2022 - 05 - action - What did you read?

[PAS, Moderator AC]

May Shelf is action

What did you read? Was it action packed? Or "false advertising"?

[Shannon]

I read Warcross by Marie Lu. It wasn't what I think of as a classic action book, partly because much of the action was virtual, but I enjoyed it. I already have the sequel on hold through the library.

I nominate Social Media.

[Meg]

The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
4 stars!

This was great. Exciting action, scientists, zombies, it had it all! It's been many years since i read The Girl with All the Gifts. I remember quite a bit, but not all the details. This made me want to reread it.

Used for moving mountains and seriously serial
I nominate dystopia

[Marina]

I read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, 4 stars.

This was a little complicated as I'm definitely no scientific person, but I have to admit the science is explained quite clearly and it's understandable for a layperson, too. I liked the mix of thriller/love story/science/speculative fiction. Action-packed and definitely a page-turner. I love this author.

I nominate nature.

[Joanna]

I read Heist Society by Ally Carter

I listened to this audiobook with my ten-year-old daughter. The book tells the story of a family of high-tech art thieves who plan and execute daring Ocean's Eleven style heists. The main character, a teenager, has decided to quit the business and go to boarding school instead. Then, things happen.

We both found the beginning a little slow and the initial part at the boarding school irrelevant to the rest of the book. That said, my daughter really liked the ending of the book and they way that it changed the perspective on these characters and she was ready to immediately start listening to the second book in the series.

I wanted the lead character to be more interesting or more likeable or more fully developed. She seemed sort of flat for the central character in the book and I never felt like I understood her inner thoughts well enough. Maybe there will be more to fill out this character in the next book.

I didn't love the narrator for this book, but I thought she added just enough sarcasm and humor to the narration to elevate the listening experience above just reading aloud.

Used for Seriously Serial.
I nominate weird.

[Lauren]

I read Into the Night and gave it 4 Stars.

This is an ongoing series about Navy SEALs. While there is quite a lot of tension and suspense, the action elements are minor and are focused in the last two chapters.

I nominate Men-in-Uniform

[Marina]

I read Hammered by Kevin Hearne, 4 stars.

In this third instalment, Atticus goes to Asgard where he will help some friends kill Thor. As usual, a witty, action-packed book, that made me laugh out loud at times (think the conversations between Atticus and Oberon). I'm really grateful to Tien (at least, I believe it was you) for introducing me to the Iron Druid Chronicles, I love this series so much!

Used for Just Read It prompt 2. I nominate adventure.

[Meg]

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman
2.5 stars

The third book in the UnWind dystology, a world where troublesome teenagers are "unwound" (taken apart for organs and parts). It's a good concept, but I'm getting a bit tired of the characters and the action. I am ready for the series to be over, but there's just one book left and I think I'll need to find out how it ends.

Read for seriously serial
I nominate chick lit

[Joyce]

I read Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill 5/3/22 4 stars
Review: Merit was turned into a vampire against her will now she has to decide if she will stay in the Cadogen House or go rogue or into another house if they would have her. There is a sexy leader of the clan she is born into and she is damned if she will follow his rules when she never asked to be a vampire. The pacing is good and the world building is fleshed out pretty well for me to just jump into the story. Ethan is a bit overbearing but I assume that's because he's 400 years old.

There was a fair bit of action in it but not a lot.

Used for: Serial 22, by the month,
I nominate: Favorite Authors

[Beverly]

I read Starsight by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★


This book is the second book in the Skyward series. Starsight continues with the main character a teenage girl named Spensa. Spensa finally realized her dream to become a pilot in the first book and now must take off on an adventure to save her planet from doom. Part of the charm of this series is the relationship Spensa has with her AI companion M-Bot (he is very funny)! The book does end in a cliffhanger, but I was satisfied and will read the next book!

I nominate memoir

[Jamie]

I read The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes and gave it 4 stars.

An intriguing thriller with some very interesting characters and a unique take on the genre.

I nominate fashion.

[Elvenn]

I read The Darkest Room (2008) by Johan Theorin, which I found full of suspense and with a very wintry atmosphere that I loved.

The story takes place on a Swedish island and starts with few characters: a family that's been struck by tragedy, a man that receives the visit of two brothers with a Ouija board wanting to make some easy money by breaking into the empty summer houses, a newly appointed police officer, an octogenarian in a retirement home. We're also told about some of the past inhabitants of the region and their harsher lives, though the epicenter of the story seems to be Åludden, a historic house by two lighthouses.

The action is mostly on the second half of the book, the first one mainly focused on presenting the community, but more and more secrets begin to emerge and alter the usual paths of the characters and, as winter takes hold of the island, real life begins to mix with superstition and we get an increasing sense of danger.

The book is part of a series but it can be read as a stand-alone, as the island and the octogenarian seem to be the only links between the books.

Rating: 4.5 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Curious

[Bea]

I read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I gave it 4* because of the last part of the book.

To be upfront, I did not really "get" the ugly & pretty concepts at first. But, then when I read that Rusties magazines showed all the many variations of our current normal...that I began to understand. This may have been a matter of my own societal normal or the fact that I am in my 7th decade of life, still it took me a while.

Perhaps, a teen might have picked up on this earlier than I did as it seems to me teenagers are in the midst of the wanting to be part of the group think thingy.

Still this story is not just a story of ugly vs. pretty in looks, but also in behavior and thought. To me, the variety of bodies, thoughts and behavior seems more real, but it does mean that some choose behavior or ways of thinking that to me are "ugly". Hmm. Much to think about.

I nominate post-apocalyptic.

[Elvenn]

I also read Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand (2004) by Fred Vargas, which I had abandoned a couple of years ago because I had found it too slow and meandering.

Seeing it added to the action shelf prompted me to give it a second chance, and I'm glad I did, even though I still think the first half is maddeningly slow.

I usually enjoy books by this author, because I find them original and suspenseful. Most of the characters are quirky, especially so the comissaire, who solves many cases, but often after very erratic and/or obsessive investigations.

But this book starts with the comissaire displaying an unusually obsessive behavior, triggered by a murder that he believes it's the work of the same man that framed his brother decades ago, despite the fact that he has been dead for more than 15 years. The case that caught his attention is soon closed, but he isn't convinced and half the book is spent following him following his hunches around France.

Luckily, after a certain point things started happening and I couldn't pass the pages fast enough.

Rating: 3.5 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Translated

[Elvenn]

And I read Exile (1990) by R.A. Salvatore, the second book in a dark fantasy trilogy (that can also be read as part of a longer series). Without spoiling the first book, we follow a dark elf warrior, that seems to be one of the few dwellers of his city with moral values, that's trying to survive on the deadly tunnels of the Underdark, but something starts stalking him.

The trilogy is really curious because it has many elements of the fantasy of its time but at the same time subverts completely what we expect from an elven city, and we're shown a realm surviving where no life should exist, with a very original culture and set of values.

I had already read it years ago, but I didn't remember anything other than I had liked it a lot. Luckily I still seem to love the story, even if it's at times dark, gory and full of triggers.

Rating: 4.5 stars (I liked the first one more) ~ Shelf nomination: Space

[Susan]

Oops. I forgot again to post here. I finished The Inside Ring in the nick of time. I enjoyed it, and will probably read more of the series. It's not amazing, but it was a nice escapist read. Perfect for this shelf.