What Are We Currently Reading?

[alias1]

Thanks to the person who recommended Station 11!

Which I sampled thinking it was going to be about a space station so I was a little disoriented by the early events, but as it turned out, not knowing what was going to happen was part of the fun ride.

 

Not sure I recommended it but I read it and loved it.  It prompted me to read all of her earlier books and they all have that unexpected quality about them.  But none are as good as Station Eleven..  

[Jazzy24]

Started reading The Heiress of Lynn Hagh(A Detective Lavender Mysteries) I love mysteries and this is set I think in the 1800s and have had good reviews so I'm excited to start it.

Edited September 8, 2015 by Jazzy24

[bmasters9]

[Jazzy24]

Stayed up through the night reading and finishing The Heiress of Lynn Hagh I liked it a lot. The characters were believeable and the mystery was interesting and there were twists that kept the story moving.

I started two books The Importance of Being Earnest and Girl Meets Class

[raezen]

Just finished Go Set a Watchman. I was number 14 in my library 's hold list and good thing I finished it in under a week because I checked online and there were another 12 holds after me.

I'm now working on Love May Fail by Matthew Quick. I finished part one and I'm in it for the rest of it. I'm not a person who has to like the protagonist (probably why I liked Serena ) so that is something I would warn people about, I have to admit I really didn't like Portia in the first chapter, she made some horrible life choices, but after another couple chapters I did empathize more with her.

Edited September 10, 2015 by raezen

[Danny Franks]

The Three by Sarah Lotz.

 

These sort of 'collection of accounts' novels seem to be more and more popular. I don't know whether it's easier or harder than writing a single prose narrative, but it makes for an interesting read. Especially this one, because the central aspect is the mystery so you can only attempt to figure out what's going on by piecing it together from the different recollections.

 

The story is actually pretty chilling, and the tension is mounting quite nicely, by a third of the way into the book.

[Pepper Mostly]

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. I love it. My mother introduced me to her books and now I've read several, love 'em all. I'm not really much of a fiction reader but I am hooked!

[Rick Kitchen]

Robert Conroy's alt history Liberty 1784, about if the American Revolution had failed, and the major leaders of the Revolution are imprisoned or executed, the British government goes medieval on the colonies, and the remnants of the Patriot leadership starts a new country in Chicago.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Light in August by William Faulkner. It's early going but I have to admit, I'm struggling. And I've heard this is one of the most accessible of Faulkner's works. I hope it picks up soon.

 

I enjoy Faulkner, but yeah, his writing is pretty dense.

 

I was poking through my books, looking for something I haven't (re)read in a while, and found my Andrew Vachss books. Its sort of urban detective fiction, about a guy named Burke who grew up in the system, both foster care and prison, and works for people who are looking for their children. The first book, Flood, is a little weak since it doesn't have much in common with the rest of the Burke series, but once Vachss hits his stride its some good reading.

[alias1]

I finished Hugo and Rose (Bridget Foley) and I was disappointed.  Too much fantasy, too unbelievable, and even somewhat creepy.  The main character has the same dream EVERY night since she was a little girl.  The dream sequences were too long and Rose is basically a rich, bored housewife escaping into her dreams.  Some of the writing was good, but the story was not.  I give it 2 stars.

[random chance]

The main character has the same dream EVERY night since she was a little girl.  The dream sequences were too long and Rose is basically a rich, bored housewife escaping into her dreams.

I don't remember the book now but I was reading something recently where the narrator described her dream for several paragraphs and I suddenly realized: this is just as boring in books as it is in real life. Her dream could have held the secrets of the universe and I still didn't want to hear about it.

[Deanie87]

I just finished the book that focused on Clara/Peter and agreed it was boring. I don't like them either. I just started the new book - fingers crossed!

 

I am currently reading A Rule Against Murder (the one about Peter's family at the lodge, I hope this is the only one that focuses on Clara/Peter) and I totally agree. Clara especially grates on my nerves, she is so insecure and needy.  Its one of those Muder She Wrote things where I keep wanting the Inspector to get suspicious about how often murder follows these two around.  I do love the series, though, I breeze through the books in no time.

 

I finished this last night, and the mystery did get much more engaging as I got further in.  I'd recommend it, although it isn't Todd's best Bess Crawford book.  Still needed more Simon Brandon.

 

I haven't read the Bess Crawford series, but I do enjoy the Rutledge novels.  I find that I need to space them out, though.  Not only because of the voices in his head, but between those and the many recent PBS series, I get overloaded with WWI.  Have you read the Rutledge novels?  How does Bess Crawford compare?

 

I was one who just couldn't get into the Harry Potter Series (and I'm a librarian - blasphemy!) or A Casual Vacancy.  But I have really enjoyed the Cormoran Strike series.  Maybe because I much prefer mysteries or it could be because I listened to them on audiobook and the narrator was very good.  Cormoran kind of reminds me of Jackson Brodie from the Kate Atkinson novels who I love and highly recommend.

 

I am getting ready to start my third in the Mons Kallentoft Malin Fors series (although it is actually the first in the series), Midwinter Blood.  They take place in Sweden and are pretty good.  They are dark and the dysfunctional policewoman and dead victim narration are tiresome, but they mysteries themselves are absorbing.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Deanie87

[NewDigs]

I can't quit the Inspector Gamache series, though I have been

tempted. And have said I would. But I have the latest on my tablet.

The Peter-Clara thing seemed contrived, the B&B guy's guilt or innocence was drawn out and seemed contrived. And the later mysteries surrounding the lodge? To me, contrived. It feels almost like Penny's publisher's contract did not allow her the time to best plot. That happens often but I will read the latest.

I think I read Rule Against Murder as the title Murder Stone and at this point the series, imho, just keeps getting better. Enjoy!

Wasn't crazy about Little Paris Bookshop but I think mainly because it skirts a bit too closely to magical realism for me. I could have done with about 100 fewer pages.

But I'm glad I forgot that I had sworn off Kathy Reichs. Tempe in Afghanistan did nothing for me but Speaking in Bones was quite good. Tempe didn't have quite as many personal issues invading the story.

Thanks Deanie87 for the Mons Kallentoft recommendation. I have been steaming through Nordic Noir and love finding new authors.

Edit for really bad formatting.

Edited September 14, 2015 by NewDigs

[proserpina65]

I haven't read the Bess Crawford series, but I do enjoy the Rutledge novels.  I find that I need to space them out, though.  Not only because of the voices in his head, but between those and the many recent PBS series, I get overloaded with WWI.  Have you read the Rutledge novels?  How does Bess Crawford compare?

 

I really enjoy both series.  I wax and wan on which I prefer.  The main difference is that while Rutledge's involvement in various cases is organic due to his profession, Bess Crawford's is a bit contrived sometimes.  But I love the characters in that series a lot, especially a couple of the supporting characters, and I find the WWI setting fascinating.  The Crawford novels are set during WWI, often at the front, and her position as a nurse gives the character an interesting and unexpected pov.  (Having read these books gave me some insight into the setting of The Crimson Field when I watched it.)

[bubbls]

I'm reading Breakthrough by Michael C. Grumley. This description intrigued me: With the help of a powerful computer system, Alison Shaw and her team are preparing to translate the first two-way conversation with the planet's second smartest species. But the team discovers much more from their dolphins than they ever expected when a secret object is revealed on the ocean floor. One that was never supposed to be found.

[random chance]

That does sound intriguing. I'll give it a shot too.

[Danny Franks]

Just finished The Six Gun Tarot, by R.S. Belcher. A western/horror/fantasy mix of a novel, that was a whole load of fun. Set in a small town out in the old west, where things are just a bit unusual (the town sheriff is undead, his deputy is some sort of coyote in human form, and there's something lurking in the silver mine that really should be left alone), it touches on theology, mysticism, history. Bags of invention and some vivid characters. Now I need to get my hands on the second book.

[Qoass]

Read Did You Ever Have  Family by Bill Clegg in two days and loved it in all its sadness.

[OakGoblinFly]

Just finished The Six Gun Tarot, by R.S. Belcher. A western/horror/fantasy mix of a novel, that was a whole load of fun. Set in a small town out in the old west, where things are just a bit unusual (the town sheriff is undead, his deputy is some sort of coyote in human form, and there's something lurking in the silver mine that really should be left alone), it touches on theology, mysticism, history. Bags of invention and some vivid characters. Now I need to get my hands on the second book.

 

 

This sounds really interesting - I'm adding it to my reading queue.

[NewDigs]

I just finished, and very much enjoyed, Make Your Life Among Srangers about a first gen Cuban-American from Miami going off to a status (unnamed) NE University.

Not at all a coming-of-age novel but rather a trying-to-fit-in novel. I think it was beautifully done. I am trusting the author's, Jeannine Capo Crucet's, evocative and atmospheric narrative as honest. It felt it to be true

[random chance]

I just finished, and very much enjoyed, Make Your Life Among Srangers about a first gen Cuban-American from Miami going off to a status (unnamed) NE University.

Is it possibly Make Your Home Among Strangers? Just checking that it's not a sequel or something.

[NewDigs]

Is it possibly Make Your Home Among Strangers? Just checking that it's not a sequel or something.

You are absolutely correct.

I would love a sequel.

[AuntiePam]

The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe -- epistolary novel, letters to and from a man recently released from prison, where he served time for financial fraud against his twin brother.  He comes into possession of a weird house, encounters all kinds of strange things (he keeps discovering rooms) and creatures who want to harm him or use him (shape-shifters, a werewolf).  He also meets a couple of women who -- for no reason I could discern -- are attracted to him.  I would have enjoyed it more but the man's lackadaisacal attitude about all the weirdness put me off. 

 

Currently reading Arthur and George by Julian Barnes.  It's a miniseries on PBS.  I missed the first episode, decided to read the book first.  Arthur is Arthur Conan Doyle, George is an Indian (from India) who is accused of animal mutilations.  I really like the writing and plan to read more by Barnes.

[Bunty]

The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe -- epistolary novel, letters to and from a man recently released from prison, where he served time for financial fraud against his twin brother.

 

Another interesting novel set entirely in letters is Freedom & Necessity by Stephen Brust and Emma Bull

 

Library Journal Review

Where can you read about Marx, Engels, and Napoleon Bonaparte, plus numerous other historic characters in one book? In this new fantasy novel by Brust (Agyar, LJ 2/15/94) and Bull (Finder, LJ 2/15/93), that's where. Although the body of James Cobham has not been found, he is assumed to have drowned in an accident in 1849. Two months after the accident, his cousin, Richard, receives a letter from James annoucing that he is alive and in hiding, but he can't recall the past two months. Richard writes back, advising James to stay in hiding because he suspects foul play. The correspondence unfolds among several characters and reveals James's mysterious past. Resembling the works of Tolstoy and Dickens in the plethora of characters, Stoker in the and Mary Shelly in the presented exposition, the novel brings together intrigue, adventure, politics, and magic in a complex epic that astonishes the reader.

[Rick Kitchen]

Brust is awesome, I'll have to find that.

[RealityCheck]

I've just started listening to the audiobook, Poirot and Me, written and narrated by David Suchet.  Since I've watched many of the Poirot episodes on PBS and listened to most of the Poirot audiobooks, most narrated by Suchet or Hugh Fraser, I'm enjying this insight into how Suchet's Poirot came into being.

[Athena]

Speaking of Poirot, I read The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah. I don't recommend it.

[Lovecat]

I just finished, and very much enjoyed, Make Your Life Among Srangers about a first gen Cuban-American from Miami going off to a status (unnamed) NE University.

Not at all a coming-of-age novel but rather a trying-to-fit-in novel. I think it was beautifully done. I am trusting the author's, Jeannine Capo Crucet's, evocative and atmospheric narrative as honest. It felt it to be true

That's the audiobook I'm listening to at the moment!  The college isn't unnamed (Rawlings College), but it is fictional.  I'm enjoying it so far.

[jenh526]

The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein. Slogging my way through it.

[alias1]

I can't quit the Inspector Gamache series, though I have been

tempted. And have said I would. But I have the latest on my tablet.

The Peter-Clara thing seemed contrived, the B&B guy's guilt or innocence was drawn out and seemed contrived. And the later mysteries surrounding the lodge? To me, contrived. It feels almost like Penny's publisher's contract did not allow her the time to best plot. That happens often but I will read the latest.

I think I read Rule Against Murder as the title Murder Stone and at this point the series, imho, just keeps getting better. Enjoy!

Wasn't crazy about Little Paris Bookshop but I think mainly because it skirts a bit too closely to magical realism for me. I could have done with about 100 fewer pages.

 

I've been somewhat disenchanted with the Gamache series (Louise Penny).  They seem up and down.  I really hated the last book that focused on Peter and Clara.  It was the most boring in the series.  I'm still waiting for The Nature of the Beast to be available from the library.  I think I may be next.

 

I just finished The Little Paris Bookshop and totally agree with your review.  It took way too long to get to the end.  I think it's supposed to be a feel good book and I really should have enjoyed it more. 

 

Now I'm reading The Novel Habits of Happiness (Alexander McCall Smith) the latest  in his Isabel Dalhousie series.   I love this author, especially the 44 Scotland Street series.   

 

And I just started X by Sue Grafton.

[Rick Kitchen]

I love that Grafton gave up on trying to come up with a title for the X book and just called it "X".  :D

[Skyline]

In the middle of Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg. 

[AuntiePam]

Finished Arthur & George -- very satisfying.  Didn't realize that it was based on real life.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helps George Edalji, an Indian solicitor who was convicted of animal mutilations and spend three years in prison.  The novel was almost biographical, for both men, and really interesting.

 

Current read is The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross.  The protagonist works for The Laundry, a "black ops" organization that protects the world from Cthulhu, et al.  I wish I were more of a geek -- there's a LOT of technical and scientific stuff going on -- but it's still entertaining, and funny, and a bit scary. 

[AltLivia]

Currently reading The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler. An out-of-work librarian in a crumbling beach house receives a mysterious book concerning his family's circus past. It could impact his troubled sister's future.

 

I've read mixed reviews, claiming that the circus flashbacks are more interesting than the librarian's present, but I disagree. The novel is very vivid, there's a fine mix of mysticism and emotional impact. Loving it. I've seen it compared to The Night Circus, which I also read and surprisingly, didn't like. I think I just didn't read it attentively.

[random chance]

I'm reading Breakthrough by Michael C. Grumley. This description intrigued me: With the help of a powerful computer system, Alison Shaw and her team are preparing to translate the first two-way conversation with the planet's second smartest species. But the team discovers much more from their dolphins than they ever expected when a secret object is revealed on the ocean floor. One that was never supposed to be found.

 

Did you finish it?  I did, and I downloaded the sequel (or Part 2?) but I haven't started that one yet.  I won't say more until I know you finished it.

Edited September 28, 2015 by random chance

[raezen]

I just finished reading 'Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock ', by Matthew Quick. The book takes place during Leonard' s 18th birthday which Leonard has vowed he would kill his former best friend and himself before it is over. I really enjoyed the book and I even dare to say that it would pair well with 'Catcher in the Rye '. Both Leonard and Holden come from rather well off backgrounds with permissive parents that don't seem to see the pain their sons' are in. And both books have themes about the loss of innocence.

[bubbls]

Did you finish it?  I did, and I downloaded the sequel (or Part 2?) but I haven't started that one yet.  I won't say more until I know you finished it.

 

 

Yes, I did. It was pretty good. I was hoping for more dolphin stuff! Did you enjoy it?  I started the sequel but had to stop once it got into the subject of

medical experiments on animals.

. I just can't read about that stuff.

Edited September 29, 2015 by bubbls

[AuntiePam]

Finished The Martian by Andy Weir.  Quick read, because I skimmed most of the technical stuff.  It was written simply enough for a non-geek to understand, but the human interactions were more interesting to me.  I'm not a movie-goer but I'd like to see this one, to see what everything looks like.  I was halfway through the book before I understood that the HAB -- where Mark Watney lived -- was just a big canvas tent.  And I'd like to see Ridley's vision of the Martian landscape. 

[random chance]

Yes, I did. It was pretty good. I was hoping for more dolphin stuff! Did you enjoy it?  I started the sequel but had to stop once it got into the subject of

medical experiments on animals.

. I just can't read about that stuff.

Ah man glad I read the spoiler, I can't handle that either. I did enjoy the first one though, thanks for recommending it!

[Crim]

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes. I'm just at the beginning, but the world building is so good. Noir urban fantasy in a crumbling alt-Johannesburg, with an interesting take on discrimination. The people who have an animal companion were all guilty of something; and not having an animal companion means a lack of guilt, with the possible, game-changing exception of psychopaths who just don't feel it - not sure if this will go anywhere. I expected the setting to have racial tones, but the interaction with the police was an ex-con type of situation. Navigating a world where you carry a visual representation of a previous crime while others invoke moral superiority by its absence is interesting.

[bubbls]

I'm currently reading The Doomsday Testament by James Douglas. It involves a found diary from WW2, Nazis, stolen art, etc. It's pretty good for an inexpensive little Kindle book. I think it's finalizing with a big chase scene, which I'll skim over.

 

 

 

Ah man glad I read the spoiler, I can't handle that either. I did enjoy the first one though, thanks for recommending it!

 

You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D I was pretty disappointed in the subject of the second one as I wanted to continue the story. It's a secondary subject actually, but I still had to skim-read those parts to skip them and I just couldn't.

Edited October 1, 2015 by bubbls

[Rick Kitchen]

The Desert and the Blade by SM Stirling, the latest in his never-ending Emberverse series.  There are so many characters!!!

[Jazzy24]

Started Pet Sematary and so far so good.

[bubbls]

I just started The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'm on page 9 and already annoyed by the main character. Not sure I'll go any further once I find out the secret.

[random chance]

I just started The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'm on page 9 and already annoyed by the main character. Not sure I'll go any further once I find out the secret.

Stick with it, you will not be sorry.

[alias1]

I just started The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'm on page 9 and already annoyed by the main character. Not sure I'll go any further once I find out the secret.

I will say that I enjoyed this particular Liane Moriarty book, but I've read a couple others of hers that I didn't like.  I thought Big Little Lies (everyone's favorite, it seems) trivialized a very serious subject.  I've come to think of her as chick lit (not that there's anything wrong with that), but it seems to me she pretends to be a more serious writer than she really is.  Just my humble opinion, of course. 

[NewDigs]

Just finished, and very much enjoyed Lorna Landvik's Best to Laugh. It's loaded with her usual cast of quirky characters though these populate a semi-historical old Hollywood apartment complex. Of course the protagonist is from MN.

It was a really fun breezy read and I have since learned it is semi-autobiographical. It did seem to have a healthy helping of verisimilitude and that's probably why.

Very fast very funny read. I was a little surprised how attached I had become to the characters and shed more than a couple of tears, happy and sad, though the ending came off a little too, I dunno, pat?

ETA it takes place in the 60s and 70s. That era frequently appeals to me.

Edited October 2, 2015 by NewDigs

[random chance]

I will say that I enjoyed this particular Liane Moriarty book, but I've read a couple others of hers that I didn't like.  I thought Big Little Lies (everyone's favorite, it seems) trivialized a very serious subject.  I've come to think of her as chick lit (not that there's anything wrong with that), but it seems to me she pretends to be a more serious writer than she really is.  Just my humble opinion, of course.

Well just so you know where I'm coming from if I recommend something - I am not a serious reader at all.

[alias1]

Well just so you know where I'm coming from if I recommend something - I am not a serious reader at all.

It's all good.  I hope you didn't take offense at anything I said.  I love varying opinions. 

Edited October 3, 2015 by SierraMist

[random chance]

No not at all, I really am not a serious reader.  My highest praise: "I couldn't put it down."  Worst thing I can say: "Got bored and gave up, even though I paid ten bucks for it."  Like right now I'm reading an Anna Quindlen's Every Last One and*

and I want to kick myself for wasting the money, because I'm 37% through it and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET.  And if somebody isn't doing something epic by the 50% mark, I'm out.  Update: it took off at a gallop at about the halfway mark.  I should probably be more patient, but I've been burned by a lot of "good" books this year.

 

*edited for spoiler tags since I named the book.

Edited October 4, 2015 by random chance