The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
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<closed thread>What are you currently reading?
The Koala of Death - Betty Webb – 3***
I like this cozy series for the information about the animals and the relationships between Teddy and her mother, Caro, and boyfriend, Sheriff Joe Rejas. Webb gives us plenty of suspects and twists in the plot that keep the reader guessing right up to the end.
LINK to my review
The Prince and the Pauper - Mark Twain – 4****
This is a wonderful classic that explores the difference in class in 16th century England, and the ways that appearance effects how one is treated. Both boys learn much from their experience as “the other.” It’s a wonderful lesson in “walking in the other person’s shoes.” Twain’s use of 16th-century English may be a little off-putting to today’s readers; I recommend listening to the audio.
LINK to my review
Six of Crows- Leigh Bardugo- 4.5 out of 5 starsFull spoiler-free review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware – 3***
This reminded me so much of The Girl on the Train that I’m surprised editors didn’t call Ware on certain plot points. Ware uses a mixed time frame … interspersing emails or news reports that occur AFTER the main events on board ship described by Lo’s first-person narrative. This foreshadowing should add additional suspense, but I found it confusing and not really helpful. Still, it’s a decently written thriller, with plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader guessing.
LINK to my review
A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote – 5***** and a ❤
Capote was a gloriously talented writer and he is at his best here. The reader feels the anticipation of a child, smells the piney woods, shivers in the crisp morning, and is comforted in the warmth of love.
His writing is never so brilliant as when he is mining his childhood for stories such as this. The emotion is evident and genuine. His descriptions are gloriously vivid without overwhelming the story. The lessons learned – about kindness, tolerance, family, love and forgiveness – are gently told but ring loud and clear in the reader’s heart.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 3*,
- 4*Currently reading:
Fireflies in the Mist
Except the Dying
Kindred
A Hidden Fire
The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*I was really surprised how much I enjoyed Kindred. I have never read any of Octavia E. Butler's books before, but I really found myself engaged in this story from the first page. If you are looking for a Time Travel story, this is a bit of a different twist but well-worth a look. Dana is pulled into the past by an ancestor's need for rescuing. However, the past she is pulled into is the slaveholding South, and she is black. And, it turns out, her ancestor is white. As she moves between 1976 and 1815, she learns more about herself and her heritage and is changed by the experience.
When Books Went to War - Molly Guptil Manning - 4****
While Nazis were burning books in Europe, Americans were trying to get more books distributed to the men fighting in the war. Manning does a wonderful job of including the history of the times and the challenges faced by the Council, including efforts to censor the books that would be included. I was completely fascinated and engaged from beginning to end.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 3*Currently reading:
Fireflies in the Mist
A Hidden Fire
The Gift Bag Chronicles
Starting today:
The Monkey's Raincoat
Planning on starting tomorrow:
The Soloist
The Wrong Blood
Darkness Becomes Her
The Dream Thieves
Working my way though My First Summer in the Sierra. It's good, but outside my usual reading scope and certainly not a page turner.
I finished "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" and started "How to Click with People: The Secret to Better Relationships in Business and in Life
Constellation of Vital Phenomena – Anthony Marra – 4****
I had considerable difficulty getting into this novel. Perhaps it was because I was listening rather than reading, but Marra’s moving back and forth in time, and changing points of view, just confused me. I did not connect to the characters at first and didn’t understand their relationships and connections. But that, I suppose, is Marra’s intention. We do not often know why someone crosses our path, what connections she or he brings, what influence he or she will have on our future. We do not know when hope and grace, courage and dignity may find their way into our lives. We can only pray that they do.
LINK to my review
I finished "How To Click With People" and starting "Where'd You Go Bernadette"
Finished:
- 2*This was an audiobook. At first I was disappointed that the only audio edition available to me was abridged to 4.5h. However, this story turned out to be so silly and inane that I was glad it ended when it did. I could not have listened to more. I gave it 2*. The only reason it was chosen was for a challenge...an OLD challenge. Should have let that one go by without reading.
The Shooting - James Boice - 3***
There is no question that America’s gun culture needs to be examined and understood, if it is ever to be changed. Boice turns a critical eye on BOTH sides of this issue; there are no easy answers here, but Boice poses some important questions. I like that he manages to give us very complex characters, who have a variety of reasons for behaving as they do. On the other hand, I was not a fan of the constant shift in point of view / voice and time frame. The message is visceral and disturbing and thought-provoking.
LINK to my review
Portrait in Sepia - Isabel Allende – 4****
This is the third book Allende has written about the Del Valle family, after The House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune. I love Allende’s writing. There is a decidedly Latin beat to the flow of her sentences. And her descriptions are full of sensory highlights. The characters are larger than life and run the gamut from a wealthy Chilean grand dame to a Chinese herbalist to an English butler and a Serbian physician. I think I need to go back to THotS and read it again.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 3*By the end of the book, it might have been a 4* read if it had not had place/personal names and event names that I found hard to remember, pronounce, just plain read. However, I am glad that I read this book - one written in Urdu about Bengal and the insurrection against the British rule. I did learn something about that country's history.
Nine Days to Christmas - Marie Hall Ets & Aurora Labastida – 4****
The subtitle is: A Story of Mexico, and this charming picture book details the preparations and festivities surrounding las posadas, a procession and celebration of Joseph and Mary seeking shelter in Bethlehem. The illustrations by Ets are wonderfully detailed, and she won the Caldecott medal for her work. Labastida’s text, and Ets’s drawings bring the streets of Mexico City alive.
LINK to my review
A Big Sky Christmas - William W Johnstone & J A Johnstone – 2**
It’s a stereotypical Western tale … cardboard characters right out of central casting, a band of “varmints” set on revenge, an actress fleeing from a rich man intent on having his way with her, and the cowboy who loves her, Indians, buffalo, and the kinds of natural disasters that plagued many a wagon train. Still, it’s a fast read, with a plot that kept me interested enough to keep turning pages. Oh, and if you’re looking for a “Christmas” book … look elsewhere. This is really just a Western romance set during early winter, with a plot that culminates on Christmas Day
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 3*Currently reading:
A Hidden Fire
The Monkey's Raincoat
The Soloist
The Wrong Blood
Homeland and Other Stories
Beyond the Door by Maureen Doyle McQuerry I spend a bunch of time looking for NAHCOOO and ended up with a random children's book that qualifies. So far, for a random read, it's pretty good.
The Wedding Dress: Stories From the Dakota Plains - Carrie Young – 4****
This is a collection of short stories set primarily during the early part of the 20th century to shortly after World War II. Young explores the lives of the people of Little Butte, North Dakota, who are mostly Norweigian immigrants (or descended from them). All of the stories feature characters that fairly leap off the page, they are so real. The landscape is cold and bleak, especially during the Dust Bowl years, but the kitchens are warm and inviting. This is the first work by Young that I’ve read; it will not be the last.
LINK to my review
Born a Crime currently listening to Trevor Noahs book and reading Leonard by William ShatnerLeonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man
I finished "Where'd You Go Bernadette" and started "Closer To Home" by Mercedes Lackey
I'm currently reading "Doon" and " The Girl On The Train." So good by the way
I just finished reading The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. It was amazing! Now I am starting The Hobbit.
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3*,
- 3*,
- 4*Currently reading:
Shoulder the Sky
Shadows in Bronze
Dress Her in Indigo
The Closers
The Little Stranger
A Place Called Hope - Philip Gulley – 3***
I love Gulley’s series; I welcome a gentle read now and again, where I can visit with old friends. He has a gift for writing humorous stories about small-town life, but instilling a message of tolerance, peace and love. Here’s hoping that Sam Gardner’s adventures in Hope will continue to entertain and inspire for years to come.
LINK to my review
Jan 21 - Currently ReadingTEXT -
Breathing Lessons / Anne TylerAUDIO in the car -
The Husband / Dean KoontzMP3 Player AUDIO -
Maisie Dobbs / Jacqueline Winspear
I started "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult for a group read.
Mrs Lincoln’s Dressmaker – Jennifer Chiaverini – 3***
This was an interesting look at an era in history that we already know much about. I enjoyed the historical references and Elizabeth’s point of view of many of the events. It was an engaging story that held my interest. But … I wish Chiaverini had given us more of Elizabeth in the novel and less of Mrs Lincoln.
LINK to my review
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt – 4****
Berendt was a free-lance journalist when curiosity took him to Savannah and he began to write about the particularly insular culture of that Southern city. Then a murder happened, and his story really took off. I first read this sometime in the mid to late 1990s, and on re-reading it I’m not so keen about it. The murder doesn’t happen until half-way through the book, and that was really the most interesting part. I’m still giving it 4 stars because I believe that was closer to my original reaction to the book.
LINK to my review
How To Win Friends And Influence People - Dale Carnegie - 3***
This classic self-help / self-improvement book was first published in the 1930s. Given the decades over which this book has been read, and the hordes of people who have done so, I’d be surprised if most of us hadn’t already heard most of this before. I admit that some of the principles certainly bear repeating, and that it is easier to agree with them than it is to practice them consistently. Still, had it not fulfilled a particular challenge, I would have abandoned it long before I finished it.
LINK to my review
Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box - Juan Felipe Herrera – 3***
This slim volume is told entirely in free verse. The poems are visceral and disturbing, emotional and moving. And yet, I felt somehow removed from Yolanda and her pain. I think part of that was because Herrera does not give us a linear timeline. Nevertheless, from the typical teen lament of “no one understands me” to the joy and freedom of a new friendship, to the very real fear of having lost someone in a tragic accident, Herrera’s Cinnamon Girl will resonate with many readers.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Currently reading:
The Closers
The Little Stranger
The Library at Mount Char
A Brief History of Time
Silver Canyon
The Husband - Dean Koontz – 3.5***
Mitch Rafferty runs a two-man landscaping business, so he’s sure there’s a mistake when a kidnapper calls and says that if he “loves his wife enough” he’ll find a way to pay the exorbitant ransom. This is the first book by Koontz that I’ve read. It’s not great literature, but it sure held my attention and I’ll definitely read more from him. Especially when I’m in the mood for a fast-paced, entertaining thriller.
LINK to my review
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer – 4****
The subtitle says it all: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster . This is Krakauer’s first-person account of the Everest expedition in May 1996 that resulted in the death of six climbers, and severe injuries to several others. I’ve read two of Krakauer’s other books and enjoy his writing. He has a gift for putting the reader in the situation, and I think he works hard to present a balanced story. The result is a book that is compelling and interesting, even when the reader knows the outcome.
LINK to my review
Maisie Dobbs – Jacqueline Winspear – 2**
This is the first in a series featuring a former housemaid and Army Nurse. The book begins in 1929, and Maisie Dobbs has opened her own private investigation agency. I like Maisie and the supporting characters, but this first book spent way too much time in the past, and not nearly enough time on the actual mystery. Still, although I was disappointed in this book, I’d be willing to try another because of the characters, setting and period.
LINK to my review
I finished "Small Great Things" and starting "Closer To My Heart"
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Currently reading:
The Closers
A Brief History of Time
Pretend You Don't See Her
Déjà Dead
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
The Prince and the Pauper
Slow River
Circle of Friends
Breathing Lessons – Anne Tyler – 4****
I’ve had this on my TBR for ages, and just never got to it. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, but then again, maybe my own years of marriage help me better understand Maggie and Ira’s relationship. I love the way Tyler reveals her characters to the reader. Their actions – small and large – and statements show the reader who these people are. Their hopes, dreams, frustrations, and regrets become evident over the course of the novel. Their lives may be ordinary; the novel is anything but.
LINK to my review
I finished "Closer to the Heart" by Mercedes Lackey and started "A Study in Charlotte" by Brittany Cavallaro
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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)
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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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Currently reading:
Fireflies in the Mist
Flush
Except the Dying
Kindred
One Fearful Yellow Eye
The Cat Who Talked Turkey
A Hidden Fire