The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
Christopher wrote: "I have to laugh at my attempt to control my reading. To reduce/streamline my TBR pile(s) and to read new authors. I only found this SRC in September and thought ... brilliant.... another factor to ..."you'll find that reducing/streamlining your pile is REALLY hard doing this challenge - because you keep finding new books
April in Paris by Michael Wallner – 5***** Audiobook narrated by Paul Michael. A young German corporal falls for the lovely daughter of a French bookseller in 1943 occupied Paris. This is an impossible relationship for she is dedicated to the Resistance. And yet…. No, this is not a hearts-and-flowers romantic escapade; it’s gritty and real, full of hardship and heartache. It’s also a suspenseful novel. I was engaged from beginning to end.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dee wrote: "Christopher wrote: "I have to laugh at my attempt to control my reading. To reduce/streamline my TBR pile(s) and to read new authors. I only found this SRC in September and thought ... brilliant......"Dead right.... and once I get in a series I usually have to go thru them all until I can relax. So very busy fighting Napoleon on my dragon !
Currently reading
and
I like the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Sugar is really not holding my interest so I'll finish Lost in a Good Book first.
Started
officially:) Not sure what to think so far....
Thank You, Jeeves by P G Wodehouse – 4**** Book on CD performed marvelously by Jonathan Cecil. This was a typical Jeeves romp. Lighthearted, fun, entertaining and extremely visual. I will warn modern readers, however, Bertie and another character don blackface for much of the second half of the novel. The dialogue includes one particular racist slur that would never be used so casually today; the work was originally written in 1934. Had someone been able to rewrite these scenes to use a different device that was not so racially demeaning I would probably rate it higher.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Gemma wrote: "...Drinking: A Love Story (loving it)..."I am going to get around to that one since I just recently read (well, listened to) Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship, which is about the author's friendship with Caroline Knapp.
Book Concierge, I really enjoy your quick reviews.
Bea wrote: "Book Concierge, I really enjoy your quick reviews."Thanks Bea
So I finished Lolita, right up there with Frankenstein, everyone loves it but me. Starting
and
along with
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya – 3.5*** Antonio narrates this mystical coming-of-age story and spiritual journey that reminds me of the oral story-telling traditions of my grandparents. Ultima is a curandera – a healer who uses herbs – and she teaches the young boy that his inner strength will allow him to overcome the tragic circumstances one encounters in life. In Anaya’s writing the landscape becomes as important as any character. The novel includes quite a lot of Spanish language words, phrases and even sentences. Non-Spanish speakers may feel a little lost, though I believe context explains everything pretty clearly.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Railway Children by E Nesbit – 4**** This is a delightful classic of children’s literature. Uprooted from their suburban home to a smaller country cottage, Roberta, Peter and Phyllis make the best of things and try their best to not add to Mother’s worries. I love how inventive they are in their play, and how they display loyalty, courage and compassion. I’d read Nesbit’s Five Children and It series when I was in middle school, but never read any of her other works. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished reading "The Beekeeper's Apprentice and starting "Blue Bloods"
Lord of the Flies by William Golding – 5***** A group of British schoolboys is marooned on a tropical island when their plane crashes. With no structure other than what they themselves create and impose, the group descends into survivalist mode, with violent results. It’s a fascinating and disturbing story. The audiobook narrated by the author, which is a shame. His voice is far too old for these young boys and his delivery was distracting. Still, the novel is gripping, and deserving of the highest rating.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rest in Pieces by Rita Mae Brown – 2** Book # 2 in the Mrs Murphy mystery series featuring Mary “Harry” Haristeen and her menagerie – Mrs Murphy (a grey tiger cat), Tucker (a Welsh corgi), and Simon (an opossum living in the hay loft). I found it a disappointing sophomore effort, with little plot and too much descriptive filling. I did like that Harry is a strong, intelligent and resourceful woman.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Fever I just started it so its still to early to say if I like it or not...but it seems promising.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne – 4**** This classic adventure tale was first published in 1870. Verne creates an imaginative and wondrous world. There are scenes that had me literally on the edge of my seat, but there were also long passages detailing the scientific classifications of underwater life that just about had me nodding off. Nemo is a marvelous villain – a seductive genius who can be charming, and yet with a deep-seated hatred of man and a skewed view of the world. I wish I knew more of his back story, of what made him what he is in this novel. James Frain did a fine job narrating the audiobook.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm currently working on multiple books but the main one my focus has been on is the Ender Quintet :)
Just finished the delightful Together Forever - Vicki Green. This was book 2 in the Forever Series. I am now off to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (a book I have been putting off for the past 2 nearly 3 yrs lol). Wish me luck ;) x
Book Concierge wrote: " Lord of the Flies by William Golding – 5***** A group of British schoolboys is marooned on a tropical island when their plane crashes. With no structure other t..."
I am halfway through this book, Book Concierge.
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester – 3.5*** On August 27, 1883 the volcano Krakatoa exploded in a cataclysmic eruption that literally annihilated the island and killed over 36,000 people. This is a natural history of the island, the geological forces that led to its formation, destruction and rebirth, and the aftermath of that event. Winchester is a geologist as well as a writer, and so is the perfect person to pen this history. However, he seemed determined to include every bit of scientific research he uncovered. I’m sure I was influenced by having seen the PBS show about the volcano; I was expecting more action. Still it’s a fascinating story and I was mesmerized for most of it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Bea wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: " Lord of the Flies by William Golding – 5***** ....I am halfway through this book, Book Concierge."
Hope you are enjoying it, Bea.
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher – 3*** The formula is wearing thin for me in this fourth book in the series. Harry is taxed to the max, battling ghouls, vampires, wizards, trolls, ogres, faeries and even a plant monster. The White Council is against him and his temper gets the better of him, but he still has a few friends he can count on. I really like Harry as a character, and the action is fast-paced and interesting, but the series is getting repetitive.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Concierge wrote: " Lord of the Flies by William Golding – 5***** A group of British schoolboys is marooned on a tropical island when their plane crashes. With no structure other t..."
I hated this book with a passion in high school when I was forced to read it - to this day my disgust for it still makes me cringe - maybe in another decade or so i'll be over that feeling
Last night I finished Mommy, May I? - A.K. Alexander (on audio). Not sure what I think as it was laughable one minute and boring the next lol. Now I have Die For Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer - Cynthia Eden (Audio) and reading Broken Build - Rachelle Ayala for a challenge.
I've started reading
along with
, and
.
I started "Shadow and Bone"
Hi all. I have published 3 new reviews. Do check out Bells on Her Toes
The Reflections of Snow White
Jesika's Angel
I'm currently (re)reading Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (Strangely it starts so brilliantly I'd kind of forgot everything else) - Amusingly because its got a train on the cover. Fascinating idea reading via someone else's Task List (and trying to BEND it towards your own taste in reading). BRILLIANT
I've read Die For Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer - Cynthia Eden and listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson. Now I am reading Broken Build - Rachelle Ayala.
Winterkill by C J Box – 3*** Book # 3 in the Joe Pickett series has multiple plot lines: a federal bureaucrat’s murder, his foster daughter’s mother wants her back, and a couple of egomaniacal government officials think nothing of jeopardizing other people’s safety for their political gain. Joe Pickett is the quintessential “good guy.” I read the series mostly because of him. However, I thought the plot got overly complicated in this novel.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman – 3*** This is a memoir of the author’s time as a prisoner at the Women’s Federal Correction Facility on a drug charge. I wasn’t eager to read it and the first chapter almost made me pull the plug, but once she started detailing her life at Danbury the narrative grew on me. What really redeemed the book was Kerman’s depiction of the women she met at Danbury. Despite their limited education, and criminal records they were generous and kind to “the new girl.” Mostly, they taught her to face her past and become accountable for her own role in winding up in prison. Cassandra Campbell does a fine job performing the audiobook.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller – 4**** Originally titled What Was She Thinking. Barbara narrates as she records her observations of her friend and fellow-teacher’s affair with an underaged male student. Sheba is obsessed with the affair, emotionally stressed and not thinking straight. But the reader slowly becomes aware that Barbara is also emotionally damaged- equally obsessed with her friendship with Sheba and jealous of Sheba’s relationships with others. What Barbara reveals about herself in recording Sheba’s story is more subtle and interesting than the story she is trying to tell. She is dangerous woman to have as a “friend.”
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Away by Amy Bloom – 3.5*** Lillian Leyb escapes Russia when her family is killed in a pogrom. Alone in America and determined to succeed, she learns to use others as she, herself, is being used. Once she hears that her daughter may have survived, she sets out on an epic odyssey from New York’s Lower East Side to Seattle and Alaska en route to Siberia. She endures setbacks that would break a weaker person, and encounters a host of colorful characters who are richly drawn. The story isn’t always linear, so even though Barbara Rosenblatt does a marvelous job of narrating the audio book, I’d recommend reading rather than listening.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown – 2.5**Two gruesome murders have the residents of Crozet, Virginia in a tizzy. Postmistress “Harry” Haristeen, and her faithful animal companions – Mrs Murphy and Tee Tucker – solve the case with the help of a few postcards. More of the book is spent on dissecting Harry’s failing marriage, or opinions on racism, feminism, the environment, etc than on the murder. On the plus side, it’s a fairly fast read and Harry is an interesting character. While she’s suffering the hurts of a broken relationship, she is generally a strong, independent woman and I appreciate that. But it IS supposed to be a murder mystery, so I’d like more mystery and less social commentary.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Shadow and BoneStarting: Kalahari's Typing School For Men
1st To Die by James Patterson – 2.5** Debut of The Women’s Murder Club. Four women – a homicide inspector, a reporter, a medical examiner and an assistant D.A. – put their considerable talents together to catch a serial killer. I liked how Patterson portrayed the four women; they were professional, strong, intelligent, and tenacious. I did get tired of Lindsay’s emotional struggles, and thought her health issue was an unnecessary subplot. Skip the audio which is over-acted by Suzanne Toren; lost a half-star on the rating due to her melodramatic performance. I’ll probably read another in the series – emphasis on READ, not listen.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Starting: Kalahari's Typing School For Men"I really liked The Kalahari Typing School for Men ... as well as the rest of that series.
Paula by Isabel Allende – 5***** Evocative, heart-rending, luminous, suspenseful, triumphant – I cannot think of enough adjectives to describe this beautifully written memoir. Allende lays her soul bare on the page as she attempts to write her family history at the bedside of her comatose daughter, Paula. The work moves back and forth from Allende’s history to the events in Paula’s hospital room. It took me a while to get into the book; the writing is very dense. But Allende’s gift for storytelling is evident. Her experiences may be unique, but her reactions are universal.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Christopher wrote: "I have to laugh at my attempt to control my reading. To reduce/streamline my TBR pile(s) and to read new authors. I only found this SRC in September and thought ... brilliant.... another factor to ..."I relate to this post a great deal. It's always nice to "meet" others with similar afflictions. Folie a deux ?
ChrisEverest wonders/ponders....I'm re-reading The Time Traveler's Wife ... and am once again stunned by my incomplete memory of it. Yes I know the story, and I remember what happens BUT I swear I didn't find it as moving the first time I read it. Its gonna go on my Desert Island List, and my Debter's Prison List. Beautifully written and perhaps the relationship means more to me now in my own life than it did before. Has anybody ever tried to map Repeat Readers' reaction to great books ? Does everybody on GoodReads repeat-read occasionally ? Why ? Is it to do with the book subject or the reader's emotional needs ? Discuss - 5,000 words before next week.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
Liam Moiser (other topics)
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Several British retirees move to Bangalore after falling for the promises made in a promotional video for s a new type of retirement community, in a country where the elderly are revered. The novel features quite a collection of characters, but it felt disjointed and not fully developed. I was intrigued by the premise and, much like the characters in the book, seduced by the promises of the movie version. On the whole I did not find the book particularly entertaining or charming.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...