The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
>
<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
I finished "Chopping Spree" and starting "Twenties Girl"
Finished:
- 5*,
- 2*The Violin of Auschwitz - one small tiny portion of the Holocaust; a redeeming story of passion and life.
The Skull of Charlotte Corday and other stories - I did not connect with this book of feminist ideology stories/essays. Felt less like fiction and more like essays.
Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina - reading on sleepless nights: 70% done (slowly making headway), owned
2. The Law of the Dead - owned
3. Humboldt's Gift - owned, on back burner at present
Short books to be considered this week:
The Prince
Our Souls at Night
Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir
Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches & the Mythic Present
Atticus by Ron Hansen – 4**** While there is certainly a mystery at its core, the novel is more about the father-son relationship, and the failure of both of them to openly communicate and understand one another. In many ways this story echoes the parable of the Prodigal Son from the bible. The plot has several twists and turns that kept me intrigued and turning pages, but the star of the novel, to me, was the writing and the exploration of these characters and their motivations.
Full Review HERE
Finished: 
- 4*,
- 4*Cooking With Memories: Recipes And Recollections - The memories were set in Hartford, CT, near where I used to live (Bloomfield, CT). The recipes look good and the one we tried was tasty. Moved to cookbook shelf.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey - very well written story of an elderly man, memories, and love.
Finished:
- 4*Red Hills and Cotton: An Upcountry Memory - Very interesting as it is history/memory of the area of SC that we have moved to.
(We had company which delayed my finish of this book until today.)
Starting:
The Cater Street Hangman
When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II
Finished:
- 3*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina - reading on sleepless nights: 70% done (slowly making headway), owned
2. The Prince - library
3. Humboldt's Gift - owned, on back burner at present
4. The Cater Street Hangman - library
5. When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II - library, on back burner until I get through The Prince
6. Astro City, Vol. 1: Life in the Big City
7. And the Mountains Echoed
8. Innocent in Death
9. Our Souls at Night
Short books to be considered this week:
Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir
Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches & the Mythic Present
How the Shaman Stole the Moon: In Search of Ancient Prophet-Scientists from Stonehenge to the Grand Canyon
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick – 3.5*** Talk about your gothic mystery! Betrayal, an abandoned mansion, a long-lost son, and the isolation of a Wisconsin winter are just the beginning. The characters employ duplicity, obfuscation, coercion, prevarication, and downright lies. I was completely caught up in the story and surprised by more than one twist.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*I liked this graphic novel. The superheroes are not only fighting crime and disasters but struggling with real life. In fact, for most of the story, the focus is on their lives not the crime-fighting. Interesting take. Characters are believable as people. Some backstories were told but not all. Definitely characters in development.
The 5th Wave by Rick YanceyThe Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
A Passage to India by E M Forster – 3.5*** This classic explores class differences and the clash of cultures. Every character seems to have a preconceived notion of how “the others” should behave (or have always acted), and each reacts based on these preconceived notions. Even the “good” characters fall victim to their own prejudices, frequently without realizing it. Friendships are broken, and even when a character realizes his/her mistake there seems no way to undo the damage. Sam Dastor is merely adequate voicing the audio book; 2** for his narration.
Full Review HERE
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom – 3*** A young Irish orphan is indentured to pay her parents’ debt, living and working alongside the slaves in the kitchen house of a Virginia plantation. I can certainly see why this has become so popular with book clubs. It has an interesting basic story line, some tension-filled scenes, and complex relationships between characters. However, it’s not the best-written book. Still, it held my attention and was a fairly quick read. Orlagh Cassidy (voicing Lavinia’s chapters) and Bahni Turpin (performing Belle’s) do a fine job on the audio book.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 3*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina - reading on sleepless nights: 75% done (slowly making headway), owned
2. When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II - library, on back burner
3. Humboldt's Gift - owned, on back burner at present
4. The Cater Street Hangman - library
5. And the Mountains Echoed - library
6. Tokyo Ghoul - library
7. Something Rotten - library
Short books to be considered this week:
Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir
Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches & the Mythic Present
How the Shaman Stole the Moon: In Search of Ancient Prophet-Scientists from Stonehenge to the Grand Canyon
Nimona: I must admit that I did not like this wicked child until the twist was revealed. That is what saved this GN from being 3*Our Souls at Night: a lovely book that tore my soul at the end. How thoughtless we can be with those in our own family!
Feynman: What an incredible person! I am so very glad that I found this GN. Almost made me want to learn more physics!
Innocent in Death: My first "In Death" book. I have put off reading it since it is so much further into the series. Really liked the Dallas character. I will look for more of this series.
The Prince: This is a book that I found hard to read but am glad that I did. Machiavelli's ideas are alive and well in today's world. I think it was important to read this book for that reason. Plus, I was able to answer a Jeopardy question tonight because I read it!
The Sound of Glass by Karen White – 2** This is pretty typical Southern chick lit, with family secrets, damaged psyches, scenes intended to produce tears and an unexpected romance. I certainly understand the popularity of this kind of beach read, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Oh well, it was a quick read.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*And the Mountains Echoed was at times a bit hard to figure out - what character is speaking and what the relationship is to the early story. Both issues usually clarified in a page or so, though. The story follows the lives of many extended family members as well as those who intersect their lives. Very well written.
Pride of Baghdad is a wonderful graphic novel telling the story of the Baghdad zoo during bombardment. The ending was sad but true to war.
Finished:
- 2*I admit that I am not a big fan of Japanese manga. This graphic novel starts at the back and runs forward as many of the manga do. It confuses me a bit, although I do adjust as I continue to read it. However, the graphics in this story did not help me to understand the story at all. I got the gist of it all...but it was a bit of a struggle.
Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar – 4**** Subtitle: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine. What a gripping tale of survival, faith, team work and perseverance. In addition to the harrowing tale of their experiences underground, waiting for a rescue that might or might not happen, the book also relates the difficulties many of the miners had coping with their instant fame, and the aftereffects of the trauma they suffered. Henry Leyva does an excellent job performing the audio book. His pacing is good, and his Spanish pronunciation is excellent.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*I know that this book is not great literature, but I do love the creativeness of Jasper Fforde. For me, this is a fun book - as Amanda's child says - a "snack book"...a good satisfying snack.
Blood Daughters by Marcos M Villatoro – 3*** This is a hard-boiled crime novel with an interesting female lead. It’s number four in the Romilia Chacon series. It’s a gripping mystery, with many twists and turns, a violent sicko serial killer, and a psychologically damaged yet still strong female lead detective. There’s plenty of action to keep the reader turning pages, but I’m left somewhat dissatisfied.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 3*,
- 3*,
- 4*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina - reading on sleepless nights: 80% done (slowly making headway), owned
2. Humboldt's Gift - owned
3. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned
4. Norwegian Wood - library
5. Cat's Eye - owned
6. The Sandman: Volume 10: The Wake - library
7. The Siege - library
8. The Book of Night Women - library
9. Madame Bovary - library
Short books to be considered this week:
Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Mescalero Apaches & the Mythic Present
How the Shaman Stole the Moon: In Search of Ancient Prophet-Scientists from Stonehenge to the Grand Canyon
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers – 5***** This is a true story of what happened to one family in Post-Katrina New Orleans. I was shocked, stunned, angry, heartbroken, dismayed and completely riveted by the tale. Eggers does a great job putting the reader into the setting – the peace and quiet of no electronics, the heat and humidity, the stench of rotting vegetation, and the unsettling sight of armed men patrolling (?) your once-peaceful neighborhood. Firdous Bamji does a marvelous job narrating the audio book. He has good pacing and his performance enhances the reader’s impressions of Zeitoun and Kathy.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*This book was a really hard read due to the subject but with exceptional writing. It is set during the Siege of Leningrad, which went on for over two years during World War II. The characters are living in Leningrad during that siege. It is a book about life...and death. Very well done.
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*The Sandman: Volume 10: The Wake is the ending of the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. There are two more in the series library but this book was intended by Mr. Gaiman to be the end. I found it dreamlike and beautiful with hope.
The Book of Night Women was an audio book for me. And, a very hard one to listen to due to the vivid descriptions of the cruelty of the slave-owners and others in authority to the slaves. I definitely had to take a break from listening to such inhuman treatment. However, Marlon James does bring resolution to the book's characters at the end of the story. I think this is an important book and a story that needs to be told in just the graphic manner it was.
I finished "Twenties Girl" and started "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense"
The Elusive Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gillman – 3*** In book three of the series, the CIA’s least likely courier is sent on a mission to Bulgaria. I love this series. Mrs Pollifax is charming, smart, resourceful and calm in a crisis. If the situations she finds herself in stretch credulity, who cares? The books are fun to read and pure entertainment.
Full Review HERE
The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson – 3*** Bryson clearly loves this landscape, these people, the lovely views, the crazy laws or regulations, and even the food. There were some aspects not to my liking, but on the whole, it’s an entertaining read. Nathan Osgood does a fine job with the narration on the audio book. He has good pacing and an expressive voice.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 3*,
- 3*Currently reading:
1. Anna Karenina - reading on sleepless nights: 85% done (slowly making headway), owned
2. Humboldt's Gift - owned
3. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned
4. Cat's Eye - owned
5. Madame Bovary - library
6. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned
7. Faceless Killers - library
Short books to be considered this week (all library):
What W. H. Auden Can Do for You
Thirteenth Night
The Sandman: Endless Nights
The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic
Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom – 3*** Grissom’s debut - The Kitchen House - became a best seller; this book follows one of the characters in the first book over several decades. There is a good story idea here, a runaway slave who passes for white and builds a successful life. There are a number of twists and turn in the plot and I was caught up in the story and wanted to know how the characters would fare. However, Grissom uses multiple narrators and the result is that there is less cohesion in the story-telling. In summary, it’s a good story and kept me turning pages, but the writing fell short.
Full Review HERE
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark – 4**** Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at conservative girls’ school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. Rather than follow the school curriculum, Miss Brodie prefers to inspire “her girls” with stories of her trips abroad, favorable remarks about Mussolini, comments about sex, and field trips. She is, after all, “in her prime,” and she wants to instill in them passion, independence and ambition. I’ve had this on my tbr since the movie came out in 1969. I have to wonder what my reaction would have been had I read it back then. Nadia May does a fine job performing the audio version. She has good pacing and is able to differentiate the characters, though Spark’s non-linear style is more difficult in audio than on the page.
Full Review HERE
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson – 3***
The Hunt sisters couldn’t be more different. Olivia is a Hollywood producer; Maddie is happily married to her high-school sweetheart and still lives in the small town where they grew up. The novel is comprised of a series of letters, emails, faxes, and telegrams from Olivia to her sister, parents, brother, best friend, ex-boyfriend, and a variety of professionals. I was pretty irritated with Olivia through much of the first half of the novel, but over time I began to admire her spirit, her tireless efforts to rekindle her career, to try to set things right with her friends, parents, siblings, ex-boyfriend, colleagues, etc.
Full Review HERE
I finished "Raining Cats and Dogs" and starting "Chow Down" by Laurien Berenson
Finished:
- 4*,
- 2*,
- 2*Currently reading:
1. Humboldt's Gift - owned, back burner
2. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned, back burner
3. Cat's Eye - owned
4. Thirteenth Night - library
5. Last Exit to Brooklyn - library
6. The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases - library
7. Think Like a Freak - library
8. I Still Dream About You - library
Short books to be considered this week:
What W. H. Auden Can Do for You
The Sandman: Endless Nights
The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic
Due to end of several group challenges, I will focus on finishing up the library books in currently reading. Not sure that short books will get much attention this week.
Book Concierge wrote: " Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom – 3*** Grissom’s debut - The Kitchen House - became a best seller; this book follows one of the characters in t..."
I have been waiting for this author to write another book :) I have this one coming up and am excited about reading it.
is one of my all time favorites :) For some reason, it really left an impression on me and one of the few books that I think about often.
Book Concierge wrote: " The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark – 4**** Miss Jean Brodie is a teacher at conservative girls’ school in 1930s Edinburgh, Scotland. Rat..."
I struggled getting through this book. I didn't like the writing style nor did I truly develop any kind of feelings for any of the characters. Needless to say I didn't like it.
I just finished reading The Story of a New Name. I so badly want to pick up the next in the series, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, but I'm reading it for the challenge so I have to wait a few days. I'm not sure what to read next. I'm reviewing for my upcoming boards with Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, so I'm thinking maybe a collection of short stories would work well; perfect for short breaks from studying.
Finished:
- 4*The authors are very good at explaining the fallacy of most of our political/social thinking. The overall point of this book was to think like a child...question and speak plainly.
Finished:
- 3* and
- 4*The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases is an intriguing look at solving cold cases by renown criminalists.
Currently reading:
1. Humboldt's Gift - owned, back burner
2. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned, back burner
3. Last Exit to Brooklyn - library
4. I Still Dream About You - library
Pushing to finish #3 and #4 by 5/31. Then will take a break and read some short books.
Short books to be considered this week:
What W. H. Auden Can Do for You
The Sandman: Endless Nights
The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters
I finished reading "Chow Down" and starting Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Familyby Glenn Plaskin
Finished:
- 2*I did not like this book at all. I did not care for any of the characters, although the end of some of them was atrocious and very sad. However, the book probably reflected the time and place wel,l and the vernacular it was written in read very normal for the time and place and did not feel contrived.
Brown Bottle by Sheldon Lee Compton – 2.5** Compton writes a gritty, no-holds-barred tale of a man struggling to do what is right. Best known for his short stories, this is Compton’s first full-length novel. His ability with the short-story format shows. There are several vignettes that would make great short stories, but he fails to adequately weave them together.
Full Review HERE
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3*Currently reading:
1. Humboldt's Gift - owned
2. Doctor #117641: A Holocaust Memoir - owned
3. A Murderous Procession - owned
4. Buried Evidence
5. The Hobbit (Graphic Novel): An Illustrated Edition of the Fantasy Classic
6. The Sandman: Endless Nights
7. The Sandman: The Dream Hunters
8. The Lost Hero
Just finished Something Red; ready to start Katie Up and Down the Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family (it's due at the library tomorrow but I had to wait until June 1 to start it.)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Opposite of Everyone (other topics)Small Wonder (other topics)
I, Alex Cross (other topics)
Fox & I (other topics)
On Gold Mountain: The 100-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Gill Paul (other topics)Elizabeth Peters (other topics)
Rainbow Rowell (other topics)
Liam Moiser (other topics)
Barbara Mertz (other topics)
More...
Jayme, how did you like Uprooted? I have it on one of my plans to read."
I didn't like it as much as I thought it would. I thought the plot moved slowly.