What Are We Currently Reading?

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 5/18/2020 at 2:12 PM, dubbel zout said:

I finally worked up the nerve to start reading Helter Skelter, and then Amazon delivers Say Nothing, and now I'm totally engrossed in that. I've seen a lot of movies about the Troubles but haven't read much, especially nonfiction. 

I'm shocked! I thought for sure you had read that one already! I read it years ago and could not put it down and it made me want to meet Bugliosi in real life. Alas, that never happened. Ironically enough, I can read it, but the docu-movie? It scares the bejesus out of me. Especially Manson's sycophants at the end--I have to keep reminding myself they're acting.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

And our heroine Veronica has purple eyes. Because OF COURSE she does. I wanted her to get murdered.

I read that originally Scarlett O'Hara had purple eyes and was called Pansy. Thank god some wise person talked Margaret Mitchell out of that silliness.

[BlackberryJam]

2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

That's funny. I'd absolutely forgotten those books until I got a notice that you'd quoted me here. Now that I think about it, my interest in the Julia Gray books sputtered out before I finished the series. And I don't think I ended up reading any of the Speedwell books at all. My memory is vague on the deets, but I believe I sampled a bit of the first book and had a similar reaction to the blatant inauthenticity of the thing. 

Loved your snark. In my case, a literal red flag warning when I'm reading escape fiction (I tend to crime novels and whodunits without big lashings of blood, gore, and torture): red-haired female protagonists. Oh Lord, thinks I, when the Spunky Redhead bookshop/cupcake store/bakery owner is described on page 1. I rarely bother to get past the redhead thing. Reminds me of my favorite MTM bit:

 

I hate spunky redheads unless given a reason not to. 

I did a search on Veronica Speedwell to see if the topic had already been discussed. You came up, so I got quotastic. I hate being repetitive or bringing up a topic that's already been done to death.

I sputtered out on Lady Julia as well. It was when they wen full psychic with the male lead. I wasn't reading those for supernatural; I was reading for mystery. 

I am near done with Lady Darby as well because OH MY GOD SHE'S PREGNANT. Pregnancy is fine and expected of course, but there is a reference to the pregnancy on every page. Like, "In my own condition, I felt more empathy for the crazyass murdering duchess than I would had I not been with child." And "I was pleased to be able to lean on my husband's arm as we walked across the field, feeling more tired than normal because of the precious, magical life growing within me." I wanted to take the red edit pen out.

A spunky redhead, but are they spunky if it's not unreasonably curly on top of that? Is straight red hair spunky?

Purple eyes are the worst though. I hate all characters with purple eyes. 

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

LOL. I love it when a main character completely fails (general) you as a reader.

Sometimes I'll hate read just because I'm in the mood to get riled up by a fictional character.

It's a tricky thing to write, and I have some empathy for writers, but too often they take the lazy way and either do stupid stuff like the quote, or else they make the character way too progressive.

I have hate read before, but I'm not in the mood for that. I need my reading to be enjoyable, relaxing and to decrease rather than increase my rile level. 

Veronica Speedwell is both too "I do all the things men do and that's what makes me cool" along with being way to progressive. I just skipped the fact that she announces, frequently, that she likes to have brief sexual flings while traveling with non-British men because with a Brit, it might ruin her reputation because people back home would know. I mean, not that announcing this to people isn't going to trash her reputation anyway. UGH. She's horrible. 

I read Helter Skelter years ago. I might pick it up again.

I'm currently reading All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin. I recommend.

I am looking for more crime fiction/whodunits that aren't torture porn or gore fests. Any recommendations? Also, if there is paranormal, I want it to be light like the Lowcountry Series by Susan Boyer. I'm so tired of werewolves and vampires. 

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I am looking for more crime fiction/whodunits that aren't torture porn or gore fests. Any recommendations? Also, if there is paranormal, I want it to be light like the Lowcountry Series by Susan Boyer. I'm so tired of werewolves and vampires. 

There is The Mary O'Reilly paranormal mystery series.  First book is Loose Ends. Mary is a cop who is killed in the line of duty but is revived and comes back being able to talk to ghosts.  I only read the first book, but it was promising.

If you haven't read Ben Aaronvoitch's Peter Grant series, that starts with The Rivers of London, I highly recommend.  Peter is with a special unit of the London Metropolitan police that deals with paranormal crimes.  Also there are gods and goddesses running about.

Charlayne Harris' Harper Connelly series,The first one is Grave Sight where the MC was struck by lightning when she was 12 and can now see the last moments of any dead person's life.  So she gets hired to for her special skills.  It is the one Charlayne Harris series I actually liked and read more than one book.

 

[BlackberryJam]

I enjoyed Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly Series. Those were good. I enjoyed her Lily Bard Series MUCH more. There is no paranormal with Lily Bard and the first book is Shakespeare's Landlord. 

I don't think I could stomach gods and goddesses. What I like about the Lowcountry Boil Series. There is a ghost involved by she only pops up occasionally and the mysteries aren't based on paranormal happenings. She's more of an occasional guardian angel ghost. 

I did enjoy the Wendy Roberts' Ghost Duster Series about a crime scene cleaner who can see the dead, but that went off the rails with a crappy love triangle. That author also hit it out of the park with A Grave Calling the first in her Bodies of Evidence Series. That book was great while every single one since had dropped off based on a horrible love interest. I mean, not that he's a horrible person, but I can't stand a love interest that treats their partner like that partner is an errant toddler. Which only leads that character to act like an errant toddler. That's not how good, grown up relationships work. And after four books, it's supposed to be a grown up relationship. 

[Ohiopirate02]

17 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Holy guacamole. I just tried to read the Veronica Speedwell books and rarely have I encountered such a wholly insufferable main character in historical mystery fiction. She’s more insufferable than Holmes.

I think she’s supposed to be this independent modern feminist (even for 2020) woman in 1880s England but she just comes off as an unkind and arrogant. Instead of celebrating women, her brand of feminism is to show how much she’s like a man. (Not only do I SMOKE cigars, but my cigars have better tobacco than a man’s and that just show’s how much cooler I am than you.)

The male lead is just awful from the description. He’s a shirtless, tattooed, fallen aristocratic taxidermist who wears an eyepatch. I’m not even kidding. 

And our heroine Veronica has purple eyes. Because OF COURSE she does. I wanted her to get murdered.

MMV, but I like the Veronica Speedwell books and I see them being very tongue-in-cheek.  Deanna Raybourn writes romance-adjacent books and has definitely read a lot of romance novels.  Veronica and Stoker are both characters straight out of historical romances.  All of those traits listed for both of them have appeared in romance.  These characters just happen to have all of them instead of just one or two quirks.  Stoker cracks me up with his characterizations because he is so much the Alpha Male Hero to end all alphas.  I see them as frothy, historical fun.  That being said, I have only read the first three books and I space them out with my other fiction.  

[GaT]

I've considered reading the Veronica Speedwell series a number of times because I like the Phryne Fisher books, but after reading all the comments, I think I'll pass.

[isalicat]

Just finished an *amazing* book: The Churchgoer by Patrick Coleman. Came out last year and I finally got hold of a used copy. It is a psychological study, set in Oceanside, California, of an ex-evangelist who has to return to the evangelical scene to solve a murder mystery and find a missing girl. Very, very dark and if you are an evangelical Christian you may find some of the lead character's internal dialog offensive, but I thought it was bitingly insightful. Apparently it has been optioned for a movie with Matthew McConaghey (sp?) in the lead who would be perfect!

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Veronica Speedwell is both too "I do all the things men do and that's what makes me cool" along with being way to progressive. 

Ah yes, the cool girl. Let's see what Gillian Flynn  had to say about the cool girl, shall we?

"Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl."

 

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Veronica Speedwell is both too "I do all the things men do and that's what makes me cool" along with being way to progressive. I just skipped the fact that she announces, frequently, that she likes to have brief sexual flings while traveling with non-British men because with a Brit, it might ruin her reputation because people back home would know. I mean, not that announcing this to people isn't going to trash her reputation anyway. UGH. She's horrible. 

 

41 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Ah yes, the cool girl. Let's see what Gillian Flynn  had to say about the cool girl, shall we?

I love the Lady Jane Grey books, so I was pre-disposed to really want to read the Veronica Speedwell books.  And this is what made me peace out at like chapter five of the first book.

It isn't the fact that Veronica is all those things, but the way the author presented all those things about the character was very off putting. It was too self aware. It felt like the author wanted to make sure we knew, and make no mistake about it, that  Veronica was this rules breaking maverick.  It felt like a checklist.

[BlackberryJam]

Maybe it was supposed to be tongue in cheek and mocking historical novels, but I didn't feel that way about it. I'm thinking about PG Wodehouse's Jeeves books and the hysterically funny chapter in Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith about linguistic professors deciding they could learn to swim by reading an instructional manual. I loved those books. Other people I know think they are horrible, especially PiV, which is a hard sell based on the title. 

Also, I despised Gone Girl because within the 4th chapter or so I'd figured out the "twist" and decided that married couple were both such insufferable foreskins that I wanted them both murdered, immediately. 

And while I'm feeling ranty about what should be fascinating female characters done so poorly they are rage inducing, Gretchen Lowell from the Chelsea Cain Heartsick series. I read three of those because I wanted to read about a brilliant female serial killer, but they were so disappointing. Maybe because it was so much the POV of the drippy male lead, Archie the Moping Addict. 

[Starleigh]

The only character (and therefore, author) with purple eyes that I can give a pass to, is Emily of New Moon (LM Montgomery). But Emily is such an interesting, three dimensional character that it never becomes one of those lazy tropes. (Same for "spunky" red headed Anne of Green Gables...but I wonder if that is the origin of it all??)

 

My crime fiction recommendation is the series about Julian Kestrel, by Kate Ross--Regency Era whodunit set of books that are very, very good. First book is titled Cut to the Quick. 

[Crs97]

Kate Ross’ Julian Kestral books are terrific.

[babyhouseman]

I've been reading the Hannah Swenson mystery series through ebooks from the library. It's not the best and it is formulaic, but it helps to pass the time during the shutdown. I get all my books from the library usually, but one is closed and the other has long waiting lists and limits on how many you can reserve. I'm cheap and don't buy many books. 

 

[BlackberryJam]

1 hour ago, Crs97 said:

Kate Ross’ Julian Kestral books are terrific.

I’m thirding this recommendation. It’s unfortunate that the author passed away. Those are set up wonderfully for a long series.

1 hour ago, babyhouseman said:

I've been reading the Hannah Swenson mystery series through ebooks from the library. It's not the best and it is formulaic, but it helps to pass the time during the shutdown. I get all my books from the library usually, but one is closed and the other has long waiting lists and limits on how many you can reserve. I'm cheap and don't buy many books. 

 

I’ve read several of those...far too many. I understand the design for a “clean” story, but they have a remarkably sexless love triangle. I don’t understand how she can have two grown successful adult men, one a police detective, the other a dentist, who want to marry her and there is absolutely no mention of sex. I think you can write a clean novel by just glossing over the sex rather than not having the characters engage in any past a kiss. Maybe she didn’t even have them kiss. I can’t recall.

I am fine with sex in my mystery novels. I am fine if my mystery novels have no sex. I am not fine with pretending sex doesn’t exist.

I recommend the Gemma Monroe Series by Emily Littlejohn. She is a police detective in a small Colorado town. I appreciate that just like a male detective, she leaves her child at home all day with a caregiver and doesn’t spend the day obsessing over missing every little thing, like most female detectives who have a small child. When she’s at work, she’s all detective. It’s when she’s at home that she’s Mommy. The mysteries are nicely done, bringing in the history of characters of the town without becoming goofy. They are not torture porn, or anxiety inducing suspense, but they aren’t marshmallowy cozies either.

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, babyhouseman said:

I've been reading the Hannah Swenson mystery series through ebooks from the library. It's not the best and it is formulaic, but it helps to pass the time during the shutdown.

I enjoyed the Murder She Baked mystery series on Hallmark based on those novels but I eventually had to give up reading the books. I read about three and I think I only read the last two for the recipes.

And there are many reasons the books annoyed me.  @BlackberryJam touched on one of them but the other is that I got so irritated by how much she talked about her cat.  Even his name annoyed me and I shouldn't remember the cat's name.

[BlackberryJam]

6 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And there are many reasons the books annoyed me.  @BlackberryJam touched on one of them but the other is that I got so irritated by how much she talked about her cat.  Even his name annoyed me and I shouldn't remember the cat's name.

This might be a vastly unpopular opinion, but I hate cats. I have a visceral terror reaction to them, the way many people feel about spiders or snakes. So much so that if a book as a cat on the cover or cat in the title, I won't read it. If a character has a cat or talks about a cat, I skip over it. I find that cat lovers just don't understand this even though I'm open about it and they insist that I will like their cats and try to get me to touch them while I stand there willing myself to scream and lash out. I have less fear of a lion than I do of a housecat.

Anyway, cat on the cover, I'm OUT. So as a lover of mysteries that lean towards cozy, there are a lot that I won't read. However, there is no way for me to search for books excluding those that have cats in them.

I have enjoyed the Rhys Bowen books.  I like Evan Evans and the Royal Spyness ones. I wish there were more Evan Evans. 

[Katy M]

46 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I find that cat lovers just don't understand this even though I'm open about it and they insist that I will like their cats and try to get me to touch them while I stand there willing myself to scream and lash out. I have less fear of a lion than I do of a housecat.

That's just wrong.  I am a cat person.  I know many people who hate cats.  I think it's weird, but I don't try to push cats on them.  I am absolutely terrified of birds.  I have been known to say that I've had a near death experience when a bird swoops down 10 feet in front of me.  My mom's afraid of dogs.  I think they're cute, but I also think they're too much work to own.  That's the great thing about cats.  You feed them, you clean their litter box, you pet them once in a while, and then the rest of the day they don't want to see you:)

Anyway, my point was, nobody should force your phobia on you.  There's usually some deep-seeded reason, whether you know what it is or not.  And, it's generally not a choice.

[BlackberryJam]

42 minutes ago, Katy M said:

That's just wrong.  I am a cat person.  I know many people who hate cats.  I think it's weird, but I don't try to push cats on them.  I am absolutely terrified of birds.  I have been known to say that I've had a near death experience when a bird swoops down 10 feet in front of me.  My mom's afraid of dogs.  I think they're cute, but I also think they're too much work to own.  That's the great thing about cats.  You feed them, you clean their litter box, you pet them once in a while, and then the rest of the day they don't want to see you:)

Anyway, my point was, nobody should force your phobia on you.  There's usually some deep-seeded reason, whether you know what it is or not.  And, it's generally not a choice.

Oh, I agree. I have half a century under my belt and no longer feel the need to be nice to assholes. I was mentioning it because I had forgotten that Hannah Swenson had a cat, that's how much I block that out. 

My sister has the bird phobia from having seen the Hitchcock film as a child. Birds can be terrifying. Those bastards can peck your eyes out while the worst most spiders can do is crawl on you. 

I wish there were an "exclude" feature on both goodreads and amazon. Like, "no books with cats," and "mysteries but not paranormal." 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Also, I despised Gone Girl because within the 4th chapter or so I'd figured out the "twist" and decided that married couple were both such insufferable foreskins that I wanted them both murdered, immediately. 

I didn't like it much either and I agree that the protagonists were shit people and I wish they had both ended up in jail.

[Katy M]

46 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I didn't like it much either and I agree that the protagonists were shit people and I wish they had both ended up in jail.

I hated them both also.  But,

Spoiler

did the husband actually do anything illegal?  Having an affair is not illegal.  Being a crappy husband isn't illegal.  She murdered someone and framed someone for her murder. Made at least one false rape accusation.    It kills me that she gets away with all this.  Plus, on the not illegal side, she's manipulated and gaslighted pretty much everyone she's come into contact with. He's a jerk and a cheater, but she's way way way way way worse.

 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Katy M said:

I hated them both also.  But,

  Reveal spoiler

did the husband actually do anything illegal?  Having an affair is not illegal.  Being a crappy husband isn't illegal.  She murdered someone and framed someone for her murder. Made at least one false rape accusation.    It kills me that she gets away with all this.  Plus, on the not illegal side, she's manipulated and gaslighted pretty much everyone she's come into contact with. He's a jerk and a cheater, but she's way way way way way worse.

 

That's true but to be fair, they're both unreliable narrators.  I guess he shouldn't be in jail but that doesn't make him any more likable.

[MaggieG]

I have been very busy reading in quarantine. The last couple of weeks I have read Mercy House by Alena Dillon (liked it) and The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz (it was ok, I didn't really care for the protagonist and didn't really feel sorry for her). The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian (a little slow and I couldn't figure out why the bad guys were doing what they were doing) and Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore (loved it, the characters were rich and the story was sad but a good one). 

I'm currently read A Well Behaved Woman by Therese Ann Fowler and I'm liking the historical aspects but it is a little slow. I've got a few waiting in my queue, Pretty Things by Janelle Brown, The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine and The Majesties by Tiffany Tsao. 

[krankydoodle]

On 5/12/2020 at 6:02 PM, Crs97 said:

Just finished The Starless Sea.  What was the point, and why did it take her 500 pages to make it?

I finally got around to reading The Night Circus and was disappointed. Someone on Goodreads captured my feelings in their one-line review: "Pleasing surfaces paper over an insubstantial story." That I made it to the end is almost entirely due to Jim Dale's narration.

I'm currently reading Network Effect, the first full-length Murderbot novel by Martha Wells, and love it so far. I was worried it would seem padded or poorly paced because the previous books in the series have been novellas, but that hasn't happened.

[PRgal]

I'm in the middle of Curtis Sittenfeld's "Rodham" (for those who don't know, it's an alternate universe novel where Hillary never married Bill) but am having some trouble getting through it...

Spoiler

In it, Hillary DOES have a relationship with Bill during law school and a bit afterwards, but reading about them being romantic bothers me.  Probably because they're real people who are still alive.  

Anyone feel the same?

[dubbel zout]

A friend mind who just finished the book was equally uncomfortable with that part, @PRgal. She thought

it was like reading about your parents hooking up, heh. But she also thought it reflected on her that she had trouble thinking of Hillary as a complete person with sexual desires, etc.

I haven't read the book, mostly because I think Sittenfeld is overrated. I really disliked Prep.

[Crs97]

48 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

 

A friend mind who just finished the book was equally uncomfortable with that part, @PRgal. She thought

  Hide contents

it was like reading about your parents hooking up, heh. But she also thought it reflected on her that she had trouble thinking of Hillary as a complete person with sexual desires, etc.

 

I haven't read the book, mostly because I think Sittenfeld is overrated. I really disliked Prep.

 

I couldn’t stand Eligible so totally agree that she is highly overrated.

[Minneapple]

On 5/30/2020 at 2:53 PM, dubbel zout said:

I haven't read the book, mostly because I think Sittenfeld is overrated. I really disliked Prep.

Someone recommended Prep to me and said the author does teens really well. I read the book and found the characters to all be whiny, selfish and boring. The main character in particular had zero personality and didn't exhibit any growth at all.

[truthaboutluv]

35 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

Someone recommended Prep to me and said the author does teens really well. I read the book and found the characters to all be whiny, selfish and boring. The main character in particular had zero personality and didn't exhibit any growth at all.

One of the most boring books I have ever read in my life. And it soured me off the author completely. I don't care how many great reviews her other books have gotten, I will never read another work of hers because reading Prep was a pretty damn painful experience.

As you noted, the main character had zero personality and exhibited no growth. It really was 400+ pages (and why the book was so damn long, I could never understand, since almost nothing happened) of reading about an insecure, personality-less, average intelligent character who merely existed.

The main character had no particular amazing talent, she wasn't particularly funny, brilliant, snarky, engaging, etc. Just a mediocre, whiny person existing through life. 

Edited May 31, 2020 by truthaboutluv

[Katy M]

44 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

The main character had no particular amazing talent, she wasn't particularly funny, brilliant, snarky, engaging, etc. Just a mediocre, whiny person existing through life. 

Someone wrote an unauthorized biography of me?  Aargh!

[Black Knight]

I'm tearing through the Hunger Games prequel right now - I can't wait to read the spoiler discussion here once I'm done! I'm about a third of the way in, and really loving this look at the Capitol and its denizens not long after the rebellion ended. It's so instructive, I think, to see the contrast between then and Katniss's time. I keep thinking of Peeta's reaction to the way the Capitol people waste food, but just two generations before, they too knew what it was to starve. But the Capitol government, presumably under Snow's guidance, allowed all that to fade away, but of course never stopped trumpeting the rebellion and the supposed need for the Hunger Games to forever punish the districts for rebelling.

I'm loving that Collins set this prequel here instead of giving in to fans' requests for a book about Haymitch's Games or whatever. That would have just been fan service and a cash grab, without anything new to say.

[OtterMommy]

I've been on a reading tear lately, too many books to mention.  However, I did want to bring up that I'm currently reading The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe.  This is my first of her books and I'm impressed with her writing style.  It's actually a pretty tough book to read in some ways (tagging just in case):

Spoiler

It's incredibly and surprisingly violent, which affected me more than I thought it would.

I selected The Vanishing Act from BotM this month, so I'm guessing that will be my next read.

[DearEvette]

I've been re-reading a lot lately.

One re-read I just finished was The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey.  It was fun.  It is a bent fairytale retelling.  In this universe the characters know they are being forced to live out different folk tales.  In this book the main character is named Elena and her life is following the 'Ella Cinders' tale.  Only problem is, the nearest prince is only 10 years old. So she can't live out her destiny.  So her fairy godmother takes her on as an apprentice.  It is cute and clever and light with a little romance in the end.

One new book I just read was a short little epistolary novella by Taylor Jenkins-Red called Evidence of the Affair. A woman discovers letters that show her husband is having and affair. So she writes a letter to the other woman's husband to tell him about it and they begin a correspondence friendship. I liked the evolution of the story and like how she made a little story feel big.

[Snow Apple]

7 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I've been re-reading a lot lately.

One re-read I just finished was The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey.  It was fun.  It is a bent fairytale retelling.  In this universe the characters know they are being forced to live out different folk tales.  In this book the main character is named Elena and her life is following the 'Ella Cinders' tale.  Only problem is, the nearest prince is only 10 years old. So she can't live out her destiny.  So her fairy godmother takes her on as an apprentice.  It is cute and clever and light with a little romance in the end.!

Huh. That reminds me of Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross. A town full of fairytale characters forced to live out their destiny. I remember liking the book and thought it was very unique. But I guess at least two authors had the same idea.

[bmasters9]

Just got this a little while ago at the Wal-Mart in Simpsonville, about former President Theodore Roosevelt, and have just started it...

[peacheslatour]

The first American president to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

[Spartan Girl]

I'm reading A Burning by Megha Majundar. It's about a woman that gets accused of being a terrorist because of a post she made on Facebook, and it's perfect for right now.

[dubbel zout]

I'll soon be starting My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which is not how I've felt while lying on my sofa during the pandemic, but it's still rather apt.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

I'll soon be starting My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which is not how I've felt while lying on my sofa during the pandemic, but it's still rather apt.

I unexpectedly loved this book.  The heroine is a lot, and many people disliked her for being the dreaded "unlikeable."  But, I was moved by the book.

[helenamonster]

Just finished: Something She's Not Telling Us by Darcey Bell. Kind of pointless, and the "big twist" that

Spoiler

Ruth has been lying about everything the whole time doesn't land at all. There are ways to do an unreliable narrator, but this wasn't it. When she's by herself, there should be little "tells" that clue us into her not seeing what's really there. As it stands, the book comes across for the most part like everybody else having understandable suspicions but Ruth just being a victim of circumstance. Maybe this is what Bell meant to do, but it's so anticlimactic that way. It's just like...oh okay, so she was lying. Big shrug.

The reveal that Andrew John is Daisy's father doesn't make much of an impact either.

In general I just didn't get what this book was supposed to be about. I also hate Bell's stream-of-consciousness writing style. Takes all the suspense out of everything.

Next up: A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight

[Crs97]

Yesterday I read The Girl He Used to Know. It was okay, but not great.  I enjoyed it fine while reading it, but it isn’t sitting well with me.  I have two children 

Spoiler

On the spectrum so some of Annika’s behaviors seemed cliche; I am guessing she was written by someone who doesn’t have much first-hand experience with autism.

Just finished The Lending Library today.  Big disappointment.  Everyone in the heroine’s life tells her how flaky, unreliable, horrible she is, and she just takes it and apologizes; I was so frustrated that she never stood up for herself.  Does the author really think her family and friends were right?  Terrible thought.  It was the free amazon prime book I chose, and I want my money back.

[Jenniferbug]

On 6/4/2020 at 11:29 PM, Crs97 said:

Just finished The Lending Library today.  Big disappointment.  Everyone in the heroine’s life tells her how flaky, unreliable, horrible she is, and she just takes it and apologizes; I was so frustrated that she never stood up for herself.  Does the author really think her family and friends were right?  Terrible thought.  It was the free amazon prime book I chose, and I want my money back.

Well crap, that's the book I chose but haven't started it yet! 😆

I've been catching up on reading lately, trying to make my way through all the Kindle First Reads I download each month and then never get around to reading. 

Right now I'm about 50% through The Last Dance by Martin Shoemaker, which was one of the free books within the last few months. I really like it. I don't read a ton of sci fi, but I'm riveted by the space mission stories told via flashback, and am engaged by the characters. I feel like what sci fi I have read (or watched) is predominantly white characters in space so this cast being more diverse and the main character being a woman is a nice change. 

[Crs97]

I started Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson yesterday and ended up staying up late to finish it.  Delightful, fun, quirky, and surprisingly heartfelt.  

Lillian, a scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school, becomes best friends with her wealthy roommate, though their freshman year ends in scandal.  Fifteen years later her friend asks for a favor.  Her Senator husband’s ex wife has died, his 10-year old twins are moving in, and she wants Lillian to become their governess/nanny.  By the way, they spontaneously combust when upset.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Crs97

[Haleth]

My library is finally open this week for curbside pick up by appointment. First appt I could get was tomorrow at 3:45. Picking up The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. 

[dubbel zout]

On 6/4/2020 at 6:29 PM, Ohiopirate02 said:

On 6/4/2020 at 4:51 PM, dubbel zout said:

I'll soon be starting My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which is not how I've felt while lying on my sofa during the pandemic, but it's still rather apt.

I unexpectedly loved this book.  The heroine is a lot, and many people disliked her for being the dreaded "unlikeable."  But, I was moved by the book.

I'm nearly a third of the way through, and I'm loving it. I see the "unlikeable" criticism, but I don't find anything wrong with that. I don't need every book I read to have a "nice" protagonist.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:01 AM, dubbel zout said:

I'm nearly a third of the way through, and I'm loving it. I see the "unlikeable" criticism, but I don't find anything wrong with that. I don't need every book I read to have a "nice" protagonist.

Oh yeah! One of my favorite heroines, Eve Dallas, homicide cop, from J.D. Robb's (Nora Roberts) In Death Series, is so not likeable. She's cranky, rude, dark, aggravating. She has a dark painful past, one that formed her. BUT. She's loyal. Has integrity, has a vulnerable side that comes out every so often, and stands for the victims. KICKS ASS.

As much as Eve annoys me, I love her. Does that make sense?

ETA: She's not after getting the collar or glory for herself, but what drives her is getting JUSTICE. Even if the victims were horrible people. She finds Murder an Insult.

Edited June 12, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[dubbel zout]

I do think an unlikeable protagonist shouldn't be hateful just for the sake of being hateful. There needs to be some awareness by the author and/or other characters that this person is awful for it to be successful for me.

Edited June 11, 2020 by dubbel zout
editing garbled my point

[peacheslatour]

On 6/11/2020 at 7:15 AM, dubbel zout said:

I do think an unlikeable protagonist shouldn't be hateful just for the sake of being hateful. There needs to be some awareness by the author and/or other characters that this person is awful for it to be successful for me.

Or at least what motivates them.

[Melgaypet]

On 6/11/2020 at 8:10 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Oh yeah! One of my favorite heroines, Eve Dallas, homicide cop, from J.D. Robb's (Nora Roberts) In Death Series, is so not likeable. She's cranky, rude, dark, aggravating. She has a dark painful past, one that formed her. BUT. She's loyal. Has integrity, has a vulnerable side that comes out every so often, and stands for the victims. KICKS ASS.

As much as Eve annoys me, I love her. Does that make sense?

Perfect sense! I used to like the In Death books, though I haven't read any in years. I don't dislike them, I didn't rage-quit in disgust or anything, but while Robb/Roberts is very good at what she does, any series with that many books is going to get a little monotonous after a while.

Also, and I know this is a UO, but Roarke's endless perfection wore on my nerves after a while. He's rich and cultured and handsome and brilliant and the best at sex and utterly devoted and has a tragic past and is sexy dangerous not red-flag dangerous and has an Irish accent. He's a wish-fulfillment fantasy, and while there's nothing wrong with that, at some point it gets monotonous, too. Or at least it did for me.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Melgaypet

[Haleth]

Does he have green eyes?