone Trilogy (Stray/Lab Rat One/Caszandra) by Andrea K. Höst 3.4 stars overall. Series review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. This one was excellent -- I gave it 4.5 stars and would recommend it to all suspense/thriller fans! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
1) Vampires galore: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (3.2 stars)
2) Aliens & Australia: And All the Stars
REVIEW: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (~3 stars)
Finished another 5 star read: Brianna Wolfson’s Rosie Colored Glasses. This one was an emotional read for me, but well worth the effort. Highly recommended! My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Magic-Mischief-Murder storyClub Deception by Sarah Skilton, 3+ stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth. I gave it 3.5 stars. My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Help today. I loved it. 4 stars! However, it did bring up some questions that I had to grapple through while reading it.Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mod
I finished The Count of Monte Cristo a few days ago and have enjoyed the read a lot. I gave it four stars. Here’s a short review I wrote, without spoilers. (The bigger the book, the shorter my review, it seems. There’s just so much happening that it’s hard to review, and I don’t want to give things away. I have therefore, only described the impression it gave me)It’s an opera really; women faint, men sigh, dramatic moments bring beautiful dramatic monologue, and when the time has come or shame is too high, they (often) heroically accept their deaths. Every scenery is described like a stage setting, and the story seems to be in acts.
Also, the story could never happen in real life. Fortunes’ ways are very fortunate or incredibly unfortunate, nothing in between.
And the characters could never be real people. Full of hatred, love, hope, or greed. They were all just tools to tell this story.
And where do all these people meet, gossip and spy on each other? Of course! At the opera!
Luckily, I like the opera. And I enjoyed reading this grand drama a lot.
Dumas obviously had so much fun writing this story, which, if I understood it well, is this long because it was published in small parts in a paper and was ment to bind costumers to buying the paper as long as possible. I sometimes could picture him, grinning about the next turn in the story.
It was fun. A lot of fun.
Pien wrote: "I finished The Count of Monte Cristo a few days ago and have enjoyed the read a lot. I gave it four stars. Here’s a short review I wrote, without spoilers. (The bigger the book, the sho..."Bravo! Great succinct review.
Finished a non-fiction read about the Chinese immigrant experience: Lauren Hilgers's Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown. Loved this one and highly recommend it. I gave it 4.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My top-rated in March: Red Risinghttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My lowest-rated in March: Everless
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Jessica Strawser's latest book Not That I Could Tell. Not as good as her debut but still liked it overall. Gave it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Viola Shipman's latest novel The Recipe Box: A Novel this past weekend. It was a great read, one that I definitely recommend! 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Swimming Between Worlds by Elaine Neil Orr — historical fiction set against the backdrop of the start of the Civil Rights movement. Good story and characters. I gave it 4 stars. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Thanks for all the good reviews, Bkwmlee, Grace, Pien, and everyone!
Finished Lisa Scottoline's After Anna. This one didn't work for me at all -- way too many things wrong with it. I ended up giving 2.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read Douglas Kennedy’s ‘The woman in the fifth’, and wasn’t thrilled. In Dutch the title was A love in Paris and I knew it had to be spooky in one way or the other. This was not what I expected at all. And I wouldn’t recommend it.Read my 2-star review of Een liefde in Parijs by Douglas Kennedy
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Book Snails Book Group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Before (other topics)Time and Again (other topics)
I Know You Know (other topics)
The Coordinates of Loss (other topics)
Class Reunions Are Murder (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Gilly Macmillan (other topics)Amanda Prowse (other topics)
T.M. Logan (other topics)
Kristina McMorris (other topics)
Kristina McMorris (other topics)
More...
Well it's what I get for being attracted to a nice hardback cover art at BooksAzillion. Overall GR ratin..."
LOL...I echo Kelsey's comments, StarMan! Most of the books you read I would probably never read but I love reading your reviews of them! :-)