The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. Runaway
3. Burial Rites
4. Choiring Of The Trees
5. Northanger Abbey
6. Holding Out for Doctor Perfect
A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William W Johnstone – 2** The characters were all stereotypes and the message was heavy-handed. I don’t think I’m spoiling much by saying that the bad guys get what’s coming to them and the good guys win. It wouldn’t be a Western romantic Christmas story otherwise. At least it was a fast read.
Full Review HERE
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher – 2** This is a clever satire of academia and the changes wrought by a society that does not value English majors. Fitger’s letters of recommendation give insight into his thoughts on the status of “higher learning,” the increasing encroachment of technology, and the various personalities he encounters among students, fellow faculty and administrators. They are frequently hilarious, and at other times deeply sad.
Full Review HERE
I am currently reading I am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, after enjoying The Book Thief I was very interested in reading his other books. I have found the beginning of the book a bit slow and it's only nearly halfway through that I am beginning to enjoy the book.
The Martian by Andy Weir – 4**** A great story with a great cast of characters. I love Mark Watney! Weir’s writing completely captured me and transported me to a different planet. I have no clue if the science is accurate, and I don’t care. The novel grabbed me from the beginning and never let go! R C Bray does a superb job performing the audio version.
Full Review HERE
I'm currently reading American Shogun by Robert Harvey. I found this book in search of Douglas MacArthur's biography. If anybody else recommend a good biography about him, let me know!
I had to stop in the midst of the Fall Challenge so I could work on a remodeling project or two. Somehow, I went over 100 days without reading a book!Now that the holidays are over and all visitors are gone, I'm gearing back up to participate in the Winter Challenge, although I know I won't get many tasks done this time. I hope to start posting today!
Just finished:
Where'd You Go, Bernadette
The Professor and the Madman
Go Set a Watchman.
Currently reading Avenue of Mysteries.
-Pat (Peakles)
The Toynbee Convector by Ray Bradbury – 3***This collection of short stories was originally published in 1988. Most of the stories are the type that we more typically associate with Bradbury – time travel, science fiction, paranormal, horror. One completely delightful surprise was Junior featuring a group of senior citizens with healthy libidos. For me, the star of this book is a tender love story titledThe Laurel and Hardy Love Affair. It’s the story that forced me to look at Bradbury with new eyes and to appreciate his skill at crafting a story that engages, entertains, and kindles the reader’s emotions.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. Choiring Of The Trees
3. Northanger Abbey
4. The Complete Persepolis
5. Deadly Admirer
6. The Paris Lawyer
Yes Please by Amy Poehler – 4**** In general, I’m not a big fan of celebrity memoirs, but this one was getting great reviews from friends whose opinions I value, so I decided to give it a go. I could NOT stop listening. Poehler is funny, engaging, self-deprecating, kind, funny, outrageous, honest, funny, intelligent, dynamic and funny.
Full Review HERE
Still LIfe by Louise Penny – 3***This is the first in a series of mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Gamache. I’ve heard much about this series and have several friends who are devoted fans, but I thought it took a very long time to take off. I’ll give the series another try. It wasn’t a bad book, but it didn’t grab me as I expect mysteries to do.
Full Review HERE
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell – 2** I kept hearing about Rainbow Rowell and how much people loved her other books. I should have at least read the book jacket first – totally my own fault. I didn’t believe in the characters and their relationships. I thought the dialogue was tortured and ridiculous. Not to mention the plot elements. On the plus side, Rowell does a pretty good job when writing suspenseful / thriller scenes. Euan Morton does a fine job narrating the audiobook. I give his performance 4****, and raise the entire rating to 2 stars as a result.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition)
2. Choiring Of The Trees
3. The Paris Lawyer
4. Your Republic Is Calling You
5. The Invention of Wings
Claude & Camille by Stephanie Cowell – 3***The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Novel of Monet. It’s a good work of historical fiction, with a true-life romance at its core. Cowell does a good job of giving the reader a sense of the time and place, as well as the enthusiasm of youth, the passion of working toward one’s dream, the camaraderie of friends, and the safety of a steadfast love.
Full Review HERE
13½ by Nevada Barr – 3.5*** Much darker and more terrifying than the Anna Pigeon series by which most readers know Nevada Barr. I was captivated from the beginning, and Barr held my attention throughout. There is considerable foul language, and some very graphic scenes of violence. Dan John Miller does a fine job of narrating the audiobook.
Full Review HERE
I finished "The Dogs of Christmas" and started "Zeroville" by Steve Erickson
Finished: Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - still plugging along
2. Choiring Of The Trees - backburner; library books before those I own
3. The Invention of Wings - backburner
4. Down Home Murder - due 1/28
5. Much Ado About Nothing - due 2/1
6. The Bells - due 2/4
7. Me Talk Pretty One Day - due 2/3
I have two more books due 2/1 (Sixth Grave on the Edge and Gunpowder Green. I might get one done but will probably have to renew the other one.
I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt – 3***Brandt, a former prosecutor, managed to get Frank Sheeran to tell the true story of what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. I was interested, but disgusted with Sheeran and the other thugs profiled in the book.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*
The Women by T C Boyle – 3*** Boyle tells the story of Frank Lloyd Wright through the eyes of the women who loved him: his three wives and his mistress. The chronology moves back and forth, beginning with Wright’s last love, and the story line seemed somewhat fractured. Despite the title and the organization of the book, the women come off as secondary to the man. Frank Lloyd Wright is a bigger-than-life presence here, and I grew tired of him.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*
- 4*
- 3*
- 3*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. Choiring Of The Trees - backburner; library books before those I own
3. The Invention of Wings
4. The Bells - due 2/4
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl – 3***A classic children’s story with a message about good behavior being rewarded. I never read it as a child and I found it a bit over-the-top, but I can see the great appeal that this kind of “fairy tale” holds for children. Eric Idle does a marvelous job of narrating the audio book. All his skill as a voice artist is put to good use creating unique characters. I’d give him 4 stars for his narration.
Full Review HERE
The Love Queen of the Amazon by Cecile Pineda – 4**** This is a wonderful send-up of magical realism, with a decidedly feminist bent. I laughed out loud at the ridiculous antics and over-the-top descriptions. I was engaged and pulled into the story from page one, and when I finished, I wanted to start from the beginning and read it again.
Full Review HERE
Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey – 3***The novel is told by the two brothers in alternating chapters. The plot is convoluted and intricate, as befits a psychological thriller, but I didn’t find it a grippingly fast read. I was interested but puzzled about where this was going for a good third of the novel. Simon Vance is superb as the narrator of the audio version. He gives each brother a unique voice, which makes it easy to tell who is narrating.
Full Review HERE
I finished "The Fairy Godmother" and starting "Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar"
Finished:
- 4*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. Choiring Of The Trees - backburner; library books before those I own
3. The Invention of Wings - backburner
4. Drop Dead Chocolate
5. The Kill Room
6. The Cider House Rules
7. Twilight
8. The Horse Whisperer
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee – 3*** The subtitle is: A Memoir, a History. That pretty much describes this book. What I liked most about the book were his stories about bookshops from his personal experience, i.e. the memoir sections. But Buzbee also gives the reader a history of books – from clay tablets to scrolls to paper – and book-selling. And those sections I found less engaging.
Full Review HERE
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. The Cider House Rules
3. The Invention of Wings
4. Park Lane South, Queens
5. A Fool and His Honey
Removed from currently reading:
1. Choiring Of The Trees - backburner
2. The Horse Whisperer
3. Twilight - backburner
The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel – 4****The wives of the original U.S. Astronauts had just as much of the “right stuff” as their hero-husbands. Koppel reveals their strengths, their weaknesses, their fears and joys, their stumbles and triumphs. These were some STRONG women, and it’s about time they were recognized. Orlagh Cassidy does a marvelous job narrating the audio book. Her pace is good, and she has enough skill as a voice artist to give the women sufficiently distinct voices (most of the time), so there is little confusion.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 3*
- 3*
Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy – 3*** The second in a series of cozy mysteries featuring White House Executive Chef Ollie Paras begins at Thanksgiving and takes the reader through preparations to decorate the White House for Christmas. This was fairly entertaining, but I guessed what was going on FAR ahead of Ollie, and even, apparently, the Secret Service Agent in Charge! Oh well … I read this genre for the escape from reality. And this certainly fills that bill.
Full Review HERE
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. The Cider House Rules
3. The Invention of Wings
4. Choiring Of The Trees - starting back on this one
5. The Golem and the Jinni
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – 4****The girl on the train is Rachel – a depressed alcoholic who is sure she has witnessed important information concerning a missing woman. Or was that accurate? This is a gripping, fascinating psychological thriller. I was hooked from the beginning and didn’t guess the culprit until the reveal. The ending is nothing short of chilling. The audio is capably narrated by three voice artists: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey and India Fisher. But I have no way of knowing who voices which character.
Full Review HERE
Reading both *The Old Man and the Sea* by Ernest Hemingway and *The Historian* by Elizabeth Kostova.Jim
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie – 2** This is an intricately plotted mystery, but Miss Marple doesn’t appear until page 153. Most of the detective work is done by Jerry Burton and the local investigator. it seems that almost everyone in town is a potential culprit, including the vicar’s wife! But of course, after hearing a few casual remarks Miss Marple solves the case.
Full Review HERE
I am reading Beautiful Disaster. still have 150 pages to finish it witch is not a very big number not the best thing book but it's not that bad
Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. The Cider House Rules
3. Undead and Unwed
4. Thyme of Death
5. Buried Secrets
6. The Inquisitor's Key
7. Fight Club
8. Magic Study
Reshelved for now:
Choiring Of The Trees
The Golem and the Jinni
Finished reading "The Christmas Joy Ride" and starting "Tricky Twenty-Two" by Janet Evanovitch
Book Concierge wrote: " A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William W Johnstone – 2** The characters were all stereotypes and the message was heavy-handed. I don’t think I’m spoi..."
I love reading your reviews Book Concierge :) I can spend hours just reading them and then I find myself adding more books to my TBR. We read a lot of the same books and rate them about the same!!! Thanks for sharing your opinion as it often helps me determine when and IF I will read a book LOL
Just out of curiosity......have you read anything else by William Johnstone? I have a couple of the Christmas books by him and realized that they are a series. Can they be read as stand-a-lones or should they be read in order? It seems I read some where else that some of the characters are returning characters from other series he has written.
Bea wrote: "Currently reading:1. Anna Karenina (Kindle edition) - reading on sleepless nights
2. The Cider House Rules
3. Undead and Unwed
4. Thyme of Death
5. [book:..."
Bea you are so like me. I always have several books going at once. I just can't help myself :) I enjoy seeing what you are reading also. I really need to keep up with this thread a little better so I can keep up with what you and Book Concierge are reading,liking and disliking :)
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
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Bradbury’s first published book (1950) is an anthology of connected short stories centering on men escaping an Earth about to be destroyed by war for a chance at a new beginning on the red planet. I first read this in about 1962 and it remains a favorite. I decided to re-read it because of the hoopla around Andy Weir’s The Martian. I’m glad I did.
Full Review HERE