Alissa and Lea's Informal Monthly Buddy Book Read - Others are Most Welcome to Join in!

[Lea]

Lindsey wrote: "I have The Pecan Man!! When are yalllpoking at doing that one? Count me in!"

Maybe the later half of this year. I put your name next to it on my list, it was already one that I was thinking about picking. It looks really good.

[Alissa]

its all coming together lol =) i love buddy reads

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "I have The Pecan Man!! When are yalllpoking at doing that one? Count me in!"

Maybe the later half of this year. I put your name next to it on my list, it was already one that I was thinking about picking. It looks really good."

It's really good, I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did.

[Lea]

Alissa wrote: "its all coming together lol =) i love buddy reads"

I think we need special threads for all of the buddy reads we have going on. :-)

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "It's really good, I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did."

I'm pretty sure you're the reason it got added to our buddy reads list. :-)

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "I'm pretty sure you're the reason it got added to our buddy reads list. :-)"

Ohh, I can feel the pressure building up. That's why I don't like recommending books, what if you don't like it?

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "Ohh, I can feel the pressure building up. That's why I don't like recommending books, what if you don't like it?"

LOL, then we don't like it? No pressure. I mean, our time is valuable, but not that valuable. And everyone likes different books. Inevitably, you will probably pick some books we love and other books we don't get, but overall, reading a book we don't get is not the end of the world. Keep on recommending!

[Ioana]

LOL, you know I will 😄

[Linda]

I would love to join you ladies for January’s book - Small Mercies and March’s book - Parable of the Sower

[Lea]

Linda wrote: "I would love to join you ladies for January’s book - Small Mercies and March’s book - Parable of the Sower"

That sounds great, Linda! I'm so happy to have you join us!

[Lea]

After all of our recent sad reads and the upcoming one selected for the end of April, Alissa and I decided we needed a palate cleanser, so we picked The Unhoneymooners to read in early April as an extra bonus pick. Please feel free to join us. Reading for the next three months is as follows:

April 2024 -
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren - Picked by Alissa

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen - Picked by Lea

May 2024 -
The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax - Picked by Alissa, Reading with Denise!

June 2024 -
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly - Picked by Lea, Reading with Ioana and Denise!

And yes! I promise we will be picking some of the selections that people have mentioned wanting to read for our book selections for the rest of the year. I have got requests that have already been mentioned saved on my spreadsheet, and there are more than we can get to this year, but we'll make some progress. If you have any other requests, let us know! :-)

[Lea]

Here's our upcoming summer reads from this thread, along with all of the other books we've been talking about reading. We have also updated our master list with two more books.

June 2024 -
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly - Picked by Lea, Reading with Ioana and Denise!

July 2024 -
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand - Picked by Alissa

August 2024 -
The Passengers by John Marrs - Picked by Lea

September 2024 -
He Started It by Samantha Downing - Picked by Alissa

October 2024 -
You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes - Picked by Lea

Master List
1. The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
2. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
4. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
6. Six Years by Harlan Coben
7. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
8. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
9. Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
10. The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
11. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
12. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
13. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
14. Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam Brower
15. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
16. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
17. Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
18. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
19. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
20. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Please consider joining us if you are interested!

[Lea]

I did update the list above with September and October 2024 and our new books. :-)

[Ioana]

I'm in for June and August.
From the master list, I'm interested in #1, 2, 8, 9 (I thought this was planned for the 2nd half of the year) and 14.

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "I'm in for June and August.
From the master list, I'm interested in #1, 2, 8, 9 (I thought this was planned for the 2nd half of the year) and 14."

I will pick Ring Shout for December, if Alissa doesn't pick it for November. :-)

I have you down for The Killer Inside Me, Alias Grace, Crossing to Safety and Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints.

I also have Lindsey down for The Pecan Man.

I'm trying not to make all my selections too early, because I have to be in the mood to read the book, but seems like we should be able to get to quite a bit of those with my/our 2025 selections.

I always love reading with you!

[Ioana]

The Pecan Man is gooooood, enjoy!

[Alissa]

Lea wrote: "Ioana wrote: "I'm in for June and August.
From the master list, I'm interested in #1, 2, 8, 9 (I thought this was planned for the 2nd half of the year) and 14."

I will pick Ring Shout to my December list since I saw this lol

maybe we can do Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints since it seems the non fiction books are always good for discussion?

[Ioana]

Alissa wrote: "maybe we can do Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints since it seems the non fiction books are always good for discussion?"

Sure, let me know when. The library wait list is short, less than a month...

[Lea]

Alissa wrote: "Lea wrote: "Ioana wrote: "I'm in for June and August.
From the master list, I'm interested in #1, 2, 8, 9 (I thought this was planned for the 2nd half of the year) and 14."

I will pick [book:Ring ..."

You've got November. Are you picking Prophet's Prey for November?

If so, I'll pick Ring Shout for December. :-)

And then we'll have to make some new choices for the list!

[Lea]

Here are our reads for the rest of 2024, along with the Master List. Alissa and I are already discussing what to pick for 2025. We're incorrigible! :-)

August 2024 -
The Passengers by John Marrs - Picked by Lea

September 2024 -
He Started It by Samantha Downing - Picked by Alissa

October 2024 -
You Love Me by Caroline Kepnes - Picked by Lea

November 2024 - Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints - Picked by Alissa

December 2024 - Ring Shout - Picked by Lea

1. The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
2. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
3. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
4. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
6. Six Years by Harlan Coben
7. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
8. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
9. The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
10. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
11. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
12. The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
13. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
14. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
15. Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
16. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
17. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
18. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
19. One Summer by David Baldacci
20. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

[Ioana]

I'll join you in Nov and Dec, and I'm also interested in #2 and #8. Can't wait to see the 2025 list.

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "I'll join you in Nov and Dec, and I'm also interested in #2 and #8. Can't wait to see the 2025 list."

Yay! I'm so glad you'll be able to join us.

Are you no longer interested in #1, or have you read it already? I had you down for that one also.

I will say this about 2025. Since the books we've selected for the remainder of 2024 include three crazy thrillers, a nonfiction about an insane cult, and a horror book, my February pick will be fluffy and possibly Valentine's Day adjacent. And Alissa was thinking of a short classic for January. We'll see. But then, we'll get back to business. :-)

[Ioana]

Lea wrote: "Are you no longer interested in #1, or have you read it already? I had you down for that one also."

Oh, I've missed that. Interested in that one too. 2025 will be interesting :-)

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "Lea wrote: "Are you no longer interested in #1, or have you read it already? I had you down for that one also."

Oh, I've missed that. Interested in that one too. 2025 will be interesting :-)"

Wonderful! Just keeping my spreadsheet updated. Or trying to. :-)

[Lea]

My IRL book club is reading The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales in October, so Alissa and I are starting to read that book. I will make a thread for it, if anyone else has any interest, but I think that was a book that nobody else expressed interest in reading. :-)

We selected Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham to complete our list. :-)

[Ioana]

I've read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales some years ago. It was ok, but I expected more.

Definitely interested in Framed.

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "I've read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales some years ago. It was ok, but I expected more.

Definitely interested in Framed."

I was disappointed with The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. It definitely felt dated to me. I think Alissa abandoned reading it, so we didn't make a thread for it.

I've got you down for Framed. Alissa and I are going to pick our first four books of 2024 soon.

[Lea]

We started this monthly buddy read in November 2021, and here we all are...three years later...with so many good books under our belts. We aren't done yet.

Here's a reminder of the books that we are planning to read in 2024.

November 2024 - Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints - Picked by Alissa

December 2024 - Ring Shout - Picked by Lea

And here are the books we selected for the first four months of 2025!

January 2025 - Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts - Picked by Alissa

February 2025 - The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez - Picked by Lea

March 2025 - The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson - Picked by Alissa

April 2025 - The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck - Picked by Lea

And here is our revised Master List!

1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
2. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
4. Six Years by Harlan Coben
5. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
6. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
7. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
8. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
9. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
10. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
11. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
12. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
13. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
14. One Summer by David Baldacci
15. The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
16. Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham
17. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
18. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
19. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
20. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

[Lindsey]

I'm in for The Friend Zone and The Pecan Man. Do you think y'all will get to Silver Girl and The Unsinkable Greta James in 2024? I have both of those books and would love to join.....

[Lea]

Lindsey wrote: "I'm in for The Friend Zone and The Pecan Man. Do you think y'all will get to Silver Girl and The Unsinkable Greta James in 2024? I have both of those books and would love to join....."

Yay! I'm so glad you'lll be able to join us for The Friend Zone and The Pecan Man! I put you down on my spreadsheet for Silver Girl and The Unsinkable Greta James and I'll reach out to you once we pick them. I'm very excited about both of those too, so I'm sure they will get picked sometime soon!

[Alissa]

Girl you have to change the book dates for Jan-April to 2025... heehee

[Lea]

Alissa wrote: "Girl you have to change the book dates for Jan-April to 2025... heehee"

Whoops! You're so right. I think I got everything fixed, let me know if you see anything else confusing!

[Ioana]

Are we still on for Ring Shout in December?

[Linda]

I’m also in for the first 4 reads of 2025!!!

[Lea]

Ioana wrote: "Are we still on for Ring Shout in December?"

Yes! I started the thread! :-)

[Lea]

Linda wrote: "I’m also in for the first 4 reads of 2025!!!"

Yay! I'm looking forward to it! It's always great to get more perspectives on the books we read.

[Lea]

We picked a few more reads - I'm getting excited! We've read so many good books.

February 2025 - The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez - Picked by Lea

January/February/March 2025 - The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

March 2025 - The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson - Picked by Alissa

April 2025 - The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck - Picked by Lea

May 2025 - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner - Picked by Alissa

June 2025 - Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions - Picked by Lea


And here's our revised Master List!

1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
2. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
4. Six Years by Harlan Coben
5. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
6. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
7. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
8. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
9. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
10. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
11. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
12. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
13. One Summer by David Baldacci
14. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
15. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
16. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
17. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
18. The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
19. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
20. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

[Lea]

April 2025 - The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck - Picked by Lea

May 2025 - Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner - Picked by Alissa

June 2025 - Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham - Picked by Lea

July 2025 - One Summer by David Baldacci - Picked by Alissa

August 2025 - The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang- Picked by Lea

And here's our revised Master List!

1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
2. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
3. Six Years by Harlan Coben
4. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
5. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
6. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
7. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
8. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
9. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
10. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
11. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
12. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
13. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
14. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
15. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
16. The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
17. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
18. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
19. The Wives: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo
20. We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin

[Lea]

Upcoming Reads!

July 2025 - One Summer - Picked by Alissa

August 2025 - The Impossible Girl - Picked by Lea

September 2025 - Girl with the Pearl Earring - Picked by Alissa

October 2025 - Six Years - Picked by Lea

And here's that revised Master List!

1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
2. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
4. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
5. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
6. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
7. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
8. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
9. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
10. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
11. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
12. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
13. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
14. The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
15. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
16. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
17. The Wives: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo
18. We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin
19. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
20. Everyone's Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni

[Lea]

Upcoming Reads -

September 2025 - Girl with the Pearl Earring - Picked by Alissa

October 2025 - Six Years - Picked by Lea

November 2025 - The Little Prince - Picked by Alissa

December 2025 - Alias Grace - Picked by Lea

And here's the revised Master List -

1. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
2. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
3. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
4. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
5. The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros
6. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
7. A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
8. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
9. The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith
10. Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
11. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
12. The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart
13. Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
14. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
15. The Wives: A Memoir by Simone Gorrindo
16. We Are All the Same in the Dark by Julia Heaberlin
17. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
18. Everyone's Thinking It by Aleema Omotoni
19. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
20. Weep No More, My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark