THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT ARE YOU READING AND WHY!!
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Went on a Don Bruns marathon!! read 4 of his Skip Moore/James Lessor books in a row..love the characters!
Skip is that narrator..James - his best friend the one who keeps getting them in binds..very fun books..and touching at times as well
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by Michelle Diener- loved the other book in this series and Michelle Is a James Mason member writer..and great person!Also reading a current thriller
Bt Richard Doetche..another Great James Mason member
...see a pattern here!!!
I have finally finished Locked In - Kerry Wilkinson. Now about to embark on But Inside I'm Screaming - Elizabeth Flock.
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie. I'm getting in to it. I started before the long holiday but got side tracked - now I'm back on track - and loving it.
Finishing Game of Thrones, the first part.
I read serval books at once. I just finished, The Racketeer by John Grisham and reading The Beatitudes and Lords Prayer for Everyman by William Barkley as well as Hawaii by Douglas Peebles.
Bounced from Chapter 6 through Chapters 7 & 8 of "Map of the Soul" yesterday, after stalling at 6 for a while.Just divine timing ~ was able to complete lessons about "Claiming Autonomy and Freedom ~ Life's Lessons" and "Following True North ~ Authentic Self". I 'll have more information about my experience of these in my "review" section.
All-star Cast To Be InstitutionalizedIn the likeness of Stephen King emerges a new talent. A movie of Keith Rommel’s psychological suspense novel, The Cursed Man, is under production.
Injected with enough horror to keep you on the edge of your seat, James L. Perry, producer from Intergalaxy Entertainment, of Los Angeles, California, has been hard at work, bringing the characters to life through auditions with such talent as: Robert Picardo (Star Trek, The Mentalist), Brahm Gallagher, Cassandra Vincent (Interglobal Trading Fund), Troy Mittleider (24, X-Files), Maritza Graciela (Paradise Drive) and Dean Williams.
Auditions can be seen at:
Audition link
For further information on this feature film in development, contact James L. Perry at cursedmanmovie@gmail.com
And visit:
Official Author Website
I just started Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue, because it's on one of the versions of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die challenge list that I'm working my way through. It's about England's "fallen women", & how at least came to be one of them at the tender age of 14.
I just finished Three Odd Balls by Cindy Blackburn. It was funny with quirky characters and a delightful bird, and when I finished it I realized I was sitting with a smile on my face. I can't ask for more than that when I just want a book to entertain me.
I am pleased to announce that I have finished The Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine. Now to going to read A Cold Day For Murder - Dana Stabenow.
I've just started Fritz Leiber's Collected Stories - the Nightshade edition I got at Christmas.SMOKE GHOST is still one of my all time favorite stories.
I just started Dan Fesperman's The Double Game. So far I'm really liking it. It's got espionage, which I love, but a twist since he's not a spy, but a lover of spy novels. It think that's cool and brings me into it more. I like to peruse goodreads or my library's site and just read titles and blurbs and put books that sound good on my wish list. Then when I finish one, I look on the list for one that grabs me and the library has for Kindle.
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Interesting William, there is an old character actor named Fritz Leiber...I always thought they were one and the same..alas they are not..though I like both Fritz Leiber's ..The classic actor and the writer!
I'm sooo busy these days that my book reading time is almost non-existent. When I do get to read, I don't want to have to work at it. I don't want to have to struggle to find its inner meaning. I want to immerse myself in the book like a warm bubble bath and allow it to take me away from my complicated life. For that reason, I enjoy Karen White, Sharon McCrumb, Barbara Michaels.
My Action Heroine Fans group is doing a common read of The Hunger Games this month, so I'm taking part in that.
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Author -who is a great guy..just sent me an ARC he had left over at his home...love Palmers' books..very much looking forward to reading this new one now!!
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Werner- I just do not feel even a slight urge to read those books...curious how you find the book...I view it as a "fad" book..which I stay away from..yet I may be wrong!!
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curious how you like it..I have all four books in series..yet to read them! they do look like fun!
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Just finished this GREAT historical adventure..the first book in a very fast paced, informative series about two real, yet little members of Kinf Henry VIII's Court...loved both of them! (I actually read the second book first!)
I've just started reading 'The Red House' by Mark Haddon (it was a Christmas present). I really enjoyed 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time', and (although slightly less so) 'A Spot of Bother'. 'The Red House' has received pretty mixed reviews so I'm interested to see how it stands up against the other two.
Anyone else read it?
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Just finished- a very well researched thriller- alot of action, great plot and terrific education on ancient China and Forbidden City.
Rick, sorry I didn't reply to your post sooner (I don't always get my notifications when I'm supposed to, and I just now saw it!). Like you, I'm not really attracted to reading books just because they happen to be a current media-driven (and often shallow) fad; and the very dark premise of the series didn't appeal to me. The only reason I decided to read the first book was that, in the comments on a Goodread's friend review of it, another lady (who hadn't read it either!) and I got into a debate over whether Katniss was a better feminine role model than Bella in the Twilight Saga. I decided it would be nice if at least one of us actually knew what we were talking about. :-) So, since I was going to read it anyway, I suggested that the group do it as a common read, and they voted yes on that idea.While I'm not done with it yet, I'm close enough to it that I should finish tomorrow. As far as this book itself goes (though, in the opinion of many people who've read the whole trilogy, Collins drops the ball badly in the third book!), my reaction is enormously positive. If you want me to, I can post a link here to my review, once I write it. (Barring anything very unforeseen, my rating will be five stars!
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absolutely Werner! very interested in your review!
I'm just beginning to read Pandemic by Daniel Kalla.
I'm reading 2 that were written in novel format, but are really non fiction...one often wonders exactly where to draw the lines in these kinds of books...The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America- This was in a HUGE load of books donated to the rescue for the semi-annual book sale, I'd heard from others how good it was, & I'd already read another book by this author, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, which I own & liked, so "Devil" didn't make it to the book sale, LOL.
Also reading The Girl from Foreign: A Search for Shipwrecked Ancestors, Forgotten Histories, and a Sense of Home, simply because it sounded fascinating, & I connected with this one when I read the dustflap. I dearly loved both of my own grandmothers, & miss them even though they have been gone a long time now, one almost 20 years, other not far from that. I also am interested in searching out family history, so this one didn't make it to the book sale table either!
I'm reading
By Graham Greene,because the reading group I belong to (classics/impossibles) on Facebook chose this one, to be followed by
by Carlos Fuentes. Both are set in Mexico, The Power and the Glory deals with religious persecution, and The Death of Artemio Cruz is a flashback on a life not so nobly led. I'm enjoying them.
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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic..."
I sort of accidently read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. It was chosen as the monthly book for my local book club and then withdrawn - but by then I had read it. It's an interesting look at all the politics and planning and actual physical labor that goes into organizing a World's Fair. And the murder part was interesting also.
I'm reading Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins, again. It's been a long time since I first read it, and remembering I loved it so much, I just had to read it again.
Unlike our forum host, I'm reading the Odd Thomas books IN ORDER. After the ending of the first volume I had no desire to read any more of OT. Well, I'm out of new stuff so I picked up Forever Odd. I guess I'm a third of the way through and the constant parries with profundity are becoming annoying. I feel like I'm reading page after page of fortune cookie wisdom.Oh, and I'm not crazy about the cat either.
I expect to be banned from the Koontzland Forum any moment.
Although I've loved some of Koontz's work, I also was disappointed in "Odd Thomas", Am now listening to Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel, because I'm just so in the mood for some 16th century British soap opera.
Fran wrote: "Although I've loved some of Koontz's work..."My daughter reads everything by DK. I read and enjoyed the Frankenstein series and decided to try some of the others. Most don't work for me. Had to put down Cold Fire. When the female main character was introduced I was hoping she was just going to be in the single episode. As she evolved into the love interest, I found myself saying 'Won't she ever shut up?'
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Ken wrote: "Unlike our forum host, I'm reading the Odd Thomas books IN ORDER. After the ending of the first volume I had no desire to read any more of OT. Well, I'm out of new stuff so I picked up Forever Odd..."
now now!!! I love Odd Thomas!! and yes, I did not read the first book, starte4d with second..but have read all in order since! I do wish in next adventure Odd would return home to Pico Mundo and the great characters there (Ozzie ect) Now, Ken...do you have anything against all fry cooks?? or Just Odd in particular?
My current read is This One is Mine by Maria Semple. I'm reading this because it was an Amazon suggested title after I read Where'd You Go, Bernadette by the same author. I'm 20% into This One. So far it doesn't have the same humor as Bernadette and no likable characters. I'll continue and hope it turns around.
I'm still reading "Map of the Soul" little-by-little cos it brings about life change as you complete the exercises after the concepts read. Now learning how to dream my dream...it's a nice place to be!!
Currently I'm reading several books. First is "The Detroit Electric Scheme" by D.E. Jonnson and I decided to read it because the author is coming to our public library on the 23rd to talk about his 3rd book.The 2nd book I'm reading is "The Light Between Oceans" which I'm reading because I saw so many good reviews of the book through various internet forums and book groups I belong to.
I'm also reading "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn which I've wanted to read for a while because of all the hype.
Lastly, I'm listenting to the audiobook of a book I read a couple years ago "The Passage" by Justin Cronin. I decided to listen to the audiobook because I'm on the waiting list for the ebook of "The Twelve" from my library and I wanted to review the book but did not want to reread a nearly 800 pp novel.
While I wait to start a common read in the Fans of British Writers group at the beginning of February, I wanted to read a short book that I could finish by then, and would enjoy in the meantime. So, I picked a Matt Helm spy novel by Donald Hamilton, The Shadowers. At 142 pages, and with Hamilton's brisk style; it fits the first criterion; and as to the second, the last three Hamilton books I've read all got three or four stars from me, so that's a good record!
I'm reading Don Qixote, I wanted to try something from the 1600s.
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Was it Dean Martin who played Matt Helm in films?? also for some reason Burt Reynolds pops to mind
Yes, Dean Martin (not Burt Reynolds) played Matt Helm in several movie "adaptations" --which actually don't follow the books at all-- back in the 60s. He was spectacularly mis-cast, and the producers essentially approached the films (none of which I've ever seen) as parodies of the espionage genre in general. Since 2000, there have been reports that a couple of studios are interested in producing some serious adaptations, but nothing is being filmed at the moment.
I'm reading Poe's Mother in the spirit of Poe's upcoming birthday (and it's been on the top of my TBR pile forever). So far, it's excellent.
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
Books mentioned in this topic
Confessions on the 7:45 (other topics)Amity (other topics)
Truly, Devious (other topics)
We All Fall Down (other topics)
Get Even (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Monica Rodden (other topics)Lisa Unger (other topics)
Natalie D. Richards (other topics)
Maureen Johnson (other topics)
Gretchen McNeil (other topics)
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Huge fan of Munro's.