The Next Best Book Club discussion

What makes a book appeal to a person? This remains a mystery to me. A few weeks ago I borrowed A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read from the library, started reading but didn't like the author's style at all! A few days ago I was about to return it to the library unread. On a whim I opened the book again and this time I couldn't stop reading. I'm now about three quarters through and enjoying it very much.

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Karen M said, "I hope you enjoy it. I loved it and I had already seen the film which was equally good. (Of course I love anything with Colin Firth in it.)"

Have you ever seen Colin Firth in the BB..."

Oh yes, wasn't he wonderful in it.

I'm reading The Dollmaker for a review and I'm already thinking 4 stars and I'm only on page 54. Have to see if the author can continue to hold my attention.

Bones of Betrayal by Jefferson Bass – 3***
Book # 4 in the Body Farm series is a solid mystery thriller, with a back story that involves the Manhattan Project in World War II, particularly the work done in Oak Ridge Tennessee. It’s fast-paced, informative and has interesting characters. I did think the plot got a little too complicated and perhaps there was one body too many, but I was still entertained and engaged from beginning to end.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm making my way slowly through and while I find it interesting, I can't seem to pick up my pace. I'm not sure if it is me or the book.

Glad that you enjoyed Bones of Betrayal, Book Concierge. That will be the next in the series for me as well. I enjoyed them but they do seem to get a bit too far in the weeds.

I am finishing off the year with a light time travel read, Love Beyond Time by Bethany Claire. This has been a good reading year - 132 books finished and some were just the very best I've read in sometime.

Started The Lighthouse by P.D. James last night.

Speaking In Tongues by Jeffery Deaver. Quite different from his Lincoln Rhymes series.

Just started

I've decided to start the Dune series.

I finally finished and . I am now going to read and . I will also read to finish up a few challenges that i am trying to complete.

I'm nearing the end of Vonnegut's Bluebeard and really love it. Might be my second favorite of his books right behind Slaughterhouse-Five.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – 4****
This was not the light, fluffy chick-lit romance I thought it would be. Rather, it is a wonderful, complex and compelling story of two very different people who meet in extraordinary circumstances and deeply affect one another over a period of six months. I did wonder if the title would be better reversed - YOU before ME. The audiobook is narrated by a team of voice artists, each taking on the perspective of a different character.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading Deranged by Amanda Lee.

I am reading Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

I'm reading

I just started All the Light We Cannot See

Yesterday i finished and liked it. I am now reading , and .

I'm starting Scent of Butterflies by Dora Levy Mossanen. Love her evocative writing!

Orphan Train and Notes from a Small Island

In my second day of reading the nonfiction book The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

I'm finding it really interesting, not only about author Alexandre Dumas' father but about the French revolution in which his father served.

Robert wrote: "I just started All the Light We Cannot See"

I hope you enjoy it Robert. It was one of the best books I read last year.

Still moving along through Dune but any day now I should get an email from the library to pick up an ebook of Orphan Train and I have Hausfrau: A Novel that I won and I need to read and review.

I finally finished and and both were okay but not that great but i was able to finish a couple of challenges from last year with those books so i am happy about that. I am now reading and .

1984 by George Orwell – 4****
Classic dystopian science fiction, written in 1948 and imagining a totalitarian society where Big Brother watches your every move and the ruling party controls all information. The thing that I find most frightening about this world that Orwell created is how very plausible it is. I couldn’t help but think of current events – torture, “Newspeak,” wars, video cameras on every corner, texting and hackers no longer respecting anyone’s privacy. Frank Muller does a fine job narrating the audiobook. The scenes where Winston is being re-educated gave me goose bumps.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston. It's a great page turner by an author I love.

I just started In the Country of Last Things. I've enjoyed everything else I've read by Paul Auster so I'm really excited to read his bleak dystopian.

I began All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr this morning and with a day filled with errands, etc., I can't wait to get home to continue reading. This is my 5th read for 2015 and so far two have been five stars - great to begin a new year and start on my list.

Marisa wrote: "I'm reading Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston. It's a great page turner by an author I love.

I loved this one Marisa.

Still reading Danielle Steel's First Sight...HOPE to finish it tomorrow.

I've started an ARC of Hausfrau: A Novel.

I am reading Redeeming Love. It is a quick read. It's my first book by this author. Very good so far.

Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon– 4****
I really enjoyed this look at a marriage through the eyes of two very different people. The story covers several decades, though much of the action is concentrated during the World War II era. Gutcheon uses multiple points of view and moves back and forth in time as people remember past events, so I’m left feeling a little as if I’ve only scratched the surface, rather than gotten the full story. I am reminded that there are many stories in the people around me; that what we see of a person – even one we think we know well - may be only the tip of the iceberg.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading Gray Mountain. I just started it last night and I'm only on Chapter 4 but I'm thinking it's sounding too familiar. Like I've read the same thing in another one of his books. It's going to be a quick read so hopefully it gets better.

I've started To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 2 days ago. When everyone recommended it to me, and all they said was positive stuff about Lee's book, I couldn't help myself but pick it up! And what a book it is! (I just finished Part 1 today)

Sugar Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke – 1*
Book # 6 in the Hannah Swenson cozy mystery series is a waste of time and paper. The mystery takes up less than half the total page count; a community cookbook covers the majority of the book. The story is weak, and the recipes don’t sound very appetizing to THIS cook. Well, a couple of dessert recipes interested me enough to grant 1 star.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Tyrannosaur Canyon and now I am reading the second book in the Wyman Ford series titled Blasphemy.

I finished and it was pretty good but i wouldn't call it one of my favorites. I went to the library today and got a new stack of books. I am very excited about this list.
Books i am reading now:
(eBook), (eBook), , , and .
Books i will be reading:
, , , , and .

Patricia wrote: "I'm reading Gray Mountain. I just started it last night and I'm only on Chapter 4 but I'm thinking it's sounding too familiar. Like I've read the same thing in another one of his ..."

I don't mean to be a downer but if I were you I would put down the latest Grisham book. It goes nowhere IMO and is repetitive.

Book Concierge wrote: " Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon– 4****
I really enjoyed this look at a marriage through the eyes of two very different people. The story covers several decades, ..."

Did you know there is a sequel to Leeway Cottage? The title is Goodbye and Amen and concentrates on the children of the couple featured in Leeway Cottage.

I loved Beth Gutcheon when I read her first book Still Missing. She also wrote another one of my faves, The New Girls, which takes place at a snooty boarding school for girls.

I've been meaning to resume reading A Memory of Light, but after spending the last few months editing, I'm a little burned out. So instead, I'm cheating by "reading" this gamebook: Destinyquest: The Legion of Shadow. It is super great. If you have kids, they will LOVE this.

I haven't posted in awhile. Here are some of the books that I've read recently:
The Art of Fielding
A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead
Revival

I don't know what to read next.

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony (with Graham Spence) – 4****
I really enjoyed this memoir of the author’s time spent with a herd of wild elephants on his game reserve in South Africa. There are moments of humor as well as harrowing tales of danger. What really comes across his is deep love for these magnificent animals. While the elephants are central to the tale, he also includes details of the Zulu culture in post-apartheid South Africa and information about other endangered species. Simon Vance does a superb job voicing the audio book; I felt as if I were sitting around a campfire in the bush hearing Anthony recount his adventures.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nancy from NJ wrote: "Did you know there is a sequel to Leeway Cottage? The title is Goodbye and Amen and concentrates on the children of the ..."

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

This is the first book by Gutcheon that I've read, but I don't think it will be the last.

Patricia wrote: "I'm reading Gray Mountain. I just started it last night and I'm only on Chapter 4 but I'm thinking it's sounding too familiar. Like I've read the same thing in another one of his ..."

I hope so. I have this book and have read all the others. I've never been disappointed. I have several library books to read first but this is in my TBR pile.

Nancy, I'm still reading it. I made it through Landline, I can do this one lol!

Melissa, I've read every book by him so I can't really let this one go unfinished. It just wouldn't be right!

Finished Redeeming Love. Very good. Getting ready to start The Book of Unknown Americans.

I finished and i didnt really like it.I will then start this evening.

Over the weekend I finished Free Fall by Jill Shalvis, Button Holed by Kylie Logan, and started Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

I decided to read Gone Girl before I see the movie.

Scott wrote: "I decided to read Gone Girl before I see the movie."

This book looks really good. What do you think of it so far?

Book Concierge wrote: " 1984 by George Orwell – 4****
Classic dystopian science fiction, written in 1948 and imagining a totalitarian society where Big Brother watches your every move and the rulin..."

Ah, gotta love the classic 1984. <3 I read that ages ago and should probably be rereading. Currently struggling my way a little through Neuromancer by Will Gibson. Since it's a classic, I'm going to persist.