What Are We Currently Reading?

[Bethany]

I just finished re-reading Act One by Moss Hart and I had obviously read it so long ago or so quickly that it was like reading a book I had never read before.  Anyway  for the first time in a while I turned the last page (well tapped the last page) of a book and felt this overwhelming feeling of satisfaction.  The way you should feel when you finish a particularly good book.  A book you want to recommend to friends and hope they love it as much as you do!

ETA: and something else that hasn't happened to me in awhile - I don't know what to read next!  I usually, if anything, have at least two books on the go at time, but right at this moment I feel like anything I read will suffer by comparison.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[Hanahope]

Finished reading Going Rogue, the latest Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum book. if you like the series, you'll like the book. its an easy read and its always funny to see the new hijinks.

also finished The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. first of a [completed] trilogy (completed being the operative word here - i've been burned enough times to not start something not already finished). anyway, its different and a pretty interesting mystery. billionaire virtually disinherits his family leaving the bulk of his estate to an stranger, a teen girl living with her older half-sister (and her abusive boyfriend) (mother's dead, father - that they girls share - estranged). the billionaire was always having his four grandsons play games and solve puzzles, which are in abundance when the teen (who also grew up playing games and puzzles with her mother) comes to collect the inheritance and has to live a year in the mansion with the family. dna proves the teen is not a relation. so why did the billionaire choose the teen? pretty good start to the trilogy.

[blackwing]

On 3/18/2023 at 7:43 AM, Haleth said:

I read them many years ago and loved, loved the series.  It's gritty and realistic; no magical wizards.  This series and Mary Stewart's are my favorite takes on Arthurian legend.

I finished The Winter King, and I am glad that it picked up a bit.  It was enjoyable, especially when viewed as a traditional historical fiction novel (battles over kingdoms, etc) and not expecting any fantasy or magic.

I did still have an issue with all of the names and the places and keeping them straight and trying to remember who they were.  Knowing Cornwell, these were all real places, so I found myself constantly going to Wikipedia to find out the answers to questions of mine like "wait a second, where again are Dumnonia and Armorica".

[Haleth]

55 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Knowing Cornwell, these were all real places, so I found myself constantly going to Wikipedia to find out the answers to questions of mine like "wait a second, where again are Dumnonia and Armorica".

I did that with his Last Kingdom series. I love maps so it was interesting to see what the old Saxon names of the cities were. 

[PRgal]

I'm re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  I first read it in the fall of 1993 for school (I can't believe it's 30 years this year!!!) and remember loving it.  I've attempted to re-read it a few times, but never had the time to actually sit down and read more than one chapter.  Then I'd forget about it.  Reading as an adult versus a 14 year old feels really different since you're looking at it from an adult perspective and not a teen's!  

[kathyk24]

41 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I'm re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  I first read it in the fall of 1993 for school (I can't believe it's 30 years this year!!!) and remember loving it.  I've attempted to re-read it a few times, but never had the time to actually sit down and read more than one chapter.  Then I'd forget about it.  Reading as an adult versus a 14 year old feels really different since you're looking at it from an adult perspective and not a teen's!  

I love that book. Francie is a great character I would have loved a sequel that followed her as an adult.

[Bethany]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

I'm re-reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  I first read it in the fall of 1993 for school (I can't believe it's 30 years this year!!!) and remember loving it.  I've attempted to re-read it a few times, but never had the time to actually sit down and read more than one chapter.  Then I'd forget about it.  Reading as an adult versus a 14 year old feels really different since you're looking at it from an adult perspective and not a teen's!  

My favourite book of all time.  Forever,  world without end, amen! 

I first read it when I was 12 and I agree reading it as an adult you see things differently.  I had a lot more sympathy for Katie reading as an adult for one thing. And I finally understood Aunt Sissy.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[Zella]

I read that for the first time a few years ago and really enjoyed it. One I wish I'd read sooner. 

[kathyk24]

4 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

My favourite book of all time.  Forever,  world without end, amen! 

I first read it when I was 12 and I agree reading it as an adult you see things differently.  I had a lot more sympathy for Katie reading as an adult for one thing. And I finally understood Aunt Sissy.

I liked Katie except for her favortism of Neely. I didn't like it then or now.

[PRgal]

4 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

My favourite book of all time.  Forever,  world without end, amen! 

I first read it when I was 12 and I agree reading it as an adult you see things differently.  I had a lot more sympathy for Katie reading as an adult for one thing. And I finally understood Aunt Sissy.

It's interesting how Betty Smith was able to address pregnancy loss and how one feels without really saying it-saying it, if you know what I mean.  And it's still a bit of a taboo subject to this day.  I feel for Sissy.  It took four IVF cycles, including one chemical pregnancy to get my little guy.  

[proserpina65]

On 3/17/2023 at 10:15 PM, MsNewsradio said:

I had purchased Acqua Alta on a whim right before a trip to Italy in 2019 and loved it - when the pandemic began, I went on eBay and bought a giant lot of Donna Leon books and started reading the series from the beginning. Absolutely love those books. 

I read all the books before Acqua Alta and really loved them but that one put me off the series completely.  Might try again since life has changed since then and whatever it was about that book which bothered me so much might not anymore.  I did really enjoy the previous books.

[Scatterbrained]

I tried to read Chemistry by Weike Wang and couldn’t get into it.  The fact that only one character has a name, and that the conflict seems unresolvable did not appeal to me.  Then, I moved on to Joan is OK, also by Weike Wang, and I thought it was a masterpiece.  I highly recommend it.   I felt that there were a lot of topics covered that were very relatable to a wide audience, but also some very unique perspectives that were interesting and thought provoking.  I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Scatterbrained

[Scatterbrained]

At the beginning of the pandemic, I read If I Stay and Where She Went both by Gayle Forman.  The first book primarily covers the heroine’s out of body experience and life flashbacks after a major accident.  The second book covers the aftermath from her boyfriend’s perspective (he is the main character in the second novel).  I enjoyed them both, but other books by this author I read at the time I did not like.  I recently decided to see what Libby would recommend asked on this book and a new book came up, We Are Inevitable.  The main theme seems to be dealing with aftermath’s in life.  The secondary theme is books and music.  My favorite parts were the lumberjack’s banter.  I would like to have these guys in my life.  It’s a shame they’re not real.  

[Grrarrggh]

Just finished A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins, and I wasn't impressed. 

[laughs]

Just began reading Hanif Kureishi's The Last Word, one of his recent works. It's breezy but brilliant. Many claim that the novel is about VS Naipaul; if not him, then at least it's about the things we talk about when we talk about VS Naipaul, or so the argument goes. Harry, an emerging writer, is commissioned to write Mamoon's (an eminent author, who by many readers is seen as a stand-in for VS Naipaul) biography. The novel explores the publisher's/editor's motives, the writer's motives, as well as Mamoon's and his wife's motives. In doing so, it lampoons the publishing industry and the dilettantes who seem to have taken refuge there. It almost works as a great contemporary example of Juvenalian satire (the subject being the publishing industry, of course).

[grommit2]

Just finished I Robot by Asimov.
Pubd in 1950, but pretty interesting forecasts for our scientific future (almost...we still do not intelligent robots).
Best part: clear, concise, direct writing.

[CountryGirl]

I finished Min Jin Lee's Pachinko (which I loved, even if I felt the last few chapters were packed with a lot of new characters and the ending was a little bit of a letdown compared to the rest of the book).

I also read Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us, which I shouldn't have liked as much as I did as it was a bit formulaic, but I gobbled it up. 

I've just started Kim Michele Richardson's The Bookwoman's Daughter and am enjoying thus far. 

[Zella]

5 minutes ago, CountryGirl said:

I finished Min Jin Lee's Pachinko (which I loved, even if I felt the last few chapters were packed with a lot of new characters and the ending was a little bit of a letdown compared to the rest of the book).

I read this last year and really loved it too, though I agree once it shifts focus from Sunja I was a little less interested. 

[Hanahope]

Read the latest Harlan Coben book I Will Find You. pretty decent. a twist most can probably figure out half way through the book and another twist later on that is perhaps less expected. one little cliffhanger that makes you wonder, we might find out what happened in another book, as Coben has been keeping his 'stand alone' books in the same universe together with the Bolitar universe.

[Bethany]

I just found a bunch of Elizabeth Cadell's on kindle unlimited.  She is somewhat obscure now I guess but she was a British author writing mainly in the 50s-80s and while of course her stuff is dated they are just the kind of light fun reads I am in the mood for right now.   Just started Six Impossible Things and so far so good.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[MsNewsradio]

3 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

I just found a bunch of Elizabeth Cadell's on kindle unlimited.  She is somewhat obscure now I guess but she was a British author writing mainly in the 50s-80s and while of course her stuff is dated they are just the kind of light fun reads I am in the mood for right now.   Just started Six Impossible Things and so far so good.

Love Elizabeth Cadell's work!

[Rushmoras]

So, a bit of an update of Tolstoj's War and Peace. Completed the first part out of three of volume one. What I did not like was the plethora of characters, which seemed to be of the same rank or similar (or maybe it was  a translation thing), that skewed the understanding of who is who.

Spoiler

Nevertheless, I think that the gist of part I was Piotr, who inherited fortunes, and Duke Andrej, who is leaving his pregnant wife to join the army ranks. The rest was insignificant at least for now.

 

[Scatterbrained]

I just finished Earth’s the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg.  It is a prequel to The Story of Arthur Truluv.  It was a story that was sweet and plodded along, much like the main character.  There was some domestic violence in the book, that I feel was not portrayed very realistically, but I wouldn’t want to read realistic portrayals of domestic violence, anyway.  I just think the author should have toned it down, or left it out.
 

I am currently reading Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead.  The language is deliciously descriptive.  It reads like a memoir although it is a novel.  I am not too far off in age from the author.  It’s a time period I recognize, but also a different world from the one I grew up in.  
 

ETA:  I gave up on Sag Harbor.  Too many words, not enough of a story.  Bummer.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Scatterbrained

[Spartan Girl]

The Quarantine Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot was as fun as ever. While I still dislike Lilly with a passion, she has at least matured to the point where she is a much better friend than she was in the other books. Even I still don’t think it’s realistic that they’d be friends again after she basically cyberbullied her. But Mia is a more forgiving person than I’d ever be.

[BlackberryJam]

I’m listening to the Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon series. They are fine. Nothing earth shattering or world changing, but good.

[isalicat]

Thank you to whomever here recommended Cara Hunter - I just finished the first book in her series set in Oxford (Close to Home) - absolutely outstanding, and as the cover says, I was completely gobsmacked by the ending - did not see it coming at all. Brilliant! Just ordered the next two in the series, and will now alternate them with my various Nordic murder mystery authors.

[sugarbaker design]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:11 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I’m listening to the Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon series. They are fine. Nothing earth shattering or world changing, but good.

I loved this series!

[BlackberryJam]

Just now, sugarbaker design said:

I loved this series!

I like Anna a lot as a character. I especially like her friendships with other women. She does the mystery series main character thing of not sharing information and putting herself in danger, which bugs.

Otherwise I'm really enjoying the series. I think they would be the basis for a great Prime or Netflix series. 

[sugarbaker design]

2 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

She does the mystery series main character thing of not sharing information and putting herself in danger, which bugs.

Yes, it's definitely not a perfect series, but I did love the descriptions of nature and the various parks Anna was stationed.  I read this one in order as they were published and got to witness Anna's growth and recovery from grief.  There was one brief passage describing a forest fire that was like poetry.  Conversely, there was one book, I can't remember which, where one character or suspect says "Who do you think you are, Miss Marple?" and then another characters says "Who do you think you are, Nancy Drew?"  Anna incredulously asks "Are these my only choices?"

[BlackberryJam]

8 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Yes, it's definitely not a perfect series, but I did love the descriptions of nature and the various parks Anna was stationed.  I read this one in order as they were published and got to witness Anna's growth and recovery from grief.  There was one brief passage describing a forest fire that was like poetry.  Conversely, there was one book, I can't remember which, where one character or suspect says "Who do you think you are, Miss Marple?" and then another characters says "Who do you think you are, Nancy Drew?"  Anna incredulously asks "Are these my only choices?"

Even though these started almost 20 years ago, there is a definite modern mindset I enjoy about Anna. She has a mature attitude about sex and relationships, even though yes, she is still grieving. She enjoys her occasional isolation. She doesn't have family members constantly imposing on her. Her relationship with her sister is strong and realistic. 

I'm about to start book 8 though, but it got bumped in my reading queue when the latest Erica Ruth Neubauer showed up as available. 

I wish writers could find new ways to create narrative tension, rather than "woman in peril because she didn't tell anyone where she was going." I have too many decades of reading books...

[JAYJAY1979]

I decided to recently read books I remember my late mom read back in the 80s.  So far, I've read the following:

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Kaleidoscope by Danielle Steel

 

Both books are easy to read and enioyable....and more open/honest about harsh realities like classism, religious hypocrisy, murder, foster care, etc then books written nowadays.

[Bookish Jen]

I just finished Jenny Mollen's "City of Likes," which is about a young wife and mother getting sucked up in the world of a mommy influencers. I really liked it a lot.

And I'm currently reading "Tell Me One Thing" by Keri Schlottman. I just started it and I'm trying to get into it. I hope the book picks up.

[Bethany]

On 3/27/2023 at 6:48 PM, MsNewsradio said:

Love Elizabeth Cadell's work!

I do too but they are definitely of their time as they say!  You really have to read them and enjoy them for what they offer and remind yourself now and then when they were written!   

I am reading  Language of the Heart right now and I think I've found my new favourite of hers.  One of those books you don't want to finish because you want to keep spending time with the characters!

Edited April 8, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[Anela]

I finally finished Thistlefoot. Bad/depressing things keep happening, whenever I get books out of the library, so I'm taking that one back, and giving it a rest for a while. 

I used to love reading, but I can't relax into it anymore. I keep buying these books in the kindle book sales, when I shouldn't be. The 99c - a few dollars, in the deals every day, week, or month. I'm not reading them, it's like a new impulse, over the past few months. 

[Haleth]

I finally jumped on board the William Kent Krueger train and read This Tender Land.  What a sweet, lovely book!  The ending was a bit rushed but I enjoyed the journey of the four children as they escaped the hardships of the orphan school.  I'm new to a book club and may suggest this one if it hasn't already been done.  Lots of material to discuss wrt the narrator, Odysseus, and his geographical and emotional voyage.  Big thumbs up for this one.

[CountryGirl]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:35 AM, JAYJAY1979 said:

I decided to recently read books I remember my late mom read back in the 80s.  So far, I've read the following:

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Kaleidoscope by Danielle Steel

 

Both books are easy to read and enioyable....and more open/honest about harsh realities like classism, religious hypocrisy, murder, foster care, etc then books written nowadays.

I remember my mom reading The Thorn Birds and I'm pretty sure I read some pages before I returned it to the library for her. I wouldn't revisit until I was in highschool and devoured it. I loved the original mini-series as well and liked the change there where Meggie ceremoniously dumped Luke after Matlock Island with Ralph and dispensing with the part in the book where she slept with him, knowing she could very well be pregnant (and she was, with Dane), and then dumped him. Although I wish the series had kept in the part about Frank coming home. 

Kaleidoscope is one of my favorite DS books and I remember how she used to show, not tell, and really let a story build. I re-read this one recently and the scenes of Hilary and Axxie reuniting still bring me to tears. 

 

[ChuckWagon]

On 3/20/2023 at 3:41 PM, GaT said:

 

And so was the third & hopefully, the fourth book due in September will be too.

Agree! The audiobooks were fantastic! 
 

[JAYJAY1979]

On 4/12/2023 at 8:24 AM, CountryGirl said:

I remember my mom reading The Thorn Birds and I'm pretty sure I read some pages before I returned it to the library for her. I wouldn't revisit until I was in highschool and devoured it. I loved the original mini-series as well and liked the change there where Meggie ceremoniously dumped Luke after Matlock Island with Ralph and dispensing with the part in the book where she slept with him, knowing she could very well be pregnant (and she was, with Dane), and then dumped him. Although I wish the series had kept in the part about Frank coming home. 

Kaleidoscope is one of my favorite DS books and I remember how she used to show, not tell, and really let a story build. I re-read this one recently and the scenes of Hilary and Axxie reuniting still bring me to tears. 

 

Yes the reunion between Hilly and Axxie was well done.

And I understood why both of them were focused on more then the 3rd sister (due to both of them being 9 and 5)..and how the event affected both of them differently.

[blackwing]

I finished the second and third Matthew Shardlake books by CJ Sansom.

In Dark Fire, Shardlake is asked by a friend to help his niece, who has been accused of the murder of her cousin.   The girl refuses to speak or to defend herself, and things look bleak for her and she is about to be tortured to death.  However, Shardlake is granted a delay by Thomas Cromwell if he agrees to locate the source of the ancient weapon commonly known as Greek fire.  Cromwell has fallen out of favour with King Henry VIII because he is viewed by the king as being responsible for the disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves.

In Sovereign, Shardlake is asked by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to join the King's Progress to the city of York, which had rebelled against the King, and ensure the safe return of a conspirator back to London where he will be questioned.  But while in York, a glazier is mysteriously murdered.  Shardlake finds himself in possession of documents which threaten Henry's reign.

I greatly enjoyed both of these books, and despite their length, found them to be fairly fast reads.  What I like most about these books is the historical atmosphere and the well-drafted plots.  I liked how both books had two distinct mysteries which end up being somewhat intertwined.

Looking forward to the reading the rest of the series.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 4/2/2023 at 5:40 PM, isalicat said:

Thank you to whomever here recommended Cara Hunter - I just finished the first book in her series set in Oxford (Close to Home) - absolutely outstanding, and as the cover says, I was completely gobsmacked by the ending - did not see it coming at all. Brilliant! Just ordered the next two in the series, and will now alternate them with my various Nordic murder mystery authors.

I just started this and I really like it.  Thanks for the recommendation. 

[sugarbaker design]

21 hours ago, blackwing said:

I finished the second and third Matthew Shardlake books by CJ Sansom.

In Dark Fire, Shardlake is asked by a friend to help his niece, who has been accused of the murder of her cousin.   The girl refuses to speak or to defend herself, and things look bleak for her and she is about to be tortured to death.  However, Shardlake is granted a delay by Thomas Cromwell if he agrees to locate the source of the ancient weapon commonly known as Greek fire.  Cromwell has fallen out of favour with King Henry VIII because he is viewed by the king as being responsible for the disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves.

In Sovereign, Shardlake is asked by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to join the King's Progress to the city of York, which had rebelled against the King, and ensure the safe return of a conspirator back to London where he will be questioned.  But while in York, a glazier is mysteriously murdered.  Shardlake finds himself in possession of documents which threaten Henry's reign.

I greatly enjoyed both of these books, and despite their length, found them to be fairly fast reads.  What I like most about these books is the historical atmosphere and the well-drafted plots.  I liked how both books had two distinct mysteries which end up being somewhat intertwined.

Looking forward to the reading the rest of the series.

I've said it before, I love this series.

[Rushmoras]

Just finished reading Volume 1 Part 2 of War and Piece (tells a story about Duke Andrej's exploits during skirmishes of Franco-Russian war). I liked it more than the first part, mainly because at least something was going on (something other than salon talks and gossips between noble-women), but I get the feeling that the remaining Part 3 of Volume 1 will be back to salon talks of Russian nobility.

[blackwing]

3 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Just finished reading Volume 1 Part 2 of War and Piece (tells a story about Duke Andrej's exploits during skirmishes of Franco-Russian war). I liked it more than the first part, mainly because at least something was going on (something other than salon talks and gossips between noble-women), but I get the feeling that the remaining Part 3 of Volume 1 will be back to salon talks of Russian nobility.

I admire your commitment and dedication.  "War and Peace" is a book I've always felt like I "had" to read but haven't been able to bring myself to do it.  I tried starting "Anna Karenina" during Covid and stopped... too many characters, too many long Russian names and I couldn't figure out who was who.  One of these days I will have to try again.

[GaT]

I'm currently reading The Birthday Girl by Sarah Ward. This is the first book in a series, and I'm kind of bored. Her last book was published in 2018, so I was eagerly awaiting a new one, but this isn't doing it for me. Her other 2 series only consist of 2 books each, so I don't even know why she starting a new one. Plus, she's an English writer, & for some reason it's really hard to get her books, I had to buy her other ones on eBay & this one I bought on Amazon, but Amazon wasn't the seller, so I had to pay for shipping. Anyway, I hoping the story picks up, I haven't really liked anything I read in a while.

[grommit2]

Ok...my 2 cents:  almost finished with Moby Duck.
No, not Moby Dick, the one about the whale.  This one is about what happens to all of those plastic goodies (e.g. plastic yellow ducks) that get knocked off those gigantic container ships.  The author delves into the science of oceanography, manufacturing, and related topics. Part travelogue, part science lecture. All told in an up close and personal way. 

[Spartan Girl]

After seeing the Tina Turner musical, I immediately read both of her books: I, Tina and My Love Story. Both were fantastic, but I have to admit I was floored by the reveal that contrary to What’s Love Got to Do With It implied, there was never really any romance between Ike and Tina in the beginning—it was more like a friends with benefits relationship that escalated because, as we all know, he wanted control over her. But I guess the movie wanted to simplify it because they didn’t think audiences would understand the more complicated way she wound up in an abusive relationship.

Tina said she never saw the movie because the trauma still felt very raw at the time. I don’t blame her.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Spartan Girl

[EtheltoTillie]

Has anyone read Trust by Hernan Diaz?  Someone recommended it to me, but it seems tiresome. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I feel like revisiting Ireland-specifically the west, so I am re-reading Nora Roberts’ Born In trilogy. She makes me feel like I’m in County Clare. So it was after reading this for the first time that had me finally go to Ireland and visit all the places!

So I started with Born in Fire yesterday.

Edited April 26, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[SusieQ]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Has anyone read Trust by Hernan Diaz?  Someone recommended it to me, but it seems tiresome. 

I read it and enjoyed it. Don't want to say too much about it or I will spoil it. 

The first part is written the way it is for a reason. It will make sense in the later parts. 

[EtheltoTillie]

10 minutes ago, SusieQ said:

I read it and enjoyed it. Don't want to say too much about it or I will spoil it. 

The first part is written the way it is for a reason. It will make sense in the later parts. 

Well, I have it on the library list. Meanwhile, I have two SNL autobiographies:  Molly Shannon and Colin Jost. Shannon’s is very poorly written. Very scattered. She had a very strange childhood owing to her mother and sister dying in a car accident when Molly was four. Car driven by drunk father. She discusses an SNL appearance with Whitney Houston RIP, Rosie O’Donnell and Penny Marshall RIP where she appears as Mary Katherine Gallagher the Catholic school girl and Penny and Rosie are nuns. Whitney sings the little drummer boy. I googled it, and it’s hilarious. 
I haven’t read enough of Colin Jost yet. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by EtheltoTillie