The Next Best Book Club discussion

In reading Gone Girl so that when the movie comes out I can watch it.

Conquistadora by Esmeralda Santiago
Audiobook read by the author – 4****
This is a sweeping historic epic romance and adventure, focused on one strong woman who travels from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1844 when her new husband inherits a sugar plantation. While the book’s focus is on Ana, Santiago also took time to flesh out many of the other characters. The island, itself, is a character in the book – the geography and history of Puerto Rico are central to this story. At the end, Ana is only 39 years old. While I was completely satisfied with the novel, I was sorry to see it end. I hope there will be a sequel. Santiago does a marvelous job narrating the audio version of the book; her passion for the story comes through in her performance.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

740 Park by Michael Gross. It's about the most exclusive and expensive apartment building in New York. If you want to learn more about the biggest names (some of them not well known) when the building was built in the 1920s, then you have to read this book!

Starting Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

wishes everyone an A1 St. Pat's day. St. Pat's day is a reoccurring day in the book and sets the real Am-multicultural scene.

I have finished perfect chemistry and now i am reading , , and . these are books that i have been looking forward to reading them.

Hi Paula

I finished Shutter Island today. I really liked it too - great book.

Going to start Incendiary by Chris Cleave.

I'm almost done reading The Joshua Effect, . Thriller with lots of suspense.

I just started The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain – 2.5**
The men of Bravo squad are America’s latest heroes after a news clip of a firefight has gone viral. Now they are guests of the Dallas Cowboys, slated to share the halftime show with Destiny’s Child. This is a satire, so many of the characters and situations are exaggerated. Fountain is previously known for his short stories; this is his first novel. I thought it took forever to get interesting. I was bored for the first 70 pages or so and finished only because it was a F2F book club selection. The last third of the book was very good. Still I really do not like how the men of Bravo squad were portrayed – hard-drinking, crude, foul-mouthed.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Paula wrote: "I'm just starting "

Awesome, im reading A Darkness More Than Night will start the one your reading right afterwards. I hope you watched and voted for amazons Bosch tv series, which were based off Concrete Blonde and City of Bones

I'm reading The miracle at speedy motors by Alexander McCall smith and little women by Louisa May Alcott.

Brad wrote: "Paula wrote: "I'm just starting "

Awesome, im reading A Darkness More Than Night will start the one your reading right afterwards. I hope you watched an...

I haven't watched the TV series. I was afraid it would ruin Bosch for me. If you've seen it, do you like it?

I'm reading and I'm liking it so far. I just finished and I absolutely loved it.

I am almost finished with The Son, very much like a Larry McMurtry type story, and will follow up with THE SEARCHERS:The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend by Glenn Frankel (Feb 19, 2013), a book that studies the event,and the novelization and the film of the event.

Paula wrote: "Brad wrote: "Paula wrote: "I'm just starting "

Awesome, im reading A Darkness More Than Night will start the one your reading right afterwards. I hope y..."

I watched it and loved it, some of the story line was spoiled i think with a love interest (since i have'nt read city of bones yet) but overall it was done really well. Michael Connelly had a big role making sure it stayed true to his work. Bosch's back story is changed a little but that wasnt revealed in the pilot, i read that from Connelly off his site i think. Also, right now its only one pilot episode so we only see a fraction of the story line, its up to the people to vote and get it to a full series. A lot was alligned with Concrete Blonde, the part when Bosch was puffin smokes outside the court house was great to see (if you remember that from Concrete Blonde).

I recommend any Bosch fan to watch, nothing about it has made me not want to read more or watch more, if anything its made me more excited to get caught up with the whole series.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
Audiobook read by Stephen Hoye – 3***
When Joey Peronne’s no-good husband throws her overboard she vows revenge. With Carl Hiaasen writing the novel, you know she’ll win in the end but watching how she goes about it is what makes the ride so much fun. This is typical Hiaasen: outlandish situations and inept crooks with a dose of environmental concern. Like his others, this novel is a fast read and entertaining from the first sentence to the last. Stephen Hoye does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has a good pace, and brings this zany cast of characters to life.
This Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading a thriller which has already started off with a kidnapping (not really a spoiler since it's on the back cover and happens in the first paragraph).
The Doll

Reading The Dinner by Herman Koch...can't put it down.

Brad wrote: "Paula wrote: "Brad wrote: "Paula wrote: "I'm just starting "

Awesome, im reading A Darkness More Than Night will start the one your reading right afterw...

Good to know Brad. I'll have to look for it after I finish this book. And I do remember that part in Concrete Blonde. I'll make it soon.

My Name is RedI'm reading by Orhan Pamuk. Amazing reading. Very good translation in English, I can just imagine how beautiful it sound in native Turkish language. Somebody read in Turkish?

I'm listening to Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's absolutely wonderful. Very hilarious and poignant. The narrator is amazing. He makes the book come alive.

I am reading A Map of Nowhere A great debut novel.

I have finished sprit bound and now i am reading last sacrifice and uninvited.

i am reading the little coffee shop of kabul...

I just starting A Table by the Window: A Novel of Family Secrets and Heirloom Recipes.

Edit: Half ways through this and loving it. It's a warm, cuddly read.

I'm reading

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Audiobook performed by Dan Stevens – 5*****
When a wealthy American is found stabbed to death in his locked sleeping compartment, railroad officials ask fellow passenger Hercule Poirot to investigate. This is a traditional “locked room” mystery. Everyone in the first class coach is interviewed, and everyone has an airtight alibi. Christie is at the top of her game here. She populates the Orient Express with a wide variety of colorful characters. The train may be at a standstill, but the plot races forward. Dan Stevens does a fine job narrating the audio version. He has good pacing and is able to give the many characters distinct voices.
This Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book Concierge wrote: " Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Audiobook performed by Dan Stevens – 5*****
When a wealthy American is found stabbed to death..."

Love that book! The two movie adaptations I've seen are also good.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

I'm reading . I've liked this series so far, but I like Hunger Games better.

I didnt really like the third book either. I am halfway through last sacrifice of the VA series. I will be happy to finish it.it has taken me two months to read this series.

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff – 2.5**
This is a YA paranormal / romance / mystery. The serial killer plot was pretty interesting. The teen romance was pretty interesting. The best friend ghost, not so much. I think Yovanoff couldn’t decide on a genre; is it a paranormal book? A romance? A mystery? I did like Hannah, and really loved her little sister Ariel. If I were my 13-year-old niece, I’d probably rate this higher, but for me it’s just a little below average.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jackie wrote: "The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes."

What did you think of this book?

I'm reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tart.

I am Malala by Malala Yusufzai. A story of a pakistani girl that makes you appreciate your own life. I recommend it to those who are into autobiographies.

I have five chapters left in last sacrifice and i have started frankenstein for english and i really dont like it.there are too many big words too many times an there is a ton of descriptions and i have to really slow down to read them. It takes me about 10 minutes just to read one chapter. Ugh.

Just finished The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.
I liked this book, though I didn't love it. By the moment the letter was opened I already knew what was written in it. This didn't really bother me (I read many reviews complaining about the book being predictable) since I don't think this is a mystery. Mystery is just one of many condiments. So that was fine with me.
I liked the fact that I stopped many times to think what I would have done in the characters situation (this is one of the things that defines a good book to me), though I would never have solved things in the way characters did.
I'm still not sure what I think about the epilogue... Sometimes I think it was unnecessary. Sometimes I think it was a good addition.
It could have been a 4 stars (maybe, I don't know for sure) if I didn't have so many issues about the way she presented the catholic community where the story takes place...
But her writing was funny, fresh and enjoyable enough to want to try another novel by this author. Perhaps today I'm too positive(?)
Now I'm resuming The Visionist by Rachel Urquhart that for some reason is being slow for me...

I have finally finished Last Sacrifice after taking a full week to read it and loved it. I didnt think that it would take me so long to read it. I am now readingInhuman and i can tell that i will like it a lot. I am also reading frankenstein for english and i don't really like it right now.

I finished Ice Shear, very good mystery and I'm about 100 pages into a post-apocalyptic novel, California: A Novel.

Just finished , If the 1980s was your wheelhouse, this book will trigger some fond memories. Was on many Best of 2013 lists

Just finished .

Starting .

One of the most entertaining series I've come across.

I'm reading Paradise Lost by John Milton for the third time. I realize with each read how beautiful our language system can be, and how powerful the idea of the "fall" actually is.

Milton had a lot of nerve to write an addendum to the story of Genesis in the 17th century. I have always been drawn to banned books, books that barked for spring in the world's many and varied winters, books that threaten and interrogate the powerful narratives that inform our visions of Self, Other, the world internal, the world external.

Writers like Milton, and there are only but a few, offer readers a holy tunnel, and if we walk through it with them we can behold the architecture of the divine on the other side. Sometimes the writer is not just a secretary of the universe but a shaman, an elder from a tribe we almost lost.

I hope some of you find a chance to wrap yourselves in Milton's silken verse. I never seem to grow tired of this story.

Marybeth wrote: "i have started frankenstein for english and i really dont like it.there are too many big words too many times an there is a ton of descriptions and ..."


Frankensteinthe book, is nothing like any of the Frankenstein movies ... other than Dr Frankenstein does create a "monster."

It is a brilliant psychological study.
But the thriller/suspense/mystery part of it doesn't ring very true to modern readers.

Something to think about .... what creates "a monster"? How does today's society create "monsters"?

Marybeth wrote: "I have five chapters left in last sacrifice and i have started frankenstein for english and i really dont like it.there are too many big words too many times an there is a ton of descriptions and i..."

I always say the classics are an ideal way to improve one's vocabulary and writing skills. Get in the habit of noting those "new" words and looking them up. The more classics you read, the easier they will become, and the fewer unfamiliar words you will encounter. ;)

I'm starting today.

Great Choice. Read "Dreams of Joy" next.

Am about to start The Widow's Walk by Robert Barclay, which I won from GR and received today.

I am currently reading the first Superhuman novel by an independent author i love called Next by Joshua Guess
I fell in love with his zombie apocalypse books.

While this is a a different genre the writing is still immerse, detailed and the characters realistic.

This book, as with all his books, just melts away as you are reading. There is no longer a book in your hand, you are fully engaged in the world that has been created for you as the reader.

Claire wrote: "Great Choice. Read "Dreams of Joy" next.

Thanks Claire, I hadn't even heard of that one. I've enjoyed her others so far. Peony in Love was not a favorite but was still good.