What Are We Currently Reading?

[Danny Franks]

Finished Red Rising. It turned out to be an excellent page turner. Not so good that I immediately have to read the sequel, though.

 

And I'm finally reading The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi. A really interesting dystopian vision of future society as one where food is so scarce thanks to genetic tinkering and monopolies, that society is falling apart, preyed upon by zealots and despots. It's good, but I'm not seeing where it was worthy of the awards it won.

[cherrypj]

And I'm finally reading The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi. 

 

One of my top five books ever.

[Danny Franks]

One of my top five books ever.

 

I finished it yesterday. It's good, and I'd definitely like to read more about the world it's set in. The climax was paced fantastically, and it was a very unusual way of finishing a story, a sort of domino effect that none of the characters could control, and that they barely even precipitated.

 

The trouble I had with it is that I only liked two characters, Emiko and Kanya. That was probably intentional, but I always struggle to connect to stories where I don't care for the characters involved.

 

I'm about to start The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, which I've heard many good things about.

[bubbls]

I'm plodding through "Never Enough"by Joe McGinnis. It's about the Robert Kissel murder. It's an interesting story and female killers fascinate me, but it seems like the author is just phoning it in. Dunno, maybe it's just me. It's interesting enough to finish at least.

[Darian]

Just started Euphoria by Lily King and have slowed down to savor it. I think my next reads are going to be Lily King books (how have I not read her before? I even own one of hers as an ebook and hadn't gotten to it).    

[bubbls]

I picked up James Patterson's "Zoo" in anticipation of the upcoming mini-series, and it's bugging the hell out of me

Your spoiler is only one of many things bugging me with this book. I actually double checked to see if this was written by THE James Patterson, it's that bad. I love this type of subject matter so I'll finish the book, but some of my 99-cent Book Bub book offers are written more realistically.

[SallyAlbright]

I'm plodding through "Never Enough"by Joe McGinnis. It's about the Robert Kissel murder. It's an interesting story and female killers fascinate me, but it seems like the author is just phoning it in. Dunno, maybe it's just me. It's interesting enough to finish at least.

I am reading this right now as well! I feel pretty much the same way- interesting story, and I'll stick it out to the end, but I have certainly read better true crime books. 

Edited June 14, 2015 by SallyAlbright

[SmithW6079]

I actually double checked to see if this was written by THE James Patterson, it's that bad.

I don't believe "THE" James Patterson writes his own books anymore anyway.

[cherrypj]

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler. I currently detest two of the four major characters (Pearl and Cody, for the record), but reading Anne Tyler makes me feel like I could be a writer. 

 

So far, I consider it better than even The Accidental Tourist. The reviews, if you spoil yourself at Wikipedia, are extraordinary. 

[bubbls]

I am reading this right now as well! I feel pretty much the same way- interesting story, and I'll stick it out to the end, but I have certainly read better true crime books. 

 

It has all the elements of a thrilling story too; sex, adultery, money, Hong Kong, yet he's managed to make it almost boring!

I don't believe "THE" James Patterson writes his own books anymore anyway.

 

 

I believe you just may be right! This book has a co-author as well so who knows who did the writing.

Edited June 15, 2015 by bubbls

[Rick Kitchen]

I don't believe "THE" James Patterson writes his own books anymore anyway.

 

Well, most of his books these days have a co-writer listed in the credits, but his is the only name on "Zoo".

Edited June 15, 2015 by Rick Kitchen

[SmithW6079]

Wasn't there an author who was sued because he wasn't putting co-authors' names on his books? Basically, he was just plotting a general outline and the co-author's job was to "fill it in." I thought it was James Patterson or Tom Clancy.

[bubbls]

Well, most of his books these days have a co-writer listed in the credits, but his is the only name on "Zoo".

I don't have my kindle here but pretty sure it shows a co-author. Amazon shows a co-author too. Your copy doesn't? That would be so odd.

[Rick Kitchen]

I apologize, you're right, Michael Ledwidge is listed as co-author.  On the cover, but not on the spine.

[alias1]

I finished Last Night In Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel and I really liked it.  She also wrote Station Eleven, which is one of my favorite books this year.

[miles2go]

I'm about a third of the way through Shadow Prey, the second of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport suspense novels.  I need a little light reading after that biography of Manson.

[Jazzy24]

I'm reading Anna Karenina so far it's okay I'm still at the very beginning so once I'm done with it(which is soon)I will write a review of it.

[BabyVegas]

I'm really into non-fiction, specifically history and finance. I'm currently reading Den of Thieves and The Intelligent Investor (it's taking forever because it's really complex, but I'm learning so much). Up next on my list is The Looming Tower, which is about the origination of Al Qaeda. I haven't had time to read over the last couple of months, so I'm so excited to get back to reading.

[Haleth]

Baby, you may be interested in the book I'm reading, Empire of Deception (by Dean Jobb), about a con man who out Ponzied Ponzi in the 1920s in Chicago.  I'm not very far into it but so far it's fascinating.

[Crs97]

I just finished The Murder of Jim Fisk for the Love of Josie Mansfield by HW Brands.  It was a quick, easy read about a famous murder during the Gilded Age.  It makes me want to learn more about that time period.  

 

HW Brands was a history professor of mine when I was at Texas A&M, and he was one of my favorite teachers.  He has written a ton of books, mostly biographies, and his two on Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were short-listed for the Pulitzer.  He has an easy writing style that gives you a lot of information about the time period without overwhelming you.  Baby, considering your interests, he wrote Masters of Enterprise: Giants of American Business from John Jacob Astor and J.P. Morgan to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey.  I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list.

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm reading Murder in the Marais by Cara Black, the first of her series about Parisian forensic detective Aimee Leduc (who keeps finding herself involved in murder mysteries.)  Black is American, from Northern California, but she won the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for her work.

[SmithW6079]

Just started reading The Cartographer of No Man's Land, a novel about World War I. We're in the centenary of the Great War, so I've a particular interest in it. Only about 20 percent into the book at the moment, but I'm finding it engaging.

[ikmccall]

Working Stiff, a memoir of an employee of the Medical Examiner's office in NYC.  Compelling and sad and really good.

[truthaboutluv]

I just completed Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places and after being so disappointed in just about all the books I've read recently, I really, really loved this one. Don't get me wrong, it had a few issues and some things that I felt stretched credulity a little but ultimately I thought it was funny, poignant, romantic, haunting and sad in the best way possible. About a third of the way into the book I knew where the story was going but kept reading hoping I was wrong even while the more I read, I was more convinced I was right.

 

I see a lot of reviews comparing it to We Were Liars and as a person who was disappointed in the latter, I completely disagree with that comparison. My biggest issue with We Were Liars is that I felt like I never really knew the "liars" and so I never felt the emotional resonance I think I was supposed to feel by the shocking end. Not the case with All The Bright Places, I definitely felt like I got to know and understand Violet and Finch, especially the latter which made the story that much more powerful for me. 

Edited June 26, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[miles2go]

I'm reading The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn, the history behind the "shootout at the O.K. Corral".  Well-written and well-researched.

[bubbls]

I'm reading ""The Final Winter" by Iain Rob Wright. Tons of snow is falling all over the world, shutting down whole towns and cities and trapping people. It's supposed to be an apocalyptic horror novel. So far it's pretty good, although it's one I can put down. If I can't put it down I consider it very good.

[hendersonrocks]

Lord have mercy, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town is a dark, depressing, critically important book. I read it on vacation (perhaps not the ideal time to delve into all the ways our criminal justice system violates young women who have already been violated) and couldn't put it down.

 

I'm generally a Krakauer fan, though - I think his stuff is good because it is so well researched, and this is no exception. 

[Mountainair]

I stumbled upon The Palisades at the library a few weeks back and while it took me a few chapters to get into it by the end I kept wishing there was more. It's a piece of fiction by Alan Brennert but you can tell he painstakingly made the story as historically accurate as possible. It follows a family through the depression, WWII, its aftermath, etc. They work at the famed Palisades Park where the daughter wants nothing more than to be a famous high diver. On the surface it seems like a dull read but you really become close to this family and their plight and root for them to come out ok on the other side.

The author, Alan Brennert also has two other books, one I am reading now, Honolulu. I dove right in and love it. This story follows a young Korean girl in the early 1900's and the customs she must endure, her running away as a "picture bride" to Hawaii and her plight to become her own person and make life work on her own in a new country. Again, the author is historically accurate with the world going on around the protagonist which makes it even easier to sympathize with the her.

[Rick Kitchen]

Finally bought Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel.  Fascinating read.

[turbogirlnyc]

Erik Larson's Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania and I cannot get through it. I love Erik Larson's works. With Dead Wake, I can't pinpoint what's causing my lack of enthusiasm and interest. When a new Erik Larson is released, I drop everything and read it. For the first time, I'm dissapointed. Perhaps I should give it another go. If anyone else read the book I'd love to read your opinion.

 

I'm finishing up A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman. It's book 5 in her Plantagenet series about the last seven years of Richard I's life: 1192-1199, focusing on the period of his capture, imprisonment, and ransoming by Heinrich Hohenstaufen, the Holy Roman Emperor. The last book, Lionheart was my least favorite of her novels. I almost passed on this second installment featuring the ups and downs of Richard I's turbulent and fascinating life. But luckily, I decided to give it a chance.

Edited July 2, 2015 by turbogirlnyc

[Darian]

Reading When We Were the Kennedys, which is short, but I am going slow, just to savor the writing.   Started it yesterday and have already recommended it to an embarrassing number of people. I usually finish and book and am on to the next immediately (especially on ebook; I just close one and open the next), but I may just have to pause before leaving moving on.   

[Qoass]

Don't feel bad, turbogirlnyc.  I wasn't feeling Dead Wake either.  For a relatively short book it got bogged down in lots of details I didn't care about while giving short shrift to some of the people I was more interested in.

[Haleth]

Erik Larson's Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania and I cannot get through it. I love Erik Larson's works. With Dead Wake, I can't pinpoint what's causing my lack of enthusiasm and interest. When a new Erik Larson is released, I drop everything and read it. For the first time, I'm dissapointed. Perhaps I should give it another go. If anyone else read the book I'd love to read your opinion.

 

I read it about a month ago and did enjoy learning about the tragedy.  I know what you mean though.  Maybe it was his padding the book with often irrelevant tangents?  Like the Wilson romance?  The stories about the passengers and crew were far more interesting and his description of the sinking and aftermath are heartbreaking.  It's worth finishing if you find time.  

Edited July 3, 2015 by Haleth

[NewDigs]

My favorite Kate Atkinson is Behind the Scenes at the Museum and I remember recommending it with a missionary's zeal. Loved it and went on to pretty much enjoy the entire Jackson Brodie series. There is something disjointed, to me, with those titles though still good.

Am now almost immersed in Scandinavian noir. Started with Nesbo and have since also enjoyed Ake Edwardson, Asa Larson, Mari Jungstedt, Hakan Nesser and others.

NYTimes review of Knausgaard's Struggle series reported Book Three is a good place to start so start there I did. I enjoyed the 400+ page volume (with no chapter breaks!) so much that I follwed it up with Book 4 (still no chapter breaks) and will next bounce to Book One.

I found the narrative compelling and have been intrigued by the minutiae of his daily life. Not my usual kind of read but glad I began the "Struggle" though admit to the intimidation of 400+ page books with no chapter breaks.

Thanks all who have reminded me I need to read Station Eleven! Somehow that got shuffled out of my rotation!

Edited July 5, 2015 by NewDigs

[raezen]

I just finished reading Ron Rash's Serena after I heard about the movie. The book is great imo. It was perfectly paced and had just enough description that I could see the lumber camp but not so much that the plot stood still at any point and very strong female characters besides the villainous Serena.

Recently I finished The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg. I had to force myself to finish it to be honest. It just wasn't what I thought it would be. After reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and some of Jo Nesbo's work I thought reading a female writer from the same genre would be nice. I would actually question whether Lackberg's work is the same genre. I learned about the domestic situation of every single person working at the police station. Totally unnecessary. To me these characters should have gotten that focus in separate book because I would say only 50%, if that, was actually devoted to the munder. That's right the murder took a back seat to the paternity leave of one detective, the salsa classes another takes and the romantic connection with the mother of another detective's meets there. .. and etc. It was slow going.

So Ron Rash's work I am definitely seeking out again but not Camilla Lackberg's.

Edited July 5, 2015 by raezen

[NewDigs]

Lackberg is probably my least favorite of that subset of authors. I read her quite a while back but I remember being desperate for a scandy-noir fix and bit the bullet and read most of the series. It's telling that I skipped a couple of titles. I am almost obsessive about reading every single book of a series in order.

And I do remember the soap opera that was the Hidden Child. Lackberg is actually a salsa instructor! I don't mind books informed by the authors' experiences but don't shove them down my throat.

RickKitchen: I have loved that Cara Black-Aimee LeDuc mystery series. It so easily could have skated into a cosy (and I am not immune to cosies!) but stayed pretty true to a standard mystery, though I prefer the earlier titles. They make me want to go to Paris! But what doesn't?

Edited July 5, 2015 by NewDigs

[Qoass]

I just finished Dietland and would be interested in other readers' response to it.

 

I thought it was best read as satire but it didn't touch the feminist novels from the 70s I think the author was trying pay tribute too.  (Okay, my heart just broke because the spellcheck just told me I'm missing an apostrophe between the 0 and the s in 70s.)  Also, can't we just acknowledge that there's a middle ground between becoming fat by bingeing on cupcakes (now spellcheck is telling me the e in bingeing doesn't belong there.) and becoming cruel because all you eat is salad?

Edited July 6, 2015 by Qoass

[alias1]

My favorite Kate Atkinson is Behind the Scenes at the Museum and I remember recommending it with a missionary's zeal. Loved it and went on to pretty much enjoy the entire Jackson Brodie series. There is something disjointed, to me, with those titles though still good.

 

I just finished A God In Ruins.  I think I liked Life After Life just a little bit more, but they are definitely companion pieces.  There is something so compelling to me about the way Kate Atkinson writes. I loved Behind The Scenes At The Museum and all the Jackson Brodie books (all weird titles, yes).  I wish she would do another one of those.  I don't think I could read a book without chapter divisions, but on the other hand, Kate Atkinson does something similar with her paragraph divisions.  I've wondered why she bothers with chapters sometimes. 

[miles2go]

Currently reading Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, by Jeff Guinn.  It's a grim book --per Guinn, the celebrated criminals lived squalid lives; often times barely surviving from day to day.  A very different story from the highly romanticized 1967 movie.  

[truthaboutluv]

I just finished Gillian Flynn's Dark Places, which means I have now read all of her three novels and I can now confidently conclude that while she comes up with compelling and fascinating story ideas and the books for the most part are decently written, her conclusions often leave a lot to be desired. I already shared all my many issues with Gone Girl and particularly that bullshit ending, but I think Dark Places may have it beat and be the worse one of the three books. 

 

The sheer amount of coincidences, contrivances and conveniences (no I didn't deliberately aim for that sentence to work out that way) that shaped the night of the murders was just too ludicrous for me. The whole thing just felt thrown together at the end - like Flynn was trying to go for shocking and surprising but the "twist" was just stupid, much like how I felt about Gone Girl.

 

I'm really wary to read anything else from her because I just feel like I'll always end up disappointed at the end. Sharp Objects was probably the most consistent of her books and the one where the ending didn't feel like some rushed job, to just conclude the story any way possible. There was a consistent flow throughout the story and the outcome fit with everything that had led up to it. My issue with that one is that there were just some elements of the murderer and the murders that made it hard for me to believe, but the outcome wasn't out of left field. 

Edited July 7, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[AuntiePam]

The Godforsaken Daughter by Christine McKenna, third book set in Tailorstown, Ireland, in the 1980's.  Love this writer.  Her books are lighthearted but gritty.  This one has a Cinderella thing going on -- a mean mother and sisters -- and it's always fun when they get their comeuppance. 

 

Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King, non-fiction (won the Pulitzer in 2013) about four black men accused of raping a white woman in Florida in the 1940's.  An eye-opener.

 

Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara, privileged white people in a small town in Pennsylvania in the early 1900's, the story of a man's life and the lives of his friends and family.  If you like Sinclair Lewis, you'd like this. 

 

Current read is Old Man's War by John Scalzi.  I'm late to the party for Scalzi's books, but will be reading more. 

[sunshinelover]

So this is embarassing but I just plowed through Holly Madison's "Down the Rabbit Hole."  It was pretty terrible but addicting/fascinating and I finished it in just a couple days.  I feel like a lot of what she revealed had already been discussed in the media she just put her own spin on it.  And she was so unlikeable!  I mean I didn't go into it expecting to love her but when something is her own perspective that should garner some sympathy...but she came off as bitter, ungrateful and just plain mean.  She tried to act like a victim but I didn't buy it.

[Danny Franks]

The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis. I read the first two books of Tregillis' previous trilogy, and wasn't that impressed, but this novel is showing a lot of growth, as a writer. Really cool concept of the Dutch attaining pre-eminence in 17th century Europe, through their use of clockwork and alchemy to create robot servants and soldiers. This story is about one particular robot trying to break free of the shackles and attain free will, with a backdrop of Protestant Dutch vs Catholic France.

 

The start of a new trilogy, and I'll definitely be reading all of this one.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Just finished Sick by Tom Leveen, and for anyone who likes books about the zombie (sort of) apocalypse, you should definitely pick it up. It is YA, but don't let that scare you off, none of the usual tropes of the genre are that present.

[alias1]

I'm reading the 5th in the Shetland Island series, Dead Water, by Ann Cleeves.   After each one of these I keep saying I"m done with this series but then I pick up the next one.  She has actually done a revamp of sorts since the last book and they might be more interesting in the future.  I like this one quite a bit so far.

 

I just finished From Doon With Death, the first in the Inspector Wexford series by Ruth Rendell,.  I can't believe I've never read these. The first one was nothing special but I've heard they get better.

[GaT]

I just finished From Doon With Death, the first in the Inspector Wexford series by Ruth Rendell,.  I can't believe I've never read these. The first one was nothing special but I've heard they get better.

I love the Inspector Wexford books, & on the whole, they're very good, but the last (& now that she's dead I guess they really are the last) few have been not so good. I think she came to the end of the line but kept writing the series.

[bubbls]

I'm currently reading Prehistoric by Michael Esola. It's an inexpensive eBook about a creature attacking people in Indonesia as they're touring a platform erected above the rain forest. I'm almost ashamed to admit I'm reading this, but I do love me some creature feature books.

[AuntiePam]

bubbls, try Shikar by Jack Warner -- http://www.amazon.com/Shikar-Jack-Warner/dp/0765303434. The creature is a Bengal tiger, so not a "monster", but the book has that feel.

 

There needs to be more books about monsters -- not vampires, werewolves, zombies, space aliens -- but the animal kind of monsters.

[SeanC]

I just finished re-reading To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time since Grade 7, since the prequel/sequel/whatever is about to come out.  I find I appreciated it a lot more this time around.

 

I've now started Robertson Davies' Tempest-Tost, which I hope to be finished with by Tuesday.

[Sharpie66]

TKAM is definitely a great book to revisit.

A few years ago, I read Watership Down for the first time since 8th grade, and it was even better then I remembered. In fact, I might just take a look at it again this summer.