What Are We Currently Reading?

[truthaboutluv]

I was all set to read Carry On by Rainbow Rowell until I found out it was a spin off of Fangirl so I'm reading that right now. I'm told you don't need to read Fangirl, but my reading OCD says I do.

 

Good luck with that. I know some loved it but that was one of the most boring and painful books for me to get through. 

Edited April 20, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[Snow Apple]

Good luck with that. I know some loved it but that was one of the most boring and painful books for me to get through. 

I'm already kind of mildly annoyed with the main character who is so afraid of going to the cafeteria that she resorts to eating granola bars all day. Not annoyed enough to stop reading, but we'll see.

[GaT]

I'm already kind of mildly annoyed with the main character who is so afraid of going to the cafeteria that she resorts to eating granola bars all day. 

Thank you for posting that, just reading about it annoys me enough that I will skip this book.

[truthaboutluv]

I'm already kind of mildly annoyed with the main character who is so afraid of going to the cafeteria that she resorts to eating granola bars all day. Not annoyed enough to stop reading, but we'll see.

 

Yeah that was about the point I started sighing really, really heavily. Honestly, the roommate is about the only interesting character and she saves the book for me. 

[Athena]

I read Carry On without reading Fangirl so I'm glad I escaped that now? I really liked Carry On too. I'd even read a sequel to it.

[Qoass]

Outlier here:  I preferred Fangirl to Carry On.  Maybe it's because I spent my first weekend at college eating popcorn and cookies in my dorm room.

[OakGoblinFly]

Based on numerous recommendations (including from one of my favorite authors) I picked up Blood Song.  I'm only about 100 pages or so in and, if you can ignore some of the grammatical errors and the bizarre use (or lack thereof) of commas, the story is pretty decent and the author’s writing style is pleasant.

 

 

It reminds me a bit of The Name of the Wind (an excellent read) in two ways: (1) both novels tell the story as if the narrator were speaking to a historian (using flashbacks if you will), and (2) recount the life of a famous magician (Wind) or assassin (Blood) from childhood, through his schooling, and into his notorious adulthood.

[bubbls]

I'm wrapping up Mark of the Grizzly by Scott Mcmillion. Very good! I broke my shoulder roller skating (well, falling actually), so I've been stuck in my recliner trying to occupy myself. There is nothing more enthralling in my world than true adventures, with animal attacks and lost at sea being my favorites!

[Bunty]

There is nothing more enthralling in my world than true adventures, with animal attacks and lost at sea being my favorites!

You might like Here lies Hugh Glass : a mountain man, a bear, and the rise of the American nation / Jon T. Coleman.

Explores period frontier life and contradictory accounts in an effort to discern the true story of a 19th-century bear-mauling victim who pursued vengeance against the companions who left him for dead.

 

And Alone : orphaned in the ocean / Richard Logan, Tere Duperrault Fassbender.

Co-authored by a renowned psychologist and survival expert, this book delves into the details of how a little girl survived the at-sea murder of her family; the pod of whales who guarded her; and the aftermath and the recapturing of life.

[bosawks]

I'm re-reading Middlemarch because I need to reaffirm my belief in decency.

I think the world would be a better place if that last paragraph was required reading every morning.

[Crs97]

Our bookclub is reading Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.  It is supposed to be a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.  I have read the first twenty pages and want my money back.  I've read fanfiction that is better than this tripe.  She ripped off the names, but made no effort to capture the spirit of the original.  It is going to be a long meeting.

[truthaboutluv]

I read one book by Curtis Sittenfeld - Prep: A Novel and that was more than enough. She's clearly a good writer but that book was one of the most painfully awkward things I've ever read and it just felt like it would never end. I know she's well regarded and many of her books are bestsellers but nope, that one book ruined her for me. 

I just finished Harlan Coben's The Stranger and I have to say I enjoyed it well enough. Sure I figured out pretty quickly who The Stranger was, as in how he was doing what he was doing and I knew something was suspect about the one friend almost immediately but I still found the whole thing a pretty interesting read. 

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm reading Harry Turtledove's How Few Remain for about the fourth time.  The first book in a 9-book series about what would have happened if the South had won the Civil War.  In this one, the South buys two provinces from Mexico so they can get an outlet to the Pacific, and the North goes to war over it.  Great Britain allies with the South, and invades the US from Canada.

[SmithW6079]

On 4/17/2016 at 8:38 PM, SmithW6079 said:

If you want to read a really good book that takes place in OIF, try Redeployment, Phil Klay's short story collection about Marines in Iraq.

I just saw a story on "CBS Sunday Morning" about Clinton Romesha and his account of the battle of Camp Keating in Afghanistan. The book is "Red Platoon" and comes out in a few days. The blurbs on Amazon point to it being an amazing book, and Romesha being a fantastic writer.

I'm currently reading "Catherine the Great: Portait of a Woman" by Robert Massie. Fascinating. Boy, the Russian court -- male and female -- sure could get randy. 

[alias1]

I gave up on The Nest (Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney) after about 100 pages.  It's another dysfunctional family story, and another of what Amazon calls a best book of the month.  Not.

Now I'm reading The Spellman Files (Lisa Lutz).  It's the first in a series and fairly funny.

And I just started Jane Steele (Lindsay Faye).  It's apparently a twist on the Jane Eyre story and it was recommended by Sue Grafton (what could be better than that).

[Qoass]

I really enjoyed Jane Steele.

I hated Prep and have such loathing for GW Bush that I couldn't get more than 25 pages into American Wife.  On the other hand, I really enjoyed Sisterland so I have put Eligible on my to-read list.

I just finished The First Time She Drowned and although it's a little ham-fisted in its imagery, I found it an absorbing read.

[Maizie131]

I just finished The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens and thoroughly enjoyed it! 

(Copied from Amazon)

"College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same."

[psychoticstate]

On 5/4/2016 at 6:13 PM, Maizie131 said:

I just finished The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens and thoroughly enjoyed it! 

(Copied from Amazon)

"College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same."

Thanks for this, Maizie.  I have this book on my Audible wishlist - - I may be bumping it up! 

[Maizie131]

38 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

Thanks for this, Maizie.  I have this book on my Audible wishlist - - I may be bumping it up! 

I hope you like it, psychoticstate!  Let me know!  (I won't be mad if you didn't.)

[Haleth]

On 5/1/2016 at 11:06 AM, SmithW6079 said:

I'm currently reading "Catherine the Great: Portait of a Woman" by Robert Massie. Fascinating. Boy, the Russian court -- male and female -- sure could get randy. 

Funny, I just picked that up at the library yesterday.  It had wonderful reviews.

[Haleth]

On 5/1/2016 at 11:06 AM, SmithW6079 said:

I'm currently reading "Catherine the Great: Portait of a Woman" by Robert Massie. Fascinating. Boy, the Russian court -- male and female -- sure could get randy. 

Funny, I just picked that up at the library yesterday.  It had wonderful reviews.

[AuntiePam]

On 4/27/2016 at 9:24 AM, bosawks said:

I'm re-reading Middlemarch because I need to reaffirm my belief in decency.

I think the world would be a better place if that last paragraph was required reading every morning.

I plan to re-read that as soon as I'm finished with the May issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. 

Most recent read was Harvest by Jim Crace.  England, at the time when the commons (shared land) were being fenced in all over the country -- quite an upheaval and bad news for small farmers.  Three strangers come to an isolated village.  Misunderstandings result in mayhem.  I really liked it, and I learned a lot about farming.  Not enough to survive the coming apocalypse though.

[Qoass]

I'm halfway through The Nest and I just don't know whom to root for.  I really thought I'd enjoy it more.

[ParadoxLost]

On ‎4‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 10:24 AM, bosawks said:

I'm re-reading Middlemarch because I need to reaffirm my belief in decency.

I think the world would be a better place if that last paragraph was required reading every morning.

I loved that book but haven't read it since college.  It was assigned reading in my "Writers in the Age of Darwin" class.  It was an engineering school.  All classes, so every lit class was "Writers in the Age of Scientist" except History of Science Fiction.

[wallflower75]

On 4/27/2016 at 9:24 AM, bosawks said:

I'm re-reading Middlemarch because I need to reaffirm my belief in decency.

I think the world would be a better place if that last paragraph was required reading every morning.

I have GOT to get through that book one of these days!  Middlemarch is the book that appears at the top of my shame list--aka, "Books I've never managed to get through."

On 4/30/2016 at 11:09 PM, Crs97 said:

Our bookclub is reading Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.  It is supposed to be a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice.  I have read the first twenty pages and want my money back.  I've read fanfiction that is better than this tripe.  She ripped off the names, but made no effort to capture the spirit of the original.  It is going to be a long meeting.

Aw, man...another disappointment in the "Austen Project" series?  Weren't these books supposed to be, like, the creme de la creme of Austen adaptations?  The modernizations that would put fanfic writers to shame and dream they could do half so well?  So far, Emma and Northanger Abbey have fallen flat for me.  I, too, have read fan fiction that was far more entertaining than those two books.  (Haven't read the modern Sense and Sensibility.)  I probably will get around to reading Eligible, but it's not going to bump straight to the top of my TBR pile.

Edited May 12, 2016 by wallflower75

[proserpina65]

I'm been trying to get through Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  I really liked Divergent and enjoyed Insurgent well enough, but this last one is not going so well.  I think it's the switching back and forth between Tris' pov and Four's which is making it a slog.

[truthaboutluv]

I recently finished What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler and thought it was okay. It was inspired by and in some ways loosely based on the Stubenville rape case and while it wasn't perfect, I do think it was an important book for kids around that age and maybe even older to read, because it raised some serious questions about consent, public opinion, schools' sports culture, etc. The ending supposed "twist" was obvious by the first few chapters in my opinion and should have been a surprise to no one really. Still working my way through Asylum. It's pretty interesting, it's just that life/work has been kicking my butt lately.

Edited May 13, 2016 by truthaboutluv

[GaT]

5 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm been trying to get through Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  I really liked Divergent and enjoyed Insurgent well enough, but this last one is not going so well.  I think it's the switching back and forth between Tris' pov and Four's which is making it a slog.

Come back & talk to us after you're done reading the book.

[Luciano]

14 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm been trying to get through Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  I really liked Divergent and enjoyed Insurgent well enough, but this last one is not going so well.  I think it's the switching back and forth between Tris' pov and Four's which is making it a slog.

Oh dear.

[BooksRule]

I just finished reading the three nonfiction books on midwifery by Jennifer Worth (the books are the basis for the PBS series 'Call the Midwife').  The three are: 'Call the Midwife', 'Shadows of the Workhouse', and 'Farewell to the East End'.  I really liked them.  I learned so much about how life in East End of London was right after the war years, and the chapters in the second book on what it was like to end up in a workhouse really opened my eyes.  It's hard to believe that there were conditions like that well into the 20th century.

[Qoass]

Having finished The Nest, I found it worthwhile but not something I'm particularly enthused about.  Likewise for Eligible which has the character names and story beats of Pride and Prejudice with none of its charm or humor.  I'm almost done with Kill the Boy Band which is by turns silly, mean-spirited and disturbing.  I hope someone else can share their thoughts on it.

[OakGoblinFly]

On 5/12/2016 at 10:23 AM, proserpina65 said:

I'm been trying to get through Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  I really liked Divergent and enjoyed Insurgent well enough, but this last one is not going so well.  I think it's the switching back and forth between Tris' pov and Four's which is making it a slog.

I could not stand that book - if felt like Roth got bored half way through and someone else finished writing it for her.  

[proserpina65]

44 minutes ago, OakGoblinFly said:

I could not stand that book - if felt like Roth got bored half way through and someone else finished writing it for her.  

I'm getting rather fed up with yet another conspiracy cropping up every five pages.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm getting rather fed up with yet another conspiracy cropping up every five pages.

First, I'm laughing because you're still trying to get through the book (sorry), but please, PLEASE finish it. I really, really want your reaction.

[Maizie131]

Has anyone read Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes?  I just received the eBook from my library but haven't started it yet.  I'd appreciate any comments.  :) 

[psychoticstate]

I'm on a Austen-esque kick so I just finished Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo and started Suddenly Mrs. Darcy by Jenetta James.  

[OakGoblinFly]

Based on recommendations of friends and a Book Bub discount I picked up Libromancer by Jim. C Hines; a story about people who have the magical ability to reach into a book and pull out objects.  So far, it is a light, enjoyable, fun read.

[AuntiePam]

I'm a big fan of older novels, and I find a lot of them from watching old movies on TCM.  Last week it was About Mrs. Leslie, 1954, Shirley Booth and Robert Ryan.  Booth's character ran a boarding house in Beverly Hills.  The focus of the movie was her affair with Ryan, but her tenants were really interesting.  I wanted to know more about them so I looked for the book.  It's rare as hen's teeth.  The cheapest one I could find was $40, and one seller was asking $196. 

So I called my library to see if they could get it via inter-library loan.  A university in the state has a copy but they won't loan it out.

Anyway, long story short (too late!), I found another novel by the same author (Vina DelMar) -- The Laughing Stranger.  Unfortunate title, but an excellent book with splendid writing.  Post-Civil War -- the narrator is a young woman who describes herself as being very short and with a crooked back (so -- dwarf?).  She lives with her father, an aunt, and a brother.  The brother becomes entangled with the Stranger, a beautiful but unscrupulous Southern woman.  It reminds me a bit of Serena by Ron Rash.

So -- if you run across an affordable copy of About Mrs. Leslie, snap it up and re-sell it.  And if you run across any of Del Mar's other novels, check 'em out.  I'll be looking for more from her.

[wanderingstar]

I've just started Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile in anticipation of the upcoming television adaptation. I'm only about 40 pages in, but it so far hasn't grabbed me. Hoping it picks up.

[NewDigs]

Was thrilled to see that Book 5 of Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle series had been translated and thoroughly enjoyed it. I find his writing and observations compelling though I'm sure not everyone is as fascinated by his life's minutiae.

If there are other Karl Ove fans you might enjoy legokarlove You can request your favorite scenes and the Instagrammer will fashion that scene in Legos. Really fun to scroll through. Very clever.

[MeloraH]

23 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I've just started Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile in anticipation of the upcoming television adaptation. I'm only about 40 pages in, but it so far hasn't grabbed me. Hoping it picks up.

It's been awhile since I've read it; I liked it but didn't love it as much as most people seemed to but I think it would make good TV...

[proserpina65]

On ‎05‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 4:42 PM, GaT said:

First, I'm laughing because you're still trying to get through the book (sorry), but please, PLEASE finish it. I really, really want your reaction.

I'm within a few pages of finishing (and might just stop) and all I can say is: I don't even know where to start.  With Four's never-ending mommy issues?  His completely out of character behavior towards aforementioned mommy and Tris?  With Super Special Snowflake Tris?  With the craptastic world building outside of the city?  Oy, the outside world!  I had so much hope that the storyline would be interesting, that it would mesh with the internal logic of the first two books, but instead the characters' moving to the Bureau just dragged the book down and it never recovered.  And the resolution to all the schemes and conspiracies being:

Spoiler

pretty much everyone just joining hands and singing 'Kumbaya' was utterly ridiculous.  No way did I buy that either Evelyn or Marcus would agree to give up power, and the nonsense with the reset Bureau convincing the government that the so-called damaged genes weren't really damaged and people should just be allowed to live how they wanted?  When the author had already established that the situation had been going on for generations and that the government was on the verge of shutting down the experiments (and presumably terminating anyone who couldn't be assimilated in the outside world)?  Yeah, not a chance, buddy.

Divergent was such a good book, and while Insurgent wasn't quite as good, it was still enjoyable.  But Allegiant just sucked all the air out of the story.  I don't think I'd bother with anything by Veronica Roth again.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm within a few pages of finishing (and might just stop) and all I can say is: I don't even know where to start.  With Four's never-ending mommy issues?  His completely out of character behavior towards aforementioned mommy and Tris?  With Super Special Snowflake Tris?  With the craptastic world building outside of the city?  Oy, the outside world!  I had so much hope that the storyline would be interesting, that it would mesh with the internal logic of the first two books, but instead the characters' moving to the Bureau just dragged the book down and it never recovered.  And the resolution to all the schemes and conspiracies being:

  Hide contents

pretty much everyone just joining hands and singing 'Kumbaya' was utterly ridiculous.  No way did I buy that either Evelyn or Marcus would agree to give up power, and the nonsense with the reset Bureau convincing the government that the so-called damaged genes weren't really damaged and people should just be allowed to live how they wanted?  When the author had already established that the situation had been going on for generations and that the government was on the verge of shutting down the experiments (and presumably terminating anyone who couldn't be assimilated in the outside world)?  Yeah, not a chance, buddy.

Divergent was such a good book, and while Insurgent wasn't quite as good, it was still enjoyable.  But Allegiant just sucked all the air out of the story.  I don't think I'd bother with anything by Veronica Roth again.

NO, NO, NO, you MUST finish it! I can't wait!!!!!! (hint: keep large quantities of alcohol or other pain dulling items close by)

But seriously, what Roth did to Four (who isn't even Four anymore, he's Tobias) was really painful to read, he wasn't even close to the same character. It was recently announced Roth is coming out with a new series,my reaction to that is in the Book News thread.

[proserpina65]

Okay, okay, I guess I can read the last 16 pages.  But you owe me some wine. :-P

[AuntiePam]

Found a reasonably priced copy of About Mrs. Leslie.  It's very much a "woman's book" with a definite 50's feel -- sorta like Valley of the Dolls but without the drugs.  I think women my age (71) would like it, and people who lived in Hollywood and Beverly Hills in the 50's would find things to appreciate.  It tells the story of Mrs. Leslie and her boarders -- Nadine, an aspiring actress; Lan, a young man trying to break free of a sudden life of privilege; Mr. and Mrs. Poole, parents of a daughter dying in a hospital; and Mrs. Leslie's neighbors.  Mrs. Leslie -- without being a fuss-budget -- laments the decline in manners and thoughtfulness and wonders where we'll all end up if it doesn't stop.

Currently reading The Fireman, the new one from Joe Hill.  The premise is a spore that infects humans, causes them to spontaneously combust.  It's really, really good.  Hill has none of his father's bad habits.

[annzeepark914]

My book club just read Notorious RBG which we all loved.  What a trip down memory lane for some of us who forgot what second class citizens we girls were back in the day.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg has to be commended for having a "deaf ear" to all those fellows who didn't want her to attend law school or be hired in a law firm (for any number of inane reasons).  She put up with a lot.  Also nice to read about her sweet friendship with the late Justice Scalia.

[AuntiePam]

Finished The Fireman by Joe Hill.  I liked it, but it doesn't have the originality of Joe's other books, or his short story collection (Pop Art is amazing).  If you've read The Stand by Joe's dad (Stephen King, like I needed to tell anyone that), you'll catch similarities and references galore.  That can either be fun or annoying.  I thought it was fun. 

Back to the Sinclair Lewis collection, and Mr. Wrenn.

[buffynut]

I'm about 1/3 into "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed. For anyone who doesn't know, it's the book the Reese Witherspoon movie was based on.  

With her life a mess 4 years after her mother's death, Cheryl Strayed saw a book about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and decided to hike it on her own.  

I'm not a hiker, in fact my outdoorsy activities consist of gardening in the summer and shoveling the driveway in the winter, so already I'm in awe of how she is hiking this trail all alone.

[alias1]

14 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Finished The Fireman by Joe Hill.  I liked it, but it doesn't have the originality of Joe's other books, or his short story collection (Pop Art is amazing).  If you've read The Stand by Joe's dad (Stephen King, like I needed to tell anyone that), you'll catch similarities and references galore.  That can either be fun or annoying.  I thought it was fun. 

Back to the Sinclair Lewis collection, and Mr. Wrenn.

I had never heard of Joe Hill before, but The Fireman is on some must read lists so I looked it up (and learned who his father is).  I was going to put it on hold but saw it was over 700 pages long.  That stopped me right there. 

[AuntiePam]

Don't let the page-length deter you.  It's a fast read -- not deep at all -- short chapters with a lot of white space, and the pages have wide margins.