The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
– Tom Robbins – 2** Entertained as I was by the occasional wild description and laugh-out-loud moment, however, in general I was bored by the book. All those interludes to wax poetic about this or that philosophy seemed nothing but an attempt to distract the reader from the lack of a story. Clearly, Robbins is not the writer for me.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 5*,
- 3*Reading:
The Twelve
The Old Man and Mr. Smith
Leslie
The Girl on the Train
Cold City Streets
Starting:
The Trouble With Magic
The Gift
Signs and Wonders
– Philip Gulley – 3*** Book three in the Harmony series looks at a year in the life of the Quaker community’s residents. I just love this series. Each book gives us a glimpse of all the good – and not so good – in human nature, but with the hope that the good will outweigh the bad. They are a perfect break from the stresses of life, and a reminder that there is much good in this world.
LINK to my review
I'm reading the hobbit... it's really nice... I'm enjoying :)
Finished:
- 4*Still reading and hope to finish by end of month:
The Twelve
Cold City Streets
Double-Booked for Death
Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond and Austerlitz by WG Sebald
I finished "Changes" by Mercedes Lackey and continuing with "The Dressmaker"
Homemade Sin
– Kathy Hogan Trochek – 3*** This is a pretty good series. I like the premise of the House Mouse cleaning service for these cozy mysteries; Trochek gives the reader a nice cast of colorful supporting characters who work for the heroine. Callahan Garrity is a strong, intelligent, resourceful woman. It’s a speedy read, the action is fast-paced, and I like the characters. I’ll read more of the series.
LINK to my review
Redwall
– Brian Jacques – 5***** What a wonderful story; I was engaged from beginning to end. Every mouse of Redwall Abbey has taken a solemn oath to never harm another living creature, unless it is an enemy seeking to harm the Order by violence. I love this message of peaceful coexistence and tolerance. The mice are willing to live-and-let-live, but they will defend to the death against those who seek to overtake their peaceable kingdom. Jacques filled the book with detailed descriptions which serve to really put the reader right into Mossflower County. It’s entertaining, scary, exciting, and inspiring. I think I’ll read more of this middle-grade series for the sheer joy of it.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3.5*One more to go before the end of the month.
Black Beauty
– Anna Sewell – 4**** I had a copy of this book when I was a child, but for some reason I never read it, even during my “horse crazy” phase. I’m so glad I finally got to it. It’s a timeless tale with a simple message: Be kind to everyone (and everything). Sewell manages to convey this through Beauty’s experiences, both good and bad. The hardcover text edition I got from the library was also beautifully illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch.
LINK to my review
I finished "The Dressmaker" by Kate Alcott and starting "Redoubt" by Mercedes Lackey
Finished Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries and started Why You Love Music: From Mozart to Metallica--The Emotional Power of Beautiful Sounds.
Currently reading:Double-Booked for Death
The God of Small Things
The Girl in the Steel Corset
Seizure
A Dirty Job
on deck: East of Eden
I just finished on the road from jack kerouac and started "trafikant" from seethaler.
I am reading
- Chris Ash. I know someone who knows the author pretty well. So I said I would read this book for them as well :)
I'm currently reading two books. Anyone else only able to read two books at a time if one is fiction and the other is non fiction? I can't keep two fiction books at a time straight!The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know
Paris Letters
Meg wrote: "I'm currently reading two books. Anyone else only able to read two books at a time if one is fiction and the other is non fiction? I can't keep two fiction books at a time straight!The Conf..."</i>
I will read 2 novels at the same time but I do get them confused sometimes! I do better with one novel and one nonfiction also. Right now I am reading [book:One Summer: America, 1927 (non-fiction) and am trying to decide on a novel - either The Prince and the Pauper or The Dark Forest.
People of the Deer
– Farley Mowatt – 4**** Farley Mowatt examines the various factors that led to the demise of The People of the Deer in this fascinating book. He went into the vast Barren Plains of North central Canada to study the caribou, and the Ihalmiut people who depended on “the deer” for their very existence, living among them in the late 1940s, when their tribe had dwindled from several thousand in about 1900 to less than 50 individuals in 1947.
LINK to my review
Currently reading We Are Okay, which is everything I like about YA and listening to Scrappy Little Nobody, which is just hilarious.
The Ex-Debutante
– Linda Francis Lee – ZERO stars Where to start? Cardboard characters. Tortured dialogue. Ridiculous plot. “Clever” writing devices that aren’t. This is just a disaster.
LINK to my review
Malinche
– Laura Esquivel – 4**** Malinalli was a Native woman from Tabasco, whose ability to speak Spanish as well as two native languages brought her to the attention of Hernan Cortes. In this lyrical, poetic novel, Esquivel gives us a strong woman with deeply held beliefs who wanted to free her people, and realized her mistake far too late. I love Esquivel’s writing. Her imagery is vivid and tangible. This is a decidedly Mexican novel. Esquivel infuses the story with magical realism, mysticism, and spirituality. It reminds me of the oral story traditions of my grandparents.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Currently reading:
Double-Booked for Death
The God of Small Things
East of Eden
The Gilded Hour
The Fall of Five
The Red Notebook
I finished "Redoubt" and almost done with "Bastion" which is part of the same series.
I started "Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor"
C is for Corpse
– Sue Grafton – 3*** I love Kinsey Millhone; she’s smart, determined, hard-working, loyal to her friends, and strong in mind and body. I also like that Grafton occasionally gives us a little humor to ease the tension of some very dark situations. It’s an entertaining series, and I’ll keep reading it.
LINK to my review
I just started
, which seems to be good so far. The cover is just gorgeous.
I finished "Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor" and starting "Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovitch
Summer
– Edith Wharton – 3.5*** Wharton’s novel of a young woman’s awakening sexuality shocked readers when it was first published in 1917. Wharton knew the social makeup of turn-of-the century America, and used her novels to explore the nuances of the “rules” – spoken and unspoken – by which people, especially women, had to live. It’s a slim novel, and a great introduction to Wharton’s writing.
LINK to my review
Money, Money, Money
– Ed McBain – 3.5**** This is the first book by McBain that I’ve read, and it will not be the last! Fast-paced, intricate plotting and colorful characters make for a quick and enjoyable read, despite the high body count. It may be Christmas but the criminals are busy, and so are the police. I was interested from page one to the very end.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 5*,
- 4*I really loved The Gilded Hour, mostly for its descriptions/discussions of medicine, women doctors and orphans in 1883 New York City. The story was well-written and set into a historical context that totally gathered me in.
I finished "Turbo Twenty-three" and started "Christmas Jars"
I just finished "Brown Girl Dreaming" now I'm half way done "Crenshaw." There such good books I'm in love already.
Finished:
- 2*,
- 4*I really thought that I would enjoy The God of Small Things, but I didn't. It was a chore to read and only a reading challenge kept me at it.
Currently reading:
Double-Booked for Death
East of Eden
The Tutor's Daughter
Where Angels Fear to Tread
I finished "Christmas Jars" by Jason F. Wright and starting "The Christmas Train" by David Baldacci
Finished:
- 3*,
- 5*,
- 3*Currently reading:
The Tutor's Daughter
The Portrait of a Lady
The Maltese Falcon
Midnight
The Silver Crown
I finished "The Christmas Train" and starting "Christmas Caramel Murder" by Joanne Fluke
Time of Wonder
– Robert McCloskey – 5***** McCloskey is probably best known for Make Way for Ducklings, but I think I like this book even more. Here the reader explores an island with two girls. The illustrations are simply beautiful – in color, detail, scope, feel. Some are bright at a summer day, others muted by “fog.” The stars sparkle in the night sky, and the waves pound the shore during a storm.
LINK to my review
Long Man
– Amy Greene – 4**** Greene delivers a riveting story that explores the question: What cost, progress? The Dodson’s loss of their home is representative of the hundreds of families displaced by such projects. The novel is peopled with strong characters, with tangled relationships. Their competing loyalties are what made the decisions so difficult: to stay or to go, to delay or to embrace change
LINK to my review
I finished "Christmas Caramel Murder" and started "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Dan vs Nature
– Don Calame – 2** When Dan’s mother buys him a “survival week experience” so he can bond with her new fiancé, Dan and his friend Charlie concoct a plan to scare Hank away. This sounded like a decent premise for a YA novel but Calame’s reliance on scatological humor and descriptions that only a 13-year-old boy will find funny just lost me. It should have been a fast read, but it didn’t hold my attention, and it took me a full week to finish it.
LINK to my review
The Anteater of Death
– Betty Webb – 3*** As cozy mysteries go, this is a pretty good one. A zookeeper is an interesting – and different – occupation for an amateur sleuth. Webb gives tidbits of information on the animals Teddy cares for, as well as the joys and challenges of living aboard a refitted trawler. There were plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, and a reasonably satisfactory ending. I’ll definitely read more of this series.
LINK to my review
Our Souls At Night - Kent Haruf - 5*****
In the small (fictional) town of Holt, Colorado, Addie Moore drops in on her neighbor, Louis Waters one evening, and asks if he isn’t as lonesome for conversation and companionship as she is. What follows is a beautifully written story of a mature couple in a different, but very loving, relationship. The strength and dignity with which they faced life endeared them to me.
LINK to my review
A Lone Star Christmas - William W Johnstone w/ J.A. Johnstone - ZERO stars
I was seduced by the title, but should have quit with the book jacket. It seems that the writers threw everything they’d ever come across in a Western into this book. It was a pretty fast read, and fit several challenges, but there’s really very little Christmas to this story.
LINK to my review
Slowly working my way through Swan Song. My reads are usually around 300-350 so this one seems to be taking a long long time.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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I, Alex Cross (other topics)
Fox & I (other topics)
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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)
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Alexander “Sandy” Portman dies in a tragic accident, but comes back as an old dog, which his widow, Emily, adopts and names Einstein. Interesting premise, mediocre execution. Much of the drama was over-the-top ridiculous, including the tortured memories and soul-searching. On the plus side, it was an entertaining and quick read. I was captured by the story and enjoyed it as a kind of break from more serious reading.
LINK to my review