What Are We Currently Reading?

[alias1]

I used to love both the Hamish and the Agatha Raisin books, but they have become kind of stale.  I thought the last Agatha book was maybe a little better than the two before that.  They got a little better when she introduced more characters into her detective staff.  But she doesn't use use those characters very effectively.  They are becoming as stale and predictable as Agatha herself.   And Hamish needs a total overhaul.  The whole thing with Priscilla needs to either go away or go somewhere.

 

As for Josephine Tey, if you are interested in Richard the 3rd, or possibly historical fiction, then maybe The Daughter of Time is the Best Mystery Book Ever.  I've read it called that and I don't get it   It was actually my least favorite of her books with Inspector Alan Grant.  My favorite book of hers is a stand-a-lone called Miss Pym Disposes (which is probably not a very popular opinion, but there you go).  I hope you enjoy The Daughter of Time and I'll be anxious to read your review.      

[GaT]

I also got Joesphine Tey's The Daughter of Time Christmas which I am excited to start.  It is lauded as one of the best mysteries of all time, but it has been really hard to locate in any of the libraries in my entire state for some reason.

I haven't read The Daughter of Time in a very long time, but I recently had to rearrange my books so it came to mind again & I was thinking of rereading it. I think Josephine Tey is an underrated writer, I really enjoy her mysteries, she's right at the top IMO, I think you'll enjoy the book.

[AuntiePam]

Finished The Orenda and loved it, but it should be X-rated for explicit scenes of torture.  Someone recommended The Black Robe by Brian Moore, another novel set in that time and place -- Ontario in the 1600's with Jesuits, Huron, and Iroquois.  It'll be interesting to compare the two.

 

Started Blindness by Jose Saramago and realized I'd read it before.  Next up on the Kindle was The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, so Hitler it is.  I totally agree with the author that if Hitler's grandpa hadn't legitimized Hitler's dad, meaning his last name would be Schickelgruber -- he might never have risen to power.  Heil Schickelgruber? 

 

Then again, I never thought George Clooney would be famous.  George?  Clooney?  Come on.  See also Benedict Cumberbatch.

[Babalu]

Deanie87 - I love The Daughter of Time. I first read it in the early or mid '80s and thought it was mind-blowing. That was the first I'd heard about other theories of Richard III/the princes in the Tower, and there's been quite a bit of publicity since then, so it's certainly not as much of a revelation now as it was to me then, but still very much worth reading. (I hope that's not spoiling anything for you, but I'm guessing you already generally know what it's about and won't give specifics about what conclusions Alan Grant's research leads him to.)

[Deanie87]

I will definitely report back after reading the Tey book.  I haven't read others of hers and I do love historical fiction, especially British history, so I imagine that I will enjoy it.  Before I start it though, I have to finish The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which was also on the list of best mysteries.  I am only on the third chapter, but so far I really like it.  It doesn't seem to be a mystery in the sense of murder and detectives, more along the lines of a mysterious antiquarian book dealer and the quest for the enigmatic author, etc. etc.  Lots of eccentric book lovers, gorgeously described libraries and 1945 Barcelona so what's not to love!

Edited for double post

Edited January 3, 2016 by Deanie87

[Rick Kitchen]

Deanie, the Tey book is not historical fiction.  A modern day (at the time of the writing) policeman investigates the deaths of the Princes.

[AltLivia]

I finished Station Eleven over New Year's. I was engrossed...to a point. Then the Arthur Leander flashbacks just stunted the pacing and became obnoxious. Leander says at one point that he treated a childhood friend "like a diary, rather than a person," and I think that's how he treated everyone in his life. His constant, insincere remorse and introspection were just dull as dishwater. I felt like the novel was punishing the Miranda character in some way that I can't define.

 

As for 

Tyler's identity as the prophet

I saw that coming from miles away.

 

Just not a fan, overall.

 

Up next: Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning and Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg

Edited January 5, 2016 by AltLivia

[Haleth]

I gave up on Saint Mazie when I realized I wasn't enjoying waiting for something to happen.  

[Darian]

The Martian, finally! So far, I love it. 

[tennisgurl]

The Martian is next on my list! Currently reading City of Thieves. Really good book, and a really interesting look at the Eastern Front in WWII. It impressively manages to keep a lot of humor in a really bleak story/setting. 

[proserpina65]

I'm currently reading the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. I'm on Book 5 of 8. One of my friends recommended to me after I lamented I wanted more dragons in my reading life. I am enjoying the series so far, but the war in the books has been going on a long time. I wish there were more female characters and that one of the protagonists was less stuffy. Aside from these minor quibbles, the plots and world building are very engaging.

I loved these books, although at some point I lost track and have missed the last one.  The war does go on a long time, but the wars between England and Revolutionary France/Napoleon lasted from 1792 to 1815, with brief pauses in 1802-1803 and 1814-1815, so the author is following the template of history.

 

I loved that the dragons had such individual personalities.  Iskierka was my favorite character in all of the books I've read so far.

[proserpina65]

I'm currently reading In the Heart of the Sea, the true story of the sinking of the whaleship Essex, the story upon which Herman Melville built the conclusion of Moby Dick.  It was a little slow getting into it, but once the ship sinks, it's quite gripping.  I recently saw the Ron Howard movie based on the book, and have found the changes he made quite illuminating.

[Athena]

I loved these books, although at some point I lost track and have missed the last one.  The war does go on a long time, but the wars between England and Revolutionary France/Napoleon lasted from 1792 to 1815, with brief pauses in 1802-1803 and 1814-1815, so the author is following the template of history.

 

I loved that the dragons had such individual personalities.  Iskierka was my favorite character in all of the books I've read so far.

 

You should read Book #8: Blood of Tyrants then. It starts off rocky, but the second and third parts are better. Yeah, the wars did historically go for a long time, but reading a series for eight books all around one war has dragged for a bit at times. Novik's pacing isn't great. I've read War and Peace and I felt that went faster because it was just the one book.

 

The series has its faults, but is on the whole, really fun and entertaining. I look forward to the release of book #9 in May which is allegedly the final installment.

[proserpina65]

You should read Book #8: Blood of Tyrants then. It starts off rocky, but the second and third parts are better. Yeah, the wars did historically go for a long time, but reading a series for eight books all around one war has dragged for a bit at times. Novik's pacing isn't great. I've read War and Peace and I felt that went faster because it was just the one book.

 

The series has its faults, but is on the whole, really fun and entertaining. I look forward to the release of book #9 in May which is allegedly the final installment.

Thanks, I'll definitely check for it at the library.  I guess my perspective on the pacing may be related to my reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books - the war takes a lot of books there, too.  And the fact that I find the Napoleanic Wars (particularly at sea) fascinating probably helps as well.  The focus on the war is most likely the reason that I've enjoyed the first and third books the most.

[Pepper Mostly]

If you like non-fiction I highly recommend "Nothing to Envy" by Barbara Demick. It's about North Korea in the 1990's and how the people were starving. It's better than it sounds. Also, I loved "Sybil Exposed" by Debbie Nathan. About Sybil and her " multiple personalities". Oh, and there's "Second-Chance Mother" by Debbie Roessle. About why looking for the child you relinquished at birth may not always be a good thing. I'm not reading anything right now, but those are among the last things I read. All really good.

Nothing to Envy is on my top ten forever, and I'm probably boring the bejesus out of everyone I know by constantly recommending it! I've been on a North Korea kick for awhile, it utterly fascinates me. I've read Escape from Camp 14 and a The Girl with Seven Names and Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader and a bunch of others. Can't get enough! I've also read Sybil Exposed, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Since we seem to have very similar taste, I'm going to pick up Second-Chance Mother! Have you read The Girls Who Went Away? Great book, about women who became pregnant in the 60's and were sent to homes for unwed mothers and gave their babies up for adoption. Really great look at the culture of that time.

 

I read The Buried Giant earlier this year and thought it's plot was a little too vague (not to mention tedious).  It's kind of an allegory where all memories are shrouded in a mist (and unreliable).  It was a chore for me to finish it.  I think I understood all the symbolism but, ultimately, the book was unsatisfying.

I read The Buried Giant, and while I kept turning the pages, I felt like I was left unsatisfied at the end. The Remains of the Day is one of my all time favorites but the other books that I've read by Ishiguro have fallen short of that masterpiece, to me.

 

Reading Black Mass now, since my son and I saw the movie (most of the Boston accents were terrible, as usual! WHY can't they get it right??). the book is kind of slow going but its interesting to me since I'm from Boston. Over Xmas I read three more Kate Atkinsons, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News, and Started Early, Took My Dog. All just wonderful. She's fantastic.

[savannah1985]

Nothing to Envy is on my top ten forever, and I'm probably boring the bejesus out of everyone I know by constantly recommending it! I've been on a North Korea kick for awhile, it utterly fascinates me. I've read Escape from Camp 14 and a The Girl with Seven Names and Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader and a bunch of others. Can't get enough! I've also read Sybil Exposed, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Since we seem to have very similar taste, I'm going to pick up Second-Chance Mother! Have you read The Girls Who Went Away? Great book, about women who became pregnant in the 60's and were sent to homes for unwed mothers and gave their babies up for adoption. Really great look at the culture of that time.

 

I'm going to recommend "The Reluctant Communist" about one of the few Americans who defected to Korea during the war and was not allowed to return for forty years. Really good. Also "The Aquariums of Pyongyang."

[Pepper Mostly]

I've read the Aquariums of Pyongyang but I will definitely check out the other one, thanks!

[GaT]

I'm reading In Bitter Chill, the debut novel from Sarah Ward. It's a British procedural mystery, and it's one of my favorite things, a crime in the past linking to a crime in the present. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, but so far, so good.

[SmithW6079]

I've been fascinated by North Korea too, lately. I read "Nothing to Envy" and "Escape from Camp 14" -- I even went to Google Maps to find its location. There's another one I read which name escapes me.

[Kalliste]

Currently on a re-read of Playing Beattie Bow by Ruth Park and hoping I enjoy it as much as I did when I was 17.

[AltLivia]

Finished Saint Mazie. It held my interest - the altruistic angle was the least interesting bit, but the novel presented presented a well-rounded person. I also loved the interviews with the journalist's ex and current boyfriend(s). It was nice to get that bit of something different.

Now on to Girl On A Train. Inordinately late on this, I know. The novel began quite interestingly, but now feels tedious. If I'm proved wrong, I'll be stunned, but isn't the twist obvious? That

Rachel murdered Megan

?

In any event, Rachel is truly sloppy, selfish and depressing.

ETA: Boy, was I wrong! Still, did not ultimately enjoy the novel.

Edited January 16, 2016 by AltLivia

[bmasters9]

[cherrypj]

I read and re-read Herriot when I was young, and my youngest just expressed an interest in being a vet. Perfect timing, bmasters9.

[bmasters9]

I read and re-read Herriot when I was young, and my youngest just expressed an interest in being a vet. Perfect timing, bmasters9.

Thanks! I had never read this before, but I had heard of the title. I'm thinking of getting the sequel to it when I finish with this one. 

[AnnaMayWong]

I'm currently reading Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews, it's the 8th book in the Kate Daniels series. If you like urban fantasy, I recommend this series.

From the Ilona Andrews web site:

I enjoy her/his books so much!

[Sharpie66]

I read a lot of James Herriot when I was in junior high back in the 1970s, and I just loved him.

 

I read Ishiguro's The Buried Giant over the summer, and was rather "meh" about it. It was my first exposure to Ishiguro, although I do have Never Let Her Go on my To Be Read shelf. Giant should have been in my wheelhouse, since I'm a big fan of medieval British history/literature/fantasy, but it just meandered along until the last chapter, when all of the sudden my emotions were engaged and I burst into tears. Since the rest of the book left me a bit cold, I have to go with the "meh" rating, overall.

 

Right now, I'm almost halfway through The Girls of Atomic City, about Oak Ridge, TN in WWII, where they refined uranium for the Manhattan Project. It reads like a third-person oral history, and there are lots of fun details about day-to-day life in the city, as well some stuff about the goings-on at the various plants. I loved the story from one young woman who had invested $33 in a brand-new pair of shoes in New York City before leaving for her new job in an unknown destination (everyone who relocated there had no idea where they were going until they arrived!). When she got to the brand-new housing area, which was just a sea of mud, and saw her fellow new arrivals step out of their cars and sink knee-deep into the mud, she stayed in the car and told the driver she was not going to ruin her expensive new shoes, and he ended up carrying her from the car to the front door of her residence. The women became used to carrying their shoes to the office/plant, and just walking in their bare feet.

[Pepper Mostly]

Thanks! I had never read this before, but I had heard of the title. I'm thinking of getting the sequel to it when I finish with this one. 

There are four in the series all together, so you're in for a lot of enjoyment! I've read them all, many times, they are perfect comfort reading.

[EighteenTwelve]

I read Leviathan Wakes over the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I thought it was an interesting story and pretty well told, but it was pretty gruesome (more so than I really wanted while on vacation).  Since the gruesomeness is part of the plot, I'm not sure I want to read the next four books in the series.  Has anybody else read more of them? 

[Darian]

Just finishing up Bellweather Rhapsody and it is a fun, fun read. The book blurb reads, "Fifteen years ago, a murder-suicide in room 712 rocked the grand old Bellweather Hotel and the young bridesmaid who witnessed it, Minnie Graves. Now hundreds of high school musicians have gathered at the Bellweather for the annual Statewide festival; Minnie has returned to face her demons; and a blizzard is threatening to trap them all inside. When a young prodigy disappears from infamous room 712, the search for her entwines an eccentric cast of conductors and caretakers, teenagers on the verge and adults haunted by memories. A genre-bending page-turner, full of playful nods to pop-culture classics from The Shining to Agatha Christie to Glee, Bellweather Rhapsody is a winning new novel from a writer to watch."

 

 

[Danny Franks]

I read Leviathan Wakes over the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I thought it was an interesting story and pretty well told, but it was pretty gruesome (more so than I really wanted while on vacation).  Since the gruesomeness is part of the plot, I'm not sure I want to read the next four books in the series.  Has anybody else read more of them? 

 

I've read them all, and love them. I presume you're talking about the effects of the protomolecule? If so, then I'd say the first book is the most gruesome. The subsequent volumes are more about the way different factions try to use the protomolecule, or other means, to destabilise the balance of power. There are definitely no other sequences like the one on Eros.

[EighteenTwelve]

Thanks!  I guess I'll put the second book on my "look for this when the Kindle arrives on Friday" list.

[Rick Kitchen]

Bellweather Rhapsody sounds like it's made to be a movie.

[GaT]

I'm reading a kind of different book right now, it's The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. It's a YA book, but the description really attracted me 

"What if you aren't the Chosen One? The one who's supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

 

What if you're like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again."

 

 

As a "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" fan the description caught my eye because basically it's what happens when you're one of the other kids living in a town that gets vampires, & Gods, & other strange things attacking, but you're not one of the people (in this case it's the "Indie" kids) who fight them? Each chapter begins with a paragraph about what is happening to the Indie kids, then it goes onto the lives of the main characters who I'm finding pretty interesting. So far it's been an enjoyable read.

[Rick Kitchen]

Sort of just tangential, but there's a new TV series in the works which is about the people who have to clean up the messes after the superheroes have fought over the city.

[truthaboutluv]

I just got done reading Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. Apparently it was a bestseller and there were a lot of positive reviews all over Amazon for it. And I will say it was a fun and interesting little read but honestly, I ended the book not caring or really liking any of these characters. I know the writer was clearly going for tough, bitchy, even unlikable lead character that once we peel away the layers the reader would come to understand and sympathize a lot more with but that never really happened for me.

 

Don't get me wrong, Ani definitely had some really awful things happen to her and went through some really traumatic experiences but I still didn't think that fundamentally, she was ever a good person. I'm also not sure what I was supposed to feel about the whole stuff with the teacher/former teacher. Again, it was a quick and fun enough read - would make for a great beach book but in all, not really that impressed. 

Edited January 14, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[cherrypj]

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. God, it was lovely. So good. The main character was just super.

 

It's about the fourth son of an emperor who becomes emperor after his father and three older brothers all die in an accident. His father was an elf, and his mother was a goblin (stay with me!). It's all court intrigue, and there are names like Varenechibel and Untheileneise, but I couldn't put it down.

 

What a marvellously welcoming, readable book.

[Rick Kitchen]

Second the recommendation for Goblin Emperor.

[psychoticstate]

I am currently reading "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson and . . . wow, just wow. The book threw a major twist - -two actually - - much earlier than I was expecting. I can't wait to see where this is going.

I finished "Room 1219" by Greg Merritt over the Christmas holidays and I thought the author did a fantastic job with the subject. He got a lot of the nitty gritty details of Roscoe Arbuckle's life and all three trials. His theory on what may truly have happened in San Francisco was very interesting and makes a lot of sense.

[alias1]

I am currently reading "The Kind Worth Killing" by Peter Swanson and . . . wow, just wow. The book threw a major twist - -two actually - - much earlier than I was expecting. I can't wait to see where this is going.

The Kind Worth Killing was my favorite book of last year for pure enjoyment.  I don't understand how a lightweight such as The Girl On The Train keeps appearing on the best seller list and this does not.  Everyone who has read it (I think) loves it. 

 

And I tried to read The Luckiest Girl Alive, but after just a couple of chapters I knew it was nothing I wanted to read, so I passed on it. 

[AltLivia]

Reading Too Late To Say Goodbye by Ann Rule now. I know that Rule passed away relatively recently. I've never read her work, but I picked it up on a whim. It's pretty engrossing. I've seen the author on a couple Investigation Discovery shows and wonder whether her books on any of those cases would be worth reading.

 

Curious about Peter Swanson now, guys. I looked up my library listings and all they have is The Girl With A Clock For A Heart.

[alias1]

Curious about Peter Swanson now, guys. I looked up my library listings and all they have is The Girl With A Clock For A Heart.

I haven't read that one but the reviews are not as good.  I hope you find The Kind Worth Killing.  At my library you can make a request for a book if they don't have it. 

[Qoass]

I'm really enjoying My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.  If you liked her Olive Kitteridge, you'll probably like this too.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Reading Too Late To Say Goodbye by Ann Rule now. I know that Rule passed away relatively recently. I've never read her work, but I picked it up on a whim. It's pretty engrossing. I've seen the author on a couple Investigation Discovery shows and wonder whether her books on any of those cases would be worth reading.

 

Rule also wrote The Stranger Beside Me, about Ted Bundy and the murders he committed. She actually knew Bundy before he was charged and convicted, because they worked together at a suicide prevention hotline, so when she started to write the book she had no idea that he was the killer.

[psychoticstate]

Reading Too Late To Say Goodbye by Ann Rule now. I know that Rule passed away relatively recently. I've never read her work, but I picked it up on a whim. It's pretty engrossing. I've seen the author on a couple Investigation Discovery shows and wonder whether her books on any of those cases would be worth reading.

 

Curious about Peter Swanson now, guys. I looked up my library listings and all they have is The Girl With A Clock For A Heart.

 

 

I haven't read that one but the reviews are not as good.  I hope you find The Kind Worth Killing.  At my library you can make a request for a book if they don't have it. 

 

I read The Girl With a Clock For a Heart and while I enjoyed it, I will say that I think The Kind Worth Killing is a better book.  So far.

[alias1]

I'm really enjoying My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.  If you liked her Olive Kitteridge, you'll probably like this too.

Thanks for reminding me about this book.  I just put it on hold, and wow, there are 17 people ahead of me! 

[Qoass]

Don't worry, SierraMist, it's under 200 pages so you'll have it in no time.

[Darian]

Thanks for reminding me about this book.  I just put it on hold, and wow, there are 17 people ahead of me! 

I'm number eight in the queue! I loved Olive Kitteridge, liked Amy and Isabelle quite a bit, but was lukewarm about The Burgess Boys. Not sure why. 

 

Zipping through A Spool of Blue Thread, which I am enjoying, but with about a third left, I'm ready for it to end. My ereader is downstairs and I know I've got a half-dozen new books on it, but can't remember what they are. That may not bode well.  

[ShellSeeker]

I just finished The Other Wife by Kathleen Irene Paterka. Don't believe all the glowing reviews on Amazon. Terrible book.

[GaT]

I'm reading The Dirt on Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones, the latest in the Charley Davidson series. I'm enjoying it so far which is good, because some of the books in the series were not that great. The title is bugging me though, why isn't it called The Dirt on the Ninth Grave?

 

EDITED: I finished the book & liked it, but I feel like the ending backed the storyline into a corner. I'm not sure this is a good direction.

Edited January 20, 2016 by GaT

[proserpina65]

I'm reading In Bitter Chill, the debut novel from Sarah Ward. It's a British procedural mystery, and it's one of my favorite things, a crime in the past linking to a crime in the present. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, but so far, so good.

After reading your comment, I looked this up on Amazon, decided it sounded like just my thing and checked it out of the library.  It was fantastic.  I finished it in about 4 days because I was so involved in the story.  Here's hoping Ms. Ward has a long and illustrious career.