On The Same Page discussion
2023 Independent Challenges
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Lea's 2023 Filling in the Gaps Independent Challenge
Michelle wrote: "O.K. I think but I'm definitely not going to rush into it."Yes, you must be in the right mood for it. It's set in Appalachia and deals with some hard hitting issues. I needed some totally different books after reading Homegoing, David Copperfield and this book in quick succession - not my best book planning! :-)
Ioana wrote: "Please don't feel bad, we all like different books. I am afraid to post this on my list, so I'll post it here, maybe not too many people will notice. I just finished Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I really don't get the hype. Yes, Marcellus was fun and cute, but why did we have to read about whiny Cameron? I could not care for him one bit. I found the entire book slow, boring and predictable, full of happy coincidences. I so much dislike happy coincidences...."Maybe nobody else will notice, but I did. :-) Sorry that Remarkably Bright Creatures wasn't so good. It seems like everyone loves that book, but there is something about it that makes me think it might not be the book for me either. It's just so disappointing when books don't live up to the hype. Especially when everyone else raves about the book - sometimes I feel I just read it wrong. :-)
Lea wrote: "It's just so disappointing when books don't live up to the hype. Especially when everyone else raves about the book - sometimes I feel I just read it wrong. :-)."I know what you mean, but I think for me, contemporary fiction is the same as fantasy or YA. I only like some of them. They need to fit into a certain category...and I need to be more selective and not fall for the hype.
This one would'e been fine if it was just the octopus talking. He was the only interesting character. The people, not so much.
Mod
LOL"
There have been clubs founded on far sillier themes.
(At the library a couple of years ago, one of the rooms had been reserved..."
That's crazy; but we know truth is stranger than fiction. I think my hubby is one of those, though. SMH
Great update. Sorry about the 2 star reads. ugh
Ioana wrote: "I know what you mean, but I think for me, contemporary fiction is the same as fantasy or YA. I only like some of them. They need to fit into a certain category...and I need to be more selective and not fall for the hype.This one would'e been fine if it was just the octopus talking. He was the only interesting character. The people, not so much."
I think I know what you mean. I definitely need to get more selective. I just started The Marriage Portrait, and I don't think I'm the right person for Maggie O'Farrell's protagonists. I know I'm *supposed* to like them, but they honestly just grate on my nerves. I'm trying to enjoy the rest of the book, and remind myself not to do this again, but I will. I'm terrible at picking out the right books for myself, because I always think that the next book will be better than the ones before. :-)
Alondra wrote: "That's crazy; but we know truth is stranger than fiction. I think my hubby is one of those, though. SMHGreat update. Sorry about the 2 star reads. ugh"
Thanks, Alondra. I can understand BEING a Toilet Texter, but I don't understand joining a club about it. There are lots of things in life beyond my understanding, that's why I read. :-) Maybe I should write a book about this group?? Hahaha! :-)
Mod
Great update. Sorry about the 2 star reads. ugh"
Thanks, Alondra. I can und..."
Just use fake names.. *g*
Mod
Bwahahhaa.... it's hilarious either way. .... maybe, just maybe, you should write about it. Ode de Toillette...
Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "You guys are really messing with my head now. I read Poisonwood Bible and hated it. A lot."Please don't feel bad, we all like different books. I am afraid to post this on my list..."
I liked RBC Ioana but I can definitely see what you mean. It wasn't a happy book, uplifting maybe but not happy, and all the coincidental happenings did stretch credibility to the limit. I can definitely see if you had a problem with it. For myself I was in the mood for it when I read it and because I like fantasy I have learned to suspend disbelief pretty well. Also, I listened to the audio. I would have had much less patience with it if I had been reading.
I have to say I did like Remarkably Bright Creatures but I like fantasy or a bit of magical realism. However, I did think about halfway through the book--'Why is there is such a long wait list for this?' Anyway, with me it's been Lessons in Chemistry. Everyone raves about that one & I couldn't even finish it. (Sorry, Lea. We seem to have hijacked your thread/post/whatever).
Patricia wrote: "with me it's been Lessons in Chemistry. Everyone raves about that one & I couldn't even finish it. (Sorry, Lea. We seem to have hijacked your thread/post/whatever)."I know myself, that one is not even on my TBR...
Lea wrote: "I just started The Marriage Portrait, and I don't think I'm the right person for Maggie O'Farrell's protagonists. I know I'm *supposed* to like them, but they honestly just grate on my nerves."I have no problem with unlikable characters. It sucks when there are only unlikable characters, but that will not make me dislike a book. It's the plot and the writing. If it's dialogue, it has to be interesting, real.
No happy coincidences. No damsel in distress. No love triangles.
Bill wrote: "Just use fake names.. *g*"I'd have to. I haven't infiltrated that group yet. The more we talk about it, the more I think I need to!
Alondra wrote: "Bwahahhaa.... it's hilarious either way. .... maybe, just maybe, you should write about it. Ode de Toillette..."What a perfect title for my next novel! Now I'll have to come up with a cast of characters.
The mom to four young children who never leave her alone so she goes to the toilet to text
The old man who keeps in touch with an old lady friend via Toilet Text but doesn't want his nosy children to know that he's embraced technology
The high school student whose helicopter mom won't let him have his phone on weeknights, so he's stashed a burner phone in his restroom
The husband who is trying to keep in touch with his dying aunt, but his insecure wife keeps reading all his text messages and taking everything the wrong way, causing him to text and erase messages sent in the lavatory
The four year old child prodigy who was given a cell phone by her grandmother on her father's side, because her parents are undergoing a divorce and her mom is restricting access to her ex's parents
Did I miss anybody?
Michelle wrote: "I liked RBC Ioana but I can definitely see what you mean. It wasn't a happy book, uplifting maybe but not happy, and all the coincidental happenings did stretch credibility to the limit. I can definitely see if you had a problem with it. For myself I was in the mood for it when I read it and because I like fantasy I have learned to suspend disbelief pretty well. Also, I listened to the audio. I would have had much less patience with it if I had been reading."You bring up a really good point about being able to suspend disbelief. Sometimes I can do it, and sometimes I can't. But I agree sometimes audio versus paper makes a difference. Now I must read the book to see which side of the argument I fall into. :-)
Patricia wrote: "I have to say I did like Remarkably Bright Creatures but I like fantasy or a bit of magical realism. However, I did think about halfway through the book--'Why is there is such a long wait list for this?' Anyway, with me it's been Lessons in Chemistry. Everyone raves about that one & I couldn't even finish it. (Sorry, Lea. We seem to have hijacked your thread/post/whatever)."Honestly, there is nothing I enjoy more than a good thread hijack. The only exception to that rule is when the hijack is spam. But I'll always love a bunch of people talking amongst themselves about books, I'll always love!
Interesting about Lessons in Chemistry - that book is a GRC Award winner, so I was going to try to read it this month. We'll have to see what I think about it. Sometimes I think it is best when I read posts like this...maybe I won't go into reading the book with such sky-high expectations.
Ioana wrote: "I know myself, that one is not even on my TBR..."I'm going to attempt it this month. I hope I don't have regrets, but we'll see. :-)
Ioana wrote: "I have no problem with unlikable characters. It sucks when there are only unlikable characters, but that will not make me dislike a book. It's the plot and the writing. If it's dialogue, it has to be interesting, real.No happy coincidences. No damsel in distress. No love triangles."
I also don't have a problem with unlikeable characters, only with the notion that I should like certain characters. For example, in O'Farrell's stuff, she often has a main character that is "not like the other women." I like having multiple strong women characters, not one single strong woman character. I hate the idea that there are just a few women out there who defy convention and get the real character status, and all other women are lemmings.
And I agree on the damsels in distress and the love triangles...and mostly with the happy coincidences. :-)
Mod
What a perfect title for my next novel! Now I'll have to come up wi..."
The old, school marm with dark secrets.
LOL
That post is so perfect!!
June Mid Month ReportBooks Read: 3 books this month and 63 so far this year. 22,471 pages.
Books from Filling in the Gaps: 44/100; 2020 Books 0/1, 2022 Books 3/11, 2023 Books 41/82
Books from 12+4 Challenge: 12/16
Recently finished:
Demon Copperhead - I think I've got to stop getting so excited about Barbara Kingsolver books. I've read four of them and they are all 2 or 3 stars. This was very cleverly written and I can see why other people like it so much. It's a retelling of the David Copperfield story (that I just read) and also a fictional story of the opioid crisis. I liked it, but did not love it. I have quibbles. 3 STARS
The Final Gambit - The third book in the Inheritance Games series, and a GR Choice Award Winner for YA. I think the most interesting thing about this book was watching the author trying to come up with a new riddle to solve while retconning a whole bunch of stuff I truly believe she changed her mind about. Characters personalities change, reasons why things happened in the first two books suddenly had more meaning...I am honestly nervous to read the next book in the series when it comes out. However, I was pretty satisfied with the ending. 3 STARS
The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells classic about a shipwrecked man on a Pacific Island who finds it inhabited by a mad scientist who makes vivisections on different species of animals and humanizes them with a series of laws in order to keep them in control. As a book about science, it definitely shows its age, but as a book about humanity, forced religion and colonization, it is timeless. I liked it. 3 STARS
Currently reading:
Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love, and Work - I'll likely finish this book this week, and I've come around on it. While I'm finding some of the references on sex and gender a bit dated (it was written in 1988), the unfortunate thing is that they aren't all considered dated.
The Marriage Portrait - I'm coming around on this one too. I like it much better than Hamnet. I'll likely finish this book this week too.
A Summer Affair - A buddy read with Alissa and Denise. I guess it isn't much of a spoiler, based upon the book title, to say this is about a main character who seeks out a summer affair. I have not warmed to her yet.
A Touch of Dead - This is a compilation of side short stories in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and is on hold at the moment, because I need to read the next two books before I will be in sequence to continue with this book.
Progress on the Whack-a-Mole Series Situation –
Series Completed this year (for the moment...):
1. Crescent City (1)
2. Heartstopper (1)
3. It Ends with Us (1)
4. Beartown (1)
5. The Space Between Worlds (1) :-)
6. Wanderers (1)
7. The Roots of Chaos (1)
8. Jake Brigance (1)
9. The Inheritance Games (3)
Series Started This Year with Books Remaining:
1. The Camel Club (3)
2. Nantucket (3)
Series Started Last Year with Books Remaining:
1. Sookie Stackhouse (7)
Series That Added Books This Year with number of books I still need to read in that series:
1. Alex Stern (1)
2. Xanth (41)
3. Zoe Washington (1)
4. The Princess Diaries (1)
5. The Jaipur Trilogy (1)
6. You (2)
7. Camp Half-Blood Chronicles (1)
8. Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez (10)
9. Fractalverse (1)
Series That Added Books Last Year with number of books I still need to read in that series: (so you can see how I really made no progress!)
1. The Miniaturist (1)
2. Comoran Strike (4)
3. Stephanie Plum (8)
Abandoned series:
1. Blade Runner
2. The Housemaid
Mod
I love Kinsolver's writing, and The Poisonwood Bible will always be one of my favorites. Other than her book, I haven't read any of the others, although I think I might have The Island of Dr. Moreau on my TBR.
63 books so far, you're doing great!
Lea wrote: "Especially when everyone else raves about the book - sometimes I feel I just read it wrong. :-).."
You're only wrong about Judy Blume.... LOL
And good grief I haven't checked posts in a while and I came back to toilet texting lol
Bill wrote: "I've only read one book by Kingsolver and quite enjoyed. But I've been hesitant to read anymore. I may continue that hesitation. You're having a great year."I think you have enough books on the go at the moment, Bill. I really like Kingsolver's writing style, I just quibble about some of the details in her books. I'm moving on and looking forward to making a little more progress on my series the rest of this month.
Ioana wrote: "I love Kinsolver's writing, and The Poisonwood Bible will always be one of my favorites. Other than her book, I haven't read any of the others, although I think I might have The Island of Dr. Moreau on my TBR.
63 books so far, you're doing great!"
I am pleased with my progress so far, and it feels good to have read some of these books, even if they didn't earn the highest ratings. Here's hoping that I read an amazing book soon that I rabidly recommend...
Alissa wrote: "You're only wrong about Judy Blume.... LOL"Haha! It's true, but I think that may be uncurable.
Alondra wrote: "The old, school marm with dark secrets.LOL
That post is so perfect!!"
I sort of feel like we also need to have some sort of intelligent animal that learns how to text and joins the group. Like a dog, or a monkey or a pig or something. :-)
Alissa wrote: "And good grief I haven't checked posts in a while and I came back to toilet texting lol"I wish it was a regularly scheduled group at the library, so I could see who attends. But it has been years since I saw them on the schedule.
(The Toilet Texters are not regular! Haha!!!)
Lea wrote: "(The Toilet Texters are not regular! Haha!!!)"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Mod
A dog.
Great update for this month, so far. I completely agree about the Island of Dr Moreau.
Alondra wrote: "A dog.Great update for this month, so far. I completely agree about the Island of Dr Moreau."
A dog is always an excellent choice, maybe the seeing eye dog for the old school marm with the dark secrets. This book is really coming together. :-)
June Month End ReportBooks Read: 9 books this month and 69 so far this year. 24,678 pages.
Books from Filling in the Gaps: 49/100; 2020 Books 0/1, 2022 Books 4/11, 2023 Books 45/82
Books from 12+4 Challenge: 13/16
Previously discussed:
Demon Copperhead
The Final Gambit
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Recently finished:
The Marriage Portrait - This book is set in Italy in the 1550s, and is about a young bride who is found dead after her failure to produce an heir. I enjoyed this book more than I enjoyed Hamnet, but it still felt a little overwritten, and I find I don't often gravitate to O'Farrell's heroines. 3 STARS
Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love, and Work - I came around on this book a little bit also, I think there are some valuable truths to be gained from learning how different people think, even though this test is not considered scientific and suffers from categories that aren't necessarily independent. 2 STARS
All Together Dead - This is another book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, about the vampire summit. As always with this series, continuity is rather weak and my credulity was strained at times, but I was entertained and enjoyed this book more than some of the other books in the series. 3 STARS
A Summer Affair - This is a book by Elin Hilderbrand and I didn't care for it. The main character annoyed me, and the ending was really weak. Why the 2 stars? The writing was good, the story was not. And I did like the best friend character. 2 STARS
Lessons in Chemistry - I liked this book, but I certainly didn't fall in love with it, as I had hoped. For a book that was dealing with some serious and intense issues - trigger warnings - this book deals with rape, abuse, suicide, sexism, death - there were way too many magical realism moments that made it hard for me to connect with the story. For example, there is a super smart dog and a woman who becomes a better rower than most men by studying physics. Both things I wish could happen. I also felt like the author was trying too hard to make a character that modern day feminists would love, but all the preachiness, anachronistic aspects, and the overexplaining got a little tedious for me. It's a great message, but the execution didn't come together for me. I think this may have been overhyped for me, perhaps I would have liked it better if I hadn't heard so much about it. I did like the book, but it isn't a book I'll read again. 3 STARS
Stone Cold - This is the third book in The Camel Club series, and the first half of the book was super slow for me. The ending, though, was perfection, and made it well worth reading the book. Baldacci does have some unexpected things happen in his plots - you think you know where the ending is headed, and then it veers off towards the end of the book. This book also suffers from continuity issues, but it is entertaining. 3 STARS
Currently reading:
The Land Beyond the Sea - I just started this one and it is 688 pages, so I will be at it for a long time. This is the last book published by the late Sharon Kay Penman, and the only one I haven't read, so I'm going to be so sad when I have no more books written by her to read.
The Castaways - I'm 1/3 of the way into this book and I'm not sure why it is considered a series book with A Summer Affair. It is possible that the third book in the series ties everything together.
A Touch of Dead - This is a compilation of side short stories in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and is on hold at the moment, because I need to read the next book before I will be in sequence to finish this book.
Progress on the Whack-a-Mole Series Situation –
Series Completed this year (for the moment...):
1. Crescent City (1)
2. Heartstopper (1)
3. It Ends with Us (1)
4. Beartown (1)
5. The Space Between Worlds (1) :-)
6. Wanderers (1)
7. The Roots of Chaos (1)
8. Jake Brigance (1)
9. The Inheritance Games (3)
Series Started This Year with Books Remaining:
1. The Camel Club (3)
2. Nantucket (2)
Series Started Last Year with Books Remaining:
1. Sookie Stackhouse (6)
Series That Added Books This Year with number of books I still need to read in that series:
1. Alex Stern (1)
2. Xanth (41)
3. Zoe Washington (1)
4. The Princess Diaries (1)
5. The Jaipur Trilogy (1)
6. You (2)
7. Camp Half-Blood Chronicles (1)
8. Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez (10)
9. Fractalverse (1)
Series That Added Books Last Year with number of books I still need to read in that series: (so you can see how I really made no progress!)
1. The Miniaturist (1)
2. Comoran Strike (4)
3. Stephanie Plum (8)
Abandoned series:
1. Blade Runner
2. The Housemaid
Book of the Month: The Marriage Portrait
Worst Book: A Summer Affair
Biggest Surprise: Lessons in Chemistry
Greatest Accomplishment: Reading Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love, and Work, a book that had been on my TBR since a friend gave it to me in 2010, nothing like taking 13 years to read a book!
Some interesting reads! You did better than me with Lessons in Chemistry. I couldn't even finish it. That said, I will be interested to watch the series coming out on Apple TV.I love Maggie O'Farrell, but am working on her backlist. I think The Marriage Portrait like Hamnet (which I enjoyed) is a bit different than her earlier books.
I love Sharon Kay Penman, but have a few more to read than you. Enjoy this last one!
Patricia wrote: "Some interesting reads! You did better than me with Lessons in Chemistry. I couldn't even finish it. That said, I will be interested to watch the series coming out on Apple TV.I love Maggie O'Farrell, but am working on her backlist. I think The Marriage Portrait like Hamnet (which I enjoyed) is a bit different than her earlier books.
I love Sharon Kay Penman, but have a few more to read than you. Enjoy this last one!"
Sorry to hear you didn't care for Lessons in Chemistry either. I'm not sure I want to watch the series coming out on Apple TV. I don't watch too many shows, but maybe I'll change my mind.
How interesting that you think O'Farrell's earlier works are different than the last two. I've only read The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet and I liked them without loving them. Do you like her earlier books? Would you recommend any of them?
Sharon Kay Penman is fantastic, I have heard that Elizabeth Chadwick is similar, but I haven't read anything by her yet. I own a book or two, but I always seem to pick up something else. Have you read anything by Chadwick?
Lea wrote: "June Month End ReportBooks Read: 9 books this month and 69 so far this year. 24,678 pages.
Books from Filling in the Gaps: 49/100; 2020 Books 0/1, 2022 Books 4/11, 2023 Books 45/82
Books from 1..."
Wait, what??? When did it get to be the end of June???
I'm looking at your list, then at mine, and I wonder, where are the 5 stars books?
I tried Hamnet, it did not work for me, and I have The Marriage Portrait on my TBR. Maybe. Maybe someday.
Lessons in Chemistry - not for me, and you confirmed my initial impression.
I probably need to go and hide now, but can you imagine I haven't read any Sharon Kay Penman? I have some, and I know I would enjoy them, I have no idea how I've missed them. Well, I know...none is an audiobook, and they are all tomes. I haven't read any Chadwick either 😱
Ioana wrote: "Wait, what??? When did it get to be the end of June???I'm looking at your list, then at mine, and I wonder, where are the 5 stars books?
I tried Hamnet, it did not work for me, and I have The Marriage Portrait on my TBR. Maybe. Maybe someday.
Lessons in Chemistry - not for me, and you confirmed my initial impression.
I probably need to go and hide now, but can you imagine I haven't read any Sharon Kay Penman? I have some, and I know I would enjoy them, I have no idea how I've missed them. Well, I know...none is an audiobook, and they are all tomes. I haven't read any Chadwick either 😱"
It's not yet the end of June, don't worry...but I know there's no way I'll finish either the Penman or Hilderbrand books that I have on the go, so may as well report early and move on.
I'm trying not to be disappointed with my June, but all my books were 2-3 stars this month. I didn't read as many books as usual so there were less to choose between. But, that may be my new normal, as I'm also trying to read a Tome a month. Otherwise they never get read.
Sorry that we agree on Hamnet and Lessons in Chemistry. I wish we liked them better, but we don't, and now we know. :-)
Penman doesn't have a single book on GR with over 25,000 ratings, so I don't think you need to hide just yet, you're in good company. But she is my go-to when it comes to historical fiction. I always learn something when I'm reading them. If you want to read something shorter, her Justin de Quincy series are much shorter, (less than 300 pages), but aren't as good. I'm listening to The Land Beyond the Sea on audiobook, and the narrator is not my favorite, so I thought of you. 32 hours is a long time to listen to a narrator that isn't a favorite. :-) Anyway, I think your excuse as to why you haven't read Penman is solid - without an audiobook it is really like enduring weight training.
Elizabeth Chadwick is even less popular than Penman, but I do hope to get to some of her books. She writes lots of series books though, and we all know how I feel about starting so many new series! :-) That's my excuse as to why I've been picking other books to read.
Lea wrote: "Elizabeth Chadwick is even less popular than Penman, but I do hope to get to some of her books. She writes lots of series books though, and we all know how I feel about starting so many new series! :-)"You're not alone. I have some Chadwick books, but they are on the back burner. Again, someday...
I am a very slow reader when it comes to actually reading a book. My current one is not that big, only a little over 400 pages...I'm reading it for almost 6 weeks, and I just passed the 50% point. Pathetic!
Mod
Lea wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Some interesting reads! You did better than me with Lessons in Chemistry. I couldn't even finish it. That said, I will be interested to watch the series coming out on Apple TV.I l..."
The first book I read by O'Farrell was The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox which I loved. Not an easy read but I really got sucked into it. I guess I shouldn't say her writing is different, but Hamnet (which I also loved, however) just seemed different than that one and also This Must Be the Place.
I have been reading Chadwick for years & have a soft spot for her as she is an author I found years ago while browsing in the library. I was newly married and we had just moved to NC & knew no one, so I just brought home tons of books & read. Her books are less dense than Penman's which makes them seem light-weight, but they're not really. Some of her books cover the same ground as Penman, so if you're tired of reading about Eleanor of Aquitane, you might try her Marshall books or she has a pretty new one The Irish Princess. (Ask me about books and I have a few thoughts!)
Lea wrote: "June Month End ReportBooks Read: 9 books this month and 69 so far this year. 24,678 pages. "
What a nice varied month of reading! I tend to get stuck in ruts of one genre or the other.
Based on your thoughts on O’Farrell, I’ll be putting her books off for a bit. I fully intend on reading a couple of them as they look interesting but maybe next year or the year after that. I mean I’ve already started jotting down some ideas for 2024 and they haven’t made that list yet…
I’m sorry that Lessons in Chemistry came up short. I did enjoy it but I went into it prepared to hate it, lol. As for Kingsolver, I’m stuck in that place where I think I like her books but I don’t rush to read them, though I have a couple on my shelf. Idk.
Ioana wrote: "You're not alone. I have some Chadwick books, but they are on the back burner. Again, someday...I am a very slow reader when it comes to actually reading a book. My current one is not that big, only a little over 400 pages...I'm reading it for almost 6 weeks, and I just passed the 50% point. Pathetic!"
Oh, I take a really long time to read a physical book too. I read in fits and starts, instead of a set amount per day, and it just depends on how much time I have and how attached I am to the book. :-)
Bill wrote: "You've had a productive month. I hope you get more 4 / 5 star reads in July."Me too, Bill. I always feel like the next best book is right there waiting to be read. :-) I hope July is a great month for all of us.
Patricia wrote: "The first book I read by O'Farrell was The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox which I loved. Not an easy read but I really got sucked into it. I guess I shouldn't say her writing is different, but Hamnet (which I also loved, however) just seemed different than that one and also This Must Be the Place.I have been reading Chadwick for years & have a soft spot for her as she is an author I found years ago while browsing in the library. I was newly married and we had just moved to NC & knew no one, so I just brought home tons of books & read. Her books are less dense than Penman's which makes them seem light-weight, but they're not really. Some of her books cover the same ground as Penman, so if you're tired of reading about Eleanor of Aquitane, you might try her Marshall books or she has a pretty new one The Irish Princess. (Ask me about books and I have a few thoughts!)"
I will always ask you about books, I love reading all of your thoughts. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox looks very interesting but certainly not an easy read. I will have to try it some time. My friends list seems to love This Must Be the Place, which was not previously on my TBR, but now I'll have to see. I like O'Farrell's writing, I just haven't connected with the characters, particularly in Hamnet.
It's been a long time since I read some of Penman's books, so I'm sure by the time I get to Chadwick's books, I will love to read it from her perspective. Moving to a new place definitely has its advantages, including exploring a new library. I love library browsing. I always find something fun. A friend of mine bought Here Be Dragons which started my love for Penman, but she also bought me Lady of the English by Chadwick, in 2012, and I still haven't read it. She asks about it once in awhile, one of these days I'm going to shock her by reading the book. But I have to say, The Irish Princess looks interesting too. That's definitely some history I am not as familiar with.
July Mid Month ReportBooks Read: 5 books this month and 74 so far this year. 26,646 pages.
Books from Filling in the Gaps: 53/100; 2020 Books 0/1, 2022 Books 6/11, 2023 Books 47/82
Books from 12+4 Challenge: 13/16
Recently finished:
The Castaways - This is by Elin Hilderbrand and allegedly the second book in the Nantucket series, coming after A Summer Affair. However, I didn't see it as a series, I couldn't find any characters that were in both books. It does look there are some familiar characters in the third book in the series. Both books suffered from having unlikeable characters, but this one had a mystery associated with it, and I think that made it more interesting. 3 stars
The Land Beyond the Sea - There are certain histories that are glossed over in school settings, and the detailed stories of the Crusades were that for me. We like to tell stories of battle successes and where the values of those in the past are consistent with our values today, and basically the Crusades from a Western perspective are neither of those things. That's not to say that good stories about that time period don't exist; in fact, they do, and the impact of the Crusades is still a huge turning point of historical significance. Sharon Kay Penman is an excellent author and brings to life this period in time, of which I wasn't very familiar. I enjoyed this book very much. 4 stars.
From Dead to Worse - This is book #8 in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and it wasn't my favorite. It felt very much like a filler book, with a lot of loose ends to tie up. 2.5 stars
A Touch of Dead - I finally finished this book of Sookie Stackhouse short stories; it was very uneven. Some of the stories were better than others, and unfortunately, the last one was pretty terrible, in my opinion. 2 stars.
Beaches - I loved this book. There was a movie from 1988 starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey based on this book, and it is hard for me to say which is better. I do love a good story of friendship between two very different people. The book characters are a little more flawed those portrayed in the movie. All of the characters have so many layers. And, despite all of the awful things that they say and do to each other, there are the incredible things that they say and do for each other. 4 stars.
Currently reading:
Babel: An Arcane History - I'm about 40% in and liking it so far.
Winesburg, Ohio - I just started this one.
Progress on the Whack-a-Mole Series Situation –
Series Completed this year (for the moment...):
1. Crescent City (1)
2. Heartstopper (1)
3. It Ends with Us (1)
4. Beartown (1)
5. The Space Between Worlds (1) :-)
6. Wanderers (1)
7. The Roots of Chaos (1)
8. Jake Brigance (1)
9. The Inheritance Games (3)
Series Started This Year with Books Remaining:
1. The Camel Club (3)
2. Nantucket (1)
Series Started Last Year with Books Remaining:
1. Sookie Stackhouse (5)
Series That Added Books This Year with number of books I still need to read in that series:
1. Alex Stern (1)
2. Xanth (41)
3. Zoe Washington (1)
4. The Princess Diaries (1)
5. The Jaipur Trilogy (1)
6. You (2)
7. Camp Half-Blood Chronicles (1)
8. Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez (10)
9. Fractalverse (1)
Series That Added Books Last Year with number of books I still need to read in that series: (so you can see how I really made no progress!)
1. The Miniaturist (1)
2. Comoran Strike (4)
3. Stephanie Plum (8)
Abandoned series:
1. Blade Runner
2. The Housemaid
Mod
Great month so far. You're really inspiring me to start tracking my series books. I always forget them until I see someone talking about one I'm in the middle of.I'm also curious about how much you end up liking Babel. I've read the author's Poppy Wars series and loved the first book and each subsequent book less and less. I'm hoping Babel is as good as Poppy Wars.
Lillie wrote: "I've read the author's Poppy Wars series and loved the first book and each subsequent book less and less. "I've had the same experience with Poppy Wars. Babel is definitely different, and much better IMHO.
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Please don't feel bad, we all like different books. I am afraid to post this on my list, so I'll post it here, maybe not too many people will notice. I just finished Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I really don't get the hype. Yes, Marcellus was fun and cute, but why did we have to read about whiny Cameron? I could not care for him one bit. I found the entire book slow, boring and predictable, full of happy coincidences. I so much dislike happy coincidences....