The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
I just finished The Signature of All Things and I'm currently reading Belle Cora and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. :-)
I finished "The Kalahari Typing School For Men" and starting "An Unfinished Life"
Book Concierge wrote: "
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. – pu..."
I like this series. I am up to book four.
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin – 4**** This is a beautifully written debut novel that exemplifies “show, don’t tell.” Just as you get to know your neighbors or friends over decades, one event and reaction at a time, the reader gets to know Talmadge over the course of the novel. A man of few words he rarely directly reflects on the guilt he carries over his part in events. Rather, his actions speak to his deep-seated pain and desire to make amends. Coplin also writes with eloquence about the land and the time period. Mark Bramhall does a marvelous job voicing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just finished "The Cleansing" by Danielle Tara EvansWe never think genocide could happen on our soil...
For my full review : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am now starting the sequel "The Revolt".
I highly recommend this author!
armaggedon out of here, is the book, Derek Landy
The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg – 3*** Alternate title: The Child of Time - Interesting science fiction fantasy. What happens when a
Neanderthal child is plucked from the Ice-Age and deposited into a “bubble” in a 21-st century scientific laboratory. One compassionate nurse, hired to care for the child, gradually becomes very close to the frightened child, and recognizes that what may be good for science is not necessarily good for the boy. First published as a short story in 1956, Robert Silverberg teamed with Asimov to add more information on the Neanderthal tribe from which the boy was taken, as well as a subplot involving a self-proclaimed child advocate adept at media relations.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – 4**** A classic of the genre, Shirley Jackson’s novel has been scaring people since 1959. Four people come to Hill House to investigate whether there is an occult presence. They get more than they bargained for, and Eleanor, a meek young woman with a past that includes a poltergeist, is particularly affected by the House. Bernadette Dunne does a marvelous job narrating the audio version. Get a bag of popcorn, turn the light low, and listen – if you dare!
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished "An Unfinished Life" and starting "Three Souls"
The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier – 4**** Two men meet by chance and discover they are so identical in appearance they could pass for one another. After a night of drinking, John awakens in Jean’s pajamas, and finds that his French counterpart has stolen his identity and car. There’s nothing to do but take on the mantel of the Comte de Gue until the “practical joker” returns. Du Maurier writes wonderfully complex psychological suspense, and this is a stellar example. The way in which John muddles along as “Jean de Gue” reveals much about his doppelganger. The plot is full of twists and turns, which kept me interested and intrigued from beginning to end.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Don’t Ask by Donald E Westlake – 3*** Book # 8 in the John Dortmunder series is a fun, fast, entertaining read. This time out the gang is involved in an international incident centering on an ancient religious relic. Dortmunder is a rather gentlemanly burglar; he’s a mastermind and a great planner, but his plans, however well thought out and featuring split-second timing, never quite work out. The joy comes in watching Westlake’s imaginative, convoluted scenarios unfold.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished Visions in Death. The IN Death series by J.D Robb has NYSPD Detective Eve Dallas as the main character. Through the series, while solving a series of murders, we see Eve as she develops her friendships and overcomes a traumatic childhood. Her love for Roarke and marriage to him assist her in bringing down the barriers she had built around herself.
Christopher wrote: "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..."
What an idea! to actually map out our reactions to a repeat read! it's a go for me!
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion – 4**** Audio book narrated by Don O’Grady. Genetics professor Don Tillman has decided to marry – once he finds the perfect wife with the use of the extensive questionnaire he’s developed. But when he meets Rosie Jarman he sets aside the Wife Project to help her with her Father Project. As the project continues a friendship develops. This is an endearing, tender romantic comedy that had me laughing aloud in places. A delightful surprise!
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Only 22 books left, lol - I guess that's why it's called a Challenge!Currently reading California by Edan Lupecki and LOVING IT!!
This is for 15.8
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee – 4**** The subtitle says it all: A Biography of Cancer. Meticulously researched and explained so a layman can understand, Mukherjee has indeed crafted a biography of this disease that scares so many of us. He includes a few patient stories to make the scientific information more personal. Stephen Hoye does a fine job reading the audio version of this book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra – 4**** This short novel follows two couples in a Taliban-run Kabul. Khadra writes with poetic detail about a city which the residents no longer recognize as their own. They struggle to make sense of a culture that is at once familiar and foreign. This is a tragedy, and things will not end well for all these characters. But I feel that I have gained a little understanding of the situation by reading this novel, and for that I’m grateful.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Three Souls and started "The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal – 3*** This is a memoir of his youth growing up in an extended family on Long Island. Billy Crystal’s father, Jack, died when Billy was just fifteen; he figures he had only 700 Sundays with his father. These Sundays form the framework for this memoir. Based on the Tony Award winning play by the same title, it is not about Crystal’s career as an entertainer, but about the family that nurtured the boy. I wish I could have had an audio version of this, or watched a DVD of the Broadway show, because as I read I couldn’t help but feel that the material is best performed.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book Concierge wrote: " The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion – 4**** Audio book narrated by Don O’Grady. Genetics professor Don Tillman has decided to marry – once he find..."
This was a wonderful surprise book for me as well. I even got my husband to enjoy it on audio during a road trip.
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue – 3*** An ethereal novel that moves back and forth in time from 1920’s to contemporary New Orleans. Raziela Nolan was a vivacious woman planning a career as a doctor when she dies in a tragic accident. Now she watched over a young married couple, Amy and Scott, from her place in “the between.” Both Razi and Amy are dealing with loss and grief. I liked the young Razi, but never connected with Amy. I thought the dual plot lines got away from Domingue, but it was a decent debut novel.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
First Night of Summer
I had this book for awhile before I even read it and now it has become one of my favorites. Can't wait for his next!
This was an emotionally-charged, gut-wrenching thriller that kept you guessing what will happen next till the very end. Have your tissues ready. This tragic story while it can be disturbing, has very touching parts for a thriller novel.
It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – 1* A blonde bombshell inherits a professional football team she doesn’t want and has to learn to deal with the Coach. I knew it was a chick-lit romance going into it, but it was so stupid I lost 20 IQ points. I finished it only because it satisfied a couple of challenges.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished "The Soldier's Wife" and starting "Birdsong"
I just finished
which I really liked. I just started
.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly – 5***** What a magical, wonderful story! This is a quest, a fairy tale, a horror story, a coming-of-age story, and a psychological study all in one. I love David, and I loved how Connolly incorporated so many life lessons in this imaginative tale. The adventures David has while in this “other” land are familiar and yet disturbingly different. Connolly is known as a writer of mystery thrillers, and his skill at writing a fast-paced, suspense-filled narrative shows here. I was immediately engaged in the story and couldn’t put it down.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa – 5***** A beautifully elegant gem of a novel that explores a unique friendship between a Housekeeper, her son and the brain-injured Professor of mathematics whose memory is limited to 80 minutes. The slow way in which the Housekeeper, Root and the Professor get to know one another is framed by his lessons on the poetry of mathematics and the elegance of prime numbers. Cassandra Campbell does a fine job narrating the audio book; even when reading an equation she makes it sound like poetry.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rinehart – 2** 1940s, Maine. When Carol Spencer arrives at the family estate to open it for the summer she finds a charred corpse in the linen closet. Before long the police are targeting her as a suspect. I was interested and engaged in the beginning, but about half-way through I began to feel that Rinehart had made this unnecessarily complicated. The final reveal stretched credulity too far.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy – 3*** Binchy writes ensemble pieces that reflect the ways in which we get to know one another. Strangers are drawn together by location and circumstance, and find common ground where they least expect it. Sharing a meal or a bus trip to a different village, the characters reveal themselves little by little to one another and to the reader. It’s an enjoyable read even if the ending is a little too neatly tied up with a pretty bow. By the end I wanted to visit this charming island myself. Terry Donnelly does a fine job performing the audio version.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I dumped Birdsong and read "Search and Rescue" and starting "Obsessions"
Yesterday I got Night Shift from OverDrive. The novella I was interested in, Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews, was a great addition to the Magic Shifts series. I really like Dali and Jim, and it was fun to see them go from dating to committed while battling evil. lol Though the first encounter was won too easily, it was quite good for a novella.The others were new to me. Secrets of Midnight by Singh was an OK story as far as it went, but nothing in it felt particularly interesting. Frazier's Lucky Charms was also OK. It felt like a not-as-good version of Swenson's Enchanted Inc series, though, which is much funnier. The last one, Milla Vane's The Beast of Blackmoor, I disliked. Crude and violent, I liked the idea of the MC, but not the execution.
That's why I love OverDrive - I didn't have to waste my money on stories I didn't like to get the one I did.
Teri-k wrote: "Yesterday I got Night Shift from OverDrive. The novella I was interested in, Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews, was a great addition to the Magic Shifts series. I really like Dali and J..."I love overdrive! And since I still have my WV library card I can get books/audiobooks from there or MD. Makes me want to live more places and collect more library cards. :D
I'm currently about half-way through
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It's my LAST book for this season, and it's a fantastic read, but its so so SO long… I feel like I've been in the Congo for d…a…y…s… Oh, wait, I HAVE been here for days.
Lots of pages, small type, my reading glasses are getting a serious workout.
I saved this one for last because I really love reading Barbara Kingsolver, and I knew this book would be good, and I also knew that if I didn't finish the challenge over this one title, I would not feel bad because it's such an epic tale.
I'll finish it. It'll be close to the wire, but I'll gitter dun.
Go, Pat, go! lol. *I'm a glutton for punishment apparently.*
Pat wrote: "I'm currently about half-way through
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It's my LAST book for this season, and it's a fanta..."
Pat wrote: "I'm currently about half-way through The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It's my LAST book for this season, and it's a fanta..."
What a great book to end the challenge on!
So today I started and finished
- James Patterson which I think he is getting back to usual self. Now I need to read
- James Patterson to carry on the story.
Have now finished NYPD Red 2 - James Patterson which I thought had me guessing in the first 25% of the book. Then I get to 75% and BANG it threw me off course and I was like "I NEVER SAW THAT COMING". So I am now going to read A Touch of Lilly - Nina Pierce for a slightly steamy kinda book (avert your eyes now if you don't like or do Erotica kind of books lol).
Have finished the amazing and sexual A Touch of Lilly - Nina Pierce. Found it boring at the start, but carried on and it got better. Now I can't decide between Fall of Night - Rachel Caine or Tick Tock - James Patterson. 1 is a Vampire series to finish off bar 1 more afterwards and the other is another JP with Michael Bennett as the hero.
Currently reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs!Started yesterday and I know I'll be done within the next few days! Going to try to find a task that fits it (I'm sure it'll be easy)
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn – 4**** On a fictitious island nation off the coast of South Carolina, the people pride themselves on their literacy and writing. A monument in the center of town immortalizes the pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” in ceramic tiles. But when one of the letter tiles falls off and breaks, the Council decrees that the letter should no longer be used. It’s just one letter. But then another falls… and another. This is a wonderful little satire on the use/abuse of power, but it is also a love letter to all of us who love and cherish words.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I am reading How to Be a Woman and listening to The Lowland.This will cover 5.5 (Humor) and 10.3 (National Days, set in India).
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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Fox & I (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
Liam Moiser (other topics)
Barbara Mertz (other topics)
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First time I read it I seemed to favour the love-story/doomed relationship idea. Second time I went political and saw The American Dream and the last couple of times I just wanted to tell Daisy she was a stupid shallow cowardly capitalist lapdog. Brilliant book. I would have loved to meet Zelda !