The Next Best Book Club discussion

I'm half way through and I'm really surprised by how much I like it :)

I'm 40% through , and so far I really like it.

Just started Like Life. I've read a couple of Moore's other books and love her combination of interesting characters and truly great literary writing.

I am almost halfway through The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts, the second in her Inn BoonsBoro trilogy. Loving the humor in this one!

Just finished reading the new book by Mckenzie Funk called Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming. The book explores all the ways people are profiting off climate change (which partly helps explain why we're not doing much to stop it). A very interesting book on the most important environmental issue of our age. I've written a full executive summary available here: http://newbooksinbrief.com/2014/02/11...

Fishished . Loved it. Review is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Just started the second Harry Hole novel "Cockroaches," by Jo Nesbo.

I'm enjoying Excess Baggage,

I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield that is being a really page turner!

I'm rereading Jane Austen's Persuasion :) so wonderful to enjoy again as an adult!

Sandra wrote: "I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield that is being a really page turner!

I really liked this one too Sandra.

I have finished Premeditated and now am reading the year of secret assignments and Paper Towns

Finished reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin – 4****
During another summer spent with her husband and children on Grande Isle, LA, Edna Pontellier awakens to the realization that she has stifled the person inside her. I could not help but think about Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth as I read this novella. I see so many parallels between Lily Bart and Edna. The novella unfolds slowly, with limited dialogue, but a vivid sense of place. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Starting The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.

I did this by accident but I look like a genius, so I thought I would share . First I read Daniel Woodrell's Woe to Live On, which dealt with the Missouri-Kansas Border war during the Civil War period. Woodrell is a Southern writer & has produced some great works. Then I started Good Lord Bird by James McBride( 2013 award winner) that deals with the same time period, only from a Northerners point of view. Woodrell's main character is caught up with Quentells's raiders , while Mc Bride's main character is caught up with John Brown raiders. If there is any book clubs that want to do a compare & contrast between two book, this combo will take you long into the night.

Stephen wrote: "I did this by accident but I look like a genius, so I thought I would share . First I read Daniel Woodrell's Woe to Live On, which dealt with the Missouri-Kansas Border war during the Civil War per..."

Sounds interesting!

i am in the latter stages of Dean Koontz's third book in the Odd Thomas series, Brother Odd. Odd Thomas is one of my favorite book characters of all time, and I have enjoyed the series. I am also listening to (and enjoying) the audio version, via librivox.org, of The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. I'm enjoying it, but will this book ever end?!

I decided to put paper towns away and now I am already on pg 72 of the distance between us and then I will be reading legend and I hope it is just as good

The book of disquiet, Fernando Pessoa. A masterpiece!

Jackie wrote: "Starting The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society."

This one of my favorite books. Enjoy!

I am starting Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. I have heard a lot about Murakami so I hope it'll be good.

Just finished The Thirteenth Tale that was really good. I loved it. Its a great story and the writing was absolutely enjoyable.

Now tarting True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey.

Finished listening to the audio version of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Book on CD read by Cherry Jones) – 3***
Book # 3 in the Little House series, this book is about young Almonzo Wilder, growing up on a farm in upstate New York. I never read the books as a child and am enjoying reading them now. As she does with the other Little House books, Wilder goes into great detail about the life of rural Americans circa 1866. The author paints a portrait of a loving, hard-working family, who cherish one another. It’s a delightful story, for children and adults alike. Cherry Jones does a marvelous job narrating the audio version.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

Reading a cozy mystery for a change, Flowers For Her Grave,

Finished reading Articles of War by Nick Arvin – 4****
George Tilson leaves his Iowa home for Normandy as an eighteen-year-old recruit in World War II. Shy and unassuming, he keeps to himself and earns the nickname “Heck” because he doesn’t swear. This novella packs a big punch. The writing is at once reserved and intimately emotional. The combat scenes capture the chaos and confusion of a major battle. Heck’s fear, terror, and horror are intensely felt, as is his shame at his perceived cowardice.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm just starting

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult.

Yesterday I started to read Crossed.

I'm reading The Most Dangerous Thing. It's not really my typical reading, but it's good for a change of pace.

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

Finished listening to the audio version of Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel – 3***
This is a simply told story of three girls and how their lives intersect as a result of tragedy. It’s pretty predictable and contains the usual teen drama. I do like that McDaniel portrayed the teens fairly realistically. I originally judged it more harshly, but I reminded myself it’s a YA novel, and I think my 13-year-old niece would enjoy it.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The End of Your Life Book Club and am now reading The Winter People, which is very creepy. I am enjoying it. I am also listening on audio to Joyland by Stephen King. So so good (so far). Love the narrator and the story.

Began reading A Feast For Crows, from the Game of Thrones series. Any fans?

I am. I think GRRM books are a benchmark in the genre of Fantasy. Martin's books and His literary style has influenced a slew of authors who are now being published because the publishing houses now see a market emerging. If you have not read Patrick Rothfuss or Scott Lynch, then you are missing out on the rejuvenation of the genre.

That's very interesting! I definitely feel like he opened up a door to a different, more exciting way of writing. I'll try to find the time to research those authors you mentioned since I'm running out of new books to read. :)

Yes, do so. Rumor has it that Rothfuss' third book is coming out late summer. His first book is Name of the Wind, and I make all my friends read it to access the status of their friendship with me.

I just looked for the book here. The plot looks amazing and it feels like my kind of book. But there seems to be some mixed reviews about it. However, I'm willing to give it a try.

Just google Patrick Rothfuss & click on images & tell me would not want to be told a story by someone who has that look?

Claire wrote: "I just finished The End of Your Life Book Club and am now reading The Winter People, which is very creepy. I am enjoying it. I am also listening on audio to [book:..."

What did you think of The End of Your Life Book Club, Claire? I read it a few weeks ago, and it wasn't really what I was expecting.

Finished listening to the audio version of The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (Audio book performed by Frank Muller) – 3.5***
This is a story about a dysfunctional family and one man’s belated attempts to come to grips with the horrors of his childhood, and to find a way to become a better man despite all that he has endured. While Conroy’s prose can be poetic, intensely personal, funny, irreverent, and so evocative of place that you can smell the brine of a salt marsh, his plotting in this case is sometimes so over-the-top as to stretch credulity too far. I got the feeling the story got away from him. Frank Muller does a creditable job narrating the audio version of the novel.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have finished the distance between us and the year of secret assignments.i am now reading the vampire academy series.my friend told me that I had to read the VA series to fully understand the Bloodlines series so I am trying this series again.i liked the first one and I got it two days ago and I am almost finished with it but it took me forever to start Frostbite and it was a little slow at first and so I took it back to my school library.i figured if I could get past the second one I could get through the series just fine.at least I hope so.

Just starting Dark Passage by Ridley Pearson, part of his Kingdom Keepers series.

Finished reading Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani – 3***
When her parents take a year-long assignment in Afghanistan, Viola has to spend her freshman year at an all-girl boarding school. This is a nice young-adult novel about opening yourself to new possibilities and making the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Our heroine is sometimes “Princess Snark,” sometimes a homesick girl, and always a 14-year-old girl away from home for the first time and beginning to discover what she wants from life.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Since yesterday i have finished . I loved this book. I am now reading and . i really like legend so far even though i am only 9 pages in. I already like Day. He seems pretty funny and he also is defiant. I like that when it comes to the main characters.

Zayna wrote: "Began reading A Feast For Crows, from the Game of Thrones series. Any fans?" by the way Tor.com is doing a reread of Feast for Crows. It is fun to keep up with the group read and read the comments.

Finished listening to the audio version of Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan (Audio book narrated by Jonathan Davis) – 3.5***
This slim volume is a study in reflection. The reader witnesses Manny’s struggles, small victories, and seemingly endless defeats as he continues to put one foot in front of the other, ever hopeful that he is somehow in control of his future success. There are no pretty romantic endings here; Manny plows through his day, doing his best even when he realizes that his best isn’t quite good enough. It is a perfect appetizer of a novel, whetting my appetite for O’Nan’s writing, and leaving me hungry for more.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Bat by Jo Nesbo.