What Are We Currently Reading?

[aradia22]

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Just finished The Woman in White, and am dying to find someone who's read it, and can sympathize with the rage I am feeling regarding the ending!

I was supposed to read it in college. I think I got 50 pages in and bailed.

I finished Anna Kendrick's book. It was a very quick read. I say that about a lot of books even though they take me a while to get through because they're not very interesting but I really just raced through this one. It's one of those easy reads that's neither poorly-written or well-written enough to slow you down. It doesn't have major syntax issues and it's also not full of a million descriptive clauses. It reads like a celebrity memoir but without the dishy, tell-all parts. There are one or two things but as she says at the very end, she's still trying to work in the business and I think she was holding back which is why the more revealing parts are about ex-boyfriends. I think it's a flop as a book of essays. It's poorly organized/structured and it's not that entertaining or insightful. I never found it funny and I'd rank it somewhere below Mindy Kaling's first book. And I do follow her on twitter and like some of the things she tweets but none of the humor really came through for me, though I did appreciate that it wasn't as try-hard as other books I've read. That's always a struggle... when someone is desperately trying to be funny and they are painfully not. I think this is a book for her fans in the sense that you really have to care what Anna Kendrick thinks and feels to get much out of this book. I'm not necessarily against young people writing memoirs if they have a lot of experiences or something insightful to say about those experiences. But the way she breezes through High Society, Camp, Pitch Perfect, Into the Woods, etc. they don't sound remarkable. She doesn't bother making a case for why you should be reading this book. She just takes it for granted that you are and then seems to tell you anything that comes to mind.

I didn't hate it but she's not much of a writer.

[alias1]

On 4/19/2017 at 8:13 AM, Haleth said:

Finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles last night.  It's the story of a young Russian count who in 1922 is sentenced to house arrest at a grand hotel in Moscow.  Stripped of his luxurious lifestyle he is forced to reside in a tiny attic room with few furnishings.  We follow him over the decades as his circle of friends grows to include hotel employees, numerous guests, and even Communist Party officials who fall for his charm and wit.  Alexander is nostalgic for the life he lost yet he never gives in to moroseness.  His world is large enough with the relationships he forms.  In fact, by living in the hotel he is insulated from the hardships suffered by most of his compatriots.  It's funny, it's touching, it's a lovely story of how a person can make the most of his/her circumstances.  And there is a twist at the end that I didn't see coming.  Utterly charming.

I have to say there were parts of the book I thought were boring, but overall a very charming book.  I loved the discussion they had near the end of the book about the movie Casablanca.  Totally charming.  

[luna1122]

Almost thru We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. It's very quiet and poetic and melancholy and lovely.

[Qoass]

I'm enjoying Sarah Dunn's The Arrangement:  good trashy fun about what really goes on in relationships.  I don't know anybody who is in an open marriage but I know plenty who seem to do everything for everybody except their spouse.

[Danny Franks]

Just read Hekla's Children by James Brogden. It took me a day and a half. Easy to read, and the first three quarters of it were really good, but it lost focus at the end, when too much supernatural stuff was brought in. A pretty creepy story, and the big twist was well executed.

[Crs97]

I read A Man Called Ove on a plane last week and absolutely loved it.  It will be among the top books I read this year.  I can't remember the last time I read something so perfectly written.

[Browncoat]

Good to know, @Crs97 -- I really liked the movie, but haven't read the book.  I'll have to pick that up soon.

[Jenniferbug]

I picked up Blueberry Muffin Murder from the library this morning. They didn't have the first 2 in the series but that doesn't seem to really matter so far. I was in the mood for something easy and entertaining to read, and this is definitely perfect for this cold, rainy day. 

[Minneapple]

I just finished The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and yeah, it is worth the hype. Read it and make everyone you know read it. Especially the teenagers in your lives. And not just because it's an important book, socially speaking, but because it's just plain a good book with a great cast of characters that I really grew attached to.

I almost wish Thomas had made it a non-YA book, writing it from third person rather than first. But that is a minor quibble. Starr is a very relatable character, especially as a woman of color. Not that we lived in the hood or the ghetto. We lived in suburban Minneapolis, surrounded by mostly white families and I went to a school with mostly white kids. So it brought me back to those days, sometimes feeling like I stuck out like a sore thumb no matter how much I tried to dress and act like all the other kids in school. 

[partofme]

I just read Everything You Want Me To Be.    It was a really quick, engaging read, but I hated the ending.   The book implied that a high school student/married teacher relationship was true love and I can't  get behind that, I don't care if the student was 18.

[hendersonrocks]

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I just finished The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, and yeah, it is worth the hype.

I just started it, fellow Twin Citian, and think it is incredible so far. And goodness we could ever have a conversation about race in our hometown and how many levels of effed up it is. (Me and my fellow white liberals/progressives/pick your favorite let's-pat-ourselves-on-the-back label have some serious work to do.)

Quote

I just read Everything You Want Me To Be. It was a really quick, engaging read, but I hated the ending. The book implied that a high school student/married teacher relationship was true love and I can't get behind that, I don't care if the student was 18.

WORD. I enjoyed it overall but there was a fair bit about it that bothered me (your point as well as the general vibe that the married teacher was kind of justified in feeling his feelings because he felt trapped on a farm with a stressed out wife and sick mother-in-law).

[Mindthinkr]

On 4/29/2017 at 10:12 AM, Crs97 said:

I read A Man Called Ove on a plane last week and absolutely loved it.  It will be among the top books I read this year.  I can't remember the last time I read something so perfectly written.

I also loved that book. Perfect curmudgeon has a heart. 

[Bunty]

The Foundling : The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My search for the Real Me by Paul Joseph Fronczak.  This is based on the true life mystery that was featured on 20/20 in 2013.  This book updates the story of Paul Joseph Fronczak with  what he has found out since this aired.  And what he has found out through DNA results is a twisted tale of two dysfunctional families who had secrets that will probably never be fully told.

 

[GaT]

That sounds fascinating, I probably won't read the book, but I'll watch the program.

[GaT]

5 hours ago, Bunty said:

The Foundling : The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My search for the Real Me by Paul Joseph Fronczak.  This is based on the true life mystery that was featured on 20/20 in 2013.  This book updates the story of Paul Joseph Fronczak with  what he has found out since this aired.  And what he has found out through DNA results is a twisted tale of two dysfunctional families who had secrets that will probably never be fully told.

 

 

OK, I just watched the 20/20 video, & not only is this fascinating, but the stuff that came after the show is amazing. I may read the book after all. I see this is a recently published book, does he ever find out

Spoiler

what happened to Jill or the real Paul Joseph Fronczak?

[OtterMommy]

I finally finished The Queen of the Tearling today.  I liked it, but I didn't feel like it lived up to they hype and I didn't find it especially compelling.  I've heard the second book is better, but I still haven't decided if I'm going to read on in the series.

I have far too many other books going at the moment (I definitely have book-polygamist leanings).  I'm in the midst of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad, which isn't as good as I thought it would be (but I'm far enough into it that I might as well finish) and Miss Jane by Brad Watson.  I'm not far into that one yet, but I think it will be interesting.  I'm also planning to start The Girls soon (probably tomorrow), which is the selection for my IRL book club this month.

[Haleth]

I liked A Gentleman in Moscow so much I decided to read Amor Towles' first book, Rules of Civility.  It wasn't as good, but it was another nice story about real people.  The protagonist is a somewhat ambitious young woman in 1938 NYC who by chance meets and befriends a wealthy, successful banker.  He introduces her to his world of privilege where she meets many other people who will affect her life.  It's very Fitzgerald-esque but with nicer people.

[Bunty]

21 hours ago, GaT said:

Spoiler

what happened to Jill or the real Paul Joseph Fronczak?

 

Spoiler

From the info he finds out about the families involved, I think he presents a fairly likely theory about what happened to Jill.  But no there isn't any absolute answer to either question.

[Mindthinkr]

On 5/5/2017 at 8:30 AM, Haleth said:

I liked A Gentleman in Moscow so much I decided to read Amor Towles' first book, Rules of Civility.  It wasn't as good, but it was another nice story about real people.  The protagonist is a somewhat ambitious young woman in 1938 NYC who by chance meets and befriends a wealthy, successful banker.  He introduces her to his world of privilege where she meets many other people who will affect her life.  It's very Fitzgerald-esque but with nicer people.

Speaking of Fitzgerald...I'm just finishing The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein and she describes her meeting with him as well as many other notables of the era (Picasso, Hemingway, and Matisse to skirt the surface). She discusses her thoughts on the works of Fitzgerald as well as many others. 

OT: I no sooner finished this book a few days and went over to find something today to watch on Netflix and there was a movie Midnight in Paris (by Woody Allen) and they had all of the characters from the book come to life! The timing blew me away. 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Mindthinkr
Added a wee Overtime

[Qoass]

I just finished Double Bind, a collection of essays about women and ambition.  I found it a chore because it seemed like half the essays were written by writers about writing and the other half tackled "Leaning In".

I'm on to a fun fluffy book, The Romance Reader's Guide to Life which tells the story of a plucky heroine starting in the 1930s, interwoven with a summary of her favorite trashy novel plus some commentary from her sister after death.  Yeah, it's a bit too much gimmick but I'm enjoying it.

[starri]

Picked up Vulgar Favors, the book that the third season of American Crime Story is going to be based on.

I have to wonder if the author actually knew any gay people before she started researching it.  She's approaching it like she's Jane Goodall.  And frankly, it makes me concerned at how things are going to come off in the show if this is their blueprint.

[Mindthinkr]

Thx @starri for the heads up. I would like to read the book before seeing it come to life (their vision) on the screen. 

[bubbls]

I'm reading The Bear's Embrace by Patricia Van Tighem. She and her husband were attacked by a bear in Canada. I'm not sure if I can finish it. While the book apparently ends on a positive note, the author committed suicide 22 years after the attack. Having had some frightening health problems myself I'm feeling too empathetic with that dark sense of being utterly alone in spite of caring family nearby. 

[Anela]

The Shining Girls. 

I also bought The True Story of Hansel and Gretel. Something like that. They were both on sale in the clearance section, but the latter had on the back of it, "the best book of the year."

[Katy M]

I just finished After Alice by Gregory Maguire. I was a little worried because before I started reading it, I noticed that it had 2.something stars on GoodReads, which is the lowest rating I've seen for anything I've read.  But, I actually really liked it.

[luna1122]

Just finished Dare Me by Megan Abbott. Well written and really dark. Now reading Jennifer Egan's Look at Me. I loved her A Visit from the Goon Squad. This one, written about 10 years prior to that, has its dissenters--many seem to think its overwritten, too descriptive and wordy, but I tend to be a sucker for that. None of the characters so far are terribly likable, but that's not necessary, and it's enigmatic and moody and I think the writing is just gorgeous.

[AngelKitty]

I just finished Silence Fallen. I love Mercy Thompson and Jane Yellowrock and Rachel Morgan. I discovered urban fantasy with the Harry Dresden show and had to read the books. I don't have one going at the moment but I'm also reading Alex Verus series about a British wizard for hire.

In between those I sill like science fiction, just finishing CJ Cherryh's recent Foreigner book, Convergence.  And I just picked up Leviathan Wakes from the library.

[GaT]

55 minutes ago, AngelKitty said:

I just finished Silence Fallen. I love Mercy Thompson and Jane Yellowrock and Rachel Morgan. I discovered urban fantasy with the Harry Dresden show and had to read the books. I don't have one going at the moment but I'm also reading Alex Verus series about a British wizard for hire.

 

Are you me? LOL. Except for Rachel Morgan (who I've never heard of), I read all of these. I prefer Urban Fantasy to Paranormal Romance, even though they do sort of overlap. Off to Google Rachel Morgan & hopefully find a new series!

[Haleth]

18 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

And I just picked up Leviathan Wakes from the library.

Have you been watching the show?  It's top notch.

[Danny Franks]

I'm halfway through Saints Blood, the third in Sebastien De Castell's Greatcoats series. It's such a lot of fun. A Three Musketeers-esque story, with a likeable but occasionally infuriating cast of characters (particularly the viewpoint character). It's the sort of fantasy I like - light on magic and monsters.

[Mabinogia]

23 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

I discovered urban fantasy with the Harry Dresden show and had to read the books. I don't have one going at the moment but I'm also reading Alex Verus series about a British wizard for hire.

I love Harry Dresden, so I'm gonna give Alex Verus a try. It would be nice to have a new fantasy series to get excited about.

I just read my free kindle book, The Light of the Fireflies and it might have been the worst story I've ever read. It was marketed as a dark but hopeful story but I found nothing hopeful about it at all. I found the family's treatment of their daughter while constantly talking about how important family was extremely disgusting. I really, really need something a bit more enjoyable to wash away the rage this book made me feel.

[GaT]

31 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I love Harry Dresden, so I'm gonna give Alex Verus a try. It would be nice to have a new fantasy series to get excited about.

 

You might also try the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

You might also try the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.

I heartily second this rec.  Also if you enjoy audiobooks, the narrator of the series , Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is freaking fantastic!

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

You might also try the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.

Thanks, I'm going to give it a try. Just read the synopsis for the first book and it sounds interesting.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline. I run hot and cold on Scottoline's standalone domestic thrillers (I loved Every Fifteen Minutes but was severely disappointed by Most Wanted), but I thought this one was topnotch. She really went outside of her comfort zone both in terms of the content and the narrative structure, and it really paid off.

Next up: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. I really enjoyed All the Missing Girls, which I read earlier this year, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

[OtterMommy]

I finished 2 books today...the first was Miss Jane by Brad Watson, which was okay.  I mean, it was interesting while I was reading it, but I never felt like there was a strong story (other than "this was this woman's life....")  The second was The Girls by Emma Cline and I'm still reeling from the ending.  I mean, I knew where things were going as it is based on a true story...but still!   That one is for my book club this month and I'm pretty sure we will have quite the discussion!

Tonight or tomorrow, I'll be starting 2 new books (I always have at least one print and one eBook going).  One will be Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, which I *must* read before the hype picks up.  I think one reason why The Girl on the Train didn't work for me was because there was no way it could live up to the hype (well, that and I found it predictable).  The other is Kindred by Octavia Butler, which I am really looking forward to starting.

[SodaforceMaster]

I'm enjoying Bobiverse, I kinda want to hang out with the Bobs, they're making the best out of being dead for over a century.

[Qoass]

I just read Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and loved it.  It was kind of a reverse-Rosie Project.

[cherrypj]

On 5/22/2017 at 9:10 AM, Qoass said:

I just read Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and loved it.  It was kind of a reverse-Rosie Project.

Do you say that as someone who liked The Rosie Project?

[Qoass]

Actually I kind of hated The Rosie Project because it used that tired theme of a most excellent woman supporting a very flawed man.  I frequently scoff that you'll never see a story in which the man does the same for a woman.  Until Eleanor.

[SallyAlbright]

A few that I've recently read and enjoyed:

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon - A fictional retelling of the Hindenburg and those onboard. She weaves real life people who were involved with fictional characters. Very interesting. 

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley - Gripped me right from the start, but later ran out of steam. I'd still recommend it, but as more of a character study than a thriller. I think it was marketed as more of a thriller and that's misleading. 

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh - Very interesting, bit of a thriller with some definite twists.

The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor - I'm a total Anglophile and very into historical fiction, so this book was right up my alley. Two great female characters and a pretty easy, good read.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - Utterly charming, I recommend reading it while curled up by the fire and wearing cozy socks or something. 

Recently read but not enjoyed as much: Good as Gone by Amy Gentry (interesting premise, but totally fell apart IMO) and Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. The latter book was marketed as a thriller in the vein of Girl on the Train or Gone Girl - just beware that there are supernatural elements. If you don't know that and expect a Gone Girl-esque book, you will feel cheated by the ending. That said, it was certainly unpredictable and a relatively gripping read. Also, I finally got around to reading Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler and I could not stand it. Do not get all of the hype - literally nothing happens. I haven't been that disappointed by a "buzz" book in a very long time. 

Next up: Since We Fell, the newest Dennis Lehane

Edited May 25, 2017 by SallyAlbright

[Qoass]

I'm nearing the end of Into the Water by Paula (Girl on a Train) Hawkins and it better have one bang-up conclusion.  There are so many characters and loose threads that I literally had to write myself notes on who is who and I'm starting not to care.

[OtterMommy]

9 hours ago, Qoass said:

I'm nearing the end of Into the Water by Paula (Girl on a Train) Hawkins and it better have one bang-up conclusion.  There are so many characters and loose threads that I literally had to write myself notes on who is who and I'm starting not to care.

I couldn't finish it.  I got to part 2 and realized I couldn't keep any of the characters straight and didn't care about a single one of them or why the pool was so dang special.

[Qoass]

I just finished it this morning and I'm sorry to say, it was not worth my time.

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

I just finished it this morning and I'm sorry to say, it was not worth my time.

Everyone I know who has actually finished it has said pretty much the same thing about it.

[scarynikki12]

I like that she went in a different way with her storytelling but I think this story wasn't juicy enough for the multiple POV format.  If she'd done a Murder of Roger Ackroyd homage, that could have served her story well but not this way.  Or, if there had been a supernatural or serial killer element to the drownings.  It wasn't a bad story and, in the right hands, could be a really cool movie, but she tried to do too much and she's not talented enough to pull it off. 

[partofme]

I read a lot of mysteries and it wasn't the worst I've ever read, but I loved The Girl On The Train and was really looking forward to this and it was a huge let down.

Edited June 1, 2017 by partofme

[helenamonster]

Just finished: The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. I enjoyed it just as much as All the Missing Girls. Miranda is really good at weaving multiple mysteries together and telling nonlinear narratives. In this book especially, I loved the way she revealed the protagonist's (Leah) backstory in increments, each little revelation changing the way I thought about Leah and the circumstances leading to her leaving Boston for Bumfuck, Pennsylvania. She's also got a really good sense of what small, rural towns feel like, and how a society like that reacts to jarring crimes like a missing person or near-deadly assault.

Next up: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll.

[cherrypj]

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It's devastating, and I can only read a chapter at a time. My going so slow, though, makes it hard to remember what came before. Each chapter alternates between one of two branches in a family tree, and I feel like I should remember more of what happened before. So I'm constantly flipping back and forth. Which makes it worse: "Oh yeah. That happened. F***."

Tried to cheer myself in between with New York 2140, which felt unreal, so it wasn't as depressing as it should have been, and The World According to Mister Rogers, which is good, but definitely needs more context to some of his quotes. 

I wish I could add cookbooks to my Goodreads tally. Doesn't feel right, since, y'know, I didn't bake every recipe ... but I sured pored over them.

[luna1122]

A few I've read recently: Look at Me, by Jennifer Egan. I found the prose beautiful and eerie and compelling, tho many seem to think it's overwritten and florid, which isn't an unfair criticism, but I like that stuff.

Then came Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, recommended by many, including a friend, who couldn't stop raving. I admired it, but didn't outright love. I love descriptive text, and this one is gorgeously descriptive and, yeah, even magickal. You could get lost in the words and vivid imagery, and I do love that. And I like magical realism, to an extent, but I am not especially a fan of the fantasy genre (not even Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, just not my thing), so that's where this began to lose me. And I just didn't care about the characters very much. We're told the leading protagonists fall passionately in love, but I never FELT it. In the end, it became a bit of an endurance test to finish it. I loved getting lost in the words, but eventually, that wasn't enough for me.

Next: The Swimming Pool by Holly LeCraw. Again, nice prose, a beach read kind of story, but ultimately, I sort of hated every one of the protagonists, especially the main character, a languid older woman who every man who crosses her path yearns for, apparently, including a married man and later his grown son. There is literally nothing to her except her beauty; she's neurotic and entitled and whiny and depressive, but, you know, Italian, so she does it beautifully and a little exotically, apparently. And the grown son is an asshole. Again, we're told these people love each other wildly, but there is no there there.

I didn't read enough, apparently, about Love Warrior, to know what I was getting into when I began it, or I never would have bothered. Not being a mom, a Christian, a bulimic or an addict/alcoholic, I had no idea who Glennon Doyle Melton was. Never heard of her blog or her other book. She writes well, and her descriptions of her early issues with eating disorders and drug and alcohol abuse and low self esteem and marital infidelity are compelling enough. Then it somehow all devolves into prattling, self serving, self absorbed,  self indulgent, arrogant, lecturing bullshit as she does hot yoga and overshares to everyone (literally, she's the woman who spills every detail of her life, certain you'll be fascinated, when you ask 'how're you doing?'. I was not fascinated) and sees God when re-learning how to breathe (seriously). Then she and God save her marriage, which, hey, great, except that just a couple months after she finished the book, she dumped her husband and then fell in love with a woman (ala Elizabeth Gilbert, her fellow blogger/annoying self proclaimed prophet/friend), and I assume she'll write another book about that journey. I admire her honesty and feminism and sense of inclusion, but she takes herself way too seriously, and she comes off as twee and inauthentic to me, tho she sure seems to have a lot of Oprah-y admirers. I'm not one.

Just began The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg.