You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Chit Chat About Books
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What are you reading? - 2020
Lisa wrote: "I'm still working my way through The Photographer of the Lost. It's slow going, but I'm really enjoying it.I'm now starting The Hunting Party. It's a "just because..."
This one is on my list. I’m looking forward to hearing what you thought.
Margo wrote: "Starting The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock."
I have that one too. I have it as a possibility for some of the trivia tasks. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!
I finished The Rook for my monthly challenge read and have started Cannery Row. It's the oldest on my TBR but I can't count it for the trivia challenge since it's only 123 pages.
Janice wrote: "I finished The Rook for my monthly challenge read and have started Cannery Row. It's the oldest on my TBR but I can't count it for the trivia challenge since it's only 1..."That is an old one on my TBR list too, but not the oldest. I have had it marked to read since 2013. Every time I look at on my library link, the book is not available because others are reading it. I think I never get to it either, is because it does not meet the minimum requirements for our challenges.
Cherie wrote: "Janice wrote: "I finished The Rook for my monthly challenge read and have started Cannery Row. It's the oldest on my TBR but I can't count it for the trivia challenge si..."I thought you were talking about The Rook not meeting the minimum requirements, but it's Cannery Row you are referring to. There's talk about possibly having a challenge for these shorter books so maybe you'll get to it sooner than later.
I finished my audiobook The Name of the Star. It was very YA, but it was okay.I likely won't have time to listen to anything over the next couple of days, so will hold off until Feb 1st and start Children of Virtue and Vengeance for a buddy read.
Janice wrote: "I finished The Rook for my monthly challenge read and have started Cannery Row. It's the oldest on my TBR but I can't count it for the trivia challenge since it's only 1..."Cannery Row is a beautiful book. The cadence just draws you right in. Are you listening to it Janice? I read it in print form about 17 years ago and the characters are still in my mind.
Short books are also easy to read just because. They don't take up much time so you don't fall behind on your challenges :)
Margo wrote: "Cannery Row is a beautiful book. The cadence just draws you right in. Are you listening to it Janice? .."I'm reading the hardcover edition. The font is quite small which makes it a bit difficult. I like the way the first few chapters introduce you to the characters rather than jump right into the story. Often, you're transported into the story and have to figure out who the characters are and how they relate to each other as you try to make sense of the story.
Peggy wrote: "Short books are also easy to read just because. They don't take up much time so you don't fall behind on your challenges :)"I quite often save them for the end of the year in case I'm behind on my GR annual challenge.
I finished yesterday the short story collection by Gabriel García Márquez I was reading. I also finished The Testaments which I liked better than the first book, The Handmaid's Tale.I will start today My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.
I finished the oldest book on my print TBR, Cannery Row. It's pretty much a character study with no plot - not my favourite type of book to read. Still, the writing was impressive.I'm going to crawl into bed and start my pick for the group themed read, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. I'm tired so I likely will nod off quickly. It will fit my trivia challenge as well.
I did wonder how much you would enjoy Cannery Row as I know your tastes are more plot driven story. I honestly don't remember reading such a plotless book in my life! It just meanders along so aimlessly! It even frustrated me a little but as you say, wonderfully written.
Margo wrote: "I did wonder how much you would enjoy Cannery Row as I know your tastes are more plot driven story. I honestly don't remember reading such a plotless book in my life! It just meanders a..."It felt a little like listening to my dad's stories, not that my dad drank and partied. He does have a story about driving the school bus in a blizzard and breaking down - kind of like the boys breaking down with Lee's truck.
I kind of viewed Cannery Row as a book of short stories, or vignettes into what life was like during that time frame.
I'll be starting Children of Virtue and Vengeance on audiobook today. I have to go out and shovel the driveway and sidewalks, so will put in the ear buds and listen while I shovel. I really need to get some wireless ear buds.
Janice wrote: "Margo wrote: "I did wonder how much you would enjoy Cannery Row as I know your tastes are more plot driven story. I honestly don't remember reading such a plotless book in my life! It j..."I think that is a far description Janice.
I highly recommend wireless earbuds! They stay in your ears so much better when doing physical stuff. And they've come down a lot in price.
Ok, I have to admit that I bought wireless earbuds and I don’t use them. When I tried to put them in my ears my phone would try to call/FaceTime people. Clearly I am pushing on some invisible button when I put them in, so I need to figure out how to use them properly. I never even considered this might be an issue when I bought them.
I'm currently reading Sadie by Courtney Summers, I'm enjoying so far. I think I might start Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowely for Reddit's r/books read-along but I'm not so sure. They try to keep the monthly reads span a whole month and I'm just not for that life, I have no chill. As much as I enjoy them, I like to get books done with. If I start now, I'll finish the book in the next couple of days and then have to wait weeks for each discussion thread to come up
Margo wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I loved the second book of Michael Robotham's Joe O'Loughlin series, Lost, aka The Drowning Man. Good pace, good plot, characters...Michael Robotham is one of my favourite authors and I always thought he was english! Thanks for educating me 😅"
He lived and worked in London for a long time, although he now conjures up his plots in what his kids call his Cabana of Cruelty in a beachside area of Northern Sydney. :)
I just enjoyed the children's picture book of the colourful, (some might say outrageous, especially her fashion designs) Vivienne Westwood by Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara. What a wildly inventive lady and role model for kids to learn it's good to stick up for others and protest against evil. 
4★ Link to my 'Vivienne Westwood' review with illustrations and a couple of photos.
The current Buzz Books 2020: Spring/Summer is chock-a-block with excerpts from all kinds of new books and it's free for anyone. But be warned that it will tempt your wallet. I picked a few I like the look of.
5★ Link to my review
I finished The Bands of Mourning for twisted trivia. It also means I killed a series. Or at least until the finale of the series comes out. Whenever that might be. Now I'm moving on to The Godfather for the monthly challenge. I've not done a monthly challenge for some time.
Finished The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock. Amazing debut novel.Started One Word Kill for the themed read.
I loved this all over again. Wallace Stegner's characters and relationships are so real, and Crossing to Safety is still wonderful. 
5★ Link to my review
I'm reading
Enjoying it :)
Oh patti crossing to safety is a favorite of mine.. I love stegner.
I started reading The End of the Affair. I cannot say I like the characters very much, but the story is interesting. note: I removed my complaints about the page numbers to my own thread. If you saw it earlier, you were not seeing things.
I'm currently reading Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come. So far, it's like reading fiction rather than non fiction, and it really helps me since I barely touch non fiction book
Finished The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. Here's what I thought of it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I'm got three books going but right now focusing on The Storm - I'm liking it a lot.
I've just finished One Word Kill an interesting start to the series. I didn't think much of the narration though - it was very monotonous. The story had lots of 80's references and reminded me of the show Stranger Things or Ready Player One - not as good though. I listened to th8s one for the monthly themed read and the TT.I start The Lost Letters of William Woolf for my bookclub.
I finished Children of Virtue and Vengeance for a buddy read and my trivia challenge. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book, and it ends on a cliffhanger with no publication date listed for the next book.I will start Daisy Jones & The Six a little later today.
I always enjoy Aussie Emma Viskic's deaf detective, Caleb Zelic, his deaf community, his Aboriginal extended family, and the harrowing escapades he gets caught up in in spite of his best intentions. Darkness for Light is the third in the series.
4.5★ Link to my review
Aussie author Terence J. Quinn's The Scoop is a rip-roaring modern pirate story that may make you rethink what fun it would be to sail around the world. Many readers have loved it, so I feel like a traitor!
3.5★ Link to my 'Scoop' review
I abandoned The Hunting Party. I just found it incredibly boring, with unlikeable/uninteresting characters and nothing of any real note happening. I read 203 pages and didn't feel as though the story or the characters had really progressed at all in that time. Just not a book for me, I'm afraid.I'm now going to start Deathless for this month's group read.
I finished yesterday My Cousin Rachel which was a 5 stars to me. Gorgeous writing. I started now Daisy Jones & The Six.
Sandra wrote: "I finished yesterday My Cousin Rachel which was a 5 stars to me. Gorgeous writing.I really enjoyed that one, Sandra. Some classics wear well!
I am a firm fan of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. I love visiting the fictional village of Three Pines, although it does seem to have a lot of homicides! How the Light Gets In is my favourite in the series so far. 
5★ Link to my review
Lisa wrote: "I abandoned The Hunting Party. I just found it incredibly boring, with unlikeable/uninteresting characters and nothing of any real note happening. I read 203 pages and didn't feel a..."Oh Lisa … I'm happy I only paid 50p for The Hunting Party ;-)
Sandra wrote: "I finished yesterday My Cousin Rachel which was a 5 stars to me. Gorgeous writing. I started now Daisy Jones & The Six."
I am very envious of you all! Daisy was one of my top listens last year :-)
PattyMacDotComma wrote: "I really enjoyed that one, Sandra. Some classics wear well!"Totally!
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
The Fantastic Fable of Peter Able (other topics)Stuart Little (other topics)
The Woman in Blue (other topics)
The Outcast Dead (other topics)
Heartbreak Bay (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Mª Isabel Sánchez Vegara (other topics)Jefferson Miller (other topics)
James Mark Miller (other topics)
Jane Harper (other topics)
Jane Harper (other topics)
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Starting The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock.