What Are We Currently Reading?

[isalicat]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter.  This is the first book of hers I read, apparently she has some bestselling books in the UK market.

May I recommend her previous books, which include a very enjoyable series of murder mysteries featuring DI Adam Fawley, starting with Close to Home? There are five of these so far, and I enjoyed every one a lot! I did not read the one you did because the reviews were not so good and I don't really enjoy that particular form of story telling. The series is easily available in paperback here in the U.S.

[krankydoodle]

20 hours ago, blackwing said:

I just finished this book, Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter.  This is the first book of hers I read, apparently she has some bestselling books in the UK market.

Question about the ending (warning, major spoiler): 

  Reveal spoiler

After it is revealed that Guy himself was in fact the killer, we get told that he is found dead.  The article seems to suggest that he killed himself out of guilt.  But another article states that a woman with red hair and glasses was seen leaving his house, implying that she caused his death by overdose.  So are we to assume that this mystery woman is the long lost missing sister of "Luke" from Canada?  She kills Guy out of revenge?  Even though she thought her brother had died long ago and didn't know that he had changed his identity multiple times?

 

I enjoyed the full-cast audiobook but found the story itself kind of a letdown.

It's been a while since I read it, but regarding your questions in the spoiler:

Spoiler

Yes, I think we're meant to believe the woman who presumably killed Guy was the original victim's sister. I may well be wrong, but for some reason I thought that she and her brother had secretly kept in touch after he faked his death. She was also a con artist and was close to her brother if I remember right, so I guess I can buy her killing Guy out of revenge even though it happened when he was a child and he obviously didn't even remember doing it. But then the plot got even more ridiculous IMO when Guy's death was ruled suicide even with evidence to the contrary, an unsatisfying ending that really annoyed me.

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by krankydoodle

[Lugal]

I just finished Bill Watterson's new book, The Mysteries.  I thought it was good, but I can see how not everyone will.  It's a "fable for grownups" abut "what lies beyond human understanding."  He collaborated with another artist, so don't expect it to look like Calvin and Hobbes.  To me it looks sort of like German Expressionism.  It's a short read and I'll probably reread it a few more times.

Spoiler

We never actually see the Mysteries, but I would say it's probably their story rather than the people.  It kinda forces us as humans to confront our cosmic insignificance.

 

[Angeltoes]

On 12/28/2023 at 3:28 PM, kathyk2 said:

My favorite book that I read this year was Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Allison Arngrim. I loved the behind the scenes gossip about Little House on the Prairie. I felt bad for Melissa Gilbert her mother seemed abusive and she was too young to film love scenes. 

Have you read Melissa's books?

[kathyk2]

1 hour ago, Angeltoes said:

Have you read Melissa's books?

No I haven't. My sister lent me her Kindle and Confessions of a Prairie Bitch was downloaded on it.

[EtheltoTillie]

Thanks for the Arngrim recommendation. I was able to download from the library last night. It’s interesting and a fast read. I love that her mother played the voices of Casper and Gumby. 

[blackwing]

I read The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski.  This is another And Then There Were None derivative-type book, where a group of people are in an isolated location.  Most have secrets and some are not who they seem to be.  The group consists of six people, the three Van Ness siblings (brother/sister twins and their younger brother) and their significant others.  They are returning to the Van Ness estate and winery in the Finger Lakes region of New York.  The house has been empty since the death of their mother earlier in the year, but it is an annual tradition to celebrate the birthday of the twins at the estate, so they all go.  Soon, it is apparent that an intruder is leaving gifts with cryptic notes hinting at secrets to be revealed that weekend.  A storm descends upon the estate, knocking down a large tree and cutting the estate off from the world.

The book uses a conceit often used in these types of books, the flashback.  We are told on page 1 that there have been multiple deaths at the estate.  Then the story unfolds as flashbacks recounting the events of each day.  

Overall, the story was well done, although a bit predictable.  The chapters are narrated by the three women (sister, sister-in-law married to the twin brother, girlfriend of the younger brother) with the occasional chapter narrated by a mystery "party guest".

My complaint is that the author must hate women, because each of these three was a walking stereotype.  One is the powerful and bitchy CEO of her own beauty and wellness company.  One is the woman devoted to the late matriarch and desperate to fill her shoes as the next matriarch and always eager to please.  One is an apparent naive and innocent girl just trying to fit in.  All are extremely devious in their own way and none come across well at all.

It would have been nice if some of the chapters had been narrated by the men of the family.  As it was, without getting much insight into their thoughts, all of them were sort of blank slates.

I did enjoy the book overall.  I think Laskowski is a good writer and this book was much better than many of the other dreck entries in this type of genre, such as everything by Lucy Foley and Sarah Pearse.  Will be interested to check out her other books and to read her next one.

[stewedsquash]

@GHScorpiosRule Do you only read vintage Nora Roberts or also current ones? I thought of you when I was at the library in my little town earlier and saw on their December ordered list The Inheritance/ Nora Roberts. It is the first book in a new trilogy published in November.

[GHScorpiosRule]

25 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

@GHScorpiosRule Do you only read vintage Nora Roberts or also current ones? I thought of you when I was at the library in my little town earlier and saw on their December ordered list The Inheritance/ Nora Roberts. It is the first book in a new trilogy published in November.

I read ALL of Nora's books, including the series under JD Robb. Yes, I have her newest trilogy, but have been so slammed no time to sit down and start it yet.

[Anduin]

In preparation for a British and Irish trip, I thought I should catch up on some history. First, A History of Scotland by Neil Oliver. Frankly, it's depressing. Lots of kings and wars, very little about the actual culture. Then I read his Wikipedia page. Looks like I don't need to give him a second thought and don't need to finish the book. That's nice. I may report back on whatever the next book in the pile is.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 1/13/2024 at 5:44 PM, Anduin said:

In preparation for a British and Irish trip, I thought I should catch up on some history. First, A History of Scotland by Neil Oliver. Frankly, it's depressing. Lots of kings and wars, very little about the actual culture. Then I read his Wikipedia page. Looks like I don't need to give him a second thought and don't need to finish the book. That's nice. I may report back on whatever the next book in the pile is.

I recommend you immerse yourself in some Anthony Trollope.  I read the first book of the Palliser series on my first trip to the UK.  It's so appropriate to place. 

[Ceindreadh]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:44 PM, Anduin said:

In preparation for a British and Irish trip, I thought I should catch up on some history. First, A History of Scotland by Neil Oliver. Frankly, it's depressing. Lots of kings and wars, very little about the actual culture. Then I read his Wikipedia page. Looks like I don't need to give him a second thought and don't need to finish the book. That's nice. I may report back on whatever the next book in the pile is.

I know it's fiction, but I would recommend the Edward Rutherfurd 'Dublin' books. It gives a good historical background through the eyes of ordinary people. 

[Anduin]

5 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I recommend you immerse yourself in some Anthony Trollope.  I read the first book of the Palliser series on my first trip to the UK.  It's so appropriate to place. 

 

22 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:

I know it's fiction, but I would recommend the Edward Rutherfurd 'Dublin' books. It gives a good historical background through the eyes of ordinary people. 

Thanks, I might give both of these a look.

[grommit2]

Just finished "The Girl in the Eagle's Talons" by Karin Smirnoff.
This is another "Girl with the Dragon Tatoo".
Sadly, it does not rise to the level of its predecessors. 😟
 

[blackwing]

I read The Passengers by John Marrs.  England has passed a law requiring that all cars be fully autonomous within the next ten years.  However, accidents are frequent.  Libby is a young woman who witnessed a driverless car kill a woman, her mother, and her daughter.  She also gets picked to serve on a jury whose only purpose is to review traffic accident cases involving autonomous cars and determine which party is at fault.

When she is in the jury room, it is discovered that someone has hacked into the autonomous car system.  The screen fills with images of eight passengers, all trapped in their cars.  The hacker's voice comes online and states that all eight people are travelling to a remote location where the eight cars will collide and all of the passengers will die.  The hacker tells the jury that they have the power to save one person.  Who will they choose, and why?  And why is all of this happening?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40718386-the-passengers

I thought this was a great book.  It was interesting and suspenseful and made me really think about who I would choose, as well as speculate about the motives of the hacker and try to understand why he was doing all of it.  

[HazelEyes4325]

I just finished listening to Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper and was impressed.  Cooper's pre-Central Park Birdwatching Incident life is more than full enough to warrant a memoir and his voice is incredibly entertaining.  Also, as a Black, Gay, Pagan, Birdwatching Nerd, he has a great point of view on things.  I highly recommend this one (obviously).

[Haleth]

My book club picked A Fever in the Heartland (Timothy Egan) for our Feb read.  It's about the rise of the KKK in the US and especially Indiana (where I live) in the 1920s.  It's fascinating and disturbing and very timely, but what scares me is how we are going to have a civil discussion about this.  So many comparisons can be drawn to the current climate and I'm afraid the conversation may devolve into something unpleasant.  I may have to skip this one.

Why didn't she pick a rom com for February?

[andromeda331]

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone-Recommended here. It sounded so good that I bought it. It really is a good book. It's told from the first person which I usually don't like because they always somehow know stuff their not suppose to. This book they don't even bother to try which I liked. I also really liked when Ernie mentions one of the women throws up and stops to assure readers that she's not pregnant and snarks a little on how that's always the case in books. And TV and movies. The rest was really good. Thanks for the recommendation. 

Edited January 25 by andromeda331

[akiss]

11 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone-Recommended here. It sounded so good that I bought it. It really is a good book. It's told from the first person which I usually don't like because they always somehow know stuff their not suppose to. This book they don't even bother to try which I liked. I also really liked when Ernie mentions one of the women throws up and stops to assure readers that she's not pregnant and snarks a little on how that's always the case in books. And TV and movies. The rest was really good. Thanks for the recommendation. 

I'm glad you liked it!

[blackwing]

17 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone-Recommended here. It sounded so good that I bought it. It really is a good book. It's told from the first person which I usually don't like because they always somehow know stuff their not suppose to. This book they don't even bother to try which I liked. I also really liked when Ernie mentions one of the women throws up and stops to assure readers that she's not pregnant and snarks a little on how that's always the case in books. And TV and movies. The rest was really good. Thanks for the recommendation. 

One of the most fun books I've read/listened to in the past year, glad you liked it!  The second book in the series, featuring Ernest and a cast of new characters, is supposed to be released next week - Everyone on this Train is a Suspect

[Caoimhe]

I really needed a change of pace and saw someone mention that several of The Murderbot Diaries books are on Kindle Unlimited so I’m reading those right now and enjoying them.

I love Anthony Trollope’s books, they’ve been my comfort reads for a very long time (especially the Barchester series). 

I enjoyed Edward Rutherfurd’s books so when Princes of Ireland was first published I bought it immediately. I never got past the second chapter. I knew the history from school, just wanted to be entertained, and (at least back then) that book wasn’t doing it for me. I never even bought Rebels which I might have related to better!

[Scatterbrained]

How To Marry A Highlander by Katherine Ashe.  This wasn’t listed as a novella, but I read it so quickly, that I suspect it is.  Apparently, the characters 1st appear peripherally in another series, but I didn’t read those books.  I think I tried but didn’t like them.  Anyway, it is a historical romance that so poorly relates to the era that you might as well consider it an AU fantasy.  The FMC and MMC make a bet that she will find husbands for each of his seven sisters and within each milestone of this quest is a physical favor that becomes subsequently more intimate.  So their “courtship” proceeds along this path.  It was ridiculous and yet charming.  I loved the banter among the sisters.  The bet took away the need to set a bunch of elaborate scenes, so it was “ quick and dirty”.  I also loved how the townsfolk knew she was a tall tell teller, but appreciated her anyway.

The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer.   This is a YA novel.  I didn’t mind reading it.  It was listed as a romance, but I’d say it’s more about the grief process with a little romance thrown in.  It’s a bit angsty, but probably the right amount of angst for the target audience.  I like how the characters in the novel seemed mostly ordinary.  I enjoyed the non romantic relationships.  I didn’t mind the romantic relationship, I just felt some of the other stuff was better.  I liked how the mother and the main character struggled with their grief, but they got through it and had a nice relationship.

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren.  Amazon has offered a bunch of short romantic stories by popular authors on their Prime reads (so “free”).  This one is basically a “meet cute”.   I liked both characters and enjoyed their banter via emails, and then personal contact.  I enjoyed the story and have downloaded another one in this series.  

Edited January 29 by Scatterbrained

[EtheltoTillie]

I read an interesting novella, The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt.  It's part of a new series of separately bound novellas, but I downloaded it from the library. 

[HazelEyes4325]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I read an interesting novella, The English Understand Wool, by Helen DeWitt.  It's part of a new series of separately bound novellas, but I downloaded it from the library. 

I read that a few months ago and enjoyed it.  Apparently, it is quite a phenomenon and bookstores can't keep it on the shelves.  I also got mine from the library but there was a long wait for it, which I found frustrating since it took like 30 minutes to read.

I'm still can't believe the same person wrote The Last Samurai.

[Anduin]

Shadowlands, by Matthew Green. Places in Britain that have for one reason or another disappeared. Every place had a different reason. One was a piracy hub that suffered revenge. One got trashed by storms and fell into the sea. One became a military training ground. One island, the inhabitants just didn't eat right and eventually gave it up. One Welsh village was drowned in the name of progress. I didn't finish that chapter, it pissed me off too much.

All were good and the book is worth a read, but the island of Hirta in the Outer Hebrides was the most interesting. They mainly ate the local sea birds. That was it, for multiple generations. Some other food, but nothing approaching a well rounded diet. Which led to unhealthy babies, population decline, and so on. Eventually they had to move to the mainland or elsewhere in the world.

[andromeda331]

The Changing of the Gods by Anthony J. Miano following the events of The Trojan War Hades and Persphone put the Gods and other famous men and women from the war on trial. While it gets a little reduntant since their interviewing each person or God/Goddess individual. It was really good hearing their answers and some were surprising like Athena. And some get what they deserve. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. But the rest of it was really good. Plus my favorites Hades and Persphone are the main characters and happily married which they kind of were in the myths. 

[Calvada]

On 1/24/2024 at 6:40 AM, Haleth said:

My book club picked A Fever in the Heartland (Timothy Egan) for our Feb read.  It's about the rise of the KKK in the US and especially Indiana (where I live) in the 1920s.  It's fascinating and disturbing and very timely, but what scares me is how we are going to have a civil discussion about this.  So many comparisons can be drawn to the current climate and I'm afraid the conversation may devolve into something unpleasant.  I may have to skip this one.

Why didn't she pick a rom com for February?

I just read this.  It was very good, and yes, many comparisons can be drawn to current situations and persons.  If it could be kept civil, there are so many aspects of it that would make for an engrossing conversation.  

I've just started Reaching for the Stars by Jose Hernandez, who was a child migrant worker who became an astronaut and flew on the space shuttle.  This is not a new book; it was published over a decade ago.  But I watched the movie A Million Miles Away based on his life and decided to read the book.  I requested it at the library about five months ago, but there is only one copy in my library system (which encompasses seven counties & over 50 libraries) and apparently a few others also watched the movie on Amazon Prime since there were more than a dozen holds on this 12-year-old book!

[Anduin]

Castles of Wales, by John Paul Davis. You'll never guess what it's about. There are some English castles too, that are relevant to Wales. The border region was all very complicated for a couple of hundred years. Told you you'd never guess. :)

I'm not very far into the book, but so far it looks like most were damaged and rebuilt over the years, and/or haunted. I want to visit one that's authentic to the time it was built, and preferably not haunted thanks. There must be one.

[proserpina65]

6 hours ago, Anduin said:

Castles of Wales, by John Paul Davis. You'll never guess what it's about. There are some English castles too, that are relevant to Wales. The border region was all very complicated for a couple of hundred years. Told you you'd never guess. :)

I'm not very far into the book, but so far it looks like most were damaged and rebuilt over the years, and/or haunted. I want to visit one that's authentic to the time it was built, and preferably not haunted thanks. There must be one.

Good luck finding any except abandoned ones.  And even those had modifications over the time between their initial building and when they were abandoned.  Castles evolved constantly to meet changing defensive needs and so pretty much none of them are authentic to their original form.

I will, however, recommended the two Welsh castles I've visited: Aberystwyth and Harlech.  Both in various stages of ruination but both well worth visiting.

[Anduin]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Good luck finding any except abandoned ones.  And even those had modifications over the time between their initial building and when they were abandoned.  Castles evolved constantly to meet changing defensive needs and so pretty much none of them are authentic to their original form.

I will, however, recommended the two Welsh castles I've visited: Aberystwyth and Harlech.  Both in various stages of ruination but both well worth visiting.

Thanks, I'll keep those in mind.

[Anduin]

More Welsh castles today, but I really wasn't in the mood. Instead I tried Hominids by Robert J Sawyer. I've enjoyed it in the past, but I can't remember much about it. The premise: an alternate universe where homo sapiens apparently never evolved, the world is dominated by neanderthals. Somehow, one gets transported to our own world. There's some cultural stuff, maybe the author's own feelings on how the world should be run.

But then there's a sexual assault. Not by or on the neanderthal. I used to have a higher tolerance for that. Over the years, I've gotten more sensitive. No personal experience, thankfully. Nor anyone I know. Just... internet osmosis. Further, I can't remember what relevance it has to the plot. Surely there's some, but I'm not sure I want to continue. Anyway, I put the book down. Will I pick it up again? I don't know.

Instead, I'm reading Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. A very literary space opera. I'm up to the Rise of Endymion, the last book. Interestingly, the villains are the catholic church and artificial intelligence. Both of which I don't like in the real world. But in this case, I know they're going to get their comeuppance within the next 500 pages. And I can put up with it better.

[Haleth]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:05 AM, Anduin said:

Castles of Wales, by John Paul Davis. You'll never guess what it's about. There are some English castles too, that are relevant to Wales. The border region was all very complicated for a couple of hundred years. Told you you'd never guess. :)

I'm not very far into the book, but so far it looks like most were damaged and rebuilt over the years, and/or haunted. I want to visit one that's authentic to the time it was built, and preferably not haunted thanks. There must be one.

That's a bucket list thing for me, seeing the castles of Wales.  We're sort of planning a trip to the Scotland for Mr Haleth's retirement and I'd like to expand it to include Wales.  I'll have to look for the book you mentioned.

[Anduin]

37 minutes ago, Haleth said:

That's a bucket list thing for me, seeing the castles of Wales.  We're sort of planning a trip to the Scotland for Mr Haleth's retirement and I'd like to expand it to include Wales.  I'll have to look for the book you mentioned.

That's a surprise. I'd always read you too young to have a partner of retirement age.

[JAYJAY1979]

I've been in a reading slump for weeks with a few attempts at reading resulting in DNFs.

However, I might be breaking that streak with the book I'm reading right now.. Katherine Center's Hello Stranger.  It's an intriguing concept where the lead character has to have surgery to correct a blood vessel in her head and ends up suffering from face blindness.  It's an interesting concept where she has to rely on other senses in order to relate to others... and she has two potential male love interests.

I've read 1/3 of the book and I don't have the urge to DNF it yet.

[Anduin]

It's odd. No matter what time I pick up a book in the afternoon, I can't read past 6.30 pm. The brain always decides I've had enough. Normally my eyes lose focus with the page, but today I actually fell asleep for a few minutes.

Rise of Endymion, number 4 in the Hyperion Cantos. I have a feeling the Expanse writers read this series. It's entirely probable, Hyperion came out in the 90s and the Expanse in the teens. A couple of moments stand out. The first, an enhanced woman is looking for a special teenage girl. Yeah, they're enhanced/special in different ways in each, but it still sticks in the mind. Second, Belters are just low-tech Ousters. Some FTL, some high-end biotech, you've got yourself a perfectly good Ouster.

And today in Rise, I encountered a Terminator 2 homage! Nemes pulls the skin off one arm to reveal the robo skeleton beneath. Good fun.

[Scatterbrained]

I just finished One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris.  It’s a Together We Read book (national online book club) available on Libby from Feb. 21 - March 6 with no waitlists or holds.  I’ve never checked out a Together We Read book before.  The subject matter has always seemed too heavy or unrelatable to me.  Lately, my reading life has been a series of DNFs.  So, I figured I’d give the on a try.  I really liked it.  I will say that the dad always speaking in poetry was annoying to me in the early part of the book and I’ve always liked poetry.  Most of the poets’ works quoted are very popular.  Eventually, I began to appreciate how this character’s quirk helped contribute to the overall story structure.  There are triggering topics that are featured, but nothing graphic, and handled in a way that didn’t feel too dark for me.  This was a debut novel and I look forward to reading more by this author.  She is very talented.  

[Spartan Girl]

Medea by Eilish Quinn — don’t worry, they don’t “girlboss” Medea. This version just makes her more than the Woman Scorned Trope, despite all the many, many fucked up things she does.

[blackwing]

Read/listened to a few books lately.

Essex Dogs by Dan Jones.  Jones is an English historian who has written books about the Plantagenets and the Wars of the Roses.  This is is his first fiction book.  It follows a small group of soldiers at the beginning of the Hundred Years War between England and France.  First in a planned trilogy.  I thought the historical detail and the characters were great.  Reminded me a lot of books by Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson.  The sequel of sorts to "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone".  Ernest Cunningham is a published writer, his book about the resort killings was a huge bestseller.  Now he's been invited onto a literary event along with other successful authors.  The event takes place on a train crossing Australia from North to South.  People die.

I found this book just as enjoyable as the first.  I love the narrator, and the occasional meta elements.  One bit that had me in stitches was the discussion of book title trends, and how one of the top trends right now for a title is "The [Number] [Noun] of [Woman's Full Name].  It tickled me because I know that's something I've mentioned in this very thread.

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  Workers at a construction site discover the bodies of 36 people who were murdered and dismembered.  As FBI Agent Pendergast investigates, a string of copycat murders arises.  Everything seems to be linked to one man's Cabinet of Curiosities, a precursor to the modern day museum that exhibited animal specimens, natural wonders, and other oddities.

This was a fantastic book, thank you @Mindthinkr for saying how much you liked this one.  I read the first two Pendergast books and this one was even better.  I was a bit confused as to whether he has supernatural powers or not, however.  At one point, it's almost like he time travelled back to the 1800s.  He walks along streets of Old New York, notices people's clothes, hears them talking, and finds clues by going to parts of buildings that he hadn't known about.  The book says this is a "memory crossing" and sort of explains this by saying he has studied maps and done research.  It suggests that he time travelled in his mind, but not really?  He notices things that he never would have been able to uncover just by doing research.

I found it odd only because I don't recall him doing this in the first two books.

I'm really disappointed that Bill Smithback survived.  I hated this character so much.  Hated him in the first two books, hated him here.

[Mindthinkr]

@blackwing Pendergast has spent a lot of time studying with monks, and others teaching him mysterious arts in the Himalayas. I think he learned about being able to go into other times and places to gather information through practices of meditation. 

[proserpina65]

On 2/24/2024 at 9:29 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Medea by Eilish Quinn — don’t worry, they don’t “girlboss” Medea. This version just makes her more than the Woman Scorned Trope, despite all the many, many fucked up things she does.

I always felt rather sorry for Medea, so a more complex version than usual sounds interesting.  Might have to check it out.

[grommit2]

Taking Down Trump by Tristan Snell.
Doesn't matter which "side" you're on...this book is a fascinating, disturbing story about the Trump University case.
Fascinating because I used to work in the corporate university field (we did everything legally) and found it truly amazing that a corporate entity could screw things up so much.
Disturbing because it revealed that law suits, no matter how obvious they seem, can be sidelined by senior officials because the case may sidetrack their personal goals of higher office.

Plus, the book is only 182 pages, and the pages are a bit smaller...making for a fast read. 😜

[Scatterbrained]

I just finished The Measure by Nikki Erlick.  The plot: overnight, everyone in the world 22 yrs. old or older receives a mysterious box with a length of string.  At first no one knows what it means, eventually it is understood that the string length measures the length of a person’s life.  The book follows several characters, many whose lives intertwine.  Each chapter follows one specific character.  The storylines tell how this event changed everything from individuals’  dreams, goals, and inner thought processes, to world politics and social structures.  I teared up in places.  I recommend it.

[Makai]

I just finished Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson and am now mildly obsessed. It’s been a long time since I laughed so much when reading. He was inspired by The Princess Bride and he nailed the tone.

[Bookish Jen]

I tried to read "This Bird Has Flown" by Susanna Hoffs (yes, the Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles), but I just couldn't. Right away, I could tell it was going to have a paper thin plot and characters of no substance. I can handle fluff, but not that much fluff.

I'm currently reading (and enjoying) Kelly Sather's collection of short stories about various California denizens "Small in Real Life."

And I was finally able to check out "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang from my local library. I wonder if it's worth the hype. I also checked out "The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right Wing" by Tina Nguyen.

[grommit2]

Taking Down Trump, by Tristan Snell.  Uses the Trump University case as a guide to work the system and counteract Donald Trump's strong man tactics.  Only 182 pages so it is a quick read.
Worst news: some cases are quashed early when there is a senior lawyer/manager who does not want to upset plans for advancement.

[Spartan Girl]

Leaving by Roxana Robinson. Basically, a little melodrama about a couple who dated in college meeting again after 40 years and immediately deciding after one dinner together that they're soulmates, despite the fact that the guy is married. I feel like this author went the Something Borrowed route by contriving to make the guy's adult daughter awful and thwarting the relationship to make the main characters seem less awful than they are. I mean, all the guy does is complain about how he and his wife were always two different people and how "intellectually inferior" she is to him, trying to make it seem like he was "honorable" for staying married to her (while convinently having a few flings on the side). Give me a break. If you always felt that way, then you shouldn't have married her in the first place, you spineless pretentious asshole!

Edited March 7 by Spartan Girl

[Wiendish Fitch]

I finished Homecoming, the latest by Kate Morton, last night and, I gotta say, I was not impressed. 

Without getting too deep into spoilers, I figured out a major twist very, very, very early on (considering what a dumb-dumb I am about twists, that is not good). The conclusion, both where the past mystery and the present mother/daughter relationship are concerned, felt incredibly unsatisfying to me.

I like Morton's stuff, but this is far from her best work. I don't recommend.

Edited March 4 by Wiendish Fitch

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I finished Homecoming, the latest by Kate Morton, last night and, I gotta say, I was not impressed. 

Without getting too deep into spoilers, I figured out a major twist very, very, very early on (considering what a dumb-dumb I am about twists, that is not good). The conclusion, both where the past mystery and the present mother/daughter relationship are concerned, felt incredibly unsatisfying to me.

I like Morton's stuff, but this is far from her best work. I don't recommend.

I just looked up the spoilers out of sheer curiosity aaaaaand this is exactly why I stopped reading Kate Morton 

Spoiler

Once again, Other Woman is lionized while the Scorned Wife is vilified (or in other books written as an unsympathetic drip). It’s getting old, Katie!

 

Edited March 4 by Spartan Girl

[EtheltoTillie]

On 3/4/2024 at 12:11 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Leaving by Roxana Robinson. Basically, a little melodrama about a couple who dated in college meeting again after 40 years and immediately deciding after one dinner together that they're soulmates, despite the fact that the guy is married. I feel like this author went the Something Borrowed route by contriving to make the guy's adult daughter awful and thwarting the relationship to make the main characters seem less awful than they are. I mean, all the guy does is complain about how he and his wife were always two different people and how "intellectually inferior" she is to him, trying to make it seem like he was "honorable" for staying married to her (while continently having a few flings on the side). Give me a break. If you always felt that way, then you shouldn't have married her in the first place, you spineless pretentious asshole!

I'm not interesting in reading this, but I see that the Washington Post gave it a stellar review.  It sounds awful, though.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm not interesting in reading this, but I see that the Washington Post gave it a stellar review.  It sounds awful, though.

I’ve read those reviews. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but glowing book reviews aren’t always a sure thing. Something Borrowed got good book reviews too, just saying’.