What are you reading the week of March 3, 2018?
Talk What Are You Reading Now?
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1fredbacon
Sorry for the late start everyone.
I just going to have to admit that I don't like Philip K. Dick and move on. I'm starting The Time Traveler's Guide to Restoration Britain, a non fiction book on daily life in 17th century Britain.
I just going to have to admit that I don't like Philip K. Dick and move on. I'm starting The Time Traveler's Guide to Restoration Britain, a non fiction book on daily life in 17th century Britain.
2richardderus
Hi Fred...thanks for the start. I'm in the same boat with Seanan McGuire...I *hate* the books I've read, but she's so wildly popular that I'm hell bent for leather to figure out why. Her October Daye series has a TV adaptation forthcoming, and I'm reading Rosemary and Rue with the kind of grim determination I approached Infinite Jest with.
4PaperbackPirate
I'm still reading Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. It is indeed a long walk, but still holding my interest.
Also I'm still peppering in The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz when the situation calls for a more compact book.
Also I'm still peppering in The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz when the situation calls for a more compact book.
5rocketjk
I'm still reading and enjoying So Wild a Dream by Win Blevins. It's an historical novel set in the North American wilderness of the 1820s, as fur trappers begin pushing out into Indian country to harvest pelts and make their fortunes.
6Catreona
Hi Fred,
Some time ago I read a book called The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England, which was enjoyable.
I currently have several books going, two light fiction and two heavy duty nonfiction:
Fury of Seduction by Coreene Callahan
The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse by Leann Sweeney
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Some time ago I read a book called The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England, which was enjoyable.
I currently have several books going, two light fiction and two heavy duty nonfiction:
Fury of Seduction by Coreene Callahan
The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse by Leann Sweeney
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
7rocketjk
>6 Catreona:
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
Interesting. I very much enjoyed Tye's biography of Satchell Paige.
Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon by Larry Tye
Interesting. I very much enjoyed Tye's biography of Satchell Paige.
8ahef1963
Haven't read a thing all week. Couldn't concentrate, and then got the flu, so I've thanked goodness for my Netflix subscription and watched a lot of films.
Today started The Stranger by Camilla Lackberg, which I am enjoying very much. Her books are always diverting.
Today started The Stranger by Camilla Lackberg, which I am enjoying very much. Her books are always diverting.
9mollygrace
I finished Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Next up: Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
Next up: Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
11richardderus
Another author off my list forever: Seanan McGuire. I had to skim a 10-page chapter in order not to gouge out my own eyes. Farewell Rosemary and Rue, removed from my Kindle and my brain.
12hemlokgang
Listened to the disappointing In The Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende.
Next up for listening I The Grave's A Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley.
Next up for listening I The Grave's A Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley.
13NarratorLady
After The Hate U Give which very good but, of course, intense, I’ve moved on to The Egg and I for a few laughs.
14aussieh
Started on Faithful by Alice Hoffman I am not sure where this one is going, already some of the usual Hoffman magic plus a little mystery. Alice is one of my favorite writers so I shall continue.
15BookConcierge
The Shack – William P Young
Digital Audio read by Roger Mueller.
ZERO stars
Subtitle: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
A man’s young daughter disappears during a family vacation at an Oregon state park. Her body is never found, but it’s clear she’s been murdered. He doesn’t quite know what to make of the note he receives a year later, asking him to meet God at the shack where his daughter was killed.
Several people have recommended this to me, but it’s really not my cup of tea. I found the message heavy-handed and the writing simplistic.
I did like that Young forces the reader to contemplate a different God that the traditional white-haired old man. I also like that he remarks on the difference between faith and organized religion. And that the God he gives us focuses on love and forgiveness, rather than judgment and revenge.
Still the writing had me rolling my eyes so often I made myself dizzy, and I just wish I had the time spent on this back.
The audio is performed by Roger Mueller. He does a capable job, but I found his delivery in places to be overly dramatic. Then again, perhaps it was the fault of the original material.
NOTE - I didn’t even notice the subtitle until a couple of weeks after reading it, when I picked it up to write this review. That ridiculous subtitle annoys me all over again.
Digital Audio read by Roger Mueller.
ZERO stars
Subtitle: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
A man’s young daughter disappears during a family vacation at an Oregon state park. Her body is never found, but it’s clear she’s been murdered. He doesn’t quite know what to make of the note he receives a year later, asking him to meet God at the shack where his daughter was killed.
Several people have recommended this to me, but it’s really not my cup of tea. I found the message heavy-handed and the writing simplistic.
I did like that Young forces the reader to contemplate a different God that the traditional white-haired old man. I also like that he remarks on the difference between faith and organized religion. And that the God he gives us focuses on love and forgiveness, rather than judgment and revenge.
Still the writing had me rolling my eyes so often I made myself dizzy, and I just wish I had the time spent on this back.
The audio is performed by Roger Mueller. He does a capable job, but I found his delivery in places to be overly dramatic. Then again, perhaps it was the fault of the original material.
NOTE - I didn’t even notice the subtitle until a couple of weeks after reading it, when I picked it up to write this review. That ridiculous subtitle annoys me all over again.
16BookConcierge
The Silver Linings Playbook – Matthew Quick
Digital audiobook narrated by Ray Porter.
4****
Pat Peoples is at home again, living with his parents, after spending an indeterminate amount of time “in the bad place” – a mental hospital. He knows that if he can just improve himself a bit, his wife Nikki will come back to him. Problem is, no one will talk about Nikki or tell him the truth. His old friends have wives and children that he doesn’t remember. The Philadelphia Eagles keep losing. His father barely speaks to him. And now he’s got a girl, Tiffany, who is following him around. At least his therapist is an Eagles fan…
What a delightfully quirky and touching story. I never saw the movie, but knew it was very popular. I put the book on my tbr knowing basically nothing about it and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.
Pat is a wonderful character and narrator. His constant repetition of his mantra, his reminders to himself that he is trying “to be kind, not right” and his unfailing belief that he will be able to succeed just endear him to me. Tiffany is so confused and hurt and hopeful, that she, too, just pulls me in. I loved Pat’s mother and his therapist (and fellow Eagles’ fan) as well. The only character I could never quite figure out – and could have done without – was Pat’s father. But that’s a small quibble, really.
Ray Porter does a marvelous job of performing the audio book. He really brought these characters to life for me.
Digital audiobook narrated by Ray Porter.
4****
Pat Peoples is at home again, living with his parents, after spending an indeterminate amount of time “in the bad place” – a mental hospital. He knows that if he can just improve himself a bit, his wife Nikki will come back to him. Problem is, no one will talk about Nikki or tell him the truth. His old friends have wives and children that he doesn’t remember. The Philadelphia Eagles keep losing. His father barely speaks to him. And now he’s got a girl, Tiffany, who is following him around. At least his therapist is an Eagles fan…
What a delightfully quirky and touching story. I never saw the movie, but knew it was very popular. I put the book on my tbr knowing basically nothing about it and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it.
Pat is a wonderful character and narrator. His constant repetition of his mantra, his reminders to himself that he is trying “to be kind, not right” and his unfailing belief that he will be able to succeed just endear him to me. Tiffany is so confused and hurt and hopeful, that she, too, just pulls me in. I loved Pat’s mother and his therapist (and fellow Eagles’ fan) as well. The only character I could never quite figure out – and could have done without – was Pat’s father. But that’s a small quibble, really.
Ray Porter does a marvelous job of performing the audio book. He really brought these characters to life for me.
17Catreona
Finished Fury of Seduction in the watches of the night and went right into Fury of Desire. These wretched books are just like potato chips. *sigh*
18ahef1963
Finished Camilla Lackberg's The Stranger and am now reading Death Angels by Ake Edwardson - from Swedish crime to Swedish crime noir. Am finding myself slightly confused by Death Angels. A Swedish tourist has been murdered in London, and an English tourist in Sweden, in an identical manner, and the English names cropping up in Gothenburg and the Swedish names present in the UK are making the story difficult to follow. I *think* that the story is deliberately playing with the reader's mind, but I also could be rationalizing!
19seitherin
Finished Faithful Place by Tana French and added her (Dublin Murder Squad, Book 1) into my reading rotation.
20richardderus
I finished the fun and funny For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor.
21JulieLill
Landline
Rainbow Rowell
3.5/5 stars
Georgie McCool is a television sitcom writer married to her stay at home husband, Neal who takes care of their two girls. When she has to work on her newest project over Christmas, they have an argument and he leaves with their two girls to visit his parents in Omaha. Later, she tries to contact him by cell phone but he isn’t answering. Frantic and worried, she goes to her mother’s and is able to reach him on her mother’s landline. However, she realizes that she is not talking to present day Neal but to Neal in the past before they were married. Georgie is flummoxed and knows that she has to do something before she loses everything she values. Funny and sweet!
Rainbow Rowell
3.5/5 stars
Georgie McCool is a television sitcom writer married to her stay at home husband, Neal who takes care of their two girls. When she has to work on her newest project over Christmas, they have an argument and he leaves with their two girls to visit his parents in Omaha. Later, she tries to contact him by cell phone but he isn’t answering. Frantic and worried, she goes to her mother’s and is able to reach him on her mother’s landline. However, she realizes that she is not talking to present day Neal but to Neal in the past before they were married. Georgie is flummoxed and knows that she has to do something before she loses everything she values. Funny and sweet!
22rocketjk
I finished the March 17, 1953 edition of The Reporter Magazine, with three fascinating articles about the state of the Middle East at that time, plus a short story by Ray Bradbury.
In addition, I completed the historical novel So Wild a Dream by Win Blevins about fur trappers west of the Mississippi in 1823, which was also quite good. My more in-depth thoughts on both can be found on my 50-Book Challenge thread.
I've now begun the dark mystery, The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green, which quickly became engrossing, although it promises a long spell inside the head of a manic depressive man.
In addition, I completed the historical novel So Wild a Dream by Win Blevins about fur trappers west of the Mississippi in 1823, which was also quite good. My more in-depth thoughts on both can be found on my 50-Book Challenge thread.
I've now begun the dark mystery, The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green, which quickly became engrossing, although it promises a long spell inside the head of a manic depressive man.
23Sandydog1
Reading The Bad-ass Librarians of Timbuktu. It's just like Outwitting History, but Mali is just a bi more bad-ass than say, suburban Long Island. An awesome book.
24Copperskye
I picked up Purple Hibiscus this morning and was immediately sucked into the story.
26PaperbackPirate
>24 Copperskye: Purple Hibiscus was one of my favorites of 2016. Enjoy!
27Lulileih
The titles of books I've seen on the posts are unusual. They don't sound like typical books at franchises. How do you (readers) get your reading choices? I have not heard of these titles until I joined LibraryThing. Where do you select your choice of books from? I'm interested in finding out. Please let me know.
28seitherin
>27 Lulileih: I subscribe to several publishers' newsletters. I also follow several authors' blogs. I have email notifications set up at amazon.com for new books from authors I particularly enjoy.
29rocketjk
>27 Lulileih: I think we all have our own systems or practices. I like to browse both used bookstores and thrift stores to find unusual but interesting looking books. I'd say maybe only one out of 10 books I read have been published within the last year. Mostly I read older books. Also, I own a used bookstore, and that helps me find all sorts of stuff to read!
30ahef1963
>23 Sandydog1: I have been thinking of getting a copy of the Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, thanks for the positive recommendation!
>27 Lulileih: I get a lot of my ideas here in this group - people post about good books and I research them, and if they look interesting to me, I'll read them. I go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, which has books super-cheap, and I buy likely-looking books there. Also, as my main interest is Scandinavian crime novels, I'll just follow the authors I like and get updated when there's something new.
>29 rocketjk: You own a used bookstore! That is my fondest wish!
I gave up reading Death Angels by Ake Edwardson. It was both confusing and boring. Harry Bingham's crime thriller This Thing of Darkness arrived in the post yesterday, and I am reading it and enjoying very much. Fiona Griffiths is the most unlikely police officer ever, and her idiosyncracies make for fine reading and much amusement. You don't generally get funny crime novels, but these are.
>27 Lulileih: I get a lot of my ideas here in this group - people post about good books and I research them, and if they look interesting to me, I'll read them. I go to the Salvation Army Thrift Store, which has books super-cheap, and I buy likely-looking books there. Also, as my main interest is Scandinavian crime novels, I'll just follow the authors I like and get updated when there's something new.
>29 rocketjk: You own a used bookstore! That is my fondest wish!
I gave up reading Death Angels by Ake Edwardson. It was both confusing and boring. Harry Bingham's crime thriller This Thing of Darkness arrived in the post yesterday, and I am reading it and enjoying very much. Fiona Griffiths is the most unlikely police officer ever, and her idiosyncracies make for fine reading and much amusement. You don't generally get funny crime novels, but these are.
31BookConcierge
3rd Degree – James Patterson and Andrew Gross
Digital audiobook narrated by Carolyn McCormick
2**
From the book jacket: Detective Lindsay Boxer is jogging along a beautiful San Francisco street when a fiery explosion rips through the neighborhood. A town house owned by an internet millionaire is immediately engulfed in flames, and when Lindsay plunges inside to search for survivors, she finds three people dead. An infant who lived in the house cannot be found – and a mysterious message at the scene leaves Lindsay and the San Francisco Police Department completely baffled.
My reactions:
This is book three in the Women’s Murder Club series with Patterson’s name getting top billing on the cover, but I suspect mostly written by Andrew Gross. The formula must not have been working well because there’s a significant change among the club members.
I’ll say this for the team of writers – they keep things moving quickly. There’s a killing every few chapters, and the women have a personal reason to make sure the perpetrator(s) is/are stopped. Vietnam era politics enter into the equation to further confound and confuse.
Carolyn McCormick does a reasonably good job voicing the audio. However, the producers felt compelled to add cheesy “suspense” music and sound effects. I guess they didn’t have faith in the writers’ ability to build suspense with words alone.
Digital audiobook narrated by Carolyn McCormick
2**
From the book jacket: Detective Lindsay Boxer is jogging along a beautiful San Francisco street when a fiery explosion rips through the neighborhood. A town house owned by an internet millionaire is immediately engulfed in flames, and when Lindsay plunges inside to search for survivors, she finds three people dead. An infant who lived in the house cannot be found – and a mysterious message at the scene leaves Lindsay and the San Francisco Police Department completely baffled.
My reactions:
This is book three in the Women’s Murder Club series with Patterson’s name getting top billing on the cover, but I suspect mostly written by Andrew Gross. The formula must not have been working well because there’s a significant change among the club members.
I’ll say this for the team of writers – they keep things moving quickly. There’s a killing every few chapters, and the women have a personal reason to make sure the perpetrator(s) is/are stopped. Vietnam era politics enter into the equation to further confound and confuse.
Carolyn McCormick does a reasonably good job voicing the audio. However, the producers felt compelled to add cheesy “suspense” music and sound effects. I guess they didn’t have faith in the writers’ ability to build suspense with words alone.
32BookConcierge
Lockdown – Laurie R King
4****
King is probably best known for her Mary Russell series, but this is a stand-alone psychological thriller. As the title implies, it focuses on an incident at a school – Guadalupe Middle School in San Felipe, California. The action follows the characters on one particular day, “Career Day,” when Principal Linda McDonald will bring in a variety of adults to talk to the students about various career options. King gives us a timeline for each chapter, taking us from just after midnight to shortly after 1:00 p.m. The narration moves from character to character by chapter as well.
In addition to Linda, the reader learns something about her husband Gordon, Police Detective Olivia Mendez, the coach, the school janitor, a couple of the parents, and several of the students. In the back of everyone’s mind is the recent disappearance of Bee Cuomo, a sixth grader, and the previous year’s shooting death of Gloria Rivas. One child, in particular, is planning a large and important gesture on Career Day, and with all these threads of tension, King keeps the reader guessing as to what might happen.
I thought a couple of the elements of the plot’s ending were just too conveniently pat, but I was still entertained throughout. My F2F book club will be discussing this book in March, and I’m eager to hear what others thought of it.
4****
King is probably best known for her Mary Russell series, but this is a stand-alone psychological thriller. As the title implies, it focuses on an incident at a school – Guadalupe Middle School in San Felipe, California. The action follows the characters on one particular day, “Career Day,” when Principal Linda McDonald will bring in a variety of adults to talk to the students about various career options. King gives us a timeline for each chapter, taking us from just after midnight to shortly after 1:00 p.m. The narration moves from character to character by chapter as well.
In addition to Linda, the reader learns something about her husband Gordon, Police Detective Olivia Mendez, the coach, the school janitor, a couple of the parents, and several of the students. In the back of everyone’s mind is the recent disappearance of Bee Cuomo, a sixth grader, and the previous year’s shooting death of Gloria Rivas. One child, in particular, is planning a large and important gesture on Career Day, and with all these threads of tension, King keeps the reader guessing as to what might happen.
I thought a couple of the elements of the plot’s ending were just too conveniently pat, but I was still entertained throughout. My F2F book club will be discussing this book in March, and I’m eager to hear what others thought of it.
33Catreona
Moving right along in the Dragonfury series, I'll be starting Fury of Obsession for my bedtime reading tonight. Obsession is right, though I have dipped into my other currently in progress books over the past couple days.
34aussieh
Started on After This by Alice McDermott
35snash
I finished Flannery O'Connor's novel, Wise Blood. The plot seemed scattered, some motivations unclear and characters lost, but the descriptive writing was astounding, making up for any weaknesses.
36cdyankeefan
>majestic131- I get a lot of my titles from book page, book riot, librarian recommendations, from here, BookThinkers, Amazon and different postings on Facebook.
Currently reading How To Stop Time, Salt Houses and 22 Scars
Currently reading How To Stop Time, Salt Houses and 22 Scars
38JulieLill
The Road to Oz
by L. Frank Baum
3/5 stars
In the 5th book of the Oz Series, we find Dorothy back at home in Kansas but not for very long. Outside the farm, she encounters Shaggy Man. He is very unkempt but friendly and is looking for the road to Butterfield. Dorothy agrees to help but soon finds that the road splits into 7 roads and she, Toto and Shaggy Man are lost. So they decide to take the 7th road and along the way they meet several unusual characters and so starts their curious adventure on the road to Oz. Loved the beginning of the adventure but the ending, when they return to Oz, is basically just a description of all the people invited to Queen Ozma’s big ball. I do wish this collection had pictures of all the characters which would have enhanced the story.
by L. Frank Baum
3/5 stars
In the 5th book of the Oz Series, we find Dorothy back at home in Kansas but not for very long. Outside the farm, she encounters Shaggy Man. He is very unkempt but friendly and is looking for the road to Butterfield. Dorothy agrees to help but soon finds that the road splits into 7 roads and she, Toto and Shaggy Man are lost. So they decide to take the 7th road and along the way they meet several unusual characters and so starts their curious adventure on the road to Oz. Loved the beginning of the adventure but the ending, when they return to Oz, is basically just a description of all the people invited to Queen Ozma’s big ball. I do wish this collection had pictures of all the characters which would have enhanced the story.
39JulieLill
>27 Lulileih: I work at the library in tech services and circulation so I see a lot of books and it takes a lot of control not to put them on my reading list. I also get a lot of recommendations from here and Good Reads. I also check out a couple of reading websites.
http://www.shelf-awareness.com
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/
https://bookriot.com/
http://www.shelf-awareness.com
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/
https://bookriot.com/
40richardderus
Mid-way through All These Worlds, last of the three Bobiverse books.
41jwrudn
Just finished The Devil's Chessboard. It is an account of the nefarious activities of the CIA under Allen Dulles culminating, so says the author, in the assassination of JFK. I wasnt totally convinced but Talbot raises plenty of questions about the "single shooter" explanation and uncovers a lot coincidences that make it plausible. It is made more plausible given the history of the CIA that he chronicles in the earlier parts of the book.
Just started Hand to Mouth Living in Bootstrap America a first person account of what it is like to be poor in America.
Just started Hand to Mouth Living in Bootstrap America a first person account of what it is like to be poor in America.
42Copperskye
I just finished Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. I liked it as much as Half a Yellow Sun, which I loved.
>26 PaperbackPirate: So good!
43ahef1963
Forgot to bring a book along today, so I downloaded a non-fiction book onto my phone. It was engrossing enough that I've finished it: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel. It was an interesting book about a man who wanted to get away from society, and who lived in solitude in the deep woods of Maine for 27 years before he was found.
44hemlokgang
Finished the charming 9th Flavia de Luce book, The Grave's A Fine and Private Place.
Next up for listening is Out of The Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming.
Next up for listening is Out of The Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming.
45Black_Dragon92
I'm reading The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. It's my all-time favourite fantasy seies and author and I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy that hasn't read it yet! :)
