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Celebrating 1,000 NCIS-franchise episodes

What Are We Currently Reading?

Rick Kitchen

By Rick Kitchen
in Books

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OtterMommy
OtterMommy

I don’t believe that an apocalypse is possible without the involvement of Nicholas Cage.

dubbel zout
dubbel zout

What does that even mean? The moon's surface is a bunch of dirt. That's not exactly a compliment.

dubbel zout
dubbel zout

One thing that's definitely changed is that every book isn't written by a dead white male.

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Luckylyn

Luckylyn

27 minutes ago, grommit2 said:

A question:  I decided to purchase Stephen King's The Stand.  I like post-apocalyptic novels, and I recently heard this one recommended.
But, it is over 1,000 pages.  Agh!
Is it worth it?

I think it is.  There are aspects that are dated but overall I think it's a good read.

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DearEvette

DearEvette

25 minutes ago, grommit2 said:

A question:  I decided to purchase Stephen King's The Stand.  I like post-apocalyptic novels, and I recently heard this one recommended.
But, it is over 1,000 pages.  Agh!
Is it worth it?

Well, I am super biased because I would probably list it as one of my top 20 books ever.  The page count  is necessary because the scope of the story is huge and King really lets his story unfold really well. I think the first half that follows the onset and spread of the plague and how it affects different individuals is the stronger part of the book. It is just really immersive and suspenseful.  The second half that starts the denouement and climax becomes a tick more tropey (but then again I thinking of this in hindsight). But overall, I'd always recommend the book to anybody and I think those 1,000 pages goes by really fast.

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Mindthinkr

Mindthinkr

1 hour ago, grommit2 said:

A question:  I decided to purchase Stephen King's The Stand.  I like post-apocalyptic novels, and I recently heard this one recommended.
But, it is over 1,000 pages.  Agh!
Is it worth it?

I have read it twice (although with a few years in between). I enjoyed it mostly. 
 

   I am now reading The Refugee by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It a Pulitzer Prize winner, although I’m not into it far enough to make any assumptions. 
   I joined a British book club. Every time we complete a book, we put £2 in a jar (I put $3 U.S.). The idea is that we get to take the money that we have accrued at the end of a year and have a splurge. (Hopefully the world will be better and we can really do something with the dosh). 
 

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Minneapple

Minneapple

23 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Starting Concrete Rose, the prequel to The Hate U Give and it’s great so far!

Put this on hold at my e-library and it will be at least a month. Oh, well. I'm going to start Madeline Miller's Circe meantime. I'm probably the last person in the world to read it, but excited all the same.

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Rushmoras

Rushmoras

Currently reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Technically I read the shortened version many years ago in school, but practically I did not remember anything from the book, so it's like a new read. Can't say that I enjoy it or is anything wow, but I mean I can understand how this would have been good in 19th century.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

With what's been happening, I haven't been able to pick up Obama's book. I NEED to escape into a different and fictional world, so HELLO Nora Roberts' newest trilogy!!!!! The Awakening. Oh Hey, @DearEvette--IRELAND!!! County Clare (where I visited and LOOOOVED!), County Galway!!!

Only Nora can make Ireland come alive and make me feel I'm there! So what if it's a mixture of contemporary and Fey Magick???

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dubbel zout

dubbel zout

9 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

I’m not sure I need more of Nick’s backstory.

Same. He's not exactly enigmatic. I don't mean that as a slam; just that I think we get what we need to know from Fitzgerald.

Right now I'm reading Red, White, Blue by Lea Carpenter. It's about a woman who finds out her dad was CIA-adjacent (whether he was an actual employee is a bit unclear) and was involved in shenanigans. The story is told with alternating chapters of her story and how she finds out about her father. It's an interesting way to tell a story. I'm nearly done and don't know where it's going, which is good.

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isalicat

isalicat

Well, I just binge-watched Dublin Murders on Starz as I presently have the channel back active in order to watch American Gods. So I have not read any of Tana French's novels previously but this is entirely and completely the kind of thing I love so I have already purchased her next book (in the Dublin Murders series). Wot think any of you who have read the two books on which the TV series was based - should I go back and read them as well or not bother now that I know "what happened"? (I have read the comments on the forum here on Primetimer.)

Just finished reading another absolutely brilliant Jane Casey (in the Maeve Kerrigan series). Between Jane Casey, Val McDermid, Elizabeth George, etc. etc. I feel so lucky to have so much great stuff to read.

 

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Starleigh

Starleigh

As a huge Tana French fan, YES, go back and read the books in order.

There was so much left out or changed in the show, that you don't begin to get a good understanding of the detectives and their relationship. Plus, it will set you up for the rest of the Murder Squad books, because each new narrator was previously introduced as a side character in the previous book.

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Anduin

Anduin

William Gibson's anthology, Burning Chrome. Short stories he wrote before Neuromancer. And let me just say, they're weird. I only understand the opening story Johnny Mnemonic because I've seen the movie and listen to the minute podcast. Some of the others are more mood pieces, I suppose. Very little narrative. And they just seem to stop rather than end.

He's one of those people who when he dies, I hope he donates his brain to science. People should study it, find out just what the hell was happening in there.

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MeloraH

MeloraH

2 hours ago, Starleigh said:

As a huge Tana French fan, YES, go back and read the books in order.

There was so much left out or changed in the show, that you don't begin to get a good understanding of the detectives and their relationship. Plus, it will set you up for the rest of the Murder Squad books, because each new narrator was previously introduced as a side character in the previous book.

Cosign this completely.

Currently reading Leave the World Behind. It's really good and really unsettling so far.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)

So I finished The Awakening (Nora Roberts' new Trilogy) and dammit, she

 

ended it with a cliff hanger! Something she's

NEVER DONE

and now I have to wait until the end of this YEAR to find out what's next. It seems, instead of six characters, you know, a couple's story underpinning the main plot, for each book, this seems to the be the journey of just Breen, what she thought she was, and finding out about her past and her role in the survival of Talamh. For the first time, I barely got the POV from the hero (Keegan), and while I loved how Nora transported me back to Ireland--Drumoland Castle, Cliffs of Moher, Loop Head, County Clare), So much of the other stuff--details within details of what Breen did on a daily basis, just felt like filler.

I'm hoping the last one will come out in the Spring of 2022.

Hey, I may be Nora's Number One Fan, but I'm not one of those that love every single book or series. If I see holes, or a particular characterization or lack of one, I called it out back on the old message board. And I remember Nora's words to me: that whether a reader has a reaction, any reaction, be it loving something or not, it means she's done her job.

So, for me, not enough Keegan, or Keegan and Breen.

Now I have to go Google to find out the pronunciations of the new Gaelic/Irish words!

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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grommit2

grommit2

15 hours ago, MeloraH said:

Cosign this completely.

Currently reading Leave the World Behind. It's really good and really unsettling so far.

Melorah...
Excellent choice.  Quick read.  Could very well work as the first entry in a series. Enjoy!

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DearEvette

DearEvette

(edited)
3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Anyone who wants a Dark Cinderella retelling, I'm reading The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin! I love fractured fairy tales.

If you like dark fairy-tale retellings that are also romances I recommend Entreat Me by Grace Draven.  It is like the Disney Beauty and the Beast except darker, more twisted, more atmospheric and in stereo (there are two romances for the price of one)!  Also the heroine is a widow and kinda gangsta.  I liked her, she would totally cut a bitch.

edited to add:  Also Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdom series.  All of them are fractured fairy-tales.  They characters all exist in a world where they realize they are living out different "stories" referred to in the series as The Tradition.  First one is a The Fairy Godmother is Cinderella re-telling where the main character Ella can't live out her destiny because the nearest Prince Charming is only a newborn baby (he himself has to wait for the next Cinderella to come along).  It is a clever series that is fun to read.

Edited by DearEvette
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Minneapple

Minneapple

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Anyone who wants a Dark Cinderella retelling, I'm reading The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin! I love fractured fairy tales.

Ooh, good to hear, I have that on my list.

Read Circe and it's wonderful. Like why did I wait this long to read it? Amazing female protagonist, themes of power and feminism and taking your own agency when you have not been given any, even when the world conspires to take all your agency away. I'm going to put Song of Achilles on my list as well.

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truthaboutluv

truthaboutluv

(edited)

I'm currently reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup and A Little Life. The first is about the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos scandal.  I have to say, it's been surprisingly enjoyable. I started reading it because my reading challenge for the month was to read a book about a topic I know nothing about. And yeah biochemistry, not my thing. But even if my eyes start to glaze over the more scientific talk, the author has written the book in such a way that it's really easy to follow what's going and is really engaging. 

A Little Life has been two years in the making for me. It's a book that I kept meaning to read but just never got around to it. I've now taken a month and a half to read it and I'm only 2/3 of the way through. It's not because of the more than 700 pages count, because I've read books that long in less time. It's taken me so long because of the emotional weight of the story. 

Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliantly written book. But man oh man, those trigger warnings that came with every review were no joke. And so I find that after some chapters, I have to put the book down for a day or two and get back to a space where I can emotionally handle reading more. It's just a lot. Again, brilliantly written novel but holy, emotional wringer. 

Edited by truthaboutluv
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Crs97

Crs97

Bad Blood was a very good book!

 I just finished Troubled Blood - it is too long, but still enjoyable.  Now I am reading Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and loving it.  She is a therapist who is in therapy after a bad breakup, and she is describing her life and the lives of some of her patients to explain how therapy works.  Last year I vacillated between trying to read everything and not being able to touch a book or focus on a page; it feels so good to enjoy reading again!

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grommit2

grommit2

Oh boy...not a fun read, but an insightful one: Republic, Lost, by Lawrence Lessig. 
Substantive discussion of money in government.
We all know that money drives government...this book maps out how it works. 

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Luckylyn

Luckylyn

Having just finished A Promised Land by Barack Obama, I am very much looking forward to part 2.

I started A Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory.   This one features Vivian whose the mother of Maddie in t by is book series.  I’m looking forward to a book with a guaranteed happy ending.  I suppose that’s what I love about romance novels.  

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Ceindreadh

Ceindreadh

Just started reading The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien (the first book in the trilogy).

It apparently caused ructions in Ireland when it was first published in the 60s.  Banned by the censor, publicly burned by priests...I can't wait to get to the good stuff! 

A few chapters in and there's a definite 'feel' to the setting and imagery.  In school we covered a lot of short stories written/set in the same time and there's just something very familiar about that era

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tres bien

tres bien

(edited)

I'm currently reading Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith. 

Smith is the author of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn  (an all time favorite of mine) and Joy In The Morning (which I recommend if you haven't read it).

This book was originally published in 1948 and takes place in the same area of Brooklyn as A Tree Grows In Brooklyn but takes place in the 1920s.

This book gets excellent reviews since it was republished but I can't say I'm loving it. Mostly because of life for women and children (of a certain social station) in the '20s could be genuinely difficult and depressing. Smith does not sugar coat the reality. 

 

Edited by tres bien
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Starleigh

Starleigh

I had an epiphany about Betty Smith not long ago...that I don't care for her books, because, even though they keep you glued to the page, they are just so bleak. I came to this realization after reading her book, Maggie Now. It just seemed so pointless and bleak of a story. (Maybe I should be posting this in the unpopular literary opinion thread??)

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Starleigh

Starleigh

Just to add, about my Betty Smith angst...I don't need a happily ever after story. My favorite kind of read is usually a  bittersweet ending (with maybe a hint of redemption). Like, I am currently rereading one of my favorite novels, Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve. It's sad and heartbreaking to read (and it's more or less the same time period as Betty Smith's books) but it's never bleak or depressing.

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GaT

GaT

I am reading Grave Witch by Kalayna Price, the first book in the Alex Craft series. The final book in the series, Grave War, recently came out, so I decided to reread the series first because it took so long for her to get around to writing it, I couldn't even remember what the series was about. 

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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

(edited)
On 1/24/2021 at 9:49 AM, Starleigh said:

Just to add, about my Betty Smith angst...I don't need a happily ever after story. My favorite kind of read is usually a  bittersweet ending (with maybe a hint of redemption). Like, I am currently rereading one of my favorite novels, Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve. It's sad and heartbreaking to read (and it's more or less the same time period as Betty Smith's books) but it's never bleak or depressing.

Then, whatever you do, don't read Angela's Ashes.

Edited by peacheslatour
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Browncoat

Browncoat

I finished Concrete Rose -- it was a very well-written prequel.  Now I want to go back and reread The Hate U Give, but I started Perestroika in Paris instead  It's very whimsical so far.  A horse named Perestroika escapes her stable near Paris and lives near the Eiffel Tower with her new friends Frida the dog, Raoul the raven, and Sid and Nancy, the mallards. 

I'm picking up World of Wonders from the library this afternoon.

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Starleigh

Starleigh

(edited)
7 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Then, whatever you do, don't read Angela's Ashes.

Too late....

I read it years ago when it was the hot book everyone was reading. I agree completely with your assessment, haha. I'm not ever touching the movie with a ten foot pole.

Edited by Starleigh
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peacheslatour

peacheslatour

3 hours ago, Starleigh said:

Too late....

I read it years ago when it was the hot book everyone was reading. I agree completely with your assessment, haha. I'm not ever touching the movie with a ten foot pole.

Right? Talk about depressing. My great grandfather was the president of a coal company in PA. He told stories like that. The men would get paid in cash every Friday night and they would go spend it all at the bar while their wives and children went hungry. He instituted a policy of giving the money directly to the wives.

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