May 2023: What are you reading?

[Kassia]

5 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I finished these books:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell - this was very disturbing. It's a novel about a woman who groomed and then raped by her English teacher when she was 15. There are two times; the first when she's 15 and the second in 2017 in the height of the Me Too movement. Another victim of the teacher comes forward with her story which forces Vanessa to reevaluate what happened to her. I found it difficult to read but am glad I persevered. 4/5 stars

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (audiobook) - re-listened to this and it made me cry again. It's a middle grade novel about a girl who is a climber (climbs into chimneys to clean them) in Victorian England. When the main character was little she was cared for by a sweep who leaves her a golem when he dies. It's magical. So so good. 5/5 stars. 

 

My Dark Vanessa was definitely disturbing.  That one shook me up for a while and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  

I'll look for Sweet - sounds great!  Thank you.

[Vintage81]

23 minutes ago, Kassia said:

My Dark Vanessa was definitely disturbing.  That one shook me up for a while and I couldn't stop thinking about it.  

Same.

[Ottakee]

I just finished Somewhere Sisters as an audio book.   Great story that touches on so many of the complexities of adoption, transracial and transnational adoption, birth families, etc.   aAlways more to learn.

[Kidlit]

Finished The Secret Book Of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry tonight.  SO GOOD!  History, mystery, fairytale--fans of Kate Morton will likely enjoy.  

[marbel]

Over the weekend I listened to The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan, a police procedural set in contemporary Galway. It was pretty good. But! Some things in the story sounded familiar. Oh well, I thought - I read a lot of police procedurals set in Ireland, it seems. But as I got to the end, I knew I had read the story before. I checked Goodreads, which I don't use much anymore, and found I had read the book in 2019 and gave it 2 stars. Well, I guess I would up it to 3 stars now. I did check out the next book in this series, The Scholar. 

I have a bunch of nonfiction books out from the library but I can't seem to settle into actually reading any of them. I should at least read some parts of them before they have to go back, so I know if I should remove them from my TBR list. But I keep going to the easy fiction.

[Kidlit]

4 minutes ago, marbel said:

Over the weekend I listened to The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan, a police procedural set in contemporary Galway. It was pretty good. But! Some things in the story sounded familiar. Oh well, I thought - I read a lot of police procedurals set in Ireland, it seems. But as I got to the end, I knew I had read the story before. I checked Goodreads, which I don't use much anymore, and found I had read the book in 2019 and gave it 2 stars. Well, I guess I would up it to 3 stars now. I did check out the next book in this series, The Scholar. 

 

I know this is frustrating, but I'm glad to know I'm in good company.   The same thing happened to me with the last audiobook I finished. 😅

[marbel]

18 minutes ago, Kidlit said:

I know this is frustrating, but I'm glad to know I'm in good company.   The same thing happened to me with the last audiobook I finished. 😅

The thing is... this is another one of the ways I know I'm turning into my mom. She loved to stock up on mystery novels at the thrift store. She'd read 'em and donate 'em back. But often she would find she'd picked up something she'd read before... She'd buy it, read it, donate it back, then months later buy it again. 🤣  Now the books were only a quarter, but still... 🤦‍♀️ 

[4kidlets4me]

I finished IQ by Joe Ide- I loved it so much I've already started the next book in the series! It's like a modern Sherlock Holmes. An orphan from LA solves crimes the police either can't or don't care to get involved in, he often gets paid in blueberry muffins and pies. The first book goes back and forth between his current case and his "origin" story. It was a quick read for me, I finished it in a day.

There are 6 books in the series so far. I already downloaded books 3-5 from the library.

[marbel]

4 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

Have any of you tried to be intentional about your TBR? How did you approach it? 

Yes, and unsuccessfully.

I have lots of aspirational books on my shelves, but I always tend to go for the easy fiction when I'm actually going to read. And I read far more library books than books I own, even though we have many, many unread books in this house.  I try, I really try, but the library is so enticing. And I'll always own the books I own, right? 🤣

Edited May 15, 2023 by marbel

[scholarly]

I finished

Fairacre #2 The Village Diary by Miss Read. I loved the Thrush Green series and I'm also enjoying the Fairacre series.  The narrator of this one is the village schoolmistress who is an interesting character with a little tartness to her observations on village life.

The Quilter's Apprentice- by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've been wanting to learn to quilt for years and I think this book might have pushed me over the edge to actually beginning! It also fits in with my low-stress reading kick.

Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World- Sharon Willis, ed.  I have never been to Disney World and never intend to go, yet I'm really interested in Disney as a phenomenon. This book was pretty dated and parts of it were boring, but the chapter discussing the conditions of the workers was fascinating to me.

[KrissiK]

3 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I'm feeling overwhelmed with my TBR list right now which is making me consider my reading life. Why am I reading some of these books? I keep adding books to my hold list at the library. I get them and feel rushed to read them quickly and I never get around to books I own. Parable of the Talents and Kindred by Octavia Butler have been sitting on my shelves for a few months now. 

But there's always another new book...

Have any of you tried to be intentional about your TBR? How did you approach it? 

I am not in a very good place right now regarding my TBR books. I bought several on my trip to the East coast last month. I am almost done with one, but it's taken me longer than anticipated. I try not to stress about the piles of books. I do buy them, but I like to give them away when I am done.

[Laurel-in-CA]

I am reading A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon, the prequel to Priory of the Orange Tree, which I thought was a novella and I am discovering is quite the opposite! 4 different parts of the world, 4 different people's stories, good dragons, bad dragons, drought/fire/flood, different religions and the intrigues of very different courts and governing systems...even 2 different kinds of magic to go with the different types of dragons....ai yi yi. It's complex; you have to respect the author who births something like this! I am halfway through and pressing on as I work on my next crochet project!

[Ottakee]

6 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

I'm feeling overwhelmed with my TBR list right now which is making me consider my reading life. Why am I reading some of these books?  

But there's always another new book...

Have any of you tried to be intentional about your TBR? How did you approach it? 

I rarely buy a book and only have 5 or less fiction books at home but my kindle is filling up with free or Amazon rewards books (so free) along with my library audiobooks.

Right now I am finishing and just read some deep books on adoption, trauma, incarceration, etc (all topics that affect me directly) so my next reads will be light and fluffy and funny and no think type books.

sometimes I do get a book that I had on my hold list and wonder why I reserved it in the first place.  Some I just delete and others I schedule for later if it is a good book but not a great time.

I also make liberal use of the return early and delete buttons if a book doesn’t appeal to me once I start reading it. 

[Kareni]

My local book group meets tonight to discuss Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon; I quite enjoyed this novel based on the life of a woman who aided the French resistance. Be aware that is set in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s and there are several scenes of extreme violence.  (FIC 44, RR 23, NF 3, NS 11//)

"Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name.

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

As Lucienne Carlier, Nancy smuggles people and documents across the border. Her success and her remarkable ability to evade capture  earns her the nickname The White Mouse from the Gestapo. With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, her new comrades are instructed to call her Helene. And finally, with mission in hand, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly Madam Andree, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, armed with a ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and the ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces.

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she—and the people she loves—become."

Regards,

Kareni

[Laurel-in-CA]

6 hours ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

Definitely not a novella, LOL. What is it - like 800 pages? I read that a couple of months ago. I liked Priory more but still enjoyed it. 

I lose track of actual page count since I read on my kindle. Had I read this one first, I don't know if I would have pushed on but, like you, I much prefer Priory.

[Lady Florida.]

On 5/15/2023 at 3:07 PM, Ordinary Shoes said:

 

Have any of you tried to be intentional about your TBR? How did you approach it? 

At the end of the year I used to make lists of which books on my TBR I wanted to read. I would just look through my TBR and pick out which ones stood out, there was no real method for deciding. One year I decided to get crafty. I made a TBR Jar with origami stars and listed only books I already had regardless of format (I mostly read ebooks). I color coded them - fiction, nonfiction, and audio books (which could be fiction or nonfiction). At the start of the year I chose one from each category. When I finished a category I picked another star of the corresponding color. I tend to have multiple books going at one time - usually one or two fiction, one nonfiction, and one audio book. If you only read one book at at a time you could still color code and alternate colors each time. It was fun but I only did it one year. I didn't feel like making more stars the next year.

Currently I just look at my TBR and pick whatever stands out to me. I borrow most of my books from the library so sometimes availability chooses for me. The only problem is when I put a number of books on hold and they all come in at once.

ETA: I meant to add this link. It's not the one I originally found but the idea is the same.

https://lavishliterature.com/2018/08/23/diy-my-tbr-jar/

Edited May 17, 2023 by Lady Florida.

[Lady Florida.]

Hi all, 

I used to participate regularly in the Book a Week threads though I fell behind the final year that Robin hosted. I've been reading these threads and even getting ideas for my TBR. With the year nearly half over I decided it's time to jump in.

Recently finished - 

The Light Pirate - This was for my book club. We're meeting tonight. Since it's about how climate change affected Florida in a dystopian future it will be an interesting discussion among us Floridians. 

Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages, Dan Jones. There wasn't anything "new" as far as I could tell but I like Dan Jones' tv documentaries and he narrated the audio book. I love history and enjoyed this.

Currently reading:

The Luminaries for a read along. I think I'm joining. I read this nearly ten years ago with book club and still can't decide if it's worth a reread.
The Patriarch, Martin Walker - #8 in the Bruno Chief of Police series I've been reading
City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas - another history book for this history nerd

[Grace Hopper]

Y’all. Another DNF. This is so unlike me, I’m worried about my attention span. But I have been *extremely* busy both physically and mentally, so I’ll cut myself some slack. 
 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue just didn’t pull me in, even after 150 pages. Admittedly I had little sympathy for the premise of how she became invisible in the first place, so maybe I lost interest once that was revealed. I dunno. Others say they liked it; I just couldn’t. 
 

I’ll remain super-busy through the end of the month, but once summer truly begins things will slow down and maybe I’ll be more up to sustained reading. Until then I picked up some light historical fiction I hope I’ll be able to jump into and finish. 

[Vintage81]

2 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Y’all. Another DNF. This is so unlike me, I’m worried about my attention span. But I have been *extremely* busy both physically and mentally, so I’ll cut myself some slack. 
 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue just didn’t pull me in, even after 150 pages. Admittedly I had little sympathy for the premise of how she became invisible in the first place, so maybe I lost interest once that was revealed. I dunno. Others say they liked it; I just couldn’t. 
 

I’ll remain super-busy through the end of the month, but once summer truly begins things will slow down and maybe I’ll be more up to sustained reading. Until then I picked up some light historical fiction I hope I’ll be able to jump into and finish. 

I read this a few years back. I had high hopes for it, but I found it to be a slog. It was disappointing. I read another book by the same author and didn’t like that one either, so I determined me and that author just don’t click. 😊 I hope you’re able to find something soon that you enjoy! 

[Kareni]

I reread The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir for the nth time and enjoyed it once again. (FIC 44, RR 24, NF 3, NS 11//)

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

Regards,

Kareni

[Kidlit]

I finished the audiobook of The Moonshiner's Daughter by Donna Everhart this morning.  It's a coming-of-age story, which is one of my favorite kinds.  It deals with some heavy topics (outside of what's indicated by the title), including binge eating.  I found the voice of the protagonist to be perfect for her age and her emotional reactions to her life's tragedies to be realistic.  The only thing about it I didn't like is the ending, so it gets 4 stars from me. 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Kidlit
Posted too early

[4kidlets4me]

I finished Righteous and Wrecked from the IQ series by Joe Ide. I enjoyed them as much as the first one. The bad guys keep getting more formidable and it's fun to see how he is going to defeat them. In one he uses a pepperball gun that shoots balls filled with pepper powder 100x hotter than a habanero pepper. He says he got it on Amazon .

I also finished Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of 80's and 90's Teen Fiction. I wanted to like this more than I did. It covers the really popular series like Baby-Sitter Club, Sweet Valley High, Saddle Club and others but didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. I'm glad I got this for cheap on Kindle.

[Kassia]

On 5/13/2023 at 6:28 PM, Kassia said:

I'm starting Swamp Story by Dave Barry.  I don't think I'm going to like it, so it may go on the DNF shelf on Goodreads.  

I finished and liked it much better than I expected.  

I was just about to start The Life She Was Given, but remembered that I didn't like another book by the same author (Ellen Marie Wiseman) and decided not to read it.  

Almost done with 8 keys to recovery from an eating disorder : effective strategies from therapeutic practice and personal experience.  Now I  need to choose what I'm going to read next.  🙂 

[Vintage81]

DDs and I finished our last read aloud for the school year...Nation by Terry Pratchett. At first I wasn't sure about this one, but it kept growing on me the more we read it. This book had a lot of themes weaved throughout, and I feel like I should read it a few more times to fully grasp all of them. 

The story is about an island that is destroyed by a giant wave. There's only one survivor from the village, Mau. A ship has wrecked on the island and again, only one girl has survived, Daphne. Mau and Daphne don't know each other's language and are so foreign to each other, but they are alone and must help each other to survive. Refugees from the wave start arriving and a new nation starts forming. 

I didn't love the ending, and Mr. Pratchett knew we the readers wouldn't, which is why the epilogue to the book is comical. As he says, "Thinking. This book contains some. Whether you try it at home is up to you." (4.5 stars)

[Vintage81]

Nation was the first book I've read by Terry Pratchett and I'd like to read more. I know he has the Discworld series but I'm not sure where to start...any recommendations?

[KrissiK]

So, I posted on the April what are you reading thread because i wasn’t paying attention to the title, because why would it be going since it’s not April anymore?? Anyhow, to recap, finished a book, starting another. It you’re really interested, go to the April thread.

[Kassia]

6 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

So, I posted on the April what are you reading thread because i wasn’t paying attention to the title, because why would it be going since it’s not April anymore?? Anyhow, to recap, finished a book, starting another. It you’re really interested, go to the April thread.

oops - I posted there and must have bumped it up!  Sorry!  I didn't pay attention to the title either.  

[Kareni]

I read a fun book last night that had been given to me ~  Someone has to set a bad example: An Anne Taintor Collection by Anne Taintor. It's a collection of visual images that had me laughing.  (FIC 44, RR 24, NF 4, NS 11//)

"We can't be good all the time, and no one knows it better than Anne Taintor. This generous collection of her most popular artwork includes more than 150 images in categories such as friendship (a real friend will help you hide the body), motherhood (WOW! I get to give birth AND change diapers!), money (screw the budget!), attitude (let a smirk be your umbrella), and more. Also featuring an introduction by Taintor, this hilarious volume perfectly captures the deliciously sarcastic, snarky, and honest things that most women have found themselves thinking at one time or another. If you're looking for trouble, look no further...."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kassia]

6 hours ago, Kareni said:

I read a fun book last night that had been given to me ~  Someone has to set a bad example: An Anne Taintor Collection by Anne Taintor. It's a collection of visual images that had me laughing.  (FIC 44, RR 24, NF 4, NS 11//)

"

This looks like fun.  I ordered it from the library along with some other books from the author.  Thanks!

[Kareni]

I hope you'll enjoy it, @Kassia. It's definitely a quick read!

51 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain (audiobook) - this book was so sweet.

I liked this one, too. Sweet is a good description.

Regards,

Kareni

[Vintage81]

Bumping this thread….

Post your current reading stuff here. ☺️ Thanks!

[KrissiK]

I am currently reading “Sam Houston and and the Alamo Avengers” by Brian Kilmeade. I’m just barely at the beginning, but he’s a very interesting person. Pretty flawed, but with an incredible ability to bounce back.

[historically accurate]

On 5/20/2023 at 8:28 AM, Vintage81 said:

Nation was the first book I've read by Terry Pratchett and I'd like to read more. I know he has the Discworld series but I'm not sure where to start...any recommendations?

I loved Good Omens by him and Neil Gaiman. Great miniseries based on it too. 

Kiddos were supposed to read Small Gods last year, but we didn't make it that far so it remains on my list.

Edited May 21, 2023 by historically accurate

[historically accurate]

May has been slow reading. 

I listened to the audiobook: Someone Else's Shoes by JoJo Moyes. Actually pretty insightful considering the story line is taking someone else's gym bag. I liked it.

Read my quarterly classic that I never got around to before was Les Miserables. I still have to get the movie from the library so I can watch it (I saw the stage production decades ago). About 3/4 of the way through the book, I realized I may have actually read it before but I don't remember doing it... 

Currently, listening to Chiaverini's The Runaway Quilt (didn't realize it was book 4 in a 21 book series, although I think I've read one of them before) and reading book two of the Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's Chronicles - A Symphony of Echoes.

[scholarly]

I finished a couple of books this week.

A Journal of the Plague Year- Daniel DeFoe  This was a read-aloud with DD. I'd read it before the latest pandemic, but it was much different for me to read after it. We had good discussion about what was the same and different during the plague and covid. I think it helped her (and me) to make sense of peoples' reactions the last few years.

Find Your People: Building Community in a Lonely World- Jennie Allen  We used this as the basis for our church women's retreat last month and I finally finished it. She said good things that I agree with, but I still felt meh about it. Her writing just doesn't speak to me, even when I think it ought to!

[marbel]

I just finished A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw. 

A man, Travis, is hired to find a missing woman. He's not a private detective, but he has the ability to find people, to see where they have been. He is led to a commune (is that word used anymore?) in a remote part of Oregon. I can't say anymore without possibly giving away spoilers. The book gave me sort of a Station Eleven vibe though I'm not sure why. Maybe writing style? There were a few eye-rolling moments for me but overall, I found it gripping. It's a bit eerie but not scary. I'd look for more books by this author. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56898223-a-history-of-wild-places

[Pawz4me]

I finished The Glass Castle. I'd heard it mentioned here a lot, so I decided to give it a try. I enjoyed it, but it's one of those books that wore me out mentally. Reading about dysfunction does that to me; I can't imagine what it would be like to live such dysfunctional lives.

Also finished Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. It was okay. The writing style grated after a bit. The characters and plot were interesting.

Now I'm about a third of the way through The Day the World Came to Town. It was mentioned by someone here, so I got on the library waiting list and just got it last night. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

[Kareni]

21 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

The Day the World Came to Town. It was mentioned by someone here, so I got on the library waiting list and just got it last night. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

I read that in (just checked) 2018 and also enjoyed it. I know others have read it more recently.

Regards,

Kareni

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

Also finished Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. It was okay. The writing style grated after a bit. The characters and plot were interesting..

i read that book a couple years ago.  It was good. i had read “A Man Called Ove” before that and enjoyed it, so I thought I would pick up “Anxious People”.

[historically accurate]

Started What If: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. It's our June book club book (we do a non-fiction every other month), but I picked it up early thinking it would be a slow read. I kind of love it, and I'm blowing through it. It's by the person who draws the xkcd comic. Amusing and somewhat educational. The question about quarantining long enough to kill the common cold was a little weird having lived through Covid though.

[Kassia]

22 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I finished The Glass Castle. I'd heard it mentioned here a lot, so I decided to give it a try. I enjoyed it, but it's one of those books that wore me out mentally. Reading about dysfunction does that to me; I can't imagine what it would be like to live such dysfunctional lives.

 

The Glass Castle is definitely a tough read.  Half Broke Horses is kind of a prequel to it and that was also good.  

21 hours ago, KrissiK said:

. i had read “A Man Called Ove” before that and enjoyed it, so I thought I would pick up “Anxious People”.

I really liked both of these books but didn't like some of the author's other books.  His writing is very hit or miss for me. 

 

52 minutes ago, historically accurate said:

Started What If: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.

DH enjoyed this and is reading the second book now.  

 

I finished Free Lunch, which @Ottakee mentioned in the April thread and thought it was great but didn't care for the ending much.  It was hard reading about childhood poverty, hunger, and abuse.  

Just started The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith.  It's very good so far but also sad.  

[Scarlett]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:40 PM, Kidlit said:

I just finished Go As a River by Shelley Read and LOVED it.  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. It reads a bit like a YA novel to me because the protagonist is seventeen at the beginning of the novel.  It follows her until she's middle aged, and so much happens--to the point that several of the events could've "taken up" a whole novel each.  However, Read manages to bring them all together to a very poignant ending.  This might be my best read of 2023. It will take something special to top it!

I just finished it and loved it too. I cried quite a bit, 

[MEmama]

I'm starting The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls. I'm not even through the introduction yet and it's making my patriarchy smashing heart feel full and inspired 🙂  

[Lady Florida.]

On 5/21/2023 at 7:31 PM, Pawz4me said:

I finished The Glass Castle. I'd heard it mentioned here a lot, so I decided to give it a try. I enjoyed it, but it's one of those books that wore me out mentally. Reading about dysfunction does that to me; I can't imagine what it would be like to live such dysfunctional lives.

 

I have a six degrees of Kevin Bacon story. My mil and the author's mil are first cousins. Her current mil, not the one from the abusive husband. Dh and her husband have only met a few times because both families moved away from their home town when the boys were little. Shortly after The Glass Castle came out there was a family reunion on the mil side of the family. They're from a small mountain town in Tennessee and the reunion was held at a family owned cabin in the mountains. The town is not all that different from the Appalachian towns she describes in her book. Though we met and talked, I didn't feel comfortable asking her how she felt about being there. It seemed to me it would be uncomfortable but maybe she was far enough out from those days to be okay with it. Or maybe having written the book was cathartic.

Anyway, that was my brief brush with a famous person. 😄

[*Inna*]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:28 AM, Vintage81 said:

Nation was the first book I've read by Terry Pratchett and I'd like to read more. I know he has the Discworld series but I'm not sure where to start...any recommendations?

Going Postal is my all-time favorite Discworld book.

[KrissiK]

17 hours ago, Kassia said:

I really liked both of these books but didn't like some of the author's other books.  His writing is very hit or miss for me. 

 

I hate it when that happens. Kristin Hannah is like that for me. i just gobbled down “The Nightingale” and that Alaska one. but “The Four Winds”…. I just got mad. Like, why are you putting me through this?? This story is awful. I read a couple of other ones by her and was like, meh. They were ok. I think I am over her.

[Lady Florida.]

 

Libby users: Help! 

I let things get down to the wire and now am being forced into Libby. Weirdly my libraries seem to still have Overdrive though it supposedly was discontinued on May 1st. I use my laptop (Windows 10) for borrowing books then have them sent to my Kindle. I don't want to start using my phone. I only use my phone for borrowing audio books. Any tips for Windows Libby users? I read mostly ebooks so I'll be using it often. 

 

[Pawz4me]

13 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

Libby users: Help! 

I let things get down to the wire and now am being forced into Libby. Weirdly my libraries seem to still have Overdrive though it supposedly was discontinued on May 1st. I use my laptop (Windows 10) for borrowing books then have them sent to my Kindle. I don't want to start using my phone. I only use my phone for borrowing audio books. Any tips for Windows Libby users? I read mostly ebooks so I'll be using it often. 

 

I don't know if this will help or not, but I use the Libby app on my phone for looking for library books, borrowing, getting on wait lists, etc. It's easy to send them to my Kindle from the app.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Pawz4me

[Matryoshka]

31 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

Libby users: Help! 

I let things get down to the wire and now am being forced into Libby. Weirdly my libraries seem to still have Overdrive though it supposedly was discontinued on May 1st. I use my laptop (Windows 10) for borrowing books then have them sent to my Kindle. I don't want to start using my phone. I only use my phone for borrowing audio books. Any tips for Windows Libby users? I read mostly ebooks so I'll be using it often. 

Mine got really threatening a while ago, so I finally switched.  It's not so bad.  You definitely will want to choose to move your Wishlist over.   I still use the Overdrive app to read downloaded epub books I get for free (like from Gutenberg), which Libby doesn't appear to do.  In the transition period, stuff I had on hold from before in Overdrive just showed up on Libby automatically.

Although... I do use it on my phone, as that's where I read ebooks, (I don't have a Kindle), and listen to audiobooks.

[kokotg]

I finished Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait a few days ago. It was well written, and I got through it a lot easier than Hamnet (even though I really liked Hamnet), but it was...a little silly? Not my favorite. Then I started The School for Good Mothers, but it was really feeling like a slog, and I disliked the main character, so I've abandoned the attempt. I'm on to Dark Matter now. I read a ton of sci-fi in 2020 as an escapist thing, but then not so much lately.