What Are We Currently Reading?

[partofme]

Run Away by Harlan Coben.  It's not a deep read but I started it today and am almost done.   I like his books because there are usually twists up to the last page Andy he mentions towns that I'm familiar with.

[GaT]

16 hours ago, partofme said:

I like his books because there are usually twists up to the last page Andy he mentions towns that I'm familiar with.

This is one of the reasons I like his Myron Bolitar series, I used to live in the area & i know all the streets & stores he mentions.

[dubbel zout]

Because I'm behind the times, I'm just starting A Gentleman in Moscow. I thought Amor Towles's first novel, Rules of Civility, was a bit predictable, so I'm hoping this one won't be. He's a good writer, so the first book was a disappointment.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

This is one of the reasons I like his Myron Bolitar series, I used to live in the area & i know all the streets & stores he mentions.

That's how i feel reading JA Jance's JP Beaumont series.

[Haleth]

On 6/4/2019 at 2:08 PM, dubbel zout said:

Because I'm behind the times, I'm just starting A Gentleman in Moscow. I thought Amor Towles's first novel, Rules of Civility, was a bit predictable, so I'm hoping this one won't be. He's a good writer, so the first book was a disappointment.

I loved, loved Gentleman. Such a charming story and main character. 

[helenamonster]

Just finished: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth. This has been happening to me a lot lately--and is strange, because I love mysteries--but this is yet another book where the emotional journey makes for a much stronger plot than trying to solve a murder, which eventually feels shoehorned in despite being the focal point of the book. I found the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship portrayed in the book to be incredibly nuanced, just misunderstandings and perceived slights piling up on top of each other as opposed to one singular unrealistic, dramatic incident being the cause of their dislike.

Next up: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, which seems like it will be a bonkers good time based on the reviews I read.

[AngelKitty]

I just finished Ultima by Stephen Baxter, a hard sci-fi series. This was the second book and not as good as the first. I found myself starting to skim more and more as the book progressed and the ending was not satisfying.

I remember liking the author's earlier works but I think he suffers from not enough editing syndrome that I think many popular writers get into. Oh well, he's off my list.

Now I have started Feed by Mira Grant, a zombie apocalypse story from the point of view of a news blogger. So far so good.

[Black Knight]

9 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

Now I have started Feed by Mira Grant, a zombie apocalypse story from the point of view of a news blogger. So far so good.

For those who don't know, Mira Grant is a pen name of the extremely prolific Seanan McGuire. You're in for a good read.

[AngelKitty]

11 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

Mira Grant is a pen name of the extremely prolific Seanan McGuire. You're in for a good read

I did not know, so thank you. I had to look her up and did find out I tried to read one of hers, Rosemary and Rue but didn't get too far. As I recall it may have been too young for me. But this one is different and I like it so far.

[GaT]

9 hours ago, AngelKitty said:

Now I have started Feed by Mira Grant, a zombie apocalypse story from the point of view of a news blogger. So far so good.

13 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

For those who don't know, Mira Grant is a pen name of the extremely prolific Seanan McGuire. You're in for a good read.

While I love Seanan McGuire's October Daye & InCryptid series, I did not like the Newsflesh series. I really wanted to, but it just didn't work for me & I personally can't recommend it.

I am currently reading Skeleton Crew by Beverly Connor, the 4th book in the Lindsay Chamberlain mystery series. The series precedes the Diane Fallon series which I have already read, & if I had read this series first, I'm not sure I would have gone ahead & read the Diane Fallon one. The writing in the Lindsay series is not as good as the Diane series, also, I feel like the Diane series is kind of a rewrite of the Lindsay series. They even have some of the same characters, & the main character in each one is very similar. At one point there was supposed to be another book in each series, but Beverly Connor (along with her literary agent & publisher) have disappeared from the face of the earth, so I guess there won't be.

[Haleth]

I'm rereading Mary Stewart's Merlin/Arthur series that begins with The Crystal Cave.  I don't think I've looked at them since the 70s.  They've really held up very well.  Her writing is still wonderfully lyrical and entertaining for a story that's been done countless times.  I think they remain one of the best versions of the legends in print.

[truthaboutluv]

Finally completed Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers. Probably one of the most disturbingly fascinating books I've ever read. I'm still not sure if I particularly loved it but it was certainly an interesting read. Cohen was a very poetic writer. 

[AuntiePam]

The Philadelphian by Richard Powell, 1957. I wanted to read this after watching the movie, The Young Philadelphians, with Paul Newman. The movie begins with Brian Keith's character watching a bride and groom emerge from a church. In the next scene, we see the bride and groom in their hotel. Bride is starting to take off her clothes. She approaches the groom, who becomes distraught, yells "I can't love you! I can't love anybody!" So why not, I'm asking, and the movie never answers the question, so I read the book. Question still not answered, but it's a fine book, a family saga that pays more attention to Newman's character's mother and grandmother than the movie did.

The Last by Hanna Jameson. I don't usually buy new books but this was an end-of-the-world (nuclear) novel which was one of two books that had a good review on NPR's home page a few weeks ago. Big disappointment. The book had three usually fruitful plot threads -- nuclear war,, a murder mystery, supernatural happenings -- and a fourth thread if you include a possible unreliable narrator, but failed to deliver on any of them. 

The Big Family by Vina Delmar (or Del Mar, I've seen it both ways).  Unimaginative title, but accurate, the family sprawled all over.  The book tells the history of the Slidell family and is mostly true.  It covers years from the American Revolution to World War I, and the focus is on John Slidell, Jr., born in New York, moved to New Orleans, became a Senator, influenced elections (which included paying people to vote early and vote often).  Through marriages, the Slidell family came to include the Naval Perrys, August Belmont (the Belmont Stakes), Pierre Beauregard, a Vanderbilt, and other names that would be familiar if anyone paid attention to US history anymore.  Delmar admits the parts that were necessary to invent, but she has letters and newspaper accounts to buttress the rest, and it's fascinating reading.  Andrew Jackson does not come off well, but then neither do most politicians.  This is my third Delmar and I'll be reading the rest of her work.  Per Wiki, she was ahead of her time vis-a-vis social history, especially pertaining to women.

 

[Hanahope]

I just finished Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton, which I had saved to read while recovering from surgery.  This is unfortunately her last book because she died before Z could be written.  

It’s a shame because I thought Y was pretty weak.  Too much time going piece by piece in detail about the past crime which I didn’t think was necessary, which meant the present day mystery was abbreviated.  Maybe Sue was already sick while writing because it really felt like two stories, two authors.  Yes, one loose thread was resolved, again without much real investigation.

[Ceindreadh]

My last few books have been on the serious and gloomy side. 

The boy on the bridge by M.R.Carey sequel to The girl with all the gifts and set in a post apocalyptic society. 

Raising steam by Terry Pratchett - one of his darker (IMO) Discworld books

To sleep with the angels - the story of the fire at Our Lady of Angels school (following a recommendation on the non-fiction thread here) 

Somafter all that, I decided to go for something a bit funnier - “And then you’re dead. A scientific exploration of the world’s most interesting ways to die”. 

Definitely a lot lighter than my previous reading!

Edited June 12, 2019 by Ceindreadh

[Pachengala]

20 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

The boy on the bridge by M.R.Carey sequel to The girl with all the gifts and set in a post apocalyptic society. 

Ooooh I didn't know there was a sequel--I loved TGWAtG! My 2019 reading challenge is to only read books by women and BIPOC so it'll have to wait a bit, but thanks for clueing me in! 

[peacheslatour]

Has anybody read The Talented Mr. Ripley? I love the Jude Law movie and I just saw the earlier French film, Purple Noon. Now I'm in the mood to read the book.

[Ceindreadh]

56 minutes ago, Pachengala said:

Ooooh I didn't know there was a sequel--I loved TGWAtG! My 2019 reading challenge is to only read books by women and BIPOC so it'll have to wait a bit, but thanks for clueing me in! 

FYI, It’s actually a prequel to TGWATG. 

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Has anybody read The Talented Mr. Ripley?

I have. I found it kind of a slog, TBH. It was shortly after I'd seen the movie (which I love), so that might have tainted the book for me. I can't remember how closely the movie followed the book; sorry.

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I have. I found it kind of a slog, TBH. It was shortly after I'd seen the movie (which I love), so that might have tainted the book for me. I can't remember how closely the movie followed the book; sorry.

That was what I was wondering. The French film ended when Mr. Greenleaf came over to sell the boat after Tom had already sold it. Also it didn't have Meredith or Peter or the train trip. 

[Mabinogia]

2 hours ago, Pachengala said:

23 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

The boy on the bridge by M.R.Carey sequel to The girl with all the gifts and set in a post apocalyptic society. 

Ooooh I didn't know there was a sequel--I loved TGWAtG! My 2019 reading challenge is to only read books by women and BIPOC so it'll have to wait a bit, but thanks for clueing me in! 

TGWAtG is one of my all time favorite books. I could not even finish the prequel. It was the most disappointed I have been in a book since I finally tried to read Wuthering Heights, which I thought was supposed to be a love story but turned out to be about horrible people I couldn't stand reading about, which is kind of what The Boy on the Bridge was too. I just found no one I cared about and the main characters just pissed me off so much I couldn't keep reading about them. 

I just finished Good Omens, after having watched the series. I LOVED everything about it. 

[Pachengala]

49 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

TGWAtG is one of my all time favorite books. I could not even finish the prequel. It was the most disappointed I have been in a book since I finally tried to read Wuthering Heights, which I thought was supposed to be a love story but turned out to be about horrible people I couldn't stand reading about, which is kind of what The Boy on the Bridge was too. 

Hmm. I was already tapping the brakes after @Ceindreadh said it was a prequel—I consistently detest prequels of any kind—and with this review, well, I may just skip it.

[Mabinogia]

3 hours ago, Pachengala said:

Hmm. I was already tapping the brakes after @Ceindreadh said it was a prequel—I consistently detest prequels of any kind—and with this review, well, I may just skip it.

I would reread Girl With All the Gifts instead. That book was absolutely brilliant. 

[Ceindreadh]

8 hours ago, Pachengala said:

Hmm. I was already tapping the brakes after @Ceindreadh said it was a prequel—I consistently detest prequels of any kind—and with this review, well, I may just skip it.

In terms of prequels and sequels

the book does jump forward in time at the end so we do get a bit of a resolution of TGWATG

[catlover79]

A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman

[cherrypj]

I just finished Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Delightful. Loved it. Now I'm in that state where everything else I'm picking up pales in comparison. Which is a problem because I need a book (or three) to read on this vacation!

[Bunty]

17 hours ago, cherrypj said:

I just finished Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. Delightful. Loved it. Now I'm in that state where everything else I'm picking up pales in comparison. Which is a problem because I need a book (or three) to read on this vacation!

Here is a literature map with suggestions for authors similar to Naomi Novik.

https://www.literature-map.com/naomi+novik.html

Another suggestion : Mary Robinette Kowal

Ghost talkers

Kowal's latest is a dazzling alternative history set during the Great War. In the summer of 1916, American heiress Ginger Stuyvesant is engaged to British intelligence officer Benjamin Hartshorne and working in France as a medium in the top secret Spirit Corps, a force that gathers intelligence from fallen soldiers at the moment of death. It is grisly, exhausting work that puts the souls of the mediums in danger of becoming permanently separated from their physical forms, and it is made more dangerous by the discovery that the German army is not only aware of the Spirit Corps but has a double agent assisting them. When Ben is murdered, it falls to Ginger to help him move on by finding his killer and discovering the traitor in the corps while keeping her soul intact. Romance, action, and intrigue propel the plot from Kowal's compelling premise. Ginger's determination to do her duty in the face of lost love and senseless death and her eventual triumph will satisfy fans of Kowal's Glamourist Histories series as well as readers of Naomi Novik and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series.--Szwarek, Magan Copyright 2016 Booklist

Edited June 15, 2019 by Bunty
Added title

[cherrypj]

18 minutes ago, Bunty said:

Here is a literature map with suggestions for authors similar to Naomi Novik.

https://www.literature-map.com/naomi+novik.html

Oh, that's great! I see V.E. Schwab is closest to Naomi Novik on this list, and I do, indeed, love her work too! But I've read them all. So I'll check out Katherine Arden--by pure coincidence, I started The Bear and the Nightingale last night.

I did enjoy The Calculating Stars by Kowal, and so I'll check out Ghost Talkers too!

[alias1]

On 6/13/2019 at 5:38 PM, LucindaWalsh said:

Anyone familiar with Anthony Horowitz? I am debating downloading The House Of Silk from the library. I added Magpie Murders and The Word Is Murder to my holds request. I haven't read or watched anything Sherlock Holmes but the first is a Sherlock Holmes book. 

I never read House of Silk, but I read his other Sherlock Holmes book, Moriarty.  It was pretty good.  I read Magpie Murders, which I liked a lot, very clever.  It's my favorite of all his books that I've read.  I also read The Word is Murder and I can't remember anything about it (not a good sign, I guess) but I think others really liked it.  

I just read his prequel to Ian Fleming's 007, Forever and a Day and I enjoyed that.  

[Bunty]

7 hours ago, Bunty said:

Here is a literature map with suggestions for authors similar to Naomi Novik.

https://www.literature-map.com/naomi+novik.html

Another suggestion : Mary Robinette Kowal

Ghost talkers

Kowal's latest is a dazzling alternative history set during the Great War. In the summer of 1916, American heiress Ginger Stuyvesant is engaged to British intelligence officer Benjamin Hartshorne and working in France as a medium in the top secret Spirit Corps, a force that gathers intelligence from fallen soldiers at the moment of death. It is grisly, exhausting work that puts the souls of the mediums in danger of becoming permanently separated from their physical forms, and it is made more dangerous by the discovery that the German army is not only aware of the Spirit Corps but has a double agent assisting them. When Ben is murdered, it falls to Ginger to help him move on by finding his killer and discovering the traitor in the corps while keeping her soul intact. Romance, action, and intrigue propel the plot from Kowal's compelling premise. Ginger's determination to do her duty in the face of lost love and senseless death and her eventual triumph will satisfy fans of Kowal's Glamourist Histories series as well as readers of Naomi Novik and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series.--Szwarek, Magan Copyright 2016 Booklist

From the map I would also recommend

The Goblin Emperor

by Katherine Addison

[AngelKitty]

On 6/9/2019 at 9:01 AM, Haleth said:

I'm rereading Mary Stewart's Merlin/Arthur series that begins with The Crystal Cave.

I just had to pipe in to say these books have always been favorites of mine. ❤️

[cherrypj]

15 hours ago, Bunty said:

From the map I would also recommend

The Goblin Emperor

by Katherine Addison

Oh yes; one of my top five books of all time. Just outstanding.

[Snow Apple]

I'm reading Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It's a "new adult" book about the son of the first female president of the United States and the second son of the queen (or princess?) of England falling in love. It remind me of fanfiction. Cute with appealing characters for when you just want a pleasant and easy read. 

[AuntiePam]

4 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Didn't intend to Quote but do this all the time and then forget how to delete -- sorry!

I loved Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, and somehow forgot to read the final one.

I'm reading another one by Vina Delmar, who is rapidly becoming a very favorite author.  She's out of print, but Amazon and ABE have reasonably priced copies.

This latest is The Becker Scandal: A Time Remembered.  It's a memoir, centered around the murder of a friend of Delmar's father.  The friend ran gambling houses in NYC in 1912, and he was murdered on orders from the Chief of Police.  It caused quite a scandal and almost broke up Vina's parents' marriage. 

Other Delmar books I've enjoyed:  The Big Family (mentioned above), About Mrs. Leslie, which was made into a movie with Shirley Booth, and The Marcaboth Women, a day in the life of a wealthy family, the matriarch, her four sons and their wives, as a new wife is introduced into this very tight-knit family.

Lucky for me, her books were often selections for Book of the Month and Literary Guild, so there are lots of copies.  Her own life was interesting enough for a bio, but there is none. 

I appreciate a writer who tells a good story, with realistic and interesting characters.  Kind of old-fashioned, but rewarding.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, about a stereotypically idyllic married couple...who keep things spicy by stalking and killing pretty young women. It had a lot of elements that I like in this kind of book: some fun twists (a few of which I saw coming from miles away but w/e), deconstruction of "missing white woman syndrome", parody of life in the American suburbs. But I think I need to stop reading reviews from other customers to help me pick out books, because they seriously warp my perception and expectations for the narrative.

Spoiler

The way some reviews described this book, I thought it was going to have more darkly comedic elements--I was picturing a tone sort of similar to the Netflix show Santa Clarita Diet, which juxtaposes the banality of married suburban life with the insanity of becoming a zombie. I was hoping for that, except replacing "becoming a zombie" with "carrying out serial murders", and it really wasn't. At the time the book starts, the couple have only killed three women, and the first two were not part of their weird little foreplay thing, but out of (relative) necessity.

Other reviews compared the plot to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but those points don't really come in until wayyy at the end, when you find out that Millicent has been framing the husband this whole time. The cat and mouse game comes too late to really be considered a defining element of the narrative, and it's easily the most tedious part of the book.

This book did play on one of my fears, though: that the terrible things I, as a young woman, see happen in the news to other young women could just as easily happen to me. The couple targets their victims relatively arbitrarily, and it's freaky to think of how many unfortunate things we avoid by just not happening to cross paths with the wrong person at the wrong time.

Next up: The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

[Cirien]

4 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm reading Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. It's a "new adult" book about the son of the first female president of the United States and the second son of the queen (or princess?) of England falling in love. It remind me of fanfiction. Cute with appealing characters for when you just want a pleasant and easy read. 

Argh!!!! I tried this, but as a Brit it made me want to bang my head against a brick. The BRF family stuff is so so so bad ( I figure that saying it's about the British Royal Family since it's at least about one of them isn't a spoiler ) and it's just so culturally inaccurate, I can't go back and read it again. 

I much prefer "The Royal We" 

[Snow Apple]

2 hours ago, Cirien said:

Argh!!!! I tried this, but as a Brit it made me want to bang my head against a brick. The BRF family stuff is so so so bad ( I figure that saying it's about the British Royal Family since it's at least about one of them isn't a spoiler ) and it's just so culturally inaccurate, I can't go back and read it again. 

I much prefer "The Royal We" 

Haha. Yeah, that's why I said it reminds me of fanfiction. Easy read that you don't have to take seriously. I like the characters which kept me reading. But even I, who knows almost nothing about royalty, know the second son is never given the title of the Prince of Wales. So yeah, this is not the book for those bothered by inaccurately. It normally bothers me too, but I was having too much fun.😆

[catlover79]

A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman

[catlover79]

The Tinderbox by Beverly Lewis

[partofme]

I just finished reading a book called Call Me Evie by JP Pomadore.  It is a mystery/thriller that had twists and turns that really surprised me and made me think, it didn't go the way I expected.

[JAYJAY1979]

Just finished Sophie Kinsella's I owe You One...another winner 🙂   a nice mix of personal contentment, family, and romance.

https://youtu.be/P5CmG3ckgI0

[Crs97]

Just finished Where the Crawdads Sing and really enjoyed it - impressed when a book is both contemplative and gripping. Don’t know that I thought it matched all the hype, but great debut novel.  Now I am starting one of the Amazon Prime early reads The Blue Period.

[dubbel zout]

Finally finished A Gentleman in Moscow, which I liked but wasn't dazzled by like a lot of people were. Now I'm gobbling up Daisy Jones & the Six. I love oral biographies, so a fake one is catnip for me. 

[GaT]

Currently reading The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths, it's the 2nd book in the Ruth Galloway series. I usually read the first 3 books in a series before I decide whether or not I like it enough to continue, & I already have book 3, which I will read, but I think that's it for this series. The books are written in present tense, which just annoys me, plus, I think there's a lot of unnecessary detail which makes for a bigger book (good), but not a more interesting (bad) one. 

[truthaboutluv]

I just completed The Great Gatsby. It's one of those literary classics I never got around to reading but it happened to fit in perfectly for one of my Popsugar Reading Challenge categories. 

I have to say, I don't get the hype. It was an interesting and fairly easy read. I definitely saw the theme of Gatsby being this lonely tragic figure in the vein of Richard Cory but I don't know, I ended the book feeling like there were bare bones of a great story. However the meat of it never truly came together and so it never fully delivered on its potential.

[dubbel zout]

17 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

I just completed The Great Gatsby. It's one of those literary classics I never got around to reading but it happened to fit in perfectly for one of my Popsugar Reading Challenge categories. 

I have to say, I don't get the hype.

I think a lot of classics get so overdiscussed and become so familiar—even if you haven't read it, you usually know the basic outline—that it can be hard to see what the fuss is about. It's no one's fault, but it's a shame when books lose their power that way. 

And, of course, writing styles evolve, and what was fresh when it was first published (e.g., The Catcher in the Rye, which is now seen by a lot of people as banal and dated) loses its singularity when other writers imitate it or time catches up.

[Crs97]

When I was in high school I decided one summer I would only read classics.  I started with Great Gatsby and then tried Catcher in the Rye.  Those two ended my experiment.

[partofme]

I just read a book called The Winter Sister and it was a good book, but I'm sure I read a book not that long ago with a very similar plot and it's driving me crazy that I can't remember the name of the book.   

Spoiler

A girl sneaks out every night to see her boyfriend and one night her sister decides to lock her out assuming she'll knock on the front door and get in trouble but instead gets back in the boyfriend's car and ends up murdered   

[peacheslatour]

I'm about to start The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. I love her books (The Little Stranger, Fingersmith) but she writes so few.

[Danny Franks]

I'm giving The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon, one more try before deciding it's not for me. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for years, and I've never managed to get more than twenty or so pages into it before getting bored.

So far, I'm further in than I've ever made it before. It's still not grabbing me, but the themes that Chabon seems to be going for - the down-on-his-luck detective, at the end of his rope, but with lots of overtly Jewish cultural tropes - are clearer now.