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Post by Kao on Jan 13, 2019 0:52:58 GMT
I'm reading The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Set in NYC, a shut-in who is separated from her husband and daughter spends her days "looking" in her neighbor's houses. One day she gets new (and extremely interesting) neighbors, a free-spirited wife, teenage son, and overbearing husband. One night, she witnesses a crime— but did she? I'm about a third of the way through it and it's very engrossing; you really get a window seat into Anna's extremely small world. I'll popst again after I've finished it.
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Post by FannyMare on Jan 13, 2019 7:12:35 GMT
I'm reading The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Set in NYC, a shut-in who is separated from her husband and daughter spends her days "looking" in her neighbor's houses. One day she gets new (and extremely interesting) neighbors, a free-spirited wife, teenage son, and overbearing husband. One night, she witnesses a crime— but did she? I'm about a third of the way through it and it's very engrossing; you really get a window seat into Anna's extremely small world. I'll post again after I've finished it. I read it, and I enjoyed it!
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Post by acookertv on Jan 13, 2019 19:10:05 GMT
I'm reading The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. Set in NYC, a shut-in who is separated from her husband and daughter spends her days "looking" in her neighbor's houses. One day she gets new (and extremely interesting) neighbors, a free-spirited wife, teenage son, and overbearing husband. One night, she witnesses a crime— but did she? I'm about a third of the way through it and it's very engrossing; you really get a window seat into Anna's extremely small world. I'll post again after I've finished it. I read it, and I enjoyed it! I second that! I just finished One Day in December, and I loved it! It's about a couple who make eye contact while she's on a bus and he's at a bus stop waiting for another bus. He starts to get on the bus, but moves too late, and she's left for months hoping she'll see him again. She does ... when she's introduced to him as her best friend's new boyfriend. The story follows their three lives over the course of 9 years. It's a well told and heart warming love story that has some depth. NOw I'm about 100 pages in to November Road and really enjoying it so far.
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Post by acookertv on Jan 16, 2019 16:42:07 GMT
I've been on a reading tear so far this year, averaging a book every 5 days. Last night, I sat down to read November Road, and could not stop until I finished it. I really enjoyed it. The story imagines what the scenario would look like if the mafia were behind the assassination of JFK. The protagonist, Frank, realizes he played a hand in it when his mob boss had him drop off a car in Dallas. The story is essentially a slow car chase across the country with Frank believing his life may be in danger for knowing too much. But the characters are written in such a compelling way that I wanted to keep going with them. I really enjoyed it.
Next up for me is Maid - a memoir I'm looking forward to as much as I did Educated last year.
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Post by Critical on Jan 16, 2019 21:55:55 GMT
I hope you enjoy Maid as much as I did! I got an advanced copy of it last fall and read it before I went to the booksellers trade show where Stephanie Land spoke. I found it to be both heartbreaking and inspiring....and really frustrating. I was so impressed with her honesty about her situation. It really does show how incredibly difficult it is for people to navigate and make it out of the maze of public assistance programs and how little some people think of those in service positions. Sadly, I think the people who most need to read it (the ones who sneer at people who rely on SNAP or who work in housekeeping/food service jobs), probably won't.....or they'll read it and pass judgment.
I'm still reading Diane Setterfield's new one, Once Upon a River and, frankly, I'm having a tough time with it. I'm just not feeling a connection to any of the characters or to the story. I feel like a distant observer, if that makes sense. The story just isn't pulling me in the way I hoped it would. A fellow reader told me she'd had the same experience and she finally gave up. I'm sticking with it for now, but not for too much longer. I have SO MANY books to read and life's too short.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 16, 2019 23:43:31 GMT
Oooh... Maid sounds like a great book to read when one is studying social work.
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Post by justCoz on Jan 17, 2019 2:09:54 GMT
Maid sounds like one I'd appreciate. I used to clean houses and you really get to see people's true colors by how they treat you, either when you are cleaning their house, or you tell them what you do for a living. My boss had a college degree, and I've had some college. We did that job because we wanted to for various reasons that didn't include because we couldn't get other jobs. I've definitely had people look down on me and treat me like I'm poo on the bottom of their shoe. I've also encountered the opposite people, who frankly got extra things done at their houses (things that weren't in our cleaning contract.)
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Post by Critical on Jan 17, 2019 4:38:47 GMT
Oooh... Maid sounds like a great book to read when one is studying social work. Absolutely She talks so much about the labyrinth of public assistance programs and how difficult they actually make it to get ahead and get OFF assistance. She definitely doesn’t let herself off the hook for the decisions she made, but she also worked really hard to make a better life for herself and her daughter.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 17, 2019 11:49:54 GMT
Coz, I'm sorry people treated you like that. I think housekeeping and cleaning takes great skill - a skill I don't have. I get a housekeeper every so often to get my apt. professionally cleaned because although I can keep my house tidy and I Swiffer and vacuum, it's not the same as getting a pro to do it. And sometimes I come home and it is so thoughtfully done, and feels like it was done with such love that A. it makes me just as happy as a child's Christmas morning and b. I tell the owner of the company how wonderful they were and how much it meant to me.
And Critical, my previous semester we learned all about the different public assistance programs and they really punish single mothers due to a lot of morally based requirements and not really knowing the recipients of the assistance.
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Post by Kao on Jan 17, 2019 17:04:34 GMT
Personally, I think everyone should be required to take a service industry job for a semester in order to graduate HS/College because it's hard work that so many people turn up their noses at, yet still want the services performed! What sort of cognitive dissonance is that? As someone who has worked in customer service I can say it definitely made me more patient and empathetic with anyone working in the public sector. I also pay attention to how people treat cashiers, wait staff, etc because it really shows what their character is.
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Post by Gutmutter on Jan 17, 2019 18:58:40 GMT
I saw Mary Poppins Returns, and when looking online to see what others thought, I found out there was a SERIES of Mary Poppins books! I had never heard that so I downloaded them and am on the fourth one. I am gob smacked. Everything you thought you knew about Mary Poppins is wrong.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 17, 2019 21:20:32 GMT
Oh no! Is she evil?
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Post by Gutmutter on Jan 17, 2019 22:35:17 GMT
Not so much evil as an ancient god with very little interest in Jane and Michael and their THREE SIBLINGS. Also, she leaves them at the end of each book with no goodbye and is not there for any obvious (or kindly) reason.
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Post by Kao on Jan 20, 2019 23:19:52 GMT
Finally finished reading The Woman in the Window and oh my goodness, the twists! It totally didn't go where I thought it would. What a ride!
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Post by FannyMare on Jan 20, 2019 23:21:20 GMT
Finally finished reading The Woman in the Window and oh my goodness, the twists! It totally didn't go where I thought it would. What a ride! I know, I loved it!!
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Post by Kao on Jan 20, 2019 23:25:06 GMT
I have to admit I didn't expect any of that, lol!
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 21, 2019 2:23:55 GMT
I paid real money (Kindle $5.99) for Faye Kellerman's first book "The Ritual Bath." I owned it in paperback along with all her others years ago, but really wanted to start again. However, don't know if I can continue with the prices. This past week I re-read all of Celia Doidge's Dowser series. I hadn't read the last book so that was a treat...all those "Adepts" (witches, dragon guardians, shifters, necromancers, etc.) and finally evil Elves, oh, my!
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Post by acookertv on Jan 21, 2019 15:19:50 GMT
I finished Maid this morning. It was well worth the read ... and I agree with what you said Critical - this is a book that needs to be read by those who stand in harsh judgement about welfare moms. Next up for me is The Silent Patient. I take note on Goodreads of books that hover around a 4 rating and right now this one is a 4.26!
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Post by Critical on Jan 22, 2019 9:07:05 GMT
I finished Maid this morning. It was well worth the read ... and I agree with what you said Critical - this is a book that needs to be read by those who stand in harsh judgement about welfare moms. Next up for me is The Silent Patient. I take note on Goodreads of books that hover around a 4 rating and right now this one is a 4.26! I really enjoyed The Silent Patient! I read a galley last month and was pleasantly surprised. I knew pretty much nothing about it and I think that added to my enjoyment. I won't say anything about it because I don't want to spoil it for you!
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Post by Navybelle on Jan 23, 2019 18:06:47 GMT
I finished Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain, and even though I didn't think I'd like it once I found out what the secret was all about, I did end up enjoying it quite a bit. It's received good ratings on Goodreads, too.
When Caroline Sears receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970 and there seems to be little that can be done. But her brother-in-law, a physicist, tells her that perhaps there is. Hunter appeared in their lives just a few years before—and his appearance was as mysterious as his past. With no family, no friends, and a background shrouded in secrets, Hunter embraced the Sears family and never looked back. Now, Hunter is telling her that something can be done about her baby's heart. Something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Caroline has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage that Caroline never knew existed. Something that will mean a mind-bending leap of faith on Caroline's part. And all for the love of her unborn child. A rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother's quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.
It hooked me with the sick baby, so I must have glossed over the "mind-bending" part! But, after reading it, I am glad I didn't realize it and then rule it out, because it was a well written book. I have not read any of this author's other books, so I will do what I always do and binge on an author's work once I find I like something of theirs! That is, if I can get my hands on their other works.
Lately it's been Wendy Wax and her light beachy books. I've only got a couple left to read!
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Post by Kao on Jan 26, 2019 16:54:37 GMT
I just finished reading "How to steal a dog" by Barbara O'Connor. Such a lovely story!
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Post by AZChristian on Jan 26, 2019 17:27:51 GMT
We like to listen to audiobooks on road trips, and are almost done listening to "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" by Fannie Flagg. (Didn't finish it on the road, so we were doing our morning walk side-by-side, with connected ear plugs to listen as we walked.)
Her books make me laugh and cry . . . and this one is no exception. Easy to read (or listen to), with great "real people" characters. No political intrigue, just real people who have lots of delightful idiosyncracies.
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Post by beerbelly on Jan 26, 2019 17:56:49 GMT
I LOVE Fannie Flag! What an incredible story writer. And to think she was on the Match Game back in the day....I know I sound like an old lady, but I'd much rather hear and see writers more than Kardashians. And I don't care if I spell that correctly.
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 27, 2019 6:14:28 GMT
Fannie Flagg. Now there is a name out of the past. I can see where she would write a good book.
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Post by acookertv on Jan 27, 2019 20:20:23 GMT
I finished The Silent Patient today. I thought in parts it was a little slow, but all in all I loved the twists and enjoyed it quite a bit!
Next up for me is The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
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Post by Kao on Feb 4, 2019 23:50:06 GMT
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Post by Kao on Feb 15, 2019 21:53:23 GMT
And just when you think it can't get worse, another update on A. J. Flynn. Apparently he plagiarized a female author for the exact plot and characters and progression in "The Woman in the Window" as a book called "Saving April." Not sure if she plans to sue but she should (along with the screenwriter of the movie "Copycat"). What a small, vile little man, but then again if you can lie and say your mom died of cancer and your brother killed himself you're capable of anything.
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Post by acookertv on Feb 26, 2019 1:01:10 GMT
Yesterday I finished A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum. I didn’t love it, but I’d still recommend it. I liked it a lot. It’s the story of two young women - mother and daughter - told when each is around 18. They come from a Palestinian family and each face the process of an arranged marriage. The story explores their different experiences with one growing up in Palestine and one in the US. I love a well written book that drops me into a culture I don’t know a lot about and helps me to understand the lives of some who live in it, and this was one of those. To me those books knock down judgement and raise compassion, and I like that. Parts of the story dragged which is why I can’t say I loved it. But it’s very much worth the read!
Next up for me is A ladder to the Sky.
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Post by Critical on Feb 26, 2019 5:47:24 GMT
I'm about a third of the way through Jennifer Weiner's upcoming Mrs. Everything.
Not to say that her other books are fluffy, but this one is a bit more... literary. Still a good page-turning read, but more serious. It doesn't release until June, but it's a good one, if you're a JW fan
I'm also reading Michelle Obama's Becoming and galleys of both Marlon James' Black Leopard Red Wolf and Tan France's (he of Queer Eye) Naturally Tan. I guess I'm feeling a bit scattered! All of the books are VERY different. The James book is one that requires close reading. If you've ever read Native American stories involving their mythology, this is similar, but set in Africa. It's very good, but not a quick or easy read.
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Post by cablejockey on Feb 26, 2019 14:26:15 GMT
One of my favorite authors is Tana French, and I finished her latest book The Witch Elm, which was on the whole, good. I love the atmosphere of her books and how you can sink right into the stories like you were there! I wish they would turn some of her books into movies. www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/books/review/tana-french-witch-elm.html
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