What Are We Currently Reading?

[Black Knight]

19 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Too bad that scene wasn't Pre-Code.

The Code wasn't a factor in the making of the film, since it's a foreign film. And the film did violate the Code. Because of that, it took 7 years for the movie to be released in America, and since it wasn't up to Code, the number of theaters willing to show the movie was limited, and were mostly art houses.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, Black Knight said:

The Code wasn't a factor in the making of the film, since it's a foreign film. And the film did violate the Code. Because of that, it took 7 years for the movie to be released in America, and since it wasn't up to Code, the number of theaters willing to show the movie was limited, and were mostly art houses.

That sucks. No wonder it's considered obscure, they tried their hardest to make sure no one saw it. The Hayes Office was just chock full of prudes. 

[Crs97]

Hedy’s first husband spent a lot of money trying to buy and burn every copy of the film.  We are lucky he wasn’t successful.

[peacheslatour]

19 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Hedy’s first husband spent a lot of money trying to buy and burn every copy of the film.  We are lucky he wasn’t successful.

Why would he do that? Did she want him to? Otherwise, what an asshole.

[Darian]

I don't know if I'll get to any books on Hedy Lamarr, but I have to say, I am enjoying the discussion here so much. I just "liked" your responses just because of that. Thanks!

I needed a sort of mindless thriller, but picked up Whisper Network by Chandler Baker. Not too far in, but it doesn't appear to be mindless, and given the subject matter is not a fluffy distraction, but I am enjoying it. I love the writing style. 

[Crs97]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

20 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Why would he do that? Did she want him to? Otherwise, what an asshole.

Yes he was.  She describes him as very controlling.  He was unhappy that people were able to see his wife naked.  He was also known as the Merchant of Death who supplied arms to Mussolini and perhaps Hitler, who may have named him an honorary Aryan, even though he had Jewish ancestors.  Hedy was Jewish, but he made her convert before their marriage.  Her life was fascinating!

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

Yes he was.  She describes him as very controlling.  He was unhappy that people were able to see his wife naked.

TBH, I wouldn't want people seeing my spouse naked either.  But these are things you should discuss before marriage.

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Yes he was.  She describes him as very controlling.  He was unhappy that people were able to see his wife naked.  He was also known as the Merchant of Death who supplied arms to Mussolini and perhaps Hitler, who may have named him an honorary Aryan, even though he had Jewish ancestors.  Hedy was Jewish, but he made her convert before their marriage.  Her life was fascinating!

I just read he kept he prisoner in his castle and she only escaped because she disguised herself as a maid and got to Paris. Another story is that she begged him to allow her to wear all of her jewelry to a dinner and escaped that way.

[Black Knight]

6 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Why would he do that? Did she want him to? Otherwise, what an asshole.

To be fair to her controlling husband, Lamarr probably wanted those prints bought and destroyed as well. She didn't want to do the nude scenes and only undressed when the director, Gustav Machaty, lied to her that nothing would actually be seen in the film. When she saw the finished film, she cried, and screamed at Machaty.

[Spartan Girl]

Started reading Demi Moore's memoir Inside Out. Wow, her parents were messed up with their marital discord. Which makes you admire how civil her and Bruce Willis' split was, for their daughters' sake. Ashton Kutcher, on the other hand...yikes.

Also read The Water Dancer by Ta-Nahisi Coats. Hard to keep up with at times and not an easy read, but I can definitely see why it's been getting all the hype with Oprah's book club.

[catlover79]

[HazelEyes4325]

I finished The Secrets We Kept last night and enjoyed it, but probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read (or seen) Dr. Zhivago.  The narration was a little tricky to get into but, once I figured it out, I found it very effective.

Now, I'm switching between The Alice Network and The Last Train to London.  I kind of wish I was reading two other books because two WWII themed novels is a bit much, but I'm at the mercy of library due dates.  I'm also juggling two audiobooks: Daisy Jones and the Six and Shortest Way Home (Pete Buttigieg's memoir).  Both are quite good, although I think it is more the performance value than the story with Daisy Jones.

[proserpina65]

On ‎09‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 2:25 PM, Darian said:

I don't know if I'll get to any books on Hedy Lamarr, but I have to say, I am enjoying the discussion here so much

She was a fascinating woman.  She was a self-taught inventor.

[Black Knight]

I just finished Anthony Horowitz's Magpie Murders, which was entertaining (thanks to those here who recommended it!), and will now start on Omar El Akkad's American War. I've had the latter in my to-read bookcase for a while now.

[Danny Franks]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Omar El Akkad's American War. I've had the latter in my to-read bookcase for a while now.

That's a really good book. Not one that will leave you with many warm feelings, but it's powerful, and El Akkad does a really good job of demonstrating how extremists are created.

[Spartan Girl]

Just read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. Great book if you love historical fantasy!

[aradia22]

Amazon First Reads for October

Did anyone pick "Room to Breathe" or "A Transcontinental Affair"?

The first one sounds okay but I've been picking a lot of chick lit lately and it can be hit or miss. The second one sounds like my speed. Historical fiction AND inclusive? Yay! But historical fiction can be TERRIBLE and super anachronistic in the hands of a bad writer.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, a retelling of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James that puts the original through a Black Mirror filter--basically the haunting elements are coming from the features of the tricked-out smart house the nanny is living in. 

I enjoyed it for the most part. The first twist I saw coming from a mile away. The second came out of nowhere and I felt it would have had more impact if it had been built up properly.

Spoiler

Rowan/Rachel talked a lot about her fraught relationship with her mom, but barely mentioned that her dad wasn't around until it was time to reveal that it was Bill. Maybe if they'd brought that up more, or had her be more desperate for her sisters to like her, it would have had more emotional payoff. She definitely should have had a different (i.e. bigger and more nuanced) reaction to Bill coming on to her. There was nothing to suggest in the aftermath that her being upset over it was any more than the run-of-the-mill emotions any woman in that situation would experience.

The final twist was kind of a throwaway by the time we got to it: I almost thought the book was going to end without revealing

Spoiler

who was behind the haunting. I figured it would be one of the kids. Jack and Jean were too obvious, and I couldn't think of a good enough reason for it to be the parents. My only question is, what happened to Rowan/Rachel? Did she go insane and never actually send those letters to Mr. Wrexham? Was there even a Mr. Wrexham? And what happened with the prison, it was just shut down and demolished and they found those letters inside? I was confused.

Next up: Drowning With Others by Linda Keir.

[Crs97]

Just read Spring House by Mary Ellen Taylor.  It must have been a first reads book.  It was enjoyable enough, but it’s like she was writing at a steady pace and someone called her to dinner and she needed to finish it very quickly before the food got cold.  I was reading it online and was stunned when I turned the page to see her photo instead of the next chapter.  

A lot of unanswered questions and sudden resolutions.  Also a lot of names and information about characters that I still don’t quite understand.  I’m wondering if it’s a sequel.  If so, it doesn’t quite stand on its own.

[GaT]

I'm reading Moonlight Druid by M.D. Massey, it's book 3 in the Colin McCool series. I've found the books to be OK, but I don't know if I'll go any further with the series (there are 9 books so far). It feels like another Harry Dresden-alike series, only not as good.

[Danny Franks]

I just read Dark at the Crossing by Elliott Ackerman. It sounded really interesting, and got some rave reviews but I just did not get what the fuss was about.

The book doesn't really do anything. It doesn't say anything profound or even particularly enlightening - The Syrian civil war was terrible, Daesh were barbaric, disaffected and traumatised people make unwise decisions. Okay... then what? Nothing, apparently. I don't think you can get anything from this novel that you can't get by paying attention to the news when it talks about violence in the Middle East.

Edited October 10, 2019 by Danny Franks

[DearEvette]

I am just finishing The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier.  It was good and I am looking forward to the next one.  I still think her Blackthorn and Grim series is my favorite of all the books of hers I've read.

Next on deck for me is A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie, the 18th book in the Duncan & Kincaid mystery series. 

[GaT]

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Next on deck for me is A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie, the 18th book in the Duncan & Kincaid mystery series. 

I have this book on the way to me, I lurve me a Duncan & Kincaid book.

[LBS]

14 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Next on deck for me is A Bitter Feast by Deborah Crombie, the 18th book in the Duncan & Kincaid mystery series. 

10 hours ago, GaT said:

I have this book on the way to me, I lurve me a Duncan & Kincaid book.

Just finished it.   I forgot how much I liked the characters!  Pretty solid D&K book.

[Spartan Girl]

Finally got The Testaments from my library and I. Can't. Put. It. Down. It's that good.

[Hanahope]

Recently finished Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline.  Definitely not one of her better books.  The premise is set up with one sort-of sympathetic main charcter, 2 definitely unsympathetic characters and 2 dead characters, one recent, one 20 years prior.  Then it goes back 20 years to how 1 person died.  Needless to say, already knowing out who is the recent death, it made me much less interested to read about events 20 years ago, especially with the 2 unsympathetic characters and not even that interested in the kid who died back then.  So I skimmed a lot of the book until it finally got back to present day, and then it was very formulaic. and there's one sort-of 'big' twist, but really, did it matter that much 20 years later?

[helenamonster]

45 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

Recently finished Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline.  Definitely not one of her better books.  The premise is set up with one sort-of sympathetic main charcter, 2 definitely unsympathetic characters and 2 dead characters, one recent, one 20 years prior.  Then it goes back 20 years to how 1 person died.  Needless to say, already knowing out who is the recent death, it made me much less interested to read about events 20 years ago, especially with the 2 unsympathetic characters and not even that interested in the kid who died back then.  So I skimmed a lot of the book until it finally got back to present day, and then it was very formulaic. and there's one sort-of 'big' twist, but really, did it matter that much 20 years later?

I felt the same way. I especially didn't like that it spent so much time in the past building up to an inevitable conclusion, compared to the small amount of time it spent in the present. For me, the more interesting part of these kinds of stories is always the "after", not the "before".

I will say, I have the hardcover of this book and I'm obsessed with the jacket art. The color scheme is beautiful. It looks nice on my shelf lol.

[Black Knight]

On 10/13/2019 at 6:57 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Finally got The Testaments from my library and I. Can't. Put. It. Down. It's that good.

Margaret Atwood just won the Booker Prize (in a tie with another author, against the rules for the Booker but the panel absolutely insisted they couldn't choose) for this. I want to read it, but do I need to re-read The Handmaid's Tale first? I read it so long ago that I don't remember much other than the broad strokes. (I have seen all the seasons of the Hulu adaptation, if that's a sufficient substitute for filling in whatever I need to know to read Testaments.)

[Spartan Girl]

11 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Margaret Atwood just won the Booker Prize (in a tie with another author, against the rules for the Booker but the panel absolutely insisted they couldn't choose) for this. I want to read it, but do I need to re-read The Handmaid's Tale first? I read it so long ago that I don't remember much other than the broad strokes. (I have seen all the seasons of the Hulu adaptation, if that's a sufficient substitute for filling in whatever I need to know to read Testaments.)

If you've seen the TV series and know what Gilead is about, then I guess it's okay to read it without rereading Handmaid's Tale

[Black Knight]

I just started John Bateson's The Education of a Coroner. It's a nonfiction account and promises to have some interesting stories. One notable thing I've learned already is that not all coroners are medical examiners nor even required to have medical training, depending on where they work. (Perhaps this has been mentioned on the CSI franchise, but I've never watched any of those shows.)

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Black Knight said:

I just started John Bateson's The Education of a Coroner. It's a nonfiction account and promises to have some interesting stories. One notable thing I've learned already is that not all coroners are medical examiners nor even required to have medical training, depending on where they work. (Perhaps this has been mentioned on the CSI franchise, but I've never watched any of those shows.)

"Last Week Tonight" actually had an interesting segment on this sort of thing a while back. May have to keep an eye out for this book, I'm guessing it'd go into a lot more detail about that kind of stuff. 

[annzeepark914]

Just finished Hillbilly Elegy and have heard they're making a movie based on this nonfiction book.  I found it very interesting.  Am now starting "Florida".

[Spartan Girl]

Finally read The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman, and I can see why it's making critics top books list.  It is brilliant.  

[proserpina65]

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 7:33 PM, Black Knight said:

I just started John Bateson's The Education of a Coroner. It's a nonfiction account and promises to have some interesting stories. One notable thing I've learned already is that not all coroners are medical examiners nor even required to have medical training, depending on where they work. (Perhaps this has been mentioned on the CSI franchise, but I've never watched any of those shows.)

The CSI franchise does not deal with reality at all, according to more than one person I know who works in crime scene investigation.  So I wouldn't expect them to get details like that correct.

[Silver Raven]

On 10/16/2019 at 4:33 PM, Black Knight said:

I just started John Bateson's The Education of a Coroner. It's a nonfiction account and promises to have some interesting stories. One notable thing I've learned already is that not all coroners are medical examiners nor even required to have medical training, depending on where they work. (Perhaps this has been mentioned on the CSI franchise, but I've never watched any of those shows.)

In some California counties, the coroner is the County Sheriff.

[peacheslatour]

I just started The Death Of Mrs. Westaway. I think I'm really going to like it.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I just started The Death Of Mrs. Westaway. I think I'm really going to like it.

That's what I thought when I started it too, but it turned out to be a big meh for me. Hopefully you'll enjoy it more.

[festivus]

Just got done with Elton John's book Me. Excellent read, he is very self aware and funny.

[Straycat80]

7 hours ago, festivus said:

Just got done with Elton John's book Me. Excellent read, he is very self aware and funny.

Me too! Almost done reading it. Very honest and funny book. 
 

read The Testaments by Margaret Atwood  before that. 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Straycat80

[GaT]

I'm reading Sharpest Sting by Jennifer Estep, book #18 in the Elemental Assassin series, & I feel like the series is losing its appeal for me. The plot feels like we've done this a number of times already, & that nothing much ever changes. Characters that were long gone keep popping up again, & basically the same things keep happening. The plot needs to move on to something else.

[Haleth]

I recently finished Chuck Wendig's The Wanderers.  It has been compared to The Stand.  During an apocalyptic outbreak of disease a group of people suddenly becomes catatonic and begins walking across the country, followed by loved ones who try to protect them along the way.  It's very good despite the fact I hated most of the characters.  

[Cherpumple]

On 9/2/2019 at 3:37 PM, aradia22 said:

But I am so tired of WWII and split timeline (past and present) stories. They're terrible trends that need to die, especially when they're both in play.

Just out of curiosity, what don't you like about split timeline stories?

I'm currently in the planning stages of writing one (both timelines are set in the past) and I can already tell it's going to be a minefield. They're so tricky to get right! For me personally, I rarely like both stories equally, and almost without exception, I find that the modern day story ends up being the weaker of the two. This might be because it's usually more about discovering and reacting to the past story, rather than being a fully developed story in its own right. But sometimes I think it's just because I chose the book because I wanted to read about something historical, and am not in the mood for the contemporary part.

If this isn't too off-topic I'd love to hear people's thoughts about split timeline books (especially what makes or breaks them for you), and get recommendations for ones that do it right.

On-topic: I'm just starting "For the King's Favour" by Elizabeth Chadwick.

[Crs97]

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is one that gets the split timeline right.  There are three of them!  Little girl abandoned in Australia off a boat from England.  Grown up girl trying to find out how she ended up on that boat.  Girl’s granddaughter taking over and trying to answer the question after girl dies.  (All of Kate Morton’s books have split timelines, but this is her best by far IMO).

[peacheslatour]

Quote

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is one that gets the split timeline right. 

That it does. Really liked that book. It's been a while, maybe I'll re-read it.

[Danny Franks]

I'm just starting The Wall by John Lanchester. One of the many novels coming out that is clearly inspired by our troubled, divided times. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[aradia22]

Quote

Just out of curiosity, what don't you like about split timeline stories?

There's rarely a good reason for both and I feel like it's just forced because it's become a popular trend even when the writer doesn't have as strong of a motivation as whoever used the device first. If it's based on a real story or is fiction with a thinly-veiled self insert it has that Julie and Julia vibe. Like, I don't care about this unimportant modern person inserting themselves into the story. They usually feel like people who would not be interesting on their own. There's sometimes a time-travel Lake House component where someone in the past has to act to help someone in the present. That can work sometimes depending how the writer handles it. A modern person digging into the past to bring things to light or reconnect people rarely feels satisfying. There's sometimes actual time travel where a modern person gets sucked into the past. I generally find those a little less tedious because there's less of a divide. 

There's also just the fact that I don't think most writers can write historical fiction and contemporary fiction well. It's a big ask. And you can usually tell which one they're better at. You either get anachronistic, lazy historical fiction. Or you get well-researched historical fiction and this half-hearted attempt at a modern story because some editor decided the audience was dumb and needed a way into the story. 

[Black Knight]

I've started Michio Kaku's The Future of Humanity, as I'm in the mood for a change of pace from the usual apocalyptic fiction and Kaku's science books are always optimistic. This one focuses on what we might do in outer space. Sure, he's overly "science and technology will figure everything out," but it's nice to dream. Of course, the book opened by detailing all the horrible things that could befall humanity, with the capper that even if we dodge all of those, the expanding sun will still finish life on Earth off in another five billion years. But now I'm into the optimistic part!

[Cherpumple]

18 hours ago, aradia22 said:

If it's based on a real story or is fiction with a thinly-veiled self insert it has that Julie and Julia vibe. Like, I don't care about this unimportant modern person inserting themselves into the story.

I totally agree about this point, and this example in particular. I loved the Julia part, hated the Julie part. They almost salvaged it by having the two of them meet at the end, but then it didn't happen and the already lackluster Julie part just fizzled into pointlessness.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question! And I'll definitely check out those Kate Morton books.

For what it's worth, I think the split timeline trend will last a while longer. I recently went to a conference for Historical Fiction writers and the session about split timelines was so popular that they had to open the dividing door to double the size of the room, and it was still standing room only.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

For what it's worth, I think the split timeline trend will last a while longer. I recently went to a conference for Historical Fiction writers and the session about split timelines was so popular that they had to open the dividing door to double the size of the room, and it was still standing room only.

I usually like a split timeline when I'm reading murder mysteries, but I absolutely hate them when the early part is a time I have no interest in (like medieval times) or about characters have no interest in (like soldiers or gods).  

[BlackberryJam]

Count me as disliking split timeline stories, especially when one of the timelines is history. In a murder mystery, I find the split timeline with the same character is an artificial device used to create narrative tension and it rarely works for me.