What are you currently reading?

[Gina Marie]

My first two books for 2025 were Demon Copperhead and The Mighty Red. While they are different in many ways, they are both about communities struggling with generational and societal challenges that seem overwhelming and unfair.

While I don't personally relate to the situations in either novel, they both hit me hard emotionally. I think maybe because they are both set in contemporary times, whereas a lot of what I was reading last year was historical fiction or fantasy that I could separate myself from.

I really appreciate that both Kingsolver and Erdrich offered hope, both in the satisfactory endings of their novels and in the characters and their relationships with one another. Even when the challenges we face are overwhelming and completely out of our control, it's good to be reminded that there are still things to be grateful for and people who will help us get through the tough times and survive.

[chloe]

I'm currently reading Oathbringer the third book in the Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson and I'm so enthralled! Anyone else a Sanderson fan? I started with the Mistborn series and I've been hooked ever since.

[Melissa]

I'm currently reading "Alice + Freda Forever" by Alexis Coe

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called One Last Shot by Susan May Warren

[TheConnieFox]

I am currently reading Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. 🫶

[Sadie]

I am reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dicken.

[Christine]

[Alyssa]

I'm currently reading The Kiss Quotient.

[Alyssa]

Also, opposite of always ,live love, learn well, and Rebel Rising.

[Lisa Marie]

I am currently reading Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.....I am hoping to finish reading this by the end of January :)


HAPPY READING!!!

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea

[Evy]

I have started the Plated Prisoner series. The first book grew on me, we will see how it goes with the second one!

[Shannon]

I am reading and I am listening to

[juls ౨ৎ˖ ࣪⊹]

I have just started Deep End byAli Hazelwood

does anyone also start reading it?

[Christine]

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

[Emily]

Lisa Jewell is such a great writer.

[Emily]

I am currently reading House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas.

[Emily]

I am also reading Atalanta by Jennifer Saint.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose

[Melissa]

Just finished “The Change” by Whoopi Goldberg

[Christine]

[Alyssa]

I'm reading Paris by Paris Hilton.

[Ági]

Finished Hiénák a betegágy körül by Zsolt Boldogkői today.

And started Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions by James Randi.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Second Chance Season by Emily March

[Christine]

[Bartholomew]

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

[Nathan]

Andrew Carnegie, After Dark-Murakami, Cujo-Stephen King, Angela’s Ashes, and The Razor’s Edge

[Maureen]

I just finished 1984 by George Orwell I can't say I was enthused by it but it's been on my tbr forever. My local book club suggested it for a February read.
Just started The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher

[Greg]

Just finished The Pride of Chanur book 1 of C.J. Cherryh's Chanur series. Am giving this series another reread.

Also reading Children of the Storm by Elizabeth Peters and Nightmare Journey by Dean Koontz.

Holdovers on my currently reading list from 2024 are The Charm School by Nelson DeMille and Pandemic by Scott Sigler. Reading was paused on these two due to having to give the book back to the library and difficulties in getting another copy. But I now have a copy of Pandemic so should resume that one soon.

[Sarah]

I just finished reading the Edge of Collapse series by Kyla Stone. I have never been so invested in a series before this one. Next on my TBR list is The Silent Patient.

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White

[Christine]

[Jess]

Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris

and

Frankie by Graham Norton

[Kim]

I'm almost finished with The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. What a ride! I'm enjoying it

[Christine]

[Jessica]

Yesterday, I started The Bone Houses by Emily
Lloyd Jones

[Ági]

American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

[Christine]

[Christine]

I’m reading a book called The Body Brokers by Brian Cuban

[M]

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

[Christine]

[Christine]

[Jess]

A Mouth Full of Salt by Reem Gaafar

[Christine]

[Alex Petry]

I'm currently reading A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, which is surprisingly turning out a lot better than the first one From Blood and Ash. I am also slowly finishing Quicksilver by Callie Hart, which started out great, and is now dragging out.

[Christine]

[Rosalyn]

The "amateur sleuth podcast/book" trope has become more prevalent in books lately, what with rise of the true crime phenomenon, but what makes this book stand out is the added layer of emotional and personal stakes the main character Jane has in the investigation, and by extension, the author, Ashley Winstead. The death of Jane's father and the resulting emotional spiral that follows plays a big factor in her decision making throughout the story. Similarly, the death of Winstead's father was partly the impetus for her writing this book and choosing this topic (which I'll get into later in this review, I have THOUGHTS).

the GOOD: What starts as a distraction from Jane's grief morphs into...

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...





Julia Bartz is making a niche for herself of writing psychosexual thrillers with unhinged main female characters and sapphic undertones, and I am here for it! Bartz's background as a psychologist showed out in full force, with much explanation of technical terms and ethics in psychotherapy. What sets this apart from her previous book, The Writing Retreat, is the more pronounced transformation and catharsis our main character Thea experiences after the ordeal, which elevates the story from being just a "I survived a dangerous situation" to "this made me confront my toxic traits, unresolved trauma, and whole personality".

I dock a star because...

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...





The chapters are super snappy and all end on cliffhangers, which made the pacing quick and fun. However, I guessed the culprit pretty early into the book, and the red herrings weren't really red herrings as they'd be discredited right away. I did like that this book focused more on the parents and their different personalities, I preferred....

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...





For such wild events and people being featured, I became more and more disinterested and impatient as I read on; this story dragged on way too long. The whole book was spent waiting for the main characters to discover what the reader already knew. If there are no crazy plot twists like Jewell's last book, None of This Is True - a 5 star book! - then please at least maintain some mystery.

Some of the decisions or characterizations just would not....

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...





This book is blockbuster fun; you have an origami-loving serial killer, a Hollywood hotshot on trial, the various colorful personalities of the jury, and last but not least, the quick and sharp lawyer Eddie Flynn to lead the helm. Like Cavanagh's other book, Witness 8, half of the book is told from the perspective of the villain. You'd think much mystery or suspense would be lost, but....

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...



If I see Candice Millard on a book cover, I pick it up, that simple. As always, Millard propels the story forward with drama and action, while including much needed and appreciated historical and social context of that time. She makes astute analyses about Churchill's personality, his belief in his personal destiny, and how both determine his actions. I chuckled more than a few times while reading actually; Churchill is such an amusing man. I don't mean that condescendingly, it's just that he's so pompous but at the same time, not malicious at all. He says such grandiose things about himself with zero shame LOL. The thing is, he has the intellect, bravery, and daring to back up his claims, so people were and still are simultaneously exasperated and begrudgingly impressed by him.

Fun adventure featuring a daring and resilient young Churchill, but I don't know about....

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...



Pensive, insightful vignettes of Parisian life from all socioeconomic, age, and gender perspectives. Donoghue moves between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class cabooses, which are essentially their own worlds, as we peer into the minds of affluent diplomats, starving artists, optimistic students and cynical anarchists. Although none of the characters directly talk of the cultural development or events or movements of the time, Parisian Belle Epoque is referenced in every sentence. Medical discoveries, technological advancement, cafe culture, Impressionism, the conflict that is found from the blending of social classes, are all discussed through the intimacy of everyday conversations, where through the course of this short novel, strangers become not quite friends, but recipients of each other's confessions; the idea that since you'll likely never meet again, you are more truthful to the other than you'd be otherwise.

There is no plot; it's rather....

full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...