Henrico County Public Library discussion
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What Are You Reading?: June Edition
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Hi! I just finished Redemption Road by John Hart (dark thriller w/deeply flawed heroes) and it was fantastic -- one of my all-time favorite books. I did the audiobook, and it was perfection.Not quite finished with Lincoln in the Bardo. Once I got over the strange formatting, I got into it. It definitely grew on me.
Currently listening to Harry Potter, which is very exciting because I've never read any Potter! So far, I find it absolutely charming. I can't wait to read it to my son when he's old enough (3 is a little young still......). It will be hard not to read the next one right away, but I have other priorities, unfortunately.
(Preface this with an apology to Barbara B.) I'm struggling with The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson. It's really academic and references a lot of writers and psychoanalysts I'm not familiar with, so I have to keep stopping to look them up so I know what's happening. It's also not really narrative, which makes it difficult for me to get settled in the book (does that make sense?). It's a choppy road for me. To be honest, I am skimming it, and I don't know if I should even count it as a book I'm reading. (Do you count books you've only skimmed? Or do you consider them DNFs?)
On deck: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe....and my next audio will be Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
Maggie wrote: "To be honest, I am skimming it, and I don't know if I should even count it as a book I'm reading. (Do you count books you've only skimmed? Or do you consider them DNFs?)"I sometimes count them as DNF if I've put in some work and gotten the main point of it. Sometimes, I just delete them if I have no interest in the book altogether.
Once I get my holds in, I'm going to read 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior graphic novel for my Kidlit Challenge and listen to Charlotte's Web (again) for the Great American Read Challenge.
I'm currently reading "A Bear Called Paddington" since I'm also working on the big listing book "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up", but I have issues with this book since it classifies Paddington as an appropriate book for 0-3 y.o.s but IMO it's more for 6-7 y.o.s.
Lindsey wrote: "I just finished Circe by Madeline Miller, bumped up to the front of the queue by Ame's reviews. All her references to Aeneas at the end REALLY made me h..."YAY! I'm so glad you read Circe. I went ahead and bought Miller's Song of Achilles for my Kindle app since it was on sale for $1.99 not too long ago.
I just finished reading Frankenstein for the VERY first time for The Great American Read. It's SAD. My goodness, and as Barbara Broome told me in person, it makes for a great young adult read given all the inner turmoil Victor goes through. But geez Vic, couldn't you have at least NAMED your creature? No wonder that guy goes on murderous rampage! Just started Tessa Dare's Do You Want to Start a Scandal thanks to hoopla's eAudiobooks collection, and it's already hilarious (8 year old boy walks into a library thinking somebody's being murdered, but he had actually heard a tryst going on earlier!).
Also about to dive into Puddin' by Julie Murphy, which I'm excited about.
Cammy wrote: I'm currently reading "A Bear Called Paddington" since I'm also working on the big listing book "1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up", but I have issues with this book since it classifies Paddington as an appropriate book for 0-3 y.o.s but IMO it's more for 6-7 y.o.s."That's so strange that it would be listed as 0-3 yrs.! My kids are 5.5 and 3.5 and they're only interested in that book if they're eager to sit down and listen (rare). They both love books, but I don't think Paddington has enough pictures for them to digest the story yet.
Maggie wrote: "Hi! I just finished Redemption Road by John Hart (dark thriller w/deeply flawed heroes) and it was fantastic -- one of my all-time favorite books. I did the audiobook, and it was perfection.Not q..."
No need to apologize! The Argonauts is more academic that I had realized. I'm working my way through it with with a couple of pages everyday and I'm enjoying it. I think I'm treating it more like poetry than anything else while I read which is interesting.
I'm reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and it is lovely! I tried to read it as a teen because it was on a "These books are important" list and couldn't get into it, but I am loving it now! Next I have to pick up Lonesome Dove again. I decided to wait for the ebook for that one (so big!) and it came in last night. School just started again so it will be back to slow reading for the next few months.
Barbie wrote: "Maggie wrote: "Hi! I just finished Redemption Road by John Hart (dark thriller w/deeply flawed heroes) and it was fantastic -- one of my all-time favorite books. I did the audiobook, and it was per..."Yes, Barbara, you can definitely tell she's a poet! I love reading non-poetry works by poets because it provides such a lyrical quality to the work. She has a beautiful way of phrasing things. I found myself skipping the academic sections to read more about her life, which I found more interesting, thought-provoking, and heartwarming. Without chapter breaks, I did feel a little like I was trying to drink out of a fire hose, though....still, I'm happy to know a little about her journey.
Maggie, I love reading poets' non-poetry for the very same reason! Admittedly, I am a Maggie Nelson fangirl, but I can absolutely see why The Argonauts isn't everyone's cup of tea. Glad you figured out what of it interested you and focused on that!Ame, Do You Want to Start a Scandal sounds like a hoot. I never read Frankenstein but treating it as YA of yore makes it super compelling.
I forgot yesterday was the release date for Porochista Khakpour's new memoir, SICK, about living with late stage Lyme until my neighborhood bookstore called to say my copy came in! It's a tough read, but really fascinating & thoughtful so far.
The Lambda Awards were earlier this week, too, so I need/want to go back and finish adding books that were considered to my queue.
Just started Their Eyes Were Watching God for TGAR. Lush writing; but I am not moving through it very quickly. Just finished and liked The Milk Lady of Bangalore by by Shoba Narayan. An American-education woman moves back to India with her family. She befriends the milk lady, which naturally leads to purchasing a cow .... Straight-forward journalistic style.
Lisa, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of my yearly re-reads! I love it. Lindsey, SICK has been on my list for a while. I need to grab a copy.
Barbie wrote: "Lisa, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of my yearly re-reads! I love it. Lindsey, SICK has been on my list for a while. I need to grab a copy."
Okay, BB, we're going to have to have lunch sometime so I can learn what you love about Their Eyes. I liked it fine, but I don't need to re-read. :-)
Lisa wrote: "Barbie wrote: "Lisa, Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of my yearly re-reads! I love it. Lindsey, SICK has been on my list for a while. I need to grab a copy."
Okay, BB, we're going to have to..."
I would be happy to! There might be a dose of "I read this as a teen" nostalgia factoring in, but I do love it. I'm going to probably start a re-read this weekend so I will keep you updated. :)
I'm finishing up Sleep No More by P.D. James, a short collection of her short stories, based on a recommendation from my mom, a die-hard mystery reader. I'm enjoying them. Listening to the audio, and the reader is great. I think James is better known for her full-length works (eg, Death Comes to Pemberley), but I have "collection of short stories" on my personal Book Bingo card, so I'm starting with this. It's giving me a good feel for her writing.RA tip: I'd definitely recommend P.D. James to an Agatha Christie lover who has read all of Christie's books but wants more. James is very clever in the same way as Christie. It's almost uncannily so, really.
I was busy playing catch up so that I didn't have to return unfinished books! My genre of choice is always suspense/thriller. I started the month off outside of my comfort genre and did the audiobook for Positive by David Wellington. Not sure the best way to describe this book. It had some dark humor, gore, love story, survivalistic issues, human depravity, and post zombie era with genocide. With all of that, it was a good book to listen to, and I found myself getting antsy when in the car so that I could listen to find out what happens next. I'm currently reading Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin. It's really sucked me in. I've read some of the reviews, and found that there have been mixed feelings on the book. A lot of people are comparing it to her other book Black-eyed Susans, so I'm glad that I'm reading this one first and will circle back to her previous book later. I'm hoping that it isn't another thriller/suspense book that falls flat at the end. I love the genre, but man, these authors gotta step up their game and write better endings!
On hold for the audio of Circe by Madeline Miller. Very much looking forward to it. Just wrapping up Mary Beard's SPQR and she mentioned the Aeneid, Circe, and Dido several times in reference to stories related by ancient historians about their predecessor and contemporary Roman emperors and their wives and mothers. It's a well narrated book, I'll probably not remember specifics off hand but I'll know where to look when I need them.
Kareemah wrote: "On hold for the audio of Circe by Madeline Miller. Very much looking forward to it. Just wrapping up Mary Beard's SPQR and she mentioned the Aeneid, Circe, and Dido several times in reference to st..."Thanks, Kareemah! As a former Classics major, I have been itching to read SPQR. Sounds like you're enjoying it.
I did enjoy it very much. sped through Crazy Rich Asians- wanted to read it before seeing the movie. I had started it ages ago and then lost interest, glad i went back to it.
Oooh, I am in a similar wanna-read-before-seeing-movie position, Kareemah. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll bump it up the list!
Lindsey wrote: "Oooh, I am in a similar wanna-read-before-seeing-movie position, Kareemah. Glad you enjoyed it. I'll bump it up the list!"
Have you read any of the Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mysteries? Some of my favorites! Set during the time of Vaspasian the first one is Silver Pigs. Mystery and hilarity and romance. She has done a spin off series as well using a character you meet about half way through the series.
Kareemah wrote: "Have you read any of the Lindsey Davis' Marcus Didius Falco mysteries? Some of my favorites! Set during the time of Vaspasian the first one is Silver Pigs. Mystery and hilarity and romance. She has..."Yes! I have read several of those. Love them, but haven't read one in ages. I do remember reading Silver Pigs.
Over the weekend, I read two of my "assigned" Great American Read titles - Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. To give E.L. James credit, her writing style does mimic Meyers, so I finished both titles very quickly. I have some problems with Fifty Shades and I read another review that explained it very well as "conflicting tones which will give you whiplash", but Twilight is still the brain candy it was when I first read it ten years ago. #TeamEdward
I just finished Circe by Madeline Miller, bumped up to the front of the queue by Ame's reviews. All her references to Aeneas at the end REALLY made me hope she does a novel from Dido's perspective next.
Turning back to Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel now, which I greedily inhaled the first essay of and then set down while I finished some fiction. Also about to start Eleanor and Hick for the June meeting of the LM book group!