What Are We Currently Reading?

[catlover79]

On 9/9/2021 at 5:46 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

You might keep a lookout for Ron Howard's soon-to-be-published memoir "The Boys"

I didn't even know he was writing a memoir. Thanks for the heads up!! 👍 

Edited September 11, 2021 by catlover79

[BlackberryJam]

Currently listening to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. I get that this isn't my favorite genre, but it's so much: how gross can I be? How much more torture can I throw in? It feels like a 14 year old. While the production value of the audio is stunning, the story isn't worth it so far.

[Luckylyn]

I’m in the middle if Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I find I really connect to the lead character Cath.  I’m not as introverted as her but I also find change and connecting with new people to be a challenge.   In the novel Cath is starting college and has to adapt on her own because her twin sister is forging her own identity separate from Cath although they attend the same school. Cath is a fanfic writer with a following big enough that online she’s a mini celebrity but in real life but she struggles to make connections with people.

 
 Interestingly when I read Carry On by the same author I found out the character Simon Snow was first developed for Fangirl because Cath’s favorite fandom surrounds the character Simon.   The snippets of Simon’s story included in Fangirl inspired Rowell to actually write novels about Simon Snow.

[Mabinogia]

33 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

I’m in the middle if Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and I find I really connect to the lead character Cath.  I’m not as introverted as her but I also find change and connecting with new people to be a challenge.   In the novel Cath is starting college and has to adapt on her own because her twin sister is forging her own identity separate from Cath although they attend the same school. Cath is a fanfic writer with a following big enough that online she’s a mini celebrity but in real life but she struggles to make connections with people.

Ooh, I'll have to check that one out. I am an introvert and I was a fanfic writer with a pretty decent following back in the day, so I think I would relate to Cath quite a lot. 

I also read the synopsis for the Simon Snow trilogy and that sounds like a lot of fun. I might have to check that out too.

[festivus]

I liked Fangirl but I LOVE the Simon Snow books. I'm so glad she decided to write them. The last one especially is a bit thin on plot but I'm reading them for the character stuff which I'm pretty satisfied with.

[grommit2]

Oh boy...new autobiography out, penned by Hayley Mills.
Yes, the Hayley Mills from the original Parent Trap, Pollyanna, That Darn Cat, and Whistle Down the Wind.  

[Black Knight]

On 9/9/2021 at 5:16 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Currently listening to Neil Gaiman's The Sandman. I get that this isn't my favorite genre, but it's so much: how gross can I be? How much more torture can I throw in? It feels like a 14 year old. While the production value of the audio is stunning, the story isn't worth it so far.

There's a lot of that early on, but stick with it. I'm not saying there's never a gross or torture moment again, but the series becomes much much more.

I just finished the conclusion to the Simon Snow trilogy. It's kind of brilliant in how the third book especially reads so much like fan fiction; I can almost imagine Cath, the protagonist of Carry On, composing it after she finishes her original fan fic opus.

[Luckylyn]

20 hours ago, grommit2 said:

Oh boy...new autobiography out, penned by Hayley Mills.
Yes, the Hayley Mills from the original Parent Trap, Pollyanna, That Darn Cat, and Whistle Down the Wind.  

I just started her biography.  I was such a fan when I was a little girl.  My favorites were “The Trouble with Angels”, “The Parent Trap”, and  “Summer Magic”.  I even watched the sequels to The Parent trap made in the 80s where adult Hayley Mills reprises her role as the twins and they each get a romance.  I think there were two or three sequels.  I remember one of the twins became the step mother of triplet teens.

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I just started her biography.  I was such a fan when I was a little girl.  My favorites were “The Trouble with Angels”, “The Parent Trap”, and  “Summer Magic”.  I even watched the sequels to The Parent trap made in the 80s where adult Hayley Mills reprises her role as the twins and they each get a romance.  I think there were two or three sequels.  I remember one of the twins became the step mother of triplet teens.

Please tell us what you think of the book after you finish. It's still on order at my local library but I'm first on the wait list.

I also watched the Parent Trap sequels. I remembered when one of triplets showed up as Torey on "Saved by the Bell." Hayley Mills was on the show during the Miss Bliss era.

[BooksRule]

I just finished reading the 'Crazy Rich Asians' trilogy (by Kevin Kwan).  'Crazy Rich Asians', 'China Rich Girlfriend', and 'Rich People Problems'.  I loved all three books and wish there were more in the series, but he seemed to have wrapped up most of the stories, so I guess that will be all of them.  It was really interesting to read about a culture that I don't know much about and I found myself googling a lot of phrases and locations to see images.  (Kwan has excellent footnotes explaining things, but sometimes I just had to see a photo of what he was talking about.  And his footnotes were sometimes hysterical to read.)  I really wanted to try every food that was described in the book.  They were so delicious-sounding!

Also, a thank you to the person who mentioned Hayley Mills' autobiography. I'll definitely have to give it a read.

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by BooksRule

[andromeda331]

13 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

I just started her biography.  I was such a fan when I was a little girl.  My favorites were “The Trouble with Angels”, “The Parent Trap”, and  “Summer Magic”.  I even watched the sequels to The Parent trap made in the 80s where adult Hayley Mills reprises her role as the twins and they each get a romance.  I think there were two or three sequels.  I remember one of the twins became the step mother of triplet teens.

 

10 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Please tell us what you think of the book after you finish. It's still on order at my local library but I'm first on the wait list.

I also watched the Parent Trap sequels. I remembered when one of triplets showed up as Torey on "Saved by the Bell." Hayley Mills was on the show during the Miss Bliss era.

I loved the sequels! I think Susan ended up marrying the man with triplet teen daughters. Sharon was divorced with a daughter who wanted her mother to marry her new best friend's dad. So she calls Sharon into help. And another one where the triplets, their dad and Susan go to Hawaii for their honeymoon. The plot isn't that different from Saved By the Bell's Hawaiian vacation except its Kelly's grandpa who owns the rundown hotel and in the other one Susan inherits the rundown hotel. 

I really liked Miss Bliss's show. I kind of wished they spun off both. Saved By The Bell and Miss Bliss into two different shows. 

[Luckylyn]

On 9/11/2021 at 1:37 PM, Snow Apple said:

Please tell us what you think of the book after you finish. It's still on order at my local library but I'm first on the wait list.

I also watched the Parent Trap sequels. I remembered when one of triplets showed up as Torey on "Saved by the Bell." Hayley Mills was on the show during the Miss Bliss era.

So far I’m finding Hayley’s family dynamics and how her success affected it fascinating.  Also the impact Disney had on her career by forcing her to turn down certain roles was interesting.  On audible she’s doing the narration herself which is really lovely to hear.  

[Starleigh]

Just requested a bunch of books from my library today, including the Hayley Mills book! Looking forward to it.

[Madding crowd]

Finished reading two books while we went to the beach for a couple of days. The Turnout by Megan Abbott which was awful and Rock, Scissors, Paper by Alice Feeney which was very good. The Turnout has too much references to the connections between ballet and sex and the main characters never seemed like real people. Today I started The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones, will see how it goes.

[DearEvette]

Just read Blue Skies by Robyn Carr.  If you are only familiar with her based in her Virgin River series this is quite a departure from that,.  It is set in the aftermath of 9/11 when there were anxieties about flying and the long term effects of deregulation kicked it and when so many airlines were going bankrupt and little upstarts were starting up.  The story is about the start up of a new Arline and I have to say the detail, the inside-the- industry stuff, all the steps it takes to get a new airline up and running and just  the business of flying etc was very well done.  A lot of 'work competence' porn, if you like that -- which I do.  And since this is a Robyn Carr book it still has relationship drama and romance.  And a plus, the main character is a female airline pilot.

[peacheslatour]

Book pet peeve, it's a small thing but it bugs me. I'm reading Belle Ruin right now. No spoilers but it's about a kidnapped baby at a hotel in Maryland. The cover shows a generic looking antebellum building that could be a house with nothing to indicate anything else about the story. Why can't book illustrators read at least a few pages of the books when they're being paid to create a picture for the cover with at least a passing nod to the story?

[EtheltoTillie]

22 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

Finished reading two books while we went to the beach for a couple of days. The Turnout by Megan Abbott which was awful and Rock, Scissors, Paper by Alice Feeney which was very good. The Turnout has too much references to the connections between ballet and sex and the main characters never seemed like real people. Today I started The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones, will see how it goes.

I finally got through the turnout but I skipped a lot. I never really understood some of the plot!  As I understand

Spoiler

The mother set the kids up for sick sexual relationships?  The injured husband had an affair with the wife of the contractor and wanted to get back at the contractor so he killed him then killed himself?  I still don’t understand what happened to the sisters at the end.  Please enlighten me.

 

[Madding crowd]

You have the ending right to the Turnout. 

[Spartan Girl]

I too am reading Hayley Mills’ book and now I’ve got “Let’s Get Together” in my head for the first time in 20 years lol. 

Honestly maybe it was for the best Disney stopped her from doing Lolita. I get that she wanted to break out of typecasting of Pollyanna parts, but…c’mon, that would have made the movie even more disturbing. And things don’t turn out well for child stars that get sexualized early. Of course having parents that are willing to sell you out is another contributing factor. While I haven’t finished the book, the fact that she avoided the child star curse intact is a relief.

[Snow Apple]

I reserved The Turnout at the library before I read all the reviews here and now I'm afraid. LOL. At least it's free. I'll post my thoughts after I start reading. If I finish may be another story.

[peacheslatour]

As I mentioned, I am reading Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes. I've often heard that when writers can't write about sex for whatever reason, they generally write about food. Well, Miss Grimes must want to write about sex really badly because the descriptions of food in this book have made me gain about five pounds, I swear.

[sugarbaker design]

1 minute ago, peacheslatour said:

Well, Miss Grimes must want to write about sex really badly because the descriptions of food in this book have made me gain about five pounds, I swear.

That's hilarious.  I don't recall Grimes writing about food that much in the Jury novels (aside from Agatha's fairy cakes, that is).

[isalicat]

Well then that explains why the hero of all the Donna Leon mysteries set in Venice never has sex with his wife (at least it is never mentioned): They are too busy eating amazing delicious food that is described in mouthwatering detail!

[sugarbaker design]

5 minutes ago, isalicat said:

They are too busy eating amazing delicious food that is described in mouthwatering detail!

Oh my gosh!  The only other murder mysteries with better food scenes are the Chief Bruno novels.

[proserpina65]

19 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

As I mentioned, I am reading Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes. I've often heard that when writers can't write about sex for whatever reason, they generally write about food. Well, Miss Grimes must want to write about sex really badly because the descriptions of food in this book have made me gain about five pounds, I swear.

Having read the sex scenes she wrote in a couple of the later Jury mysteries, all I can say is that Martha Grimes should stick to writing about food.

[GaT]

20 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Book pet peeve, it's a small thing but it bugs me. I'm reading Belle Ruin right now. No spoilers but it's about a kidnapped baby at a hotel in Maryland. The cover shows a generic looking antebellum building that could be a house with nothing to indicate anything else about the story. Why can't book illustrators read at least a few pages of the books when they're being paid to create a picture for the cover with at least a passing nod to the story?

I don't like any non-Jury books that Martha Grimes has written. In fact, some of them I hate.

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, GaT said:

I don't like any non-Jury books that Martha Grimes has written. In fact, some of them I hate.

Well, I did say she wanted to write about sex really badly, I guess I was right!

[EtheltoTillie]

On 9/14/2021 at 4:38 PM, Madding crowd said:

Finished reading two books while we went to the beach for a couple of days. The Turnout by Megan Abbott which was awful and Rock, Scissors, Paper by Alice Feeney which was very good. The Turnout has too much references to the connections between ballet and sex and the main characters never seemed like real people. Today I started The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones, will see how it goes.

I didn’t like the other Feeney book I tried. His and hers. Maybe I’m not cut out for the twisty plots. 

[Tom Holmberg]

On 8/24/2021 at 12:11 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Just started The Women of Troy by Pat Barker. I honestly didn’t like Silence of the Girls, but I was interested enough to try this sequel. Like the first one it gets pretty graphic.

Might be interested in this forthcoming book: These Great Athenians by Valentine Carter

"Carter’s fierce debut gives voice to the mostly forgotten and maligned female characters of Homer’s epic The Odyssey. It is a celebratory ode to those who survive within and outside of gender norms."

https://www.amazon.com/These-Great-Athenians-Valentine-Carter/dp/191434300X

[blackwing]

22 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Oh my gosh!  The only other murder mysteries with better food scenes are the Chief Bruno novels.

I love The Gourmet Detective series, and how each book involved a particular cuisine.  My favourite was the one where the lead character attended an event that involved the creation of a medieval feast.  If this series had been a cozy written today, it would have included recipes!

I remember being very interested in what people ate during the Civil War era when I was reading "Cold Mountain".  So much description of the food.

[dubbel zout]

22 minutes ago, blackwing said:

So much description of the food

That's one reason I loved the Little House books as a kid. Farmer Boy, especially, had mouthwatering descriptions.

[Taryn74]

30 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

That's one reason I loved the Little House books as a kid. Farmer Boy, especially, had mouthwatering descriptions.

Oh man, for REAL. I bought a LHOTP cookbook a few years ago just so I could figure out how to make some of the stuff from Farmer Boy LOL.

[Ohiopirate02]

On 9/15/2021 at 6:41 PM, peacheslatour said:

Book pet peeve, it's a small thing but it bugs me. I'm reading Belle Ruin right now. No spoilers but it's about a kidnapped baby at a hotel in Maryland. The cover shows a generic looking antebellum building that could be a house with nothing to indicate anything else about the story. Why can't book illustrators read at least a few pages of the books when they're being paid to create a picture for the cover with at least a passing nod to the story?

I just looked up this cover and the covers of the rest of the books in this series, and they are all over the place.  I know most covers are decided by the publisher with some author input, so I wouldn't put the blame on the illustrator.  They were just following the brief sent by the publisher.  From the looks of it, the publisher used a different artist for each cover with no regard to the previous books.  

On a side note, the Richard Jury covers are also all over the place with multiple redesigns.  

[proserpina65]

43 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

On a side note, the Richard Jury covers are also all over the place with multiple redesigns. 

I liked it when those covers were just artistic renditions of the pubs from which the titles were taken.  Some of those were real places, such as I Am The Only Running Footman, The Dirty Duck and The Horse You Came In On.

[Tom Holmberg]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I love The Gourmet Detective series, and how each book involved a particular cuisine.  My favourite was the one where the lead character attended an event that involved the creation of a medieval feast.  If this series had been a cozy written today, it would have included recipes!

For food novels, an interesting classic on the subject is Zola's "The Belly of Paris" (Oxford Classics has a decent translation. Translations of the title may vary). Set in the Parisian food market, Les Halles., it has a lot about how Paris was fed in the 19th Century.  I'd compare it to Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle."

Edited September 17, 2021 by Tom Holmberg

[dubbel zout]

George Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris is good on that front, too. Different era, of course.

[stewedsquash]

On 9/11/2021 at 9:48 PM, BooksRule said:

I just finished reading the 'Crazy Rich Asians' trilogy (by Kevin Kwan).  'Crazy Rich Asians', 'China Rich Girlfriend', and 'Rich People Problems'.  I loved all three books and wish there were more in the series, but he seemed to have wrapped up most of the stories, so I guess that will be all of them.  It was really interesting to read about a culture that I don't know much about and I found myself googling a lot of phrases and locations to see images.  (Kwan has excellent footnotes explaining things, but sometimes I just had to see a photo of what he was talking about.  And his footnotes were sometimes hysterical to read.)  I really wanted to try every food that was described in the book.  They were so delicious-sounding!

Also, a thank you to the person who mentioned Hayley Mills' autobiography. I'll definitely have to give it a read.

 

 

Goodreads review of Kevin Kwan Sex and Vanity

It has mixed reviews but there is another Kevin Kwan book, Sex and Vanity. It is a stand alone book, not part of the trilogy. I have his trilogy/this book above on my future download list of books I want to read. I started Crazy Rich Asians when it first came out, put it aside. Then it blasted to popularity and wasn't available. Then it was available and I wasn't interested. I decided I was interested and bam Covid and again not available. Something is going to a lot of trouble to keep me from Kevin Kwan...

I am going down the to read list and just downloaded Michael Harvey, The Chicago Way. It is a bundle edition so it also has The Fifth Floor.

Edited September 19, 2021 by stewedsquash
fixed link

[BlackberryJam]

I found the that callousness of reactions

Spoiler

The girl dying in the car accident

In the second of the trilogy so horrific that I hated it. I read summaries because I like knowing the end. But Kwan lost me with that.

Eta:  Finish the audiobook of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. It was not good. The stories were thin. The character development was poor. I'm mostly didn't care about anyone. But the production value was incredible. I realized that why kept listening to it is because the lead character was voiced by James McAvoy and wow is his voice sexy.

Edited September 19, 2021 by BlackberryJam

[Luckylyn]

I am reading When A Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare which is book 3 in her Castles Ever After series.  Suffering from severe anxiety, Madeline makes up a fake Scottish fiancee to avoid being forced to into society.  To sell the lie, she sends letters to a made up name in a made up regiment.  But there’s a real Logan Mackenzie who shows up years later holding her letters and insistent they get married for his own reasons.  I do enjoy the characters in this series.  There’s a lot of humor and vibrant personalities.   

[GaT]

14 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

I am reading When A Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare which is book 3 in her Castles Ever After series.  Suffering from severe anxiety, Madeline makes up a fake Scottish fiancee to avoid being forced to into society.  To sell the lie, she sends letters to a made up name in a made up regiment.  But there’s a real Logan Mackenzie who shows up years later holding her letters and insistent they get married for his own reasons.  I do enjoy the characters in this series.  There’s a lot of humor and vibrant personalities.   

This is not the kind of book I ever read, but this actually sounds interesting to me, maybe because I watched Bridgerton? 🤣 Anyway, I may check it out.

[Luckylyn]

5 hours ago, GaT said:

This is not the kind of book I ever read, but this actually sounds interesting to me, maybe because I watched Bridgerton? 🤣 Anyway, I may check it out.

The book’s a standalone.  Even though it’s part 3 of a series you don’t have to read the previous books to jump into it.  I do recommend the whole series because they’ve been a good read for me.

[GaT]

30 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

The book’s a standalone.  Even though it’s part 3 of a series you don’t have to read the previous books to jump into it.  I do recommend the whole series because they’ve been a good read for me.

I bought a used one on eBay, so I'll see how it goes 🙂

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

This is not the kind of book I ever read, but this actually sounds interesting to me, maybe because I watched Bridgerton?

I hadn't read romance since my teens but when Bridgerton was greenlit, I did decide to read the first two books in that series. 

And then I wondered if I could start reading romance again.  I certainly get in the mood for it but whenever I start, I usually give up because something doesn't click with me. 

But I did just finish Do You Want To Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare who is one romance author who has written books I end up finishing.  Not all of her books but I do think I've finished two in the past few years.

[stewedsquash]

Just downloaded The Plot that has been on hold for several months. Fingers crossed that it is worth the wait.

[Tom Holmberg]

On 9/17/2021 at 2:20 PM, dubbel zout said:

George Orwell's Down and Out in London and Paris is good on that front, too. Different era, of course.

A good book, but seems like its kind of forgotten.  It was very popular in the 60s, but don't hear it mentioned much today, unfortunately.

[EtheltoTillie]

22 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Just downloaded The Plot that has been on hold for several months. Fingers crossed that it is worth the wait.

Please report back. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

So, after a marathon watching of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, had me reaching for the trilogy of Brave the Wild Wind, Savage Thunder, and Angel, by Johanna Lindsey.

What can I say? The decimation/genocide of the Cheyenne in the show, made me think of this, and I didn't know at the time, there was a trilogy--Angel was the first one I'd read. But I read Savage Thunder (I know, I know! The title leaves a LOT to be desired, not to mention Fabio with different hair color for most of her books) first this time around, because White (Colt) Thunder was one of the Northern Cheyenne tribes that hadn't been forced to live on the reservations. But, I digress. What I really love about this one, aside from the history that Lindsey sprinkled in, was when we meet Angel. 

You have these nimrodic, no-good, shit for brains pay-for-hire kidnappers/killers, jawing about how stupid it is following the heroine (Jocelyn) to kidnap her, with their "If ye ask me," blah, blah, blah, I just always smile and giggle at Angel's "So who asked you?"

We learn Angel isn't a kidnapper, but got in with the killer who's been stalking Jocelyn for three years and his Colt's best friend

I don't know if that phrase would be considered anachronistic or not--it's 1881 out in Wyoming/Arizona. But I found it funny, because that's Angel's trademark phrase.

I know @scarynikki12, you've read the Malory series. But have you read any of the others?

There are some I read only once and refuse to read again, but I enjoy most of them.

[stewedsquash]

16 hours ago, GussieK said:

Please report back. 

Update: I started reading the first chapter of  The Plot. It seems good so far. Then, I get a notice that Anxious People is available for download, after also waiting for it for a few months. I started the first chapter of it and...kept going. So for now, Anxious People is being read, followed immediately by The Plot. I think Anxious People is going to be a fast read, and The Plot is going to be a savor it a little slower read and that is my rationale for switching them up.

[EtheltoTillie]

2 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

Update: I started reading the first chapter of  The Plot. It seems good so far. Then, I get a notice that Anxious People is available for download, after also waiting for it for a few months. I started the first chapter of it and...kept going. So for now, Anxious People is being read, followed immediately by The Plot. I think Anxious People is going to be a fast read, and The Plot is going to be a savor it a little slower read and that is my rationale for switching them up.

Don't you hate when that happens?  Our library (New York Public Library, for those who care--a big system) now has a fantastic feature where you can postpone your ebook download without losing your place in line if you're too busy to read it when your turn comes up.  They give the book to the next person on the list and then they come back to you.

[stewedsquash]

Yes, I have that option also but until I read your post just now, I didn't understand that I would be next in line again. I am going to email our library director and get clarification on this because the wording in our notifications is worded wonky-ish. It says it will be offered after others have declined their hold.