What Are You Reading? - 2019 Showing 1,151-1,200 of 1,549

[Peggy]

I started The Memory of Love for the movie challenge.

[Travis]

I came across a new fantasy series. only the first book is out The Ember Blade I quite emjoyed it. I think it may bethe authors debut but idk. seemed like some influence in there from maybe robert jordan and brandon sanderson to me

[Peggy]

That sounds really good Travis. I added it to my wishlist. I might wait until the trilogy is completed before I pick it up though.

[Cherie]

I'm almost done with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Trumpet of the Swan. I started listening to The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. All for my yearly challenge.

[Shirley]

Lilisa wrote: "Shirley wrote: "I'm reading

It's not what I expected - the narrative is going in an entirely different direction. I'm hooked."

Like Margo, I have enjoyed most..."Unfortunately, for me, the narrative just didn't keep up the intrigue that hooked me in the beginning. It just sort of fizzled along. And the ending disappointed me too, but I'm not sure how else it could have ended. I just felt that from such a strong beginning, there would have been a blockbuster ending - a bang rather than a whimper.

[Shirley]

Margo wrote: "Shirley wrote: "I'm reading

It's not what I expected - the narrative is going in an entirely different direction. I'm hooked."

I usually enjoy Harris and I am..."Hi Margo. I was disappointed with The Second Sleep
It started with a bang and ended with a whimper. (In my humble opinion)

[Shirley]

Now for my next holiday read. My husband is away camping with our 12-year-old grandson (who lives with us) and three (yes, three) of his friends for a few days so I can read to my heart's content. I've decided on

It's and an Annual Challenge Read for the movie Nutcracker & Mouse King & the Tale of the Nutcracker: Set between 1800-1900.

[Shirley]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I thought I'd heard it all about Scientology, but I had no idea how criminally evil their activities have been.

Aussie investigative reporter Steve Cannane wrote a blistering exp..."
Must look for this one. Loved your review.

[Margo]

Shirley wrote: "Margo wrote: "Shirley wrote: "I'm reading

It's not what I expected - the narrative is going in an entirely different direction. I'm hooked."

I usually enjoy H..."

I had that experience with The Fear Index years back and it left me a bit wary of rushing in to a new Harris book. When he's good he's very, very good but when he misses the mark...

Thanks for giving your opinion Shirley.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I am listening to The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers and I'm pretty bored at the moment. I'm really disappointed because I've seen snippets of him in his life outside of Mr. Rogers and thought he was an interesting man, but this book is not interesting to me.

I do love the narration, so that's not the issue. It's just that there is no real heart in this story so far. There is a lot of talk about him coming from a wealthy family, which I didn't know, but the author keeps going on and on about it and how Fred didn't like being seen as wealthy. Then, it tells how he met other people and who they were (a little background on each) and says that they remained friends. I don't need to know all the background from each of his friends and whether they were wealthy and what school they went to, etc.

I may give up on it, which is really sad to me, but I really like Fred Rogers from what I've seen of him and I think this book is making me like him less. I think it would have been much better if he had done an autobiography and you got his feelings and perspective about things instead of someone trying to tell you who he was and what he thought.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Sounds unnecessary boring, Kristie. :/

[Kristie, Moderator]

Yes, Sandra. And I was reading it just for fun, not any challenge or anything so it’s really not worth it.

[Cherie]

I bought the audiobook, just to listen to for fun too, Kristie. Now, I am not so enamored, except that I want to hear LeVar Burton. I wonder how the Tom Hanks movie will be? He is playing Fred Rogers.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I saw that, Cherie. I hope it’s good. I’m planning to see it.

[Margo]

I finished The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster yesterday. It was very good, and I'm not usually a memoir person. It not only described Sandra's work of cleaning up the most horrendous messes but also told the story of her life. She is a complicated person who has made some choices I found difficult. There were times that I doubted the reliability of her story but I couldn't help but admire her courage and tenacity. Recommended.

I am now moved onto The Black Witch and am enjoying it so far.

[Peggy]

Interesting Margo. It might be good to have it as a book only.. A few weeks ago I read this interview with a guy who has a cleaning company like that in the Netherlands. He used to clean up after parties but then realized that sometimes when something bad had happened and there was blood involved or something, people called him pretending that it was from a party. So he broadened his cleaning repertoire to trauma-related stuff, like after murders or when people have been lying dead in a house for days or weeks.

Anyway, he also has a youtube channel. I spoiler this because people might not want to read it: (view spoiler)[
So I watched some of his clips out of morbid curiosity. Obviously you don't see any people or anything, but you do see for example the bed someone passed away on and who was not found for a few days/weeks, or very disgusting bathrooms, a bathroom where someone committed suicide and such. The guy just explains what happened, what the effect is on the bed or couch for example, and shows how to clean it (or what can't be cleaned), how to do it properly and so on. Quite informative, but also kind of difficult to watch.

Not sure why I'm sharing this, I was just reminded of it. (hide spoiler)]

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I just had to stop my father in law stealing my copy of that book, Sandra. He had an afternoon at home here, and picked it up off the shelf and read 25% of it. I got it for my birthday last year and haven't read it yet, so it wasn't leaving yet. Particularly as he has 2 of my favorite books already, and didn't bring them back with him.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Lol. You have to be alert when he is around. :)

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I know, right! I came home, saw the book on the table with his bookmark in it, and he said "Have you read this one..." "NOPE! NOPE. Nope." "Oh, okay. I'll write down the title then."

It sounds harsh, but the man has my copy of Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and In the Woods and I 99% believe he has forgotten, both he borrowed and to read. Girl's got limits.

[Janice, Moderator]

It's the other way around for me, Rusalka. I'm the one who snitches books off my dad's bookshelf.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished Succubus Blues. It was likeable enough. I'll likely continue on in the series, but it won't be a priority. I have too many other series that I'm concentrating on finishing.

I will start No One Knows today. It appears to be set in Tennessee and I don't have anything slotted into that task. I will read it for that task.

[Renee]

Cherie wrote: "I bought the audiobook, just to listen to for fun too, Kristie. Now, I am not so enamored, except that I want to hear LeVar Burton. I wonder how the Tom Hanks movie will be? He is playing Fred Rogers."

I think the book is more like the documentary that came out last year. That was soooooo soooo dull. The Tom Hanks movie is supposed to take a more upbeat (for lack of a better word) look at Fred Rogers life. A man like Mr. Rogers deserves to be remembered as more than a stodgy do-gooder. I hope Tom Hanks can pull it off.

[Margo]

Peggy wrote: "Interesting Margo. It might be good to have it as a book only.. A few weeks ago I read this interview with a guy who has a cleaning company like that in the Netherlands. He used to clean up after p..."

Peggy, that sounds like a very similar kind of business. Some of the most moving scenes were when she was called in to clean out the home of hoarders who still lived at the property. You really start to think about the psychology of it all. The reasons people don't want to part with their stuff. It is a mental disorder but many of have a touch of it but why do some people let it get so out of control? It's interesting stuff.

[Cherie]

Cherie wrote: "I'm almost done with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Trumpet of the Swan. I started listening to [book:The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in t..."

I am replying to my own post because I'm too lazy to write it all down again. I finished the latter two and I am still almost done with the first. 61 pages left.

[Travis]

So far enjoying the new Abercrombie A Little Hatred

[Cherie]

Travis wrote: "So far enjoying the new Abercrombie A Little Hatred"

I haven't added him to my list yet, but I know you and others enjoy reading his stories, Travis. Maybe one of these days he will make it onto my series list. Enjoy your reading.

[Gavin]

Reading The Golden Compass

[PattyMacDotComma]

Shirley wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I thought I'd heard it all about Scientology, but I had no idea how criminally evil their activities have been.

Aussie investigative reporter [author:Steve Cannane|300484..."

Thanks, Shirley - quite a story!!

[PattyMacDotComma]

I recommend you introduce yourselves to the Slow Horses of English mystery author Mick Herron's Slough House series. In #6, they are turned loose into Joe Country. Exciting, snowy, scary, funny, and probably all too real.
5★ My review of Joe Country

[Margo]

I gave up on The Black Witch. I given the Twitter storm that greeted its publication, I want to to make it clear that this was not due to any moral objection, it just wasn't the book for me. I found it no more racist than Harry Potter or a host of other titles I could mention. IMO you can find problems with almost anythinynif you search hard enough.

I have started my bookclub read Our Souls at Night by Mark Haruf.

[Sarah]

Travis wrote: "So far enjoying the new Abercrombie A Little Hatred"

Good to hear. I was so tempted to buy it but I still haven't finished the First Law books. I know it's set in the same world. Tooooo many books, not enough time!

[Sandra, Moderator]

I finished The Song of Achilles and really liked it. It was nice to revisit The Iliad from a different perspective.

I am starting today The House of Silk, which looks like a good, fast read. Exactly what I need right now.

[Lilisa]

I finished The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story - it was a great listen - learned a lot - will write a review later. Reading A Hundred Suns.

[Margo]

Sandra wrote: "I finished The Song of Achilles and really liked it. It was nice to revisit The Iliad from a different perspective.

I am starting today The House of Silk, which lo..."

Sandra, the The Song of Achilles is one of my all time favourites. Have you read Circe? That is another wonderful story :-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

I bought Circe recently and plan to read it very soon, Margo. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

I gave up on The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers and I am reading Educated for my real life book club. I've just started, but I like the writing so far.

I am also hoping to finish The Grace Year today. It's really good and will be published October 8th. Conceptually, it is like The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies combined, but I'm enjoying it a lot more than either of those. I'm thinking I may use it as the first book review on a blog that I am starting.

[Renee]

The Grace Year sounds good. Thank you for sharing it, Kristie

[Margo]

Kristie wrote: "I gave up on The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers and I am reading Educated for my real life book club. I've just started, but I like the writing so f..."

I liked Educated. I enjoy books about extreme religious views. Let us know how it goes down in your book club.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I will Margo. :)

[Cherie]

I finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay last night. I can see why it won a Pulitzer Prize. It was so very good.

I also started and finished a 2nd audiobook of western short stories. Big Country, Volume 2: Stories of Louis L'Amour. I am waiting for the third volume to be available from my library.

I also started listening to Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir. This one is read by the author. I cannot say her narration is very good, but the story is very compelling. I grew up in the same area in Southern California that she is from, and it is fun to hear her mention the streets, locations, and landmarks that are all familiar to me.

[Lisa]

Sandra wrote: "I finished The Song of Achilles and really liked it. It was nice to revisit The Iliad from a different perspective.

I am starting today The House of Silk, which lo..."

Really glad you enjoyed The Song of Achilles, Sandra!

[Shirley]

Castaway: The extraordinary survival story of Narcisse Pelletier, a young French cabin boy shipwrecked on Cape York in 1858 was appealing to me for its subject matter - being about the history of my home state of, Queensland. The long title rules out the need for a blurb :)
Now reading Meet Me at the Museum for the Movie Ophelia, Task - Author Danish or setting Denmark.

[Peggy]

I'm going to start The Eyre Affair. To be honest, I always found the blurb rather confusing so I never picked it up. But I got it through blind date with a book a year or so ago, and right now I'm in the mood for a paper book and one that's a bit fast and fun, and it seems like this one will fit the bill. And I can use it for my movie challenge, which is a bonus too!

[Margo]

Peggy wrote: "I'm going to start The Eyre Affair. To be honest, I always found the blurb rather confusing so I never picked it up. But I got it through blind date with a book a year or so ago, and r..."

It's a mad book Peggy but it is fun!

I f8nished The Ask and the Answer. It was a strong second book in the trilogy. Moving straight on to book 3.

[Gavin]

Reading Inferno

[Shirley]

Now reading The Rich Man's House. 596 pages. Hopefully it grabs me and I won’t notice how long it is. It probably won’t fit any of my Movie Challenge tasks though. I’m reading it because it was written by a talented Australian author Andrew McGahan whose book, The White Earth I really enjoyed, and who sadly passed away after The Rich Man's House was finished.

[PattyMacDotComma]

IRRESISTIBLE! Mythologica: An Encyclopedia of Gods, Monsters and Mortals from Ancient Greece by Stephen P. Kershaw has the stories and the most fantastic art by Victoria Topping. Check my review for samples. Unbelievable!
5★ Link to my Mythologica review

[Travis]

I had figured on reading A Little Hatred
On my flights and such but I ended up devouring the book and finished it the night before I even left. So I didn't bother starting another book

[Janice, Moderator]

Travis wrote: "I had figured on reading A Little Hatred
On my flights and such but I ended up devouring the book and finished it the night before I even left. So I didn't bother starting another book"

You obviously enjoyed it then Travis. I've got to get that book.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished No One Knows. I like a good psychological thriller if they are done well. The ending on this was just stupid.

I'm going to start A Study in Charlotte on audiobook either today or tomorrow. I have a busy schedule today and I need to finish my ebook for the monthly challenge. Tick tock, time is running out.