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What Are You Reading....The Third


Pride, Prejudice And Other Flavors – Sonali Dev – 2.5**
This retelling reverses the roles of Elizabeth and Darcy. Set in modern-day San Francisco it features neurosurgeon Trisha Raje (in the Darcy role), and master chef DJ Caine (in the Elizabeth Bennet role). I did like DJ, but Trisha is just a hot mess. In general, I think the author was trying too hard. Perhaps if she had just focused on the Bollywood-movie style romance without trying to force the elements of Austen’s classic into her story this might have worked better.
My full review HERE


Craigslist Confessional: A Collection of Secrets from Anonymous Strangers
by:
Helena Dea Bala
Moving stories told with compassion. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Never Have I Ever
by:
Joshilyn Jackson
Compulsive, solid new thriller. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Butterfly Lampshade
by: Aimee Bender
Lyrical and strange, Bender is truly unique. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Something Fresh – P G Wodehouse – 3***
Book One in the Blandings Castle series, featuring the elderly Lord Emsworth, his son Hon. Freddie Threepwood, and his trusty secretary, Baxter. This was a delightful romp and crime caper/comedy. Wodehouse excels are writing ridiculously plotted societal comedies that poke fun at the aristocracy and just about everyone else as well. There are unlikely disguises, attempts at hiding identities, and a variety of funny missteps along the way. Just great fun to read.
My full review HERE


A House Is a Body
by: Shruti Swamy
A nice introduction to a new short-story author. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Eighth Detective
by: Alex Pavesi
Charming and Cerebral. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading


The Space Between Worlds

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Booked For Trouble – Eva Gates – 3***
Book two in the Lighthouse Library mystery series focuses on Lucy Richardson’s socialite mother, Suzanne. She may be intent on getting Lucy back in Boston, but Lucy loves her library job and has two potential suitors on Bodie Island. This cozy is full of literary references and peopled by an interesting array of secondary characters, including the cat, Charles (Dickens). An enjoyable read, and I’ll continue the series.
My full review HERE



Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense
by: Joyce Carol Oates
Four novellas from a master of the form. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


White Ivy
by: Susie Yang
Impressive and gripping debut. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...



This Is Not the Jess Show
by: Anna Carey
YA novel that will likely appeal despite its many flaws. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...



Death Of a Winter Shaker – Deborah Woodworth – 3.5***
Book # 1 in the Sister Rose Callahan cozy mystery series, set in a Shaker community in 1930’s Kentucky. I really enjoyed this mystery. Woodworth has given the reader some very interesting and complex characters. Rose is determined, clear-thinking, intelligent and tenacious. And I learned a little about the Shakers.
My full review HERE

Amie ... you can't link if you are using the mobile app
If you are using the website ... just above the comment box where you are typing is a link for add book/author. Click that and you'll get a pop-up box ... follow the prompts. The DEFAULT is to create a link to the title. If you want the COVER ... go to the bottom of the pop-up window and change the setting to "cover."



Be Frank With Me – Julia Claiborne Johnson – 4****
This is a delightful, engaging novel. The characters are complex and the author deftly handles the difficulties of dealing with such an unusual situation. While no specific diagnosis is ever given, it’s clear that Frank is on the autism spectrum. He is the catalyst for the book’s most hilarious … and heartbreaking … moments. I love a book that leaves me wanting more, and this definitely did that. I can hardly wait to read what Johnson writes next.
My full review HERE


The Red Address Book – Sofia Lundberg – 2.5**
I am so over the dual time-line device in historical fiction! Just tell the story. This seemed very disjointed, what with the drama occurring in present day – both Doris and Jenny have some serious problems – and the drama of her great lost love in the past, I just never felt connected to these characters or to the story.
My full review HERE



Brown Girl Dreaming – Jacqueline Woodson – 5***** and a ❤
Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author and poet. This memoir of her childhood, growing up in the turbulent 1960s is written entirely in free verse. The language is appropriate and accessible for the target middle-school audience, but eloquent and complex enough to engage and interest adults.
My full review HERE


The Nesting
by: C.J. Cooke
An unfortunately fatally-flawed thriller. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...






Olive Again – Elizabeth Strout – 4****
The book is character-driven and Strout excels at revealing these characters by their actions and conversations with one another. I just love Olive, even if I don’t much “like” her. I can’t really say she’s mellowed much as she ages, but there is something so real, so vulnerable, so recognizable in her. I think there’s definitely some of me in her (or some of Olive in me).
My full review HERE


Go See the Principal – Gerry Brooks – 2.5**
Gerry Brooks is an elementary school principal in Lexington, Kentucky. Apparently, he’s also a YouTube celebrity of sorts. I don’t have any children. I’m not a teacher. It’s been a long time since I’ve personally been in school of any kind, let alone elementary school. I would probably have found this funnier if it was closer to home and I could relate. As it was, I thought it was more “instructional” than entertaining.
My full review HERE


Long Road To Mercy – David Baldacci – 4****
This is a fast-paced mystery / suspense / thriller with a kick-a** female heroine – or two. I really liked FBI agent Atlee Pine, who is physically and mentally strong, intelligent, determined and well able to take care of herself, and others. But I loved her assistant, Carol, who rises to the occasion and shows that she’s more than up to the task of besting the bad guys. This is a team to watch!
My full review HERE


A Short History Of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson – 3.5***
Well, the title pretty much gives you a synopsis of what this nonfiction work is all about – “nearly” everything. Bryson allowed his curiosity about scientific discoveries to lead wherever it might take him, and he organized his findings in a somewhat chronological order (hence the “history”). It is information, if dry, at times. It’s also entertaining, even funny, in places.
My full review HERE


The Inner World Turned Out: A Novel
by: Scott Lingen
Quirky characters in a novel that is more like a case workbook than a fictional work. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter – Loretta Lynn & George Vecsey – 3.5***
This autobiography takes the reader from Loretta’s birth to stardom. Originally published in 1976, the 30th-anniversary edition includes a forward with some additional information. I found this very interesting. She tells her story in a forthright and honest manner, relating both the good and the bad.
My full review HERE


The Cat Who Could Read Backwards – Lilian Jackson Braun – 3***
Book # 1 in a cozy mystery series featuring James Qwilleran, a newspaper reporter in an unnamed Midwestern city, and an extraordinary Siamese cat, Koko. I love cozy mysteries, and this is a great series. Qwilleran is a good amateur detective. As a reporter he is appropriately curious and has a great excuse for gathering information. No talking cats, here, still I like the way that Braun uses Koko to help Qwilleran. A totally satisfying cozy mystery read.
My full review HERE



Human Resources
by: Brad Carter
Pretty funny, but has some significant flaws. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy

The City of Mirrors

Into the Wild

A Ghost In The Machine

The Woman in the Moonlight

If the Boot Fits

The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh



Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs
by: Beth Ann Fennelly
Delightful collection-funny and memorable. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Devil and the Dark Water
by: Stuart Turton
Cerebral mystery, well worth all the hype. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...



Thank goodness for Jenny Colgan. I just started reading an ARC of Christmas at the Island Hotel. I love her books. They are like comfort food or that cozy old faded blanket that you reach for when you're sitting on the couch reading. You know what I mean.
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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The Silent Wife
by:
Karin Slaughter
#10 in the Will Trent series that will not disappoint Slaughter fans. My full review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...