What Are We Currently Reading?

[Crs97]

My sister gave me Love Warrior, assuring me it was fantastic.  I must admit I didn't even get it into my suitcase after flipping through a few pages.  I totally believe your description.  Didn't she just marry Abby Wambach?

[luna1122]

10 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

My sister gave me Love Warrior, assuring me it was fantastic.  I must admit I didn't even get it into my suitcase after flipping through a few pages.  I totally believe your description.  Didn't she just marry Abby Wambach?

She did. I'm sure another best selling book recounting their love will follow. I would also not be surprised if another breakup memoir will also follow in a few years--they both broke up from other relationships mere months before, both have addiction issues, it seems ill-advised-- but who knows, maybe'll they're really the 'forever' they keep both loudly proclaiming. Many women love and feel inspired by GDM, but I am not clearly not her target audience.

[GaT]

6 hours ago, luna1122 said:

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.

 

This is kind of how I felt too, I don't get all the hype, I didn't find it that interesting. The "love story" didn't seem like much of a love story to me, & I never felt like it was real. Also, I thought the ending of the love story sucked.

[hendersonrocks]

I'm a few chapters into No One is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts, which is inspired by The Great Gatsby but takes a very different lens - it's about the lives of black North Carolinians in the present. It isn't catching my attention as much as I expected but I'm sticking with it. 

[OtterMommy]

On 6/5/2017 at 6:17 AM, luna1122 said:

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.

This made me laugh...I didn't read Love Warrior, but I did read her first book, Carry On, Warrior, and my feelings about that one that you seem to feel about this one.  The only thought I had when I finished is was "This woman is a kook!"  I posted my review of it on Goodreads and it is, by far my most liked and commented-on post there.  Anyway, few figures of her sort have the sort of power to invoke an automatic eye roll from me, but Glennon Doyle Melton is definitely one of the few.

[PRgal]

I'm currently reading Jackie's Girl, a memoir written by a woman who worked as Jackie Kennedy's assistant.  It's hard to believe how dire people in rural Ireland were back in the late 50s/early 60s (the writer arrived in NY in 1964) or how much airfare was back then (the ticket was $200 in 1964 money, which roughly works out to $1,575 or so today.  I checked prices for Dublin to JFK - it's around $900.  You can probably go cheaper than that). 

[sacrebleu]

I just finished Killer of the Flower Moon which was fascinating! (all about a complicated case involving land rights and murders of several Osage Indians in 1920's Oklahoma)

Now I'm digging into Street Gang (about how Sesame Street began). I've also downloaded the new Stephen King Gwendy's Button Box but I haven't looked at it yet.

[AgentRXS]

I'm reading Coretta Scott King's memoir My Life, My Love, My Legacy. What a fascinating book! Barbara Reynolds did a awesome job of putting this book together. It reveals just enough behind-the-scenes details of the Kings personal life without oversharing.  I know a lot of people wish that MLK would get a biopic dedicated to him, but I think this book would be a great foundation for a biopic dedicated to Coretta. Her life is fascinating in its own right. She was the one home with the kids while her home was getting bombed, and dealing with death threats over the phone while MLK was gone. She is the one that was on the phone with presidents trying to assist Martin when he was jailed. She is the one that had to hold it all together and raise 4 children on her own after his assassination (reading about her trying to explain to Dexter and Bernice that their daddy wasn't coming back home is, of course, heartbreaking).  It was  touching to read how RFK reached out to her and was ready to assist in anything she needed, of course having no clue he was going to meet his fate in a similar fashion just 8 weeks later.

[Irlandesa]

On 6/5/2017 at 8:17 AM, luna1122 said:

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.

This is probably way OT for this thread but this made my eyes perk up because I hadn't heard about this and had to go digging.  I tried to read Eat, Pray, Love once upon a time but I knew within a few pages that I hated the person the book was about.  I think I've read a blog post about MGD and a blog post was fine but I can see how a book would be too much.  At least her story with Abby I sort of got.  But Elizabeth Gilbert?  Reading her history makes me think she lives her life for the express purpose of writing a book.  She dumps her husband and then going on a year long journey where she finds her soulmate.  That soulmate stops being interesting so when she realizes her best friend is dying of cancer, she decides she must leave her husband and be the woman's partner.  Call me cynical and anti-love but what. the. hell?

[Haleth]

A couple of books.  Last week I read Hidden Figures, the book on which the movie was based.  Very interesting snapshot of race relations in the 50s, in addition to recounting the lives of the extraordinary women who worked at Langley.  There is much more to it than could fit into the movie.  Really a good read.

Not such a good read?  The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer.  Someone had been reading too much Outlander.  The plucky heroine is a time traveler, a la Claire Fraser, but not only can she jump 600 years, she is also an empath.  Does she freak out?  No.  She reacts as if she took the wrong exit off the freeway.  Despite being a fish out of water when she lands in 14th c Siena, within a day has a place to stay, a job (?), clothes, and a group of friends who are inexplicably loyal to someone they just met.  No one bats an eye at her oddities, she blends in seamlessly.  When she tells her new boyfriend about where she comes from does he freak out?  No.  He says, gee, that must be tough.  There are moustache twirling villains and plague to deal with.  It's pretty dreadful but I'll finish it just to see what other cliches she can throw in.

[Crs97]

Just finished My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry.  Rates merely as enjoyable for me.  I never bought that Elsa is seven, almost eight.  I've been around smart, precocious children.  No seven year old is like that.  Also, she suffers severe bullying at her school and everyone just seems to shrug and tell her to try to fit in better.  I cannot imagine a school, especially these days, in which a seven year old is getting pummeled by a group of kids on the playground and no teacher is out there to see it.  Or a principal who sees her bruises and black eyes and tells her mom it's partly her fault because she's different and the mom apologizes for her.  No.  Just no.

On the bright side, his language is still beautiful, and Mr. Blackman creates wonderful characters.  I am starting Britt-Marie Was Here because any person who wrote the magnificence that is A Man Called Ove gets several extra chances from me.

[luna1122]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This is probably way OT for this thread but this made my eyes perk up because I hadn't heard about this and had to go digging.  I tried to read Eat, Pray, Love once upon a time but I knew within a few pages that I hated the person the book was about.  I think I've read a blog post about MGD and a blog post was fine but I can see how a book would be too much.  At least her story with Abby I sort of got.  But Elizabeth Gilbert?  Reading her history makes me think she lives her life for the express purpose of writing a book.  She dumps her husband and then going on a year long journey where she finds her soulmate.  That soulmate stops being interesting so when she realizes her best friend is dying of cancer, she decides she must leave her husband and be the woman's partner.  Call me cynical and anti-love but what. the. hell?

I hated Eat Pray Love and all the slavish love for it (and the movie sucked too, and not just cuz I hate Julia Roberts. Watching the Oprah episode about the movie--with Roberts and Gilbert as guests---was insufferable. Three of the most smug, self congratulatory women on the planet all in one space. Ugh). Gilbert strikes me as opportunistic, selfish, arrogant and so self promoting that she really believes her own crap. I see little about love there, except her own, um, self-love.

GDM seems deeply, painfully sincere and open, not quite so entrenched in her own hype as Gilbert, but...she's on the way there.

[Katy M]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

She dumps her husband and then going on a year long journey where she finds her soulmate.  That soulmate stops being interesting so when she realizes her best friend is dying of cancer, she decides she must leave her husband and be the woman's partner.  Call me cynical and anti-love but what. the. hell?

I would be more tempted to call that story anti-love.  Consistently dumping people for the next person means you're bored, lazy and unwilling to work at anything. Not some great guru.

[OtterMommy]

12 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

This is probably way OT for this thread but this made my eyes perk up because I hadn't heard about this and had to go digging.  I tried to read Eat, Pray, Love once upon a time but I knew within a few pages that I hated the person the book was about.  I think I've read a blog post about MGD and a blog post was fine but I can see how a book would be too much.  At least her story with Abby I sort of got.  But Elizabeth Gilbert?  Reading her history makes me think she lives her life for the express purpose of writing a book.  She dumps her husband and then going on a year long journey where she finds her soulmate.  That soulmate stops being interesting so when she realizes her best friend is dying of cancer, she decides she must leave her husband and be the woman's partner.  Call me cynical and anti-love but what. the. hell?

I've heard that Elizabeth Gilbert's novel was excellent, but I just can't bear it after reading "Eat, Pray, Love."  I think the only person I've detested more than EG after reading a memoir was Julie Powell and her second novel (Cleaving, I think...), which was quite possibly the biggest train wreck life I've ever read...

[luna1122]

1 minute ago, OtterMommy said:

I've heard that Elizabeth Gilbert's novel was excellent, but I just can't bear it after reading "Eat, Pray, Love."  I think the only person I've detested more than EG after reading a memoir was Julie Powell and her second novel (Cleaving, I think...), which was quite possibly the biggest train wreck life I've ever read...

I found Julie and Julia  charming but was so appalled to read about her followup book that I never read it. Cheating on her nice husband while becoming fascinated with butchering (I'm a vegetarian, so no thanks) just didn't seem to be an appealing read. It has TERRIBLE reviews on Goodreads, too.

[GaT]

I just finished the Allie Beckstrom series by Devon Monk & I am underwhelmed. I only started it because so many people said how much they loved the series. I even bought all 8 books right away, which I don't normally do, but by book 3 I was kind regretting that decision. I think a big problem is that nothing gets resolved until the very last book, & I'm still not sure about Allie's memory loss. I'm also reading the Ordinary Magic series by the same author, & so far I like it, so it was disappointing to realize that I have 8 more books going to the secondhand book store.

[cherrypj]

I won't read Eat Pray Love (or watch the movie). But don't dismiss Gilbert for that: The Signature of All Things was a wonderful, top-notch book. I was blown away with it--totally surprised me, given her reputation.

Seriously disappointed to read about Julia Powell. 

[OtterMommy]

3 hours ago, luna1122 said:

I found Julie and Julia  charming but was so appalled to read about her followup book that I never read it. Cheating on her nice husband while becoming fascinated with butchering (I'm a vegetarian, so no thanks) just didn't seem to be an appealing read. It has TERRIBLE reviews on Goodreads, too.

Trust me, no matter how bad the reviews are of Cleaving, the book is much worse.  The sad part about it is that the writing (the actual prose) is quite good, but the Powell is so unabashedly awful in it that I don't think I could read anything else by her in the future.  I'm apparently not the only person who thought that as she pretty much disappeared shortly after it was released.

But, back to what we're currently reading.  I'm about to start, in addition to everything else I've got going, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.  Every year, our library chooses a book to highlight during the year and that was this year's selection.  I probably wouldn't have even heard of it had it not been for that.

[Crs97]

Here is one of the best reviews for Cleaving:

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2009/12/whats_wrong_with_julie_powells.html

[cherrypj]

6 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Here is one of the best reviews for Cleaving:

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2009/12/whats_wrong_with_julie_powells.html

"So be it, I suppose." Whew! I find that when I agree with Miss Alli, I REALLY agree with Miss Alli. (And when I don't....)

I can't believe I'm enjoying a book blurbed by Brad Meltzer and James Patterson (I know, I'm so snobby), but I'm enjoying Before the Fall. It's kinda obvious what's going to happening, but it's fun to read as it plays out. 

I usually read two books at once (it doesn't make me twice as fast, though!): a print book during the day, when I've got lots of light, and an ebook at night, when I can use the Kindle's light source. So my other book is V. E. Schwab's A Gathering of Shadows. This one is definitely the "middle" book--sort of takes a step back to build up for the third and last (so far??) novel. 

[starri]

On 6/9/2017 at 2:48 PM, luna1122 said:

Cheating on her nice husband while becoming fascinated with butchering

In fairness, I think he cheated on her first.

Which doesn't make her any more likable.

Never mind.  I guess I remembered a piece I read about it incorrectly.

Edited June 10, 2017 by starri

[SmithW6079]

On 3/31/2017 at 4:02 PM, LucyHoneychrrch said:

One is Devil in the White City, which I continually begin and discard, a process continuing for the last three years. 

I've had people tell me how great "Devil in the White City" is, but I was bored by it and never finished it. (But I did like Larson's "Dead Wake.")

I started "Death of Expertise," but it's depressing, so I'm also reading Octavia Butler's Patternist series (I bought the omnibus on Amazon). And, I picked up "Born to Be Hurt," the story of the film "Imitation of Life."

I have a little trouble focusing these days. ?

[Qoass]

I'm halfway through Dennis Lehane's Since We Fell and I'm really enjoying it but it seems the central story is just ramping up which is odd given how much I've already read.

[PRgal]

Has anyone read The Hillbilly Elegy?  The author, J. D. Vance, was really lucky in that he was able to leave/climb out of his situation (basically, he grew up in a disadvantaged part of the US, yet, was able to attend an Ivy League law school.  I'm not from a disadvantaged background, so many of his experiences were foreign to me.  However, my parents are both immigrants, so in some ways, I can somewhat relate (My parents and much of their cohort grew up in 1950s and 1960s Hong Kong (which was nowhere close to the pricey, cosmopolitan city it is today), yet with a good education, were able to climb the corporate ladder and raise their children in comfort - whether they were in HK or in the west).  The book more or less explains why Vance's community feels they are being "left out" and discriminated against, despite their ethnic background as they feel they do not have any privilege some people believe they have.  And yes, I DO get where they're coming from.  Our society (both in the US and in Canada) DOES NOT want to talk about socio-economic class.

[OtterMommy]

15 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Has anyone read The Hillbilly Elegy?  The author, J. D. Vance, was really lucky in that he was able to leave/climb out of his situation (basically, he grew up in a disadvantaged part of the US, yet, was able to attend an Ivy League law school.  I'm not from a disadvantaged background, so many of his experiences were foreign to me.  However, my parents are both immigrants, so in some ways, I can somewhat relate (My parents and much of their cohort grew up in 1950s and 1960s Hong Kong (which was nowhere close to the pricey, cosmopolitan city it is today), yet with a good education, were able to climb the corporate ladder and raise their children in comfort - whether they were in HK or in the west).  The book more or less explains why Vance's community feels they are being "left out" and discriminated against, despite their ethnic background as they feel they do not have any privilege some people believe they have.  And yes, I DO get where they're coming from.  Our society (both in the US and in Canada) DOES NOT want to talk about socio-economic class.

I read this a few months ago...honestly, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had not heard all the hype.  In this case, it wasn't that the book didn't live up to it (it was a fascinating and well-written read), but I went into it--thanks to everything I had heard--expecting a different kind of book.  I guess I thought it would be more about the cultural divide that so many people are crediting with the current state of affairs in our nation.  And there was some of that, but really the book was something else (which is completely fine..)

[MichelleAK]

On 6/7/2017 at 0:07 PM, sacrebleu said:

I just finished Killer of the Flower Moon which was fascinating! (all about a complicated case involving land rights and murders of several Osage Indians in 1920's Oklahoma)

 

I'm reading this right now, and also finding it fascinating. I'm surprised I haven't heard about this case before somewhere.

I just finished Lincoln in the Bardo. It took me a couple of chapters to get the rhythm, but after that, I was drawn fully in and really enjoyed it.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

Has anyone read The Hillbilly Elegy? 

There has been conversation here about it - and a lot of strong feelings. I mostly hated it and wish he'd chosen to either stick with an autobiography or a sociological text. He tried to do both and the book suffered for it, in my opinion. (I also have a boatload of opinions about his beliefs and posturing as a child of rural America myself.)

ANYWAYS. I gave up on No One Is Coming to Save Us because my library loan ran out and I still wasn't motivated to finish it. I've moved on to the new biography of Prince Charles by Sally Bedell Smith and am enjoying it. 

[Katy M]

44 minutes ago, hendersonrocks said:

There has been conversation here about it - and a lot of strong feelings. I mostly hated it and wish he'd chosen to either stick with an autobiography or a sociological text. He tried to do both and the book suffered for it, in my opinion. (I also have a boatload of opinions about his beliefs and posturing as a child of rural America myself.)

ANYWAYS. I gave up on No One Is Coming to Save Us because my library loan ran out and I still wasn't motivated to finish it. I've moved on to the new biography of Prince Charles by Sally Bedell Smith and am enjoying it. 

I've actually never heard of the Hillbilly Elegy, but now I feel like I need to track down a copy and read it, just so I can see who is right:)

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

ANYWAYS. I gave up on No One Is Coming to Save Us because my library loan ran out and I still wasn't motivated to finish it

Uh oh -- I just started reading this one.

 

3 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

wish he'd chosen to either stick with an autobiography or a sociological text. He tried to do both and the book suffered for it, in my opinion. (I also have a boatload of opinions about his beliefs and posturing as a child of rural America myself.)

I agree on both counts.

[Crs97]

Just finished Britt-Marie Was Here.  Better than My Grandmother but not as good as Ove.  I am now taking a break from Mr. Blackman lest I burn out on his writing style, which I still find to be lovely.

[AuntiePam]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

I've actually never heard of the Hillbilly Elegy, but now I feel like I need to track down a copy and read it, just so I can see who is right:)

I suspect nobody's "right", but I agree with hendersonrocks.  I had high hopes for the book but came away thinking that the author was too far removed from the problems of that region to have any real insight.  He was all  "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and "anyone can succeed if they work hard enough".  But anyone who's experienced real poverty and family dysfunction knows better than that.  And his "advice" about going to the right school and networking and belt and shoes should match -- appropriate for the 1950's, but not now. 

I'm reading Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey.  A young man poses as the long-lost (presumed dead by suicide, body never found) son of a landed family in England.  There's a mystery, not hard to figure out early on, but Tey's writing is suspenseful and her characters are well-drawn.

[nodorothyparker]

5 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

There has been conversation here about it - and a lot of strong feelings. I mostly hated it and wish he'd chosen to either stick with an autobiography or a sociological text. He tried to do both and the book suffered for it, in my opinion. (I also have a boatload of opinions about his beliefs and posturing as a child of rural America myself.)

This was largely my issue with Hillbilly Elegy as well.  The author couldn't seem to make up his mind if he wanted to be Rick Bragg in writing about his larger than life hardscrabble family or approach it from a policy position, which mostly seem to consist of complaining about all the reasons why government efforts to alleviate poverty in rural America are bad without ever making any realistically useful suggestions.

It's the last week of school here and my brain is simply too fried to take on new reading.  I'm amusing myself reskimming the Bronte sisters since it's probably been at least a decade since I last visited Jane Eyre or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

[rove4]

I recently finished Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart, a historical mystery set in early 1700s China. I also finished Feast of Sorrows by Crystal King, a historical fiction set in ancient Rome.

Now I've switched gears to fantasy and some science fiction. I'm listening to Illuminae  by Amy Kaufmann on audiobook and reading Red Sister by Mark Lawrence.

[luna1122]

Just read: The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg. This one snuck up on me. At first, it seemed a little disagreeable and soppy, with some fairly unlikable characters, but darned if I wasn't crying by the end. The writing is kind of beautiful, and I'm always a fan of the parenthetical and of flash-forwards. Some folks find those annoying, apparently, but I love the little, often devastating glimpses into the future of the characters, beyond the ending of the book. I plan to read more by Attenberg.

Also: A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Ken Kalfus. I seem to be completely unclear as to how I actually feel about this book. It's dark, very dark, but also bitingly funny. A funny 9/11 story seems impossible, and maybe it is, even if I did laugh at the idea of a wife being ecstatic by the (momentary) belief that her husband had been in the WTC the morning of the attack, and by her husband literally skipping, believing she had been on one of the planes crashing into the twin towers. It's a terrible, dark, vivid, memorable, often brilliantly written allegory about the state of marriage and the country, and I don't regret reading it, but...I'm not sure I'm happy I did either. I guess a work that disturbs and confounds, as it's clearly supposed to, has done its job.

 

Now reading The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. So far, a beachy, fast, entertaining enough read, tho I can't seem to get past the names of the characters: Zell, Jencey, Cailey and Bryte. One or two unusual names in a book is one thing, but ALL of them? A small issue, but it's weird.

[CouchPotatoLady8]

Currently 3/4 through King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard.

[Qoass]

I just finished Paula Poundstone's The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness and found it quite entertaining.  I didn't enjoy her last book at all so this was a pleasant surprise although I still prefer her on-stage work the most.

[hendersonrocks]

Quote

Uh oh -- I just started reading this one.

I want to know what you think! I would like to go back to it eventually - I love The Great Gatsby and I loooove North Carolina and books by people of color that are centered on the experiences of people of color. 

[OtterMommy]

I finished Re Jane  by Patricia Park this morning and loved it.  Re-tellings are a bit hit or miss with me, and Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, so I knew that this one could only go one of two ways for me.  Luckily, it was a hit.  It was very readable and a very smart re-telling...in fact, I would say that I enjoyed the experience of reading it more than any of the times I read Jane Eyre (I know...blasphemy!)  Enjoying this book was also a nice change because it was my selection for my book club and, for the last several years, I've ended up hating the books I've suggested!

Next, I'm starting Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning.  Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres and I've enjoyed the two other books by this author that I've read in the past (Bound and Benjamin Franklin's Bastard), so I'm hoping this one keeps the streak going.

[Mindthinkr]

Just finished Just Friends by Patti Smith. It's the story of her many years relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and their living in lower Manhattan in the 60's and 70's. It goes into a lot about the music scene and there are great glimpses about musicians we have all heard of. I enjoyed it (tho Mapplethorpes art and photography was a bit too risqué for my tastes but gratefully not shown only described).  

[luna1122]

Just Kids became one of my very fave books almost immediately...it's so lyrical and evocative and sad and beautiful. I've given it as gifts to several friends, I just love it so much and want to share with anyone I think would enjoy it. I also recommend her follow up, M Train.

[SophieDelago]

I'm deep into House of Leaves by Marcus Danielewsky. It's super unsettling.

[surreysmum]

I'm almost through Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey. Wonderful sense of place (rural Newfoundland) and a very strong central female character, going through some really classic dramatic twists and turns before she gets out of her teens.  The first-person narrative has an authentic Newfoundland sound (at least to my ears) without being in the slightest bit incomprehensible. I'd recommend it.

[Darian]

5 hours ago, SophieDelago said:

I'm deep into House of Leaves by Marcus Danielewsky. It's super unsettling.

That's been on my list for awhile and now I want to bump it up the list. I usually read ebooks, but  vaguely remember one person who recommended it insisting I read the physical book.  Would you agree?

[Mindthinkr]

Just finished a few (3) Steve Berry books. They're historical fiction and pretty well researched. The last one I finished was The Lincoln Myth. 

[Browncoat]

I somehow managed to plow through No One is Coming to Save Us, but I have no idea how.  It was a bit annoying -- too many people to try to keep up with, random flashbacks inserted in the middles of chapters with no indication that they're flashbacks, and characters I just wanted to throttle.  I had hoped for better.

[Qoass]

I just put aside Grant Ginder's The People We Hate at the Wedding, I didn't know that the title referred to every single character in the book.

[AltLivia]

Just finished Lisa Jewell's The Girls In The Garden. The writing was decent, but "sheltered kids can be evil too!" is such a tired premise.

Currently reading: Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. Peeked at the film years back, but have no memory of it. Loved Rosemary's Baby.

[OtterMommy]

9 minutes ago, AltLivia said:

Just finished Lisa Jewell's The Girls In The Garden. The writing was decent, but "sheltered kids can be evil too!" is such a tired premise.

Currently reading: Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. Peeked at the film years back, but have no memory of it. Loved Rosemary's Baby.

I read both of these last year.  The Girls in The Garden didn't quite work for me, but Lisa Jewell's next (in the US) book, I Found You was much more successful.

I enjoyed The Stepford Wives far more than I had expected.  I had seen the more recent movie (the one with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, and Bette Midler) and hated it, but the book is a completely different animal.  It is a bit dated--I believe it was written in the early 70's, but it still works--it just reads a bit more as a historical read.

Last night, I finished Monticello by Sally Cabot Gunning.  It was more character-driven (rather than plot-driven) than the other books by the same author that I've read, but it really worked for me.  It is definitely something I'd recommend to those who enjoy Historical fiction set in the pre-Civil War (post-Revolutionary War) period.

Today I'm starting Adriana Trigiani's latest, Kiss Carlo.  I've really enjoyed her standalone/early in series books, so I'm looking forward to this one.

[Qoass]

Oh, lordy, if you want to watch it as a movie, by all means go for the original Stepford Wives from the seventies.  Rather than calling it dated, I would describe it as a witty take on women's changing roles in the 20th century.  Ira Levin also wrote Rosemary's Baby and the subsequent film follows the novel pretty faithfully.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, AltLivia said:

Currently reading: Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. Peeked at the film years back, but have no memory of it. Loved Rosemary's Baby.

 

1 hour ago, OtterMommy said:

I enjoyed The Stepford Wives far more than I had expected.  I had seen the more recent movie (the one with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, and Bette Midler) and hated it, but the book is a completely different animal.  It is a bit dated--I believe it was written in the early 70's, but it still works--it just reads a bit more as a historical read.

 

 

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

Oh, lordy, if you want to watch it as a movie, by all means go for the original Stepford Wives from the seventies.  Rather than calling it dated, I would describe it as a witty take on women's changing roles in the 20th century.  Ira Levin also wrote Rosemary's Baby and the subsequent film follows the novel pretty faithfully.

I read Stepford Wives many, many, many, MANY years ago, so I don't even remember if the movie was faithful to the book or not. I just wanted to say (sorry for the hijack) that whenever anybody asks me what I think the scariest movie is, I always say The Stepford Wives. If you haven't seen the original, do. It does have some dated sounding stuff about women's lib, but it's a great movie. Do NOT (and I can't stress this enough) watch the piece of crap remake with Nicole Kidman & Bette Midler. It is very, very bad.