What Are We Currently Reading?

[ApathyMonger]

Anybody read Red Rising by Pierce Brown?  It was the Hunger Games on crack.    I loved it and and immediately read the second book, Golden Son (which I liked even better than Red Rising!).  

 

I have it on my shelf, but haven't gotten to it yet.

 

I'm going through the audiobooks of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, read by Tim Curry. Currently six books in; it's great stuff.

[Jazzy24]

Any Nancy Drew fans here? Every now and then I take a break from my regular reading and curl up with a Nancy Drew mystery. Couldn't get enough of this series as a kid, and enjoy them in a different way now. The manic pacing and breathless dialogue never fail to amuse, not to mention how much exposition "Carolyn Keene" could fit into one or two sentences. Still, Nancy kicks butt! Today's fare: The Hidden Staircase.

I LOVE Nancy Drew I have some of her books on my kindle.

Anyways I'm reading 1984 so far so good.

[Lovecat]

Trixie Belden was my girl detective of choice as a kid. I have all of them except the last 5, I think, which are rare and very spendy on Amazon or eBay. Someday, when I win the lottery...

[OakGoblinFly]

I just picked up Yesterday's Gone (a free Kindle Book) by Sean Platt and David Wright a post-apocalyptic story where people wake up to learn that most of the world has simply vanished.  The book is really a collection of serialized stories (episodes)  .  I really enjoyed their White Space Series and have high hope for this one.

[bmasters9]

Just earlier in receipt of this from Amazon:

 

 

Edited February 6, 2015 by bmasters9

[psychoticstate]

I just picked up Yesterday's Gone (a free Kindle Book) by Sean Platt and David Wright a post-apocalyptic story where people wake up to learn that most of the world has simply vanished.  The book is really a collection of serialized stories (episodes)  .  I really enjoyed their White Space Series and have high hope for this one.

 

Thank you for the head's up, OakGoblinFly.  Picked it up for my Kindle earlier today and began reading while waiting in line at the DMV.  So far, so good!

[HoodlumSheep]

Almost done reading 'Bambi.' And yes, the Disney movie was based on the book. It's pretty good, and actually pretty different from the movie, at least character-wise. The general plot is about the same though (Follows Bambi growing up).

[Rick Kitchen]

So I'm reading Charming by Elliott James.  I'm enjoying it quite a lot.  John Charming comes from a long line of Prince Charmings, but he has a curse that has him on the run from his Knights Templar family and the fate he was born into.  Vampires, werewolves, and all of the other supernatural creatures (but not orcs and Hobbits, Tolkien invented them).  I'm glad to see that it says this is book 1 of the series.

[HoodlumSheep]

So I'm reading Charming by Elliott James. I'm enjoying it quite a lot. John Charming comes from a long line of Prince Charmings, but he has a curse that has him on the run from his Knights Templar family and the fate he was born into. Vampires, werewolves, and all of the other supernatural creatures (but not orcs and Hobbits, Tolkien invented them). I'm glad to see that it says this is book 1 of the series.

This sounds interesting.

[Readalot]

I just finished " the storied life of aj fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin. What a beautiful story about bookstores and unexpected moments in life, with a bit of mystery thrown in. Highly recommend this book, I read it in one day. It's been forever since I did that. Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie.... my bff's during my childhood, what lovely memories! I miss Lucas Davenport, I think I'm stopping by the library or B&N today!

[Readalot]

Ok while I used to love Lucas Davenport he's not whom I was thinking of. The character I'm trying to remember is (was) a detective that owned a bar with his brother in law. I think his first wife died from cancer and he got remarried. Maybe took place in SF? And other character I'd like to meet up with is a lawyer with a crusty old partner. I know for awhile it took place in San Diego. One book was about a SAIC type business mystery. Any author help would be appreciated!

[AuntiePam]

Finished Rebecca -- I'd seen the 1940 movie but had forgotten everything except the basics: Young woman marries widower, they go to live at Manderley and an old woman hates the new young wife.  The movie's ending is different from the book, probably due to the Hays Code.  I liked the book's ending better. 

 

Started a re-read of English Passengers by Matthew Kneale. 

[glowlights]

Trixie Belden was my girl detective of choice as a kid. I have all of them except the last 5, I think, which are rare and very spendy on Amazon or eBay. Someday, when I win the lottery...

 

Trixie!! Thank you for the reminder, I will look for some of those. Do you have one favorite in particular?  I know what you mean about spendy. *sigh* I would dearly love to get some of the original Nancy Drew books (with the blue covers). Apparently the versions in the yellow were shortened and edited for content. Or so I'm told?

[Lovecat]

Trixie!! Thank you for the reminder, I will look for some of those. Do you have one favorite in particular?  I know what you mean about spendy. *sigh* I would dearly love to get some of the original Nancy Drew books (with the blue covers). Apparently the versions in the yellow were shortened and edited for content. Or so I'm told?

I love #16 and 17, The Mystery of the Missing Heiress and The Mystery of the Uninvited Guest, respectively. I always wanted Julianna's engagement ring! I also like #14, The Mystery of the Emeralds and #7, The Mysterious Code.

[annzeepark914]

Any Nancy Drew fans here? Every now and then I take a break from my regular reading and curl up with a Nancy Drew mystery. Couldn't get enough of this series as a kid, and enjoy them in a different way now. The manic pacing and breathless dialogue never fail to amuse, not to mention how much exposition "Carolyn Keene" could fit into one or two sentences. Still, Nancy kicks butt! Today's fare: The Hidden Staircase.

The Nancy Drew series was my introduction to mystery books and I've loved them ever since.  Started when I was 10 (I could sit in a comfy chair all day long and read my Nancy Drews).  I also loved The Dana Sisters (or was it the Dana Girls?).  I have yet to find any of the original ND books (before they were changed to be more "modern" and thus, IMO, ruined).  Oh well...I just finished The Goldfinch for my book club and only enjoyed a small portion of it (no one seems to be ambivalent about this book; they either loved it or hated it).  

[glowlights]

The Nancy Drew series was my introduction to mystery books and I've loved them ever since.  Started when I was 10 (I could sit in a comfy chair all day long and read my Nancy Drews).  I also loved The Dana Sisters (or was it the Dana Girls?).  I have yet to find any of the original ND books (before they were changed to be more "modern" and thus, IMO, ruined).  Oh well...I just finished The Goldfinch for my book club and only enjoyed a small portion of it (no one seems to be ambivalent about this book; they either loved it or hated it).  

 

I just ordered one the first Dana Girls book of the second series that came out I think in the early 70s. The original series is a bit pricey for something in good condition but would love to read one.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what didn't you like about The Goldfinch? (I haven't read it yet.)

[Darian]

I have all the Trixie Beldens (including the terrible, awful but valuable later ones), some of them are the old hardcovers. I adored them. Have some of my old Nancy Drews, too.

 

Just now reading Best American Short Stories 2014.   

[annzeepark914]

I just ordered one the first Dana Girls book of the second series that came out I think in the early 70s. The original series is a bit pricey for something in good condition but would love to read one.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what didn't you like about The Goldfinch? (I haven't read it yet.)

@glowlights:  Regarding The Goldfinch, everyone in my book club agreed that the author needed a better editor.  She'd go on and on forever and a day describing a windy afternoon walk down the block, for example.  I was relieved when I heard others say they (very soon into the book) began skimming over multiple paragraphs, looking for the next dialogue/action.  By the time I was 3/4's of the way into the book (heading toward the final stretch!) a character re-appeared, made a confession about something and that was it for me :>)   

[Kris223]

Just finished Gone Girl - liked it, but thought the language was a bit overly crude (for lack of a better term).

 

Also a Nancy Drew/Trixie Belden fan! I haven't thought of those in years. There was also a mystery series by Cynthia Blair (had to look that up) featuring twins and had titles like The Hot Fudge Sunday Affair (I think the titles were why I started reading them).

[DimaTheRussian]

That review was a thing of beauty. :) Will you please take on Elizabeth Gilbert?

Thank you my dear,I shall endeavor to write more.

[DimaTheRussian]

Home Game An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis,a story of the emasculation of the American male.

 

I used to see this big-boned, fair-haired fella walking a ridiculous fluffy dog on my block. He stood out, because unlike most Berkeley geldings, he was obviously embarrassed to be walking this humiliatingly unmanly dog. Most Berkeley males are "secure enough in their masculinity" (since they were never afflicted with any) to not look so embarrassed doing such a thing, so he really made an impression. When a man is asked to do a humiliating task like this, if he acquiesces often enough, he starts looking like one of those prisoners of the Taliban you see in the news. The prisoner has known freedom but his fortunes have taken a turn for the worse, his spirit is broken and he knows he is ultimately doomed to a grisly and ignominious end. After reading this book, I'm pretty sure the soul sick guy with the dumb dog was Michael Lewis. This book is a chronicle of his humiliation.

 

The sad thing about it, is Michael Lewis is intelligent enough to realize, on some level, something bad is going on. He speculates that we may be in some uncomfortable middle-place between traditional male roles and a glorious future way of fatherhood. He is wrong. He has let himself become victim of one of the worst examples of cultural decay on Earth. He has acceded to the irrational demands of a woman enslaved to her whims, and those of the febrile Berzerkeley nincompoops around her. Had Lewis married a woman with more sensible beliefs; perhaps a Mormon or a Kentucky snake-handler, he would not have had any material for a book like this. I'm sure the idea that being married to some bumpkin from cow country might be a better plan than Flower Princess will cause smug chuckling over chardonnay among the enlightened elders of Berkeley. They will probably guffaw something vaguely eugenic about the very idea of the children of Michael Lewis being raised by a woman of a type they consider lower than savages with bones in their noses. The fact of the matter is, the Mormon will have less loopy beliefs about how the world works, a similar capacity for rational thought, and she is a lot less likely to be an emasculating witch. While the latter point has obvious implications for Lewis' quality of life, it has larger implications in how his children grow up. His children are being taught that he is not a man worthy of respect. Since daddy is nothing but a clownish figure of fun in their minds, they are very likely to grow up into horrible people. What is worse? Absent father, or father absent the respect traditionally accorded to pater familias? Their trajectory in life can be predicted with near ballistic precision, and it's not any place any sane parents would want their children to be. Children need structure and discipline in their lives. This is what fathers are for. Absent structured lives and respect for their father, they will take their revenge on their parents and the world around them. Everyone knows this: Aristotle wrote about it 2400 years ago at the dawn of Western Civilization. Everyone knows this, it seems, but famous people who live in Berkeley.

 

Lewis is a great writer, and a keen observer, hence my going relatively soft on him. I can only hope that other men treat his book as a cautionary tale rather than some kind of map of the future of fatherhood. Perhaps as he suggests, this memoir has value as a a document of the insanity of the upper middle class of our era; something like a 21st century Satyricon involving family life. I wish him and his family well, and hope that it all works out for the best, if only because I don't need his kids stealing my car or torturing my pets in a few years. If I could be so bold as to offer some advice to Mr. Lewis: buy some cigars, a pit bull (an unfortunate accident can be arranged for the fluffy dog), lay in a supply of testosterone patches and some really scary looking guns, and go hang around with some manly men. Maybe the East Bay Rats MC or the Richmond Rod and Gun Club, or go find some of the options traders still moping around the Pacific Stock Exchange. Mrs. Lewis/Soren/HerGoovyness will profess to hate it at first, but secretly, her respect for you will grow, as she will know that her husband, rather than being a bumbling, frilled Berkeley lily like all the rest, is actually a man.I am thankful I left Berkeley after a year of postgraduate studies,truly America's gulag.

 

 

 

[GaT]

At the end of the year, Barnes & Noble sent out a 20 or 30% off coupon almost every day. I soon ran out of books I wanted, so I went to the store to see if I could find something new to read. This is how I ended up with Jill Kismet, The Complete Series by Lilith Saintcrow. It's an omnibus of all 6 books in the series. Before I get into the actual story, let me just say that this is a BIG book, it's so big that strangers actually stop me to tell me how big they think it is, it's a 1390 page paperback, & it's really heavy too. Anyway, I just got through the first book, & I still haven't decided how I feel. 

 

This is an Urban Fantasy series, Jill is a Hunter, basically a cop for the supernatural & she works with the regular police & the FBI. Part of the problem for me is that I feel like I maybe missed a book or story before this, I don't really have what feels like a good enough grasp on how things work in her world. There are a bunch of supernatural beings mentioned,  (Hellbreed=bad, Weres=good), but no real explanation of what they are. Also, as I was typing this, I realized that I have no idea where the story is located. I know it's not New York, but I can't remember if it's told to us specifically. Jill made a deal with a Hellbreed for extra powers, & in return she has to go torture him once a month. This is something that really needs more of an explanation, at least tell me exactly what a Hellbreed is. There just seems to be a lot of stuff that gets told to us, but there's no backstory (is this bargain usual?) I'm just starting the 2nd story, hopefully they'll be more of explanation of things in book 2.

[Mars477]

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie just dropped in my Kindle. It's about a girl who wants to be a warrior, a warrior who's uncomfortable with killing, and the deformed and cunning King's Minister who takes them both under his wing. Knowing Abercrombie, it's going to be great.

[Rick Kitchen]

I love Joe Abercrombie.  Best Served Cold is a gem.

[Qoass]

Funny Girl by Nick Hornby.

 

I  expect so much from Hornby that anything less than great is a disappointment.  This one is less than great.  Even though it's over 400 pages, it feels like an outline of a story rather than a story itself because none of the characters are well developed.  This happens and then this happens and then this happens, the end.

[OakGoblinFly]

I love Joe Abercrombie.  Best Served Cold is a gem.

 

Those books were great.  Have you tried reading the Shattered Sea novels?

 

Right now I am reading The Autumn Republic, the third of The Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan (an author I discovered through BookBub.com).

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie just dropped in my Kindle. It's about a girl who wants to be a warrior, a warrior who's uncomfortable with killing, and the deformed and cunning King's Minister who takes them both under his wing. Knowing Abercrombie, it's going to be great.

 

 

That's the second of the Shattered Sea books - the third is scheduled to be published July 2015.

[Rick Kitchen]

Those books were great.  Have you tried reading the Shattered Sea novels?

 

Not yet. I just picked up "Half a King" today.  I've read "The Blade Itself".

[Mars477]

Not yet. I just picked up "Half a King" today.  I've read "The Blade Itself".

Half the World is so damn good.  Thorn is crazy awesome and has a great character arc, and for somebody who just sucked at writing female characters as three dimensional individuals with agency back in The First Law trilogy the way Abercrombie plays with and subverts gender conventions is excellent.  Now I'm utterly terrified at what might happen in Half a War later this year.

[AltLivia]

Currently reading Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. I really enjoy Lehane's writing. It's odd for me, because I'm not much of a murder-mystery gal. My mother reads a lot of the James Patterson, Iris Johanssen and J.D. Robb sort of stuff, so I think steered clear of the genre because I disliked those authors.

Edited February 20, 2015 by AltLivia

[Rick Kitchen]

Lehane is great.  Have you read "Gone, Baby Gone"?

[truthaboutluv]

For somebody who loves to read, I sure am having trouble finding a good book these days.

 

 

This has sadly been the case with me recently. What truly sucks is that I pick books where the premise sounds really interesting and/or compelling and which have gotten rave reviews. I don't read the Amazon comments because some of those include spoilers but I do look at the average rating to get a sense of how many five star or four star reviews it's gotten. And still, I have ended up disappointed the last four or five books. I have even started to wonder maybe I'm just being way too picky or too critical. My last few reading experiences include:

 

After Her by Joyce Maynard - Loosely inspired by a real life serial killer that terrorized some part of California in the 70's, the book tells the story of Patty, whose dad was the lead detective on the case and her close relationship with her sister. The book was actually not bad.  Patty's relationship with her dad, her mom and especially her sister was well developed and I found the way the case intertwined with their lives well executed. That said, I don't know what the hell happened in the last part of the book when Patty grows up. The whole thing just sort of went off the rails and got a little hokey and the resolution of the serial killer story was really, really bad. So it wasn't awful but I guess I was just left somewhat unsatisfied. 

 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman -  I ranted about that one in the unpopular opinions thread I think but hated it, absolutely hated it. Nothing happened in the book for damn near 200 pages and the main character was one of the most unlikable and uninteresting protagonists ever. Added to that, the supporting characters were also uninteresting and by the end I just didn't care - about them or their story and so had zero interest in reading the sequel.

 

Prep (A Novel) by Curtis Sittenfeld - I can't even with this one. I summarized my thoughts as best as possible in my Amazon review. This book was truly one of the most painful things I'd ever read. I have never read a book with a lead character so painfully awkward. As I noted in my review, Sittenfeld is actually a pretty good writer but that might have been the thing that hurts this book. She was way too good at letting the reader into the mind of her lead character which would not have been a problem if the lead character wasn't so completely and utterly uninteresting and so painfully awkward. The book was way too long - almost 500 pages of reading about someone who just existed - that's it. No passions, no social life, no successes, no failures because she never tried anything just existed, just nothing, other than her existing. 

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Another one I've already ranted about in the unpopular opinion thread. Like Sittenfeld, Gillian Flynn is a good writer but Gone Girl just didn't work for me. I thought the ending was complete and utter bullshit that required far too much suspension of disbelief from me. 

 

All this brings me to the latest book I just finished this morning actually.

 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - Like with all the books above, I read the premise of this book and found it very interesting. I also first heard about it because it showed up on so many best of... lists at the end of 2014. Also, I am totally a sucker for a good mystery and surprise, twist ending.  So reading all the reviews and how shocking and awesome the ending was, I was all in. And now that I'm done, I'm left with a feeling of disappointment. The twist was good, I will say that. And even all my years of mystery shows, I didn't fully put it together before the reveal, so kudos to the writer for that. That said, I finished the book feeling unsatisfied and ultimately realized it was because I didn't feel like I came away truly knowing any of these characters, particularly the Liars.

 

And that was particularly a problem because of the twist because I felt like I wasn't left with the emotions I should have had. And that's because the characters never really drew me in. They all remained fairly vague sketches rather than feeling like real people I could like or hate or care about, etc. At the end it felt like the author was more excited by the twist and focused on that, at the expense of truly developing the characters and relationships and really showing that which led up the end. The book was a very, very easy read and that partly was because of the somewhat shallow writing in my opinion. It was a good story, it had an interesting premise but the author just didn't develop the characters as well as she could have. Not enough to make me care and feel as I should have, I think. And again this is disappointing because I was so excited to read this book and wanted so much to love it.

Edited February 21, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[nicepebbles]

I just finished "Juneteenth" by Ralph Ellison. Kinda hated it. Apparently, it was a book he worked on forever. He lost part of it in a fire and had to start over. It was unfinished so is literary executor had to finish it.

I didn't like because it seemed to be just a stream of consciousness that went nowhere. If I hadn't read the notes at the end or the jacket, I wouldn't have had any idea what the point was supposed to be.

Now I'm reading "The Parable of the Talents" by Octavia Butler. Loving it so far! I feel like she could see into the future somewhat when she wrote it.

[GaT]

The Magicians by Lev Grossman -  I ranted about that one in the unpopular opinions thread I think but hated it, absolutely hated it. Nothing happened in the book for damn near 200 pages and the main character was one of the most unlikable and uninteresting protagonists ever. Added to that, the supporting characters were also uninteresting and by the end I just didn't care - about them or their story and so had zero interest in reading the sequel.

 

I actually liked The Magicians, but the series suffers from what is a constant problem with trilogies lately, the final book is a huge letdown. I am really sick of reading the last book in a trilogy & thinking, "that's it?" After waiting so long for it, The Magician's Land just didn't deliver IMO. 

[AuntiePam]

Son of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland, biographical.  Don't know why I started another long book about people who work their asses off -- makes me feel so darn lazy!  If you're at all interested in farm life, the Midwest, the mid to late 1800's time period, you'd like this one. 

 

Stardust by Joseph Kanon came in the mail today.  Post-WWII Hollywood, a mystery, and a family secret.  I don't recall where I heard about it.  If it was someone here, thank you.  The writing style is compelling and the name-dropping and the look at behind the scenes Hollywood is really interesting.

[benteen]

Anybody read Red Rising by Pierce Brown?  It was the Hunger Games on crack.    I loved it and and immediately read the second book, Golden Son (which I liked even better than Red Rising!).  

 

I just finished reading Golden Son today and yeah, it's even better than Red Rising (and Red Rising was a damn good book!).

[Danny Franks]

Stardust by Joseph Kanon came in the mail today.  Post-WWII Hollywood, a mystery, and a family secret.  I don't recall where I heard about it.  If it was someone here, thank you.  The writing style is compelling and the name-dropping and the look at behind the scenes Hollywood is really interesting.

 

Have you read any of his other books? The Good German, The Prodigal Spy and Los Alamos are all really good as well. Similar themes and periods, and there is perhaps a sameness to his characters some of the time. But he writes a great thriller yarn, in my opinion I recently read Leaving Berlin, his latest novel, and enjoyed it.

 

Currently reading Drakenfeld by Mark Charan Newton. Seems like a fantasy version of those medieval detective stories that have become popular. Halfway through, and it's fine. Nothing special or particularly exciting.

[Rick Kitchen]

I picked up the 10 volume book of Roger Zelazny's Amber books.  It's huge, of course.  Just dove into it.  There are some books that need to be re-read.  "The Stand" is my top for rereads, and I'm going to love this.

[Irlandesa]

My only real complaint would be that the protagonist is a little too awesome at his job, that it sometimes becomes a bit daft. He's a cold-hearted son of a bitch, though.

This is about I Am Pilgrim.  While he does fall into the cliche of being too awesome at his job,  I really appreciate that the author avoided the popular current spy/male detective cliche of him being some sort of sexual dynamo that every woman wants to fuck.  It's not that the book is some great feminist work (although I think it does just fine by its supporting female characters), it's that the bar has been set so low by other similar works that I found it refreshing.

 

This is how I felt too. I just finished Amy's book, but I loved both Tina's and Mindy's books. Mindy's was written exactly how she speaks or at least how she speaks in interviews and such. I really cannot put my finger on why I did not love Amy's book as much. There were some fun stories in it, but it wasn't as amusing for me, as "Bossypants" and "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without me".

Could it be their writing experience?  While Amy has done some professional writing, most of it has been for sketch comedy and a few scripts for Parks & Rec.  Tina and Mindy have so many more writing credits and likely have more experience at knowing what to include, what to cut and pacing.

[ApathyMonger]

I just read Courtney Maum's I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, which had some good moments, but I found it hard to care about the lead character.

 

Is it wrong that it bothers me that a novel set in 2003 has characters watching a TV station that didn't launch until 2005? It's like, if you're going to be that specific with unnecessary details, you could at least check your facts.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Is it wrong that it bothers me that a novel set in 2003 has characters watching a TV station that didn't launch until 2005? It's like, if you're going to be that specific with unnecessary details, you could at least check your facts.

 

That kind of stuff sets off my obsessive nitpicking.

[Mars477]

Have you read any of his other books? The Good German, The Prodigal Spy and Los Alamos are all really good as well. Similar themes and periods, and there is perhaps a sameness to his characters some of the time. But he writes a great thriller yarn, in my opinion I recently read Leaving Berlin, his latest novel, and enjoyed it.

 

Currently reading Drakenfeld by Mark Charan Newton. Seems like a fantasy version of those medieval detective stories that have become popular. Halfway through, and it's fine. Nothing special or particularly exciting.

Drakenfeld is aggressively mediocre, but it doesn't help that immediately before reading that I'd read Half the World by Joe Abercrombie.  Plot and characters aside, Abercrombie's prose is far, far superior to Mark Charan Newton's, and Newton's habit of explaining everything in the most verbose fashion possible utterly kills any sense of pacing the book may have.  He's even worse when writing romance, so of course there's a romance subplot that is utterly lifeless and bland.

 

Points to him for giving the protagonist a very competent bodyguard/friend who's a black woman, I guess? 

[Danny Franks]

Drakenfeld is aggressively mediocre, but it doesn't help that immediately before reading that I'd read Half the World by Joe Abercrombie.  Plot and characters aside, Abercrombie's prose is far, far superior to Mark Charan Newton's, and Newton's habit of explaining everything in the most verbose fashion possible utterly kills any sense of pacing the book may have.  He's even worse when writing romance, so of course there's a romance subplot that is utterly lifeless and bland.

 

Points to him for giving the protagonist a very competent bodyguard/friend who's a black woman, I guess? 

 

Yeah, I've noticed that he'll spend paragraphs describing a street or a building, and seems to constantly need to tell you where in the city some place is, compared to other places. The book ain't good enough for me to care about that minutiae. It's pretty clumsy in its attempts at world-building.

 

200 pages in and we've just met the romantic interest, so I guess that kind of sums up how important she is to the overall story. Very much an afterthought, it seems.

[galax-arena]

I've been on a religious non-fiction kick right now, especially with respect to injustice done in the name of God, because I like to keep it light:

 

Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment by Janet Heimlich
Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All by Frank Schaeffer
I Fired God: My Life Inside - and Escape from - the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult by Jocelyn Zichterman
Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain
To Train Up a Child: Turning the hearts of the fathers to the children by Michael & Debi Pearl

 

Don't worry, I didn't pay for the last one. :)

 

ETA: Oh, I see that Anne Rice left a comment about Breaking Their Will on Amazon:

Posted on Dec 2, 2011 3:31:26 PM PST

Anne Rice says: I think this is an important and constructive book.

We are too soft on the people who abuse children in the name of religion.
We need to stand up morally and legally to religions that are immoral
and doing things that are illegal.
I recommend this book.

Well, I'm convinced. 

Edited February 24, 2015 by galax-arena

[manbearpig]

Currently reading Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. I really enjoy Lehane's writing. It's odd for me, because I'm not much of a murder-mystery gal. My mother reads a lot of the James Patterson, Iris Johanssen and J.D. Robb sort of stuff, so I think steered clear of the genre because I disliked those authors.

 

 

Lehane is great.  Have you read "Gone, Baby Gone"?

 

Interesting that you both mentioned the only two Lehane books I've read. I thought they were both enjoyable, absorbing reads, but I have no interest in checking out anything else he has written. They were both a little too traumatising for me, and I usually can deal with more troubling subject matter, but some of the stuff in those books are a little bit too unsettling

 

 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - Like with all the books above, I read the premise of this book and found it very interesting. I also first heard about it because it showed up on so many best of... lists at the end of 2014. Also, I am totally a sucker for a good mystery and surprise, twist ending.  So reading all the reviews and how shocking and awesome the ending was, I was all in. And now that I'm done, I'm left with a feeling of disappointment. The twist was good, I will say that. And even all my years of mystery shows, I didn't fully put it together before the reveal, so kudos to the writer for that. That said, I finished the book feeling unsatisfied and ultimately realized it was because I didn't feel like I came away truly knowing any of these characters, particularly the Liars.

 

And that was particularly a problem because of the twist because I felt like I wasn't left with the emotions I should have had. And that's because the characters never really drew me in. They all remained fairly vague sketches rather than feeling like real people I could like or hate or care about, etc. At the end it felt like the author was more excited by the twist and focused on that, at the expense of truly developing the characters and relationships and really showing that which led up the end. The book was a very, very easy read and that partly was because of the somewhat shallow writing in my opinion. It was a good story, it had an interesting premise but the author just didn't develop the characters as well as she could have. Not enough to make me care and feel as I should have, I think. And again this is disappointing because I was so excited to read this book and wanted so much to love it.

 

I read We Were Liars a while ago, and I agree with pretty much everything you've said. For such a short book I found it pretty tedious, and, for me, the twist ending was the only thing about it that I found remotely memorable. I was surprised for sure, which is nice, but I didn't really care about what had happened. I was just glad it was over.

 

I'm currently reading Stoner by John Williams. Pretty refreshing, actually. It's really engaging and well written, even though there is no crazy hook or twist. It's just about the life of the character and his struggles. I'm probably making it sound terrible but I like it a lot so far.

[Mars477]

Interesting that you both mentioned the only two Lehane books I've read. I thought they were both enjoyable, absorbing reads, but I have no interest in checking out anything else he has written. They were both a little too traumatising for me, and I usually can deal with more troubling subject matter, but some of the stuff in those books are a little bit too unsettling

I'd read the first three Kenzie and Gennaro books.  They're good PI books, although they are very much a product of the '90s.

[BatmanBeatles]

 

I Fired God: My Life Inside - and Escape from - the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult by Jocelyn Zichterman

I read that one. It made me look at the Duggars in  different light.

 

Count me as one who read Nancy Drew. I loved the one where she goes to South America to solve the case of a monkey pattern.

Edited February 26, 2015 by BatmanBeatles

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Currently reading Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. I really enjoy Lehane's writing. It's odd for me, because I'm not much of a murder-mystery gal. My mother reads a lot of the James Patterson, Iris Johanssen and J.D. Robb sort of stuff, so I think steered clear of the genre because I disliked those authors.

 

You should also give The Drop a try. It's a little plodding, but there's a point to the plodding. And bite your tongue about J.D. Robb, since I really like the In Death series. Its formulaic, but its formulaic in an enjoyable way. :-)

 

I am currently re-reading Scar Lover by Harry Crews, which I recommend to anyone who's into the whole southern Gothic thing.

[marinite]

Amazingly, I am only reading one book right now: I usually have a couple going.  It's David McCullough's The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris.  Basically it's about Americans in the early 19th century traveling to Paris to study medicine, art, and culture.  I love this author and have ready several of his books. And since he has done tv documentaries, I hear his voice when I read the material. :)

[Sharpie66]

I met David McCullogh at a booksellers convention--he signed a copy of "John Adams" for me. His voice in person is just as rich as it is on TV!

[AltLivia]

 

Lehane is great.  Have you read "Gone, Baby Gone"?

I am so late on this, Rick Kitchen!  Yes, I've read "Gone Baby Gone," sort of. I was reading it, life got in the way, and it came up overdue at the local library. I paid my overdue fine and attempted to recheck it out. They wouldn't let me re-check it for another two weeks! Libraries by Pawnee apparently. Just kidding, they probably have their reasons.I'll finish it, I promise.

 

Reading GBG I realized that it was the third in the series and felt like I needed to catch up. Spoiler-free assessment: a lot happens to those two before that novel even starts! Plus, I've since found out that Moonlight Mile is something of a sequel to GBG. 

 

 

You should also give The Drop a try. It's a little plodding, but there's a point to the plodding.

Picked this up on your recommendation! It seems intriguing.

 

 

Interesting that you both mentioned the only two Lehane books I've read. I thought they were both enjoyable, absorbing reads, but I have no interest in checking out anything else he has written. They were both a little too traumatising for me, and I usually can deal with more troubling subject matter, but some of the stuff in those books are a little bit too unsettling

It is traumatizing, for sure. But I liked the fact that it wasn't "murder in a small town" where you have characters who are absolutely flummoxed, like "This could never happen here!" All right, a already criminal element exists and is so prevalent that everyone is a suspect. And the detectives are personally involved with the same element, past or present. Lehane also seems to strike an okay balance between the personal lives of his detectives and the crime at issue, which I dig.

 

Awhile back, I tried to finish The Cuckoo's Calling, by JK Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith) and it was just....terrible. I mean, the writing itself was good, but plot, what plot? Nothing happened for pages and pages. The characters were the flat sort that were hard to care about. Just awful.