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?
message 4901:
by
Bea
(new)
Jul 31, 2018 06:18AM
Finished:
- 4*
reply
|
flag
M reading the cruel prince by holly black
The Professor and the Madman – Simon Winchester – 4****
The subtitle is all the synopsis you need: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. James Murray is the professor, a learned man who became the editor of the OED. Dr William C Minor is the madman, an American Civil-War surgeon whose paranoid delusions result in his commitment to an asylum for the criminally insane. And yet … Simon Winchester crafts a compelling non-fiction narrative. He captured my attention on page one and held it throughout.
LINK to my review
Someone Knows My Name – Lawrence Hill – 5*****
Originally published in Canada as The Book of Negroes , Hill’s novel tells the story of Aminata Diallo from 1745 to 1802. What marvelous story telling! I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. It’s a thought-provoking, informative and inspiring tale.
LINK to my review
The Fiery Cross – Diana Gabaldon – 3***
Book number five in the popular Outlander series continues the saga of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser. There’s plenty of drama and intrigue in these tales … personal and political. It’s a ripping good yarn that moves at a quick pace and held my interest throughout.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 2*,
- 5*,
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Best of Friends – Sara James & Ginger Mauney – 2**
Sara James and Ginger Mauney met when they were in middle school, and this shared memoir covers their early divergent career paths, missteps and successes, both personally and professionally. Good for them. I was bored.
LINK to my review
Heat Lightning – John Sandford – 3***
This is the second book in the Virgil Flowers series, which is a spin-off of Sandford’s extremely popular Lucas Davenport series. In his trademark style, Sandford gives us plenty of twists and turns in the plot, a few red herrings, and some subtle clues that are easy to miss. Flowers is an extremely likeable character. The action is fast and furious, and the ending is satisfying for the thriller/mystery genre.
LINK to my review
Island Beneath the Sea – Isabel Allende – 4****
In a bit of a departure from her usual emphasis on Hispano-American history, Allende gives us a story of an 18th-century slave in French-occupied Saint-Domingue (later to become Haiti). We follow Zarité from her childhood through age forty, Saint-Domingue to Cuba and on to New Orleans. Allende is more than up to the task of relating the historical events that frame this family drama. I loved Zarité. She’s intelligent, resourceful, courageous, and wily. Violette is also a richly drawn character – willful, intelligent, confident, loyal and loving. None of the men in her life are a match for her.
LINK to my review
Michael Tolliver Lives – Armistead Maupin – 3***
Eighteen years after “finishing” his Tales of the City Series in 1989, Maupin returned to the beloved characters and gave readers a 7th installment. Michael has a landscaping business and a new husband. He’s dealing with what many middle-aged people face – the decline of our elderly parents. I really like the way these characters support and love one another. However, readers who are offended by gay sex scenes should beware. I’m not usually shocked, but a couple of scenes made me uncomfortable.
LINK to my review
The Baileys Harbor Bird and Booyah Club – Dave Crehore – 4****
What a lovely, gentle story focusing on “familiar” characters. My husband and I have vacationed in Door County (and in Baileys Harbor) many times. We always go in the off-season – fall and spring, even in winter (once). I know these communities and these people, and Crehore gets them down perfectly. My only regret is that this is a library book and I have to return it. I’d love to own it and read it over and over again.
LINK to my review
Digging to America – Anne Tyler – 4****
A story of the immigrant experience and two families united by the decision to adopt. Tyler writes so well about family dynamics, about all the little events in our lives that both form and show who we are. As I got to know these characters, I grew to love them. And I wanted to give them all a big hug at the end.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 4*,
- 4*Reading:
Rich In Love
Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe: A Novel with Recipes
11/22/63
Blind Justice
A Game of Thrones (was reading earlier in summer - restarting)
My Italian Bulldozer – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Smith is fast becoming my go-to author whenever I feel the need for a gentle humorous break from the realities of life. Like most of his novels, this one is full of the drama of everyday life. Not much happens, but somehow major life decisions get made. Along the way are scenes of heartache, humor, friendship, and romance.
LINK to my review
Bea wrote: "Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*Reading:
Rich In Love
[book:Meet Me at the ..."
Game of Thrones took me three weeks to read the first time I read it.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Game of Thrones took me three weeks to read the first time I read it."I was making good progress until life intervened. The surprise to me was how much I liked it. So...hoping to complete before the end of the month for the challenge.
Finished:
- 4*
The Time In Between – María Dueñas – 4****
A sweeping historical novel about a young woman, who begins by cleaning the floors of the atelier where her mother is a seamstress and ends up as a sought-after fashion designer in World War II, and a spy for the British. What a fascinating and engaging read. Dueñas is an accomplished storyteller. I loved the way that Sira grew as a character, coming into her own while carefully observing and learning from her friends, neighbors and clients. Her relationships are wonderfully complex, and there are some scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. I recommend this to anyone who loves a fast-paced novel, with fascinating characters, and a strong female lead. The final scene when she decides to take matters into her own hands and go forward on her own terms is marvelous. I wanted to stand up and cheer!
LINK to my review
Bea wrote: "Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Game of Thrones took me three weeks to read the first time I read it."I was making good progress until life intervened. The surprise to me was how much I liked it...."
All the books are good. It took be awhile to read "Dance of Dragons" too.
Casino Royale – Ian Fleming – 3***
“The name is Bond, James Bond.” And this is the book that started it all. It’s a fast-paced, spy thriller, that entertains. Bond’s attitude towards women is rather appalling, but he’s a product of his time, and of the genre.
LINK to my review
The Diva Serves High Tea – Krista Davis – 2**
This is # 10 in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series, featuring two rival “divas” in Alexandria VA. I’m tired of Natasha’s over-the-top, DIVA (with a capital D) antics. Sophie is a very likeable character and I like her relationships with ex-husband Mars and attorney (possible boyfriend) Alex. But I’ll only read another if it satisfies a challenge task.
LINK to my review
The Cruelest Month – Louise Penny – 3.5***
Book three in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the small town of Three Pines, Quebec, very near the US border. I like this series chiefly because of Gamache and his relationships with friends, and colleagues. I also am quite fond of the residents of Three Pines and their interactions. This is not a cozy series, despite the small-town setting and cast of eccentric residents. Rather it is more of a police procedural. Penny crafts the story from multiple points of view. The reader as well as Gamache must figure out the truth from bits of information gleaned from different witnesses / suspects.
LINK to my review
: Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan – 2.5**
Okay I knew it was chick-lit going into it, and of course I’ve seen the incessant trailers for the movie. Sounded like a fun, quick, breezy beach-read kinda book. But I have to say that I really hated most of these characters. Rachel and Nick were okay but Kwan does little to really explore their relationship. I also got tired of all the “product placements” for designer this and designer that … much of which was lost on me. Not impressed. I’ll just put on my Walgreen’s sunglasses and Kohl’s sandals and enjoy a different book at the beach.
LINK to my review
The Wonder – Emma Donoghue – 3.5***
A nurse trained by Florence Nightingale is sent to watch a young Irish girl who claims to not have eaten for four months. Is the child a “living wonder” or a fraud? As she records her observations, Lib Wright gets to know Anna, the intelligent and devoutly religious young girl. Along the way the novel explores issues of faith, belief, guilt, abuse, family dysfunction, social mores and the role of the Roman Catholic Church and her priests in protecting (or not) children. I had to remind myself a few times that the time frame of the work is the mid-19th century. I think it would result in a great book-group discussion.
LINK to my review
The Book of Hidden Things-received as a gift recently-started it, then put it on hold as it will fill a task here for Fall and also fits a task in another challenge! Aching to get at it, as the 1st few pages reeled me in!
The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks – 1*
An elderly man recalls how he met his wife, writing the couple’s story in a notebook and reading sections to his wife, who is in a nursing home with dementia. I found it maudlin and simplistic, though I did like Noah’s devotion to Allie as she is lost in her dementia. On the whole, I was bored and rolled my eyes frequently. Not my cup of tea.
LINK to my review
I finished "Tart of Darkness" and starting "Iron Kissed"
The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzmán – Louis de Bernières –
3.5***
The third and final installment in this author’s “Latin American Trilogy” returns to the village of Cochadebajo, in the mountains of an unnamed South American country. I love these books. I love de Bernières’s clever writing and vivid imagery, the outlandish plot points, and outrageous scenarios. The reader who can suspend disbelief and tolerate a great deal of magical occurrences will be delighted. However, I definitely recommend you begin with the first book in the trilogy: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*Reading:
11/22/63
Angels in the Gloom
The Daughter of Time
A Novel Way to Die
On Hold (Owned book):
A Game of Thrones
Up the Down Staircase – Bel Kaufman – 4****
An idealistic teacher clashes with school bureaucracy and struggles to reach her students in a large metropolitan high school. This is written in a kind of epistolary style – notes in the suggestion box, memos from the school principal or nurse or clerk, letters written to a college friend, messages from fellow teachers, items posted on the bulletin board, etc. It makes for a fast and very engaging read, and lends an air of verisimilitude. Hard to believe this was written in the ‘60s and still stands up today.
LINK to my review
Foundryside-new one by R.B. Jackson. Was hesitant, as his last series did not live up to the raves, but this one is written in a totally different style, new and interesting magics and I am engrossed thus far
Moonraker – Ian Fleming – 3***
Book three in the original James Bond series. This novel focuses on cold-war sensibilities about a decade post WW2. The reader gets what’s expected: danger, car chases, explosions, dastardly villains, beautiful women, and ever debonair, intelligent and resourceful Bond.
LINK to my review
Finished:
- 4*,
- 3*
After the Funeral – Agatha Christie – 3***
Oh, I love Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. Always entertaining and always keeping me guessing. Here we have quite a number of characters, all of whom seem to have some motive for killing Cora Lansquenet and/or Richard Abernathie. The killer and Dame Christie cleverly give us many red herrings, false clues, misleading statements, and seemingly meaningless occurrences to confuse, baffle and thwart any attempts at solving the mystery. But, of course, Poirot will unveil the killer.
LINK to my review
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...
