What Are We Currently Reading?

[GaT]

I've never read any of the Anita Blake books. I've thought of it many times because it sounds right up my alley, but all I keep reading are comments like the ones above about how the books turned into sex-all-the-time & I have no interest. Such a shame that a series people seemed to have loved would go so off the tracks. You would think she would have read the comments & adjusted the story instead of continuing to barrel along with the same idea.

[EllieH]

I recently finished The Wife Between Us.  Spoilery thoughts below...

 

Spoiler

I figured out really early, from like the second or third alternating section, that Vanessa and Nellie were one in the same.  I think if the back of the book had had a more traditional synopsis and not just "don't trust anything you see!" I probably would not have been so quick to figure it out.

That being said, not a bad read, if you enjoy domestic thrillers.

[truthaboutluv]

Recently completed Emily Giffin's All We Ever Wanted. It was okay, not the worse thing I've read and it's certainly far better than the last one of hers I read about the woman and the coach, which was so bad, it made me swear off her books for the next few years. I did think, especially considering the current social climate, the topic of the book was an interesting and timely one. I think my issue is that I wished someone else had written this book because I don't think Giffin is talented enough as a writer to create something with more nuance, less black and white and to really make the reader think.

I think what bothered me is that the story became less about the 

Spoiler

social issues of consent, especially with teenagers and teenage behavior, some by seemingly good kids because again, the boundaries of what qualifies as appropriate, sexual assault, etc. get blurred and instead it became more a "rich people bad and not rich people good". I thought it was really lazy to turn the husband into a raging, rich, asshole privileged cliche, the rich best friend was all, "my kid isn't going to get punished ever" and of course makes offensive comments about minorities, etc. Meanwhile the lifelong best friend who stayed in the small town was all wise and perfect. I don't know, I felt like it turned the story into a series of cliches.

 

I also just concluded Here Lies Daniel Tate last night. I read the whole book in a day and a half. It was a pretty quick and easy read, with a nice little mystery. 

[Spartan Girl]

I'm reading The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. There has been much discussion about the Greek heroes of Homer in the Heroic Fails thread, and all I can say is try reading about them in the POV of the poor slave girls they use and abuse. 

[Black Knight]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

I've never read any of the Anita Blake books. I've thought of it many times because it sounds right up my alley, but all I keep reading are comments like the ones above about how the books turned into sex-all-the-time & I have no interest. Such a shame that a series people seemed to have loved would go so off the tracks. You would think she would have read the comments & adjusted the story instead of continuing to barrel along with the same idea.

I can't speak for the later books, but the early, good books were reasonably standalone. Major plot threads wrapped up, no cliffhanger endings. They're worth reading, quite fun, with memorable characters and good cases. Just bail after Obsidian Butterfly.

Hamilton's well aware of the criticism, but her attitude is that if you don't like the books, don't read them. She didn't put it well at all - essentially writing that people who don't like her books don't like them because they require one to think (ha) and to be pushed out of their comfort zone (never mind all the sex is quite vanilla and hardly as shocking as she'd like to think). It was actually more of a rant, which is rarely a good idea for an author and she deleted it after the blowback. Her sales numbers went down after that since people who had been hanging in in the hopes that the books would change direction again finally gave up. But I guess the numbers are still doing well enough since the publisher continues to put the books out.

I just finished Seanan McGuire's second most recent installment in her October Daye series, The Brightest Fell. I'm happy to report that she's finally stopped (or her editor convinced her to stop) giving a full bio and backstory of every recurring character when they first show up. Talk about constantly bringing the plot to a screeching halt, considering how large the cast is. It would take an entire chapter in previous books just to run through the people Toby has living with her. My memory's far from the best, but after ten books, if I don't remember who Tybalt or May or the Luidaeg are, then I would need a lot more help than just a reminder, and it's really not important if I don't remember some random tertiary character. Just keep the story moving along. Some reminders are important, sure, given the long mythology of this series, but there are more subtle ways to do those than huge info-dumps. She's figured that out, or her editor got her to realize it, and I'm so much happier as a result. This book also includes a novella centering around the characters and events of the second installment, A Local Habitation, and if that book broke your heart on account of its incredible bleakness, well, then this novella is for you.

[Ceindreadh]

Swear!ng is go*d f*r you - The amaz!ing sc!ence of bad language by Emma Byrne. 

Not for people who don't like reading uncensored profanities ;-)

Amusingly, I'd just started reading it on my morning commute and my random playlist decides I should listen to the Rubberbandits 'Horse Outside'.  (if ever there was a more appropriate song to listen to!)

[AngelKitty]

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 2:50 PM, GaT said:

You would think she would have read the comments & adjusted the story instead of continuing to barrel along with the same idea.

 

 

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 11:11 PM, Black Knight said:

But I guess the numbers are still doing well enough since the publisher continues to put the books out.

I guess 2nd quote answers 1st quote.

I borrowed the latest, Serpentine, from the library. I don't buy her books anymore.

So I'm up to Chapter 11 and after much skimming, there have been a few mentions regarding what I assume to be the main A-plot, more about the B-plot and most about Anita and her boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancees, etc. I don't think I can continue.

Luckily, I picked up on impulse Diablo Archive, "Four original tales set in the world of Blizzard Entertainment's dark fantasy computer game." And, yes, I do play the game so I thought it would be a hoot to read. 

[Black Knight]

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing. Eleven chapters in and the alleged A-plot has a few mentions. Why does she even bother?

And if she's going to write 99% orgies, she could at least write them well. There's nothing titillating about reading paper-thin characters having sex that's described in boring tab-A-into-tab-B language. Now, when Anita first had sex with Jean-Claude? That scene was hot.

It's like when she fired her editors, they took anything she knew about plot, structure, characterization, and erotic writing with them.

I'm glad you picked up an alternate book to read which I'm sure will be much better!

[helenamonster]

Just finished: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. This is totally not my type of book at all, but the previews I was seeing for the film had me intrigued so I gave it a go, and I'm glad I did. I tend to read so much depressing, dark material that it was nice to have something more lighthearted to break it up for a bit. I also always enjoy books about people and places I know nothing about. I really don't know anything about Singapore, and I was completely unaware of the intricacies of its high society citizens. It was really fun to have a book that played out a lot of the usual rom-com tropes (couple who come from different backgrounds, rich parents disapprove of son's poor girlfriend, sarcastic best friend, interloping exes) but adapt them to a culture that is criminally underrepresented in American media.

Part of me wants to complain about some of the exposition-heavy dialogue (it was so out of place among characters who generally talk as much like real people as fictional characters can), but I can't pretend it wasn't helpful, especially paired with the footnotes. I also found the ending a little jarring.

Spoiler

Obviously Eleanor had something on Rachel that Rachel didn't even know about herself, but it just felt like a huge info dump at the end that I didn't have time to process. I just didn't feel like it had to be that complicated. I knew whatever it was, Nick wasn't going to leave Rachel over it, and I feel like there could have been a simpler version of the secret that served a similar narrative purpose.

Although this is the first part in a trilogy, so maybe once I go back and read the other books there will be more to it. I'm hoping to see the film before it leaves theaters. Everybody I know who's seen it has said it's great, and it would be helpful to see all these places and food and clothes that are in the book--even though they were described in great detail, I can't wrap my head around that level of wealth and a visual aide is more than welcome.

Next up: Feared by Lisa Scottoline.

[hendersonrocks]

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Recently completed Emily Giffin's All We Ever Wanted. It was okay, not the worse thing I've read and it's certainly far better than the last one of hers I read about the woman and the coach, which was so bad, it made me swear off her books for the next few years. I did think, especially considering the current social climate, the topic of the book was an interesting and timely one. I think my issue is that I wished someone else had written this book because I don't think Giffin is talented enough as a writer to create something with more nuance, less black and white and to really make the reader think.

I agree with you completely.

I just finished If Only, which I feel similarly about. I thought it was a really interesting premise - how a pregnant 16 year old chose the adoptive parents for her baby, told alongside how the now-16 year old's life is and what she's thinking about her "first mom - but the execution just didn't work for me. I liked some of the creative ideas - short chapters that imagine what the baby's life could have been like with the different potential adoptive parents she met were cool, for example, but the writing and overall story just fell flat.

[Stenbeck]

Origin by Dan Brown: I'm about halfway through, and holy shit...this is way too formulaic.

[GaT]

I'm reading The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me by Paul Joseph Fronczak (who the book is about) & Alex Tresniowski. This is a true story, & not the type of book I normally read, but I saw his story on some show & was so fascinated, I decided that when the paperback came out I would read it. I'm about halfway through, & some of this stuff just made me go WHAT??? So many times he gets close to answers & then something unforeseen happens, & he loses the lead. The story gets really strange in the second half, but I won't spoil it. I will say that in the middle of the book there are photos, & some of them are spoilery for what happens in the book after them, so if you're reading & don't want to be spoiled, skip the photos until the end. If you want to know the story without reading the book, just google his name, the case was famous.

[Spartan Girl]

On September 7, 2018 at 7:28 PM, truthaboutluv said:

Recently completed Emily Giffin's All We Ever Wanted. It was okay, not the worse thing I've read and it's certainly far better than the last one of hers I read about the woman and the coach, which was so bad, it made me swear off her books for the next few years. I did think, especially considering the current social climate, the topic of the book was an interesting and timely one. I think my issue is that I wished someone else had written this book because I don't think Giffin is talented enough as a writer to create something with more nuance, less black and white and to really make the reader think.

I think what bothered me is that the story became less about the 

  Reveal hidden contents

social issues of consent, especially with teenagers and teenage behavior, some by seemingly good kids because again, the boundaries of what qualifies as appropriate, sexual assault, etc. get blurred and instead it became more a "rich people bad and not rich people good". I thought it was really lazy to turn the husband into a raging, rich, asshole privileged cliche, the rich best friend was all, "my kid isn't going to get punished ever" and of course makes offensive comments about minorities, etc. Meanwhile the lifelong best friend who stayed in the small town was all wise and perfect. I don't know, I felt like it turned the story into a series of cliches.

 

. 

I just read it too, and yup, you are spot-on. I think Emily Giffin started out wanting to write something substantive about #MeToo, then after writing a few chapters just went, "Screw it, I'll just used the same tropes and cliche crap that I alwalys use." Newsflash:

it isn't just rich guys that need to be educated on consent!

[Madding crowd]

I just finished Mary Kubica's When the Lights Go Out, and I can't remember the last time I was so annoyed with the ending of a book. I have enjoyed all of her previous books and I like it that she is a local Chicago author, but this one was just bad. 

Edited September 17, 2018 by Madding crowd

[Mabinogia]

Out of curiosity I found a review with a spoiler about the ending and all i can say is WTF was she thinking?!?!??! The story actually sounds fascinating but that ending is pretty much the worst thing I have ever read about. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

I'm currently reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. It's all right so far (though the heroine is a total drip). I like Morton; her books can be a bit formulaic, but as long as the author's good at it, I don't mind. I've also read The Forgotten Garden (good, if predictable) and The Lake House (I should have hated the final twist and the resolution, but I somehow don't).

[DearEvette]

I just finished Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miler.  I loved the heroine who used the power of her mathematical genius as her exit plan from an abusive domestic situation.  And it was a space opera to boot!

[Mierin]

On 09/09/2018 at 2:19 PM, Black Knight said:

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing. Eleven chapters in and the alleged A-plot has a few mentions. Why does she even bother?

And if she's going to write 99% orgies, she could at least write them well. There's nothing titillating about reading paper-thin characters having sex that's described in boring tab-A-into-tab-B language. Now, when Anita first had sex with Jean-Claude? That scene was hot.

It's like when she fired her editors, they took anything she knew about plot, structure, characterization, and erotic writing with them.

I'm glad you picked up an alternate book to read which I'm sure will be much better!

Agreed!  Out of nostalgia, I took Serpentine of out the library (there's no way I'll spend money on this series now) and just... ugh.  It was awful.  The A-plot, which actually could have have been really interesting was mostly ignored so Anita and her many bf's could argue and angst about their poly-group.  

It's too bad as I really enjoyed this series right up to Obsidian Butterfly (which I greatly enjoyed).  Once the ardeur was introduced, it was all downhill from there, IMHO

[HazelEyes4325]

I recently finished The Wedding Date, which I enjoyed but didn't feel lived up to the hype.  I just started The Kiss Quotient, which is quite good so far.  I also have Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins on my kindle and I'm on the fence about it.  I know it has received both glowing and horrendous reviews and I'm still not sure what end of the spectrum I'm on with it.  

I'm keeping my reading a bit "light" at the moment as my anxiety is flaring up a bit.  However, once that calms down again I'm hoping to get into some heavier books again.

[Bunty]

Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier.  This is a title by a young adult author new to me and I loved every bit of it.  It pushed all my fiction buttons in a good way-- lost princes, political intrigue, strong friendships, a hint of romance.

Quote

Eighteen years ago two princes of the island kingdom of St. John del Mar were kidnapped and murdered, a deadly plot by the rival kingdom of Mondrago. Everyone knows the story, but for Elias, Mercedes, and Ulises, the aftermath of that tragic day is deeply personal. Elias grew up without his father, who was killed trying to protect the princes. Mercedes is half-Mondragan, leaving her to grow up in the shadow of del Mar’s hate. And Ulises, as the youngest and only remaining prince, inherited the throne meant for his older brothers. Now, the three friends just want to move on with their lives. But when two maps surface—each with the same hidden riddle—troubling questions arise. What really happened to the young princes?-- publisher blurb

[Spartan Girl]

I'm rereading Kindred by Octavia Butler. I first read it in college for a Women in Literature class and it blew me away. It still does. Why the hell hasn't anyone optioned it yet?! It would make an awesome movie!

[HazelEyes4325]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I'm rereading Kindred by Octavia Butler. I first read it in college for a Women in Literature class and it blew me away. It still does. Why the hell hasn't anyone optioned it yet?! It would make an awesome movie!

I've wondered that too....this would make a pretty awesome production.  I read it about 6 months before reading The Underground Railroad and I think that is why I didn't feel TUR was successful.  Both books have basically the same message, but Kindred had a much better delivery.

[Haleth]

Last week I read Educated by Tara Westover, her memoir of growing up in a religious, survivalist family.  It was harrowing and heartbreaking and infuriating.  An unforgettable look at a very unconventional upbringing.  I strongly recommend this one.

And as a palate cleanser I picked up The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and sped through it in two days.  Utterly charming letters between a writer and the island residents following German occupation during WWII.  (I'd also seen and loved the movie which is somewhat different, rearranged details from the book to make it more dramatic.)  Another strong recommendation.

[nodorothyparker]

Educated is one of those books I wanted to like a lot, and I did love how it really captures the heady giddiness of knowing things for the first time and seeing the world beyond the narrow prism in which you've been raised.  There's something really recognizable there to anyone who came from a limited background and went out in the world only to then understand that you really can't go back.  But it ultimately left me dissatisfied that the author completely glosses over how this poorer than poor girl who'd been raised with nothing and had to put herself in danger picking through trash just to earn a buck magically clicks her heels together to afford multiple rounds of higher education on both sides of the Atlantic and plane tickets to pretty much everywhere to live as an academic.  I know that's probably my experience showing through, but in a time where people are being increasingly crushed by student debt and knowing that no one ever threw a European education at me just because I came from a poorer than poor background to do well in school, I kept feeling like there was something I was missing.  It also feels disingenuous that she prefaces the whole thing by saying that fundamentalist Mormon beliefs aren't up for debate when it's those beliefs that create the very situation she had to escape from as her parents proved to be pretty much the worst survivalists ever and are responsible for so much of the turmoil that dominates the back half of the book.

[Hanahope]

On 9/10/2018 at 2:17 PM, Stenbeck said:

Origin by Dan Brown: I'm about halfway through, and holy shit...this is way too formulaic.

Yeah definitely a let down.

I too used to buy Hamilton’s books, and I agree with the formulaic sex and little actual plot.  I’ve gotten the last many from the library and skimmed through pretty quickly.  I’m not sure I’ll even bother with the latest.

[HazelEyes4325]

I recently finished The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, which I loved more than I expected, and Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins, which I enjoyed but found a bit triggering in terms of body image issues.  Since I'm still trying to get the anxiety under control, I'm sticking with lighter reads (I have There There out from the library and on my kindle, but I think I'm going to have to wait a bit on that one.)

I'm slowly working my way through my backlog of Book of the Month Books and a started Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris yesterday.  I'm not far into it, but it has yet to grab me.  I'll give it a bit more before deciding whether or not to pull the plug.  Then, on my kindle, I am just starting Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren.  I've enjoyed a few her (their...) other books, so I hope this one is a good diversion.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Okay, finished The Distant Hours a few days ago. Verdict? Solid and surprisingly complex at times, though the resolution was questionable.

Now I'm re-reading A Simple Favor, and I'm torn between  Ike and Mamie or The Romance Reader's Guide to Life to read next.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

ow I'm re-reading A Simple Favor

I haven't read the book but I saw the movie this weekend.  The movie was surprisingly funny.  Is the book?

[Wiendish Fitch]

11 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I haven't read the book but I saw the movie this weekend.  The movie was surprisingly funny.  Is the book?

The book takes itself pretty seriously, IIRC. 

[aradia22]

After a failed attempt to read it years ago, I finally finished The Sun Also Rises last night. I'm not a person who naturally pictures a movie in my head while I'm reading. I generally read at the level of the words so I prefer dialogue heavy stories or poetic descriptions vs. things I have to imagine. And Hemingway's prose is well known for being... succinct. So I had to make a real effort to get through the book. I could have just breezed through it but to actually digest what was happening, I had to try and hold an image in my head of every cafe and mountain and flat description of where they were traveling. And I actually think it was really worthwhile. I think they should teach this one in schools more often, certainly over The Great Gatsby. Gatsby has more "symbols" to teach kids about that kind of reading. But The Sun Also Rises is the more worthwhile book. Brett is way more interesting than Daisy and this is the most that a book on masculinity has ever captivated me. I also got sucked into the very specific dialogue. It's too bad no one would get it if you went around quoting it. For all the flaws (at least for me) with the flatness of the descriptions, there's a sophistication in his depiction of masculinity and interpersonal relationships. And he can write compelling descriptions when he wants to like in the bullfight scenes.

[AngelKitty]

On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 6:46 PM, Mierin said:

Out of nostalgia, I took Serpentine of out the library (there's no way I'll spend money on this series now) and just... ugh.  It was awful. 

Did you read the whole thing? I stopped at page 87.

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 10:38 AM, Hanahope said:

I’m not sure I’ll even bother with the latest.

Don't.

I have just started Magic Breaks by Illona Andrews. Much better. This is the first hardcover of the series I've gotten from the library. It's making me slightly nervous because there is a letter to the readers that this book is not the end, but "really big things happen in this book."

[Hanahope]

In keeping with my love of thrillers/myster, I'm currently reading Missing You by Harlan Coben (its been out a few years, somehow I missed it) and Night School by Lee Child (Jack Reacher).  I plan to next read The Midnight Line by Child, both of which I am reading on my Kindle "borrowed" through a app called Libby, which connects with my local library card.

[hendersonrocks]

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Okay, finished The Distant Hours a few days ago. Verdict? Solid and surprisingly complex at times, though the resolution was questionable.

That is my least favorite of Kate Morton's books. I probably like The Forgotten Garden and The Lake House best. She's got a new one coming out this fall called The Clockmaker's Daughter and there are already hundreds of hold on it at my library.

I'm in the midst of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and I'm enjoying the frothiness of it all.

[Mierin]

3 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

Did you read the whole thing? I stopped at page 87.

Don't.

I have just started Magic Breaks by Illona Andrews. Much better. This is the first hardcover of the series I've gotten from the library. It's making me slightly nervous because there is a letter to the readers that this book is not the end, but "really big things happen in this book."

I did.... barely.  I had to put the book down several times, feeling frustrated and annoyed by how crappy the book was.  I doubt I'll read the next one that comes out.

Edited September 17, 2018 by Mierin

[GaT]

I just started The Shrouded Path by Sarah Ward, the latest in the DC Childs series. It's grabbed my attention already, so that's good. I've enjoyed all the previous books in this series, & highly recommend them to anyone who is a fan of PD James, Ruth Rendell, Peter Robinson, or just British police procedurals in general. 

Edited September 18, 2018 by GaT

[Spartan Girl]

I just started In Pieces by Sally Field. Good so far, but what her stepfather did to her...no words.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: Feared by Lisa Scottoline. Another solid entry in her ongoing series, I thought. It has a fairly topical #MeToo-adjacent plot (the all-female law firm is sued for reverse-discrimination in their hiring practices) and it had an enjoyable twist that I didn't call. I did find it a little jarring

Spoiler

that she killed off John so quickly. He's only been around for a couple books in this series and didn't get all that much page time. Hell, he had a serious relationship (he was going to propose!) with the third-biggest character that we didn't know anything about until after he bit it. It seemed like when she brought him in she really wanted to shake up the dynamic of the firm, but maybe she ended up not having that many ideas and figured he could provide more story as cannon fodder.

The same thing has been happening with Anne too, for much longer. Poor thing was brought in as a main character of her own book ages ago and has been languishing in the background ever since. It almost makes it feel like a TV show who hires an actor just because they can, but they don't actually know what to do with them so they just hang around for a bit before being unceremoniously written out. Except this is a book where you don't have actors and if you don't have any ideas for a character there's really no reason for them to exist.

She doesn't even really do Judy books anymore, mostly Mary with a side of Bennie. I don't necessarily mind this (Mary is my favorite, though I'd have Bennie and Judy switch places in the pecking order if I could), it's just interesting that she's spent so many years establishing these characters just to mainly focus on one. Maybe because Mary and Bennie are the most like her (in personality and background) and they're just easier to write?

Next up: I'm also starting A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell. The trailer for the film had all my peeps (Anna Kendrick! Blake Lively! Henry Golding! The darker side of Paul Feig! Linda freakin' Cardellini!) so I'm looking forward to getting into the book and then following it up with its adaptation.

On 9/17/2018 at 7:50 AM, aradia22 said:

After a failed attempt to read it years ago, I finally finished The Sun Also Rises last night. I'm not a person who naturally pictures a movie in my head while I'm reading. I generally read at the level of the words so I prefer dialogue heavy stories or poetic descriptions vs. things I have to imagine. And Hemingway's prose is well known for being... succinct. So I had to make a real effort to get through the book. I could have just breezed through it but to actually digest what was happening, I had to try and hold an image in my head of every cafe and mountain and flat description of where they were traveling. And I actually think it was really worthwhile. I think they should teach this one in schools more often, certainly over The Great Gatsby. Gatsby has more "symbols" to teach kids about that kind of reading. But The Sun Also Rises is the more worthwhile book. Brett is way more interesting than Daisy and this is the most that a book on masculinity has ever captivated me. I also got sucked into the very specific dialogue. It's too bad no one would get it if you went around quoting it. For all the flaws (at least for me) with the flatness of the descriptions, there's a sophistication in his depiction of masculinity and interpersonal relationships. And he can write compelling descriptions when he wants to like in the bullfight scenes.

I read both The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby for junior year English, and yes, we all absolutely preferred Gatsby. It is a great book for teaching rudimentary symbolism, and I think for kids that age the plot is just so much more interesting and approachable. I remember loathing The Sun Also Rises and all the other Hemingway we had to read--my teacher was obsessed. As if Sun wasn't enough, we also had to read an essay Hemingway wrote on bullfighting, which is much less interesting to read about than I imagine it is to watch. We also had to read his short story "Hills Like White Elephants" and, let me tell you...if you haven't heard a high school English teacher try to explain an abortion allegory to a classroom full of 16-year-olds, you have not truly lived.

I think most people will agree that how you feel about books assigned in high school depends on how they're taught. It's why I will always hate Great Expectations, and always love The Taming of the Shrew.

[aradia22]

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We also had to read his short story "Hills Like White Elephants" and, let me tell you...if you haven't heard a high school English teacher try to explain an abortion allegory to a classroom full of 16-year-olds, you have not truly lived.

Ha. I got that one in a freshman college class. Maybe I sped through it but I totally missed the abortion thing until another student brought it up in class. 

I haven't read Shrew yet but it was "taught" to me by Kiss Me Kate and 10 Things I Hate About You so I assume I'll like it. Or maybe it'll be like Pride and Prejudice where I like all the adaptations but find the original a slog. 

It's definitely interesting to me how I feel about the kind of books assigned in school when I just read them on my own. I miss the contextualizing and sometimes things just go over my head (one of the reasons I don't really read poetry is I rarely get what it's alluding to). But it's nice to read things at the right pace for you and focus on what you find interesting. Of course, I read The Crucible by myself, but for an essay, and I have violently hated it ever since. I've never liked Steinbeck and Miller. I also hated 1984 (which I read in high school but by myself again) but I'm going to give Animal Farm a shot. Maybe it'll suck less when it comes to gender. 

[scarynikki12]

I've always thought Animal Farm was the superior Orwell book.  Nothing against 1984 but it doesn't work for me quite as well. 

I'm in the middle of reading DC's No Man's Land story from a few years back.  It's a compilation of comics that come together to tell different POVs of the larger story.  It's not bad but it can slog at times when I get to a character I don't care about.  I'm into it with the Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Catwoman, and Detective Comics issues but I have to speed read when I get to randoms like Azrael.  Incidentally I'm also about to begin reading the Catwoman novel that DC Icons just released.  It's written by Sarah Maas, which makes me nervous (so not a fan of that series she writes), but it's a single book and DC would have approved everything she wanted to do so I'll give it a genuine chance. 

[Crs97]

Finally read My Dear Hamilton after all the hype, and I have to say it fell flat for me. 

[hendersonrocks]

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Finally read My Dear Hamilton after all the hype, and I have to say it fell flat for me.

I thought it was at least 100 pages too long. Probably more.

I'm about to start Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee (whose Pachinko is one of my top books of the last five years).

[HazelEyes4325]

On 9/18/2018 at 8:30 PM, Crs97 said:

Finally read My Dear Hamilton after all the hype, and I have to say it fell flat for me. 

I felt it read like fan fiction, honestly.  Now, I was reading it around the time I saw Hamilton, so my view might be a bit colored there.  However, after reading My Dear Hamilton, I read Hamilton's Battalion, which is unabashed fan-fic and I enjoyed that one much more.

[raezen]

On 2018-09-15 at 1:15 PM, Spartan Girl said:

I'm rereading Kindred by Octavia Butler. I first read it in college for a Women in Literature class and it blew me away. It still does. Why the hell hasn't anyone optioned it yet?! It would make an awesome movie!

Kindred was also turned into a graphic novel some years back.  I checked it out at my local library. 

[Spartan Girl]

3 hours ago, raezen said:

Kindred was also turned into a graphic novel some years back.  I checked it out at my local library. 

I read that too and it was awesome!

[DearEvette]

On 9/17/2018 at 4:12 PM, AngelKitty said:

I have just started Magic Breaks by Illona Andrews. Much better. This is the first hardcover of the series I've gotten from the library. It's making me slightly nervous because there is a letter to the readers that this book is not the end, but "really big things happen in this book."

You really have to excuse me, but I feel like I can gush for paragraphs over the whole Kate Daniels series.  Magic Breaks is GANGSTA!  It does mark a major turning point in the series, but not in a bad way.  But rather in an, 'Huh, didn't expect that to happen." way. Just really smart storytelling, imo.

Ok, I'm just shutting up now. 

[aradia22]

Did anyone crack into their September First Reads book from Amazon? It totally slipped my mind and now none of them are jumping out at me. But I want to grab one every month so I'll have backup reading material after I cancel Amazon Prime in January. 

Rule of One has an interesting premise but it doesn't seem well written from the reviews.

We Were Mothers seems like a standard thriller/mystery of the sort that is popular these days.

I usually like a memoir but the reviews for You've Been So Lucky Already aren't encouraging.

[hendersonrocks]

I'm a little bit of a Russian history buff so regularly read non-fiction and fictional accounts of the times before the revolution (The Kitchen Boy by Robert Zimmerman is my favorite fictional account, and The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore is hard to beat in terms of comprehensive history - would love other recs!). I'm currently in the middle of The Romanov Empress, a novel about the life of Empress Maria Feodorovna (the mother of the last tsar) and am really enjoying it. It's fast paced, entertaining while still feeling somewhat accurate, and well written.

[Cherry Cola]

Reading Emily climbs by LM Montgomery.  I am so in love with LMM's writing and description of the world.  It is so beautiful. 

[Epeolatrix]

Just started Controversial Bodies: Thoughts on the Public Display of Plastinated Corpses, edited by John Lantos, MD. It's a collection of essays examining the "Body Worlds" exhibitions from various angles ethical, legal, cultural, religious, educational, and aesthetic. I saw it at a Half Price Books and it looks interesting.

[LilWharveyGal]

22 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Zimmerman is my favorite fictional account, and The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore is hard to beat in terms of comprehensive history 

Based on your recommendation I downloaded The Kitchen Boy from the library yesterday and just polished it off.   I liked it a lot, but...

Spoiler

most unreliable narrator ever?  :)

 

I've borrowed The Romanovs three times and still haven't gotten all the way through it.  Thanks for the reminder that I need to try again!