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Post by Kao on May 19, 2020 18:33:27 GMT
Right now I'm in the middle of reading "Girl, Woman, Other" by Bernardine Evaristo and it's absolutely delightful; I can see why it won so many awards. It follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly Black British women, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers across the country and through the years. I highly recommend it!
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Post by acookertv on May 22, 2020 12:51:40 GMT
This morning I finished The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. It’s the story of a family with four adult daughters. Life changes when the child one of the daughters gave up for adoption 15 years before comes back into their lives, I’m torn on this book. Despite the bad behavior of the characters they were told in a way that made them sympathetic and likable. But kind of like a tv show that goes on for too many seasons, it jumped from parts that were really compelling to parts that dragged. It had some great observations on family dynamics ... but when I finished I was left kind of wondering what the point was. All in all, I enjoyed it but think that a few months from now I will likely have forgotten it.
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Post by Eastcoastmom on May 26, 2020 22:17:26 GMT
Just finished The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Couldn't put it down. www.goodreads.com/book/show/42592725-the-authenticity-project I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; it's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available.
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Post by razorbacker on May 28, 2020 11:33:24 GMT
You guys are missing out if you aren't following the reading of the 1st Harry Potter book. They have just released chapter 7 read by Olivia Coleman. Since I never read the books myself, I am thoroughly enjoying listening to others do it for me.
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Post by Eastcoastmom on May 31, 2020 1:39:41 GMT
The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen.
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Post by Critical on May 31, 2020 16:39:27 GMT
Just finished The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Couldn't put it down. www.goodreads.com/book/show/42592725-the-authenticity-project I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; i t's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available. That happens to me sometimes too. I have a hold on the new Hunger Games prequel and, when I placed the hold on (I think) May 19th, the wait was 6 months ( ). When I checked yesterday, it was down to two weeks. Obviously, it has a lot to do with reading times and that's probably a fast read. After watching Unorthodox on Netflix, I decided I wanted to know what the real story was, so I read Deborah Feldman's memoirs Unorthodox and Exodus. LOTS of differences from the Netflix series, that's for sure! Of course, "has a kid, leaves her husband and then has to work out custody and visitation" isn't as interesting The first book deals more with her leaving her community, while the second book is about the aftermath and her trying to find her place in the world AND how her religion will fit into that. Both interesting, but the writing in the second book was much better. I didn't feel emotionally able to read it back at the beginning of the pandemic, but now I'm reading Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, about a global pandemic where a flu wipes out probably 90% of the population. It's not as horrifying as I would have thought, but still scary.
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Post by FannyMare on May 31, 2020 17:41:12 GMT
Just finished The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Couldn't put it down. www.goodreads.com/book/show/42592725-the-authenticity-project I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; it's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available. I just downloaded In Five Years, it has mixed reviews, so far I like it.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 2, 2020 13:54:20 GMT
Last night I finished A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight. I didn't love it, but I'd recommend it as a fun read. It's the story of an attorney who is called on by a law school classmate to defend him after he's accused of murdering his wife. Most of the book was well written, in that thriller fashion of ending chapters with a shocking detail that make you want to keep reading. But the ending felt rushed and that weakened the overall book for me.
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Post by ibot2much on Jun 4, 2020 20:51:08 GMT
I just finished LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE which I really liked. Matter of fact, when I finished it, I sat and just thought about the book and the characters---something I have not done in a while. I thought it was very moving.
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Post by Critical on Jun 8, 2020 19:24:57 GMT
I've been feeling kind of scattered lately (like, for the past 2.5 months!), so I've had four different books going this week - two in paper and two on my Kindle. I finished the Hunger Games prequel - A Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes - yesterday. I did enjoy it, but it's not at the level of the original trilogy. Part of that is probably because in this book, the "protagonist" (if you can call him that) is Coriolanus Snow. It's hard to root for the character when you know what he's going to become. Still, as a fan of the Hunger Games trilogy, it was fun to see all the little callbacks to that series, as well as some origin stories and a few familiar surnames. It also gives some insight into Snow's feelings about Katniss. I probably wouldn't recommend this prequel if you haven't read the trilogy.
I finally got a toe-hold in When We Were Vikings by Andrew Michael Macdonald. I'd been reading a page or two every few days and just couldn't break through.Just a day or two ago, things finally clicked and now I'm about halfway through.
I'm also reading Te-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, which I picked up a while ago, but then put down when this pandemic ramped up. I just couldn't focus on it. I hadn't gotten too far in, so I just started over a few days ago. I'm a big fan of Coates and the book is really meaty and important in light of what's going on in the world right now.
My latest library book is Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing. I read her non-fiction books with her husband when I was younger and had NO idea this was the same Delia Owens until I googled her when I started reading this book. I'm enjoying it, but I can't help feeling a sense of dread as I read it. In the current situation we're all in, dread is definitely something I don't need to see MORE of!
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Post by acookertv on Jun 8, 2020 21:33:58 GMT
Between the World and Me is such a great book! I read it about five years ago. My book club chose it as our next book so I started rereading it this morning. I was delighted to discover I had to download the ebook because hard copies were sold out everywhere I checked.
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Post by ibot2much on Jun 9, 2020 11:34:33 GMT
I am also currently reading the CRAWDADS book and moving slowly on it as I just know it can't end well and I too am not in the mood for more "bad stuff". I felt that way about THE GREAT ALONE which is also only part way done---it was just too depressing and dark for these times.
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Post by acookertv on Jun 15, 2020 2:17:23 GMT
I finished my one week reading vacation and was able to finish three books.
Happy and You Know It - a fun moms group book that ended up having a lot more to it than I expected. It’s the story of a woman who is kicked out of her band just before they make it big. As she’s nursing her wounds, she’s hired to be the singer for a Manhattan play group and is thrust into the lives of the moms.
City of Girls - historic fiction telling the story of a 19 year old Vassar drop out in 1940 who is sent to live with her aunt. Her aunt runs a theater in New York and she suddenly finds herself learning about life from a collection of showgirls and other theater people, I loved the stories of her discovering the world,But I thought for all the detail given building the story, the ending was very rushed, That made me really like it but not love it.
Never Have I Ever - a thriller about a neighborhood book club turned on end when a new woman in the neighborhood joins them and manipulates them into revealing secrets that are then used against them. Lots of unexpected twists!
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Post by FannyMare on Jun 15, 2020 5:31:21 GMT
In Five Years. This book grabbed me, until it didnt. I found it to be a bit of a letdown. Some people hated it ,some cried, I didn't feel much of anything.
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Post by Eastcoastmom on Jun 17, 2020 2:07:05 GMT
[quote author=" Eastcoastmom" I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; it's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available. [/quote] It just became available 2 days ago. I finished tonight. Loved it!
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Post by FannyMare on Jun 17, 2020 2:26:03 GMT
[quote author=" Eastcoastmom " I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; it's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available. It just became available 2 days ago. I finished tonight. Loved it![/quote] Did you? I couldn't put it down at first , then it became something else. I was glad it was finished , the ending for me was very weak I read reviews on goodreads.com. People cried people hated it, people were asking, what was that. It's amazing, one book and so many opinions. I often wonder about characters in books I read, I won't give Dannie another thought.. I'm glad you enjoyed it ECM.
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Post by Eastcoastmom on Jun 17, 2020 2:46:17 GMT
[quote author=" Eastcoastmom " I'm still waiting to loan Rebecca Serle's In Five Years; it's been on hold since May 9 and I am # 217 on the wait list. I've got a lot of other books to read on my Kindle until it becomes available. It just became available 2 days ago. I finished tonight. Loved it! Did you? I couldn't put it down at first , then it became something else. I was glad it was finished , the ending for me was very weak I read reviews on goodreads.com. People cried people hated it, people were asking, what was that. It's amazing, one book and so many opinions. I often wonder about characters in books I read, I won't give Dannie another thought.. I'm glad you enjoyed it ECM.[/quote] It did go in a totally different direction than I had thought. It hooked me because if I don't want to stop reading well into the night, I know it's a good read for me. I wasn't able to get to it yesterday so I finished this evening. The ending was sad but made sense considering. I wouldn't mind a sequel to find out what became of Dannie. Any recommendations of other books by this author?
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Post by FannyMare on Jun 17, 2020 2:53:34 GMT
This was the first book I've read of hers,I probably won't bother with any others..see ya on FB
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Post by acookertv on Jun 17, 2020 10:49:52 GMT
It just became available 2 days ago. I finished tonight. Loved it! Did you? I couldn't put it down at first , then it became something else. I was glad it was finished , the ending for me was very weak I read reviews on goodreads.com. People cried people hated it, people were asking, what was that. It's amazing, one book and so many opinions. I often wonder about characters in books I read, I won't give Dannie another thought.. I'm glad you enjoyed it ECM. It did go in a totally different direction than I had thought. It hooked me because if I don't want to stop reading well into the night, I know it's a good read for me. I wasn't able to get to it yesterday so I finished this evening. The ending was sad but made sense considering. I wouldn't mind a sequel to find out what became of Dannie. Any recommendations of other books by this author? [/quote] She also wrote a book called The Dinner List which I read and really enjoyed. It's somewhat in the same vein of having a touch of fantasy. It's the story of a woman who goes for her birthday dinner to discover that the people there are her fantasy five dinner party guests - including Audrey Hepburn. I believe everything else she's written was YA literature - I have not read any of those.
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Post by ibot2much on Jun 17, 2020 14:48:24 GMT
Well, I finished WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING and it turned out so different that I thought. I did enjoy it and really thought about it after i finished. In talking to others who read it, we all had the same question.....when you read it, you will know the question....lol
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Post by rembrant on Jun 19, 2020 5:53:56 GMT
I always heard of but never got to watch Murder She Wrote until a few years ago when I found it on Netflix, and it hooked me. I only got to watch the first four seasons, then they took it off and never brought it back, but I just fell in love with the show. So when I found out that there's also a long running series of novels (the 51st came out very recently), I just had to try buying some. Bought four used ones online, received the first one tonight. Just one chapter in, but I'm enjoying the casual set-up, definitely reminding me of the show. Attachments:
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Post by acookertv on Jun 19, 2020 13:41:13 GMT
I saw that book in a book store last week and didn’t know why it was there! Thanks for solving the mystery for me!
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Post by Critical on Jun 21, 2020 19:51:53 GMT
I started Just Mercy last night and, while it is excellent, I had to put it down for a while because I was SO angry and kept crying. That book should be required reading. Absolutely horrifying.
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Post by Kao on Jun 22, 2020 21:36:54 GMT
Finally getting In 5 Years from the library tomorrow; I've had it on hold for ages but they were closed.
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Post by AZChristian on Jun 28, 2020 16:12:47 GMT
You guys are missing out if you aren't following the reading of the 1st Harry Potter book. They have just released chapter 7 read by Olivia Coleman. Since I never read the books myself, I am thoroughly enjoying listening to others do it for me. Even though I profess myself to be the world's biggest 73-year-old fan, I hadn't been listening in. But I think I will now. I'm in the middle of re-reading James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series. It's great to be old; I've forgotten a lot of the plot lines, but remember bits and pieces enough that I'm not totally lost in a sea of new characters. SO grateful our local libraries have a curbside pick-up of books and movies. We now use "trips to the library per tank of gas" as our new mileage statistic.
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Post by AZChristian on Jun 29, 2020 18:47:46 GMT
You guys are missing out if you aren't following the reading of the 1st Harry Potter book. They have just released chapter 7 read by Olivia Coleman. Since I never read the books myself, I am thoroughly enjoying listening to others do it for me. THANK YOU for the recommendation. I'm on Chapter 5, and loving all of the readers. Stephen Fry and Simon Callow sure have the Hagrid voice down pat!!!!
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Post by Critical on Jun 30, 2020 23:14:21 GMT
I've been blowing through a book every day or two lately. I've been borrowing from the library, which is so satisfying, especially when the books are available right then. Finish one book, return it and immediately download the next one! I've been reading Kate Carlisle's Fixer Upper Mysteries. They're super light and easy - these are the ones they base the Hallmark series starring Jewel on. Not as good as Carlisle's Bibliophile Mysteries, but still a nice diversion.
I finished Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy a few days ago. It was emotionally devastating and absolutely heartbreaking.....and it should be required reading for everyone in this country. I haven't seen the movie but, based on the previews, it seems to only follow one case. The book does spend a lot of time on that case, but also delves into other cases, as well as Stevenson's efforts in eradicating the death penalty for children and representing countless others who were wrongly convicted. The stories are harrowing and so incredibly frustrating to read. The miscarriages of justice are horrifying. BUT, so important to know about. Not everyone gets a fair trial in this country. Not by a longshot.
I was pleasantly surprised by Hilarie Burton Morgan's The Rural Diaries, about her family and their work building a life on a farm in New York. When I'd heard she and Jeffrey Dean Morgan were together, it was a head scratcher, since all I knew her from was One Tree Hill and as an MTV vjay. I don't think I ever thought she was NOT smart, but I was surprised at how much depth she has. Here's a little write up about the book if anyone's interested: Her take on the Hallmark/Lifetime movies kind of opened my eyes: as a mother of a young child, they allow her to work in short bursts (filming is usually around 3 weeks) in projects that are generally led by women both in front of and behind the camera. There's no feeling of being put in front of the camera to be a sex object - there's just that one chaste kiss at the end - and she can have a say in her wardrobe. Plus, in most cases, the WOMAN is number one on the call sheet. Anyway, they're still not going to win any awards, but she did make me think of those cheesy movies a little differently.
I've also finished Walter Thompson-Hernandez' The Compton Cowboys, about a group of African American riders trying to keep the tradition of black cowboys (and cowgirls!) alive in the middle of Compton, CA. Very good, but hard to read. Not because of the actual subject, but because I got it in unedited manuscript form. SO many typos and weird punctuation. I got it last September and I don't think it released until a few months ago, so I'm sure they worked all that stuff out. Still, it was sometimes hard to focus beyond the errors. I've read hundreds of advance copies/galleys and there are sometimes little types and errors, but this was A LOT.
Alyssa Mastromonaco's Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? about her time working for President Obama was fun, but skewed towards the Teen Vogue demographic, which is a good bit younger than me! She worked for Obama while he was a US Senator and then continued on with him in the White House, ultimately becoming Deputy Chief of Staff. Interesting look into politics and into the POTUS. Still, a bit too much "advice to young women" for it to totally hit the mark for me.
I've now read three books from the Queer Eye guys. This week was Karamo Brown's turn and his was probably the deepest and also the most like a self-help book. I will say that ALL of the books were a bit too conversational for me. There's something about a writer saying things like, "It's like, "[random quote]" that really bothers me. Karamo has a lot to say and it's of value, but I just hate all the "likes."
Right now, I'm reading Mariah Fredericks' A Death of No Importance, a Gilded Age murder mystery with a ladies' maid as the "detective." It's the first of (so far) three, so I'll probably move on the others when I finish this one.
Getting ready to start The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare.
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Post by Kao on Jul 1, 2020 14:23:57 GMT
I'm about to start reading Invisible Women: Data Bias in A World Designed for Men. I've done some data visualizations in the past and I'm wondering if that sort of thing will be covered in the book.
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Post by beerbelly on Jul 1, 2020 14:28:11 GMT
That sounds juicy!!! I also wonder how the bias is for PoC. Let us know!
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Post by Kao on Jul 11, 2020 21:33:36 GMT
Read In 5 Years and I don't know what to think. I thought it was going to go one way, then I thought it was going to go in a particularly distasteful direction, then it went a hard left and I was like WTF, this is terrible? This book was messy, but then again, so is life. I liked it but had some issues with it. Confused by the ending:
{WAT} Grief sex with her dead friend's ex-fiance, then she happens to go to this deli afterwards and sees her friend's doctor and has a long, possibly life changing conversation with him?
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