Book a Week 2022 - BW7: 52 Books Bingo - She Did What?

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! I'm declaring this week Valentine's Week as we continue with our romance theme for the month.  I'm combining it with our 52 Books Bingo category "She Did What?" which bumps it up into a lot of different genres including literary, suspense, thriller, psychological, or maybe young adult. What do you think of when someone says 'She did what?"  Said yes, or no? Ran away, started her own business, blasted into outer space, or stole something from someone?  

9 Books Similar to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

20 Best Romantic Suspense Novels

Unlikely Romances

Literary Romance Novels, 20 Love Stories for Every Reader

 11 Fictional Female Scientists Who'd Rule the Lab

12 Books That Prove Women Outlaws Are Even Cooler than Women Heroes

Could be anything! Even a book title. 

 

A to Z and Back Again - Our letter and word of the week are G and Gadfly

 

Happy Galentine's Day!

Link to Book Week 6

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.  

[Robin M]

The third time is the charm. I finished Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear. It was a philosophical and psychological space opera. I have a book hangover so all I can say is it was excellent, thrilling, made you think, and was mind boggling all at the same time. Will review it a bit later. Not sure yet what I’m going to read next. 

[tuesdayschild]

Not sure whether I should wish you a speedy recovery from your book hang over or not.... @Robin M

[tuesdayschild]

Looking forward to coming back at the end of the week to see what you've all read, or are about to read.

With both my children having birthdays at the end of this (busy) week - Ds turning 22, then Dd 20 – I think any new books will be audiobooks. 

Books I’m current reading:

• Even though this current audiobook was intended for my letter ‘U’ listen, my library hold on it came due so I’m listening to it now, Once Upon a Wardrobe ~ Patti Callahan, narrated by Fiona Hardingham (7h 8m)
• And, I’m reading this at a snail’s pace, and enjoying it so far  Death And The Joyful Woman: The Felse Investigations Bk2 ~ Ellis Peters.

 

Recently completed:    

• (For letter ‘F’) A Game of Fear: Ian Rutledge Bk 24 ~ Charles Todd, narrated by Simon Vance (4)     The mystery had quite a few side stories going on and adding to that the authors had Rutledge needing to, made to, take a return trip back to a war torn Calais, so lots going on.    The murderer is a serial killer and prepared to remove anyone who gets in the way of the past crimes he is wanting to cover up, and, what he is currently looking for ….  

For others waiting to jump back in to this Ian Rutledge series once things start “happening” for Ian,  this is still not the book.  Ian is doing better with “Hamish”, though his love life remains at the cautious and retreat stage. So frustrating! However, it is good see a breakthrough in his work life.

• (For crime-spree, romantic-suspense)  Airs Above the Ground ~ Mary Stewart, narrated by Antonia Whillans (4+) I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book,   the ongoing twists and turns in the story kept me interested in the outcome for Vanessa and young Timothy.  There was the right amount of suspense for me, and, I liked that the romance was treated with a light touch.      Extra: there are comments and attitudes reflective of the vintage era the author was from.

Edited February 13, 2022 by tuesdayschild

[Negin]

I read Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking - 5 Stars

[Negin]

[mumto2]

Robin,  Thank you for the thread and the great links!  I need to find a good she did what to read this week and pick out a G book as I have many.  I am having a lot of fun reading the appropriate letter each week.

Negin,  Love the meme!

I am finally reading The Shivering Sands.  Really enjoying it but it’s taking me down so many rabbit holes.  My family has vacationed in that area many times and I am feeling like the most un observant person ever as I have never seen the remains a shipwreck off that coast!  I keep wondering if we simply never did a beach walk at low tide which seems unlikely…….I think this means we need to visit there again.

I finished my reread/relisten of Nemisis Games yesterday.  It’s one of my favorite books in The Expanse series as Holden and the crew all go off and do their own thing and return having made something new……and Clarissa.  I like her quite a bit and probably shouldn’t.

 

[Mothersweets]

I finished #8 in the Joe Pickett series, Blood Trail. Really enjoying this series and finding that I can even read one after the other without losing interest in the story. I think I missed #5, Out of Range, so I'll be looking for that one before I continue on.

@tuesdayschild - so glad you liked Airs Above the Ground!

Thank you for the thread, Robin. 🙂

[Kareni]

Thank you, @Robin M, for the thread! (FYI: the link at the end of last week's thread is to last week's thread rather than this one.)

**

A bookish post ~

Do You Skip Ahead in Books?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2022/02/do-you-skip-ahead-in-books/

Do you?

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

@Robin M, do you play Wordle? I think you'd enjoy it and find today's word of interest.

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

2 minutes ago, Kareni said:

@Robin M, do you play Wordle? I think you'd enjoy it and find today's word of interest.

Regards,

Kareni

No, I haven't.   What is the word of interest???

[Robin M]

28 minutes ago, Kareni said:

Thank you, @Robin M, for the thread! (FYI: the link at the end of last week's thread is to last week's thread rather than this one.)

**

A bookish post ~

Do You Skip Ahead in Books?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2022/02/do-you-skip-ahead-in-books/

Do you?

Regards,

Kareni

Whoops! Thanks for letting me know. It's all fixed now.

[Kareni]

15 minutes ago, Robin M said:

No, I haven't.   What is the word of interest???

Ah, I meant that I think you would find today's answer interesting.

It can be a very quick game. Give it a try.

Regards,

Kareni

[Maus]

Oops, I missed posting the last two weeks. So, this is three weeks worth. Lots of Audible while I work on the computer. I'm going to have to turn to Overdrive to hear the rest of the Hamish MacBeth series. I've been using Audible Plus, which does not have them all.

The three physical books by Richard Paul Evans are a trilogy, whose plot features a man who walks the entire length of Route 66. The kids and I are hoping to drive it this summer/fall, so I'm getting in the mood!

39. "Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
38. "Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
37. "Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
36. "Agatha's First Case" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
35. "A Highland Christmas" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
34. "Death of a Villager" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
33. "Death of a Dustman" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
32. "Death of a Celebrity" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
31. "Death of a Poison Pen" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
30. "Death of a Traveling Man" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
29. "Death of a Greedy Woman" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
28. "Death of a Prankster" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
27. "Death of a Snob" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
26. "Death of a Hussy" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
25. "Death of a Perfect Wife" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
24. "Death of an Outsider" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
23.  "Death of a Cad" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
22. "The Road Home" by Richard Paul Evans.
21. "The Forgotten Road" by Richard Paul Evans.
20. "The Broken Road" by Richard Paul Evans.
19. "The Dog Who Knew Too Much" by Spencer Quinn.

18. "To Fetch a Thief" by Spencer Quinn.
17. "Paper Towns" by John Green.
16. "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming" by Christopher C. Horner.
15. "Death of a Gossip" by M.C. Beacon. (Audible)
14. "Unnatural Death" by Dorothy L. Sayers. (Audible)
13. "Clouds of Witness" by Dorothy L. Sayers. (Audible)
12. "Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America" by John McWhorter. 
11. "Thereby Hangs a Tail" by Spencer Quinn.
10. "Whose Body?" by Dorothy L. Sayers. (Audible)
9. "Hallowe'en Party" by Agatha Christie. (Audible)
8. "Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty. (Audible)
7. "Dog On It" by Spencer Quinn. 
6. "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis. (Audible)
5. "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis. (Audible)
4. "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. (Audible)
3.  "The Thirty-Nine Steps" by John Buchan. (Audible)
2. "A Grief Observed" by C.S. Lewis. (Audible)
1. "Unsettled" by Steven E. Koonin.

[Robin M]

3 hours ago, Kareni said:

Ah, I meant that I think you would find today's answer interesting.

It can be a very quick game. Give it a try.

Regards,

Kareni

May as well tell me, or not. I’m not falling down that particular rabbit hole.  Lol! 

[Kareni]

I'll tell you tomorrow, Robin, so as not to spoil it for others.

Regards,

Kareni

[Granny_Weatherwax]

2 hours ago, Kareni said:

I'll tell you tomorrow, Robin, so as not to spoil it for others.

Regards,

Kareni

(trying to control myself) Oh, if only...

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I had one of those "huh" moments the other day. While watching an older television show, Angel, a character quoted Angela's Ashes, a book I literally have sitting in my physical TBR pile on the table next to my lounge chair. It made me perk up and wonder how relevant that book must have been in order to be quoted in a series spawned by a teen angst fantasy-drama (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). That book has now been moved to the top of the pile and will be my next read.

I am currently listening to The Year of Less by Cait Flanders. It's an enjoyable listen. My current print book is about coaching tennis and one I have been asked to write a review for. I am excited to finish it and begin my review. I have highlighted, marked, written marginalia and taken notes in my tennis notebook. It's full of relevant information and wisdom for new coaches. I wish I would have had this book years ago; my first years of coaching would have been so much easier. Best thing about it is I bought this book before realizing I had met the author at a conference. 

[Jenny in Florida]

I very much enjoyed Admissions. I'm a sucker for most anything about education, and this personal story of trying to deal with life at an elite prep/boarding school as a young woman of color was incredibly engaging (and sometimes infuriating and often funny). 

Daisy Jones and the Six was discussed on one of the NPR podcasts I listen to regularly (although I'm blanking on which one). The book's structure mimics an oral history, and the audiobook uses different actors for each character. Sometimes that's great, and sometimes I found it a little jarring, especially at the beginning when each character introduces himself/herself each time they speak. At some point, though, I adjusted and got immersed in the story. It's nothing revelatory; mostly things work out as you expect. You do come to care about the people, however, and I would sometimes forget this was a novel about a fictional band. I had to stop myself more than once from hitting Google to look for videos of the band's performances. 

The Violin Conspiracy (review linked below) is not great literature, but it's hitting the right spot for me. I listened while walking and exercising this morning and had a very hard time disengaging enough to shower and settle in for work. 

I read that Daisy Jones is being adapted for Amazon Prime, and I'll eat my hat if The Violin Conspiracy doesn't also get a cinematic adaptation.

1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
2. The Victorian and the Romantic: A Memoir, a Love Story, and a Friendship Across Time, Nell Stevens
3. You Have the Right to Remain Fat, Virgie Tovar
4. I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50, Annabelle Gurwitch
5. You're Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility, Annabelle Gurwitch
6. Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, Elizabeth Buchan
7. That Summer, Jennifer Weiner
8. Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School, Kendra James
9. Daisy Jones and the Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid

I am currently reading:

• The Violin Conspiracy, Brendan Slocumb
• Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown (I finally picked this up again and read the first couple of sections.)

Edited February 15, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[Storygirl]

21 hours ago, Mothersweets said:

I finished #8 in the Joe Pickett series, Blood Trail. Really enjoying this series and finding that I can even read one after the other without losing interest in the story. I think I missed #5, Out of Range, so I'll be looking for that one before I continue on.

@tuesdayschild - so glad you liked Airs Above the Ground!

Thank you for the thread, Robin. 🙂

I've read all of CJ Box's books. Some I like better than others, but, in general, I enjoy the series. I appreciate that Joe is kind of an ordinary guy caught up in one crazy thing after another, but he is solid and humble and loyal. The villains usually/often have some good characteristics along with their wickedness. So everyone is his books is multifaceted. The Wyoming mountain setting is almost a character of its own. The rough and tumble plots aren't always my cup of tea, but Joe as a character keeps me coming back. 

If you happen to have Spectrum television as your cable source, there is a Joe Picket miniseries for subscribers. DH and I liked it a lot. I think they are making a season two.

Did you know that the series Big Sky is based on a different series by CJ Box? That one is not as true to the books as I remember them (still based on them, but with bigger changes), and it's quite violent and creepy. 

[Storygirl]

19 hours ago, Kareni said:

Thank you, @Robin M, for the thread! (FYI: the link at the end of last week's thread is to last week's thread rather than this one.)

**

A bookish post ~

Do You Skip Ahead in Books?

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2022/02/do-you-skip-ahead-in-books/

Do you?

Regards,

Kareni

I didn't read the article yet, but I'll answer the question. I rarely skip ahead in books. But it does happen. There are some authors who have more than one storyline going and alternate telling chapters from different characters' POV. Although I appreciate that complexity, it annoys me when a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, and then the next chapter switches POV, so you won't know what happens until a few chapters later. In those cases, I will sometimes (not always) flip to the next chapter that resolves the cliffhanger to peek at what happens, then I will go back to read in order again.  Usually this is only when I know that I will not be able to read long enough to get to that point during that reading session. 

When I'm reading, I like to stop at a chapter break (though I don't always0, so I find end-of-chapter cliffhangers annoying as a storytelling devise, generally.

[Storygirl]

For my F book, I read The Fire Keeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. This book just won the Printz Prize for YA literature and is nominated for an Edgar. Let's take a look at the absolutely beautiful cover:

 

This looks like a fantasy, right? Wrong! It's a mystery. Although I absolutely adore the cover and title, I do think that people are likely to assume that it is fantasy and pass it over, if they don't like that genre, which I think is too bad. 

Although billed as YA, the main character is a recent high school graduate starting her first year in college. Trigger warning -- the book does include some things that are very hard to read, though the physical and sexual violence is briefly and not graphically described. Because of that, I would only recommend it for older teens and true young adults (or adults of any age).

Daunis has given up the idea of going away to school and will be attending the local college for a year, to support her single parent mother, who is caring for the narrator's ailing grandmother and also grieving the recent death of another family member. Daunis gets entangled in an undercover drug investigation and a related romance, and in the process learns a lot about herself, her family, and her Ojibwe community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The plot is intricate and satisfying, and I loved learning more about the traditional Ojibwe culture. Daunis, who is half Ojibwe and half white, feels like she has one foot in each community and doesn't really fit in either. There were a few spots in the story that I wished had a tad better editing, but overall, this was a satisfying read, and I hope that winning the awards will garner it a larger audience and encourage the first-time author to write more. Winning the Printz prize for one's first book is a heady achievement!

[Storygirl]

I am partway through another F book -- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. I don't usually read nonfiction, but I thought I could use some better time management advice. So far, this book is not exactly that. It's starting actually a discussion of philosophy of time management and has given me some very interesting things to think about, so far. Still only 1/3 of the way through. 

I'm also doing a slow read of Don Quixote, using the Serial reading app on my Ipad, which gives me a ten-minute section each day. I haven't done this before, and it's a good way to tackle this book, which is full of annoyingly florid descriptions. I feel that I could chop at least half of the language out and leave a better book behind, though that may be a terrible thing for an English major to say about a classic LOL. I'm not really enjoying this one much, because I'm having a really hard time seeing mental illness as humor. I'm planning to persist, at this point, though.

[Storygirl]

I'm starting my G book, but I'm feeling I may drop the alphabetical challenge. Or give myself two weeks to get through each letter and only complete the alphabet once during the year. There are some new release books that will be landing in my TBR pile as they come in at the library, which will not arrive during the related alphabetical week, and I can't read at a fast enough pace to get through more than a book a week. So I may make a GENERAL goal of reading through the alphabet once this year, because I'd like to expand the variety of what I read, without being too regimented about it. That is hard for this perfectionist to decide to do LOL.

[Kareni]

51 minutes ago, Storygirl said:

I rarely skip ahead in books. But it does happen.

Thanks for answering the question, Storygirl. 

My answer:

I abandon books with … abandon if they do not grab my attention within the first few chapters or sometime pages. I was going to say that I rarely skim a book until I read someone's comment and realized that occasionally I do skim. The Linesmen trilogy by SK Dunstall is a favorite, and I frequently reread it. However, in the first book, I generally read only the chapters that focus on the main character (they are handily labeled); in book two, I skip the assassin chapters; and book three, I read in its entirety. I have determined that I read for the characters, so in this case I am reading about the characters I prefer.

Regards,

Kareni

[Jenny in Florida]

@Storygirl - I listened to Fire Keeper's Daughter a few months ago and just loved it. I have recommended it to several people.

[Lady Florida.]

The only books I finished since my last post are from the Redmond and Haze mystery series. I'm currently reading the 5th of 8 books.

I had high hopes for River Kings but am not sure I want to continue reading it. It's more academic and I was hoping for narrative.

I'm also reading War of the Wolf, #11 in the Saxon Stories/Last Kingdom series. 

I have one more currently reading book but it deserves a separate post.

On 2/2/2022 at 6:50 PM, tuesdayschild said:

 

@Lady Florida. waiting to see what your thoughts are on Gulag....   I have it in my listening queue and am wondering how intense the content is going to be.

 

I decided to put in on hold for now. I don't want to abandon it yet because I don't feel like I gave it a fair chance. I only got a little over 100 pages into the 1000+ page book so it's not fair to make an assessment yet. It's slow and difficult to get into but I'm hoping it gets moving. For now I don't have the time (or more accurately don't want to make the time) to give it a go. 

3 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

 

Daisy Jones and the Six was discussed on one of the NPR podcasts I listen to regularly (although I'm blanking on which one). The book's structure mimics an oral history, and the audiobook uses different actors for each character. Sometimes that's great, and sometimes I found it a little jarring, especially at the beginning when each character introduces himself/herself each time they speak. At some point, though, I adjusted and got immersed in the story. It's nothing revelatory; mostly things work out as you expect. You do come to care about the people, however, and I would sometimes forget this was a novel about a fictional band. I had to stop myself more than once from hitting Google to look for videos of the band's performances. 

 

My book club read that a few years ago. IIRC it was the last book we read and met to discuss before Covid hit. We all enjoyed it. Did your googling let you know that the author based the band on Fleetwood Mac and all their partner swapping that happened back in the day? It does seem unfair that we can't hear those songs. They seemed so real.

[Lady Florida.]

I have a hardcover copy of the following book from my library.

Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr - Harry and Harriette Moore lived just 4 miles from where I spent most of my life. I attended and later taught in the school system that fired him for trying to register black people to vote. The bomb that killed them was said to be heard 5 miles away. We have numerous buildings and streets named after them around the county. A few years ago a replica of their house was built along with a cultural center and museum. There's a section on the Moores in the African American museum at the Smithsonian. It's a shame more people don't know about them. The book isn't widely available but worth the read if you can get a copy.

In Jim Crow Florida, a young black man’s courageous fight to obtain equal rights for blacks ends in a personal tragedy that remains unsolved to this day. This is his story.
 
Before Martin Luther King Jr. began to preach from his pulpit in Montgomery, before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, and before Rosa Parks' famous bus ride, a man named Harry T. Moore toiled in Jim Crow Florida on behalf of the NAACP and the Progressive Voters’ League. For seventeen years, in an era of official indifference and outright hostility, the soft-spoken but resolute Moore traveled the back roads of the state on a mission to educate, evangelize, and organize. On Christmas night in 1951, in Mims, Florida, a bomb placed under his bed ended Harry Moore’s life. His wife, Harriette, died of her wounds a week later. Although Florida’s governor reopened the case in 1991, no one was ever convicted of this crime.

[Kareni]

20 hours ago, Kareni said:

I'll tell you tomorrow, Robin, so as not to spoil it for others.

@Robin M, the answer to yesterday's Wordle was ROBIN.

Regards,

Kareni

[Jenny in Florida]

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

My book club read that a few years ago. IIRC it was the last book we read and met to discuss before Covid hit. We all enjoyed it. Did your googling let you know that the author based the band on Fleetwood Mac and all their partner swapping that happened back in the day? It does seem unfair that we can't hear those songs. They seemed so real.

I think whoever recommended the book on the podcast mentioned the Fleetwood Mac connection, but I also suspect I would have gone there, anyway. I read memoirs by Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks a few years ago. While there aren't any one-for-one parallels between the Fleetwood Mac story and Daisy Jones, the total breakdown of relationships and the rampant substance abuse did strongly evoke the atmosphere during the recording of Rumors. 

I'll be very curious to see what they do with the music in the Amazon adaptation. 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Jenny in Florida

[Kareni]

I just finished Bel Canto by Ann Patchett which my local book group will be discussing on Wednesday. What an interesting story! Often I read my book group books as though they are assigned reading, but this proved to be quite gripping.

"Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.

Patchett's lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance."

Regards,

Kareni

[scholarly]

I am behind in posting, but here it is: 

D- As Death Draws Near by Anna Lee Huber: I like the Lady Darby mysteries and this one did not disappoint.

E- 18th Century Embroidery Techniques by Gail Marsh: Interesting and I like that the book showed examples on extant clothing

F- Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi: I'm still finishing this one because I need time to soak it in. It's the story of the end of Soviet-style Socialism in Albania told as experienced by a woman who was a child/teenager during that time period. In fact, she is that same age I am and It's been so interesting to compare my childhood viewpoint to hers. I still have a few chapters left, but I think this is one I'm going to recommend to anyone I can!

[mumto2]

10 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I have a hardcover copy of the following book from my library.

Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr - Harry and Harriette Moore lived just 4 miles from where I spent most of my life. I attended and later taught in the school system that fired him for trying to register black people to vote. The bomb that killed them was said to be heard 5 miles away. We have numerous buildings and streets named after them around the county. A few years ago a replica of their house was built along with a cultural center and museum. There's a section on the Moores in the African American museum at the Smithsonian. It's a shame more people don't know about them. The book isn't widely available but worth the read if you can get a copy.

In Jim Crow Florida, a young black man’s courageous fight to obtain equal rights for blacks ends in a personal tragedy that remains unsolved to this day. This is his story.
 
Before Martin Luther King Jr. began to preach from his pulpit in Montgomery, before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, and before Rosa Parks' famous bus ride, a man named Harry T. Moore toiled in Jim Crow Florida on behalf of the NAACP and the Progressive Voters’ League. For seventeen years, in an era of official indifference and outright hostility, the soft-spoken but resolute Moore traveled the back roads of the state on a mission to educate, evangelize, and organize. On Christmas night in 1951, in Mims, Florida, a bomb placed under his bed ended Harry Moore’s life. His wife, Harriette, died of her wounds a week later. Although Florida’s governor reopened the case in 1991, no one was ever convicted of this crime.

We pass through Mims occasionally.  I never knew any of the history so thank you.

[Mothersweets]

22 hours ago, Storygirl said:

I've read all of CJ Box's books. Some I like better than others, but, in general, I enjoy the series. I appreciate that Joe is kind of an ordinary guy caught up in one crazy thing after another, but he is solid and humble and loyal. The villains usually/often have some good characteristics along with their wickedness. So everyone is his books is multifaceted. The Wyoming mountain setting is almost a character of its own. The rough and tumble plots aren't always my cup of tea, but Joe as a character keeps me coming back. 

If you happen to have Spectrum television as your cable source, there is a Joe Picket miniseries for subscribers. DH and I liked it a lot. I think they are making a season two.

Did you know that the series Big Sky is based on a different series by CJ Box? That one is not as true to the books as I remember them (still based on them, but with bigger changes), and it's quite violent and creepy. 

My uncle told me about the tv series-he also said it was good- but I don't have Spectrum. I'm hoping it will be available to stream somewhere else in the next year or so, fingers crossed!

I agree, I am always interested in seeing what happens with these characters - Nate, Marybeth, and even his horrible mil Missy. I'm planning on reading his other books after finishing the Joe Pickett series. 

[Robin M]

On 2/14/2022 at 12:49 PM, Kareni said:

@Robin M, the answer to yesterday's Wordle was ROBIN.

Regards,

Kareni

Really! I was thinking along the lines of books or something like that. Cute! 

[Kareni]

I've recently finished two books ~

I quite enjoyed the fantasy Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher (a gift!); T. Kingfisher is a pseudonym used by children's book author Ursula Vernon for her books for adults. The author has a dry wit, and I laughed a lot while reading this.

"He’s a paladin of a dead god, tracking a supernatural killer across a continent. She’s a nun from a secretive order, on the trail of the raiders who burned her convent and kidnapped her sisters.

When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond..."

**

I also enjoyed the contemporary romance Fair Isn't Life by Kaje Harper. (Adult content)

"Luke Lafontaine lost everything— his father, their family farm, and a whole way of life. He’s survived the past year by putting one foot in front of the other in dead-end jobs to survive. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the State Fair is just another two weeks of money between him and being back on the streets. But seeing Mason Bell in the parade— gorgeous, gay, out-of-his-league Mason— stirs dreams he thought he’d given up long ago.

Mason left his small hometown for college in Minneapolis without looking back. It’s been fun and easy— classes and guys— but nothing has really felt important. Then he spots his high school crush, Luke, picking up trash at the Fair. Mason’s done with smooth and easy; he desperately wants a second chance with the boy he left behind."

Regards,

Kareni

[Vintage81]

I was only able to finish one book this week, but it was good one…

• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - This is my second book by Backman (I read Anxious People last year) and I loved it so much. I laughed and I cried. He just seems to have a way of writing characters that connect with me. 5 stars…best book of the year so far! 

[Robin M]

Link to week 8 - please continue conversation in new thread