What Are We Currently Reading?

[helenamonster]

Just finished: The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan. I enjoyed the writing style and story structure; it was a non-linear narrative told from four different perspectives (as well as through a screenplay written by one of the characters). The prose wasn't particularly noteworthy but it's the kind that I generally enjoy and find easy to read...I'm not really sure how to define that, but if I encounter prose I don't like I know immediately what's wrong with it. The ending wasn't all that great, to be honest it felt anticlimactic. I did thing it made an interesting point about how good, well-meaning people sometimes make mistakes or are forced into those mistakes by others, how those mistakes can result in fatal consequences, and how the good people who make them shouldn't have their own lives destroyed when they were trying to do the right thing. But as a plot it kind of petered out and went nowhere. There was also this whole subplot with a lawyer that added nothing to the greater narrative, and the book really didn't need his perspective at all. He was mostly just there to fill in the main character's backstory, but that could have been done elsewhere. I was just waiting for his storyline to go somewhere and it never did.

Nest up: Echoes in the Darkness by Joseph Wambaugh, a novelization of the true story of the Main Line Murders in the late '70s. I grew up and am currently living on the Main Line (an affluent area of the suburbs west of Philadelphia), and a lot of my family went to or worked for Upper Merion School District (which is not on the Main Line, but adjacent). My one cousin graduated from Upper Merion High School a year or two before the murders occurred and knew all of the people involved (the main players were the principal and several teachers from the English department), and later ended up covering the story as journalist when he got out of college. He told me some of the story when we saw him over the holidays and recommended that I check out this book. I love true crime and local stories, so I'm really looking forward to reading it!

[AuntiePam]

I just finished The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain.  It's the story of the youth and lifelong friendship of two boys in Switzerland, just after WWII.   One had a privileged childhood and dreamed of becoming a concert pianist.  The other was raised in poverty by his widowed mother, and spends his life making other people comfortable.  There's a bit of a mystery to keep the pages turning, but Tremain's writing is so good, the mystery wasn't necessary. 

Tonight I'll start The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Also still reading the Alexander Hamilton biography.

[nodorothyparker]

On 1/2/2017 at 10:48 PM, helenamonster said:

I'm currently in the middle of Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. I don't watch The Daily Show regularly but the reviews were so good I felt compelled to check it out. I'm so glad I did because it's fantastic. Apartheid was, unfortunately, one of those things that we just never got to in my high school curriculum (I remember reading Cry, the Beloved Country in 10th grade world literature but that was about it) and is one of those subjects that I really feel I should be better educated on. It's fascinating to read about from the perspective of a mixed/colored child during its tail end. I think one of the things I'm finding most interesting is the difference in how racism worked/words in South Africa compared and contrasted to how it worked/works in the US, especially with regards to racial classification. I think Americans in general assume that race relations and classifications are the same everywhere else as they are here, especially in countries that are similar to ours in terms of diversity, and I think it's important, especially in this day and age, to understand the nuances and differences.

The book is also really funny with all the crazy shit Trevor got up to as a kid. It's a great read for anyone who's a fan of his and/or has an interest in learning about apartheid from a human perspective.

I just finished this book and it was a terrific quick read.  I do think it might have been a bit tough going if I didn't have at least a basic understanding of what apartheid was because while he does talk about it and how it shaped the events of his and his family's life, he doesn't pretend he's writing a history or sociology book.  I was particularly interested too in how while the system may have borrowed some of its starting ideas about segregation, reservations, and slavery from our system it evolved into something that looked very different.  Some of his stories are downright hysterical, while some are just painful.

I've mostly enjoyed Noah on The Daily Show despite all the endless hand wringing that he's not Jon Stewart and this book really shows you how he never could have been that.  His persona is more one of trying to dial down hysterics and looking for common ground rather than perpetual righteous outrage and anger.  I came away from the book feeling like I have a much better understanding of his views on our own system and why he takes some of the positions he takes.

I'm sort of half-assedly reading Hillbilly Elegy too and trying to keep an open mind.  I'm not sure I have a fully formed opinion on it yet.

Edited January 21, 2017 by nodorothyparker

[Bunty]

The Mountain of Kept Memory by Rachel Neumeier.  I always enjoy her young adult titles and this adult fantasy is no exception.
 

Quote

 

A pure high fantasy with a hint of modern edge.

On the surface, we have all the typical elements of epic fantasy: a kingdom in trouble, foreign enemies on all sides, magical relics, and a goddess with more to tell. But the knot of young people at the heart of the plot—a trio of princes and a princess—have distinctly modern voices, and a mindset of measured practicality when it comes completing their various quests (no innocent farm boys here).

 

Full review here :

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/the-mountain-of-kept-memory-is-high-fantasy-worth-remembering/

[Danny Franks]

Finally finished City on Fire and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I'm certainly glad I read it, and the world created in it was vivid and powerful. But I feel kind of empty and disappointed with the way the various narratives ended. It all just seemed to fray and drift away, as though Hallberg just got tired of holding it all together. Maybe it was deliberate, but there was really no satisfaction to be had in the way the story ended, just a sort of remote, distant curtailing of everything.

Time for a real change of pace, I think. Babylon's Ashes, by James S.A. Corey is up next.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Danny Franks

[Lovecat]

On 1/20/2017 at 3:22 PM, helenamonster said:

Nest up: Echoes in the Darkness by Joseph Wambaugh, a novelization of the true story of the Main Line Murders in the late '70s. I grew up and am currently living on the Main Line (an affluent area of the suburbs west of Philadelphia), and a lot of my family went to or worked for Upper Merion School District (which is not on the Main Line, but adjacent). My one cousin graduated from Upper Merion High School a year or two before the murders occurred and knew all of the people involved (the main players were the principal and several teachers from the English department), and later ended up covering the story as journalist when he got out of college. He told me some of the story when we saw him over the holidays and recommended that I check out this book. I love true crime and local stories, so I'm really looking forward to reading it!

I just moved out of the Norristown/King of Prussia area last year after living there for about 15 years; a former colleague of mine was an Upper Merion grad, and filled me in on all of the local lore.  I read the book a few years back and couldn't tear myself away.  Fascinating story.

[nodorothyparker]

Unless J.D. Vance pulls off something just astounding in the last couple of chapters of Hillbilly Elegy that I won't see coming, I think I'm going to walk away from it with the same feeling that I've had through at least two-thirds of the book so far:  Rick Bragg writes about the poor white working class so much better and doesn't have to strain nearly half as hard to put them into a larger context.

[Haleth]

I thought I'd get away from the new stuff an read some classic literature for a change, so I picked up Middlemarch which I'd never read.  I have to admit I'm having a tough time with it.   George Eliot did not believe in sparing her words. I find myself skipping paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter while she interjects her own thoughts about the characters, using now obscure literary reference, and jump ahead to the actual action.  Plus so far pretty much everyone is unpleasant. I'll try to stick with it since it so often appears on the lists of Books Everyone Should Read.

[hendersonrocks]

I'm about 100 pages into Victoria: The Queen by Julia Baird and am really enjoying it. It was just released and is a well paced, well written look at Victoria. Not sure if it's source material for the ITV/PBS series, but it's making me excited to watch that when I'm done.

[AuntiePam]

Haleth, I liked Middlemarch but it helped that I'd just watched the miniseries, so Rufus Sewell was in my head.

The Underground Railroad is killing me.  It's very well-written but damn, the misery and inhumanity -- if it causes despair to read about it, how much worse it must have been to live it.   I can't even imagine.

[alias1]

I decided to skip The Underground Railroad, exactly because of reviews like yours, Auntie Pam.  Too much misery going on right now as it is.

Haleth, I really liked Middlemarch.  It took me a long time to read it, and I read other stuff in between, but I think it should be read in a leisurely manner. 

[Haleth]

I  hope it will get better once she's done introducing all the characters.  I've thought about looking up the BBC production (love me some Rufus Sewell) so I know where the book is going.

I agree about The Underground Railroad being relentlessly grim (and admit to skipping one chapter about an auxiliary character).  But do stick it out.

[Princess Sparkle]

On 12/18/2016 at 3:36 PM, hendersonrocks said:

I'm about a third into "They Can't Kill Us All" by Wesley Lowery, and think it's great. Personal, first-hand reporting of the racial justice movement of the last several years. 

I just picked this up and the library and I agree with you - I think it's fantastic.  

I'm also currently reading The Circle, and I'm hoping it picks up soon - I'm getting a little bored with it, but I've heard rave reviews, so I'm going to try and stick with it a little longer.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Princess Sparkle

[OtterMommy]

I'm hoping to finish up Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham either tonight or tomorrow.  After that, I'll start on my next book club book, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things.

[aradia22]

I checked it out a bunch of times but I finally had some quiet time to start reading Their Eyes Are Watching God. I skipped it (we had a choice of books) in high school because I thought the phonetic accent/colloquial speech would be a headache. I'm not going to lie. I'm missing a few words here and there and even when I can follow it, it's not my favorite. But it's worthwhile so far. As far as books about the African American experience with a social/political bent I think I prefer Toni Morrison but I want to see this through.

I've also been reading Michael Ian Black's My Custom Van which is not super hilarious but it's fairly amusing and all the little stories are short. If you're not as committed to reading a certain number of books as I am, you could read around and you'd probably have a better experience.

I finished The Property by Rutu Modan in one sitting. It was... OK. I'd like to look up more graphic novels but I want something a bit more novel-y like Fun Home.

I finished my little book (around 100 pages) of O. Henry stories. He was definitely the M. Night Shymalan of his day. Most of those twist endings were pretty unsatisfying. 

And I'm slowly making my way through No Turn Unstoned. Like My Custom Van, I would read around but there are some pretty amusing lines in there. It's a book of bad (mostly) theatre reviews. I wish someone would do an updated version. I have all three of Jennifer Ashley Tepper's books but the stories are so all over the place I haven't gotten past the first 50 pages of the first one. 

[alias1]

I read Norwegian By Night (Derek B. Miller).  It had an interesting main character who went on the run with a boy he didn't know, after they both witnessed his mother's murder.  Much of the book is spent with him remembering his time in the Korean War and his son who died in the Vietnam war.  It was a fairly interesting book, but a little too much war for me.   And the ending was very abrupt.  He has another book just published, The Girl in Green, that also seems to be about wartime memories.  I'm not really inspired to read his new book despite the good reviews.

[AuntiePam]

Finished The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.  I'm glad I read it.  It left me with a different feeling than from what I've gotten from other books about the subject -- basically, that it's not over, it'll never be over, we have a long way to go.  Some of the Amazon reviewers complain about anachronisms and I wondered about some historical inaccuracies too.  However, those were explained in other reviews (which I'll box just in case) --

Spoiler

Colson compressed the history -- some things happened later than the period of the novel, e.g., the Tuskegee experiments, forced sterilization, etc.

My current read is a re-read -- Life Class by Pat Barker.  She's one of my favorite writers.  Life Class follows three Brits in 1914.  It's a re-read because the story continues across two other later novels -- Toby's Room and Noonday.  I was given Noonday for Christmas but since I've forgotten what happened in the first novel, it makes more sense to start over than to try to remember what happened in the previous two books.  Noonday's events are in WWII.

[GaT]

I'm currently reading In The Woods by Tana French. It won the Edgar Award in 2008, so I was kind of expecting a lot, but it's not living up to my expectations.  I'm at the point where I feel the whole thing is just dragging, & the main character is starting to really get on my nerves.  Also, there are 2 crimes, & it seems obvious to me who did them, but I'll see if my guess is correct when I get to the reveal. 

[MargeGunderson]

On 1/31/2017 at 1:43 AM, GaT said:

I'm currently reading In The Woods by Tana French. It won the Edgar Award in 2008, so I was kind of expecting a lot, but it's not living up to my expectations.  I'm at the point where I feel the whole thing is just dragging, & the main character is starting to really get on my nerves.  Also, there are 2 crimes, & it seems obvious to me who did them, but I'll see if my guess is correct when I get to the reveal. 

That's my least favorite of her books, for some of the same reasons you mention. Her other books are better.

[OtterMommy]

I just started All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I've had it for some time, but I've been holding onto it until I was a month out from my book club discussion.  I've heard many good things about it, so I'm excited.

[GaT]

7 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

That's my least favorite of her books, for some of the same reasons you mention. Her other books are better.

I hope so, because I already have The Likeness, if I didn't, I don't think I would buy another of her books. As to the crimes,

Spoiler

of course it was Rosalind, she should have held a "I did it" sign throughout the book. 

[Qoass]

I'm reading The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.  I liked her In a Dark, Dark Wood and I like the premise of this one but I'm having a hard time getting into it I think because the main character has been either drunk or hungover for the entire 100+ pages I've read.  It makes me want to reach for the aspirin!

[QTBlueMoon]

Cletus Lives by Cole A. Davis. Looks like his first novel, and no reviews yet. But I'm liking it so far.

[Chip]

I'm reading A Study in Charlotte in which Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson solve a murder at their boarding school. I'm about half-way through and am enjoying it.

[Danny Franks]

Just started Live By Night by Dennis Lehane. It's the first of his books that I've read, and I'm not sure about his writing style. It seems very... superficial. Not much character depth, so far. Lots of tell and not much show.

[Jenniferbug]

On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 0:43 AM, GaT said:

I'm currently reading In The Woods by Tana French. It won the Edgar Award in 2008, so I was kind of expecting a lot, but it's not living up to my expectations.  I'm at the point where I feel the whole thing is just dragging, & the main character is starting to really get on my nerves.  Also, there are 2 crimes, & it seems obvious to me who did them, but I'll see if my guess is correct when I get to the reveal. 

This is my least favorite of all her books for the reasons you mentioned. The Likeness is my favorite, so definitely give that one a chance. I just read her latest one The Trespasser and it was ok. It also got predictable near the end but kept my interest anyway. 

[GaT]

On 2/5/2017 at 4:16 PM, Jenniferbug said:

This is my least favorite of all her books for the reasons you mentioned. The Likeness is my favorite, so definitely give that one a chance. I just read her latest one The Trespasser and it was ok. It also got predictable near the end but kept my interest anyway. 

I'm actually reading The Likeness now, & it feels draggy to me also. I keep thinking "just get on with it!" so I'm not that enthused so far. I have a feeling that this author is just not for me.

Edited: I finished it, & that's it for me & this author, her writing just drags on & on & on. Also, I didn't find the entire premise of the book believable.

Edited February 10, 2017 by GaT
To add some stuff

[afterbite]

On 2/4/2017 at 8:13 PM, Danny Franks said:

Just started Live By Night by Dennis Lehane. It's the first of his books that I've read, and I'm not sure about his writing style. It seems very... superficial. Not much character depth, so far. Lots of tell and not much show.

I love Lehane's stand-alone stories, or at least those I've read. For example, I checked my Goodreads ratings. Shutter Island and Mystic River each got 5 stars. A Drink Before the War (the first of the Kenzie and Gennaro books) and World Gone By (book 3 of the Joe Coughlin series, which is the only one of those I've read) only got 2 stars from me.

[Cherry Cola]

I'm currently reading Outlander. I am 100 pages in, and Not sure if I want to go on.  I'm not really intrigued by the story.  

[Rilla-my-Rilla]

2 hours ago, Sgt Pepper said:

I'm currently reading Outlander. I am 100 pages in, and Not sure if I want to go on.  I'm not really intrigued by the story.  

I've read the whole series, well all of the main books anyway. The beginning of Outlander was a little slow for me too, so you might get into it more later. On the other hand, a few people really don't like the books at all. It might not be your thing or maybe it will get better for you. Hard to say.

[SherriAnt]

2 hours ago, Sgt Pepper said:

I'm currently reading Outlander. I am 100 pages in, and Not sure if I want to go on.  I'm not really intrigued by the story.  

I have all these, I love them a lot. Like Rilla-my-Rilla said, it might not be your thing. I found the later books better, deeper and kind of more natural? Real? I'm not sure how to put it, but they were way more believable.

[Cherry Cola]

Thank you Rilla-my-Rilla and SherriAnt.  I will give it a little longer.  I hate to give up on books.  I really do.  

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Finished The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.  I'm glad I read it.  It left me with a different feeling than from what I've gotten from other books about the subject -- basically, that it's not over, it'll never be over, we have a long way to go.

I just finished this yesterday. Good book, but man, was it ever depressing.

[jenrising]

5 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

I just finished this yesterday. Good book, but man, was it ever depressing.

Thanks for the warning. That's the last of my Christmas gift books I haven't read yet, and I'll wait until I can deal with it. 

[luna1122]

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 7:48 PM, OtterMommy said:

I just started All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. I've had it for some time, but I've been holding onto it until I was a month out from my book club discussion.  I've heard many good things about it, so I'm excited.

I have very intense and mixed emotions about this book, and i'm uncertain I can even explain them all, so I won't try. I found it riveting, tho, and Wavy Quinn haunts me. Please let us know what you think once you've finished.

I just read Shot in the Heart by Mikal Gilmore. It's over 20 years old, but somehow it had flown under my radar, tho I was fascinated by the whole Gary Gilmore saga since I was a teenager. It's one of the most disturbing, beautifully written memoirs I've ever read. If any book actually deserves to sit next to In Cold Blood as a true crime 'novel', it's this one. And it's not the crimes, really, of Gary Gilmore that I'm talking about here..it's the crimes of his, and his brothers', forefathers. What Gary became was perhaps inevitable, and it's truly miraculous that Mikal didn't follow in his footsteps.

[cherrypj]

I just finished A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena, which just gutted me. I burst out crying at the end and scared my wife (she's reading it too). So good, so sad, and still hopeful in the end.

I've picked up Watership Down. I have a sinking feeling it's not going to be a happier book.

[AuntiePam]

5 hours ago, cherrypj said:

I just finished A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena, which just gutted me. I burst out crying at the end and scared my wife (she's reading it too). So good, so sad, and still hopeful in the end.

 

Years ago, I was about halfway through The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow when something broke my heart.  I'd been reading in the living room where my kids were watching TV.  I walked quietly upstairs, went into a bedroom closet, shut the door, and let go.  Still not sure how I held it in for those few minutes.

I'm almost finished with Toby's Room by Pat Barker, which follows the three main characters from a prior book through WWI.  It's also heartbreaking, but I guess I'm inured, so the only result is nightmares. 

[helenamonster]

Just finished: Echoes in the Darkness by Joseph Wambaugh, about the real-life murder of Upper Merion High School English teacher Susan Reinert and presumably her two young children (whose bodies have still not been found) by UMHS principal Jay Smith and fellow English teacher William Bradfield in 1979. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes their true crime inexplicable and bizarre. It took me a while to get through the book, not because it was bad (Wambaugh's narration is wonderful in the detached, bemused, sardonic way that lends itself well to true crime), but because Bradfield was such a lying liar it was hard to keep the truth straight. But Wambaugh brings all the threads together in the end to make sense of things. I'm also from the area (southeastern Pennsylvania) where the bulk of the story takes place, and Wambaugh really captured the mood and feel of the Main Line and adjacent communities.

Next up: Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher. I was never a Star Wars fan, but I always loved Fisher's public persona and the way she spoke so openly and frankly about her struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. I've heard her books are great so I decided to give one a try.

[OtterMommy]

1 minute ago, helenamonster said:

Next up: Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher. I was never a Star Wars fan, but I always loved Fisher's public persona and the way she spoke so openly and frankly about her struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. I've heard her books are great so I decided to give one a try.

I'm listening to Wishful Drinking right now, which I *think* is the memoir that comes before Shockaholic (which is followed by The Princess Diarist?  Right?)  It is quite amusing--and rather embarrassing when I start laughing uncontrollably at the gym--and I'm planning to follow it up with Shockaholic.

[Danny Franks]

22 hours ago, cherrypj said:

I've picked up Watership Down. I have a sinking feeling it's not going to be a happier book.

The animated movie was a staple of my childhood. If you don't know the story, then I'd just tell you that you have good instincts. But it is a great story.

I'm still on Live By Night. I've warmed up to it a bit, and Lehane's prose is very simple to read. Still not a massive amount of depth, though.

[bubbls]

I'm reading The Run of His Life: The People v. OJ Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin. I was going through a lot of personal stuff when it happened so I paid little attention to it at the time. So far it's very interesting, especially behind the scenes of the defense. I also didn't realize there was so very much physical evidence. 

[helenamonster]

On 2/9/2017 at 11:53 AM, OtterMommy said:

I'm listening to Wishful Drinking right now, which I *think* is the memoir that comes before Shockaholic (which is followed by The Princess Diarist?  Right?)  It is quite amusing--and rather embarrassing when I start laughing uncontrollably at the gym--and I'm planning to follow it up with Shockaholic.

Oh yeah, two chapters in and she's got me laughing out loud! The only other person to get me to do that with a book was Tina Fey. God, Carrie was a treasure.

13 hours ago, bubbls said:

I'm reading The Run of His Life: The People v. OJ Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin. I was going through a lot of personal stuff when it happened so I paid little attention to it at the time. So far it's very interesting, especially behind the scenes of the defense. I also didn't realize there was so very much physical evidence. 

I was originally planning on reading this after watching American Crime Story but I felt a little on OJ overload and wanted to give the subject a rest. I do hope to get to it eventually.

[bubbls]

4 hours ago, helenamonster said:

 

I was originally planning on reading this after watching American Crime Story but I felt a little on OJ overload and wanted to give the subject a rest. I do hope to get to it eventually.

Yeah, it's a lot of OJ. I stopped watching American Crime Story to read the book for the same reason. 

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

I'm reading The Run of His Life: The People v. OJ Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin. I was going through a lot of personal stuff when it happened so I paid little attention to it at the time. So far it's very interesting, especially behind the scenes of the defense. I also didn't realize there was so very much physical evidence. 

I thought it was really good. After watching both the FX series and O.J.Made in America documentary I was surprised at how much I still enjoyed the book, but goodness - there is a lot of story to tell and the book does it beautifully. It hardly seems like it could be real life.

I just got into the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. When a friend was describing it I thought it sounded bananas, but having just finished the first book I really enjoyed it. It was a good, light read that kept my attention the entire time (and makes me curious where the rest of the series is going to go).

[Danny Franks]

I've got a hankering for some Terry Pratchett, so I've started Guards! Guards! again. Might read the whole of the Guards series, actually. I'd seriously recommend his books to anyone who hasn't read them. Funny, warm, but with a biting social commentary to them that feels really important, even years later.

Try this one for size:

Quote

 "It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was Us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things."

[bubbls]

5 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I thought it was really good. After watching both the FX series and O.J.Made in America documentary I was surprised at how much I still enjoyed the book, but goodness - there is a lot of story to tell and the book does it beautifully. It hardly seems like it could be real life.

 

You are right. I can only read a little at a time due to how thorough it is. My brain fills up. 

[helenamonster]

Just finished: Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher. I'm a notoriously slow reader but I zoomed through this one (it also helps that it's really short). Fisher had an amazing sense of humor about everything, including herself, but could be really profound and thought-provoking when she wanted to be as well. My favorite bit was probably about her relationship with Elizabeth Taylor. I love Taylor (and Debbie Reynolds; I keep TCM on as background noise during the day), flaws and all, and even though they patched things up in the weirdest way, it was thoroughly enjoyable (and came with pictures!). Also the chapter about Michael Jackson was really interesting (and funny in the parts it should not have been). Anyway, I will definitely read more from her in the future. We lost a lot more than Princess Leia when she died.

Next up: While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft.

[BrittaBot]

Quote

I just finished The God of Gotham (Lindsay Faye), the first in a trilogy by this author.  And I continue to be so impressed with her writing style.  I'm about to start the 2nd in the trilogy, Seven For A Secret.

I've finished this trilogy a while ago and am curious what you thought about it. I love, love, love that time period. It's one of my favorites to read about (and watch). I enjoyed these books a lot but felt like there was something I couldn't put my finger on that was missing that would have taken it to OMG LOVE OBSESSED. Like I just wanted her writing style to be a teensy bit different or something. Do you know what I mean? No. Welp.

[alias1]

15 minutes ago, BrittaBot said:

I've finished this trilogy a while ago and am curious what you thought about it. I love, love, love that time period. It's one of my favorites to read about (and watch). I enjoyed these books a lot but felt like there was something I couldn't put my finger on that was missing that would have taken it to OMG LOVE OBSESSED. Like I just wanted her writing style to be a teensy bit different or something. Do you know what I mean? No. Welp.

I'm not sure if I wrote the review you quoted (I think it was me) but I love her style of writing (Lyndsay Faye).  I think the first one was the best, though, The Gods of Gotham.  I liked the 2nd one, too, Seven For A Secret.  The 3rd one was the weakest in my opinion, The Fatal Flame.  She did an excellent job of capturing the time period.   I think she didn't quite know what to do with the characters at the end.  

I absolutely adore her book Jane Steele (sort of a retelling of Jane Eyre).   She also wrote a Sherlock Holmes novel (supposedly penned by Watson), Dust and Shadow, that was pretty good.  I think she's a really good writer.  

[Darian]

I loved Jane Steele, too, and have Gods of Gotham on request at the library. I just finished Graham Moore's The Last Days of Night, which I loved (and made me want to read at least one of the nonfiction books he cites as research), and am zipping through What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan, which is fine. After that, in whatever order, will be Swing Time by Zadie Smith, News of the World by Paulette Jiles, or To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey. Any suggestions?