BOOK POOL is back! Nov-Dec 2018

[Ninitha (Niko)]

Haha! Doesn’t matter. You still have another month to get all the reading in. As for me, ’m reading alright, just not the books from pool. I’ve had an exceptionally hard time getting my hands on the books. Most of them have looong holds at the library. Oh well!!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

#4
Book #4 Stranger Than Fanfiction
Read: 22/11
Rating: 3★ I think Colfer has a lot of promise as a writer. This was written in a typical flat YA style, but then there would be some moments of real insight. Had to knock half a star off for (view spoiler)[ the ending (hide spoiler)]

I've just requested the Evelyn Hugo one. Hopefully it will be here next week.

[Erica]

Awesome Carol - will update tally when I get home from work. I'm hoping to finish Sing Unburied Sing this weekend. I've been alternating between that and a short story collection. Although both are kind depressing reads so not flying through them.

What's everyone else reading? Hope you're enjoying them.

[Angie]

Reading Bulibasha at the moment. It's been on my TBR list for sooo long! Haven't read much of it yet but am enjoying it so far.

[Danika]

Finally! November has been hectic.

#14
Book 1: Circe
5 stars

I loved it! I adored classics when I was school but I still remember the pain I felt when reading The Iliad. So this modern reimagining of the classics was so refreshing. I’m eager to read her other book The Song of Achilles. And I never realised that the Waterhouse painting my mother had was a supposed image of our lovely witchy Circe!

[Erica]

Angie wrote: "Reading Bulibasha at the moment. It's been on my TBR list for sooo long! Haven't read much of it yet but am enjoying it so far."

Bulibasha was my first foray into Witi Ihimaera, studied the novel at university. Really enjoyed it. So uniquely NZ. Hope you like it Angie :)

[Erica]

Danika wrote: "Finally! November has been hectic.

#14
Book 1: Circe
5 stars

I loved it! I adored classics when I was school but I still remember the pain I felt when reading The Iliad. So this modern reimagin..."

Sounds like a great read Danika! Always good to start off the bookpool with a 5* read. I hope I can get to this one before the end of Dec. Have you read her earlier novel Song of Achilles?

P.s. Tally updated :)

[Lesley]

#10
Book #2 A Prayer for Owen Meany / John Irving
Read 11/23
5 stars
In part the size of this book makes it a long read. But that is only part of the reason it took me almost all month to read it. You become so involved in the story that you need to step away to give yourself time to think about that and the characters, and savour the wonderful writing. It has been on my 'I must one day read' list for so long, I now regret not having read it earlier. One of the best reads this year.

[K.M.]

Currently reading Be Frank with Me - it's a lovely read so far.

[Erica]

Lesley wrote: "#10
Book #2 A Prayer for Owen Meany / John Irving
Read 11/23
5 stars
In part the size of this book makes it a long read. But that is only part of the reason it took me alm..."

This is one of those books for me too Lesley - that I've been meaning to read for years. Hopefully I'll get to it during the bookpool :)

[Darkpool]

#9
Book #1 Circe
4 1/2 stars.
I loved Song of Archilles, so was very happy to see this book in the pool. Greatly enjoyed this one too.

[Erica]

#1
Book #5 Sing, Unburied, Sing
Read: 23/11
Rating: 3.5★

This was a really hard one to rate! The writing is probably 4★ - she's great at building tension and really making you feel like you're there. But the content was just a bit too depressing for me, and at times the descriptions/poetic writing felt a bit too overdone. Overall a good read though :) I can see why it's been on lots of prize lists.

[Angie]

#2
Book 2 Bulibasha
Read: 24 November
5 stars

Beautiful albeit one-sided (until the end) telling of a family's history, the connections and relationships between Maori and Pakeha in 1950's rural NZ and the struggle to find where you 'fit'. Loved it.

[Darkpool]

#9
Book 2 On the Java Ridge
Read Nov 25
5 stars

Scarred for life. Damn you, Jock Serong; I didn't think this could possibly be as good as 'the rules of backyard cricket" but I was wrong. It's probably not the best audiobook to listen to while navigating Auckland's traffic: there were a couple of days I felt as if I was arriving at work with PTSD. This book will stay with me for a good long while. The audiobook narrator did an outstanding job.

[Erica]

Lots of 5 star reads!

[Erica]

I started readying Mazarine by Charlotte Grimshaw but 30 pages in I can tell it's not for me. I just felt it went on a massive tangent from the actual story and didn't make sense.

[Angie]

Erica wrote: "Angie wrote: "Reading Bulibasha at the moment. It's been on my TBR list for sooo long! Haven't read much of it yet but am enjoying it so far."

Bulibasha was my first foray into Witi Ihimaera, stud..."

I loved it. NZ family saga with some interesting racial commentary. I found Himiona's speech to the judge especially moving.

[Angie]

Darkpool wrote: "#9
Book 2 On the Java Ridge
Read Nov 25
5 stars

Scarred for life. Damn you, Jock Serong; I didn't think this could possibly be as good as 'the rules of backyard cricket" but I was ..."

Pleased you enjoyed it Darkpool. Both 'The Rules of Backyard Cricket' and 'On the Java Ridge' are favourites of mine. I haven't read 'Quota' yet though.

[Angie]

#2
Book#3 Euphoria
Read 26/11
4 Stars

Good quick read. Loved the discussion and comparisons around Western culture. Encouraged me to do some reading on Margaret Mead and her life.

[K.T.]

I like Tracey Alvarez too.
I think I've missed the boat on November's. Will try not to get so busy next month!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

K.T. wrote: "I like Tracey Alvarez too.
I think I've missed the boat on November's. Will try not to get so busy next month!"

It will be the same books. The challenge runs for 2 months.

I've started Evelyn Hugo. :)

[Kelli]

#17
Book #2 - Underground Railroad
Rating: 4/5

The whimsy of this book (a real railroad, underground?) couldn't lift the weightiness of subject matter. As Cora, the escaped slave, journeys through seemingly inescapable worlds, I found myself desperate for a happy ending that never came... so was the fault with the story, or the reader?

[Erica]

Glad you liked Euphoria Angie. I loved the descriptions of New Guinea and the river and vegetation.

I've updated the tally everyone :)

[Kerry]

#5

Book #1 If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
Read 28/11
4 stars

Finally made a start. I found this to be a fascinating but also fairly slow read. Calvino ties the idea of book plot into a knot, leaving you, the reader, chasing a book that just doesn't seem to exist apart from the opening chapter.

[Danika]

#14
Book 2 - Normal People by Sally Rooney
5 Stars

I devoured this book. Sally Rooney’s style is so natural and easy to read. I feel like I had a lump in my throat the whole story and now that it’s finished I want to cry for the characters and for myself and what I see of them in me and vice versa. It’s such a sad and real story. Equally likeable and horrible characters that are so perfect for the age and setting. Ugh.

[Kelli]

Kerry wrote: "#5

Book #1 If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
Read 28/11
4 stars

Finally made a start. I found this to be a fascinating but also fairly slow read. Calvino ties the idea of book plot..."

Kerry, I'm two-thirds of the way through this book and while it's definitely slow going, I adore how unusual and intertwined the story is! What a unique novel... Curious to see how others take it.

[Kerry]

Kelli wrote: " I adore how unusual and intertwined the story is! What a unique novel.."

Very different isn't it. I'm so pleased that you picked it up too.

[Erica]

Danika wrote: "#14
Book 2 - Normal People by Sally Rooney
5 Stars

I devoured this book. Sally Rooney’s style is so natural and easy to read. I feel like I had a lump in my throat the whole story and now that it’..."

I really want to read this one! Might have to bite the bullet and get the bestseller copy out from the libs (costs a few dollars and you only get it for one week).

I'm halfway through The Cleaner which is pretty intense. I was telling my partner that I was reading about a psychopath serial killer and he couldn't stop laughing when I said "it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable...he's not very nice". Major understatement!

I just got two more books out from the libs (cos I'm addicted to that place) - On the Java Ridge and His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae

[Lesley]

Erica wrote: "Danika wrote: "#14
Book 2 - Normal People by Sally Rooney
5 Stars

I devoured this book. Sally Rooney’s style is so natural and easy to read. I feel like I had a lump in my throat the whole story a..."

I'm reading The Cleaner too. So dark and violent. I'm not sure I enjoy being inside the head of a serial killer, but there's something that compels me to keep reading.

[Ninitha (Niko)]

#13
Book #4
Read 30/11
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book hits really hard, and especially so since the cultural context and references are familiar to me. It is not the sort of book you can read in a sitting. I had to stop and reflect after each chapter. The book demands that from you. It most definitely is not a holiday read. Still, the writing is gripping and her account impactful.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

#4
Book #5
Read 30/11
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
4★

Very good chick lit! My interest was starting to wane a bit by the end. I liked Evelyn, but was indifferent to or didn't like most of the other characters.

[Angie]

#2
Book 4 Instructions for a Heatwave
Read 2/12
3 Stars

The undercurrents and threads that hold a family together or pull them apart, set against the English heatwave of 1976. Good quick read.

[Erica]

Ninitha (Niko) wrote: "#13
Book #4
Read 30/11
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book hits really hard, and especially so since the cultural context and re..."

I feel like this book should be required reading. So powerful!

Tally is updated :)

[Lesley]

#10
Book #3 The Cleaner / Paul Cleave
Read 12/4
4 stars
Being inside the head of a serial killer was a little unpleasant at times, but the storytelling with an interesting twist in the plot was compelling reading just the same. Not a bed-time reading book as there were some quite gruesome descriptions at times. But it was worth 4 stars for me.

[Erica]

#1
Book #6 The Cleaner
Read 5/12
4 stars

Like you said Lesley, it's not easy to read from the point of view of the psychopathic serial killer. But it was a real page-turner. My first read of a Paul Cleave novel and will definitely check out some of his others :)

[Ninitha (Niko)]

#13
Book #5 The Dry
Read:10/12
Rating: 🌟 🌟🌟🌟
A gripping murder mystery. Tightly written and well etched out characters. Enjoyed reading this.


Took a while to finish this book as work and being under the weather cane in the way. Hopefully I should get more reading done soon. 🤞🏾

[Erica]

It's no wonder The Dry has been getting a lot of hype around the place.
Will update the tally when I get home.
How's everyone else's reading going?

[Lesley]

#10
Book #4 Circe / Madeline Miller
Read 12/4
4 stars
I really enjoyed this book, not just the story, but the writing style of the author was easy to read. I intend looking out more by her.

[Kerry]

#5
Book #2 The Lessons / Naomi Alderman
Read 15/12
3 stars
Easy to read, just that I didn't like any of the characters.

[Kelli]

#17
Book #3 - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Rating - Not even sure how to rate this?

One of those books that you finish and wallow in a sense of 'wow' - yet with the knowledge that only understood 2/3 of what I was read actually sunk in. I will need to cycle back on this again in a decade or so to see how I feel again.

Technically, a story-within-a-story x 11 or 12, a plot you can cling to for the joy of its ingenuity. Think I'm sort of in shock after reading this, it was that....unusual/creative/odd.

[Erica]

I've updated the tally :)

I'm currently about halfway through His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae. I'm enjoying but christmas activities keep taking up precious reading time. Only a few more days at work left though!

[Angie]

#2
Book #5 Little Fires Everywhere
Read: 16/12
Rating: 4 stars

Really enjoyed this. Easy read and another interesting look at family dynamics.

[Angie]

Hi - so, I grabbed the NZ Wars Trilogy so I could read Season of the Jew and discovered that even though it was the first of the trilogy to be written it is actually the 3rd book. My apologies for the mistake. I'm going to start on the 1st one now - The House of Strife.

[Erica]

Oh good to know Angie! I'll allow The House of Strife to count in the place of the Season of the Jew for anyone reading. I hadn't realised either.

[Ninitha (Niko)]

#13
Book: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Read: 18/12
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (plus a zillion more)
It’s a shame that Goodreads does not allow you to give a book more than five stars, cause if ever there was a book that demanded it, it is this. Such a tightly written book and one that reads so real that you forget that it is a fictional account. Towards the end my heart was in my throat and I was genuinely anxious and excited. No other book in recent times has gotten me so involved. It leaves you will so many questions and a distinctly unsettling feeling. It took all my will power to not google the protagonist. I just could not bear the suspense of not knowing how it would end. To that end, even though the book is fast paced, I couldn’t wait to turn the pages because I just had to know. Had it not been for work and general adulting, I would have devoured this in less than a day.

[Erica]

Ninitha (Niko) wrote: "#13
Book: His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Read: 18/12
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (plus a zillion more)
It’s a shame that Goodreads does not allow you to give a book more than five stars, cause if ever..."

Glad you enjoyed it so much! Hopefully I feel the same :)

[Erica]

I've updated the tally.

With a few more weeks to go of Dec we have already read 41 books between us. That's a pretty good effort!

So far the leaders of the tally are:


Erica and Ninitha - 6 reads each
Angie and Carol - 5 reads each
Lesley and Josie - 4 reads each
Kelli - 3 reads
Kerry, Darkpool, Kim J and Danika - 2 reads each

[Darkpool]

#9
Book 3 A Song of War: A Novel of Troy
Read December 19
5 brilliant stars
A "novel" idea - take a well known historical story and carve it up into 7 pieces. Each section is written by a different author, giving the perspective of a different character/characters from the tale. Superbly done.

[Kerry]

Kelli wrote: "#17
Book #3 - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Rating - Not even sure how to rate this?

One of those books that you finish and wallow in a sense of 'wow' - yet with the knowledge t..."

So glad you liked it too....and yes, so hard to describe the reading experience.

[Kerry]

Angie wrote: "Hi - so, I grabbed the NZ Wars Trilogy so I could read Season of the Jew and discovered that even though it was the first of the trilogy to be written it is actually the 3rd book. My apologies for ..."

This also happened to me a couple of years ago. I still haven't read the next 2 books. The House of Strife is an entertaining read.