burntbrat
FORT Regular
Avoiding responsibility
Posts: 483
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Post by burntbrat on Nov 12, 2018 4:32:18 GMT
I'm in the middle of Beartown, by the author of A Man Called Ove (Fredrick Backman). At first, it was slow-going, hard to get into the hockey part of it, but wow, once it gets going, it's good. I bought this book for my husband for Christmas, so I could read it He really liked it; I can't wait to read it!
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Post by Kao on Nov 16, 2018 3:59:07 GMT
Just finished "Brief Cases" by Jim Butcher. It's a short story collection based on the Dresden Files universe. I'm a HUGE fan of the Dresden Files books so I was very happy to find it at the library.
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denz
FORT Member
Posts: 54
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Post by denz on Nov 19, 2018 18:12:38 GMT
Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away, by June Cross. I'm not far into the book, but looked at the photos and found an interesting side note. The mother in the book later married Larry Storch from the F Troop series.
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Post by MissScarlet on Nov 25, 2018 22:35:36 GMT
A nmuber of people said that they plowed their way through Grisham's newest book...something to do with a Rooster. It was hard going. I was given a box of books and in it was his Camino Island which at first reading seemed like an entertaining tale. .....but what surprised me after I finished was the number of characters who were dead ends ( I always thatought that was a NO-NO). If anybody has more insight than I do, please correct me, but I could not figure why he put her family coming to take over the cottage for two weeks, the young man she was eyeing on the beach who did not come by her a second time and why he had Elaine and somebody spend almost 3/4 of a million at the antique shop. Thanks I just finished Camino Island. I agree with you about the dropped characters. I thought the story started off with a bang. It caught me right away. The theft & it's details were fascinating & interesting. I was even rooting a bit for the thieves. Then the story changed & slowed down with a thud. While I was interested in the woman who was the center of the story, that interest soon waned. The story dragged. I too wanted to know how the sister & her family would fit into the story (& maybe even liven it up), but nope, nothing. Also, I wanted to know more about Elaine & exactly who her "people" were. Nope, nothing there either. Also, the supposed novel the woman was working on turned out to be a dead end too. The story just kind of ended with a whimper. No satisfying come uppance for any of those involved in the aftermath of the theft. Minimal reward for the main character. Plus, I really didn't care much about her by the end. Liking & rooting for the characters is important for me in a book. All in all, The Rooster Bar had a much better ending. Everything all came around & was wrapped up. Even the peripheral characters had a satisfactory ending. Plus I was rooting for the main 3 characters at the end & enjoyed their ending. All in all a more satisfying book in the end. Next up, another Grisham novel. Haven't started it yet but I hear it's much better. I'll let you know.
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Post by Kao on Nov 27, 2018 23:31:41 GMT
I'm in the middle of reading "Beauty" a book written by designers Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh. It's kinda hard to explain so I'll just c&p the book blurb here; basically they set out on a mission: to find out what beauty is and the many ways that it impacts our lives. They turn to philosophy, history, and science to understand why we are drawn to beauty and how it influences the way we feel and behave. Determined to translate their findings into action, Sagmeister & Walsh show us how beauty can improve the world.
It's a beautifully illustrated book and I'm really enjoying it.
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Post by AZChristian on Dec 5, 2018 0:19:02 GMT
Just finished "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith. I don't have a long attention span these days, so I don't like books with too many characters and too many changes of scenes. This one was really good . . . four books so far in the series, so I've requested the next 3 from the library to take on our cruise.
And . . . I'm embarrassed to admit this . . . I did not realize that Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym - for J. K. Rowling! So I'm back into Rowling fandom territory . . . and these books are NOTHING like Harry Potter. Modern day crime detective stuff.
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Post by Arielflies on Dec 5, 2018 0:56:59 GMT
I know...crazy isn't it? When she started writing the detective stories she said she wanted to get away from Harry Potter to see if she could do it. At first, the critics were skeptical, but then came around.
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Post by photobabe on Dec 23, 2018 17:49:42 GMT
I just finished Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin. If you are looking for something light and fun to read, this is a terrific book. Although the subject is heavy (young college intern has affair with married politician) the book is written in a way that I found to be very entertaining.
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Post by Kao on Dec 28, 2018 18:54:10 GMT
I'm in the middle of reading "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi and it's extremely engrossing. It's a pleasant change to have a non-western magical plot for a change.
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Post by Kao on Jan 5, 2019 4:34:06 GMT
Currently reading Crazy Rich Asians. I haven't seen the movie yet but I'm enjoying the book.
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Post by acookertv on Jan 5, 2019 13:43:50 GMT
This week I finished For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt. I absolutely loved it! It was one of those books that when I finished, I closed it saying “now that was a book” out loud to no one. It starts out with two law students on a first date discussing the idea that they know enough about the law to get away with murder. Then it advances 17 years and they are married with a son. There’s a threat to their family and they start to revisit that old idea from their first date. It was great!
Now I’ve started One Day in December by Josie Silver
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Post by Jamie5632 on Jan 5, 2019 19:17:40 GMT
I'm reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and am loving it so far! I'm about a third of the way through and can already tell (awful ending or stupid twist aside) I'm going to be sad when it's over.
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Post by acookertv on Jan 5, 2019 22:35:29 GMT
I'm reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and am loving it so far! I'm about a third of the way through and can already tell (awful ending or stupid twist aside) I'm going to be sad when it's over. It’s a great book! Continue enjoying it!
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Post by FannyMare on Jan 5, 2019 22:39:08 GMT
Nine perfect strangers.
Honestly ,if I'd of read the reviews first, I wouldn't of read it. I got to a point ,where I was reading until 3 in the morning.
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Post by Critical on Jan 6, 2019 0:03:41 GMT
I'm reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones and am loving it so far! I'm about a third of the way through and can already tell (awful ending or stupid twist aside) I'm going to be sad when it's over. I LOVED that book! We saw Tayari Jones speak at a trade show ahead of the book's release and she was incredible. She was the final speaker at a lunch (brunch?) event with maybe 3 or 4 other writers (including, IIRC, Armistead Maupin) and she blew the doors off. The executive director of the association went up on stage to adjourn the event after she'd spoken and the first words out of his mouth were, "Holy sh*t!" That summed it up for everyone there, I think!
Kao - I'm reading Crazy Rich Asians right now too! We rented the movie on Amazon Video the other night, but I really wanted to read the book too. I'm about halfway through the book and I'd say that there are details and plot points (and characters) that differ from the book, but it's still very much in the spirit of the book.
I'm also reading Diane Setterfield's new one, Once Upon a River: I've read a bunch of galleys recently for books that haven't released yet, but I definitely need to tell you guys about. You can put in pre-orders at least. I'll post reviews as soon as I can!
ETA: photobabe - Killers of the Flower Moon blew me away. I just couldn't believe that something like that could happen AND it made me so angry....and feel so helpless. It stayed with me for a long time.
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Post by FannyMare on Jan 6, 2019 0:16:32 GMT
This week I finished For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt. I absolutely loved it! It was one of those books that when I finished, I closed it saying “now that was a book” out loud to no one. It starts out with two law students on a first date discussing the idea that they know enough about the law to get away with murder. Then it advances 17 years and they are married with a son. There’s a threat to their family and they start to revisit that old idea from their first date. It was great! Now I’ve started One Day in December by Josie Silver I just put a hold on, For better and worse.:-)
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burntbrat
FORT Regular
Avoiding responsibility
Posts: 483
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Post by burntbrat on Jan 6, 2019 4:23:05 GMT
I'm in the middle of reading "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi and it's extremely engrossing. It's a pleasant change to have a non-western magical plot for a change. That one is on my TBR list! It looks great.
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Post by Kao on Jan 6, 2019 6:29:04 GMT
I'm in the middle of reading "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi and it's extremely engrossing. It's a pleasant change to have a non-western magical plot for a change. That one is on my TBR list! It looks great. Definitely read it; it's an excellent book. I think it's going to be a series because it ends on one hell of a cliffhanger.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 6, 2019 14:58:42 GMT
I read 3 books during winter break: Venetia by Georgette Heyer Hhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetia_(Heyer_novel) - this was a book from my mom's library and I thought it would be a good book to take on vacation since it looked very light and very 'Downton Abby'. I really enjoyed it, for example one of the chapters ended with Venetia saying 'I'm marrying a rake'. On the boat I picked up 'Yemen Chronicles - An Anthropology of War and Mediation' - www.amazon.com/Yemen-Chronicle-Anthropology-War-Mediation/dp/0809098822 Fascinating! It's about an anthropologist who goes to Yemen in the 1980's to complete his dissertation on Yemen's tribe poetry. It really gave me insight into a country that I didn't know much about and gives foreshadowing into what is happening to Yemen today. 'Little Star' www.amazon.com/Little-Star-John-Ajvide-Lindqvist-ebook/dp/B00842H4TG/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1546563044&sr=1-3&keywords=little+star This was a page-turner but I was scared that he was building up a story but didn't know how to end it. I think I was right. Big unanswered questions at the end. Hopefully I got my fix of fun reading in because I got my syllabus from one of my classes and there is so much reading to do.....
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 6, 2019 17:28:34 GMT
Gerogette Heyer was a forbidden author in the U.S. during the sixties and earlier. I discovered her books on the sly when I was in college and fell in love with Regency Romance. All those governesses, reformed rakes and marriage market balls grabbed my attention. I now have most of her books in my Kindle.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 6, 2019 18:06:01 GMT
No way!!! Really? Funny, I found this book so tame - what made them so scandalous? The most scandalous part, to me, what that Venetia didn't have black gloves to wear at a funeral.
I had never heard of her before. My mom had so many books (my family read - that was our thing not one of being athletic ability) so I get to read books that I would never pick out for myself.
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 6, 2019 19:01:45 GMT
It was a copywrite problem between the UK and the US - not because they were scandalous. The ones I discovered were smuggled in from Canada. Sorry, saying they were forbidden (true) made it seem they were more Madame Boudoir. To me, now, they are like little bon bons to be appreciated for the "moral" stories they present.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 7, 2019 1:05:11 GMT
Oh! It was like a 'bon bon'!
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Post by Critical on Jan 7, 2019 1:17:52 GMT
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 7, 2019 4:42:11 GMT
She was! Isn't it great to find an author you have never even heard about?
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 7, 2019 6:41:56 GMT
I don't have all of them on Kindle and they definitely were not that expensive when I added them a few years ago. Actually all in 2010.
The Black Moth The Corinthian Devil's Cub The Grand Sophy (said to be one of the best) The Nonesuch These Old Shades
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 8, 2019 14:49:00 GMT
I'm now reading America's Medicis, a book on how the Rockefellers collected and gave so much to the art world, and NYC! I found the chapter on Rockefeller Center particularly fascinating. It's incredible to think that this was built during the depression and holds so much art work that I have taken for granted. I have to go back and really LOOK at all the murals and sculptures. To think I used to work in 30 Rock and loved working there, but never really stopped and looked at how much was there. www.amazon.com/Americas-Medicis-Rockefellers-Astonishing-Cultural/dp/0061237221
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Post by justCoz on Jan 8, 2019 20:44:34 GMT
My MIL introduced me to Georgette Heyer in the '90's. I fell in love with GH's wry humor. Her regency romances are my favorite. They are generally lighthearted. I'm less a fan of her contemporary mysteries. Before I quit working, I had started listening to them on my MP3 player. It was fun to hear the words the way the British reader said them, rather than how I hear them in my mind when I'm reading. We worked very hard to build my MIL a complete collection of GH's regency romances but unfortunately they all burnt up in her house fire a few years ago.
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 8, 2019 21:27:58 GMT
Ahhh, that is crushing to a real fan. For any bibliophile, fire must be the unthinkable.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 8, 2019 21:42:49 GMT
Oh! So sorry Coz about the library. There are some books in my collection that I would be very sad at loosing.
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