What are you reading the week of July 6, 2019?

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What are you reading the week of July 6, 2019?

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1Molly3028
Edited: Jul 7, 2019, 6:45 am

Fred hasn't resurfaced yet, so I'm starting this week's thread.

Enjoy National Ice Cream Month and good books!

2Molly3028
Jul 6, 2019, 2:35 pm

Enjoying this Audible/Kindle combo ~

The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White

(Dark Lure series/Canadian police detective Rebecca North believes her father's suicide is suspicious/romantic suspense)

4cheryl_bannerman
Jul 6, 2019, 3:46 pm

Currently reading Lying Game by Ruth Ware. Not exactly the mystery I thought it would be. I'm halfway through this 350pp book.

5BookConcierge
Jul 6, 2019, 5:28 pm


Divining Women – Kaye Gibbons
Audiobook read by the author.
3.5***

In 1918 Mary Oliver, the child of well-to-do and somewhat liberal parents and raised in Washington DC, goes to spend time with her uncle Troop Ross, and his wife Maureen, who is expecting her first child. They live in small town in North Carolina, on a property a little out of town. Mary quickly learns that Troop is a bully, keeping his wife isolated, belittling her concerns, and threatening to put her in an asylum if she doesn’t shape up. The Spanish influenza epidemic further isolates the women, but also strengthens their resolve.

I have been a fan of Gibbons’ writing since the 1990s. For a time, I was devouring every one of her books; and I’ve read several of them more than once. But somehow, I missed this book until now.

I like the way Gibbons writes her characters. There are some very unpleasant goings on, and much of it makes me in turns uncomfortable, despairing, and angry. I was rather irritated with Mary for a time, feeling that she was butting in where she had no business. But as it became clear how much control Troop exerted over Maureen, I began to cheer for Mary’s involvement. This is at a time when women had few rights on their own, and yet Mary refused to be cowed by her uncle. And her strength empowered Maureen to fight for the freedom and respect she was due. Brava, ladies!

Gibbons narrates the audiobook herself. I really did not like her performance at all. She showed little emotion and it seemed like a student reading aloud because she was required to do so. Only 1 star for her performance on the audio. I think I’ll pick this up again at a later date and read it in text format.

6BookConcierge
Jul 6, 2019, 5:28 pm


Bittersweet – Colleen McCullough
Book on CD performed by Cat Gould.
3***

A mini-series soap opera of a novel, following four sisters (two sets of twins) in early 20th century Australia. The Latimer girls have the same father, but different mothers. Edda and Grace’s mother died in childbirth, and their father later married the housekeeper originally hired to help the young widowed father. Early on their goals and dreams for themselves diverge: Edda wants to be a doctor, Grace to marry and raise a family, Tufts expects to stay single, and Kitty wants more than anything to known for something other than her extraordinary beauty.

McCullough does a great job of crafting this sweeping novel. I was engaged and interested in the story and in exploring life in Australia at this time frame. I really enjoyed learning about the nursing training the sisters underwent, as well as the early limitations and advances in medicine during this time period.

Ultimately, however, I did get frustrated by Grace’s manipulative “woe-is-me, I’m so helpless” attitude. Even Kitty – the extraordinary beauty – showed more gumption and grit. However, Grace did eventually grow up and showed some of the strength of her twin, Edda. I really liked Edda and the way that her story played out. She was the consistently strong one and seemed to naturally take on the mantel of oldest child and leader.

There were a few story lines that McCullough seemed to abandon for a time, and then reintroduce simply to resolve them.

Cat Gould does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She sets a good pace and has clear diction and enough skill as a voice artist to differentiate the many characters. I was listening during a long road trip and it made the miles fly by! 4**** for her performance.

7PaperbackPirate
Jul 6, 2019, 11:37 pm

I'm reading The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. It hasn't been fast-paced so far, but it's very interesting!

8mollygrace
Jul 7, 2019, 9:05 am

I finished Solus by Peter Bowen and now I'm reading Dream Sequence by Adam Foulds.

>5 BookConcierge: I believe I've read all of Kaye Gibbons' books, too. I know she had problems a few years back but I keep hoping there will be more writing from her. For awhile there we had a new book every two or three years -- something in me is still anticipating that next book.

9seitherin
Jul 7, 2019, 9:59 am

10perennialreader
Jul 7, 2019, 12:15 pm

Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd
Given to me several years ago and I am just now getting to it. Enjoying it very much but prefer a more linear approach to books instead of jumping around in time periods.

11cindydavid4
Jul 7, 2019, 12:25 pm

I always found his books hard to read, and I usually don't might jumping around. But I admire his research, he puts so much into each book!

Tried reading The Book of Air and Shadows, thought it would be right up my alley, but got tired of his overly detailed descriptions of each character. Felt a little Dan Brown to me.

Now reading Paradise by Abdulraznak Gurnah

12perennialreader
Jul 7, 2019, 1:36 pm

>10 perennialreader: I have read The Forest: A Novel and Sarum: The Novel of England and enjoyed them. Slow & plodding is what I like (I find a slow rhythm is relaxing and keeps me from rushing through books).

13snash
Edited: Jul 7, 2019, 2:57 pm

I finished the excellent A Wilder Time. It is hard to sense the awe, raw beauty, and self-insignificance experienced in a wilderness while sitting in a city, but this book makes that possible. I had some difficulty following all of the geology before reading the epilogue but that didn't diminish my appreciation of the book. A poignant cry for the preservation of what little wilderness remains on earth.

14BookConcierge
Jul 7, 2019, 4:03 pm


Riders of the Purple Sage – Zane Grey
Digital audiobook read by John Bolen.
3***

From the book jacket: Cottonwoods, Utah, 1871. A woman stands accused. A man, sentenced to whipping. In … rides … Lassiter, a notorious gunman who’s come to avenge his sister’s death. It doesn’t take Lassiter long to see that this once-peaceful Mormon community is controlled by the corrupt Deacon Tull – a powerful elder who’s trying to take the woman’s land by forcing her to marry him, branding her foreman a dangerous “outsider.” Lassiter vows to help them. But when the ranch is attacked by horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and a mysterious Masked Rider, he realizes they’re up against something bigger, and more brutal, than the land itself…

My reactions
I hardly know what to write about this classic of the Western genre. It’s full of adventure, violence, strong men and women, tenderness, brutality and an abiding sense of justice. And, of course, there is the landscape, which Grey paints so vividly it is practically a character.

Yes, the storyline and dialogue are a bit melodramatic. But Grey’s story still captured this reader’s imagination with its sense of drama, almost non-stop action, and bold characters. I was reminded of the many western movies I watched with my Daddy in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They were exciting and the good guys always won. Clearly those movies (and other books of the genre) had Grey’s strong foundation on which to build. I’m glad I finally read it.

The digital audio available through my library’s Overdrive system was read by John Bolen. I was not a great fan of his delivery, which seemed overly dramatic to me. I might have enjoyed this better had I read the text.

15BookConcierge
Jul 7, 2019, 4:03 pm

>8 mollygrace: I'm also still anticipating Gibbons's next book. She's a marvelous writer.

16JulieLill
Jul 7, 2019, 4:52 pm

>7 PaperbackPirate: One of my favorite books and author.

17JulieLill
Jul 7, 2019, 4:53 pm

Reading Philip K. Dicks book A Scanner Darkly but I am having trouble getting into the book!

18cindydavid4
Jul 7, 2019, 5:06 pm

I also have been a fan of Gibbons, doesn't seem like she's had a book for a while. Going down the list, I realize I never read The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster Has anyone read it? I can see the temptaction to make Ellen a 'mary sue', so I wonder if her character as a writer is as interesting as she was as a little girl.

19mollygrace
Jul 7, 2019, 9:10 pm

>18 cindydavid4: I went looking for Kaye Gibbons' books online and saw The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster which I'm sure I haven't read so I ordered a copy. I'm excited about another book by this author but dismayed that it was published in 2005 and there hasn't been another since -- although my sources may be wrong about that. I wish her well -- her books are treasures to me.

20cindydavid4
Edited: Jul 7, 2019, 10:31 pm

I'll be curious what you think of it. Yeah, I didn't see any after that, but let me check google and see. Seems weird there would be nothing for 15 years. ETA apparenty she has been taking meds for bipolar disorder, and in 2007 arrested for drug possession. No other information....

21BookConcierge
Jul 7, 2019, 10:53 pm


Honeymoon – James Patterson and Howard Roughan
Audiobook performed by Campbell Scott and Hope Davis
3***

Nora Sinclair is beautiful, smart and alluring. She has more men attracted to her than ants to a picnic. But the honeymoon won’t last long; people around Nora tend to end up dead. John O’Hara is the FBI agent who is determined to catch this modern-day “black widow.” He has his own issues and despite what he suspects about Nora he finds himself drawn into her web.

Patterson and his team can sure churn out the fast-paced suspense/thrillers! The action is quick and the target ever moving. The writing may be simple, but the plot holds the reader’s attention. Of course, there will be a twist (or two) to keep our protagonist just slightly off balance (and the reader, turning pages). Good beach / vacation read.

I was glad that the producers chose two talented voice artists to read the audio version. Campbell Scott takes those chapters from John O’Hara’s point of view. While Hope Davis is chilling as the cunning and twisted Nora Sinclair.

22seitherin
Jul 8, 2019, 6:28 am

Added Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens to my reading rotation.

23PaperbackPirate
Jul 8, 2019, 2:02 pm

>16 JulieLill: I had no idea how much work went into the Chicago World's Fair! Very intriguing book.

24seitherin
Jul 8, 2019, 6:04 pm

25framboise
Jul 8, 2019, 8:28 pm

Finished my ER read Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. What started as an interesting, well-written story set in a performing arts high school in the 1980s turned into a confusing, convoluted spiral of a mess. Got tons of great reviews from the critics; from readers, not so much.

26ahef1963
Jul 8, 2019, 9:04 pm

>22 seitherin: Oliver Twist is the perfect novel for those who wish to feel sorrow and deep, dreary, melancholy. It was about as uplifting as The Bell Jar, that rollicking tale of suicidal ideation. I've finished them both but they both nearly finished me!

I read a very good thriller this past weekend. I will gladly recommend Our House by Louise Candlish. It was full of the most unusual twists and turns, in directions that I did not foresee, and the ending was superbly done.

Today I planned to start An American Marriage on my breaks and noon hour. However, I'm so tired today that I decided that "real" books were too heavy to lift, so I've begun Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street on my e-reader instead. I will read the Tayari later this week.

27BookConcierge
Edited: Jul 11, 2019, 10:12 pm


The Passover Murder – Lee Harris
3***

Book number 7 in the Christine Bennett mystery series. The former nun is invited to a Passover seder by her neighbor. During the event she learns that sixteen years prior, the neighbor’s aunt Iris disappeared in the middle of the Passover meal. Her body was found a few days later but the mystery of her death has never been solved.

I really like this main character. Christine is intelligent, calm, deliberate, tenacious and compassionate. She gains the trust of those she interviews and manages to ferret out information that even the police failed to uncover. Her husband, Jack, is a detective with the NYPD, and also going to law school, so while he’s always willing to listen and offer advice (and some “inside” help now and again) Christine manages quite well on her own.

One thing I like about this series (and the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton) is the setting in a time period before cell phones, computers and googling. The person doing the detecting has to rely on lots of tedious footwork and research, as well as keen observation and a well-hone intuition when interviewing suspects / witnesses.

28Yojrena
Jul 9, 2019, 11:31 am

Just finished "Norina Luciano" an English novel by authoress Noha Alaa El-Din
And I do recommend it!

"It revolves round Norina and how she tried to get her glamour back, but it was not all, it was actually a matter of survival.
She made a detour, she thought she would return stronger, but things didn't go as she wished."
¬ Novel summary from the author's page.

My Opinion:
It has many surprises along its timeline.. It also has deep feelings, some philosophical lines, witty dialogues, and touching soliloquies.. And the chapters have interesting flow with a capturing rhythm and it's to the point.
Such a charming piece of literature!

P.s.: It's a tragedy with sweet sparks of humor..
It's just not easy to judge Norina's character, not that easy!

I wonder if anyone has read it before...

29JulieLill
Jul 9, 2019, 2:15 pm

>23 PaperbackPirate: I also liked the info on Sally Rand. I wonder if there is a bio on her- such a interesting character.

30rocketjk
Jul 9, 2019, 3:41 pm

I was away for the weekend without much reading time. I'm about a quarter of the way through Georgia and State Rights: A Study of the Political History of Georgia from the Revolution to the Civil War, with Particular Regard to Federal Relations by Georgia native Ulrich B. Phillips.

31Limelite
Edited: Jul 9, 2019, 4:07 pm

More than half way through The Cuckoo's Egg. Fascinating. It's by the "godfather" of cyber counter-espionage, astronomer, and computer geek, Cliff Stoll. Reads like a fiction thriller!

Listening to marvelous performance by Richard Hardy of Thomas Hardy's Under the Greenwood Tree. Wonder if they grew from the same family tree. The actor famous for his role as Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small (PBS TV series) can do accents and perform an audiobook without equal. More than half done but don't want it to end.

32rocketjk
Jul 9, 2019, 4:21 pm

Forgot to mention that I finished The Secret History of the War, Volume 1 by Waverley Root. This is a fascinating, extremely detailed book about World War 2, written for the most part while the war was still going on. Root was an American journalist stationed in Paris right up until the German occupation of the city. The book was originally to be co-written with French journalist Pierre Lazareff, but Lazareff understandably became otherwise engaged "in government service." However, he allowed Root to use the material he'd already compiled. At any rate, this long book (I am reporting here on Volume 1 only, which in itself is 650 pages of fairly small print) contains endless interesting details of, particularly but not solely, the political conditions and many machinations of governments before and during the war. In particular, Root (and Lazareff) focus on France, both pre-war and during the Vichy era. Root maintains that a) many in French leadership were, essentially, facists who abhorred their own Republic; b) much of the Germans' meticulous prewar 5th column propaganda activity was done for them by French leaders (Philippe Pétain comes in for particular criticism) and c) the French Army's efforts to resisting the German invasion were sabataged by traitors within the government and the army. These people were either Nazi sympathizers or were so convinced of the Germans' eventual victory in the war that they thought resistance to be futile. I don't know the degree to which these opinions have been backed up or discredited in the intervening years, but Root makes a very, very strong case.

Root goes into some detail about the conditions in France and the other conquered countries during the years of occupation, during which, eventually, near starvation conditions applied as the Germans extracted more and more of the local produce and manufactured goods to feed their armies. When you see movies about the French occupation, you never see the people as gaunt and malnourished as Root describes them.

Also included are chapters on Finland, the history of the German-Soviet Pact and the eventual, disastrous, German invasion of Russia, and events in the Balkans, Africa and the Low Countries. Also fascinating is the chapter about Hitler's continual attempts to make a separate peace with the Western allies in order to be able to concentrate solely on fighting Russia. Again, this is Volume 1 of a three-volume set. I'll be starting on Volume 2 very soon.

33Copperskye
Jul 10, 2019, 12:44 am

After finishing Kate Atkinson’s latest, Big Sky, which was great, I picked up Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachael Khong, about a young woman who returns home for a year to help care for her father who has Alzheimer’s. It’s a quick read with a lot of warmth and gentle humor and I was frankly surprised at how much I liked it.

My current read is Washington Black by Esi Edugyan.

34JulieLill
Jul 10, 2019, 12:07 pm

A Scanner Darkly
by Philip K. Dick
3/5 stars
A law enforcement agent, Fred is following the criminal activities of a known drug dealer and user – Bob Arctor. Bob is selling Substance D which alters the mind while destroying it at the same time. There is a big twist involving the two in this black comedy tale. The book was made into a movie and I would love to see how the director interpreted this unusual story!

35mollygrace
Jul 10, 2019, 2:51 pm

I finished Dream Sequence by Adam Foulds. I've admired Foulds' writing in the past, especially in The Quickening Maze, and looked forward to what he'd write next. This new book did not disappoint. The writing is so razor-focused, bringing us into the worlds of a narcissistic actor and a young woman caught up in an obsessive fantasy. This look at the consequences of fame and that false sense of interconnectedness our cybertechno capability can effect in us is funny and shimmering and poignant and terrifying, too.

Now I'm reading What is Not Yours is Not Yours, stories by Helen Oyeyemi.

36cindydavid4
Jul 10, 2019, 4:18 pm

>33 Copperskye: oh that Atkinson has been on my wait list! Thanks for letting me know its out, going into the cart as we speak!

37seitherin
Jul 10, 2019, 5:23 pm

38aussieh
Jul 10, 2019, 6:30 pm

Started on Love & Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman

39Molly3028
Jul 10, 2019, 6:36 pm

Enjoying this library audiobook ~

The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

(Plantagenet and Tudor Novels/mid 1500s/Elizabeth I/Robert and Amy Dudley)

40hemlokgang
Edited: Jul 11, 2019, 12:25 am

Finished the darkly lyrical debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.

Now on to #16 in the Harry Hole series, Knife by Jo Nesbo.

41princessgarnet
Edited: Jul 11, 2019, 12:35 pm

Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep
The 1st installment of her "Crown of Shards" trilogy. The author is new to me.

The 2nd novel Protect the Prince is now available. The 3rd and final installment releases next year.

42hemlokgang
Edited: Jul 11, 2019, 6:43 pm

I finished reading the disappointing Early Reviewer novel, The Book of M.

Next up to read is The Ebony Tower by John Fowles.

43Limelite
Jul 11, 2019, 7:01 pm

The Cuckoo's Egg had thrills, chills, laffs, and cogent observations about the vulnerability of academic, industrial, government, and even military networks. Great nonfiction by the "godfather" of detecting cyber spies, Cliff Stoll.

About half through listening to Under the Greenwood Tree by Henry James. Am loving this well-performed narration by Robert Hardy.

Opening Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower. She writes in such a way that her focus on the human actors involved in seminal events become characters who move about the world stage, fumbling in good or maleficent intent toward individual and national goals. Utterly fascinating.

44BookConcierge
Jul 11, 2019, 10:12 pm


Turning Angel – Greg Iles
Audiobook narrated by Dick Hill
2**

Book two in the Penn Cage series. Drew Elliott is a highly respected doctor in Natchez. He is also a life-long friend of Penn’s, having saved his life when they were boys, and he serves alongside Penn on the school board of their alma mater, St Stephen’s Prep. When the nude body of the school’s valedictorian is found near a creek bed behind the school property, the entire community is shocked. But Penn soon discovers that Drew had an inappropriate and passionate relationship with the girl, and Drew’s likely to be accused of her murder.

Okay… Iles can write a compelling story with lots of suspects, many twists and turns in the plot, complicated motives and subplots, and a fast pace that keeps the reader turning pages. Penn’s background as a prosecuting attorney in Houston serves him well, but also complicates matters; he’s no longer practicing law, though Drew wants to maintain an “attorney-client” privilege to their communication.

Iles books are full of violence … and of the three I’ve read, particularly against women. Murder is always a violent crime, of course, but the sexual component herein is particularly disturbing. But I have a major problem with THIS book due to the basic underlying relationships. We have a doctor having a torrid love affair with a TEENAGER who is his PATIENT! And her mother “approves” of this?!!!??!!?!?! Then Penn is attracted to and kissing the teenager who babysits his daughter …. YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK.

So the basic “thriller genre” gets 3 stars (even with the violence against women), but loses a star for the particularly distasteful – and disgraceful – underlying theme here.

And by the way … Penn is going on about how he wants to improve Natchez and bring more people to the community. But the author is sure doing a good job of painting it as a den of iniquity that no one would want to visit, with shoot-outs in hotels and drug cartels running rampant. Um, not my idea of a vacation spot (or a place to live).

Dick Hill does a pretty good job performing the audiobook. He sets a good pace and I like his voice for Penn Cage. He manages a decent teenaged Mia too, which is a bit surprising given his deep voice. But I really disliked the voice he used for Drew, who sounded whiny, cowardly and weak. No way I believed he was a big, strong man.

45cindydavid4
Jul 12, 2019, 12:16 am

46Copperskye
Jul 12, 2019, 12:22 am

>36 cindydavid4: It’s a good one! Enjoy!:)

47snash
Jul 12, 2019, 7:31 am

I finished The Story of Lucy Gault. It seems like I should have liked the book but for some reason which I can't figure out, I didn't.

48aussieh
Jul 13, 2019, 1:33 am

The Sheep Queen by Thomas Savage this is a reread, I love the way this man writes, my favorite is The Power Of The Dog.

49fredbacon
Jul 13, 2019, 10:32 am

The new thread is up over here.

>1 Molly3028: Thanks for filling in during my absence.