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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Charlie
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Nov 03, 2015 09:23AM
I'm reading Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. I'm only really enjoying Cleo's perspective so far.
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The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O’Connor – 4**** This is a story of a portrait of a beautiful Viennese Jewish salon hostess, the now-vanished turn-of-the-century Vienna cultural scene of which it became an emblem, the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and the efforts of Adele’s heirs to recover this and other paintings from an Austrian government that wished to hide the realities of war-time complicity. I was interested from beginning to end, though wish a little more time had been spent on Klimt and Adele.
Full Review HERE
I'm getting ready to go to the library and pick up Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch. I just have 3 books before I finish this challenge and I'm half way through two of them--The Life of Samuel Johnson and The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution,
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach – 3.5*** Science writer Mary Roach tackles the human digestive system in this work of nonfiction. Roach entertains and informs as she reports on various scientific studies, in some cases interviewing the researcher, and/or participating a re-creation of the study.
Full Review HERE
Catching up:Previously listed books that I was reading -
1. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice. I decided to place this one aside. I will come back to it at some time as I am keenly interested but the end of challenges is looming and other books take precedence.
2. Insurgent and Always: both are large books. Again I made the decision to focus on other books and so returned these to the library. As they are also on a challenge that runs to the end of 2015, I will read them in December.
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. John Adams (buddy read)
3. Lakota Woman
4. Meeting the Master
5. The Burning Wire
Plan to start once #5 completed, Fifth Business. Expect to complete #3 & #4 by week's end.
Miracle at St Anna by James McBride – 3*** Inspired by the experiences of African American Buffalo Soldiers serving in Tuscany during World War II, McBride has crafted a novel of brotherhood, faith and redemption. He uses magical realism to great effect, but doesn’t sugarcoat the harsh realities and brutality of war and deprivation.
Full Review HERE
Bea wrote: "Catching up:Previously listed books that I was reading -
1. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice. I decided to place this one aside. I will come ..."
Also added The Thief and The Concrete Blonde
Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl – 4**** The subtitle – The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise – is a pretty good synopsis of Reichl’s memoir of her tenure as a restaurant critic for the New York Times. I loved her stories of the various restaurants, but what I really appreciated was a glimpse at her growth as a person. A delicious memoir, and I devoured every word.
Full Review HERE
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. John Adams (buddy read)
3. The Concrete Blonde
Completing today: Fifth Business
Starting new today/tomorrow:
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Readathon
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Readathon
3. The Smoke Jumper
4. Out to Canaan
Black Coffee by Agatha Christie & Charles Osborne – 2** This is the seventh work featuring Hercule Poirot. It’s a traditional locked room mystery, with plenty of suspects. Originally written as a play it was novelized by Charles Osborne some twenty years after Christie’s death. The result is a little stilted, though the dialogue and basic plot are classic Christie.
Full Review HERE
Aloft by Chang-rae Lee – 4* Jerry Battle is the narrator of this character-driven novel. It is his unavailability – emotionally and physically – that colors all the relationships he has. My reactions to Jerry were as puzzling as his own reactions to what’s going on around him – I was angry, confused, frustrated, ready to give up, wanted to go on, and ultimately loved him and his family.
Full Review HERE
I finished "Wizard of Earthsea" and started "Blood Bound" by Patricia Briggs
I am reading Book of Shadows-" The Solitary Practitioner" by Silver Raven Wolf. Also,"Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region" by Melvin R. Galemore
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach – 4* Like she did for death and digestion, Roach educates and entertains in her third book, this time focusing on sex. I found it both interesting and entertaining. Sandra Burr did a fine job on the audio version. Her pacing is good and she gives just the right mix of gravity and light-hearted fun to the text.
Full Review HERE
Mrs Jeffries Dusts for Clues by Emily Brightwell – 3*** In book two of the series the action focuses on a missing servant girl. I enjoyed this cozy mystery, featuring Mrs Jeffries and other household staff who keep Inspector Witherspoon at the top of his game. I thought the ending was rushed, and the resolution a little too convenient. Also, the epilogue added nothing to the story. Still it was a reasonably satisfying cozy.
Full Review HERE
The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith – 3*** This is the third installment in the series featuring philosopher Isabel Dalhousie. What I really like about this series are Isabel’s philosophical musings, and this one is no exception. The central ethical dilemma seems to be when to keep one’s mouth shut vs when to tell all one knows. Hilary Neville does a fine job performing the audiobook. She has good pacing and I love the way she voices Isabel.
Full Review HERE
Word Nerd: Dispatches from the Games, Grammar, and Geek Underground
Or as it might be known, Scrabble at Rarified Levels.
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. The Concrete Blonde
3. Cadillac Jukebox
Finishing today: John Adams
Expect to start tomorrow:
1. Storm Front
2. Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War
3. Death in a Strange Country
4. Great Expectations
5. Love Letters to the Dead
A Mind to Murder by P D James – 4**** This is an engaging, interesting and complex murder mystery. I love Dalgliesh and his quiet, deliberate manner. James crafts a plot that seems straightforward, but which includes numerous red herrings to keep the reader off balance. Well done!
Full Review HERE
Currently reading Terms of Use which is my Kindle First choice for December. So far it's a solid tech thriller.
Partway through
, this is fast becoming one of my all time favorite series!
, this is fast becoming one of my all time favorite series!
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. The Concrete Blonde
3. Great Expectations
Finished: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War
Expect to finish today or tomorrow:
1. Love Letters to the Dead
2. Storm Front
3. Death in a Strange Country
Next books considering:
The Obstacle Course
Dead of Night
Speaking from Among the Bones
Tears of the Giraffe
Carrie by Stephen King – 4**** I first read this back when it was a new book in 1974. I was fascinated and horrified. The movie, starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie, was excellent, and I have to admit that re-reading it now, I can’t help but picture images from the film.
Full Review HERE
Mr Ives’ Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos – 4**** This Pulitzer finalist (1996) is a lovely, contemplative novel – a character study and philosophical exploration of one man’s search for spiritual peace. Hijuelos paints a picture of a gentle man, with a quiet strength born of his circumstances, and of the influences of both the Church and his adoptive father. It is through them that he learns to love and to endure. I’ll be thinking about this gem for a long time, and I’m certain I’ll re-read it.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. The Concrete Blonde - pushed aside by library books due
3. The Obstacle Course
4. Dead of Night
Starting:
Insurgent
Sky Ghosts: All for One
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey – 4**** Updating a traditional Russian folk tale, Ivey gives us the story of an older, childless couple, and the little girl they find and “adopt” in the snowy woods of Alaska, circa 1920. I really liked how Ivey explored the relationship between Mable and Jack, and how it evolved throughout the book. I also liked that Ivey kept me guessing about Faina. Ultimately, the message of this charming novel is to encourage us to “choose joy over sorrow.”
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. The Concrete Blonde - pushed aside by library books due
3. The Obstacle Course
4. Sky Ghosts: All for One
5. The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again
Dragonfly in Amber by Diane Gabaldon – 2.5** Book two in the Outlander series continues the story of Jamie and Claire. I was bored by much of this. The plotting seemed very uneven to me. Several interesting characters were introduced in the Paris setting, but they simply disappeared in the second half of the book. The political “intrigue” wasn’t intriguing to me. Davinia Porter, however, is spectacular narrating the audio version of this series. Her facility with voices makes me believe she IS Murtagh, Raymond, Claire, Fergus, the Duke of Sandringham, Jenny, Jamie, et al.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. Sky Ghosts: All for One - Kindle (on back burner)
3. The Obstacle Course
4. Shakespeare's Landlord
5. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
6. Devil in a Blue Dress
7. The Cut
8. Always
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple – 3*** I’m not a huge fan of satire and it took me a while to get into the spirit of this book. But once I surrendered to the craziness I found myself enjoying the ride. The book is structured as a series of journal entries, emails, letters, etc jumping from one character’s point of view to another. It’s great fun to read some of these missives, but at times the interruption in the story arc is just distracting and even boring. Kathleen Whilhoite does a fantastic job performing the audio. She is by turns dead-pan, enthusiastic, calm and serene, and totally hysterical.
Full Review HERE
I just finished Bad Dog: A Love Story by Martin Kihn
and am ready to start Obsession Falls by Christina Dodd
Deborah wrote: "Finished:
LOL, I'm about to start
[book:The Ch..."I really liked "The Christmas Candle" It was a short read. I also liked "Girl On the Train"
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith – 3*** Book thirteen in the series featuring Mma Precious Ramotswe, her associate Mma Grace Makutsi, and their husbands, friends and clients. I think I’ll never get tired of this gentle cozy series, where the mysteries are usually of the financial or political kind, and not typically murders. Reading one of these books is simply a balm for my soul.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. Sky Ghosts: All for One - Kindle
3. The Obstacle Course
4. The Cut
5. Always
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. Sky Ghosts: All for One - Kindle
3. The Obstacle Course - on back burner
4. The Cut
Starting:
Mommy in the Making
A City Called July
Carved in Bone
Fire Cracker
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
I finished reading "The Snowglobe" by Sheila Roberts and started Home for the Holidays by Debbie Maccomber
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. Sky Ghosts: All for One - Kindle
3. Mommy in the Making
4. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
5. Fire Cracker
6. Books Can Be Deceiving
The Christmas Letters by Lee Smith – 2** A multi-generational saga told through some of the annual Christmas letters written to friends/family from 1944-1996. I was bored for much of this, but at least it was a quick read.
Full Review HERE
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed – 3*** I am not a great fan of these kinds of navel-gazing self-realization memoirs, and I wasn’t expecting much from this one. Perhaps it was the connection with her mother or the way that she obviously did grow to adulthood on the trail, but I liked this more than I expected to.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Will finish tomorrow (due at library):
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - slow going
2. Sky Ghosts: All for One - Kindle
3. Sizzling Sixteen
4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
5. The Murder of King Tut
6. The Full Cupboard of Life
Heavenly Friends by Rosalie Marie Levy – 2** Subtitle: A Saint for Each Day. My parents gave this to me for Christmas 1960; my brother found it in a box of stuff we had packed from our parents’ home but never sorted through, and gave it to me last year. I’ve been reading a few each week and finally finished. The writing is sometimes appallingly bad, but it’s a product of its time and of the intended message.
Full Review HERE
City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin – 3*** Set in Berlin from 1922 to 1933, this was a very atmospheric novel, with the city and time frame central to the plot. Franklin crafts an intricate plot and gives us wonderful characters. Already familiar with the historical events during this time frame, I grew increasingly nervous about how they would endure the coming political changes.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
3. The Murder of King Tut
4. Runaway
5. The Shawl
6. Burial Rites
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
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