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Post by Kao on Oct 19, 2019 19:24:33 GMT
Currently reading "The Arrangement" by Robyn Harding. Broke art student in NYC decides to become a sugar baby to this well-off married guy. Problem is, neither one of these characters are likable and both seem shady as hell. Adding to the mess, the art student has a history with an abusive ex (who, after years of non-contact has left the small town they grew up in to come to NY to find her). Kinda interested to see where this goes, lol.
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Post by FannyMare on Oct 19, 2019 22:47:52 GMT
So apparently Elizabeth Strout has written a sequel to Olive Kitteridge called Olive, Again. My local paper had a book review on Sunday and I logged into our digital lending library system to see if it was available. Why yes it is and they have 1 book! 1 book!!! That is ridiculous! I am currently #120 on the wait list. Boo hiss!!! All libraries can only have one e book, then wait for two months before they can order more. Isnt that great?
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Post by Eastcoastmom on Oct 19, 2019 23:09:28 GMT
So apparently Elizabeth Strout has written a sequel to Olive Kitteridge called Olive, Again. My local paper had a book review on Sunday and I logged into our digital lending library system to see if it was available. Why yes it is and they have 1 book! 1 book!!! That is ridiculous! I am currently #120 on the wait list. Boo hiss!!! All libraries can only have one e book, then wait for two months before they can order more. Isnt that great? This is not the actual brick and mortar library, Fanny. My county belongs to OverDrive, which provides downloadable and e-books. But still, they ought to have more copies. I'm down to #79 now. Any day now....
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Post by Critical on Oct 22, 2019 7:30:26 GMT
All libraries can only have one e book, then wait for two months before they can order more. Isnt that great? This is not the actual brick and mortar library, Fanny. My county belongs to OverDrive, which provides downloadable and e-books. But still, they ought to have more copies. I'm down to #79 now. Any day now.... OverDrive is just the delivery system - a platform. Each individual library - whether it's a city or county one - has to purchase the license for x number of copies of an ebook. Even if your library uses OverDrive (mine does too), your specific library only has licensing to a small fraction of the titles available on OverDrive. In the case of new releases, they do have to wait 8 weeks to purchase additional licenses. It's a huge battle between publishers - who'd rather we all go ahead and BUY the ebook instead of borrowing it for free - and libraries, who are fighting both those delays and the exorbitant prices. Not to mention that in some cases, libraries have to RE-purchase the licensing rights after book has been borrowed a certain number of times OR after a certain number of months. Throw in authors, who don't get paid nearly enough, IMO and it's even more muddled.
In summary - it is a messed up process.
On the book reading front......I just finished an incredible book, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins:
It was, at times, tough to read, but SO important. Beautifully written and completely heartbreaking.
I also just finished Rene Denfield's Butterfly Girl, which was pretty terrific: I didn't read The Child Finder, which I now want to read. I don't feel like I missed anything by not reading it first. We heard Denfield speak last month at the booksellers trade show, and she talked about her life growing up on the streets. You can feel that authenticity in this story.
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Post by photobabe on Oct 28, 2019 14:16:15 GMT
Thanks to the post by Critical above, I reserved The Butterfly Girl from the library. It shouldn't take long. I'm #2 on the list (they have 25 copies). And, I made a trip to the library to pick up The Child Finder. It was a really good read. I read it in 2 days. I can't wait to get Butterfly Girl.
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Post by Kao on Nov 1, 2019 20:21:25 GMT
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Post by Critical on Nov 6, 2019 20:48:04 GMT
Thanks to the post by Critical above, I reserved The Butterfly Girl from the library. It shouldn't take long. I'm #2 on the list (they have 25 copies). And, I made a trip to the library to pick up The Child Finder. It was a really good read. I read it in 2 days. I can't wait to get Butterfly Girl.I hope you enjoy it like I did! It was, at times, hard to read, but still really good.
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Post by photobabe on Nov 7, 2019 14:41:40 GMT
Thanks to the post by Critical above, I reserved The Butterfly Girl from the library. It shouldn't take long. I'm #2 on the list (they have 25 copies). And, I made a trip to the library to pick up The Child Finder. It was a really good read. I read it in 2 days. I can't wait to get Butterfly Girl.I hope you enjoy it like I did! It was, at times, hard to read, but still really good. I finished (and returned) both books. Great reading! Thanks!
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Brooks
FORT Addict
Posts: 1,089
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Post by Brooks on Nov 22, 2019 20:48:32 GMT
I can recommend Bottle of Lies by Katherine Eban about the generics drug industry. I truly didn't understand it was so bad. I thought the generics issues had been ironed out. That didn't happen because FDA is dysfunctional (and largely impotent overseas) and India (and some other foreign manufacturers) operate from the standpoint of how much can they get away with. So I continue to learn what I can about altmed so I don't have to rely any more than necessary on pharmaceuticals. pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/legal-regulatory/book-review-bottle-of-lies/
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Post by Kao on Nov 22, 2019 22:33:58 GMT
Reading The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup (The guy who wrote and directed the "The Killing" series). Very Scandinavian crime fiction/detective story/horror that will remind you of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy as it's based in Copenhagen.
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Post by momrek06 on Nov 24, 2019 18:17:27 GMT
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Post by Eastcoastmom on Nov 25, 2019 2:36:20 GMT
Just finished Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. It was very, very good, in my opinion, but not quite as good as Olive Kitteridge.
From Wikipedia: Olive, Again is a 2019 novel by Elizabeth Strout, published by Random House on October 15, 2019. It is a sequel to Olive Kitteridge. Similar to the first novel, Olive, Again takes the form of 13 short stories that are interrelated but discontinuous in terms of narrative. It follows Olive Kitteridge from her seventies into her eighties.
Olive is still the same cantankerous, doesn't pull any punches, brutally frank person in her elder years, but she doesn't show up in all of the stories. Still, I highly recommend it. I need to read more of Ms. Strout's fiction.
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Post by MissScarlet on Nov 28, 2019 23:35:09 GMT
Just finished John Grisham's The Reckoning.
It took a while to get into it because this book was a major downer. This is NOT a feel good book. However, it was very interesting & a good read. By about half way through I was binge reading it to find out how it ended up, and the explanation for the events in the beginning. It does have a satisfying ending, although not exactly a happy one. Well worth the read.
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Post by Kao on Nov 30, 2019 22:51:02 GMT
Debbie Harry's autobiography is a must read if you're interested in the 80s New York music scene, New Wave, Blondie, etc. She really knows how to tell a story, and the things she has to say about her music contemporaries is insane. It's a great book and I'm having a lot of fun reading it.
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Post by acookertv on Dec 9, 2019 10:55:27 GMT
I just finished Ask Again, Yes - the story of two NYC Police families who live next door and the events that bond them over a 40 year period. I really enjoyed it! It's one of those books that bounces from character to character in the narration so at times you get a glimpse of something that happens, and then a couple of chapters later get an explanation as to why. It's an effective way to tell the story in this case. At times I wondered why the author made some of the choices she did, but by the end it all came together.
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Post by AZChristian on Dec 15, 2019 15:13:44 GMT
Having just been couch-ridden with the flu, I read the newest in the James Patterson "Women's Murder Club" series - "The 19th Christmas."
An easy read (as they all are). Kind of like "James Patterson writes a Christmas story for the Hallmark Channel."
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Post by Kao on Dec 30, 2019 17:10:45 GMT
Currently in the middle of reading "Meg and Jo" which is an modern retelling of Little Women, and I'm really enjoying it. Jo is now a NYC food blogger working in a restaurant, Meg is beginning to feel discontent as "only" being a wife and mother, Amy is as selfish as ever and is on her way to Paris to intern for Louis Vuitton, and Beth is still alive and a singer in a play(?) who longs to be a singer in a rock band. Everyone is home for Thanksgiving but Marmee has been hiding back trouble for a while and it's coming to a head.
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Post by FannyMare on Dec 30, 2019 17:15:31 GMT
Thanks to the post by Critical above, I reserved The Butterfly Girl from the library. It shouldn't take long. I'm #2 on the list (they have 25 copies). And, I made a trip to the library to pick up The Child Finder. It was a really good read. I read it in 2 days. I can't wait to get Butterfly Girl.My copy just came in, I have read the the Child finder
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Post by acookertv on Dec 31, 2019 2:24:07 GMT
Currently in the middle of reading "Meg and Jo" which is an modern retelling of Little Women, and I'm really enjoying it. Jo is now a NYC food blogger working in a restaurant, Meg is beginning to feel discontent as "only" being a wife and mother, Amy is as selfish as ever and is on her way to Paris to intern for Louis Vuitton, and Beth is still alive and a singer in a play(?) who longs to be a singer in a rock band. Everyone is home for Thanksgiving but Marmee has been hiding back trouble for a while and it's coming to a head. I just bought that book yesterday! I had not heard of it but saw it on a table at Barnes and Noble and after loving the new movie version of Little Women decided to give it a try. I’m glad to hear it was a good buy!
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Post by Kao on Dec 31, 2019 22:06:29 GMT
Currently in the middle of reading "Meg and Jo" which is an modern retelling of Little Women, and I'm really enjoying it. Jo is now a NYC food blogger working in a restaurant, Meg is beginning to feel discontent as "only" being a wife and mother, Amy is as selfish as ever and is on her way to Paris to intern for Louis Vuitton, and Beth is still alive and a singer in a play(?) who longs to be a singer in a rock band. Everyone is home for Thanksgiving but Marmee has been hiding back trouble for a while and it's coming to a head. I just bought that book yesterday! I had not heard of it but saw it on a table at Barnes and Noble and after loving the new movie version of Little Women decided to give it a try. I’m glad to hear it was a good buy! Yes, it's loads of fun so far. I hope you enjoy it!
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Post by Critical on Jan 3, 2020 8:33:45 GMT
I got Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill - the book detailing his investigation into Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent release of his story - over the holiday and it's blowing me away. My jaw is dropping multiple times in every chapter. IMO, every person in power at NBC should have been fired over how they basically bowed down to Weinstein and obstructed Farrow's investigation. I'm only halfway through and MAN, am I glad I know how the story ends! It feels like one of those Grisham novels where everyone is working against the hero, sort of like The Firm or something.
I finished Sally Field's memoir, In Pieces, yesterday and WOW! It was definitely an example of how a person can be so well known or, I guess, so much a part of popular culture, but you can really not know much about their life. I always appreciate memoirs where the person really opens up and not only talks about what happened to them, but also doesn't blame everyone else. SF definitely doesn't let herself off the hook and it made me admire her even more than I already did.
This week I also read Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water Dancer, which my mom got for Christmas. It was stunning. One of those books what just swallowed me up and took over my life until I finished it. I've read several of Coates' non-fiction works, but this is his first novel. He definitely needs to write more fiction!
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Post by Kao on Jan 3, 2020 18:51:06 GMT
I got Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill - the book detailing his investigation into Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent release of his story - over the holiday and it's blowing me away. My jaw is dropping multiple times in every chapter. IMO, every person in power at NBC should have been fired over how they basically bowed down to Weinstein and obstructed Farrow's investigation. I'm only halfway through and MAN, am I glad I know how the story ends! It feels like one of those Grisham novels where everyone is working against the hero, sort of like The Firm or something. I finished Sally Field's memoir, In Pieces, yesterday and WOW! It was definitely an example of how a person can be so well known or, I guess, so much a part of popular culture, but you can really not know much about their life. I always appreciate memoirs where the person really opens up and not only talks about what happened to them, but also doesn't blame everyone else. SF definitely doesn't let herself off the hook and it made me admire her even more than I already did. This week I also read Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Water Dancer, which my mom got for Christmas. It was stunning. One of those books what just swallowed me up and took over my life until I finished it. I've read several of Coates' non-fiction works, but this is his first novel. He definitely needs to write more fiction!
I'll have to check it out! What's it about?
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Post by acookertv on Jan 3, 2020 18:58:32 GMT
Critical, have you read She Said by Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey? They are the two reporters who broke the Weinstein story in the NY Times. I thought it was outstanding, and in many ways a love letter to journalism. I have not read Catch and Kill, but I know a few people who read both and said they are very different, but both worth reading.
I was mixed on The Water Dancer. Like you, I love the non-fiction that Coates has written. I think Between the World and Me should be mandatory high school reading. But the letdown for The Water Dancer for me was that he based so much of it on actual historical events. As I realized that, I kind of wish that he'd written it as non-fiction to recap history. I"m really glad I read it, but I wanted to love it more than I did. I'd still encourage people to read it - it's worth it! But it made me prefer him as a non-fiction writer rather than wanting more fiction from him like you!
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denz
FORT Member
Posts: 54
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Post by denz on Jan 12, 2020 1:27:15 GMT
Began reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah on New Year's Day and finished it this afternoon. I am emotionally gutted. What a fabulous book; every page came alive in my mind.
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Post by AZChristian on Jan 28, 2020 21:46:07 GMT
James Patterson's "The Black Book." Save your time . . . I had this one figured out halfway through. I'm going back to Harlan Coben.
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Post by Arielflies on Jan 29, 2020 5:10:35 GMT
A friend always has a Harlan Cobin book with her. I downloaded a scifi Poul Anderson book yesterday. Hopefully I'll get to it soon.
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Post by Critical on Feb 4, 2020 9:19:09 GMT
I just finished Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and I am wrung out. The narrative alternates between Edward's story after he survives the crash and a chronological retelling of the events of the flight, where you get to know various passengers (including Edward's family), all while knowing what's going to happen. It was beautiful and gut-wrenchingly sad and I could not put it down. I kind of have a book hangover. I'm going to have a hard time letting it go and moving on to another book.
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Post by acookertv on Feb 4, 2020 13:16:39 GMT
I just started that book yesterday! The first chapter totally sucked me in! Immediately she writes each character to make it clear that as the family is passing people in the airport they matter and you should pay attention. I can't wait to read more. I started a health kick last month and I'm trying to go to the gym every night after work. I did last night, but it was the first night that I really wanted to skip so I could curl up and read more!
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Post by Kao on Feb 5, 2020 1:38:05 GMT
Currently reading Children of Virtue and Vengeance (the sequel to Children of Blood and Bone) and I'm really liking it; it takes off from where the first book left off and it's fantastic. There's not too many African Fantasy books here in the U.S. and this is a great series.
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Post by Critical on Feb 5, 2020 2:09:53 GMT
I just started that book yesterday! The first chapter totally sucked me in! Immediately she writes each character to make it clear that as the family is passing people in the airport they matter and you should pay attention. I can't wait to read more. I started a health kick last month and I'm trying to go to the gym every night after work. I did last night, but it was the first night that I really wanted to skip so I could curl up and read more! In spite of it being really sad, I'd still recommend it whole-heartedly. I think I had more trouble with it than most would because, like Edward, I also lost my older brother. There were passages about dealing with that loss that were particularly hard to get through. I identified with it so much, even if the way my brother died was very different from how Jordan dies in the book.
I took a nice u-turn and am now reading My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. In spite of the description it's (so far) not dark and overly-serious. I love this quote about the book: "Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends. 'Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.'"
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