July 2024: What are you reading?

[Vintage81]

Happy July! 😎

We’re getting ready for a vacation to Canada, so things have been a bit busy around here. Unfortunately, I haven’t been reading much, but I’m hoping to get back on track. Maybe I’ll read more while we’re away. 

How’s it going for y’all? Reading some good stuff? 😊

[Kassia]

Hope you have a wonderful trip!  

[Vintage81]

8 hours ago, Kassia said:

Hope you have a wonderful trip!  

Thank you!

[GailV]

Not reading much around here, either, as we get ready for a trip to Colorado. This mostly involves showing the kids next door how to give our elderly cat an asthma inhaler, plus showing the cat that it's okay if other people hold her and put an Aerokat inhaler on her face (these kids will be experts in geriatric cat care by the time this is over). Also, I got a new sewing machine a couple of weeks ago - so far a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, 1.5 tops (currently mid-collar on the 2nd top).

However, I did finish a library book: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin. I'd read this years ago and didn't remember the plot at all. On the other hand, I've always remembered reading a book in which racial differences disappeared when everyone turned grey, and the main character could no longer identify the woman he loved. I mostly picked it up because when I play word games online and use the word "lathe", I think of the title of the book.

Reading it now was such a different experience, knowing so much more about dreaming, drugs to suppress dreaming, streams of consciousness, cognition/perception vs reality -- so many ideas in the book are things I often ponder. I'm glad I revisited it!

[Kareni]

Safe and happy travels, @Vintage81 and @GailV and to anyone else who is on the move!

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

A bookish post from the Word Wenches ~

What We Are Reading- June

Regards,

Kareni

[Chris in VA]

I just reread Dolores Claiborne by S.King. 

Picked up SWB's History of the Ancient World and started reading the part that coordinates with my Bible reading (about Assyrians and exile). Sweet because I gave my dad the book and brought it back here when they moved to assisted living--he recently passed and I noticed I had written on the fly leaf, and he had responded. ❤️

[bookbard]

Borrowed a Nora Roberts book from the library that surprised me - it wasn't the usual plot structure. It was called Nightwork and was from the male perspective, still had romance but wasn't the main thing - his story was more the main thing. Very readable, I enjoyed it.

[Faith-manor]

I am reading my son's book. It is not on the market now, so I can't say the title, but it will be out in 4-6 weeks as the cover art was done and approved, and it is in the final edit.

Also, The Holistic Orchard.

[Kareni]

I read/finished quite a few books over the weekend and today.

For my book group, I read Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey; I'd heard many mentions of this author, but this was my first book by her. I talked a lot about this book with my husband as I was reading it speculating about what might happen next. I'd call that a successful story! The mystery is about Brat Farrar who impersonates a young man who went missing at age 13 and was presumed to have committed suicide. It's set contemporary to the time it was written, 1950.

"In this tale of mystery and suspense, a stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family's sizable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick's mannerism's, appearance, and every significant detail of Patrick's early life, up to his thirteenth year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself. It seems as if Brat is going to pull off this most incredible deception until old secrets emerge that jeopardize the imposter's plan and his life."

**

I read Collage Your Life: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Creative Self-Expression and Visual Storytelling by Melanie Mowinski looking for bookmark inspiration. It was a worthwhile read.

"Requiring minimal equipment--just scissors, glue, paper, and pens--collage is an accessible craft that offers limitless creative possibilities. Like meditation or journaling, making collage can be an avenue for self-reflection and artistic exploration. In Collage Your Life, artist and teacher Melanie Mowinski teaches a variety of core techniques including lettering, stamping, stenciling, transfers, and adhesive methods, and provides dozens of prompts to jumpstart the creative process and encourage crafters to explore the versatility of collage, such as: make a self-portrait; disrupt your routine instincts; incorporate text; assemble mementos from a trip; process anger or anxiety; collage with others; or try creating block-out poetry with pages from a magazine. Inspiring examples of the author's work along with that of other collage artists are featured throughout. Crafters, journaling fans, scrapbookers, and artists alike will find guidance and support for developing their own distinctive collage style, whether the goal is to create a visual record of daily experiences and special occasions or to expand a creative journaling practice."

**

I also read the VERY short graphic novel (picture book?) The Mysteries by Bill Watterson 

and John Kascht. In case you are wondering, this is very unlike Calvin and Hobbes! 

"In a fable for grown-ups by cartoonist Bill Watterson, a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities. Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns.

For the book's illustrations, Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht worked together for several years in unusually close collaboration. Both artists abandoned their past ways of working, inventing images together that neither could anticipate—a mysterious process in its own right." 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

8 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I am reading my son's book. It is not on the market now, so I can't say the title, but it will be out in 4-6 weeks as the cover art was done and approved, and it is in the final edit.

How very exciting! I look forward to hearing more.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

An author I know as a romance writer has published her first thriller, The Five Year Lie by Sarina Bowen, and I quite enjoyed it. It starts when a young woman, a single parent, receives a text from her lover who disappeared before she knew she was pregnant five years earlier. She read his obituary shortly after that time. Chapters alternate between the past and present. I read this in one day.

"She thought it was love. Then he vanished.

On an ordinary Monday morning, Ariel Cafferty's phone buzzes with a disturbing text message. Something’s happened. I need to see you. Meet me under the candelabra tree ASAP. The words would be jarring from anyone, but the sender is the only man she ever loved. And it's been several years since she learned he died.

Seeing Drew’s name pop up is heart-stopping. Ariel’s gut says it can’t be real. But she goes to the tree anyway. She has to.

Nobody shows. But the text upends everything she thought she knew about the day he left her. The more questions she asks, the more sinister the answers get. Only two things are clear: everything she was told five years ago is wrong, and someone is still lying to her. 

The truth has to be out there somewhere. To safeguard herself—and her son—she’ll have to find it before it finds her. And with it, the answer to what became of Drew."

**

I enjoyed Strawberries for Dessert by Marie Sexton, a contemporary romance between a businessman and an independently wealthy young man who are set up by a mutual acquaintance. (Adult content)

"When Jonathan Kechter agrees to a blind date with Cole Fenton, he expects nothing more than dinner and a one-night stand… but he gets more than he bargained for in Cole. Cole is arrogant, flamboyant, and definitely not Jon’s type. Still, when Cole suggests an arrangement of getting together for casual sex whenever they’re both in town, Jon readily agrees.

Their arrangement may be casual, but Jonathan soon learns that when it comes to Cole Fenton, nothing is easy. Between Cole’s fear of intimacy and his wandering lifestyle, Jonathan wonders if their relationship may be doomed from the start—but the more Cole pushes him away, the more determined Jon is to make it work."

**

I reread The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara, a contemporary romance featuring a special agent and a werewolf with whom he is partnered to work on a murder case. I enjoyed this but am not compelled to read on in the series. (Adult content)

"An ex-FBI agent is partnered with the enemy in this suspenseful first installment of Charlie Adhara’s Big Bad Wolf series

Hunting for big bad wolves was never part of agent Cooper Dayton’s plan, but a werewolf attack lands him in the carefully guarded Bureau of Special Investigations. A new case comes with a new partner: ruggedly sexy werewolf Oliver Park.

Park is an agent of The Trust, a werewolf oversight organization working to ease escalating tensions with the BSI. But as far as Cooper’s concerned, it’s failing. As they investigate a series of mysterious deaths unlike anything they’ve seen, every bone in Cooper’s body is suspicious of his new partner—even when Park proves himself as competent as he is utterly captivating.

When more people vanish, pressure to solve the case skyrockets. And though he’d resolved to keep things professional, Cooper’s friction with Park soon erupts...into a physical need that can’t be contained or controlled. But with a body count that’s rising by the day, werewolves and humans are in equal danger. If Cooper and Park don’t catch the killer soon, one—or both—of them could be the next to go."
**

I also read a short contemporary romance,This Shifting Ground by Zarah Detand, which was a pleasant read but not a novella I'm likely to reread.

"Table for two, please!

Mark Mitchell, part-time waiter and full-time law student, doesn’t mind working at a popular dating restaurant. One, the tips are decent, and two, there’s the occasional eye candy seated in his section. When a particular customer catches his attention by means of a stellar pair of dimples and repeat dates playing out at one of Mark’s tables, Mark’s curiosity is piqued.

As it turns out, the name that goes with the dimples is Oliver, and after only just moving to Manchester from a small town, he’s looking for freedom rather than anything serious. Too bad—Mark’s been there, done that, and now he’s in the market for a proper relationship.

They can still be friends, though. Right?"

Regards,

Kareni

[Kassia]

3 hours ago, Kareni said:

How very exciting! I look forward to hearing more.

 

Me too, @Faith-manor

[Kassia]

I'm reading a book that @KrissiKmentioned last month:   "All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me" by Patrick Bringley

[bookbard]

On 7/2/2024 at 4:22 PM, Kassia said:

Me too, @Faith-manor

I agree - love to hear more when it's possible.

I read early Emily Henry's YA stuff and it is convoluted and not fun. Which is fascinating! Maybe she got a really good editor for the later books?

I've dug up a few classics to re-read alongside some of the lighter stuff I've been reading lately. It is very cold, wet and wintry here so I don't actually feel like reading anything heavy; on the other hand, a diet of crap writing is also wearing.   

[Kareni]

I finished two more books.

Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton was an enjoyable contemporary romance with a paranormal element. It featured a present day actor who can see the form of a man who has been trapped in a snow globe since the Civil War. A relationship develops between the two men. This was a reread for me. (Adult content)

"Jason Walker is a child star turned teen heartthrob turned reluctant B-movie regular who’s sick of his failing career. So he gives up Hollywood for northern Idaho, far away from the press, the drama of L.A., and the best friend he’s secretly been in love with for years.

There’s only one problem with his new life: a strange young man only he can see is haunting his guesthouse. Except Benjamin Ward isn’t a ghost. He’s a man caught out of time, trapped since the Civil War in a magical prison where he can only watch the lives of those around him. He’s also sweet, funny, and cute as hell, with an affinity for cheesy ’80s TV shows. And he’s thrilled to finally have someone to talk to.

But Jason quickly discovers that spending all his time with a man nobody else can see or hear isn’t without its problems—especially when the tabloids find him again and make him front-page news. The local sheriff thinks he’s on drugs, and his best friend thinks he’s crazy. But Jason knows he hasn’t lost his mind. Too bad he can’t say the same thing about his heart."

**

I also enjoyed a first read of the second book in the series, Winter Dreams by Marie Sexton, which features another actor, the best friend of the actor mentioned above. This book is set on an island that recreates Fantasy Island (the old TV show) and some strange things occur to the main character and the man he befriends and develops feelings for. (Adult content also both of these books mention suicide.)

"Actor Dylan Frasier is known as one of the biggest playboys in Hollywood, infamous for seducing men and women alike. He’s also half in love with his two best friends. Unfortunately, Jason and Ben are madly in love with each other, leaving Dylan the odd man out. When Ben suggests an extended Christmas vacation at a resort modeled after his favorite 80s TV show, Dylan reluctantly agrees. Sure, his heart breaks a bit every time he sees them together, but it’s a vacation in the Bahamas. How bad can it be?

At first, the resort seems like any other. Dylan plans to work on his tan, get laid, and hunt for Hollywood’s most in-demand director – not necessarily in that order. Then he meets Connor, a tennis instructor still hurting from a bad breakup. Connor knows Dylan’s reputation and refuses to be seduced. Dylan sees Connor as just another conquest, but this tropical island isn’t as mundane as it appears. It has its own kind of magic, and it’s about to make things interesting."

Regards,

Kareni

[Amoret]

I recently finished Fresh Water for Flowers (Perrin), which was quite good. I think it has already been discussed at length here, but I agree with the positive reviews.

I also read I Robot by Asimov. Hard SF isn't normally my thing, but I am glad I read it and I can see why it's generally well regarded. I got caught up in Asimov's frequent references to the male characters' hair (beards, stubble, mustaches, wavy hair on their heads, and so on). When you start looking for it, it's everywhere.

After that, I read Searoad by Ursula K Le Guin. It is a short story collection set in a small town on the Oregon coast. I don't think realistic fiction is her forte, but like everything else she did, it was well-written and compelling.

I also finished A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende. If you like historical fiction, I would recommend it. It tends at times to lean perhaps too heavily on the history (almost to the point of seeming more like nonfiction) and I think the characters were a little flat, but it is well written, and I learned a lot about the the Spanish Civil War and life in Chile in the decades following WW2.

I am now reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. It is a Victorian sensation novel that immediately followed A Tale of Two Cities in the periodical All the Year Round. It's a mystery/suspense/drama and quite compelling. His style is more generally accessible than Dickens, his pacing is quite good, and it has a great cast of supporting characters (even if they are a overdone). It isn't nearly at the level of Dickens in terms of its literary merit, but it's still worth reading.

 

 

Edited July 6 by Amoret

[Kareni]

I've been reading books for a summer reading bingo that I'm doing. To fulfill the Road Trip square, I quite enjoyed rereading Motel. Pool. by Kim Fielding. This book features a man on the road trying to deal with/escape from his issues and the ghost he encounters at a derelict motel. The ghost is of a young man, a minor actor, who died in the 1950s.   (Adult content and mention of  suicide.)

"In the mid-1950s, Jack Dayton flees his working-class prospects in Omaha and heads to Hollywood, convinced he’ll be the next James Dean. But sleazy casting couches don't earn him stardom, and despair leads to a series of poor decisions that ultimately find him at a cheap motel off Route 66, lifeless at the bottom of the pool.

Sixty years later, Tag Manning, feeling hopeless and empty, flees his most recent relationship mistake and takes to the open road. On a roundabout route to Las Vegas, he pulls over to rest at an isolated spot on Route 66. There’s no longer a motel or pool, but when Tag resumes his journey to Vegas, he finds he’s transporting a hitchhiking ghost. Jack and Tag come to find much-needed friends in each other, but one man is a phantom and the other is strangely cursed. Time is running out for each of them, and they must face the fact that a future together may not only be a gamble... it may not be in the cards."

**

For the Retelling square, I read Dark Sexy Knight (inspired by “Camelot”) by Katy Regnery. As you can see from the subtitle, this is a Camelot retelling; frankly, I would not have realized this. The book featured a young woman who is caring for her older brother who suffered a brain injury as a child; they have fallen on hard times and are looking for work. Due to the intervention of the male lead (who plays a knight at a medieval dinner show), they are hired. He ultimately ends up housing them, too. I found this an okay read, but had I not been reading it for a Bingo square, I'd have put it aside. (Adult content)

"Loosely inspired by the legend of Camelot, Dark Sexy Knight tells the story of dinner theater knight Colt Lane, who meets down-on-her-luck Verity Gwynn on the worst day of her life. Evicted from their home, Verity and her special-needs brother, Ryan, must find jobs or risk being separated. Colt, who is the furthest-possible thing from a white knight in real life, comes to their unlikely rescue, quickly cementing his place in Verity's heart.

Colt has dark, deeply buried secrets that keep his smile hidden and his eyes down, which has kept people away . . . until he meets Verity, who seems immune to his gruff manners and taciturn ways. The more time Colt spends with her, the more he longs for her sweetness in his life and yearns to be the knight in shining armor she so desperately needs. Certain he will lose her if she learns the truth about his past, he must decide if he can trust her with his yesterday in order to build a beautiful tomorrow."

///

Regards,

Kareni

[dirty ethel rackham]

On 7/1/2024 at 9:16 PM, Faith-manor said:

I am reading my son's book. It is not on the market now, so I can't say the title, but it will be out in 4-6 weeks as the cover art was done and approved, and it is in the final edit.

Also, The Holistic Orchard.

How exciting! I can't wait to hear more.  

I am an advance reader for my husband's cousin's husband's first novel.  (How's that for a mouthful? 😄)  It's been slow and I'm struggling, partially because it is a PDF copy so I'm reading it on my laptop, and partially because I'm struggling with some of the character development.  I have 3 weeks to finish it and I'm only a quarter of the way through it.  I'm kind of dreading writing a review ... because I because I'm not good at them and because I'm afraid I won't have a positive one.  

I'm still working my way through The Long Steep Path by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Thanks to whoever recommended it here.  I like to listen to a chapter, and put it aside while I ponder some of her life lessons, some of which are painful and hit too close to home.  Which is why it is taking me so long. 

I'll be starting The Rose Code by Kate Quinn on audio next week.  I enjoyed The Alice Network and I'm a sucker for women-centered historical fiction.  

I recently finished The Hunter by Tana French, about a Chicago Police detective who retired and moved to a small town in Ireland, to get away from it all.  But his newfound home has its own set of troubles.  It's a sequel of The Searcher.  I really like this author.  She has a somewhat gritty style and creates interesting characters and plots.

 

[Kassia]

On 7/2/2024 at 12:13 PM, Kassia said:

I'm reading a book that @KrissiKmentioned last month:   "All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me" by Patrick Bringley

I finished this and also House Rules, a decorating book by MyQuillyn Smith.  

Currently reading Under the Java Moon, a historical fiction novel by Heather B. Moore.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

How exciting! I can't wait to hear more.  

I am an advance reader for my husband's cousin's husband's first novel.  (How's that for a mouthful? 😄)  It's been slow and I'm struggling, partially because it is a PDF copy so I'm reading it on my laptop, and partially because I'm struggling with some of the character development.  I have 3 weeks to finish it and I'm only a quarter of the way through it.  I'm kind of dreading writing a review ... because I because I'm not good at them and because I'm afraid I won't have a positive one.  

I'm still working my way through The Long Steep Path by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  Thanks to whoever recommended it here.  I like to listen to a chapter, and put it aside while I ponder some of her life lessons, some of which are painful and hit too close to home.  Which is why it is taking me so long. 

I'll be starting The Rose Code by Kate Quinn on audio next week.  I enjoyed The Alice Network and I'm a sucker for women-centered historical fiction.  

I recently finished The Hunter by Tana French, about a Chicago Police detective who retired and moved to a small town in Ireland, to get away from it all.  But his newfound home has its own set of troubles.  It's a sequel of The Searcher.  I really like this author.  She has a somewhat gritty style and creates interesting characters and plots.

 

It is a theological work. There are some professors who have already been given advance copies and will be requiring it for some of their courses which is really cool. But honestly, it is also heady reading, a real thinker, and a deep dive into analysis. So it isn't something I will advertise here on the WTM though it is cool that a WTM home schooled graduate is now a published author. I don't want my friends here to find my house and drive-by lob rotten eggs at it if they buy it and then get bogged down. 😄

[ScoutTN]

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

[bookbard]

Just finished re-reading Jane Eyre. Unsurprisingly, it's just as good as all the other times I've read it. I read Virginia Woolf's quote about it - that the author brings you, the reader, every step of the way with her, and it's so true. It's such an intimate book. Brilliantly structured, too. 

[GailV]

Romans for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Misused, Problematic and Prooftexted Letter in the Bible by J.R. Daniel Kirk. Our church-wide read-through-the-New-Testament finished up Romans last week, but I lagged getting this book finished. There's just a LOT to read about and think about when it comes to Romans. This book did a nice job presenting  information clearly, and tying parts of this letter to other parts of the Bible. As a heads up to possible future readers, the author begins by admitting that his view of Romans 8:28 has changed through the years, and he is no longer strictly Calvinist/predestinarian. He presents this tidbit in a charming manner ... overall, he uses humor and personal narrative well throughout the book. And he revisits that verse later in the book in a deeper dive.

[Kassia]

On 7/6/2024 at 9:03 PM, ScoutTN said:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

 

19 hours ago, bookbard said:

Just finished re-reading Jane Eyre. Unsurprisingly, it's just as good as all the other times I've read it. I read Virginia Woolf's quote about it - that the author brings you, the reader, every step of the way with her, and it's so true. It's such an intimate book. Brilliantly structured, too. 

Mansfield Park was the first Austen book I read as an adult and then I had to read all of her books after that.  🙂

Maybe I need to read Jane Eyre again.  I've read it once and didn't really care for it and thought I must be missing something since it is such a popular and respected classic.

[Lady Florida.]

On 7/6/2024 at 9:03 PM, ScoutTN said:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre is not a favorite (don't see the appeal of Rochester AT ALL) but I love all things Jane Austen. It might be time to reread one of her novels. I pick one to reread about every 2-3 years. I just have to decide which one.

[Lady Florida.]

I'm one of those people who always has several books going at a time. My current crop includes:

Napoleon: A Life, by Andrew Roberts. This would be a doorstopper if I wasn't reading the Kindle edition and since it's such a big book it's my long term read. It might take me a few months to finish because I don't read from it every day.

Chenneville, by Paulette Jiles. Audible edition. This will be my 3rd novel by this author, the others being News of the World and Simon the Fiddler. News of the World is my favorite so far but I've yet to be disappointed by her novels. 

The Eustace Diamonds, by Anthony Trollope. A Goodreads group I'm in is reading the Palliser novels this year, one every other month. I'm behind because this is the third one that was supposed to be read in May. I was out of the country the entire month and forgot to download it to my Kindle. They're on the fourth one this month. I should be able to catch up before September when we read the fifth one.

North Woods: A Novel, by Daniel Mason. This is the story of a house in New England (a cabin really) told through the stories of its inhabitants over the centuries. 

 

[Kassia]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Jane Eyre is not a favorite (don't see the appeal of Rochester AT ALL) but I love all things Jane Austen. It might be time to reread one of her novels. I pick one to reread about every 2-3 years. I just have to decide which one.

Same!  🙂 

 

[AmandaVT]

I finished my curriculum director certification program, yay! I am FINALLY reading more again - it's been a tough year. 

So far in July: 

Bea and The New Deal Horse - this is a 2024 Golden Dome book and our school librarian always gives the teachers that love reading first crack at them during the summer! Loved this book! 

This lyrical middle grade historical novel set during the Great Depression from award-winning author L. M. Elliott is a moving tale of the spirit of American persistence, found family, and the magical partnership between girl and horse. Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction!

Farther than the Moon - another Golden Dome nominee - so good!

From award-winning author Lindsay Lackey comes Farther Than the Moon, a heartfelt story about a boy who wants to become an astronaut, but wonders if his dreams can include his brother with disabilities, perfect for fans of We Dream of Space and Song for a Whale.

The Great Alone - This is my second Kristin Hannah book and I think she may not be the author for me. Everyone around me seems to adore her books right now, but there's something about them that don't sit right with me. 

 

Currently Reading: 

The Book of Eels - I'm enjoying this one and I never thought I'd be into a book all about eels! It's really interesting. 

Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the “eel question”: Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don’t understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery.

The Calculating Stars - I love the concept and the plot, but there are a few things that are bugging me about this one. I'm going to power through, though  , because the storyline is really good. 

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

 

My list is huge for the rest of the summer and I am not taking any classes in the fall, so I will have free time to read after work and on weekends!

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, AmandaVT said:

I finished my curriculum director certification program, yay! I am FINALLY reading more again - it's been a tough year. 

 

The Great Alone - This is my second Kristin Hannah book and I think she may not be the author for me. Everyone around me seems to adore her books right now, but there's something about them that don't sit right with me. 

 

 

 

My list is huge for the rest of the summer and I am not taking any classes in the fall, so I will have free time to read after work and on weekends!

Congratulations on finishing!  🙂 🙂 

Kristin Hannah isn't for me either.  I've read one of her books in full and thought it was so-so and the other I hated and couldn't get through.  After the last one, I took all of her books off of my to-read shelf on Goodreads. 

Yay on having more time to read!  

[bookbard]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

Same!  🙂 

 

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Jane Eyre is not a favorite (don't see the appeal of Rochester AT ALL) but I love all things Jane Austen. It might be time to reread one of her novels. I pick one to reread about every 2-3 years. I just have to decide which one.

Read it as an early feminist book about an incredibly strong woman who kept to her ideals and beliefs, rather than a romance novel. It doesn't matter whether you like Rochester or not, he's only in one chunk of it!

[Lady Florida.]

2 hours ago, bookbard said:

Read it as an early feminist book about an incredibly strong woman who kept to her ideals and beliefs, rather than a romance novel. It doesn't matter whether you like Rochester or not, he's only in one chunk of it!

I tried that on a reread years ago. Didn't work for me. I can't imagine a feminist choosing him.

[AmandaVT]

3 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

I finished my curriculum director certification program, yay! I am FINALLY reading more again - it's been a tough year. 

So far in July: 

Bea and The New Deal Horse - this is a 2024 Golden Dome book and our school librarian always gives the teachers that love reading first crack at them during the summer! Loved this book! 

This lyrical middle grade historical novel set during the Great Depression from award-winning author L. M. Elliott is a moving tale of the spirit of American persistence, found family, and the magical partnership between girl and horse. Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction!

Farther than the Moon - another Golden Dome nominee - so good!

From award-winning author Lindsay Lackey comes Farther Than the Moon, a heartfelt story about a boy who wants to become an astronaut, but wonders if his dreams can include his brother with disabilities, perfect for fans of We Dream of Space and Song for a Whale.

The Great Alone - This is my second Kristin Hannah book and I think she may not be the author for me. Everyone around me seems to adore her books right now, but there's something about them that don't sit right with me. 

 

Currently Reading: 

The Book of Eels - I'm enjoying this one and I never thought I'd be into a book all about eels! It's really interesting. 

Remarkably little is known about the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. So little, in fact, that scientists and philosophers have, for centuries, been obsessed with what has become known as the “eel question”: Where do eels come from? What are they? Are they fish or some other kind of creature altogether? Even today, in an age of advanced science, no one has ever seen eels mating or giving birth, and we still don’t understand what drives them, after living for decades in freshwater, to swim great distances back to the ocean at the end of their lives. They remain a mystery.

The Calculating Stars - I love the concept and the plot, but there are a few things that are bugging me about this one. I'm going to power through, though  , because the storyline is really good. 

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

 

My list is huge for the rest of the summer and I am not taking any classes in the fall, so I will have free time to read after work and on weekends!

Thank you! It was a wonderful program but beastly hard and intense!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't in love with her books - I have multiple friends who keep telling me, "oh, try this one, you'll like it better!" I don't think I will. Parts of them are enjoyable, but both of the ones I have read have just made me angry, which isn't what I want from a book. 

[Kareni]

4 hours ago, AmandaVT said:

I finished my curriculum director certification program, yay! I am FINALLY reading more again - it's been a tough year. 

Congratulations to you! Enjoy your newfound reading time.

Regards,

Kareni

[Ottakee]

Familia is the story of a want to be reporter in New York City and a mystery of what happened to a 7 month old girl from Puerto Rico when a DNA test brings the 2 worlds together.    Great as an audio book.  One that pulled me in.

[Kassia]

On 7/6/2024 at 3:40 PM, Kassia said:

 

Currently reading Under the Java Moon, a historical fiction novel by Heather B. Moore.

I finished this book and really liked it and learned so much! Now I want to read more of the author's books and put some on hold at the library.  I started reading Sociopath, a memoir by Patric Gagne, but don't like it much.  I'll probably finish it anyway.  

[KrissiK]

Still reading “Nicholas and Alexandra”, but, started and finished  “The River We Remember” by William Kent Krueger on our cruise. He has become a favorite author over the last couple of years. I love his Cork O’Conner crime series, but he’s written some stand alone novels that are really good, and this one was one of them. Perfect book to take on vacation.

[KrissiK]

On 7/2/2024 at 9:13 AM, Kassia said:

I'm reading a book that @KrissiKmentioned last month:   "All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me" by Patrick Bringley

I really hope you like it. I hate recommending books because everyone really has their own taste in books and a book I may love someone else would be like, “meh”, and then it would make me feel bad.

[KrissiK]

On 7/9/2024 at 3:23 PM, Kassia said:

Congratulations on finishing!  🙂 🙂 

Kristin Hannah isn't for me either.  I've read one of her books in full and thought it was so-so and the other I hated and couldn't get through.  After the last one, I took all of her books off of my to-read shelf on Goodreads. 

Yay on having more time to read!  

I don’t read her books anymore, either. I just loved The Nightingale and I really liked The Great Alone, but I couldn’t stomach The Four Winds and I’ve read some of her less “epic” novels and wasn’t impressed. So… I don’t read her.

[Kassia]

40 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I really hope you like it. I hate recommending books because everyone really has their own taste in books and a book I may love someone else would be like, “meh”, and then it would make me feel bad.

I did like it, but even if I didn't I'd appreciate that you posted about it.  I love getting more ideas for books here and always learn something even from the books I dislike.  I think many of us feel the same way about recommending books, though.  Even people who tend to love the same types of books can feel totally different about certain books.  That's always a surprise!  

[Ottakee]

58 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I really hope you like it. I hate recommending books because everyone really has their own taste in books and a book I may love someone else would be like, “meh”, and then it would make me feel bad.

Never feel bad about recommending a book.  I love having new titles to look for.  Even if I decide they aren’t for me I have a wider base to pick from and I might end up with other books I do love.

[Ottakee]

56 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I don’t read her books anymore, either. I just loved The Nightingale and I really liked The Great Alone, but I couldn’t stomach The Four Winds and I’ve read some of her less “epic” novels and wasn’t impressed. So… I don’t read her.

I loved The Nightingale and I have the Women on hold but haven’t read/enjoyed her other books.  I don’t know why but I just don’t.

[KrissiK]

44 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

I loved The Nightingale and I have the Women on hold but haven’t read/enjoyed her other books.  I don’t know why but I just don’t.

There’s something oddly inconsistent about her writing, I think. I don’t know what it is, either. It’s like, she doesn’t have the ability to consistently create characters and a plot that are multidimensional and that you actually care about. And The Four Winds….I was just ticked off. That ending sucked. I don’t mind books with bittersweet endings, but that one was just bad.  I don’t feel like I can trust her as an author.  A good author you can trust to bring you through, and even if bad things happen and the ending isn’t all sweetness and light, there is still redemption of some kind and satisfaction and you feel OK at the end of it. The ending of the Great Alone wasn’t great, but there was some resolution.

[Lady Florida.]

On 7/9/2024 at 5:21 PM, AmandaVT said:

The Great Alone - This is my second Kristin Hannah book and I think she may not be the author for me. Everyone around me seems to adore her books right now, but there's something about them that don't sit right with me. 

 

On 7/9/2024 at 6:23 PM, Kassia said:

Kristin Hannah isn't for me either.  I've read one of her books in full and thought it was so-so and the other I hated and couldn't get through.  After the last one, I took all of her books off of my to-read shelf on Goodreads. 

 

1 hour ago, KrissiK said:

I don’t read her books anymore, either. I just loved The Nightingale

Add me to the list. I liked The Nightingale but didn't love it. I started to read The Great Alone but couldn't get interested and abandoned it. I just don't think she's an author for me.

[Ottakee]

4 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

 

Add me to the list. I liked The Nightingale but didn't love it. I started to read The Great Alone but couldn't get interested and abandoned it. I just don't think she's an author for me.

But the great thing is that there are Soooo many books to pick from that everyone can find authors that are for them.   I love the diversity on these threads.

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

But the great thing is that there are Soooo many books to pick from that everyone can find authors that are for them.   I love the diversity on these threads.

Speaking of which, Paulette Jiles is definitely an author for me. Yesterday I finished Chenneville, which was my third novel of hers. I loved all three that I read so far and decided I'll be reading more of her work.

[Ottakee]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Speaking of which, Paulette Jiles is definitely an author for me. Yesterday I finished Chenneville, which was my third novel of hers. I loved all three that I read so far and decided I'll be reading more of her work.

And that sent me off to check my Libby app for books by her.

[Laura Corin]

On 7/8/2024 at 12:16 AM, bookbard said:

Just finished re-reading Jane Eyre. Unsurprisingly, it's just as good as all the other times I've read it. I read Virginia Woolf's quote about it - that the author brings you, the reader, every step of the way with her, and it's so true. It's such an intimate book. Brilliantly structured, too. 

I just finished re-reading it. I was particularly struck this time by how JE very nearly succumbs to Rivers' coercive control.

I've - unusually  - given up on a couple of books recently: 'The wren, the wren' and 'Memoriam. I found them both too painful to continue.

I've just started working through reading lists for the university modules I am studying this year. I just finished 'The hound of the Baskervilles ' and am now reading Gombrich 'The story of art'.

I re-read at least one Austen most years.

[Kassia]

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Speaking of which, Paulette Jiles is definitely an author for me. Yesterday I finished Chenneville, which was my third novel of hers. I loved all three that I read so far and decided I'll be reading more of her work.

I read News of the World and really liked it, but haven't read anything else written by her yet.  

[Ottakee]

6 minutes ago, Kassia said:

I read News of the World and really liked it, but haven't read anything else written by her yet.  

Same here.  What one would you suggest?