The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
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Bea
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Feb 06, 2021 12:49AM
Finished:
- 3.5*
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Finished:
- 4*Reading:
Elizabeth Is Missing - Kindle
The Innocence of Father Brown - Library ebook
Shiver - Library
Mother Earth Father Sky - Own
The Thursday Murder Club - Library New Book
Tin God - Kindle
The Odds – Stewart O’Nan – 4****
Subtitle: A Love Story Art and Marian Fowler travel to Niagara Falls for a sort of second honeymoon. Their thirty-year marriage is in shambles, and they’re facing financial ruin, so, of course, they cash in their life’s savings and decide to bet it all at roulette. Oh, I love O’Nan’s writing! He gives two wonderful characters, warts and all. At the end I’m betting on THEM.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 3.5* [I loved the many Flambeau stories as a private detective with Fr. Brown accompanying them...but so different in character from the TV shows.],
- 4* [I saw this as a TV show but enjoyed it more as a book.],
- 3*Reading:
Elizabeth Is Missing - Kindle
Shiver - Library
Tin God - Kindle
Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection - Library
The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Library ebook
Stories I Only Tell My Friends – Rob Lowe – 3.5***
In general, I’m not a great fan of celebrity memoirs, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. From summer stock as a teen in Dayton, Ohio, to starring roles in the Brat-Pack films of the ‘80s, and on to The West Wing, I found his story engaging and interesting.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3*Reading:
The Confessions of Nat Turner - Library
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore - Library
The Breaking Point - Library
Elizabeth Is Missing - Kindle
Tin God - Kindle
The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Library ebook
Finished:
- 4*I read this book in one day! I think I did so, because I was not feeling well and it is a lovely entwined story that kept my attention.
Fortunately, the Milk – Neil Gaiman – 4****
This is a delightful fantastical romp of a story. There’s so much in this book it would almost be easier to list what is NOT in the book (no broccoli … that I recall). We have pirates, spaceship abduction, a stegosaurus in a balloon, sharks, piranhas, a volcano, unpredictable time travel, vampires, and, fortunately, the milk.
My full review HERE
Currently reading
. I'm not a fan of the Brontes, but I am enjoying this one. It's fun to see Anne's attitudes about the way girls are raised so clearly playing out. :)Also, finally got
from the library. I didn't think it would show up in time. Whew, that was close. All the Civil Rights books have long waiting lists on OverDrive and at our small local library.
Reading:The Confessions of Nat Turner - Library
Elizabeth Is Missing - Kindle
Tin God - Kindle
The Mystery of Edwin Drood - Library ebook
The Two Faces of January - ebook
Starting:
The Awakening Library: New Book w/ 1 week limit
Cherry Cheesecake Murder – Joanne Fluke – 1.5*
Book Number Eight in the Hannah Swenson cozy mystery series, featuring the Cookie Shop proprietor, her two sisters, and their mother, along with a regular cast of town residents. This is bad on so many levels. I am completely over Hannah’s dithering over her two suitors, her mother’s constant interference, her sister Andrea’s histrionics, and Hannah’s penchant for correcting everyone’s grammar. On the other hand, the cookie recipes are very good. Fluke should write a cookie cookbook and leave the tortured plots behind.
My full review HERE
I've begun some Big Books for the next challenge - Birthright, The Falcon at the Portal, Memory and While Still We Live.But I'm enjoying them so much I don't want to stop at the 50% mark.
It's hard to start new books right now because I can't help thinking they might be perfect for some task that we haven't seen yet for the next challenge. Surely I'm not the only one who struggles with that? lol
Small As an Elephant – Jennifer Richard Jacobson – 3.5***
This children’s book deals with mental illness. Jack Martel emerges from his pup tent to find that his mother is missing. Eleven-year-old Jack must find his mom before the authorities intervene and separate them forever. I loved Jack; he’s resilient, intelligent, resourceful and brave. He’s also scared. But he’s determined to find his Mom and hopes he can forgive her for leaving him alone.
My full review HERE
Teri-K wrote: "I've begun some Big Books for the next challenge - Birthright, The Falcon at the Portal, Memory and While Still We Live.But I'm enjoying them ..."
No, you are not alone Teri-K. I have more than few BB's i know I cannot finish by the end of Winter Season. Also, enjoying too much, so I took them off the night stand, so once I am in bed I am not motivated to get up and get them😁
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee – 5*****
My all-time favorite novel, which I re-read every few years. This is a singularly powerful novel that had a great impact on me when I first read it at age 13, and has never failed to move and inspire me as I’ve re-read it over the years. It’s a well-paced novel, a fast read with elements of suspense, family drama, humor and moral lessons.
My full review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: " To Kill a Mockingbird
– Harper Lee – 5*****
My all-time favorite novel, which I re-read every few years. This is a singularly powerful novel that had ..."
I love this one, too, and reread it fairly often. As an adult reading it I'm always struck by how well she depicted what that summer was like for the children, how they were so focused on things grownups would say don't matter. I think she recreated childhood really well. And still wrote a story adults can dig into. I've recommended this for 2 in-person book clubs, and it's always led to lots of good discussions.
Finished:
- 3*,
- 4*,
- 5*,
- 4*Reading:
Elizabeth Is Missing - Kindle
Tin God - Kindle
The Two Faces of January - Library ebook
Iron Kissed - Library
Life: A User's Manual - Library
The Christmas Cookie Killer - Library
Ghostly Paws - Library
Finished: 
- 3*,
- 3*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
Tin God - Kindle
March: Book Three - Library
Life: A User's Manual - Library
Shark River - Library
Twisted Twenty-Six - Library
The Pagan Stone - Own
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret – Judy Blume – 3***
First published in 1970, this has become a staple of children’s literature, as well as a frequently challenged book. I think if I had read this at a young age I would have easily identified with Margaret. I certainly recognize some of my own anxieties about growing up, though my situation was very different from Margaret’s.
My full review HERE
A Bookshop In Berlin – Françoise Frenkel – 4****
Subtitle: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman’s Harrowing Escape From the Nazis. Originally titled ”No Place To Lay One’s Head”, this is an interesting first-hand account of the author’s ultimately successful journey to safety in Switzerland.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy! Full of well-developed characters...with intriguing scenes and story lines. So good!
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout – 4****
After my F2F book club chose to discuss the sequel, Olive, Again , I decided to revisit the original. I can clearly see her growth as a character. And I’m more sympathetic to Olive, even though she is still hard to like.
My full review HERE
Starting: Travelers Rest
Dressed for Death
Purple Hibiscus
War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line
Eight Perfect Murders
Finished:
- 2*I have decided that I was not the audience for this book. It is set in Paris with much of it happening between the two world wars, so many of the references meant nothing to me. It is a series of vignettes about each of the people who populated an apartment house over many years. Some of the vignettes are detailed descriptions of a room of an apartment. Some are stories of the person who occupied an apartment. And, some are nothing but lists of items that an individual had in one of the rooms. Five hundred pages! Way too long and way too boring for me.
The Dutch House – Ann Patchett – 4****
Patchett uses the youngest member of the Conroy family, Danny, to tell this decades-long story of the family’s fortunes. I love Patchett’s writing. I love the way she reveals her characters in what they say and do. We see Danny grow from a young child to a middle-aged man with children of his own. And we watch Maeve take on the mantle of responsibility for her younger brother, encouraging and pushing him to succeed, to prove that they can thrive without the legacy they expected.
My full review HERE
Book Concierge wrote: " The Dutch House
– Ann Patchett – 4****
Patchett uses the youngest member of the Conroy family, Danny, to tell this decades-long story of the family’s fortu..."
I just finished this book yesterday!
Summer Of the Monkeys – Wilson Rawls – 4****
At the end of the 19th century, Jay Berry Lee lives with his parents and twin sister on a farm in Oklahoma. A troop of escaped circus monkeys provide a summer’s entertainment as well as the opportunity to earn a large monetary reward - if only he can capture them! Fun adventure and a charming boy-and-his-dog tale.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 3.5*Reading:
Tin God - Kindle
War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line - Library
Purple Hibiscus - library ebook
Travelers Rest - Library
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling – 3.5***
Of course I was familiar with Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Baloo, but I had never this classic of children’s literature. This edition had Mowgli’s tale, but also included three bonus stories: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (the mongoose), Toomai (who watches the elephants dance), and Kotick (the white seal). They are marvelous adventure stories with a few life lessons included. The exotic nature of the setting appeals to the imagination as well.
My full review HERE
Just finished Long Mile Home: Boston Under Attack, the City's Courageous Recovery, and the Epic Hunt for Justice Currently reading Pride and Prejudice, Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission. The Bone Ships
The Last Rhinos – Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence – 3.5***
Lawrence Anthony has been called the Indiana Jones of conservationism. He certainly lives up to that moniker in this memoir of his efforts to save the last remaining Northern White Rhinos in the wild. Anthony went to great lengths to plan a rescue of these magnificent beasts. I only wish that more of the book was focused on the animals rather than on the negotiations with government officials and rebel group leaders.
My full review HERE
I am reading Paris I don't know why I was drawn to his book about London but it was fabulous although at over a thousand pages it is something of a commitment.This one is not as long (833 pages) but is also turning out to be a very good book - I think I enjoyed London more because it is my home country but i can certainly recommend them both and I hope to do New York before too long
Reading:Tin God - Kindle
War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line - Library
Purple Hibiscus - Library ebook
Travelers Rest - Library
Flesh & Bones - Library
Yiddish for Pirates - Library
Case Histories - Library
I have a bunch of library books due 3/23-3/29. Really need to get them started...and in on time!
Started: Making Payments: An American Indian, the Vietnam War, Laos, and the Hmong - Kindle
Dead Man’s Switch – Tammy Kaehler – 3***
This was a fun, fast read that taught me a bit about racing. I liked Kate as a lead character. She’s intelligent, prepared, determined, skilled and strong. I liked the way she thought through the scraps of information she collected to arrive at her conclusions. I also really liked her focus on the job at hand – driving that Corvette as part of a team.
My full review HERE
Hot Six – Janet Evanovich – 4****
Episode Six in the Stephanie Plum series has our charmingly inept bounty hunter on the trail of her mentor, and man of hot dreams, Ranger. This is possibly the funniest of the books in the series that I’ve read. I first read this in about March 2003, and I remember clearly reading in the cafeteria during my lunch break and bursting out in laughter loud enough to have people several tables away look up to see what was going on.
My full review HERE
Finished:
- 3*Reading:
Tin God - Kindle
War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line - Library
Case Histories - Library
Making Payments: An American Indian, the Vietnam War, Laos, and the Hmong - Kindle
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