Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
IX. Currently Reading?
>
What are you currently reading (or just finished)?
message 2951:
by
Christine
(new)
Jul 11, 2020 04:18PM
reply
|
flag
Finished Last Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin. It had a lot of potential but I thought there were a lot of problems with the structure and quality of writing. Disappointing.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just getting going on
another book in the Wind River Mysteries. So far, I've liked the ones I've read though maybe just a tad less than I liked Hillerman's Navajo mysteries.
I've finished book four of the Mortal Instruments, and reviewed it. So here's my review:City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)
by Cassandra Clare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book, but didn't love it. It was nowhere near as good as book three, and took ages for anything to actually happen. To be honest, it's only
the exxcellent last few chapters that stopped me giving this book only three stars, and if I could give half stars my actual rating would be 3.5 stars;
this book only gets four stars from me because I always round up.
I read Unbowed by Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. It was an inspirational memoir of a very courageous woman.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Completed The Sparrow. Review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....Currently reading the short story, Teresa's Gift. Listening to The Uplift War.
Catching up with reviews. Read Poseidonis by Clark Ashton Smith and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3384353013
and the first big volume of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3454281335.
I read Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. A coming-of-age story of a young girl in Zimbabwe. Very well done.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
All,I am currently
Currently Reading Sky Fighters and Houndy Crunchers . It's about a boy's journey into an elite fighting group called the Sky Fighters.
Just completed reading The Book Thief a week ago. Markus Zusak has a way of writing people can’t master or even learn, no matter how hard they try. This book makes you sad and happy at the same time. Last time I felt the same with Haruki. A good book makes you feel the aura of the scene and understand the character. But a writer like Markus makes you the character. You float with the character, not the scene or words. This doesn’t happen every day.
I just finished "Another Brooklyn" by Jaquelyn Woodson. It was far from what I expected; it was mush better. It was also sadder. It is about four friends growing up in the ghetto. It is about what draws them together and what pushes them apart. It isalso about loss and denial. Read it!
Since publishing my novel of Hemingway in Paris during the Jazz Age, titled ‘Hearing the Nightingale’ I’m now reading ‘The Paris Wife’ by Paula McLean. I didn’t dare read it before in case I was influenced by her novel about Hemingway’s wife, Hadley. It will be fascinating to compare the two books. I see she writes beautifully from Hadley’s perspective. I chose to write from Ernest’s.
I’m looking forward to reading Naomi Wood’s book “Mrs. Hemingway.’
I suffer from research addiction which Lesley Blume calls ‘Research Rapture.’ She wrote ‘Everyone Behaves Badly,’ which details the lives of Hemingway’s Paris friends he wrote about in ‘The Sun Also Rises,’ the roman a clef which brought him to fame. She did a fascinating Q&A at the JFK Library in Boston which is on YouTube.
I am currently reading The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen, it's a collection of short stories. So far I have enjoyed quite a few of them.....though finished reading a slightly drawn out for my taste.
While Nobody Is Watching A psychological thriller about a former Irish soldier & UNPeacekeeper(female for a change!) living with PTSD
I read Quixote: The Novel and the World by Ilan Stavans. A delightful companion to Cervantes' masterpiece.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. A very moving and sensitive portrayal of a Syrian couple as refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. The story was well-crafted and the writing was excellent.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am almost through "Annals of our Forebearers" by David C. Joyce. It is an intimate historical fiction created with family letters using their vernacular. Joyce does a fantastic job of bringing the reader into the family, exposing the hardships and triumphs of "escaping oppression in Scotland and Ireland" to America where they empathize with the Native Americans. https://www.amazon.com/Annals-our-For...
Annals of our ForebearersAnnals of our ForebearersAnnals of our Forebearers
Brother Bones, a anthology of four novelettes by four different authors. Finished the first 2 so far. Very entertaining.https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Bones-...
I am part way through the about nothing, called "Nothing". It is a series of essays about nothing. I have found that nothing is very interesting. Al though the essays are about nothing, I have learned something. If it keeps up the way it is the number of stars I will give it will be far from nothing.
I read Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree. A detailed account of returning a 3,500 acre estate back to nature and the positive impact doing so has had on the natural environment. Informative and inspirational.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Based on the 1620 witch trials in Vardo, a remote Norwegian coastal village. The novel is well-researched and the writing is immersive and full of vivid detail.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Over the past few weeks I read six books. Well, finished one and read five more, but it still means I have six books to share reviews of today, one ofwhich I was given in exchange for a review (as you'll see below). So, here's what I read, along with my book reviews.
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
by Cassandra Claire
My rating: four out of five stars
This was a really great read. Not quite awesome enough that I feel it deserves five stars, but almost. There were times I wanted to shake a couple of the
characters and tell them to stop being so stupid, but the plot was action-packed and exciting, and there was definitely some fantastic character growth
going on. It had quite the emotional ending too. Now I can't wait to see what happens in the next book, and am glad I have it ready to start right away.
~
City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments, #6)
by Cassandra Clare
My rating: five out of five stars
I think this was the best of the series; this book deserves the full five stars for sure. It has an exciting plot, excellent character development, and
a fantastic ending.
~
Viper's Daughter (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, #7)
by Michelle Paver
My rating: five out of five stars
I love all the books in this series so much I’ve read them multiple times, and was excited to learn we’d finally get a new one; I’ve been eagerly waiting
to read this book since I heard it would be coming out. I was not disappointed! This was a totally awesome read, and the only thing that stopped me devouring
it in one sitting was life and the need for sleep forcing me to put it down. That and juggling reading it with another book I was as reluctant to put down.
~
Curse of the Crimson Throne: Crown of Fangs (Pathfinder Legends, #3.6)
by David Bryher
My rating: five out of five stars
I did read/listen to this before, but apparently forgot to review it, so I guess I'll do so this time around. Anyway, this was an excellent chapter in
this adventure, and I loved it. I recommend it for fans of fantasy stories based on systems like you find in roleplaying games – or fantasy fans in general
- and hope they’ll be doing more of these, because I’d love to follow these characters on more adventures.
~
Good-bye A672E92 Quintus (The Peers of Beinan)
by Laurel A. Rockefeller
My rating: four out of five stars
This was a really enjoyable read, with a fascinating plot concept, and some wonderful characters. I would have liked a bit more in the way of descriptions
- something the author seems to use sparingly - since it would have helped me to immerse myself in the story and world better, but it was an otherwise
excellent read, which made me want to read the other books in the series.
*Note: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This fact has in no way influenced either my opinion of the
book or the contents of this review.
~
Sci-Fi Stories - Future Earth Tech
by Barbara G. Tarn, Debbie Mumford, Blaze Ward, Stefon Mears, B.A. Paul, Mary Rabe, Katharina Gerlach, David Bruns, Rei Rosenquist, and David H. Hendrickson
My rating: four out of five stars
Compilations like this are always tough to review, because there's almost always authors you like the work of more than others. This collection was no
exception. The stories were all great in their own way, and some of them I absolutely loved, but a few weren't my cup of tea. Still, this was an enjoyable
read over all, and I would recommend it to sci-fi fans who enjoy future tech type stories.
Just finished reading a debut novel, This Ragged Wastrel Thing by Tomas Marcantonio. If you like dystopian crime novels (think Blade Runner meets Sin City) you'll enjoy this book.This Ragged, Wastrel Thing
Books mentioned in this topic
The Man Who Died Twice (other topics)The Heroes (other topics)
The Road to Wigan Pier (other topics)
The Mystery at Lilac Inn (other topics)
Lightning (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Nora Ephron (other topics)Jodi Picoult (other topics)
Charlie Donlea (other topics)
Susan Mallery (other topics)
Nicholas Sparks (other topics)
More...








